2006 AMA Supermoto Championship Kicks Off at California Speedway
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 24, 2006) -- On April 29 the 2006
AMA Supermoto Championship presented by Parts Unlimited will take the
green flag at California Speedway in Fontana. This is the fourth year
of AMA Pro Racing’s newest championship series and it promises to be
the best yet.
Team Red Bull KTM HMC’s Jurgen Kunzel will be back to defend his 2005
championship. Other pre-season favorites include Troy Lee Honda’s Jeff
Ward, the 2004 series champ, and Graves Yamaha teammates Doug Henry and
Mark Burkhart.
Kunzel took last year’s title in a dramatic down-to-the-wire final
round in Reno. The German stole away the title after rival Ward crashed
leaving the door open for Kunzel’s surprising comeback. It was a
breakthrough year in 2005 for Kunzel. After being one of the fastest
Supermoto riders in the AMA championship since its inception, he
finally earned his first victory in Nashville, Tenn. Then lady luck
smiled on Kunzel again at Reno helping him win the title.
“I could not believe that I won the championship,” Kunzel said after
placing second in the final race at Reno last October. “I felt very bad
for Jeff (Ward). He had a great season and it was a tough way for him
to lose the championship. At the same time I’m overjoyed for my team.
They put so much work into this. I’ve worked hard for three years to
get to this point. I had so much bad luck in my racing career over
here, perhaps I was due for a little good luck.”
Ward, of Newport Beach, Calif., will turn 45 this season, but the
former AMA Motocross and Supercross star still thinks he has what it
takes to beat riders half his age.
“I’m looking forward to this season,” said Ward, who, in spite of his
age, is still one of the most aggressive riders in the series. “It
should be good with Kunzel trying to hold on to the title and Doug
Henry coming back healthy. And then you have guys like Mark Burkhart
and my teammate Chris Fillmore coming on strong. I think the positive
thing about racing at my age is my knowledge of how to quickly get a
bike set up and knowing how and when to make my move in the races.”
Doug Henry was the fastest rider in the championship early on last year
winning three straight rounds before suffering injury. The Graves
Yamaha rider is a veteran motocross champ like Ward and comes back in
2006 healthy and eager to get back in competition.
“I feel just about 100 percent and am looking for a good season,” Henry
said. “I’m really pumped about the new Yamaha YZF450. In stock form I
went faster than I’ve ever gone on my practice track. My goal is to
come out of Fontana with some good points. We have a break in the
series after that race to correct any problems we might encounter in
the first round, but hopefully we’ll be competitive from the start.”
While Supermoto’s version of the “Big Three” is Kunzel, Ward and Henry,
many people, including his fellow competitors, see Graves Yamaha’s Mark
Burkhart making it the “Fab Four” in 2006. Burkhart, who totally
dominated AMA Supermoto Lites last year, shocked the established stars
by moving up from Lites and dominating the main Supermoto class in the
Reno Red Bull finale last year.
In addition to the two rounds of the premier AMA Supermoto class, fans
at California Speedway will also get to see a round of the AMA
Supermoto Unlimited and Supermoto Lites support classes.
Brandon Currie will try to keep the Supermoto Lites title in the Graves
Yamaha camp. After riding a Kawasaki in ’05 and finishing runner up to
Burkhart last year, Currie now gets the opportunity to ride for a
proven championship team. Currie is expected to be the rider to beat,
but there are a host of others hoping to fill the void left in
Burkhart’s absence.
Old scores may be settled in the Supermoto Unlimited class this year.
Last year’s championship ended in a remarkable and controversial finish
in the final round. Two title contenders Micky Dymond and Darryl Atkins
came together on the last corner of the last lap. Atkins went down and
with it his hopes of the title. Some called Dymond’s pass an
aggressive, but perfectly acceptable racing move, while others saw it
as overly forceful. The two are slated to resume their rivalry at
California Speedway. This year Atkins is expected to race the new
Aprilia SXV550 twin-cylinder machine.
The opening AMA Supermoto Championship runs Saturday in conjunction
with the Suzuki Superbike Challenge AMA Superbike Championship
doubleheader. All the final Supermoto events will take place after the
end of Saturday’s road racing action, giving fans the opportunity to
see two major championship events in a single day.
OLN will telecast the series. Look for updated information and a complete broadcast schedule to be released soon.
For ticket information call 1-800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.californiaspeedway.com.