Sideways Saturdays Speedway
Cal Expo
Sacramento, California

Sideways Saturdays Speedway
Cal Expo - Sacramento, CA
Saturday July 24, 1999

Mike Faria wins the Main Event!

Some good races on a much better track than last week, although probably not as good as the week before.

The promoter announced at the riders meeting that he was too ignorant and stubborn to quit, although they are clearly losing money at this facility and that they will be running again next year. This is good news because the presence of two tracks in Northern California gives the riders the opportunity to improve their skills without becoming "one track wonders". The results of this were demonstrated the night before in the North vs. South. A couple of the North vs. South riders were still around on Saturday and rode at Cal Expo, but most went back to LA.

The back straight of Cal Expo faces directly into the sun, which currently disappears behind some trees at around 7.45pm. The 10.00pm curfew makes an 8.00pm start too late. A compromise was for the start to be delayed 15 minutes. The promoter will attempt to get a 10.30 curfew next year, to enable an 8pm start.

The evening did not start well. In the first corner of the first race, front yardage man Don Webster fell down and the higher handicap riders were forced wide and three hit the wall. Ian Ferris was up straight away, Chris Manchester took a bit longer, but Billy Janniro was suffered an ankle injury which forced him out for the rest of the night.

Unofficial results:

Scratch Main

1. Mike Faria
2. Bobby Hedden
3. Bart Bast
4. Ryan Fisher
Ryan Fisher had some great qualifying races beating Chad Felicio, Randy DiFrancesco, Jim Sismore, and Bob Hicks to get to the Main. However something went wrong at the start and he didn't make it out of the gate. With all that has gone on for Ryan this season, I have to marvel not only at what an incredible rider he is, but how well this 15 year old has stood up to all the pressure. He has been used as a political football and it has done him no harm whatsoever. He is an entertaining rider and has a great following with the fans.

Scratch Consi

1. Jim Sisemore
2. Bob Hicks
3. Charlie Venegas
4. Ian Ferris

Handicap Main

1. Randy DiFrancesco
2. Tommy Hedden
3. Bart Bast
4. Bobby Hedden
5. Chris Manchester
6. Ryan Fisher
Ryan Fisher was forced out and stopped at the first corner. The rest battled on through the dust. Without taking any credit from Bakersfield visitor Randy DiFrancesco, there was really only a limited racing line. A single width blue groove by the pole and dry dust outside of that. Randy started in front from the 20 yard line with Tommy Hedden on the 30 behind him. Back from the 50, Bart Bast and Bobby Hedden were able to get past Chris Manchester, but that was it. Chris told me he plans to race "occasionally" for the rest of the year.

Handicap Consi

1. Charlie Venegas
2. Ian Ferris
3. Charles Ermolenko
4. Jim Sisemore
5. Mike Faria
6. Scott McNeil
Ian Ferris from the 20 lead until the last few yards when Charlie got through by inches.

Division 2 Main

1. Terry McCurdy
2. Ivan Sevart
3. Harlan Bast Snr.
4. John O'Connell
5. Derek Silva
6. Rachalle Kerr
Another Bakersfield rider on the rostrum, Terry McCurdy picked up a good win from Ivan Sevart, who was followed by his grandfather, Harlan Bast. Rachalle Kerr was holding fourth place until she fell down on the last corner.

Division 2 Consi

1. Mike Browne
2. Tom Adams
3. Matt Browne
4. Bill Thomas
5. Bill Dixon
6. Donny Powell

Division 3 Main

1. Kevin Fereira
2. Harry Bradwell
3. Ron Woodsford
4. Les Veale
5. Mark Thomas
6. Greg Hooten Snr.
I am hesitant to criticise any referee, but a number of inequities have taken place at Cal Expo over the last few weeks. A couple of weeks ago Bart Bast got a 10 yard moving advantage in the Handicap Main. This week's biggest one was the victory that was stolen from Ron Woodsford. On his fourth lap, Ron had established a good lead when Kevin Fereira fell. Mark Thomas laid it down and the referee rightly stopped the race. But there was confusion at the restart. Kevin was not penalised, some riders thought it was to be a staggered re-start, as it should have been when the race was stopped at this stage. At least one rider was on the wrong yardage for a complete restart. At the riders meeting the referee emphasised how amenable he would be to discussing his calls, but did not entertain a discussion with Ron about his (in my opinion justifiable) grievance. I have to assume that the program was being rushed through to meet the curfew.

Division 3 Consi

1. Robert Mellor
2. Vince Bertolucci
3. Art Anglade
4. Brian Leventon
5. Clark Caravella
6. Rich Mignano

Division 1and 2 Juniors

1. Chris Kerr
2. Bryan Yarrow
3. Eric Carrillo
4. Jon Curry
5. Greg Hooten Jnr.
Two years ago, Chris Kerr was one of the most promising junior riders. In the last two seasons he has missed many races through injury and has had frequent bike problems. This win must give him encouragement for the future.

Division 3 Juniors

1. Mark Carrillo
2. Amanda English
3. Chris Smith
4. Chris Olney

Just as the crowd is beginning to grow, its getting near the end of the season. Where did the season go? Next week is the penultimate event, followed by the track championship the following week.

Gary Roberts - gary_rob@ix.netcom.com