Around the Premier League Tracks 2005

[Merlin]

Saturday, 30 July

The rain again claimed another match tonight – the one at Hull where the Vikings were due to race an off-race night match against King’s Lynn . Two matches did go ahead in the Premier League. At Berwick the Bandits raced the return match against Rye House and Stoke did likewise against Workington . The bonus point was at stake in both matches.



Premier League: Berwick 57, Rye House 35. Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 100-82.


Tom P Madsen was unable to take his place in the Berwick line up as a result of aggravating a shoulder injury last night so the Bandits used R/R instead. However Scott Smith returned to the team following his injuries sustained last weekend. Rye House were once again at full strength. Berwick went into this match trying to pull back 40 points to force a race off for the bonus point.

Rye House may have run amok last night grinding Berwick into the dust with a 40 point win but the boot was on the other foot tonight as the Rockets were no match for the Bandits. Perhaps with one eye on another away match tomorrow night at Glasgow, the Rockets, having captured the bonus point but with no hope of winning, conceded maximums in each of the last four races even though they used TRs in two of them!

The opening heat was shared, won by Adrian Rymel with Chris Schramm slipping to the back but heat 2 saw the power of the Bandits’ reserves propel them into a four point lead as they took an easy 5-1. Scott Smith clipped Adrian Rymel’s back wheel on the first corner of heat 3, fell and was excluded. Rymel won again so the heat was shared. Then in heat 4 Carl Wilkinson saw off Chris Neath with Michal Makovsky third for a 4-2 which saw the Bandits lead by 15-9 after the opening four heats.

The Rockets hit back with a 2-4 in heat 5 from Robson and Kennett as Smith finished at the back. Smith subsequently withdrew from the meeting with an ankle injury leaving the home side with just 5 riders. It was enough though as in heat 6 Berwick scored a 5-1 from Rymel and Schramm ahead of Neath but heat 7 was shared as Adam Pietraszko lost his steel shoe and retired leaving Michal makovsky to win the race. Edward Kennett won heat 8 but with the Rye House reserves unable to contribute to the cause the race was shared and the heat 8 score was 28-20.

Heat 9 saw another Rye House win by 2-4 as Carl Wilkinson fell leaving Chris Neath to win with Steve Boxall picking up the gift point behind Adam Pietraszko. Berwick immediately cancelled this out with a 4-2 from Rymel and Schramm in heat 10. In heat 11 it looked as though Rye House were going to score another 2-4 when Stuart Robson beat Michal Makovsky but Edward Kennett, coming off the fourth bend for third place, struck the safety fence in the run in to the line, bounced off it and fell leaving Adam Pietraszko to take the third place point for a shared heat. In heat 12 the weak looking Werner/Boxall pairing conceded a 5-1 as Berwick moved 12 points ahead at 42-30.

Rye House, with only three heats to go, gave Stuart Robson a TR but he finished third to Rymel and Makovsky to end Rye House’s interest in the match as Berwick took a 5-2. That score was repeated in heat 14 when Daniel King took a TR and finished third to Pietraszko and Wilkinson. Then Makovsky and Rymel added a last heat 5-1 to give Berwick some sort of revenge for last night’s hammering at Hoddesdon.

Scorers: For Berwick – Adrian Rymel 17+1 (6) (paid maximum), Carl Wilkinson 11+3 (6), Michal Makovsky 11+1 (5), Adam Pietraszko 11+1 (6), Chris Schramm 7+2 (5).

For Rye House – Stuart Robson 10+1 (5) including a 2 point TR, Daniel King 7+1 (4) including a 2 point TR, Edward Kennett 6 (4), Chris Neath 6 (5), Brent Werner 3+1 (4), Steve Boxall 2 (5), Tommy Allen 1 (4).



Premier League: Stoke 50, Workington 43 Stoke won the bonus point on aggregate by 94-88.


Stoke had new signing, Adam Allott, at number 2 replacing Peter Carr and Phil Morris at number 5 as a guest for Jan Staechmann. Workington , who are beginning to look unrecognisable from the team which started out the season’s campaign, were also using a Newcastle rider as a guest. They had James Grieves in for Carl Stonehewer and used R/R for the missing Kauko Nieminen. They also had Trent Leverington as a guest at reserve for Aidan Collins. With only one point separating the teams in the match at Derwent Park last night, the home side knew that a two point win would secure the bonus point.

Workington got off to a terrible start. They lost an opening 5-1 to Adam Allott and Robbie Kessler when Trent Leverington fell while leading the heat. This was followed by a reserves race 4-2 to the Potters and a 5-1 from Paul Clews and Alan Mogridge leaving the Comets 10 points adrift. Phil Morris won heat 4 but Leverington and Grieves filled the minor places for a shared heat and the score after the opening four races was 17-7.

A Mogridge/Clews 4-2 put the Potters 12 points up after heat 5 so Workington gave James Grieves a TR in heat 6 which he duly won. Since there was no support for him the result was a 3-6 for Workington. They pulled another two points back in heat 7 with a 2-4 from Wright and Robson then repeated that score by winning heat 8 by 2-4 again as Stoke began to look extremely vulnerable. The score after 8 races was 28-23.

Stoke took a 4-2 from heat 9 when Alan Mogridge beat James Grieves but they got another jolt when Robbie Kessler and Adam Allott conceded a 1-5 to Scott Robson and James Wright in heat 10 to reduce the gap between the teams to 3 points. In heat 11 the two Newcastle riders, Morris and Grieves, collided with Grieves excluded and taking no further part in the meeting due to damaged ribs. Tacey won the rerun so Workington were still only three points adrift but without James Grieves for the rest of the match things did not look rosy for them. Clews and Leverington made it even more difficult by taking a 4-2 in heat 12 to take the score to 40-35.

Heat 13, won by Kessler, was shared as was heat 14, won by Mogridge so Stoke had clinched the match with their five point lead. However, there was the matter of the bonus point to be settled with Workington needing a 1-5 to tie on aggregate. Alan Mogridge settled the issue by completing his paid maximum in heat 15 and with Robbie Kessler taking third place, Stoke finished with a 4-2 which gave them a win by seven points.

Scorers: For Stoke – Alan Mogridge 14+1 (5) (paid maximum), Robbie Kessler 9+1 (5), Paul Clews 8 (4), Phil Morris 6+1 (3), Barrie Evans 5 (4), Adam Allott 4+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 4 (5).

For Workington – Shaun Tacey 11 (6), James Wright 10+1 (6), James Grieves 9+1 (4) including a 6 point TR, Trent Leverington 7+2 (7), Scott Robson 6 (4), Jamie Courtney 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 31 July

It was business as usual at the three Sunday tracks. At Newport the Wasps took on Sheffield , at Glasgow the Tigers met Rye House and at Newcastle the Diamonds faced Berwick all in Premier League matches.



Premier League: Newport 38, Sheffield 53 Sheffield won the bonus point on aggregate by 106-79


It was another disastrous match for Newport this afternoon as they went down heavily yet again. They had new signing Henrik Vedel at number 1 and used R/R for Michael Coles at number 4 but Mads Korneliussen withdrew from the meeting after his second ride to leave them hopelessly shorthanded yet again. Sheffield had the unusual experience of tracking a full strength seven man side.

It can’t be easy for Newport with Craig Watson out for such a long time but their strategy of using R/R for Michael Coles while tracking a low scoring reserve leaves them wide open to what happened in this match particularly with Henrik Vedel still to find his feet. Yet it was Vedel who won the opening heat from the two Wilsons for a 3-3 before Karlis Ezergailis won heat two also for a shared heat. Alas for Newport they were to be the last points Ezergailis was to score despite another six outings to come. Heats 3 and 4 won by Ashworth and Korneliussen were also shared so the score after the opening four heats was 12-12.

