Around the Premier League Tracks 2005

[Merlin]

Sunday, 11 September

The usual three Sunday tracks hosted action today, all of them for Premier League points. First up was the match at Newport where the Wasps took on Rye House[/color]. This was followed by the match at Glasgow where there was a battle of the Tigers as the visitors were Sheffield . Then in the evening Newcastle were at home to Reading who were racing their third meeting in two days.



Premier League: Newport 34, Rye House 58


Newport were on the usual lines using R/R for Jason King at number 4. Rye House were without Chris Neath who had sustained a back injury and had Oliver Allen as a guest at number 5. They were also missing Steve Boxall and had Luke Bowen at reserve in his place. A glance at the strengths of the two sides could only lead to one conclusion – that Newport were in for another hammering in this top of the league versus bottom clash and so it turned out.

The statistics show that Rye House had one 0-5, three 1-5s and six 2-4s. There were four shared heats which left one for Newport to win. This oasis in the desert came in heat 7 when, with Newport already trailing by ten points at 13-23, Mads Korneliussen took a TR. He was lying second to Daniel King for what looked like a 4-4 when King suffered an engine failure promoting Korneliussen to first place and reserve, Karl Mason, to third for a 7-2 to the Wasps. This improved things for the home side to leave them 5 points in arrears but the inevitable deterioration of their position soon materialised.

The final straw for the home support came in heat 12 when Neil Collins took a TR with the Wasps still only nine points down at 30-39. With Collins lying second in a 4-4 situation, Karl Mason fell causing the race to be stopped. In the rerun Neil Collins blew his engine on the first bend so Rye House took a 0-5. In fact Newport scored only four points over the last four heats as the Rockets piled on the points and the misery for the home side.

Scorers: For Newport –Mads Korneliussen 12 (5) including a 6 point TR, Neil Collins 7 (4), Lee Dicken 5+1 (4), Tony Atkin 5 (6), Henrik Vedel 3 (5), Karl Mason 2+1 (6).

For Rye House – Brent Werner 13+1 (5), Edward Kennett 12+1 (5), Oliver Allen 11+1 (4) (paid maximum), Tommy Allen 9+2 (5), Stuart Robson 7+1 (4), Daniel King 5 (4), Luke Bowen 1 (3).






Premier League: Glasgow 51, Sheffield 41 Glasgow won the bonus point on aggregate by 95-92


Glasgow were at full strength again but Sheffield were without Ricky Ashworth and had to use R/R at number 3. Sheffield brought a seven point advantage with them in the race for the bonus point.

This match was marred by a terrible accident in heat 2 when Paul Cooper ran into the side of Adam Roynon on the second bend sending both of them crashing into the fence at high speed. The outcome appears to be that Roynon has a broken wrist and Cooper a broken thigh. This left Sheffield, already using R/R, with only five riders and it was clear that there would have to be at least one heat with only three riders. For Glasgow it allowed James Cockle to take the remaining three rides scheduled for Roynon.

George Stancl won the opening heat for a share of the points then, when heat 2 was eventually run, James Cockle beat Kyle Legault for a 3-2. Andre Compton won heat 3 for another shared heat then Glasgow added two points to their lead with a 4-2 as Shane Parker inflicted the only defeat of the match on Andre Compton with Cockle third. This took the score to 13-10 and reduced the aggregate difference to four points.

Sheffield won heats 5 and 6 both by 2-4. The two Wilsons were split by Ekberg in heat 5 then Stancl finished second to Compton as Legault beat Leverington in heat 6 to put Sheffield into a 17-18 lead. It didn’t last long as Sheffield fielded only one rider in heat 7 and James Cockle and Shane Parker scored a 5-1. Ben Wilson won heat 8 for a share of the points so the score moved on to 25-22 with Sheffield still four points ahead on aggregate.

The next two heats won by Compton and Stancl were shared but Glasgow took another 4-2 from Parker and Cockle in heat 11 to move five points ahead. They followed that with an important 5-1 in heat 12 as Claus Kristensen and James Cockle beat the weak Sheffield pairing of Richard Hall and Kyle Legault. This took the score to 40-31 with Glasgow now two points ahead on aggregate.

In heat 13 Andre Compton took a TR and beat the Stancl/Parker pairing for a 3-6 but heat 14 always looked a poor prospect for Sheffield with Hall and Legault out again. Stefan Ekberg and James Cockle extracted the full 5-1 from it and Glasgow were ten points ahead with one heat to go. Sheffield needed a 1-5 from the last heat to take the bonus point but, although Andre Compton won the race to complete a 20 point haul, George Stancl and Shane Parker filled the minor places ahead of Ben Wilson to ensure that Glasgow took all three points.

Scorers: For Glasgow – James Cockle 13+3 (7), George Stancl 12 (5), Shane Parker 10+3 (5), Stefan Ekberg 9 (4), Claus Kristensen 5+2 (4), Trent Leverington 2 (4), Adam Roynon 0 (0).

For Sheffield – Andre Compton 20 (6) including a 6 point TR, Ben Wilson 10 (6), Sean Wilson 4+1 (4), Richard Hall 4+1 (5), Kyle Legault 3 (7), Paul Cooper 0 (1).



Premier League: Newcastle 50, Reading 42 Newcastle won the bonus point on aggregate by 97-87


Newcastle with Phil Morris back in the side were at full strength but Reading used R/R for Danny Bird at number 1 and had Travis McGowan as a guest for the missing Matej Zagar at number 5. Newcastle already had a two point lead for the aggregate score having won at Reading earlier in the season.

Reading got off to a great start. They took a 1-5 in the opening heat from McGowan and Simota after Josef Franc suffered an engine failure. Newcastle won the reserves race 4-2 but in heat 3 Andrew Appleton beat Phil Morris with Mathieu Tressarieu third for a 2-4 and Travis McGowan beat James Grieves to share heat 4. This made the score 10-14.

Heats 5 and 6 both went Newcastle’s way with 4-2s to level the score. In heat 5 Phil Morris reversed the result of heat 3 by beating Andrew Appleton then Josef Franc beat Travis McGowan in heat 6. James Grieves won heat 7 for a shared heat then Newcastle took the lead for the first time with a 4-2 in heat 8 thanks to a win by Kristian Lund from Zdenek Simota with Jaimie Robertson third. The score was now 25-23.

Travis McGowan won heat 9 for a 3-3 but Newcastle doubled their lead to four points with a 4-2 in heat 10 when Josef Franc beat Andrew Appleton with Lund third. Although James Grieves won heat 11, Tressarieu and Simota filled the minor places for a share of the spoils but the match began to slip away from Reading when they lots 4-2s in heats 12 and 13. Jaimie Robertson rose to the occasion by beating Andrew Appleton in heat 12 with Lubos Tomicek third then, in heat 13, Josef Franc again beat Travis McGowan with James Grieves taking an unusual third place. This took the score to 43-35.

