AMA
South Boston Supermoto race notes
Chandler wire to wire at South Boston Supermoto (South Boston, VA) Three-time AMA Superbike king Doug Chandler took a dominating, wire-to-wire victory in the second round of the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship held on Labor Day at Big Daddy's ...
Published: Sep 3, 2003, 4:55 AM
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Chandler wire to wire at South Boston Supermoto
(South Boston, VA) Three-time AMA Superbike king Doug Chandler took a dominating, wire-to-wire victory in the second round of the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship held on Labor Day at Big Daddy's South Boston Speedway. The Salinas, California native got the holeshot from the pole position starting slot he earned earlier in the day, and then proceeded to put on a clinic, showing off the smooth, calculated riding style he's renowned for.
"I knew that start was going to be pretty much everything," said Chandler, who was never seriously challenged in the event. "I knew I had to get the best start possible. When I rounded that first turn in the lead, I knew half my job was done. "We got this thing put together right before Laguna Seca and we've come a long ways in a very short time, and I think we're going to get a lot better yet."
Just behind Chandler at the start, a multi-bike pile-up claimed a number of race favorites heading into Turn 1. Supermoto Unlimited winner Chris Fillmore, Jeff Wood, and former GP500 champion Kevin Schwantz were collected after a collision in the hairpin, which sent Schwantz over the bars of his DRZ400.
All three remounted to put forth thrilling charges through the pack, most notably Schwantz, who had the fans on their feet with his 'knee down' antics all over the hybrid pavement/dirt circuit.
Another top rider, Frenchmen Fabien Rolland was ruled out even earlier, when his Honda CRF450 stalled on the start line.
Benjamin Carlson took his second runner-up finish of the afternoon. Carlson ran the entire event in second and kept Chandler, his Red Bull HMC KTM teammate, honest throughout the race.
Afterwards, the dirt track specialist commented, "I'm really liking this South Boston circuit, I finally got the hang of it. My KTM crew really put an unbelievable motorcycle under me and I just rode it. I just couldn't pull it off today, Doug rode a fantastic race."
Freestyle motocross legend Mike Metzger crashed late in the race while running a strong third, handing the final podium position over to Suzuki-mounted New South Welshmen Mark Avard. Avard was pleased by the reception the series is already receiving in the United States. "Absolutely, we like to put a good show on for these fans. Shame about Metzger going down, but hey, that's racing."
16-year-old Chris Fillmore ran away with the South Boston round of the KTM Supermoto Unlimited Championship. The Michigan native made short work of the quick starting Micky Dymond and Ben Carlson, leaping into the lead five laps into the 24-lap final and was never headed once in front.
The Red Bull HMC KTM pilot commented, "I'm so excited, it was a great race. The bike was working great, it was just excellent."
Dirt track ace Carlson held on for a relatively lonely second.
Behind Carlson, a pair of dirt track/road race stars, Larry Pegram and Doug Chandler, mixed it up for much of the event, fighting for the final spot on the podium. Chandler repeatedly looked for way past Pegram on the exit of the banking, but could never make a pass stick.
With his win today, Fillmore, who finished third at the inaugural Supermoto Unlimited race at Laguna Seca, takes over command of the points lead after two of six events on the '03 schedule.
-sbs-
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