Around the Premier League Tracks 2005

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 10 May

It was the turn of the Isle of Wight to face the team of the moment Rye House in a Premier Trophy match. Although Rye House have the group all sewn up, the Isle of Wight needed to win tonight to maintain their prospects of finishing second to qualify for the semi-finals.


Premier Trophy (south): Isle of Wight 44, Rye House 46 Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 107-76

The Isle of Wight once again used Rider Replacement for Jason Bunyan at number 5 while Rye House, having lost Harland Cook to injury at Reading last night, gave the number six race jacket to another Raiders’ rider Barry Burchatt. Isle of Wight faced a 29 point deficit from the earlier match at Hoddesdon so realistically the bonus point was a long shot for them.

The Islanders have been dominant round their own track since the season started but were given a thorough examination by the Rye House Rockets currently on fire and fresh from an eight point win at Reading last night. The opening four heats were all shared but, ominously for the Islanders, Craig Boyce had appeared in two of them, won them both yet still the scores were level at 12-12.

The deadlock was broken in heat 5 when Stuart Robson headed home Ulrich Ostergaard with Edward Kennett keeping Krister Marsh at the back for a 2-4 to put the Rockets 14-16 ahead. The Islanders hit back with their own 4-2 in heat 6 when Boyce, out for the third time, won for the third time from Brent Werner with Manuel Hauzinger third. But Rye House were back in front again with another 2-4 in heat 7 from Neath and Allen to lead 20-22. Heat 8 was shared thanks to a Hauzinger win from Kennett and King.

The Isle of Wight squared the match again with a 4-2 in heat 9 when Krister Marsh beat Brent Werner but they suffered a bad blow in heat 10. Craig Boyce came through the field on the second bend to lead the race only to suffer an engine failure on the fourth bend. Rye House took full advantage by scoring a 1-5 from Chris Neath and Tommy Allen to go four points ahead at 28-32 and, after a Robson win in heat 11 for a shared heat, they stretched the lead to six points with a Neath/King 2-4 to make the score 33-39 at the interval. The Islanders were certainly needing their usual pick-me-up that the interval frequently brings them.

They did get two points back in heat 13 when Craig Boyce beat Stuart Robson with Manuel Hauzinger doing well to take third place from Brent Werner. The 4-2 took the score to 37-41. However, the Islanders were running out of heats and, although Ulrich Ostergaard won heat 14, the shared heat made the score 40-44 leaving the Islanders needing a 1-5 for a draw.

They almost did it! Craig Boyce and Ulrich Ostergaard were heading for the 5-1 but Stuart Robson got past Ostergaard on the last lap to give all three points to the Rockets. This result puts the runners-up spot back in the melting pot cancelling out the benefit of the Islanders away win at Reading earlier in the season.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Craig Boyce 15 (6), Ulrich Ostergaard 11 (6), Krister Marsh 6+1 (5), Manuel Hauzinger 6 (5), Steen Jensen 4 (4), Jason Doyle 2+2 (4).

For Rye House – Chris Neath 12 (5), Stuart Robson 11+1 (5), Daniel King 9+1 (5), Edward Kennett 5 (4), Brent Werner 5 (4), Tommy Allen 4+2 (4), Barry Burchatt 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 11 May

It was Premier League action tonight at King’s Lynn , where the Stars were at home to Stoke, and at Hull where Isle of Wight were the visitors.


Premier League: King’s Lynn 61, Stoke 34


For their opening Premier League match for this season King’s Lynn had Paul Lee, signed from Peterborough to cover the absence of Kevin Doolan, at number two with Adam Allott at number three and James Brundle moving to number four. Their guest for the injured Oliver Allen was Chris Neath. Stoke, fresh from their win at Newport on Sunday, had Stuart Robson as a guest for Jan Staechmann and operated Rider Replacement for Peter Carr who had jarred his knee in the match at Newport.

This was no contest. After heat 11 Stoke had only scored 18 points and were strong candidates for the biggest thrashing of the season. The Stars dropped only one point in the opening five heats to lead 24-6 before Stoke stopped the rot temporarily by sharing heat 6. The statistics for these opening 11 heats with the score at 50-18 show that the Stars had scored seven 5-1 heat wins and two 4-2s with two heats shared thanks to the Stuart Robson win in heat 6 and a four point second place from Robson again as TR in heat 9.

Over the last four heats, though, Stoke outscored the Stars by 11-16 as Robbie Kessler suddenly sprung to life. In heat 12 he beat Adam Allott with Barrie Evans third to produce a Stoke 2-4. Stuart Robson split Tomas Topinka and Chris Neath for a 4-2 to Stars in heat 13 but Robbie Kessler had another heat win in heat 14 this time as a TR. With Ashley Jones falling in an effort to get round him Stoke took a 2-7 to top the 30 point mark and then finished by sharing the last heat won by Topinka who passed Robbie Kessler on the second lap.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 14 (5), Adam Allott 11 (4), Chris Neath 10 (4), Paul Lee 8+3 (5), James Brundle 7+2 (4), Ashley Jones 7+2 (4), Jan Jaros 4+1 (4).

For Stoke – Robbie Kessler 14 (6) including a 6 point TR, Stuart Robson 12+1 (5) including a 4 point TR, Paul Clews 5 (5), Barrie Evans 3 (5), Rob Grant 0 (4), Alan Mogridge 0 (5).



Premier League: Hull 55, Isle of Wight 37

With the new averages coming into force, Hull had Emiliano Sanchez at number 1 with Paul Thorp moving to number 2 and Craig Branney moving into the body of the team at number 3. Their Italian signing, Simone Terenzani moved down to share the reserve berths with Joel Parsons. The Isle of Wight used Rider Replacement for Jason Bunyan at number 5 and had Mike Pickering at number seven for Steen Jensen.

