Around the Premier League Tracks - 2006

[Merlin]

Friday, 22 September



The one Premier League match scheduled for tonight was at Edinburgh where the Monarchs were at home to Workington.



Premier League: Edinburgh 44, Workington 46 Workington won the bonus point on aggregate by 103-83.


Edinburgh were at full strength for this match but Workington turned out a guest reserve pairing of Andrew Tully and Robert Ksiezak at numbers 6 and 7.

Last time Workington were at Edinburgh they won by a single point in a Premier Trophy match despite losing Paul Thorp in the opening heat. This time it was Edinburgh who suffered losing Matthew Wethers before he had got further than the first bend. It was just the start of Edinburgh’s misfortunes although there was nothing at stake for either side in this the penultimate league match of the season.

For the second week in succession Theo Pijper broke the track record in the opening heat lowering his previous time by three tenths of a second. The Comets pair tucked in behind him but Henrik Moller worked his way past Alan Mogridge for a 4-2 which gave the Monarchs an early two point lead. Robert Ksiezak made a fast start to the reserves race but it looked like the points would be shared. However, on bend three of the last lap, Derek Sneddon went for an inside pass on Ksiezak and fell off turning the heat into a 2-4 which levelled the scores. Heat 3 was a disaster for Edinburgh. Tomasz Piszcz cut hard across Matthew Wethers on the first bend, reminiscent of the ‘Paul Thorp’ incident in the Premier Trophy meeting, causing Wethers, unable to turn his bike, to straighten up and come off on the high side. It looked a bad accident but Wethers escaped with a damaged wrist and cuts and bruises which caused him to have to pull out of the meeting. In the rerun Daniele Tessari rode an excellent opening two bends to round the field and head off in front down the back straight. Sean Stoddart then passed Piszcz and, entering the last lap, Rusty Harrison rounded Tessari to win the race. The result was a shared race. Heat 4 was called back and Robert Ksiezak warned for moving at the starting gate then had to be rerun when Ksiezak fell off at the back trying to challenge Derek Sneddon. James Wright was fast away and won comfortably for another shared race taking the score to 12-12 after the opening four heats.

Heat 5 saw a fast start from Garry Stead while Daniele Tessari forced his way past Alan Mogridge on the opening bend for a 2-4 which put Workington two points in front. But in heat 6 Edinburgh went back in front again with a 5-1 from Theo Pijper and Henrik Moller who both gated ahead of James Wright. Wright was on Moller’s back wheel for most of the race but couldn’t make the pass. Workington drew level in heat 7. Harrison and Piszcz made the gate but William Lawson passed Piszcz to limit the damage to a 2-4. In heat 8, a hard first bend resulted in Derek Sneddon hitting the deck. Robert Ksiezak, who appeared to run into him from the inside, slowed as if expecting the race to be stopped (as were most of the crowd). However referee, Ronnie Allen, saw nothing wrong so Henrik Moller raced off for the win from Mogridge and Ksiezak and another shared race taking the score after eight heats to 24-24.

In heat 9 James Wright made the gate but a big outside drive round the first two bends by Daniele Tessari might have taken him into the lead had not Derek Sneddon moved across the track to block his run. After that it was an easy win for Wright and another shared heat and tied score. There was no change in heat 10 either. Theo Pijper, miles faster than anyone else, made a poor start as Harrison and Piszcz made the gate. The Monarchs’ captain passed Harrison coming off the second bend as if the Workington man were standing still. Then on the third bend he cruised past Tomasz Piszcz who was also passed by Harrison with Henrik Moller making no impression at the back. The 3-3 meant that the scores were still tied and there was no change in heat 11 either. At last William Lawson made a fast start and won comfortably from Garry Stead and Alan Mogridge for another shared race. It was the same in heat 12. This time Daniele Tessari brought the house down with his first race win at Armadale and he had to work hard to do it! He passed Tomasz Piszcz coming off bend 2 and chased after early heat leader Robert Ksiezak finally passing him with an outside run at the end of the second lap. Derek Sneddon made up ground on Piszcz but just lost out on the line and the result was another shared heat which took the score after twelve races to 36-36.

In heat 13 a four point gap opened between the sides when the Monarchs scored a 5-1. William Lawson stormed round the field off gate 4. Theo Pijper slotted in behind him ahead of Stead while James Wright entertained the crowd with a 360 degree full circle on the second bend before falling and remounting! With Matthew Wethers out Edinburgh had to field their two reserves against the fast gating Ksiezak and Rusty Harrison in heat 14 but what a race this was. The two visitors made the gate but Sean Stoddart roared into the third turn to split them. There was nothing between the three riders for the rest of the race. Stoddart passed race leader, Ksiezak, on the third and fourth bends but was repassed as the Workington reserve had the drive coming off the outside line on the fourth bend. Meanwhile Rusty Harrison passed Stoddart too entering the first bend. This was the pattern of the whole race until Stoddart finally made his pass on Harrison on the 3rd/4th bends stick while Ksiezak just held on for the win. The result was a 2-4 which made the score 43-41 going into the last heat. Then disaster struck twice for the Monarchs. Firstly the unbeaten Theo Pijper was withdrawn from the meeting by the medics following a damaged wrist in a clash with James Wright in an earlier heat so Edinburgh went with Lawson and Tessari. James Wright made the gate and was being chased hard by William Lawson in second place when Lawson’s bike packed up gifting the 1-5 to the visitors which gave them the win on the night. It was an entertaining match though and a gutsy display from Edinburgh who didn’t really deserve to lose.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 11+1 (4)(paid maximum), William Lawson 10 (5), Daniele Tessari 9+1 (5), Henrik Moller 6+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 5+1 (6), Sean Stoddart 3+1 (6), Matthew Wethers –withdrawn.

For Workington – Rusty Harrison 11+1 (5), James Wright 10 (5), Robert Ksiezak 9+1 (5), Garry Stead 8 (4), Alan Mogridge 4+1 (4), Tomasz Piszcz 3+2 (4), Andrew Tully 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 24 September



The action tonight was at Sheffield where the Premier League Riders Championship took place.


Premier League Riders Championship:

Winner: Magnus Zetterstrom
Runner-up: Jason Lyons
Third: Gary Havelock
Fourth: Tomas Topinka

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As usual Sheffield was the venue for this year’s major individual event which was run on the same lines as in previous years. The format was a full 20 heat event in which all the riders had five rides and met each other once. The top two scorers were seeded direct to the final while the next top four scorers contested a semi-final with the winner and second placed rider also going forward to the final.

In the opening heat Carl Wilkinson broke the tapes and was excluded from the rerun which was won by Newcastle’s Josef Franc who replaced George Stancl. Chris Holder and Kevin Doolan had a good battle for second place with Holder eventually pulling away for the two points. Chris Neath got a flyer in heat 2 so the race was pulled back. Jason Lyons won the rerun from Neath with Michal Makovsky third and William Lawson last. Heat 3 saw a win for Shane Parker who held on to beat an ever pressing James Wright who in turn had to hold off the pre-meeting favourite, Andre Compton, who had passed Mark Lemon on the first lap. Heat 4 was processional with a win for the fast gating Magnus Zetterstrom with Gary Havelock, Danny Bird and Tomas Topinka following him home. At this point Franc, Lyons, Parker and Zetterstrom led the field with 3 points each.

In the second stanza of four heats Tomas Topinka, having finished last in heat 4 won heat 5 from Chris Neath, who passed Josef Franc, and Mark Lemon. Chris Holder won heat 6 under pressure from Gary Havelock with Makovsky and Wright bringing up the rear then Magnus Zetterstrom scored his second race win in heat 7 beating Lyons, Parker and Doolan from the gate. Andre Compton won heat 8 from Danny Bird who passed William Lawson on the last bend with Carl Wilkinson last. This meant that with all riders having completed two rides the leaders were Magnus Zetterstrom with 6 points followed by Chris Holder and Jason Lyons with 5 then Josef Franc, Chris Neath, Shane Parker, Andre Compton and Gary Havelock all of whom had four points.

