SOUTH RANGE — Motorcycle Hillclimbers from all over the Midwest converged on the steep 620 foot Whealkate Bluff in South Range to find out who had the talent to make it over the top.
While more hillclimbers broke the timing beam at the top than last year, Whealkate Bluff still proved to be the test of man, machine, and guts.
It was at the 2021 MASTERS Racing Circuit Motorcycle Hillclimb in which only one run set a time, that being the Circuit’s No. 1 motorcycle hillclimber Mike Kirtland, of Greenland.
At this year’s Hillclimb, seven riders made it through the digital timing beam.
One of the seven was Kirtland, who not only remained the MASTERS top rider, but expanded upon his ranking. Kirtland captured the Vollwerth’s Meats-Settlers Co-Op Modified King of the Hill, the Twilly’s Mod Uphill Drag Race Champion, 4 Class Champion and the frosting on the cake, the Bam Tools Fastest Time of the Day.
Earlier in the day, Kirtland shot up the hill in 12.22 seconds. On the radio, MASTERS officials’ comments ranged from “check that time again,” to “are you serious, 12.22?”
A comment that could not be confirmed was “that has to be close to the record.” No one has any of the results from the 1970s and 80s.
Terry Lahti of Houghton was competing then, but stopped when the South Range Business Association stopped running the Hillclimb in the 1980s.
“When the MASTERS brought the Motorcycle Hillclimb back, I went out and got a motorcycle,” Lahti said. “After not making the hill last year, all I wanted to do this year was make it over the top. It didn’t matter if I won a class, or even if I took King of the Hill. All that mattered to me was to make it over the top.”
Lahti made it over the top to win the Feature Class, Top Gun. Winning that class qualified him for the King of the Hill Shootout. Lahti drew to run second in the shootout. With three runs to decide a winner, Kirtland went first.
In the Mod Shootout, Kirtland ran 12.84 seconds. Lahti ran a 12.83.
“I had to look at the time over and over to make sure it said 12.83,” said MASTERS official Wyatt McIntyre. “You can’t blink your eye in one-hundredth of a second, here Terry (Lahti) ran over 600 feet up the hill one-hundredth of a second faster than Mike (Kirtland).”
With Kirtland winning three Modified Classes, the Mass City hillclimber had two more runs. He ran 12.90 second in his 3rd run. Traverse City’s Chaz Forcia qualified for the Shootout but did not run.
“When I saw those times that Terry and Mike ran, I just didn’t think I could beat them,” said Forcia, a former Baraga resident.
In Kirtland’s final run to beat Lahti, he turned in a 12.55 second run to win $450.
Four hillclimbers qualified for the Merritt’s Travel Center Stock King of the Hill. Kirtland, Calumet’s Harrison Kerchner, Rockland’s Brian Pence, and Crystal Fall’s Shane Bandola. Bandola went first and set the bar at 13.28 seconds. Pence then crested the hill with a 15.94-second run. Kerchner ran the smallest Motorcycle of the Foursome and made it over 200 Feet before the hill pulled the young man down. Then it was time for Kirtland to sweep the King of the Hill Shootouts. Kirtland failed to make it over the top.
“I watched the line everyone was taking throughout the day. I knew what line I wanted, it was just the question if I could hold that line,” Bandola said. “I was confident right from the start this morning. It was just the question as to how everyone else would do.”
The chatter in the pits throughout the day dealt with how talented Bandola is.
“Mike (Kirtland) was expected to do well, the question was how (Shane) Bandola, along with the Havela Race Team, would do,” McIntyre said. “The surprise that made so many of us in the pits was to see how Terry (Lahti) would do. After all he is a young 68 year old.”
“Terry (Lahti) used to be one of the top riders with my brother, Tim (Tousignant) in the 1970s,” said Ontonagon’s Craig Tousignant.
Lahti set the high mark to win the Stock King of the Hill last year.
The Hillclimber that racers, crew, and fans were ‘pulling for’ was Nick Gustafson. He works for Polaris Industries in Roseau, Minnesota, and has become one of the most popular and well liked MASTERS Racers for the past 30 years. Gustafson has been a Top Gun Champion in Snow Drags, a representative of the MASTERS Racing Circuit at the World Championship Snowmobile HIllclimb in Jackson, Wyoming, and one of the best Snowmobile Watercross racers.
