Around the Premier League Tracks 2005

[Merlin]

Friday, 23 September

Only one Premier League fixture took place tonight and that was at Edinburgh where the visitors were Glasgow in the Scottish derby. In addition to that match Rye House were at home for the first leg of their first round tie in the Jack Young Shield where they took on the Isle of Wight . A third match took place at Somerset where the Rebels rode against Exeter in a Challenge match


Premier League: Edinburgh 51, Glasgow 43 Glasgow won the bonus point on aggregate by 94-90

Edinburgh were at full strength for this match while Glasgow had Jonathan Bethell at number 6 for the injured Adam Roynon and arrived at Armadale with a 12 point lead in search of the bonus point.

Once again Edinburgh won a match with the minority of race winners. Their strength in depth was far too much for Glasgow who relied almost entirely on their top two of George Stancl and Shane Parker to keep them in the match until a timely, and unexpected, 1-5 in heat 14 was mainly responsible for them clawing back the bonus point.

In the opening heat Ross Brady made a flying start but George Stancl just behind waited for him to drift wide on the second bend before nipping through on the inside for the first of his three heat wins. Nermark took second place as Brady faded and the heat was shared. James Cockle shot from the tapes in heat 2 but Matthew Wethers was too fast for him and took the heat win but Jonathan Bethell took third place from a disappointing Robert Ksiezak for another shared heat. Edinburgh took the lead with a 5-1 from Theo Pijper and William Lawson from the weak Ekberg/Kristensen pairing in heat 3 but Glasgow pulled two points back in heat 4 when Shane Parker held off a good challenge from Rusty Harrison with Cockle third. The score after the opening four races was 13-11.

Another tapes to flag win for Stancl ahead of Pijper and Lawson shared heat 5 and it was the same for Shane Parker in heat 6 from Brady and Nermark. However in the next four races Edinburgh scored maximum points in each. Rusty Harrison and Matthew Wethers were first up with a 5-1 ahead of Ekberg then Daniel Nermark and Matthew Wethers repeated the dose in heat 8 from Cockle to take the score to 29-19.

Ten points down Glasgow, as expected, gave Shane Parker a TR in heat 9 but they didn’t expect what happened! William Lawson off gate 2 got the drop on Shane Parker from the tapes and clamped him brilliantly on the line as Theo Pijper came round the outside. Both Edinburgh riders were than away and there was nothing Parker could do as the home side took a 5-2. Heat 10 saw another Edinburgh 5-1. Ross Brady won the heat comfortably enough but it looked as though James Cockle would hold on to second place against the struggling Nermark. However Nermark came off the last bend with a burst of speed to get the decision on the line and the Monarchs were 17 points ahead with a 5 point lead for the bonus. In heat 11 George Stancl took a TR and another tapes to flag win gave him all six points. At the back Robert Ksiezak’s bike didn’t get further than the first bend so Trent Leverington picked up the gift point behind Harrison for a Glasgow 2-7. Back came Edinburgh with a 5-1 in heat 12 when Theo Pijper and Matthew Wethers took a 5-1 against Claus Kristensen and the score was 46-30.

Edinburgh faced the Stancl/Parker pairing in heat 13 but after Ross Brady had twitched at the gate George Stancl touched the tapes and was excluded. Rather surprisingly he did not go from 15 metres back but was replaced by James Cockle. Then Ross Brady twitched at the tapes again but this time touched the tapes and he was excluded too and replaced by Matthew Wethers. When the race finally got under way Shane Parker won with Harrison and Wethers filling the minor places for a shared heat. Heat 14 looked as though it would put the bonus point out of Glasgow’s reach but William Lawson and Matthew Wethers both made terrible starts as Cockle and Ekberg hit the front. The Edinburgh pair then baulked each other on the fourth bend before setting off in pursuit. They both reeled in Ekberg and it was a blanket finish as the three of them crossed the line. Ekberg got the decision with Wethers third and Glasgow had taken a 1-5 which tied the aggregate scores for the bonus. In the last heat Parker and Stancl left Pijper and Harrison in their wake from the tapes for the 1-5 which clinched the bonus point for the Tigers.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Mathew Wethers 12+3 (6), Theo Pijper 11+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 9 (5), Daniel Nermark 7+3 (4), William Lawson 6+2 (4), Ross Brady 6+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 0 (3).

For Glasgow – George Stancl 14+1 (5) including a 6 point TR, Shane Parker 14 (5) including a 2 point TR, James Cockle 7 (6), Stefan Ekberg 5+1 (4), Jonathan Bethell 1+1 (3), Trent Leverington 1 (4), Claus Kristensen 1 (4).



Jack Young Shield (first round, first leg): Rye House 62, Isle of Wight 30


Yet another very comfortable home win for the new Premier League Champions. There was plenty of good racing but the result was overshadowed by a terrible crash involving Rye House rider Stuart Robson in heat 6. Rye House sent out a full strength team. The Isle of Wight used rider replacement for Steen Jensen with most of their resistance expected to come from Craig Boyce and Ulrich Ostergaard.

Stuart Robson took the lead in heat 1, followed by Boyce with Kennett third. Robson was never troubled and it looked like a 5-1 when Kennet finally got past Boyce on the last lap. However, Boyce came back to take second place on the line. Heat 2 saw Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall take a 5-1 against Jason Doyle and Glen Phillips after Boxall passed Phillips for second place. Daniel King led from the gun in heat 3 from Krister Marsh and Ostergaard after a poor start by Brent Werner. King stayed in front to the line while Werner worked his way into third for a 4-2. Chris Neath, now recovered after his back injury, returned to the track in heat 4. It was business as usual as Neath sailed off in front to win easily. Allen finished second and Rye House were now 23-7 in front.

The fact that Stuart Robson left the track alive after his sickening crash in heat 6 is due entirely to the effectiveness of the track safety fence, the generous run-off area and his headgear. Krzysztof Stojanowski and Jason Doyle started well and led Robson and Kennett going into the third bend. It seemed that the two Isle of Wight riders did not attack the bend as Kennett was expecting. As he moved slightly wide, he clipped Robson's back wheel to send Robson, his throttle full open, hurtling towards the fence. He hit it full on and fell, man and bike continuing at speed towards the seated area. His bike hit the back of his head with some force and those nearby could hear Robson's shouts for assistance as he lay on the ground. As the ambulance staff raced to the scene, it could be seen that the entire length of fence between the third and fourth bends was down, a clear sign of the force it had been hit with and, thankfully for Robson, mostly absorbed.

After a delay of over half an hour, racing resumed and Chris Neath made it look easy again in heat 7, winning from Marsh and Ostergaard. Kennett and Allen had a good scrap in heat 8 with Ostergaard. With Kennet leading, the Dane forced his way passed Allen but Allen returned the favour and Rye had another 5-1. Stojanowski rode well to split Werner and King in heat 9. He led from the gate but Werner got past on the second bend. Ostergaard was out again in heat 10, this time as a tactical rider. Kennett won it but Ostergaard took second for a shared heat, 4-4. Heat 11 was restarted with all four riders after Boyce fell at the first bend. Boyce led the restart but Neath powered past him to take his third win. Boxall also had a good race to take third place after getting past Phillips on the last lap. Werner was warned for moving at the line in heat 12 and it too was restarted. It didn't affect Werner as he won easily from Marsh. Allen moved into third place ahead of Doyle. Boyce was given a tactical ride in heat 13 against Neath and Boxall (as rider replacement for Robson). Neath was soon in control and Boxall stayed ahead of Boyce for an excellent second place. Ostergaard won heat 14, the Isle's only heat win, but appeared to take King very wide. Boxall took second place with King third, ahead of Marsh, on a tactical substitute ride.