In the third stanza of four heats Danny Bird won heat 9 from Josef Franc and Michal Makovsky with Shane Parker stuck at the back. Heat 10, ominously for the rest of the field, saw Andre Compton win again despite a determined challenge from Magnus Zetterstrom with Holder and Neath bringing up the rear. In heat 11 Gary Havelock went from third to first on the fourth bend while a tremendous scrap developed between William Lawson and Mark Lemon behind him. Kevin Doolan then came with a late run and the three riders crossed the line together with Lemon getting the verdict from Lawson and Doolan. Heat 12 was won by Tomas Topinka from Jason Lyons while James Wright passed Carl Wilkinson for the third place point on the last lap. After all the riders had had three rides each the leader was Magnus Zetterstrom with 8 points while Jason Lyons, Andre Compton and Gary Havelock had 7 points each. Four riders – Franc, Holder, Topinka and Bird – were close behind on 6 points.

In the fourth stanza there was a crash on the first bend of heat 13 when Compton and Lyons collided and Compton fell heavily. Compton was taken back to the pits by ambulance for a check up. Although the referee called for all four back Andre Compton was taken to hospital and was replaced by Tai Woffenden. In the rerun Jason Lyons beat Gary Havelock while Tai Woffenden passed Josef Franc for third place on the second lap. Heat 14 was won by Chris Holder from Tomas Topinka while Shane Parker passed William Lawson for the third place point. Heat 15 was won from the gate with Danny Bird heading home Wright, Doolan and Neath. Magnus Zetterstrom produced his third heat victory in heat 16 when he won from Mark Lemon, who just held off a challenge from Michal Makovsky, with Carl Wilkinson at the back. This meant that after four rides each Magnus Zetterstrom still led the field with 11 points while Jason Lyons had 10 and three riders tied with 9 points – Chris Holder, Gary Havelock and Danny Bird. The sixth placed rider was Tomas Topinka with 8 points.

In heat 17 Magnus Zetterstrom confirmed his place in the final by winning the race from James Wright who had passed Josef Franc on the second lap while William Lawson had an engine failure at the back. In heat 18 Jason Lyons made a strong bid for the other final place by passing Mark Lemon on the last bend after the pair of them had had a close race with Chris Holder who finished third. Danny Bird finished last. In heat 19 Tomas Topinka held on to beat Kevin Doolan and Michal Makovsky to guarantee a semi-final spot while in heat 20 Gary Havelock won from Chris Neath, Shane Parker and Carl Wilkinson. After the 20 races had been completed Magnus Zetterstrom (14 points) and Jason Lyons (13 points) had qualified for the final while the semi-final field was Gary Havelock (12 Points), Tomas Topinka (11 points), Chris Holder (10 points) and Danny Bird (9 points).

Semi Final[/color]: Danny Bird touched the tapes and was excluded. In the restart Tomas Topinka won from Chris Neath while Chris Holder missed out on a final place by finishing third.

Grand Final[/color]: Magnus Zetterstrom jetted from the gate to win comfortably while Jason Lyons finished second ahead of Gary Havelock with Tomas Topinka fourth.

Scorers from the qualifying heats: Magnus Zetterstrom 14, Jason Lyons 13, Gary Havelock 12, Tomas Topinka 11, Chris Holder 10, Danny Bird 9, Josef Franc 7, James Wright 7, Andre Compton 7 (3), Chris Neath 6, Mark Lemon 6, Shane Parker 6, Michal Makovsky 5, Kevin Doolan 4, William Lawson 2, Carl Wilkinson 0, (Reserves: Tai Woffenden 1 (1), David Speight 0 (2)).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 26 September


Tonight’s action was the first leg, first round Play-Off tie between the Isle of Wight and Glasgow .



Premier League Play-Offs, first round, first leg: Isle of Wight 55, Glasgow 39


With Krzysztof Stojanowski having recovered sufficiently from a virus to ride and David McAllan having recovered from a wrist injury both the Isle of Wight and Glasgow were at full strength for this match. This was the Isle of Wight’s first official fixture at home for over a month when they beat Redcar 50-40 in a league match on 22 August.

The Islanders took the lead in the opening heat when Jason Bunyan headed home Danny Bird with Chris Holder third for a 4-2 then they added a 5-1 in the reserves race with Nick Simmons coming from the back to join Chris Johnson to give the home side an early six point lead. Lee Dicken was warned for moving at the start of heat 3 causing a rerun but it was Kauko Nieminen who provided Glasgow’s first race winner when he won from Stojanowski and Morton for a shared race. Jason Doyle won heat 4 from Shane Parker with Nick Simmons third for a 4-2 which took the score to 16-8 after four heats.

Danny Bird won heat 5 but Stojanowski and Morton again shared the points behind him. The Islanders increased their lead to 10 points in heat 6. Jason Bunyan scored his second race win while Robert Ksiezak finished second ahead of Chris Holder with Shane Parker bringing up the rear for a 4-2. Immediately Glasgow gave Kauko Nieminen a TR in heat 7 and he won the race for a 3-6 from Doyle and Johnson cutting the home side’s lead to seven points. Robert Ksiezak came into heat 8 replacing James Cockle and split the home pairing of Jason Bunyan and Nick Simmons for a 4-2 which put the Islanders 9 points ahead taking the score after eight races to 30-21.

The Isle of Wight scored another 4-2 in heat 9. Ray Morton and Krzysztof Stojanowski made the gate and, although Shane Parker passed Stojanowski for second place, he couldn’t catch Ray Morton so the home side stretched their lead to 11 points. The Islanders made it a hat trick of 4-2s in heat 10. Kauko Nieminen again made the gate but he was passed by Chris Holder on the third lap. Jason Bunyan finished third with Lee Dicken falling at the back. This stretched the home side’s lead to 13 points so Danny Bird was given a TR in heat 11 with Jason Doyle again having to face the tactical ride for the Islanders. This time there was no joy for Glasgow as they conceded a 5-1 when Danny Bird, lying second, unluckily had to pull out of the race with bike problems leaving David McAllan to pick up his first point behind Jason Doyle and Chris Johnson. The home side’s lead had now stretched to 17 points and it increased to 19 after heat 12. Perhaps surprisingly Shane Parker did not appear as a Tactical Substitute for Lee Dicken who was in any case excluded under the two minute rule. However James Cockle came in to replace Dicken and scored his first points of the night by finishing second behind Ray Morton with Nick Simmons beating Robert Ksiezak for another 4-2. This took the score after twelve races to 47-28 and, with the interval now being taken, Glasgow were left to reflect that they needed a big finish.

It didn’t happen for them in heat 13 as Chris Holder and Jason Doyle scored a vital 5-1 ahead of Danny Bird and Shane Parker. Shane Parker then appeared in heat 14 replacing James Cockle by taking a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back to join Kauko Nieminen against Krzysztof Stojanowski and Chris Johnson. This move brought Glasgow their second heat advantage of the evening. Kauko Nieminen continued his fine run by winning the race but, although Parker passed Johnson, he could only finish third behind Stojanowski. This resulted in a 2-5 for the visitors and cut the difference between the sides to 20 points. Finally Bird and Nieminen gave Glasgow some hope by scoring a 1-5 in the last heat ahead of Jason Doyle to cut the lead to 16 points but it will be an uphill struggle for the Tigers in the second leg next Sunday.


Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Doyle 11+1 (5), Jason Bunyan 10 (4), Ray Morton 8+2 (4), Chris Holder 8 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 7 (4), Chris Johnson 6+2 (4), Nick Simmons 5+1 (4).

