MOTORCYCLES : Speedway Title Will Be on Line

The strongest field ever assembled for the United States National Speedway motorcycle championships--headed by world champion Sam Ermolenko of Cypress and defending national champion Chris Manchester of Hesperia--will compete tonight at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

Manchester tuned up for his defense by winning the California state championship with a perfect 15-point total last Saturday at Glen Helen Park in San Bernardino.

Ermolenko recently became the third American in speedway history to win a world individual title, but he has never won the U.S. crown. Other world champions were Jack Milne of Pasadena in 1939 and Bruce Penhall of Balboa in 1981 and 1982.

Five other riders who won national championships have also qualified for tonight’s 16-rider field. They include Alan Christian of Reno, 1985; Bobby Schwartz of Costa Mesa, 1986 and ‘89; Brad Oxley of San Juan Capistrano, 1987; Steve Lucero of Riverside, 1988, and Mike Faria of Apple Valley, 1990 and ’91.

Another favorite is Billy Hamill of Monrovia, who has been riding in Europe and, along with Ermolenko, was a member of the winning U.S. team in the World Speedway Cup competition two weeks ago in England.

The first of 20 heats, in which every rider faces every other rider once in a series of four-lap races, will start at 8 p.m.