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/128378
Kind of like that Hair Club for Men jingle, Kurt Nicoll isn't just KTM's world racing manager, he's also one of its champions. Having copped the AMA Unlimited Supermoto Championship in dramatic fashion during the 2004 Red Bull Supermoto A Go-Go in Las Vegas, Nevada, last season, the 40-year-old former World Championship MXGP contender is returning to the States for 2005 as part of the factory KTM Supermoto squad. We caught up with Nicoll at the Las Vegas Supercross to get the lowdown on KTM's 2005 AMA Supermoto program. cn: Tell us about KTM's plans for the AMA Supermoto Championship this year. kurtnicoll: With the factory team, for all the rounds, we're going to be concentrating on the 450cc class with myself and Jurgen Kunze!' We also plan to bring [World Champion] Thierry van den Bosch to as many rounds as he can make, which, as the schedule stands now, is five out of six races. But his primary goal is to do the World Championship, so we are not going to compromise that. We are also supporting Mitch Hansen and the HMC team again. They're going to run riders in the Unlimited class and in 450, but their main aim is to win Unlimited with our support. Their team will have Benny Carlson, David Baffeleuf and Darryl Atkins. Mickey Dymond is also going to do the Unlimited class, but he is running his own program again. with All Access. cn: How does it feel to win the Unlimited Championship but not defend it? kurtnicoll: It's really a shame because I would like to have defended the Unlimited title. but with the way the schedule is now. with two motos in 450, it is absolutely impossible, I think, to do both championships. So, we've made that decision to concentrate on 450, and we have put a lot of effort into our 450s. The bikes that Jurgen and I have, technically, are much better motorcycles than they were last year because we only have concentrated on the one class. cn: How do you rate your personal chances of winning the 4SOcc title? kurtnicoll: Personally, I've had a lot more time to prepare. Last year was like, "Do the first round and see how it goes." This time. I am more prepared than I was before. I think at the end of last season I had the speed to run with the front guys. Obviously. Jeff Ward will be strong again. I expect Chris Fillmore to be strong. Doug Henry will be really strong on the Yamaha. It's going to be a tough championship, but I am certainly better-prepared now than I was last year. cn: Nothing from KTM for the 250cc class this year? kurtnicoll: Not right now. We have built one bike for testing, but I don't think that we are in the position to make an effort in that class at the moment. But we will, probably in the future. Scott Rousseau ield TT • May 28th gfield Mile· May 29th Illinois State Fairgrounds Springfield, Illinois For Tickets Call: 217·753·8866 14 MAY 18,2005 • CYCLE NEWS