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Tyson Burmeister gave a dominant display as he won the Main Event at Victorville on April 7th in a night in honor of legend Fast Eddie Castro. Burmeister, in the first event of the 2012 US main speedway season showed what he had learned in the British league in 2011 in a night of epic racing at the fastest 1/8 speedway in the country. The First Division program needed last minute modification as there were two late additions, and therefore it adopted a traditional program of 4 heats per rider with total points transferring riders to the semi final and Main Event. The night opened with Castro leading home Steve Russell. Burmeister led home Rocco Scopellite in the next heat. To spice things up in 2012 Victorville has introduced a 'tactical joker' rule where a rider can opt to go from a 20 yard penalty and double their points score. All time modern era Main event winner Buck Blair took this option in heat 3, and it paid off as he passed all competitors for the win, though it wasn't easy with 15 year old Max Ruml in his maiden 1st Division race almost passing Blair back on the line. Blair was the only rider to make use of the rule all night. Castro led home Scopellite in heat 4 whilst Burmeister won again in heat 5, John Marques second and Blair only in third after a bad gate. The second half of qualifying heats opened with Castro leading home Burmeister. The next race was controversial - Steve Russell passed Marquez for a fine win. Marquez and Blair battled hard for second, Blair falling in turn 3 of lap 3 - the referee allowed the race to continue and Blair scored 0. Steve Russell also won heat 8 in only his 2nd meeting on the track and he had suddenly found a groove not only making him look like a regular, but a potential Main Event winner. Marquez continued a good night with a second place. Blair inflicted Castro's first defeat in heat 9, while Burmeister again led home Scopellite in heat 10. The top two in points, Burmeister and Castro went straight to the main, whilst the next four went to the semi final. Russell made it three in a row with his semi win, Scopellite taking the other transfer from Marquez, while Blair's nightmare evening continued as a bike failure at the gate ended his night early. The main event saw Castro of the inside, Burmeister off the outside but it was the younger of the former American Touring Team the team mates who made the best start and by the back straight Burmeister was clear and never troubled. Scopellite defeated Russell for third place. The top 2 qualifiers joined the 7th and 8th placed riders for the last man out. Tyson Talkington was first to be eliminated in a race led by Max Ruml. The hugely impressive Ruml was next to be eliminated and once more Burmeister defeated Castro in the last staging. Steve Bowen won the first Division two heat whilst Kayle LeoGrande took the 2nd when start positions were handicapped based on round one placings. The fast rising and local Joey St. Louis however kept Bowen in 2nd and LeoGrande in third in the Main. Division Three saw impressive newcomer JD Myerscough win both heats including a handicap in his second and he cleaned up by also taking the Main, where he was sent to the penalty line after falling in the first staging. Gino Scopellite and Sebastian Palmese split the junior heats with Scopellite taking the Main. Sterling Martin from Salina's became a star in his own right - he won both Pee Wee Heats, the Open Pee Wee and a heat and a main in the 'run what you brung' Minibike Class. The heat win included a pass of Castro on the line! Sara Cords won the 50cc Main. A good sized crowd and rider turn out welcomed in the 12 race schedule for the 2012 season. The next event will be the first Harley Night of the year on May 5th and will also include the season debut of the Sidecars. Before the event began a moment of silence was held for both Connor Penhall and Lucile Flanders who had passed away during the week. Race Results Division One Heat Points - Tyson Burmeister 11, Eddie Castro 11, Buck Blair 10, Steve Russell 8, John Marquez 7, Rocco Scopellite 6, Max Ruml 4, Tyson Talkington 4, Marvin Sonnier 1, Geoff Herkner 1. Semi Final - Russell, Scopellite, Marquez, Blair ef. Main Event - Burmeister, Castro, Scopellite, Russell. Last Man Out - Burmeister, Castro, Ruml, Talkington. Division Two Main - Joey St.Louis, Steve Bowen, Kayle LeoGrande, Kevin Fife, Tony DeAlmeida. Division Three Main - JD Myerscough, Jake Hanson, Dan Eddy, Steve Brown fell, non restart. Junior Main - Gino Scopellite, Sebastian Palmese PW 50 Main - Sara Cords, Jaiden Tremper, Dakota Shockley, Gavin Tremper, Christopher Newbury, Nick Dunn, Riley Hull Open PW Main - Sterling Martin, Alex Martin, Jaiden Tremper, Sara Cords, Dakota Shockley, Gavin Tremper, Christopher Newbury, Riley Hull. Mini Bikes - Sterling Martin, Tom Dowd, Bob Tocco, Tom Cords, Eddie Castro, Andy Schwarm, Bo Levandowski. Victorville Points after 7 April 2012 Division One Division Two Division Three Junior 200 Pee Wee Open Pee Wee 50 |
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