Ward built a 20-point series lead over
Troy Lee Designs Honda teammate Doug Henry by finishing
on the podium at all six rounds, including wins at the
second leg of Copper Mountain and the Nashville rounds.
He’s overcome injuries to both legs through most
of the season. His strategy coming into Las Vegas is to
charge as hard as his injuries will allow.
“I’m going to go hard and
try to stay with Henry,” Ward explained. “I
want to qualify on the front row. Hopefully I’ll
be 100 percent healed and just try not to hit my leg during
the weekend. I’m going to rest for a week [after
the Del Mar round] and then start testing and get ready
for Las Vegas.”
If “Wardy” manages to hang
on to win the championship it would mark his eighth AMA
Pro Racing title and his first since winning the now defunct
AMA 500 Motocross title in 1990.
After a bike failure in the second race
at Copper Mountain in August, Doug Henry has charged his
way back into championship contention by winning the three
rounds leading up to Las Vegas.
“We’re definitely trying to
at least keep Wardy honest,” said Henry, a three-time
AMA Motocross champ. “I go into Las Vegas just focusing
on winning, that’s all I can do. Realistically I
don’t have much of a chance to win the title unless
something happens to Jeff at the final, but I’ll
try to do all I can.”
Germany’s Jurgen Kunzel is the only
other rider besides Ward and Henry with a chance at winning
the title. A crash at the most recent round in Del Mar
dropped Kunzel from second to third in the standings,
but the Red Bull KTM rider still remains hopeful coming
into Las Vegas. “My Del Mar crash was unfortunate,
but I still go into Las Vegas with a goal of winning,”
Kunzel said. “If I could finish the year with a
victory in the Supermoto final I would view the season
as a success.”
In addition to series regulars, the AMA
Red Bull Supermoto A-Go-Go will also feature last year’s
inaugural AMA Supermoto and X-Games Champion Ben Bostrom.
Bostrom, who has a home in Las Vegas, has been chomping
at the bit to race Supermoto all season. “I love
Supermoto,” Bostrom said. “I hoped we could
work something out that would allow me to race in Las
Vegas. I think it’s the most fun you can have on
a motorcycle so I’m really looking forward to it.”
World S1 Supermoto Champion Eddie Seel
and teammate Gerald Delepine will join Pacifico Husqvarna
riders Mark Avard and Leo Bagnis for the final round in
Las Vegas. Seel is best known in America for leading most
of the X-Games Supermoto final before being passed on
the last lap by Ben Bostrom.
Five riders still have a mathematical
chance of winning the AMA Supermoto Unlimited Championship.
Jurgen Kunzel is in control of his own destiny with a
13-point lead over teammate and boss Kurt Nicoll. Nicoll
the racing team manager/rider joked that if Kunzel knew
what was good for him he would let the boss win in Las
Vegas. Micky Dymond, Ben Carlson and David Baffeleuf are
the other riders still in the hunt for the Unlimited crown.
The Honda Red Riders Jr. Supermoto Challenge
will run in Las Vegas as well. Motocrosser Mike Alessi
won that title last year.
