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/126265
(Abovel Bruce Penhall gets it up inside David Sims at Costa Mesa. (Below) The ladies line up. Bobbi Hunter (right) won their match race. Jeff Seldon used his Maely to lead Ron Preston and Alan Christian. By Dennis Greene VENTURA, CA, JUNE 7 At t he end of the '76 Speedway season, the new four- va lve Jawa was introduced to the European Speedway scene, but only in recent weeks ha s it-become available to the Americans. Mike Bast . the curre nt U .S. Na tional Speedway Ch amp. got one and th is past Tuesday night at Ventura he worked his way through th e heat races, the Semi . and into t he Scratch Main Event on it. Bast 's victory over Bruce Penhall and Scott Sivadge - who are both rid ing th e Neal Street - was without a doubt on e of the fastest events ever run on the short fairgrounds track . Don Faulkner . on th e m ore conventional two -va lve jawa , worked his way ou t of second Division ove r th e past weeks and had a sh o t a t Di vision One . Putting th e sh ort yard age marker to good use . Faulkner won t he Handicap Main Eve nt . holding off the pack of Rob Morrison . Dennis Sigalos, Mike Bast and Bruce Penhall, all on four -valve m otors . Bruce Penhall be came th e new Kin g of t he Hill in the Feature Match race . taking the cr own from Dave Sims. who only won the titl e last week. John Sandon s ca rried off th e win in th e Division Two H andica p ' Ma in Event . Results SCRATCH MAIN EVENT: 1. M ike Bast. 2. Bruce Penhall. 3. Scott Sivadge. 4. Mar k Ch",ry. HANDICAP MAIN EVENT: 1. Don Faulkner. 2. Rob M orrison . 3. Dennis Sigalos. 4. M ike Bast. 5. Bruce Penhall. 6. Robin Hood . FEATURE MATCH RACE: Bruce Penhall over Dale Sims. DIVISION TO: John Sandona COSTA MESA, CA. JUNE 10 Alan Christian has won the Scratch Main Event for the past three weeks at Costa Mesa and had to be the favorite going into - 20 that Ma in Event. Christian 'h a d already won th e Handicap Ma in b y a foot or two over Craig Schafer and he was look ing forward to becoming th e second rid er this season to win both Main Events in the same night at Costa Mesa (Bruce Penhall won them both on opening night). As it worked out. t he Scra tch Mai n Event was to be a batt le of the fourvalves. with Scott Sivadge and Bru ce Penh all on th e Neal Streets . Alan Ch ristia n with a Wes lake conversion a nd Mike Bast on the new J a wa fou rviave . W ith a lightning start. Bast was first into turn two and never looked back until he crossed the line to take th e chec ke red flag four la ps la ter. Bru ce Penhall kept his Kin g of th e Hill Feature Mat ch ra ce c row n . holding off Dav e Sim s on th e new Am eri can Maely m ot or . A special Match race wit h j ust the three young lady rid ers went to Bobbi Hunter. Results SCRATCH MAIN EVENT: 1. M ike Bast. 2. Alan Christian. 3. Bruce Penhall. 4. Scan Sivadge. HANDICAP MAIN EVENT: 1. Alan Christ ian. 2. Caig Schaf er. 3. Bruce Penhall. 4. Brad Oxley. 5. Joe Spisak . 6. Gene Woods. FEATURE MATCH RACE: Dave Sim s over Bruce Penhall. By Tom Blattler IRWINDALE. CA, JUNE 9 Montclair's Jeff Sexton scored his first main eve nt wi n of t he 1977 speedway season last Thursday nigh t. as he rode the AllAm erican -made Ma ely Motors fou r' va lve machin e to its firs t main event victory ever at Irw indale Ra ceway with the Scratch ma in event triumph . Sexton. t he form er runner-up in th e Na ti onal Speedwa y Cham p ionshi p . was ba ck on his old fo rm la st Thursday. as he came from beh ind to score his initia l win of th e yea r and th e bik e's first feature win aft er severa l weeks of development . Mark Cherry jumped to the lead in th e first corner of th e four-lap Scra tch Ma in with Sexton. Alan Christian. and Mike Bast in hot pursuit. Jeff moved to the outside groove and qu ickly reeled in Cherry. who stayed low on the race track . With Sext on in th e lead. Cherry Christian . and Bas t closed in to make th e even t y p for grabs . but Jeff smoothly pulled away to record the win . Cherry held on for th e second spot follow ed by Christia n and Ba st . who has su