Around the Premier League Tracks 2005

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 31 August

There were two Premier League matches tonight. At Hull the Vikings met Somerset and at King’s Lynn the Stars were at home to the Isle of Wight .



Premier League: Hull 40, Somerset 32 The match was abandoned after heat 12 due to rain but the result stands.


Hull had John Branney at number 7for the injured Daniel Giffard. Somerset were missing Ritchie Hawkins, for whom they operated R/R at number 3, and Trevor Harding. Simon Walker continued at number 6 in his place.

After two shared heats, won by Magnus Zetterstrom and Simone Terenzani respectively, it was Somerset who took the lead with a 1-5 in heat 3 when Ulrich Ostergaard and Krister Marsh outpaced Emil Kramer. Garry Stead won heat 4 but only for a shared heat so the score after the opening four races was 10-14.

Another Zetterstrom win was followed by an equalising 5-1 from Paul Thorp and Emiliano Sanchez in heat 7. Then Hull took the lead for the first time with a 4-2 in heat 7 won by Garry Stead from Paul Fry with Terenzani third but Chris Mills had an excellent win over Paul Thorp in heat 8 for another shared heat to take the score after eight races to 25-23. Ominously it had started to rain at that point.

Heats 9 and 10 were killer blows for the Rebels. A 4-2 from Emil Kramer who beat Glenn Cunningham and Craig Branney doubled the Vikings’ lead to four points then the Thorp/Sanchez pairing registered another 5-1 to stretch the lead to eight points. Garry Stead won heat 11 from Jaimie Smith and Magnus Zetterstrom but the next two heats, won by Garry Stead and Paul Fry, were shared so the heat 12 score was 40-32.

With the rain now very heavy and accompanied by thunder and lightning the match was called off but, since heat 12 had been reached, the result stood.

Scorers: For Hull – Paul Thorp 9+1 (4), Garry Stead 9 (3), Emiliano Sanchez 6+2 (3), Emil Kramer 5+1 (3), Simone Terenzani 5+1 (4), Craig Branney 5 (4), John Branney 1+1 (3).

For Somerset – Paul Fry 9 (4), Magnus Zetterstrom 7+1 (3), Chris Mills 6+1 (6), Glenn Cunningham 5 (3), Jamie Smith 4+1 (5), Simon Walker 1+1 (4).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 57 Isle of Wight 37 King’s Lynn won the bonus point on aggregate by 97-93.


King’s Lynn had Darren mallet as a guest at reserve for Jan Jaros. The Isle of Wight who were at full strength were defending a 16 point lead in the battle for the bonus point.

Craig Boyce passed Oliver Allen in the opening heat to win it for the Islanders and give them a share of the points but the Stars went in front with a 4-2 in heat 2, won by Tommy Stange from Jason Doyle with Darren Mallett taking third place as Steen Jensen had the first of his three retirals. However the Isle of Wight wiped out that deficit and took the lead with a 1-5 in heat 3 after Kevin Doolan suffered an engine failure while leading the race. The lead changed hands again with the Stars two points in front with a 5-1 from Tomas Topinka and Darren Mallet ahead of an uncomfortable looking Kryzsztof Stojanowski with Steen Jensen taking the second of his three retirals at the back. The score after four races was now 13-11.

Craig Boyce won again in heat 5 for another shared heat but the Stars scored another 5-1 in heat 6 from Oliver Allen and Troy Batchelor as Stojanowski struggled again. In heat 7 Tomas Topinka beat Ulrich Ostergaard but Krister Marsh took third place for a share of the points then in heat 8 Troy Batchelor beat Glenn Phillips with Darren Mallett taking third place as Steen Jensen had his third retiral. This 4-2 took the heat eight score to 28-20.

Kevin Doolan won heat 9 but Ashley Jones retired after clattering the safety fence so the race was shared as the interval arrived. After the interval King’s Lynn took a giant stride towards the bonus point with a 5-1 from Oliver Allen and Troy Batchelor to put the Stars 12 points ahead on the night and only four behind on aggregate. In heat 11 Craig Boyce took a TR but Tomas Topinka put an end to his winning run. With Tommy Stange third the race resulted in a 4-4 and in heat 12 it was Krister Marsh who was entrusted with a TR. Ashley Jones won the race but with Marsh second and Jason Doyle third the Islanders won the heat 3-5 to reduce the deficit to 10 points at 43-33 leaving King’s Lynn still chasing the six points advantage they needed to tie the score on aggregate.

Heat 13 resulted in a home 5-1 from Tomas Topinka and Oliver Allen as Craig Boyce was relegated to third place. This narrowed the aggregate score to only two points. In heat 14 Jason Doyle replaced Steen Jensen as a Tactical Substitute form 15 metres back no doubt to give the Islanders some insurance but Kevin Doolan beat Ulrich Ostergaard with Tommy Stange third. The Islanders might have done better if Jason Doyle had started from the gate. The resultant 4-2 tied the scores over the two matches so heat 15 was all about the bonus point. Oliver Allen made the gate in the last heat and Tomas Topinka passed Craig Boyce for second place before Boyce suffered an engine failure so the 5-1 meant that all three points went to King’s Lynn.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 14+1 (5) (paid maximum), Oliver Allen 12+2 (5), Troy Batchelor 9+2 (4), Kevin Doolan 8 (4), Ashley Jones 5+1 (4), Tommy Stange 5 (4), Darren Mallett 4+1 (4).

For Isle of Wight – Craig Boyce 11 (5) including a 4 point TR, Ulrich Ostergaard 9 (5), Krister Marsh 7+2 (4) including a 4 point TR, Jason Doyle 4+2 (5), Kryzsztof Stojanowski 4 (4), Glen Phillips 2 (4), Steen Jensen 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Thursday 1 September

In addition to the Premier League action at Sheffield where the Tigers faced Somerset there was again an extra match on the Isle of Wight where the Islanders raced Newport.



Premier League: Sheffield 65, Somerset 30 Sheffield won the bonus point on aggregate by 111-74


Sheffield were at full strength but Somerset used R/R for Ritchie Hawkins at number 3 and again had Simon Walker at number 6 for Trevor Harding. Sheffield already had a two point advantage from the match at Somerset in their quest for the bonus point.

Ricky Ashworth and Kyle Legault just missed out on joining Sean Wilson, Andre Compton and Richard Hall in going through the match unbeaten. Ricky Ashworth fell in heat 12 while comfortably leading with his partner, Kyle Legault on a 5-1. He lost control on the second bend of the last lap and fell heavily requiring a visit to hospital for a check up. Kyle Legault’s only defeat came in heat 8 in a fantastic race when he was beaten on the line by Chris Mills who, fortuitously for Somerset, was on a TR at the time. Legault got caught in traffic on the opening bends and found himself back in third place. However he soon passed his partner Ben Wilson and chased Chris Mills for the remainder of the race just failing to catch him.

To say that Somerset were completely out of it is an understatement. After an opening heat 4-2 when Magnus Zetterstrom finished second to Sean Wilson, Sheffield reeled off four consecutive 5-1s to lead 24-6. Glenn Cunningham produced a spectacular pass on Ben Wilson to finish second to Sean Wilson in heat 6 for a 4-2 to the home side then the Rebels relegated Paul Cooper to last place in heat 7 for a share of the points. In heat 8 Chris Mills took a TR and won the heat for a 3-6 to Somerset bringing the heat 8 score to 34-17.

Another two maximum heat wins for Sheffield was followed by a TR for Magnus Zetterstrom in heat 11. A second place to Andre Compton netted the Rebels number 1 four points in a shared race then came Ricky Ashworth’s fall in heat 12. Sheffield then dropped only one point over the last three heats in a match where the racing was a lot better than the score might suggest.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Sean Wilson 14+1 (5) (paid maximum), Andre Compton 13+2 (5) (paid maximum), Kyle Legault 11 (4), Richard Hall 9+3 (4) (paid maximum), Ricky Ashworth 9 (4), Ben Wilson 5+2 (4), Paul Cooper 4+1 (4).

