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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126252
World team '5 revenge got a second , thus keeping up with the Europ eans who got wins from Collins - in the fou rth heat , Michanek in the fifth, and Mauger in th e sixth . Things looked up bri efly in th e seven th heat as th e US team received its first swee p by th e Penhall -Schw arrz duo. T he sweep tied the sco re a n d h a d the fans sc rea ming , a lm ost downi ng ou t a n nou ncer La rry H uffm an's hysterics. T his was a good tim e for a cha nge , with Bast mom entum appe a ring in hea t eig h t , but Bast b ro ke t he ta pe . R ich MacMurra y took Bast 's place and finished last as the Eu ropean pa ir of Mauger and McM illan swep t the race to douse the America ns' spirits. In th e next heat only th e stalled bike of Barry Briggs kept th e World team from widening th eir lead as Peter Collins took his third straight win . (Collins was not to lose a race all weekend . The on ly person to stop hi m was himself as he broke the tape in his first heat at Irwinda le.) Penhall scored a thrilling win in the first race after in termission but in t he next heat Mike Bast finis hed last. Then Mike Caruso and Scott Autrey notched th e seco nd sweep of the' eveni ng for th e U. S. The nex t three heats were sp lit. Once again th e crowd had reason to go craz y as Bruce Penhall and Bobby Schwartz rode on e of the most outstanding races of the night , spe ndi ng m ost of their time on the rear wheel , swee ping th e rac e , No w the sco re was tied with two races to go. As th e next heat ca me out of the first tum , it was Bast in fro nt, but Mauger found a groove on th e outside and rode past. Larry Shaw finished third, so th e score re m a ine d tied with the final heat left. By now no on e believed anybody could beat Collins, but if anyone co uld, it would be th e hot-riding Curoso. The lead cha nged hands four or five tim es. Comin g ou t of t he final turn it was Coll ins, Briggs , Autrey and Curoso. Autrey bumped off Briggs, pulling Curoso into second. It looked like a tie at th e last moment but before the cheering came to a peak Curoso lost ,power! Briggs slipped by at the wire a nd the World Team had won the first of three races, 55 ·53. Saturday night found a packed house at the newl y reconditioned Irwind a le Raceway oval. Harry Star of the first two races, reigning World Champion Pet er Collins. Friday night's most successful American pair, Bobby Schwartz (leading) and Bruce Penhall, team up on Anders M ichanek (outside! and Jiri Stancl at Costa Mesa. Collins paces international speedway stars to double test match ' , i c t o r y By Dave Daniel & John McNall v COSTA MESA AND IRWINDALE, CA . MAR. I 1& 12 The World side made good its boastful return as current World Champion Peter Collins led them in scoring two straight victories in a reborn "U. S. vs. The World" challenge match. 12 The best rid ers in the U.S . went up against sta rs including former World Champion Ivan Mauger (NZ); cu rre nt World Champion Peter Collins (GB); four-tim e World Champion Ba rry Briggs , (NZ); and An ders Mich anek, 1974 World Champion (Swe) . At Costa Mesa , th ese interna tiona l cha m pions gave over 8,200 pa id fa ns a show th ey won 't soon forget. The voung Am erican team , consisting of current U.S . Champion Mike Bast , Bruce Pen hall , Bobby Schwartz, Mike Curoso, Scott Autrey, Rich MacMurray, a nd La rry Sh aw made repeat ed co me backs, tr a iling by four ea rly, th en tieing th e Europ ea ns in the seven th race. As late as th e l St h race th e Americans, headed by h igh point man Bruce Penhall , trai led by eigh t points, rallied to tie in th e 18 a nd 19th heats , only to eventu all y fall by two , 55 ·53 . Racing was th e type tha t bri ngs a crowd to its feet in the first turn and kee ps them up unt il the checkered nag. Iva n Ma uger, win ni ng easi ly in heat one , gave the Eu ro peans a motivat in g sta rt. But h is teamma te Piech dumped his bike , thus all owing th e Am ericans to a lso pick up three po in ts as Schwartz and Penhall stayed up. The second event mark ed th e first head- to head confrontation between US cha m p Mike Bast and current World Champ Peter Collins. This was a meeting many hardcore speedway fans had paid to see . But Bast couldn't head eit her European rider, and the World team went ahead . This was just the beginning of a below-par night for Bast , who was heavily counted upon to pick up big points for th e locals. Several reasons for Bast's poor show ing cou ld be given ; the fa ct that he was riding a new bik e , or that he had received th ird degree bums on his arm a week ago, or maybe just that he was up aga inst so many World Champion rid ers . The score remained close through th e next few heats. Curoso got a first and a second , Shaw and Penhall each Zenon Piech (far si~e) loses it big, comi Mauger sandwiched between M ike Ba