The last heat was not without incident. Neath made it five straight wins on the night and it looked as if Kennet would hold Ostergaard at bay for second place. Ostergaard didn't agree with this and appeared to move out on Kennett as the two raced down the home straight. If so, and the fans nearby certainly felt it was the case, it was a stupid thing to do after the horror of heat 6. Kennett, and the home fans, told Ostergaard exactly what they thought of him.

Scorers: For Rye House - Stuart Robson 3 (2) - retired. Chris Neath 15 (5) [full maximum], Edward Kennett 11 (5), Brent Werner 10 (4), Tommy Allen 9+2 (5), Daniel King 7+2 (4), Steve Boxall 7+2 (5)

For Isle of Wight - Ulrich Ostergaard 13+1 (6) [includes a 4-point tactical ride], Craig Boyce 7 (4) [includes a 2-point tactical ride], Krzysztof Stojanowski 5 (5), Krister Marsh 4 (5) [includes a 0-point tactical substitute ride], Glen Phillips 1 (4), Jason Doyle 0 (5)

(Report by Candyman)



Challenge Match: Somerset 59, Exeter 36


Somerset were at full strength for this two-leg challenge match while Exeter who were without Ray Morton, Sebastian Tresarrieu, Ben Barker and Pavel Ondrasik used R/R at number 4, had Emiliano Sanchez at number 5, Luke Priest at number 6 and someone called Atur Boginczuk at number seven.

The opening four races resulted in Somerset taking an eight point lead with 4-2s in heats 1 and 3 thanks to wins by Zetterstrom and Fry and a 5-1 in the reserves race. Heat 4 was won by Glenn Cunningham for a share of the points for a score of 16-8.

In heat 5 Mark Lemon finished last as Paul Fry beat Lee Smethills with Ritchie Hawkins third for a 4-2 then Zetterstrom and Smith took a 5-1 ahead of Sanchez. The rout continued with another 4-2 in heat 7 when Seemond Stephens split Glenn Cunningham and Lee Smart. However, Exeter gave Smethills a TR in heat 8 and he duly delivered the six points by beating Mills and Smith for a 3-6 which took the score to 32-19 after eight heats.

Exeter enjoyed another heat win in heat 9 when Emiliano Sanchez headed home Paul Fry with Luke Priest taking the third place point after Ritchie Hawkins fell and was excluded for an awarded 2-4. Back came Somerset for another 5-1 from Zetterstrom and Smith but in heat 11 Mark Lemon took a TR. Although Glenn Cunningham won the heat, Lemon and Smethills took second and third for a 3-5. Heat 12 saw Ritchie Hawkins beat Seemond Stephens for a 4-2 and a heat 12 score of 46-31.

Somerset took two more 5-1s in heats 13 and 14 but had to settle for a shared heat in the last race won by Magnus Zetterstrom when Paul Fry retired.

Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 14+1 (5) (paid maximum), Glenn Cunningham 12 (4) (full maximum), Paul Fry 11 (5), Jaimie Smith 6+3 (4), Chris Mills 6 (4), Lee Smart 5+2 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 5 (4).

For Exeter – Lee Smethills 12+2 (6) including a 6 point TR, Mark Lemon 8 (5) including a 4 point TR, Emiliano Sanchez 7 (4), Seemond Stephens 5 (5), Atur Boginczuk 3+1 (6), Luke Priest 1 (5).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 24 September

There were two matches tonight but neither were for Premier League points. At Rye House the Rockets were at home to Reading in the second leg of their semi final tie in the Premier League KO Cup. In the other match Berwick took on Newcastle in their first round tie in the Jack Young Shield. There was one other meeting and that was at Workington where there was a Testimonial meeting for Carl Stonehewer.



Premier League: Rye House 65, Reading 25. Rye House won through to the Final on aggregate by 112-68.


Rye House moved into the KO Cup final after demolishing Reading in the second leg of this semi-final. With most of their foreign riders unavailable, including (yet again) Matej Zagar, Reading took the strange and rather unsporting decision to include three Kings Lynn "guest" riders in their team, allowing them to get some track practice before their expected meeting with Rye House in the final. On the evidence of this evening's performance, the Rockets have little to worry about.

Rye House used rider replacement for the injured Stuart Robson but were otherwise at full strength. Reading had thee of their usual riders, Appleton, Tresarrieu and Johnson. The others were Doolan, Jones and Jaros, all of Kings Lynn. They used rider replacement for Danny Bird.

The Rockets did not take too kindly to Reading's decision to field this hybrid outfit and made their feelings known from the outset, winning each of the first five heats 5-1. Neath started things rolling in heat 1 with a trap to line win, continuing his great run of form. Kevin Doolan and Ashley Jones were ahead of Edward Kennett early on but Kennett cut inside Jones at the start of the second lap and began to catch Doolan. It took him until the final bend but he finally got there. Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall finished ahead of Chris Johnson and Jan Jaros in heat 2 after Boxall passed Johnson at the end of the third lap. Heat 3 was a procession with Brent Werner and Daniel King far too quick for Appleton and Tresarrieu. Heat 4 was a replay, this time Neath and Allen racing clear of Doolan and Jaros. The Werner/King partnership struck again in heat 5 although Appleton managed to stay in second place for a bend or two before King got to him.

King was out again in heat 6 and won it easily. Doolan and Kennett had an excellent scrap for second place with the lead changing hands on every bend. At the line, it was Doolan in front. Tresarrieu touched the tapes in heat 7 and was replaced by Jaros who produced his best race of the evening only to finish thirty metres behind Chris Neath. Appleton was third, ahead of Boxall who kept him honest all the way. Reading managed a second 3-3 in heat 8. Allen won it easily but Jones and Jaros did well to stay ahead of the chasing Kennett who almost got ahead of Jaros coming off the last bend but couldn't make his move stick.

The unbeaten Werner and King pairing did more damage in heat 9, finishing ahead of Doolan and Johnson. In heat 10, Appleton led Werner from the tapes but his partner, Tresarrieu, fell and was excluded. Werner made no mistake in the re-run, leading all the way, but Appleton took second place ahead of Kennett. Heat 11 was shared when Neath won his fourth on the trot. The action was behind him with Boxall and Tresarrieu battling for second place, each rider heading the other. Eventually Boxall made the error, falling at the second bend, and the race was awarded.

Werner won heat 12 from Appleton, who, unlike his team's "guest" riders, was beginning to look more comfortable on the track. Who knows - perhaps Kings Lynn might sign him in time for the final ? Allen was slowly away but caught and passed Johnson on the second lap and then very nearly took Appleton in the home straight. Neath and Kennett were too good for Doolan and Jones in heat 13, although Neath can thank Kennett for slowing just before the line, allowing Neath through to complete his second full maximum in the space of 24 hours! King kept his maximum hopes alive in heat 14 after leading all the way. Tresarrieu passed Boxall at the start of the second lap and took second place.

The final heat was another 5-1 to the Rockets. King won it from Werner with Appleton third after Tresarrieu had fallen when lying second.