For Somerset – Chris Mills 10 (7) including a 6 point TR, Magnus Zetterstrom 8 (4) including a 4 point TR, Paul Fry 6+2 (6), Glenn Cunningham 5 (5), Simon Walker 1 (4), Jaimie Smith 0 (4).



Premier League: Isle of Wight 65, Newport 31 Isle of Wight won the bonus point on aggregate by 115-71


The Isle of Wight were at full strength for this meeting while Newport welcomed back Mads Korneliussen after a lengthy absence. They used R/R for Jason King and continued with Karl Mason at number 7.

This had the makings of another 70 plus score for the Islanders when they won the opening three races by the 5-1 margin. However Mads Korneliussen stopped the rot with a second place behind Krzysztof Stojanowski in heat 4 to restrict the home side to a 4-2. Tony Atkin did likewise in heat 5. Although Ulrich Ostergaard won the race Atkin beat Krister Marsh for second place. When Steen Jensen had an engine failure in heat 6 another three points went the Wasps’ way in a heat won by Craig Boyce but Doyle and Stojanowski returned the Islanders to 5-1 winning ways in heat 7. In heat 8 Tony Atkin took a TR and another second place, this time behind Glenn Phillips, led to a 4-4. This brought the score after eight races to 35-15.

Heat 9 was another 5-1 to the home side from Ostergaard and Marsh but in heat 10 Mads Korneliussen took a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back as a R/R ride and when Steen Jensen suffered another engine failure Korneliussen got up to second place behind Craig Boyce for a 3-5 to Newport. Tony Atkin fell causing a rerun to heat 11, another 5-1 to the Isle of Wight, then Neil Collins took a TR in heat 12. Krister Marsh won the race but Neil Collins beat Glen Phillips for second place and another 4-4 was the result. This took the score to 52-26.

Heats 13 and 14 resulted in 5-1s to the home side but the Wasps shared heat 15 when Henrik Vedel and Neil Collins finished behind Craig Boyce and ahead of Jason Doyle, the other rider in the heat.

Scorers: For Isle of Wight – Craig Boyce 13+3 (5) (paid maximum), Jason Doyle 11+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 10+2 (4) (paid maximum), Krister Marsh 10 (4), Ulrich Ostergaard 9+3 (4) (paid maximum), Glen Phillips 8 (4), Steen Jensen 4 (4).

For Newport – Mads Korneliussen 10 (5) including a 4 point GDTS from 15 metres back, Neil Collins 8+2 (5) including a 4 point TR, Tony Atkin 8 (5) including a 4 point TR, Henrik Vedel 3 (5), Lee Dicken 1+1 (4), Karl Mason 1 (6).

[Merlin]

Friday, 2 September

There was just one Premier League fixture raced tonight and that was at Edinburgh who were at home to Hull . There was one other match however, a long standing second leg match between Somerset and Newport for the M4 Trophy.



Premier League: Edinburgh 60, Hull 35 Edinburgh won the bonus point on aggregate by 113-73


Edinburgh had to face their bogey team without their captain Theo Pijper who was riding in a longtrack meeting in France. So they used R/R instead. Hull had Gary Beaton at reserve.

This was one of Edinburgh’s best displays of the season. They were razor sharp at the gate and determined for every point on the track. The score may suggest a runaway win but there were some excellent races. Heat 1 was typical. Ross Brady made a tremendous surge into the first corner after a fairly even start but Paul Thorp and Emiliano Sanchez were right on his tail the whole race. Thorp was on the inside and, although he pulled level on several occasions with Brady taking the wide line, he seemed reluctant to push through on the inside as the race was shared. Matthew Wethers and Robert Ksiezak had a comfortable 5-1 in heat 2 but in heat 3 Daniel Nermark was trapped on the outside from the gate, fell and was excluded. If Emil Kramer and Craig Branney had hopes of taking a heat advantage they reckoned without William Lawson who made a fast start and rode a fabulous first two bends to leave the two Vikings trailing at the back to win in the fastest time of the night. Rusty Harrison won heat 4 comfortably with Garry Stead in second place ahead of Matthew Wethers for a 4-2 which took the score after four races to 15-9.

Daniel Nermark beat the Thorp/Sanchez pairing for a shared heat 5 then took a 5-1 in heat 6 when Garry Stead clipped William Lawson’s back wheel exiting the fourth bend after Lawson had passed him. Stead turned right and hit the safety fence hard but recovered as the race was awarded with Brady and Lawson in the first two positions. Although Rusty Harrison had an easy win in heat 7 all eyes were on the race at the back where Matthew Wethers passed Emil Kramer with a clever cutback on the second bend then gave chase after Craig Branney. He caught and passed Branney in the same manner on the same bend on the last lap to join his partner for the 5-1. In heat 8 Emiliano Sanchez took a TR and. although Ross Brady made another trademark start, Sanchez chased and passed him on the first bend of the last lap for an excellent six points and a heat advantage of 3-6 to the Vikings. This brought the score after eight heats to 31-20.

The next two heats finished as 4-2s to Edinburgh then Paul Thorp took a TR in heat 11. He made a poor start as Rusty Harrison sailed off into the distance. It took Thorp two laps to pass Robert Ksiezak then Sanchez had to slow to allow him to pass for double points and a 3-5 to Hull. Heat 12 produced another Monarchs 5-1. Daniel Nermark won the heat with ease but it was Matthew Wethers who again produced all the entertainment with another last to second for the maximum. This brought the score after 12 heats to 47-30.

Ross Brady was withdrawn from the meeting at this point with a viral infection and Robert Ksiezak came into heat 13 for him. To no-one’s great surprise Paul Thorp demolished the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back. Rusty Harrison won the race and Paul Thorp eventually got past Robert Ksiezak for third place and a shared heat. The last two heats finished 5-1 to Edinburgh as they hit the 60 point mark for a very convincing win. Hull had nevertheless contributed greatly to a highly enjoyable match.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Rusty Harrison 15 (5) (full maximum), Daniel Nermark 14+1 (6), Matthew Wethers 11+4 (6), William Lawson 9+1 (5), Ross Brady 9 (5), Robert Ksiezak 2+1 (4).

For Hull – Emiliano Sanchez 10+3 (5) including a 6 point TR, Paul Thorp 9+1 (4) including a 4 point TR, Garry Stead 6 (5), Emil Kramer 4+1 (4), Craig Branney 4 (4), Simone Terenzani 2 (5), Gary Beaton 0 (3).



M4 Trophy (second leg): Somerset 61, Newport 34 Somerset win the Trophy on aggregate by 99-91.


Somerset once again used R/R for Ritchie Hawkins at number 3 while Newport used R/R for Jason King at number 4. The Wasps came to Somerset with a handy 19 point lead but it wasn’t enough.

Over the opening four heats Somerset started with a 5-1 from Zetterstrom and Smith added a 4-2 in the reserves race then Newport took a 2-4 in heat 3 from Collins and Dicken after Paul Fry had retired. Another 4-2 from Cunningham and Mills took the score to 15-9 with Newport still holding 13 points of an aggregate lead.

Heats 5 and 6 were shared but a 4-2 and 5-1 in heats 7 and 8 saw the Rebels into an eight point lead in the match and Newport with an 11 points lead on aggregate. In heat 9 Mads Korneliussen took a TR and finished second to Paul Fry for a 4-4 but Somerset tightened the noose with a 5-1 in heat 10 and a 4-2 in heat 11 to lead 43-25 in the match and trail by only one point on aggregate. In heat 12 Newport, trying to stem the tide, gave a TR to Neil Collins. Paul Fry won the heat from Collins so the race finished 4-4. In heat 13 Somerset finally took a one point aggregate lead with a 4-2 from Zetterstrom and Cunningham with Korneliussen finishing second so Newport tried Henrik Vedel as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back in heat 14. However, Paul Fry and Chris Mills took a 5-2 which left the Wasps four points adrift on aggregate and needing a last heat 1-5 to force a race-off for the Trophy. They didn’t get it as Somerset took a 5-1 from Zetterstrom and Fry instead to wrap things up.

