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Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada
Great American Motorcycle Experience
September 19, 2003
By: Ryan Evans
Billy Janniro stole the show and scored an incredible victory in the Scratch Main at the Great American Motorcycle Experience (GAME) event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Scott Brant jumped into the lead from gate one at the start of the main event, but the race was halted on the first lap when Andy Northrup fell in turn four and forced Dukie Ermolenko to lay his machine down. Northrup was penalized 20 yards on the restart.
The second attempt began the same way as Brant got a good start again. Janniro and Eddie Castro battled for second on the first lap before Janniro secured the place and then went after the leader. Janniro cut into Brant's lead and made his move at the end of lap three. As they exited turn four Janniro brought the crowd to its feet when he went to the outside and made a spectacular pass as the riders took the white flag. Janniro pulled away on the final lap and was first to the checkered flag. Brant had to settle for second, Castro was third, Ermolenko finished fourth, and Northrup was fifth.
An all-scratch format featured three rounds of five-man heats. The top ten scorers transferred to the two semis. The top two from each semi transferred to the Scratch Main with third and fourth transferring to the Last Chance. The winner of the Last Chance transferred to the main.
Round one was full of cautious and apprehensive racing as the riders found the track to be extremely deep. Gary Hicks began the evening with a win over Randy DiFrancesco. Janniro showed no apprehension and blasted through the dirt for an impressive win. Ermolenko's strategy of lower gearing paid off as he negotiated the track with relative ease for a victory in race three. Brant earned his first win over Alan Christian to end the first round.
In round two the track was slightly better and Hicks began the round with his second straight win. Castro scored a win over Bobby Schwartz in race 12. Janniro was penalized for causing a restart in race 13, but impressively worked his way through and around riders and into second. His valiant effort didn't result in victory as three-time National Champion Mike Faria took the win. Brant made it two wins in a row to end the round.
After being worked on several times, the track had finally become relatively smooth before round three. Hicks began the final round with his third consecutive victory to keep his evening perfect. Shawn McConnell held off Bryan Yarrow for the win in race 22. Faria brought his point total to 11 with his second win of the evening in the next race. Janniro was victorious over Castro in the final heat race and firmly established his status as the crowd favorite.
The first semi began with Brant, Janniro, and Faria locked in a dogfight, but Janniro bumped Faria on the back straight, sending him into the berm on the outside of the track and causing him to slow dramatically and fade back to last. Janniro then held off Brant for the win as both transferred to the main. Castro and Ermolenko finished first and second, respectively, in the second semi to transfer to the main. Northrup used an outside pass to snatch victory from Bryan Yarrow in the Last Chance after an excellent four-lap battle to grab the final spot in the main.
The five-rider field for the Support Main Event was completely filled by riders who are regulars in Northern California. Ivan Sevart jumped into the lead and never looked back as he ran away with the win. Greg Searle finished second, Vince Bertolucci was third, Ron Woodsford finished fourth, and Ian Essary was fifth.
The Support B Main Event was dominated by Guy Jessup who led all four laps to get the victory. Mitch Melott was second, DeWayne Stark finished third, and Billy Swaim was fourth.
The meeting was part of a five-day event promoted by GAME that features several forms of motorcycle racing and competition. International Speedway Inc. helped to produce the show. Along with the predictable large contingent of Southern California riders, there were 15 riders from Northern California and Northern Nevada that made up the 47-rider field. Unlike many one-night events, there wasn't a high number of no-shows as only one programmed rider was unable to compete. A familiar old voice was heard through the loudspeakers as Bruce Flanders was contracted to announce his first race of the season.
The track was approximately 250 yards and was built on the infield of the half-mile dirt oval at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There was no crash wall around the perimeter with a dirt berm built along the back straight, but the rest of the track had no barrier as there was plenty of room to safely stop a wayward machine. Several of the riders who were interviewed expressed a desire to compete in future events at the facility and to also give the half-mile a try.
