The State of Supertt
THE STATE OF SUPERTT
It’s not far from Carlsbad to Anaheim, unless you go via Paris
HARD TO BELIEVE IT’S BEEN FIVE years since I won the first-ever SuperTT race. I like to remind folks of that achievement for two reasons: 1) Because it pains my buddy Don Canet, who finished second behind me that day; and 2) because that was the last time I got anywhere near the front!
Okay, to be honest I only won the first moto, and a fourth in the next race gave me third overall on the day-right behind Canet. But that’s all right, because as most faithful readers are aware, Canet is “Mr. TT,” the driving force behind the SuperTT American Racing Series (www.supertt.com).
By now, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the story of “The Superbikers,” the annual made-for-TV event held at Carlsbad Raceway and broadcast on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” from 1979-85. And of how the French, bless their little croissantbaking hearts, embraced this exciting form of motorcycle sport, renaming it “Supermotard,” which simply means “Superbikers” en française. Before long there was a French national championship, plus a big year-end event called the Guidon d’Or, or Golden Handlebar. Which, like “The Superbikers” did, attracts some of motorcycle racing’s biggest names.
Anyway, like many enthusiasts his age, Canet remembered “The Superbikers,” and in 1996 built a Honda CR500 supermotard bike with the help of Gary Jones from White Brothers. Problem was, there wasn’t any place to race it.
Canet knew what to do: He had to start his own series. And so on June 28-29,
1997, he staged his first race, “The Return of the Superbikers,” at the Streets of Willow Springs. That event was modestly successful, drawing just 22 riders, but it laid the groundwork for future events. These, Canet decided, would be called “SuperTT” races, avoiding confusion with the AMA’s Superbike roadracing class.
SuperTT soon found a home at Buttonwillow Raceway, where a dirt section was laid out in the infield of the existing road course. Right from the beginning, the racing was ultra-competitive and interest from toplevel riders high. Husqvama flew over French supermotard standout William Rubio to give the Americans riding lessons at that inaugural event, and former 500cc World Champion Eddie Lawson, former factory motocrosser Chuck Sun and the Jones boys, Gary and DeWayne, were early series regulars. Three-time AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler and Grand National Champion Joe Kopp also came out to play.
Though Honda CR500s initially dominated at Buttonwillow and nearby Mesa Marin Raceway-particularly in the hands of now-three-time series champ Rick Pearce-as the STTARS circuit expanded to include slower go-kart tracks and parkinglot venues, tractable four-strokes began to assert their dominance. Today, modified Honda CRF450Rs are the bike of choice, though KTM 520SXs, Yamaha YZ426s and purpose-built supermotards from Husaberg, Husqvama, Vertemati and VOR are also competitive.
To date, there have been something like 75 SuperTT races in the Northwest and Southwest regions, and independent series have sprung up on the East Coast (www.supermotard-usa.com) and in the Midwest (www.superbikers2.com). It’s not hard to envision a day when STTARS will serve as a nationwide sanctioning body, with regional series qualifying riders for a seasonending amateur national championship a la the WERA Grand National Finals. And beyond that a professional series, with rounds held inside stadiums, as the Guidon d’Or has been since 1999. In fact, SuperTT races have already been held indoors in conjunction with monster truck events in Portland and Vancouver, and more recently in the parking lot outside Anaheim Stadium on the “off’ weekends between rounds of the AMA Supercross Series. And in true “Superbikers” fashion, these two races drew a slew of topname racers including Anthony Gobert,
Nicky Hayden, Larry Pegram and Kevin Schwantz. So in a sense, you could say that “The Superbikers” had come full circle.
Or, more accurately, that it’s about to, because the AMA recently contacted Canet to discuss the possibility of hosting a starstudded SuperTT event in conjunction with its annual awards banquet in Las Vegas. And speaking of Sin City, KTM has purchased the rights to the U.S. round of this year’s fledgling World Supermoto Championship, and has enlisted Canet to produce the event, tentatively scheduled to be held in the infield of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, November 2-3. Mark your calendars, supermotard is about to go Big Time. Again. Brian Catterson
