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SupermotoUSA Triple Crown Season Opener Solano County Fairgrounds By BRETT SAUNDERS PHOTOS BY SCOTT HALL/ PRO MOTION PHOTO VALLEJO, CA, APR. 26·27 ~iding the wave of excitement that ~is building around Supermoto racing, SupermotoUSA put together an amazing two-day event at the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo, California. The Supermotards were out in force, with Jeff Ward, Scott Russell, Mike Metzger, Doug Chandler and Brad Lackey making appearances, along with local favorites Casey Yarrow and Pucho Bagnis, and many, many other well·known racers. The promoters built an amazing track with lots of technical turns and a true 70/30 mix of pavement-to·dirt. The pavement section included a long back straight, where the big thumpers approached 100 mph. Then there were two tight corners that led to the dirt section, with plenty of room for passing; a pair of jumps; and a bermed corner that exited onto the front straight. More than 260 entrants raced in 13 classes, from the 4· to 10-yearolds in the Super 50s class to the seasoned Pros in the Supermoto Prestige class. The two·day race was really three events rolled into one. It was the first round of the SupermotoUSA Triple Crown, which is a three-race series that takes place at venues in Vallejo and Bakersfield, California, and Canby, Oregon. The Triple Crown is a Pro series that pays cash and will reward the grand champion with a trip to the Guidion D'Or in Paris. The Vallejo event was also the opening round in the Nor-Cal Championship Series, presented by Roseville Cycle, which is a five· race points champion· ship for the support classes. Finally, it was the second round of the SB2 Supermoto National Champion· ship Series, with two classes, Open Extreme and 450cc X, qualifying on Saturday and racing on Sunday. Over the weekend, one element of Supermoto racing stood out above all others: It's fun! The event provided competitors with the opportunity to get out there and slide, wheelie, and bang handlebars with some of the biggest names in motorcycling. And since it was a brand-new track, everyone started out on the same level; there weren't any "locals." The skill level of Supermoto racers is rapidly increasing, too. In Vallejo, that was exemplified by the fact that some "unknowns" did very well. Nick Daniels and Matt Pursley of Fat Boys Racing came from St. Louis and were duking it out with seasoned Pros such as Chandler, Ward and Russell. Rus· sell was having a blast out there, playing to the crowd in turn one by "backing it in" to the extreme. Russell never stopped smiling all weekend, and his KTM 525 was one of the fastest bikes out there. The SupermotoUSA main event was the Prestige class. On pole was Daniels, a result of his heat win the day before. Next to him was secondheat winner Steve Drew. Next was Pursley, the only non·Honda rider on the front row. On the outside was Aaron Howe. On row two were Daniels {32P) leads Drew {73), Chisum {428) and Jeff Ward {3) Into tum five at the Solano County Fairgrounds. 56 MAY 28, 2003' G Y G • e n e ..... IS Yarrow, Cory Call and Josh Chisum. (Though Russell earned a spot on row two, he elected to sit out the Prestige race and go for it in the National final still to come.) Rows three, four, five and six were thick with talent. On the third row, Ward sat next to Bagnis. To their left were Aussie Mark Avard and hard-charging Gary Trachy. Row four featured former National road racer Dave Deveau, former National champs Micky Dymond and Rich Alexander, and multitime SuperTT champion Rick Pearce. Icon Troy Lee and Grand National champ Matt Wait were bookends on row five. On the sixth and final row sat Chandler (who'd had some bad luck in his qualifying heat), along with the others who'd made it into the final. As they lined up for their