Around the Premier League Tracks 2005

[Merlin]

Monday, 6 June

The two matches tonight were in different competitions. Exeter took on Sheffield in a Premier League match while Reading faced Newport in a first leg Premier League KO Cup tie


Premier League: Exeter 56, Sheffield 39


In tonight’s Premier League action at Exeter the Falcons were at full strength with Ben Barker replacing Nick Simmons and the team reshuffled as a result of the new averages. However, Sheffield were still without Sean Wilson so Scott Smith rode at number 1 as a guest. The Tigers were also without Richard Hall who has broken fingers and they used R/R for him at number 4.

After the opening two heats were shared with wins for Scott Smith and Lee Smethills, Exeter took the lead in heat 3 when Ray Morton and Toni Svab headed Ricky Ashworth home for a 5-1. They added another two points to that lead with a 4-2 in heat 4 when Seemond Stephens beat Andre Compton for a score of 15-9.

Scott Smith won again in heat 5 for a shared heat then Sheffield pulled two points back with a 2-4 in heat 6 when Andre Compton beat Mark Lemon with Ben Wilson heading home Pavel Ondrasik to take the score to 20-16. Heat 7 was shared but Exeter opened up an eight point lead with a 5-1 in heat 8 through Ondrasik and Smethills taking the score to 28-20.

Two more 4-2s to the home side in heats 9 and 10 won by Ray Morton and Mark Lemon saw the home side increase the lead to 12 points so Sheffield gave the on-fire Scott Smith a TR in heat 11 which he duly won for a 3-6 advantage for Sheffield. This took the score to 39-30 but another 5-1 went the Falcons way in heat 12 from Smethills and Morton to open up a 13 point lead. In heat 13 Andre Compton took a TR and, although he finished second to Mark Lemon, he was backed by Scott Smith in third place for a 3-5 but it was too little too late as Exeter were now 11 points ahead with two heats to go.

To draw Sheffield needed a 1-8, 1-5 finish but they spurned the opportunity to use a Tactical Substitute in heat 14 which resulted in a 4-2 to the Falcons, the heat won by Toni Svab from Ricky Ashworth. Mindful of the bonus point to come Exeter added a 5-1 in heat 15 to finish 17 points in front on the night.

Scorers: For Exeter – Mark Lemon 13 (5), Ray Morton 10+1 (4), Seemond Stephens 10+1 (5), Lee Smethills 10+1 (5), Toni Svab 7+2 (4), Pavel Ondrasik 5+1 (4), Ben barker 1+1 (3).

For Sheffield – Scott Smith 13+1 (5) including a 6 point TR, Andre Compton 10 (5) including a 4 point TR, Ricky Ashworth 8 (5), Ben Wilson 6+1 (6), Trevor Harding 2+1 (4), Paul Cooper 0 (5).



Premier League KO Cup (first leg): Reading 54, Newport 36



This was intended to be the second leg of this tie but the match between the two teams at Newport yesterday was postponed due to the weather. Reading used R/R for Steve Masters at number 2 and had Cameron Woodward as a guest reserve at number 7 for Mathieu Tressarieu. Newport used R/R for Michael Coles and had Chris Harris at number 5 for Craig Watson.

The first two heats were shared with wins for Mads Korneliussen and Cameron Woodward before Reading edged in front with a 5-1 in heat 3 through Andrew Appleton and Richard Wolff from Tony Atkin. The Racers added a 4-2 in heat 4 when Matej Zagar beat Chris Harris with Cameron Woodward third to take the heat 4 score to 15-9.

Appleton and Wolff took a 5-1 for Reading in heat 5 but Atkin and Harris did likewise for the Wasps in heat 6 to keep the difference between the teams at 6 points. Zagar and Johnson added a 4-2 in heat 7 then another 5-1 for the Racers from Wolff and Woodward had Newport reeling at 30-18 after heat 8. However the visitors dug in and shared the next four heats before a 4-2 in a close run heat 13 won by Zagar from Korneliussen with Simota taking third place from Harris stretched the lead to 14 points at 46-32. It was an 18 point lead for Reading when Richard Wolff and Cameron Woodward took a 5-1 in heat 14 ahead of Neil Collins and that’s the way it stayed as Matej Zagar won heat 15 from Harris and Korneliussen.

Scorers: for Reading – Matej Zagar 15 (5) full maximum, Andrew Appleton 12+1, Richard Wolff 11+3 (5), Cameron Woodward 9+3 (7), Zdenek Simota 6 (4), Chris Johnson 1 (3).

For Newport – Tony Atkin 10+1 (7), Mads Korneliussen 9+1 (5), Chris Harris 9+1 (5), Neil Collins 6 (5), Karlis Ezergailis 2+2 (4), Kristian Lund 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 7 June

Tonight saw the second leg of the Premier League KO Cup tie raced between the Isle of Wight and Sheffield .


Premier League KO Cup (second leg): Isle of Wight 55, Sheffield 34 The Isle of Wight go through to the next round on aggregate by 94-85.


The Isle of Wightwere at full strength for this cup tie but Sheffield had ex-Islander Ray Morton as a guest replacement for Sean Wilson and were forced to use R/R for Richard Hall out with broken fingers.

The Tigers went into this match with a 12 point lead from the first leg but with no tactical rides available to them this never seemed likely to be enough. So it proved as the Isle of Wight had too much all round strength for Sheffield although the Tigers recovered with a late rally which was stopped dead in its tracks with a cruel engine failure for Andre Compton in heat 13.

The Isle of Wight quickly made inroads into the Sheffield first leg lead with two 5-1s in the opening three heats. Ray Morton fell in heat 1 and was excluded and Craig Boyce and Glenn Phillips took full advantage in the rerun for a 5-1. Heat 2 was shared but, when Ricky Ashworth suffered an engine failure in heat 3, Ulrich Ostergaard and Krister Marsh added another 5-1 to wipe 8 points from the lead leaving Sheffield just 4 ahead overall. However Andre Compton won heat 4 with Trevor Harding third as Sheffield scored a 2-4 to make the score after the first four heats 15-9.

The next three heats saw the Islanders go ahead on aggregate with two 4-2s and a 5-1 from Suchanek and Doyle to make the score 28-14 but Sheffield struck back with a 1-5 in heat 8 from Ben Wilson and Trevor Harding to cut the gap to 10 points at 29-19 and put Sheffield two up on aggregate again.