Scorers: For Rye House - Brent Werner 17+1 (6) [paid maximum], Daniel King 15+3 (6) [paid maximum], Chris Neath 15 (5) [full maximum], Tommy Allen 9+1 (4), Edward Kennett 6+2 (5), Steve Boxall 3+1 (4)

For Reading : Andrew Appleton 7+1 (6), Kevin Doolan 6 (5), Mathieu Tresarrieu 4+1 (5), Ashley Jones 4 (5), Jan Jaros 3+1 (5), Chris Johnson 1 (4).

(Report by Candyman)



Jack Young Shield (first round, first leg): Berwick 60, Newcastle 35


Berwick were without Adrian Rymel and Tom P Madsen so had Paul Thorp as a guest at number 1 and used R/R at number 3. Newcastle were without Josef Franc and Lubos Tomicek so had Chris Mills as a guest at number 3 and used R/R at number 1.

Although Newcastle held on to keep to within ten points of Berwick after 11 heats they ran out of steam as the Bandits took maximums in each of the last four heats to build up a 25 point lead for the second leg. With only two race winners all match Newcastle’s problem wasn’t hard to spot.

Berwick started well with a 4-2 and 5-1 with wins for Paul Thorp and Scott Smith before Newcastle shared heat 3 when Phil Morris and Chris Mills followed Adam Pietraszko home. The respite was brief for the Diamonds as James Grieves finished third to Michal Makovsky and Scott Smith in heat 4 for another 5-1 to the Bandits which took the score to 17-7.

In heat 5 Chris Mills split the Pietraszko/Smith pairing for a 4-2 to the home side but Newcastle dug in after that. In a rerun heat 6 another win for Paul Thorp only produced a shared heat after Carl Wilkinson had fallen and was excluded. Jamie Robertson scored his only points of the match when he produced one of Newcastle’s two race winners in heat 7 beating Michal Makovsky. With Chris Mills taking the third place point Newcastle took a 2-4 but this was matched by Berwick in heat 8 with a 4-2 from Smith and Wilkinson with Birkinshaw finishing second. The score was now 30-18.

In heat 9 Adam Pietraszko had an engine failure and James Grieves beat Chris Schramm for another Newcastle 2-4 then the next two heats were shared. It took TRs in both to achieve it though with Chris Mills and James Grieves finishing second for four points each in heats 10 and 11 to take the score to 40-30.

That was the end as far as Newcastle were concerned with Berwick taking three 5-1s and a 5-2 in the last four heats to stretch the lead to 25 points and leave Newcastle with the proverbial mountain to climb. The 5-2? That came in heat 14 when James Birkinshaw took a tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back and took third place behind Pietraszko and Smith.

Scorers: For Berwick – Adam Pietraszko 15 (6), Scott Smith 14+3 (7), Michal Makovsky 12+2 (5), Paul Thorp 12 (4) (full maximum), Chris Schramm 5+1 (4), Carl Wilkinson 2 (4).

For Newcastle – James Grieves 12 (6) including a 4 point TR, Chris Mills 9+1 (6) including a 4 point TR, James Birkinshaw 7+1 (6) including a 2 point GDTS from 15 metres, Phil Morris 4 (3), Jaimie Robertson 3 (5), Kristian Lund 0 (3).



Carl Stonehewer Testimonial: at Workington

Winner: Simon Stead
Second: Leigh Adams
Third: Sam Ermolenko
Fourth: Billy Hamill

A highly entertaining evening of excellent speedway ended in a run off between Simon Stead and Leigh Adams to decide the winner with Simon Stead taking the win. There was also a tie for third place but Billy Hamill conceded the third place spot to his fellow American Sam Ermolenko without a run off.

The meeting was run on the basis of a 16 rider, 20 heat five rides each formula and the point scorers were as follows:

Scorers – Simon Stead 12, Leigh Adams 12, Sam Ermolenko 11, Billy Hamill 11, George Stancl 10, Rusty Harrison 9, Joe Screen 9, Shane Parker 9, James Wright 8, Jason Lyons 6, Chris Harris 6 (4), Steve Johnson 4, Gary Havelock 4, Kauko Nieminen 4, Sean Wilson 3, Neil Collins 0, Charles Wright (reserve) 2 (1).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 25 September

Again there were no Premier League matches today. The match at Newcastle between the Diamonds and Berwick was a Jack Young Shield tie while at Glasgow the Tigers faced Edinburgh in a Scottish Cup match.


Jack Young Shield (first round, second leg): Newcastle 48, Berwick 42 Berwick won through to the semi-final on aggregate by 102-83


Newcastle were back at full strength for this second leg tie while Berwick again had Paul Thorp at number 1 for Adrian Rymel and used R/R for Tom P Madsen. Berwick had a 25 point lead from the first leg of this tie raced the previous evening.

There was never really much prospect of Newcastle pulling back the 25 point deficit incurred in the first leg at Berwick. In fact it took a last heat 5-1 for the Diamonds to seal a win on the night as they trailed the Bandits for most of the match.

Newcastle struggled from the start as the Bandits started with a 2-4 in heat one won by Paul Thorp and a 1-5 in heat 2 from Chris Schramm and Scott Smith. Newcastle then pulled back with 4-2s in heats 3 and 4 with wins from Lubos Tomicek and James Grieves to make the score after the opening four heats 11-13.

The Diamonds just could not get on level terms as the next five heats were shared with wins for Josef Franc and James Grieves for the home side and from Paul Thorp, Carl Wilkinson and Chris Schramm for the Bandits which took the score after nine heats to 26-28.

At last the Diamonds did it with a 4-2 in heat 10 from Josef Franc and Kristian Lund who kept Adam Pietraszko at the back to level the scores at 30-30. Their joy didn’t last long as Paul Thorp got the drop on James Grieves in heat 11 to end Grieves’ winning run and take a 2-4 with Wilkinson beating Birkinshaw for third place to put Berwick two points in front again. Pietraszko gated to win heat 12 but Robertson then Tomicek passed Schramm to share the heat and the score was 35-37.

However in heat 13 Thorp made a poor start and Grieves and Franc team rode to the 5-1 with Thorp in third place to put the Diamonds in front for the first time. In heat 14 Phil Morris who looked far from well came from the back to win the heat for a shared race and Newcastle still had a two point lead going into the last race. Although Pietraszko was fast away in heat 15 Josef Franc on the inside and James Grieves on the outside both passed him for a 5-1 with Thorp stuck at the back and Newcastle had the satisfaction of winning the second leg and Berwick the satisfaction of being through to the semi-finals.

Scorers: For Newcastle – James Grieves 14 (5), Josef Franc 12+2 (5), Lubos Tomicek 8+1 (4), Phil Morris 6+2 (4), Jaimie Robertson 4+1 (5), Kristian Lund 3 (4), James Birkinshaw 1 (3).

For Berwick – Chris Schramm 12+2 (7), Paul Thorp 10 (5), Adam Pietraszko 10 (6), Carl Wilkinson 5 (5), Michal Makovsky 3+1 (4), Scott Smith 2+1 (3).



Scottish Cup (second leg): Glasgow 53, Edinburgh 37 Glasgow won the Cup on aggregate by 101-78


Glasgow had Luke Priest at reserve for Adam Roynon while Edinburgh were at full strength. Glasgow already had a seven point lead from the first leg at Armadale.

Edinburgh were still in contention with the scores level at 24-24 after heat 8 but they folded badly after that with some very poor gating as Glasgow went on to win with ease.