Now eight points in arrears, Reading chose to give Travis McGowan an extra ride by introducing him as a Tactical Substitute in heat 14 from 15 metres back. Although he got by Phil Morris and his partner, Mathieu Tressarieu, he couldn’t catch Jaimie Robertson so had to be content with second place. Tressarieu finished third, however, so Reading won the heat 3-5 but were still six points in arrears so the match was now beyond them. Josef Franc beat Travis McGowan for the third time in heat 15 as Newcastle took another 4-2 to stretch the winning margin to eight points. It was certainly a profitable two days for Travis McGowan with a total of 51 points over the three matches!

Scorers: For Newcastle – Jaimie Robertson 12+1 (6), Josef Franc 12 (5), James Grieves 9 (4), Phil Morris 7 (4), Kristian Lind 6 (4), Lubos Tomicek 3+1 (4), James Birkinshaw 1 (3).

For Reading – Travis McGowan 19 (7) including a 4 point GDTS from 15 metres, Andrew Appleton 11 (6), Zdenek Simota 5+2 (5), Mathieu Tressarieu 5+1 (5), Richard Wolff 2 (4), Chris Johnson 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Monday, 12 September

As is usual on a Monday night there were two matches raced both for Premier League points. The match at Exeter was between the Falcons and Rye House while the match at Reading was between the Racers and Stoke



Premier League: Exeter 37, Rye House 53 Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 63-119


In what looks like being the last ever league match staged at the County Ground Exeter completed their home programme with a match against the title favourites Rye House . The Falcons were still without Ray Morton and used R/R at number 5 and had Daniel Warwick at number 6 in place of Ben Barker. The Rockets were without Chris Neath and had Shaun Tacey as a guest at number 5 in his place. They were also missing Steve Boxall and had Luke Bowen at number 6 instead.

After all these years of racing at the County Ground it was perhaps disappointing for the home side to go out on such a low key note. They never led in this match although there was little between the teams over the first 10 heats. However this match will be considered by the Rockets as the one which finally clinched the league championship. Rye House have only two matches left both at home and may not even need to win them both to lift the league title.

The Rockets got off to the perfect start in heat 1 with a maximum from Edward Kennett and Stuart Robson leaving Mark Lemon chasing them for third place. Exeter responded in kind with a 5-1 in heat 2 from Pavel Ondrasik and Daniel Warwick and heats 3 and 4, won by Daniel King and Shaun Tacey for the Rockets, were both shared. This made the score after the opening four heats 12-12.

In heat 5 Rye House went in front again with a 2-4 when Stuart Robson beat Sebastian Tressarieu with Edward Kennett third and they repeated that score line in heat 6 when Shaun Tacey gated to beat Mark Lemon with Tommy Allen heading home Lee Smethills for the third place point. Heats 7 and 8, won by Seemond Stephens and Lee Smethills for the Falcons, were shared so the score after eight heats as 22-26.

Exeter pulled two points back with a 4-2 in heat 9 as Seemond Stephens provided the Falcons’ third consecutive race winner ahead of Shaun Tacey with Sebastian Tressarieu third to trail by only two points then Daniel King won heat 10 for another shared heat to make the score 29-31. Things looked bad for the home side when Robson and Kennett took a 1-5 ahead of Tressarieu in heat 11 as Rye House slipped up a gear. In heat 12 Brent Werner beat Pavel Ondrasik with Tommy Allen third ahead of Seemond Stephens for a Rockets’ 2-4 in a heat which Exeter must have hoped would bring them an advantage. Instead they now trailed by eight points with the score standing at 32-40.

The match was put beyond Exeter’s reach in heat 13 with another killer 1-5 from Shaun Tacey and Stuart Robson. In heat 14 they gave Sebastian Tressarieu a TR but he finished last as his partner in the race, Pavel Ondrasik, won from Tommy Allen and Daniel King then, in the last race, Rye House put a most emphatic seal on their victory by running away with their fourth 1-5 success with Stuart Robson completing his paid maximum and super-guest Shaun Tacey heading home Mark Lemon to make it a thoroughly miserable evening for the Falcons’ number one who failed to win a race.



Scorers: For Exeter – Pavel Ondrasik 9+1 (6), Mark Lemon 8 (6), Seemond Stephens 7+1 (5), Sebastian Tressarieu 6 (5), Lee Smethills 5+1 (5), Daniel Warwick 2+1 (3).

For Rye House – Stuart Robson 13+2 (5) (paid maximum), Shaun Tacey 13+1 (5), Daniel King 9+1 (4), Edward Kennett 8+1 (4), Tommy Allen 6+1 (5), Brent Werner 4+1 (4), Luke Bowen 0 (3).



Premier League: Reading 58, Stoke 39


Reading used R/R for Danny Bird at number 1 but otherwise were at full strength. Stoke had Paul Fry as a guest for Jan Staechmann at number 5. This was the Racers’ fourth meeting in three days returning from a Northern tour which netted them not a single point including bonus points.

Stoke never threatened in this match. Their only race wins came about through the use of TRs and a TS which netted them an extra 7 points. Reading put their gruelling weekend behind them and ran out convincing winners with a 19 point lead which should be good enough for the bonus point when the two teams meet at Stoke.

Alan Mogridge rode an excellent race in the opening heat by keeping ahead of the ever-pressing Matej Zagar to win for a 3-3 but Stoke were behind when the Reading reserves took heat 2 by 5-1. Mathieu Tressarieu suffered an engine failure while leading heat 3 so Andrew Appleton’s win was for another shared race then in heat 4 Matej Zagar came from the back on the last lap to beat Paul Fry for a 4-2 which took the score to 15-9.

Over the next stanza of four heats Reading scored three 5-1s and a 4-2 , the only ‘genuine’ points being scored for Stoke by Paul Clews who was awarded second place to Matej Zagar in heat 7 ahead of Chris Johnson after Robbie Kessler had fallen and been excluded. As a result the score moved on to 34-14 after these eight heats.

In heat 9 Paul Fry took a TR which he won from Richard Wolff and Andrew Appleton for a Stoke 3-6. In heat 10 Andrew Appleton won from Paul Clews with Mathieu Tressarieu on a R/R ride finishing third after having to go from 15 metres back after having been excluded under the two minute rule. Tressarieu passed Barrie Evans on lap two and pushed Clews all the way for second place. At this point it was announced that Robbie Kessler had pulled out of the meeting with a hand injury. In heat 11 Matej Zagar won for a shared race then, not for the first time this season at Reading, the starting gate failed and races were started on the green light. In heat 12 Paul Clews took a TR and finished second to Appleton but team rode with Barrie Evans to keep Richard Wolff at the back. This resulted in a 3-5 to the Potters and a heat 12 score of 47-30.