The opening three heats were all shared before Hull got their noses in front with a 4-2 in heat 4 when Garry Stead beat Ulrich Ostergaard who was taking a R/R ride with Terenzani third. They followed this with a 5-1 in heat 5 from Emil Kramer and Craig Branney with Manuel Hauzinger third to take a six point lead at 18-12. In heat 6 Paul Thorp beat Craig Boyce with Sanchez third for another 4-2 which put the Vikings eight points ahead at 22-14. Heat 7 was shared but another 5-1 in heat 8 this time from Simone Terenzani and Paul Thorp ahead of Mike Pickering after Manuel Hauzinger had retired killed off any hopes the Islanders might still have had. The score was now 30-18.

Kramer and Branney added another maximum in heat 9 in a three man race in which the Islanders eventually fielded only Jason Doyle. In this race Krister Marsh had been nominated for a TR and R/R but broke the tapes and so had to go from 15 metres back. He was then excluded for failing to beat the two minute time allowance and was excluded.

In heat 10 Ulrich Ostergaard took a TR but could only finish second to Paul Thorp so the Islanders shared the heat 4-4. The next four heats were also shared before Hull finished with a 4-2 in heat 15 from Stead and Kramer split by Boyce.

Scorers: For Hull – Garry Stead 13 (5), Emil Kramer 12 (5), Paul Thorp 9+2 (4), Craig Branney 7+2 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 5+1 (4), Simone Terenzani 5+1 (4), Joel Parsons 4+2 (4).

For Isle of Wight – Craig Boyce 13 (6), Ulrich Ostergaard 13 (6) including a 4 point TR, Jason Doyle 6 (6), Krister Marsh 3+3 (3), Manuel Hauzinger 1 (3), Mike Pickering 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 12 May

Their was only one Premier Trophy match tonight - at Sheffield where the Tigers were at home to Berwick Bandits.


Premier Trophy (north): Sheffield 59, Berwick 35 Sheffield won the bonus point on aggregate by 99-90


This was Sheffield’s final section match in which they needed to pull back the 15 points by which they lost to Berwick in the opening match of the season.

Sheffield were at full strength for this match and Berwick would have been too but for the non-appearance of Joachim Kugelmann who by all accounts was present at the track but did not race. Berwick claimed that he was suffering from food poisoning but, with no other eligible rider available, the Bandits were forced to track a six man team. Sheffield’s 20 point win means that they have set a target of 20 points for the runners up spot in the section with seven home wins and six bonus points.

Berwick were swamped from the off. Adrian Rymel finished second to Sean Wilson in the opening heat for a 4-2 but consecutive 5-1s in heats 2 and 3 put the Tigers 10 points ahead before Piotr Dym and Chris Schramm relegated Trevor Harding to fourth place behind Andre Compton in heat 4 for a share of the heat. After heat 4 the score was therefore 17-7.

Heats 5 and 6 went Sheffield’s way by 4-2 but Scott Smith and Michal Makovsky followed Andre Compton for a 3-3 in heat 7 before Berwick nominated Adam Pietraszko for a TR in heat 8. Although Ben Wilson won the heat Pietrsazko and Chris schramm followed him home for a 3-5 to make the score after heat eight 31-19. This meant that Berwick were still in front on aggregate by 3 points at 71 -74 but it looked to be just a matter of time before that was swallowed up by Sheffield.

A 5-1 in heat 9 from Ashworth and Hall saw Sheffield in front for the bonus and they stretched the lead with a 4-2 in heat 10 when the two Wilsons were separated by Michal Makovsky. Heat 11 was shared but Berwick had their second heat success in heat 12 thanks to a TR by Scott Smith who finished second to Ashworth with his partner, Adrian Rymel, third. The 3-5 took the score to 46-30.

Two more 5-1s in heats 13 and 15 flanked Berwick’s one and only race winner of the night in heat 14, Michal Makovsky, to stretch the win to 20 points. There were three maximums for Sheffield. Andre Compton had a full five ride maximum, Sean Wilson had a 5 ride paid maximum and Ricky Ashworth a 4 ride full maximum.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 15 (5), full maximum, Sean Wilson 13+2 (5) paid maximum, Ricky Ashworth 12 (4) full maximum, Richard Hall 6+2 (4), Ben Wilson 6 (4), Paul Cooper 4+1 (4), Trevor Harding 3 (4).

For Berwick – Adam Pietraszko 9 (5) including a 4 point TR, Michal Makovsky 7+1 (5), Scott Smith 6 (4) including a 4 point TR, Chris Schramm 6+3 (7), Adrian Rymel 4+1 (4), Piotr Dym 3 (4), Joachim Kugelmann DNR.

[Merlin]

Friday, 13 May

The Premier Trophy and Premier League matches tonight featured the two Scottish teams. In the Premier Trophy Edinburgh completed their seven home matches by taking on section winners Workington . In the Premier League Somerset were at home to Glasgow .


Premier Trophy (north): Edinburgh 49, Workington 41 Workington won the bonus point on aggregate by 101-85


Edinburgh needed to win this match to maintain an interest in the Premier Trophy. They faced a 26 point deficit from the first leg so were unlikely to take the bonus. The Monarchs were at full strength with new signing, David McAllan, coming into the side at number 7. Workington , who had already won the section, were without both Aidan Collins and Scott Robson both missing as a result of injuries. They used Rider Replacement at number 2 and had Craig Branney as a guest at number 3. Jonathan Bethall continued in the reserve berth at number 7.

Any hopes Edinburgh might have had of challenging for the bonus point soon disappeared as they struggled to contain a lively Comets side who consistently outgated them. Things started to go wrong for Monarchs in this Friday the 13th match as early as heat 1 when Ross Brady, after a fast start, fell on the second bend and was excluded. Carl Stonehewer was too fast for Rusty Harrison in the rerun and Workington were off to a 2-4 start. The Edinburgh reserves started well in heat 2 but David Mcallan had a good look at the first bend fence on the second lap as Kevin Little slipped past him and then also past William Lawson a lap later to share the heat. Heat 3, won by Theo Pijper, was shared but Edinburgh wiped out the Comets advantage to lead themselves with a heat four 5-1 from David McAllan and Daniel Nermark with Kauko Nieminen third. The score after 4 heats was 13-11 but a shock was in store for the Monarchs.

