Jeff Ward in Supermoto action from Copper Mountain
Double Header Weekend for AMA Supermoto at Copper Mountain, Colorado
AMA Supermoto racing returned to Copper Mountain,
Colorado for rounds 5 through 8 on August 20-21. The Fay Myers Supermoto Classic
run in conjunction with the third annual Cyclefest gathering provided motorcycle
enthusiasts with a weekend of racing, riding, and fun at the beautiful Copper
Mountain Ski Resort just west of
the
Continental Divide in the middle of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Besides the
Supermoto events fans enjoyed trials demonstrations by national champion Geoff
Aaron, Extreme Street Riding demonstrations, plenty of back flips and stunts by
extreme MX stars, a well stocked vendor area complete with demo rides from the
major manufacturers, and plenty of breathtaking Rocky Mountain scenery.
The Supermoto class, made up of 450cc bikes, was dominated by Jeff Ward on his Troy Lee Designs Honda after his main rival, Graves Yamaha's Doug Henry, crashed in practice on Saturday and ended up in the Vail Valley Medical Center for the rest of the weekend. The Supermoto class had two main events on both Saturday and Sunday effectively making up half of the Supermoto season. Ward took the holeshot in Saturday's first main and controlled the race from the front the entire way. Second went to CHM Exhaust's Cassidy Anderson with the third spot going to KTM's Kurt Nicoll. Saturday's race 2 once again saw Ward out front followed by Troy Lee Designs teammate Chris Fillmore and KTM's Jurgen Kunzel.
Sunday's Supermoto race 1 saw Ward take the lead
on lap two but was pressured by Suzuki's Travis Pastrana until a trip over the
bars by Pastrana ended his racing for the weekend. Ward went on to the win
followed by teammate Chris Fillmore with Kurt Nicoll taking the 3rd spot. Race 2
on Sunday was once again a Ward affair with the Honda pilot taking the win
followed to the checkers by Italian Massimiliano Gazzarata and Chris Fillmore.
The Supermoto Unlimited class for big bore bikes was dominated by Husqvarna mounted Troy Herfoss taking the win with second place going to KTM mounted Darryl Atkins and KTM"s Mickey Dymond charging back from a first turn crash to take the final podium spot. Herfoss took the Sunday win once again followed by Atkins and Dymond
The Supermoto Lites race for 250cc bikes saw the
third sweep of the weekend with Yamaha mounted Mark
Burkhart
taking the class both days. Second went to Kawasaki rider Joel Albrecht both
days and Brandon Currie took his KX250F to the final podium spot both Saturday
and Sunday.
The Honda Red Riders Jr. Challenge for identically prepared Honda 150cc bikes on Saturday was won by Cameron Beaubier followed by Brad Baker and Taylor Roberts. Sunday's event was won by Brandon Dooley followed by Colter Dimick and Dillon Von Way. To be eligible for this class the riders must be under 16 and carry a B average in school. Congratulations to all the riders who were eligible to compete in this class.
