Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

; -; SPEEDWAY WEEK . ~ t 0') r-... 0') Tony Briggs linside) gets hooked up w ith Alan Christian at Coste M esa. Briggs bests San Bernardino By Dennis Greene SAN BERNARDINO, CA , MAY 23 He only came halfway around the world to win the Handicap Main Event at Sa n Bern a rdino! Tony Briggs fro m Christchurch , 26 New Zealand, son of several-time World Speedway Champ Barry Briggs, won his first ever Am eri can main event. It was a great finish to th e race , with a three-way fight for th e lead between Briggs. Tom Burba and Leni Faas. Burba led most of th e way with Faas and Briggs on either side . just looking for an opening. On. th e . last turn . com ing onto the front . straightaway. Briggs came right down to the pole and found the inch or two that he needed to get through as Faas made a run for it on the outside. A very close finish all the way around. There was a bit of humor at halftime for the Feature Match Race. when first division rider Jim Fishback was put up against division two rider Mark Detter . Unfair, you say? Well , they put Fishback on the other side of the starting gate. facing the wrong wayl The gate went up and Detter was on his way. Fishback planted his left foot down , spun ·180· and was on his way and was closing fast , but it was just a two-lap race and Jim needed about 60 more feet to take over the lead. A tense few' minutes passed as' the ambulance crew worked over Mike Bast after a hard crash on the front straightaway , a result of too much traction coming ou t of the turn . He went into a low wheel stand . whic h carried him straight to the wall . Unfortunately . Louis Lindwall was coming fast and got caught right between Bast and the wall . Lindwall got ground into the wa ll as they bot h flipped end over end. Louis got up with a litt le help fro m his pit-crew and they walked over to see what was going on with Bast. Mike had landed hard on his bad right arm and was hit in the head by his own bike as he rolled around on the ground . After several minutes . he was helped to his feet by bother'Steve and Gene Woods. Mike was shaken enough that he needed help to get back to the pits . . Mike did ride in the Scratch Main Event. but was no match for Alan Christian. Alan has reallv come into his own this year and is only two wins behind Bast in Scratch racing and is two wins ahead of Mike in Handicap mains. Alan is the onl y rider th is year to win both main events in the same night. Winning his fir st Division Two Handicap Main . Event at San Bernardino. Shawn McConnell found the far outside line to be th e fast way around the field. He is quite fast and when he develops more control so that he can pick his groove on the track . he will be a rider on his way to first division . Alan Davidson got his first win ever in speedway. taking the Division Three Main Event. . ' Teacher/student combo scores at Ascot By'Dennis Greene GARDENA . CA , MAY 24 The teacher a nd student topped the action th is past Thursday nigh t at Ascot. Teacher Mike Bast won the Scra tch Main Event for the third time this season on the quarter-mile track. His student, Lance King. took the Handicap Main. well out in front of last week's winner, Frank Adamo. During practice, just before th e 8 p .m . start of the program . Shawn Moran came out for a few hot laps . but did not take a slow first lap to see what the track conditions were . and that proved to be his undoing. He hit a slick spot and went over the high side . His bike was totalled and he was still in a daze an ho ur la ter . but he got awa y without a scratch. Not quite so lucky was Dave Van Horn . He went airborne after he ran over the rear wheel of another rider who also found a slick spot and was laying on the track. Dave went the width of the front straightaway in the Tom Burba couldn't hold off Tony Briggs, who took his first U.S. win. air and just got separated fro m the bike before it crashed to the steel wall . He landed on his left .hip and was having trou ble getting his brea th . He was helped to the pits . but shortly gave in and went to the hospital. His bike had gone over the crash wall and was hung up on the chain link fence . It was ca rr ied back to the pits looking like it had been run through a car compacter. Mike Le lia has made a n ice comeback after suffering a com pou nd fracture of the right leg last season. His return to speedway saw him walk away with the Division 'Pwo Ma in Event. .Bast.-·Marriott storm Costa Mesa By Dennis Greene COSTA MESA, CA . MAY 26 He may wear bl ack, but he's not always the bad guyl Alan Christian was the victim this week - he got knocked off his b ike when young Tony Briggs got him from the inside line. The spill started in turn one where they got hooked up with elbows in each other's faces. They stayed that way all the way down the back straightaway as all the pickup men ran to turn three. Everyone knew that someo ne was goi ng to get off because neither rider cou ld or would give the other an inch. Tony could not hold the tight pole line in the turn and just for a split second went straight. That was all she wrote for Christian - he got na iled and went off the hig h side. T ony was put out and was scored last a nd written up for dangerous riding. Alan wass OK. bu t for the first time this yea r. had not earned his way into either ma in event. The riders want it . the fans want it. and now the officia ls are ma king the ru le stic k. If you put a rider do wn . you're out - scored last in that even t no m a tt er where you finished. T he rule covers t hree things; rough ridi ng . fou l ridi ng and dangerous riding. All three st art with being scored last , but that is the light end of the pen alt y. Foul and dangerous ridi ng is written into the offici al report 'of the night and if your name shows up three times in 60 days, you could be out of competition for two weeks or as long as the remainder of the season, and that is for all AMA tracks . There were several riders this past Friday night who found out that the thrill of victory can be the agony of defeat because they left guys laying on the ground on their way to th e winner's circle. By the' time the main events rolled around. everyone was pla ying by th e ru les and the racing was super. Mark Marriott won the Handicap Main Event from the 20·yard line and was only challenged by Brad O xley from the 40'yard line. . There is more go ld to shoot for this year. with Bates Leathers putting up a nice contingency to the win ners of all four main events if they are weari ng Ba tes Leathers. The final event of the night, the Scratch Ma in Event . went to the Champ , Mike Bast. This was his eighth Scratch win of the year. he also ran second five times and third twice . Jeff Carm ello pulled off a big win in . the Division Two Ha ndicap Main Event. He has a big following on his home track at San Bernardino. This was his first big night at Costa Mesa . Troy Fisher got it all together in division three, ge tt ing his first ever win in speedway. This was Motorcycle Riders Night at Speedway, presented by Cycle News. A large group of motorcycles were parked in the special V. I. P. parking area . and those with Class 4 driver's licenses were admitted half price. • Results SAN BERNARDINO. 5123179 SCRATCH M AI N EVENT: 1. Alan ChriSlian; 2. M ike Bast; 3. GoneWoods; 4. Brad Oxley. HA NDICAP MAIN EVENT: 1. Tony Briggs; 2. Tom Burba ; 3. leni Faas ; 4. J im Fishback; 5 . Scott Sivadge: 6. John Sandona. DIV TWO: Shawn McConnell. DIV. THREE Alan DavKlson . : ASCO T. 5124179 SCRATCH MAIN EVENT: . 1. M ike Bast; 2. Dan M cNeill; 3. Frank Adamo; 4. lance King. HANDICAP MA IN EVENT: 1. Lance King : 2. Frank Adam o; 3. Tony Brigg s; 4. Leni Faas; 5. Mi ke Peddicord; 6. Dan M cNeill. DIV TWO: M ike Leila. 'COSTA M ESA. 5125/79 SCRAT CH MAIN EVENT: 1. M ike Ba. t; 2. Gene Woods; 3. Dan M cNeill; 4. Dave Sims. HA NDICAP MAIN EVENT: 1. Mark Marrion : 2. Brad Oxley; 3. Tony Briggs ; 4. Dan McNeill: 5. Shawn Moran; 6. Gene Woods . DIV TWO: Jeff Carmelto . DIV THREE: Troy Fisher .

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