Zdenek Simota won heat 13 but Matej Zagar found himself stuck behind Alan Mogridge and Paul Fry. He just got up to pass Paul Fry on the line for third place for a home 4-2. In heat 14 Alan Mogridge took a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back. Mogridge got past Chris Johnson and his partner, Barrie Evans, let him through to second place on the line as Mathieu Tressarieu won the heat. This gave the Potters another 3-5 success and it looked as though the last heat, won by Appleton, would be shared but Simota got up to pass Alan Mogridge on the line as Clews finished second for a home 4-2.

Scorers: For Reading – Andrew Appleton 15+2 (6), Zdenek Simota 14+1 (6), Matej Zagar 12 (5), Richard Wolff 8+1 (5), Mathieu Tressarieu 6+1 (5), Chris Johnson 3+1 (4).

For Stoke – Paul Clews 12 (5) including a 4 point TR, Alan Mogridge 12 (6) including a 4 point GDTS from 15 metres back, Paul Fry 8 (4) including a 6 point TR, Barrie Evans 4+2 (6), David Meldrum 2+1 (4), Robbie Kessler 1+1 (3), Luke Priest 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Tuesday 13 September



The Isle of Wight staged their usual Tuesday night meeting with the visitors this week Glasgow .



Premier League: Isle of Wight 54, Glasgow 39 Isle of Wight won the bonus point on aggregate by 98-85


The Isle of Wight were without Steen Jensen and operated R/R at number 2 in his place. Glasgow were missing Stefan Ekberg who was riding in Sweden and were only allowed to use a Conference league rider in his place. Wimbledon rider, Matthew Wright, took his place at number 4. With Adam Roynon out for the season after his injuries from Sunday the Tigers had Luke Priest at number 6. Glasgow had a slender two point lead towards the bonus point from the corresponding match at Ashfield last July.

The opening heat won by Craig Boyce from George Stancl was shared but the Islanders took a 5-1 from the reserves race to take a four point lead. Krister Marsh fell twice during heat 3 and the race was eventually awarded to Ulrich Ostergaard for a 3-3 but Glasgow pulled two points back in heat 4 as Shane Parker won an excellent race with Krzysztof Stojanowski with James Cockle picking up the third place point. This took the score after the opening four heats to 13-11.

In heat 5, George Stancl beat the powerful Ostergaard/Marsh pairing for another shared heat but Craig Boyce beat Shane Parker in heat 6 and Glen Phillips took third place for a 4-2 to double the home side’s lead to four points. Glasgow slipped eight points behind when Jason Doyle and Krzysztof Stojanowski scored a 5-1 ahead of Claus Kristensen in heat 7. The Isle of Wight then moved 10 points ahead with a 4-2 in heat 8 as Krister Marsh beat Trent Leverington with Phillips taking third place ahead of Cockle. The score was now 29-19.

Glasgow’s hopes were sunk in heat 9 when Shane Parker took a TR. Krister Marsh and Ulrich Ostergaard scored a maximum and the 5-2 increased the Islanders lead to 13 points. Another 5-1 came their way in heat 10 as Boyce and Ostergaard beat the weak Kristensen/Wright pairing so George Stancl took a TR in heat 11. This produced the rather unusual score of 2-6! In the first running of the heat Trent Leverington fell in pursuit of Stojanowski for second place while Stancl was leading. Leverington was excluded and, in the rerun, Stojanowski fell while pursuing Stancl so he too was excluded leaving two riders in the second rerun. Stancl eventually won the race from Jason Doyle to pull four points back for Glasgow. Alas for the Tigers they duly lost them again in heat 12 when Krister Marsh and Glen Phillips beat Claus Kristensen and James Cockle. This took the score to 46-29 and the interval arrived

After the interval, Shane Parker put an end to Craig Boyce’s winning streak and George Stancl took the third place point from Stojanowski resulting in a 2-4 for Glasgow but in heat 14 the Islanders scored a 5-1 through Ostergaard and Doyle after Cockle had fallen and been excluded. In the nominated heat Shane Parker and George Stancl took a 1-5 for Glasgow ahead of Craig Boyce after Krister Marsh had suffered an engine failure for a creditable result with such a weakened side.

Scorers: For Isle of Wight – Ulrich Ostergaard 12+2 (5), Craig Boyce 12 (5), Krister Marsh 10+1 (6), Jason Doyle 9+2 (5), Glen Phillips 7+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 4+1 (4).

For Glasgow – George Stancl 14+1 (5) including a 6 point TR, Shane Parker 13 (5) including a 2 point TR, Claus Kristensen 5 (4), Trent Leverington 3+1 (4), Matthew Wright 2+1 (4), James Cockle 2 (5), Luke Priest 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 14 September

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Hull the Vikings took on the Glasgow Tigers while at King’s Lynn the Stars were at home to the Exeter Falcons.



Premier League: Hull 11, Glasgow 7 The meeting was abandoned due to electrical failure at the starting gate. The result does not stand and the match will need to be restaged.


With Daniel Giffard continuing to stand in for Joel Parsons Hull were at full strength. Glasgow used Luke Priest at reserve for the injured Adam Roynon. Glasgow had a 35 point lead from the match at Glasgow so there was never much doubt where the bonus point was going to end up. The match had a delayed start due to electrical problems which ruled out the starting gate so the races were started by means of a flag. This was subsequently changed to using elastic stretched across the track but it wasn’t long before the problem was to prove terminal as both sets of riders refused to co-operate.

With a flag start there were always likely to be some unsatisfactory starts. Heat 1 had two of them before the race finally got under way. Paul Thorp won the heat but George Stancl and Trent Leverington followed him home for a shared heat. Hull took the lead in heat 2 with a 4-2 when Simone Terenzani beat Luke Priest with Daniel Giffard third after James Cockle had fallen. The starting procedure was then changed to stretched elastic across the starting line from one side. Heat 3 resulted in another 4-2 to the Vikings as Emil Kramer beat Stefan Ekberg with Craig Branney third so Hull doubled their lead to four points. That however was the end of the action as the meeting was called to a halt.

Scorers: For Hull – Paul Thorp 3 (1), Emil Kramer 3(1), Simone Terenzani 3 (1), Craig Branney 1 (1), Daniel Giffard 1 (1), Emiliano Sanchez 0 (1), Garry Stead DNR

For Glasgow – George Stancl 2 (1), Stefan Ekberg 2 (1), Luke Priest 2 (1), Trent Leverington 1+1 (1), Claus Kristensen 0 (1), James Cockle 0 (1), Shane Parker DNR.



Premier League: King’s Lynn 56, Exeter 35 King’s Lynn won the bonus point on aggregate by 96-90


King’s Lynn again used R/R for Troy Batchelor tonight at number 3 in their line up and had Simon Lambert at number 6 for the injured Tommy Stange. Exeter used R/R for Ray Morton at number 4 and had Mark Thompson at number 7 in place of Ben Barker. For some obscure reason Sebastian Tressarieu was replaced by his brother, Mathieu Tressarieu, at number 4. Exeter had a 15 point lead from the match at the County Ground in the race for the bonus point which was crucial for the Falcons as they need to scramble a couple of points from their last three matches, all away from home, to have any hope of qualification for the Jack Young Shield.