Heats 9 and 10 seemed to have killed the Tigers off completely both ending in 5-1s to the Islanders from Ostergaard and Marsh then Boyce and Phillips. This took the score to 39-21 with Sheffield now six points down on aggregate. However Sheffield weren’t quite finished. They took a 2-4 in heat 11 through Morton and Cooper then another 2-4 in heat 12 from Ashworth and Wilson to cut the lead to 14 points at 43-29, two points overall.

After the interval, things looked even better for Sheffield. In heat 13 firstly Jason Doyle replaced Tomas Suchanek but he failed to meet the time allowance so was in turn replaced by Steen Jensen. Incredibly he too couldn’t beat the two minute time allowance so the Islanders had to go with only one rider – Craig Boyce. Then Sheffield were winning the race 1-5 when Andre Compton suffered an engine failure. Craig Boyce eventually won the race from Ray Morton for a 3-2 to the Islanders to end Sheffield’s hopes. A 5-1 in heat 14 from Ostergaard and Doyle was followed by a 4-2 again won by Ulrich Ostergaard who completed a full five ride maximum stretched the winning lead to 21 points, 9 on aggregate as Sheffield bowed out of the competition.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Ulrich Ostergaard 15 (5) full maximum, Craig Boyce 13 (5), Krister Marsh 7+2 (4), Glenn Phillips 6+2 (4), Jason Doyle 6+2 (4), Steen Jensen 5 (4), Tomas Suchanek 3 (3).

For Sheffield – Ben Wilson 9 (7), Andre Compton 8 (5), Ray Morton 7 (4), Trevor Harding 4+2 (5), Paul Cooper 3 (4), Ricky Ashworth 3 (5).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 8 June

Two Premier League matches were raced tonight. At Hull the Vikings faced Exeter while at King’s Lynn the Stars had Reading as their opponents.


Premier League: Hull 49.5, Exeter 46.5 .


Hull went into this match without Emil Kramer and used R/R for him at number two. Exeter were at full strength.

This was quite a match with the first declared dead heat of the season. Exeter were quick off the mark taking a 1-5 in the opening heat from Mark Lemon and Pavel Ondrasik in the rerun after Emiliano Sanchez had fallen and been excluded. They followed this with a 2-4 in heat 2 won by Lee Smethills with Ben Barker passing Joel Parsons for third place but Hull cancelled that out with their own 4-2 in heat 3 with Paul Thorp winning it. Back came Exeter to restore their six point lead in heat 4 when Seemond Stephens beat Garry Stead with Lee Smethills third. The score after heat 4 was 9-15.

Hull slipped up several gears over the next six heats which they won by 27-9 with four 5-1s, a 4-2 and a shared heat 8 and by the end of heat 10 the score had gone to 36-24 with Exeter looking down and out. However nobody told the Falcons and they rocketed back into the match over the next four heats to trail by one point after heat 14 at 45.5-44.5.

The fight back started in heat 11 when Mark Lemon took a TR and won it for a 3-6. This was followed by a 2-7 in heat 12 from Ray Morton on a TR with Lee Smethills third to take the score to 41-37. Mark Lemon and Emiliano Sanchez dead-heated for first place in heat 13 which Hull won 3.5-2.5 but in heat 14 back came Exeter again with a 1-5 from Lee Smethills and Toni Svab ahead of the unbeaten Paul Thorp to reduce the gap to one point. In the final heat Paul Thorp redeemed himself with a win passing Mark Lemon in the process with Emiliano Sanchez taking third place.

Scorers: For Hull – Paul Thorp 16 (6), Emiliano Sanchez 9.5 (5), Simone Terenzani 9+4 (7), Garry Stead 8 (4), Craig Branney 7+1 (5), Joel Parsons 0 (3)

For Exeter – Mark Lemon 15.5 (5) including a 6 point TR, Lee Smethills 10 (5), Ray Morton 8 (4) including a 6 point TR, Seemond Stephens 5 (4), Toni Svab 4+1 (5), Pavel Ondrasik 3+2 (4), Ben Barker 1 (3).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 53, Reading 39 King’s Lynn won the bonus point on aggregate by 94-90.



It was a full strength King’s Lynn side which took on Reading in this return Pemier League match. Reading again used R/R for Steve Masters and had Simon Lambert as a guest at reserve for Mathieu Tressarieu. The Stars needed to overcome a 10 point deficit to challenge for the bonus point.

A shared opening heat, won by Tomas Topinka as Paul Lee suffered an engine failure, was followed by a 5-1 for the Stars in the reserves race and a 4-2 in heat 3 with Adam Allott beating Adam Appleton. Reading took a 2-4 in heat 4 won by Matej Zagar as the score went to 14-10.

Another 4-2 went the Stars way in heat 5 as Andrew Allott won again but the next two heats were shared. In heat 8 King’s Lynn increased their lead to eight points with another 4-2 with Paul Lee winning from Andrew Appleton at 28-20. Reading pulled two points back with a 2-4 in heat 9 as Matej Zagar won for the third time and both the result of the match and destination of the bonus point were in the melting pot at the interval with the score at 30-24.

After the break, King’s Lynn hit hard with a 4-2 in heat 10 then a 5-1 in heat 11 after Zdenek Simota had fallen. Now the Stars had a 12 point lead in the match and also led by two points on aggregate in their quest for the bonus. Andrew Appleton took a TR in heat 12 but could only finish behind Adam Allott. However with Simon Lambert picking up the third place point Reading won the heat 3-5 and trailed by only ten points before disaster struck.

Matej Zagar took a TR and was lying in second place behind Tomas Topinka when he fell off on the second lap so what was looking like a 4-4 became a 5-1 to King’s Lynn putting them 14 points ahead and strong favourites for the bonus point. It was all to play for again though after Reading scored a 1-5 in heat 14 thanks to guest reserve Simon Lambert and Richard Wolff to cut the home side’s lead to ten points again with only heat 15 to come. However in the last race it was Tomas Topinka and Adam Allott who got out in front with Matej Zagar unable to pass Allott as the Stars finished with a 5-1

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 14 (5), Adam Allott 13+1 (5), Oliver Allen 10+1 (4), Tommy Stange 5+2 (4), Paul Lee 5+1 (4), Jan Jaros 4 (4), Ashley Jones 2 (4).