Newport were soon in trouble though. Neil Collins split the two Wilsons in heat 5 as Sheffield took the lead with a 2-4 then, after a shared heat 6 won by Andre Compton, Ashworth and Hall recorded a 1-5 as Korneliussen finished at the back and subsequently withdrew from the meeting. Heat 8 also went to Sheffield as Ben Wilson beat Tony Atkin in a 2-4 for the Tigers. This took the heat 8 score to 20-28 and already things were looking bleak for the Wasps.

The next four heats were all shared. Compton and Ashworth won heats 9 and 10 for Sheffield and Dicken and Collins won heats 11 and 12 for Newport as the heat 12 score moved on to 32-40 with Newport still facing that 8 point deficit. It was all over in heat 13, however, as Andre Compton and Sean Wilson scored a 1-5 for a 12 point lead. Although Lee Dicken took a TR in heat 14 he could only follow Hall and Legault home for a 2-5 to the visitors but Neil Collins had the satisfaction of beating both Sean Wilson and Andre Compton in heat 13.

Scorers: For Newport – Neil Collins 11+1 (5), Tony Atkin 8 (6), Lee Dicken 7+1 (7) including a 2 point TR, Henrik Vedel 6+2 (4), Mads Korneliussen 3 (2), Karlis Ezergailis 3 (7).

For Sheffield – Andre Compton 12+1 (5), Sean Wilson 11+1 (5), Ricky Ashworth 11 (4), Ben Wilson 6+2 (4), Kyle Legault 6+2 (4), Richard Hall 5+1 (4), Paul Cooper 2+2 (4).



Premier League: Glasgow 43, Rye House 47 Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-83


It was a second bite at the cherry for Glasgow as they took on the high-flying Rye House side for the second consecutive Sunday. Although they scored 10 points more than last week it still wasn’t enough for victory. Both sides were at full strength for this match.

Once again the Tigers lost a 1-5 in the opening heat as Stuart Robson and Edward Kennett headed home Trent Leverington with George Stancl at the back. Steve Boxall won heat 2 and Daniel King heat 3 for shared heats but Rye House stretched their lead to six points when Chris Neath beat Shane Parker with Tommy Allen picking up the third place point to take the heat 4 score to 9-15.

Glasgow just couldn’t supply race winners as Edward Kennett won heat 5 for a shared heat after Stuart Robson had shed a chain and Chris Neath won heat 6 which was also shared. Inevitably it was Shane Parker who supplied Glasgow’s first race winner in heat 7 when he beat Brent Werner, the only points Werner scored all match, with Adam Roynon filling third place. This resulted in a 4-2 to the Tigers who now trailed by 4 points but Edward Kennett restored the Rockets’ six point lead with another 2-4 in heat 8 with the help of Tommy Allen to take the score to 21-27.

Chris Neath won heat 9 from Ekberg and Kristensen for another shared heat then Glasgow got right back into the match with a much needed 5-1 from George Stancl and Trent Leverington in heat 10 to cut the Rockets’ lead to two points. Rye House hit back with another 2-4 as Edward Kennett remained unbeaten by heading home Shane Parker with Stuart Robson third to open their lead to 4 points. Glasgow desperately needed to make up some ground against Boxall and Werner in heat 12 but it was Rye House reserve, Steve Boxall, who made the best start to win the race for a shared heat to take the score to 34-38.

Heat 13 looked to be a cracker but there was a bad crash on the first bend in which Chris Neath was injured. Although he took his place in the rerun Neath failed to score as Shane parker won the heat. Stuart Robson passed George Stancl, though, to limit Glasgow’s success to a 4-2. This cut the gap to two points and it was clear that heat 14 was crucial. It was Daniel King who took the race win from Adam Roynon and, with Steve Boxall holding off Claus Kristensen for third place, Rye House took another 2-4 to lead by 4 points going into the last heat.

In heat 15 there was another bad crash involving Stefan Ekberg and Stuart Robson. Robson’s bike was badly damaged and he was replaced in the rerun by Steve Boxall to partner the unbeaten Edward Kennett. Although Shane Parker won the heat he was pursued by Boxall with Kennett third as the Rockets wrapped up another away win.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 13, Stefan Ekberg 7+1 (5), Trent Leverington 6+2 (4), Adam Roynon 6+1 (5), George Stancl 6 (4), Claus Kristensen 4+2 (4), James Cockle 1+1 (4).

For Rye House – Edward Kennett 12+2 (5), Chris Neath 9 (4), Steve Boxall 9 (6), Daniel King 7 (4), Stuart Robson 6 (5), Brent Werner 2 (4), Tommy Allen 2 (3).



Premier League: Newcastle 47, Berwick 43 .


In a bizarre incident at Stoke last night Phil Morris, guesting for Stoke and James Grieves guesting for Workington collided with each other in heat 11 resulting in both sustaining injuries which kept them out of this match. As a result Newcastle used R/R for Phil Morris and had Paul Thorp as a guest at number 5 for James Grieves. Berwick too were forced to field a patched up side. Adrian Rymel was riding in the World Team Cup at Swindon so the Bandits used R/R for him at number 1. They were also missing Tom P Madsen and Scott Smith through injury and had Scott Robson as a guest at number 3 and Andrew Moore as a guest at number 4.

This match was crucial to Berwick’s bid for the league championship this year and their selected guests looked good choices since they had both done well at Brough Park in the past. Newcastle could only hope that Paul Thorp would compensate adequately for the missing James Grieves who is next to unbeatable round the Newcastle track.

Berwick got off to a good star when Michal Makovsky taking the R/R ride beat Josef Franc with Chris Schramm third for a 2-4 and it got better with a 1-5 in the reserves race for a six point lead. Back came Newcastle with a 5-1 from Josef Franc and Richard Juul then Paul Thorp won heat 4 for a share of the spoils to make the score after the first four races 11-13.

A 5-1 to Newcastle from Christian Henry and Richard Juul put the home side ahead in heat 5 and they followed it up with a 4-2 with a win by Josef Franc in heat 6 for a four point lead. Scott Robson won heat 7 and with Moore keeping Henry at bay Berwick took a 2-4 but a big, if surprising, 5-1 for Newcastle in heat 8 from Jaimie Robertson and Lubos Tomicek had the Bandits struggling at 8 points down as the score went to 27-21.

It was time for Berwick to unleash Adam Pietraszko on the Diamonds and in heat 9 he took the win followed by Michal Makovsky for a 1-5 which cut the Diamonds lead to two points. Josef Franc won heat 10 to keep things that way then Adam Pietraszko won heat 11 for the same result. Another Pietraszko win in heat 12 with for Robson taking third place led to a 2-4 and the scores were level at 36-36.

In heat 13 Josef Franc and Paul Thorp hit home an important 5-1 for the Diamonds to open up a four point lead again but out came Pietraszko for another win in heat 14 followed home by his partner, Carl Wilkinson, for an equalising 1-5 to Berwick meaning that the scores were tied 42-42 with one heat to go. To Berwick’s dismay, it was Josef Franc who hit the front with Paul Thorp just behind. Thorp passed Franc who covered his back and the Diamonds were home and dry to a four point win.

Scorers: For Newcastle – Josef Franc 16+1 (6), Paul Thorp 12+1 (5), Christian Henry 7+1 (6), Richard Juul 5+2 (4), Lubos Tomicek 4+1 (5), Jaimie Robertson 3 (4)

For Berwick – Adam Pietraszko 16 (7), Michal Makovsky 8+2 (5), Carl Wilkinson 7+2 (4), Scott Robson 7 (6), Andrew Moore 4+1 (4), Chris Schramm 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Monday, 1 August

There was only one Premier League match raced tonight and that was at Exeter where the Falcons were at home to Newport.



