Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128209
SB2 PrimediaiMoto-Master USA Supermoto U.S. National Championship Series Round 1 : Firebird International Raceway The freestyler takes down the road race heavies at Firebird STORY AND PHOTOS By MIKE EMERY CHANDLER, AZ, MAR. 29ยท30 roclaimed Godfather of Freestyle Motocross Mike Metzger showed a different style of riding this weekend and walked away with the hardware at the very first round of the SB2 Supermoto U.S. National Championship presented by Primedia and MotoMaster USA, an eight-round national series that will serve as a medium for anyone wanting to tryout this spectacular sport. The Firebird track consisted of a 30- to 40-foot-wide asphalt section that turned rather abruptly into a gnarly off-road section that saw a couple of tabletop jumps and some rather sandy (actually, more dusty) turns back onto the asphalt finish line straight. On paper it appeared to offer a great compromise between the motocross/dirt trackers and road race participants. The 60-odd participants offered a wide selection of talents from the various disciplines. Average lead lap times hovered around the one-minute, five-second mark. P 48 APRIL 16, 2003' eye I e Former World Superbike Champion Scott Russell was in attendance, replete with a brace of factory KTM 660 Supermotards. Metzger also turned up with a legion of extreme sports fans and fellow freestyler Mike Cinqmars. Both Mikes were on Honda CRF450Rs. Road racers included Richie Alexander on a bone stock CRF450, and gun-for-hire Mark Miller on a ThumperTalk.com prepped YZ426. AMA Formula Xtreme Jason Pridmore and Superstocker champ Jimmy Moore also turned up and rode some rather nice-looking Corona Extra Suzuki DRZ450s. Many of the riders who attended had never even tried this type of racing before but were coerced by fellow racers or series organizers or just out of plain curiosity. One such rider was AMA Supersport rider Alexander. "I think the track was pretty cool," Alexander said. "It's got some diversity in it. It's got a pretty hardcore motocross section, and I wasn't expecting that to be so rough. First time on a motard track, but I like it. It adds a little flavor to it. The road stuff n e _ s had some fast sections and some tight sections. I think for the first show, it's pretty good and definitely safe." Freestyle motocrosser Cinqmars also confessed that this was only his third time riding this style of bike. "Everything's good," Cinqmars said. "The road portion was good, and the dirt part was good. I'm still exploring the limits of my tires on the road section, but I'm here to have fun and have a good time." Practice and qualifying heats were held all day Saturday, with many competitors electing early to use full rain tires and then transferring to cut slicks once some rubber had been laid down onto the somewhat "green" racetrack. The top 16 qualifiers were moved into a Superpole-style session that mimicked World Superbike. The initial fast guys were fourstroke MXer Steve Drew, who was ahead by nearly a full second. Metzger, Gary Trachy, Nick Daniels and Aaron Howe rounded out the top five qualifying spots. Race day saw Drew eliminate him- Freestyle godfather Mike Metzger (above left, above) showed that he has what it takes to be a top-level Supennoto racer at the opening round of the Superbikers2 Supennoto U.S. National Championship at Firebird International Raceway. Metzger won both Open Extreme legs and also came away with the 450X victory. self from competition early on in a crash in morning practice, a nasty spill that saw him hole his boot and suffer a nasty gash. Metzger continued to stun the competition by showing superior speed on his self-purchased CRF. He rode like a man possessed on both the dirt and road course sections on his hand-cut Michelin slicks. In the first race, Russell and Metzger battled from the green to the checkered. Metzger lost the front in part of the dirt section, and he spent the latter half of the race chasing down the Maxxis-shod KTM of Russell. Metzger passed Russell on the very last lap to take the win. The second race saw a better start