warm-up lap, also missing from the grid was Bagnis, who'd packed up after having problems with his "A bike." When the starter's board turned sideways, everyone was set and ready for the 15-lap event. Everyone got away clean. Daniels jumped out front on his CRF450R. A few bike· lengths back were Drew, Howe, Chisum and Ward; the top five were all on Hondas. By lap three, Chandler had moved up to 13th, behind Wait; Chandler made it by on lap eight. By midway, it looked like Chandler was turning the fastest laps, passing at the end of both dirt straights. He also received the unofficial "big air" award, as he consistently flew further than the rest while charging through the pack. Once by Wait, Chandler came up on Dymond and Alexander. After several laps, he finally passed Alexander for the final purse-paying position. Ward, coming off a win in the first Open Extreme race, remained in fifth throughout the race. Several killer battles were taking place throughout the pack. By the 12th lap, Drew final· Nick Daniels {32PI, Steve Drew {73), Aaron Howe (13) and Josh Chisum {428) lead the start of the Prestige main event at the SupennotoUSA Triple Crown Season Opener in Vallejo, California. Iy passed Daniels for the lead and began to move away slowly. Chisum got past Howe for third, so the champagne went to Drew, Daniels and Chisum. eN Solano County Fairgrounds Vallejo, California Results: April 2&-27, 2003 (Round 1J SupermotoUSA Triple Crown PRESTIGE: 1. Steve Drew (Hen); 2. Nick Daniels (Hen); 3. Josh Chisum (Hen); 4. Aaron Howe (Hen): S. Jeff Ward (Han); 6. Matt Pursley (Yam); 7. Mark Avard (Hbg); 8. Doug Chandler (Hen); 9. Rich Alexander (Han); 10. Micky Dymond (Hen). SupermotoUSA Nor Cal Championship OPEN EX: 1. Mark Avard (Hbg); 2. Cory Call (Hon): 3. Jim Lewis (Hon): 4. Celsey Yllrrow (Hon); 5. Bryan Yarrow (Hon). M/W: 1. Cery Call (Hen); 2. Jee Themas (Hen); 3. Chris Sietz (Yam): 4. Kenny Cllrlotta (Hon); 5. Allen Yarrow (Yam). VET OPEN: I. David Deveau (Han); 2. Darrick Lucchessi (Ver); 3. Chris Siea (Yam): 4. Allen Yarrow (Yam); 5. Scott Hoffman. SPTSMN: 1. Rich Facciano (Yam); 2. Joe Thomas (Han): 3. Josh Boykin (Yam); 4. Jason Pullen: 5. Brian Pecore (Yam). NOV: 1. Mike Besemer (Han); 2. Danny Giguere (Han); 3. Neville Riddle (Han); 4. Jess Prohaska (Hon); 5. Quinten Fry (Suz). L/W: 1.Garrett Willis (Hon); 2. Scott Magann (BBR); 3. Vincent Guisande (Han); 4. Joe Hernandez (Yam); 5. Ricky Adams (Suz). S/L/W: I. Ricky Adams (Suz); 2. Joey Notaro (Han); 3. Anthony Parks; 4. Jett Chandler (Han). MINI M.OTARD: 1. Garrett Willis (Hon); 2. Steve Pullin (Yam); 3. Dave Kemp (Yam); 4. Brad Lackey (Han); 5. Joey Notaro (Han). STK MINI (XRIOO); I. AI Salaverria (Hen); 2. Jason Pullen (Han); 3. Nick Conti (Hon); 4. Devin DeFreece (Hon); 5. James Weishaar (Han). 50 COMB: 1. Sean Dodenhoff (KTM): 2. Dominic Colindres (KTM); 3. Bronson Pearce (Han); 4. Gage McAllister (Han): 5. Drew Williamson (Hon). DERBI CHAL: 1. Rick Pe8rce; 2. AI Salaverria; 3. Br8d Lackey; 4. Aaron Howe: 5. Micky Dymond. XR 100 EXHIB: 1. Brad Lackey; 2. Ron Melton; 3. Joseph Molinar; 4. Jeff Page; 5. Steve Bales. SB2 National Championship (Round 2) OPEN EXTREME RACE 1: I. Jeff Ward (Hen); 2. Steve Drew (Han): 3. Doug Chandler (Han): 4. Scott Russell (KTM): 5. Don Hart (Han): 6. Josh Chisum (Han); 7. Nick Daniels (Han): 8. Aaron Howe (Han); 9. Mark Avard (Hbg): 10. Casey Yarrow (Hen). OPEN EXTREME RACE 2; I. Jeff Ward (Hen); 2. Scott Russell (KTM); 3. Mark AV8rd (Hbg); 4. Steve Drew (Han); 5. Doug Chandler (Han); 6. Micky Dymond (Han); 7. Don Hart (Hon); 8. Casey Yarrow (Hen); 9. Gary Trachy (Hen); 10. Nick Daniels (Hen). 450 X: 1. Steve Drew (Han); 2. Gary Trachy (Han); 3. Josh Chisum (Han); 4. Dave Deveau (Han); 5. Aaron Howe (Han); 6. Jim Lewis (Hon): 7. Cory Call (Han); 8. Rich Alex8nder (Hon); 9. Matt Wait (Yam): 10. Greg Trachy (Han).