From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
Ben Bostrom crowned first AMA Red Bull Supermoto Champion
Honda Racing’s Ben Bostrom charged his way up from outside the top five to claim the inaugural AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship Friday evening at the Rio. Bostrom, the 1998 AMA Superbike champ, picked up his second career AMA Championship crown in the winner-take-all season finale by outbraking leader Jeff Ward (Honda) on lap 11 of 14 and holding off a late charge by Doug Henry (Yamaha).
In its first year as a national-level sport in America, the hybrid racing discipline that combines elements of motocross with road racing was dominated by the dirt riders, with former national motocross champs Ward and Henry taking four of the five regular season wins. The Vegas-based Bostrom — a world championship caliber road racer — turned the tables when it counted, however.
Afterward Bostrom said, “(Henry and Ward) rode incredibly and that really boosted us up there. I know my best lap times didn’t come until the main chasing those guys down. They’re definitely the cream of the crop. It’s just good to see a road race guy sitting up because the motocrossers have been taking advantage of us all year. Every dog has its day, and here we are.”
Frenchman Boris Chambon (KTM) and German Jürgen Künzel (KTM) came into the event as heavy favorites, ranking as two of top three riders in the more established World Supermoto Championship. The two failed in their missions to steal the first American title, however, as they crashed in separate incidents during the opening laps.
Another European, Alexandre Thiebault (France/Honda), led for more than half of the race before giving way to Bostrom, Ward, Henry, and Kurt Nicoll (GBR/KTM) in a thrilling five-man struggle for the win.
In other action, South African Grant Langston headed a KTM sweep of the championship in the Supermoto Unlimited division, while 15-year-old Mike Alessi won the Honda Red Riders Jr. Supermoto Challenge.
More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
LANGSTON TAKES HOME HIS SECOND AMA TITLE OF THE YEAR
South African native wins the AMA Supermoto Unlimited Championship
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Nov. 24, 2003) — Grant Langston enjoyed the proverbial icing on the cake Friday night in Las Vegas by winning the Supermoto Unlimited class of the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship. Langston, 21, of South Africa, took the win riding a Red Bull HMC KTM. Already the recently crowned winner of the AMA Chevy Trucks 125 U.S. Motocross Championship, Langston showed equal skill in supermoto. After battling with early leader Ben Carlson and European ace Kurt Nicoll, Langston pulled away late in the 14-lap final to take the victory and the championship in the winner-take-all format.
Langston, the 2000 FIM 125 World Motocross Champion, proved to be a quick learner in supermoto. After qualifying for the Las Vegas finale via a 10th-place finish at the Dallas round last month, Langston proved he would be a contender in Las Vegas after qualifying second to Nicoll in Friday’s first heat race. In the final Langston got a great start and ran second behind Carlson. He said running behind his more experience KTM teammate gave him a great chance to make up a race strategy.
“Ben was a little faster in a few sections and I was faster in some others,” said Langston. “I was patient and found a place I could make my move. I might have been a little too cautious in the early laps, but once I made the pass I was able to go a little quicker and hold on for the win.”
Carlson finished a close second in the finale, a great performance for the 18-year-old from West Bend, Wis. Nicoll, former World Motocross star and manager of KTM’s world championship racing effort, was frustrated after making a big error at the start of the race. “I made a ridiculous mistake on the first turn,” said Nicoll, the winner of the opening round at Laguna Seca in July. “I found a lot of places to pass but just ran out of time.”
Langston won the Supermoto Unlimited title in live front of a national television audience on the Outdoor Life Network. KTM riders swept the first four positions in the championship race.
Mike Alessi, of Apple Valley, Calif., won the Honda Red Riders Jr. Supermoto Challenge presented by the HRCA over Jamie Siever and Aaron King.
More, from yet another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
BOSTROM ENDS 2003 RACING SEASON ON A HIGH NOTE
Former AMA Superbike champ wins the AMA Supermoto crown
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Nov. 24, 2003) — Ben Bostrom was ready to write off his 2003 racing season as one he would like to forget. The 1998 AMA Superbike champ returned home to AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike racing this season after three successful years in World Superbike and was shut out, ending the year without a victory. The 29-year-old factory Honda Superbike rider’s season took a dramatic and somewhat unexpected turn for the better on Friday night in Las Vegas when, in front of a national television audience, he turned in a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship race to become the inaugural champion of the new series.
The series championship race in Las Vegas turned out to be the best race all season. Five riders battled for the lead in the 14-lap finale with Bostrom making a steady move from fifth to the front of the field on his American Honda Racing CRF450R. With three laps to go he passed leader Jeff Ward, and after scrapping with Ward for a lap, held off Doug Henry, Ward and Kurt Nicoll to take the heart-pounding victory.
“This championship was very important to me and to Honda,” said an ecstatic Bostrom on the podium after taking the popular win in front of cheering Las Vegas fans. “I can’t say enough. Honda worked hard and gave me a great bike. I got by Wardy and then he came back on me a few times. I had so much dirt in me teeth from getting roosted. This is a great feeling. Supermoto is a coming thing. We’re going out tonight to celebrate!”
Bostrom will go down in history as the first AMA Supermoto Champion. A native of Northern California, Bostrom now shares time between homes in the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas. He came up as a flat track racer and earned the AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year Award in 1993. By the mid-1990s Bostrom transitioned from flat track to concentrate on road racing and, after being a top contender in several support classes, finally earned the AMA Superbike title in 1998. After taking a stunning win in the U.S. round of the World Superbike Series in 1999, Bostrom was rewarded with a factory-backed Ducati ride in World Superbike. In his three years (2000-2002) in World Superbike Bostrom scored a slew of victories and was twice ranked in the top five.
His AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship marks his second AMA national title. Bostrom, whose younger brother Eric is also a leading AMA Superbike rider, is returning to try for a second AMA Superbike Championship in 2004 and said he hopes to be able to defend his AMA Supermoto title next year as well.