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/126488
Speedway Individual World Final Leggy Lee king offhe world By John Hipkiss GOTHENBURG. SWEDEN. SEPT. 5 Michael Lee, England's 21-year-old who rides for British league club King's Lynn, bought the World Individual tide back to Britain when he dominated the World Final on the big, slick racing surface of the Ullevi Stadium at Goth b S ed en urg: wen. L~, the .youngest nder ever to WIn the tItle, took full advanIAbovel Diuppolntment is etched. into the flK:e of American title hopeful Bruce Penhllll. who scored nine points for e fifth piece flnish.lTopl Penhell won his flrst hut. beeting Nlelaon. De. end Ondraslk.IBeiowl Chemp Mlcheel Lee. fIIInked by Deve Jeaup lleft) end BIIy s.unde,.. 8 tage of the other riders' errors to score 14 points from five rides, two points ahead of second place rider, fellow countryman and teammate Dave Jessup, who beat Australian BiUy Saunders after they had both finished on 12 points. There was disappointment in the American camp as Californian whiz kid Bruce Penhall finished the meeting in fifth place with nine points. Since long before the fU1al, the p~essure has been on Bruce, having a highly succesful season and being quoted .as joint pre-meeting favorite along WIth England's Dave Jessup. He stan~ in .fine style by winning his opemng nde, then in his second race. he meet Lee and third placed man Billy Saunders. Bruce lead for two laps. having made a brilliant stan at the tapes, but on lap three he drifted just a fraction and Lee came charging under him, in the process taking Penhall's leg. Bruce said later he shouldn't have drifted leaving a gap. To finish fifth in his first World Final was not a bad performance, but Penhall was very disappointed and had expected more from himself. "I feel I have let a lot of people down. I know I should have done better," commented Penahll. "I have no excuses. I don't know what went wrong. I couldn't make consistent gates' my bikes were fine, and I have n~ complaints about the track. I just didn't putittogether." B dro ~ h' ther' ruce Pr- tS 0 POlDts when in heat nine he was pushed back into third place by Peter Collins and West .Ge~ rid~ Egon Muller. ~ left hun on SIX POlDts after three ndes and needing to win his remaining races to stay in contention. However, any hopes were dashed in his founh race when Bruce again finished third b~hind ,Eng~an~'s .Cns Monon, and Finland s Kal NiemI. That left him on seven points and with nothing really to ra<:e for in his final ride in which he finIShed second to eventual runner-up Dave Jessup. It w~s ~'s night. H~ showed skill, detemunatlon and flair to become king of speedway for the next 12 months, he dropped his only point in his first ride to Dave Jessup before putting to gether fo~r fIDe rides to ~e the crown. In fact, It was a great mght for English speedw~y ~~th Lee f~, Jessup second. Da~ JOlDt fifth WIth P~~II, . ~nd CoIIlDs and Monon flD1Shing JOmt seventh. Penhall rides in the Sept. 14 Long Track Final before going onto Poland for the Sept. 21 World Team Cup. He then returns home to America for the Oct. 11 U.S. National Championship at Costa Mesa. However, success in all ~~ even~ cou1~'t compensate for his disappotntment ID Gothenberg. Shock news that followed the fmal was that English speedway is ready to boycott the World Championship if the venue is switched to America in 1982. One leading promoter said, "If the FIM confirmed the decision to take the final to America, it could mean a complete withdrawal of the English riders from the World Championship." Results SPEEOWAYINDMDUAlWORLOFlNAl:1.M.Lee (141; 2. D. ~ 1121; 3. B. - . 1121; 4. J. _111I;S.B._IlII;B.J.o.viol9l;7.P. ea.. 181; 8. C. _ _ 181; 9. K. - . . 181; 10. H. - . (7); 11. F. n.an... (7); 12. A. llIymllil; 13. J. =:i.~4. E. l4l; 1S. z. Ploch l4l: 18. P.