Scorers: For Somerset – Paul Fry 14+1 (6), Magnus Zetterstrom 12+2 (5), Jaimie Smith 12+1 (5), Chris Mills 10+2 (6), Glenn Cunningham 10 (4), Simon Walker 3 (4).

For Newport – Mads Korneliussen 11 (5) including a 4 point TR, Neil Collins 11 (5) including a 4 point TR, Henrik Vedel 5 (5) including a 2 point GDTS from 15 metres back, Tony Atkin 4+1 (5), Karl Mason 2 (5), Lee Dicken 1 (5).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 3 September

There were only two Premier League matches raced tonight. One of them had a direct bearing on the championship race – the one at Workington who raced against Rye House . The other match was at Stoke where the Potters faced Newcastle . In addition at Berwick the Bandits raced the first leg of their semi-final of the KO Cup against King’s Lynn



Premier League KO Cup (first leg): Berwick 45, King’s Lynn 44.


With the September averages kicking in Berwick found that the injured Scott Smith had moved to reserve with Carl Wilkinson moving into the body of the team at number 2. They were entitled to a guest for Smith, the higher average reserve, and called up Claus Kristensen. King’s Lynn were without the injured Troy Batchelor and had to use R/R at number 2. They had Derek Sneddon as their number 8.

When the two teams met in a league match at Saddlebow Road, King’s Lynn won by one point. Tonight Berwick turned the tables winning by one point but the Stars will be happier with the result and will fancy their chances of winning at home to move into the final.

Things started well enough for the Bandits as Oliver Allen only just beat Carl Wilkinson for second place behind Adrian Rymel for a 4-2. However the Bandits suffered a real blow in heat 2, a heat they normally win 5-1 comfortably. On this occasion Claus Kristensen fell on the first bend then as the riders raced down the back straight the red lights came on as Chris Schramm slowed. Jan Jaros ran into him and the referee excluded both Schramm and Kristensen. This left Tommy Stange and Jan Jaros to race round for a 0-5. Berwick quickly made amends with a 5-1 from Adam Pietraszko and Tom P Madsen in heat 3 but Tomas Topinka again showed his liking for the Berwick track by beating Michal Makovsky. Tommy Stange beat Claus Kristensen for third place so the Stars took a 2-4 which made the score after four races 11-12.

Berwick began to claw their way ahead with 4-2s in heats 5 and 6 with Tomas Topinka’s defeat in heat 6 by Adrian Rymel his first defeat at Berwick this year. These two results put Berwick three points in front but King’s Lynn struck two killer blows with consecutive 1-5s in heat 7 and 8. In heat 7 Makovsky and Jones came together in the run to the first corner and Makovsky lost a lot of ground sorting himself out. In his efforts to get back into the race he fell leaving Doolan and Jones to take maximum points. In heat 8 Carl Wilkinson suffered an engine failure and Claus Kristensen failed to mount a challenge to Oliver Allen and Jan Jaros as they scored another 1-5. This took the score after eight races to 21-26.

Topinka won heat 9 for a shared heat but Berwick pulled four points back over the next two heats with consecutive 4-2s with wins for Adrian Rymel and Michal Makovsky. Jan Jaros then made the gate in heat 12 to win from Madsen and Schramm to take the heat 12 score to 35-36.

Tomas Topinka won again to stop Berwick making any further headway in heat 13 but Berwick turned the one point deficit to a one point lead with a 4-2 in heat 14 won by Pietraszko from Doolan with Schramm beating Jaros for third place. Although Adrian Rymel won heat 15, Oliver Allen and Tomas Topinka filled the minor places for a shared heat to restrict Berwick to a one point lead for the second leg.

Scorers: For Berwick – Adrian Rymel 14 (5), Adam Pietraszko 10+1 (4), Tom P Madsen 7+1 (4), Michal Makovsky 6+1 (5), Chris Schramm 4+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 3 (4), Claus Kristensen 1 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 12+1 (5), Oliver Allen 11 (6), Kevin Doolan 8 (5), Jan Jaros 7+2 (6), Tommy Stange 4 (3), Ashley Jones 2+1 (5), Derek Sneddon (No 8) DNR.



Premier League: Workington 47, Rye House 43 Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 100-83


For this important clash Workington had Rusty Harrison at number 1 for Carl Stonehewer and John Branney at number 6. Rye House were at full strength. The Rockets arrived with a 21 point advantage for the bonus point but knew that a win on the night might well clinch the championship for them.

Berwick had as much interest in this match as the contestants since they needed Workington to beat the Rockets and hopefully take the bonus point too to boost their championship hopes. It soon became clear that Workington would have their work cut out to win on the night without thinking of the bonus point.

The opening three heats were all shared with wins for Harrison, Piszcz and Nieminen but the Comets struck with a 5-1 in heat 4 with James Wright and Tomasz Piszcz beating Steve Boxall to make the score 14-10.

Rye House squared the match in heat 5 with a 1-5 from Stuart Robson and Edward Kennett ahead of Scott Robson but Rusty Harrison and Shaun Tacey restored Workington’s four point lead with a 5-1 from Chris Neath in heat 6. Back came Rye House with a 2-4 in heat 7 when Daniel King beat James Wright with Brent Werner taking third place. Edward Kennett won heat 8 for a shared heat to make the score 25-23 after eight races.

Workington doubled their lead to four points with a 4-2 in heat 9 from Nieminen and Piszcz but Steve Boxall fell in the first running of the heat and withdrew from the meeting after collapsing at the pits gate. Rusty Harrison won heat 10 for a shared heat but Rye House fell further behind when, in heat 11, James Wright beat Edward Kennett and Stuart Robson fell at the start of the third lap to gift the third place point to John Branney. The 4-2 stretched the Comets’ lead to six points. Brent Werner won heat 12 for a share of the points so the score was now 39-33.

Stuart Robson beat Rusty Harrison for the first time in the match and, with Chris Neath third, the Rockets pulled two points back with the 2-4 to a four point gap. Tomasz Piszcz won heat 14 but Kauko Nieminen fell so the heat was shared leaving the Comets four points ahead with one race to go. In the final heat Stuart Robson won but James Wright and Rusty Harrison took second and third to ensure that the Comets took both points. Rye House at least returned with the bonus point which could prove crucial in the final analysis.

Scorers: For Workington – Rusty Harrison 12+1 (5), Tomasz Piszcz 11+3 (6), James Wright 10 (5), Kauko Nieminen 6 (4), Shaun Tacey 4+1 (4), Scott Robson 3 (4), John Branney 1 (3).

For Rye House – Stuart Robson 10+1 (5), Edward Kennett 9+1 (4), Daniel King 9 (5), Brent Werner 6+2 (4), Chris Neath 4 (4), Steve Boxall 3 (3), Tommy Allen 2+2 (6).




Premier League: Stoke 48, Newcastle 42 Newcastle won the bonus point on aggregate by 90-89


Stoke had new signing David Meldrum at number 2 to replace Adam Allott and used Paul Thorp at number 5 for Jan Staechmann. Newcastle were at full strength defending a 7 point lead in search of the bonus point. However, the Diamonds could well have done with the win to give their chances of qualifying for the Young Shield a boost.

This match was tight throughout. The opening heat won by Alan Mogridge was shared but Stoke took a 5-1 from Priest and Evans in the reserves race which was awarded after James Birkinshaw had fallen. Robbie Kessler won heat 3 for a 3-3 but Newcastle pulled two points back with a 2-4 in heat 4 won by James Grieves from Luke Priest with Jaimie Robertson beating Paul Thorp at the back. The heat four score was 13-11.

The next three heats were shared with wins for Franc, Grieves and Thorp but Newcastle rocked the home side when they took a 1-5 in heat 8 to turn a two point deficit into a two point lead. Kristian Lund and Jaimie Robertson did the damage with David Meldrum third. This made the heat eight score 23-25.

James Grieves took his third win of the match in heat 9 but Kessler and Clews shared the points then in heat 10 Stoke drew level again. Alan Mogridge won the heat from Lubos Tomicek with David Meldrum keeping Phil Morris at the back for a 4-2. Paul Thorp won again in heat 11 but Lund and Franc shared the points for the Diamonds. Stoke went back in front with a 4-2 in heat 12 which was won by reserve Luke Priest from Jaimie Robertson and Paul Clews to make the score after twelve races 37-35.

