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Bishop SpeedwayTri County Fairgrounds, 1234 Sierra St, Bishop, CA 93514Speedway BROC NICOL TAKES THE WIN AT SCENIC NEW CALIFORNIA VENUE Speedway Motorcycle racing roared into a completely new California market on Saturday 8th of July when Broc Nicol took victory at ‘Moto Madness’ at the Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgrounds in Bishop, California. The new venue is a 6,000-seat rodeo arena which is also used for Monster Truck shows, demolition derbies and concerts. Interestingly enough, the town’s population is only 3,800 people but the venue regularly draws spectators from small rural communities within a two-hour radius. The arena and fairgrounds sit at the north end of the main street on Highway 395 and is a popular stop off point for tourists traveling to and from Lake Tahoe. Though the race was on a hot July day, there were still snow-capped mountains in all directions surrounding the town and arena. The track itself was Costa Mesa sized though wider in the turns. With it being a temporary track and with the hot weather the race surface certainly had bumps and challenges, though it must be said after the half time intermission track work, the second part of the program allowed for more edge of your seat racing as the track settled in. The mostly local crowd of around 1,000 were loud in their voice and cheer, most of them seeing the sport for the first time. The show was best described as something of an appetizer plate. Sign-ups were limited in numbers in all divisions to ensure the event would run in just over two hours. There were Speedway and Flat Track classes as well as a finale for the local moto cross riders. As a bonus, the three qualifiers ran a Last Man Out race consisting of two 2 lap mini heats with last place in the first run eliminated from the second leg. Lightcap won leg one with ease but a photo finish for second between Ruml and Nicol was declared a dead heat, so both riders came back for a runoff, Nicol edging yet another nail-biting dual. Lightcap, with a few minutes to breathe, came out on top of Nicol in the decider. The remaining four Division 1 entrants raced in a Semi Final with the winner going to the Main. The impressive Justin Almon, who pulled off a stunning round 2 heat win over Ruml selected the favored gate 1 but it was Michael Wells who got the best start from gate 2 and he was not headed. Almon kept it close in second with Jordan Vanderham in third and Harold Hartke 4th. The Support class saw the experienced Ron Davis take both heats and the Main Event. Tony Rutledge was second in both heats with NorCal rookie Antonio Coffman getting second in the Main. The Sidecars were definitely the crowd favorites on the night as they put in some close and thrilling races. The team of Ace Kale and Brent Smith did the clean sweep, winning all heats and the Main event. Local rider Zane Carrillo won the Kids 50cc class with another Bishop kid Thomas Jackson winning the 65/110 class ahead of recent 4-time AMA National Champion Jackson Joiner. Both the Modern and Vintage Flat Track classes were won by former X Games Hooligan Champion Brad Spencer with Robert Bush doing the double runner up role. Keith Roberts won the local riders MX bike event as 10 bikes happily tore up the track after the speedway was done. After the event many of the crowd stayed behind to meet their new heroes. With potential to improve after the first effort both with track surface and even more fans, fair management are keen to add a fall race after having their objectives met with the first show. It is great news for American Speedway that another venue is now open, staging races and most importantly, bringing in new fans. Results Semi Final Last Man Out Points: Lightcap 8, Nicol 8, Ruml 7, Almon 6, Wells 4, Vanderham 2, Hartke 1 Support Sidecar Kids 65cc Kids 50cc Modern Flat Track Vintage Flat Track Run What You Brung / MX Knobby (Top 5) |
