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Perris RacewayPerris, CaliforniaNick Varner Cup MANZARES LEADS THE ACES TO VICTORY AT NICK VARNER CUP The Nick Varner Cup is an annual event honoring the former Junior rider who died age 11 in 2011 following a moto cross accident at Glen Helen. Many of the now established young stars of American Speedway grew up racing with Varner, who had all the skill to be a top domestic and international speedway rider. The event also extends to commemorate his mother Alicia who passed away after a battle with cancer two years ago. Members of Nick’s family were in attendance and his sister Breann was checkered flag marshal for the Main Event. For the second Perris event in a row it was former Ipswich and Scunthorpe rider Gino Manzares who came out top dog, this time at the annual Nick Varner Cup. On this occasion the main spectacle of the evening was a British League 15 heat style team race, with teams named in tribute to Nick Varner and his late mother, Alicia. Though the program did look thin on the top end at first glance, the racing proved to be first class with a number of the often over shadowed Pro riders stepping it up and getting some much-deserved stardom and attention. The first such occasion was heat 1 when Aces captain Manzares was penalized 20 yards for hitting the tapes and Viking skipper Russell Green was down on power. Enter Green’s team mate, veteran Brad Sauer who showed extraordinary pace to hold off the charge of Manzares after he had worked his way through the field. Viking bike gremlins hit again in heat 2 when engine trouble relegated Sara Cords from first to last with fellow female racer Hayley Perrault happily obliging to take the win. Jake Isaac and NorCal rising star Anthony Dion roared to a 5-1 in heat 3, putting the Aces 12-6 up. Tim Gomez won heat 4 for the Aces from Vikings Blake Borello to extend the lead to 8. Green sorted out his earlier bike issues to win heat 5 from Dion and Isaac in a tied 3-3 heat. Manzares headed home Borello in heat 7 with Robbie Sauer tucking in for an Aces 4-2, extending the lead to ten. Gomez won his second on the bounce in heat 7, the 3-3 putting the Aces ahead 26-16. Vikings, being ten down, used a double point tactical Joker in heat 8 and once more Brad Sauer obliged with the win, heading home his brother in a 7-2 heat Viking advantage and closing the gap to just 5. Borello for the Vikings roared to his first win in heat 9, leading home Dion and Isaac. Manzares won a comfortable heat 10 and the resultant 4-2 put the Aces 7 up. Heat 11 saw Gomez see off Russell Green for his third win on the night, making him the only unbeaten rider so far. Dion and Kayle LeoGrande landed a 5-1 over Ron Zellner and Sara Cords heat 12 to all but seal the team win. Cords, having had earlier bike trouble, passed both Zellner and LeoGrande but slid off at the end of lap three having taken too much speed into turn 3. The big guns met in heat 13 and Green led home Manzares in a close thriller with Borello keeping Gomez at the back. Isaac teamed up with Hayley Perrault in heat 14 for an Aces 5-1 to extend the lead to 13. Heat 15, the final event with two nominated riders per team from each team manager was a repeat in line up from heat 13. Whilst Manzares gated and pulled comfortably away for victory, Gomez and Green were locked in a close fight for second. Green managed to get by Gomez entering the last lap with Borello in the rear. The Aces celebrated a comfortable win. Division Two featured five riders, three of them ‘doubling up’ in other divisions. Kevin Fiore won both heats but a lightning fast start saw Hayley Perrault, a former junior peer of Nick Varner, take a flag to flag victory. In the battle for third Fiore went down hard on the last lap after contact from Rees Todd in a racing incident, suffering a dislocated shoulder. Division Three had 9 entries. The four heats produced different winners in Andy Dix, Rees Todd, Steve Brown and Mark Fillebrown. Fillebrown won the last chance race with NorCal’s Rees Todd winning the Main. The 250 Junior class had NorCal rider Timmy Dion win all three races on his debut at the track. National Champion Levi Leutz took a clean sweep in the 150 Mini Class. Jose Navarrete dropped down to Pee Wee class due to low rider entry and duly won all races. Mike Lupo in his first race in seven years won both the Vintage Upright heat and Main event. Four riders entered and it is hoped to make this class a regular one. With the fan favorite Hooligans away racing in Central California, two pit bike classes were added the program, 125cc and 150cc. Legendary rider Bob Tocco won both Main events. Gino Manzares won both 125cc heats. Tocco won both 150cc heats. Perris 2019-2020 Fall to Spring season is in full swing and the year ends with two absolute blockbusters. November 16th features a welcome return for the AMA Under 21 National Championship and the inaugural AMA Junior Long Track Nationals. December 7th will be the FIM American Final where once more 16 riders will race for places in the 2020 World Championship Qualifiers. Results Division 1 Team Challenge Alicia’s Aces 54: Gino Manzares 13 (2,3,3,2,3), Robbie Sauer 4 (0,1,2,1), Anthony Dion 9+1 (2’2,2,3), Jake Isaac 8+2 (3,1’,1’,3), Tim Gomez 10 (3,3,3,0,1), Hayley Perrault 5+1 (3,0,0,2’), Kayle LeoGrande 5+2 (2’,1,0,2’) Nick Varner’s Vikings 39: Russell Green 11 (1,3,2,3,2), Brad Sauer 10+1 (3,0,6,1’), Ron Zellner 3+1 (1,1’,0,1), Will McCloskey 4 (F,2,2,0), Blake Borello 8 (2,2,3,1,0), Sara Cords 0 (0,0,0,0), Mike Miller 3 (1,0,1,1) Division 2 Main Division 3 Main Last Chance Vintage Upright 250 Junior 150 Mini Speedway Pee Wee Pit Bike 0-125cc Pit Bike 125-150cc
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