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by Larry Lawrence

AMA Red Bull Supermoto has attracted some of the biggest riders in motorcycle racing. Jeremy McGrath, Jeff Ward, Doug Henry, Kevin Schwantz and Ben Bostrom are household names among motorcycle racing enthusiasts. However, there is a new group of stars emerging in the sport and these are riders who are making a name for themselves primarily through supermoto racing.

In the championship's first year a handful of previously unknown riders are now becoming big names in motorcycle racing through the nationally televised AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship. These guys run the gamut from young guns just getting into national racing, to experienced veterans who have already had at least a taste of competing at a top level in other forms of the motorcycle racing.

While much of the buzz around AMA Supermoto is created by the McGraths of the world, these supermoto emerging stars are poised to carry the sport on their shoulders as it grows.

Mark Avard

Mark Avard is a jack-of-all-trades in motorcycling. The 34-year-old Australian has raced in the ISDE, Australian National Motocross and road racing. He's been involved in Supermoto for a couple of years in his home country. He leads the Aussie Supermoto Championship, but will miss the final round of that series to race in Las Vegas. Last year Avard raced in the World Championship Supermoto races. "I went in thinking how fast I was and found out just how far advanced they are in this sport in Europe," Avard admitted.

Avard said he learned a great deal in the world championships last year and he's bringing that knowledge to the AMA series. He comes into Las Vegas the top-ranked rider in the premier Red Bull Supermoto class after scoring top-10 finishes in every round this year, including a podium finish at South Boston, Va.

The Aussie runs a small motorcycle shop back home and has racked up some serious frequent flyer miles flying to America for the races this season. He is sponsored by Pacifico Saunders Suzuki and rides a Suzuki DRZ400-based machine in the series. Avard says the AMA Supermoto tracks are much tighter than the European circuits, but he doesn't mind. "The more technical the better for me," he says.

Avard said he's excited about racing against legends in AMA Supermoto. "It's a strange feeling in a way realizing that you're out there battling with maybe the most popular motorcycle racer of all time," he said about racing wheel-to-wheel with Jeremy McGrath. Avard's diverse racing background is his strength. He says that in Supermoto you have to be pretty good at all types of racing.

Leonardo Bagnis

Leonardo Bagnis is a rider from Argentina who has been a leading supermoto rider in California for a couple of years. Bagnis, 31, is a former Superbike racer in South America and came to the U.S. to pursue a racing career. His sister lives in Lodi, Calif., and he moved there to try to start a new racing career from scratch. One weekend he went to watch a local Supermoto race and eventually got a chance to ride a borrowed bike.

"He was blazing fast in his first outing," said Bagnis' sponsor and tuner Dr. Brad Dodenhoff. After winning regional titles last year Bagnis hooked up with Dodenhoff and the East Hills Motorsports Harrington Vertemati team. Vertemati directly sponsors the team and Bagnis has shown great speed this year. He led much of the Columbus Unlimited round before tangling with a lapped rider and crashing. He remounted to finish second.

Bagnis comes from a long line of racers in Argentina. Both his father and grandfather were accomplished motorcycle racers. Dodenhoff, whose son Jeffrey Harrington is also an up-and-coming rider in the Unlimited class, thinks Bagnis has the potential to win in Las Vegas. "We're hoping he surprises some people," Dodenhoff said. Bagnis comes into Las Vegas ranked sixth in the Unlimited class even though he made only three of the five rounds.

Steve Drew

Steve Drew has made a name for himself in AMA Supermoto this year primarily for successfully campaigning a Honda XR650 against the dominant KTMs in the Unlimited class. But Drew is much more than a novelty act. He's scored three top-10 finishes in the Supermoto class and is ranked third in the Unlimited class coming into Las Vegas via a slew of top-five finihses.

Drew, 30, came up through the ranks of the highly competitive California motocross scene in the 1980s. He turned pro in 1991 and made a name for himself racing in the four-stroke motocross nationals in the mid-1990s. In recent years Drew settled into being a successful pipe builder for White Brothers and kept his competitive nature satisfied by racing local motocross events. Drew's life took a turn a year-and-a-half ago when he was asked by Paul Brent to race in a supermoto exhibition race at Anaheim Stadium. All the big guns like Nicky Hayden and Kevin Schwantz were there and Drew finished a very respectable fourth in his very first supermoto race and a new career was born.

Motocross legend Mike Bell, who is now Chief Operations Officer for White Brothers, decided Drew's supermoto efforts could be a good promotional tool for the company. Bell offered Drew some of White Brother's previous year's motocross bikes. Then Honda got involved with racing head Chuck Miller lending Drew his personal Baja racer XR650. Suddenly Drew was being backed by two of the biggest names in motorcycling in Honda and White Brothers. He's garnered a lot of exposure for racing the XR in the Unlimited class. "I knew after getting fourth on big 650 on the tight track at Laguna Seca that we had a good chance to do well this year," Drew said. "We've been improving the 650 gradually each race. Hopefully in Las Vegas we'll be able to put it on the box."