Everything was still up for grabs including the bonus point and in heat 13 James Grieves won for the fourth time. However Alan Mogridge and Paul Thorp kept Josef Franc at the back so the position remained unchanged. Then Stoke made a crucial breakthrough in heat 14. Robbie Kessler won the race but Like Priest produced an excellent race to keep Phil Morris and Jaimie Robertson at the back for a home 5-1 which clinched the match points and left Stoke needing a 4-2 to take the bonus point in the final race. Heat 15 was an excellent race with passing on all four laps but when the dust had settled James Grieves had won again to complete a full five ride maximum although Robbie Kessler and Alan Mogridge had taken the minor places for a shared heat so Stoke took the match points but Newcastle got the bonus by one point on aggregate!

Scorers: For Stoke – Robbie Kessler 12 (5), Alan Mogridge 11+1 (5), Luke Priest 10+1 (5), Paul Thorp 7+1 (4), Paul Clews 3+2 (4), David Meldrum 3+1 (4), Barrie Evans 2+1 (3).

For Newcastle – James Grieves 15 (5) (full maximum), Kristian Lund 7 (4), Jamie Robertson 6+1 (5), Josef Franc 5+2 (5), Lubos Tomicek 5+1 (4), Phil Morris 4+1 (4), James Birkinshaw 0 (3). .

[Merlin]

Sunday, 4 September

The usual three Sunday tracks hosted action today, two of them Premier League action, with an additional Premier League match at Rye House. First up was the match at Newport where the Wasps took on Reading[/color]. At the same time Rye House took on Exeter . Half an hour later Glasgow faced Stoke . Then in the evening Newcastle staged two individual events for firstly the George English memorial Trophy and secondly the Chris Prime memorial Trophy.



Premier League: Newport 42, Reading 53 Reading won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-83


Newport used R/R for Jason King at number 4 but otherwise were on the usual lines. Reading were barely recognisable. They used R/R for Danny Bird at number 1, had Steen Jensen as a guest at number 3 and Simone Terenzani at number 4 as a guest. The guests were for Mathieu Tressarieu and Andrew Appleton who were both missing. They also welcomed back Chris Johnson following his injury at number 6.

Newport might have hoped for a more productive afternoon in the knowledge that Reading were without Danny Bird and Andrew Appleton. However it wasn’t to be. Every one of the ‘weakened’ Reading team won a race and even the introduction of two late TRs for Newport scarcely stemmed the tide.

Heat 1 won by Matej Zagar was shared when Zdenek Simota had an engine failure but Newport went behind in heat 2 when Reading scored a 2-4 with Chris Johnson celebrating his return to the Racers’ team with a race win. Heat 3 won by Steen Jensen was shared then Reading took a 1-5 in heat 4 from Zagar and Richard Wolff who both beat Mads Korneliussen. The score after four heats was 9-15 with Newport still looking for their first race winner.

Neil Collins rose to the occasion in heat 5 and, when Zdenek Simota fell, Newport took a 4-2 but this was reversed in heat 6 by Matej Zagar again with Chris Johnson third for a 2-4. Steen Jensen won again for another shared heat in heat 7 with Simone Terenzani falling and being excluded. The Racers added another 2-4 in heat 8, won by Zdenek Simota, to take the score to 20-28 with Reading having supplied 7 race winners.

Matej Zagar popped up for the fourth time in heat 9 to win again for a shared heat and in heat 10 a Terenzani race win supplied Reading with another three points. The Racers stretched their lead to 10 points with a 2-4 in heat 11 from Simota and Terenzani then Newport gave Neil Collins a TR in heat 12. Collins won the heat from Jensen and Johnson to provide the Wasps with some respite as they took a 6-3. This took the score to 34-41 giving Newport some hope.

However Reading hit back with a 1-5 in heat 13 from Zagar again and Simota for an eleven point heat which effectively clinched the win. Lee Dicken took a TR in heat 14 but Richard Wolff took the race win and the heat was shared 4-4. Matej Zagar spoiled his chance of an 18 point maximum by falling in the last race but Simota won the race instead for Reading to bring an end to another afternoon of misery for the Wasps.

Scorers: For Newport – Neil Collins 15 (5) including a 6 point TR, Tony Atkin 8+4 (6), Lee Dicken 7 (5) including a 4 point TR, Mads Korneliussen 6 (4), Henrik Vedel 4 (4), Karl Mason 2+2 (6).

For Reading – Matej Zagar 15 (6), Zdenek Simota 11+1 (6), Steen Jensen 10 (5), Richard Wolff 7+1 (4), Chris Johnson 5+1 (4), Simone Terenzani 5 (5).



Premier League: Rye House 66, Exeter 26


Another crushing home win for Rye House against a weakened Exeter team that failed to provide a single heat winner. For Exeter, Sebastian Tressarieu failed to arrive and John Branney (of the Oxford Conference League side) stepped into the number 3 spot. Shaun Tacey guested at number 4. Exeter used rider replacement for Ray Morton and Danny Betson was at number 6. Rye House were without Steve Boxall, out with a toe injury after a clash the previous night at Workington. Luke Bowen was at number 6 with Tommy Allen at 7.

Rye House opened up with a 5-1. Stuart Robson led from the inside with Mark Lemon chasing. It took Edward Kennett three laps to get close enough to challenge Lemon and he finally got past him on the outside of the last bend. Tommy Allen led all the way in heat 2 from Pavel Ondrasik. Luke Bowen got ahead of Betson coming out of the second bend but fell on the second lap after going too wide on the fourth bend. Exeter managed another 3-3 in heat 3 when Daniel King's bike spluttered to a stop as soon as the tapes went up. Brent Werner won the heat easily from Tacey and Branney.

Rye won the next two heats 4-2. Tacey managed to split Chris Neath and Tommy Allen in heat 4 and Lemon did the same in heat 5, won again by Werner with Daniel King (on Kennett's bike) third. Then the floodgates opened and Rye took five 5-1s in a row. Tacey took a tactical ride in heat 7 only to fall on the second lap and none of the other riders were ever close enough to challenge the fast-starting Rockets. Exeter eventually won a heat when Lemon took a second place tactical ride in heat 11. Neath won it but Bowen fell again to hand Ondrasik a point. It was business as usual in heat 12, Werner and Allen winning from Branney and Betson.

Heat 13 looked promising for Exeter when Lemon gated ahead of Robson and Neath but Robson reeled him in before cutting inside on the fourth bend of lap 3. Lemon stayed ahead of Neath for second place with Lee Smethills finishing last after taking a tactical substitute ride - a strange decision really since he had shown little form throughout the afternoon and surely had no chance of splitting Robson and Neath from a 15m handicap !

Luke Bowen was first away in heat 14. King passed him but Bowen rode well enough to take his second 2-point ride of the day ahead of Tacey and Betson. The line-up in heat 15 was Werner (four wins so far), Kennett, Lemon and Tacey. For once, both the visitors gated quickly but it wasn't enough. Kennett came from last place to first on the first lap with a sweeping move around the fourth bend. Werner soon passed Lemon and then caught and passed Tacey. Kennett, out in front, was keeping an eye on his partner's progress. When he saw Werner in second place, he slowed down as the finishing line approached to allow his captain to take the race win and a full maximum.

Scorers: For Rye House – Brent Werner 15 (5) [full maximum], Edward Kennett 13+2 (5) [paid maximum], Stuart Robson 10+2 (4) [paid maximum], Chris Neath 10 (4), Tommy Allen 8+2 (4), Daniel King 6+1 (4), Luke Bowen 4+2 (4)

For Exeter – Mark Lemon 10 (6) [including a 4-point tactical ride], Shaun Tacey 7 (6) [including a 0-point tactical ride], Pavel Ondrasik 4+1 (4), John Branney 2+1 (4), Danny Betson 2+1 (5), Lee Smethills 1 (5) [including a 0-point tactical substitute ride]

(Report by Candyman)



Premier League: Glasgow 53, Stoke 40 Glasgow won the bonus point on aggregate by 97-84


Glasgow were at full strength again but Stoke were missing Luke Priest. They had Sean Stoddart at number 7 in his place and Rusty Harrison as a guest for Jan Staechmann at number 5.

