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( ! IiiiIIii Round 4 SUPERMOTO Ward slipped back as the race progressed, most of the gap coming after a mistake late in the race . He would still finish well clear of fourth place. '" made my goal of getting on the podium, so I'm happy with that," Ward said. "I rode well, but my front brake faded a little bit there, and I made a mistake . Doug got right on me, and he got by. I didn't have time to adjust the brake, and I made another mistake , and then Kunzel got by me . Once I got it adjusted, I was able to run the same pace , but with my knee I just couldn't be aggress ive. 1was just real conservative. 1wanted to be on the pod ium, but I also wanted to beat Kunzel. That' s the first time that he's gained po ints on me this seaso n." Both ride rs gained points on Ward , though Henry is still fourth in the class standings , beh ind Ward, Kunzel and CHM Exhaust/ Pro Honda O ils' Alexandre T hie bault. Ward now leads the se ries over Kunzel, 93-84. Thiebault, who finished fifth at Reno, is third , with 74. He nry is fourth, with 66. "I know I'm going to have to keep winning," He nry said. "It was very impo rtant fo r me to win this one . We have three in a row, and 1wanted to get in a good run at the first one , maybe win all three and try to put some of the pressure on these guys and see what happe ns." Ward and Nicoll were over 10 seconds behind He nry. "I wish it had been 18 laps, because 1 started going really we llat the end ," Ward said. "The n 1sta lled it in the dirt be cause AMA Supermoto Championship I co uldn't put my foot out. The back end came out , and 1was able to save it, but I didn't pull in the clutch . Then 1 had to start it with the clutch in. You know 450s never start in gear with th e clutch in, but I got it started on the third kick. Otherwise I would have still been sitting ove r there. 1 tried it on the victory stand [after the race] , and it wouldn't start." Nicoll spent most of the race just ahead of Th iebault, while Team Ultimate Edge Yamaha's Mark Burkart ran sixth from start to finish. "I made my only bad start of the day in the 450 race, " Nicoll said. "I was on the front row, but I didn't make a good start. I was probably third, but th en jurgen came by on the inside of me up the first hill. I kept my fourth place all right, but I couldn't get anywhere near the front three. Burkhart and Thiebau lt were never in a position to challenge me . I was never worried about them. I was more concerned with getting nea rer to the front guys, and if , could have done that, then 1 would have gotten by je ff when he stalled." HMC KTM teammates Benny Carlson and David Baffeleuf finished sevent h and e ighth, respectively. Troy Lee Designs Honda's Ch ris Fillmore was ninth, with joker Machine/QTM 's josh Chisum completing the top 10. SUPERMOTO UNLIMITED Nicoll came out firing in the big-bore Supermoto Unlimited class. The 39-yearold KTM world racing boss, who also 24 oaOBER 13, 2004 • CYCL E N EWS moonlights as a supermoto star, led a freight tra in of big orange Katooms, leading Kunzel, Carlson, David Baffeleuf and Micky Dymond. "I got the perfect start ahead of jurgen," Nicoll said. That didn't stop Kunzel from trying valiant ly to pass Nicoll. On several occasions , Kunzel would swing wide in the righthanded turn five and draw alongside Nicoll, but the cagey Brit was able to close the door on him every time. Nico ll was also able to get superior drives out of the off-road section and back onto the pavement. " I gave my best ," Kunzel said. "There was one corner where you could pass, but he went to the inside every time, and I could not pass him. It was dangerous to pass here, but that is okay for me , because it is not a problem for the championship. 1just hope that at the next race , in South Boston, my starts will go better." Nicoll said that he was prepared for Kunzel's attacks. "We had discussed the track a lot dur o 40th Anniversary ing the day, so I knew where he was going to try and make the pass," Nicoll said. "I just kept the door shut the whole time. "T he thing about jurgen is that when he is in that position , he has to be a fair rider, because he knows that otherwise I'll dock his pay on Monday," he added with a laugh. Upo n hearing Nicoll's comment, Kunze l took the philosop hical high road . "It was a good race for my boss," Kunzel said. "I don 't have a contract for next year, so maybe fo r me not to pass my boss is a better situation for next year." Carlson, Baffeleuf and Dymond ran pretty close together for most of the race , but on the last few laps Carlson pulled away fro m Baffeleuf, while Dymond dropped back . That was the runn ing order of third through fifth. "It was pretty good, " Carlson said. "It seemed like where we started was where we finished, and I got a pretty decent start. I cou ld have reeled them in, but I was pretty impressed with myself. I was hanging with those guys, Kurt and jurgen . 1 just kind of rode my own race . I didn't eve n know that David was there. I was impressed with the track. It was rea lly neat to have the fans that close, interacting with the riders." Baffeleuf and Dymond were followed home by MotoVOV KTM 's Cassidy Anderson , HMC KT M's Darryl Atkins, Husabe rgUSA.co m's Graham Cheney, Pacifico Husqvarna 's Leonardo Bagnisand joke r Machine/QTM 's justin Ross. eN