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/126817
--=SpeedlNay _ Faria fantastic at Costa Mesa Ermolenko styles to IMS win By Scott Daloisio Moran makes it at Carlsbad debut By Gordie Orr CAR LS BAD, CA, APR. 14 It was the grand openi ng of California Speed way a t Ca rlsbad Raceway Sunday n ig h I, and an en th usias tic crowd gOI 18 a n int rod uc tion to the sport and to Kell y Moran . Moran, the two -tim e Na tio nal Champ ion an d current number four in th e world, co nvi ncin gl y cap tured to p honors in the Scra tch ma in whi le " Sho wtime" Bo b Oil topped H andicap ac tio n. . T he H andicap portion of the prog ra m a llowed th ree ri ders a shot at th e big -time when th ey usu a lly ride Secon d D ivision a t th e o ther tracks o n th e ci rcui t. Ri ch Sweaney, Da vid H ~n cock and J eff Springma n a ll received the ir cha nce a nd performed adm ira bly. H anco ck too k bot h h is heat a nd sem i w hi le Sweaney a lso won hi s h eat and Sp ri ngman transferred a ll th e way 10 the main. Co ntroversy reigned in th e ma in before the en d o f th e seco nd lap. Springma n took th e lead on th e stan but went wid e in th e secon d corn er a llowing H anco ck by on th e in side: As th e p ack came into tu rn o ne o n the seco nd la p , Oil gave H anco ck a ta p in th e rea r. H an cock went down forc ing Mik e . Mazzacane 10 lay it down an d Moran to momentarily stol? - everyone expected a red fla g Whl C~ never ca me o u t. Springman remained a t th e po in t position un til th e th ird lap w he n Oil (Cycle T ech Ra cing Godden ) bl asted by for th e lead. Once o ut front, O il went o n to ta ke the fir st-ever H andica p m ain a t th e new faci li ty. Spri n gman fin ish ed second with Stever Lucero third. Mora n was unbeatable in Scrat ch action as h e won hi s semi a nd th e m ain as well as a three rider intermission Ma tch race. In th e main Moran roll ed o u t of ga te o ne , but was second 10 Robert Pfet zin g . Mora n (ST P / Arai / Oa klev/ Kal-Gard/ Kno u v Idea 's Godde n ) sho t by P fetzin g o n th e back ch u te o n lap one; Pfetzin g tried to stay w ith Moran bu t th ere was no deny ing the Champ. Pfetzi ng the n went wide in tu rn four o n lap two a nd dro p p ed 10 th e back o f the field. Mik e Faria moved into second, but there wa s n o wa y h e was goi ng 10 ca tch th e lon g-gon e Mo ra n . Lucero to ok th ird for th e second time o f the night. Ma rk Weaver (Jones G oggl es/ KalGard/Hi-Point/ K&N/ Alan Chr istia n Racin g/ Sim pson G odden ) won th e first-ever race held at th e new track w he n h e won h is Second Divi sio n h ea t ra ce. He the n ca me right back a nd won th e main o ver Bobbv T occo an d Bryce Ei kelberger, . R ick Va nder ha m pu t his Maely th ro u gh its p aces a nd cap tu red th e wil d-a nd -woo ly Third Division trophy. T he lead chan g ed han ds severa l times in th e race, but Vanderham was able 10 ta ke co ntro l a nd figh t 0 [[ h is cha llengers o ver th e final two la ps. Todd Bert ra nd , o ne o f th e ea rly leaders, took second. H eavil y-sp onso red Greg H ancock ( Bru ce P enhall /R o a d & Tra c k / F.O . M .l Be Il /Off S hor e / AME Goggles/ Malcolm Smi th /Ski Work s/ H ollywood Motorcycle/ Gri n / C-Fab/ Ca re CUllers/Honda of Pasadena ) held o ff a fin e field o f Ju n io r ri de rs 10 ca p tu re th eir m a in event. Results SCRATCH M AIN: 1. Kelly Moran (Gdn); 2 . M ike Fana (J aw) ; 3 . Steve l ucero (W es); 4 . Rob Pfetz in g (Wes). HANDICA P; 1. Bob Ott iGdn); 2. Jeff Springman (Wesl; 3. Steve Lucero (Wes ); 4 . Kell y M oran (Gdn); 5. Mi ke Ma zzacane (Ja w); 6. David Hancock (Wes). SECOND DIV: i . Mark Weaver (Gdn); 2. Bobby Tocco (W es); 3 . Bryce Eike lberg er (Gdn