ffe red som e engin e troubl e o n hi s Schafe r ' prepared four-valve . In t he five -la p H andi cap M ain Event . high schooler Denn is Siga los of Full ert on ca me fro m rh e 30· ya rd ·line to easi ly hold off Christia n and Bru ce Pen h a ll. bot h from th e 50·yard marker . and notch his first Irw in da le win of th e 1977 ca m pa ign. Siga los took ove r the to p Spot fro m earl y leader Don Fa u lkner on the first lap . a nd Dennis used the outside line to put his Neil Street four-valve -powered bike against th e cus hio n for extra traction. Christia n , ridi ng th e low groove to perfection . a nd Pen ha ll, also on the outside . ca m e t hro ug h t h e field "toget her , bu t neither was ab le to close in on the young Siga los. Round ing out th e Handicap Ma in Event line up were Bast . Faulkner . and Gen e Woods. • Results SCRATCH MAIN EVENT: 1. Jeff Sexton. 2. Mark Cherry. 3. Alan Christian. 4. Mi ke Bast. HANDICAP MAIN EVENT: 1. Dennis Sigalos. 2. Alan Christian. 3. Bruce Penhall. 4. M ike Bast . 5. Don Faulkner. 6. Gene Woods. MATCH RACE: Mi ke Bast over Alan Christian. SECOND DIVISION MAIN EVENT: Kelly Mor an. TH IRD DIV ISION MAIN EVENT: 1. Bill Dunlap. By Dennis Greene VENTURA, CA, MAY 31 It took four weeks to produce a new winner in th e Scratch Main event a t Ventura . Unt il this night . Jim Fishb ack had won th em a ll. but h ad to sett le for fou rt h pl ace this week when I i -yca r- o ld Denn is Sigalos ou trode fou r-time U.S . Spee dwa y C ha mp Mike Bast a nd the hott est rider th is yea r . Bruce Pcn ha ll. A low gro und fog kept th e overa ll pa c... down for th e nigh t. mainl y because t he full cove rage hel mets were steami ng up . Bob McL a in continu es to lead the Division T wo rid ers in poi nt s a nd his win aga in th is week earned him a ride in Firs t Division at Irwin d al e . Handica p hon ors for Division O ne riders went to Craig Sc hafe r . a mem ber of last year's L. A . Sprockets. Craig had th e adva ntage of th e short ya rd age marker . bu t di d a first -class job of holding off the ch a rge of Ron Pr eston. Results SCRATCH MAIN EVENT: 1. Dennis Sigalos. 2. Bruce Penhall. 3. Mi ke Bast. 4. Jim Fishbac k. HANDICAP MAIN EVENT: 1. Craig Schafer . 2. Ron Preston . 3. Mik e Bast. 4. Brad Oxley . 5. 'Dave Sims . 6. M ark Cherry . FEATURE MATCH RACE DIV. 2: Bob McLain. SAN BERNARDINO, CAr JUNE 1 Second d ivision rider Kell y Moran won th e Second Division . Main and is rapidl y becoming the most popular second division rid er o n t he circ uit. T he Inland Mot orcycle track officia ls had a extra troph y gi rl on hand . so bo t h gi rls wer e sent out to 'a ward ' Mor an . Flanders insisted th at Moran decide wh ich girl he would st a rt on, bu t he ma intained he co u ld handl e both at once. Shades of Penhal l. With Mike Bast Bast , Ge ne ·Woods, J im Fishback . Denn is Siga los, Bru ce Penh all , a nd Dave Sims. there wer e no riders sta rt ing fro m t he O. 10. or 20 ya rd lines. but three fro m t he 50 in th e Ha nd ica p Ma in . And Pen ha ll made th e ra ce as exciting as the lin e·up by com ing to t he lead from far back on the last lap . Mike Bast won th e Scr at ch Main ov er Pe n h a ll . Siga los, and Fishba ck . Of interest was th at two of th e riders th a t had formerlv been on rh e SRA striker's list . Scott Sivadge and J eff Sexton were list ed o n this week 's p rogram . Sivadge as a reserv e . T here was talk in t he p its t hat Du bb Ferrell was a lso as king to ride again . By Tom Blattler IRWINDALE, CA, JUNE 2 Four-time Nation al Speedway Champion Mik e Bast . a fter suffering severa l frustr ating weeks. scored his first dou ble of th e 1977 ca m pa ign . ca ptu ring both th e scratch and handicap fea tu res at Irwindale Ra cewa y. Bast . b ack aboard his Weslake four valv e m a chin e . h ad to co me from beh ind in bo th m ain events. In th e fo u r-l ap Scrat ch Ma in . Ba st wa s almost last into th e first co rner at th e start . as Gen e W ood s a nd Bru ce Penhall led th e fou r-rider field down t he b a ck st ra ig h ta way wi t h Alan Christian a nd Bast fo llowi ng . Bast