Kyle Ohnsorg and the ultra-sano KTM 65
Photo courtesy of Col's MotoSports In the first round, Mitchell Koester was the first, and the only rider in the Micro 4-10 class, to make it to the top of the hill, setting the standard at 11.097. As the round progressed, each class leader topped the previous one. Kyle “Wheel Busta” Ohnsorg scorched a 9.106 on a 65cc machine, Mini Jr. rider, Zach Degross, topped that with a 8.926, and Mini Sr. pilot and national champion, Jacob Prebe, clocked a 8.424. It was then on to the full-size bikes. Riding a 125, Ryan Peterson set a 7.338, but Prebe came back with a 6.717 on his 200. Keeping it in the family, 250cc rider, Aaron Prebe, topped that with a 6.214. That time held through the 450s, but then three riders in 600cc class dropped below six seconds. Steve Cane came in at 5.628, Mike Wood had a 5.281, and Sallstrom put in a wild, feet-off-the -pegs ride to top the charts at 5.076. Duane Walser was the only Open class entry to go under six, leading that class with a 5.752. The only other riders below six in the first round were in the Senior class. Walser, Jay Curtis, and Jeffery Tucker were all in the 5.9s, separated by only .035 seconds. The second round promised to be interesting. The Kato Cycle Club has been a chartered AMA club since 1936, the oldest in Minnesota. Besides promoting hillclimbs, the club is very active in road events. The membership also includes off-road racers and enthusiasts. With three events this year, the club makes changes to the hill between events in order to make it more interesting for the riders and fans. The two-jump configuration of the hill this time was considered easier than the previous event and the times reflected that. Several improvements were also made to the timing and lighting systems and both worked flawlessly though out the evening.
A wide variety of styles was on display between the jumps
Photo courtesy of Col's MotoSports The hill was getting more slippery as the second round began. Despite this, many riders improved their results from the first round. Koester, Ohnsorg, and Degross were all able to improve their times significantly on their way to class victories. Their winning times were 10.259, 8.862, and 7.805 in Micro 4-8, 65cc, and Mini Jr., respectively. Jacob Prebe did not improve his Mini Sr. time from the first round, but still took the class win by over a second. Two fine second round rides leapt Prebe and Nate Redman to the top of the 125s, with Prebe’s 7.112 barely edging Redman. Prebe then topped the 200 class with a 6.410, handing Jay Sallstrom his only defeat of the night. In the 250 class, Ryan Stervermer, shook off his first run problems and ripped a 5.881, pipping Aaron Prebe by .057 seconds. In the 450 class, Jay Curtis was next into the fives, running a 5.935 to top a fine second ride by Prebe. Only Wood was able to top his first run time in the 600 class, but it was not enough to catch Sallstrom. Walser was the only Open bike with a sub-six run again, as he easily topped that class. He improved his Senior time to 5.705, topping Curtis and Tucker in what was the largest and most competitive class of the day. Kaleb Northrup was the lone 750cc class entrant, screaming his Kawasaki triple to a fourth best for the day, 5.709, in the second round. Sallstrom’s first round run held up as the top score of the day. He also topped the end of the night, King of the Hill competition, in which the riders with the top ten times all take one shot for glory. Other class winners included Four Stroke rider, Kory Fashnet with a 6.055, John Steinmetz topping the 50+ class with a 7.280, and Charlie Hickok turning a respectable 7.158 in the exhibition, Stock class. Results:
Micro 4-8:
1.Mitchell Koester ; 2.Loran Cipala ; 3.Logan Peterson ; 4.Jacob Walser ; 5.Luke Cipala ; 6.Victoria Reichel ; 7.Nathan Prebe ; 8.Cole Exner ;
65cc:
1.Kyle Ohnsorg ; 2.Mitchell Koester ; 3.Logan Cipala ; 4.Dylan Nichols ; 5.Nathan Prebe ; 6.Logan Peterson ; 7.Zach Gulden ;
Mini Jr:
1.Zach Degross ; 2.Casey Wood ; 3.Jackson Exner ; 4.Kyle Ohnsorg ; 5.Logan Cipala ; 6.Dylan Nichols ; 7.Alex Gerdes ; 8.Gabrielle Prebe ;
Mini Sr.:
1.Jacob Prebe ; 2.David Fasnacht ; 3.Jason Sternitzke ; 4.Seth Seymour ; 5.Jaclyn Gerdes ; 6.Tanner Knudson ;
125cc:
1.Bobbi Cipala ; 2.Nate Redmann ; 3.Jacob Prebe ; 4.Ryan Peterson ; 5.Harry Exner ; 6.Kevin Braun ; 7.Jared Gitter ; 8.Jessica Prebe ;
200cc:
1.Jacob Prebe ; 2.Nate Redmann ; 3.Jared Gitter ; 4.Jay Sallstrom ; 5.Jason Sternitzke ; 6.Tyler Pieper ; 7.Shane Sandmeyer ; 8.Zach Nelson ;
250cc:
1.Mike Wood ; 2.Ryan Stevermer ; 3.Ryan Peterson ; 4.Aaron Prebe ; 5.Jamie Griecar ; 6.Kory Fasnacht ; 7.Shane Sandmeyer ; 8.Chad Schmidt ;
450cc:
1.Jay Curtis ; 2.Darren Degross ; 3.Chad Schmidt ; 4.Jamie Grecar ; 5.Aaron Prebe ; 6.Jeff Colhour ; 7.John Curtis ; 8.Mike Foley ;
600cc:
1.Jay Sallstrom ; 2.Mike Wood ; 3.Steve Cain ; 4.Jamie Griecar ; 5.Kaleb Northrup ; 6.Ryan Stevermer ; 7.Justin Odegaard ; 8.Jeffrey Tucker ;
750cc:
1.Kaleb Northrup ;
Open:
1.Duane Walser ; 2.Curtis Sullivan ; 3.Justin Odegaard ; 4.Corey Danberry ; 5.Matt Gulden Jr. ; 6.Kyle McConnaughey ; 7.Kaleb Northrup ; 8.Cody Walser ;
Senior:
1.Jay Curtis ; 2.Duane Walser ; 3.Jeffrey Tucker ; 4.Tim Cain ; 5.John Curtis ; 6.John Steinmetz ; 7.Brian Lexvold ; 8.Steve Doty ;
50+:
1.John Steinmetz ; 2.Dave Byer ; 3.Greg Schmidt ; 4.Rick Wiltscheck ; 5.Tim Loomis ;
Four Stroke:
1.Kory Fasnacht ; 2.Chad Schmidt ; 3.Jeff Colhour ; 4.Aaron Prebe ; 5.Brian Lexvold ; 6.Steve Doty ; 7.Logan Sheppard ; 8.Corey Danberry ;
Stock:
1.Erik Loomis ; 2.Aaron Nelson ; 3.Charlie Hickock ; 4.Kyle Ohnsorg ; 5.Jay Sallstrom ; 6.Jeremy Hage ; 7.Rick Anderson ; 8.Cody Slark ;