Red Wing, Minnesota - May 3 and 4, 2003

Under bright blue skies riders made their way to the Indianhead Motorcycle Club’s grounds in Red Wing, Minnesota for the beginning of the 2003 District 23 hillclimbing season. On Saturday, the IMC sponsored a practice day on their 300 foot hill for all riders to fine tune their bikes and riding skills before Sunday’s point’s race. Most riders were running times in the low six second range throughout the day.

When race day rolled around so did the clouds. The forecast was dim with a one hundred percent chance of rain. The riders hurried the event along and completed the first round of racing before the rain began around the second round of the 125 class. The event continued until around the 600 class when the IMC referee declared the hill unsafe, and the remainder of the event was cancelled, including the 80 Open.

In the ATV 250 class, Myron Engle rode his Suzuki to a win and in the ATV Open class, Alex Wells set an impressive pace at 7.813 seconds. In the Micro Mini class, defending state champion Zach Degross earned first place by taking his Polini over the hill in 15.184 seconds, and Ellsworth, Wisconsin’s Logan Cipala earned the 65 class win with a 10.386 second ride on his Kawasaki. Bay City, Wisconsin’s Alex Gerdes topped the hill in 18.699 seconds for the Mini Junior class win, and current AMA Mini Senior Class National Champion Jay Sallstrom took his Honda to a win. In the 125 class, Kevin Braun took the first step in defending his state championship with a win, and in the 200 class Aaron Prebe earned the win with a 7.561 second ride on a KTM. In the 450 class, Rochester, Minnesota’s Jay Curtis earned the win with a 6.684 second ride, and Mike Wood once again found his familiar spot on top of the 600 class with a 6.172 second ride. In the 660 four stroke class, Hasting, Minnesota’s Steve Cain won aboard a CRF450, and in the 750 class, Kirk Mueller rode his new Kawasaki Triple to its first victory. Canton, Minnesota’s Ashley Eiken defended his championship in the Senior class with a win on his Harley Davidson, and Dennis Jelinek picked up where he left off last season in the Super Senior class with a win.

The top winner of the weekend was Omaha, Nebraska’s Harold Waddell who claimed victory in the 250 and Open class. On his "1100cc" Suzuki, Waddell earned the fast time of the day with the only five second time of 5.721. "I just try to have fun," Waddell commented after the race. "I just dropped the hammer, and tried to keep the traction down on the ground."