Bakersfield Speedway
Bakersfield, California
April 5, 1997 - Bakersfield Speedway
From: Gary Roberts
This was the first of two speedway evenings at Bakersfield Speedway,
this season. The second will be on July 19.
The track is supposed to be one third of a mile, although it looked much
smaller. There does not appear to be a standard in the US of where on
the track the measurement is taken. It is fast. The heavily banked
surface is a smooth hard clay, with no loose dirt on top. The blue
groove was 30 feet wide and covered not only the corners but the
straights too. It was like tarmac. The straights were relatively short,
making it like a squashed circle.
The racing was good. Just the same as last year, the only thing that
spoilt the evening was the commentator. He kept confusing me by
reporting on misidentifying riders sometimes with ones that weren't
even in the race. Hence my results are questionable, especially in the
support class, where local riders, that I don't know, competed. He really
got on every speedway followers nerves by referring to "Bike number 9,
ridden by ...." There was also Pro-Am 600 class racing, which is
basically American flat-track using 600cc motorcycles, mostly powered by
Rotax engines.
Results:
Scratch Main:
1. Mike Faria
2. Bobby Schwartz
3. Steve Lucero
4. Rick Pearce
5. John Aden - Disq.
Scratch Consolation:
1. Shawn McConnell
2. Greg Ayers
3. Andy Northrup
4. Brad Oxley
5. Jesse Finch
Support Class:
1. Bryan Thompson
2. Robbie Lee
3. Paul Binnquist
4. Marvin Sonnier
Mike Faria was in a class of his own, winning most of his races by at
least 1/4 lap. Bobby Schwartz looked good, the non-straight straights
suited his style. Brad Oxley, who promoted the event was not enjoying
his usual success. I recall seeing him struggle at Ventura, another
large banked track. Probably the biggest difference from last year was
Rick Pearce. He won the support class last year and was rightly in
division one this time. His fourth place in the main demonstrated the
progress he has made in a short time. John Aden, who goes well on bigger
tracks broke the tapes in the main and was disqualified.
Gary Roberts - gary_rob@ix.netcom.com
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