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/126512
The handicap main saw a good looking blonde "surfer type" win. Bruce Penhall? No, Shane Hawley. Shane showed some good riding and managed to hold off Mike Muntean and Keith Larsen. Taking fourth was John Sandona who looked very hot during all his heat rides but couldn't pull off the win, followed by Leni Faas and Denny Pyeatt. Hawley will un· doubtedly be one of those riders that we will hear more of during the season. With a main event win tonight, he is off to a good start. The Junior Speedway main brought baclr. those cute little guys on their cute little bikes who grow up to be those super fast guys on those big powerful bikes. These guys take their races very seriously and one can't help but wonder which ones will grow into national champs. There was a new name to the juniors this year but not a new name to speedway: Cody. Yep, following in the old tnan's footsteps, "Wild" Bobby Cody rode his fust race at Costa Mesa. He had tough competi· tion riding aginst Jordan Duncan who took first place while defeating old timer Craig Hancock. Cody led for two laps and got third. The fmal event pitted the top scorers from each team against each other. Oxley with seven points and King, also with seven, represented the home team tnatched against Schwartz, four for four with 12 points, and Pen· hall with eight points. It would be no easy task indeed. Going into this final event, the overseas team had 54 points and the home team had 52. Bobby wasn't about to let his perfect evening end here and so it was unstoppable Schwartz who took first followed by Oxley. Penhall and King. The final score was overseas 38, home 34. • 00 ~ By Scott Daloisio SAN BERNARD1NO, CA, MAR. 8 (Top IeftI Bobby Schwertz dominated the weekend. (Top right) Kelly M~n. 8nId Oxley. Mike Curoeo end Jim F1ahbeck et 1M&. (Middle right) Shewn M~ et IMS. (Above right) Shewn McConnell heap. prop 0.". Mil... up et C08t8 M.... (Aboveleftl The U.S. over•••• tMm with Shewn end Kelly Moren kn....ng. Standing In Ieethere from left ere Bruce Penllen. Ron PnIeton. Mike Curoeo. terry Ko. . end Schwartz. Schw rtz sizzlesl By Ken Kellogg COSTA MESA, CA, MAR. 6 After about a five-month layoff, the thunder we'd been waiting for finally came, not the thunder from up in the sky but rather from Santa Barbara's Bobby Schwartz who had a perfect night at the Orange County Fa i rgrou nds. He won . . I d' every h.eat h e was m, Inc u 109 the mam event, and led the over- 18 seas team to a 38-54 victory over the U.S. home team in the March Spring Classic. The overseas team was captained by U.S. National Champion Bruce Penhall who got off to a slow start, going down in his first heat. Shawn Moran usually does well but couldn't pull off that win. He did score three times for his team, though. Schwartz totally dominated the traclr. while Ron Preston had trouble finding the groove on this unfamiliar track. Kelly Moran did kind of find the groove and in event six took first place but then let his bike take off without him into the crash wall. Mike Curoso also couldn't get it together despite his pesfeet style. Reserves were Larry Kosta udjolm Cook. The captain for the U.S. bometeam was Alan Christla who began t~is >:ar where he. left off last year - WInmng - but did have trouble later on. Lance King was only a step from the win all night with three second places. Dave Sims started with a fourth place but did take a win in event nine and a 1eC0nd in event 11. Brad Oxley looked good as ever and took two wins. Dave DeTemple rode hard as always and took two seconds. Reserves were Craig Schaefer (who couldn't quite break it open) and Keith Chrisco (who didn't ride). In his first ride at Costa Mesa as National Champion, Penhall got off to a slow start by going down in tum one. The real race was between teammates Christian and King. Alan took first by inches with Lance second and Shawn Moran was third. Event two got off to a shalr.y start with two restarts, but fmally it was off. Dubb Ferrell was frrst out of the gate. However, Bobby Schwartz wasn't even shaken as he began his unbeatable streak and cleanly took the win. Ferrell had to settle for second in front of Ron Preston and Craig Schaefer was fourth. In event four, Penhall showed why he is number one. Teammate Shawn Moran got second while Ferrell took third after going down. Event five was one of the best races of the night. Brad Oxley got the gate followed by Dave DeTemple and Schwartz. Bobby began doing what only the best can do - systematically picking off the riders in front of him and never letting up. It paid off. On the last lap Schwartz took the lead and the win from DeTemple who got second followed by Oxley and Preston. In event seven, Oxley made up for his third place earlier. Brad was tnatehed against the best: Penhall, DeTemple and Shawn Moran. This didn't bother Brad. His win was impressive; he just plain wa1lr.ed on everyone, beating out' Penhall in second place by six bikelengths. Moran took third with De Temple fourth. The team main event wasn't run until after the handicap main. The handicap events gave everyone a chance to see some old favorites and some future stars in action. The handicap consolation was won by one such rider, Tom Hughes. Riding from the zero'yard line, Hughes held on to the lead to beat out Dave Miller and Jim Turner. Fourth was Joe Donaldson. "Boogaloo" Bobby Schwartz capped off a great weekend by leading the U.S. overseas team to a convincing 48 ~ -29 ~ victory over the U.S. home team in the Spring Classic at John LaDouceur's Inland Motorcycle Speedway. Schwartz, who had a perfect score of 15 points Friday night at Costa Mesa, came within one point of doing it again. Dubb Ferrell was the only rider the entire weekend to finish a race in front of the "Boogaloo Kid" as he took the win in event two. Things started off bright enough for the home team as Lance King took event one over defending National Champion and overseas team captain Bruce Penhall. Ferrell then won event two over Schwartz and Jim Fishbaclr. made a last-second charge on the out· side to fInish in a dead heat with Mike Curoso in event three. The overseas team had a one·pornt lead going into event four and then the roof caved in on the home team as they failed to win another race. Shawn Moran took event fou.r with Schwartz continuing on his way in- event five. King was battling for the lead in event six when he made contact with Kelly Moran and hit the tum four wall elim· inating himself. Moran went on to record the victory over CUTOSO and home team captain Alan Christian. Brad Oxley outdueled Penhall in the first two laps of event seven but bobbled in tum three on lap three allowing Shawn Moran to get by. Moran then held off Oxley to take a hard fought victory with Penhall ending up in fourth behind Fishback. Even nine saw Ferrell and Curoso collide in tum one on the first lap. Ferrell dropped to the baclr. of the paclr. and then made a wild charge to challenge Curoso for second. Ferrell was able to get inside Curoso but 'was unable to pull by and fInished third