News & Features

by Chris Martin

Jeff Ward furthered his claim as the top rider in the inaugural AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship on Saturday in Dallas, winning his third race in as many tries. In addition to bragging rights, Ward's Reunion Arena triumph also gave him sole possession of the season's points lead.

The Troy Lee Designs Honda pilot took the holeshot and led the 20-lap main event from start to finish, but his victory was far from unchallenged.

• Dallas Supermoto Photo Gallery

Over the opening handful of laps, Ward was tracked down and pressured by 2003 AMA 125 Motocross Champion Grant Langston, who was making a most impressive AMA Supermoto debut in Dallas. Unfortunately, Langston's hopes to open his AMA Supermoto career with a win were spoiled on lap 5, when he stalled his bike after clipping a hay bale chasing Ward through the tunnel.

All eyes then shifted to Boris Chambon, who was putting forth a remarkable charge from the 16th spot on the grid -- a slot 'earned' by qualifying for the main in the semi finals; a route forced upon him after retiring from his qualifying heat race.

The visiting World Supermoto standout completed the first lap down in 11th with a near 10-second deficit to make up to the leaders. Chambon went to work, gobbling up the field with numerous inch-perfect, sideways passes executed aboard his KTM 450SX; He relentlessly picked off his opponents to work his way up the order while simultaneously eroding Ward's advantage seconds per lap.

By the halfway point of the 20-lap affair, the Frenchman had moved into second and closed within striking distance of the leader. Undaunted, Ward responded; the 42-year-old stepped up the pace and eventually broke Chambon, who had nothing left following his exhausting first half push.

"This was the first holeshot I've gotten, so I didn't know what to do," joked Ward. "No, I knew Boris was coming -- he was the fastest guy all weekend. I just got into a pace, and I knew he was going to catch up. When he did I tried to pick it up a little bit. He was probably the fastest guy out there lap time-wise, but I was able to hold him off at the end. I'm pretty happy."

While Chambon fell short of taking a miracle victory, he accomplished his primary goal for the weekend -- qualifying for the Vegas championship finale. "Yes, for sure, I am very, very tired. After starting from the back, every lap I had to pass one or two riders. I tried for the win, but Jeff rode very well. I did my best, and now I am completely dead!"

Longtime rivals Jeremy McGrath and Doug Henry fought a spirited battle for the final podium position. Yamaha entry Henry eventually got the better of Ward's Troy Lee Designs Honda teammate, moving through into third on lap 13 and narrowly fending off McGrath at the checkered flag.

"That was a lot of fun," Henry said. "There are so many awesome riders out here from road racing, motocross, and flat track. Yamaha put together a great team for us, and I really appreciate the support."

18-year-old factory KTM rider Ben Carlson crossed the line in fifth, with Honda-mounted Steve Drew just behind to round out the top six.

Pacifico Saunders Suzuki's Mark Avard, who entered the round tied for the overall points lead, fell to second behind Ward with a ninth place result on the day.

Supermoto Unlimited

Regular World Supermoto frontrunner Boris Chambon put on a racing clinic in the KTM Supermoto Unlimited final. Unfortunately for his rivals, they were only close enough to takes notes for a couple of laps before he disappeared from sight.

The Frenchman slipped up the inside of Larry Pegram, who took the holeshot, early on the first lap and quickly went about building up an insurmountable advantage before cruising home with the win.

Afterward, Chambon commented, "The race was good. My start was not so good -- I was in second -- but I passed Pegram, and the first three or four laps I tried to push very hard to make a gap. After that I just took it easy."

While the win was never really in doubt, the fight for second was frantic and unpredictable. KTM riders Pegram, Ben Carlson, Chris Fillmore, and Grant Langston were all in contention for the runner-up position at various points during the race, but Langston, Fillmore and Pegram each dropped from the scrap with problems ranging from crashes to mechanical difficulties.

Carlson rode a steady race to claim second, while Mickey Dymond capitalized on the misfortune of others to inherit the final spot on the box.

Honda Red Riders Jr. Supermoto Challenge

12-year-old Colter Dimick borrowed Chambon's Supermoto Unlimited race blueprint to take a convincing win in the Honda Red Riders Jr. Supermoto Challenge.