For Reading – Andrew Appleton 12 (6) including a 4 point TR, Matej Zagar 10 (5), Simon Lambert 8+2 (7), Zdenek Simota 5 (4), Richard Wolff 3+2 (5), Chris Johnson 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 9 June

The visitors at Sheffield tonight were Glasgow who were on Premier League business.


Premier League: Sheffield 51, Glasgow 44


Sheffield had to face this match without Sean Wilson who was still not fit enough to take his place in the side. They had Scott Smith at number one as a guest and used R/R at number 4 for the injured Richard Hall. With Claus Kristensen back in the side following his dose of the flu Glasgow were at full strength.

Glasgow ran Sheffield close in this match and it was only a last heat 5-1 to the home side that put a better complexion on the match. A stuttering opening pairing of Scott Smith and Paul Cooper with only five points between them almost led to Sheffield’s downfall. However the home reserves with 21+5 between them saved the day. James Birkinshaw yet again showed how good he can be round the Owlerton track but Glasgow were severely hampered once again by a desperately weak middle pairing (with only 3 points between them) and a well below average performance by George Stancl.

Glasgow drew first blood with a 2-4 in the opening heat from George Stancl and Matthew Wethers during which Scott Smith ominously went from first to last. James Birkinshaw showed he hadn’t lost his touch around Sheffield by beating the home reserves for a shared heat but Sheffield were unlucky in heat 3 when Paul Cooper suffered an engine failure on the last bend when on a maximum heat win for the home side. Trent Leverington and Claus Kristensen grabbed the three points but neither were to score again all match. The home side took the lead in heat 4 thanks to a 5-1 from Andre Compton and Trevor Harding with Shane Parker unusually finishing last. The score after heat 4 was 13-11.

It was George Stancl’s turn to disappoint the visitors by finishing third in heat 5 after Ashworth and Harding had forced their way past him for a Sheffield 5-1 but Shane Parker made no mistake in heat 6 and was supported by James Cockle who passed Paul Cooper for the third place point for a 2-4. Sheffield replied with a 4-2 in heat 7 from Andre Compton who beat James Birkinshaw and Ben Wilson but Glasgow replied in kind in heat 8 with a 2-4 thanks to a win from James Birkinshaw with Matthew Wethers taking the third place point. The score after eight heats was 26-22.

Shane Parker won heat 9 for a shared heat to maintain the four point gap at the interval. After the break Sheffield made a dash for the finishing line with a 4-2 in heat 10 when Ben Wilson beat James Birkinshaw then a 5-1 in heat 11 from Andre Compton and Ben Wilson with George Stancl finishing last. This took the score to 38-28 but if Sheffield thought they had reached calmer waters they were in for a rude awakening!

In heat 12 James Birkinshaw took a TR and finished second to Ricky Ashworth for a 4-4 shared heat then Shane Parker took the TR in heat 13. Parker and Stancl hit the front and team rode home to rattle up the big 1-8 ahead of Ben Wilson and Andre Compton who showed that he, too, could finish last! The effect of this was to cut Sheffield’s lead to three points at 43-40 and the home nerves were beginning to jangle.

Ricky Ashworth took the R/R ride in heat 14 and he and Ben Wilson hit the front looking for a 5-1. However James Birkinshaw had other ideas reeling Ashworth in and passing him to restrict the damage to a 4-2 which was too little too late as the home side led by five points at 47-42 going into the last heat. Andre Compton won the last heat from Shane Parker and Ricky Ashworth took third for a 4-2 to wrap up a seven point win for Sheffield.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Ben Wilson 13+2 (7), Ricky Ashworth 13 (6), Andre Compton 12, Trevor Harding 8+3, Scott Smith 3 (3), Paul Cooper 2 (4).

For Glasgow – James Birkinshaw 17 (7) (including a 4 point TR), Shane Parker 14 (5) (including a 6 point TR), George Stancl 6+1 (4), Matthew Wethers 3 (5), Trent Leverington 2 (3), Claus Kristensen 1+1 (3), James Cockle 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 10 June

Two Premier League matches and a Premier Trophy match were on the menu tonight. With the British Grand Prix tomorrow night at Cardiff, Newport had arranged a Premier League home match against Glasgow and normal Friday-nighters Somerset were at home to Berwick also in the Premier League. In a Premier Trophy (south) match Reading faced Exeter who were hoping to clinch the runners-up spot in the section.


Premier League: Newport 51, Glasgow 44


There don’t seem to be many incident free matches when Newport are at home to Glasgow and tonight was no exception. The Wasps again used R/R for Michael Coles and had Stuart Robson as a guest for Craig Watson while Glasgow were at full strength.

Both teams lost their top rider in the first six heats. In heat 4 Shane Parker collided with Stuart Robson and fell heavily. He was taken to hospital with a suspected broken shoulder and two heats later Stuart Robson joined him after Claus Kristensen had run into him.

George Stancl romped away to win the opening heat for a 3-3 then Newport won the reserves race 4-2 with Tony Atkin taking the race win. Glasgow drew level with a 2-4 in heat 3 with Claus Kristensen winning from Neil Collins then the first calamity arrived in heat 4. Shane Parker chasing Stuart Robson collided with him and fell. After examination, the diagnosis was that Parker had suffered a suspected broken shoulder and he was withdrawn from the meeting and sent to hospital for X-rays. In the rerun Stuart Robson won from James Birkinshaw and Newport took a 4-2 for a 13-11 lead after the first four heats.

George Stancl took his second win in heat 5 for another 3-3 as Matthew Wethers failed to leave the starting line and, in heat 6, Mads Korneliussen won but the Glasgow reserves followed him home for another 3-3. It was Newport’s turn to suffer a disaster in heat 7. Stuart Robson, leading the heat, suffered a puncture and Claus Kristensen ploughed into him. He was subsequently taken to hospital. The race was awarded with Kristensen excluded so the Wasps took a 4-2 to go four ahead.