RESULTS
Sidecars
23 - Mark Adams/Jackie Bennett
131 - Mike Gilmour/Jeff Carr
44 - Jeff Medberry/Jeff Malloy
9 - Joe Jones/Brandi McElroy (retired)
6 - Scott Cole/Chris Sears (retired)
Support B Main Event
190n - Guy Jessup
124 - Mitch Melott
244 - DeWayne Stark
193 - Billy Swaim
Support Scoring 1 2 3 T
24n - Ian Essary 4 4 0 8
100 - Phil Harmatiuk 1 R R 1
107 - Monte McKeon 0 4 0 4
111n - Ron Woodsford 4 1 4 9
112n - Devin DeFreece 2 3 3 8
155n - Vince Bertolucci 4 2 4 10
165 - Randy Kreps 2 2 1 5
174 - Tomasz Hampel 0 N N 0
178 - Eloy Medellin 1 1 N 2
181 - Michael Novratil 3 3 2 8
184 - Joel Kath 2 1 2 5
185 - Keith Mullally 2 2 1 5
189n - Greg Searle 4 4 2 10
198 - Mike Boyle 1 0 2 3
214 - Steve Murray 3 3 1 7
230 - Doug Greyson 3 0 4 7
240 - Hideaki Ota 2 3 - 5
249 - John Stunkard 1 3 1 5
269 - Ed Martinez 0 1 3 4
387n - Ivan Sevart 3 4 4 11
389 - Nate Perkins F 0 3 3
Support Consolation
230 - Doug Greyson
181 - Michael Novratil
165 - Randy Kreps
214 - Steve Murray
112n - Devin DeFreece
Support Main Event
387n - Ivan Sevart
189n - Greg Searle
155n - Vince Bertolucci
111n - Ron Woodsford
24n - Ian Essary
First Division Scoring 1 2 3 T
2n - Alan Christian 3 1 0 4
3 - Gary Hicks 4 4 4 12
6 - Shawn McConnell 2 F 3 5
8n - Bryan Yarrow 2 2 4 8
9 - Mike Faria 3 4 4 11
10 - Scott Brant 4 4 R 8
11 - Bobby Schwartz 0 3 0 3
12 - Randy DiFrancesco 3 1 3 7
14 - Eddie Castro 1 4 3 8
14n - Billy Janniro 4 3 4 11
15 - Dukie Ermolenko 4 3 0 7
22n - Bob Hicks 1 3 2 6
24 - Bobby Krips 2 1 2 5
29n - Matt Browne 1 1 1 3
31n - Jonathan Curry 0 0 1 1
40n - Tommy Hedden 2 0 3 5
56 - Jim Estes 1 2 2 5
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 0 0 1 1
166 - Andy Northrup 3 2 2 7
197 - Justin Boyle 0 2 1 3
Race Results
1: G.Hicks, DiFrancesco, Krips, B.Hicks, Schwartz
2: Janniro, Northrup, McConnell, Estes, Boyle
3: Ermolenko, Faria, Hedden, Browne, Harmatiuk
4: Brant, Christian, Yarrow, Castro, Curry
11: G.Hicks, B.Hicks, Estes, Christian, Harmatiuk
12: Castro, Schwartz, Boyle, Browne (fell, remounted), McConnell (fell)
13: Faria, Janniro, Yarrow, DiFrancesco, Hedden
14: Brant, Ermolenko, Northrup, Krips, Curry
21: G.Hicks, DiFrancesco, B.Hicks, Browne, Ermolenko
22: McConnell, Yarrow, Northrup, Boyle (fell, remounted), Christian (fell, remounted)
23: Faria, Hedden, Krips, Harmatiuk, Schwartz
24: Janniro, Castro, Estes, Curry, Brant (retired)
Semi #1: Janniro, Brant, Northrup, B.Hicks, Faria (retired)
Semi #2: Castro, Ermolenko, Yarrow, DiFrancesco, Hicks (retired)
Last Chance: Northrup, Yarrow, DiFrancesco, B.Hicks
Scratch Main Event (restarted)
14n - Billy Janniro
10 - Scott Brant
14 - Eddie Castro
15 - Dukie Ermolenko
166 - Andy Northrup (penalty line)
 
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