Carl Stonehewer and Kevin Little took a 1-5 in heat 5 as Theo Pijper followed the Comets’ pair home and another Comets 1-5 came in heat 6 from Kevin Little again and Kauko Nieminen with Rusty Harrison and Ross Brady trailing behind to shoot the Workington side into a six point lead at 15-21. Edinburgh hit back with a 4-2 in heat 7 from Daniel Nermark and William Lawson with Shaun Tacey in second place and then a 5-1 from Brady and McAllan ahead of Shaun Tacey after Kevin Little had brought down Ross Brady in the first running of the heat and been excluded. The score after eight heats was 24-24.

Edinburgh were behind again in heat 9 when Kevin Little and Kauko Nieminen took another 1-5 with Theo Pijper third to take the score to 25-29 and the home fans were decidedly worried with Carl Stonehewer out three times in the remaining six heats and Kevin Little still with two rides available. However the Monarchs finally shook off their lethargy and rattled home two 5-1s and two 4-2s over the next four heats to all but tie up the match.

In heat 10 a Brady/Harrison 5-1 levelled the scores before Daniel Nermark ended Carl Stonehewer’s winning run with an impressive William Lawson third to put the Monarchs two points in front after heat 11. William Lawson replaced Cameron Woodward in heat 12 and cleverly beat Kevin Little with David McAllan third to stretch the lead to four points. Then in heat 13 Nermark and Harrison rocketed from the gate to take a 5-1 with Nieminen in third place to put the Monarchs 43-35 ahead. In heat 14 Theo Pijper came to grief on the third bend and injured his shoulder. In the rerun William Lawson again out manoeuvred Shaun Tacey and Kevin Little for an excellent heat win and share of the points. In the last heat the Comets were allowed to field Jonathan Bethell for some reason or other but Carl Stonehewer trapped to win the heat for a 3-3.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Daniel Nermark 12+2 (5), William Lawson 10 (5), Rusty Harrison 9+2 (5), David McAllan 7+2 (4), Ross Brady 6 (4), Theo Pijper 5 (4), Cameron Woodward 0 (3).

For Workington – Kevin Little 14+2 (7), Carl Stonehewer 11 (5), Shaun Tacey 7 (5), Kauko Nieminen 6+2 (4), Craig Branney 3+1 (5), Jonathan Bethell 0 (4).



Premier League: Somerset 56, Glasgow 39


Somerset were attempting to take their first Premier League points having lost their opening two fixtures. They were at full strength for this match. This was Glasgow ’s opening Premier League fixture and they, too, were at full strength with Claus Kristensen making his debut at number four.

The opening four heats saw Glasgow struggle. They lost the first three by 4-2 then conceded a 5-0 in heat 4 when both Shane Parker and Trent Leverington fell with the score moving to 17-6. In heat 5 Glasgow immediately gave George Stancl a TR and he responded by winning from Paul Fry and Ritchie Hawkins for a 3-6 which reduced the gap to 8 points at 20-12. Somerset hit back with two 5-1s of their own in heats 6 and 7 from Magnus Zetterstrom and Jaimie Smith ahead of Shane Parker and then Glenn Cunningham and Jason King with James Birkinshaw in third place. This put the Rebels 16 points ahead at 30-14 but Glasgow hit back with a vengeance.

In heat 8 Trent Leverington and Matthew Wethers scored a 1-5 from Smart and Smith and in heat 9 Shane Parker took a TR. He won the race and Trent Leverington followed him home relegating Hawkins and Fry to the back so Glasgow scored the big 1-8. As a result of these two heats Glasgow were now only 5 points behind at 32-27. Somerset immediately hit back with another two 5-1s in heats 10 and 11 from Zetterstrom and Smith with Kristensen third then from Cunningham and King with Stancl third to ease 13 points ahead at 42-29.

Heat 12 was unique. It was the only shared heat of the night! Ritchie Hawkins won it with Leverington and Cockle filling the minor places. In heat 13 Glasgow took another 1-5 from Parker and Stancl ahead of Zetterstrom and Cunningham but King and Fry did likewise for Somerset in heat 14 with Leverington third. In heat 15 Cunningham and Zetterstrom then reversed the Glasgow maximum of heat 13 with a 5-1 of their own ahead of Stancl and Parker to give the Rebels a 17 point win.

It was certainly a match of swings and roundabouts. Somerset had six 5-1s, a 5-0 and three 4-2s while Glasgow had a 1-8, two 1-5s and a 3-6!

Scorers: For Somerset – Glenn Cunningham 12 (5), Jason King 10+2 (5), Magnus Zetterstrom 10+1 (5), Jamie Smith 7+2 (4), Paul Fry 7+1 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 6+1 (4), Lee Smart 4+1 (3)

For Glasgow – George Stancl 12+1 (5) including a 6 point TR, Trent Leverington 10+1 (6), Shane Parker 10 (5) including a 6 point TR, Claus Kristensen 3 (4), Matthew Wethers 2+1 (4), James Cockle 1+1 (3), James Birkinshaw 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 14 May

Tonight saw two Premier League matches and one Premier Trophy match take place. The Trophy match was in the northern section at Berwick where Stoke were the visitors. The two League matches were at Rye House where the Rockets were at home to Glasgow and at Workington where the Comets faced Reading .


Premier Trophy (north): Berwick 52, Stoke 41 Stoke took the bonus point on aggregate by 94-92.


With Sheffield beating the Bandits and taking the bonus point on Thursday, Berwick could no longer reach the 20 point mark to challenge for the runner-up spot in the group. Stoke needed to win this match to have any chance of reaching 20 points. Tonight’s result means that only Edinburgh can now challenge Sheffield for that second spot. Berwick were at full strength for this match but Stoke had Rusty Harrison as a guest for Jan Staechmann. The Bandits needed to pull back 13 points to challenge for the bonus point.

