Fast Fridays Speedway
Gold Country Fairgrounds
1273 High Street
Auburn, California
Challenge Elimination Series 1
Fast Friday's Motorcycle Speedway,
Gold Country Fairgrounds
Opening Night at Fast Friday’
By Michael Kirby (Story & Photos)
AUBURN, CALIFORNIA, May 19, 2017
YouTube Video - by Anthony Bernardi
Fast Friday’s Motorcycle Speedway
Gold Country Fairgrounds
Janniro Back with Scratch Main Win
By Michael Kirby (Story & Photos)
AUBURN, CALIFORNIA, May 19, 2017
It has only taken a week for seven time AMA Speedway National champion Billy Janniro to get back to his winning ways. Janniro struggled last week with the set-up of his new bikes and still has a ways to go until the bikes are perfect, but he managed to get back in the win column at Fast Fridays Friday night. In the second week of racing in the 2017 Fast Fridays season at Auburn’s Gold Country Fairgrounds Janniro was getting tuned up.
The win in the scratch main event did not come without some serious competition from Luke “Lil’ Missile” Becker. Becker 19, has had a crackerjack racing season start at Fast Fridays winning the opening night scratch main event last week. Becker had little trouble working his way into the scratch main with wins in both his scratch heat and scratch semi races. Janniro took a second in his scratch heat race and also notched a win in his scratch semi final race to advance to the show.
Becker drew lane two and Janniro drew the inside lane one. Also in the final race was Russell Green in four and Tommy Hedden in lane three. From the start the race though, it was really a go between Janniro and Becker. Janniro with a great gate beat all the riders to the inside tube in turn one but Becker was right on his tail pestering him at his rear tire. Becker hung onto Janniro but his hard charge fell short. Janniro was able to keep Becker at bay with some skilled riding and led the four laps all the way to the checker flag. Becker was a close second, Green took third and Hedden was fourth. “It’s a brand new bike and it’s just not a hundred percent right now, I just don’t have the power that everybody else has coming off the corner,” said Janniro. “Also, Luke (Becker) is just killing it, he has the speed and consistency,” he said.
Auburn’s Louie Mersaroli riding off the 30 yard line won the handicap main event. Coming off a third place finish in the handicap main event last week Mersaroli won the handicap main event this week and gaining an added ten yards to his handicap for next week. Again, Luke Becker, handicapped on the 40 yard line, was competitive presence finishing second to Mersaroli. Russell Green, also a young rider having a strong season start, finished third.
Becker also picked up the first spot in the Challenge Elimination Series Championship on August 25 by winning the final two lap run off against Billy Janniro by inches at the tape. The line-up included Becker, Janniro, Green, Hedden and Charlie Venegas. The series pits five riders on the start line for a one lap scratch start race. The last place finisher is out, and it continues to the final two riders who then run-off in a two lap final race. Hedden was the first to fall, Venegas was next, Green then dropped leaving Becker and Janniro to go one on one in the final. The two riders raced tightly and as Janniro was getting set to wheelie across the finish line for the win Becker blew by him just edging him out of the win and qualifying for the championship round.
Matt King moved his third place Division II main event finish last week into a first place finish in the Division II main event Friday night. King is a talented rider who currently is handicapped on the 50 yard line in DII and who has moved quickly up in divisions and may soon find himself up racing Division I if he continues to win. Foresthill’s Cameron “The Captain” Beck who is getting lots of Fast Friday’s rides in Division II and Division III won the Division III main event and also finished second in the Division II main event. Beck could soon leave the comforts of Division III for a solid place in the line-up in Division II.
Anthony Dion picked up his first main event win of the season in the Youth 250 A division. Dion topped Cameron Krezman and Kyle Cunningham in the main event. Both Cunningham and Krezman finished second and third to Colton Hicks in last week’s main event.
Landon Norton won the Youth 250 B main event for the second week in a row. Timmy Dion and Enzo Sorani also topped their divisions again for the second time in two weeks, Dion won the Youth 250 C main event and Enzo won his Youth 150 Division main event. Shawn Eldredge also repeated in the Run What U Brung division.
Get ready for some really exciting racing this Friday as Fast Friday’s brings the Extreme Sidecars to Auburn for the first of their five season appearances. Always a crowd favorite, these speed junkies on 1000cc three wheeled bikes roar around the track hanging off their trikes at super fast speeds. Racing begins next week at 8pm at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn.
Fast Fridays Results for 5-19-17
Scratch Main Event
1-Billy Janniro, 2-Luke Becker, 3-Russell Green, 4-Tommy Hedden
Scratch Consolation
1-Charlie Venegas, 2-Bart Bast, 3-Nick Dion, 4-Eddie Marsalla
Handicap Main Event
1-Louie Mersaroli, 2-Luke Becker, 3-Russell Green, 4-Billy Janniro, 5-Ryan Bast, 6-Eddie Marsalla
Handicap Consolation
1-Tommy Hedden, 2-Charlie Venegas, 3-Nick Dion, 4-Shawn Eldridge
Challenge Elimination Series (Round 1)
1-Luke Becker, 2-Billy Janniro, 3-Russell Green, 4-Charlie Venegas, 5-Tommy Hedden
Division II Main Event
1-Matt King, 2-Cameron Beck, 3-Davey Shaw, 4-Brian Leventon, 5-Lawrence McNutt, 6-Nick Dion
Division II Consolation
1-Charles Haines, 2-Mike Achilles, 3-Shawn Eldridge, 4-Rick Shafer, 5-William McCloskey
Division III Main Event
1-Cameron Beck, 2-Aaron Sorani, 3-Ray Holt Jr. Jr., 4-Casey Cornilsen
Division III Consolation
1-Les Veale, 2-Pauly Good, 3-Steven Sagen
Youth 250 A Main Event
1-Anthony Dion, 2-Cameron Krezman, 3-Kyle Cunningham, 4-Sterling Martin, 5-Alex Martin
Youth 250 B Main Event
1-Landon Norton, 2-Landon Collins, 3-Sammy Tetrault 4-Dylan Wagner
Youth 250 C Main Event
1-Timmy Dion, 2-Aidan McNutt
150 Main Event
1-Enzo Sorani, 2-Colton Nelson
Run What U Brung
1-Shawn Eldredge
Photos By Michael Kirby
| 
