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/128393
Briefly... The first of the weekend's two Honda Red Riders Jr. Supermoto Challenge presented by HRCA races (in which all racers ride identically prepared Honda CRF I50s) was won by Cameron Beaubier from Roseville, Califomia. After eight laps, 8eaubier had pulled out to an impressive 7.374-second victory over Chehalis, Washington's Brad Baker and Scottsdale, Arizona's Taylor Robert who took the final positions on the podium. In fourth was Tyler Reiswig from Chico, California. 8ret Pike from Pueblo, Colorado, was fifth. Frankie Garcia from Gonzales, California, was sixth. Newport 8each, California's Brando Ward (son of Jeff Ward), was seventh, followed by Jordan 8urns from Moreno Valley, California; Chris Humbard of Corrales, New Mexico; Eric Dunn from Belle Plaine, Kansas; Dalton Bell from Hoisington, Kansas; Shayna Texter from Willow Street, Pennsylvania; and, last but not least, Lauren Volentir from Thorton, Colorado. 'Y>-t this point, they are in the process of admitting him:' said Yamaha Factory Racing's Mike Guerra. "The main problem is that he collapsed a lung. Once they recogn ized that, and once they knew what was wrong, they put a tube in his side and took the air out of the chest cavity, and the lung was able to expand again. So that's all done, and he is stable. He hurt his shoulder, but that is minor; maybe cracked a rib; and he cracked his pelvis. They don't think that the pelvis will need surgery or anything. They're more concerned with the lung healing. The outlook right now is that he will be in the hospital here [in Vail] until the end of next week. If everything goes well, he'll be released, and then he can probably fly home. But the lung obviously has to be healed before he can fly on a plane." In Henry's absence, Team Troy Lee Designs Honda's Ward was the man to beat all weekend, and no one had an answer for the reigning AMA Supermoto Champion. Day one saw Ward dominate the competition in both races, taking full advantage of Henry's absence to move into the championship points lead. "It's unfortunate, because I know if Doug [Henry] was here, he would be battling with me - if not winning:' Ward said. "It's just sad that he got hurt so bad and that he's probably going to be out for the rest of the season. But he'll be back - he's a tough competitor. This helps; I got the points lead. Uurgen] Kunzel is still tough, but I seem to have this track pretty dialed in right now." Day two was no different, with Ward taking convincing wins in both events over his teammate Chris Fillmore, Kurt Nicoll and Massimiliano Gazzarata, and Fillmore again in the second and final race of the weekend. Fillmore had one of the best weekends of his young Supermoto career, with 4-2 finishes on day one and a pair of podiums (second and third) on day two. Two other riders put in impressive weekends. CHM Exhaust Honda's Cassidy Anderson, who seemingly came out of nowhere to score a 2-5 on Saturday and a 4-5 on Sunday, put himself on the Supermoto radar. The other to find success was Red Bull KTM's Kurt Nicoll, who was on the podium in Saturday's first race but suffered an engine problem in the second race. The Brit rebounded to a 3-4 tally on day two. With basically half of the season thus far running in Copper Mountain - two full rounds and four races - it's easy to see how Ward was able to get his championship back on track over the course of just two days. DAY ONE - SUPERMOTO Rain had been threatening all day, and it finally let loose before the Superpole session got under way, but the wet track wasn't enough to keep Ward from securing his choice of starting position on the front row with a 1:08.106 lap time almost a second clear of David Baffeleuf. RACE ONE Race one got started under cloudy skies, but the worst of the rain had already moved through. Although the track had damp patches everywhere, the rain had stopped. Ward got the holeshot from pole position and had Anderson and Kunzel right in his wheel tracks. By the end of lap one, Red Bull KTM's Nicoll had worked his way past teammate Kunzel to secure third, with Fillmore in fifth, Frenchman David Baffeleuf sixth, Red Bull Cernics Suzuki's Travis Pastrana seventh, Gazzarata eighth, Josh Chisum ninth and The second Honda Red Riders Jr. Supermoto Challenge presented by HRCA was won by Brandon Dooley of Belle Plaine, Kansas. Colter Dimick of Fort Collins, Colorado, was second, with Dillon Von Way rounding out the podium. In fourth was Tyler Dilley from Arvada, Wyoming, while fifth went to Bret Pike from Pueblo, Colorado, and sixth to Frankie Garcia from Gonzales, California. Brandon Robinson from Oxford, Pennsylvania, was seventh. Eight went to Toby Stay from Worcester, New York. Andrew Valdez from Cheyenne, Wyoming, was ninth. Darwin Bank from Sturgis, South Dakota, was 10th; John Jacobs from Thorton, Colorado, was 11th; Christina Reed from Morrison, Colorado, was 12th; Michael Martin from Acampo, California, was 13th; and Tyler Little of Corona, California, was 14th. The Fay Myers Suzuki Copper Mountain Supermoto Classic wasn't just for the boys, as two female riders attempted to make the main events. Stockton Honda's Michelle DiSalvo attempted to get on the grid for the Supermoto class on her Honda CRF4S0X but was unable to advance in the last-chance qualifier. In the Supermoto Lites class, Erin Normoyle attempted to make the cut on her Yamaha YZ250F but was also unable to make it into the final. For the first time since the AMA Supermoto series' inception, the four-rider Super- pole session on both Saturday and Sunday got started in wet conditions - unlike Road America, where it started raining toward the end of the session. On Saturday, the pole went to Jeff Ward with a 1:08.106, David 8affeleuf was second with a I :08.982, Cassidy Anderson was third with a I :09.748, and KTM's Kurt Nicoll turned a I: 10.232 in fourth. Ward's quickest time in the wet was only around two seconds off the pace from his quickest dry time, at I :06.082. On Sunday, Ward took the pole again with a I :08.085 lap, with Nicoll second with a I: I 0.157, Travis Pastrana third with a I: 11.123, and Massimiliano Gazzarata opting not to partake after watching the CYCLE NEWS • AUGUST 31,2005 29