Americans Bobby Schwartz (f ar left) and Sam Ermolenko go outside of England's Neil Evitts and John Davis (far right) in the first heat.
Faria (left) and Rob Pfetzing battle during a heat. Pfetzing crashed out
of the po ints while Faria was edged by Andy Smith in a run-off heat.
Winner and new Overseas Champion Simon Cross goes under Americans
M ike Faria (left) and Rick Miller. Neither of the Americans advanced.
Despite crashing, Ermolenko advanced from Coventry and goes on to
Sweden where he will attempt to qualify for the World Fina l.
Cross wins, Ermolenko survives
Overseas Speedway Final
By John Hipkiss
COVENTRY, ENGLAND, JULY 12
Sam Ermolenko survived some anxious moments and a last-heat crash in the Overseas
rou n d of the World Championships at Coventry to become the only American contender to qual ify for the semifinals
he . h
f
id
h
T e o t er o ur n ers ~ 0
graduated fro m the Amencan
22
qualifiers held in Long Beach, California, Rick Miller, Mike Faria, Rob
Pfetzing and Bobby Schwartz, all
failed to ma ke the cut. Ermolenko,
from Maywood, California, who has
twice finis hed third in the world in
the last .three years, only succeeded
in scraping through on the bottom
qualifying mark.
Winner of the meeting and new
Overseas Champion was 23-year-o ld
Simon Cross of Cradley Heath,
England, who won the first-ever
three-man title decider, beating
Tatum and British Champion
Simon Wigg after all three had
totalled 13 points. Cross was beaten
by Wigg in his first race but recovered
well with three successive wins,
untroubled by the wet cond itions.
In the decider he held o££ Tatum
at the turn and defied all his e££orts
to force a way through, with Wigg
trai ling in third spot.
Ermolenko's troubles started in his