Newport then struck with three maximum heat wins on the trot. Heats 8 and 9 were won by Kristian Lund and Neil Collins with Tony Atkin taking second place in both races. With Glasgow now 12 points behind Claus Kristensen took a TR in heat 10 but finished behind Korneliussen and Lund for a 5-2 as the score moved on to 38-23.

Glasgow were not finished though. George Stancl took a TR in heat 11 and duly won for the third time. On this occasion Matthew Wethers took second place ahead of the Newport reserves and the Tigers took the big 1-8 to claw themselves back into the match at 39-31. Newport stretched the lead to 10 points again with a 4-2 in heat 12 won by Neil Collins so in heat 13 Shane Parker’s ride was taken by Matthew Wethers as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back. George Stancl won for the fourth time and Matthew Wethers passed Karlis Ezergailis for two points and the Tigers pulled three points back again with the 2-5.

Although Claus Kristensen won heat 14, Neil Collins and Tony Atkin followed him home for the 3-3 that guaranteed a Newport win. Mads Korneliussen finally lowered George Stancl’s colours in heat 15 for a shared heat as Glasgow repeated last night’s score at Sheffield by losing 51-44 again.

Scorers: For Newport – Mads Korneliussen 13 (5), Neil Collins 11+1 (6), Tony Atkin 10+3 (7), Kristian Lund 8+2 (5), Stuart Robson 6 (2), Karlis Ezergailis 3 (5).

For Glasgow – George Stancl 16+1 (5) (including a 6 point TR), Claus Kristensen 10 (5) (including a 2 point TR), James Birkinshaw 7+1 (6), Trent Leverington 5 (4), Matthew Wethers 4+1 (5) (including a 2 point GDTS from 15 metres), James Cockle 2 (4), Shane Parker 0 (1).



Premier League: Somerset 48, Berwick 42


With a reshuffled team as a result of their new averages Somerset got back on the winning trail again against Berwick . Both teams were at full strength with Carl Wilkinson making his debut for the Bandits.

Berwick must have thought they were on easy street as they hammered home 1-5s in the opening two heats. In heat 1 Adam Pietraszko and Adrian Rymel beat Magnus Zetterstrom then Carl Wilkinson got his Berwick career off to a brilliant start by winning heat 2 with Scott Smith second. Ritchie Hawkins beat Tom P Madsen in heat 3 and Jaimie Smith took third for a 4-2 to kick-start the Rebels’ and Jason King and Glenn Cunningham followed up with a 5-1 in heat 4 for a score of 11-13.

It was all square again after heat 5 with another Hawkins/Smith 4-2 then Somerset took another two 4-2s in the next two heats to lead 23-19 although they would be disappointed that Magnus Zetterstrom could only finish third to Paul Fry and Scott Smith in heat 6. Berwick squared the match again in heat 8 with a 1-5 from Adam Pietraszko and Carl Wilkinson at 24-24.

The next three heats were shared with Rebels providing all three heat winners but Somerset broke the deadlock in heat 12 with a 4-2 thanks to a win from Jason King from Scott Smith and Jaimie Smith. They looked to be home and dry when they added a 5-1 in heat 13 from Cunningham and Zetterstrom but Berwick weren’t finished yet. In heat 14 they responded with a 1-5 from Tom P Madsen and Scott Smith with Ritchie Hawkins falling so there were only two points in it going into the last heat.

However Cunningham and Zetterstrom repeated their 5-1 success of heat 13 and the Rebels breathed a sigh of relief as they added two league points to their tally.

Scorers: For Somerset – Glenn Cunningham 14+1 (5) paid maximum, Magnus Zetterstrom 9+2 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 9 (4), Jason King 8 (5), Paul Fry 4 (4), Jaimie Smith 3 (4), Lee Smart 1+1 (4).

For Berwick – Adam Pietraszko 11 (5), Scott Smith 10+2 (7), Tom P Madsen 9 (4), Carl Wilkinson 8+2 (5), Adrian Rymel 3+1 (4), Michal Makovsky 1 (3), Chris Schramm 0 (3).



Premier Trophy (south): Reading 46, Exeter 44 Exeter won the bonus point on aggregate by 99-86


Reading had Mathieu Tressarieu back in the side at reserve but again used R/R for Steve Masters. Exeter were at full strength protecting a 15 point lead for the bonus point.

This match swung one way then the other as only two of the fifteen heats were shared. It was Exeter who scorched to a 5-13 heat over the opening three heats with 2-4s in heats 1 and 2 and a 1-5 in heat 3 from Toni Svab and Ray Morton over Richard Wolff and Andrew Appleton. Reading started their comeback with a 4-2 in heat 4 won by Matej Zagar. The score after the first four heats was 9-15.

Wolff and Appleton, who had lost a 1-5 in heat 3, made amends by taking a 5-1 themselves in heat 5 over Mark Lemon but, after a win for Seemond Stephens for a shared heat 6, Exeter moved four points ahead again with a 2-4 in heat 7. Pavel Ondrasik won heat 8 to maintain Exeter’s four point lead at 22-26. At this stage Exeter had provided 6 of the 8 race winners.

Reading then took control over the next 5 heats as Andrew Appleton (3) and Matej Zagar (2) provided all the race winners and they won them all 4-2 to take a ten point advantage which turned a four point deficit into a six point lead at 42-36 after heat 13 leaving Exeter a beaten side. However the Falcons rallied again.

With the on-fire Toni Svab in both heats 14 and 15 Exeter still had hope. In heat 14 they took a 2-4 with Lee Smethills providing the back up to Svab resulting in a last heat decider with Exeter needing a 1-5 for a draw. Toni Svab beat Matej Zagar for the second time in heat 15 but Mark Lemon could only finish third and the Falcons went down by two points.

Scorers: For Reading – Matej Zagar 13 (5), Andrew Appleton 11+1 (6), Richard Wolff 8 (5), Tressarieu 7 (7), Zdenek Simota 6 (4), Mathieu Chris Johnson 1 (3).

For Exeter – Toni Svab 14 (5), Mark Lemon 9 (5), Seemond Stephens 7 (4), Ray Morton 5+1 (4), Pavel Ondrasik 4 (4), Lee Smethills 4 (4), Ben Barker 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 12 June

There was action in all three Premier League tournaments today and, just for good measure, Newport staged the Welsh Open Championship. In the Premier Trophy Rye House faced Sheffield in the first leg of the first semi-final. In the Premier League Newcastle were at home to Hull while in the Premier League KO Cup first leg Stoke took on Berwick .