Premier League: Exeter 65, Newport 28


Exeter introduced new signing Sebastian Tressarieu to the side at number 5 in place of Toni Svab and used R/R for Ray Morton who is still on the injured list. Newport were without Mads Korneliussen and Michael Coles so they had Jason Doyle at number 4 as a guest for Michael Coles and used R/R for the injured Mads Korneliussen.

It was really no surprise that this turned into another landslide defeat for Newport as their season slowly disintegrates before their eyes. They may have set one record tonight however. There can’t be many riders riding at number one who have scored nothing from their five rides only to find themselves nominated for heat 15 so that they can complete the set of six zeroes. Such was the fate of Newport’s latest signing, Henrik Vedel.

Up until heat 8 things weren’t too bad for the Wasps. Although the Falcons started with a Lemon/Smethills 5-1, heats 2 and 3 were shared with Ondrasik winning heat 2 for Exeter and Jason Doyle winning heat 3 for Newport. Sebastian Tressarieu got his Exeter career off to a winning start in heat 4 and, with Pavel Ondrasik finishing second, Exeter won the race 5-1 to take the score after 4 races to 16-8.

Tony Atkin won heat 5 for the Wasps from Seemond Stephens for another shared heat but the Lemon/Smethills pairing took another 5-1 in heat 6. Jason Doyle took a TR for Newport in heat 7 and finished second to Sebastian Tressarieu for a 4-4 then Tony Atkin won again in heat 8 for another shared heat to take the score after 8 races to 31-19. At that stage Newport were only 12 points behind which was hardly disastrous.

However, it might be better to draw a veil over what happened thereafter. Suffice to say that Exeter rattled up six consecutive maximums followed by a 4-2 over the remaining seven heats. In heat 11 Tony Atkin took a TR but finished behind Ben Barker and Sebastian Tressarieu for a 5-2 and in the last heat Tony Atkin prevented a complete rout over these last 7 heats by beating Mark Lemon in a race won by Seemond Stephens. For some unknown reason Jason Doyle withdrew from the meeting after his third ride in heat 9. Maybe he could sense which way the wind was blowing!


Scorers: For Exeter – Pavel Ondrasik 14+3 (6), Seemond Stephens 12+1 (5), Mark Lemon 11+2 (5), Sebastian Tressarieu 11+1 (4) (paid maximum), Lee Smethills 10+3 (5), Ben Barker 7+2 (5).

For Newport – Tony Atkin 12 (6) including a 2 point TR, Jason Doyle 8 (3) including a 4 point TR, Lee Dicken 3+1 (5), Neil Collins 3 (5), Karlis Ezergailis 2 (5), Henrik Vedel 0 (6).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 2 August

The only action tonight took place on the Isle of Wight where the evening was given over to the Ray Morton Testimonial Meeting.



Ray Morton Testimonial Meeting: Ripper’s Rebels 46, Thorpy’s Tape Touchers 47.


Although he now rides for Exeter, Ray Morton held his testimonial meeting on his former track on the Isle of Wight . As has been the case for most of this season Ray was unable to ride in his own meeting as a result of his injuries.

The meeting consisted of the usual league match format between two teams with little common theme. Ripper’s Rebels (Ripper being Ray Morton’s nickname for the uninitiated!) had Ronnie Correy, Oliver Allen and Mark Lemon in the heat leader spots with Steve Boxall at number 2 and the Isle of Wight providing number 4 (Krister Marsh) and the two reserves (Glen Phillips and Jason Doyle). Thorpy’s Tape Touchers had Paul Hurry, Andrew Appleton and Dean Barker as heat leaders with Edward Kennett at number 2, Paul Thorp at number 4 and Ricky Ashworth and Steen Jensen forming the reserve pairing. After heats 4 and 8 there was a break for vintage bikes and sidecars.

As for the match, it was predictably close. Paul Hurry and Edward Kennett took an opening heat 1-5, Jason Doyle and Glen Phillips hit back with a 4-2 in heat 2, Paul Thorp and Andrew Appleton took a 1-5 for guess who’s team in heat 3 and Steen Jensen won heat 4 while Mark Lemon and Dean Barker finished at the back for a shared heat and a score of 9-15.

Hurry and Kennett scored another 1-5 in heat 5 and Ashworth and Barker added another in heat 7 to push the Tape Touchers to an 11-25 lead. We couldn’t have that so Mark Lemon took a TR and with Glen Phillips following him home for an 8-1 from Appleton and Thorp to cut the gap to 7 points. Edward Kennett won heat 8 for a shared heat and the score was now 22-29.

The teams exchanged 4-2s in heats 9 and 10 then heat 11 was shared when Edward Kennett beat Mark Lemon. Jason Doyle beat Andrew Appleton with Oliver Allen third for a 4-2 cutting the difference to 5 points at 35-40 after heat 12. Another 4-2 from Lemon and Barker closed the gap to 3 points and Paul Thorp won heat 14 for a share. This meant that Ripper’s Rebels needed a 5-1 in the final heat for a one point win. Much to the surprise of the crowd the riders failed to manipulate this properly and although Mark Lemon won the heat Edward Kennett couldn’t quite go slowly enough for Ronnie Correy to pass him so Thorpy’s Tape Touchers took the match by one point. Now there’s a surprise! (I can’t quite believe I wrote this match up!)

Scorers: For Ripper’s Rebels – Mark Lemon 15+1 (5) including a 6 point TR, Jason Doyle 11 (5), Krister Marsh 7 (4), Glen Phillips 5+3 (4), Ronnie Correy 5 (5), Steve Boxall 2+1 (4), Oliver Allen 1 (3).

For Thorpy’s Tapetouchers – Edward Kennett 12+2 (5), Paul Thorp 9 (5), Andrew Appleton 6+1 (4), Dean Barker 6+1 (4), Paul Hurry 6 (4), Ricky Ashworth 5 (4), Steen Jensen 3 (4).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 3 August

There were two matches raced in the Premier League tonight. At Hull the Vikings were at home to Newcastle while at King’s Lynn the Stars took on Edinburgh .


Premier League: Hull 51, Newcastle 43 Hull won the bonus point on aggregate by 93-91


Garry Stead made a welcome return to the Hull side in this match after being sidelined by injury and Daniel Giffard continued at number 7. Newcastle weren’t as fortunate with both Phil Morris and James Grieves still missing after the injuries they sustained last Saturday. The Diamonds had Sean Wilson as a guest for James Grieves and used R/R for Phil Morris at number 4. Newcastle were defending a 6 point lead for the bonus point.

Josef Franc won the opening heat for the visitors in a shared heat then Christian Henry did likewise in heat 2. Henry took the R/R ride in heat 3 but this time it was the Vikings who struck with a 5-1 from Emil Kramer and Craig Branney to put the home side four points in front. This was doubled to eight when Daniel Giffard and Garry Stead scored another 5-1 ahead of Sean Wilson to take the heat 4 score to 16-8.

Josef Franc produced his second win of the night in heat 5 but again it was only for a shared heat when Lubos Tomicek fell. Newcastle got two points back in heat 6 when Christian Henry won again from Paul Thorp with Sean Wilson beating Emiliano Sanchez for third place. Garry Stead ended Josef Franc’s winning run by taking heat 7 from the Newcastle number 1 but Richard Juul finished third resulting in a shared heat. Hull then hit Newcastle with a hammer blow scoring a 5-1 from Paul Thorp and Daniel Gifford from Christian Henry to launch the Vikings into a 10 point lead in the match and four point lead on aggregate for the bonus point.

Sean Wilson took a TR for Newcastle in heat 9 but the Vikings saw this off when Emil Kramer won the heat from Wilson with Craig Branney third for a 4-4 to keep their lead intact. In heat 10 things got worse for the Diamonds as they lost another 5-1 to Sanchez and Thorp after Christian Henry had led briefly which stretched Hull’s lead to 14 points. In heat 11 Josef Franc took a TR but finished second to Garry Stead who remained unbeaten after three races. With Lubos Tomicek taking the third place point Newcastle took a 3-5 advantage from the heat but still trailed by 12 points. They cut it to eight points, however, with a 1-5 from Jaimie Robertson, who replaced Christian Henry - excluded for breaking the tapes, and Richard Juul in heat 12 which made the score 42-34 with Hull holding a two point aggregate lead and their fans wondering whether they were about to watch another late collapse which has been their trademark in some recent matches.

