Gage McAllister Takes The Double And The Crown In Tucson
Josh Jackson clinches first Pro Lites Championship, Malcolm Barker crowned National Amateur Champion at Musselman Honda Circuit.
TUCSON, AZ (October 24, 2016) – It was a day for crowning champions at the AMA Supermoto National Championship Series’ season finale on Saturday, October 22 at Musselman Honda Circuit. The first to be crowned was RSR KTM’s Gage McAllister, who clinched his third-straight title in the premier class with a win in the first Pro Open Main. He then went on to win another in the second Main, a perfect way to wrap up the season, especially after a rough weekend at the penultimate round in Denver.
“It feels good,” McAllister said. “It’s been a long month or so since Denver, not being able to wrap it up there early. I’ve just been thinking a lot, but it was good. I had it mostly wrapped up, so just had to be consistent; really, I just had to finish. So being able to wrap it up with a win and then finish it off with another win was really cool. I like this track a lot and it was cool to get a nice battle in on that last race with some new guys up front. Racing my teammate Dustin (Hoffman) is always fun, so it was a cool way to end the season.”
McAllister’s teammate Dustin Hoffman finished his season off with a pair of second-place finishes and was able to secure the second-place spot in the championship as well. Joining the RSR KTM duo on the podium in both races was Six-Four Motorsports’ Shane Narbonne.
Australian Josh McLean finished just outside the podium in the first main, crossing the line in fourth on the Lean Six Sigma Racing Husqvarna. Completing the top five was RSR KTM’s Eric Stump. In the second main it was Stump and Tyler O’Hara on the Intents Racing Yamaha that rounded out the top 5. Stump’s (5-4) finish was enough to secure his third spot in the championship, making it an RSR KTM sweep.
Veteran Larry Pegram gave the kids a run for their money, though, in his first race back in AMA Supermoto in over 10 years. The RSR KTM rider got both holeshots and led for more than half of the second Main before McAllister and Hoffman slipped through. Ultimately, Pegram went down trying to fight off Narbonne and retired from the race. The long time road racer was quite at home on the asphalt part of the track, but got bit by the dirt section on the first lap of the first Main. Pegram was able to get back on track and make up for lost time to finish ninth.
Meanwhile in the Pro Lites class, it looked like rookie Christian Payne was going to run away with his first Pro Lites win until a mechanical ended the LMR Racing Husqvarna rider’s hopes for glory. Those honors went to Tri-County Powersports Husqvarna’s Nicky Reimer instead, the defending Pro Lites Champion’s first win of 2016.
Unfortunately for Reimer, it was not enough to keep the number-one plate. Although he and his rival Josh Jackson tied on points, the Lean Six Sigma Husqvarna rider won the tie breaker with more race wins. For Jackson it was a huge relief to clinch his first ever championship, especially after such a roller-coaster season plagued with a knee injury.
“I feel like I have a thousand pounds off my back,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t ever planning on it being this close. I ran into some ups and downs over the last few rounds, and coming into the final round… I just did what I had to do today. I managed the race from second place. Nicky (Reimer) came up behind me right off the start and I just let him go. I wasn’t going to get tied up in a battle. I knew where I needed to be, and I figured if I just stayed behind him he had to think about me instead of me thinking about him behind me. So I just managed it from there.”
Right behind Jackson was teammate McLean, who was pulling double duty in both the Pro Open and Pro Lites classes.
Cameron Welsh was able to recover from an early mistake that left him on the ground in the dirt section, going from last to crossing the line fourth on the Welsh Racing Yamaha. Welsh’s recovery allowed him to keep third-place in the point standings. Completing the top five was PDR Racing’s Dawson Schieffer.
In the Amateur National class, series-points leader Malcolm Barker was also able to clinch his first championship.
“It feels amazing,” Barker said about winning the championship. “It was a really exciting race. The ultimate game plan though was to come in and focus on the championship. I just needed to put my head down, ride solid, be safe and win the championship.”
So it was mission accomplished for Barker, second was all that the Monarch Honda rider needed. There was definitely no need to put it all on the line when there was a fast rookie in the lead – road racer Sean Ungvarsky. And it was an impressive race for the young Ungvarsky who took a dominant win in his first Supermoto outing. Completing the podium was fellow KTM rider Chris Smith.
2016 Musselman Honda Circuit AMA Supermoto Results:
Pro Open Main One Results: 1. Gage McAllister (KTM); 2. Dustin Hoffman (KTM); 3. Shane Narbonne (HON); 4. Joshua McLean (HUS); 5. Eric Stump (KTM); 6. Tyler O’Hara (YAM); 7. Tim Velasquez (HUS); 8. Austin Pecoraro (HUS); 9. Larry Pegram (KTM); 10. Dawson Schieffer (SUZ).
Pro Open Main Two Results: 1. Gage McAllister (KTM); 2. Dustin Hoffman (KTM); 3. Shane Narbonne (HON); 4. Eric Stump (KTM); 5. Tyler O’Hara (HON); 6. Joshua McLean (HUS); 7. Trevor Chiapissi (HON); 8. Drew Dickson (KTM); 8. Cal Collins (HON); 10. Nicky Reimer (HUS).
Pro Lites Results: 1. Nicky Reimer (HUS);2. Joshua McLean (HUS); 3. Josh McLean (HUS); 4. Cameron Welsh (YAM); 5. Dawson Schieffer (SUZ); 6. Brady Tausan (KAW); 7. Katrina Wilson (KAW); 8. James Gerolamy (YAM); 9. Mark Hopkins (YAM); 10. Steve Alkyer (HON).
National Amateur Results: 1. Sean Ungvarsky (KTM); 2. Malcolm Barker (HON); 3. Chris Smith (KTM); 4. Ryan Wetmore (HON); 5. Ryan Frum (SUZ).
About USA Pro Supermoto
USA Pro Supermoto was founded in 2012 and has been the promoter for the AMA Supermoto National Championship Series since 2014. The series crowns both professional and amateur champions. The professional series features two classes: the Open class and the Pro Lites class. For more information about the AMA Supermoto National Championship Series, click here.
About Supermoto
Supermoto originated in the U.S. in the late 70s as a made-for-TV “Superbikers” show. Supermoto is a cross-discipline event in which road racers, dirt-trackers and motocrossers compete on a unique track that combines pavement and dirt, resulting in a very competitive race track. The races feature jumps, high speeds and back-it-in sliding. Tracks can range from football stadiums to closed-course streets to parking lots and more.