Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Many of the top Supermoto stars sai~ that they were impressed with the USA International Raceway track and faCility. "It's an amazing place," Micky Dymond . said. "The last few days they've been building a building [scoring tower] at the finish line, and the dirt section is in good shape. The track itself is awesome, the best kart track I've ever been on. Other than the fact that it's in Wisconsin, I love it. Nothing against Wisconsin, but a third of our race series is here this year. I wish there were (Left) Forza Italiano/: World Supermoto Championship contender Max Verderosa (12S) and his Italian teammate, former World MX Champion Andrea Bartolini (partially hidden}, had a a great weekend at Shawano. Both men finished in the top lOin both Supermoto races, with Verderosa finishing third in race two. (Right) Jurgen Kunzel was fast all weekend at Shawano, but not quite fast enough. Kunzel won Superpole, finished fourth after crashing in race one and then yielded to Henry in race two, finishing second. using the Shawano round as a tune up for the X Games - Verderosa, Ward and Red Bull KTM's Kurt Nicoll. Herfoss qUickly displaced Kunzel to third place on the opening lap to take over the third spot, Baffeleuf crashed as the field hit the Urbancross section on the opening lap, Henry tried to make a move on Fillmore in the dirt section on lap two, but Fillmore didn't cave, and he would hold the lead for the first five laps of the race. Henry didn't appear to be forcing the issue. "I just kind of let the race shape itself," Henry said. "Chris [Fillmore] was in front, and Iwas comfortable behind him. Sixteen laps, you know you're going to get a little tired out there, especially with all the riding we did this week, so I was content just sitting there and waiting for a mistake." Henry finally did make a pass that stuck over the tabletop jumps in the dirt section. "He [Fillmore] started making a few mistakes, and so I said, 'Okay, I'm going to get up on him so that when he does make a mistake I can take advantage of it, '" Henry said. "He made that mistake in the dirt, and I got by him and just tried to get a little gap and then hang there. I knew I had another moto to go." Bostrom was more than holding his own in the race, running seventh, behind Carlson, Gazzarata and Kunzel when he crashed out of the race on lap eight on the paved downhill section after turn two. Bostrom's exit moved Ward up to seventh. Once Henry passed him, Fillmore appeared to be riding like there was no tomorrow. He was able to maintain close contact with Henry, but then Fillmore crashed on lap nine at high speed in the same spot where Bostrom had crashed just a lap earlier. He was lucky to escape without serious injury and in fact rejoined the race, finishing seventh. "I don't know what happened," Fillmore said. "I was feeling great. Even at the NASMOTa race, that's exactly where I lost the front end. It was basically the same exact incident, only this was worse. I'm a little bit shaken up. It's frustrating to be one of the Up front, Herfoss had caught Kunzel, fastest guys out there and not be able to and the youngster appeared to be effortput it together. It's frustrating." lessly dogging the German, just biding his While Henry went on to string togethtime and waiting for an opportunity, when er a series of low I :25s en route to victodisaster struck on lap 10. Herfoss stalled ry, Herfoss nailed down his first his Husky in between the urban jumps Supermoto-c1ass podium finish, earning and he could net get it restarted. second place by running in the high I:25s. "Once I caught him, I felt really com"That was awesome," Herfoss said. "I fortable," Herfoss. "I felt like I was one didn't expect it at all this early. I didn't do step ahead of him, and I was just waiting a very good lap in Superpole, but I knew there, saving the tires. Hopefully, in the we had a 16-lap race and that I could put last three or four laps, I was going to a few laps together. I was just lucky that make a move, but then I went over the Chris fell down, but I'll take it." first Urbancross jump, and the bike just The battle for third place became all popped and stalled. It wouldn't start. I the more frenzied after Fillmore's crash. was really bummed that I didn't finish. I Kunzel, who had to regroup after dropthink I could have beaten him." ping his bike in the dirt section on lap six, By then, Henry had already made his regrouped and shot by Carlson for third way past Carlson for third place, and he in the esses on lap I I, with Gazzarata still was running low I:24s while Kunzel was hanging tight. Ward appeared to drop off in the I:25s. Henry was clearly closing on the pace at that point. Kunzel, and he caught the German by Carlson, who probably has more laps on the Shawano circuit than anyone else, was reeling off the fastest lap of the race, a able to put together a charge that allowed I:23.932, on lap 15, pulling alongside him to sneak under Kunzel just two turns before the finish to take third Benny Carlson (45) battled Italian 5upermoto ace Massimiliano Gauarata place. Kunzel was fourth, followed by (201) in both Supermoto races. Carlson Gazzarata, Ward, Fillmore and Nicoll. finished third in race one and was on Then came Team X3 Leo Vince US",s his way to third in race two when he Andrea Bartolini, the former 500cc crashed and also took out Gauarata. World MX Champion finishing just ahead of his teammate, current World '~ Supermoto contender Max Verderosa. '. - ~J' ~ ;, '1,"i~'1~ . . ~ SUPERMOTO RACE TWO Kunzel got the holeshot, with Herfoss just able to pinch off Fillmore for second place. Henry was fifth, followed by Carlson. Ward, meanwhile, was back in 14th, but the champ stuffed his way into I Ith place, behind Gazzarata, Thiebault, Verderosa, Baffeleuf and Nicoll, by the time the first lap was complete. Fillmore crashed in the dirt section on lap four. He remounted in 15th, and he would work his way up to 10th by the finish. '~I-,. 0; .'" ')h7~ -.~1~."Y~ '''/i'"_ ~-~~ J~~~~ w'J ~ I ,., #:)"4~i!P ;~•.,"" '.~~_ ~" '~:2~ " / f , .ll.~, ,~l' / '- -,.t§ ---- I more races that were closer to home." Doug Henry agreed that the track was fun, saying, "I've never ridden on anything like this. Road America is kind of similar, but it's nothing like this place." Team owner and Supermoto lites competitor Troy Lee called the track beautiful. When asked to comment on the fact that it was basically in the middle of nowhere, Lee responded, "That's why it's so beautiful." Testing time two weeks prior to Shawano paid off for Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Doug Henry and Mark Burkhart, who set fast qualifying times in Supermoto and Supermoto Lites, respectively. Henry posted a I-minute, 24-second-flat lap in the final qualifying session, while Burkhart cut a time of I:26.470. "We found some things that we thought worked better, so we came here and tried them out, and they seemed to work good," Henry said. "I'm happy with the continuous progress of the program. We're not going to sit back and be the same every weekend. We're going to try to make the bike the best that it can be." Burkhart, who, like Henry, won the first round in his class, felt all the more confident on his new YZF2S0 after testing. "I ran a lot of laps, and I got it working better," Burkhart said. "But it's a new day and a new track, and we're looking for another win. That's what Yamaha expects, and that's the goai." After just missing out on a podium finish in the Supermoto Unlimited class during the series opener at Road America, New Zealand's Darryl Atkins was looking to improve at Shawano, but in qualifying he found that the track layout didn't really fit his style. "I'm close in qualifying," said Atkins, who qualified fifth. "I'd like to at least get a podium today, but the track doesn't suit me. I wish that it was a little more stop and go, like motocross, and there's not enough dirt. But I'm feeling pretty good on the bike, and we're getting there." The Team Currie Troy Lee Kawasaki duo of cousins Brandon and Casey Currie showed that their form in the rain during round one at Road America was no fluke, as Brandon wound up second in the Supermoto Lites race, with Casey 11th. "We're tryContinued on poge 35 CYCLE NEWS • AUGUST 10, 2005 33

• Cover