Berwick just couldn’t shake off Stoke in the early stages of this match as the Potters stayed with them up until heat 9 when they were only six points behind. After a shared opening heat won by Adrian Rymel Berwick struck with two 4-2s in heats 2 and 3 and another 3-3 in heat 4 won by Rusty Harrison made the score 14-10. Stoke hit back with a 2-4 in heat 5 when Alan Mogridge beat Michal Makovsky with Paul Clews picking up the third place point. This was cancelled by a 4-2 to Berwick in heat 6 when Adrian Rymel beat Stoke’s guest Rusty Harrison with Pietraszko third. Heat 7 won by Robbie Kessler was shared but Berwick stretched their lead to six points in heat 8 when Paul Clews could only split the Pietraszko/Kugelmann pairing. The score was now 27-21.

Heat 9 was shared but Berwick recorded the first of their two 5-1s in heat 10 with Rymel and Pietraszko beating Robbie Kessler and Peter Carr to stretch the lead to 10 points at 35-25. Immediately Stoke gave Alan Mogridge a TR in heat 11 which he duly won for a 3-6 to cut Berwick’s lead to 7 points. Heat 12 was shared as Berwick struggled to pull back the 13 points needed to put them in contention for the bonus point. It looked as though their chance had gone when Rusty Harrison beat Adrian Rymel in heat 13 with Alan Mogridge losing second place to Adrian Rymel for a 2-4 to Stoke which put the Potters only 5 points down at 43-38.

Their hopes were revived with a 5-1 in heat 14 from Makovsky and Schramm leaving them needing another 5-1 in heat 15 to tie the score on aggregate for a bonus point race-off. However the race was rerun after Alan Mogridge had come to grief in the first running and Rusty Harrison led to the last bend before Adrian Rymel finally got through for the win. Harrison’s two points were enough to give Stoke the bonus but with qualification now impossible for the Potters it was of little real significance.

Scorers: For Berwick – Adrian Rymel 14 (5), Michal Makovsky 12 (5), Joachim Kugelmann 8+1 (4), Adam Pietraszko 6+1 (4), Piotr Dym 6 (4), Chris Schramm 5+3 (4), Scott Smith 1 (4).

For Stoke – Rusty Harrison 12 (5), Alan Mogridge 12 (5) including a 6 point TR, Robbie Kessler 7 (4), Paul Clews 4+1 (4), Barrie Evans 3+1 (4), Rob Grant 2 (4), Peter Carr 1+1 (4).


Premier League: Rye House 55, Glasgow 40


In George Stancl and Shane Parker, Glasgow have two of the Premier League's best riders but their combined efforts could not prevent Rye House from recording another home win in the league. The Rockets used Harland Cook as a replacement for the still injured Steve Boxall. Glasgow fielded their new signing from Newcastle, Claus Kristensen. Daniel King once again proved to be a valuable asset at reserve for Rye House, dropping only one point all night.

The home fans knew they had a match on their hands after the first four heats were shared. Stancl led from the tapes in heat 1 to beat Stuart Robson and Edward Kennett and Parker followed up in heat 4, ahead of Daniel King and Brent Werner. It might have been worse for Rye House when Chris Neath almost fell on the last bend in heat 3 when well in front of the Glasgow pair of Claus Kristensen and James Birkenshaw, Tommy Allen having fallen on the first lap.

The deadlock was broken in heat 5 when George Stancl and Matthew Wethers took a 4-2 ahead of Tommy Allen and Chris Neath. (Neath later discovered a loose bolt on his bike was to blame for his below par performance.) The Rockets hit back in the next heat with a 5-1 thanks to the reliable Robson/Kennett pairing leading Shane Parker and James Cockle (on loan from Rye House to Glasgow). Kennett took no prisoners on the first bend and Parker seemed less than pleased about this after the race was over.

The Rockets led 27-21 after eight heats and only an excellent ride from Parker, overtaking the weakened Neath on the second lap, kept the lead down to six points. Robson and Kennett won heat 10 easily against Birkenshaw and Kristensen to stretch the lead to ten points. George Stancl took a tactical ride in heat 11 and managed to hold off Brent Werner, while Wethers finished ahead of Harland Cook to give Glasgow a 7-2 heat win, reducing the deficit to five points.

Any hopes of a comeback were dashed in the next heat when Daniel King and Chris Neath scored an easy 5-1 against James Cockle and Birkenshaw.

Heat 13 proved to be as good as it looked on paper : Robson and Werner against Stancl and Parker, with Parker taking a tactical ride. Once again, George Stancl flew out of the gate but Robson was right on his tail and he passed Stancl on the first lap, taking an outside line around the fourth bend. Now Stancl had two jobs - to keep Werner at bay and to somehow get Parker into a scoring position. He managed this with the help of a dubious tactic on the last bend of the final lap, when, with Werner right on his inside, he appeared to shut off the throttle for a split second and block Werner's progress. Werner still managed to get ahead of him at the line but the delay allowed Parker to come round the pair of them and take second place for four points and a shared heat.

It came as no surprise to see Brent Werner out again in the final heat, partnered by Stuart Robson, against the predictable Parker / Stancl pairing for the visitors. For once, Stancl failed to lead and Werner was soon in control with Robson finishing a close third. After the race, Stancl appeared to apologise for events in heat 13 but Werner didn't care. His team will take a respectable lead to Glasgow for the return match, with every chance of gaining the bonus point.

Scorers: For Rye House – Daniel King 13+1 (5), Stuart Robson 11+1 (5), Brent Werner 10+1 (5), Edward Kennett 9+2 (4), Chris Neath 7+1 (4), Tommy Allen 5+2 (4), Harland Cook 0 (3).

For Glasgow – George Stancl 14 (5) including a 6 point TR, Shane Parker 11 (5) including a 4 point TR, Claus Kristensen 5 (4), James Birkinshaw 3+2 (4), Matthew Wethers 3 (4), James Cockle 3 (5), Trent Leverington 1+1 (3).

