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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126923
".-.".-....... " . (J) (J) ;z ~ :r z :r o ..., >- '" o (J) __...."'Ib :r Cl. Neil Evitts. Chris Morton. Bobby Schwartz and top American point-scorer Shawn Moran head into turn one in Sheffield. England. World Team Cup Speedway Cham~;onsh;~: ----- Rounds 112 - Danes clinch title By John Hipkiss ULLEVI, SWEDEN, AUG. 7 VOJENS, DENMARK, AUG. 8 With still one more round of the 1986 World Team Cup Championship to go, Denmark has already retained the title that they have held for the last three years. America's hopes of winning the team title, their only victory in this championship being . f' back In 1982, has gone or thIS year but the competition itself is still very much alive, since there is still the last round to race, thanks to a new formula introduced to the championship this . y e a r . . · The Bntlsh based Arnencans gave a . d IS h eartenmg f'Irst roun d s h 'm 0':" Sweden when their ~op four nders could only muster Just 17 poll1ts beT t ween them. Sh M op gun was awn oran, even h h h 'd' 'th b k t oug e wasn lI1g.WI a ro .en a?kle, ~llh mne POll1ts from fIve ndes. H~s last race produced a m~morable victory over World ChampIOn Enk Gu?dersen.. Shoet s team buddies for both rounds were Bobby. Schwartz, Sam Ermole~ko, Lance KlI1g and at reserve Rick Mll!er, strange, however, that the tea~ s, English manager John SCOll dldn t ~lve Miller a chance to ImprC?ve on the end re.sult at Swed.en, espeaallyas Califorman LanceKII1.g failed to score any POll1ts unul hiS last race. The Ullevi track was typical of the Scandanavian surfaces, very slick. Miss the gate and you have very lillie hope of passing, and that was the downfall of the Californians with only Ermolenko joining Moran in winning a' race, and that win for "Sudden Sam" accounted for the only points he got, though he did take a nasty fall when he had an argument against the safety fence and lost! Schwartz trailed in last in three of his races beCore mastering the starts 10 grab two second places and King had carburelOr problems throughout the meeting. Much more effon was needed the followin!1;nightat Vojens if the Amer- icans were going to salvage anything from the meets at all. It seems these days that you .have more chance of becommg president than beating the Danes on their home track but still Schwartz and Co. mustered down to the job at hand and gave a sterling performance to finish in front of England and Sweden. Denmark totally out-classed everybod y a n ght from th e s tar t . nd shone . Gundersen was the top scorer with 14 points, beaten only by England's Simon Wigg, and with solid support from Hans Nielsen and Tommy K d h 986 h . . nlJ sent el teamc amplOnshlp was theirs. But the fight wasn't over for America, England or Sweden because of the change in the way the competition is being run this year, points are awarded so, three for a win, two for second with the third placed team gelling one point. The end result of that is the team which finishes lasl on points after three rounds is then relegated into a lower group next year without any chance of challenging for the cup in 1987. W· h hi' . d h . . It. t s III mm t ere. was a more determmed team .at VOJen~ which s:i\w Ermolenko twtce beat Nielsen to top score wllh II pomts. Not so.good for S<;hwartz as he was leading 111 hiS opemng race when the uny Danish rider Jan.O.Pedersen tried to pass around the outside on the last bend as Schwaru picked up too much grip and high-Sided mto the Dane. Both riders later 'retired from the meeting. With the last round 10 be held at Bradford, England, late in August, the Danes could afford 10 take the meeting easily, assured of the title with six points gained while America, England and Sweden fight it out, all with two points. The baule continues. •• Shawn Moran led the American effort at Sheffield's match races by scoring.14 points. However. England went home as the winning team. Results ROUND 1: 1. Denmark (39); 2. Sweden (351; 3. England (29); 4. America (17). ROUND 2: 1. Denmark (481; 2. America (29); 3. England (23); 4. Sweden (191. Brits top Yanks in Sheffield By John Hipkiss SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND, AUG. 10 England received a morale boosting win against the Americans at Sheffield in the first of three meetings when they beat the Yanks 60 to 48. That's the first win for the Brits out of the last seven encou nters! A late surge by the Lions gave them a 12-point victory, gaining maximum heat wins from the last two races made the final result look a little onesided as there were never more than a half a dozen points between them. With Simon Wigg playing a captain's role and winning five of his six races and reserve Chris Morton giving valuable service, England had too much all-around strength for the disappointed Americans, who relied heavily on Shawn Moran and Lance King. The United States led briefly when they easily took a maximum 5-1 win in race two through the efforts of · Ki ng an d R Ie k M'll er, b E ng 1- d 1 ,ut 3!-1 grabbed back the lead In the tlurd heat with maximum points from J't'C"II' ".L., Jeremy D oncaster an d N el 0 Ins over Sam Ermolenko and John Cook, . brought over from America especially for the series. From then on they were never headed, although it was not until the final two races that England emphasized its supremacy. Home track specialist Moran was the high scorer for the Americans with 14 poims. though he had 10 play second fiddle 10 Simon Wigg on two occasions, turned in some typical action packed entertaining racing, especially against Chris Monon. Lance Ki,:!g's 10 tal of 13 would have been higher had it not been for a machine failure while chasing hard after Chris Morton in race II, but he can claim some reward when he and Rick Miller took a 5-1 race win over Simon Wigg; they were the only points Wiggy dropped. The Americans came close to regaining the lead when they pulled level at 24 each after King and Miller beat Simon Wigg in race eight, but with a succession of three heat wins England gained back the lead with the statesiders gaining only two more race wins, heat 12 when Ermolenko and Cook won a thrilling battle against Doncaster and Neil Collins, and then when that win was repeated by Moran and Schwartz four heats later against the same duo. The rider-starved Americans imported John Cook and with Kelly Moran still on theinjuredlist, named Lance King's mechanic as reserve, Sean Diiulla. He must be the first Division Three rider to be a member of a national team! • Results ENGLAND: Simon Wigg (161. Chris Morton 12. 7, MarvynCox5. Neil Evitts 5. Peter Carr 5. Phil Collins 1. AMERICA: Shawn Moran 14, Lonce King 13. ",S.\T\,l;r!1lPI''i!k9,~,JliC~,M'UerP"Jc;W1,Cpg'''IJ'''''3 Bobby Schwartz 4. Sean Diiulla (res) no rides. Neil Collins 9. Jeremy Doncaster