European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 21, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 26 the stars and stripes Friday february 21. 1986 a Poloi by Ranby Barnell Ahmic Germany s Max Nice Ermaier leads in this High Speed dash Over inc ice no the Frankfurt Eisse Orthall. Below a Cycle wheel holds some Iuo spikes almost All on the left Side. Spectacular tits the Bill Tor Cycle racing on ice by Randy Barnett Molo sports editor spectacular is one Way perhaps the Only Way to describe the sport of ice Speedway motorcycle racing. Four riders Roar to the starting line the Gate goes up and they re off about a minute later the race is finished and the riders have covered 1,600 meters about a Mil part of that Dis Tance while tilted far Down on the icy track. To go the mile these tearless bikers have gone Flat out Tor tour laps around the 400-meter Oval at an average Speed of about 60 Mph on Glare ice. During an ice racing program there arc 20 heats each heat of tour laps. To watch a rider of world Champion Freddie Spencer s Caliper lean far Down into a High Speed urn on a regular rack is Beautiful to see. To witness the same on ice with the rider even lower of the sur face is a breathtaking scene. In last weekend s world championship semifinals at the Frankfurt  16 riders from the soviet Union Sweden Czechoslovakia. Germany France and Austria were fighting it gut to reach the finals scheduled March 8-9 in Stockholm Sweden. The five riders who scored the most Points advanced to the finals and at Frankfurt the lop rider was Sweden s Eric Stenlund world Champion in 1984. Two russians. A sch and another swede advanced with Stenlund. The other semifinal was staged in Italy. Ice Speedway Cycle racing which grows in popularity each year  its Start in the soviet Union and Scandinavia where Riv ers and lakes freeze solid and where prac Tice and racing  never required artificial ice Layouts and surfaces. Since the world championship program was inaugurated 20 years ago russian riders have dominated winning the title 17 times. A sch riders managed to Cap Ture the title twice in 197p cd 74 and Stenlund became the firs rider from a non communist country to Wear the Crown when he won it two years ago. Regarding the bikes they arc fast 500cc engines of 60 horsepower and the tires Are heavily spiked. The spikes Are about an Inch and a half Long. The front tire  about 100 spikes. Be cause the rider Only turns left on the Speedway Oval the left Side of the front tire gets the spikes plus a few Down the Middle. The Back tire  about 200 spikes on both sides and Down the Middle. The spikes make racing dangerous. There have been fatalities but there could be no ice racing without spiked tires. The riders Wear leathers and helmets As in Normal Cycle racing but they also Wear a specially designed protective leather sleeve on the left leg. Falls arc frequent but the riders Are so close to the ground that serious injuries Are rare. If a rider should fall during a race the race is Bro Ken off and restarted minus the rider who took the fall. The special Speedway motorcycles Cost about $5.000, and on the extremely Short straight sections they quickly reach speeds of up to 75 Mph. Who clips arc a part of the program on the straights since Speed is gained that Way. On an ice racing Bike the rider will look in vain for brakes because there Aren t any. He can Only slow Down by get Ting off inc Gas which in this Case is methanol. It s All quite a show and As noted a highly spectacular one. The stretch the pitch it s springtime already for baseball by inc associated press the National league Champion St. Louis cardinals were expected to have 17 pitchers and six catchers in Camp thurs Day As most major league baseball teams opened their Spring training facilities in preparation for the 1986 season. Most of the teams will have their first workouts for Baller men Friday with the rest of the players reporting feb. 25 and working out the following Day. The first Spring training game with the Chicago White sox playing the Detroit tigers will be played March 6 at Lakeland Fla. The tigers and san Francisco giants were to begin workouts for pitchers and catchers one Day Early thursday. The american league East Champion Toronto Blue jays next tuesday will be the last team to get players in uniform. Among the first to arrive in St. Peters Burg ha., for the cards workouts was left hander John Tudor second last year in no by Young voting and Catcher Mike Heath obtained in a Trade from Oakland. In other Calips the Chicago cubs open for Battery men sunday but veterans Scott Sanderson and Rick Sutcliffe both pitchers and Bob Dernier and Gary Matthews both out fielders already were in Mesa Ariz. Also due to report thursday were pitchers Sieve Trout and Dennis Ecker sly both coming off injuries. The Cincinnati reds will have 25 pitchers and catchers in Camp at Tampa Fla. Two newcomers will be right handers John Denny and Bill Gullickson both obtained in off season trades. In Mesa the California Angels have 25 pitchers and six catchers due in Camp for the first workout saturday. Manager Gene Mauch and his coaching staff flew to Mesa wednesday. The Atlanta braves have 22 pitchers and seven catchers three of each being non roster players reporting to Camp at West Palm Beach Fla