(Report by Candyman)

(Continued below)

[Merlin]

(Continued from above)

Saturday, 14 May



Premier League: Workington 56, Reading 38


Injury hit Workington were still without Scott Robson and Aidan Collins so used R/R at number 2 and had Pavel Ondrasik as a guest. Reading had new signing Steve Masters at number 2 and Simon Stead at number 5 for Matej Zagar who was riding on the continent. With Chris Johnson still out injured they had Luke Priest as a guest at number 6.

Yet again Workington looked to the reserve berth for their top scorer, Kevin Little’s paid 17 tally coming from seven races, but only Simon Stead and Zdenek Simota offered any real threat to Workington’s domination. Kevin Little had three of his seven rides in the opening four heats by which time Workington had recorded two 5-1s with the other two heats shared. The score after heat 4 was 16-8.

Another Comets’ 5-1 in heat 5 from Shaun Tacey and guest Pavel Ondrasik stretched their lead to 21-9 so Reading gave Simon Stead a TR in heat 6. Simon continued on his unbeaten way with the full six points and a Reading 3-6 but they enjoyed only a brief respite as Workington then scored two more 5-1s in heats 7 and 8 to lead 34-17.

Another Stead win for a share of the points in heat 9 was followed by two more 4-2s in heats 10 and 11 for Workington with Andrew Appleton and Zdenek Simota finally taking a couple of second places. In heat 12 Simota came into the heat as a Tactical Substitute for Luke Priest from 15 metres back. Although he got past Scott James he couldn’t get past his own partner, Richard Wolff, who finished second to Pavel Ondrasik so the heat finished 3-4 to Reading. Simon Stead made it four wins from four in heat 13 for a 3-3 then Simota won a heat for Reading for a second consecutive 3-3.

When Carl Stonehewer was thrown out of heat 15 for touching the tapes he declined to go from 15 metres back so, with Kevin Little having completed his seven rides, Workington had to field Scott James. Simon Stead won the heat from Kauko Nieminen with Zdenek Simota taking third place for a 2-4. Having trailed by 45-24 at the interval after heat 11 Reading can claim to have beaten the Comets over the last four heats by 11-14.

Scorers: For Workington – Kevin Little 14+3 (7), Shaun Tacey 13 (5), Kauko Nieminen 11+1 (5), Pavel Ondrasik 9+3 (5), Carl Stonehewer 8+2 (5), Scott James 1+1 (4).

For Reading – Simon Stead 18 (5) including a 6 point TR, Zdenek Simota 9+1 (6) including a 2 point GDTS from 15 metres, Andrew Appleton 3 (4), Richard Wolff 3 (4), Steve Masters 2 (4), Mathieu Tressarieu 2 (4), Luke Priest 1+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 15 May

Today’s action featured one Premier Trophy match and two Premier League matches. The Premier Trophy action was in the southern section at Newport where the Wasps were at home to King’s Lynn. The other two Premier League matches were at Glasgow where the Tigers faced Reading and at Newcastle where Workington provided the opposition.


Premier Trophy (south): Newport 46, King’s Lynn 47 King’s Lynn took the bonus on aggregate by 100-85


With Kristian Lund able to take his place after last week’s crash against Stoke, Newport had only one change to make – Stuart Robson came into the side at number 5 for the injured Craig Watson. He was on the other side from his team mate at Rye House, Chris Neath, who was a guest at number 5 for Oliver Allen in the King’s Lynn side who were otherwise at full strength.

There aren’t many details to be found about this match but James Brundle crashed in heat 3 and took no further part in the meeting. After heat 7 Newport were already trailing by 6 points at 18-24 and in heat 8 Ashley Jones was excluded for bringing down Karlis Ezergailis. Adam Allott scored his only points of the match by winning the rerun for a shared heat but two heats later Newport were trailing by 10 points at 25-35.

In heat 11 Stuart Robson took a TR which he won from Tomas Topinka and the Wasps scored a 7-2 to pull back to 5 points down at 32-37. Although they lost another four points of their lead King’s Lynn held on to win by one point for all three Premier Trophy points.

Scorers: For Newport – Stuart Robson 15+1 (5) including a 6 point TR, Mads Korneliussen 9+3 (5), Neil Collins 9 (4), Tony Atkin 5+1 (5), Kristian Lund 4+1 (4), Michael Coles 3 (4), Karlis Ezergailis 1+1 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 12 (5), Paul Lee 10+1 (5), Chris Neath 9 (4), Ashley Jones 9+2 (7), Jan Jaros 4+1 (4), Adam Allott 3 (4), James Brundle 0 (1).



Premier League: Glasgow 52, Reading 42


Glasgow returned home for their third match in three days, having ridden at Somerset and Rye House on Friday and Saturday. This match marked Claus Kristensen’s home debut for the Tigers and, with the new averages coming into force, Trent Leverington moved from the reserve berth to number 3 with James Birkinshaw going the other way from 3 to 6. For Reading this was their second match in consecutive nights having lost at Workington last night. With Matej Zagar again absent they had Simon Stead and Luke Priest as guests at numbers 5 and 6 with Wolff and Simota switching places at 3 and 4.

Glasgow were quickly into the lead with a 4-2 in the opening heat from Stancl and Wethers. Mathieu Tressarieu won heat 2 for a share of the points before Glasgow’s supposed weak pairing scored a 5-1 as Claus Kristensen marked his debut with a race win supported by Trent Leverington. Reading hit back with a Simon Stead win in heat 4 from Shane Parker with Tressarieu picking up the third place point for a 2-4 to make the score 14-10 after four heats.

Kristensen won again in heat 5 from Masters with Leverington finishing third for a 4-2 then, after another Stead win in heat 6, Glasgow took a 5-1 in heat 7. Shane Parker gated but allowed his partner, James Cockle, to pass him on the back straight then shepherded him home with Wolff and Simota unable to do anything about it. This put Reading 10 points in arrears and in heat 8 they substituted Mathieu Tressarieu with Simon Stead as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back. The Glasgow pair of Matthew Wethers and James Birkinshaw were quickly away and Stead found it a difficult task to find a way past. However a mistake by Birkinshaw provided the opportunity but Stead couldn’t catch Wethers so the result was a 4-4 and the Racers were still 10 points down at 30-20.

