SPEEDWAY
ORANGE COUNTYU SUZUKI
DEALERS SPRING CLASSIC
By Elaine Jones
Photos by Mike Basso
and Mitch Friedman
COSTA MESA, CA, MAR. 7
range County and the LA Suzuki
Dealers got together with International Speedway Inc. to present the Spring Classic to a packed
ouse at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, thus marking
the kickoff of the 30th consecutive year
of professional speedway motorcycle
racing at the famous Costa Mesa "Bullring."
(Above) Reigning U.S.
National Speedway
Champion "Flyin'" Mike
Faria blitzed to another
Spring Classic win at the
Orange County
Fairgrounds, thus
proving that his title win
of last October was no
fluke.
(Right) Faria (second
from left) was fast right
out of the gate during the
Spring Classic main
event, taking the win
ahead of a lough field
that included two-time
U.S. National Champion
Bobby Schwartz (left) and
former World Champion
Billy Hamill (second from
right).
The entry list was like the Blue
Book of speedway. Reigning World
Champion Greg Hancock, current U.s.
National Champion Mike Faria, 1997
World Champion Billy Hamill and ICE
World Champion Charlie Venegas
were among the elite field, which also
included many riders who campaign
overseas, such as Dukie Ermolenko,
Chris Manchester and Josh Larsen.
The local contingent included top rid.ers Gary Hicks, Shawn McConnell,
Bobby Schwartz, Brad Oxley, Andy
orthrup, Ed Castro and Gary Ackroyd.
The format was pure heads-up
Scratch Racing with three rounds, two
semis, a last-chance qualifier and the
main event. Five riders were slotted in
each four-lap heat, with a scoring system awarding four points for the win,
three for second, two for third, one for
fourth and zero for fifth.
ROUND 1
Faria fired the opening shot, as he
outgated the field in the first race of the
night and went wire to wire. Everyone
but Faria seemed a little tentative, and a
lot of the heats to come would find turns
three and four a little rough. Hicks was
off second to Faria but lost it to Ac1croyd
out of four on the last lap. Rick Pear~e
picked up the fourth, with Kon Baur
rounding out the field. Castro was on
fire in heat two, as he got the best start
and held the rest of the field at bay.
Hancock touched the tapes and watched
the race from the pits. Brian Pappalardo
was right in the mix but he, too, fell victim to the rough spot in four. McConnell
was able to get by on the white flag for
second, and Bobby Hedden also took
advantage of Pappalardo's misfortune
to take third.
