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| February 21, 2024
After a week-long delay due to rain flooding the track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern County Raceway, the 2nd annual USA vs. World International Speedway Challenge returns under dry skies Feb. 17 It opened in Bakersfield, California.
Story and photos: Richard Haight
British expatriate Steve Evans is driving the growth of American speedways by bringing in the best riders from around the world to compete with Team USA.
The home team included the Ramle brothers, Max and Dillon, who have won multiple races at California State Speedway and AMA National Speedway. Luke Becker, the 2023 North American Speedway Final Champion, currently plays for Leicester Lions in the SGB (Speedway Great Britain) Premiership League. Billy Janillo, multiple California State and AMA National Champion; and 2023 California State Champion Brock Nichol. Rounding out the team were team captain Gino Manzares, 2021 AMA National U21 (U21) Champion Slater Lightcap, and 2022 U21 Champion Alex Martin.
The World Team included riders representing Great Britain, Italy, Poland, Sweden and Northern Ireland, and was captained by Britain’s Chris ‘Bomber’ Harris.
After the first round of heats, which were played in a traditional 20-heat round-robin format where everyone competes against everyone else, Team USA jumped out to a 15-9 point lead. This was much better than last year, when two Polish league teenagers coached by four-time world champion Greg Hancock looked dominant.
There were ups and downs, with virtually everyone falling or sliding while in the lead, but the U.S. team was able to maintain a reasonable lead. The track had recently been fitted with air fencing and although some of the waterfalls looked terrible, virtually everyone walked away unscathed. However, the same could not be said for a few bikes. At the end of the traditional heat round, unlike last year, Team USA defeated The World 57-44.
The top three scorers for each team are Chris Harris (18 points), Tom Brennan (17 points), and Leon Flint (7 points) for the World Team, and Max Ramle (13 points) and Luke Becker for the World Team. (12 points) and Gino Manzares (9 points). It was the Yankees, but they had a solid win on the day, with Team USA scoring more points overall.
After a traditional round-robin event, the top 16 point earners competed in a four-race semifinal, with only the winners advancing to the individual championship finals. The final was a battle between 3-1 Team USA, with Bomber Harris the only one representing the world. However, Harris didn’t seem to mind and jumped out to what looked like a commanding lead, only to throw it away on the third lap to test the new air fence. The winner was Luke Becker, second place was Billy Janillo, and the final podium place was taken by “Mad Max” Ramle. This was Team USA’s second win, earning both team and individual honors.
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