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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127531
BICE RACE Budweiser SJ!tedwayIce Race World Championship_Ill _ e Grant (right) muscled his way past Dixon (not shown) early in the main event, Pat Lin ran away in the main event to score his first I.C .E. World Championship. (Left to' right) Martin Dixon, Li n and John G rant celebrate in the winner's circle. earn a second row starting position in the main event. From his second row start pos itio n, Grant followed Lin to the Checke red flag. Third overa ll went to a som ewhat disappointed J ohn Dixon. But th e Newcastel, England resident had little reaso n to be disappointed. In hi s first ice race, the 32-year-o ld racer displ ayed an immedia te adap tab ility for ice racing and qualified for the front row of the ma in. During the main, though , Dixon 's fue l tap was kn ocked into the of f pos it io n while he was in second pl ace. He quickl y turned th e petcock back on, how ever, and salvaged third. Mar k Borgman greeted the checkered flag in fourth at th e end of the six-lap main. Borgman retired in 1990 to pursue a career in bu siness, but friends persua ded h im to race in th e even t. " I haven't even sat o n a spe edway bik e in seven months and I never figured I would even make the main, " said Borgman, surprised that he did so well. H ea ts Litt's it on Tucson ice By Michael Ross TIJCSON, AI, JAN. 17·18 a t Litt fulfilled his life-long dream in front of 8000 cheering fans when he won his first I.C.E. World Championship at the Tucson Convention Center. The 1987 I.C.E. Rookie of the Year can now add the - World Championship to a growing list of achievements. In 1991 Lin won the National Championship and the World Cup Series title. For the 1992 World Championship, Lin scored the lion 's share of the $15,000 purse and went home $1400 richer. "I'm so happy I finally did it," said the 23-year-old from Golden, Colorado. "All I did was maintain my concentration throughout the night. I couldn 't beli eve it was that easy." Lin may have said it was easy, but in fact his quest for the I.C.E. World Championship has taken three years. In 1990 he was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being badly cut from P 28 racing studs in a heat race. Litt won the hearts of the Tucson fan s when he returned to the ice that night and scored the overall He tri ck Memorial . Race win. Lin almost caused a ri ot in '9 1 when he was excluded from a heat race for rough riding. Fans booed loudly, stamped their feet and dela yed the racing action for several minutes. In spite of the fans ' protests, the referee's decision stood and Lin lost another chance to capture the coveted title. But in 1992, with his legio n of fans cheering him on, Lin was unbeatable as he won his heat races and went on to win the overall with ease. John Grant finished second overall, and ma y have been the happiest man on the podium. Grant didn 't expect to make the main, but consistent riding paid off for the 39-year-old. In the Last Chance Qualifier, Grant avoided a turn fo ur p ile-up to score the win and I.C.E. utilizes the Progressive World Format of competition, which incorpo ra tes a series of heat races in the first part of the program. The top point scoring riders transfer to the front row of the main, while the next highest po int scor ing riders transfer to the Last Ch an ce Qualifier. The top finishing half of the Last Chance Qualifier make up the back row of the main. Each heat race is four laps long, while the main is six laps in duration. Each heat has four riders, and six riders make up the final. Right from the start, Lin served notice that he was the man to beat, by winning all four of his heat races and displaying cornering speed that few co uld match. In the past, Lin has used a style that saw a very high entra nce speed, but he had trouble keeping the bike down in the turn. " T he Rat" would run wide at the exit and leave himself open for a pass. On Saturday night, Lin used his usual high speed entrance to the corner but mastered the art of keeping the bike tight on the exit. Diem was the next h igh est heat race scorer with three heat wins. In the firs t heat, Diem tried using a much shorter gear than usual at the start. Wh en asked if he would change th e gearing, Diem said that as soon as he got the feel of the new gearing, he'd be fast. "It has never worked so good," said Diem , who made good on that promise and advanced to the front row of the main. The next-highest heat race scor er was Dixon, with two win s and two seco nds. Still recovering from a broken leg sustai ned in Augu st, th e Englishman said he "j us t want ed to hav e a go a t it." Several riders had identical heat race scores and a runoff race was needed to determine positi on for th e Last Ch ance Qualifier. Jess Ochoa of Juarez, Mexico, and Grant and Rick Webb lined up for th e run-off, with Grant winning by a narrow margin. Last Chance Qua lifier The Last Chance Qualifier saw Ackroyd, Ochoa, Grant, Borgman, Webb and John Gregg line up for the start. Ackroyd got the holeshot and led for two laps, but wen t wide and let' Grant drive up the inside and tak e the lead . Grant held off Borgman for the win. Ackroyd took third, and earned the last transfer position. " It's brutal out there . Nothing is going my way.. I just can 't seem to concentrate," said Webb. . Fina l When the tape went up for the Final, it was Lin who grabbed the holeshot, and led the pack through turn one. Dixon was in hot pursuit, but Grant came up the inside and tagged Dixon as he went by. The contact closed off Dixon's fuel petcock. Dixon quickly found the trouble and got back into the race in tim e to stay ahead of Borgman and Ackroyd, who tangled in the first comer. Litt established a huge lead , uncommon in ice racing, and motored to the checkers uncontested. Grant crossed the finish line a few seconds back to score second, ahead of Dixon, Borgman and Ackroyd. Webb bested Mark Borgman in the Hetrick Memorial race, held on Friday night. T he Morrison, Colorado, rider won every one of his heat races and adva nced to . the mai n event where he topped Bo rgman , who entered the race as an alternate. T h ird place went to Grant. c¥ Resul ts I.C.L WORLD CHAMPIONS HIP : I. Pal Lilt (Wcs); 2. J ohn Grant (AW); 3. Martin Dixon (GM ); 4. Mark Borgman (Wcs ); 5. Gary Ackroyd (Wcs) . I.C.L HETll.ICI MEMORIAL: I. Rick Webb (Wcs); 2. Mark Borgman (Wcs); 3. John Gran. (AW) ; 4. Gary Ackro yd (Wcs); 5. Mark Hannah (Wo).