Dimick took control of the event -- which featured up-and-comers between the ages of 12-15-year-old on identically prepped Honda CRF150s -- on the opening lap and was never headed.

"I had a pretty good start, put in a couple hard laps, and cruised," Dimick explained.

14-year-old Charly Rupprecht and 13-year-old Jamie Siever finished second and third, respectively. Race winner Dimick's older brother, Dalton, was also in contention for a podium position before a late crash relegated him to seventh.

Notes

• Staying true to the idea of bringing supermoto racing into urban environments, the circuit for Round 4 of the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship was built alongside of Reunion Area in downtown Dallas. The Arena was the home to the Mavericks and Stars, the cities' NBA and NHL franchises, up until 2001 when the $420 million American Airlines Center was opened nearby.
  
  

• In stark contrast to the previous round in Columbus, the Dallas layout was designed to be wide-open and pavement heavy. The original configuration was approximately 1.2 miles in length but was altered following rider feedback Saturday morning. The final length was brought down to just under a mile (.988 miles).
  
  

• Red Bull HMC KTM team manager Mitch Hansen was thrilled with the end result. "It's awesome. There's a lot of pavement to run on and enough room to really open these bikes up."
  
  

• The end of the start/finish line straight actually ran into a tunnel that u-turned underneath the convention center. To prevent any potential havoc that might have occurred with riders running under the shaded area on cold tires, the tunnel was bypassed on the opening lap of each race.
  
  

• Road racing star Roger Hayden took part in his first AMA Supermoto event this weekend. Running under the American Supercamp Walker Honda banner, Hayden chose to run the No. 21 as a tribute to dirt track legend Will Davis. The race may have been one of Hayden's last in some time aboard a Honda, as he'll be on factory-supported Kawasakis next year. "I'm definitely excited about next year, it's something I think is going to be very beneficial for myself. But I want to say thanks to Honda for everything they did, and there are no hard feelings on either side. You never know, sometime down the road, we might be working together again."
  
  

• Hayden's 2003 Erion Honda teammate, Jake Zemke, took part this weekend as well. He teamed with Jeremy McGrath and Jeff Ward as part of the powerful Troy Lee Designs Honda squad, riding one of Ward's old machines. Zemke was even more laid-back than usual this weekend, if possible. "I've got to say these guys that are doing the whole series have put a lot of time and effort into this, and they're going real fast. We're just out here rolling around having a good time. I just like riding anything, and this is a good way to do some cross-training in the winter time."
  
  

• The newcomer who made the most impressive AMA Supermoto debut was undoubtedly KTM-mounted Grant Langston. On the pace from the start in only his second ever attempt at supermoto-style racing, the South African dropped a number of jaws by winning Superpole with a blistering 1:21.411 lap.
  
  

• Afterwards, the 2003 AMA 125 Motocross Champion and 2000 World 125 Motocross Champion remarked, "I knew I had strung together a pretty good lap, but I didn't know just how good. I'm really having a great time doing this and definitely want to do some more in the future."
  
  

• World Supermoto ace Boris Chambon took a quick liking to the circuit. The KTM rider was a full second-and-a-half faster than the rest of the field at the end of the opening morning practice session. Chambon was forced to use the semis to make the main however, as his machine stalled on him while he was walking away with his heat race.
  
  

• The ever-popular Mike Metzger was back in action after missing the previous round due to a wrist injury suffered during a Disney freestyle exhibition and then aggravated in subsequent competition. The Team Zoo York Honda qualified for the main with relative ease and went on to take seventh place honors on the day.
  
  

• KTM teammates Chambon and Carlson pulled in to the Supermoto Unlimited victory circle on each other's machines. "Boris stalled his bike on the victory lap and couldn't get it kicked over," said Carlson of the big KTM. "So I switched bikes with him then I started his and came back." Chambon might have been faster on the track, but his diminutive stature (about five foot fives inches tall) can make kicking starting that big single a chore. Carlson has the edge on Chambon in that department, and the extra leverage got Chambon's ride back alive.
  
  

• The Dallas round was promoted by series supporter Red Bull -- and it showed. The company spared few expenses to make the event an experience. There were three large screen monitors spread around the facility, a rider hospitality area, a fan hospitality area and top-notch media amenities. Red Bull will also be the promoter for the series finale in Vegas -- dubbed Supermoto-a-Go-Go.