King’s Lynn were quickly into their stride opening with two 5-1s from Oliver Allen and Ashley Jones ahead of Mark Lemon then Jan Jaros and Simon Lambert in the reserves race. Kevin Doolan suffered an engine failure at the start of heat 3 but Oliver Allen won the race for a shared heat. After a lengthy delay due to the paramedics being needed to attend to a spectator King’s Lynn took another 5-1 in heat 4 from Tomas Topinka and Jan Jaros. This took the score after four races to 18-6.

Exeter did better over the next stanza of four heats though. In heat 5 Mark Lemon took a TR but it was Kevin Doolan who led Lee Smethills home. Mark Lemon eventually passed Ashley Jones on the last lap so the heat resulted in a 3-4 to Exeter as Lemon doubled his one point to two. In heat 6 Lee Smethills took a R/R ride and passed both Ashley Jones and Oliver Allen for a fine win and shared heat. Heat 7, won by Tomas Topinka, was also shared then Lee Smethills took a TR in heat 8 for Exeter. Disastrously for Exeter, Smethills had an engine failure while lying last leaving the Stars in a 5-1 position. However, Pavel Ondrasik passed Jan Jaros on the second lap to change that to a 4-2 won by Ashley Jones. This took the score after 8 heats to 31-18 and Exeter’s aggregate lead was down to two points with both TRs used.

Kevin Doolan won heat 9 from Mark Thompson with Mark Lemon once again in a race for third place. He lost this one to Jan Jaros and another 4-2 to the Stars levelled the aggregate score. Exeter were unlucky in heat 10. Oliver Allen won the race but Mathieu Tressarieu having passed Ashley Jones for second place was subsequently excluded when it was discovered that his exhaust had fallen off. This turned the 4-2 into a 5-1. Tomas Topinka had his third race win in heat 11 but Mark Lemon and Lee Smethills finished second and third for a shared heat. Heat 12 was shared too when Jan Jaros beat Seemond Stephens and Mark Thompson after Kevin Doolan had suffered another engine failure. The score after twelve heats was now 46-27 with Exeter trailing by four points on aggregate.

King’s Lynn stretched their lead to 23 points with another 5-1 in heat 13 from Tomas Topinka and Oliver Allen as Mark Lemon pulled up while at the back. In heat 14 Kevin Doolan had his third engine failure of the evening leaving Simon Lambert to compete against Pavel Ondrasik and Mathieu Tressarieu. The two Exeter riders scored a 1-5 to take the score to 52-33 leaving them needing another in the last heat to level on aggregate. Tomas Topinka completed a full five ride maximum in the last heat while Mathieu Tressarieu passed Jan Jaros for second place and Mark Lemon suffered an engine failure. This gave King’s Lynn a 4-2 and 6 point aggregate win.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 15 (5) (full maximum), Oliver Allen 13+1 (5), Jan Jaros 11+1 (6), Ashley Jones 8+3 (5), Kevin Doolan 6 (5), Simon Lambert 3+1 (4).

For Exeter – Mathieu Tressarieu 9+1 (6), Lee Smethills 6+1 (5), Pavel Ondrasik 6 (4), Seemond Stephens 5+2 (5), Mark Lemon 5+1 (6) including a 2 point TR, Mark Thompson 4+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Friday, 16 September

Only one Premier League fixture took place tonight and that was at Edinburgh where the visitors were Exeter .


Premier League: Edinburgh 60, Exeter 35 Edinburgh won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-88


Edinburgh were at full strength while Exeter had Matthew Bates at number 6 in place of Ben Barker and used R/R at number 5 for Ray Morton. Exeter had an 11 point lead from the match at the County Ground towards the race for the bonus point. Both teams were looking for a win in this match because the winner was guaranteed to finish in the top eight in the league by the cut-off date for qualification for the Jack Young Shield.

Exeter were effectively a two man team with Mark Lemon and Sebastian Tressarieu scoring 27 of the Falcons’ 35 points while Edinburgh fired on all cylinders with everyone having at least one win or paid win. The Monarchs opened with three consecutive 5-1s to lead by 12 points and wipe out the aggregate deficit. In heat 4 Exeter managed to pull back two points with a 2-4 from Mark Lemon and Pavel Ondrasik to make the score 17-7.

In heat 5 Mark Lemon appeared for the third time and went as a TR. A fast gate saw him lead the field and he won comfortably for a 3-6 as the Falcons pulled back another three points to trail by 7 points. However in heat 6 a second Brady/Nermark 5-1 increased Edinburgh’s lead to 11 points and tie the aggregate score and it stayed that way when a fast start by Sebastian Tressarieu saw him win heat 7 after fending off a determined challenge by Matthew Wethers. Heat 8 saw the first 4-2 of the match as Daniel Nermark won from Lee Smethills and Robert Ksiezak which took the score to 32-19 with Edinburgh now two points ahead on aggregate.

Heat 9 ended any hopes Exeter had of taking the bonus point. Sebastian Tressarieu took a TR and it looked like the Falcons might be in for another heat advantage. However Theo Pijper had other ideas and a determined challenge round the outside saw him edge in front to win the race. With William Lawson third the heat was shared 4-4. Tressarieu was out again in heat 10 but another Brady/Nermark fast start resulted in this pair registering their third consecutive 5-1 of the match as Tressarieu pulled up with an engine failure. Heat 11 was an excellent race. Edinburgh reserve, Matthew Wethers, off gate 4, edged ahead of Mark Lemon, off gate 3, moved to the inside and pinned the Exeter number 1 on the line as Rusty Harrison came round the outside. Try as he did Lemon could not catch the Edinburgh pair and Wethers went on to win comfortably for another 5-1. In heat 12 Theo Pijper won easily but Seemond Stephens took second place from Robert Ksiezak for a 4-2 and the score moved on to 50-27.

In heat 13 Ross Brady and Rusty Harrison looked like scoring another 5-1 but Mark Lemon chased hard then caught and passed Harrison so the Monarchs had to settle for a 4-2. Edinburgh added another 5-1 in heat 14 thanks to another excellent race by Matthew Wethers who slotted in behind William Lawson to ride shotgun and prevent Sebastian Tressarieu from mounting a challenge. Exeter got some consolation from the final race when Mark Lemon and Sebastian Tressarieu rocketed from the gate to take a 1-5 ahead of Pijper and Nermark ruining Nermark’s paid maximum in the process.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Ross Brady 12 (4) (full maximum), Theo Pijper 12 (5), Daniel Nermark 9+3 (5), Matthew Wethers 9+2 (4), William Lawson 7+2 (4), Rusty Harrison 6+2 (4), Robert Ksiezak 5 (4).