Their fears looked well justified as the Diamonds rattled in another 1-5 in heat 13 from Josef Franc and Sean Wilson after Garry Stead had fallen and been excluded. Now the Vikings lead was down to four points and it was Newcastle in the driving seat for the bonus by two points. It was all change again in heat 14 as Hull took a 5-1 from Kramer and Terenzani which sealed the match for the Vikings and left Newcastle trailing by two points in their quest for the bonus point. Although Sean Wilson won the last heat for Newcastle, Thorp and Kramer took the minor places for Hull giving them an eight point win on the night and securing the bonus point by two points.

Scorers: For Hull – Emil Kramer 12 (5), Paul Thorp 10+2 (5), Garry Stead 8+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 6+2 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 6 (4), Craig Branney 5+2 (4), Simone Terenzani 4+1 (4).

For Newcastle – Josef Franc 15 (6) including a 4 point TR, Sean Wilson 11+1 (5) including a 4 point TR, Christian Henry 8 (5), Richard Juul 5+2 (5), Jaimie Robertson 3 (5), Lubos Tomicek 1+1 (4).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 55, Edinburgh 41 Edinburgh won the bonus point on aggregate by 98-93.


Matthew Wethers returned to the King’s Lynn team tonight but, as the new averages for July kicked in, he was at number 7 instead of in the main body of the team. Edinburgh were still without Theo Pijper and had Adam Allott as a guest in his place at number 1. The new averages meant that William Lawson moved to the number 2 spot while Kristian Lund went down to reserve at number 6. Edinburgh were defending a 19 point lead for the bonus point.

It looked as if the Stars were going to get off to a winning start but Jan Jaros fell while leading so Shaun Tacey’s win only earned them a share of the points. Matthew Wethers came from the back in heat 2 to produce a home 5-1 then Ashley Jones and Kevin Doolan did likewise in heat 3, with Daniel Nermark falling and remounting, as did Wethers and Allen in heat 4, after Robert Ksiezak had fallen impeding his partner, Rusty Harrison, to leave Edinburgh struggling even this early with only Jan Jaros’s fall earning them any points. The score after heat 4 was 18-6 with the Monarchs’ first leg lead already reduced to 7 points.

In heat 5 Adam Allott took a TR and was quickly in front but Ashley Jones fell and the race was rerun with Jones excluded. In the rerun Adam Allott won for the full six points and Edinburgh scored a 2-7 to cut the Stars’ lead to 7 points. In heat 6 Jan Jaros fell again as Shaun Tacey won again for a shared heat. This meant that the first six heats had produced 5 fallers. In heat 7 it became 7 fallers when Oliver Allen and Cameron Woodward both came to grief on the third bend of the second lap as Edinburgh threatened to take a 1-5 with Nermark leading. The referee excluded Woodward much to the dismay and annoyance of the Edinburgh rider. Oliver Allen suffered concussion in the fall and was withdrawn from the meeting as the King’s Lynn injury curse just will not let up. The rerun was won by Daniel Nermark for a shared heat as Matthew Wethers replaced Oliver Allen. In heat 8 the Stars increased their lead to 11 points when Jaros and Batchelor took a 5-1. Robert Ksiezak made it 8 fallers in 8 heats although he remounted. The score after heat 8 was 31-20.

In heat 9 Rusty Harrison took a TR but it was the home side who led from the start. Harrison passed Ashley Jones on the second lap so the heat resulted in a 4-4 as the interval was taken. After the break Daniel Nermark ended Shaun Tacey’s winning run by taking heat 10. With Cameron Woodward passing Jan Jaros to take third place Edinburgh took a 2-4 which cut King’s Lynn’s lead to 9 points leaving the Stars still with another 10 points to pull back to level on aggregate. They pulled four point more back in heat 11 with a 5-1 from their reserve pairing as Adam Allott finished well off the pace at the back then, in heat 12, they got within touching distance of the aggregate lead with another 5-1 from Batchelor and Jones which took the score to 47-30 with three heats to go and Edinburgh now looking at a two point advantage for the bonus point.

Shaun Tacey won heat 13 but Rusty Harrison and Adam Allott shared the points. In heat 14 Cameron Woodward was nominated for a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back. Troy Batchelor won the race but Kevin Doolan suffered an engine failure after he had been passed by Daniel Nermark who finished second with Cameron Woodward third. This led to the unusual 3-4 score from the heat which took the match score to 53-37. This meant that King’s Lynn needed a 5-1 from the final heat to win the bonus point by one point. In the last race Adam Allott rocketed from the tapes for a fast win ahead of Shaun Tacey while at the back Rusty Harrison won the battle with Troy Batchelor for the third place point to take the bonus point back to Edinburgh.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Troy Batchelor 16+1 (7), Shaun Tacey 13 (5), Matthew Wethers 8+3 (5), Kevin Doolan 7+1 (4), Ashley Jones 6+1 (4), Jan Jaros 3 (4), Oliver Allen 2+1 (2).

For Edinburgh – Adam Allott 12+1 (5) including a 6 point TR, Rusty Harrison 10 (5) including a 4 point TR, Daniel Nermark 8 (4), Cameron Woodward 5 (5) including a 2 point GDTS from 15 metres, William Lawson 4+1 (4), Kristian Lund 1+1 (3), Robert Ksiezak 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 4 August

There may have been a World Cup qualifier live on Television tonight but there were still two Premier League matches on offer. At Sheffield the Tigers faced Stoke while on the Isle of Wight the Islanders were at home to Somerset .



Premier League: Sheffield 56, Stoke 40.


It was a full strength Sheffield side which took on a Stoke team who had Paul Thorp as a guest at number 5.

Heat 1 was rerun after Adam Allott had gone through the tapes. The two Wilsons then got Sheffield off to the perfect start with a 5-1 and their reserves took a 4-2 in the second race. Another 5-1 from Ashworth and Hall ahead of Robbie Kessler put the Tigers 10 points ahead and they stretched that to 12 with a 4-2 when Andre Compton beat Paul Thorp with Kyle Legault third. This made the score after 4 heats 18-6.

Adam Allott rode through the tapes again in heat 5 and, in the rerun, Ricky Ashworth passed Alan Mogridge for a 4-2 and a 22-8 lead as Sheffield threatened to run riot. To Stoke’s relief Paul Thorp beat the two Wilsons for a shared heat 6 but Andre Compton and Paul Cooper added another 4-2 in heat 7 and Ben Wilson and Kyle Legault added a 5-1 in heat 8 to take the score to 34-14.

Things started to improve for Stoke. In heat 9 Paul Thorp took a TR and, according to one observer, was doing about 60mph when the tapes went up for the flyer of all flyers. He beat Ricky Ashworth and Richard Hall for a 3-6 then heat 10 produced another Stoke success. This time Robbie Kessler beat Sean Wilson with Paul Clews third for a 2-4 as Stoke pulled back to 39-24. Stoke were now on a roll and another 2-4 came their way when Adam Allott came to life by winning heat 11. It might have been a 1-5 but with Alan Mogridge falling and remounting Paul Cooper took the second place point after Andre Compton had failed to move from the start. Now Sheffield’s lead was down to 13 points but it all came to an abrupt end when Ashworth and Legault took a 5-1 in heat 12 to take the score to 46-29.

