Ermolenko Is Only U.S. Rider to Advance in Overseas Final

Speedway motorcyclist Sam Ermolenko of Cypress was the only U.S. rider to advance Tuesday night in the Overseas Final in Coventry, England.

Ermolenko struggled with faulty engine equipment but managed to score seven points in five heat rides and finish tied for ninth with John Davis of Great Britain. The top nine scorers advance to the InterContinental Final, scheduled for Aug. 6 in Vetlanda, Sweden.

Five Americans competed on the cold, rainy night, but Ermolenko was the only successful one in the second of three qualifying rounds that lead to the world championship, Sept. 3 in Vojens, Denmark.

Mike Faria (six points), Robert Pfetzing (five), Rick Miller (four) and Bobby Schwartz (three) failed to qualify in a meeting dominated by British riders.

Simon Cross, Kelvin Tatum and Simon Wigg, all from Great Britain, tied for first place with 13 points. Cross won a four-lap runoff, with Tatum finishing second and Wigg third.

Faria had tied Andy Smith of Great Britain for the reserve spot at Vetlanda, but Smith defeated Faria in another runoff.

Ermolenko, 27, who has finished third in the world championship in two of the past three years, experienced problems Tuesday night when his engine quit as he approached the starting line for his first heat race.

Ermolenko returned to the pit area for his backup bike, but he finished last in the heat race. He won his second heat, finished second in his next two races and then fell on the muddy track on his last ride and barely qualified for the InterContinental Final.

Schwartz, of Costa Mesa, an eight-year veteran of British Speedway League racing, borrowed two-time world champion Erik Gundersen’s bikes for the meeting, but his two-year absence from world-class competition was obvious.

Miller, a Reseda resident, was riding on his home track at Coventry, where he has been a fixture for three seasons, but he crashed in his second heat race and never recovered.

Faria failed to advance from the Overseas Final for the second year in a row. Faria moved to Great Britain this season to ride for Belle Vue, but the sloppy track conditions ended his world championship drive.

The race had originally been scheduled for Sunday, but heavy rains forced promoters to move the event to Tuesday night.