From a press release issued by MotoDynamics:

Doug Henry wins AMA Supermoto National in Irwindale, Ca.

Motocross Superstar wins his first AMA Red Bull Supermoto race aboard the MotoDynamics Tuluie-Yamaha

Doug Henry, the immensely popular former AMA U.S. Motocross and Supercross Champion, beat the best of the best, including World Superbike rider Ben Bostrom, previous winner Jeff Ward, World Supermoto championship contender Jurgen Kunzel and a host of other world and national championship riders to win the 2nd to last round of the AMA championship series.

His achievement is astonishing considering that both Doug Henry and Dr. Rob Tuluie, owner of Team MotoDynamics, started with Supermoto only a few months ago – in fact, Doug had never ridden on asphalt prior to our first test 3 months ago!

Both Doug and Jurgen Kunzel, the current world championship runner-up were setting the pace early on in the day, with Doug out-qualifying Jurgen and the rest of the field by a full second to earn his first gold Timex Superpole watch.

Doug hole-shot the start and led the first lap until Jurgen passed Doug on the asphalt section of the heavily asphalt-dominated race course. Doug closed the gap in the dirt section using his unmatched ability to triple the jump section. In fact, Doug was the only rider all day who could triple the jumps under the Red Bull banner. Doug kept the gap to Jurgen close for several laps, but it was clear that Jurgen was starting to pull away from Doug. By then the two had opened a substantial lead over the chase pack of Bostrom, Ward, Carlson and a hard-charging Metzger. By the mid-way point of the race Jurgen was well-ahead of Doug and looked a certain winner, with Doug secure in 2nd place with an equally substantial gap back to 3rd. However, coming into the last turn before the banking, Jurgen low-sided, stayed with the bike and immediately re-started. Doug was now only 2 seconds behind Jurgen and this re-ignited his charge. Doug closed the gap to Jurgen in the next couple of laps and passed him in the air over the triple jump, a super-move and in keeping with Doug’s unmatched ability and courage. Jurgen gave case and it looked like a nail-biter for the rest of the race, until Jurgen hooked his rear brake pedal on a tire and tore it off, leaving him with no rear brake. This sealed Doug’s win and the crowd went wild! It was a long time since the crowd favorite won an AMA national and it sure felt good to be on top of the podium again.

This win gives us the momentum coming into the final round of the AMA championship in Las Vegas on November 21. The winner of this final round will be the national champion and right now we feel pretty good about our chances.

More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship

Recap of round 5 of 6: Nov. 1, 2003
Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, CA

Doug Henry, who earned podium spots in each of his previous AMA Red Bull Supermoto outings, broke through with his first victory under the lights at Irwindale Speedway, Saturday, Nov. 1. For much of the contest, however, a race win seemed almost unthinkable for the Yamaha rider, with KTM’s Jürgen Künzel pulling out a 17-second advantage by the race’s halfway point. The German World Supermoto star then crashed on lap 11 of 20, and while he was able to regroup in time to maintain control of first, his lead was erased to just a handful of bike lengths. Henry stepped up his charge and overtook Künzel with a triple jump pass a couple of laps later. Künzel followed Henry to the flag, unable to mount a counterattack with a lost rear brake lever. Mike Metzger grabbed third, his first AMA Supermoto podium.

Earlier in the evening, Künzel ran a drama-free race to claim a convincing win in the KTM Supermoto Unlimited class. Joe Kopp edged Ben Carlson on the last lap to claim the second spot on the all-KTM podium. 12-year-old Chad Cose was the victor in the Honda Red Riders Jr. Supermoto Challenge.

Supermoto Final
Results
1. Doug Henry, Yamaha, 20 laps
2. Jurgen Kunzel, KTM
3. Mike Metzger, Honda
4. Ben Carlson, KTM
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda
6. Joe Kopp, KTM
7. Mark Avard, Suzuki
8. Larry Pegram, KTM
9. Josh Chisum, Honda
10. Mark Burkhart, Yamaha
11. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda
12. Matt Pursley, Yamaha
13. Cory Call, Honda
14. Laurent Beguelin, Honda, 19 laps
15. Shane Turpin, KTM
16. Marr Burton, Yamaha
17. Gary Trachy, Honda
18. Casey Yarrow, Honda
19. Don Hart, Honda
20. Brett Landes, Honda, 13 laps
21. Jeff Ward, Honda, 9 laps
22. Nick Daniels, Yamaha
23. Chris Fillmore, KTM, 7 laps
24. Steven Drew, Honda, DNF

Supermoto Unlimited Final
Results
1. Jurgen Kunzel, KTM, 20 laps
2. Joe Kopp, KTM
3. Ben Carlson, KTM
4. Steven Drew, Honda
5. Christopher Fillmore, KTM
6. Leonardo Bagnis, Vertemati
7. Ryan Hughes, KTM
8. Mickey Dymond
9. Mark Avard, KTM
10. Gary Trachy, KTM, 19 laps
11. Shane Turpin, KTM
12. Jeff Harrington, Vertemati
13. Chuck McCarty, KTM
14. Jeff Matiasevich, Kawasaki
15. Calvin Andlovec, KTM
16. Chuck Sun, KTM, 18 laps
17. Craig Mason, KTM
18. Brian Catterson, Husqvarna, 17 laps
19. Mike Krynock, KTM, 15 laps
20. Gerald Delepine, Vertemati, 13 laps
21. Mark Cernicky, KTM, 12 laps
22. Kenny Carlotta, KTM, 8 laps
23. Jens Hainbach, Husaberg, 2 laps
24. Larry Pegram, KTM, DNS

More, from a press release issued by OMS Sports:

Honda’s Ben Bostrom Qualifies For Vegas Supermoto Final

Superbike and GP standout overcomes a crash to finish fifth in his first stateside supermoto race – sets sites on upcoming supermoto championships in Vegas

ANAHEIM, Calif., (Nov. 3, 2003) – Ben Bostrom, aboard a specially-tuned Honda CRF450R, had a podium finish at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway all but locked up on Saturday when a ‘minor’ wreck took him out of contention for a top three spot. Bostrom was able to re-board his supermoto bike and race back to fifth place overall, qualifying him for the upcoming AMA/Red Bull Supermoto A-Go-Go Championships at Las Vegas’ Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino, Nov. 21.

“Yeah, I’m not really happy with the way things turned out on Saturday, but this was more of a tune up than anything,” said Bostrom. “I’d only had one test session on the bike (period) and my main focus was to get through the night and prepare for the final.”

Bostrom added how excellent the CRF450R ran, including the guys from Honda that built the bike, chief mechanic Ron Wood and one of the tuners from the Honda factory road race team, Davey Jones.

Added OMS’ Jimmy Filice: “Ben looked to me to be the quickest rider out there on the pavement. (Jeff) Ward and (Doug) Henry had an advantage on the dirt and with the jump, along with the rest of the motocross guys. But I’m sure Ben will be right there in the hunt for the championship at Vegas.”