MCALLISTER DOUBLES DOWN,
JACKSON WINS AT HOME
T
he 2016 AMA Supermoto
season began how 2015
ended—with Gage McAllister
winning in Bakersfield, Cali-
fornia. New for 2016 was the
addition of a double-points pay-
ing round with two main events
in the Pro Open class, and
the RSR KTM rider made the
most of it to leave Kern County
Raceway Park, April 10, with
maximum points.
In race one, McAllister's team-
mate Eric Stump led for most of
the race and did his best to hold
off the defending champion, but
McAllister would not be denied.
"Yeah that was a good race, a
little crazy in the first few turns,
but just tried to stay safe, stay
up," McAllister said. "Stump
got a good start, and was able
to break away a little bit. I got a
little nervous there for a second,
had to get around some guys
quick so I could try to reel him
back in. I was struggling to get
around him; this track's super
hard to pass, so you kind of
have to wait for a mistake or
make your way around some-
body by force, and that's not
really what I like to do. I like to
make clean passes. I was able
to make it happen and, man, it
feels good."
Joining McAllister and Stump
on the podium was teammate
Sean Butterman. Australian
Josh McLean and Ryan Kearns
rounded out the top five.
Then Mother Nature decided
to have her say, throwing rain
into the mix halfway through
the final race of the evening,
the second Pro Open main.
Butterman led the way before
falling victim to the challenging
conditions, letting series new-
comer McLean and McAllister to
decide it all. Once again, McAl-
lister rose to the occasion and
tiptoed his way to another win.
"I think about halfway through
P22
IN
THE
WIND
Gage McAllister
scored the win at
the opening round
of the 2016 AMA
Supermoto season
in Bakersfield,
California.
