MOTOR RACING : ‘Indy’ Boats Run at Long Beach

Racing boats of the International Outboard Grand Prix, called the “Indy cars of boats” because of their maneuverability, light weight and speed, will be showcased this weekend at Long Beach Marine Stadium as part of the Long Beach Sea Festival.

The event, sanctioned by the American Power Boat Assn., is not part of the eight-race IOGP schedule but is more of a presentation to celebrate the return of racing powerboats after an absence of eight years in the stadium originally built for rowing in the 1932 Olympic Games.

“This will be a fun one, especially being able to run in front of old friends from our hometowns,” said Craig Wendt, the series leader from Huntington Beach. Other Southern Californians in the series include defending champion Scott Gillman and Greg Foster, both of Orange.

Gordon Jennings Jr. of Anaheim, who has dominated the APBA’s super stock/K racing runabout inboard class the last two years, and Danny Mang of Orange, the national champion in Crackerboxes the last three years, also will compete.

Tunnel boats of the International Outboard Grand Prix, also called Formula One, can accelerate to 100 m.p.h. in five seconds and can execute U-turns sharper than any other racing vehicle in the world. They reach speeds of 135 to 140 m.p.h. on straightaways. Most are constructed of wood, usually imported Okoume, because of its light weight and exceptional strength. A bare, unrigged boat will weigh about 250 pounds, but with their two-liter, V-6 engines, rigging and driver, the minimum weight is 1,050 pounds.

Wendt, 37, a former water-ski champion, won the last IOGP race in St. Louis two weeks ago and took the series points lead after six of eight races. He has 2,139 points to 2,001 for Felix Serralles of Puerto Rico and 1,891 for Rick Adamczyk of Rockaway, N.Y.

Gillman, since a dramatic victory in the second race at Portland, Ore., has had difficulty finishing recent races and is in seventh place. He won on the Willamette River despite starting from last place after failing to post a qualifying speed because of electrical problems.

Wendt, who was third at Portland, also finished second at Winnipeg, Canada, and sixth at Pittsburgh before winning at St. Louis in his Mercury-powered boat.

“What we want to do is get people in Southern California excited about our type of racing,” Wendt said. “We attract crowds of 100,000 to some of our Eastern races but haven’t seemed to catch on yet around here, which is kind of ironic because most of the best racers are from around here.”

Wendt won the 1976 Catalina water-ski race and six national championships and set a world water-ski record of 126 m.p.h. before retiring in 1980.

“The old bones started creaking and they told me I should quit bouncing around behind a boat, but I couldn’t just leave the sport, so I started driving,” Wendt said. “We kept going up and up and up in class until we got to the top.”

There will be 15 classes with heats and time trials Saturday, followed by finals Sunday. Racing will start at 10 a.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.

American motocross riders cleaned up in world championship races last Sunday in Suzuka, Japan, and now set their sights on the U.S. 500cc Grand Prix on Sunday at San Bernardino’s Glen Helen Park.

Jeff Stanton of Sherwood, Mich., won the Japanese 250cc race on a Honda, and Mike Kiedrowski of Canyon Country won the 125cc on a Kawasaki. Neither, however, will be eligible to race in Sunday’s 500cc event because the international cycling federation restricts riders to one class of world championship racing.

Kiedrowski will ride in the 125cc support race, a non-championship event, on the Glen Helen program.

Eric Geboers of Belgium, winner of last year’s U.S. race and the 1990 world champion, has retired, as have Johnny O’Mara, who chased Geboers for 40 minutes in a memorable race in last year’s first moto; and Rick Johnson, winner of the second moto a year ago.

Favorites will be Georges Jobe of Belgium, who clinched this year’s world title two weeks ago in Luxembourg; and Jean-Michel Bayle of France, who won the Supercross and U.S. outdoor 250cc championships this year. Both ride Hondas.

The contending American riders include Kawasaki’s Jeff Ward of San Juan Capistrano, winner of seven national championships; Yamaha’s Damon Bradshaw of Charlotte, N.C., and Billy Liles of Jackson, Ga., the ranking American on the world circuit. Liles, who won a moto in Italy last June, is sixth in the 500cc standings.

Motor Racing Notes

MIDGETS--Sprint car drivers Ron Shuman and Brad Noffsinger will join U.S. Auto Club regulars for a western regional championship race Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale. Shuman and Noffsinger will return to the same track Aug. 30 for a California Racing Assn. sprint car race.

STOCK CARS--The NASCAR Southwest Tour will return to Southern California for the first time in nearly two months Saturday night when Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino plays host to the All-American Challenge cars. One point separates series leader Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale and Rick Carelli of Denver after two-thirds of the season, but they will be challenged by local favorites Glen Cummings of Highland and Greg Scheidecker of Redlands. The 100-lap (25-mile) race will be the only Orange Show appearance this year for the Southwest Tour.

Winston Racing Series sportsman cars will highlight Saugus Speedway’s busy program Saturday night. . . . Chuck Miinch holds a 40-point margin over two-time track champion John Borneman at Cajon Speedway with five races remaining, starting Saturday night at the Gillespie Field oval. . . . Dirt cars of the California late-model series will race Saturday night at Santa Maria Speedway.

SPEEDWAY BIKES--Billy Hamill of Monrovia, Sam Ermolenko of Cypress and Ronnie Correy of Fullerton have qualified for the World Speedway Final, Aug. 31 in Gothenberg, Sweden. It is the first time three U.S. riders have gained the final since 1982, when Bruce Penhall of Balboa won his second championship in the Coliseum.

Night racing continues locally tonight at Lake Perris Speedway, Friday at Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Saturday at Victorville and Wednesday at Glen Helen Park in San Bernardino.

FORMULA ONE--Next year’s U.S. Grand Prix in Phoenix may be in jeopardy, according to stories from racing sources in Europe. Several changes in the 1992 schedule are expected, among them dropping the Hungarian and Mexican races and moving the Phoenix race to another U.S. site. South Africa is expected to return to the calendar after an absence of seven years.

Bertrand Gachot, driver for the Jordan team and a member of Mazda’s winning team in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in London after a dispute with taxi driver. Gachot allegedly sprayed tear gas on the driver when he thought the driver was threatening him. Tear gas is forbidden in the United Kingdom.

RALLY--The situation in the Soviet Union has caused officials of the Paris-Moscow-Beijing rally to cancel the 1991 event. The 16,000-kilometer rally had been three years in the making and was to start Sept. 1.