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JANNIRO TAKES AMA ROUND THREE @ INDUSTRY – By Tim Kennedy
Industry, CA., Aug. 9 – Perfection personified. That summarizes sensational AMA speedway champion Billy “the Kid” Janniro, 33. The rider from Northern California dominated speedway bike racing Saturday night at Industry Speedway in the Grand Arena of the Industry Hills Expo Center. More than 1,400 spectators watched him win all five of his heat races, his semi-final and the four-lap feature. He led every lap he ran and scored the maximum number of points possible—21. He now has 60 points to 44 for second place Max Ruml, a 17-year old second year 500cc rider and past 250cc Junior National Champion. Third place Bart Bast has 35 points.
The Industry event was the third of four AMA National Championship races. Janniro, on his Jawa frame with a GM motor, has won all three races—at Costa Mesa, Ventura and Industry. The final race will be held Friday, September 19 at his home track, Fast Fridays Motorcycle Speedway at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn. Janniro has a nearly insurmountable lead of 16 points entering the final race in the four race series to determine the 2014 AMA National Speedway Champion.
The Industry main event had two riders from Northern California and two from Southern California. Starting gate lane choices were based upon points accrued by the top eight point riders in the 16 rider field. Janniro (15 points) Venegas and Bast (13 each) and Ruml (10) picked in that order. They selected lanes one, two and three in that order and relegated the outside position to Ruml.
When the starting gate rose after after the green light flashed on, Janniro shot into the lead before the first turn and maintained it all four laps. Venegas Ruml and Bast trailed in that order all the way. Winner Janniro hiked his front wheel in celebration as he approached the finish line five lengths in front of Venegas, who had three lengths on Ruml. Bast trailed Ruml by three lengths. The top three finishers received huge trophies and posed for photos on the pit lane podium.
The pair of semi-final races with the eight highest point riders followed five rounds of heat races in which each rider started from all four lanes. It took eight points to qualify for one of the four rider semi-final races. From the pole, Janniro led Ruml all the way in the first semi. P. 3 Buck Blair fell on the first lap, remounted quickly but trailed by half a lap. Broc Nicol dropped out with a mechanical problem while running third on lap 3. Venegas, 47, led every lap from pole in semi two to defeat Nor Cal's Bast, also 47. P. 3 Tommy Hedden and P. 4 Jason Ramirez fell together on the first lap in turn four.
The 20 heat race victories went to Janniro (five), Venegas (four), Bast (three) Blair, Hedden, and Ruml (two each), Shawn McConnell and Nicol (one each). The heat race of the night was event 16 of 20. Janniro started from the outside gate with Venegas, Ruml and Russell Green to his left. On the first lap Venegas and Ruml ran one-two with Janniro third entering the third turn. Then Janniro found a hole between the two leaders and darted quickly into the lead on the inside exiting turn four. He led all four laps and had spectators buzzing in amazement.
Falls were commonplace during round one. Riders said the usual slick Industry dirt track was “tacky and grippy” leading to one and two rider falls in events two, three and four. Ruml took a hard tumble after contacting the backstretch plywood wall leaving the second corner. He rose slowly and walked to the pits, earning no points in that round.
In event three Tyson Talkington hit the wall hard at turn two and shortened his front wheel about five inches. He used his backup bike for subsequent rounds. In event four both McConnell and Nicol fell together. Officials then conferred and moved the portable piping that marks the infield inwards to give riders a better angle onto the backstretch. Track preparation and dragging by use of one or two tractors took place after all five rounds of heat races. Other riders—Hedden, Blair, Castro and Green—fell during rounds two, three and four. Three riders fell in the two semi-final races for a season-high total of 11 downed 500cc pro riders.
PIT NOTES: The 50/50 collection total was $1,190, with $595 going to the woman spectator in the grandstand with the winning ticket. An equal $595 was distributed to the four riders in the feature. ... Saturday racing was web-cast live on the Internet as usual. Tweets from around the world were read by track announcer Bruce Flanders. ... Max Ruml said he really enjoyed his recent first racing experience in England and Poland on the USA World Team. He even beat 2014 World Champion point leader Tai Woffingdon in a heat race.
Persons in attendance this week included regulars such as retired sprint car driver Steve Howard, 60, and AMA great Sammy Tanner, 75. Covina resident Mike Johnson, a late model owner/driver at Irwindale Speedway, also was in the grandstand for two-wheel action. ... Many of the 150cc and 250cc Junior riders and their families from Nor Cal arrived a day before their Sunday afternoon Silver Cup races and watched the 500cc pro riders race Saturday night.
Two riders scheduled to race Saturday were scratched because of injuries. Reserve number one Rocco Scopellite replaced Austin Novratil and reserve number two Dalton Leedy replaced Nor Cal's Bryce Starks, who was injured a night earlier. Novratil separated his right shoulder Monday on his motocross bike at a Riverside track. He is right handed and his shoulder was in a sling pending a doctor visit Monday to determine if surgery will be necessary on his AC joint. ... Chris Kerr, from Auburn, and So Cal's Eloy Medellin became reserves one and two and both raced in rounds four and five after two riders (Leedy and Burmeister) scratched. ... Bart Bast won the main event at Auburn Friday night, August 8 and Max Ruml won at Pirate Speedway in San Bernardino the same evening.
MEDICAL UPDATE: Freddie Orozco, the original Industry Speedway promoter (2004-05), fell hard from his Harley at the end of the Industry Speedway annual Harley Night street-legal Harley race on Wednesday, July 30. He left the track via an AMB ambulance. He suffered a broken coller-bone, five broken ribs, a punctured lung and a concussion. He was hospitalized for a week at UCLA Medical Center and was released to recuperate at home. He was not in attendance for the August 9 AMA round three event.
RESULTS (August 9):
Semi-Final 1: Billy Janniro, Max Ruml, Buck Blair, Broc Nicol.
Semi-Final 2: Charlie Venegas, Bart Bast, Tommy Hedden, Jason Ramirez.
Feature: Janniro, Venegas, Ruml, Bast.
AMA National Championship Series Points (after three of four races).
1 Billy Janniro 60 points
2 Max Ruml 44
3 Bart Bast 35
4 Charlie Venegas 33
5 Buck Blair 32
T6 Broc Nicol 24
T6 Tommy Hedden 24
8 Eddie Castro 22
9 Tyson Burmeister 18
10 Shawn McConnell 15
10 Jason Ramirez 15
12 Brice Starks 14
13 Austin Novratil 13
14 Russell Green 11
15 Tyson Talkington 10
16 Rocco Scopellite 8
17 Bobby Schwartz 7
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