Around the Premier League Tracks - 2006

[Merlin]

Saturday, 7 October



The staging of the Premier League Four Team Championship took place at Workington tonight. Consequently there were no other meetings involving Premier League clubs.

Winners: Workington 23
Second: Somerset 21
Third: Sheffield 16
Fourth: King’s Lynn 12

The eight teams involved were divided into two qualifying groups with four teams in each group. The qualifying rounds consisted of eight races with each rider scheduled to take two rides each with one rider from each team in every race. The top two teams in each group then moved on to the final which was raced over 12 heats. There were a number of withdrawals through injury which must have made it a nightmare trying to keep a programme up to date. For example King’s Lynn had to go without Tomas Topinka and Troy Batchelor, Newcastle had James Grieves missing, Mildenhall were minus Daniel King and Glasgow were without Kauko Nieminen.

Group A.

The teams drawn in Section A were – King’s Lynn, Sheffield, Newcastle and Rye House. Sheffield stormed into the lead in this group with wins in the first and second heats for Ben Wilson and Kyle Legault. Christian Henry broke their monopoly by winning heat 3 as Andre Compton retired with an engine failure but Ricky Ashworth won heat 4 for the Tigers. After four of the eight races had been completed Sheffield were way out in front with 9 points while Rye House had 6, Newcastle 5 and King’s Lynn 4.

Sheffield stormed further ahead in heat 5 with a win from Andre Compton and were now out of sight of the others with all of their riders having won a heat! Kyle Legault kept the Tigers run going by winning heat 6 leaving King’s Lynn and Rye House both tied on 8 points to fight it out for second place. The battle for second spot tightened further in heat 7 when Josef Franc popped out to win the race for Newcastle from Sheffield’s Ben Wilson with Daniel Nermark and Steve Boxall bringing up the rear. With one heat to go Sheffield were already through with 17 points but now King’s Lynn had 9 points while Newcastle and Rye House were one point behind them on 8 points. In the heat 8 decider Christian Henry blew it for Newcastle by touching the tapes and getting himself excluded. In the three rider rerun, Ricky Ashworth won from Kevin Doolan and Tommy Allen which put King’s Lynn through to the final with Sheffield.

Scorers: For Sheffield - 20 – Ricky Ashworth 6, Kyle Legault 6, Ben Wilson 5, Andre Compton 3.

For King’s Lynn - 11 – Trevor Harding 4, Kevin Doolan 3, Daniel Nermark 2, Chris Mills 2.

For Rye House - 9 – Edward Kennett 3, Stuart Robson 3, Tommy Allen 2, Steve Boxall 1.

For Newcastle - 8 – Josef Franc 3, Christian Henry 3, George Stancl 2, Jaimie Robertson 0.



Group B.

The teams drawn in Section B were Workington, Mildenhall, Somerset and Glasgow. In this group Garry Stead got Workington off to a winning start while Shane Parker took heat 2 for Glasgow. Tomasz Piszcz added another three points to the home side’s cause by winning heat 3 while Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 4 for Somerset. After the opening four races Workington led with 9 points while Glasgow had 6, Somerset 5 and Mildenhall 4.

In heat 5 Shane Parker hit the fence on the third bend of the opening lap and fell. He was excluded from the rerun which was won by Magnus Zetterstrom for Somerset. Workington pulled further ahead in heat 6 with a win from Alan Mogridge who replaced Rusty Harrison. The Comets were now on 14 points leaving Somerset with 9 and Glasgow with 8 to fight it out for the second place spot. In heat 7 Emil Kramer won for Somerset from Piszcz, Dicken and King. Workington were home and dry with 14 points and Somerset only needed a point from heat 8 to join them in the final as they had 12 points to Glasgow’s 9. James Wright won heat 9 for Workington while Brent Werner finished second, David McAllan third and Stephan Katt last. This result confirmed Somerset as the group runners up to Workington and they went through to the finals with the Comets.

Scorers: For Workington - 19 – Garry Stead 5, James Wright 5, Tomasz Piszcz 5, Alan Mogridge (res) 3, Rusty Harrison 1

For Somerset - 12 – Magnus Zetterstrom 6, Emil Kramer 4, Glen Phillips 1, Stephan Katt 1.

For Glasgow - 10 – Danny Bird 4, Shane Parker 3, David McAllan 2, Lee Dicken 1, Robert Ksiezak (res) 0.

For Mildenhall - 7 – Brent Werner 4, Jason King 2, Jason Lyons 1, Jon Armstrong 0, James Brundle (res) 0.

The Final.

Workington got off to flying start in the opening heat when James Wright won it. Stephan Katt took second perhaps surprisingly since he scored only one point in the qualifiers while Andre Compton finished third ahead of Daniel Nermark. There was more bad news for Sheffield in heat 2 when the previously unbeaten Ricky Ashworth finished last. Magnus Zetterstrom won the race but Tomasz Piszcz kept Workington’s challenge going by finishing second ahead of Chris Mills. Workington and Somerset now had 5 points each with King’s Lynn and Sheffield having a lot to do with just one point each. Rusty Harrison won heat 3 for Workington to take the lead on 8 points but Glen Phillips kept up the pressure by finishing ahead of Ben Wilson and Trevor Harding. At this point it was a two horse race with Somerset on 7 points, one behind Workington while Sheffield had surprisingly disappeared with only 2 points and King’s Lynn had only one. The home fans were stunned as Somerset took the lead in heat 4. Emil Kramer won the race for the Rebels while Kevin Doolan relegated Garry Stead to third ahead of Kyle Legault. The scores were now Somerset 10, Workington 9, King’s Lynn 3 and, unbelievably, considering their performance in the qualifying group, Sheffield with 2.

Magnus Zetterstrom gave the Rebels a two point lead by winning heat 5 but Garry Stead took second place for Workington. Andre Compton finished third from Trevor Harding. Somerset now had 13 points to Workington’s 11 while Sheffield and King’s Lynn both on three points were left to battle for third place. Heat 6 was pulled back for an unsatisfactory start and in the rerun James Wright beat Glen Phillips to pull a point back for Workington. Sheffield took a one point advantage from King’s Lynn for third place when Kyle Legault headed home Chris Mills. In heat 7 there were shocks galore. At the front Ben Wilson won the race for Sheffield from Daniel Nermark of King’s Lynn relegating the two challengers at the back. Tomasz Piszcz was leading Emil Kramer until the third bend on the third lap when he fell. So instead of Workington pulling level, Somerset now had a two point lead as the scores read Somerset 16, Workington 14, Sheffield 7 and King’s Lynn 5. Then to confound it all it was Sheffield and King’s Lynn who took first and second in the next race too as Ricky Ashworth led home Kevin Doolan. Rusty Harrison did beat Stephan Katt for third place but Sheffield were now beginning to take more than a passing interest as the scores after 8 races stood at Somerset 16, Workington 15, Sheffield 10 and King’s Lynn 7.

