Johnny Curry wins third straight AMA Pro Hillclimb Pro Sport event

FREEMANSBURG, Pa. (June 16, 2015) – Johnny Curry was already establishing himself as a phenom in the Pro Sport Class after two rounds of the 2015 AMA Pro Hillclimb series. On Sunday, at the Bushkill Valley Motorcycle Club, Curry took his third consecutive victory in the class, joining John Koester in the Xtreme Class and Jay Sallstrom in the Unlimited Class as the day’s winners.

Curry tackled the hill first and laid down the fastest Pro Sport ride of the day at 14.908 seconds. Joseph Lowe and Nick Briggs both posted times in the 17-second range, with Briggs ahead by two-tenths. Riding last in the order, Adam Holmes set a 16.2-second E.T. to take over second place.

Sean Van Assen upped his game in the second half, taking third with a 16.878-second ride, which was good his first Pro Sport podium finish. Curry stood on the top spot of the Pro Sport podium again, flanked by Holmes and Van Assen in second and third, respectively.

When the Xtreme Class bikes took to the hill, Cory Strickler was the first to reach the top with a 17.185-second E.T. Sallstrom rode next and broke the 10-second barrier, cresting in 9.884. Riding in the middle of the order, Jockamo Baldina posted an 11.025-second time. Koester rode last and lopped off half a second to take the lead at the break.

After halftime, the top of the leaderboard saw little change until Phil Libhart stopped the clock at 10.165 seconds, bumping Baldina off the podium. Koester stood tall on the top step of the podium with Sallstrom to his left in second and Libhart on his right in third place.

Libhart set the Unlimited Class pace in the first half at 10.864 seconds. Robby DeBusk crested in just under 12 seconds and Vinny Nuzzolilli topped the hill in 11.935 seconds. It was Libhart, Nuzzolilli and DeBusk, in order at the half.

Libhart waited out the second half to see if anyone would best him. He didn't have to wait long though. Sallstrom, who threw a tire chain on his first ride, came back with a vengeance and posted a 10.015 E.T. for the lead. Nuzzolilli nudged Libhart to third by setting a 10.242 pace. Libhart rode to defend his earlier position but blew his engine near the top of the hill, stopping 30-feet short of the crest. When the awards were handed out, No. 1 went to Sallstrom, and the Nos. 2 and 3 went to Nuzzolilli and Libhart, respectively. With Round 4 looming Wednesday, June 17, Libhart's team will be burning the midnight oil to get an Unlimited Class bike ready for race day.

Libhart was the victor in the exhibition Hill-Cross competition, which is a side-by-side battle up the hill. He took the checkered flag in front of Koester and DeBusk in the three-rider final.

After three events, Sallstrom leads the Unlimited Class points battle, followed by Nuzzolilli, Libhart and Koester. The top four are separated by a scant five points. In the Xtreme Class, Libhart leads Koester with Nuzzolilli and Salstrom behind, in order. Curry is dominating Pro Sport with a perfect 75 points after three rounds. He is followed by Holmes, Briggs, Lowe and Eddie Capelli.

AMA Pro Hillclimbers will race next at Canaan, N.H. on June 17.

AMA Pro Hillclimb receives sponsorship from VP Racing Fuels, Wiseco, TiLube, Evans Coolant, ALCO Cleaners, PSYCHMX Graphix and Kawasaki.

Results
Unlimited:

1. Jay Sallstrom (Yamaha)
2. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Honda)
3. Phil Libhart (Triumph)
4. Robby Debusk (Yamaha)
5. John Koester (Honda)

Xtreme:
1. John Koester (Honda)
2.Jay Sallstrom (Yamaha)
3. Phil Libhart (Triumph)
4. Jockamo Baldina (Honda)
5. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Honda)

Pro Sport:
1. Johnny Curry (Yamaha)
2. Adam Holmes (Honda)
3. Sean Van Assen (Suzuki)
4. Nick Briggs (Yamaha)
5. Denton Boyer (Honda)

Hill-Cross:
1. Phil Libhart (Honda)
2. John Koester (Suzuki)
3. Robby DeBusk (Yamaha)