Gustafson crested the hill in 17.99 seconds. Later in the day he crashed his Honda near the top of the Hill and suffered an injury to his knee. He was helped down the hill.
The hillclimb featured three father-son tandems. Kirtland’s two sons Brady and Gage competed. The other father-son pairs included Brad Havela and his son Gage, and Leif Forcia and his son, Chaz.
One of the thrills of the entire event was watching 4-year-old Otto Walli compete in the Premium Spray Foam and Coatings ‘Kids King of the Hill.’ Walli had only run his 50 cc Micro Mini Motorcycle three times after taking the ‘training wheels off.’ After making it up 58 yards, Walli ran into the side of the hill and flipped his motorcycle.
“The motorcycle landed on top of him. He got up, walked away with the Trophy’s lifted above his head. He took it like a champ,” said his mother Brittany Barrette. “I’m sure he’ll be in a lot more crashes as he gets older.”
Robert O’Connell of Atlantic Mine took the Junior King of the Hill by setting the high mark of 163 yards.
Ishpeming’s Jesse Perry held off half of the popular Joliff Brothers race team, Colin, in the two bike Uphill Stock Drags. Perry went a few feet higher up the hill to win that exciting final.
MASTERS -Vollwerth’s Meats – Pat’s Motorsports – Wildlife Refuge Cabins – Keweenaw Chevrolet Buick GMC Motorcycle Hillclimb Results
Vollwerth’s Meats – Settlers Co-op MOD King of the Hill: Mike Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha, 12.55 seconds.
Vollwerth’s Meats – Merritt; s Travel Center STOCK King of the Hill: Shane Bandola, Crystal Falls, Honda, 13.28 seconds.
Settlers Federal Credit Union/Diamond House International MOD Uphill 2-Bike Drags: 1) Mike Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha. 2) Gage Havela, Ishpeming, Yamaha.
Twilly’s Sports Bar/M & M Powersports STOCK Uphill 2-Bike Drags: 1) Jesse Perry, Ishpeming, Yamaha. 2) Colin Joliff, Mass City, Yamaha.
Premium Spray Foam & Coatings Jr. King of the Hill: Robert O’Connell, Atlantic Mine, Yamaha, 163 yards
Premium Spray Foam & Coatings Kids King of the Hill: Otto Walli, Lake Linden, 58 yards
Bam Tools Fastest Time of the Day: Mike Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha, 12.22 seconds (Mod 600)
Twilly’s Sports Bar TOP GUN: 1) Terry Lahti, Houghton, Honda, 12.68. 2) Mike Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha, 13.38. 3) Nick Gustafson, Roseau, MN. Honda, 208 yards.
Pat’s Motorsports Stock 350-500: Shane Bandola, Crystal Falls, Honda, 13.63. 2) Mike Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha, 15.10. 3) Colin Joliff, Mass City, Yamaha, 16.69.
Keweenaw Chevrolet Buick GMC Stock 350 (2 Stroke) 450 (4 Stroke): 1) Mike Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha, 12.62. 2) Brad Havela, Ishpeming, Honda, 13.72. 3) Brady Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha, 166 yards.
Wildlife Refuge Cabins Open Stock: 1) Mike Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha, 12.97. 2) Terry Lahti, Houghton, Honda, 13.41. 3) Gage Havela, Ishpeming, Yamaha, 210 yards.
Ben DeHaan Trucking MOD 401-600: 1) Mike Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha, 12.22 (Fastest Time of Day). 2) Gene Romero, Freemont, Honda, 13.25. 3) Craig Tousignant, Ontonagon, Yamaha, 208 yards.
Joliff Brothers Logging MOD 500 (2 Stoke) 650 (4 Stroke): 1) Mike Kirtland, Mass City, Yamaha, 13.43. 2) Nick Gustafson, Roseau, MN. Honda, 17.99. 3) Randy Antilla, Greenland, Honda, 160 yards.
Mosquito Inn/4 Season’s Convenience 250 (2 Stroke) 400 (4 Stroke): 1) Brian Pence, Rockland, 166 yards. 2) Nick Gustafson, Roseau, MN. Honda, 130 yards.
Ewen Building Supply STOCK 250-400: Chaz Forcia, Traverse City, KTM, 16.37
150 (2 Stroke) 250 (4 Stroke): Harrison Kerchner, Calumet, Kawasaki, 74 yards
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