Four County Riders Named to Speedway Team

Four Orange County speedway motorcyclists have been selected to represent the United States in the World Team Cup on Sept. 10 in Long Beach Veterans Stadium.

Shawn and Kelly Moran of Huntington Beach, Sam Ermolenko of Cypress and Lance King of Fountain Valley head the five-man team, with Rick Miller of Reseda as the alternate. Shawn Moran, 26, will be the team captain.

The team essentially was selected by the American riders who compete nine months of the year in the British Speedway League and was announced by Bill Boyce, director of competition for the American Motorcycle Assn. Bobby Schwartz of Costa Mesa, who has ridden in eight World Team Cup events, was noticeably absent from the team.

Schwartz was team captain in 1985, the last time the event was held at Long Beach, and was nicknamed “Captain America” by the British press because of his experience in international events. He has represented the United States in more international speedway races than any other American rider. He has not been a member of the U.S. team since 1985, though.

“I expected to at least be the reserve rider,” Schwartz said. “I guess this is for the best. The team has traditionally been the riders who compete in Europe, and I haven’t ridden overseas in three years.

“But if you check my point totals in races at Long Beach over the past three years, you’ll find that only Sam has scored more points. I’m disappointed, but I’ll support the team any way that I can.”

Boyce, contacted at the AMA offices in Westerville, Ohio, said his organization “technically” selected the team members, but admitted that the decision was based primarily on the opinions of overseas riders.

“There’s never been any argument who was going to ride in the past because we’ve always gone with the riders in the British Speedway League,” Boyce said. “There is a different situation with the race in Long Beach.

“I know Bobby has had some great success in world championship races and rides well at Long Beach, but we had to go with what the team wanted.”

Schwartz, 32, helped the United States win its only World Team Cup title in 1982 at White City, England. He rode in the British Speedway League for eight years and was a fixture in international competition from 1979-85 before deciding to remain in Southern California to compete.

Ermolenko, competing last week at Ascot Park in Gardena, insisted that the riders should select the American team and hinted that he might skip the race if any changes were made.

“Nothing personal against Bobby . . . he’s an excellent rider,” Ermolenko said. “But he’s not over there busting his tail for nine months. The riders who pay their dues in Europe should be the ones who ride for the team.”

Teams from Denmark, Great Britain, Sweden and the United States compete in the race. The favorites will be five-time defending champion Denmark.