Ross Brady fell on the first bend of the opening heat after making a good gate and George Stancl and Trent Leverington were never threatened by Daniel Nermark as they started with a 5-1. However Edinburgh gave the home side a shock by winning both the next two heats 1-5. In heat 2 Robert Ksiezak and Matthew Wethers made good starts for an easy maximum then William Lawson and Theo Pijper did likewise in a rerun heat 3 ahead of Kristensen and Ekberg. Shane Parker won heat 4 with Rusty Harrison second and Glasgow took a 4-2 to make the score after four heats 11-13.

Edinburgh stretched their lead to four points with a 2-4 in heat 5 when Ross Brady headed home Stefan Ekberg with Daniel Nermark third ahead of Claus Kristensen but that was neutralised by a Glasgow 4-2 when George Stancl made another lightning start to beat Rusty Harrison for a 4-2. Shane Parker won heat 7 for a shared heat then Glasgow squared the scores with a 4-2 in heat 8 after a dreadful decision by referee Dowling. Cockle and Leverington made fast starts as Nermark was slow away again. Nermark started to reel in Leverington and passed him on the back straight on the third lap. As the riders entered the third bend Leverington fell without any contact from Nermark but the Edinburgh rider was excluded. In the rerun Cockle and Leverington again made the start but Matthew Wethers passed Leverington to restrict the damage to a 4-2 to the home side. The score was now 24-24.

After that Edinburgh caved in and failed to produce another race winner. Only Pijper, Lawson and Wethers seemed to have any appetite for the fray. In heat 9 Ekberg beat Harrison for a 4-2 then George Stancl continued on his winning way in heat 10. However the Glasgow 5-1 was thwarted as Theo Pijper passed Leverington for second place for another 4-2. Shane Parker won heat 11 for a shared heat then another fast start for Kristensen and Cockle threatened another 5-1 but, again, Theo Pijper took second place by passing Cockle. The expected Parker/Stancl 5-1s in heats 13 and 15 duly materialised without any semblance of a challenge but Edinburgh could consider themselves unlucky in heat 14. William Lawson took a TR but was outgated by Ekberg and Cockle. He reeled Cockle in and went inside him on the first bend. As Cockle tried to cut back the two riders came together briefly and Cockle crashed into the fence. Again the Edinburgh rider was excluded. In the rerun Matthew Wethers passed Cockle for second place for a 4-2 to the home side some of whose riders appear to have been ‘less than keen’ to contest heat 15 alongside Theo Pijper. Matthew Wethers eventually took the vacant spot.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5), George Stancl 13+2 (5), Stefan Ekberg 8 (4), James Cockle 7 (5), Trent Leverington 5+1 (4), Claus Kristensen 5 (4), Luke Priest 0 (3).

For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 9+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 7 (4), Matthew Wethers 7 (6), William Lawson 4+1 (4), Ross Brady 4+1 (4), Daniel Nermark 4 (4), Robert Ksiezak 2+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Monday, 26 September

Two meetings took place tonight. At Reading the Racers were at home to the Glasgow in a Premier League match while at Exeter the Falcons raced the second leg of their challenge match against Somerset .


Premier League: Reading 47, Glasgow 46 Glasgow won the bonus point on aggregate by 98-89.


Reading used R/R at number one for the injured Danny Bird and had Ashley Jones as a guest at reserve in place of Richard Wolff while Glasgow had Matthew Wright at reserve in place of Adam Roynon. The Tigers had a ten point lead from the match at Ashfield towards the bonus point.

After a shaky start Reading had a purple patch mid-match which looked to have put the match beyond Glasgow but the Tigers stormed back with the use of a TR which saw the home side clinging on to a one point lead going into the last heat.

George Stancl stormed from the gate to win the opening heat from Matej Zagar for a 3-3 but the Racers took a 5-1 from the reserves race for a four point lead. Back came Glasgow with a 1-5 from Kristensen and Ekberg to square things again then Zagar beat Parker in heat 4 for a shared heat and a score of 12-12.

Stancl won again in heat 5 beating Andrew Appleton and with Trent Leverington third from Mathieu Tresarrieu the Tigers went ahead with a 2-4. Then Reading wiped that lead out and built up a 12 point lead themselves by winning each of the next five heats. In heat 6 Appleton beat Parker with Simota third for a 4-2 to level the scores again. In heat 7 Matej Zagar won from Stefan Ekberg with Chris Johnson finishing third for another 4-2 which put the home side back in front by two points. In heat 8 the Racers scored a 5-1 from Zdenek Simota and Ashley Jones to take the score to 27-21.

Reading increased their lead to eight points by winning heat 9 when Mathieu Tresarrieu after two last places burst into life to head home Shane Parker with Appleton third for another 4-2 and it looked all over for Glasgow when Simota and Tresarrieu beat the Ekberg/Kristensen pairing by 5-1 to go 12 points in front at 36-24. However no-one had told Glasgow and the home side were soon to find themselves with a backs-to-the-wall scramble to cling on to the slenderest of leads. It all started in heat 11 when George Stancl took a TR. Matej Zagar fell on the second lap chasing the Glasgow number one and was excluded from the rerun in which Stancl and Leverington threatened to take a 1-8 until Chris Johnson caught Leverington on the line. Nonetheless it was a 2-7 to Glasgow who now trailed by only 7 points. In heat 12 Ashley Jones fell and was excluded from the rerun which saw the Glasgow pair of Kristensen and Cockle make the start to heat home Andrew Appleton for a 1-5 which narrowed the gap further to only three points with the score now standing at 39-36.

In heat 13 Matej Zagar won from the Parker/Stancl pairing to keep the Racers ahead but Glasgow got to within one point of the home side with a 2-4 in heat 14 when Cockle beat Tresarrieu with Ekberg third. So it went to a last heat decider with Glasgow winning the toss for the favourable 1 and 3 gates. However Matej Zagar coming from gate 2, which had not produced a race winner all night, saw off Stancl and Parker to prevent Glasgow making a complete comeback.

Scorers: For Reading – Matej Zagar 14 (6), Zdenek Simota 8+1 (6), Andrew Appleton 8 (5), Mathieu Tresarrieu 7+1 (5), Chris Johnson 5+1 (4), Ashley Jones 5+1 (4).

For Glasgow – George Stancl 15+1 (5) including a 6 point TR, Shane Parker 8+2 (5), James Cockle 8+1 (5), Stefan Ekberg 6+1 (4), Claus Kristensen 6 (4), Trent Leverington 3 (4), Matthew Wright 0 (3).



West Country Championship (second leg): Exeter 55, Somerset 39 Somerset won on aggregate by 98-91.


Exeter had Michael Coles at number 4 and Ben Powell at number 6. They also used R/R at number 5. Somerset had Simon Walker and Lee Smart in the two reserve berths.

With a 23 point lead from the first leg, Somerset were always favourites to win this Challenge Match. Exeter won comfortably enough but they couldn’t make inroads into the deficit quickly enough.

Magnus Zetterstrom won the opening heat for a shared heat then Exeter gained six points with a 5-1 in the reserves race and a 4-2 from Seemond Stephens, who beat Paul Fry, and Michael Coles. Lee Smethills won heat 4 for a shared heat as the score went to 15-9.

The next three heats, won by Zetterstrom, Cunningham and Fry for the Rebels were all shared before Exeter stretched their lead to 10 points with a 5-1 from Smethills and Ondrasik in heat 8. Glenn Cunningham took a TR in heat 9 and finished second to Seemond Stephens for a 4-4 but Somerset got two points back in heat 10 when Mark Lemon suffered an engine failure. Paul Fry Beat Lee Smethills for a 2-4 and the difference was 35-27 on the night with Somerset still 15 points ahead on aggregate.

