MOTORCYCLE RACING / AMERICAN SPEEDWAY FINAL : Road to World Title Leads Through Long Beach

Speedway motorcyclist Ronnie Correy was the only American to advance to the world championships last year in Munich, West Germany, but the 23-year-old rider from Fullerton never expected to be a factor in the pressure-packed race.

Correy figured that his inexperience and a broken right wrist would be too much to overcome in the only motorcycle racing event that crowns its world champion on one night of competition.

Predictably, Correy finished in a four-way tie for eighth place in the 16-rider field, but he thinks the experience of three qualifying rounds and the championship race will help him get a return ticket to the World Final in Bradford, England, on Sept. 1.

Correy begins the long road to the 1990 World Final at 8 tonight in the American Speedway Final at Long Beach Veterans Stadium, where 20 riders will compete for four spots in the Overseas Final on June 24 in Coventry, England.

“I rode basically to get the experience, and there was no pressure on me last year,” Correy said. “I hurt my wrist in a test series against England at Belle Vue and then broke it in the last qualifier at Bradford. But nothing was going to keep me from riding in the World Final.”

During the off-season, Correy had tendons and joints repaired and two metal plates placed in his right wrist. He declined three offers to compete in Australia and New Zealand, preferring to allow his wrist to heal.

The layoff didn’t hurt. Correy has become one of the top riders in the British Speedway League this season at Wolverhampton. He opened with a league-leading 10.19 average, out of a possible 12 points, and he currently has an 8.97 average.

“I’m in the best shape of my life,” he said. “I joined a health club in Tewkesbury and started lifting weights and bicycling. My wrist was hurting for two years, but I’ve never felt better.”

Correy, once a frail 5-foot-2, 110-pound teen-ager, has added 22 pounds by lifting weights and has bulked considerably in his upper body. He recently bought a home in Tewkesbury and plans to ride overseas “at least six more years.”

Correy was the hard-luck rider in the 1988 American Final. He appeared to have a berth clinched with 12 points after four races but blew an engine while leading his fifth race and failed to score a point, finishing sixth. The top five riders advanced.

Last year, he tied Sam Ermolenko and Shawn Moran with 19 points each but finished third in a four-lap runoff. Correy is the only rider to beat Ermolenko on Long Beach’s quarter-mile track in the past three years.

“I’ve raced all over the world, and Long Beach has always been one of my favorite tracks,” Correy said. “The track is always well prepared, and I like the long distance going into the first turn.

“This is definitely the toughest qualifier in the world. Only four riders will get through, and one mechanical problem can finish you. Look what happened to me two years ago. I won three races, finished second in another and then blew an engine while leading my last race and was out.”

Correy is competing overseas for the fourth season. He traditionally had problems with his starts because his weight did not allow him to get traction on the dirt. But being light allowed him to maintain top speeds on the straightaways.

Most observers say Correy’s success has been because of his extraordinary balance on the lightweight Weslake speedway bike that will produce top speeds of 85 m.p.h. in Long Beach. Correy spent countless hours refining his skills on practice tracks at Saddleback Park and Indian Dunes and attended new-rider schools taught by Bruce Penhall and Mike Bast.

He developed into a two-time U.S. junior speedway champion in 1983-84 under the guidance of Bill Hancock and became one of Southern California’s top Division I riders as a 19-year-old senior at Fullerton High School in 1986.

Correy competed in his first U.S. championships at Costa Mesa in 1986 and then signed with Wolverhampton, where he was teamed with Ermolenko, the most successful American rider overseas in the 1980s.

“Racing overseas has been just about everything I expected it to be,” Correy said. “I miss my family, but I love living in the country. I started riding in a league in Sweden twice a week, so my schedule has been pretty hectic.

“My goal is to win the world championship. I’m living and working in another part of the world for eight months and have dedicated myself to winning the title.”