Tracy Press

Tracy duo prepares for Carnegie hill climb event

Father and son Trevor (left) and Alan Besse will compete in the AMA Hillclimb amateur series this weekend at Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area southwest of Tracy. Photo by Bob Brownne/Tracy Press.

Both will be in events Sunday at Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area along Corral Hollow Road southwest of Tracy.

“He knows better than to go in my class,” Trevor said of his dad.

Trevor, 17, was the first-place rider in the Stock 251-550cc class in October at Carnegie, when he rode up the nearly vertical hill in 12.214 seconds.

Sunday’s contest will be the first of two weekends of hill climbing events — the state championship for professional divisions will be April 5 and 6.

Alan, 52, took first place in the Stock Old Timer 0-250cc class at the October event and also took second place in the Stock Seniors class. He counts six first-place finishes in hill climb events last year, compared to Trevor’s five.

The family’s mantle crammed with trophies testifies to the pair’s passion for the hill climb events. At some events they might not win a trophy, but they do have X-rays from the subsequent hospital visit to prove they made a sincere effort.

The slopes they will attack look impossibly steep to the casual observer, but Trevor and Alan Besse prefer to compete on hills on which many riders won’t even reach the top.

“The steeper the better. The more challenging the better,” Alan said. “The hills they have now are very doable, so it’s a matter of speed.”

They attend four events every year, assuming injuries don’t sideline them, and the AMA told them both recently that they must move up from “C” to “B-level” amateur competition, the last step before they must compete with the pros.

“We’d love to go pro, if we get the time and money,” Alan said, adding that his son could soon decide to go after the cash prizes. “He could do it. He’s fearless.”

Sunday’s event is a warm-up for the April NAHA RacerX Suzuki Hillclimb Nationals at Carnegie. That will be the 20th annual California State Championship Hillclimb, which is also a preliminary round for the North American Hillclimbers Association national competition.

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written by Dennis Stover , March 27, 2008

Being a family friend for over 20 years and been to many of their hillclimbing events, I would love to see Allan and Trevor Besse go Pro. They are both fearless and both know the hills like their own back yard.Good luck to the both of them on Sunday.