Exeter took 5-1s in heats 11 and 12. In heat 11 Ben Powell and Seemond Stephens took the maximum ahead of Magnus Zetterstrom and Ondrasik and Stephens repeated the dose in heat 11 which saw Exeter 16 points up on the night with another 7 points still to pull back. However a successful TR for Magnus Zetterstrom in heat 13 gave Somerset a 3-6 advantage to end the Falcons’ hopes. Michael Coles won heat 14 from Paul Fry for a 3-2 after Smart and Powell had both pulled out with engine failures and Mark Lemon beat Magnus Zetterstrom with Smethills third for a last heat 4-2 for the home side.

Scorers: For Exeter – Lee Smethills 13 (6), Seemond Stephens 11+2 (5), Pavel Ondrasik 9+2 (5), Mark Lemon 8+3 (6), Ben Powell 7+1 (4), Michael Coles 7 (4).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 15 (5) including a 6 point TR, Paul Fry 10 (5), Glenn Cunningham 9 (4) including a 4 point TR, Ritchie Hawkins 2 (4), Lee Smart 1+1 (4), Jaimie Smith 1 (4), Simon Walker 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Tuesday 27 September



Tonight’s action on the Isle of Wight was the second leg of the first round Jack Young Shield tie in which the Islanders faced the newly-crowned League Champions Rye House .



Jack Young Shield (first round, second leg): Isle of Wight 54, Rye House 41 Rye House won through to the semi-finals on aggregate by 103-84.


The Isle of Wight were again without Steen Jensen and operated R/R at number 2 in his place. Rye House were missing Stuart Robson and used R/R at number one. Rye House came with an enormous 32 point lead from the first leg leaving the Islanders looking for a miracle.

Just to make completely sure there would be no fightback, the Rockets started with a 1-5 from Edward Kennett and Chris Neath who headed home Craig Boyce. However the Islanders levelled it again with a 5-1 in the reserves race. Brent Werner won heat 3 for a shared heat as Daniel King suffered an engine failure while on a 1-5 with Werner. Rye House went back in front in heat 4 with another 1-5 this time from Chris Neath and Tommy Allen who beat Krzysztof Stojanowski as his partner, Glen Phillips shed a chain on the first bend. This took the score to 10-14.

The Islanders then enjoyed a spell of six heats which saw them win all but one of them to score 26 points to the Rockets 10. Ostergaard beat Werner with Marsh heading home Kennett in heat 5 to kick off this spell with a 4-2 then Boyce and Ostergaard took a 5-1 from Neath in heat 6. Krzysztof Stojanowski fell in heat 7 surrendering his third place to Daniel King so Jason Doyle’s win from Brent Werner was for a shared heat. In heat 8 Doyle and Phillips took another 5-1 ahead of Edward Kennet and the Islanders had raced into a 6 point lead with the score at 27-21.

Krister marsh beat Chris Neath with Ostergaard third in heat 9 to keep the home side’s winning run going with another 4-2 then Craig Boyce and Glen Phillips scored a 5-1 from Werner and King in heat 10 as the Islanders moved 12 ahead on the night. This was the signal for Edward Kennett to take a TR in heat 11. Jason Doyle won the heat but Kennett finished second with Daniel King taking third place as Krzysztof Stojanowski suffered an engine failure and Rye House had taken a 3-5. Brent Werner was next up for a TR in heat 12 and he made no mistake winning the heat from Glen Phillips. Tommy Allen finished third ahead of Krister Marsh so Rye House had added another 2-7 advantage to the score to make it 41-36 after 12 heats.

In heat 13 the home side took a 4-2 as Craig Boyce beat Chris Neath with Jason Doyle third from Edward Kennett and the Islanders lead went to 7 points. In heat 14 Ulrich Ostergaard guaranteed a win on the night for the Isle of Wight when he beat Daniel King with Glen Phillips third for another 4-2 then, in the last heat, Boyce and Ostergaard added another 5-1 ahead of Werner as Chris Neath retired.

Scorers: For Isle of Wight – Ulrich Ostergaard 13+2 (6), Craig Boyce 13 (5), Jason Doyle 12+1 (5), Glen Phillips 10+2 (6), Krister Marsh 5+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 1 (3).

For Rye House – Brent Werner 15 (6) including a 6 point TR, Chris Neath 10+1 (6), Edward Kennett 8 (5) including a 4 point TR, Daniel King 4+2 (5), Tommy Allen 4+1 (5), Steve Boxall 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Thursday 29 September


Tonight’s match at Sheffield was the first round tie in the Jack Young Shield against Edinburgh .



Jack Young Shield (first round, first leg): Sheffield 57, Edinburgh 37.


Sheffield had Mark Thompson at number 6 in place of Benji Compton who, in turn, had been replacing Paul Cooper but Edinburgh were at full strength. Sheffield were looking for a 20 point lead from this leg and they got it. With only two race winners all night Edinburgh’s lack of heat leader strength was again exposed as they fought a rearguard action to keep within sight of Sheffield.

Sean Wilson won the opening race for a shared heat then Edinburgh looked like taking the lead in heat 2. Matthew Wethers won the race but Robert Ksiezak, lying third, fell then retired so another shared heat was the result. Ricky Ashworth won heat 3 but again the points were shared as Theo Pijper and William Lawson followed him home with Richard Hall suffering an engine failure at the back. Sheffield finally broke the deadlock in heat 4 with a 4-2 when Andre Compton passed Rusty Harrison, who had made the gate, on the third lap with Kyle Legault coming through for third place. This took the score after the opening four heats to 13-11.

In heat 5 Edinburgh again looked like taking a heat advantage but Ricky Ashworth passed Daniel Nermark and Richard Hall went one better passing both Ross Brady and Nermark on the third lap for a home 5-1. In heat 6 Sheffield stretched their lead to eight points with a 4-2 when Sean Wilson got the better of Rusty Harrison with Ben Wilson third. Theo Pijper led briefly in heat 7 but Andre Compton was soon past for a shared heat. At this point it was announced that Ross Brady had retired from the meeting with an ankle injury. However Edinburgh took their first heat advantage when Daniel Nermark won heat 8 from Kyle Legault with Matthew Wethers taking third place from Ben Wilson for a 2-4 which took the score after eight heats to 27-21.

Sheffield restored their eight point lead when Ricky Ashworth won for the third time but Rusty Harrison came from the back to pass Richard Hall as the Tigers took a 4-2. After a thrilling race for first place in heat 10 Sean Wilson finally won from Theo Pijper with Ben Wilson third for a 4-2 as Sheffield moved 10 points ahead. Edinburgh immediately gave Daniel Nermark a TR and. although Andre Compton won the heat, Nermark finished second with Matthew Wethers third so the Monarchs took a 3-5 advantage pulling their arrears back to eight points. It was ten again when Ricky Ashworth completed his full four ride maximum by winning heat 12 ahead of Theo Pijper who had his hands full keeping ahead of Kyle Legault who finished third for another 4-2 to the home side. This took the score to 42-32 with Sean Wilson, Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth all still unbeaten for Sheffield.