Premier Trophy Semi-Final (first leg): Rye House 66, Sheffield 26


There had been a delay in racing this match since, when it was first arranged, the fact that Edinburgh could still have pipped Sheffield for the runners-up spot in the northern section had been overlooked. Sheffield must have wished they had pipped them after this annihilation. Rye House were without Stuart Robson who suffered a heavy fall at Newport on Friday, and used R/R for him instead. Sheffield had Andy Moore as a guest for Sean Wilson and continued to use R/R for Richard Hall.

What can you say about a match that results in a 40 point win for the home side even after the opposition had used two TRs? Edward Kennett and Chris Neath took a maximum in heat 1 but, although Tommy Allen won heat 2, the Sheffield reserves followed him home for a shared heat. Brent Werner and Danny King added another 5-1 in heat 3 then Sheffield shared another heat in heat 4, awarded after Tommy Allen had been excluded, to take the score to 16-8.

Over the next eight heats Rye House dropped only two points when Steve Boxall finished last in heat 7 allowing Sheffield to share the heat. During that spell Andre Compton tried a TR in heat 6 finishing third to Werner and Kennett but after the string of maximums to the Rockets the score was 54-19 after heat 12.

In heat 13 Edward Kennett’s maximum went down the tubes when he was passed by Andre Compton as Sheffield had a minor success only losing the heat 2-4. Then the Tigers managed another two points in heat 14 but not by beating anyone. Ricky Ashworth took a TR and finished at the wrong end of another maximum for the home side for a 5-2. In the last heat Chris Neath missed the gate and, although Brent Werner completed his six ride paid maximum, Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth shared the heat by following him home. Sheffield scored 7 of their 26 points in the last three heats and failed to provide a single race winner. They have surely bowed out of the tournament after this thrashing.

Scorers: For Rye House – Brent Werner 17+1 (6) (paid maximum), Chris Neath 13+2 (6), Daniel King 12+3 (5) (paid maximum), Edward Kennett 11+2 (5), Tommy Allen 8+1 (5), Steve Boxall 5+1 (5).

For Sheffield – Andre Compton 9 (5), Ricky Ashworth 8+1 (5), Trevor Harding 5+2 (4), Andrew Moore 3 (4), Ben Wilson 1+1 (4), Paul Cooper 0 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 48, Hull 42


Newcastle were at full strength for this match. Hull , however, were forced to turn out pretty much a scratch side. They were without Emiliano Sanchez and Simone Terenzani. Both have been forced to race for Italy tomorrow in the European Championship Best Pairs meeting in Poland and, under the rules, could only be replaced by Conference League guests. As a result Hull fielded Luke Priest at number 1 for Sanchez and Chris Mills at number 7 for Terenzani. Then, to crown it all, Craig Branney was unavailable for family reasons and they had to use R/R for him at number 7.

Incredibly, considering that they only had four regular team members in the side, Hull went into the last heat trailing 44-40 but still in with a chance of a draw. The opening heat, won by Paul Thorp, was shared but Newcastle were quickly into the lead with a 5-1 in the reserves race from Christian Henry and Jaimie Robertson. Hull hit back with a 2-4 in heat 3 won by Emil Kramer from Richard Juul with Joel Parsons heading Josef Franc home for third place. James Grieves won heat 4 from Garry Stead with Jaimie Robertson third for a 4-2 to re-establish Newcastle’s four point lead at 14-10.

Amother 4-2 in heat 5 from Franc and Juul put the Diamonds six points in front but they were never to improve on that lead. The next two heats were shared before Hull clawed 2 points back in heat 8 with a 2-4 from Thorp and Mills to make the score 26-22.

Heat 9 was shared then Hull rocked the home side by levelling the match at 30-30 thanks to a 1-5 from Chris Mills and Emil Kramer ahead of Lubos Tomicek and Phil Morris. Newcastle went two points up again with a 4-2 in heat 11 won by James Grieves and heat 12 was shared thanks to a win from Richard Juul. Newcastle doubled their lead to four points at 41-37 when James Grieves won for the fourth time from Garry Stead with Phil Morris third and there was no change with a shared heat in heat 14 won by Emil Kramer.

So to the last heat in which the Vikings needed a 1-5 for a draw. This was never likely since the unbeaten James Grieves was in it and so it proved. Grieves completed his full five ride maximum beating Emil Kramer and Lubos Tomicek took third place from Paul Thorp for a 6 point win.

Scorers: For Newcastle – James Grieves 15 (5) (full maximum), Lubos Tomicek 9 (5), Richard Juul 8 (4), Christian Henry 6 (4), Josef Franc 5+2 (4), Jaimie Robertson 3+1 (4), Phil Morris 2+1 (4).

For Hull – Emil Kramer 14+1 (6), Paul Thorp 10 (5), Garry Stead 8+1 (4), Joel Parsons 5+1 (5), Chris Mills 5+1 (7), Luke Priest 0 (3).



Premier League KO Cup (first leg): Stoke 42, Berwick 48


The first leg of this match, due to be raced at Berwick, was rained off so tonight’s match became the first leg. Stoke had Magnus Karlsson at number 5 as a guest for Jan Staechmann and were again without Peter Carr for whom they used R/R at number 1. Jack Hargreaves was promoted to the team again at number 7 in place of Rob Grant. Berwick used R/R for Chris Schramm at number 3 but otherwise they were at full strength.

Just as they did at Somerset on Friday night Berwick got off to a cracking start. Adrian Rymel and Adam Pietraszko took a 1-5 in the opening heat ahead of Robbie Kessler and they followed it with a 2-4 from the reserves race won by Scott Smith. Stoke hit back with a 5-1 in heat 3 from Alan Mogridge and Robbie Kessler then Magnus Karlsson won heat 4 for a shared heat. The score after the opening four heats was 11-13.

The next two heats were shared before there was an interruption due to heavy rain falling. More shale was put on the track in an effort to continue the meeting. After the resumption with heat 7 there were five more shared heats which left Stoke still trailing by two points at 32-34 but Berwick scored a killer 1-5 in heat 12 as new boy Carl Wilkinson won the heat followed home by Scott Smith ahead of Robbie Kessler to take the score to 33-39 and leave Stoke staring defeat in the face.