For Glasgow – Kauko Nieminen 16+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Danny Bird 9 (5), Shane Parker 6 (5)(including a 2 point Tactical Substitute ride), Robert Ksiezak 5 (5), James Cockle 2 (4), David McAllan 1 (3), Lee Dicken 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 27 September


Tonight’s sole match was the second leg, first round Play-Off tie between King’s Lynn and Redcar .



Premier League Play-Offs, first round, second leg: King’s Lynn 63, Redcar 32 King’s Lynn won through to the semi-finals on aggregate by 110-75


King’s Lynn were at full strength for this match but Redcar had two riders missing. Mathieu Tresarrieu was out with a broken metatarsal in his left foot sustained in a crash at Redcar last Thursday in the first leg while Tomas Suchanek had gone home to ride in his domestic league in the Czech Republic. Although it seemed contrary to the rules Redcar were given a facility to cover for Suchanek’s absence so they used Trent Leverington as a guest for Tresarrieu at number 4 and R/R to cover for the missing Suchanek at number 5.

Already trailing by four points from the first leg and having conceded 70 points on their last visit to King’s Lynn you would probably have got shorter odds on King Canute repelling the tide than Redcar winning through to the semi-finals in this match. However they did score 32 points which was ten points better than last time and also better than some other teams who have visited Saddlebow Road this season.

The Stars took the lead in the opening heat which was over 5 laps for some reason. Troy Batchelor was the winner but Gary Havelock took second place ahead of Kevin Doolan for a 4-2. The reserves race was pulled back after an unsatisfactory start and produced a 5-1 for the home side in the rerun won by John Oliver and Chris Mills from Daniel Giffard. The floodgates seemed to have opened and King’s Lynn scored another 5-1 in heat 3 with the only point of note being Trevor Harding’s pass on his partner, Daniel Nermark, as Leverington and Little finished at the back. Kevin Little took the R/R ride in heat 4 and split the home pairing of Tomas Topinka and John Oliver for a home 4-2 which took the heat 4 score to 18-6.

In heat 5 Gary Havelock took a TR and Redcar tasted success. Havelock got out ahead of Daniel Nermark and held on to win the race under pressure from Nermark. At the back Chris Kerr passed Trevor Harding so the race resulted in a 2-7 to the Bears cutting the Stars’ lead to seven points which meant that already Redcar were guaranteed to beat the 22 points they scored last time at Saddlebow Road. In heat 6 Chris Kerr took the R/R ride but finished at the wrong end of a Doolan/Batchelor 5-1 which put the home side 11 points in front again. Heat 7 looked like finishing all square as Trent Leverington and Kevin Little followed Tomas Topinka but Chris Mills passed Little to turn the result into a 4-2 increasing the lead to 13 points. In heat 8 Chris Kerr took Redcar’s second TR. It was a brave move considering that the unbeaten Troy Batchelor was in the heat but it did result in another heat advantage to the Bears. Batchelor won the race but Kerr finished second and Daniel Giffard picked up the third place point ahead of John Oliver for a 3-5 resulting in a heat eight score of 32-21.

Gary Havelock took the R/R ride in heat 9 but pulled up at the back as King’s Lynn got back on the 5-1 trail. Trevor Harding and Daniel Nermark scored the five points ahead of Jack Hargreaves. Batchelor and Doolan added another in heat 10 with Kevin Little in third place. In heat 11 the home side made it a hat trick of 5-1s and put the result out of Redcar’s reach. Chris Mills came from the back to join Tomas Topinka for the maximum with Gary Havelock third and Chris Kerr retiring with an engine failure. It became four 5-1s on the trot as Trevor Harding and John Oliver relegated Kevin Little to third place in heat 12 which took the score to a palindromic 52-25.

The big question now was whether the Bears could hit the 30 point mark. They got closer by taking two points in heat 13. Tomas Topinka won the race while Trent Leverington (R/R) passed Kevin Doolan for second place with Gary Havelock stuck at the back. The 4-2 took the score to 56-27. Trent Leverington did the job again for Redcar in heat 14. He led the race until passed by Daniel Nermark on the first lap but his second place behind Nermark and ahead of Chris Mills produced the 4-2 which guaranteed that the Bears would hit 30 points. Leverington then came out in heat 15 for his third ride on the trot but finished last. Gary Havelock burst into life again to win the final race from Troy Batchelor who came from the back to take second place while Tomas Topinka took third place for a shared race – the only one of the meeting.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Troy Batchelor 13+1 (5), Tomas Topinka 13+1 (5), Daniel Nermark 9+2 (4), Trevor Harding 9 (4), Kevin Doolan 7+1 (4), Chris Mills 6+2 (4), John Oliver 6+1 (4).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 12 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Trent Leverington 7 (6), Chris Kerr 6 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Kevin Little 4 (5), Daniel Giffard 2+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 28 September


Tonight’s match was the second leg, semi final Knock Out Cup match between Sheffield and Somerset .



Premier League Knock Out Cup, semi-final, second leg: Sheffield 55, Somerset 41 Somerset won through to the final on aggregate by 96-95


Sheffield were missing Andre Compton, injured in the Premier League Riders Championship, and had Jason Lyons as a guest to replace him at number 5. They also had Mark Thompson at number 7 in place of Benji Compton. Somerset were without Glenn Cunningham who was suffering from a virus infection and used R/R at number 5 instead.

Somerset had a 15 point lead from their home leg as both teams made their bid for a place in the final where King’s Lynn waited to meet the winners. Sheffield had been dealt a blow with the injury to Andre Compton while Somerset had the boost of being led by Magnus Zetterstrom following his success at the Owlerton track last Sunday in winning the Premier League Riders Championship. The tie seemed to be finely balanced and it looked like the aggregate result would be in the balance until late in the proceedings.

It always seems incredible that a rider should be excluded under the two minute rule in the opening heat but that’s what happened to Glen Phillips so he was replaced by Ben Barker. Ricky Ashworth got the Tigers off to a good start by beating Magnus Zetterstrom with Ben Wilson third for a 4-2. Paul Cooper’s win in the reserves race kept them two points in front and they made a big move towards success with a 5-1 in heat 3 from Kyle Legault and Emiliano Sanchez with Kramer and Katt racing each other for the third place point. Glenn Phillips took the R/R ride in heat 4 which was called back after Jason Lyons got a flyer. Lyons was not to be denied though and won the rerun from Phillips and Barker while Mark Thompson retired with an engine failure. The score after four races stood at 15-9 with Sheffield now nine points behind on aggregate.

Somerset pulled two points back in heat 5 when Magnus Zetterstrom beat Kyle Legault. Emiliano Sanchez fell at the back and the race was awarded as a 2-4 to the Rebels. Emil Kramer took the R/R ride in heat 6 but had no success faced with the Ashworth/Wilson pairing. The Sheffield 5-1 put them eight points ahead in the match and seven behind on aggregate. They added another two points to their lead in heat 7 when Jason Lyons won again this time from Emil Kramer and Paul Cooper took the vital third place point from Stephan Katt for a 4-2. With 10 points between the teams Somerset now had both tactical options available. In heat 8 though the Rebels were dealt a crushing blow when they lost a 5-1 to Ben Wilson and reserve Mark Thompson who scored his first and only points of the match by beating Glen Phillips and Ben Barker . The score now stood at 31-17 with Sheffield now only one point behind on aggregate and Somerset in trouble. It was clear that a great deal depended on Magnus Zetterstrom who still had four rides to take in all the odd numbered heats including a TR.