In heat 13 Rusty Harrison went as a TR but fell victim to the Wilson/Compton pair after passing Compton on the first lap before being repassed on the third. Sheffield threatened a big finish with the 5-2 stretching their lead to 13 points. In heat 14 Theo Pijper replaced William Lawson as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back. Matthew Wethers did his best trying to hold up Richard Hall but Hall passed him as the Tigers took a second consecutive 5-2 heat win for a 16 point lead. Finally in the last heat the expected 5-1 materialised from Wilson and Compton again as the Tigers built up a 20 point lead to take into tomorrow’s second leg at Armadale.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Sean Wilson 15 (5) (full maximum), Andre Compton 13+2 (5) (paid maximum), Ricky Ashworth 12 (4) (full maximum), Kyle Legault 8+1 (5), Richard Hall 5+2 (4), Mark Thompson 2 (3), Ben Wilson 2 (4).

For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 10 (6) including a 2 point GDTS from 15 metres, Daniel Nermark 9+1 (4) including a 4 point TR, Rusty Harrison 9 (5) including a 2 point TR, Matthew Wethers 5+1 (6), Ross Brady 2 (2), William Lawson 2+2 (3), Robert Ksiezak 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Friday, 30 September



The only fixture tonight was at Edinburgh where the Monarchs raced the second leg of their first round tie in the Jack Young Shield against Sheffield .



Jack Young Shield (first round, second leg): Edinburgh 54, Sheffield 38 Sheffield won through to the semi-finals on aggregate by 95-91.


Edinburgh were without Ross Brady who had injured his ankle the previous night in the first leg of this tie. They used R/R in his place. Sheffield had David McAllan as a guest at reserve in place of Paul Cooper.

Sheffield arrived with a 20 point lead from the previous night’s match at Owlerton. They certainly needed that lead but with the tie very much in the melting pot there were two incredible decisions in heats 14 and 15 which had a considerable bearing on the outcome.

The match started tamely with Sheffield containing the home side with a number of shared races, five to be exact. Sean Wilson had a tapes to flag win in the opening heat then David McAllan swept past Robert Ksiezak to win heat 2. Theo Pijper won heat 3 but Richard Hall scored the only points he was to manage all night by finishing second with Ricky Ashworth third. Rusty Harrison won by the proverbial mile in heat 4 but McAllan and Compton filled the minor places then Sean Wilson had another tapes to flag win in heat 5 to take the score to 15-15.

Then the match warmed up. Rusty Harrison had no trouble beating Andre Compton in heat 6 and Daniel Nermark held off the challenge from David McAllan for a 4-2 as the Monarchs moved two points ahead. In heat 7 Matthew Wethers and Rusty Harrison came from the back to pass Ricky Ashworth for a 5-1 as the home side finally got into their stride. Sheffield began to have cause for concern when Edinburgh added another 5-1 in heat 8 from Nermark and Wethers and suddenly half of Sheffield’s first leg advantage had disappeared with the score moving to 29-19.

Andre Compton gated to win heat 9 for a shared heat and Sheffield must have rued not giving him a TR. Daniel Nermark won heat 10 from Ricky Ashworth with Matthew Wethers third to stretch the Monarchs lead to 12 points and we all waited for Sheffield’s first TR. It came in an eventful heat 11. Sean Wilson took the TR but it was Rusty Harrison and Robert Ksiezak who hit the front. On the third bend David McAllan dived inside Ksiezak and completely wiped him out. As he was sent crashing into the fence, Sean Wilson at the back rode over him and his bike as a result of which Ksiezak had to withdraw from the meeting. McAllan was rightly excluded but in the rerun Matthew Wethers, who replaced Ksiezak, and Rusty Harrison showed Sean Wilson a clean pair of heels from the gate and the Sheffield number one tootled round at the back as the home side recorded a 5-2 stretching their lead to 15 points, now only five adrift on aggregate. In heat 12 Edinburgh crept even closer with a 4-2 when Theo Pijper beat Ricky Ashworth with Matthew Wethers third. This took the score after 12 heats to 45-28 with the aggregate difference three points.

Edinburgh were so unlucky in heat 13. Andre Compton took a TR but it was Sean Wilson who made the gate as Rusty Harrison and Daniel Nermark relegated Andre Compton to last place. However Nermark shed a chain on the second bend so instead of a shared heat Sheffield gained a 2-5 to reduce the arrears on the night to 14 points.

Then came heat 14. Firstly Sheffield tried to give Richard Hall a Tactical Substitute ride until it was pointed out that they couldn’t do this since he was already programmed to ride in the race. This was a heat which Edinburgh always looked like winning 5-1 since Hall and Legault had scored only three points between them all match so any Tactical Substitute ride by Sheffield would limit the damage to a 5-2 leaving them three ahead going into the last heat requiring a 5-1 by the Monarchs to win the match. However, instead of introducing Ben Wilson, Ricky Ashworth, or David McAllan for the TS, they left Hall in the race to start at the tapes as normal. When the race was run, Hall failed to turn on the second bend and speared Matthew Wethers who crashed into Kyle Legault as the riders came to grief. Incredibly referee Ronnie Allen saw nothing wrong and invited all four back. During the delay to mend the fence the referee asked for the red light on the second bend to be checked which brought the shout from the terracing “Are you sure he can see that far!” In the rerun Edinburgh easily took the expected 5-1 which left them only two points behind on aggregate with the score at 52-34.

The toss for gate positions was clearly going to be vital for the last heat since gates one and three were now appalling. Only 7 points had been scored form these gates in the previous four heats with the rider from gate 1 finishing last every time. Edinburgh won the toss but to the utter dismay of the crowd and for reasons known only to them chose gates 1 and 3! The inevitable happened and Andre Compton and Sean Wilson blazed from the tapes scarcely able to believe their luck. Rusty Harrison passed Wilson but it was too little too late as Sheffield progressed to the next round.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Rusty Harrison 14+2 (6), Matthew Wethers 14+2 (7), Theo Pijper 12 (5), Daniel Nermark 8+1 (5), William Lawson 5+2 (4), Robert Ksiezak 1 (2).

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

[Merlin]

Saturday, 1 October

There were three meetings held tonight. At Rye House the Rockets raced their final Premier League match of the season against Somerset . In the other match Workington raced against King’s Lynn in their first round tie in the Jack Young Shield. There was one other meeting and that was at Berwick where the annual Bordernapolis was held.



Premier League: Rye House 60, Somerset 31. Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-79.


Rye House were without Stuart Robson and used R/R at number 1 and, similarly, Somerset were without Magnus Zetterstrom and also used R/R at number 1. Simon Walker was at number 6 for the Rebels. Somerset had a 6 point lead in the chase for the bonus point.

The track was very greasy after some heavy afternoon rain. The meeting might have been cancelled but Somerset had a coach load of fans there and both teams agreed to ride. This looked a bad decision when Neath and Kennett fell in heat 1 but they got up to contest the rerun and shared the opening heat won by Paul Fry for Somerset. Rye House lost a 0-5 in the second race which was rerun after Steve Boxall was excluded. In the rerun Tommy Allen fell as did Simon Walker but Walker got up to complete the race and the Rockets found themselves five points down. Ritchie Hawkins fell and was excluded in heat 3. In the rerun Daniel King beat Paul Fry for a 4-2 and another 4-2 resulted in heat 4 when Chris Neath beat Glenn Cunningham with Tommy Allen third. So after four heats Rye House trailed 11-12.

