Stockton Practice Session

San Joaquin County Fairgrounds
1658 S Airport Way
Stockton, CA 95206

Stockton Practice Session:

On Sunday March 30, 2003 history was made at the Fairgrounds in Stockton, CA when we tried out a new race track. The purpose of the exercise was to find out how many riders were interested in making it to Stockton to participate and the suitability of the track surface. There was a good turn out of around 50 Speedway riders, mostly from Northern California, but also included some from So Cal, some from Reno, NV, and practically everywhere in between. The surface was clay, which some riders liked, others would have preferred DG. The main track at the facility is banked and fairly large, probably approaching 1/4 mile, but we used a small 200 metre track down on the infield. Between the track we used and the large track was a sizeable step down, which caused problems for a couple of riders. Which is worse, a crash wall or a two-foot embankment, with a big hole behind it? More than one rider found that its difficult to land a flying Speedway bike gracefully.

The format was basically an open practice, with riders going out in groups of 3-6. There was an interesting match race towards the end, with Bryan and Duane Yarrow. Duane openly admits that son Bryan is now the better rider.

The weather was hot, in fact too hot for this ex-Brit. No nice March winds and rain. While standing around for 5 hours taking pictures I got a healthy dose of sunburn. I felt fortunate that I did not have to wear heavy leathers or exert any energy.

Thanks must go to Charlie Venegas who did a good job of organizing the session, and to Dave Joiner for track preparation. Charlie is exploring the business of possibly running Speedway in Stockton on Thursday nights. Everyone asked Charlie why it would be Thursday, not Saturday. The reason is because the facility already has a commitment to car racing on Saturdays. Another concern was the limited season capacity for spectators. Charlie would like to put down DG, on the clay. So there are a number of things that Charlie has to address with the Fairgrounds.

As to if and when any decisions are made, this site will keep everyone informed. Gary Roberts

Bryan Yarrow, one of the first riders out, making it look easy.	Rick Shafer retired at the end of the 2001 season, but is thinking of coming back	Vince Bertolucci	Local rider Craig Boone.
Scott Brant came up from Los Angeles to check the new track out.	Devon Defreece	Youth rider Danny Easley.	Youth rider Tim Gomez made the long trek up from Hesperia, in the So Cal high desert.
Auburn promoter Dave Joiner practicing for a career change?	Chris Kerr on his newly acquired Shurtech machine.	Youth rider JT Mabry.	Veteran Rich Marcucci looking at the camera.
71 year old Rich Mignano.	This is what happened to riders who went too wide.	Even organizer Charlie Venegas ran a few laps.	Duane Yarrow

Looking North West and Looking North East