Fifteen-year-old Luke Cipala of Ellsworth, Wis., was named the AMA Hillclimb Rider of the Year. He rode the 125cc, 200cc, 250cc and 450cc classes, taking home the national championships in the 200cc and 250cc classes.
“I was at this track in 2008 for the national, and that’s when I won my first national championship in the mini class,” Cipala said. “It means a lot to win this award. There’s a lot of fast people that could get this award, and I’m honored that they chose me.”
Kenny O’Brien of Warner, Ohio, captured the ATV Hillclimb Rider of the Year award. He raced in the 450 two-stroke, open two-stroke and vet ATV classes.
Austin Coon of Spencer, W.Va., took home the exhibition award for “King of the Hill” from the event promoter. To receive the honor, the riders with the top 10 fastest times of the weekend competed in a one-run class at the end of the program on Sunday.
“I think I won my last national championship in 2007, so this is the first time I’ve won one the 400cc stock wheelbase class and got King of the Hill,” Coon said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever won this award, so I’m pretty excited about it.”
The 2015 AMA Hillclimb National Champions are:
ATV 450 Two-Stroke: Kenny O’Brien
Hillclimb is one of the American Motorcyclist Association’s oldest disciplines, and the AMA Hillclimb Grand Championship always draws the country’s top amateur hillclimbers, who are each determined to get the fastest time to the top of the hill.