As expected Magnus Zetterstrom took the R/R ride in heat 9 and was also nominated as a TR. He won the race from Legault and Sanchez for a 3-6 which cut Sheffield’s lead to 11 points. Sheffield needed to make progress in heats 10, 12 and 14 or curb Zetterstrom’s winning streak to get back to equality on aggregate. They did just that in heat 10 with another 5-1 from the Ashworth/Wilson pairing ahead of Emil Kramer and Stephan Katt who had forgotten to switch on his fuel. With the Tigers 15 points ahead in the match the scores were now tied on aggregate and Magnus Zetterstrom badly needed some support if Somerset were to pull through. However Jason Lyons showed what a superb choice of guest he was by beating Zetterstrom in heat 11. Paul Cooper picked up another valuable third place point by beating Glenn Phillips and Sheffield took a two point aggregate lead with the 4-2. Simon Walker was excluded from heat 12 for a tapes offence and was replaced by Ben Barker. Emiliano Sanchez won the race but Stephan Katt and Ben Barker finished behind him as Mark Thompson fell so the points were shared and the score after twelve races had progressed to 46-29 – 86-84 on aggregate.

It looked a desperate move by Somerset when Stephan Katt taking the R/R ride was nominated as a Tactical Substitute starting from 15 metres back against the unbeaten Ricky Ashworth and Jason Lyons. No doubt this was hoping for a problem for one of the Sheffield pair and to preserve Emil Kramer’s appearance as a TR in heat 14. It didn’t work though as Ricky Ashworth beat Magnus Zetterstrom for the second time with Jason Lyons third. The result was a 4-2 to the Tigers who now led on aggregate by four points. As expected Somerset played the last roll of the dice by nominating Emil Kramer for a TR in heat 14 and what a result they got from it too! Kyle Legault had an engine failure and Kramer romped home ahead of Paul Cooper for the six points with Ben Barker third for a 2-7 which turned the match on its head. Instead of leading by four points on aggregate Sheffield were now one point behind leaving Somerset needing only three points for a sensational victory. So it came down to a last heat decider after all with Ashworth and Lyons looking for another 4-2 like the one they got in heat 13 against Zetterstrom with Emil Kramer partnering him this time. Just to make it more difficult for the Tigers, Somerset won the toss for gate positions and went off 1 and 3. Cometh the hour cometh the man – Magnus Zetterstrom off gate 1 scored the three points which took Somerset through to the final against King’s Lynn. Ashworth and Lyons shared the points behind him but it wasn’t enough and Sheffield were left to rue the engine failure Kyle Legault suffered in heat 14 and for not replacing Mark Thompson with Paul Cooper in heat 12. Phew!


Scorers: For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 14 (5), Jason Lyons 11+1 (5), Ben Wilson 8+2 (4), Kyle Legault 7 (4), Paul Cooper 7 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 6+2 (4), Mark Thompson 2+1 (4).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 18 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Emil Kramer 10 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Ben Barker 4+3 (6), Glen Phillips 4 (5), Stephan Katt 3 (5), Simon Walker 2 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 29 September


With the Scottish Cup match at Armadale between Edinburgh and Glasgow falling victim to a late thunderstorm tonight’s only action was the first leg, first round Play-Off tie between Somerset and Rye House .



Premier League Play-Offs, first round, first leg: Somerset 45, Rye House 45 .


Somerset were again missing Glenn Cunningham and used R/R at number 5 while Rye House welcomed back Stuart Robson to the side, replacing Lee Smethills, and had Daniel Giffard at number 6 as a guest for the injured Adam Roynon.

Somerset started brightly enough by taking an early four point lead but they were soon in trouble as Rye House turned the tables by blitzing their way to a six point lead which they held for most of the match. It took a fortunate 5-1, 4-2 finish by the Rebels to escape with a draw. The Rockets’ joy at welcoming Stuart Robson back after his injuries was tempered by the events of heat 14. Once again Rye House’s injury jinx just will not leave them alone and the crash between Tommy Allen and Ben Powell means that both will be missing for the second leg.

Edward Kennett headed home Magnus Zetterstrom from gate 1 in the opening race but Stuart Robson withdrew with a machine problem so the points were shared. The reserves race resulted in an easy 5-1 to the Rebels so they took a four point lead only to lose 10 points over the next three heats. Steve Boxall won heat 3 from Emil Kramer while Tommy Allen’s third place gave the Rockets a 2-4 to trail by just two. Then in heat 4 Rye House hit the home side with a 1-5. Chris Neath won the heat comfortably but Ben Powell and Glen Phillips had a close scrap for second place with the Rye House reserve winning it. This took the score after the opening four heats to 11-13.

The Rockets struck home with another 1-5 in heat 5. This time it was the formidable Kennett/Robson pairing who produced the goods leaving Kramer to pick up the odd point as Rye House romped into a six point lead. Somerset pulled two points back in heat 6 when Zetterstrom beat Chris Neath with Glen Phillips third for a 4-2 but Rye House countered that with a 2-4 in heat 7 when Emil Kramer could only split the Boxall/Allen pairing. Rye House then increased their lead to eight points in heat 8 when Stuart Robson won from Ben Barker and Ben Powell after Glen Phillips had an engine failure at the start. The score now stood at 20-28 and things were not looking good for the Rebels.

They pulled two points back in heat 9 though when Emil Kramer raced off to for the win. It looked as though they might take a maximum from the heat but Chris Neath passed Stephan Katt on the second lap so they had to settle for a 4-2. With Magnus Zetterstrom due out in four of the last six races the Rebels were not without hope and Zetterstrom started this run with a win from the back in heat 10. Unfortunately for the home side Glen Phillips had been excluded under the two minute rule and they gained no advantage when Boxall and Allen filled the minor places. Zetterstrom had to pass Stuart Robson to win heat 11 but, with Edward Kennett third, again the race was shared. In heat 12 Steve Boxall stormed off to win from the gate. Behind him Ben Barker and Stephan Katt both passed Ben Powell so again the race was shared and the score stood at 33-39.

Zetterstrom won heat 13 but Edward Kennett and Chris Neath shared the points behind him as Somerset just couldn’t get back on terms. Things changed in heat 14 though. It looked as though Rye House might add another 1-5 to their score when Tommy Allen and Ben Powell led the race. However Tommy Allen fell on the fourth bend on the first lap and Ben Powell ploughed into him and was thrown into the fence. Although both riders were able to get back to the pits under their own steam they both suffered injuries which will keep them out of the second leg tomorrow night. Daniel Giffard was Rye House’s sole representative in the rerun and Ben Barker and Emil Kramer cashed in with a 5-1 which cut the Rockets’ lead to two points going into the last heat. Magnus Zetterstrom scored his fifth consecutive win in heat 15 beating Edward Kennett into second place. Emil Kramer beat Steve Boxall for the third place point so the Rebels at last pulled level to tie the match. There won’t be a rush to place money on Somerset to win through on aggregate though.


Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 17 (6), Emil Kramer 11+1 (6), Ben Barker 9+1 (5), Glen Phillips 3+1 (5), Simon Walker 3 (4), Stephan Katt 2+1 (5).

For Rye House – Edward Kennett 11+1 (5), Steve Boxall 11 (5), Chris Neath 8+1 (4), Stuart Robson 7+1 (4), Ben Powell 4+1 (4), Tommy Allen 3+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 30 September

There were three matches raced tonight, two in the Play Offs and the other the final League match of the season. In the Play Offs Workington met Sheffield while Rye House took on Somerset both in first round, second leg ties. The Premier League match was at Stoke where the Potters completed the entire Premier League programme with their match against Mildenhall



Premier League Play-Offs, first round second leg: Workington 46, Sheffield 44 Sheffield won through on aggregate to the semi-finals by 97-86.


Workington turned out a reserve pairing of Daniel Warwick (No. 6 ) and Craig Branney (No. 7) for this match while Sheffield had Kauko Nieminen guesting for Andre Compton at number 5 and David Speight at number 7 replacing Mark Thompson who had broken down en route to the track.

With what looked like a manageable 13 points to pull back from the first leg it looked as though this would be a close run affair but Workington never looked like clawing back the deficit. They never led by more than 4 points as Sheffield contained them mainly by producing more race winners than the Comets. Six of the Tigers produced a race win and only a last heat 4-2 gave the home side a win on the night.

