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2000 North American Archive of International Speedway
Message Section
July 24, 2000
From: Sideways31@aol.com
To: "Internet Speedway Fan Club List"
Subject: North vs. South - Auburn, CA - July 21, 2000
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 02:21:09 EDT
The South ended several years of frustration by defeating the North 70-65
following a clutch performance by the team of "Gorgeous" Gary Hicks and Dukie
Ermolenko in the A Main of California's Annual Civil War at Auburn.
The North entered the all-important A Main with a one-point lead and the
momentum of overcoming a 12-point deficit. The scoring for the A Main was
12-8-4-2 and forced the South into a situation in which it must have the race
winner to have a chance at the match victory. Should the South have the heat
winner, but have his partner finish last, the score would be tied. Should
the South have the heat winner and his partner finish second or third, they
would take the title. The North simply needed one of its riders to win the
heat and the title was theirs.
Hicks and Ermolenko chose gates one and three, respectively, while Bart Bast
and Billy Janniro were slotted into gates two and four. The four riders left
the tapes evenly and as they entered turn one all four riders went wide.
Hicks exited turn two with the lead followed by Bast while Ermolenko had done
an excellent job sealing Janniro to the outside to take control of third.
Hicks led down the back straight and Bast moved up to challenge as they
entered turn three. As they exited turn four Bast was under Hicks but
couldn't make the pass. It would prove to be Bast's best chance to gain the
lead as Hicks sped away with the win. Janniro never mounted a challenge to
Ermolenko who was able to hold onto third, which coupled with Hicks's heat
win, secured victory for the South squad and silenced the partisan crowd.
The riders had struggled with the deep track and had to revert to
two-wheeling into the corners throughout the first round. The meeting
started with hometown hero Bast and Robert Curry leaving the gate first and
second ahead of Charlie "The Edge" Venegas and Randy DiFrancesco. Venegas
was able to pass Curry for second, but Bast was gone and the North began with
a 4-2 lead after one race.
The North looked well on their way in race two when Bobby Hedden and Bob
Hicks exited turn two first and second followed by Bobby "Boogaloo" Schwartz
who was left without a partner when Chris Manchester suffered an engine
failure in the first corner. The North looked primed for a 5-1 when Schwartz
used his 27 years of speedway experience to cope with the track conditions
and passed the Northern pair to salvage three points.
The efforts of Schwartz seemed to fire up the Southern squad as Josh Larsen
and Eddie Castro roared to a 5-1 after teammates Mike Faria and Ryan Fisher
came together forcing Faria down and Fisher looking for a restart that would
never come. The Northern squad took exception, feeling that Larsen had
unfairly taken Fisher wide and into Faria, but their complaints were to no
avail. Gary Hicks and Ermolenko continued the momentum with a 5-1 of their
own over Janniro and Ian Ferris to close round one.
The second round opened with a pair 3-3 heats with Janniro winning race five
and Schwartz getting his second heat win in race six. Larsen took his second
straight heat win in race seven while partner Castro finished third for a 4-2
heat result.
Race eight brought the first strategical move as Janniro came in as a
tactical substitute for Curry. Bast touched the tapes and was excluded, but
not before he adamantly denied any infraction. The tactical substitution
proved fruitless as Gary Hicks and Ermolenko roared to the front and took
their second consecutive 5-1 and a 30-18 South lead after two rounds.
The tide turned in race nine as Hedden and Bob Hicks were able to get a 4-2
over Venegas and DiFrancesco. Faria was brought in as a tactical substitute
for Curry and combined with Bast for a 5-1 that cut the lead to six.
Race ten brought a bit of controversy. The field entered turn one and
Hedden, in for Ferris as the third tactical substitute in four races, went
down hard. The race continued until the field exited turn four when the
referee, seeing that Hedden couldn't get up, stopped the race. Both squads
were protesting separate issues. The North was complaining again that Larsen
was unfairly riding into turn one and had forced Hedden off. The South,
seeing Hedden readying himself for the restart, protested that he should've
been excluded as the cause of the red flag. The South's argument fell on
deaf ears while the North's protest prompted an admonishment from the referee
toward Larsen. Larsen, in turn, let the referee know his feelings. On the
restart Janniro and Hedden were heading for an easy 5-1 when Hedden fell hard
in turn three and allowed the South to tie the heat. On the cool down lap,
Larsen verbally let Janniro know what he thought about his team's
complaining.
