Motorcycle Racing

Crumpled face down in a sand pit at the Misano racing circuit after crashing, tumbling and cartwheeling at 130 m.p.h. in the Italian Grand Prix last September, Wayne Rainey thought he was dying. He heard the roar of motorcycles racing only a few yards away and thought they were going to run over him. He tried to get up. He couldn't. In 24 years of racing, Rainey had fallen many times, but only once before had he been unable to move his legs.

The superhero extravaganza "The Avengers"marks the first of many movies that will feature motorcycles racing onto the big screen this summer. Not only will Captain America helm a Harley-Davidsonin the big-budget Marvel movie, but one of the leads of "Men in Black" will time-travel to 1969 on board an "Easy Rider"-esque chopper. A circus bear will even throw a furry leg over a Ducati in the animated feature "Madagascar 3. " Motorcycles have long played a part in the movies, but as summer films become more explosive and adventure oriented, two wheels are playing a larger role.

The most competitive field of international motorcycle riders ever assembled in the United States will compete today at Laguna Seca Raceway in three world championship events. Premier race of the second Dunlop U.S. International Grand Prix over the physically demanding 2.196-mile hillside circuit will be the 500cc, which includes world champion Eddie Lawson of Upland, 1989 points leader Wayne Rainey of Downey and this year's two race winners--Kevin Schwantz of Houston and Wayne Gardner of Australia.

Ten points separate the top three riders in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross standings. Rookie Ryan Dungey has a four-point lead over Josh Hill as the riders prepare for Saturday night's race at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Round 6 of the AMA Supercross Series. Dungey won the race at Angel Stadium on Jan. 23. Hill has three straight runner-up finishes and four straight podium finishes. Ryan Villopoto is third in the AMA Supercross standings, 10 points behind Dungey. Villopoto won the AMA Supercross race at San Francisco two weeks ago. There have been four winners in the first five races this season.

Charlie Venegas of San Bernardino was a double winner at the weekly speedway motorcycle racing program in front of 3,954 Friday at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Venegas won the four-lap scratch main event and the eight-lap handicap main. In the scratch main, Steve Lucero of Riverside was second. Bobby Schwartz of Costa Mesa finished third and Shawn McConnell of Brea placed fourth. Gary Hicks of Riverside was fifth.

A 23-year-old rider killed Sunday during a motorcycle race at Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale has been identified by authorities as Darrell McNutt of Michigan. McNutt was taking part in a motocross event, said Deputy Daryl Bonsall of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Palmdale station. The crash happened about 3 p.m., and McNutt suffered major head injuries. He died at Antelope Valley Hospital.

Tom Burba of Garden Grove won the eight-lap handicap main event of the weekly speedway motorcycle racing program in front of 5,108 Friday at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Burba overcame a 30-yard handicap. Mike Faria of Colton won the four-lap scratch main event breaking a streak by Bobby Schwartz of Costa Mesa who had won five of six such events in the last two weeks.

A year ago, when Sam Ermolenko held the national championship trophy aloft at the Orange County Fairgrounds, it was the crowning achievement of the triple crown of speedway racing. He had returned from Europe to earn the title after winning the World Final and competing on the victorious United States team in the World Team Cup. Saturday night, he retained his U.S. speedway title before 8,723 at the Fairgrounds' track and, while the victory only salvaged a disappointing season, he was beaming.

The American Final, the premier event in speedway motorcycle racing, has been canceled by promoter Harry Oxley of San Clemente after he failed to reach an agreement with the sanctioning American Motorcycle Assn. The race, traditionally the first step for American riders toward the world championship, was scheduled May 30 at Ventura Raceway. "The event is not financially viable under the AMA," Oxley said.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, invoking for the first time federal protections recently provided the desert tortoise, has canceled two off-road vehicle races because of the potential threat they posed to the endangered reptiles. BLM officials said Friday that permits for the two motorcycle races, scheduled for Sunday, were denied because biologists did not have time to evaluate their impact on the tortoise and its habitat.

Rookie Ryan Dungey enters tonight's Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series race at Angel Stadium as the surprise leader in the standings. With one of the top riders in the series out because of a broken hand and the reigning AMA Supercross champion nursing a collection of injuries, Dungey has a chance to take a commanding lead in the standings. Chad Reed, a two-time AMA Supercross champion, is expected to miss the next six weeks after breaking his hand in a crash with reigning AMA Supercross champion James Stewart during a race at Chase Field in Phoenix last Saturday.

James Stewart won the AMA Supercross season opener at Angel Stadium by chasing down rookie Ryan Dungey and winning by nearly 3.5 seconds in front of 43,841 on Saturday night. Dungey led the first 17 laps of the 20-lap race. Stewart made his pass for the lead on Lap 18, erasing a nearly 4.5-second deficit. Dungey refused to give up, though, pulling even with Stewart on the last lap, but Stewart pulled away at the end and won the first race of the AMA Supercross season. "The beginning part of the race he was out really good," Stewart said.

If I'd been able to sleep on the 10-hour overnight flight, it might have been a good plan. But I didn't, which left me riding a motorcycle on the wrong side of the road in the rain while jet-lagged with no idea where I was going. My destination was the Isle of Man, a tiny island in the middle of the Irish Sea off the northwest coast of England.

It is easy to see why freestyle motocross is among the marquee events of the X Games, with riders soaring from ramp to ramp at distances of up to 100 feet, flipping their 250-pound bikes while performing mid-air handstands and other seemingly impossible tricks.

Britain's Prince William and Prince Harry set off Saturday on a grueling 1,000-mile motorcycle rally in South Africa to raise money for charity. The pair joked that they had a wager on who would tumble from his bike the most during the eight-day off-road adventure.

As the supercross season opens tonight at Angel Stadium, the question is whether reigning champ James Stewart will be slowed either by a muddy track or his layoff from an injury last year. The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series holds three of its first six races in Anaheim each season, and Stewart made history in 2007 by becoming the first rider to sweep all three.

Grant Langston barely had his No. 8 Yamaha up to speed Sunday when it appeared his motocross championship hopes were in trouble. The Murrieta rider arrived with a slim lead in the series' points but got a poor jump off the starting line in the first of the season's final two races at hilly Glen Helen Raceway in Devore. But he tenaciously climbed through the pack and eventually passed leader Mike Alessi of Victorville to win the first round of the Giant RV AMA Motorcross Nationals.

With Ricky gone and Bubba out, there's a scramble to be this year's king of motocross. Four riders have a shot at winning the AMA Toyota Motocross championship today in the series' season finale at hilly Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino. That's because Ricky Carmichael, the series champion for the last seven years, rode a limited schedule this year as he transitions from two-wheel racing to become a stock-car driver.