Another 5-1 in heat 13 from Sean Wilson and Andre Compton put Stoke 21 points in arrears but in heat 14 Robbie Kessler took a TR and duly beat Paul Cooper with Barrie Evans third for a 2-7 reducing the gap to 16 points. It remained that way when Paul Thorp took the final heat from Andre Compton and Sean Wilson.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Sean Wilson 11+1 (5), Ricky Ashworth 11 (4), Andre Compton 10+2 (5), Kyle Legault 8+2 (4), Ben Wilson 6+2 (4), Paul Cooper 6 (4), Richard Hall 4+2 (4).

For Stoke – Paul Thorp 14 (5) including a 6 point TR, Robbie Kessler 12 (5) including a 6 point TR, Alan Mogridge 5 (4), Adam Allott 4 (4), Barrie Evans 3 (5), Paul Clews 2 (4), Jack Hargreaves 0 (3).



Premier League: Isle of Wight 56, Somerset 37.


With Craig Boyce absent managing the Australian team in the World Cup qualifier in Poland the Isle of Wight were able to use a guest in his place. Edward Kennett stepped in to take his place at number 1. They also had Krzysztof Stojanowski at number 5 replacing Tomas Suchanek who has signed for Poole. Somerset had Simon Walker at reserve for Trevor Harding.

Zetterstrom won the opening heat to share the points but the Islanders took control with consecutive maximums in heats 2 and 3 before Cunningham won heat 4 for Somerset to take the score after four races to 16-8.

Another 5-1 for the home side in heat 5 from Ostergaard and Marsh again this time ahead of Magnus Zetterstrom had them on easy street with a 12 point lead. In heat 6 Glen Cunningham took a TR but was passed by Edward Kennett and the heat was shared 4-4. However, Paul Fry became the third visitor to win a heat in heat 7 but again it was only for a shared heat. In heat 8 the Isle of Wight increased their lead to 14 points with a 4-2 from Steen Jensen and Glen Phillips to take the score to 32-18.

Marsh and Ostergaard rattled up their third maximum as a partnership in heat 9 with Glen Cunningham trailing in third as the Islanders went 18 points ahead but there was some respite for Somerset when they won heat 10 when Paul Fry headed Edward Kennett home with Ritchie Hawkins picking up third place when Glen Phillips retired for a 2-4. Magnus Zetterstrom took the second TR for Somerset in heat 11 but, to the Rebels’ dismay, he finished third to Jason Doyle and Krzysztof Stojanowski for an Isle of Wight 5-2. In heat 12 Ritchie Hawkins became the fourth Rebels’ rider to win a race and, as with the others, the heat was shared. This took the heat 12 score to 47-28 as the interval arrived.

After the interval Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 13 but again Somerset gained no advantage as Kennett and Stojanowski took the minor places with Cunningham last. Heat 14 was a 4-2 to the Islanders when Ostergaard beat Fry with Doyle third then in the last heat Magnus Zetterstrom beat Ulrich Ostergaard with Paul Fry third for a 2-4 to Somerset so the Rebels have 19 points to pull back for the bonus point.

Scorers: For Isle of Wight – Ulrich Ostergaard 13+1 (5), Krister Marsh 9+2 (4), Jason Doyle 9+2 (5), Edward Kennett 9 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 7+2 (4), Steen Jensen 6+2 (4), Glen Phillips 3+1 (4).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 12 (5) including a 2 point TR, Paul Fry 10 (5), Glen Cunningham 8 (4) including a 4 point TR, Ritchie Hawkins 4, Jaimie Smith 2 (4), Simon Walker 1 (4), Chris Mills 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Friday, 5 August

Tonight’s fixtures featured the Scottish Open Championship at Edinburgh and the Premier League match between Somerset and Rye House .



Scottish Open Championship 2005:

Winner: David Howe
Second: Theo Pijper
Third: George Stancl
Fourth: Shane Parker

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This annual individual championship for the Jack Young Trophy took the form of a full 20 heat, 16 rider individual with the top two point scorers seeded directly to the final and the next four to a race off for the remaining two places.

In the qualifying heats David Howe topped the leaderboard comfortably, dropping points only to George Stancl and Mark Lemon, but behind him three riders finished on 11 points. By virtue of race wins and having beaten the other two, Theo Pijper also went through to the final while the other two, Shane Parker and Mark Lemon were joined by Jason Lyons and George Stancl in the race off. The Glasgow top two of Stancl and Parker won through to the final. In the final David Howe off gate 1 swept from the tapes to the outside of bend 2 taking Stancl and Parker with him but Theo Pijper cut back on the inside to follow Howe home as Parker was badly baulked by Stancl on the second bend. David Howe was a very popular winner and his victory was well received by the large crowd even though he beat home favourite Theo Pijper in the final.

There was plenty of interest in the qualifying heats. Theo Pijper made a sensational come back from his scarcely healed injuries to win his opening three races taking Mark Lemon from the back in his second ride before the pain started to kick in. Cameron Woodard had a disastrous third ride. While attempting to round Shane Parker he was taken wide and appeared to clip Parker’s back wheel before crashing into the fence. The result was two broken bones in his wrist requiring a visit to hospital.

The sensation of the night was the performance of 16 year old Nikolai Klindt from Denmark. After a couple of last places but well on the pace he drove round the outside of the field on the first two bends of heat 10 to head home Daniel Nermark, Ronnie Correy and Jason Lyons then in his next race he won again beating Rusty Harrison and Anders Neilsen in the process, clearly a star of the future.

Points Scorers from the heats: David Howe 13, Theo Pijper 11, Shane Parker 11, Mark Lemon 11, Jason Lyons 10, George Stancl 9, Daniel Nermark 9, Rusty Harrison 9, Nikolai Klindt 7, James Wright 7, Ronnie Correy 7, David McAllan 7, William Lawson 4, Cameron Woodward 2, Anders Neilsen 2, Adam McKinna (res) 1, Rafal Kowalski 0.



Premier League: Somerset 48, Rye House 42.


This was not a match Somerset were fancied to win given that they had lost the corresponding Premier Trophy meeting 44-49 and were without high-scoring reserve Trevor Harding. They had Simon Walker at number 6 instead. Rye House were at full strength.

The Rye House express hit the buffers in this defeat tonight by the Rebels. It was nip and tuck all the way until a last heat decider saw the Rebels home by six points. A Magnus Zetterstrom win was enough to share the opening heat for Somerset but Rye House struck with a 1-5 in the reserves race to hit the front. Back came the Rebels with a Hawkins/Fry 5-1 ahead of Brent Werner to draw level but Chris Neath beat Glen Cunningham in heat 4 and, with Tommy Allen third, Rye House went back in front to lead 11-13 after 4 heats.

Back came the Rebels with a 4-2 with Paul Fry beating Stuart Robson and Ritchie Hawkins taking third place ahead of Edward Kennett in heat 5. They repeated the dose in heat 6 won by Zetterstrom to go in front for the first time by two points but back came Rye House in heat 7 with a 2-4 from King and Werner to square the match again. Heat 8 resulted in a rare shared heat with Jaimie Smith beating Edward Kennett and the score was all tied up at 24-24.

Heat 9 was also shared with a Neath win but Somerset were back in front after heat 10 when Magnus Zetterstrom took his third race win from Daniel King and Jaimie Smith. Back came Rye House again with a 2-4 from Robson and Kennett and the match was level pegging again. Heat 12 won by Ritchie Hawkins was shared so the score went to 36-36.

Somerset went in front again in heat 13 when Glen Cunningham beat Chris Neath with Magnus Zetterstrom third. Paul Fry won heat 14 to maintain Somerset’s two point advantage going into the last heat. Heat 15was a disaster for the Rockets. Stuart Robson was excluded for a tapes offence and was replaced by Tommy Allen. Then Tommy Allen fell on the third lap and, to put the icing on the cake, Chris Neath suffered an engine failure on the last bend. The 5-1 for Somerset gave them a six point lead – the widest margin between the teams all match.

Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 13 (5), Glen Cunningham 11+1 (5), Paul Fry 9+2 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 9 (4), Jaimie Smith 5 (4), Chris Mills 1 (5), Simon Walker 0 (3).

For Rye House – Chris Neath 11 (5), Tommy Allen 8+2 (7), Stuart Daniel King 6+1 (4), Stuart Robson 6+1 (5), Edward Kennett 5+1 (4), Steve Boxall 4+1 (4), Brent Werner 2 (3).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 6 August

The big match tonight was the first leg of the final of the Premier Trophy in which Workington rode their home leg against Rye House . Two other matches in the Premier League also took place. At Berwick the Bandits faced local rivals Newcastle while Stoke were at home to Sheffield . The bonus points were at stake in both matches.



Premier Trophy final, first leg: Workington 44, Rye House 46.


Magnus Zetterstrom was the guest Workington had in place of Carl Stonehewer for the first leg of the final but otherwise they were at full strength. Rye House were able to field an unchanged team again although they lost Edward Kennett after he fell in heat 1 and withdrew from the meeting.

This was a disappointing result for Workington who go to Rye House with little hope of taking the silverware. They had an excellent guest in Magnus Zetterstrom but with only 6 points from the combined efforts of Shaun Tacey and Scott Robson it was an uphill struggle. Rye House were unlucky to lose Edward Kennett after his fall in the opening heat but they were again well served by reserve, Steve Boxall, whose 11+2 point return swung the match in their favour.

The first four heats resulted in the scores tied at 12-12. A 1-5 in heat 3 from Brent Werner and Daniel King was neutralised by two 4-2s for the Comets in heats 1 and 4. Rye House went back in front in heats 5 and 6 both of which they won 2-4 to pull out a four point lead. Heat 6 saw an inspirational ride from Steve Boxall to inflict the only defeat of the match on Magnus Zetterstrom then, after a Werner win in heat 7 for a 3-3, Workington got back on level terms with a 5-1 in heat 8 which was rerun twice with Steve Boxall going from 15 metres back for jumping the gun twice. The score after 8 heats was 24-24.

Steve Boxall proved a thorn in Workington’s side again in heat 9. Although Kauko Nieminen won the race Boxall won a battle for third place with Scott Robson for a shared heat behind his partner, Chris Neath. Workington just could not get their noses in front again. In heat 10 Zetterstrom got back to winning ways but this time Brent Werner and Daniel King kept Shaun Tacey at the back to share the heat. Heat 11 was shared too, won by Stuart Robson, but in heat 12 Rye House scored a 1-5. Jaimie Courtney replaced Scott Robson but he and Aidan Collins were powerless to prevent another heat win by the fast starting Boxall with Werner backing him up for the maximum. The score now found Workington trailing by 34-38.

Zetterstrom and Wright did get two points back with a 4-2 in heat 13 but the last two heats were shared as Jaimie Courtney and Kauko Nieminen both had engine failures as their partners Kauko Nieminen and Magnus Zetterstrom won the heats.

This result means that Rye House already have one hand on the cup and it will be a sensation if they fail to deliver the trophy tomorrow afternoon when they take on the Comets in the return match at Hoddesdon.

Scorers: For Workington – Magnus Zetterstrom 14 (5), James Wright 8 (4), Kauko Nieminen 7, Jaimie Courtney 6+2 (5), Shaun Tacey 4 (4), Aidan Collins 3+1 (4), Scott Robson 2 (3).

For Rye House – Brent Werner 12+1 (5), Steve Boxall 11+2 (7), Stuart Robson 11+1 (5), Chris Neath 5 (4), Daniel King 4+3 (4), Tommy Allen 3 (4), Edward Kennett 0 (1).



Premier League: Berwick 55, Newcastle 40 Berwick won the bonus point on aggregate by 98-87.


Berwick were still without Scott Smith who is likely to be missing for another four weeks and they used R/R at number 2 instead. Newcastle were missing three of their regular team. Lubos Tomicek was riding abroad while Phil Morris and James Grieves were still missing through injury. They patched up the team by using George Stancl at number 5 in place of Grieves and David McAllan at number 2 for Tomicek. Phil Morris’s rides were covered by the R/R facility.

Newcastle never really threatened to take anything from this match since they only fired on two cylinders, George Stancl and Josef Franc. Christian Henry did add some support but, with only a four point lead to defend for the bonus point, Berwick were never pushed to take all three points. They were assisted again by another huge return from the reserve berths where Carl Wilkinson took his full quota of rides for paid 18 points.

With two 5-1s in the opening three heats and another only avoided by an engine failure for Chris Schramm in heat 2, Newcastle were soon well in arrears. Consecutive heat wins in heats 4 and 5 by George Stancl and Josef Franc stemmed the tide, the latter supported by David McAllan in third place for a 2-4 as the score went to 18-12.

Heats 6 and 7 were shared but the inevitable 5-1 for the Bandits in heat 8 after David McAllan suffered an engine failure put the home side 10 points ahead at 29-19. In heat 9 George Stancl took a TR and won the heat. With Christian Henry benefiting from a Pietraszko engine failure Newcastle took a 2-7 to pull back 5 points for a score of 31-26. Berwick responded with a 5-1 from Adrian Rymel and Carl Wilkinson in a rerun heat after Henry had fallen and unluckily been excluded to open up a nine point gap again so in heat 11 Josef Franc took a TR. Michal Makovsky won the heat but Franc finished second and McAllan third which meant that Newcastle took a 3-5 to cut the deficit to 7 points. Christian Henry had a fine win in heat 12 as Newcastle clung on but heats 13 and 14 resulted in 5-1s to the Bandits to put them out of sight. Rymel won the last race but Stancl and Franc filled the minor places as the heat was shared.

Scorers: For Berwick – Adrian Rymel 14+1 (5) (paid maximum), Carl Wilkinson 13+5 (7), Adam Pietraszko 10+1 (5), Michal Makovsky 10 (5), Tom P Madsen 6+1 (4), Chris Schramm 2+1 (4).

For Newcastle – George Stancl 14 (5) including a 6 point TR, Josef Franc 12+1 (6), Christian Henry 6+2 (6), Jaimie Robertson 5 (6), David McAllan 3 (5), Richard Juul 0 (2).



Premier League: Stoke 55, Sheffield 41 Sheffield won the bonus point on aggregate by 97-95.


Glenn Cunningham was this week’s choice of guest for Stoke in place of Jan Staechmann while Sheffield were at full strength. When Sheffield took all of 7 heats to score 12 points it looked as though this match might turn into a rout. That wasn’t the case however as Sheffield fought back to claim the bonus point by protecting their 16 point win at home last Thursday.

Sheffield made a dreadful start to this match losing three 5-1s and three 4-2s over the opening 7 heats, the other heat being shared. This took the score to 30-12 and the Potters even had a two point lead on aggregate for the bonus point at that stage.

Adam Allott made it 8 race winners in a row for Stoke as the heat was shared but Andre Compton provided Sheffield with their first race winner by winning heat 9 for a shared heat. In heat 10 Adam Allott and Alan Mogridge took another 5-1 from Ricky Ashworth as the Potters extended their lead to 22 points, six on aggregate for the bonus point as the score went to 41-19.

Sean Wilson took a TR in heat 11 and was very lucky to score all 6 points when Glenn Cunningham suffered an engine failure when well in front. The 2-7 to Sheffield pulled 5 points back and they pulled another 5 back with another 2-7 in heat 12. This time Ricky Ashworth scored 6 points and Paul Cooper took third place with the gap between the two sides cut to 12 points and Sheffield now four points up on aggregate as the score went to 45-33.

