 | | Doug Henry was the first rider to win a Supercross main event on a four-stroke. He did it at the 1997 Las Vegas SX. | | photo courtesy of Moto Verte |
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On
May 17, 1997, Team Yamaha’s Doug Henry made supercross history by
piloting his white Yamaha YZ400F four-stroke prototype to a win at the
season-ending Las Vegas Supercross – the first victory for a
four-stroke motorcycle in supercross competition. The victory was a
shock to many, and little did we know that it was a sure sign of things
to come....
Unfortunately for Yamaha, it was more of a sign for the other three
major manufacturers in the 250 class. Strangely, since that special
night in Las Vegas in ’97, Yamaha has failed to get another win with
their premier-class four-stroke in AMA Supercross competition, which is
hard to believe. They’ve had a big-bore four-stroke longer than any
other manufacturer, starting with their revolutionary YZ400F from
1997-’99, then the YZ426F from 2000-’03, and the YZ450F from 2003 until
now.
 | | Chad Reed and the YZ450F are in a dry spell | | photo: Simon Cudby |
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Since
then, Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki have all capitalized numerous times
with their 450cc machines, with Honda first winning in ’02 with Nathan
Ramsey, and Suzuki this year with RC. And 2006 is also the first season
for the Kawasaki big-bore machine, on which
James Stewart is blowing
minds.
Fortunately, although the Yamaha YZ450F is currently in a dry spell,
the future looks good with
Chad Reed in the saddle. He is currently 13
points behind leader
Ricky Carmichael approaching the second half of
the season, which is when Reed has traditionally been at his
best. So while Yamaha may not have won an AMA stadium race on its 450
in a decade – Jimmy Button won the
Washougal 250 National on August 1,
1999 – if Reed finds that next gear and gets the upper hand on RC and
Stewart, 2006 might bring more than just a win for the men in blue.