The North chose not to use a tactical substitute in race 12 and were rewarded
as Faria beat Gary Hicks and Fisher held third over Ermolenko to become the
only pair to get a race victory over the Southern duo.
The last round began with the North trailing by only four points, but neither
side was able to gain ground as Venegas won race 13 but Faria and Fisher kept
DiFrancesco back to keep their deficit at four. Jim Estes came in as a
reserve for Manchester to partner with Schwartz in race 14. Schwartz took an
easy victory, but Estes put in a solid performance to get third place and
open the South's lead to 45-39.
Heat 15 began with Castro going through the tapes and was excluded. Castro,
however, felt that he wasn't the only rider moving and returned to the track
and attempted to line up at the tapes. This prompted Bast to kill Castro's
bike by pulling his kill switch. Bast was first to turn one but went wide to
nearly force Larsen into the fence and allow Janniro to assume the lead.
Larsen was unable to recover and the North scored an easy 5-1. Hicks and
Ermolenko stopped the bleeding by recording their third 5-1 of the evening to
bring the South lead to 51-45 entering the B Main.
For the B Main the North selected Faria and Hedden while the South chose
Venegas and Larsen. It was all Faria and Hedden as they easily took first
and second, and the 6-4-2-1 scoring gave the North a 10-3 heat win and a one
point lead entering the tension-packed A Main.
The superb performance from the pair of Hicks and Ermolenko and the overall
depth and team racing experience of the South squad proved to be the decisive
factor for a highly motivated team who were each presented with a beautiful
trophy featuring a miner symbolic of the historic Gold Country area in which
Auburn sits.
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
North
1 - Bart Bast 3 T 2 3 8** 16
2 - Robert Curry 1 1
3 - Bobby Hedden 1 2 3 F 0 4* 10
4 - Bob Hicks 2 0 1 1 4
5 - Mike Faria 0 2 3 3 2 6* 16
6 - Ryan Fisher 1 1 1 1 4
7 - Billy Janniro 1 3 1 3 2 2 2** 14
8 - Ian Ferris 0 0 0 0
Res. Paul Orlandi Did not ride
South
1 - Charlie Venegas 2 2 2 3 1* 10
2 - Randy DiFrancesco 0 1 0 0 1
3 - Bobby Schwartz 3 3 1 3 10
4 - Chris Manchester E 0 0 0
5 - Josh Larsen 3 3 2 1 2* 11
6 - Eddie Castro 2 1 1 T 4
7 - Gary Hicks 3 3 2 2 12** 22
8 - Dukie Ermolenko 2 2 0 3 4** 11
Res. Jim Estes 1 1
* = B Main
** = A Main
RACE RESULTS
1: Bast, Venegas, Curry, DiFrancesco (North 4, South 2)
2: Schwartz, B.Hicks, Hedden, Manchester (engine failure) (7-5)
3: Larsen, Castro, Fisher, Faria [fell, remounted] (8-10)
4: G.Hicks, Ermolenko, Janniro, Ferris (9-15)
5: Janniro, Venegas, DiFrancesco, Ferris (12-18)
6: Schwartz, Faria, Fisher, Manchester (15-21)
7: Larsen, Hedden, Castro, B.Hicks (17-25)
8: G.Hicks, Ermolenko, Janniro [tactical sub], Bast (tape exclusion) (18-30)
9: Hedden, Venegas, B.Hicks, DiFrancesco (22-32)
10: Faria [tactical sub], Bast, Schwartz, Manchester (27-33)
11 (restart): Janniro, Larsen, Castro, Hedden [tactical sub] (fell) (30-36)
12: Faria, G.Hicks, Fisher, Ermolenko (34-38)
13: Venegas, Faria, Fisher, Faria (37-41)
14: Schwartz, Janniro, Estes, Ferris (39-45)
15: Bast, Janniro [tactical sub], Larsen, Castro (tape exclusion) (44-46)
16: Ermolenko, G.Hicks, B.Hicks, Hedden (45-51)
B Main: Faria [6 pts.], Hedden [4], Larsen [2], Venegas [1] (55-54)
A Main: G.Hicks [12], Bast [8], Ermolenko [4], Janniro [2] (65-70)
Ryan Evans
sideways31@aol.com
From: markku.jurmu@nokia.com
To: "Internet Speedway Fan Club List"
Subject: Finnish U-21 Ch
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 12:42:21 +0300
Hi All,
Finnish U-21 Championchips, scheduled for 23rd of July to Seinajoki,
was postponed to date to be announced later.
