Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

C.ta Ill... - San Bernardino - V.nt1lra - A_1nIrn -"apa- Ceeta 11_ - . . . SPEEDWAY WEEK ~ It') l-o Q) ..c o .... u o At Inland Motor Speodwey in San Bernerdino. two rider. display two radically differant styles in cornering.. Bad Bast blasts to another win at Costa Mesa By Jim Brown COSTA MESA, CA, SEPT. 23 On any full moon, you can find racers and fans wary of this superstition. Costa Mesa was one more wild night of 20 crashes and fresh accidents that most will attribute to the full moon. The first heat of the evening had to have twO restarts and set the precedent for the evening. john Cook was unable to fi n ish the program alter Sam Ermolenko came out of turn four in a wheelie, came crashing down on Cook and put a hole in his helmet from his front axle nUL In the Handicap main, Denny Scopellite's throttle stuck wide open on the start sending him intoan uncontrollable wheelie. As leader of the pack, he took out three other riders, one of which was Mike Curoso, who was sent to a sudden stop at the wall, and injuring his hand putting him out for the evening. Mike Bast, sponsored by justice Bros., Riderside Mitsubishi and Pro Fab Erectors didn't seem to be bothered by the full moon. He swept the Scratch program with consecutive wins. Bast in his normal fashion, took off like a shot in the main with Christian in close pursuit. As Bast and Christian tightened up in the first turn, Moran was squeezed outof the competition along with Steve Lucero. Handicap racing was a disaster from beginning to end. The first Handicap semi had to have three restarts. It is amazing that Alan Christian was able to transfer to the main. After being set back for jumping the start he fell down between one and two and was able to jump back up only to have to lay itdown in the next tum to avoid Brad Oxley who was also down. jim Lawson took his 30yard start to the checkered flag for the win. Lawson has been hungry for a win and finally got to taste one. Lawson had been complaining earlier about always drawing the outside but it looks as though he can handle it just fine. Ron Blanton came back to win the consolation after having been disqualified in the semi for causing a crash. Mike Curoso and Denny Scopelitte were winners in the semis. Second Division racing had riders laying all over the track but fans were able to view a miracle. Ken Hansen hit the wall and was lying motionless next to his bike. When he realized his kill switch didn't work, hecame back to life instantly to try to quiet his bike to avoid the mandatory $100 fine for kill switch failure. Wayne Leutz, Robin Bourgeous and Ron Williams were heat winners, but all three took back seats in the main as Greg Ayers tore them up from the 30-yard line to take the win. Third Division oddly enough had the least amount of crashes. Randy Roscamp and Walt Farnum were heat winners and finished up in the main in that order. Roscamp has a peculiar style of standing up erect on the peg on the straightaway approaching the turn, but his main event win showed it not to be that odd. Mike Faria and Kelly Moran put on a close race in their intermission match race. Moran won by half a bikelength. Results SCRATCH MAIN: 1. Mike Bas" 2. Alan Christian; HANDICAP MAIN: ,. Jim Lawson; 2. Sterling COVlr; 3. Alln Christien; 4. Oubb Ferrell; 5. Mike Curosa; 6. Denny SCopeliite. SECOND DIV: 1. Greg Ayers; 2. Andy Northrup; 3. Randy Blevinl; 4. Wayne Lautz; 5. Robin Bourgeous; 6. Ron Williams. THIRD OIV: 1. Randy Roacamp; 2. Walt Farnum; 3. Frnak Steiner; 4. Jon P.".no; 5. Ste"e Bauer; 6. Bryce Eikelburger. MATCH RACE; 1. Kally Moran; 2. Mike Faria. 3. Steve Lucero; 4. Kelly Moran. Ferrell fares well at Costa Mesa ByJim Brown COSTA MESA, CA, SEPT. 16 The fans were treated to an excellent display of speedway racing Friday night in every division. The racing was tight and the competition was tough. Sam Ermolenko had to go to the hospital after Mike Faria and Buddy Robinson got tangled up in the first Scratch heat which sent Ermolenko into the wall hard. jim Lawson got his foot caught in his rear fender and took a couple of £lips with his bike, but after the safety crew disassembled his rear fender bracing he was freed and able to walk away unhurt. Dubb Ferrell put himself in the winner's circle in the Scratch main after a hard ride. Ferrell sponsored by jawa, Arai, Oakley and Vera's beat some of speedway's best: Kelly Moran, Mike Bast and Alan Christian. Bast and Moran both won their semis. Gene Woods and Brad Oxley put on the closest race of the evening and received a big cheer from the crowd. ardI•• - V••tara - A . . . . . Handicap racing was a treat for john Sandona as he took home the trophy for the main event. Sandona, sponsored by Oakley, STP, and jim Busby also won his heat race as Woods and Blanton held of( Christian to each gain the transfer spots. Gene Woods won the Handicap consolation in and outside ride from the 40-yard line. Second Division racing had Mark Weaver, Ron Williams and Wayne Leutz as heat winners. Pat Hawley finished second in his heat with a flat tire which had him crossing the finish line rather shaky. Ken Hanson, after finishing second in his heat, came back to win the main event. Hanson, sponsored by johar, MXL and Dale's Lace and True has had his share of misfortune lately but finally made it to the checkered £lag first. Ed Copp and Mike Dwyer