It was a ding-dong battle over the opening races. Sheffield struck first with an opening race win from Ricky Ashworth from Garry Stead and Ben Wilson took third for a 2-4. Workington responded with a 4-2 in the reserves race won by Craig Branney to square things again. Sheffield replied with another 2-4 in heat 3. Kyle Legault won from Rusty Harrison with Emiliano Sanchez third to put the Tigers two points ahead again but in heat 4 Workington turned the two point lead round with a 5-1 from James Wright and Daniel Warwick after Kauko Nieminen suffered an engine failure on the second lap while in second place. David Speight held third place until the last bend of the third lap when Warwick passed him. This took the score to 13-11 after the opening four races.

Back came Sheffield again with yet another 2-4 in heat 5. Ricky Ashworth won for the second time from Rusty Harrison while Ben Wilson passed Tomasz Piszcz for the third place point which levelled the match at 15-15. Workington struck again in heat 6 by taking a 4-2 from Garry Stead and Alan Mogridge split by Kauko Nieminen to regain a two point lead and this was followed by two shared heats. James Wright took the win in heat 7 from Legault and Sanchez while Ben Wilson did likewise in heat 8 from Mogridge and Warwick. The score after eight races stood at 25-23 and Workington now needed a big push to close the gap if they were to challenge for a place in the semi-finals.

Heat 9 brought them no joy as Sheffield levelled the scores again. Kauko Nieminen rounded race leader Rusty Harrison while Paul Cooper beat the disappointing Tomasz Piszcz for a 2-4 but Workington hit straight back in heat 10. Alan Mogridge and Garry Stead produced a 5-1 ahead of Kyle Legault who challenged Stead hard. Workington led by four points now but their lead was wiped out in heat 11 as Sheffield responded in kind. Ashworth and Wilson were fast away and survived a late challenge by James Wright to level the match again. Paul Cooper then had an impressive win for Sheffield comfortably beating Tomasz Piszcz and Craig Branney to keep the scores tied after 12 heats at 36-36.

Sheffield sealed the aggregate win by sharing heat 13. Ashworth and Nieminen gated but Garry Stead passed Nieminen on the second bend then Ashworth on the second lap with James Wright stuck at the back. Heat 14 was shared too. Emiliano Sanchez just pipped Harrison on the line with Branney third leaving the scores tied at 42-42 with one race to go. Garry Stead won the last race from Ricky Ashworth but James Wright took third place ahead of Ben Wilson to give the Comets the consolation of winning the match.

Scorers: For Workington – Garry Stead 13+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 8 (4), James Wright 8 (5), Alan Mogridge 6 (4), Craig Branney 5+1 (5), Daniel Warwick 4+2 (3), Tomasz Piszcz 2 (4).

For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 13 (5), Ben Wilson 7+1 (5), Kauko Nieminen 6+1 (4), Kyle Legault 6 (4), Paul Cooper 6 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 5+1 (4), Davis Speight 1 (3).



Premier League Play-Offs, first round, second leg: Rye House 49, Somerset 43 Rye House won through to the semi-finals on aggregate by 94-88


Rye House were without Tommy Allen and Ben Powell so used R/R at number 4 for Allen and Danny Betson at number 7 to replace Powell. Daniel Giffard again guested for the injured Adam Roynon. Barry Burchatt was nominated as the Rockets’ number 8. Somerset were missing Stephan Katt and Glenn Cunningham. They had Chris Schramm as a guest for Katt at number 3 and used R/R to cover Cunningham’s rides.

After finishing all square at Somerset last night Rye House were huge favourites to win through comfortably to the semi-finals but the two-pronged attack of Zetterstrom and Kramer made it anything but comfortable for them. However, without Glenn Cunningham and with Glen Phillips withdrawing from the meeting following a fall in heat 4 when he hurt his elbow, Somerset didn’t have enough fire power to win through.

The opening race looked as if it would never be completed! Firstly the race was called back and Magnus Zetterstrom warned for moving at the start, then Glenn Phillips had machine problems and was excluded under the two minute rule. He was replaced by Ben Barker and when the race next got under way Barker fell on the second bend and stayed down causing the race to be stopped. He was excluded from the rerun in which Magnus Zetterstrom was then excluded for moving at the start. He went from 15 metres back and failed to mount a challenge to Edward Kennett and Stuart Robson who scored an easy 5-1. The reserves race was shared when Daniel Giffard passed Simon Walker after Danny Betson had fallen while mounting a challenge for second place. Emil Kramer won heat 3 from the gate beating Steve Boxall and Daniel Giffard (R/R) for a shared race then heat 4 needed a rerun after Glen Phillips fell on the fourth bend causing him to withdraw from the meeting. In the rerun Chris Neath and Danny Betson were given a clear run as Ben Barker fell and was excluded causing the race to be awarded. This gave the Rockets a 5-0 and the score after four heats was 16-7.

In heat 5 the Rebels pulled two points back. Magnus Zetterstrom won from Steve Boxall while Simon Walker took third place from the Rye House number 8, Barry Burchatt, taking the R/R ride. The 2-4 cut the gap to 7 points but Rye House stretched it to 9 again with a 4-2 in heat 6. Edward Kennett beat Magnus Zetterstrom who passed Stuart Robson on the back straight then Rye House got a real jolt in heat 7 when Emil Kramer and Chris Schramm jetted from the tapes to score a 1-5 over Chris Neath as Daniel Giffard fell at the back. Hindsight is a great thing but Somerset must have been kicking themselves for not giving a TR to Kramer. As it was the Rockets’ lead had been cut to five points and it stayed that way when young Somerset reserve, Simon Walker, kept the shocks coming by heading home Stuart Robson and Danny Betson for a 3-3 which made the score after eight heats 26-21.

The Rockets’ fans had more to worry about after heat nine. Emil Kramer (R/R) stormed off to win the race while Simon Walker took third place as Danny Betson pulled up with bike problems. This meant that the race resulted in a 2-4 and the gap between the teams was now only three points. However Rye House replied with a maximum in heat 10. Edward Kennett and Stuart Robson inflicted a 5-1 on the Rebels pair of Schramm and Kramer to stretch the home side’s lead to six points. The Rockets inflicted more damage in heat 11. Chris Neath beat Magnus Zetterstrom and Daniel Giffard took third place as Ben Barker’s bike gave up the ghost for a 4-2 which put the Rockets nine points ahead. The lead went to 11 after heat 12 when Steve Boxall beat Chris Schramm and Betson beat Walker for a 4-2 which took the score after twelve races to 41-30.

Magnus Zetterstrom took a TR in heat 13 and won the race from Kennett and Neath so the heat score was 3-6 and Somerset trailed by eight points. This meant the Emil Kramer couldn’t take a TR in heat 14 so Somerset wisely did the next best thing by nominating Chris Schramm for a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back. It was always a long shot but when Schramm fell on the last bend in a desperate effort to get round the outside of Daniel Giffard it was all over. Steve Boxall won the race from Emil Kramer so the 4-2 put Rye House through to the semi-final with a ten point lead. Somerset had the satisfaction of running up a 1-5 in the rerun of heat 15 when Kramer and Zetterstrom ahead of Stuart Robson after Edward Kennett had fallen in the first running of the heat and been excluded.

Scorers: For Rye House – Steve Boxall 12 (5), Edward Kennett 11 (5), Stuart Robson 8+2 (5), Chris Neath 8+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 6+1 (5), Danny Betson 4+2 (5), Barry Burchatt 0 (1).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 16+1 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Emil Kramer 14 (6), Simon Walker 7 (5), Chris Schramm 5+1 (6), Ben Barker 1+1 (6), Glen Phillips 0 (2).