The Sheffield revival continued as Kyle Legault won heat 9 to make it three wins in a row for the Tigers. Tomasz Piszcz beat Stephan Katt for second place so the lead was now tied between Somerset and Workington who both had 17 points. Sheffield were now on 13 while King’s Lynn had 7. Andre Compton made it four race wins in a row for Sheffield by taking heat 10 but, significantly, Garry Stead took second place while Chris Mills finished ahead of Somerset’s Glen Phillips. Workington were now clear leaders with 19 points while Somerset had 17 and Sheffield, coming up on the rails, had 16 but was their charge too late? The drama came to a head in heat 11 and you couldn’t have scripted it! Rusty Harrison came to grief on the first bend but was soon up and walking back to the pits as the referee declared an ‘all four back’ decision much to the relief of the home fans. In the rerun Harrison was replaced by Alan Mogridge. What a time it was for Mogridge to appear and become an instant hero in his last season by winning the fours for Workington with almost certainly his last ever race in major competitions. He won the race from Daniel Nermark whose second place ahead of Emil Kramer finished off the chances of Somerset and Sheffield. With one race to go Workington had 22 points to Somerset’s 18, Sheffield’s 16 and King’s Lynn’s 10. To complete proceedings Magnus Zetterstrom remained unbeaten by winning the last heat from Kevin Doolan, James Wright sand Ben Wilson. So it’s congratulations to the Comets and hard luck to the Rebels who came so close again after winning it last year.

Scorers: For Workington - 23 – James Wright 7, Garry Stead 5, Tomasz Piszcz 4, Rusty Harrison 4, Alan Mogridge (res) 3.

For Somerset - 21 – Magnus Zetterstrom 9, Emil Kramer 5, Glen Phillips 4, Stephan Katt 3.

For Sheffield - 16 – Andre Compton 5, Ben Wilson 4, Kyle Legault 4, Ricky Ashworth 3.

For King’s Lynn - 12 – Kevin Doolan 6, Daniel Nermark 4, Chris Mills 2, Trevor Harding 0.

[Merlin]

Sunday, 8 October



The staging of the Premier League Pairs Championship took place at Glasgow this afternoon. Consequently there were no other meetings involving Premier League clubs.

Winners: Glasgow – Shane Parker and Danny Bird
Second: Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson
Third: Newcastle – George Stancl and Josef Franc
Fourth: Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom and Emil Kramer

The ten pairs involved were divided into two qualifying groups with five teams in each group. The qualifying rounds consisted of twenty races with each pair scheduled to meet all the other pairs in their own group. The top two teams in each group then moved on to the semi-finals, consolation final and final. The scoring was different from usual with race winners awarded 4 points, second 3 points, third 2 points and last 0 points. This meant that it was more important not to finish last than to win.

Unfortunately the meeting was shrouded in controversy when Rye House pulled out at the last minute leaving Group A with only four pairs. The Glasgow promotion, who were hosting the event, put together another pair from their own resources to replace Rye House with David McAllan and Robert Ksiezak as Glasgow ‘B’ filling the gaps in the programme at very short notice. There were also a large number of riders missing for one reason or another who are currently in their club’s top two in the averages which seriously devalued the competition. Among them were Andre Compton, Theo Pijper, Edward Kennett, Chris Neath, Tomas Topinka, James Grieves, Garry Stead and Daniel King. Only three clubs tracked their current numbers one and two average riders – host nation Glasgow, Somerset and Stoke.


Group A.

The pairs drawn in Section A were – Sheffield, Edinburgh, Rye House (now Glasgow ‘B’), King’s Lynn and Newcastle. With Edinburgh and Glasgow ‘B’ proving to be woefully weak the main competition for the two qualifying places was between Sheffield, King’s Lynn and Newcastle. Sheffield and King’s Lynn started with 7-2s against Edinburgh and Glasgow ‘B’ both races won from the gate while Newcastle took a 6-3 over Sheffield in a race rerun without Ricky Ashworth who fell at the back. Another King’s Lynn 7-2 at the expense of Glasgow ‘B’ was followed by a Newcastle 6-3 over Edinburgh both from the gate. Sheffield then took a 7-2 over Glasgow ‘B’ but Ricky Ashworth who missed the gate had to pass both the Glasgow ‘B’ riders to move into second place behind his partner. This he had managed before the first lap had finished.

The next race featured two of the main challengers – Newcastle and King’s Lynn. Josef Franc led from the tapes and was being chased hard by Kevin Doolan before Doolan came to grief on the third bend. It was to prove a crucial fall for the Stars. In the rerun Franc made another good start and led Daniel Nermark home for a 6-3 to the Diamonds which guaranteed them qualification for the semi-finals. Glasgow ‘B’ versus Edinburgh was a complete irrelevance but it turned out to be one of the better races of the day. Derek Sneddon fell on the second bend after going too wide. He remounted just as Robert Ksiezak came to grief on the third bend. Ksiezak was excluded from the rerun which was led by Derek Sneddon from the tapes. However David McAllan passed him on the third lap and the race was completed with little between all three riders. Edinburgh won the heat 5-4 to finish a point ahead of the host scratch pair but this was just the prelude to a crucial clash between King’s Lynn and Sheffield to decide the other qualifier from the group. On the second bend Ricky Ashworth gave Kevin Doolan a nudge causing the Stars’ rider to fall. To King’s Lynn’s dismay the referee let the race continue despite their protests. Daniel Nermark headed Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth home so the score was a 5-4 to Sheffield. This meant that Sheffield and King’s Lynn were tied on 21 points but since Sheffield had just beaten the Stars they were the qualifiers.

Scorers: For Newcastle - 25 – Josef Franc 14, George Stancl 11.

For Sheffield - 21 – Ben Wilson 12, Ricky Ashworth 9.

For King’s Lynn - 21 – Daniel Nermark, 14, Kevin Doolan 7.

For Edinburgh - 12 – William Lawson 9, Derek Sneddon 3.

For Glasgow ‘B’ - 11 – David McAllan 6, Robert Ksiezak 5.


Group B.

The pairs drawn in Section B were Workington, Glasgow, Mildenhall, Somerset and Stoke. Glasgow kicked off with a 6-3 against Workington when Shane Parker and Danny Bird were separated by James Wright. Somerset produced a similar win over Mildenhall when Jason Lyons split Emil Kramer and Magnus Zetterstrom then Glasgow scored another 6-3 in a heat with some action. Danny Bird made the gate while Paul Thorp and Mark Lemon forced Shane Parker to the back down the back straight. The positions were unchanged until the last bend when Parker wound it on round the outside to pass Lemon on the line. It was back to the ‘from the gate’ stuff in the next heat when Workington took a 7-2 over Mildenhall to get back into contention. Somerset were next to register a 7-2 this time over Stoke to move into pole position in the group. Jason Lyons made the start in the next race to beat the Glasgow pair but it was a Glasgow heat advantage 5-4. Somerset dealt Workington a fatal blow in the next race with a 7-2 before the two group ‘also rans’ met. It was advantage Stoke as Jason Lyons could only split Paul Thorp and Mark Lemon for a 6-3 to the Potters. In the next race Somerset were fast away to lead Glasgow but on the third bend Shane Parker trying to round Emil Kramer crashed into the fence and was excluded from the rerun. Magnus Zetterstrom won the rerun from Danny Bird but it was a 6-3 for the Rebels which clinched victory in the group for them. It also clinched the runners-up spot for Glasgow so both of these two pairs were through to the semi-final. The last of the qualification heats was won by Mark Lemon from Wright and Piszcz so Workington took a 5-4.