l; 4 . Rand y Beddow (Jaw ). THIRD DIV: t , Rick Vanderham (Mael; 2. Todd Bert rand (Ja w ); 3 . Dou g Bowers (Ja w ); 4 . Ant hony Sanc hez (Wes). JR: I, Greg Hancoc k; 2. Tim Gewec ke; 3. Billy HamIll : 4 . Jessee Finch ; 5. Marshall Topping . M ATCH RACE: 1. Kelly Mora n (Gdn )· 2 Lance King (Wes); 3. Mike Faria (Ja w). • . SAN BER N ARDINO , CA, APR. 10 A crowd o f over 7000 fa ns jammed th e O range Countv Fairgrounds 'stands on a cold foggy n ig h t to witn ess " Flyin': " Su dden ~am " Ermolen~o scored h is second Scratc h main in ·a row at I M S, beatmg out Lance Kmg, Steve Lucero and A la n Ch rist ia n . By Scott Daloisio COSTA MESA, CA. AP R . 1'2 Th e C ycl e Rider , In c./IMS ! ro ph y Series seems to be sha pm g up as a ben efit for Sam Erm ol enk o as th e "s tylish" Mi ke Fa ria 's second Scratch mai n triu m p h in th ree ti res this vea r. It look ed as though th e popu lar 28-year-o ld wo u ld have h is work cu t out for him in th e m ain as he h ad to sta rt fro m gat e th ree aga in st " Sud d en ." Sam Em,? len ko , defendi ng National Champion Kell y Moran and Brad Oxley, Ermo len ko , co m in g o ff h is seco nd win in a row a t Inland Mo torcycl e Speedway in Sa n Bern ard in o , took th e ga te from th e p ol e. chased by Faria (Shoei / Torco / Ts uba k i/ Tra k Ma st er T ire svScouv ' s 1\1 uff ler / ST P / O a k le v/ Ka l-G a r d / \\' acy Arm strong Jaw;'l) Moran a nd Oxley. Fa ria went to th e o ut side a nd sho t pa st Ermo len ko "in spectacu lar styk - wh en he go t traction a nd wh eelied into th e lead o n th e back ch u te, At th e sa me tim e Fa ria took th e lead . O x!ey threw a rod in hi s mot or, win ch totally d estroyed it. Moran was in close pursuit when he wen t Wide ~)U t o f four on th e seco nd la p a nd hit the wall hard. Mora n mad e it to the next turn . th en p u lled in to th e cen ter gree n for th e n igh t. That left Fa ri a a n d Erm o lenko o n th e tra ck a lon e, bu t Faria was in fro m , a ll the way to the checkered flag . T ony Briggs (Ocea n Pacific/Bel R;a y/Kell M) con tin ues to im p ress s lll ~e com l ~ l g o.ut .o f re tirement by tak~ng a . bi g wm m th e Ha n di cap ma m. Bn gg s, so n of fou r ti me World C ha mpion Barry Briggs. suffered a ~ erio u s n eck inj ury in 1981 while rid m g for th e Read in g Racers o f the Bri tish League a nd was fo rced o u t o f a ction unt il Novem ber of last season. In Friday's ac tion Briggs not on ly wo n th e m am but he a lso won h is h eat a n d semi from th e 20-yard lin e. H e headed 30-ya rd -line sta rte rs Mark Dwver a nd Wayn e Leu tz at the sta rt o f th 'e ma in an d never looked back . In th e end B.riggs ra ced 10 a seven bikelen g t' ; victory over Dwyer and Le u tz. . Vietor Robledo (Wes) received a big brea k when Warren Reid was forced to scra tch from th e progra m. R;o ble.d o took ful. advanta ge 'o f the 1 S lt l~a t lO n by lead in g alI the way to cla im th e Seco nd Division main. Pa t H a wley c.h arged a ll th e way fro m th e 30-yard -h n e, but ran o u t o f tim e a nd was forced to se tt le for seco nd . Jeff . J ones claimed th ird. Lik e R o bl ed o , Ran d y S k in n er (H a ll m a n USA Jawa) a lso ca me into the progra m as a reser ve a n d took the T h ird Division main for hi s first-ever speedway troph y. J eff J ohnson ga ve chase a ll the wa y, but th ere was n o ca tch ing Ski n ner. T hi rd spot wa s cap tur ed by Kent Bow ser. for mer Brit ish League rider swep t th e Scra tch Side of th e p ro gram fo r th e second week in a row at Inland Motorcycle Speedway . Er mo len ko (A m i/ To n es Goggles/ ST P/Q&E /A I Reed 's P ol ish in g / Fra me Shop/Oa kley/ Ca r T unes / KalGa rd Wes) is now six-far-six