For Exeter – Mark Lemon 16 (6) including a 6 point TR, Sebastian Tressarieu 11+1 (6) including a 4 point TR, Seemond Stephens 4 (5), Lee Smethills 2 (4), Pavel Ondrasik 2 (5), Matthew Bates 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 17 September

Four matches were scheduled for today but only three finished. At Rye House the Rockets were at home to Newport ; Stoke were up against Reading ; Berwick took on Exeter ; and Workington raced against Sheffield .



Premier League: Rye House 64, Newport 28. Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 122-62.


Rye House moved to within touching distance of the Premier League title with a comfortable 64-28 victory against the Newport Wasps. Rye House were without Daniel King and Edward Kennett (both competing in the World U-21 final in Austria) and were also missing Chris Neath, out with an injured back after a freak accident in his workshop. Luke Bowen stepped into King's number four position, guest Oliver Allen was at number five and Rye used rider replacement for Kennett. Newport used rider replacement for Jason King.

Stuart Robson got Rye off to a good start in the first heat but Brent Werner was impeded when Tony Atkin fell, allowing Henrik Vedel to take second place. Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall took a 5-1 in heat 2 ahead of Lee Dicken and Karlis Ezergailis. It was a close thing though with Dicken, in his best ride of the night, almost catching Boxall close to the line. Luke Bowen was first away in heat 3 from Neil Collins but Werner came from third to first on the third lap. Collins moved through into second place and Rye took the heat 4-2.

Steve Boxall won heat 4 from Mads Korneliussen, an excellent ride by Boxall considering his early return to the side after breaking bones in his left foot. Oliver Allen's third place meant another 4-2 to Rye House. Werner was away quickly in heat 5 and won easily - the first of five straight race wins for the American. Vedel and Atkin took the minor places and shared the heat. Robson and Tommy Allen were too quick for Korneliussen and Dicken in heat 6 and Rye were now 30-13 ahead after six heats. Korneliussen also earned himself a warning from the referee for moving at the tapes.

Neil Collins was out as a tactical substitute in heat 7 but made little impression as the Allen brothers raced to a 5-2. Rye followed up with a 5-1 in heat 8 (Robson and Boxall) before Newport used their last tactical option in heat 9 when Korneliussen took a tactical ride from 15 metres back. Werner and Korneliussen touched at the first bend and Werner ended up on the track but the referee brought all four riders back for the restart. Werner won it easily but Luke Bowen rode well to stay ahead of Korneliussen for another 5-2. Newport managed a 4-2 win in heat 10 thanks to a good ride from Neil Collins. Boxall took second place but the main interest was at the back. Having fallen on the last bend of the first lap, Robson remounted and set off after Karlis Ezergailis but he couldn't catch him in time.

Heat 11 produced an exciting finish. Oliver Allen led all the way from Henrik Vedel with Tommy Allen in third place until the very last bend when Tommy Allen came alongside Vedel. In the home straight, Allen just managed to get his bike in front at the line. It looked like another 5-1 in heat 12 when Werner and Boxall hit the front ahead of Collins and Dicken but a mistake by Boxall coming out of the second bend allowed Collins through to take second place. Newport must have thought they had won heat 13 when Vedel and Korneliussen led Robson and Oliver Allen but Robson had other ideas and hit the front on the last bend for a shared heat after Vedel drifted too wide. Tommy Allen and Luke Bowen were never headed in heat 14 and then Werner and Robson wrapped up the evening with a 5-1 against Collins and Vedel, Vedel excluded after hitting the boards coming out of the second bend.

Although the scoreline suggests a one-sided contest, credit to Newport for producing some entertaining racing, just as they had done when the two sides met in March. Unlike that meeting however, Newport had only three riders that looked capable of taking points off the Rockets who need just one more home win to take the league title.

Scorers: For Rye House: Brent Werner 16 (6), Stuart Robson 14+1 (6), Tommy Allen 13+2 (5) [paid maximum], Steve Boxall 10+2 (5), Oliver Allen 6+1 (4), Luke Bowen 5+2 (4).

For Newport: Neil Collins 10 (5) [including a 2-point tactical ride], Henrik Vedel 7 (5), Mads Korneliussen 6+1 (4) [including a 2-point tactical ride], Tony Atkin 2+1 (5), Lee Dicken 2 (5), Karlis Ezergailis 1 (6).

(Report by Candyman)



Premier League: Stoke 42, Reading 50 Reading won the bonus point on aggregate by 108-81


Stoke this week had Garry Stead as their guest for Jan Staechmann with Luke Priest continuing at reserve. Reading used R/R at number one for Danny Bird but otherwise were on the usual lines. The Racers had a 19 point lead from the match at Reading in search of the bonus point.

Not for the first time this season Reading provided ten of the fifteen race winners away from home but this time they also won the match and took all three points. The Racers were always in control of this match and although Stoke pulled back to equality after 7 races the visitors ran out comfortable winners.

The opening two heats, won by Alan Mogridge and Barrie Evans were shared, but the Racers won heats 3 and 4 by 2-4 thanks to wins from Andrew Appleton and Matej Zagar to move into a four point lead at 10-14.

When Robbie Kessler could only split Zdenek Simota and Andrew Appleton in heat 5 the third successive 2-4 put the racers six points in front. Alan Mogridge beat Matej Zagar in heat 6 and, with David Meldrum finishing third, Stoke pulled two points back. They did even better in heat 7 with a 5-1 from Garry Stead and Barrie Evans ahead of Andrew Appleton which levelled the scores. However Zdenek Simota and Richard Wolff returned the compliment in heat 8 so the score after the opening eight heats was 22-26.

Zagar won heat 9 for a share of the points then Reading took another 2-4 in heat 10 when Andrew Appleton beat Alan Mogridge with Mathieu Tresarrieu third. Reading provided the winners of the next two races too through Simota and Appleton both for shared heats to take the score after 12 heats to 33-39.

Stoke were well and truly sunk when Zagar and Simota saw off Stead and Mogridge in heat 13 to move 10 points ahead with two races to go. Stoke gave Robbie Kessler a TR in heat 14 but this time it was Mathieu Tresarrieu who provided the killer blow by winning the race. Kessler was second and Evans third so Stoke scored a 5-3 but it was too little, too late. Alan Mogridge had the satisfaction of winning heat 15 beating Zagar and Simota but it was only for a shared heat as the Racers hit the fifty point mark.

Scorers: For Stoke – Alan Mogridge 11 (5), Robbie Kessler 9+1 (4) including a 4 point TR, Barrie Evans 8+4 (6), Garry Stead 8 (5), Paul Clews 4 (4), David Meldrum 1 (3), Luke Priest 1 (3).

For Reading – Zdenek Simota 14+2 (6), Matej Zagar 14+1 (6), Andrew Appleton 11 (5), Richard Wolff 5+1 (4), Mathieu Tresarrieu 5 (5), Chris Johnson 1+1 (4).



Premier League: Berwick 57, Exeter 37 Berwick won the bonus point on aggregate by 109-75.


Berwick were at full strength for their last home league match of the season while Exeter used R/R at number 5 for Ray Morton and again had Matthew Bates at number 6.