Scorers: For Somerset - 26 – Magnus Zetterstrom 13, Emil Kramer 13.

For Glasgow - 20 – Danny Bird 12, Shane Parker 8.

For Workington - 17 – James Wright 12, Tomasz Piszcz 5.

For Stoke - 15 – Mark Lemon 10, Paul Thorp 5.

For Mildenhall - 12 – Jason Lyons 12, Jon Armstrong 0.


Semi Final 1. Newcastle faced Glasgow in the first of the semi-finals. They had choice of gate positions and chose the more favourable 1 and 3. George Stancl made the gate followed by Shane Parker. The crucial battle was for third place and, after a battle of the elbows, it was Danny Bird who got into third place to score a 5-4 for Glasgow to take them into the final.

Semi Final 2. Somerset faced Sheffield in the second semi-final. The Rebels had choice of gate positions but, for some reason known only to themselves, they committed suicide by choosing the grossly inferior gates 2 and 4. Ricky Ashworth was fast away followed by Emil Kramer. Behind them Magnus Zetterstrom tried the big second bend outside run to pass Ben Wilson but Wilson shut the door on him and Zetterstrom was forced to the back, a position from which he couldn’t recover. The race result was a 6-3 to Sheffield which took them into the final.

The Consolation Final. This race between Somerset and Newcastle was for third place and had to be rerun after Magnus Zetterstrom fell on the third bend. Emil Kramer won the rerun but Newcastle only had to complete the course to score the 5-4 which gave them the third place

The Final. So it was a Glasgow v Sheffield final. Glasgow won the toss for gate positions and chose 1 and 3. The race was uneventful as Danny Bird headed home Ricky Ashworth while Shane Parker was content to settle for third place all from the gate which gave Glasgow a second consecutive Pairs title.

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 10 October

The first semi-final match in the Play Offs took part on the Isle of Wight tonight as the Islanders took on Sheffield.


Premier League Play-Offs, semi-final, first leg: Isle of Wight 50, Sheffield 43 .


The Isle of Wight were at full strength while Sheffield tracked Mark Thompson again instead of Benji Compton at number 7 for this match.

This was a hard fought affair as the Isle of Wight, having disposed of third placed Glasgow, sought to do the same to second placed Sheffield. Sheffield did a good containing job and kept the Islanders to a 7 point lead but they were lucky in the last race when Chris Holder, following Jason Doyle home for a 5-1 which would have given the home side an 11 point lead, fell causing the race to be shared.

Sheffield started well as Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth threatened to open with a 1-5 but Chris Holder split them to limit the damage to a 2-4. Chris Johnson fell and was excluded from the rerun of the reserves race which meant that Nick Simmons’ win was for a shared heat. Heat 3 produced another good race with this time Kyle Legault separating Ray Morton and Krzysztof Stojanowski to restrict the Islanders to a 4-2 which tied the scored again. Andre Compton inflicted the only defeat of the match on Jason Doyle in heat 4 but Nick Simmons’ third place resulted in a share of the spoils leaving the score after the opening four heats tied at 12-12.

Ben Wilson won for the second time in heat 5 for Sheffield but Morton and Stojanowski kept Ricky Ashworth at the back for another shared heat. The Isle of Wight finally went ahead with a 5-1 in heat 6 from Chris Holder and Jason Bunyan from Cooper and Compton and a four point lead. Jason Doyle consolidated the lead by winning heat 7 from Legault and Sanchez for a 3-3 then the Islanders stretched their advantage to 6 points in heat 8. The unbeaten Wilson and Mark Thompson were fast away threatening a 1-5 but Jason Bunyan passed them both to win the race while Nick Simmons also passed Thompson to turn the heat around to a 4-2 making the score after eight races 30-24.

Andre Compton won heat 9 from Morton and Stojanowski for a shared race then Chris Holder did the same in heat 10 ahead of Legault and Sanchez while Jason Bunyan fell at the back. Jason Doyle romped to victory in heat 11 but this race was shared too as Ashworth and Wilson followed him home. Kyle Legault won heat 12 but again the points were shared as Morton and Simmons filled the minor places. This meant that the home side’s lead was still six points after 12 heats with the score at 39-33.

The Islanders moved 10 points ahead in heat 13 with a 5-1. Jason Doyle won the race but the main battle was for second place as Compton passed Holder only to be repassed by the Isle of Wight number 1. The downside for the Islanders was that Emiliano Sanchez was able to take a TR in heat 14. It’s strange the effect the black and white helmet cover has on some riders. Sanchez had only scored 2 points by virtue of a Bunyan fall and Johnson engine failure prior to this race but this time won the race from Stojanowski and Simmons to score a 3-6 which clawed three points back for the Tigers. It looked as though the Islanders were going to take a double figure lead to the second leg when Jason Doyle and Chris Holder sat on a 5-1 in the final heat but Holder hit a bump on the last bend of the third lap and fell causing the race to be awarded with Compton and Wilson promoted to second and third for a shared race.

Will a 7 point lead be enough for the second leg at Owlerton? Well if both teams approach the tie with the same gusto as tonight the result could well be in doubt till the last race but the Isle of Wight may have cause to curse Holder’s fall in heat 15.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Doyle 14 (5), Chris Holder 10+1 (5), Ray Morton 9 (4), Nick Simmons 7+3 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 5+2 (4), Jason Bunyan 5+1 (4), Chris Johnson 0 (3).

For Sheffield – Ben Wilson 10+2 (5), Kyle Legault 9 (4), Andre Compton 9 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 8+2 (4)(including a 6 point TR), Ricky Ashworth 3 (4), Paul Cooper 3 (5), Mark Thompson 1+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 11 October

Tonight’s action was at King’s Lynn where the Stars took on Somerset in the second leg of the final of the Premier League Knock Out Cup.



Premier League Knock Out Cup Final, second leg: King’s Lynn 62, Somerset 32 King’s Lynn won the Cup on aggregate by 107-77[/size].


King’s Lynn were missing Tomas Topinka, out with a broken finger, and had Jason Lyons as a guest at number 5 but Somerset were at full strength.

King’s Lynn had set the foundations for their cup final success by drawing at Somerset last Friday and started as massive favourites to pick up the trophy. That’s how it turned out with Somerset never really in contention. King’s Lynn will now set their sights on the Play-Offs to round off the season by taking all three major team honours.