The next six heats all went the Rockets’ way. A King/Werner 5-1 in heat 5 was followed by a 4-2 in heat 6 when Cunningham split the Kennett/King pairing. Chris Neath beat Paul Fry for another 4-2 in heat 7 then Kennett and Tommy Allen ran up a 5-1 in heat 8 to give the home side a 29-18 lead.

Glenn Cunningham took a TR in heat 9 but finished third behind Werner and King for a 5-2 and this was repeated in heat 10 when Paul Fry took a TR and finished behind Werner and Kennett to increase the home side’s lead to 17 points. Somerset stopped the rot briefly in heat 11 when Cunningham and Smith finished behind Chris Neath for a shared heat but Rye House hit them with two more 5-1s in heats 12 and 13. Paul Fry won heat 14 for the Rebels and a shared heat before Kennett and Neath rattled up Rye House’s seventh maximum heat win in heat 15 for a 29 point win.

Scorers: For Rye House – Chris Neath 16+1 (6), Edward Kennett 14+3 (6), Brent Werner 12+1 (5), Daniel King 11+1 (5), Tommy Allen 5+2 (4), Steve Boxall 2+1 (4).

For Somerset – Paul Fry 12 (6) including a 2 point TR, Glenn Cunningham 10 (6) including a 2 point TR, Jaimie Smith 3+1 (5), Chris Mills 3 (5), Simon Walker 2+1 (3), Ritchie Hawkins 1 (5).



Jack Young Shield (first round, first leg): Workington 50, King’s Lynn 42


Workington had Garry Stead at number 1 for the injured Carl Stonehewer and used R/R at number 2 for Scott Robson. John Branney was at number 6 for the Comets. King’s Lynn used R/R for Troy Batchelor at number 3 and had James Birkinshaw at number 6.

The most crucial heat of the night was probably heat 15. The Comets went into this heat leading by 12 points hoping to increase it to 16 for the return leg. However it was King’s Lynn who took the maximum to stand only eight points in arrears to give themselves an excellent chance of progressing to the semi-finals.

Workington opened with two 4-2s as Garry Stead beat Oliver Allen in heat 1 and Tomasz Piszcz won the reserves race for a four point lead. Oliver Allen won heat three for the Stars and a shared heat but they fell further in arrears when Tomasz Piszcz beat Tomas Topinka in heat 4 with James Wright third for a 4-2. This took the score after the opening four heats to 15-9.

In heat 5 Kauko Nieminen was excluded for touching the tapes and was replaced by John Branney. Oliver Allen won the heat for King’s Lynn from Shaun Tacey and King’s Lynn pulled two points back with the 2-4. Garry Stead beat Tomas Topinka in heat 6 with back-up from Tomasz Piszcz for a 4-2 to the Comets to restore their six points lead then James Wright won heat 7 and Shaun Tacey heat 8, both for shared heats and a heat eight score of 27-21.

The first 5-1 of the night came in heat 9 when Nieminen and Tacey headed home Tomas Topinka to stretch the home side’s lead to 10 points but King’s Lynn quickly played a TR card giving the ride to Kevin Doolan in heat 10. This race was rerun after Tomasz Piszcz had brought down Doolan and been excluded. In the rerun it looked briefly as though King’s Lynn might take a 1-8 as Doolan and Jaros led but Garry Stead came from the back to pass both King’s Lynn riders to limit the damage to a 3-5. In heat 11 John Branney fell and was excluded from the rerun. He also withdrew from the meeting as he went off to hospital for a check up. In the rerun Oliver Allen touched the tapes and elected to go from 15 metres back. James Wright won the heat for a share of the points. Workington were now in a spot of bother because they were left with only one reserve, Tomasz Piszcz. Piszcz, who had already had 6 rides, was needed for heat 14 so Workington had to face heat 12 with only one rider – Shaun Tacey. Tacey won the race to take the score after 12 races to 41-33.

In heat 13 things looked bad for the Comets as Oliver Allen and Tomas Topinka looked to be heading for a 1-5. However James Wright came from the back to pass them both. With Garry Stead stuck at the back the race was shared but in heat 14 it looked as though the Comets had struck a timely blow when Kauko Nieminen and Tomasz Piszcz scored a 5-1 ahead of Kevin Doolan. This put the home side 12 points ahead with one heat to go and a chance to add to the lead with James Wright and Garry Stead in heat 15. However it was King’s Lynn who hit back with the big 1-5 from Tomas Topinka and Oliver Allen as Garry Stead suffered an engine failure.

Scorers: For Workington – Shaun Tacey 12+1 (5), James Wright 11 (5), Tomasz Piszcz 10+1 (7), Garry Stead 9 (5), Kauko Nieminen 7+1 (4), John Branney 1 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Oliver Allen 13+2 (6), Tomasz Topinka 9+1 (5), Kevin Doolan 7+2 (5) including a 4 point TR, Ashley Jones 7 (5), Jan Jaros 4+2 (6), James Birkinshaw 2 (3).



Bordernapolis: at Berwick

Winner: Adrian Rymel
Second: Chris Harris
Third: Adam Pietraszko
Fourth: Henning Bager

The meeting was run on the basis of a 12 rider, 12 heats, four rides each formula with the top four point scorers qualifying for the final. After the 12 qualifying heats Chris Harris, Adrian Rymel, Adam Pietraszko and Henning Bager qualified for the final. In the final Adrian Rymel made a fast start to lead the field. Chris Harris came from the back to pass Bager and Pietraszko but just failed to catch Rymel.

Scorers – Chris Harris 10, Adrian Rymel 9, Adam Pietraszko 9, Henning Bager 8, Michal Makovsky 8, Adam Skornicki 7, Piotr Dym 7, George Stancl 5, Theo Pijper 3, Scott Smith 3, Carl Wilkinson 2, Mariusz Frankow 1, David Meldrum (res) DNR.

[Merlin]

Sunday, 2 October

There were two meetings held tonight. At Stoke the Potters raced against the Isle of Wight . While at Glasgow the annual Ashfield Classic was held.



Premier League: Stoke 43, Isle of Wight 34. Stoke won the bonus point on aggregate by 89-84. The meeting was abandoned as a result of heavy rain after heat 12. The result stands.



Stoke had Garry Stead as a guest at number 5 and used R/R for Adam Allott/David Meldrum at number 2. TheIsle of Wight used R/R for Steen Jensen at number 2.

The rain finally took its toll in this match as heat 12 was reached with a struggle allowing the match to be abandoned with the result standing. Incredibly over these twelve heats the Islanders’ reserves took no less than 13 rides while the rest of their team combined only took 11. The Isle of Wight had a slender four point lead from the match on the Island looking for the bonus point.

Alan Mogridge won the opening heat from Craig Boyce and a share of the points then a spectacular crash in heat 2 which saw Jason Doyle’s bike crash into Luke Priest with a large section of the fence disappearing in the melee. Doyle was excluded from the rerun and the Stoke reserves took a 5-1 to give the home side an early four point lead. The Potters doubled their lead in heat 3 when Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler gated to see off Krzysztof Stojanowski and Krister Marsh for another 5-1 but Ulrich Ostergaard won heat 4 from Stead and Priest and a shared heat which took the score to 16-8.

Craig Boyce won heat 5 and Alan Mogridge heat 6 for shared heats. With the rain getting heavier it looked as though this match would not go the distance and the Islanders best chance was to hope for the bonus point. In heat 7 though it looked all over as Garry Stead and Barrie Evans took another 5-1 ahead of Stojanowski to stretch the home side’s lead to 12 points. Another 5-1 in heat 8 from Clews and Priest from Jason Doyle took the score to 32-16.

