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by Chris Martin

Make no mistake. The full force of the World Supermoto superstars has yet to be unleashed on American soil. Sure, they've teased with a handful of one-offs and showed tremendous speed in the process, but the inaugural AMA Red Bull Supermoto regular season has come and gone with every win going to the American series regulars.

That could all change on Friday, when the concentrated efforts of the Europeans to steal away the historic first AMA Supermoto Championship will take place at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Red Bull HMC KTM's trio of international title contenders, Boris Chambon, Jürgen Künzel and Kurt Nicoll, qualified for the Vegas finale with guest rides in separate events (Chambon in Dallas, Künzel in Irwindale and Nicoll at Laguna Seca). They each turned heads with their prowess, but fell short of victory in their qualification rounds thanks to crashes, mechanical problems and the strength of the locals. But they each also achieved their primary goal of earning an invite to Vegas. Now nothing short of the title will be satisfactory.

Boris Chambon

The younger brother of 1999 World Supersport (and Supermoto legend) Stéphane Chambon, Boris has been making quite a name for himself in recent years in international Supermoto competition. The 28-year-old Frenchman is in the midst of his greatest season yet, racking up a pair of World Supermoto main event wins and numerous heat race triumphs.

In his AMA appearance at Dallas, Chambon was the fastest man all day long -- sometimes by seconds per lap. His mount failed him while well on his way to a heat race win, forcing him to go the semi-final route to advance to the main event. Boris then put in an incredible ride from a back-of-the-pack starting position to rip his way up to the runner-up spot, but he didn't have enough magic remaining to topple eventual race winner Jeff Ward.

However, the pressure has been mounting in recent weeks. After controlling the World Supermoto points standings for much of the season, he was dropped from the top spot this past weekend by Husqvarna's charging Eddy Seel at Spa Francorchamps. With the World Supermoto season finale to be run in Spain a week after the AMA Vegas finale, it will be extremely important for Chambon's confidence to get back on track this weekend.

Jürgen Künzel

Chambon's KTM teammate in the World Supermoto competition, Jürgen Künzel, has put forth a nearly identical effort to Boris in 2003. The German ace has claimed several wins this year and occasionally found himself leading the world title race. And like Chambon, he's been victimized by Seel's late-season push, displaced from the top two world ranking he had held the entire season.

Furthering the parallel, the 29-year-old scored a runner-up finish during his AMA qualification attempt. Künzel slid and powered his way to a mammoth 18-second advantage in Irwindale before falling halfway through the main event. He remounted but was overtaken and beaten by Doug Henry.

Still in contention for the world crown in Spain, Künzel will also be looking to pick up some much-needed momentum by scooping the inaugural AMA Supermoto Championship. Prospective title winners shouldn't count on Künzel repeating his Irwindale mistake this weekend.

Kurt Nicoll

Former World Motocross star Kurt Nicoll now ranks as the head of KTM's Austrian-based racing division (beware of team orders Boris and Jürgen!). Despite his position, Nicoll still finds the time to compete, and put in some impressive rides during last year's inaugural World Supermoto Championship.

The British rider turned up at the AMA series debut in Laguna Seca and finished second following a race-long battle with Ward and Jeremy McGrath.

Obviously, Nicoll is very motivated to see a KTM rider earn the first AMA champion in the fast-growing sport KTM loves and support so heavily. If you want something done right...