Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126042
rewe Costa Mesa. California April 16. 1976 It, was a Good Friday for the opening of Costa Mesa . The Bakersfield Bandits carne to do ba ttle with the Orange c' ~nty Eagles . p .< The Eagles soared as the Bandi ts ran for cover. Only once during the night did they have the lead and that was in the-first event when Team Captain J eff Sexton pulled off the win. At one ti me there was a six point spread in favo r of the -Eagles . This m ay seem like a lot, but in rt ruth a first an d sec ond in any even t earns a team five p oin ts. Go ing in to the lasteven t of team racing there was just a fo ur p o in t sp read, but t he Bandits could no t take advantage of it . The Eagles' Alan Christian took th e win with tea mmate Bill Cod y second, the five points earned giving the m the win, 43 to 35. In the second half of the show, Bill Mon teleone, in his second year of Speedway, pulled off the Sec o nd Division win after seveal restarts. Team rider Mark Cherf got p ast Gresham in the free-lancer Jim o! Both teams were very well matched. During the 13 events, the points lead was swapped back and forth with neither team taking a commanding lead : The score wa s all tied up at 39 points each in the final event, so a tie-breaker was run between Ra ndy Marsh and Dubb Ferrell. Marsh, ouf the Sharks, took the lead at the start and never looked back, not even when Dubb tried to get by in the last tum, running in his rear wheel. Handicap racing brought the fans to their feet -when hometown hero Dan Toomey ran away with the Main. Jim Gresham was the only rider to put any , pressure on Toomey, but it was too little too late . Division Two honors went to Mike Bendy, a very determined young man who wen t all the way to Bakersfield as an alt erna te just hoping for a chanc e to • ride if someone did n ot show up. Results SUMMARY: FIRST WEEK OF TEAM RACING: 1. Ea9les~Orange County wo n I. lost 1. 2 . Bandits-Ba ke rsfie ld won O. lost 2. 3. Shar k s-V en t ura won 1. lost 1. 4, Sizzlers-san Ber nard ino won 1. rained out . 5. S p r o c k et s- I r w tn d a te won I, rained out. (Above) Billy Gray at Irwindale (riding for Orange County) holds it under L.A. Sprocket Wayne Lewis (half hidden). (Belowl Bakersfield hometowner Don Toomey got a dv -no-mite Handicap win to kick off his '76 season. Handicap Main, but Gresham is a fo rce to r be reck o ned with . Jim was not picked for a team and is out to show everyone that they overlooked a stro n g competito r. n. Bakersf ield, California April 17, 1976 The fina l night of t he fir st wcek of Speedway team racin g, the Bakersfield Bandi ts hosted t he Sharks of , Vent ura. , . 9