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D oug Henry led every lap but two at round five of the AMA Supermoto Series, but it was series rival Jeff Ward who left the Michigan doubleheader with the upper hand. After leading the first 12 laps of the opening race at Waterford Hills Raceway, and with the race seemingly well in hand, Henry clipped a hay bale in a tight right- hander, which threw him over the bars, just two laps short of the checkered flag. The mistake not only handed Ward the win, but dropped the Graves Motorsports Yamaha-sponsored Henry back to fourth. Henry rebounded to win race two, leading every lap, but at the end of the day, Ward's 1-2 race finishes trumped Henry's 4-1 day, and the Troy Lee Honda- sponsored Ward, who came into the weekend with a seven-point lead over Henry in the standings, added an addi- tional four points to his series points lead. Henry's teammate Mark Burkhart did- n't fare any better, posting 2-7 race finish- es, after looking like the man to beat when he won the morning's Superpole competition by over a second, earning him the right to start the race from the number-one slot on the grid. Local product Chris Fillmore, riding a Team Troy Lee Designs Honda CRF450, logged a fairly consistent day, turning mediocre starts into a 3-4 day, while GP Husqvarna's Troy Herfoss went 5-6. Once again, consistency paid off for Ward. "We are going home with more points than we came here with and that was the goal," Ward said. "It's all about being smooth and not making mistakes. Doug could have won the first moto, but he made the mistake. You push just a little bit to try to pick up the pace and you can end up making a mistake." With half the series now in the books, Ward has an 11-point lead over Henry in the standings, 203-192, with Mark Burkhart in third with 172 points. Cassidy Anderson continued his domi- nation of the Supermoto Lites division by claiming his fifth race in as many tries in 2006. The Troy Lee Designs/Honda-spon- sored rider displaced fast-starters Brandon Currie and Dalton Dimick before the midway point of the first lap, then held off the persistent Currie for the win. "It feels real good to win five in a row," Anderson said. "Brandon rode well, and he was right there, I could see him com- ing, but once I got a little gap, I just tried to ride a steady pace." Anderson now holds a 21-point lead over Currie in the series standings, 125- 104, while Leonard Bagnis sits in third with 86 points. In the Unlimited division, Benny Carlson pushed eventual winner Micky Dymond for the entire distance before going down on the final lap while making a bid for the lead. Carlson's mistake gave Dymond a clear track to his first win of the Waterford Hills Raceway Clarkston, MI Round 5 July 8, 2006 JULY 19, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S 16 AMA Supermoto Championship Jeff Ward leads Mark Burkhart in the first Supermoto race. Ward went on to win that race and the overall with a 1-2. BY SHAN MOORE PHOTOS BY RAYMOND GUNDY