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Round 1: Perris Auto Speedway WEST COAST FLAT TRACK SERIES m.=====------ "I rode my butt off," Corsetti said. "I sprained my ankle pretty bad at Lodi last weekend, and my brakes wore out about the middle of the race. Is that enough excuses? I just tried to do my best. I was set up to run low, because up high it seemed to be a little too rough, so [ geared it to run low. I· loved it (the race). Gene Romero puts on an excellent program. I'll come back to all his races." Just as it did last season, the Support class features a vintage format, and it appears once again as though the Vintage Open portion of the series will be the stomping ground of defending class champion Jeff Johnson of Rialto, California. Aboard his good 01' Harold Hanvey /Tony Denius/Progressive Suspension stock-framed 650cc Triumph, the former speedway rider was once again unstoppable, as he took the lead away from eventual third-place finisher' Jimmy Rosa early in the eight-lap Open Vintage feature and then reeled off several flawless laps before cruising across the line well ahead of Art Fredenburgh, who may have been the fastest man in the late going as he flogged his Shell Thuett-built Yamaha into second place. Rosa, who was Norton-mounted, was third. Johnson 'probably deserved an "iron man" award as well, as he rode' both divisions during the night. "This feels good," Johnson said afterward. "Man, I was getting tired. I think the only race I didn't run was the Open Vintage B main. I think this is a good deal that Gene's got going. I mean, for the (entry) money? I rode nonstop. If guys are complaining that they've got nowhere fo ride, then they're riding in the wrong place." I r, this place. It was a bit tacky and a bit rough, but it was better than half of the National tracks that I race on." For Brown, a talented but unheralded vet Expert, the night carried a mixture of surprise and disappointment: the surprise of running right with a young talent like Martin, and the disappointment of just missing out on beating him for the win. Brown offered fair praise for his adversary. PGosh;J tried everything I could, but he was pulling me," Brown said before of(:eril).g ·an explanation for his riql-riding heroics"':';"I know Billy, and I totally ti . trust that guy. There's definitely 11 lot 'of people that I wouldn't ride around the outside of like that, but I can do that with Billy. I'just can't say enough about him. He didn't make a mistake. Damn! I wish he would have made just one." Corsetti, who listed Ron Wood, Elliott Iverson and Jim Hodgin as his primary supporters, actually started the 16-lap final in second place, behind former Ascot fixture Pete Hames on a Dodge Brothers Racing XR, and Corsetti actually led the race on the back stretch during a portion of lap two before being jumped by a charging Martin, and later by Brown. From there, the Northern Californian hung tough despJte nursing injuries, a Wood-Rotax that was set up to run the low groove, and complete lack of whoa power in the latter stages of the race. Corsetti's final chance for the roses came on the restart of the final, when he cut an awfully close light and raced to the bottom in the hope of putting a slide job on both Brown and Martin. It failed to materialize, however, and Corsetti had to settle for third place. After a full session of time trials (in which the fast qualifier would receive a bonus championship point), hea traces, and most of the other main-event qualifiers and specialty races were completed on schedule, lead race official Bob Hill lined up the first of the two big feature r1\ces, the Open Vintage main event. Rosa grabbed the early lead off the start, but Jeff Johnson of Rialto had him covered by the time they came around for the start of lap two. Tom Horton occu· pied the third position, with Fredenburgh coming up fast after getting away from Jeff Johnson of Pinon Hills, James Steet and Keith Bradford. From lap three on, Johnson of Rialto began.pulling away, leaving behind a three-way battle between Rosa, Fredenburgh and Horton for the runner-up spot. Fredenburgh would take it by burning his Thuett Yamaha in under Rosa in turn one for second just after they crossed the halfway point. Johnson of Rialto went into cruise mode about two laps from the finish, crossing the line more than half a straightaway ahead of Fredenburgh, Rosa, Horton and Johnson of Pinon Hills. Brown sat. on the pole for the start of the Open A "main event by virtue of his fast heat time of two minutes and 43.41 seconds, but it was old pro Hames who got the best jump when the riders reacted to the green light, followed by Corsetti, Brown, Martin, Geramy Rackley and Rob Damron. Defending series champion Pauley was mired in the pack aboard his Bullet Racing Wood·Rotax, and he would not be a contender for the win, although he would playa part in its outcome. . Halfway through the second lap, Corsetti got a good run under Hames off turn two and took the lead down the back stretch, but Hames repassed. Corsetti in tum three, bringing Martiri (Above) Old pro Pete Hames (7) and young gun Billy Marlin (74) lead the pack at the starl of the 15-rider Open A main event during round one of the West Coast Flat Track Series at Perris Auto Speedway. Marlin ultimately went.Qn.,lo _ \ -..meim--tfte-main°.Jt'len I lLeftjTriBthriiling main-event battle, Marlin (74) was forced to stave 'off a constant challenge from eventual runnerup Ronnie Brown (47E). The pair ran this close for the entire second half of the 16lap feature. , By Scott Rousseau Photos by Stan Hansen PERRIS, CA, APR. 24 . s the saying goes, "If you build it, they will come." Gene Romero. built it, and they cj.i.dPcome. Call it a good work in progress,. this ope~g round of the sec.~1Id edition of Romero's West Coast Flat :rrack Series, which took place at Perris Auto Speedway under threatening skies that were apparently threatening enough to ward off a strong spectator count. Too bad for them. For the opening round of the series produced a healthy, 60-plus-rider turnout and boasted an incredible, side-by-side battle for bucks in the second half of the 16-lap, 15-rider Open A featUJ;e that was the crown jewel of the night's program on what is arguably the finest half mile dirt track racing facility in the United States. It was in the main event that a pair of Northern California riders - Skip Fordyce H-D/Motul/White Brothersbacked Billy Martin and Rod Lake/Brown's Cycles/Top Dead Center's Ronnie Brown - blew the naysayers' established formats and formulas right out of the water when they powered to the front of the pack - Martin on the N Harley-Davidson XR750 that he will be 1;' campaigning on the AMA Grand ~ National Dirt Track Series tour, and 38 Brown on· an "outdated" Knight-Yama- A ~ - ha 600 - and diced it up like they were racing for the GNC championship itself. With an ever-willing but poorly dialedin~ark Corsetti in their wake .and ready -t8"capitalize on any mistakes made by ~he' ;two, Martin and Brown ran side by litde in every turn on the wrinkly but ~y-fast Perris clay, with the superior }iqI,t and grip of Martin s (CR winning lliffi the drag races down the chutes on each of the first 11 laps, only to have Brown demon-dive into the corners on . the outside of Martin, pull abreast, and then drop back as Martin's XR came on the pipe and got its claws. In the five-lap dash to the checkered flag, which was necessitated by a crash involving defending West Coast Flat Track Series Champion Lonnie Pauley, Martin demonstrated the ability to remain. cool under pressure and crossed the finish line first, collecting $500, which, when added to his $100 for winning the fourlap, six-rider Trophy Dash, brought his total take to $600 for a night's work. "There was lots of pressure out there," Martin said. "I got off the line third or fourth, and Pete (Hames) nearly put me into the wall. That made me mad, and I just got going and got to the front. Then, every time I looked up, Ronnie was there. We needed this race as a test, because we' did a whole lot of suspension changes over the winter the suspension is all new - and a lot of chassis work. So far, SO good. And I like J MAINS