won Third Division heats but jim Clausman came from finishing second in his heat to win the main event. Clausman is sponsored by Mike Bast and also by his dad. Number six for Bast, Champ again By Scott Daloisio SAN BERNARDINO, CA, SEPT. 21 Michael Bast revived a family tradition in San Bernardino Wednesday ni~ht when he rode a Geor~e Wenn-prepared Wes- -"apa- Ceeta 1 1 _ - " but was forced to watch Cook sail by in turn two when his box £ailed. Cook went on for an easy win over Steve Lucero and Buddy Robinson while Moran's hopes of the title vanished as he watched the race from the infield. Moran came back in race nine and hammered his opponents including Mike Faria for the win. Bast and Cook, both sitting on perfect scores, met in event 10. Bast got the gate from the two while Cook came out second and went to the outside looking for traction. When Cook went to the outside he left the bottom of the track open and john Sandona took the easy rou te into second. SandCRD's pass seemed to take the win out of Cook's sails as the popular ridet'-hit the dirt on lap three. Ferrell stayed in the hunt by eaiily defeating his competition in events II and 13 while Moran, still hopmg for second or third, had his motor go away on lap three when he had a big lead in event 14. That finished Maran for the evening. Bast was third out of the gate in event 15, but he quickly moved into second and began to challenge leader Lucero. Bast was firing both guns, but Lucero held him of( until the multi-time ational Champion made a smooth pass at the start of the third revolution and went on for the win. Sam Ermolenko closed round four with an easy win oVer Faria and Christian while Cook ~ed content to entrtain the fans with a series of wheelies. Event 20 could have been talked about for years. If Moran hadn't broken while leading his two races, he would have met Bast for the title. Unfortunately, because of his previous problems, Moran was unable to make the call. There was still some more drama. H Bast finished last and Ferrell won, Ferrell would be the State Champion. H Bast finished last and Ferrefl second, there would be a run-off for the crown as there would be if Ferrell won and Bast finished third. Unfortunately someone failed to advise Bast of the theatrics and he took the lead in turn two and wenton to win over Christian and Ferrell. Bast took his victory lap to a standing ovation. As the jubilant winner was circling the track he presented the checkered flag to a young fan before being mobbed by his crew. The night wasn't over at that point as Ferrell and Faria were forced to come back for a runoff for the second spot. Ferrell drew the inside but got a terrible gate, giving Faria an insurmountable lead. Fate then struck a cruel blow as Faria's machine shut off on lap twO giving Ferrell second spot. Bobb Cody got by a stubborn Tim Gewecke at the end of the second go 'round to capture the California State Junior Championship. Dave Busby also got by Gewecke for second with Scott Correy taking the wrap up spot. Tonight'S program puta lidon the 1983 season at IMS. Promoter john LaDouceur would like to thank all of the fans who supported IMS and looks forward to seeing you all again next March. • lake to his sixth California State Championship by going undefeated at Inland Motorcycle peedway. It was the 12th time in the races' l6-year history that a Bast has taken the crown. Mike's brother Steve also has six wins. The real story for the banner event began Monday night when defending Champion and 1983 World Finalist Lance King crashed at a press gathering and broke his collarbone in two places. Even if King would have been fit he would have bffn hard pressed to defeat the 30-year-old Bast from Perris who has been in perfect form of late. Tom Burba shocked the packed house when he soundly beat Steve Lucero and one of the pre-race favorites Alan Christian in event one. 5ast (Riverside Mitsubishi/justice Brothers/Oakley/Pre Fab Erectors) came. off the pole in event two and ran away from the pack to score his first easy win of the evening. Gene Woods held off a Mike Faria's slingshot move to claim second at the line after they had staged a fierce four-lap war. Kelly Moran made it look easy as he claimed event three while john Cook .-survived a nasty looking crash and two restarts to win event four by a half straightaway. Event five brought round one winners Burba and Bast together. Burba saw his hopes for another upset go away when he executed a wild wheelie out of the gate letting Bast get away. Ex-British leaguer MikeCuroso stayed close to Bast over the first circuit but couldn't keep up the pace the Results rest of the way. Faria, who suffered box problems in his first appearance. POINTS: 1. Mike Balt(W..)15; 2. "DubbFerrell hopped on the Dennis Briggs' God(Jawl 11; 3. Mike Faria (W... Godd) 11; 4. (TIE) Alan Christian (Goddl/S,eve Lucero (W..I 10; 6. den and ran away to post the win in (TIEl Gene Woods (Well/Sam Errnolenko (J_)/ event six over Dubb Ferrell and Brad John Cook(JawIS; 9. Tom Burba (Jaw) 7; 10. Kelly Moran (Godd) 6; 11. (TIEl Brad Dxlay (W..}/Buddy Oxley . Robinson (Jowl/Keith Chrisco lGodd) 5; 14. John The other two round one winners, Sandona (W..); 15. (TIE) Mike Curosa (W..l/Jim Moran and Cook met in event seven LarlOn(Jaw)3; 17. RonBlamon(Goddl 1; IS. Scott . Sivadge (Wa) o. Moran took the ~t~ {rpm the ppJe .... :"T~ t:w~ \>V ru'!"".

• Cover