Inland Motor Speedway
National Orange Show
San Bernardino, California

Sunday Winter Racing Series
January 16, 2011
By: Ryan Evans
Photos by: Dorcey Wingo

Tyson Burmeister opened the 2011 Inland Motorcycle Speedway Winter Speedway Series with a very impressive main event victory.

Former World Finalist Josh Larsen and former National Champion Ricky "The Kiwi Kid" Wells both entered the main event with perfect scores. Larsen won the coin toss and selected gate one. Wells picked gate four, Burmeister chose gate two, which left "Fast" Eddie Castro with gate three.

The first attempt to complete the main event ended with Castro getting excluded for breaking the tapes. A gate malfunction held up the second attempt and also produced a futile attempt by Castro to claim that a gate malfunction had caused his exclusion. The referee didn't buy the excuse and there would still only be three competitors at the tapes.

Larsen and Burmeister jumped ahead of Wells on the third attempt and were bar-to-bar as they entered turn one. Larsen had the preferred inside line but Burmeister was making the mid-track line work. They remained side-by-side through lap one with neither racer backing down. Burmeister inched slightly ahead but couldn't muster enough speed to drop on front of Larsen. Burmeister held the lead as they took the white flag but entered turn one carrying a little more speed than previous laps and went a little higher up the race track and appeared to lose traction exiting turn two. Larsen charged underneath but Burmeister beat him to turn three. As they exited the final corner Burmeister found enough grip to surge ahead and cross the finish line first. Larsen had to settle for second, Wells was third, and Castro was credited with fourth.

Former National Champion "Flyin" Mike Faria kicked off the afternoon with a victory in heat one. Burmeister defeated Jason Ramirez in the second heat. Larsen beat Castro in event three. Wells followed "Battling" Buck Blair for a lap before going underneath him for the lead and the win to end round one.

Round two started with Larsen beating "Cowboy" Bobby Krips for his second victory. Burmeister beat Brad Pappalardo for his second win. Blair defeated Tyson Talkington in the next event. Wells ended the second round by beating Castro.

Wells began the third round by beating Burmeister for his third straight win. Castro beat Faria for his first win of the afternoon. Larsen made three wins in a row by defeating Russell Green. Krips ended round three with a win over Talkington.

Castro started the final round by beating Talkington for his second straight win. Faria beat Krips for his second win of the day. Wells beat Pappalardo in the penultimate heat to remain perfect. Larsen matched Wells's perfect score by defeating Burmeister in the final heat.

Burmeister held off Castro in a close four-lap runoff to determine the final direct spot in the main event while Castro would have to try again in the Last Chance.

Castro led from start to finish in the Last Chance to book the final spot in the main event. Faria finished second, Krips was third, and Blair finished fourth.

Damon Barry led the Second Division Main Event before falling in turn three and forcing the referee to stop the race when his competitors ended up in a heap around him. Rohn Zellner led the second attempt before Brandon Leedy took the lead on the back straight. Leedy's turn at the front lasted until turn one when he went down and gave the lead back. Zellner took advantage of his second chance and led to the checkered flag. Brad Moreau was second, Barry finished third, and Leedy was credited with fourth.

Norman Graham made the best start in the Third Division Main Event, but Chad Erl went by him on the inside in turn two. Bander Alexander got himself behind the leader and badgered him throughout the race but couldn't find a way past. Erl's consistent laps paid off with the victory, Alexander finished second, Mitch Pierson was third, and Graham was fourth.

Max Ruml was uncontested in the Youth 250cc Main Event and started in front of the Youth 200cc First Division Main Event. Nicholas Varner led the five-rider battle from start to finish and won their main event. Kurtis Hamill finished second, Broc Nicol was third, Hayley Perrault finished fourth, and Dillon Ruml was fifth.

Michael Wells led all four laps en route to victory in the Youth 200cc Second Division Main Event. Dalton Leedy finished second, Gino Scopellite was third, and Sebastian Palmese was credited with fourth.

The next speedway event at IMS is scheduled for Sunday, February 13 and will start at noon.

