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/287613
VOL. 51 ISSUE 13 APRIL 1, 2014 P123 There were more notable riders entered in that first AMA Supermoto race than you could shake a stick at. In addition to all the riders mentioned above you had road racers such as Larry Pegram, David Sadowski, Thomas Stevens, Doug Chandler, Al Salaverria, Dave Deveau and Rich Alexander. You had current and past flat track greats like Chris Carr, Joe Kopp, JR Schnabel, Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., Shaun Russell and Terry Poovey. You even had a former motocross world champ in Danny LaPorte, long with national champ Micky Dymond. And then there were Junior Supermoto riders like Mike Alessi and Bobby Fong. Laguna was the original concept of an all-in-one event come to life. Amazingly it was Ward, coming out of retirement, who won that first race over former World Moto- cross ace Kurt Nicoll and McGrath. Even Roger Lee Hayden was impressed by the show. Hayden was in the pits during the racing and said that not only did Supermoto look like fun; but that he wanted to try it so he could say he raced against McGrath. Chris Carr acknowledged the star factor in Ward. "It was cool to say I was in a race with Jeff Ward. That guy was in 'On Any Sun- day' 30 years ago!" The inaugural season ended on a high note when Ben Bostrom scored the crown of National Champion, by coming out on top over Doug Henry and Jeff Ward in the winner-take-all championship final - the Red Bull Supermoto-A-Go-Go in Las Vegas. Motocross great Grant Langston won the heavyweight title. The AMA Supermoto Championship continued for another six years, with some major highlights, including a highly successful street race in Reno, Nevada. Supermoto also became one of the most popular events when introduced at the X-Games. The series gave new life to the career of riders like Henry, Ward and Nicoll and created stars of its own in riders like Mark Burkhart, Ben Carlson, Jurgen Kunzel and Chris Fillmore. AMA Supermoto's hey- day only lasted three or four years with the cham- pionship declining after Red Bull discontinued its sponsorship. Today Supermoto is in somewhat of a restart status with the AMA announcing the launch of a new AMA Supermoto Championship in February. It is more of a Pro-Am Championship now, than the full-on professional series it was a decade ago. The new AMA Supermoto Championship is slated to kick off in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, April 19-20. It will run across the country going from Arizona to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, in con- junction with the AMA Pro Road Race event and even visit the streets of Sturgis, before conclud- ing in a traditional home of Supermoto, Las Vegas in November. More details can be found at: www.amanation- alsupermoto.com The president of the new series Matt Stewart, is hoping to gradually build the sport back to its former glory and hopefully beyond. Walker is still trying to find a title sponsor and hoping to line up some sort of online TV coverage of at least one event for 2014. "We have to walk before we run," said Walker, himself a Supermoto racer. "We hope to have some of the stars from the original series com- bined with the young Supermoto riders of today. We've got commitments from a few AMA road race stars, like Joey Pascarella and Shane Nar- bonne. A lot of road racers are calling. There's a lot of interest, but it's hard right now to find a good team to be a part of. Jeff Ward won't be racing, but the Ward name will still be out there with his son Brandon." Supermoto fans will watch with interest if the new championship can gain traction. The original concept as conceived of by race promoter Gavin Trippe for ABC nearly 40 years ago is so magical you can't help but cheer on those who take on the task of nurturing the sport's revival. CN SUPERMOTO REVIVAL? Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARRY LAWRENCE