Super-Moto Season about to Begin: Jurgen Kunzel to defend Championship

The 2006 Super-Moto season is gearing up once again and the dominating Team Red Bull KTM HMC Super-Moto Championship lineup of Jurgen Kunzel, Kurt Nicoll and Benny Carlson are preparing to take on the deep pool of talented riders gunning for the Super-Moto Championship title.

Kunzel and Nicoll will be contesting the Super-Moto class while Carlson will challenge the Unlimited class. Joining the team this year is young talent John Lewis who finished seventh in the 2005 Super-Moto Lites class and will also compete in the Unlimited class. Micky Dymond will be heading up his own effort with the All Access KTM Super-Moto team and defending his Unlimited Championship.

There was no shortage of drama during the 2005 Super-Moto season as the hunt for the title came down to the wire. At the Red Bull Super-Moto A Go-Go finale in Reno, NV, Jurgen Kunzel was trailing Jeff Ward in the points standings and had the slimmest of margins to make an upset. After an intense first race battle it was Mark Burkhart who collected the win, then Jeff Ward, followed by Jurgen Kunzel at the checked flag. As the riders blasted off the starting grid for their second race, the double points for the finale would come into play as Jurgen Kunzel finished second earning enough points to be crowned Super-Moto Champion.

The nail-biting action didn?t stop at the Super-Moto class. Darryl Atkins and Micky Dymond were closely ranked in the Super-Moto Unlimited point series in first and second and the two KTM riders were both intent on capturing the title. It all came down to the last corner where Atkins was leading and Dymond was snapping at his back tire. Dymond made a pass and took both the checkered flag and the Super-Moto Unlimited Championship title. Mickey Dymond will be double-dipping this year and plans on contesting both the Super-Moto and Super-Moto Unlimited class.

You will find Team Red Bull KTMHMC at the first round of the 2006 Super-Moto season opener at the California Speedway in Fontana, CA on April 29th. The remaining schedule is as follows:

Round 2: Road America - Elkhart Lake, WI - June 3
Round 3: USA International Speedway - Shawano, WI - June 10
Round 4: Miller Motorsports Park - Tooele, UT - June 17
Round 5: The Palace of Auburn Hills - Detroit, MI - July 8
Round 6: TBA (double-header) - Denver, CO - August 26-27
Round 7: Music City Motorplex - Nashville, TN - October 14
Round 8: Queen Mary - Long Beach, CA - November 4

Quelle: www.ktm.at