Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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WIND IN THE P56 Pawlicki Wins World Speedway Invitational L ocal speedway fans got to see some of the top speedway racers from around the world compete Saturday, October 25, in the World Speedway Invitational at The Grand Arena in Southern California's Industry Hills Expo Center, one of the premier venues in American Speedway. America has produced several World champions since Bruce Penhall brought the title back to America in 1981 and '82 after a 44-year absence. Along with champions Sam Ermolenko and Billy Hamill, Costa Mesa's Greg Hancock rose to the top, winning four championships over 19 years. This year's event brought riders from some of the top Speedway countries of Russia, England, Latvia and Poland. The World Speedway Invitational grid included 2021 World Cham - pion Artem Laguta from Russia, Latvia's Andzejs Lebedevs, the UK's Tom Brennan, and Polish riders Maciej Janowski and Przemek Pawlicki. America was well represented with two-time AMA National Champion Broc Nicol, multi-time California State Champion Max Ruml, recent AMA Under-21 Champion Slater Lightcap and 11-time California State Champion Billy Janniro. Although there were some surprises, like Lebedev's crashing out of a heat early in the program, Pawlicki dominated, winning all five of his heats, the semi, and the final. He faced competition, however, as Ruml won all but his last race, and Nicol was only a single point behind to make it to one of the two semi-mains. But Ruml lost out to Pawlicki and Ni - col in heat 17, with Nicol getting the better of his compatriot again in their semi showdown. When the gate went up in the final, it was Pawlicki, Janowski, Nicol and Laguta, but it took just a lap before Janowski fell, trig - gering a restart. Speedway racing is four-man hand-to-hand combat, and the main event was no exception. Pawlicki and Nicol got strong starts and fought side by side. Nicol used every line in his play- book to try and pass Pawlicki, all to no avail. In the end, with less than a bikelength separating them, it was Pawlicki, Nicol, Laguta and Janowski. Richard T. Haight OVERALL (Top 5, Unofficial) 1. Przemyslaw Pawlicki (Poland) 21 2. Broc Nicol (USA) 16 3. Artem Laguta (Russia) 15 4. Maciej Janowski (Poland) 13 5. Max Ruml (USA) 14 Przemek Pawlicki scored a hard-fought victory at the Speedway World Invitational in California. PHOTO: RICHARD T. HAIGHT