A hard heat 13 was won by Andre Compton from Alan Mogridge and Glenn Cunningham before a 5-1 for Stoke from Kessler and Evans put the Potters 16 points ahead at 53-37 which tied the two teams for the bonus point. In a heated heat 15 Alan Mogridge went underneath Compton and both riders fell. There was some ‘unpleasantness’ in the aftermath which saw fists raised but the upshot was an exclusion for Mogridge leaving Robbie Kessler to face Compton and Ashworth in the rerun. In the rerun Compton won the race from the gate and with Ashworth having no-one to beat for third place the resultant 2-4 to the Tigers saw them take the bonus point in a remarkable second half to a match which at the half way point had looked beyond Sheffield.

Scorers: For Stoke – Robbie Kessler 11+2 (5), Alan Mogridge 10+1 (5), Barrie Evans 10+1 (5), Adam Allott 9+1 (4), Paul Clews 9+1 (4),Glenn Cunningham 5+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 1 (3).

For Sheffield – Andre Compton 12 (5), Ricky Ashworth 11 (5) including a 6 point TR, Sean Wilson 9 (4) including a 6 point TR, Kyle Legault 5+2 (4), Ben Wilson 3 (4), Paul Cooper 1 (4), Richard Hall 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 7 August

Four matches took place today the most important of which was the second leg of the Premier Trophy final at Rye House where the Rockets raced their home leg against Workington . In the Premier League there were meetings at Newport where the Wasps took on King’s Lynn ; at Glasgow where the Tigers met Hull ; and at Newcastle where the Diamonds faced Stoke .



Premier Trophy final, second leg: Rye House 61, Workington 32 Rye House won the Premier Trophy on aggregate by 107-76.


Rye House Rockets arrived at the Hoddesden track this afternoon with a 2-point lead following yesterday's first leg of the Premier League Trophy at Workington. Looking to win their first major trophy in ages, Rye put out a full strength team. Workington used Magnus Zetterstrom as a guest rider in place of the injured Carl Stonehewer.

Stuart Robson and Edward Kennett got the Rockets off to the best possible start in heat 1. Robson led on the inside from Magnus Zetterstrom but Kennett forced his way through into second place on the third bend. Steve Boxall broke the tapes in heat 2 and started 15m back. Jamie Courtney led early from Tommy Allen and Aidan Collins but Allen passed him on the first lap and went on to win. Boxall tried hard but couldn't get close enough to Collins to challenge for third place.

Rye followed up with two more 5-1s. Brent Werner & Daniel King were too fast for Scott Robson & Kauko Nieminen in heat 3 and then Chris Neath & Tommy Allen finished ahead of James Wright & Collins in heat 4. Neath was well clear after the first lap and spent much of the remainder of the race checking on the progress of Allen. Neath slowed right down as the line approached to let Allen take the victory but the pair only just kept ahead of the fast finishing James Wright.

A Daniel King fall in Heat 5 gave Workington the chance to score some points. Shaun Tacey led briefly but Werner swept round the outside and won as he pleased ahead of Zetterstrom. Rye extended their lead in heat 6 when Robson and Kennett gave a textbook team ride to make the score Rye House 26 Workington 10.

Scott Robson took a tactical ride in heat 7 alongside Nieminen but Neath blazed off in front and won easily. At least Workington managed the heat win, 3-5, after Boxall's engine blew up at the start, leaving him motionless as the tapes went up. Kennett & Allen posted another 5-1 in heat 8, Tacey and Collins making little impression.

Heat 9 was probably the best of the afternoon. Wright appeared as a tactical rider and led Werner & King from the tapes. Werner showed King what to do when he went wide around the third and fourth bends on the second lap to pass Wright. King took the advice and repeated the move exactly on the next lap to give Rye another 5 points.

The Rockets had effectively won the trophy at this point but they continued to pour it on. Kennett took heat 10 from Scott Robson but the main talking point was Stuart Robson's last gasp charge at the line where he just pipped Nieminen for third place. Neath / Boxall (now on Kennett's bike) were too good for Zetterstrom / Tacey in heat 11 and Werner / Allen repeated this in heat 12 ahead of Robson and Courtney.

Workington were still looking for their first race winner. Neath made them wait a bit longer when he again stormed out of the gate to win heat 13 easily. It looked as if Stuart Robson had already been at the champagne as he trailed in last, not a familiar sight for the home fans. At last, Workington won a heat when Nieminen led all the way in heat 14 to beat Boxall with Aidan Collins in third place. This was quickly followed by a good ride in the last heat from Zetterstrom, winning from Neath and Werner.

Congratulations to Rye House for a comprehensive victory over two legs. Len Silver announced that he was delighted at winning "our first trophy of the season." It sounds as if he expects more ... and he might be right.

Scorers: For Rye House – Chris Neath 13+1 (5), Brent Werner 13+1 (5), Edward Kennett 10+2 (4) (paid maximum), Tommy Allen 10+2 (4) (paid maximum), Stuart Robson 7 (4), Daniel King 4+2 (4), Steve Boxall 4+1 (4).

For Workington – Magnus Zetterstrom 8 (5), Scott Robson 8 (4) including a 4 point TR, James Wright 5+1 (4) including a 2 point TR, Kauko Nieminen 4+1 (4), Aidan Collins 3+1 (5), Shaun Tacey 2+1 (4), Jaimie Courtney 2 (4).

(Report by Candyman)


Premier League: Newport 35, King’s Lynn 58


Newport had new signing, Jason King at number 4 and with Mads Korneliussen still injured they used R/R for him at number 5. King’s Lynn had Tommy Stange at number 2 with Matthew Wethers dropping out the team.

Last week’s 38-53 home defeat to Sheffield looked like the low point of Newport’s season but today’s 23 point defeat by King’s Lynn was even worse. The Wasps had only one race winner all match – Neil Collins who won heat 12 – and failed to take a single heat advantage. The weakness of the Newport side must be a worry for all the other tracks in the Premier league let alone their own fans.

It was clear from the first four heats that Newport were no match for King’s Lynn. Tomas Topinka and Tommy Stange took an opening 1-5 for the Stars. Heat 2 was shared but a 2-4 in heat 3 and 1-5 in heat 4 put the Stars 7-17 ahead after the opening four heats.

It may be best to draw a veil over the rest of the match. For Newport the ever-dependable Neil Collins and Tony Atkin did their best to hold the side together. Neil Collins took a TR in heat 7 only to finish second to Kevin Doolan for a 4-4 and Tony Atkin did likewise in heat 10 only to finish on the wrong end of a 2-5 to Kevin Doolan and Ashley Jones. Had it not been for four zeroes from Jan Jaros in the King’s Lynn team and three extra points from the TRs it is arguable whether Newport would have reached 30 points.

King’s Lynn were unlucky to lose Oliver Allen in a crash with Henrik Vedel in heat 6 but, with Troy Batchelor at reserve on fire once again, his scoring power was hardly missed. King’s Lynn scored three 5-1s, one 5-2 and four 4-2s. Newport’s best spell came with three consecutive shared heats between heats 11 and 13.

Scorers: For Newport – Neil Collins 15 (6) including a 4 point TR, Tony Atkin 9 (6) including a 2 point TR, Lee Dicken 5+2 (5), Henrik Vedel 4+1 (5), Jason King 1+1 (4), Karlis Ezergailis 1+1 (4).

For King’s Lynn – Troy Batchelor 19+1 (7), Tomas Topinka 15 (5) (full maximum), Kevin Doolan 12+1 (5), Ashley Jones 5+1 (4), Tommy Stange 4+1 (4), Oliver Allen 3 (1), Jan Jaros 0 (4).



Premier League: Glasgow 64, Hull 29


Glasgow were at full strength again but Hull used R/R for Emiliano Sanchez and had Luke Priest at number 6 as a guest reserve replacement for Joel Parsons.

Having scored 33 and 43 points in their last two home matches, Glasgow hit the jackpot with a crushing 35 point win over a ‘disappointing’ Hull side. The Vikings were only 10 points down by the end of heat 7 but collapsed completely over the last 8 heats in which they scored only 12 points and even two of them were extra points from TRs!

