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"It was great," Nicoll said. "I liked the layout of this racetrack, the atmosphere and all of the people . It was really great. There were probably a few safety issues, but for the first time and for t he way that I t hink supermoto needs to do these things, it was great . Supermoto needs to get an ide ntity, and I think that if it gets an ide ntity like this, and yo u have this many people co ming to wa tch, then it will be great." A br ief but intense rain caused a 90minute de lay in the race program, but an e nthusiastic crowd toughed it o ut and w as treat ed to so me e xciting racing despite th e fact that both main events had to be cut from the ir originally scheduled 18 laps to 10 laps so t hat the program could be co mple ted before sundown. I" ,Briefly.•. , . From a fan perspective, the Reno Supermota was probab ly as big a homerun as there has been yet in the history of AMA Supermoto. The estimate d 15,000 to 20,000 who lined much of the street course at the RPM-promoted event were ve ry vocal , something not lost on the riders as they raced around the trac k. "This is fantastic," Ward said. "I know that it w as free admission and that the cas inos spent money and came into play here , but if we can bring 20,000 on a Saturday here that weren't here to begin with , the casinos can make some money and the city can make money, and that's what it's about. I didn't know it was going to be this strong. It 's nice for supermot o to gain SUPERMOTO Ward got the ho leshot in the Supermoto final, with Henry second and Kunzel third , all three riders coming off the fro nt row. Ward immediately tried to set a fast pace , running laps in the high one-minute-andI I-seco nd range, w hile He nry and Kunze l hung right with him. Ward, w ho started the race injured (see Briefly) began to have problems, and he yielde d to Henry in t he last turn on the IS-turn cou rse , He nry taking t he lead at the tail end of lap fou r. "It was not a bad race," Henry said. "I came out second o n the start, and it was a t ight bunch between jeff, myself an d jurgen. I just tried to pace myse lf. I didn't want to get too excited , but I wa nted to be right on je ff in case he made a mistake . He just made that little one, just e nough for me to get inside him, and that's w hat it took." Kunze l slipped past Ward o n the same lap to take ove r seco nd place and dog Henry. "My start was bad , and then after the start, I see tha t Wardy was in the front and Henry was in seco nd," Kunzel said. "Henry passed Ward for the championship points, and then I passed Wardy. Henry rode re ally accurately," Kunze l closed up on Henry, and the German former World Supermoto contender appeared to be qu icke r o n the fast, sw ee ping sections of t he course, w hile Hen ry was q uicker in the more techn ical section s, w hich included t he urban jumps and the off-r oad section. "I did n't really have t he chance to pass Henry," Kunzel said. "I was a little bit faste r in the on-road parts , but th ere our speed was about the same. It was so high, and there was ve ry litt le chance of pass ing. You have to wa it for a mista ke, and he didn't make a mistake." Henry said that he didn't even know it w as Kunzel wh o wa s chasing him. In the e nd , Hen ry was able to put a sma llgap o n Kunzel to w in th e race . "I thou ght that was jeff the w hole time," Hen ry said. "I didn't know it was jurgen until t he very end . I felt rea lly com fortable everywhere. I was com fortable o n the to p part of the track, and I felt like I cou ld have let it hang ou t eve n more there. " this kind of fan base her e, and I hope that it just keeps continuing." Having raced in supermoto events around the world, Jurge n Kunzel was in a good position to judge the event, and the German agreed with Ward. "For supermoto in America, this is the best place," Kunzel said. "It is in the middle of the city, and we are seeingso many spectators here, and it is good. I like the course. It has a little danger, but it is very fun." KTM racing manager Kurt Nicoll seconded Ku nzel's take. "This is aweso me, N icoll said. "There is a danger element for the riders, but this is surely the way to go for supermoto. It's so spectacular in the city here , and you can see that all the people are so enthusiastic. It's cool." Jeff Ward was riding injured at the Reno Supermoto, having damaged his left knee while practicingbefore the event and the n aga during a practice session on the Reno in track. "I hurt it a couple weeks ago, practicing at Glen Helen - popped it out ," Ward said. "So I took a wee k off, and then I broke a bone in my ankle, too , so I took anothe r week off. Then I hooked one of the tires here during a qualifying session, and it really ripped it. I couldn't get my leg up high enough because the ACLis torn a little bit, so I caught it again, and it just popped out for three corners. So we found a doc tor her e and got a co rt isone shot , and now it feels good. I already know the meniscus is torn. What I did here probably wo uld have hurt it even if it was fine. I figure I'll just get a little rest, and in anot her week it should be strong again. We'll have a little time before Vegas, so I just need to get a podium in these races before Vegas, and we'll be okay." Jurgen Kunzel CUt a lap of one minute, 11 .374 seconds, to win Superpole for the Supermoto class. The German was the last of the eight riders to go on the clock, and he eclipsed the mark of I:I 1.389 set by Doug Henry, who had run just before him. "That is good for me," Kunzel said. "I had no mistakes, and obviouslyon the lap time it was really good. Henry has been fast on the Superpole allthe time this year, so this is good for me. When we race, Iwill hope for a good start , and then we will see." Ku rt Nicollwas third fastest, cuttinga lap of I:12. 179. Nicollwas the fifth rider to take to the course for Superpole. www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NEWS • OCT08ER 13,2004 23