Premier League: Stoke 63, Mildenhall 29 Stoke won the bonus point on aggregate by 107-80


Stoke had Shane Waldron at number 7 guesting for Luke Priest. Mildenhall were missing Daniel King and Brent Werner so used R/R at number 5 and had Mark Baseby at number 2 .

Without Daniel King and Brent Werner, Mildenhall didn’t look to have enough firepower to challenge Stoke in this last Premier League match of the season. So it turned out but they might have expected to do better than fail to hit the 30 point mark.

As the rain thundered down Stoke got off to the perfect start with two 5-1s. Jason Lyons was left well in the ‘wake’ of Paul Thorp and Trent Leverington in heat 1 and Shane Waldron and Barrie Evans added a second maximum race win in heat 2. Jon Armstrong led heat 3 until the last bend when he was passed by Paul Clews. However Robbie Kessler finished behind Jason King so the race was shared as was heat 4 won by Mark Lemon from the gate from Jon Armstrong again and Jordan Frampton. This took the score after four races to 16-8.

Robbie Kessler jetted from the start to win heat 5 but Jason Lyons held off the determined challenges of Paul Clews for a 4-2 the same score as heat 6. In this race the Thorp/Leverington pairing was split by Jason King and Stoke had opened up a 12 point lead. Jon Armstrong took a TR in heat 7 and finished second behind Mark Lemon, With Barrie Evans beating Jason King for third place the heat was shared 4-4. Mark Baseby led heat 8 for nearly two laps but was passed by Trent Leverington on the second lap. Jordan Frampton was third so this race was shared too and the score after eight races was 31-19.

Paul Clews beat James Brundle in heat 9 while Robbie Kessler was third. Jason Lyons (R/R) who was on a TR looked a trifle disinterested and failed to complete the four laps so the Potters took a 4-2 to lead by 14 points. In heat 10 Paul Thorp was fast away but Jason King and Jon Armstrong slotted in behind him. Trent Leverington then passed Armstrong on the second lap and King on the third lap to turn the 3-3 into a 5-1. In heat 11 Mark Lemon and Barrie Evans scored another 5-1 by team riding to victory ahead of Jason Lyons then Paul Clews won heat 12 from King and Brundle for a shared race which took the score to 48-26.

That was it as far as the Fen Tigers were concerned. They lost the last three heats all by the 5-1 margin with Mark Lemon and Paul Thorp completing full and paid maximums respectively for Stoke. In heat 13 Mark Baseby led Thorp until the third lap before he fell. Jason Lyons fell too but was awarded a point by the referee as the race was awarded. Then Kessler/Evans and Lemon Thorp consigned Jon Armstrong to third place in each of the last two heats.

Scorers: For Stoke – Mark Lemon 15 (5)(full maximum), Paul Thorp 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Paul Clews 10 (4), Trent Leverington 8+2 (5), Barrie Evans 7+3 (4), Robbie Kessler 7 (4), Shane Waldron 3 (4).

For Mildenhall – Jon Armstrong 10 (6)(including a 4 point TR), Jason King 6+1 (6), Jason Lyons 5 (5), James Brundle 4+1 (4), Jordan Frampton 2+2 (4), Mark Baseby 2 (5).

[Merlin]

Sunday,1 October

There were three matches due to be raced today but only one started. At Glasgow the Tigers raced the Isle of Wight in the Play Offs. At Newcastle the Diamonds were due to take on Redcar in the first leg of the Tyne Tees Trophy and at Newport the Wasps were due to ride against Somerset in the second leg of a challenge match but both matches fell victim to the weather.



Premier League Play-Offs, first round, second leg: Glasgow 52, Isle of Wight 42 The Isle of Wight won through to the semi-finals on aggregate by 97-91.


Both Glasgow and the Isle of Wight were at full strength for this match.

Glasgow had 16 points to pull back from the first leg on the Island last Tuesday. When they stood one point down on aggregate with three heats to go it looked as though the Islanders’ goose was well and truly cooked but instead of Glasgow producing their usual big finish it was the Isle of Wight who raised their game winning the last three heats by 9-14 to eliminate the Tigers in a fantastic match which swung one way then the other.

Heat 1 went true to form. Danny Bird gated and won while Chris Holder and Jason Bunyan filled the minor places behind him for a shared race. Glasgow then took an easy 5-1 from the reserves race with the visiting reserves alarmingly well off the pace, a fact which did not bode well for their chances. Ray Morton won heat 3 from Nieminen while Lee Dicken passed Krzysztof Stojanowski then held on for dear life as Stojanowski tried in vain to repass him. This meant that the points were shared but Glasgow took another giant step towards wiping out their deficit when Shane Parker and James Cockle took a 5-1 in heat 4 after Jason Doyle had fallen in third place. This took the score after the opening four races to 16-8 and already the Tigers had halved the deficit.

They got a shock in heat 5 though when the Islanders hit back with a 1-5. Chris Holder and Jason Bunyan stormed from the tapes to head home Kauko Nieminen and cut the Tigers’ lead in the match to four points. Heat 6 saw the home side increase their lead to six points. It looked as though they might take a 5-1 when Bird and McAllan flew from the tapes but Jason Doyle passed McAllan on the back straight to limit the damage to a 4-2. In heat 7 the Tigers gated again but Ksiezak made a mess of the second bend and finished at the back as Shane Parker led Ray Morton and Krzysztof Stojanowski home for a 3-3. Then came a decisive heat 8. Kseizak replaced David McAllan and along with James Cockle headed off for a 5-1 ahead of Bunyan and Simmons. However, on the third bend Cockle drifted into his partner and he and Ksiezak came to grief. The race was rerun with Cockle excluded. Robert Ksiezak rode a hard first corner to se off Jason Bunyan but the Islander then pulled up with an engine failure so the race ended as a 3-2. This took the score after eight races to 27-20 with Glasgow still trailing on aggregate by nine points.

Kauko Nieminen gated in heat 9 but went too wide on the second bend, clipped the fence and ended up at the back of the field. Jason Doyle went on to win the heat but Nieminen recovered to pass Chris Johnson so the heat was shared. In heat 10 Glasgow threw away more points. Danny Bird led the heat from Ray Morton but David McAllan in third place locked up trying to pass Morton and finished last behind Stojanowski for another shared heat but this was just the calm before the storm as the match erupted into a pulsating final chapter. In heat 11 Robert Ksiezak gated again and Shane Parker tucked in behind him. No matter what Chris Holder did he could not break the team riding Glasgow pair and the crowd went wild with delight as Glasgow scored a 5-1 against the Islanders’ strongest pairing. The Isle of Wight’s aggregate lead had now been cut to five points as they trailed by 11 and worse was to come for them. In heat 12 Ray Morton took a TR. Robert Ksiezak was out again replacing Lee Dicken and he gated with Ray Morton and took the Isle of Wight rider to the fence allowing James Cockle through to second. This gave Glasgow another 5-1 although Ray Morton had an ‘altercation’ with Ksiezak in the pits about his tactics after the race. This took the score to 43-28 with Glasgow only one point down on aggregate. With the unbeaten Bird and Parker out in heats 13 and 15 things looked bleak for the visitors.

In heat 13 Chris Holder took a TR and although Bird and Parker gated, Holder, a man on a mission, passed both of them for a spectacular race win and a 3-6 result which increased the Isle of Wight’s aggregate lead to four points again. In heat 14 Jason Bunyan replaced Nick Simmons as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back and he produced a ride which set the Islanders up for a climactic last heat. Nieminen and Ksiezak were fast away from the tapes and it looked a certain 5-1 for the Tigers. Jason Bunyan reeled in Ksiezak and finally passed him on the very last bend for second place and a 4-4 race result which kept the visitors four ahead on aggregate going into the last race. Glasgow now needed a 5-1 to force a race off and Bird and Parker won the toss for choice of gate positions to help their cause. Again the Glasgow men gated and again Holder came from behind to pass them on the back straight with Jason Doyle also passing Bird for good measure. That’s the way it stayed and the 2-4 cut Glasgow’s victory margin in the match to ten points giving the Isle of Wight a six point aggregate win.