Heat 13 was won by Magnus Karlsson but Makovsky and Rymel relegated Paul Clews to the back for a shared heat. The clincher for Berwick came in heat 14 as the Smith/Wilkinson reserve pairing scored their second consecutive 1-5 from Barrie Evans and Alan Mogridge to give Berwick a 10 point lead at 37-47. Karlsson and Mogridge scored a consolation 5-1 for the Potters in the last heat to cut the lead to six points but the second leg looks a bit of a formality. This is the second week in succession that Stoke have lost at home despite having a guest who scored a full 18 point maximum! For Berwick, their two reserves Scott Smith and Carl Wilkinson scored 25 points – more than half of their total.

Scorers: For Stoke – Magnus Karlsson 18 (6) (full maximum), Alan Mogridge 11+2 (6), Robbie Kessler 7+2 (5), Barrie Evans 3+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 2 (4), Paul Clews 1+1 (5).

For Berwick – Scott Smith 13+2 (7), Carl Wilkinson 12+2 (7), Adrian Rymel 9+2 (5), Michal Makovsky 8+1 (5), Adam Pietraszko 4 (4), Tom P Madsen 2+2 (3).


Welsh Open Championship

First: Neils Kristian Iversen
Second: Adam Shields
Third: Magnus Zetterstrom

This meeting staged at Newport was run on the usual 20 heats, 16 riders formula with the top four scorers going forward to a Grand Finale. The field consisted of nine riders from the Elite League, five from the Premier League and two ‘others’ (Miroslaw Fencl and Patrik Linhart).

After the 20 heats, Neil Kristian Iversen led the field with an unbeaten 15 points. Second was Magnus Zetterstrom with 14 and third was Adam Shields with 12. Three riders finished with 10 points in joint fourth place so there was a run-off between the three of them, Davie Watt, Ronnie Corrie and Adam Skornicki, for the last place in the final. Watt won the race from Correy in second place and Skornicki third.

In the final Adam Shields and Davie Watt collided on the first bend and Watt was excluded from the rerun. One item of note is the 15 minute delay during the meeting after the tractor had collided with the safety fence on the backstraight and removed a massive chunk of it!

[Merlin]

Monday, 13 June

Only one match was raced tonight as Exeter got back to Premier League business with this match against Workington .


Premier League: Exeter 61, Workington 32


With Exeter qualifying for the semi-finals of the Premier Trophy by winning the bonus point at Reading on Friday night, this match against Workington was a dress rehearsal for that semi-final because the two teams will meet again when it is staged. Exeter were at full strength while Workington used Rider Replacement for the injured Kauko Nieminen and this time had Tom Brown in their ‘revolving’ reserve position.

Workington were looking for a good result to consolidate their position as the early leaders of the Premier League particularly since Shaun Tacey scored an 18 point maximum at the County Ground last year riding for King’s Lynn. Exeter on the other hand, one of the fancied sides to challenge, could ill-afford to drop points having failed to take a point away from home so far in the league.

Mark Lemon won the opening heat but was followed home by Kevin Little and Carl Stonehewer as Pavel Ondrasik’s bike packed up resulting in a shared heat before Exeter took a two point lead in heat two with a 4-2 with Lee Smethills leading home James Wright and Ben Barker. A 5-1 in heat 3 from Toni Svab and Ray Morton ahead of Workington’s Robson/Tacey partnership suggested it would be a long, hard night for the Comets as they slipped 6 points in arrears. It got worse for them as Seemond Stephens and Lee Smethills added another 5-1 in heat 4 ahead of Workington’s two form riders – Carl Stonehewer and James Wright. This made the heat 4 score 17-7.

After two disappointing rides Carl Stonehewer, out for the third time in five heats, finally provided Workington with a race winner but Svab and Morton kept Kevin Little at the back and the heat was shared. However, Exeter recorded another 5-1 in heat 6 from Mark Lemon and Pavel Ondrasik as Shaun Tacey taking the R/R ride suffered an engine failure to put the Falcons 14 points ahead. In heat 7 another win for Seemond Stephens resulted in a shared heat as Robson and Tacey kept Ben Barker at the back. Similarly in heat 8 Lee Smethills continued his unbeaten run with Wright and Little heading home Ondrasik for another 3-3 to take the score after heat 8 to 31-17.

Morton and Svab took a heat 9 5-1 from Robson to increase Exeter’s lead to 18 points and it was 20 after heat 10 won by Mark Lemon as Stuart Robson took second place from Pavel Ondrasik for a 4-2. Things got even worse for Workington in heat 11. Carl Stonehewer took a TR but was beaten into third place by Seemond Stephens and young Exeter reserve Ben Barker for an Exeter 5-2 increasing their lead to 23 points at 45-22.

Heat 12 resulted in Exeter’s 7th maximum heat win as Lee Smethills and Ray Morton led James Wright from the gate then in heat 13 Seemond Stephens completed his fourth winning ride but Carl Stonehewer finished second to end Mark Lemon’s winning run for an Exeter 4-2 stretching the home side’s lead to 29 points at 54-25. Workington finally played their second TR card with James Wright taking the ride in heat 14. Although he finished second to Tony Svab, his partner, Sean Tacey, finished third ahead of Ben Barker so Workington had at last secured a heat advantage with a 3-5 and hit the 30 point mark in the process. In the final heat Seemond Stephens completed his full five ride maximum with Stonehewer finishing second for an Exeter 4-2 and a 29 point win. If Workington can’t improve on this score in the Premier Trophy semi-final their chances of making the final will be slim.

Scorers: For Exeter – Seemond Stephens 15 (5) (full maximum), Lee Smethills 12+1 (5), Toni Svab 10+1 (4), Mark Lemon 10 (4), Ray Morton 8+3 (4), Pavel Ondrasik 3+1 (4), Ben Barker 3+1 (4).

For Workington – Carl Stonehewer 11+1 (5) including a 2 point TR, James Wright 9 (5) including a 4 point TR, Scott Robson 6 (5), Kevin Little 3+1 (5), Shaun Tacey 2+2 (6), Tom Brown 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 14 June

Tonight the Isle of Wight were at home to Workington in a Premier League match.


