Inland Motor Speedway
National Orange Show
San Bernardino, California

British Style Team Racing Results
December 3, 2011
By: Steve Evans dreamteamspeedway@sbcglobal.net
Photos by: Dorcey Wingo

Riders came out in good numbers to try Speedway British style as Inland Motorcycle Speedway hosted a unique and hugely enjoyable event. There were three team matches in a packed 39 race program and for the first time, each team race ran uninterrupted by support class or other races.

Captain Methane arrived near sunset and found the IMS Track Crew huddled around a converted methanol can-heater.	Pee Wee Main: #76 Nick Dunn takes the pole next to a determined #34 Dakota Shockley. #27 Luke Whitcomb gates in three and that's #3 Matthew Casey on the wall.	Braydan Galvin rode hard coming around turn three for the Junior Aces, and crashed hard in turn four. Galvin was able to remount and won the restart.
In the Junior's restart, Galvin (sans front fender) charges hard for some valuable points.	Junior Ace Maverick Molloy pulled off a 6+2 (3), an important cog in the Ace's winning machinery.	Broc Nicole's 6 (3) also helped tip the scales in the Ace's favor.
Flying around turn three, Dalton Leedy's 4+1 (3) were significant in the final tally.	Junior Viking Max Ruml leads Broc Nicol around turn three on his way to a 12 (4) star role on the losing side.	Watching Max ride is always worth another look. Good things in store for this young scholar-athlete!

Results

Event One - Divisions 1 & 2 - The Aces 34 - The Vikings 61

Gino Manzares led The Vikings to a crushing 27 point win over the Aces in the first event of the day. The match, using the full 15 heat British League format, also saw undefeated performances for Troy McConnell and 14 year old Max Ruml. Joey St. Louis at reserve was also impressive with a 7+4 haul, only a fall in heat 2 preventing his maximum. For the Aces captain and #1 Brad Pappalardo was beset with bike troubles in his first two races before scoring a double pointed second place in heat 10. Top scorer for the Aces was the hugely impressive 'Slammin' Sammy Halbert with 10. Halbert, a top AMA Flat Track rider, was only his second ever Speedway meeting. Despite a couple of falls he won heat 8 with the added pressure of a double points ride. However, with The Vikings supplying 13 of the 15 heat winners it was a dominant performance.

The Aces 34: Sammy Halbert 10 (5), Mike Salyer 6+1 (5), Greg Ayers 6 (4), Brad Pappalardo 5 (4), Brad Moreau 5 (4), Jim Robinson 2+2 (4), Brad Russell 0 (3)

The Vikings 61: Gino Manzares 15 (5), Troy McConnell 13+2 (5), Max Ruml 12 (4), Joey St Louis 7+4 (4), Joey Donaldson 6+1 (4), Kevin Fife 4+1 (4), Chris Casey 3 (2), Chanse Vaccaro 1(2)

Event 2 - Junior Vikings 16 - Junior Aces 20

The next event was a 6 heat Junior Match for riders under 15 years old. Max Ruml once more rode for the Vikings and once more was unbeaten with a 12 point maximum. However the Junior Aces were hugely strong throughout the order and only ran one last place all night. The match was very close through the first four heats with the score being level after races two, three and four. It was a decisive 5-1 from Brayden Galvin and Maverick Molloy that tipped the scales the way of the Aces.

Junior Vikings 16: Max Ruml 12 (4), Chase Sanborn 3 (4), Daniel Casey 1 (4) Dillon Ruml R/R

Junior Aces 20: Maverick Molloy 6+2 (3), Broc Nicol 6 (3), Brayden Galvin 4+1 (3), Dalton Leedy 4+1 (3)

Event Three - Division Three Riders - The Eagles 51 - The Aces 43

NorCals Chris Casey led the Eagles to a last heat win over The Aces with a perfect 15 point maximum in the third team event of the day. He was backed up with a solid 14+1 paid maximum from team mate Kevin Fife. The Aces gave a solid all round team performance but the lack of top end power to match Casey & Fife ultimately showed the difference between the two teams. An excellent use of a tactical ride in heat 14 with Rod Requejo and Carl Shockley teaming up for a 7-1 sent it to a last heat decider but the Eagles top 2 proved too powerful in the end. Many riders impressed as they, for the first time in most cases, experienced team racing though special note should go to Kayle LeoGrande who scored paid 8 in only his second competitive speedway meeting.

The Eagles 51 - Chris Casey 15 (5), Kevin Fife 14+1 (5), Jim Robinson 9+1 (4), Chanse Vaccaro 6 (4), Kennu Roesler 4+1 (4), Steve Brown 3+2 (4), Tom Bryant 0 (4)

The Aces 43 - Rod Requejo 9+3 (5), Norm Graham 9 (3), Tony DeAlmeida 7+2 (5), Kayle LeoGrande 6+2 (5), Carl Shockley 6 (4), Gene Stone 4+1 (4), Dan Eddy 2+1 (4)

Pee Wee Races

In between team matches there were three Pee Wee races. Dakota Shockley won all races including the Main event. Luke Whitcomb was runner up in all events and third in both heats going to Matthew Casey, with newcomer Nick Dunn getting third in the Main

Pee Wee Main
34 Dakota Shockley
27 Luke Whitcomb
76 Nick Dunn
3 Matthew Casey

The event was hugely enjoyed by all riders, mechanics and fans and it will no doubt be repeated. The IMS Winter Series kicks off in two weeks on Sunday 18th December at 1pm and the night before is the big Invitational Event at Perris.