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/126496
E e.g M_ - Sa. aer.lU'dI•• - -'-cot - V ••tar. - Saer_•• t. - N . . . - C-.ta M_ - Sa. . . . . .lU'dI• • - AHot - V ••tar. - Saer••••to • SPEEDWAY WEEK ~ E (Top left) Things were looking up for Steve Viera with a Second Division win behind him. a trophy and a trophy cu1ie at his sides. (Top right) Dave DeTemple slid to second in the main. IAbovel Ricky Graham 1421 swapped his Harley XR750 for a Class A machine. but found it too different. Cook conquers Ascot Long Track Qualifier By Gary Hoffman GARDENA, CA, NOV. 7 If you ever wanted to know who's who at speedway, all the heavy hitters were definitely at Ascot last Friday night. Among the 18 competitors were Bruce Penhall, Bobby Schwanz, Dennis Sigalos, Kelly and Shawn Moran, John Cook, halfmilers Wayne Rainey and Ricky Graham, and all your favorite speedway regulars. Even former National Champion Mike Bast and current World Champion Michael Lee were among the spectators for the qualifying round for the Speedway Half-Mile Championship. The races were held in Championship format with 20 qualifying rounds, three semi-finals, one consolation and a main event. Six riders, three laps, all scratch races. You may not think of a speedway bike as a half-mile machine, but with the proper gearing and a strong motor, some of the faster bikes were turning times any balf-miler on a Harley 750 would have been happy with. There were to be four Second Division events including the Main, but due to the lack of Second Division riders, their only race was the Main event. Winning easily was Steve Viera. Steve, who is 22 years old, normally rides First Division, giving him the advantage. Taking second place was Ed Castro, who interestingly enough, grew up racing with the Morans, and up until just a few shon weeks ago hadn't been racing due to lack of funds. Taking third place was Ron Blanton. In the First Division qualifying rounds, Bruce Penhall wasted no time taking a strong lead in each event, wearing a whole new set of leathers with the number one which he earned at Costa Mesa as the United States National Champion. Shawn Moran rode with the same style and finesse he did last year when he captured Ascot's long track title. As expected, all the English riders fared well. AmonII' the fastest California riders were Lance King. (who was the high point man at Ascot last summer), Keith Chrisco (who is always a threat), and the dynamic duo of Denny Pyeatt and Frank Adamo. In the Consolation race, Dennis Sigalos got out of the gate first with Shawn McConnell next, followed by Brad Oxley. On the second lap, it was still Sigalos out front with McConnell moving in fast while Oxley and Tom Ferris battled for the number three spot. On lap three, the order stayed the same, but now the riders were spread out, giving Sigalos a comfortable lead while they finished in that order. The Main event was split evently with three English riders and three Southern California riders. On the pole position was Shawn Moran. In the number two slot was Bruce Penhall; next to him, Lance King. In the number four slot was Denny Pyeatt and next to him, John Cook. Wrapping up the field on the outside was Frank Adamo. Up to this point, the only rider who had not been defeated was Shawn Moran. With ·thousands of scratch races behind them (being the only style raced in England), it was no problem for Cook, Penhall and Moran to get out of the gate first. The surprises came before the completion of even one lap as Moran seemed to lose it near turn four while Penhall coasted into the infield with apparent bike problems. Now the field shaped up with Cook in front followed closely by Pyeatt, Adamo and King. Cook, who has always excelled at Ascot, showed his championship form when he closed the door on Pyeatt to take the checkered flag first. Next week, the field will be reduced from this week's 36-man start to the top 24 point scorers. The winner of this event will reign as this year's Long Track Champion. This is the last scheduled speedway event until Dext year's Spring Season Openers, and it promises to be a good one. • Results SECOND DIV. MAIN: 1. SltMl Vier.; 2. Ed ClISlTO; 3. Ron BiInlon. MAIN EVENT: 1. John Cool<; 2. Dennv Fronk Adamo. Pveott: 3.