Stead was out again in heat 9 and ended Kristensen’s winning run but the heat was shared. Stancl won heat 10 with Wethers third and Glasgow had stretched the lead to 12 points with the 4-2. Andrew Appleton took a TR in heat 11 and, although Shane Parker won the heat, the two Racers took the minor positions for a 3-5 to cut Glasgow’s lead to 10 points at 40-30. Then Reading got right back into the match with a 1-5 in heat 12 when the previously pointless Simota followed Mathieu Tressarieu home ahead of Birkinshaw and Leverington to take the score to 41-35.

Glasgow hit back and killed off the Racers chances with a 4-2 in heat 13, when Stead could only split the Parker/Stancl pairing, and then a 5-1 in heat 14 from Kristensen and Cockle to stretch their lead to 12 points. Reading pulled two points back in the final heat when Simon Stead beat Shane parker for the second time with Andrew Appleton taking the third place point from Kristensen.

Scorers: for Glasgow – Shane Parker 12+1 (5), Claus Kristensen 11 (5), George Stancl 9 (4), James Cockle 7+1 (4), Matthew Wethers 6+1 (4), Trent Leverington 4+2 (4), James Birkinshaw 3+1 (4).

For Reading – Simon Stead 18 (6) including a 4 point GDTS from 15 metres, Mathieu Tressarieu 7 (5), Andrew Appleton 7 (5) including a 4 point TR, Richard Wolff 5 (4), Steve Masters 3+1 (4), Zdenek Simota 2+1 (3), Luke Priest 0 (3).


Premier League: Newcastle 58, Workington 36


Richard Juul made his 2005 debut for Newcastle who were at full strength for this match against Workington who were not so lucky. The Comets had William Lawson as a guest at number 2 and used R/R at number 3 to cover the continued absences of Aidan Collins and Scott Robson. With James Wright also recovering from injury John Branney took over at reserve to partner Kevin Little.

Only a few weeks ago Workington beat Newcastle at Brough Park in a Premier Trophy match in which Newcastle lost Phil Morris in the opening heat. Tonight a late collapse left them with a 22 point defeat. Yet it all started quite well for the Comets. They lost a 5-1 in the opening heat to Phil Morris and Christian Henry but took heat two by 2-4 then scored their own 1-5 in heat 3 when Shaun Tacey and Kevin Little headed home Richard Juul and Josef Franc. James Grieves won heat 4 though and with Robertson picking up the odd point the scores were tied at 12-12.

Newcastle then pulled away with a run of five consecutive 4-2s to lead 32-22 after heat nine. In heat ten Shaun Tacey took a TR and beat Phil Morris for the full six points. With William Lawson backing him up with the third place point ahead of Christian Henry Workington scored a 2-7 to cut the Diamonds’ lead to five points at 34-29.

That really marked the end of the Comets’ resisitance. Little did they realise that Carl Stonehewer’s second place points in heat 11 was the last time they would take a point from Newcastle! Robertson and Juul started the rout with a 5-1 in heat 12 against the TR hero Tacey in heat 12. Carl Stonehewer took a TR in heat 13 only to finish third to Grieves and Morris. Franc and Tomicek then headed home Little and Tacey in heat 14 before another 5-1 from Grieves and Morris in heat 15 finished things off with Grieves completing another home maximum.


Scorers: For Newcastle – James Grieves 15 (5) full maximum, Phil Morris 12+2 (5), Josef Franc 9 (4), Christian Henry 6+1 (4), Lubos Tomicek 6+1 (4), Richard Juul 5+1 (4), Jaimie Robertson 5 (4),

For Workington – Shaun Tacey 12 (5) including a 6 point TR, Carl Stonehewer 7 (5) including a 2 point TR, Kevin Little 8 (7), Kauko Nieminen 5 (5), William Lawson 4 (5), John Branney 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Monday, 16 May

Of the two matches raced tonight one was in the Premier Trophy and the other the Premier League. The Premier Trophy match was at Exeter where Newport were the visitors. The Premier League match was at Reading where the Racers took on Newcastle .


Premier Trophy (south): Exeter 43, Newport 47 Exeter won the bonus point on aggregate by 92-88.


This was quite a sensational result as Exeter were beaten at home for the first time this season by Newport tonight. Exeter chose to go with Ben Barker at number 3 for the injured Ray Morton who was expected to make his debut for the Falcons but who has a wrist injury. Newport had Chris Neath at number 5 as a guest replacement for Craig Watson.

Newport have certainly had a rollercoaster ride over the last two weeks. They lost 46-47 yesterday at home to King’s Lynn yet went to Exeter tonight and produced this win. The opening three heats were shared before Exeter went ahead with a 4-2 in heat 4 with a Seemond Stephens win from Chris Neath with Pavel Ondrasik picking up the third place point. The score after heat 4 was 13-11.

Newport squared the match in heat 5 with a win by Kristian Lund from Toni Svab with Michael Coles third then Mark Lemon won heat 6 for a 3-3 with Lee Smethills struggling at the back. In heat 7 Newport shot four points ahead with a 1-5 when Neil Collins and Mads Korneliussen headed home Seemond Stephens. Then an Ondrasik win in heat 8 produced a shared heat as Lee Smethills retired from the meeting through illness. The score was now 22-26.

In heat 9 Newport stretched their lead to six points with a 2-4 from Chris Neath who beat Toni Svab with Tony Atkins third. Neil Collins won heat 10 for another shared heat then Michael Coles did likewise in heat 11. Things went from bad to worse for Exeter as Newport hit them with another 2-4 in heat 12 from Korneliussen and Ezergailis with Ondrasik in second place. The score was now 32-40 and Newport, who had lost 41-49 at home to Exeter had their eye on the bonus point.

Exeter got back in touch with a heat 13 5-1 from Seemond Stephens and Mark Lemon but any hopes they had of a recovery were dashed in heat 14 when Newport scored their own 1-5 through Collins and Atkin to leave themselves eight points ahead going into the last heat. Lemon and Stephens repeated their heat 13 success in heat 15 with another 5-1 to reduce the gap to four points and ensure that they, at least, took the bonus point.