To have any chance at all Somerset needed a huge score from Magnus Zetterstrom and he started off by winning heat 1 for them. Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding took second and third though so the race points were shared. It didn’t take the Stars long to take the lead. In the reserves race Chris Mills and John Oliver were soon in front for a 5-1 on a track surface which had required a lot of work before the meeting began and on which the riders struggled. In heat 3 Glenn Cunningham passed Kevin Doolan on the first lap to take the lead at the same time as Troy Batchelor passed Stephan Katt for third place. That’s the way it finished so the points were shared. In heat 4 John Oliver made the start and led all the way. Emil Kramer pushed him hard and, although he seemed to be going faster, he couldn’t pass the young reserve. Jason Lyons was third so the heat resulted in a 4-2 which put the Stars 6 points ahead taking the score to 15-9 after four races as the rain started.

Any slim hope Somerset might have cherished disappeared in heat 5 when Magnus Zetterstrom fell on the first bend and was excluded from the rerun in which Kevin Doolan and Troy Batchelor scored an easy 5-1 from Glen Phillips rocketing the Stars into a 10 point lead. Emil Kramer took a TR in heat 6 but was headed home by Daniel Nermark. However Simon Walker finished third as Trevor Harding fell at the back while challenging him for third place so the Rebels took a 3-5 heat advantage to cut the gap to eight points. It was back to 10 points again when the Stars scored a 4-2 in heat 7. Jason Lyons won the race from Glenn Cunningham while Chris Mills picked up the third place point from Stephan Katt who was way off the pace. A ding dong battle in heat 8 ended with another 5-1 for the Stars. Simon Walker was the early race leader but he was passed by John Oliver on the opening lap. Trevor Harding then passed him too on the second lap but he was repassed by Walker who then pressurised John Oliver again. Unfortunately the Rebels’ reserve got little reward for his efforts as Trevor Harding passed him again on the last bend for a maximum for the home side which took the score after eight races to 32-18.

Emil Kramer registered his second race win in heat 9 from Troy Batchelor. Behind him Kevin Doolan got out of shape and slipped to the back but he recovered to repass Ben Barker to share the heat. Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding added another 5-1 ahead of Glenn Cunningham in heat 10 to put the Stars 18 points in front before Zetterstrom took a TR in heat 11. Although under some pressure from Zetterstrom late in the race, Jason Lyons won the heat while Chris Mills passed Simon Walker for third place. The result was a 4-4 shared race. King’s Lynn finally secured victory with another 5-1 in heat 12. Troy Batchelor won the race while John Oliver completed a reserve’s paid maximum by finishing second ahead of Stephan Katt after Ben Barker suffered an engine failure at the tapes. The score after 12 heats was 49-27.

In heat 13 Daniel Nermark and Jason Lyons added another 5-1 ahead of Emil Kramer with a rather disinterested looking Magnus Zetterstrom pulling up at the back. It became a hat trick of 5-1s in heat 14 as Chris Mills and Kevin Doolan scored another maximum although Simon Walker again impressed with a determined effort to prevent it. John Oliver was rewarded for his efforts by being nominated for heat 15 from which Magnus Zetterstrom was conspicuously absent. Unfortunately for the Stars, Oliver couldn’t add to his total and finished at the back behind Emil Kramer and Glenn Cunningham while Kevin Doolan passed Kramer on the second lap on his way to winning the race for a shared heat.

So it’s congratulations to King’s Lynn who have added the Knock Out Cup to the Premier Trophy. All they need to do now to complete a memorable treble is to win the League Championship again (!) by winning the Play-Offs.


Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 11+2 (5), Daniel Nermark 11 (4), John Oliver 10+2 (5), Jason Lyons 9+1 (4), Troy Batchelor 8+2 (4), Chris Mills 8 (4), Trevor Harding 5+3 (4).

For Somerset – Emil Kramer 12 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Glenn Cunningham 7+1 (5), Magnus Zetterstrom 7 (4)(including a 4 point TR), Simon Walker 4+1 (5), Glen Phillips 1 (3), Stephan Katt 1 (4), Ben Barker 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 12 October

There were two matches raced tonight. At Sheffield the Tigers raced the Isle of Wight in the semi-final of the Play-Offs while at Redcar the Bears took on Newcastle in the Tyne Tees Trophy.



Premier League Play Offs, semi-final, second leg: Sheffield 60, Isle of Wight 35 Sheffield won through to the final on aggregate by 103-85.


Sheffield had Tai Woffinden at number 7 in place of Benji Compton while the Isle of Wight had Andrew Bargh at number 6 in place of Chris Johnson.

With only a seven point lead from the first leg, the Isle of Wight needed to dig deep if they hoped to progress to the final of the play-offs. They got a boost when Chris Holder equalled the track record in winning the opening heat but they conceded four 5-1s in five heats over heats 3-7 which left them dead in the water. After that Sheffield cruised to a comfortable victory to meet the winners of the Rye House-King’s Lynn tie in the final. The Isle of Wight were basically a two man team with their opening pairing of Holder and Bunyan scoring 23 of their 35 points.

Chris Holder won the opening race from Ricky Ashworth while Jason Bunyan pressed Ben Wilson at the back for a shared heat. The reserves race, won by Tai Woffinden, was shared too when Paul Cooper fell on the third lap but Sheffield then blew the Islanders away. Kyle Legault and Emiliano Sanchez started the points frenzy with a 5-1 in heat 3 ahead of Ray Morton then young Tai Woffinden followed Andre Compton home for another 5-1 in heat 4 leaving Jason Doyle in his wake. This took the score to 16-8.

The Islanders put the brakes on the Sheffield express when Jason Bunyan beat Kyle Legault after a terrific tussle in heat 5. At the back Chris Holder had been hampered at the gate but gave chase to catch and pass Emiliano Sanchez on the last lap to give the visitors a 2-4 cutting the gap to six points and putting them a point ahead on aggregate again. Wilson and Ashworth scored a 5-1 in heat 6, awarded when David Bargh fell on the last lap. In heat 7 a terrific effort from Paul Cooper saw him pass Krzysztof Stojanowski on the line to join Andre Compton for another 5-1 assisted by a tapes offence by Ray Morton which required him to start with a 15 metre handicap. Out came Jason Bunyan in heat 8 for a TR and he brought some relief to the Islanders by winning the race from Ben Wilson and Tai Woffinden for a 3-6 which took the score after eight races to 31-20 with Sheffield now leading by four points on aggregate.

Heats 9 and 10 brought two more 5-1s to Sheffield from Sanchez and Legault in heat 9 and Ashworth and Wilson in heat 10. Chris Holder took a TR in heat 11 but he couldn’t beat Andre Compton and had to settle for second. With Jason Bunyan third the visitors took a 3-5 from the heat. In heat 12 Tai Woffinden produced his second race win of the meeting when he headed home Emiliano Sanchez and David Bargh for a 5-1 after Ray Morton had suffered an engine failure. This took the score after 12 races to 49-28 with Sheffield now 14 points ahead on aggregate.