Glasgow got off to a cracking start with 5-1s in the opening two heats but Craig Branney won heat 3 for a shared heat. Little were Hull to know that he was to be their only race winner all match. A 4-2 from Parker and Cockle took the heat 4 score to 17-7 then Paul Thorp took a TR in heat 5. A second place to Claus Kristensen earned Hull a 4-4 and the next two heats were also shared to take the heat 7 score to 27-17.

The roof caved in after that for Hull. Garry Stead’s TR in heat 9 was worth only one extra point as he finished third to Stefan Ekberg and Claus Kristensen then Emil Kramer took a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back to earn another extra point as he finished third to James Cockle and Stefan Ekberg. For Glasgow Trent Leverington scored his first ever paid maximum for the Tigers and, reserve, James Cockle and Claus Kristensen also had their best returns for the team.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5) (full maximum), George Stancl 10+2 (5), Claus Kristensen 10+1 (4), James Cockle 10 (4), Trent Leverington 9+3 (4) (paid maximum), Stefan Ekberg 7+2 (4), Adam Roynon 3+1 (4).

For Hull – Garry Stead 9 (6) including a 2 point TR, Paul Thorp 8+1 (5) including a 4 point TR, Emil Kramer 6 (7) including a 2 point GDTS from 15 metres, Craig Branney 4+1 (5), Luke Priest 2+1 (3), Simone Terenzani 0 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 48, Stoke 41 .


Newcastle were still without Phil Morris for this match but welcomed James Grieves back to the side although he was still in some pain from the injuries he sustained at Stoke. With Lubos Tomicek riding abroad the Diamonds had Kristian Lund as a guest at number 2. Stoke had Rusty Harrison at number 5 as their guest replacement for Jan Staechmann.

(Report to follow)

Scorers: For Newcastle – Josef Franc 16 (6), Christian Henry 12 (7), Kristian Lund 7 (5), James Grieves 5+1 (4), Jaimie Robertson 5+1 (4), Richard Juul 3+1 (4).

For Stoke – Rusty Harrison 11 (5), Alan Mogridge 9 (5), Barrie Evans 6+2 (5), Robbie Kessler 6+1 (4), Adam Allott 5+3 (4), Jack Hargreaves 2 (3), Paul Clews 2 (4).

[Merlin]

Monday, 8 August

There was one Premier League match tonight and the second leg of the semi-final of the Premier League KO Cup. The latter match took place at Reading where the Racers faced the Isle of Wight while the league match was at Exeter where the Falcons were at home to Edinburgh.


Premier League KO Cup (semi-final, second leg): Reading 51, Isle of Wight 33 (the match was abandoned after heat 14 but the result stands) Reading won through to the final on aggregate by 95-79

At long last Reading welcomed back Danny Bird to the team in this match with Steve Masters making way for him. The Isle of Wight were at full strength but had a hard task on their hands since they arrived for this match with only a two point lead from the first leg. The last thing they needed was for Danny Bird to make his reappearance in the Reading side and score a paid maximum. The winners have a date with Rye House in the final.

In front of a big crowd Reading stamped their authority on this match in no uncertain terms by taking heat advantages in the first six heats with two 5-1s and four 4-2s to lead 26-10. During that spell Danny Bird and Andrew Appleton each had two race wins and the tie was all but settled especially since there were no TRs or TS available to the Islanders to help them back into the match.

After that devastating opening spell the Isle of Wight put up sterner resistance by sharing each of the next five races to trail by the same 16 point margin – 41-25 after heat 11. At that stage Danny Bird and Matej Zagar had both had three race wins each but the Isle of Wight managed their first race winner in heat 9 when Krzysztof Stojanowski beat Andrew Appleton. In heat 12 Reading added another two points to their lead by winning 4-2 with a win from Andrew Appleton ahead of Jason Doyle after Krister Marsh had suffered an engine failure. This made the score 45-27.

Heat 13 resulted in the expected Zagar/Bird 5-1 but there was an unfortunate ending to the match when Richard Wolff collided with Chris Johnson and a runaway bike injured a member of the track staff. Although Richard Wolff seemed to recover without injury, Chris Johnson and the member of staff were both taken to hospital after a lengthy delay after which the match was abandoned with the race awarded as a 1-5 to the Islanders.


Scorers: For Reading – Matej Zagar 12 (4) (full maximum), Danny Bird 11+1 (4) (paid maximum), Andrew Appleton 11 (4), Zdenek Simota 6+1 (4), Mathieu Tressarieu 5 (4), Richard Wolff 4+2 (4), Chris Johnson 2 (4).


For Isle of Wight – Krzysztof Stojanowski 7 (4), Ulrich Ostergaard 5+2 (4), Craig Boyce 5+1 (4), Krister Marsh 4+1 (4), Steen Jensen 4+1 (4), Glen Phillips 4 (4), Jason Doyle 4 (4).


Premier League: Exeter 53, Edinburgh 42


With Ray Morton making a return to the Exeter side the Falcons were able to field a seven man team for a change but they had to use Daniel Giffard at reserve in place of Ben Barker who was injured riding in a Conference League match at Stoke. Edinburgh had Theo Pijper back at number one after his absence through injury but used R/R at number 3 for Cameron Woodward who broke two bones in his wrist in a crash in the Scottish Open Championship on Friday night.

This was one of Edinburgh’s better performances at the County Ground and, with 11 points separating the teams, it should be an interesting tussle at Armadale next month when the sides meet again with the bonus point up for grabs. It looked like the usual Edinburgh thrashing after the opening two heats both of which Exeter won 5-1. Daniel Nermark separated Seemond Stephens and Ray Morton in heat 3 as the home side added a 4-2 to their tally but Rusty Harrison put a brake on the Exeter bandwagon by winning heat 4 for a shared heat and a heat 4 score of 17-7.

In heat 5 Seemond Stephens left Theo Pijper with nowhere to go on the first bend and was excluded by the referee when Pijper fell. The Edinburgh man brushed himself down and won the rerun from Ray Morton so the Monarchs took a 2-4. This was matched by a 4-2 for Exeter in heat 6 when Mark Lemon just beat Rusty Harrison with Lee Smethills third. Trailing by 10 points Edinburgh gave Daniel Nermark a TR in heat 7. Nermark won the race and, with Robert Ksiezak holding off Daniel Giffard for second place, Edinburgh scored the big 1-8 to cut the Falcons lead to three points. Exeter put some more distance between the sides by winning heat 8 5-1 to take the score to 29-22.

Stephens and Morton made the gate in heat 9 to take a 5-1 ahead of Harrison to increase Exeter’s lead to 11 points but Daniel Nermark won heat 10 for a shared heat before Theo Pijper took a TR in heat 11. Pavel Ondrasik won the heat but Pijper took second place from Sebastian Tressarieu for a 4-4. Stephens won again in heat 12 from Ksiezak and a 4-2 went the Falcons way to increase the lead to 13 points with a score of 45-32.

Rusty Harrison won heat 13 and Ray Morton heat 14 for shared heats but Edinburgh won the last race. It looked as though they were headed for a 1-5 from Harrison and Nermark but Mark Lemon caught and passed Nermark on the last bend to restrict the Monarchs to a two point advantage.

Scorers: For Exeter – Pavel Ondrasik 11+2 (5), Mark Lemon 10+2 (5), Lee Smethills 9 (4), Seemond Stephens 9 (5), Ray Morton 8+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 4+1 (4), Sebastian Tressarieu 2+1 (3).

For Edinburgh – Daniel Nermark 14 (6) including a 6 point TR, Rusty Harrison 12 (5), Theo Pijper 8 (4) including a 4 point TR, Robert Ksiezak 6+2 (7), William Lawson 1 (4), Kristian Lund 1 (4).