Race was stopped at sunday after 3 heats due heavy rain.
BR,
Markku
From: wladmoto@astercity.net
To: "Internet Speedway Fan Club List"
Subject: Rafal Dobrucki retired from Coventry SGP!
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 22:43:52 +0300
Hi, All -
Rafal Dobrucki, Polish SGP rider, owing to several injuries is now under
medical treatment. His doctor didn't release him to the Grand Prix of Great
Britain in Coventry. Just to-day.
the PZM (Polish Motor Federation) informed the FIM about his retirement.
It's a pity!...
Cheers -
Wladyslaw or (wlp)
Wladyslaw Pietrzak
0 601 338 702
Tel. & fax (+48 22) 840 1373
wladmoto@astercity.net
From: rowe.m@cableinet.co.uk
To: "Internet Speedway Fan Club List"
Subject: Wolves 41 Eastbourne 49
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 23:05:05 +0100
WOLVES 41
Sam Ermolenko R/R
Adam Skornicki 2 3 1 2 1 R 9
Jesper B Jensen 3 2 2' 2' 3 2 14+2
Ronnie Correy 0 2' 0 3 1 6+1
Nicki Pedersen 2 2 1' Fx F 5+1
Mark Burrows 1' 1' 1 3+2
Roman Povazhny 2 0 0 2' 0 4+1
EASTBOURNE 49
Martin Dugard 3 3 3 3 12
Dean Barker 1 1 2' 2' 3 1 10+2
David Norris Fx 0
Paul Hurry R/R
Joe Screen 3 1 1 3 2' 3 13+1
Petri Kokko 3 1 3 3 0 1 2' 13+1
Per Wester F 1 0 0 0 0 1
Very disappointing defeat for Wolves, ending their 10 match unbeaten run.
Eagles lost David Norris with an arm injury in Heat 3, and with new signing
Per Wester totally ineffective, should have been there for the taking. But
Wolves needed all riders on form to cover for Sam Ermolenko, and could ill
afford such uncharacteristic poor performances from Ronnie Correy and Nicki
Pedersen.
Jesper B Jensen was in fine form as Wolves man of the match, but of his team
mates only really Adam Skornicki seemed on form. Ronnie Correy failed to
make any ground in the races where he missed out at the start, while Nicki
Pedersen was very erratic, falling twice and never looking comfortable.
Roman tried hard as ever, but this was one of his poorer performances points
wise. Guest Buzz Burrows did all that could be expected of him, beating his
opposing number Wester.
Full credit to Eastbourne who produced an excellent performance to cover the
loss of Norris and fully deserved to win. Dugard, Screen and Barker were all
in good form, and reserve Petr Kokko was the match winner with some very
fast starts. Newcomer Per Wester looked all at sea and never looked like
beating a Wolves rider. The only sour note on a fine Eagles performance are
the reports on the internet that the "injured" Paul Hurry was actually fit
enough to qualify for the final of a Longtrack meeting the day before... is
this true - any comments?
All the best,
Mark Rowe.
From: stvmagro@tig.com.au
To: "Internet Speedway Fan Club List"
Subject: Lex Fielding
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 20:41:44 +1000
Does anybody remember the son of 60s speedway rider
Lex Fielding? I wish to contact him.
Please write to me off list. Thank you.
Steve Magro stvmagro@tig.com.au
Brisbane, Australia
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