Sheffield finally clinched overall victory in heat 13 even though Chris Holder beat Ashworth and Compton for a shared race. Krzysztof Stojanowski finally beat an opponent by taking second place in heat 14 behind Kyle Legault but ahead of Paul Cooper then, in the last race, Andre Compton wrapped things up by beating Chris Holder with Legault third ahead of Bunyan for a 4-2 to the Tigers.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 13+1 (5), Kyle Legault 11+1 (5), Tai Woffinden 9+1 (4), Ricky Ashworth 9 (4), Ben Wilson 8+2 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 7+2 (4), Paul Cooper 3+1 (4).

For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 13 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Jason Bunyan 10 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Krzysztof Stojanowski 4 (4), Jason Doyle 3 (4), Andrew Bargh 2+1 (4), Nick Simmons 2 (5), Ray Morton 1 (4).



Tyne Tees Trophy, first leg: Redcar 54, Newcastle 42 .


Redcar were without Tomas Suchanek, Matthieu Tressarieu and Jack Hargreaves and had Lee Smethills guesting at number 4 and Robert Ksiezak at number 6. They also used R/R for Suchanek at number 5. Newcastle were missing Manuel Hauzinger and James Grieves so had Lee Dicken as a guest for Hauzinger and used R/R at number 5.

Redcar looked as though they had one hand on the Trophy after 13 heats of this match when they had built up a 21 point lead but there was a sting in the tail as Newcastle hit them with two sucker punches in the last two heats from which they took a 3-12 advantage to knock nine points off the Bears’ lead for the second leg. While everyone contributed for Redcar, Newcastle were virtually a two man team with George Stancl and Josef Franc scoring nearly 80% of the Diamonds’ total with 33 points to the rest of the team’s 9. Not for the first time this week the Tactical Ride rule showed what a joke it is when a lot of a team’s hard work is decimated by this ‘points for nothing’ rule.

The Bears tore into the Diamonds right from the start. Gary Havelock held off a strong challenge from George Stancl to win the opener with Chris Kerr taking third place for a 4-2. This was followed by a brace of 5-1s. An easy maximum from the reserves race, won by Daniel Giffard, was followed by another in heat 3. Josef Franc held second place until he made a mistake which allowed Kevin Little to join his partner, Lee Smethills, up front. Christian Henry (R/R) gated in heat 4 to stop the rot for Newcastle by holding off the strong challenge of Chris Kerr (R/R) and share the heat so the score after four races was 17-7.

George Stancl comfortably won heat 5 for a shared heat and Josef Franc (R/R) gated to do the same in heat 6 holding off another strong challenge for Chris Kerr in the process. In heat 7 Gary Havelock (R/R) and Robert Ksiezak made the start but Ksiezak was taken wide by the Newcastle pair of Franc and Henry and finished at the back. This race was also shared but the Bears struck with another 5-1 in heat 8. This had always looked a bad heat for Newcastle and Chris Kerr (R/R) and Daniel Giffard confirmed it with an easy maximum to take the score after 8 races to 31-17.

In heat 9 George Stancl took the R/R ride for James Grieves and also went as a TR. He was lucky not to be excluded in the first running of the heat when he lifted and took off Kevin Little on the first bend but took full advantage by winning at the second attempt for a 3-6 which shaved 3 points from the Bears’ 14 point lead. In heat 10 Gary Havelock and Chris Kerr replied with a 5-1 ahead of Josef Franc to put the home side 15 points up before George Stancl won again in heat 11 for a shared race. Adam McKinna led Kevin Little in heat 12 for nearly three laps but he fell and the Bears took another 5-1 to pull 19 points clear with the score now reading 47-28.

Gary Havelock and George Stancl had an exciting race in heat 13 but the Bears’ skipper prevailed and, with Daniel Giffard (R/R) third, Redcar scored a 4-2 to increase the lead to 21 points. What a shock they got in heat 14 though! Adam McKinna came into the race instead of Jaimie Robertson and partnered Josef Franc, who was taking a TR, to a 1-8 success ahead of Ksiezak and Smethills who rather got in each other’s way. This cut the lead to 14 points and, in the last race, George Stancl completed his high scoring night by leading home Gary Havelock and Josef Franc for a 2-4 to reduce it by another two points.

Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 15+1 (6), Chris Kerr 10+1 (5), Kevin Little 9+3 (5), Daniel Giffard 9+3 (6), Lee Smethills 7 (4), Robert Ksiezak 4+2 (4).

For Newcastle – George Stancl 19 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Josef Franc 14 (6), Christian Henry 5+1 (5), Adam McKinna 3+1 (6), Jaimie Robertson 1 (3), Lee Dicken 0 (5).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 14 October



The one match scheduled for tonight was at Rye House where the Rockets were at home to King’s Lynn in the first leg of this Premier League Play-Off semi-final.



Premier League Play Offs, semi-final, first leg: Rye House 48, King’s Lynn 42 .


Rye House had two guests forming their reserve pairing. Tai Woffinden wore the number 6 and Daniel Giffard the number 7 race jacket. King’s Lynn had Jason Lyons guesting for the injured Tomas Topinka at number 5.

Both teams were battling for a place in the final where Sheffield already awaited the winners. Rye House had not had a successful time against King’s Lynn in their meetings this season and were looking for a sizeable win to take to the Norfolk Arena for the second leg. They would be disappointed not to have won by more but threw too many points away leaving the Stars favourites to win on aggregate.

The opening heat had to be rerun when Daniel Nermark gave Edward Kennett a shove on the first bend causing him to fall. It was ‘all four back’ but Nermark made the gate in the rerun and held off Stuart Robson’s late challenge to win on the line. Edward Kennett finished third so the race was shared. Tai Woffinden made a fast start in the reserves race to win it but Chris Mills and John Oliver finished behind him for another 3-3. Heat 3 also needed a rerun after Troy Batchelor disappeared through the fence on the first bend of the third lap while lying third. He was excluded and the rerun resulted in a 4-2 to the Rockets. Kevin Doolan was taken wide on the opening bends while Steve Boxall and Tommy Allen headed off for a 5-1. Doolan got past Allen at the start of the last lap to restrict Rye House’s advantage to two points but the lead stretched to six points after Rye House scored a 5-1 in heat 4. Chris Neath and Daniel Giffard saw off John Oliver with Jason Lyons stuck at the back to take the score after four heats to 15-9.

The home side were unlucky in heat 5 when Steve Boxall, well ahead of the field, suffered an engine failure promoting Daniel Nermark to first place. At the back Tommy Allen passed Trevor Harding on the first two bends of the last lap to salvage two points from the heat for the Rockets but the 2-4 cut the home side’s lead to four points. Jason Lyons made amends for his first race lapse by winning heat 6 but Kennett and Robson shared the points then in heat 7 Rye House restored their six point advantage. Chris Neath romped to a comfortable win ahead of Kevin Doolan while at the back Tai Woffinden passed Troy Batchelor on the back straight of the opening lap for a 4-2. John Oliver rocketed from the gate in heat 8 to lead home Stuart Robson and Daniel Giffard for a shared race taking the score after eight races to 27-21.

