Bernd Hiemer leads Mark Burkhart and Doug Henry in a 2006 AMA Supermoto race at USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. (Larry Lawrence photo)

German Bernd Hiemer earned a victory in his AMA Supermoto Championship debut on July 11, 2006, at USA International Raceway.

Hiemer, who led the Supermoto World Championship standings at the time, battled Doug Henry, of Torrington, Conn., the entire second leg of the doubleheader. On the final lap Henry, riding a factory Yamaha, made a bid to pass Hiemer’s KTM, but the two collided in a high-speed sweeping turn and Henry crashed. He picked up his motorcycle and finished sixth.

“It will be great to go back to Germany having won a race here in America,” Hiemer said. “There are many great riders in this series and I plan to return.”

Mark Burkhart, of Pickerington, Ohio, won the first leg of the doubleheader on a Yamaha.

Jeff Ward, the 2004 series champion from Newport Beach, Calif., led the series by 28 points over Henry after six of 20 rounds. Ward finished fifth and second in the two legs of the Shawano doubleheader to extend his lead.