Premier League: Isle of Wight 45, Workington 45 .


After their mauling at Exeter last night Workington made the short trip along the south coast to face the Isle of Wight and put up much sterner resistance. The Islanders were at full strength for this match and Workington remained unchanged from last night using R/R for Kauko Nieminen at number 5 and with Tom Brown at number 6.

Workington used the same tactics as usual giving the R/R ride in heat 4 to Carl Stonehewer so that he rode in three of the first five heats. This worked well as the Comets’ number 1 scored eight points from them. They still trailed 17-13 after heat 5 though as the Isle of Wight took the reserves race 4-2 and added a 5-1 in heat 3 from Ostergaard and Marsh. Workington replied with a 2-4 in heat 4 as Stonehewer got third place support from James Wright.

The Isle of Wight built on their lead with 4-2s in heat 6 and 7 to lead 25-17 but Workington stopped them in their tracks by taking a heat eight 1-5 thanks to Kevin Little and James Wright beating the Islanders’ lesser lights Glenn Phillips and Steen Jensen. After heat 8 there were then only four points in it at 26-22 and all to race for.

The home side moved six points clear again in heat 9 with a 4-2 from Ostergaard and Marsh as Kevin Little slid into the fence, then heat 10 was shared as Craig Boyce ran up his third heat win. Tomas Suchanek won heat 11 heading home Kevin Little and Carl Stonehewer for another shared heat but Workington cut the gap to four points again with a 2-4 in a race won by James Wright from Krister Marsh with Scott Robson picking up the third place point after Steen Jensen had an engine failure. So at the interval the score was 38-34 with three heats to go. But Workington’s two pronged attack of Stonehewer and Wright needed better support if they were to take anything from the match.

On the resumption Carl Stonehewer headed home Boyce and Suchanek to keep the gap at four points but Workington were back on level terms in heat 14. In the first running of the heat Ulrich Ostergaard fell and was excluded. This left James Wright and Shaun Tacey facing the Islanders’ reserve, Jason Doyle, and they duly wrapped up a 1-5 to level the match with one heat to go. In the last heat Carl Stonehewer again beat Craig Boyce and it was left to Ostergaard to fend off Kevin Little to ensure that the Islanders took even one point.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Craig Boyce 13 (5), Tomas Suchanek 9+1 (4), Ulrich Ostergaard 9+1 (5), Krister Marsh 6+2 (4), Steen Jensen 3 (3), Jason Doyle 3 (5), Glenn Phillips 2 (4).

For Workington – Carl Stonehewer 15+1 (6), James Wright 15+1 (7), Shaun Tacey 7+1 (4), Kevin Little 6+1 (6), Scott Robson 2+1 (4), Tom Brown 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 15 June

Two Premier League matches were raced tonight. At Hull the Vikings faced Edinburgh while at King’s Lynn the Stars had Sheffield as their opponents.



Premier League: Hull 38, Edinburgh 53 .


After close encounters in their last two home matches Hull were back at full strength tonight. Edinburgh were also at full strength and looking for revenge after losing home and away to Hull in the Premier Trophy.

After pushing Newcastle all the way with a makeshift team last Sunday, Hull must have fancied a win tonight. What they got was a demolition job from a rampant Edinburgh side winning their second successive away match.

Hull took the lead in heat 1 with a 4-2 from Sanchez and Thorp but after the reserves’ race was shared they soon found themselves in arrears as Edinburgh took the first of their five maximum heat wins in heat 3 as Brady and Nermark headed Kramer home. Back came Hull with a maximum of their own in heat 4 from Stead and Parsons and the score after the first four heats was 13-11.

However Edinburgh clicked into top gear and Hull struggled to keep themselves in the match. A 2-4 from Pijper and Lawson in heat 5 levelled the scores again then the Monarchs struck with another 1-5 in heat 6 from Woodward and Harrison ahead of Sanchez and Thorp who had to from 15 metres back after touching the tapes. Heat 7 was drawn but Hull got two points back in heat 8 with a 4-2 from Thorp and Parsons to take the score to 23-25.

Heat 9 was a killer blow for Hull as Cameron Woodward and Rusty Harrison stormed from the gate for another 1-5 to leave the Vikings six points in arrears. The next two heats were shared then Hull nervously faced heat 12 represented by Craig Branney and Simone Terenzani. With good reason too, as the on-fire Cameron Woodward followed home Ross Brady for another 1-5 which put the Monarchs 10 points ahead at 31-41 with just three heats to go.

After a short interval Garry Stead emerged, as expected, wearing the black and white helmet cover to signify a TR but he fluffed the start. With Rusty Harrison rounding Emiliano Sanchez for the win Edinburgh took a 2-4 to clinch the match as Stead trailed in last. Hull gave Emil Kramer a TR in heat 14 but that, too, was to no avail as Cameron Woodward completed one of his finest performances for the Edinburgh side with another heat win followed home by Daniel Nermark for a 2-5. Ross Brady did likewise in heat 15 for a share of the points to give Edinburgh a 15 point win.


Scorers: For Hull – Garry Stead 11 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 9+1 (5), Emil Kramer 6 (4) including a 2 point TR, Paul Thorp 5+1 (4), Joel Parsons 4+1 (5), Simone Terenzani 3 (4), Craig Branney 0 (3).

For Edinburgh – Cameron Woodward 14+2 (6), Ross Brady 14 (5), Rusty Harrison 8+2 (5), Theo Pijper 8 (4), Daniel Nermark 5+3 (4), David McAllan 3+1 (3), William Lawson 1 (3).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 52, Sheffield 39 .


King’s Lynn welcomed back Troy Batchelor to the side after a long absence through injury as they got back to full strength. Sheffield had former King’s Lynn rider Shaun Tacey as a guest for Sean Wilson and also had Andrew Moore at number four as a guest replacement for Ricky Ashworth who was on International duty with Team GB at Poole. They also used R/R for the injured Richard Hall.

Although it was a bit of a patchwork side Sheffield turned out they kept the score close until the interval after heat 9. Shaun Tacey won the opening heat from Tomas Topinka for a 3-3 but King’s Lynn won heats two and three by 4-2 to take a four point lead with wins for Jan Jaros and Adam Allott. Oliver Allen won heat 4 for a shared heat for a heat 4 score of 14-10.

