Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Team Embry/Freewebtown.com’s Brian Stokes won the 2003 AMA Sports Horizon Award for road racing Thursday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The award, now in its seventh year, is presented to the rider who performs the best at the annual AMA Grand Championship road races and displays the most potential for an AMA professional racing career.

“I think it is the biggest accomplishment of my career. I can’t believe I won it,” said 29-year-old Stokes. “There were so many people up for it, so much strong competition over the two days. I didn’t think I had a chance because there were so many talented riders out there.”

Stokes beat out several strong contenders for the award with Matt Furtek, John Dugan, Michael Sanchez and Greg Moore also putting in worthy performances over the two-day event, July 23-24. Stokes stood out based on his top finishes in the “premier” AMA classes – Supersport, Superstock, Superbike, Middleweight Superbike, Formula Xtreme, Heavyweight Twins and 250cc Grand Prix.

Riding a Suzuki GSX-R600 and GSX-R750, both on Pirelli tires, Stokes finished on the podium in every race he entered. He won in Supersport and Formula Xtreme, took second in Middleweight Superbike and Superbike and finished third in Superstock.

Among the competition, Dugan won in Superstock, finished second in Formula Xtreme and placed fifth in Superbike; Moore took the victory in Superbike and finished third in Formula Xtreme; Sanchez won in Middleweight Superbike, took second in Superstock and finished fifth in Supersport; Furtek placed second in Supersport, third in Middleweight Superbike and fourth in Superstock; Chris Pyles won the 250cc Grand Prix race; and J.D. Hord won the Heavyweight Twins sprint.

The WERA National team of veteran racer Rueben Frankenfield, first-year Expert Greg Moore and 18-year-old Matt Furtek won the new-for-2003 AMA Road Race Team Challenge Cup, a bragging rights contest which combines the best finishes of a three-rider team representing a road racing club.

Moore led the WERA National team with a win and a third, Furtek added a second place and Frankenfield contributed an eighth.

“It was an unexpected honor to win the AMA Road Race Team Challenge Cup,” said Frankenfield, 34. “I feel privileged to be a part of it, but I wish I could’ve contributed more.”

Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association’s (CMRA) Michael Sanchez (first, second), Logan Young (fourth) and Troy Green (tenth) tied with Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association’s (WMRRA) John Dugan (first, second), Jake Holden (fifth) and Tom Wertman (ninth) for second in the Team Challenge Cup final standings.

Eight teams competed in the AMA Road Race Team Challenge Cup at Mid-Ohio.