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Hurley, O'Neill and Courtney made up the front row of the four-lap LCQ, with Mann, Carter and Jones starting 10 yards behind. The tapes went up and six speedway bikes blasted off to the first turn. O'Neill came out the leader, with Hurley and Mann in hot pursuit. Everyone looked content with their position except fourth-placed Jones, who wanted desperately to get by Mann and transfer, but his efforts were in vain. In the main event - the only sixlap race of the night - Venegas, FaFard and Barlow were on the front row and O'Neill, Hurley and Mann made up the second row. Venegas launched into the lead. FaFard and Barlow were in close pursuit but ";ere unable to make a move. In the back, Hurley got around O'Neill for fifth. After six very fast laps, nothing had changed. Venegas greeted the checkered first, followed by FaFard and Barlow. Finishing fourth in his first World Cup points event was ] 7 -year-old James Mann, followed by Hurley and O'Neill. CN Brooks and Conway, South Carolina's Brent Densford following. Lake Charles, Louisiana's Jeremy Midkiff, 16, in his first-ever ice start, was doing great until he fell into the pads on the last lap. Barlow won the first heat of round two only after it was restarted for a first -Ia p wreck. Venegas made it two for two in heat two, in which Garrod was knocked out early after a first-lap crash. The third heat of the second round featured one of the worst crashes seen in ice speedway for years. It was a chain reaction, with three riders going for the same first-turn groove; Courtney went into Jones, who crashed into Sauer. Jones and Sauer went flying into the wall very hard. The race was immediately stopped to attend to the fallen riders. Jones was lucky and walked away from the mishap, but unfortunately Sauer had to be carried off, and X-rays later determined he had three fractures to his lower leg and ankle. He was flown home to California the next day and surgery was performed midweek. Sauer is expected to fully recover from his injuries. This heat was restarted with three riders. Courtney went on to win, with Densford second and Jones third. The last heat was all FaFard's, giving him a perfect 20 points. Venegas also had a perfect 20, and Barlow came in with 15 points. All three transferred to the main. S.n IDgelo Coliseum Su IDgela, leus 1Iosu1ls: Juury 13, 2101 [Rounll 11 O/A: 1. Charlie Venegas; 2. Nick FaFard; 3. Anthony Barlow. World Cup ICE Speedway Championship Overall Points Standings (After 1 of 11): 1. Charlie Venegas (50); 2. Nick FaFard (45); 3. Anthony Berlow (35); 4. (TIE) Shawn Hurley/James Mann (25); 6. John O'Neili (18); 7. Scott Courtney (14); 8. Dove Corter (13); 9. Wayne Jones (9); 10. (llE) Rob Cooling/Deen Garrod/Brent Densford (6). AMX NorthlSouth Shootout Series Round 2: Ocotillo Raceway Bonham Bags the Cash at Ocotillo MX By pump subside. Foedish charged up to Bates and took over third before the end of the fourth lap. Bonham raced hard, but time ran out before he could work into a position to contest the lead. Matthews won the first moto, with Bonham second, Foedish third and Bates fourth. Matthews nailed the second-moto start, leading out of the first turn, this time with Bonham right behind in second, Foedish third and Bates fourth. Matthews made an uncharacteristic mistake and fell halfway through the first lap, giving the lead to Bonham and falling back to fourth. Bonham rode a solid pace, two seconds per lap faster than his nearest competitor, Foedish, and lengthening his lead every lap. Matthews remounted and charged back into the mix, passing Bates by the second lap. Matthews began to tighten up during the fourth lap and decided to back off the pace to conserve his energy for the second 250cc Pro moto. Bonham JOHNNY WHITEBOOTS aoy, AZ, JAN. 14 Yz rider Dan Bonham put together two solid motos and bagged the cash in 125cc Pro competition at round two of the AMX North/South Shootout Series, at Ocotillo Raceway. Arizona State Champion Jason Matthews put his Piper Performance/PJ]/Motoworks Suzuki into the lead with a solid holeshot, ahead of Steve Bates, Bonham and Ed Foedish. The racing was tight on the first lap, with the racers never separated by more than a bike length. By lap two, the lead trio had pulled away from Foedish, making it a three-way dash for cash. Matthews pulled a slight lead as Bates battled with Bonham. On lap four, Bonham boosted the triple to move into second, just three seconds behind Matthews. Bates seemed relieved after Bonham made the pass, and he backed off the pace to let his arm 46 FEBRUARY 14, 2001 • C U a • e n e _ s San Angelo Coliseum: (From left to right) Nick FaFard, Jessica O'Neill, Charlie Venegas and Anthony Barlow take the podium at the opening round of the World Cup ICE Speedway Championships In San Angelo, Texas. took the checkered flag with a commanding lead over second-placed Foedish. Matthews was third, and Bates came across fourth. "I'm glad it was only six laps,' said Bonham. "I came to the track thinking I was going to race Over 30 Vet Pro, but they talked me into racing 125cc Pro instead; now I'm glad I did. Once I found myself in the lead, I remembered how much I really like racing." In 250cc Beginner competition, John Wykoff was the man to beat. The 250cc Beginner class is always an exciting one to watch, since the racers' desire to win is always much greater than their skill level. Wykoff nailed a picture-perfect start, over Sean Marchal, David Cameron, Tim Hewitt, Josh Gamble and the rest of the pack. Cameron quickly moved around Marchal coming out of turn three to take second. Hewitt and Gamble made it past Marchal by halfway through the first lap. Then Gamble passed Hewitt after the grandstands for third. Cameron moved around Wykoff coming out of the right-hander before the checkers to move into the lead. At the end of lap one, the order was Cameron, Wykoff, Gamble, Hewitt, K.C. Hammond and the rest of the field. Cameron and Wykoff pulled out a strong lead over Gamble, who was busy battling with Hewitt, Hammond and Clifton Ollerman. During lap three, Hewitt pushed the tires too hard and fell, giving fourth to Hammond and fifth to Ollerman before he could remount. Hammond passed Gamble for third during lap four. Cameron brought out the white flag, with Wykoff right on his rear knobby. Then Cameron fell, giving the lead to Wykoff. Cameron kept his YZ running and was not about to give up the race that easily. Cameron pulled alongside Wykoff around the outside of the ,----------------------------------,., § lD W to :I: ~ >z z ~ Ocotillo Raceway: Steve Bates (250) leads Dan Bonham (224) during the first 125cc Pro moto, but Bonham wound up taking the class victory In Eloy, Arizona.