BAYOMOTO

Every year when the AMA Outdoor Nationals kick back to life with a resounding roar off the first gate drop, there are always a few expectations. More than likely one or two riders are expected to separate themselves from the rest of their respective class as the dominant player/s for the remainder of the season. We are already know who those individuals are so there is no need to delve further into that subject. But also every year, especially with the outdoor series, we expect the unexpected. More specifically, it is almost presumed that one or two riders will emerge from privateer, triple-digit obscurity, to prevail as the feel-good story of the season. Back in 2002 that story belonged to Sean Hamblin, then it was Juss Laansoo, and just last year the honor went to Gavin Gracyk.

Yesterday at the second round of the AMA tour held at Hangtown, several riders proved they have the potential for such accolades. Three names come to mind that, just two weeks ago, nobody was talking about, or should I say most pundits had forgotten: Steve Boniface, Sean Collier, and Cody Cooper. You may or may not have heard of one or all of these names, so here is an extremely brief history of each rider.

Steve Boniface is a French rider who has been on these North American shores since 2001. He has also been on numerous teams and posted several good results throughout the years. However, the passed few years have not been kind to Steve, and this season he found himself without any real support.

Sean Collier hales from California and after a 2006 breakthrough supercross season, the young rider had some tough luck. He also entered the series as a true privateer.


Last on the list is New Zealander, Cody Cooper. At the end of last year, Cody came hear to test his might against the Americans and in his first race he rode away with fifth overall at the series’ penultimate round in Texas. While that should have marked his arrival on the US scene, coupled with posting the fastest practice lap the following weekend at Glen Helen, Cody seemed to disappear among 2008 championship speculators (although he did secure a ride with the Suzuki City/OTSFF/Rockstar team).

So why have these three individuals been chosen for fairy-tale potential? Because yesterday all three of them very simply kicked some factory rider butt. Collier and Boniface finished fifth and sixth respectively in the first moto, while Cooper ran up in the top five as well until a crash late in the race. Although only Boniface was able to repeat his performance in the second moto, all three of them showed a heck of a lot of talent and potential.

I will be the first to admit that when I saw the #141 of Boniface battling with the #101 of Team Honda’s Ben Townley at the end of the second moto, my first thought was, “that’s not cool, lappers should move out of the way!” My realization that Steve was not being lapped was the inspiration for writing this blog entry.

With the amount of high-dollar phenoms out on the track, it is refreshing to see new number plates getting their share of the limelight. This sport may savor its factory stars, but when those core riders who make up the majority of the forty-man gate are able to breakout to combat the elite, they deserve some recognition.