Jason Lyons won heat 9 for the Stars passing Tommy Allen on the third lap while Steve Boxall passed Chris Mills for third place on the last lap to share the points. Kevin Doolan passed Stuart Robson in heat 10 to follow race leader, Edward Kennett, home for a 4-2 which increased Rye House’s lead to eight points. It stayed that way with another shared race in heat 11. Chris Neath passed the King’s Lynn pair on the back straight of the first lap but Tai Woffinden fell trying to pass third placed Daniel Nermark. Woffinden fell in the next race too, this time clipping Chris Mills’ back wheel when he looked like passing him on the opening bends of the last lap. Steve Boxall won the race from Troy Batchelor so the heat was shared which took the score after twelve races to 40-32.

Things looked bad for the Rockets when Chris Neath broke the tapes in heat 13 and was replaced by Tai Woffinden out for his third race on the trot. In the rerun Daniel Nermark fell on the first bend and the referee invited all four back. In the second rerun Edward Kennett won comfortably from Daniel Nermark and Jason Lyons so this race was shared too and Rye House still led by eight points. Daniel Giffard replaced Tai Woffinden in a crucial heat 14 which proved disastrous for the Rockets. Chris Mills and Kevin Doolan scored a 1-5 ahead of Giffard as Tommy Allen retired from the race to halve the home side’s lead and leave them in danger of having no advantage at all for the second leg. Fortunately for the Rockets that didn’t happen. In fact they increased their lead to 6 points with a 4-2. Daniel Nermark led from the tapes but was passed by Chris Neath on the back straight on the second lap. Edward Kennett then took up the chase on Nermark and almost passed him on the line but the race finished with the Rockets having to be content with a two point advantage from it.

Six points is not likely to be enough for Rye House to hold off King’s Lynn in the second leg, given their past record on the Saddlebow Road circuit, but perhaps the prize at stake will inspire them to greater things.

Scorers: For Rye House – Chris Neath 12 (5), Edward Kennett 10+1 (5), Steve Boxall 7+1 (4), Stuart Robson 6+1 (4), Tommy Allen 5 (4), Daniel Giffard 4+2 (4), Tai Woffinden 4+1 (5).

For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 11+1 (5), John Oliver 10+1 (5), Kevin Doolan 8+1 (5), Jason Lyons 7 (4), Chris Mills 3+1 (4), Troy Batchelor 2 (4), Trevor Harding 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 15 October



The only action between two Premier League teams today was at Glasgow where the Tigers were at home to Edinburgh in the second leg of the Scottish Cup.



Scottish Cup, second leg: Glasgow 43, Edinburgh 47 Edinburgh won the Cup on aggregate by 94-86.


Glasgow were without the injured Kauko Nieminen and had Rusty Harrison as a guest at number 4. Edinburgh were missing injury victims Henrik Moller and Matthew Wethers. They were also without Daniele Tessari who has returned home to Italy. Instead they had Kevin Little at number 2 for Moller, Trent Leverington at number 3 for Tessari and Chris Kerr at number 4 for Wethers.

Well you couldn’t have written the script for this one! Glasgow, having restricted Edinburgh to a 4 point lead from the first leg, started as red hot favourites to overturn the deficit and go on to win with some comfort but it just didn’t happen. Strangely enough Edinburgh asset, Robert Ksiezak, top scored for the Tigers while, Glasgow asset, Trent Leverington, top scored for the Monarchs. It was all going to plan for the home side when they led by six points after heat 8 but three disastrous races in heats 11, 12 and 13 consigned them to defeat. Trent Leverington, no doubt wishing to ‘impress’ his parent club, was sensational and might even have gone through the card unbeaten had he not been baulked by his partner in heat 10 while Shane Parker, for whatever reason, looked a pale shadow of the rider who has proved such an inspiration for the Tigers for so long.

There was no hint of what was to come when Danny Bird rocketed from the gate to win heat one followed by Theo Pijper and David McAllan for a 4-2. Glasgow then took the aggregate lead with a 5-1 in the reserves race. James Cockle made a lightning start and was followed from the tapes by Robert Ksiezak. That’s the way it stayed despite a strong challenge from Derek Sneddon as the Tigers went 6 points ahead. Heat 3 produced an excellent race. Rusty Harrison made the gate and was soon on the favoured outside line. However Trent Leverington riding out of his skin reeled him in and the riders passed and repassed each other until Leverington prevailed. Chris Kerr took third place and Edinburgh registered a 2-4 which cut the gap to four points and levelled the match on aggregate. But what a shock for the Tigers in heat 4! William Lawson made the gate and led Shane Parker on the wide line on the opening two bends. Derek Sneddon who had got the better of James Cockle at the start roared past Parker on the back straight and headed straight for the wide line on the third bend. Try as he did Parker could make no impression on Sneddon as William Lawson won by a distance. This gave Edinburgh a 1-5 which tied the scores at 12-12 and restored their aggregate four point lead after the opening four races.

Rusty Harrison made another fast start in heat 5 and held off Theo Pijper and Kevin Little with Lee Dicken tailed off at the back for a shared race but in heat 6 Glasgow forged ahead again with another 5-1. Danny Bird and David McAllan left William Lawson trailing at the tapes and the Tigers’ pair never looked like being caught. This gave Glasgow a four point advantage and tied the aggregate scores again. Trent Leverington stormed from the tapes in heat 7 to lead Shane Parker and Robert Ksiezak while Chris Kerr fell on the third bend bringing up the rear. Parker seemed to lose interest and was passed by Ksiezak for a shared heat. Derek Sneddon led from the tapes in heat 8 but went too wide on the second bend and fell causing a rerun from which he was excluded. In the rerun it looked like another 5-1 for Glasgow as David McAllan and James Cockle hit the front. However Cockle fell on the second bend second time round so Kevin Little gratefully accepted second place. Cockle then remounted for third and Glasgow took a 4-2 which extended their lead to six points in the match and two points on aggregate as the score went to 27-21 after eight races.

In heat 9 Rusty Harrison and Sean Stoddart made fast starts but it was Harrison who pulled away off the second bend. William Lawson took up the challenge but couldn’t catch Harrison. With Lee Dicken again tailed off at the back the race was shared as was heat 10. In this race Danny Bird was again fast away but Trent Leverington, going for a big outside sweep off gate 4, was baulked by his partner, Chris Kerr and the race finished that way with David McAllan suffering what looked like a very expensive engine blow up at the back. Then Glasgow hit a poor run of results. In heat 11 Kevin Little made the start ahead of Shane Parker who baulked his partner, Robert Ksiezak, on the second bend consigning him to the back. Parker was then passed by Theo Pijper on the back straight as Edinburgh scored a 1-5. Parker gave up the chase and left it to Robert Ksiezak to try to challenge the Monarchs’ pair but he could make no impression. This result pulled Glasgow’s lead back to two points and put Edinburgh back in the lead on aggregate by two points. It looked like another 1-5 to the Monarchs in heat 12 which finally got under way after two attempts at a fair start. The impressive Trent Leverington was up and away again from the tapes and he was joined by Derek Sneddon at the front. Robert Ksiezak reeled Sneddon in and made an impressive pass round the outside on the last bend to pip Sneddon on the line for second place. Nonetheless Edinburgh had taken the 2-4 which tied the match score at 36-36 after twelve races and restored the Monarchs’ four point aggregate lead.