In heat 9 Ulrich Ostergaard took a TR. Although he finished second to Paul Clews he was followed home by Jason Doyle who beat Robbie Kessler for the third place and the Islanders had gained a 3-5. Alan Mogridge beat Stojanowski and Phillips for a shared heat 10 then Craig Boyce took a TR in heat 11. Boyce won the race from Barrie Evans and Jason Doyle headed home Garry Stead so the Isle of Wight took a 2-7 to reduce their arrears to 9 points. Paul Clews won heat 12 for another share of the points after which the referee pulled the plug on the meeting which meant that Stoke took all three points.

Scorers: For Stoke – Paul Clews 14 (5), Alan Mogridge 9 (3), Barrie Evans 6+2 (3), Luke Priest 6+2 (4), Garry Stead 5 (3), Robbie Kessler 3+2 (3), Jack Hargreaves (number 8) 0 (3).

For Isle of Wight – Craig Boyce 11 (3) including a 6 point TR, Ulrich Ostergaard 9 (3) including a 4 point TR, Jason Doyle 6+4 (7), Glen Phillips 4+1 (6), Krzysztof Stojanowski 4 (3), Krister Marsh 0 (2),



Ashfield Classic: at Glasgow

Winner: George Stancl
Second: James Grieves
Third: Adam Skornicki
Fourth: Adrian Rymel

This meeting was run on the basis of a 16 rider, 20 heats, five rides each formula with the top two point scorers being seeded directly to the final. The next four top point scorers qualified for a semi-final with the first two taking the other two places in the final.

The semi-final finished: 1st: Adrian Rymel, 2nd: James Grieves, 3rd: Mariusz Franklow, 4th: Shane Parker. This meant that Rymel and Grieves joined George Stancl and Adam Skornicki.

In the final, rerun after Adrian Rymel has fallen, James Grieves was soon in front but George Stancl who had made a poor start brought the house down by passing Adam Skornicki before chasing and passing James Grieves to take the title.

Scorers – George Stancl 14, Adam Skornicki 12, Adrian Rymel 11, Mariusz Franklow 11, Shane Parker 10, James Grieves 10, Henning Bager 9, David Howe 7, Adam Pietraszko 7, James Wright 6, William Lawson 6, Piotr Dym 5, Trent Leverington 4, Mark Lemon 3 (2), Theo Pijper 2, Claus Kristensen 1,

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 5 October

After two night’s without any meeting involving Premier League sides, action was resumed at King’s Lynn where the Stars were at home to Workington in the second leg of their first round Jack Young Shield match.



Jack Young Shield (first round, second leg): King’s Lynn 52, Workington 42 King’s Lynn won through to the semi-finals on aggregate by 94-92


King’s Lynn welcomed back Troy Batchelor to the side after a long absence through injury and had Darren Mallett at number 6 in place of Tommy Stange. Injury-ravaged Workington had Magnus Zetterstrom at number 1 as a guest for Carl Stonehewer, used R/R for Scott Robson at number 2 and had Ritchie Dennis as a guest at number 6. Workington came with an eight point advantage from the first leg from last Saturday night.

Workington made a good start providing the winners of the first three races. Magnus Zetterstrom was first up beating Oliver Allen. With Ashley Jones suffering an engine failure, the Comets started with a 2-4. Tomasz Piszcz won the reserves race for a 3-3 then Shaun Tacey, returning to his former track, won heat 3 from Kevin Doolan. Kauko Nieminen passed Troy Batchelor so Workington took another 2-4 to lead by four points. However, Tomas Topinka and Jan Jaros scored a 5-1 in heat 4 beating James Wright in the process so King’s Lynn pegged the scores back to level on the night at 12-12.

Heat 5 took three attempts to run with first Troy Batchelor then Magnus Zetterstrom warned for moving at the starting gate. When it finally got underway, Kevin Doolan beat Magnus Zetterstrom with Troy Batchelor third for a 4-2 which put the Stars in front for the first time in the match. They doubled their two point lead with another 4-2 in heat 6. This time Oliver Allen won after an exciting race with Tomasz Piszcz who was taking his fourth ride in six heats. Ashley Jones finished third with James Wright at the back. Shaun Tacey had a nasty fall in heat 7 which resulted in the ambulance taking to the track to his aid. However he was soon up and back on his feet apparently none the worse. In the rerun with Shaun Tacey excluded, Kauko Nieminen passed Darren Mallett to follow Tomas Topinka home but King’s Lynn’s third consecutive 4-2 had them six points ahead on the night and only two behind on aggregate. Then they were pegged back by a 1-5 from Workington thanks to a fast start by Tomasz Piszcz and a good second place by Shaun Tacey ahead of Ashley Jones. This took the score to 25-23 and Workington were still very much alive in the match with only two points of their first leg lead eaten up and three Zetterstrom and Tacey rides to come. Their big worry was the lack of points from James Wright.

That worry was not eased in heat 9 when Troy Batchelor and Kevin Doolan took a 5-1 from James Wright to restore the Stars’ 6 point lead before the interval with the odds now beginning to favour the home side. After the interval King’s Lynn squared the aggregate score with a 4-2 from Oliver Allen, who beat Kauko Nieminen, and Ashley Jones. Ominously for Workington Shaun Tacey was tailed off at the back. Heat 11 saw a titanic battle between Tomas Topinka and Magnus Zetterstrom. Although Zetterstrom looked to have the advantage Topinka passed him on the last lap. With Ritchie Dennis taking the third place point at the expense of Darren Mallett the heat was shared. In heat 12 Troy Batchelor beat Tomasz Piszcz with Jan Jaros relegating Kauko Nieminen to last place and the 4-2 put King’s Lynn ahead on aggregate for the first time with the score at 41-31, 83-81 on aggregate. However this opened the door to the use of a TR by Workington.

Sure enough Magnus Zetterstrom was given a TR in heat 13 but he was faced by Oliver Allen and Tomas Topinka who had dropped only one point between them all match at that stage. Topinka and Allen made the gate and the 5-2 had Workington in trouble. King’s Lynn now had a five point aggregate lead and Workington needed a big result from heat 14. They got it, too! Tomasz Piszcz took a TR and lined up with Shaun Tacey against Kevin Doolan and Jan Jaros. Piszcz and Tacey got themselves out in front and team rode to keep Kevin Doolan at the back for the big 1-8 which took the score on the night to 47-41, and Workington were now two points ahead again going into the final heat needing three points to win through to the semi-finals. King’s Lynn needed a 5-1 for success and with Oliver Allen and Tomas Topinka out again were favourites to do it. Workington tracked Magnus Zetterstrom and Shaun Tacey. In the event the King’s Lynn pair made the gate for the 5-1 that they needed and that was that. Phew!

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 14+1 (5) (paid maximum), Oliver Allen 13+1 (5), Kevin Doolan 8+1 (4), Troy Batchelor 7 (4), Jan Jaros 4+2 (5), Darren Mallett 3 (3), Ashley Jones 3 (4).

For Workington – Tomasz Piszcz 17 (7) including a 6 point TR, Magnus Zetterstrom 10 (5) including a 2 point TR, Shaun Tacey 7+2 (6), Kauko Nieminen 5 (4), James Wright 2 (4), Ritchie Dennis 1+1 (4).