RESULTS

Youth 200cc Second Division Main Event
214 - Michael Wells
222 - Dalton Leedy
7 - Gino Scopellite (tape penalty) (fell)
18 - Sebastian Palmese (engine failure)

Youth 200cc First Division Main Event
333 - Nicholas Varner
104 - Kurtis Hamill
146 - Broc Nicol
0 - Hayley Perrault
111 - Dillon Ruml

Youth 250cc Main Event
308 - Max Ruml

Third Division Consolation
122 – Kevin Johnson 0
235 – Carl Shockley 10
231 – Gene Stone 10
349 – Dan Eddy 0
188 – Rick Howard 0
311 – Joey St. Louis 0(fell, remounted)
510 – Steve Howard 0

Third Division Main Event
154 - Chad Erl
224 - Bander Alexander
192 - Mitch Pierson
129 - Norman Graham

Second Division Main Event (restarted)
163 - Rohn Zellner
153 - Brad Moreau
150 - Damon Barry (penalty line)
151 - Brandon Leedy (fell)
333 - Mike Salyer (non starter)

First Division Scoring1234T
2 – Josh Larsen 333312
9 – Mike Faria 31239
14 – Eddie Castro 223310
24 – Bobby Krips 12328
26 – Tyson Burmeister 332210
28 – Joey Holt 11114
39 – Buck Blair 23117
48 – Tyson Talkington E2226
52 – Marvin Sonnier 10001
63 – Michael Raines 20FE2
66 – Jason Ramirez 2FRN2
142 – Ricky Wells 333312
145 – Brad Pappalardo 02125
201 – Dylan Black F1113
321 – Russell Green 11215

Race Results
1: (restarted) Faria, Raines, Holt, Black (fell)
2: Burmeister, Ramirez, Green, Talkington (engine failure)
3: Larsen, Castro, Sonnier, Pappalardo
4: Wells, Blair, Krips
9: Larsen, Krips, Holt, Ramirez (fell)
10: Burmeister, Pappalardo, Faria (fell)
11: Blair, Talkington, Black, Sonnier
12: Wells, Castro, Green, Raines
17: Wells, Burmeister, Holt, Sonnier
18: Castro, Faria, Blair, Ramirez (retired)
19: Larsen, Green, Black (fell, remounted)
20: (restarted) Krips, Talkington, Pappalardo, Raines (fell)
24: Castro, Talkington, Holt
25: Faria, Krips, Green, Sonnier
26: Wells, Pappalardo, Black, Ramirez (non starter)
27: Larsen, Burmeister, Blair, Raines (engine failure)
Runoff: Burmeister, Castro

First Division Last Chance
14 - Eddie Castro
9 - Mike Faria
24 - Bobby Krips
39 - Buck Blair

First Division Main Event
26 - Tyson Burmeister
2 - Josh Larsen
142 - Ricky Wells
14 - Eddie Castro (tape exclusion)

Photos by: Dorcey Wingo

	First Division Star, #2 Josh Larsen gets an assist from his sons going uphill into the Inland Motorcycle Speedway pit area.
	Costa Mesa Speedway Announcer and "Haunted Saloon" host Terry Clanton passes on a few tips to First Division Star, #26 Tyson Burmeister, tricks that his cousin Ike learned from Wyatt Earp, most likely.
	In First Division Event Two, #48 Tyson Talkington gets into Turn 1 a wheel ahead of #26 Tyson Burmeister and #66 Jason Ramirez. [Burmeister would go on to win the heat.]
	First Division Event 3: #145 Brad Pappalardo points skyward between #2 Josh Larsen and #24b Bobby Krips while #14 Fast Eddie Castro lights the burner along the wall.
	Snow capped Mount San Bernardino and [11,000 foot] San Gorgonio loom in the background as #2 Josh heads for the Nacho Stand and #66 Jason Ramirez braces for a fresh load of dirt.
	Second Division regular #163 Rohn Zellner leads the pack into Turn 2 as [L to R] #151 Brandon Leedy #150 Damon Berry #333 Mike Salyer and #153 Brad Moreau converge.
	In this Youth Heat, #308 Max Ruml leads [L to R] #146 Broc Nicol, #0 Hayley Perrault, #222 Dalton Leedy, #3 Nick Varner, and Max's brother, #111 Dillon Ruml into Turn 1.
	Third Division #154 Chad [the Duke of] Erl leads [L to R] #224 Bander Alexander, #129 Norman Graham and #192 Mitch Pierson through Turn 2. This is racing in the SoCal winter?  Love it.
	#14 Fast Eddie Castro gets the lead and never looks back at the First Division "Last Chance" race. In hot pursuit is [L to R] #9 "Flying Mike" Faria,#39 "Battling Buck"Blair, and #24b Bobby "Cowboy" Krips.
	#14 Castro's win in the Last Chance ride is nullified in the [first] Main Event start, as the tapes try in vain to pull his visor off. Fast Eddie, you're too fast for the tapes!
	Youth 250CC Winner #308 Max Ruml shares the checked flag with Youth 200CC Winner #333 Nick Varner in their victory lap.
	In this First Division Main Event [restart, without Castro] #142 Ricky Wells gates from the wall as #26 Tyson Burmeister [center] and #2 Josh Larsen launch for Turn 1. Burmeister would go on to lead every lap in a closely contested race. Larsen took second, Wells finished third. Castro was credited with fourth.