Edinburgh then became the first visiting team to Ashfield this season score a 1-5 in heat 13 against the Bird/Parker pairing. Danny Bird made the start and moved out on the second bend to join Shane Parker. William Lawson saw his opportunity and dived through the huge gap on the inside while Parker got trapped on the fence. Theo Pijper took advantage to pass Parker and then, for good measure, he passed Danny Bird too to leave the Glasgow supporters stunned. Glasgow were now in big trouble as Edinburgh took a four point lead in the match and the Tigers needed two 5-1s to force a run off for the trophy. They looked as though they might get one of them in heat 14 when Robert Ksiezak shot from the start for a comfortable win. Behind him Derek Sneddon and Rusty Harrison had an exciting tussle for the vital second place. However Harrison thundered into the third bend on the last lap and couldn’t turn the bike fast enough causing him to bale out at the fence. Chris Kerr, following behind, did well to lay his bike down quickly to avoid a serious accident and the referee awarded the race as a 3-3. This meant that Edinburgh had won the Cup and led by four points with one heat to go. Any chance that Glasgow might have had of drawing the match disappeared when Trent Leverington won with ease leaving Ksiezak and Bird behind to team ride Theo Pijper out of the points.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Robert Ksiezak 12+1 (6), Danny Bird 11+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 8 (4), David McAllan 6+1 (4), James Cockle 4 (4), Shane Parker 2+1 (4), Lee Dicken 0 (3).

For Edinburgh – Trent Leverington 13+1 (5), William Lawson 9 (4), Theo Pijper 8+2 (5), Kevin Little 6+1 (4), Derek Sneddon 6+1 (5), Chris Kerr 4+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 1+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 18 October



With the season rapidly coming to a close the only major trophy still to be decided is the League Championship, this year being decided by a series of Play-Offs. There were still three matches left to be raced – tonight’s semi-final, second leg and the two legs of the final. The big match tonight was at King’s Lynn where the Stars were at home to Rye House in the second leg of the Premier League Play-Off semi-final.



Premier League Play Offs, semi-final, second leg: King’s Lynn 60, Rye House 35 King’s Lynn won through to the final on aggregate by 102-83 .


King’s Lynn with Tomas Topinka back in the side were at full strength. Rye House must have tracked one of the youngest reserve pairs ever with Tai Woffinden again at number 6 and Josh Auty in the other reserve berth, both as guests.

With only a six point lead to overturn from the first leg last Saturday night King’s Lynn were strong favourites to qualify for the final where the winners of this tie would meet Sheffield. So it turned out but there was plenty of entertainment as the Stars were made to work for many of their points. With only two race winners to their credit Rye House were never going to keep it close but their cause wasn’t helped by being comprehensively outscored in the reserves’ department in which the Stars took a 16-2 advantage (albeit from more rides).

King’s Lynn got off to a winning start in heat 1. Edward Kennett led after a tight first bend but was passed by Daniel Nermark on the second lap. Behind this pair Trevor Harding took third place from Stuart Robson for a 4-2. The Stars then squared the tie on aggregate with a 5-1 from the reserves race as Chris Mills and John Oliver won from Tai Woffinden with Josh Auty well off the pace at the back before falling. Troy Batchelor made a terrible start to heat 3 but had moved through the field to second place before he fell heavily causing the race to be stopped and the result awarded with Kevin Doolan the winner from Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall. As a result the points were shared 3-3. This only delayed the inevitable and the Stars finally took the lead on aggregate in heat 4. It was quite a race though. Josh Auty looped at the tapes leaving Chris Neath to fight a lone battle. He moved past John Oliver then Tomas Topinka to lead the race after two laps but Topinka repassed him for the heat win and 4-2 which took the match score after four races to 16-8 and aggregate score to 58-56.

In heat 5 Chris Mills replaced Troy Batchelor who had fallen in heat 3. It didn’t seem to worry the Stars though as Mills finished second to his partner, Kevin Doolan, while Stuart Robson fell on the opening lap and Edward Kennett gave up the chase on the last lap. This gave King’s Lynn a 5-1 which stretched their lead to 21-9. In heat 6 Chris Neath took a TR hoping to get the Rockets back into the match. It didn’t work as Daniel Nermark won with some comfort Chris Neath took second ahead of Trevor Harding while Tai Woffinden was well off the pace at the back. The result was a 4-4 shared heat but things were now looking decidedly bleak for the visitors who were still looking for their first race winner. Tomas Topinka won heat 7 by a distance but it looked as though Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall would share the race until Chris Mills passed Boxall on the line for a 4-2 to the Stars putting them 14 points ahead in the match. In heat 8 Trevor Harding won from Stuart Robson while John Oliver picked up the third place point from Tai Woffinden who had replaced Josh Auty. This took the match score to 33-17 and the aggregate score to 75-65 with Rye House needing a miracle to get back into things.

Things just got worse for the Rockets. Troy Batchelor took his place in heat 9 and followed Kevin Doolan home for a 5-1 ahead of Chris Neath stretching the Stars’ lead on the night to 20 points. Daniel Nermark came from last to first to win heat 10 but Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall filled the minor places despite the attentions of Trevor Harding so the heat was shared 3-3. Chris Mills then followed Nermark’s lead with a virtuoso performance by passing Edward Kennett and Stuart Robson on the third lap in heat 11. Kennett gave up the ghost but got the third place point when Stuart Robson fell on the last lap in an effort to get past Mills again for second. The result was a 5-1 for the home side with the match now threatening to turn into a rout. But at last the Rye House supporters had something to cheer about in heat 12. Steve Boxall took a TR and led from tapes to flag for all six points as the visitors’ first race winner. Behind him Troy Batchelor had a fight on his hands preventing a big 1-8 for the Rockets by holding off Tai Woffinden with John Oliver stuck at the back. The result was a 2-7 for Rye House taking the match score after twelve races to 48-29 and the aggregate score to 90-77.

King’s Lynn finally clinched aggregate victory in heat 13 with a 4-2 from Topinka and Nermark. Topinka led from the start but Chris Neath and Edward Kennett fought their way past Daniel Nermark only for Nermark to partly recover the situation by taking Kennett on the last lap. The Stars had to work hard again in heat 14 but they finally scored a 5-1. Tommy Allen was the early race leader but Chris Mills passed him on the second lap. Kevin Doolan then got into the act and pressed Allen hard until he finally got past him on the last bend. Josh Auty finished last. In the last race Chris Neath became the second visitor to win a race when he outpaced Kevin Doolan to pass the King’s Lynn man on the second lap. Behind them Chris Mills passed Steve Boxall on the first lap so the race was shared.

Congratulations to King’s Lynn who now face Sheffield in the final. Fittingly the two teams who topped the league table are safely through to the final and King’s Lynn will be confident of repeating their Premier Trophy success against the Tigers. But will they?

