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CROYDON - Petey Krunich, 14, was revved up Saturday morning after he officially made it "over the hill."
Krunich came from California to compete with more than 200 motorcyclists, including his father, Pete Sr., at the Widowmaker Hill Climb, where only a handful of amateur and professional riders from all over North America made it to the top of a steep, 1,000-foot mountainside with slopes of 70 to 85 degrees.
The elder Krunich won the main event on Championship Hill with a time of 43.11 seconds.
The trick to getting up Championship Hill, Petey said, is "finding a smooth line and having a lot of horsepower." While a deep rut at the 450-foot mark took out most of Saturday's riders, young Krunich gunned his two-cycle 500cc nitrous oxide-injected motorbike right up the side and over the peak. "It turns on at three-quarters throttle and you just pretty much hold it wide open," he said of his CR 500.
Getting back down the hill can be equally challenging, as demonstrated when one motorcycle and its rider rolled out of control, causing two other riders in the path to abandon their bikes and jump out of the way to safety, exciting the estimated crowd of 8,000 to 10,000.
They cheered, too, when Woods Cross rider Jon Smith, 27, matched the Championship Hill record of 32.94 seconds in the 0-700 exhibition class on his first 1,000-foot run. Smith brought five bikes to the two-day competition in Croydon, southeast of Ogden off Interstate 84, one for each of the four events he rode in and an extra for backup. Smith is a world-class professional motorcycle rider who competes with hill climbers all over the United States.
"This is by far the hardest hill and, in my opinion, the best event," Smith said between autograph requests outside his trailer in the Widowmaker pit.
Saturday's victory, which netted him a $1,100-plus cash prize, was the result of luck more than anything else, he said. Smith got an early draw, putting him on the course fifth - after watching four competitors have a go at it and before the ground was scarred with ruts.
The thousands of spectators sat in chairs or on blankets to watch Powder Puff Hill Climb contenders on Stock Hill and the Widowmaker Main Event on Championship Hill - simultaneously and side by side. While some said they were itching to squeeze a throttle, most were happy to be on the sidelines.
Andrew Robinson, of Santaquin, sat close enough to the pit to see the faces of the riders, whose machines kicked up dust and dirt as they blasted past.
"I like to smell it and taste it," Robinson said. "I watched the Widowmaker on TV back home in Australia and I thought it'd be pretty cool to see."