It’s No Hotbed, but Orange County Has Two Hot Riders

Orange County is not what one would call the world center of motorcycles, but two riders who grew up there, not five miles apart--Doug Toland in Buena Park and Sam Ermolenko in Cypress--are world champions in racing competition that has been dominated by Europeans.

Toland, 30, became the first American to win the FIM Endurance World Championship when he finished fifth at the Bol d’Or 24-hour race at Paul Ricard circuit last week in southern France. He earned 86 points, six more than the heavy favorites, Brian Morrison of England and Wilfred Veille of France.

Ermolenko, 34, won the World Individual Speedway Final last month in Germany and three weeks later led the United States to its second consecutive World Team Cup championship in Coventry, England. In both events, he overcame challenges by favored Danes.

Ermolenko, who learned the art of sliding 500cc brakeless cycles through tight corners at the Orange County Fairgrounds course in Costa Mesa, will return to his roots Saturday night when he competes against 15 other riders for the U.S. Speedway championship.

“I’ve never won the nationals because I was always concentrating on the world championship, but now that I have the world title, I want the national,” Ermolenko said from England, where he leads the British Speedway League in scoring.

Coming from England with Ermolenko to ride at Costa Mesa will be Billy Hamill of Monrovia, who also was on the winning World Cup team. The 14 other riders, headed by defending champion Chris Manchester of Hesperia, have been riding on California tracks this season. The field includes five other former U.S. champions: Alan Christian, Brad Oxley, Mike Faria, Bobby Schwartz and Steve Lucero.

Ermolenko scored 13 of a possible 15 points to tie former world champion Hans Nielsen of Denmark for high-point honors in the team finals. Hamill’s 10 points helped the United States edge Denmark, 40-38. Other U.S. riders included Greg Hancock, with nine points, Josh Larsen with five and Bobby Ott with three.

Whereas Ermolenko spends only seconds winning championships in four-lap speedway races, Toland rides for hours at a time on high-tech 1,100cc machines, rain or shine, night or day.

Toland is an anomaly among endurance riders. Instead of winning with one strong team, he rode a Honda RC30 for a French team in two races, a Phase One Kawasaki for an English team in two races and sat out another when he was a reserve rider for a Moriwaki team.

“Endurance racing is kind of funny,” Toland said. “Riders share a bike and all score points equally, but points go with the rider from race to race. That’s how I managed to finish in front.”

At Willow Springs in 1985, Toland started a 24-hour national championship race on a Cycle Tune Yamaha. After several accidents, the team ran out of parts and the effort was abandoned, so Toland joined Team Hammer in mid-race and helped the team win on a Suzuki. The next year, riding with Team Hammer, of Lake Elsinore, Toland won the WERA endurance championship.

Toland served notice that he might be a world title contender when he became the first American on a race-winning team during a 24-hour race July 3-4 at the Spa course in Belgium.

“We led over 17 hours and it was quite an experience, winning with a British team on our Independence Day,” Toland said. “We got quite a kick out of the circumstances. It was kind of ironic, too, because the Kawasaki guys I rode with (Simon Buckmaster and Steve Manley) were two of my main rivals for the individual championship when I went back to the Honda.”

In the final race, the Bol d’Or, Toland was back on the Honda RC30, riding with Andre Lussiana of France and Peter Linden, a fighter pilot in the Swedish air force. The team had a terrible start, Linden dropping nearly to the rear of the 70 starters, but when he turned the bike over to Lussiana he was up to 17th and by mid-race the team was fifth.

“With seven hours to go, both lead riders (Morrison and Veille) dropped out with mechanical problems so all I needed was to finish ninth or better to win the championship.

“We were running third at the time and ready to go for the win, but the team decided it was more important for me to win the world title than the race. We cut back about 1,000 r.p.m. to save the bike and not take any chances. It was a tremendous thing for them to do, especially since I was only a part-time rider for the team.”

Motor Racing Notes

SPORTS CARS--The International Motor Sports Assn. will close its season Saturday night with the first night race in Phoenix International Speedway history. The final Camel GTP race ever held will feature the Toyota tandem of Juan Manuel Fangio II and P.J. Jones, Fangio needing only one point to clinch his second consecutive driver’s championship. Fangio has won seven of nine races this season. With both the GTU and GTO titles already determined, the focal point will be the Exxon GTS series, in which Tommy Kendall, in a Ford, will try to fend off Johnny O’Connell, in a Nissan, and Darin Brassfield, in an Olds Cutlass, for the championship. Butch Leitzinger won the GTU title in a Nissan and Charles Morgan the GTO in an Olds.

SPRINT CARS--The California Racing Assn. will return to action tonight and Saturday night with the Budweiser Open Wheel Nationals at Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale. . . . Frank Lewis, who earlier announced he would not run for reelection as president of the CRA, has changed his mind and says he will remain with the organization. The decision was prompted, in part, by the emergence of a new organization sanctioning wingless sprinters, the Sprint Car Racing Assn. with Glen Howard as president.

MOTORCYCLES--Glen Helen Racing, in conjunction with the Prairie Dogs Motorcycle Club, will hold a Grand Prix for amateur riders Saturday and Sunday on a course designed by Malcolm Smith. . . . The Trailblazers, a group of pioneer motorcycle racers and enthusiasts, will hold their annual picnic Sunday at the home of the late Dean Hensley, 971 San Pasqual Ave., near the Sycamore Grove section of Pasadena.

STOCK CARS--Orange Show Speedway will hold its final points race Saturday night for pro stocks, street stocks and pony stocks. . . . The Coors 100, part of the Southern California sportsman series, will be held Saturday night at Cajon Speedway, followed by a train race. . . . Santa Maria Speedway will end its season Saturday night with the third annual Don Roberts 99, which consists of three 33-lap races for late model sportsman cars. . . . Sportsman and dwarf cars will run Saturday night at Blythe Speedway. . . . Ventura Raceway will present street stocks and IMCA dwarf cars Saturday night.

Oren Prosser’s return to racing last Saturday at Saugus Speedway, after a seven-year absence, ended when the 53-year-old driver crashed during the B main event and failed to make the sportsman final. Three-time track champion Ken Sapper led every lap to win the 100-lap season-ending main event. Dave Phipps scored his 51st victory in the Grand American modified feature.

NECROLOGY--Lou Baney, a member of the Drag Racing Hall of Fame, died Monday in his Palm Desert home. He was 73. Baney began his racing career as a hot-rodder on the dry lakes in the early 1940s and later campaigned drag racers driven by Don Prudhomme, Tom McEwen and Kelly Brown. Survivors include his wife, Millie, sons Chris and Frank, daughters Janet, Judy and Kathy, nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Services will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Lion Country Pavilion in Irvine.