Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

.~ CIl CIl ;;1 c, :r z :I: ., ~ 0 ~ :I: > '" CIl ~ 0 I0 "- 00 0") ~ (.0 $-0 Q,) ~ 0 .... U ' .. 0 Bobby Schwartz's engine failure kept him out of contention in Denmark. (Above) The happy American team after their first-round win in the test series. (Below) America's Shawn Moran and Eng land's Jeremy Doncaster. p ion w ho was far g one. Then di saster st ruck th e A merica n s a secon d tim e. Schwa nz's re n ted m achine (a G od de n, Zierk) j ust bl ew a part o n the very la st lap w hi le he wa s ho lding second spot, w h ic h would h a ve left h im wi th th e si lver m ed al. Schwanz had to be co ntent with si x th p lace o vera ll , fin ishi ng wi th a tota l o f 15 po ints. Controversy had rained o ver th e fi na l ro u n d long before th e s ta n w hen the Dan ish govn eri ng body (the DM U ) seede d Fin n J en sen to th e fi nal as host n ation, instead of 1984 d o u ble cha m p io n Dane Erik Gu nd ersen . Th e host cl u b, Esbe rg , had pro teste d strongly tha t without Gundersen (wh o is from Esberg ), th e cl ub would face fin ancia l ruin , as was show n in i lu- poorest -a tu-nded lo ng track fin al fo r m a n)' yea rs , wi i h j ust 8000 people. Gundersen wa s injured in th e sem i-fina l stage, so failed 10 qu alify. 1985 World Speedwa)' Long Track Final Wigg w ins in Denmark . By John Hipkiss EBBERS, D EN MARK , SE PT. 15 England's Simon Wigg, who worked hard for this lucrative title, won the 1985 Worl d 1000- m eter Long Track Cha m p io nsh ip, when he won his final ride after makin g a flying start fro m th e outside tra p . This victory goes a long wa y to co m pe nsa te him af ter his ban fr om International 34 speedway events th is yea r; the ban fo ll o wed a br ibe scandal last sea so n. Am erica was well-rep rese nted by 1983 Long T rack C hampio n Shawn Moran a nd speedway team captain Bo bby Schwanz. They both sco red suffi ci ent points to transfer to the d a y's final ; Moran as joint to p scorer o n 17 points, the sa m e as Wigg; a nd Schwanz with 15 points. They were j o in ed in th e sud den death fina l by England 's former lo ng track champ io n Peter Collins, West German Egon Muller a nd Czechoslovakian Jiri Stancl . T he lin .. made for grand fina le. wit h Wigg a nd Moran both on 17 p oints and th e rest o f the field all with 15. A run -off would have occured if ei the r Moran o r Wigg fi n is hed in third pla ce, bu t i t wasn ' t to be. Wi g g shot like a bu llet fro m th e u n favored o u tside gate position, swe epi ng across the res t of th e line-u p on the rai n soaked, hea vy lOOO-met er track . As . Wi g g we nt o ut o f sig h t down th e straigh tawa y, Stancl rucked in behind and in third spo t wa s Schwanz. Schwanz quickly m oved into second positi o n , with Mora n ta king fo urth p lace. H ow ever , th e little jockey lasted o nly o ne lap until ret irin g with m ech a n ica l problems. T ha t finish ed Moran 's ho pes of regaing th e titl e th at he wo n in 1983: it also m eant th a t he had finished in fo u rt h p lace for the m eet wit h 17 p oints. That put th e pressu re o n Sch wanz, who h as ridden in only o ne o pen long trac k m eeting besides th e wo rl d qualifier s thi s seaso n. 10 gain a ros trum p la ce. H e ro de ha rd . keepin g behind leader Wigg, a worth cha m - Schwartz was d isappointed a t h is fin al result, b ut a lso plea sed co nsid erin g h ow li ttl e experie nce h e has a t long track racing, a nd was full o f praise for th e winn er, " W iggy knows hi s business a nd full y deserves h is victory." It was Schwanz wh o helped Wi g g just a li tt le to win th e ti tl e for the sem i-final stage. Schwanz purposely fill ed in West German ace Egon Muller , who at that stage was tw o points cl ea r of Wi gg . Whi le Sch wa nz was full o f p raise for Wigg , he was also sure that the title co uld hav e gone to Mo ran , who twice broke the track record before Wigg gai ned th at cred it, also. • Results OVERA LL: 1. Simon Wigg (Eng) 22; 2. J iri Sta nel (CZ) 19; 3. Pet er Coll in s (Eng) 18; 4 . Shawn Moran (USA ) 17; 5. Egon M ull er (W G) 17; 6. 8 0bby Sehwa rt z (USA I 15; 7 . M . Hagen (Eng) 12; 8 . G. Riss (W Gll1 ; 9 . J . Doncaster IEng19; lD. G. Hack (WG ) 7. . England vs. USA Speedway Test Series: Tests Z-3 Yanks roll on in England By John Hipkiss IPS WICH /S WIN DON, ENG LAN D, SEPT. 5/8 After Englandhad lost to the American s by 10 p oin ts a t the opening ro u n d in the mud of Belle Vu e. rth en wen t on to hold the Californians to an eight-point victory at Ipswich befo re cr u m blin g completely at S . d . d 24 . WIn on, gomg o ~ n poin ts, 66- ~2 , to th e overjoyed Yanks . Swindon was th e clos ing ro u n d of t he th ree-ra ce Engla nd VS. USA Speedwa y Test Series. The Americans were on th e wi nning trac k a fter a 3-0 whitewash in th e ser ies aga inst England. They took their seq uence to six test victories a fter their 66-42 win a t Swi n don . It 's th e second co n secu tive season they've won the seri es with Engla nd , an d th ey have n o w lost o n ly one of their la st ei g h t I ruernatio nals aga i n st England. The Americans ' su ccess ca m e des pi te injury to former wor ld n u m ber four Kell y Mo ra n , a nd in th e fin al test a t Swi ndon , Bo b by Schwartz withdrew aft er four r ides with a knee inj ury receiv ed .at th e prev!ous te~t th ree d a ys ea rl ier at IpSWICh . H is d ecision to re ti re m eant a chance fo r water ski cham p Mik e Roo ney to co m p le te h is fir st ri de a t Interna ~iona l l e~el. R oo n ey received a s ~a ~ d l!lg ova tion as h e crossed the Iinish line, eve n though he was at the back of the field. Sc.hwanz's inj.ury ca m e as he was le~d mg the race in h eat lO a t th e Ipswich tes t, when h e cras hed th roug h the safety fence and ,:"as st re tchered o ff th.e track. U p u n til then , he ~a d co ntrib u ted a v? l u.able se,:,en pomts to wa rd h ISteam s eight- poi nt victory, Lance Ki ng a n d Sa m Errno len ko proved to be the America ns ' best pairing sco ring 28 between th em . Er rnolenko even had a n engine failure in .heat five, which gave Engla n d a 5-1 m a ximum hea t win a nd p ut the score

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