It had been a nail biting match and the Isle of Wight were given a standing ovation for their efforts from an appreciative Glasgow crowd. The Islanders were rewarded with a semi-final tie against Sheffield while King’s Lynn will meet Rye House in the other semi-final.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Robert Ksiezak 13 (6), Shane Parker 12+1 (5), Danny Bird 10+1 (5), Kauko Nieminen 7+1 (4), James Cockle 6+3 (4), Lee Dicken 3+1 (3), David McAllan 1 (3).

For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 15 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Ray Morton 8 (4), Jason Bunyan 7+2 (5)(including a 4 point Tactical Substitute ride), Jason Doyle 6 (5), Nick Simmons 3 (3), Krzysztof Stojanowski 2+2 (4), Chris Johnson 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 4 October



There was an individual meeting tonight at King’s Lynn where the annual Pride of the East was held.


Pride of the East held at King’s Lynn:

Winner: Davey Watt
Runner-up: Daniel Nermark
Third: Troy Batchelor
Fourth: Chris Holder

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This annual event took the form of a full individual meeting with each of the 16 riders taking 5 rides over the normal 20 heat formula. The top four point scorers then took part in a Grand Final to determine the winner of the trophy. In addition to the seven King’s Lynn team riders the field was supplemented by Shaun Tacey (formerly with King’s Lynn and Mildenhall), Jason King (Mildenhall), David Howe (Oxford), Theo Pijper (Edinburgh), James Brundle (Mildenhall), Chris Holder (Isle of Wight), Paul Lee, Davey Watt (Oxford) and Mark Jones.

In the opening four heats Chris Mills won heat1 from Jason King and David Howe passed Shaun Tacey for third place. Heat 2 saw Daniel Nermark passed by Chris Holder while Theo Pijper finished third. Heat 3 was won by Davey Watt who passed Troy Batchelor with Trevor Harding third and Heat 4, a battle of the home titans, was won by Tomas Topinka from Kevin Doolan while Mark Jones took third place. This resulted in 3 points each for Mills, Holder, Watt and Topinka who consequently led the field.

In heat 5 Theo Pijper moved up the field in an excellent race. He came from third to first beating the opening heat race winner, Chris Mills, who finished second ahead of Paul Lee who, in turn, passed John Oliver on the last lap. Heat 6 was another battle of the home big guns. Tomas Topinka was the race winner while Nermark and Harding had a battle at the back with Nermark finally winning second place. Heat 7 resulted in a win for Troy Batchelor with Jason King second. Mark Jones got out of shape on the third lap and was passed by James Brundle. Heat 4 saw both Elite League riders, David Howe and Davey Watt, face Chris Holder and Kevin Doolan to contest the points in what could well have been the Grand Final. David Howe won it from Davey Watt, his Oxford colleague. Chris Holder got out of shape trying to pass Howe on the second bend and found himself at the back but he got back into third place when he passed Doolan on the third lap. After each rider had taken two rides the leaders were Tomas Topinka on 6 points with Chris Mills, Troy Batchelor, and Davey Watt on 5 points. The main challengers to this group were Jason King, David Howe, Theo Pijper, Daniel Nermark and Chris Holder all of whom had four points.

In an all King’s Lynn heat 9, Daniel Nermark won from Troy Batchelor and Kevin Doolan. There was plenty of passing in heat 10. Davey Watt won the race but Theo Pijper, who was in second place early on, slipped to the back while Mark Jones improved from third to second but was passed by Shaun Tacey who came from last to take second place from Jones. In heat 11 Chris Holder fell and was excluded from the rerun in which Jason King fell while leading. Tomas Topinka couldn’t miss him and fell too. King was excluded from the second rerun from which Tomas Topinka had to withdraw. He was replaced by reserve, Nathan Irwin, who finished behind Paul Lee in the two rider race. In heat 12 David Howe fell trying to pass race leader, John Oliver. Harding and Brundle picked up second and third places. This meant that after 12 heats the leader was Davey Watt on 8 points, with Daniel Nermark and Troy Batchelor on 7. In fourth place was Tomas Topinka with 6 points but, as he had withdrawn from the meeting, effectively Chris Mills filled that place with 5 points. There was plenty of challenge for that fourth place though as Jason King, David Howe, Theo Pijper, Chris Holder, Paul Lee and Trevor Harding were all one point worse off with 4.

Davey Watt won heat 13 comfortably to continue leading the field while Chris Mills was second ahead of James Brundle. There was a terrific scrap between Chris Holder and Troy Batchelor in heat 14 with nothing between the two riders but Holder held on to win on the line. Shaun Tacey finished third. Theo Pijper produced an excellent ride to win heat 15. Kevin Doolan passed early race leader, Trevor Harding, on the first lap. Theo Pijper then passed Harding on the second lap followed by Doolan on the third lap. Daniel Nermark won heat 16 while David Howe repassed Paul Lee on lap three for second after being passed by Lee on the first lap. This meant that the leaders after 16 races were still Davey Watt with 11 points followed by Daniel Nermark with 10 and Troy Batchelor with 9. The fourth place was still in the melting pot with Chris Mills, Theo Pijper and Chris Holder all on 7 points.

Chris Holder won again in heat 17 from Mills and Jones while Kevin Doolan had an engine failure in heat 18 won by Paul Lee from James Brundle. In heat 19 Davey Watt scored his fourth win of the meeting beating Daniel Nermark in the process then, in heat 20, Troy Batchelor beat Theo Pijper and David Howe to clinch his place in the final. This meant that, after the 20 qualifying heats, the top four scorers to contest the Grand Final were Davey Watt, Daniel Nermark, Troy Batchelor and Chris Holder.

Grand Final[/color]: Davey Watt showed his rivals a clean pair of heels from the gate to win the trophy. Daniel Nermark finished second and Troy Batchelor third after holding off a brief challenge from Chris Holder.

Scorers from the qualifying heats: Davey Watt 14, Daniel Nermark 12, Troy Batchelor 12, Chris Holder 10, Chris Mills 9, Theo Pijper 9, Paul Lee 8, David Howe 7, Tomas Topinka 6 (2), Jason King 5, James Brundle 5, Trevor Harding 5, Kevin Doolan 5, Shaun Tacey 4, John Oliver 3, Mark Jones 3, Nathan Irwin (reserve) 2 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 6 October

There were two matches raced tonight. At Somerset the Rebels took on King’s Lynn in the first leg of the final of the Premier League Knock Out Cup while at Edinburgh the Monarchs raced Glasgow in the first leg of the Scottish Cup.


Premier League Knock Out Cup, first leg: Somerset 45, King’s Lynn 45 .


Somerset were back at full strength with the return to the side of Glenn Cunningham but King’s Lynn were without Tomas Topinka who has a broken finger and had Chris Holder as a guest instead at number 5.

For the second week in a row Somerset came back from the dead to rescue a draw from a match which they had looked certain to lose. But, as with the play-off meeting against Rye House, the draw is not likely to be enough for an aggregate win when they race the second leg at King’s Lynn. The visitors lost another key rider when Troy Batchelor suffered an arm injury in the last heat leaving them to fight on in some important forthcoming meetings with depleted resources.

The Rebels took the lead in the opening heat with a Magnus Zetterstrom win from Daniel Nermark who had a hard time fending off Glen Phillips for second place. The 4-2 gave the home side a two point lead but it didn’t last long. Chris Mills won the reserves race from the gate for a shared heat but King’s Lynn scored back to back 1-5s in heat 3 and 4 to establish a six point lead. It was the ‘old firm’ of Batchelor and Doolan who gated to success in heat 3 ahead of Glenn Cunningham before John Oliver and Chris Holder repeated the dose in heat 4 ahead of Emil Kramer. This took the score after four races to 9-15.

