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/126417
caaaaaoooooooocaaooaaaaaaaaaaaooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaL~aaacaaoooooaaaaaaaaaaaooaaaaaoooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaac SPEEDWAY WEEK San Bernardino: Believe It or not. Mike Bast did Moran takes two at Ventura opener By Dennis Greene VENTURA, CA. JUNE 19 This is not an official race repon because all the information, although it comes from a very reliable source, is second (Top) Costa Mesa Scratch winner Jim Rshback on the inside of Shewn Moran. !Above) Costa Mesa Handicap winner John Sandon.. (Below) SIwwn Moran topped the Handicap Main on Ascot's quarter mile. hand. Due to other commitments. I was nOt on hand for the opening night Speedway show at Ventura, but several things happened that should not be overlooked. Shawn Moran became the third rider this season to win both main events in the same night. His win in the Scratch Main over Gene Woods, Mike Bast and Brad Oxley was the highlight of the night. Information given to Cycle News tells us that the track was in very poor shape, that there were no starting gates and no AMA official on hand. But, nevertheless, the show went on without too many hangups. Because of the poor condition of the track, the back marker riders never had a chance to overtake the other riders and no one from farther back than the !lO-yard line ma~e it into the main event. Moran won the Handicap Main in style, with little or no pressure from the rest of the pack. So put his name in the record book as the third rider to take it all, right along with Alan Christian and Mike Bast. San Berdoo is the Animal's house By Dennis Greene SAN BERNARDINO CA,jUNE 20 Seventy yards and a very wet track put Mike Bast on the sideline for the Handicap Main Event. Because he is the champ, 26 he had been starting on the 60-yard line all by himself. jim Fishback and Alan Christian are now on the sixty after turning in wins from the 50-yard line. Bast won both the Scratch and Handicap Mains a couple of weeks ago, so he now is on the 70·yard line all by himself. It's not been lack of skill to win with that much of a handicap, but the wet track was t~ much to contend with. It only took JIG' go down. three or four heat races to work the water out of the tTack, making a very fast racing surface. The track got much faster as the night went on, which made for an outstanding night of competition. Big jim "The Animal" Fishback, sliding deep into the turns and pulling wheelies onto the straightaways as he pulled by Brad Oxley and Alan Christian in the Handicap Main Event for the win. kept the fans on their feet. The Bast "Win Machine" was in full strength in the Scratch Main. with both Mike and Steve earning a ride along with Dave Sims and Alati Christian. With the title shot up for grabs in a few months, Christian is serving notice that if Mike wants to win it for a seventh time, he will have to beat Alan Christian to do it! Christian won that Scratch Main Event with little or no trouble at all. With the extra bucks put up by Vera's Leathers for main event wins. it seems like the guys in her outfits are trying harder. Fishback did it in Vera's Leathers and so did Keith Chrisco in the Division Two Main Event. Division Three went to Dan Braviroff. All in all. a great night of Speedway racing with the big Fourth of july show coming up on Wednesday night and you get that part of the show freel Briggs jets to Ascot victory By Dennis Greene GARDENA CA, JUNE 21 It must be hard to be a jet-setter at age 17 but Tony Briggs is up to the task! He is racing here in the U.S. as well as flying back home to qualify for race meets over there. Tony was flying high Thursday night at Ascot for the win in the Scratch Main Event, his first win in Scratch. racing on U.S. soil. He beat Shawn Moran by just a few feet, along with Frank Adamo and Leni Faas. Leni had a rough night of it. He got both ankles bruised when he hit the wall and then got tied up with another bike. He spent a httle time in the ambulance before coming out for the Scratch Main. only to get hit in the face shield with a dirt clod that came back so hard it cracked the shield. .The Handicap Main again saw Shawn Moran riding the far. outside in