in IMS r~i?u lar season ac tio n , bu t the co m pe1Il10n ca me a li tt le clos er to his rear tire at the finish o f Wed nesday n ight's . m a.m. . Ermol enko aga in sta rted o n th e pole, beating Alan Ch risti an. La n ce Kin g and St eve Lucero into th e first bend. Kin g race d in to second after goi ng by Christian o n the in side a t th e fin.ish o f th e ,?pe n ing lap. C h ristian tr ied to reclaim th e number two . SP OI on th e seco nd lap. but King fo ught hi 111 back as they sped.down th e back ch u.le. King th en began to ch ase down Erm o len ko for the p oint posi u on as Christia n went wide o n th e .next .lap. leu ing Lucero by and en d in g hIS cha nce s for victory for the l:ven lll g. Kin g kep t clos ing in on Ermo len ko but "S ud de n" Sa m wa 0~1 g ua rd a nd took th e win by two bi kelengt hs , L ucero was a close th ird . J im La wson (Grea t Gatsby P izza Parl or/ Ara ilC la rk 's N u tri tion Cen ter/D ..J.:s T icke t Servic e/Car T unes) m ade h is tlnrd a p pea ra nce on hi s !lew GM a pr?fi ta ble on e ~y ca p tur m g' top spot in th e H andi ca p m a in from th e 30-ya rd-l in e. Lawson passed form er teammate Mike Mazzacane on th e firs t la p 10 ta ke seco nd, th en we.nt a fter . N ew Zeala n d's To ny Bri ggs. Wh ile I..:awson wa s a pp lyi ng p ressu re to Briggs, C hrist ia n was ma kin g a fast cha rge fro m th e back o f th e p ack a nd slid into th ird o n la p th ree. Brigg s was doi ng a ma sterful job of hol din g off La wso n, who was tryin g to bull h is wav1>V on the inside. T he two lea ders carne ~ff tu rn fo ur on lap three, tradin g ~ I bow s like hockey p layers. Lawson fm all y fo u nd a hol e ;ll.ld mov ed into th e lead a t the begi n rung o f lap four. T h e ra ce made it a ll Iht; way to tu rn four on lap four wh en Bnggs crashed a nd Christia n had to la y it down to avoid hi m . T he red flag ca.me o u t: ;~n d Lawson ·go t th e wi n wit h. C hn ~ll;~ n second. trail ed by defendmg '" a nona l C hampi o n Kell y Mora n. · Wa lt ~arn um (Q- I05 Jaw ) con tinn ed h is march towards IMS First Division co m petitio n by winn in g h is fourth Divisio n T wo main in a ro w. Fa rn t,tm, j irnO'Dell a nd Do ug Nicol were m a torrid d uel for th e lead with Farn u m takin g fu ll co n tro l after N icol lost a ba ttl e with th e turn three cus hio n on lap fo u r. In th e en d it was Fa r n u m o ver a fas t-closi ng Ri ch Sw~aney and England 's j oe Kreisberg. Results SCRATCH MAI N: 1. M ike Faria (Jaw l; 2. Sam Erm olenko (Wes); 3: Kelly Mo ran (Gdn); 4 . Brad Oxley (Wes). HANDICAP: 'l . Tony Br iggs (GM ); 2. Ma rk Dwyer (Wes); 3. Way ne Leutz (Wes); 4 . Lance King (Wes); 5. Sam Ermolenko (Wes); 6. Denn is Bransford (Wesl. . SECOND DIV: i . Victor Robledo (Wes); 2. Pat Hawley (Gdnl ; 3. Jeff Jones (Wesl; 4. Cary Faas (Wes); 5. Doug Nicol (W es); 6. Steve Flanagan (Wes). THIRD DIV: 1. Randy Skinner (Jaw ); 2. J eff John son (Wes ); 3. Kent Bow ser (Gdn); 4 , Kevin Krugh (J awl. JR: 1. Tr lnon Cire.llo; 2. Kelcey Gordon; 3. Marsh a ~1 Toppmg ; 4 . BIll y Felts ; 5. J essee Finc h; 6. DaVId Busby. Results SCRATCH MAIN: 1. Sam Ermo lenko (We s)· 2 La n~e. King (Wes ); 3 . Steve Lucero (Wes); 4. Ala~ Chr istia n (GM). · HANDICAP: t . J im Law son (GM); 2. Alan Chris nan (GM); 3. Kelly Mo ran (Gdn); 4 . M ike Far ia (Wes); 5. Mik e Mauacane (Jaw) ' 6 Tony Br iggs (GM ). ' .' · SECOND DIV: 1. Wa lt Farn um (Jaw); 2. Ric h Sw ean ey (Wes); 3. J oe Kre isberg (J aw ); 4 . Lou is Kossu th (Mae); 5. Jim O'Dell (Jaw); 6. Doug Nicol (Wes). THIRD DIV: 1. Jeff J ohn son (Wes l; 2. Richard Pe r~ lns (J awl ; 3. J immy Gent ile (Jaw); 4 . Oscar Salina s (J aw) ; 5. Ron Sw enson (Wes); 6. Jo rdan Duncan (Gdnl . •.. '.1