The heavy skies and intermittent showers might have offered the Rebels an escape route but it was not to be. The visitors went further ahead in heat 5 as Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding took advantage of a Glenn Cunningham engine failure to score a 4-2 when split by Stephan Katt. This stretched the lead to eight points but Somerset pulled two points back in heat 6 as Magnus Zetterstrom stopped the Stars’ run of success by winning from Chris Holder. Glen Phillips was third so the 4-2 cut the gap to six points again. Batchelor and Doolan were at it again in heat 7 though with another 1-5 from Walker and Kramer which increased the Stars’ lead to 10 points leaving Somerset in big trouble. They must have wished they’d given a TR to Ben Barker in heat 8 as the young reserve won from John Oliver and Glen Phillips for a 4-2 which cut the gap to eight points and took the score after eight heats to 20-28.

Chris Holder won heat 9 from Katt and Cunningham for a shared heat then Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 10 stopping the unbeaten run of both Batchelor and Doolan who followed him home. This race was shared too but the home side pulled two more points back in heat 11. This race was rerun after Daniel Nermark fell and was excluded. Emil Kramer won the rerun from John Oliver for a 4-2 but King’s Lynn hit back with a 2-4 in heat 12 when Troy Batchelor beat Stephan Katt with Chris Mills third taking the score after twelve races to 32-40.

Daniel Nermark fell again in heat 13 and was excluded leaving Zetterstrom and Kramer to score a 5-1 at the expense of Chris Holder which brought the Rebels back to within four points of the Stars. They pulled two more points back with a 4-2 in heat 14 won by Simon Walker who beat Kevin Doolan with Glenn Cunningham third cutting the lead to just two points with on heat to go. Troy Batchelor fell on the first bend of heat 15 and, although it was an ‘all four back’ decision, he was unable to take his place in the rerun in which Magnus Zetterstrom completed his full five ride maximum by beating Kevin Doolan. Emil Kramer picked up third place from John Oliver who came in to replace Batchelor and the Rebels completed a stirring come back by scoring the 4-2 which tied the scores.

Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 15 (5)(full maximum), Emil Kramer 7+1 (5), Simon Walker 7 (4), Stephan Katt 6 (4), Ben Barker 4+1 (4), Glenn Cunningham 3+1 (4), Glen Phillips 3 (4).

For King’s Lynn – Troy Batchelor 11 (4), Kevin Doolan 9+3 (5), Chris Holder 8+1 (4), John Oliver 7 (6), Daniel Nermark 5 (4), Chris Mills 4 (4), Trevor Harding 1 (3).



Scottish Cup, first leg: Edinburgh 47, Glasgow 43 .


Edinburgh were without Daniele Tessari and Matthew Wethers so they recruited Redcar pair Kevin Little and Chris Kerr as guests to replace them at numbers 3 and 4. Glasgow were again at full strength.

Once again Glasgow arrived at Armadale with high hopes of winning but again failed to do so despite an excellent opening six heats which saw them storm into an eight point lead. The Edinburgh/Redcar select must still be wondering how they managed to win the match! With the Premier League fours and pairs due to be raced over the next two days the Glasgow contingent were more concerned about completing the match without injuries but Lady Luck had other ideas. Kauko Nieminen crashed heavily in heat 14 when he hit the fence and suffered a broken bone in his shoulder which ended his season prematurely.

It was a dismal start for the Monarchs in the opening heat when Danny Bird stormed from the tapes followed by his team mate David McAllan, also riding a Bird machine. Theo Pijper tried a number of different lines but McAllan kept his second place by hugging the line and getting some good drive off the inside of the second bend to thwart the Monarchs’ captain. With Henrik Moller suffering motor problems at the back the Tigers opened with a 1-5. Robert Ksiezak gated to win the reserves race for a shared heat then Kauko Nieminen did likewise over the Redcar pairing in heat 3. William Lawson became the first home race winner by taking heat 4 comfortably from Shane Parker. Hopes of a 4-2 were dashed when Derek Sneddon in third place suffered an engine failure allowing James Cockle to pick up the third place point so the race was shared and the score after the opening four races was 10-14.

Chris Kerr made a good start to heat 5 and won it comfortably but Kevin Little packed up on the second bend leaving McAllan and Bird to share the race. Things looked decidedly bleak for the Monarchs when Glasgow hit home another 1-5 in heat 6. Again it was the Pijper/Moller partnership which succumbed as Parker and Ksiezak stormed from the tapes. Moller looked on the verge of passing Ksiezak on a number of occasions but didn’t quite manage it so the Tigers found themselves 8 points in front. William Lawson won again in heat 7 beating Kauko Nieminen in the process. This time he got some support as Sean Stoddart, who led Nieminen for couple of laps before being passed by the Finn, took third place from Lee Dicken so Edinburgh scored a 4-2 which cut the gap to six points. In heat 7 the Monarchs pulled another four points back with a 5-1. Robert Ksiezak again made a fast start but, as Henrik Moller dived underneath him on the opening bend of the last lap, Ksiezak’s bike began to misbehave and he was passed by Sneddon and McAllan too. This took the score after eight races to 23-25.

Shane Parker scored a tapes to flag win in heat 9 but Kevin Little and Chris Kerr filled the minor places for a shared race before the Monarchs finally levelled the tie in heat 10. Theo Pijper at last shook off whatever had been ailing him to beat Kauko Nieminen while Henrik Moller was third. This gave Edinburgh the 4-2 they needed for equality but it didn’t last long. In heat 11 William Lawson was excluded under the two minute rule and went from 15 metres back. Bird and McAllan flew from the tapes again while Sean Stoddart gave chase. He passed McAllan twice but couldn’t make it stick so surrendered the challenge to William Lawson. There just wasn’t enough of the race left for Lawson to threaten McAllan seriously so the Tigers took another 1-5 to lead by four points again. Back came the Monarchs in heat 12. Kevin Little beat Robert Ksiezak replacing Lee Dicken while Derek Sneddon took third from James Cockle. The resultant 4-2 left the home side just two points adrift but, with the big Glasgow finish to come, things still didn’t look bright for Edinburgh with the score after 12 heats reading 35-37.

It was Edinburgh who scored a 5-1 in heat 13 as Theo Pijper and William Lawson made the gate from Bird and Parker. Bird packed up and, although Parker reeled Lawson in, he couldn’t manage to pass him so Edinburgh took the lead for the first time in the match with the score now at 40-38. Chris Kerr executed a fine inside pass on Kauko Nieminen in heat 14 to win the race while Derek Sneddon held off Robert Ksiezak at the back for the 4-2 which doubled Edinburgh’s lead to four points. Then disaster hit Glasgow in heat 15. Kauko Nieminen off gate 3 took William Lawson very wide on the second bend but got out of control and hit the fence coming off the bend. He fell heavily and, although he was able to walk back to the pits subsequent hospital investigation discovered that he had broken a bone in his shoulder. In the rerun Shane Parker rocketed from the gate but an excellent race developed between him and Theo Pijper. The Edinburgh man turned sharply on the apex of the bends to make long straights which enabled him to build up a fair head of steam but Parker riding round the outside line always had just about enough to keep his nose in front. William Lawson finished third for a shared race which gives Edinburgh a narrow four point lead to take to Ashfield for the second leg.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – William Lawson 10+2 (5), Chris Kerr 9+1 (4),Theo Pijper 9 (5), Derek Sneddon 6+1 (5), Kevin Little 6+1 (4), Henrik Moller 5 (4), Sean Stoddart 2+2 (3).

For Glasgow – Shane Parker 12 (5), Kauko Nieminen 9 (5), David McAllan 7+2 (4), Danny Bird 7+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 7+1 (5),James Cockle 1+1 (4), Lee Dicken 0 (3).