Graves Motorsports riders Mark Burkhart and Brandon Currie gave Yamaha the best possible start to the 2008 AMA Supermoto Championship by winning their respective Supermoto and Supermoto Lites classes in Monroe, Wash. on Saturday night, July 5. In fact Burkhart, the defending 2007 AMA Supermoto champion, and Currie, the defending 2007 AMA Supermoto Lites champion, effectively destroyed the competition by dominating both their qualifying races and their individual finals at the series’ opening round. This gives Burkhart (2008 YZ450F) and Currie (2008 YZ250F) an enviable points lead over the field as the six-round series kicks off.
Supermoto... With night and a rainstorm approaching, Burkhart started second in the Supermoto main event and slipped back to fourth at the first turn. But not for long. Burkhart sliced his YZ450F into second by the first chicane, then charged past early leader Cassidy Anderson in the whoops section to take the lead for good, sparks flying from his titanium foot pegs as he slid into the darkening corners. Then as rain began falling on lap 11 of 16, officials red-flagged the race and awarded Burkhart the win. “I did not think it was raining that hard but the asphalt got slick real fast – it was almost like riding on ice!” he said. Team owner Chuck Graves added, “The new YZ250F and YZ450F are easier to set up for Supermoto application and they are working awesome. The team, crew and riders are also working precisely together like a…Yamaha tuning fork!”
Supermoto |
| 1 |
Mark Burkhart - YAM |
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| 2 |
Cassidy Anderson |
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| 3 |
Troy Herfoss |
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| 4 |
Chris Fillmore |
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| 5 |
David Pingree |
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Supermoto Standings |
| 1 |
Mark Burkhart - YAM |
25 |
| 2 |
Cassidy Anderson |
22 |
| 3 |
Troy Herfoss |
20 |
| 4 |
Chris Fillmore |
18 |
| 5 |
David Pingree |
16 |
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Supermoto Lites... The Supermoto course was creatively fashioned from a 5/8-mile oval car track (with a combination asphalt and dirt infield section) at Washington’s rural Evergreen Speedway. Currie earned the pole position for the 12-lap Supermoto Lites final with a blistering qualifying-race performance, and when the starting lights flashed for the final he grabbed the lead before the first turn, then steadily opened up a gap over his pursuers that extended to a remarkable 15 seconds at the finish. “I worked hard in the off-season to makes sure I was ready,” Currie explained. “I lost some weight, got a lot stronger and put in a lot of time doing motocross and bicycle training. We’ve also got my YZ250F working really well!”
Supermoto Lites |
| 1 |
Brandon Currie - YAM |
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| 2 |
Matt Burton |
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| 3 |
Danny Casey |
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| 4 |
John Lewis |
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| 5 |
Jamie Siever |
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Supermoto Lites Standings |
| 1 |
Brandon Currie - YAM |
25 |
| 2 |
Matt Burton |
22 |
| 3 |
Danny Casey |
20 |
| 4 |
John Lewis |
18 |
| 5 |
Jamie Siever |
16 |
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