It took Glasgow a while to get into their stride in this match but once they had opened up a six point lead in heat 8 and Stoke had lost Rusty Harrison in heat 9 there was only one likely outcome. It was a particular triumph for Stefan Ekberg who scored his first ever 15 point Premier League maximum.

Alan Mogridge shoved George Stancl out the road to win the opening heat. As Stancl withdrew from the heat looking none too impressed the Potters took a 2-4 lead. James Cockle and Stefan Ekberg won the next two heats both of which were shared but the Tigers squared the match in heat 4 won by Shane Parker. It looked as if it might be a 5-1 to the home side but Rusty Harrison got up on the line to pip James Cockle for second place and a 4-2. The score after the opening four heats was 12-12.

Glasgow edged in front with a 4-2 in heat 5 as Stefan Ekberg beat Alan Mogridge but heats 6 and 7 won by Rusty Harrison and Shane Parker respectively were shared. In heat 8 Glasgow scored the highly-likely 5-1 from James Cockle and Trent Leverington which took the score after eight races to 27-21.

In heat 9 Rusty Harrison caught the fence boards on the back straight and crashed heavily. Although he recovered from what looked like a serious crash he withdrew from the meeting. His absence was too much for Stoke to cope with and they lost the rerun 5-1 to trail 32-22. In heat 10 Robbie Kessler took a TR and scorched from the gate to head home George Stancl and Trent Leverington for a 3-6 to reduce the gap to seven points. Shane Parker won heat 11 for a 3-3 then Claus Kristensen won heat 12 from Paul Clews. The 4-2 took the score after twelve heats to 42-33.

The usual Parker/Stancl combination produced the usual heat 13 5-1 as Alan Mogridge trailed in third but the last two heats both won by Stefan Ekberg were shared. It must be a long, long time since neither Shane Parker nor George Stancl were nominated for heat 15 as James Cockle took his place alongside Ekberg in the race.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Stefan Ekberg 15 (5) (full maximum), Shane Parker 12 (4) (full maximum), James Cockle 8 (5), Trent Leverington 7+2 (4), Claus Kristensen 6+1 (4), George Stancl 5+1 (4), Adam Roynon 0 (4).

For Stoke – Robbie Kessler 13+1 (5) including a 6 point TR, Alan Mogridge 8 (4), Paul Clews 6+2 (5), Rusty Harrison 5 (3), Barrie Evans 3+2 (5), Sean Stoddart 3 (4), David Meldrum 2+1 (4).




George English Memorial Trophy and Chris Prime Memorial Trophy at Newcastle

George English Memorial Trophy

Winner: Jason Lyons
Second: Sean Wilson
Third: Josef Franc
Fourth: James Wright

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This tournament took the form of an eight rider, 8 heat individual with each rider having four races and the top four scorers competing in the final for the Trophy.

After the eight heats and four rides each the scorers were: Jason Lyons 9, James Wright 8, Sean Wilson 8, Josef Franc 7, James Grieves 6, Lubos Tomicek 5, Adrian Rymel 4, Richard Hall 1.

Chris Prime Memorial Trophy

Winner: Derek Sneddon
Second: Jaimie Robertson
Third: Kristian Lund
Fourth: Adam McKinna

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This tournament was run on the same lines as before but over 8 heats instead of twelve with each rider having three rides and the top four qualifying for the final.

The scorers after three rides each were: Jaimie Robertson 9, Kristian Lund 8, Derek Sneddon 7, Adam McKinna 5, James Birkinshaw 4, Karl Langley 3, David Haigh 0, John Morrison 0.

[Merlin]

Monday, 5 September

The stage was given over tonight to the first leg tie of the semi final of the Premier League KO Cup between Reading and Rye House where the winners will meet either Berwick or King’s Lynn in the final.



Premier League KO Cup (semi final, first leg): Reading 43, Rye House 47


Reading , fresh from their win at Newport yesterday, had Andrew Appleton and Mathieu Tressarieu back in the side but had to use R/R for the injured Danny Bird. Chris Johnson was missing again at reserve and the racers had Daniel Warwick at number 6. Rye House were without Steve Boxall and had Luke Bowen at number 7 instead.

Matej Zagar got Reading off to a winning start by beating Edward Kennett in heat 1 with Zdenek Simota holding off Stuart Robson for third place giving the home side a 4-2. However Rye House took the reserves race 1-5 when Luke Bowen and Tommy Allen beat Richard Wolff putting the Rockets two points in front. Brent Werner retired in heat 3 as Andrew Appleton beat Daniel King giving the Racers a 4-2 advantage and levelling the scores. Chris Neath then beat Matej Zagar in heat 4 for a shared heat bringing the score to 12-12.

Andrew Appleton headed home the Kennett/Robson pairing for a shared heat 5 then Chris Neath won again in heat 6 from Simota and Appleton for another 3-3. Matej Zagar got another shock in heat 7 when Daniel King beat him comfortably. With Brent Werner third the Rockets went back in front with the 2-4 and they added another 2-4 in heat 8 as Edward Kennett beat Zdenek Simota with Tommy Allen beating the disappointing Richard Wolff. The score after eight races was now 22-26.

Chris Neath produced his third consecutive race win in heat 9 but again it was only for a shared heat then in heat 10 the Racers fell further behind as Daniel King won again beating Zdenek Simota with Brent Werner again picking up the third place point for a 2-4. Matej Zagar got back to winning ways in heat 11 but Robson and Kennett shared the heat. In heat 12 Reading clawed two points back with a 4-2 from Appleton and Wolff with Brent Werner taking second place which brought the score after twelve races to 34-38.

Another 4-2 in heat 13 for the Racers brought them to within two points of Rye House. Matej Zagar finally lowered Chris Neath’s colours and Zdenek Simota beat Stuart Robson although Robson seemed less than pleased at being taken on an inspection of the fence by Simota. Finally, in heat 14, Reading were back on level terms in surprising fashion. Mathieu Tressarieu who had only managed two points by this point won the race but the action was all behind him where Daniel King and Richard Wolff fought tooth and nail for the second place. King won that battle so Reading had only taken a 4-2 and the score was 42-42. In the last race Daniel King won by the proverbial mile with Chris Neath following him home for a 1-5 ahead of Matej Zagar and Andrew Appleton for a four point victory in a cracking contest which surely makes Rye House big odds-on favourites to reach the final.

Scorers: For Reading – Matej Zagar 13 (6), Andrew Appleton 12+1 (6), Zdenek Simota 9 (5), Mathieu Tressarieu 5+1 (5), Richard Wolff 4+1 (5), Daniel Warwick 0 (3).

For Rye House – Chris Neath 13+1 (5), Daniel King 13 (5), Edward Kennett 8+1 (4), Brent Werner 4 (4), Stuart Robson 3+1 (4), Tommy Allen 3+1 (5), Luke Bowen 3 (3).

[Merlin]

Tuesday 6 September



The Isle of Wight reverted to a Tuesday night for this Premier League match against south coast rivals Exeter .



Premier League: Isle of Wight 60, Exeter 33 Isle of Wight won the bonus point on aggregate by 105-83


The Isle of Wight were at full strength but Exeter used R/R for Seemond Stephens at number 5 while Shaun Tacey guested at number 4 in place of Ray Morton. The Falcons also had Ben Powell riding at number 6 in place of the injured Ben Barker. It seems that the stories concerning Exeter’s decision to dispense with the services of Sebastian Tressarieu after his non-appearance at Rye House on Sunday were premature as he took his place in the side at number 3. Exeter arrived on the Island with a slender 5 point advantage from the match at the County Ground in search of the bonus point but it wasn’t nearly enough.

A blistering first heat in which Craig Boyce caught and passed Mark Lemon on the line for an opening 4-2 was followed by some blistering scoring by the Islanders. The next three heats all resulted in 5-1s to the home side although Sebastian Tressarieu might have felt aggrieved by not being awarded second place in heat 4 on the line. The score after these four races was 19-5 and another massive home win seemed on the cards.

