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AMA Pro Racing press release

"This championship was very important to me and to Honda," said an ecstatic Bostrom on the podium after taking the popular win in front of cheering Las Vegas fans.

Ray Gundy photo

Ben Bostrom was ready to write off his 2003 racing season as one he would like to forget. The 1998 AMA Superbike champ returned home to AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike racing this season after three successful years in World Superbike and was shut out, ending the year without a victory. The 29-year-old factory Honda Superbike rider's season took a dramatic and somewhat unexpected turn for the better on Friday night in Las Vegas when, in front of a national television audience, he turned in a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship race to become the inaugural champion of the new series.

The series championship race in Las Vegas turned out to be the best race all season. Five riders battled for the lead in the 14-lap finale with Bostrom making a steady move from fifth to the front of the field on his American Honda Racing CRF450R. With three laps to go he passed leader Jeff Ward, and after scrapping with Ward for a lap, held off Doug Henry, Ward and Kurt Nicoll to take the heart-pounding victory.

"This championship was very important to me and to Honda," said an ecstatic Bostrom on the podium after taking the popular win in front of cheering Las Vegas fans. "I can't say enough. Honda worked hard and gave me a great bike. I got by Wardy and then he came back on me a few times. I had so much dirt in me teeth from getting roosted. This is a great feeling. Supermoto is a coming thing. We're going out tonight to celebrate!"

Bostrom will go down in history as the first AMA Supermoto Champion. A native of Northern California, Bostrom now shares time between homes in the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas. He came up as a flat track racer and earned the AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year Award in 1993. By the mid-1990s Bostrom transitioned from flat track to concentrate on road racing and, after being a top contender in several support classes, finally earned the AMA Superbike title in 1998. After taking a stunning win in the U.S. round of the World Superbike Series in 1999, Bostrom was rewarded with a factory-backed Ducati ride in World Superbike. In his three years (2000-2002) in World Superbike Bostrom scored a slew of victories and was twice ranked in the top five.

His AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship marks his second AMA national title. Bostrom, whose younger brother Eric is also a leading AMA Superbike rider, is returning to try for a second AMA Superbike Championship in 2004 and said he hopes to be able to defend his AMA Supermoto title next year as well.

About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the AMA Supercross Championship, the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship, the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championship and the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship. Nearly 2 million race fans attended AMA Pro Racing events during the 2002 season. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.