This was followed by another five shared heats as the Stars failed to make any further headway so the interval score was 29-25. After the interval, though, it was a different story as Sheffield conceded a 5-1 in heat 10 when Tomas Topinka and Ashley Jones beat Andre Compton to double King’s Lynn’s lead. The Stars followed with a 4-2 to go 10 points up at 38-28 after heat 11. Adam Allott won heat 12 to keep it that way then Sheffield used their TR options.

In heat 13 Shaun Tacey took the TR but the Tigers had given the black and white helmet to the wrong guy as it was Andre Compton who forced his way to the front to head home Tomas Topinka and Oliver Allen with Shaun Tacey at the back. So a possible 3-6 was just a 3-3 but at least it enabled Sheffield to try again in heat 14. This time Andrew Moore took the TR but he fared little better finding himself on the wrong end of a 5-2 from Paul Lee and Troy Batchelor. Tomas Topinka won the last heat but Shaun Tacey and Andre Compton kept Adam Allott at the back as the Stars won by 13 points.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 13 (5), Adam Allott 11 (5), Oliver Allen 10+1 (4), Ashley Jones 6+2 (4), Paul Lee 5+1 (4), Troy Batchelor 4+1 (4), Jan Jaros 3 (4).

For Sheffield – Andre Compton 10+2 (6) including a 2 point TR, Shaun Tacey 10 (5) including a 2 point TR, Andrew Moore 8 (5), Ben Wilson 6+4 (6), Trevor Harding 4 (4), Paul Cooper 1+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 16 June

There were two matches tonight. At Glasgow the Tigers faced Newport in a Premier League match and at Sheffield the match was the second leg of the Premier Trophy semi-final against Rye House .



Premier League: Glasgow 48, Newport 42 Newport won the bonus point by 93-92.


With both tracks having a Sunday racenight Glasgow made way by changing to tonight for this return league match against Newport . Glasgow were without Shane Parker but had James Grieves as a guest replacement. Newport had Theo Pijper as a guest for Craig Watson and used R/R for Michael Coles at number 3.

On a very wet and slippery track following heavy rain throughout the day Newport made the better start. The opening heat was won as usual by George Stancl for a shared heat but Newport struck with 1-5s in both heats 2 and 3. In heat 2 Tony Atkin shepherded his partner Karlis Ezergailis for most of the race before going on to win it for the first of the two maximums. Then Neil Collins and Kristian Lund headed home Trent Leverington for the second. Glasgow got one of them back in heat 4 when James Grieves and James Birkinshaw both passed Theo Pijper to take the heat 4 score to 10-14.

Glasgow started to pull the deficit back. They took a 4-2 in heat 5 then, after a shared heat 6, another 4-2 in heat 7 to level the match at 21-21. However in heat 8 Newport struck again with their third 1-5 from Tony Atkin and Kristian Lund to go ahead by 22-26.

Theo Pijper won heat 9 but Tony Atkin fell so the heat was shared then, in heat 10 Tony Atkin had a heavy fall when he crashed at high speed into the fence after clipping Matthew Wethers back wheel. In the rerun Stancl beat Neil Collins so the Tigers took a 4-2 to get within two points again at 29-31. Mads Korneliussen then beat James Grieves with Kristian Lund third for a 2-4 that restored Newport’s four point lead in heat 11 and Neil Collins won heat 12 to keep it that way.

With Stancl and Grieves likely to appear in both heats 13 and 15 even a four point lead was looking precarious and so it turned out. Glasgow’s top pair duly levelled the match with a 5-1 and the Tigers all but sealed the match when they also took a 4-2 advantage in heat 14 from Claus Kristensen and James Cockle. As expected Stancl and Grieves rounded things off with a heat 15 5-1 but they fell short of the bonus point by one point.

Scorers: For Glasgow – George Stancl 15 (5) (full maximum), James Grieves 12+2 (5), Claus Kristensen 7+1 (4), Trent Leverington 5+1 (4), James Birkinshaw 5+1 (4), James Cockle 3 (4), Matthew Wethers 1 (4).

For Newport – Neil Collins 12 (6), Mads Korneliussen 8+1 (5), Tony Atkin 8 (7), Kristian Lund 7+2 (5), Theo Pijper 5+1 (4), Karlis Ezergailis 2+1 (3).



Premier Trophy semi-final (second leg): Sheffield 50, Rye House 39 Rye House go through to the final on aggregate by 105-76


Sheffield had Robbie Kessler as their guest for Sean Wilson and had Ricky Ashworth back in the side. They used R/R for Richard Hall at number 4. With Stuart Robson back in the side Rye House were at full strength.

There was never any chance that Sheffield were going to pull back the 40 point deficit they incurred in the first leg. And they could hardly have got off to a worse start. Rye House won both the opening heats 1-5 when in heat 1 Robbie Kessler fell while leading the race then in heat 2 when Steve Boxall and Tommy Allen got the drop on the Sheffield reserves. Sheffield hit back with two 4-2s in heats 3 and 4 the latter of which was significant because the two points that Rye House scored clinched the tie overall. The score after heat 4 was 10-14.

After that Sheffield took command. A shared heat won by Ricky Ashworth was followed by a 5-1 from Paul Cooper and Robbie Kessler ahead of Chris Neath. This levelled the score at 18-18 and after another two shared heats Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson added another 5-1 from Boxall and Neath and Sheffield were at least ahead on the night by 29-25. Another 5-1 in heat 10 from Kessler and Cooper doubled the lead to 34-26 but Sheffield hit back with a 2-4 from Robson and Kennett to cut the lead to six points. Two more shared heats followed then Sheffield scored a 5-0 when both Boxall and Allen fell and Sheffield were home and dry. Stuart Robson won the last heat for a 3-3 but it hardly mattered by then.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 15 (5) (full maximum), Andre Compton 10 (5), Ben Wilson 8+3 (7), Robbie Kessler 7+2 (4), Paul Cooper 7+2 (5), Trevor Harding 3 (4).

For Rye House – Stuart Robson 14 (5), Edward Kennett 7+2 (5), Steve Boxall 6 (6), Brent Werner 4+2 (4), Tommy Allen 4+1 (4), Daniel King 3 (3), Chris Neath 1 (3).