Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa FMX Night
May 12, 2012
By: Ryan Evans

YouTube Video of all Main Events June 9 - From Mark Williams - Xtreme Speedway Action

Costa Mesa, CA, USA - June 9

Billy "The Bullet" Hamill followed the previous week's perfect night with another flawless performance in front of a large crowd at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.

Hamill and former National Champion Charlie "The Edge" Venegas both entered the main event unbeaten and had to draw to see who would have first choice of starting position. Hamill won the draw and picked gate one. Venegas then chose gate two. Tyson Burmeister selected gate three, "Flyin" Mike Faria took gate four, which left Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell with gate five.

Hamill exploded from the tapes and led the field through the first corner. Burmeister emerged from the contenders in second and chased after the leader on the back straight. The former World Champion led after a lap and was setting a very rapid pace at the front. Burmeister tried in vain to keep up but saw Hamill's advantage continue to increase with each passing lap. Hamill led the entire distance for his second consecutive main event victory. Burmeister settled for second, McConnell was third, Faria finished fourth, and Venegas was fifth.

Venegas opened the heats with a win over Gino Manzares. McConnell beat Burmeister in the second heat. Hamill defeated Charles "Dukie" Ermolenko in event three. Austin Novratil was leading the fourth heat before an engine failure gave Faria the victory to finish the first round.

Venegas opened up the second round by beating Ermolenko. Manzares scored an impressive win over McConnell. Hamill made it two wins in a row with a defeat of Burmeister. Michael Raines beat Bobby "Boogaloo" Schwartz to end round two.

The final round began with Venegas defeating Raines to remain perfect. Faria beat Tyson Talkington for his second win of the evening. Hamill matched Venegas's perfect score with a win ahead of Ermolenko. Burmeister wrapped up the heats by beating Schwartz.

Talkington beat Steve Russell in a runoff for the final spot in the semis.

The first semi didn't get past turn one because Schwartz and Talkington both went down hard. Talkington was up quickly but Schwartz was down for a minute before walking off the track and giving every indication that he wouldn't restart. Just prior to the pit gate closing Schwartz emerged from the pits despite the throttle side of his handlebars being turned down similar to the old board track racers. Talkington went down in turn three and brought out the red flag for a second time. Hamill made the start on the third attempt with Schwartz briefly holding second before Faria secured second. The places remained unchanged with Hamill and Faria moving on to the main event.

Venegas made it four for four with a win in the second semi and Burmeister following him into the main event. McConnell won the Last Chance to book the final spot in the main event field.

Geoff Herkner put together four smooth laps and went home victoriously in the Support Main Event. Bryan "Bumblebee" Buffington, seeing his first race action in several years, finished second, Carl Gazafy was third, Harold Hartke finished fourth, and Rudy Laurer was credited with fifth.

Costa Mesa Speedway will be dormant for several weeks due to the Barrett-Jackson Automobile Auction being held at the Orange County Fairgrounds. The next speedway event will be the 40th annual Orange County Fair Derby Championship on Saturday, July 14. Admission will be included with the purchase of an Orange County Fair ticket. The previous evening will feature the Freestyle Motocross Jumpers and sidecars.

RESULTS

Support Last Chance
176 - Carl Gazafy
153 - Brad Moreau
145 - Davey Shaw
163 - Ron Davis
150 - Damon Barry (non starter)

Support Main Event (restarted)
208 - Geoff Herkner
77 - Bryan Buffington
176 - Carl Gazafy
290 - Harold Hartke (fell)
182 - Rudy Laurer (tape exclusion)

First Division Heat Scoring123T
6 – Shawn McConnell 4318
7 – Michael Raines 2439
9 – Mike Faria 42410
11 – Bobby Schwartz 3339
15 – Charles Ermolenko 3339
17 – Robbie Sauer 1023
18 – Justin Boyle 2125
21 – Brad Sauer 0101
23 – Steve Russell 2226
24 – Gino Manzares 3429
26 – Tyson Burmeister 33410
27 – Austin Novratil E- - 0
43 – Charlie Venegas 44412
46 – Aaron Fox 1214
48 – Tyson Talkington 2136
104 – Billy Hamill 44412
114 – Troy McConnell 1012
321 – Russell Green 0202
389 – Ryan Tovatt 0112

Race Results
1: Venegas, Manzares, Russell, T. McConnell, Green
2: (restarted) McConnell, Burmeister, Talkington, R. Sauer, Tovatt (penalty line)
3: Hamill, Ermolenko, Raines, Fox, B. Sauer (fell, remounted)
4: (restarted) Faria, Schwartz, Boyle, Medellin, Novratil (engine failure)
9: Venegas, Ermolenko, Faria, Tovatt, R. Sauer
10: (restarted) Manzares, S. McConnell, Fox, B. Sauer, Medellin
11: Hamill, Burmeister, Russell, Boyle
12: Raines, Schwartz, Green, Talkington, T. McConnell
17: Venegas, Raines, Russell, T. McConnell, B. Sauer
18: Faria, Talkington, Boyle, S. McConnell
19: Hamill, Ermolenko, Manzares, Fox, Green
20: Burmeister, Schwartz, R. Sauer, Tovatt, Medellin
Runoff: Talkington, Russell
Semi #1: (restarted twice) Hamill, Faria, Ermolenko, Schwartz, Talkington (non starter – restart)
Semi #2: Venegas, Burmeister, S. McConnell, Manzares, Raines (fell)

First Division Last Chance
6 - Shawn McConnell
15 - Charles Ermolenko
24 - Gino Manzares
11 - Bobby Schwartz (retired)

First Division Main Event
104 - Billy Hamill
26 - Tyson Burmeister
6 - Shawn McConnell
9 - Mike Faria
43 - Charlie Venegas (engine failure)