Scorers: For Exeter – Mark Lemon 13+1 (5), Seemond Stephens 11+1, Pavel Ondrasik 8 (5), Toni Svab 7 (4), Nick Simmons 4+3, Ben Barker 0 (3).

For Newport – Neil Collins 12 (5), Tony Atkin 9+2 (5), Michael Coles 7 (4), Mads Korneliussen 6+2 (4), Kristian Lund 6+1 (4), Chris Neath 6+1 (4), Karlis Ezergailis 1 (3).


Premier League: Reading 45, Newcastle 47


Reading returned home following two defeats on the road at Workington and Glasgow to face Newcastle fresh from their triumph over Workington last night. The Racers had Tom Brown at reserve in place of Chris Johnson with Steve Masters making his home debut. Newcastle were at full strength.

An opening heat 4-2 to Reading with Andrew Appleton beating ex-Racer Phil Morris and Steve Masters taking third place may have lulled Reading into a false sense of security but it wasn’t long before they were in deep trouble against Newcastle. The Diamonds took heat 2 by 2-4 won by Lubos Tomicek then rattled in a 1-5 in heat 3 thanks to Josef Franc and Richard Juul with Zdenek Simota crashing into the fence at the end of the third lap. Reading hit back in heat 4 with a 4-2 from Zagar and Tressarieu separated by James Grieves. The score after heat 4 was 11-13.

Heat 5 saw the Reading middle pairing of Wolff and Simota concede another 1-5 this time to Christian Henry and Phil Morris. Simota fell again and retired from the meeting. Again Reading hit back with a 4-2 in heat 6. Andrew Appleton won for the second time from James Grieves with Steve Masters beating Lubos Tomicek for the third place point. Heat 7 was shared but Newcastle scored their third 1-5 success in heat 8 won by Christian Henry and Jaimie Robertson from Steve Masters and Mathieu Tressarieu. The score was now 20-28 and alarm bells were ringing loud and clear in the home camp.

In heat 9 Matej Zagar came in as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back for Zdenek Simota and had no difficulty blowing away the opposition for a fine win. However Richard Wolff finished behind James Grieves and Lubos Tomicek so Newcastle limited the damage to 6-3. This brought the Racers back to 26-31 not quite within touching distance.

Heat 10 was shared by a third consecutive Appleton win then Reading got right back into the match with a 5-1 from Zagar and Tressarieu as Phil Morris fell to close the gap at 34-35. Their joy was short lived as Tomicek and Juul responded in kind with their own 1-5 when Tressarieu fell to open up the five point gap again. Back came Reading with another 5-1 in heat 13 from the unbeaten pair of Zagar and Appleton to close to 40-41 with just two races to go.

It was clear that heat 14 would be pivotal. With the unbeaten Zagar and Appleton almost certain to appear in heat 15 it was clear that Newcastle had to take maximum points from heat 14 to stand a realistic chance of the win. They went one better and took a 0-5. In the first running of the heat Tressarieu fell and Wolff smashed into him. Tressarieu was excluded but in the rerun Richard Wolff brought Josef Franc down and he too was excluded. This left the two Newcastle riders only to complete four laps to win the match for the Diamonds. It was just as well because the expected 5-1 to Reading duly materialised from their big two in the last heat.

Scorers: For Reading – Matej Zagar 21 (6) including a 6 point GDTS from 15 metres, full maximum, Andrew Appleton 13+2, paid maximum, Mathieu Tressarieu 5+1 (6), Steve Masters 3 (4), Richard Wolff 2 (4), Tom Brown 1 (3), Zdenek Simota 0 (2).

For Newcastle – Lubos Tomicek 11+2, Richard Juul 7+3 (4), Josef Franc 7+1 (4), Christian Henry 7 (4), Phil Morris 6+1 (5), James Grieves 6 (4), Jamie Robertson 3+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 17 May

Tonight’s match was on the Isle of Wight where Exeter were the opposition in a Premier Trophy match.


Premier Trophy (south): Isle of Wight 48, Exeter 42 Exeter won the bonus point on aggregate by 95-87

As one of three teams in contention for the runners-up spot in the southern section of the Premier Trophy, tonight’s match was crucial for the Isle of Wight who needed to overcome a 14 point lead which Exeter built up in their home fixture against the Islanders. The Isle of Wight had Tomas Suchanek making his debut at number 5 in place of Jason Bunyan but otherwise they were on the usual lines. Exeter, needing to recover from their shock home defeat by Newport last night, were without Lee Smethills who withdrew from last night’s meeting through illness. They used R/R for him at number 2 and had Ray Morton, returning to his former PL track, making his debut at number 3.

The Islanders opened with a 5-1 from Boyce and Hauzinger over Mark Lemon and the next two heats were shared with Ray Morton marking his debut with a heat 3 win. Exeter were back on level terms in heat 4 with a 1-5 from Stephens and Ondrasik over the other debut man, Tomas Suchanek so the score was 12-12.

Wins for Boyce and Lemon resulted in shared heats then Ray Morton hit the fence in the run in to the line in heat 7 under pressure from Jason Doyle so the home side took a 4-2 to break the deadlock again to lead 22-20. This was a turning point in the match as, not only did Exeter lose a heat they looked like winning, but Ray Morton withdrew from the meeting. Heat 8 was shared though and the score was now 25-23.

An engine failure for Seemond Stephens in heat 9 was costly for Exeter as they conceded a 5-1 and they lost a 4-2 in heat 10 when Toni Svab was another non-finisher. This took the score to 34-26 but it was the Islanders turn to suffer in heat 11 when Jason Doyle fell and was excluded from the rerun which resulted in a 1-5 for Exeter from Mark Lemon and Toni Svab who took the R/R ride. With no Ray Morton in heat 12 Exeter suffered another 5-1 to Steen Jensen and Krister Marsh to make the interval score 40-32. The Islanders still needed to pull back another six points over the last three heats to level the aggregate scores.