Berwick knew they had to take all three points from this match to prevent Rye House from lifting the championship. It was mainly all plain sailing for the Bandits particularly since Mark Lemon had a rare off night for the Falcons. However after building up a 14 point lead after seven races they must have started to get worried when it was reduced to only three points three races later. Stung into action they pulled away smartly after that.

Mark Lemon retired from the opening race as Adrian Rymel and Carl Wilkinson scored maximum points then Scott Smith beat Pavel Ondrasik in heat 2 for a 4-2 before heats 3 and 4, won by Sebastian Tresarrieu and Pavel Ondrasik for the Falcons, were shared to take the score to 15-9.

Mark Lemon fell in heat 5 and Adam Pietraszko and Tom P Madsen scored a 5-1 to stretch the Bandits’ lead to 10 points. Another 5-1 again from Rymel and Wilkinson ahead of Seemond Stephens took it to 14 points then the Falcons shook the home fans with a remarkable comeback. In heat 7 Sebastian Tresarrieu headed home Makovsky and Schramm for a shared heat then, in heat 8, Pavel Ondrasik took a TR. He won the race from Scott Smith and, with Lee Smethills in third place the Falcons scored a 2-7 to take the score to 30-21.

Still nine points behind Exeter then gave Sebastian Tressarieu a TR in heat 9 but Adam Pietraszko won for the Bandits. However with Tresarrieu and Ondrasik filling the minor places Exeter took a 3-5 advantage to reduce the arrears to seven points. In heat 10 Seemond Stephens, caught up in the euphoria, hit the front and won with Sebastian Tresarrieu following him home for a 1-5 ahead of the top Berwick pairing of Rymel and Wilkinson. All of a sudden there were only three points in it at 34-31. Then Berwick woke up! Heats 11, 12 and 13 all went 5-1 to Berwick as Exeter ran out of steam. In heat 11 Mark Lemon took his only point of the match trailing home behind the home pair of Makovsky and Schramm then in heat 13 he touched the tapes and was replaced by Pavel Ondrasik to round off an eminently forgettable match for the Falcons’ number one. In the last heat there were eventually only two starters when Adam Pietraszko fell and was excluded then Sebastian Tressarieu was twice excluded under the two minute rule with no replacement allowed. The heat resulted in a 3-2 as Makovsky beat Stephens.

Scorers: For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 13 (5), Adam Pietraszko 11 (5), Adrian Rymel 9+1 (4), Scott Smith 9+1 (4), Chris Schramm 6+3 (4), Tom P Madsen 5+3 (4), Carl Wilkinson 4+2 (4).

For Exeter – Pavel Ondrasik 15+1 (7) including a 6 point TR, Sebastian Tresarrieu 12+1 (6) including a 4 point TR, Seemond Stephens 6 (6), Lee Smethills 3 (4), Mark Lemon 1 (4), Matthew Bates 0 (3).



Premier League: Workington 3, Sheffield 3 The match was abandoned after heat 1 because of the rain. The result does not stand.


Workington had Magnus Zetterstrom as a guest for Carl Stonehewer at number 1 and Matthew Wethers for Scott Robson at number 2. They also planned to use R/R for James Wright at number 5. Sheffield were at full strength.

The match lasted just one heat in the pouring rain. Magnus Zetterstrom won it easily from the two Wilsons. In the second heat Kyle Legault fell and the riders returned to the pits after which the match was abandoned.

Scorers: For Workington – Magnus Zetterstrom 3 (1), Matthew Wethers 0 (1), Shaun Tacey DNR, Kauko Nieminen DNR, John Branney DNR, Tomasz Piszcz DNR.

For Sheffield – Sean Wilson 2 (1), Ben Wilson 1+1 (1) Ricky Ashworth DNR, Richard Hall DNR, Andre Compton DNR, Benji Compton DNR, Kyle Legault DNR.

[Merlin]

Sunday, 18 September

This Sunday was given over to the annual staging of the Premier League Riders Championship once again held at Sheffield



Premier League Riders Championship:

Winner: Sean Wilson (Sheffield)
Second: Alan Mogridge (Stoke)
Third: Tomas Topinka (King’s Lynn)
Fourth: Mark Lemon (Exeter)

When the dust had cleared after a lively meeting at Sheffield tonight, it was yet another home track success in this national event as Sean Wilson took the trophy winning the final from Alan Mogridge, Tomas Topinka and Mark Lemon.

The meeting was run on the basis of a full 20 heat, 16 rider, five rides each formula with the top two scorers seeded directly to a Grand Final and the next four riders contesting a Semi Final, the first two from which would take the remaining two places in the Final.

The first stanza of four heats resulted in wins for Rusty Harrison, Sean Wilson, Stuart Robson and Magnus Zetterstrom. Tomas Topinka was unlucky to suffer an engine failure in heat 2 while Andre Compton fell at the back on the last lap.

After the second stanza the top four riders were Garry Stead, Sean Wilson, Stuart Robson and Alan Mogridge who all had 5 points from their two races. In heat 5 Adrian Rymel had an engine failure while in heat 6 Garry Stead fell on the second bend causing a rerun with all four back. Although Stead rode a great race to beat Stuart Robson he retired from the meeting afterwards feeling unwell. In heat 7 Matej Zagar suffered an engine failure while in heat 8 Andre Compton won in the fastest time of the night.

After the third stanza with all riders (apart from Garry Stead) having completed three rides the top four scorers were Sean Wilson and Alan Mogridge with 8 points, Tomas Topinka with 7 and Rusty Harrison, Andre Compton, Stuart Robson, and Mark Lemon all with 6 points.

After the fourth stanza with four rides each completed Sean Wilson and Alan Mogridge had 11 points each while Tomas Topinka, Stuart Robson and Mark Lemon all had 8 points. In heat 14 Andre Compton knocked Alan Mogridge off and was promptly excluded from the rerun for dangerous riding.

After the fifth stanza with all riders having completed five rides each the statistics showed that Sean Wilson and Alan Mogridge would be the two riders to be seeded directly to the final. The race off for the other two places would be between Tomas Topinka, Mark lemon, Stuart Robson and Shane Parker whose win in heat 20 ensured that Andre Compton, last year’s winner, would not qualify. The Semi Final resulted in a win for Mark Lemon from Tomas Topinka, Shane Parker and Stuart Robson with the first two going forward to the Final.

Point Scorers from the heats – Alan Mogridge 13, Sean Wilson 12, Tomas Topinka 11, Mark Lemon 10, Shane Parker 9, Stuart Robson 9, Andre Compton 8, Magnus Zetterstrom 8, Rusty Harrison 7, Craig Boyce 7, James Wright 7, Matej Zagar 6, Garry Stead 5 (2), Adrian Rymel 4, Mads Korneliussen 2, James Grieves 1, Benji Compton 1 (2) (reserve), Luke Priest 0 (1) (reserve).

