August 27, 2007
UPDATED!
All Access Racing’s Micky Dymond earned his first-ever AMA Red Bull Supermoto race victory following a wild 20-lap final at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, CT.
It was obvious the race would be a hectic and unpredictable affair right from the start, as championship favorites Jeff Ward and Mark Burkhart collided in the race’s opening corner, pushing the series’ top two riders to the back of the field almost as early as they got the green light.
Heat 2 race winner Troy Herfoss on the HMC KTM took advantage of their misfortune early, concluding the first lap in first position. His time at the front was short lived, however, as a mishap of his own knocked the Aussie down to 20th position on the very next lap.
Factory Aprilia star Ben Carlson was next, leading laps two and three before falling down the order (and ultimately out of the race). Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Robbie Horton inherited the lead, but only for a lap before dropping outside the top five himself as the racing incidents continued to mount.
Mach 1 Motorsports’ Steve Drew provided the race with a sense of order, holding down first place for a seven-lap run, before finally conceding the position to former AMA 125 Motocross champ Dymond, who proved that Troy Lee Designs’ reigning class champion, Ward, isn’t the only rider in the field capable of outrunning youth thanks to a healthy dose of experience.
Once moving into the lead on lap 12, Dymond wouldn’t surrender the position and grabbed the checkered flag with a 3.649-second margin of victory to pick up his first win since swapping KTMs for Hondas and focusing on the premier class after earlier winning four races and a series title in the Unlimited category.
Afterwards, Dymond said, "I am the most surprised guy here. All race I really did not know what place I was in. The sun made a glare on my pit board so I could not read it. I battled the whole time coming from mid-pack and thought the leaders were gone way out front -- this sport is amazing. I want to thank everyone over the years for all their support."
Ward made a remarkable recovery to work all the up to second at the flag, just ahead of young Aussie Herfoss, who made a similar climb up through the field.
Ward remarked, "Burkhart got in to me off the start. Once I saw it was him, I tried to get going quick and never gave up until the checkers. The whole race I did not know the place I was in. It feels great to be able to battle back up front after that. Micky is a great guy, I am happy for him to get a win."
Herfoss commented, "I got a good start but I lost it in the sand and hit the wall pretty hard and had to push my bike up the next jump to start it. I rode as hard as I could and tried to catch Wardy and Micky, but ran out of laps. I want to thanks HMC KTM. A win will come soon guys".
Drew just missed out on the podium in fourth, with Georgian Horton completing the top five.
Graves Motorsports Yamaha ace Burkhart did his best to minimize the damage considering his early race fall, which was compounded by a spill earlier in the day that injured his shoulder. The Ohioan finished in sixth, and while he lost his championship lead in the process, he remains in striking distance, just three points removed from Ward, 111-108.
Carlson’s Factory Aprilia Rip It Energy Racing teammate, Darryl Atkins, guided his RXV450 to seventh, followed by CHM Exhaust’s Jason Conlon, Supermoto Depot’s Gray Tracy and Troy Lee Designs-backed Jason McDonald, who rounded out the top ten.
The AMA Supermoto Championship will be back in action in just a week’s time, as the series picks back up at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville, TN September 1-2.
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