2005 Midwest Championship Hillclimb Invitational

Sept. 3rd, 2005 - Red Wing, MN

By: Bud Northrup - Photos: Gordon Green

             The Indianhead Motorcycle Club hosted the second Midwest Invitational Championship hill climb at their club grounds in Red Wing, Minnesota. (Yes – the 300 foot hill is in the town)  The event is composed of the best riders from Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas, and is a very entertaining ‘shootout’.

            Eric Wheelwright, from Elizabeth, Illinois, had a very good day, claiming three wins and a second.  His first win came in the large and fast 600cc class where his 7.589 second time on his first ride on his Honda held up for the class win, and nearly took the Fast Time of the Day award.  It was a convincing victory, as his closest challenger, Jay Sallstrom carded a 7.814 second run, while Steve Cain claimed third with a time of 7.841 seconds.

            Wheelwright’s second win came in the 600cc 4-Stroke class, and he had to come from behind to earn it.  Aaron Prebe, from Frontenac, Minnesota, sailed his YZ450F Yamaha thumper over the top of the ‘easy’ side in a very quick 6.696 seconds, to take the lead in to intermission, with Wheelwright sitting in second place with a 6.748 second time. (Red Wing has two lanes to ride on the hill – one easier for smaller bikes and older riders – the Fast Time Award goes to the fastest time on the ‘hard’ side)

              In the second round, however, Wheelwright pinned the throttle on his Yamaha and blasted through the timers in 6.557 seconds to take the win.  No other riders in the class broke into the sixes, but T.C Allen, from Rockland, Wisconsin, was close,  claiming third place with a 7.058  second time on his Yamaha.

            Wheelwright’s third win was probably his most satisfying, as he was the winner in the King of the Hill ‘Grudge Match’.  This class was made up of the riders who were in the top ten overall, regardless of class, in 2004 in the various states.

            Wheelwright just missed a clean sweep, as he had to settle for a second in the 250cc class behind Ryan Peterson.  Peterson took the first round lead with a 8.450 second run on his Honda, which both Nate Redman and Wheelwright beat on their second rides with times of 8.245 and 8.183 seconds respectively.  But Peterson was up to the challenge and flew his CR250 over the top in 8.131 seconds to snatch the win by less than 5/100’s of a second from Wheelwright.

            Curt Sullivan, from Prescott, Wisconsin, emerged as the Fast Guy of the day.  Riding an incredible Harley, he came from well behind the pack on his second ride in the Open Class to take that win with a 7.632 second time.  Todd Cipala, Duane Walser and National Champion Toby Mueller, all also riding Harleys, took the next three spots.

            Sullivan then returned with the Harley in the King of the Hill class for the top ten riders on that day and not only won the class, but turned in a time faster than Wheelwright’s 600cc class time, and walked off with the coveted Fast Time of the Day award as well as the ‘King’ trophy.

            In Youth class action, Mitchell Koester was a double class winner, taking his first in the 50cc Micro Mini class.  He was the only rider to top the hill in the class, and did it in 14.128 seconds on his little Cobra to thrill the crowd.  Logan Cipala climbed 264 feet on his KTM for second place.

            Young Koester then returned in the 65cc class on his KX65 and took that win also, topping the hill on both rides, his 12.0140 second time on his second round slipping him past Dylan Nichols wha had posted a good 12.249 seconds, and also topped the hill on both rides.  They were the only riders in the class to see the top of the hill.

            In other youth action, Zach DeGross was the 85cc Junior Mini class winner with Logan Cipala second while Jacob Prebe was the best of the Senior Mini riders with Seth Seymour second.

            Tyler Clark made his trip up from Easton, Missouri worth while by winning both the 2-Stroke and 4-Stroke ATV classes.   

Toby Mueller

Eric Wheelwright

Kaleb Northrup

Justin Odegaard