[Merlin]

Monday, 19 September

Two meetings took place tonight. At Reading the Racers were at home to the Isle of Wight in a Premier League match while at Exeter the Colin Hill Westernapolis, named in memory of the popular former Exeter promoter, was staged.



Premier League: Reading 50, Isle of Wight 45


Reading used R/R at number one for the injured Danny Bird while the Isle of Wight used R/R for Steen Jensen at number 2.

The Isle of Wight got off to a good start when they took the lead in heat 2 after heat one, won by Matej Zagar, had been shared. Jason Doyle won the reserves race and the Islanders took a 2-4. Any ideas they might have had of sneaking a result were well and truly dashed as Reading hit home two 5-1s. In heat 3 Mathieu Tresarrieu and Andrew Appleton headed home Krister Marsh after Ulrich Ostergaard had touched the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back. In heat 4 Richard Wolff hit the front from the gate and Matej Zagar rode shotgun for another maximum to take the score to 15-9 after four heats.

Craig Boyce beat Andrew Appleton for a shared heat 5 then Andrew Appleton and Zdenek Simota scored a third 5-1 for Reading to stretch the lead to 10 points at 23-13. Wins for Zagar, in heat 7, and Simota, who went from third to first, in heat 8 produced shared heats and the score moved to 29-19.

In heat 9 Krzysztof Stojanowski finished first for another shared heat as the Islanders dug in then, in heat 10, Ulrich Ostergaard took a TR. Although Simota won the heat Ostergaard and Marsh finished ahead of Tresarrieu for a 3-5 to the Islanders which reduced their arrears to eight points at 35-27. In heat 11 Ulrich Ostergaard fell while lying second and was excluded from the rerun which Matej Zagar won from Craig Boyce to give the Racers a ten point lead again. Heat 12 was rerun too after Richard Wolff fell at the back and was excluded. In the rerun Andrew Appleton won for a shared race and the score moved to 42-32.

Craig Boyce took a TR in heat 13 and Simota took the R/R ride to join Matej Zagar at the tapes. Zagar beat Boyce again and, with Simota in third place, the heat was shared 4-4. In heat 14 Jason Doyle took a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back. Ulrich Ostergaard won the heat from Richard Wolff and Jason Doyle passed Mathieu Tressarieu to double the third place point to two giving the Isle of Wight a 2-5 advantage. They also took a 2-4 in the last heat which was won by Craig Boyce from Andrew Appleton after Matej Zagar had suffered an engine failure while leading the race on lap 3.

Scorers: For Reading – Matej Zagar 14+1 (6), Andrew Appleton 13+2 (6), Zdenek Simota 9+1 (5), Richard Wolff 7 (5), Mathieu Tresarrieu 6+1 (5), Chris Johnson 1 (3).

For Isle of Wight – Craig Boyce 13+1 (5) including a 4 point TR, Ulrich Ostergaard 10 (6) including a 4 point TR, Jason Doyle 9 (5) including a 2 point GDTS from 15 metres, Krister Marsh 6+3 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 5 (4), Glen Phillips 2+1 (5).



The Colin Hill Westernapolis: held at Exeter

Winner: Brent Werner
Second: Shaun Tacey
Third: Mads Korneliussen
Fourth: Oliver Allen

This individual meeting was run on the usual 16 rider, 20 heats, five rides per rider formula. The result was determined over the 20 heats.

It was interesting to note that Michael Coles took part and scored 9 parts. Also worthy of a mention was the second place by Daniel Warwick ahead of Mark Lemon and Mads Korneliussen. Brent Werner might be considered a surprise winner given that over the three meetings he has ridden at Exeter over the last two years he has only scored 9+1 from 13 rides, a CMA of 3.08!

Points scorers after 20 heats : Brent Werner 13, Shaun Tacey 12, Mads Korneliussen 11, Oliver Allen 11, Paul Fry 11, Pavel Ondrasik 10, Michael Coles 9, Seemond Stephens 9, Mark Lemon 8, Ben Powell 7, Lee Smethills 6, Daniel Warwick 5, Glenn Cunningham 3 (3), Daniel Giffard 3, Karlis Ezergailis 2, Matthew Bates 0, T Proctor 0 (2) (reserve).

[Merlin]

Tuesday 20 September



The Isle of Wight staged their usual Tuesday night meeting with the visitors this week Reading .



Premier League: Isle of Wight 50, Reading 42 Isle of Wight won the bonus point on aggregate by 95-92


The Isle of Wight were again without Steen Jensen and operated R/R at number 2 in his place. Reading were missing Richard Wolff, injured last night, and had Ashley Jones in his place at number 6. They also used R/R for Danny Bird. Reading had a slender five point lead towards the bonus point from their home match last night.

Wins in heats 1 and 4 for Matej Zagar, both for shared heats, kept Reading in the hunt as the Islanders took a 5-1 from the reserves race and a 4-2 in heat 3 when Ulrich Ostergaard chased and passed Mathieu Tresarrieu with Krister Marsh taking third place from Andrew Appleton. The score after these opening four heats was 15-9 and already the home side had a one point aggregate lead.

In heat 5 Reading hit back with a 1-5 of their own with Andrew Appleton and Zdenek Simota, both pointless after their opening rides, heading home Ulrich Ostergaard. They followed that up by levelling the scores with a 2-4 in heat 6 after Craig Boyce had fallen on the first bend and been excluded from the rerun. Reading looked like taking a 1-5 from the rerun as Matej Zagar and Ashley Jones led but Glen Phillips passed Ashley Jones to restrict the damage. The Reading comeback ended in heat 7 when the Islanders scored a 5-1 from Jason Doyle and Krzysztof Stojanowski from the Tresarrieu/Appleton pairing to go four points ahead again. They followed it up with another 5-1 in heat 8 from Jason Doyle again and Glen Phillips after Zdenek Simota suffered an engine failure at the start of the race. This took the score after eight races to 28-20.

Matej Zagar won again in heat 9 for a 3-3 then Craig Boyce did likewise in heat 10 as Krister Marsh had an engine failure. A third successive 3-3 in heat 11 resulted when Jason Doyle won the race but Zdenek Simota and Mathieu Tresarrieu relegated Krzysztof Stojanowski to the back to make the score after heat 11 37-29 after which the interval arrived.

In heat 12 Matej Zagar took a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back but could not catch Krister Marsh from the handicap. At the back Glen Phillips took third from Andrew Appleton so the heat was shared 4-4. However in heat 13 from scratch again Zagar saw off Craig Boyce and this time got support from Zdenek Simota in third place for a 2-4 to pull the arrears back to six points at 43-37. It went to a last heat decider for the match and bonus points after Reading took a 2-4 in heat 14. The heat was rerun without Ulrich Ostergaard who was excluded for bringing down Ashley Jones and in the rerun Jones shot to the front with Jason Doyle getting the better of Mathieu Tresarrieu. Doyle and Tresarrieu then had a ‘difference of views’ which resulted in both riders being banned from the rest of the meeting (i.e. heat 15) and being reported to the authorities. The score was now 45-41 with one heat to go. It was disaster for Reading in heat 15. In the first running of the race Matej Zagar crashed into the second bend fence but it was all four back. In the rerun Craig Boyce and Ulrich Ostergaard took a 5-1 ahead of Zagar which meant that all three points went to the home side.