Their hopes were effectively killed off in heat 13 when Craig Boyce unusually finshed third on the wrong end of a 1-5 to Seemond Stephens and Mark Lemon. There were only four points in it now with the score 41-37 and Exeter’s hopes of taking more than the bonus point were rising. They too had these hopes dashed by a 4-2 in heat 14 from Ostergaard and Doyle with Toni Svab second. In the last race Craig Boyce finished with a win but Stephens and Lemon followed him home for a shared heat.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Craig Boyce 13 (5), Ulrich Ostergaard 8+2 (4), Krister Marsh 8+2 (5), Manuel Hauzinger 6+1 (4), Jason Doyle 6 (4), Steen Jensen 4+1 (4), Tomas Suchanek 3 (4).

For Exeter – Mark Lemon 10+2 (5), Pavel Ondrasuk 10+1 (7), Seemond Stephens 10 (5), Antonin Svab 6+1 (5), Nick Simmons 3+2 (6), Ray Morton 3 (2).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 11 May

It was Premier League action tonight at King’s Lynn , where the Stars were at home to Somerset, and at Hull where Newport were the visitors.


Premier League: King’s Lynn 62, Somerset 32


King’s Lynn had James Brundle missing for this match and used R/R for him at number 4. Their guest for Oliver Allen at number 5 was Davey Watt. Somerset were at full strength.

It was another blistering start for the Stars as they rattled home a 5-1 in heat 2 and 4-2s in the other three heats to lead, after heat 4, by 17-7. Immediately Somerset gave Magnus Zetterstrom a TR but he was beaten by Adam Allott although with Jamie Smith taking the third place point the Rebels at least took a heat advantage by 3-5 to cut the deficit to eight points at 20-12.

King’s Lynn then started to stretch their lead. Tomas Topinka and Paul Lee took a 5-1 then in heat 6 then Davey Watt beat Ritchie Hawkins with Ashley Jones third after Paul Fry had failed to beat the two minute time allowance and had to start from 15 metres back. Paul Lee won heat 8 but Lee Smart and Jaimie Smith kept Jan Jaros at the back for a shared heat to take the score after heat 8 to 32-18.

Glenn Cunningham took a TR in heat 9 but again Adam Allott saw off the double point ride and the heat was shared 4-4. Heat 10 was shared too when Paul Lee suffered an engine failure. When Davey Watt won heat 11 with Ashley Jones following him home for a 5-1, all three King’s Lynn heat leaders had scored 9 (3) and the score was 44-26. Adam Allott kept the run going by winning heat 12 for a shared heat. Then Tomas Topinka and Davey Watt did likewise with a 5-1 in heat 13 from Cunningham and Zetterstrom. Another 5-1 materialised in heat 14 thanks to Ashley Jones and Paul Lee and the rout was completed as the Stars finished the match with a hat-trick of maximums while Topinka and Watt joined Allott in the maximum stakes.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 15 (5) full maximum, Davey Watt 13+2 (5) paid maximum, Adam Allott 12 (4) paid maximum, Ashley Jones 10+2 (7), Paul Lee 8+1 (5), Jan Jaros 4 (4).


For Somerset – Ritchie Hawkins 8+1 (5), Glenn Cunningham 8 (5) including a 4 point TR, Magnus Zetterstrom 6 (4) including a 4 point TR, Jaimie Smith 3+2 (4), Paul Fry 3 (4), Jason King 2+1 (4), Lee Smart 2 (4).



Premier League: Hull 52, Newport 38


Hull were missing Paul Thorp for this match since he had just become the proud father of a baby girl in the afternoon. The Vikings used R/R in his place at number 2. Newport arrived fresh from their victory at Exeter on Monday night with former Viking, Magnus Karlsson, riding at number 5 as a guest for Craig Watson.

An opening heat 4-2 for Hull looked to have got the Vikings off to a good start and the next two heats were shared . Tony Atkin won heat 2 and Emil Kramer heat 3 before Newport drew level with a 2-4 thanks to a Magnus Karlsson win from Simone Terenzani with Toni Atkin taking third place from Garry Stead. The score after heat 4 was 12-12.

Newport then took the lead with a 2-4 in heat 5 won by Kristian Lund from Emil Kramer with Michael Coles third then Hull brought the scores level again with a 4-2 when Emiliano Sanchez won from Magnus Karlsson with Simone Terenzani third. Heat 7 was shared but Hull took the lead again in heat 8 with a 5-1 from Sanchez and Terenzani. The score after heat 8 was 26-22.

Heat 9 was shared with Emil Kramer beating Magnus Karlsson then Hull went eight points ahead with a heat 10 5-1 from Sanchez and Kramer ahead of Neil Collins and Mads Korneliussen. Garry Stead won heat 11 but the heat was shared. It was clear that, if they were to stand a chance of success, Newport really needed a maximum from heat 12 as Craig Branney and Joel Parsons were having a thin time of it. And a 5-1 they duly delivered with Korneliussen and Atkin heading Branney home. Hull’s lead was now back to only four points at 38-34 and a great deal was going to depend on Magnus Karlsson who was likely to be in two of the last three heats.

However Hull provided the killer blow in heat 13 when Sanchez and Stead relegated Magnus Karlsson to third for a 5-1 which opened the gap to eight points again. Kramer and Terenzani followed that up with a 4-2 with Neil Collins second and, in the last heat, Garry Stead and Emiliano Sanchez scored another 5-1 to win by 14 points.

Scorers: For Hull – Emiliano Sanchez 17+1 (6) paid maximum, Emil Kramer 13+1 (5), Garry Stead 11+1 (5), Simone Terenzani 7+2 (5), Joel Parsons 2 (4), Craig Branney 2 (5).

For Newport – Magnus Karlsson 8 (4), Tony Atkin 7+2 (6), Kristian Lund 7+1 (5), Neil Collins 6+1 (4), Mads Korneliussen 6+1 (5), Michael Coles 3 (4), Karlis Ezergailis 1 (3).