In heat 5 Mark Lemon took a TR and rode an excellent race to take all six points. However with Krister Marsh and Ulrich Ostergaard filling the minor places Exeter were restricted to a 3-6. After that it was business as usual for the home side with a 5-1 from Boyce and Jensen in heat 6 before Sebastian Tressarieu took a TR in heat 7. This was not a success as he finished behind Jason Doyle and Krzysztof Stojanowski for a 5-2. In fact when Tressarieu got out of shape on the last bend Shaun Tacey had difficulty remaining behind him to ensure the two points for the Falcons. Heat 8 was no better for the visitors as the Islanders scored their sixth maximum heat win in eight races to take the score to 37-15.

In heat 9 Mark Lemon finished second to Ulrich Ostergaard with Krister Marsh third for a 4-2 then Exeter looked as if they might take a heat advantage in heat 10. Sebastian Tressarieu led from the race but suffered an engine failure as Craig Boyce threatened to pass him. Steen Jensen then attempted to produce another 5-1 for the home side by joining Boyce at the front but fell trying to round Shaun Tacey so the heat resulted in a 3-2. In heat 11 Jason Doyle fell heavily on the opening two bends requiring the race to be rerun with Doyle excluded so the interval was taken with the score after 10 races 44-19. Steen Jensen had to go to hospital with a suspected dislocated shoulder and thumb.

After the interval, Exeter pepped up. The rerun of heat 11 brought them a rare success with Mark Lemon beating Krzysztof Stojanowski and Lee Smethills picking up the gift third place point for a 2-4. Sebastian Tressarieu won heat 12 for a shared heat then heat 13 was shared too. Krzysztof Stojanowski fell on the second lap and was excluded from the rerun. Craig Boyce won the rerun from Mark Lemon with Ben Powell remounting after a fall to claim the third place point. However this respite came to an end in heat 14 with a 5-1 from Ulrich Ostergaard and Jason Doyle who headed home Pavel Ondrasik and Shaun Tacey. In the final heat Ulrich Ostergaard took first place from Mark Lemon with Sebastian Tressarieu claiming the third place point after Krzysztof Stojanowski had retired to produce a shared heat.

Scorers: For Isle of Wight – Ulrich Ostergaard 12+2 (5), Craig Boyce 12 (4) (full maximum), Glen Phillips 8+3 (4), Jason Doyle 8+1 (4), Krister Marsh 7+1 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 7+1 (5), Steen Jensen 6+1 (4).

For Exeter – Mark Lemon 17 (6) including a 6 point TR, Sebastian Tressarieu 7+1 (6) including a 2 point TR, Shaun Tacey 4 (5), Pavel Ondrasik 3 (5), Ben Powell 1+1 (4), Lee Smethills 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 7 September

As with the match at Reading on Monday the stage was given over tonight to the second leg tie of the semi final of the Premier League KO Cup between King’s Lynn and Berwick where the winners will meet either Rye House or Reading in the final.



Premier League KO Cup (semi final, second leg): King’s Lynn 56, Berwick 34 King’s Lynn qualify for the final on aggregate by 100-79


In the first leg of this semi final match King’s Lynn went down by only one point at Berwick so were strongly fancied to win through to the final although the Bandits had only lost by one point at Saddlebow Road in the league match earlier in the season. The Stars were without Troy Batchelor and used R/R for him at number 3. They also nominated Simon Lambert as their number 8. The Bandits were without Scott Smith and had Richard Hall as a guest at reserve at number 7.

It was important for Berwick to get off to a good start but they lost an opening heat 5-1 to Oliver Allen and Ashley Jones which already had them trailing by three points on aggregate. Heat 2, won by Jan Jaros, was shared but another 5-1 went King’s Lynn’s way in heat 3. Tom P Madsen was excluded for tape touching and was replaced by Richard Hall but Kevin Doolan and Oliver Allen doubled the Stars lead with the maximum. In heat 4 Tomas Topinka won the race for a shared heat. Richard Hall also in the race finished second so had appeared in heats 2, 3 and 4 and scored half the Bandits total in the process! The score after the first four races was 16-8.

In heat 5 Adrian Rymel led but was passed by Kevin Doolan as King’s Lynn added another two points to their lead with a 4-2. They repeated the dose in heat 6 when Oliver Allen beat Michal Makovsky with Ashley Jones third after a good race with Chris Schramm to increase their lead to 12 points. Things just went from bad to worse for the Bandits when Tom P Madsen fell in heat 7 and was excluded from the rerun. When Tomas Topinka won the rerun from Adam Pietraszko who led briefly for another 4-2, Berwick found themselves 13 points adrift on aggregate with, of course, no tactical options available. However they had a massive boost in heat 8 when Carl Wilkinson, after two pointless rides, won the race with Richard Hall beating Jan Jaros for a 1-5 to the Bandits to give them some hope. This brought the score after eight heats to 29-19 with King’s Lynn still nine points ahead on aggregate.

In heat 9, just before the interval, Kevin Doolan won for the third time this time beating Michal Makovsky and Jan Jaros finished ahead of Chris Schramm for a 4-2 to open up a 12 point gap again. Berwick just couldn’t manage a race win against King’s Lynn’s big three of Allen, Doolan and Topinka and Oliver Allen kept up the run by winning heat 10. Ashley Jones suffered an engine failure so the race was shared but Berwick were fast running out of heats to pull themselves back into the match. In heat 11 another win for Tomas Topinka who had to come from behind produced another shared race as Adrian Rymel and Carl Wilkinson filled the minor places. In heat 12 Tom P Madsen finally broke the sequence by passing Kevin Doolan round the outside in fine style for a race win but again the race was shared as Jan Jaros headed Richard Hall home. This brought the score to 42-30 and left Berwick with the well nigh impossible task of scoring three 1-5s in the remaining three heats to win the match.

King’s Lynn finally won through to the final with the expected 5-1 from the unbeaten Tomas Topinka and Oliver Allen with Adrian Rymel third. Heat 14 went to the Stars by 4-2 when Kevin Doolan beat Adam Pietraszko and in the last heat Tomas Topinka and Oliver Allen completed their maximums with a 5-1 ahead of Tom P Madsen and Adam Pietraszko.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Oliver Allen 15+3 (6) (paid maximum), Tomas Topinka 15 (5) (full maximum), Kevin Doolan 14 (5), Jan Jaros 6+1 (5), Ashley Jones 4+1 (5), Tommy Stange 2 (4).

For Berwick – Richard hall 6+2 (6), Adrian Rymel 6 (4), Tom P Madsen 6 (5), Michal Makovsky 5+1 (4), Adam Pietraszko 5+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 4+1 (4), Chris Schramm 2 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 9 September

Three Premier League fixtures were scheduled for tonight but the match between Edinburgh and Reading was postponed early in the afternoon because of the weather and rescheduled for the next day. There were two Premier League matches raced however at Somerset where the Rebels faced Hull and at King’s Lynn between the Stars and Newcastle .



Premier League: Somerset 56, Hull 38 Somerset won the bonus point on aggregate by 88-78


Somerset with Simon Walker again substituting for Trevor Harding were at full strength but Hull had Glen Phillips as a guest reserve replacement for Simone Terenzani with Daniel Giffard again substituting for Joel Parsons. The Vikings were defending an eight point advantage from the match at Craven Park which had been abandoned after 12 heats.

It didn’t take long for Somerset to build up a ten point lead to wipe out the aggregate deficit – six heats to be exact! Magnus Zetterstrom passed Paul Thorp on the last bend of the opening heat to get the Rebels off to a 4-2 start then, after a shared reserves race won by Chris Mills, they added another 4-2 from Paul Fry and Ritchie Hawkins with Emil Kramer finishing second. Garry Stead won heat 4 for the Vikings but the heat was shared so the score after the opening four heats was 14-10.

