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ISDT '77 (Above) Starting from the 5O-yard line, A lan Christian stayed to t he inside and won the Irwindale Handicap Main. (Above right! Something got screwed up he re . Not only is Larry Crunle go ing over the bars at Irwindale, he's going the wrong way. (Below ) Bruce Penhall won the Costa Mesa Handicap Main on his 20th birthday. Here he leads Dave Sims and Mike Muntean. help us beat fhe pros Amateur is a strange word. The International Six Oays Trial is an amateur event. But insiders know that most suecess{ul ISOT teams consi st of professionals. It's tough trying to beat pros with amateurs, but we think America' s amateur trials riders can do the job. You can help. In September, Americans will travel to Czechoslovakia for the 52nd ISOT. They'll do all of the work but their successes will reflect on all of us. By making a donation to the ISOT Support Fund you can help defray the enormou s costs each ISOT rider faces. In return, we'll send yo u a commemorative sticker (for every $1) or patch (for every $3). All proceeds will help talented American amateurs play the ISOTgame the way it sho u ld be played. I want to help American ISOT riders be at the pros. Enclosed find $ _ Please send me sticke rs and _ _ _ _ pat ch es. N ame _ Add ress Cily _ State Zip Code _ Mai l check o r mon ey o rde r 10 : By Dennis Greene · VENTURA, CA, MAY 10 Although the bad weather kept many fans at hom e , th e second week of Speedway at Ventura was great! Big Jim Fishback won bot h Main events on opening night last week , bu t was unable to earn a rid e in th e Handicap Main this week . It was young Mark Cherf, from th e 20-ya rd line who held off the ru sh by Bru cePenhall a nd Brad Oxl ey. Ch er f outlasted severa l restarts for his victory. Fishback did earn a ride in the Scratch Main and went th e dis ta nce for th e win , Aga in , most of th e pressure was provided by 17 -yea r-old Br ad Ox ley. Brad rook second ju st ahead of Mike Bast and Bohby Schwartz . Rick Jones won the Division Two Main with good speed and grea t style. Last week's winner , Kell y Mor an , tried a little too hard and went down . Results ISOT Support fund clo American Motor cyclist Assn. P.O. Box 141 Wes terville . OH . 43061 . \ SCRATCH MAIN EVENT 1. Ji m Fishback . 2. Brad : Oxlev.3. Mike Bast. 4. Bob Schwortz . HANDICAP MAIN EVENT 1. Mark Chert . 2. Bruce : Penhall. 3. Brad Oxlev , 4. Bob Schw artz. 5. Gene Woods, 6. Mike Bast. FEATURE MATCH RACE: 1. M ike Bast ovee Bob Schwaru. DIVISION lWO: Rick Jones. By Tom Blatter IRWINDALE, CA, MAY 12 Transplanted Northern Califor. nian Alan Ch ristia n became the third different ri der in less than two weeks to score a double win , Anti-Skid Device $36.95 78 Lake Meadow Drive Daly City, CA 94015 415-755-8761 Honda :J. 34 DE. BMW .Sa 'l.kE.E.~ Triumph Motorcycles Try us f o r T r iumph parts ' UPS same day 2509 Broadway Sacramento. CA 9581 8 916-452-5491 Moto gu zzi as he dominated the Irwindale Ra ce wa y Speedway season opener with wins in both the Scra tch Ma in event and the Handicap feature . In the five-lap Hand icap Main event, three rid er s ca me from th e 50· yard line - Christian , N ation al Champion Mike Bast, a nd cro wd favorite Bruce Penhall wer e look ing for th e right position s on th e back marker as t hey pu lled out of th e pit s, Christian took th e inside lin e a nd Penhall th e outside , and . with three other riders in from of him . Bast moved up and down th e 50·ya rd·line sea rching for a spot. O ff th e lin e , Da ve Ga lvin , Ro b Mo rriso n a nd Ron Pr esto n a rternpted to hold off th e back marker riders, but Ch rist ia n flew past on th e low groove a nd Penha ll was riding th e fence with Bast in hot pursuit. Aft er th e first lap, Penhall a nd C h ristia n went by th e fin ish lin e in 'almost a dead heat. But .Penha ll's valiant a tte m p t on th e outside was losing him tracti on . a nd Christian was a b le to p ull a head slightly. Christia n held his gro u nd a nd took th e victory ove r Penhall , Bast , Ga lvin , Pr eston a nd r\lorrison. In th e four- lap Scra tch Ma in event, Penhall a nd Pr eston returned to do bail ie wit h Chris tia n . It was th e first tim e in over a yea r th at Mike Bast had not made a Scrat ch Main a t Irw in d a le. Bast was upset in th e Scr at ch heat an d had to sit out th e rest of th e scra tc h program . At the start of th e scra tch feature . Chri stian a nd Pen ha ll resum ed their duel with Christia n again riding on the low side of the t rack an d Penhall u p h igh , and th ey ba ttled side-by-side for a la p an d a hal f. However , the ma in was th e las t race of th e night and th e extra dirt that Penh a ll used for trac tion in th e ea rly goj ng was no longer th er e , a nd he slowly slip ped back . Christian went on for th e easv win followed by Preston . Dave Sims', a nd Penh al l. Dennis Siga los ca ptu red both th e Scr at ch Con solation and H andicap Consolati on events . In the Scr at ch ra ce . Denn is defeated Ga lvin a nd Steve Columbo , wh ile he put aw ay Chris Haines a nd La rr y Kost a in the handicap event. In Second Division Mai n event, Mark At ch ison : rode beautifull y to defeat a closin g Denni s Stewart ' and Dave Brewer. COSTA MESA. CA. MAY 13 There are now three young lad ies raci ng Speedway with the addition of 17 -yea r- old Pam Bennerr ., There has never been a fema le winner in an American Speedway race , b ut Select Vans is bonus 10 the go ing to put up a $50 first girl to win a Ma in Event at Costa Mesa . Bennett ran second 10 Jim Ra ym ond in Division Three . Division Two hon ors went to Bob McLa in after a lon g night of restarts and a doz en cr ashes, The b ig gu ys. o ~ First Division rid ers. ' have had th e ranks infilt ra ted by severa l you ng riders. Dennis Sigalos, Brad Oxl ey and Ron Preston , all three riders ju st in th eir second full season of ra cin g . held off vetera ns Mark Cherf, Alan Christ ian and 4-time U.S. Champ Mike Bast for the five-lap H.andi cap Mainevent . Sigal os took th e WIn as th e fans (a full house) rose to their fee t 10 sho w th eir a p p roval. For th e second straight week , Bruce Penhall pulled off th e Scratch Main event win ; not too bad a wa y to celeb ra te your 20th birthday. Results SCRATC H MAIN EVENT: 1. Bruce Penhall, 2. Bob Schwanz. 3. Ron Pres ton, 4 . Mike Bast . HANDICAP MAIN EVENT.I . Denni s Sigalos. 2. Brad Oxley. 3. Ron Prest on , 4. Mark Chert, 5. Alan Christ ian, 6. M ike Bast . FEATURE MATCH RACE: 1. Alan Ch rist ian o ver Bob Schwartz. DIVIS ION lWO: 1. Bob M clain. Irwindale Results May 12.1977 SCRA TCH MAIN EVENT: 1. Alan Christian , 2. Ron Prest on . 3. Dave S ims . 4. Bruce Penhall. HANDICAP MAIN EVENT: 1. Alan Christian. 2. Bruce Penhatl, 3. M ike Bast . 4. Dave Galvin . 5. Ron Preston, 6. Rob Morrison. FEATURE MATCH RACE: Bruce PenhaJ over Mike l Bast . DIV ISION lWO: 1. M .,k Atchison.