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Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
Freestyle Motocross
June 25, 2005 - Costa Mesa
By: Ryan Evans
Mike Faria's dominance at Costa Mesa continued as the three-time
National Champion won his third Scratch Main in a row and fifth of 2005 in front of a large crowd at the world famous bullring oval.
Faria started from the inside and was first to turn one while outside-starting Chris Manchester garnered up speed through
turns one and two to make an outside pass on the back straight. Manchester inched ahead of Faria going into turn three but couldn't latch his bike onto the inside line.
Faria held the lead at the end of lap one while Manchester, stuck on the outside, tried desperately to get to the front. Faria secured the lead exiting turn two
with Chris Kerr in tow and Manchester was forced to give up the fight and pull to the inside line in third. Kerr tried to gain on
Faria but it was to no avail. Faria capped his perfect night with a main event victory, Kerr was second, Manchester finished third, Buck Blair
was fourth, and Charlie Venegas finished fifth in his first Costa Mesa appearance of 2005.
Kerr began the evening with a win over McConnell in the first heat. Manchester scored his first win after a good battle with Blair in race two. Shaun Harmatiuk defeated Venegas to win race three. Faria ended the first round with a win over Nate Perkins.
Harmatiuk started round two by defeating McConnell for his second straight win. Manchester made it two for two with a win over Kerr. Blair beat Venegas for his first win of the evening. Faria ended the second round with his second win.
Manchester made it three in a row by defeating McConnell to start the final round. Faria kept pace with Manchester by defeating Venegas in race 16. Tommy Hedden held off Kerr to win the next race. Blair was leading the final heat when Brian Starr and Bobby Krips tumbled down the front straight and into the previously undefeated Harmatiuk whose bike shot from under him. Harmatiuk's was unable to restart due to a broken headpipe and Blair scored an easy win to finish the heats.
Faria easily won the first semi but the fierce battle behind him between McConnell and Kerr abruptly ended when Kerr brushed McConnell aside and onto the ground on the final lap to take the second transfer to the main. Manchester won the second semi with Venegas finishing second to join him in the main. Blair won the Last Chance to take the final spot in the main.
After dominating his semi Tim Gomez scorched the field in the Support Main Event for an impressive victory in his Costa Mesa debut. The 16 year old former junior star was very fast and smooth while showing that his promotion to First Division is imminent. Steve Murray finished second, Chris Metoyer was third, Eloy Medellin finished fourth, and Billy Braden was fifth.
The evening had an unusual number of riders hitting the deck as many for finding too much traction in turns two and four. None of the racers were seriously injured, but several mangled bikes were pushed to the pit area. The evening's worst incident occurred during the freestyle show when a rider making his second pass suffered an apparent mechanical problem at the base of the ramp and was forced to dismount. His momentum carried him approximately 25 feet into the air before crashing to the ground and suffering a compound fracture of the femur. The remainder of the jump show was canceled.
There will not be racing at Costa Mesa next Saturday due to the Independence Day weekend, but racing returns on Friday, July 8 for the 33rd annual Fair Derby. The Fair Derby coincides with the opening night of the Orange County Fair. Speedway is free with the fair admission price. Mike Faria has won the event three years in a row and will be looking to extend his unprecedented number of Fair Derby titles to eight.
RESULTS
Support Consolation
182 - Rudy Laurer
213 - Mark Sincavage
150 - Damon Barry
163 - Rohn Zellner (fell)
Support Consolation (restarted)
113 - Mike McCarthy
177 - Bryan Buffington (penalty line)
185 - Keith Mullally
228 - Shane Kump (fell)
Support Consolation
118 - Scott Tidwell
338 - Dave Delbridge
102 - Jim Lavender
165 - Randy Kreps
Support Last Chance
148 - Chris Metoyer
272 - Steve Dziadus, Jr.
176 - Carl Gazafy
173 - Jeff Blaydes (engine failure)
Support Main Event (restarted)
256 - Tim Gomez
214 - Steve Murray
148 - Chris Metoyer
178 - Eloy Medellin
117 - Billy Braden (penalty line)
First Division Scoring 1 2 3 T
6 - Shawn McConnell 3 3 3 9
9 - Mike Faria 4 4 4 12
24 - Bobby Krips 2 2 3 7
27n - Chris Kerr 4 3 3 10
37 - Denny Scopellite 2 1 2 5
39 - Buck Blair 3 4 4 11
40n - Tommy Hedden 2 3 4 9
43 - Charlie Venegas 3 3 3 9
44n - Billy Hiles 1 1 2 4
45 - Dario Galvin 1 2 1 4
115 - Mark Baldwin 0 F 0 0
120 - Skyler Greyson 1 2 2 5
130 - Chris Manchester 4 4 4 12
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 4 4 N 8
201 - Neil Facchini F 0 0 0
248 - Brian Starr 0 1 2 3
249 - John Stunkard 0 1 1 2
293 - Rick Valdez 2 0 1 3
301 - Dale Facchini 1 0 F 1
389 - Nate Perkins 3 2 1 6
Race Results
1: Kerr, McConnell, Scopellite, D.Facchini, Starr
2: Manchester, Blair, Hedden, Hiles (fell, remounted), Stunkard (fell, remounted)
3: Harmatiuk, Venegas, Krips, Galvin, N.Facchini (fell)
4: Faria, Perkins, Valdez, Greyson (tape penalty), Baldwin (penalty line)
9: Harmatiuk, McConnell, Perkins, Hiles, D.Facchini
10: Manchester, Kerr, Galvin, Stunkard, Valdez
11: Blair, Venegas, Greyson, Scopellite, N.Facchini
12: Faria, Hedden, Krips, Starr, Baldwin (fell)
15: Manchester, McConnell, Hiles, Valdez, N.Facchini (fell, remounted)
16: Faria, Venegas, Scopellite, Galvin, Baldwin
17: (restarted) Hedden, Kerr, Greyson, Perkins (penalty line), D.Facchini (fell)
18: (restarted) Blair, Krips, Starr, Stunkard (tape penalty), Harmatiuk (non starter)
Semi #1: Faria, Kerr, Krips, McConnell, Harmatiuk (non starter)
Semi #2: Manchester, Venegas, Blair, Hedden, Perkins
Last Chance
39 - Buck Blair
6 - Shawn McConnell
24 - Bobby Krips
40n - Tommy Hedden
Scratch Main Event
9 - Mike Faria
27n - Chris Kerr
130 - Chris Manchester
39 - Buck Blair
43 - Charlie Venegas
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