VDB, Henry Top Road America Supermoto

Red Bull KTM's Thierry van den Bosch and Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Doug Henry were the stars among the stars at round one of the 2005 AMA Supermoto Championship at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, each man winning a leg in the two-race 450cc Supermoto class.

The French van den Bosch, the 30-year-old reigning World Supermoto Champion, got the holeshot over Henry as the rain poured down in race one, which was shortened to 14 laps and run without the dirt and urban jump sections of the course. "VDB" was able to eek out a two-length lead over Henry early. Then Henry slipped to fourth, behind Red Bull KTM's Jurgen Kunzel and HMC KTM Supermoto's David Baffeleuf. Then things got even worse for Henry, who slipped on the wet surface and crashed at high speed in turn two on lap seven. He would remount to finish 10th. Van Den Bosch stayed smooth for the entire race, distancing himself from second-placed HMC KTM Supermoto rider Benny Carlson, who was using his intimate knowledge of Road America's Briggs & Stratton Motorplex circuit to his advantage. Carlson came from as far down as eighth in the field to advance to second late in the race by passing Kunzel, who had maintained second place for most of it.

The rain went away and the sun came out, drying the track in the second race, this one set for 16 laps. VDB again grabbed the holeshot, followed by Henry, Kunzel and reigning AMA Supermoto Champion Jeff Ward on the Troy Lee Designs Honda. The four riders quickly checked out on the rest of the field, dazzling the Road America fans as they ran nose to tail. Henry, who was one of the few riders in the field to choose front and rear slick tires for the race while his competitors chose a rain front with a slick rear, managed to get a run on VDB two turns from the finish and pull off a paint-swapping pass for the win. VDB was second and Kunzel third, followed by Ward.

Like the battle for the lead in race two, the Supermoto points standings are now also somewhat of a traffic jam. VDB leads the series, with 47 points, followed by Kunzel, with 45. Henry and Carlson are tied for third, with 37, while Ward is fifth, with 36.

In other Supermoto action - all of it run under rainy conditions - HMC KTM Supermoto's David Baffeleuf, also of France, pulled clear of GP Husqvarna's new Australian teen sensation, Troy Herfoss, to win the 14-lap Supermoto Unlimited race. GP Husqvarna rider Leonardo Bagnis passed HMC KTM Supermoto's Darryl Atkins just a few laps from the end to secure a Husqvarna two-three on the podium. In the debut of the Supermoto Lite class, Graves Motorsports Mark Burkhart added icing on the cake of a fantastic AMA Supermoto debut by a factory-backed Yamaha team when he won the 14-lap class feature. Burkhart rarely put a wheel wrong en route to the win. H&S Distributors Honda's Scott Diedrich and Scotty's Speed Shop Honda's Matt Pursley finished second and third, respectively.

SUPERMOTO RACE 1: 1. Thierry van den Bosch (KTM); 2. Benny Carlson (KTM); 3. Jurgen Kunzel (KTM); 4. Jeff Ward (Hon); 5. David Baffeleuf (KTM); 6. Alex Thiebault (Hon); 7. Troy Herfoss (Hus); 8. Leonardo Bagnis (Hus); 9. Kurt Nicoll (Hus); 10. Doug Henry (Yam).

. SUPERMOTO RACE 2: 1. Doug Henry (Yam); 2. Thierry van den Bosch (KTM); 3. Jurgen Kunzel (KTM); 4. Jeff Ward (Hon); 5. Alex Thiebault (Hon); 6. Benny Carlson (KTM); 7. Chris Fillmore (Hon); 8. David Baffeleuf (KTM); 9. Cassidy Anderson (KTM); 10. Gary Trachy (Hon).

SUPERMOTO UNLIMITED: 1. David Baffeleuf (KTM); 2. Troy Herfoss (Hus); 3. Leonardo Bagnis (Hus); 4. Darryl Atkins (KTM); 5. Luke Terlinden (KTM); 6. Josh Chisum (KTM); 7. Robert Loire (KTM); 8. Micky Dymond (KTM); 9. Cole Walsdorf (KTM); 10. Travis Marks (KTM).

SUPERMOTO LITE: 1. Mark Burkhart (Yam); 2. Scott Diedrich (Hon); 3. Matt Pursley (Hon); 4. Casey Currie (Kaw); 5. Brandon Currie (Kaw); 6. Eric Wedameyer (Hon); 7. Derrik Dippel (Hon); 8. Dalton Dimick (Hon); 9. Don Hart (Suz); 10. David Arnold (Hon).