Another 4-2 in heat 5 again from Paul Fry and Ritchie Hawkins this time split by Paul Thorp increased the lead to six points and a 5-1 in heat 6 from Zetterstrom and Jaimie Smith ahead of Garry Stead stretched it to 10 points. Then came a succession of three shared heats but it took a TR by Emil Kramer who finished second in heat 7 to produce a 4-4. At one point the Vikings were on a 2-7 in this race but Glenn Cunningham passed Kramer on the last bend and Simon Walker did likewise to Craig Branney so instead of trailing by only five points the Vikings were still 10 points down. Jaimie Smith won heat 8 for a 3-3 and the score after eight heats read 30-20.

Garry Stead won heat 9 for another share of the points then in heat 10 Magnus Zetterstrom produced his third heat win beating Emil Kramer. Jaimie Smith took third place and the 4-2 for the Rebels put them 12 points ahead. In heat 11 Paul Thorp took a TR but it was Glenn Cunningham who won the heat. Still with Thorp and Emiliano Sanchez filling the minor places the Vikings took a 3-5 advantage to cut their deficit to 10 points again. It went to 14 points when Ritchie Hawkins and Chris Mills scored a 5-1 in heat 12 as the score went to 45-31.

Garry Stead looked as if he would win heat 13 but Glenn Cunningham got up to pip him on the line. With Magnus Zetterstrom taking third place the Rebels took another 4-2 and a 16 point lead. In heat 14 Emiliano Sanchez replaced Daniel Giffard as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back in vain. Emil Kramer won the race but Paul Fry and Simon Walker finished behind him for a 3-3. In the last race Magnus Zetterstrom beat Emil Kramer with Glenn Cunningham third for a final 4-2 for the Rebels.

Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 13 (5), Glenn Cunningham 12 (5), Paul Fry 10 (4), Jaimie Smith 7+1 (4), Chris Mills 6+2 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 6+1 (4), Simon Walker 2+1 (4).

For Hull – Emil Kramer 13 (5) including a 4 point TR, Garry Stead 9 (5), Paul Thorp 8 (4) including a 4 point TR, Daniel Giffard 3+1 (4), Glen Phillips 3 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 2+2 (5), Craig Branney 0 (3).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 52, Newcastle 38 Newcastle won the bonus point on aggregate by 94-88.


On a wet evening at Saddlebow Road King’s Lynn used R/R for Troy Batchelor at number 2 in their match against Newcastle who, in turn, used R/R for Phil Morris. The Diamonds had a 20 point lead from the match at Brough Park to defend for the bonus point and, although King’s Lynn may have fancied their chances of winning the bonus point, Newcastle shook them rigid in a fight for the match points let alone the bonus. The match was late in starting as work was needed to improve the track surface and lay sawdust in the wet conditions.

When it did get under way, it all started so well for the Stars who took an opening 5-1 from Oliver Allen and Ashley Jones ahead of Josef Franc and Kristian Lund but they got a shock when the visitors pulled level with a 1-5 in heat 2 after Jan Jaros suffered an engine failure when well in front. Kevin Doolan passed Josef Franc to win heat 3 but Lubos Tomicek passed Ashley Jones for third place so the race was shared. Tomas Topinka won heat 4 for another shared heat and the score after the opening four heats was 12-12.

In heat 5 Kristian Lund stunned the home fans by beating Kevin Doolan for the only points he scored all match and, with Ashley Jones falling, Newcastle took the lead with a 2-4. For some obscure reason Oliver Allen was replaced by reserve Tommy Stange in heat 6 and Newcastle took full advantage of facing both King’s Lynn reserves when James Grieves and James Birkinshaw took a 1-5 to increase the visitors’ lead to six points. With the score at 15-21 there was a delay while more work was done on the track and a further track inspection took place but, when the action resumed, King’s Lynn got their act together. In heat 7 it took a pass by Lubos Tomicek on Tommy Stange to turn a home 5-1 to a 4-2 with Kristian Lund this time stuck at the back. Then in heat 8 the Stars finally scored a 5-1 when Jan Jaros passed Kristian Lund to join his partner Oliver Allen to level the scores at 24-24.

In heat 9 it looked as though King’s Lynn would take the lead when Kevin Doolan beat James Grieves but James Birkinshaw finally got past Ashley Jones for third place and a shared heat. However in heat 10 the Stars did take the lead with a 4-2 from Oliver Allen and Kevin Doolan split by Lubos Tomicek. Then the home side hit Newcastle hard with a 5-1 in heat 11 from Tomas Topinka and Jan Jaros ahead of Josef Franc after James Birkinshaw had fallen. However Newcastle pulled two points back in heat 12 when an impressive ride by Lubos Tomicek took him from third to first ahead of Ashley Jones and James Birkinshaw finally passed Jan Jaros. This took the score after 12 heats to 38-34 which sealed the bonus point for Newcastle.

In heat 13 Tomas Topinka and Oliver Allen scored a decisive 5-1 ahead of James Grieves and Josef Franc to put the home side eight points in front with two races to go. Kevin Doolan won heat 14 to put the match beyond Newcastle and with Jan Jaros finishing third the Stars took a 4-2 to stretch their lead to 10 points. In the final heat King’s Lynn put some gloss on the score by taking another 5-1 as Tomas Topinka completed his full five ride maximum and Kevin Doolan followed him home ahead of Lubos Tomicek and James Grieves.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 15 (5) (full maximum), Kevin Doolan 14+1 (6), Oliver Allen 11+1 (4) (paid maximum), Jan Jaros 6+2 (7), Ashley Jones 4+1 (5), Tommy Stange 2 (3).

For Newcastle – Lubos Tomicek 9+1 (6), James Grieves 8 (5), Jaimie Robertson 7+2 (6), James Birkinshaw 6+2 (4), Josef Franc 5 (5), Kristian Lund 3 (4).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 10 September

The weather caused the cancellation of three of today’s scheduled matches. The matches between Rye House and Somerset , Stoke and the Isle of Wight and Hull and King’s Lynn were all called off. However the hastily re-arranged match from last night between Edinburgh and Reading did beat the weather. In addition Workington raced against Exeter and Berwick faced Reading .



Premier League: Edinburgh 46, Reading 43. Edinburgh won the bonus point on aggregate by 93-89


Edinburgh were at full strength for this match while Reading used R/R at number 1 and used Travis McGowan at number 5 as a guest in place of Matej Zagar who was riding in the Grand Prix at Lonigo. Edinburgh won by a single point at Reading so were favourites for all three points.

Reading must be wondering how they lost this match. They produced 10 race winners to Edinburgh’s five and did nearly all of the passing on a very wet and slippery track. Edinburgh were simply dreadful and relied on reserve, Matthew Wethers, with three race wins and William Lawson with two to challenge the dominance of Reading for whom Travis McGowan went through the card for an impeccable six ride maximum and came within 0.4 of a second of the track record.

Zdenek Simota came to grief on the first bend of heat 1 but Travis McGowan easily won the rerun for a shared heat. Then Edinburgh took two 5-1 heat wins which suggested an easy win. Matthew Wethers and Robert Ksiezak had a convincing maximum in heat 2 and William Lawson and Theo Pijper did likewise in heat 3. In heat 4 Reading got two points back with a 2-4 from McGowan who beat Rusty Harrison and Richard Wolff who came from the back to beat Robert Ksiezak. The score after the opening four heats was 15-9.

Reading continued the fight back with another 2-4 in heat 5 when Zdenek Simota had an easy win from William Lawson with Andrew Appleton passing Theo Pijper for third place. Travis McGowan won heat 6 for a shared heat before Reading made a real pig’s breakfast of Heat 7. In the first running of the heat Andrew Appleton fell on the first corner and, perhaps hoping for an all-four back from the referee, took ages to get to his feet before remounting his bike. Meanwhile Mathieu Tressarieu fell on the fourth bend causing the race to be stopped. The referee allowed Andrew Appleton back in the rerun adjudging him to have been under power when the race was stopped but Matthew Wethers and Rusty Harrison took an easy 5-1 in the rerun to open up an eight point lead. Reading pulled two points back in heat 8 when Zdenek stylishly passed a struggling Daniel Nermark for the win with Richard Wolff again passing Robert Ksiezak for third place. This took the score after eight races to 27-21.