Drew also sees supermoto as a great opportunity to accomplish some of his lifelong goals. "I had goals in motocross and supercross that I never fulfilled," he said. "Supermoto has given me a second chance to accomplish some of the things in my racing career that I didn't do the first time around."

Mark Burkhart

Mark Burkhart is a great example of what a true privateer can accomplish in AMA Red Bull Supermoto. Burkhart wrenches his own bike, drives to the races and basically does everything on his own with a little help from family and friends. Yet despite his relatively low-budget racing effort the Yamaha YZF450-mounted Burkhart has emerged as one of the best supermoto riders in the country. He scored top-10 results in every round this year and is tied with Jeremy McGrath for fifth in the regular season standings coming into Las Vegas.

Burkhart, 23, hails from AMA Pro Racing's hometown of Pickerington, Ohio, and comes from a motocross and supercross background. He pursued a career on the national circuit in 1999 and 2000. He even scored a top-10 finish in the AMA 125 East Supercross round in Atlanta in 2000. Burkhart earned a qualifying spot in a half-dozen motocrosses in 1999 and 2000 and scored national points at his home circuit of Troy, Ohio. Injuries started to catch up to Burkhart and his dream of becoming a motocross star began to look bleak.

Burkhart decided to try supermoto for fun and discovered that he was good at it. He's excited at the prospect of getting into the new national championship in its first season. "I think supermoto has a great future," he said. "I see it getting more popular every year. I'm hoping to attract some attention and hopefully get a sponsored ride for next season."

Ben Carlson

Ben Carlson comes from the flat track ranks. The 18-year-old Wisconsin racer got into racing with help from neighbor and AMA Grand National star rider Glen "JR" Schnabel. Carlson looked destined to become an up-and-coming AMA Grand National rider before he hit his stride in supermoto.

Early on Carlson looked at supermoto as simply a fun form of cross-training for flat track racing, but when he beat riders such as Scott Russell and Mike Smith at a supermoto race in Wisconsin last year his talent in the sport became too obvious to ignore. When the AMA Red Bull Championship was announced Mitch Hansen gave Carlson a test with the factory KTM squad and he earned the ride.

Even though he comes from a flat track background Carlson sees his strength in supermoto is on the paved sections. "For some reason, I can really go fast on the asphalt," he said. "I think I have a really good feel for the tires and stuff. I'd say I'm okay in the dirt, but you can't really compare yourself to (Jeremy) McGrath and those guys, cause they are so fast in the dirt."

Carlson is quick to cite teammate Doug Chandler as a major help in his career. "From the first test session, we kind of hit it off. I was asking him questions on this and that, and from there we kind of developed a relationship with him being like a teacher for me; not only with how to ride, but with how to handle people, and the right things to do. He's helped me a lot with making decisions and how to ride different ways and figure stuff out."

Carlson comes into Las Vegas the top-ranked rider in the Unlimited class aboard his Red Bull HMC KTM. He took four podium finishes in the Unlimited class, including a dramatic come-from-behind victory at Columbus. He's also ranked third in the premier Supermoto class and scored a surprising second to teammate Chanlder at the South Boston round.

Chris Fillmore

Chris Fillmore is considered the first prodigy in AMA Supermoto. The 16-year-old from Oxford, Mich., is another rider with extensive motocross background. He scored top-10 finishes over the last four seasons at the Ponca City Motocross Nationals. Fillmore's dad saw an opportunity in the burgeoning sport of supermoto and helped open some doors for his son in the sport.

"Chris' dad came to us and asked us to take a look at him," said Red Bull HMC KTM owner Mitch Hansen. "He came to a race up here in Wisconsin and finished third his first time out so it was obvious that he had a lot of raw talent."

Fillmore has taken advantage of his opportunity and shocked everyone by winning the Unlimited class at South Boston. Fillmore battled his teammate Ben Carlson all year for the top spot in the Unlimited class. A bad weekend at Dallas probably cost Fillmore the regular season No. 1 ranking, he finished the Unlimited standings just five points behind Carlson.

Fillmore got a chance to race in Europe this summer and the good-looking youngster quickly became a fan favorite, especially with female enthusiasts. He got a little distracted in one of the European races when a line of "girls gone wild" flashed Fillmore as he rode past. Regardless of how Fillmore does in Las Vegas, he, along with Carlson, are already being dubbed the future of AMA Supermoto.