Scorers: For Isle of Wight – Jason Doyle 13+1 (5), Glen Phillips 10+1 (5), Craig Boyce 10 (5), Ulrich Ostergaard 8+3 (6), Krister Marsh 6 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 3+2 (4).

For Reading – Matej Zagar 20 (7) including a 4 point GDTS from 15 metres back, Mathieu Tresarrieu 7+1 (5), Ashley Jones 6 (4), Zdenek Simota 5+1 (6), Andrew Appleton 4+1 (5), Chris Johnson 0 (3).

It was Tuesday night on the Isle of Wight
As Reading came over to race
There’s many a team with a shattered dream
Who’ve never liked the place.

It was quite a fight the previous night
As the Racers led by five
So it looked quite an onus even winning the bonus
To keep their hopes alive.

The home side were soon quite over the moon
As they built up a six point lead
But after heat six they’re in a bit of a fix
As the Racers squared it with speed.

Heats seven and eight were simply great
Put the Islanders fans in fine mood
Two five-ones they cheered as the home riders steered
Their side eight points to the good.

The next three were shared and nobody dared
To forecast which way it would go.
Matej Zagar was out, a fine rider no doubt,
Could he make it six wins in a row?

In heat 12 he appeared as the Racers’ fans cheered
As a Tac Sub from 15 yards back
But it was just far to harsh to catch Krister Marsh
Even though he flew round the track.

But Craig Boyce he beat in the very next heat
With Simota taking third place
This Racers’ attack saw them now six points back
But they were dreading the very next race.

It was quite a surprise, I tell you no lies,
When the Islanders lost a two-four
And not only that there was a bit of a spat
As Doyle and Tresarrieu were sore.

So the referee’s greeting was “Get out of the meeting”
And the two of them had to go
With just one heat left they were hardly bereft
Since they had no more rides in the show.

Heat fifteen was crucial much more than usual
As Zagar and Boyce met once more
At first it was tense at the second bend fence
When Zagar crashed, I’ll bet it was sore.

In the rerun alas, nobody could pass
Craig Boyce and young Ostergaard.
The five one it brought meant the home side had got
All three points - on Reading ‘twas hard!

[Merlin]

Rye House are League Champions

Thursday 22 September


Tonight’s match at Sheffield took on a greater significance than usual because there was every chance that it would finally decide the destination of the league title. It did but, unfortunately for the two sides riding, neither was destined to be league champions. Berwick had to concede the title to Rye House despite a fantastic effort which kept the race open for so long.



Premier League: Sheffield 48, Berwick 41 Berwick won the bonus point on aggregate by 96-85. The match was abandoned after heat 14 due to late running and a curfew but the result stands.


Sheffield were at full strength but Berwick used Paul Thorp as a guest for Adrian Rymel at number 1. The Bandits had to win all three points in order to push Rye House to their last league match of the season for the Championship. They had an 18 point lead towards the bonus point from their 37-55 win at Shielfield earlier in the season.

Sheffield got off to a winning start. They took an opening heat 4-2 with Sean Wilson beating Paul Thorp but the Bandits levelled again in heat 2. In the first running of the heat Benji Compton brought down his team mate, Kyle Legault, and Berwick’s Scott Smith and was excluded from the rerun. Scott Smith won the rerun from Kyle Legault for a Berwick 4-2 but in heat 3 Sheffield took a 5-1 from Ricky Ashworth and Richard Hall although Adam Pietraszko forced the best out of Hall to take second place. Another Sheffield advantage came from heat 4 with Andre Compton winning from Scott Smith for another 4-2 to take the score after the opening four heats to 15-9.

Paul Thorp kept the Bandits’ hopes alive with a fine win over Ricky Ashworth and Richard Hall for a shared heat 5 but in heat 6 Sheffield edged another two points in front when Sean Wilson beat Michal Makovsky for another 4-2.

There was a dreadful crash in heat 7 again involving Benji Compton. Tom P Madsen, who was attempting to pass Compton at the time, was the other rider involved. Both riders were thrown through the air landing heavily and there was a lengthy delay as the hushed crowd waited for news about both of them. They were taken to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital but no news was available at the time as to the extent of their injuries. There was some discussion as to whether to continue with the time now approaching 10.00pm. Apart from other considerations the match, which had not started until 8.30pm, was not likely to finish within the curfew deadline. Eventually heat 7 was rerun with Madsen excluded as the cause of the stoppage. Kyle Legault came in to replace Benji Compton and the race was won by Andre Compton from Adam Pietraszko for another Sheffield 4-2 and a ten point Tigers’ lead. In heat 8 Scott Smith took a TR and although he led he was passed by Ben Wilson and the heat was shared 4-4 to take the score after the eight heats to 30-20.

Heat 9 all but put the match outwith Berwick’s reach as Ashworth and Hall took a 5-1 ahead of Makovsky to increase the home side’s lead to 14 points. However Pietraszko and Smith kept the match alive by sharing heat 10 won by Ben Wilson with Sean Wilson at the back. Kyle Legault withdrew from the meeting leaving Sheffield with no reserves so Andre Compton had to go on his own in heat 11. He won it though from Thorp and Wilkinson for another shared heat. Ricky Ashworth did the same in heat 12 and Berwick could now only win the match with a successful Tactical Ride as the score after twelve heats was 44-30.

It was all over after heat 13. For some reason known only to Berwick, Paul Thorp was not given a TR but nevertheless he beat both Wilson and Compton comfortably for a 3-3 and the Championship went to Rye House with the Bandits still trailing by 14 points with two heats left. Although it was now of little relevance there was still the matter of the bonus point to be decided with Sheffield still four points in arrears. Their chances didn’t look too good since they could only field one rider in heat 14. Adam Pietraszko went as a TR in this heat and won it. Scott Smith who had started 15 yards back passed Richard Hall after Hall’s throttle had jammed open for a 1-8 to Berwick which was too late for the match to be salvaged but clinched the bonus point. The match was abandoned at this point due to the curfew and heat 15 was not run.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 11 (4), Andre Compton 10+1 (4), Sean Wilson 8 (4), Ben Wilson 8 (4), Richard hall 6+3 (4), Kyle Legault 5 (4), Benji Compton 0 (2).

For Berwick – Scott Smith 14+2 (6) including a 4 point TR, Paul Thorp 10 (4), Adam Pietraszko 10 (4) including a 6 point TR, Michal Makovsky 3 (4), Chris Schramm 2+1 (4), Tom P Madsen 1 (2), Carl Wilkinson 1+1 (4).