Aprilia’s Atkins Takes 1st in Unlimited
Round 7 - September 29 & 30 Yamaha Rampage in Redmond
While Aprilia has pretty much owned the top spot of the AMA PPG Supermoto Unlimited podium this season thanks to the signing of reigning class champion Ben Carlson away from rival manufacturer KTM, team boss Darryl Atkins finally got in on the fun himself at the Deshutes County Expo Center in Redmond, OR.
Following nearly two complete seasons riding the Italian manufacturer’s twin-cylinder SXV550, including this year’s debut of the Factory Aprilia Rip It Energy Racing squad, the gritty Australian broke through to claim his first-career AMA triumph on Saturday night.
Atkins took maximum advantage of a hectic opening lap, taking control of the race when polesitter Adam Cini and title leader Carlson got caught up in an opening corner pile up, which dropped them well down the order as the 10-lap contest was just getting started.
Atkins led every lap and pulled away to a 5.977-second margin of victory.
The excited New Zealander remarked, “This track is so great, I think it was even wilder and better than the X-Games.
“This is the first year for the factory Aprilia program here in AMA Supermoto and this bike has really been phenomenal and the support we’ve gotten from Aprilia has been just incredible. I can’t wait for Texas.”
Orange Men Results
John M. Lewis took one place off the box and came in 4th. Kurt Nicoll and Brian Capper missed round 7 of the AMA Supermoto Unlimited Championship.
Frenchman David Baffeleuf was the man on the charge early, working his way up from fifth to finish second. Carlson and Cini made even more passes during the race, with Atkins’ teammate moving from 12th early up to fifth at the flag, while Cini fought from 16th to seventh in the end.
Despite his limited English, Baffeleuf was able to express his gratitude to his team, stating, “I want to thank LA Fuel and GP Husqvarna for the bike and the support.”
Husaberg’s Robert Loire held off KTM HMC’s Johnny Lewis for the final podium position, his second of the year. “I’m so stoked to be here and I want to thank everyone who has supported me with my program, my folks and all the great people who help me.”
Hinshaws’ Ryan Pugh was the last man to get caught by Carlson, who still holds a commanding 163-123 points lead over new second-place man Atkins despite his relatively disappointing result. Prior to Saturday’s race, Carlson had registered five wins and one second on the season.
KTMHutt’s Cory Gabbert took eighth, one spot behind Cini, while Barton Racing’s Graham Gustin and Rockstar-backed Travis Marks rounded out the top ten.
Factory KTM ace Kurt Nicoll was absent and missed a perfect opportunity to make up some ground on Carlson. The Englishman has been on the podium in each of his fifth starts this season, including his Stafford win, but the fact that he was unable to make two rounds of the series have relegated him a longshot to claim a second Unlimited class crown.
Carlson will look to bounce back to his winning ways while Atkins will hope to add a second career win when the series picks back up in a little over a month in Galveston, TX on November 3-4.
Current Standings
1 163 B. Carlson
2 123 D. Atkins
3 118 R. Loire
4 111 K. Nicoll
5 97 T. Marks
6 93 J. Chisum
7 80 B. Capper
8 72 J. Lewis
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