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/128222
Superbikers :2 Briggs and Stratton Motorplex BY MARK WOLBRINK PHOTOS BY T ARA BOGART! GINGERSNAPS ELKHART LAKE, WI, JUNE 7·8 I he carousel at Road America was taken over by Supermoto bikes when the SB2 Supermoto US National Championship series came to the Briggs £, Stratton Motorplex the same Ben Carlson (27) leads Scott Diedrich (55). Richard Alexander (5) leads Sunday's first Open Extreme Race in the rain. Nick Daniels (320), Steve Drew (73) and Mathew Pursley (43) give chase. weekend as the AMA was road racing on the big track. The third and fourth rounds of this national series were combined into a two-day event that also included regional support classes. By the end of the weekend there were enough race stories to shorten even the longest ride home! The 2003 SB2 Supermoto US National Championship Series started in March at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona. The second round was in Vallejo, California, and the third had been scheduled to run at the Second Creek Raceway in Colorado. Bad weather forced the cancellation of the third round, so when the series arrived in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, only two rounds had been completed. The decision was made to make up for the missed round by scoring Saturday as round 52 JULY 9, 2003' eye I e three and Sunday as round four. The Briggs £, Stratton Motorplex, which is considered one of the best Supermoto tracks in the country, offered the perfect venue. Despite the absence of a dirt section on the purpose-built go-kart track located within the Road America carousel, the track was kept challenging with an early Friday morning configuration change. The infamous "off-camber left-hander" was replaced with a series of tight turns that were designed to increase lap times by an average of four to five seconds. As raced, the track was 0.8 miles long and had 14 turns. The morning practice sessions offered the first look at the new track layout as well as the competition. Richard Alexander, Ken Coolbeth, Joe Kopp, Scott Russell, Mike Smith nevtls and Aaron Yates were all quickly identified. After two amazing days of racing, everyone would also be introduced to Ben Carlson, Nick Daniels, Scott Diedrich, Chris Fillmore and Mathew Pursley. Upon the completion of Saturday's practice sessions, the Super Pole event was run to determine the grid for the day's 450X and Open Extreme races. The morning fog had burned off, and Smith, riding for Moto Britalia, set the benchmark with Saturday's fastest qualifying time. Smith followed up his Super Pole performance with an equally impressive win in the 450X class. Local riders Diedrich and Carlson rose to the challenge of the national competition and finished in second and third places respectively. While Yates was not officially gridded, he had spent most of the race trying to pass Carlson for third position. He finally got around and was seriously starting to pressure Diedrich for second when he went down on the white flag lap. Seeing Carlson pass him while still on the ground, Yates jumped up and gave chase. He was still trying to get both feet squarely on the pegs when he crossed the finish line behind Carlson and the Corona Extra Suzuki Supermoto DRZ400. It was a great start to the weekend for a bike that was transported to the track in the tuner's personal car. Dana Demambro, motard specialist for the Corona Extra Suzuki Race Team, either had to spend the weekend dealing with a broken race truck or go racing. He chose the latter! "Supermoto is going to be the new feeding ground for road racing," Demambro said, explaining his drive from Colorado. "It is important to participate in the future of motor sports by giving guys like Ben a chance to ride." Saturday's first Open Extreme race again saw Smith and Diedrich finishing in first and second. Smith continued having success with his seemingly effortless "road racing" lines, while Diedrich stuck with his dirt track-inspired style. Alexander bettered his 450X result by one position and finished in third. Pursley finished in a respectable fourth. Russell, riding for the HMC KTM Supermoto Team, was having a good run until he tucked the front end of his KTM660. A broken shift lever kept him from finishing the race. The entire HMC