Heat 9 was a real shocker for the Monarchs! Travis McGowan again shot to the front from the gate but he was followed by Chris Johnson, Reading’s reserve, who rode a smooth race to leave Theo Pijper and William Lawson trailing in his wake for a 1-5 which cut Edinburgh’s lead to only two points. In heat 10 Ross Brady led as Andrew Appleton worked his way into second place. Appleton took the wide outside line to pass Brady and win comfortably for a shared race but Edinburgh took a 5-1 in heat 11 when Matthew Wethers and Rusty Harrison both got fliers from the tapes. Zdenek Simota looked a bit huffy about the start and trailed home third as the Monarchs went six points ahead. In heat 12 it was Andrew Appleton’s turn to get a flier from the tapes ruining Matthew Wethers’ maximum hopes. The race was shared and the score after twelve races was 39-33.

Rusty Harrison challenged Travis McGowan briefly in heat 13 but McGowan was too quick for him. Meanwhile Simota took third place as Ross Brady was tailed off badly at the back and the 2-4 had the home side’s nerves jangling with only four points between the teams. Edinburgh clearly were looking to heat 14 to clinch the match and it looked that way when William Lawson and Matthew Wethers roared off for a 5-1. However, Wethers picked up some grip on the fourth bend, spun and fell leaving Lawson to contest the rerun on his own. Even a shared heat would give Reading a chance of a point in the final heat but they couldn’t even mange that in a three man rerun! Mathieu Tressarieu fell for the third time in his four races and was excluded leaving a two man rerun which William Lawson won easily. The 3-2 gave Edinburgh a five point lead with one race to go and Reading were to be denied anything for their efforts. In heat 15 Rusty Harrison passed Travis McGowan down the back straight but having done all the hard work he made a mess of the fourth bend and McGowan was through in a flash to complete a faultless maximum. Rusty Harrison took second place from Andrew Appleton as Reading finished with a 2-4 which was too little too late.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Matthew Wethers 11 (6), Rusty Harrison 10+2 (5), William Lawson 8 (4), Daniel Nermark 7+1 (4), Ross Brady 4+2 (4), Theo Pijper 4+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 2+1 (3).

For Reading – Travis McGowan 18 (6) (full maximum), Andrew Appleton 10 (6), Zdenek Simota 8 (5), Richard Wolff 5 (5), Chris Johnson 2+1 (4), Mathieu Tressarieu 0 (4).



Premier League: Workington 54, Exeter 40 Exeter won the bonus point on aggregate by 101-86


With Scott Robson quitting the club after a string of poor scores Workington had to use R/R at number 2. They also had Josef Franc at number 1 in place of Carl Stonehewer. John Branney filled the problem number 6 position. Exeter had Seemond Stephens back in the side but were still without Ray Morton. They used R/R for him at number 5 and introduced Kris Irving at number 6 for the injured Ben Barker.

Exeter arrived with a 29 point lead from the match at the County Ground and gave Workington a hard time before surrendering the match points. Josef Franc, the Comets’ guest, had a mixed night with two wins and two last places and it took another big score from Tomasz Piszcz to help Workington home.

Josef Franc won the opening heat for a share of the points then the Comets took a maximum 5-1 from the reserves race after Pavel Ondrasik, who had finished second, was excluded for not having a dirt deflector fitted! Sebastian Tressarieu won heat 3 from Kauko Nieminen and Seemond Stephens took third place after Shaun Tacey had fallen for a 2-4. Workington replied with a 4-2 from James Wright and Tomasz Piszcz to bring the score after four races to 14-10.

The Comets got a real shock in heat 5 when Exeter levelled the scores with a 1-5 from Mark Lemon and Lee Smethills ahead of Nieminen and Tacey. The next two heats won by Tomasz Piszcz and James Wright were shared but Workington got back in front in heat 8 with a 5-1 from Tacey and Piszcz to take the score to 26-22.

The Comets then struck again in heat 9 with another 5-1 from Tacey and Nieminen to open up an eight point lead. They added another two points in heat 10 with a 4-2 from Franc and Branney and did the same again in heat 11 from James Wright who beat Mark Lemon with Tomas Piszcz third. Heat 12 was yet another 4-2 to the Comets with Tacey making it three heat wins in a row by beating Seemond Stephens with John Branney third. The score was now 43-29.

In heat 13 Mark Lemon took a TR and won the race from James Wright. With Pavel Ondrasik finishing third ahead of Josef Franc, Exeter scored a 2-7 to pull back to 45-36. They then gave Pavel Ondrasik a TR in heat 14 but were less successful when Tomasz Piszcz won the race with Kauko Nieminen second for a 5-2 to seal a Workington win. Heat 15 resulted in a 4-2 to the Comets when James Wright beat Mark Lemon with Shaun Tacey third.

Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 14 (5), Tomasz Piszcz 13+1 (7), Shaun Tacey 10 (6), Kauko Nieminen 7+2 (4), Josef Franc 6 (4), John Branney 4+1 (4),

For Exeter – Mark Lemon 17 (6) including a 6 point TR, Seemond Stephens 7+1 (6), Lee Smethills 5+2 (5), Pavel Ondrasik 5+1 (6), Sebastian Tressarieu 5 (3), Kris Irving 1 (4).



Premier League: Berwick 60, Reading 32 Berwick won the bonus point on aggregate by 109-76


Berwick welcomed back Scott Smith to the side and were at full strength. Reading had Travis McGowan deputising for Matej Zagar who was on Grand Prix duty at Lonigo. They also used R/R for Danny Bird at number 1. Berwick had already won at Reading by 49-44 so the bonus point looked well out of Reading’s reach. This was the Racers’ second meeting of the day having ridden at Armadale in the afternoon.

It looked as though Reading would start the match with a 1-5 when Travis McGowan and Zdenek Simota comfortably led from Adrian Rymel. However Simota pulled a locker on the second lap and Rymel got through to second place for a 2-4. Berwick took the usual 5-1 from the reserves race then Madsen and Pietraszko repeated the dose ahead of Appleton in heat 3 before McGowan won again in heat 4. When Scott Smith fell, Richard Wolff picked up the third place point for a 2-4 which took the score after four races to 14-10.

Any hopes the Racers might have entertained disappeared over the next stanza of four races during which Berwick dropped only one point. They were greatly assisted when Travis McGowan well in front in heat 6 shed a chain and when Zdenek Simota also well in front and on a TR also lost a chain in heat 8 causing him to clout the safety fence. Had these two chains not been thrown Reading would have lost heats 5 to 8 by 15-12 instead of by 19-5 and the score after heat eight would have been 29-22 instead of 33-15!

In heat 9 Travis McGowan took a TR and suffered his first genuine defeat of the day when Adam Pietraszko gated ahead of him and closed the door for the heat win. Madsen was third so the heat was shared 4-4. Adrian Rymel and Carl Wilkinson headed home Andrew Appleton for a 5-1 in heat 10 but Reading then produced three consecutive race winners in Mathieu Tressarieu, Andrew Appleton and Travis McGowan all for shared heats. McGowan’s win in heat 13 drew gasps from the crowd. Michal Makovsky took McGowan wide on the first bend but McGowan kept the throttle full on to race round the outside within an inch or two of the fence to emerge from the second bend in the lead.

After heat 13 the score was 51-29 but Berwick produced a 4-2 in heat 14 as Adam Pietraszko maintained his unbeaten run. Then in heat 15 Pietraszko and Rymel took the outside line round the opening bends to relegate Travis McGowan to third place for a 5-1 which saw Pietraszko complete a paid maximum.

Scorers: For Berwick – Adam Pietraszko 14+1 (5) (paid maximum), Adrian Rymel 11+2 (5), Michal Makovsky 8+1 (4), Tom P Madsen 8+1 (4), Carl Wilkinson 7+2 (4), Chris Schramm 7 (4), Scott Smith 5+3 (4).

For Reading – Travis McGowan 14 (6) including a 4 point TR, Mathieu Tressarieu 7 (6), Andrew Appleton 5 (5), Richard Wolff 3 (5), Zdenek Simota 2 (5), Chris Johnson 1 (3).