Scorers For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 13+1 (5), Chris Mills 12+3 (6), Tomas Topinka 12 (4)(full maximum), Daniel Nermark 10 (4), Trevor Harding 5 (4), Troy Batchelor 4+1 (3), John Oliver 4+1 (4).

For Rye House – Chris Neath 12 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Steve Boxall 8+2 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Tommy Allen 7 (4), Edward Kennett 4 (4), Stuart Robson 2 (4), Tai Woffinden 2 (5), Josh Auty 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 20 October



There was one match tonight at King’s Lynn where the Stars took on Peterborough Panthers in an Inter-League Challenge match.



Inter League Challenge: King’s Lynn 44, Peterborough 49 .


King’s Lynn were at full strength for this match as were Peterborough (to the best of my knowledge).

Well King’s Lynn were finally beaten at home but it took the Elite League Champions, Peterborough, to do it! This was billed as the battle of the Champions (although King’s Lynn still have the little matter of disposing of Sheffield in the play-off final to be officially crowned Premier League Champions) and it went to a last heat decider as King’s Lynn trailed by just one point going into heat 15. A last heat 1-5 to the Panthers in that final heat made the score look more decisive. The start was delayed to allow a huge crowd into the Norfolk Arena as this local derby certainly caught the imagination of many speedway supporters.

The opening race was shared. Hans Andersen won by a distance but Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding comfortably filled the minor places ahead of Piotr Swiderski. The Panthers took the lead in the reserves race. Richard Hall, in a rich vein of form these days, won the race from Chris Mills while Ulrich Ostergaard’s third place gave the visitors a 2-4 for a two point lead. In heat 3 Troy Batchelor passed Niels Kristian Iversen with a fine outside drive while Ryan Sullivan came from last to pass Kevin Doolan at the end of the first lap. Although Doolan closed the gap on the third lap there was no change to the placings and the race was shared. Peterborough opened a six point gap in heat 4 when Tomas Topinka made a terrible start as Ulrich Ostergaard and Jesper J Jensen headed off for a 1-5 which took the score after four heats to 9-15.

The Panthers stretched their lead to six points in heat 5. Hans Andersen was headed from the start by Troy Batchelor but sailed past him on the third lap to win the race while Piotr Swiderski finished third for a 2-4. It got worse for the Stars in heat 6 when they conceded another 1-5. Jensen B Jensen made the start with Richard Hall who took Daniel Nermark wide on the first bend. The Panthers’ pair headed for home and a maximum heat win which opened a 12 point gap at 12-24 and left King’s Lynn looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat. However the Stars turned things round starting in heat 7. Tomas Topinka took a TR and led from the tapes as Iversen and Sullivan followed behind him. Chris Mills passed Ryan Sullivan on the first lap then reeled in Niels Kristian Iversen who fell on the third lap leaving the Stars pair to score a big 8-1 which cut the visitors’ lead to only 5 points. In heat 8 the home side shaved another two points off Peterborough’s lead. Ulrich Ostergaard brought down Chris Mills on the fourth bend causing the race to be rerun with Ostergaard excluded. In the rerun the race leader Piotr Swiderski got out of shape and was passed by Chris Mills for a home 4-2 which took the score after eight races to 24-27.

Heat 9 was eventful. Kevin Doolan led the race from Jesper B Jensen but Troy Batchelor passed Jensen to join Doolan up front for what looked like a 5-1 which would have put King’s Lynn into the lead. However Doolan fell on the second bend and Batchelor had to take avoiding action which gave Jensen the opportunity to sneak into the lead. Doolan remounted and Batchelor then repassed Jensen on the third lap but Jensen fell too when he lost his steel shoe causing the race to be awarded as a 4-2 which cut the deficit to just one point. Daniel Nermark won heat 10 from Iversen and Sullivan so this ended a shared heat but Peterborough pulled another two points ahead in heat 11. Hans Andersen and Piotr Swiderski looked as though they might take a 1-5 but Tomas Topinka passed Swiderski at the end of the first lap to limit the damage to a 2-4 to the Panthers. King’s Lynn replied by scoring a 4-2 in heat 12. Troy Batchelor executed a breathtaking outside pass on Iversen while Ulrich Ostergaard fell at the back as John Oliver scored his only point of the match. This took the score after twelve heats to 37-38.

Hans Andersen won heat 13 from Tomas Topinka and Daniel Nermark with Richard Hall in last place for a shared race then Ryan Sullivan jetted from the gate in heat 14. Doolan and Mills kept Ostergaard at the back for another shared race so the Stars went into the last race one point in arrears and needing to engineer a way to beat Hans Andersen to avoid defeat. Andersen proved unbeatable though and headed home his team mate, Ryan Sullivan, for a 1-5 as Troy Batchelor fell on the last lap trying to pass Sullivan.

Full credit to King’s Lynn for pushing their illustrious visitors so hard. In the final analysis it was Hans Andersen’s maximum which kept the Stars at bay

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 12 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Troy Batchelor 11 (5), Chris Mills 8+2 (5), Daniel Nermark 7+1 (4), Kevin Doolan 3 (4), Trevor Harding 2+1 (4), John Oliver 1 (3).

For Peterborough – Hans Andersen 15 (5)(full maximum), Ryan Sullivan 8+3 (5), Richard Hall 7+1 (4), Niels Kristian Iversen 6 (4), Jesper B Jensen 5+1 (3), Piotr Swiderski 4 (4), Ulrich Ostergaard 4 (5).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 22 October



With the meeting at Mildenhall succumbing to the weather and being postponed till next Sunday and with the meeting at Glasgow also being postponed till next Sunday the sole action tonight was at Newcastle where the Diamonds brought their season to a close by taking on Redcar in the return leg of the Tyne Tees Trophy.



Tyne Tees Trophy: Newcastle 41, Redcar 49 Redcar won the Trophy on aggregate by 103-83.


Newcastle were missing Manuel Hauzinger and James Grieves so they had Sean Stoddart as a guest at number 2 for Hauzinger and used R/R for James Grieves at number 5. Redcar were without Tomas Suchanek and Mathieu Tresarrieu so they had Lee Smethills as a guest at number 4 for Suchanek and used R/R for Mathieu Tresarrieu at number 5.

Newcastle brought down the curtain on a disappointing season by losing their home leg of the Tyne Tees Trophy in addition to the away leg resulting in a comprehensive defeat to an on-song Redcar team who, by contrast, brought an end to a highly successful first season by winning the silverware. With 10 last places over 15 heats there was little prospect of Newcastle pulling back the 12 points by which they trailed from the first leg. They did manage to hold a slender advantage over the opening seven races but a 1-5 for Redcar in heat 8 knocked the stuffing out of them and they never recovered.

Redcar opened with as brace of 2-4s. Gary Havelock won the first race of his five ride maximum from George Stancl with Chris Kerr third in the opener then Daniel Giffard won the reserves race as Jaimie Robertson had to pass Jack Hargreaves to rescue two points for the Diamonds. However Christian Henry and Josef Franc squared the match with a 5-1 in heat 3 to give their supporters some hope. George Stancl won heat 4 from Kevin Little with Robertson third to add a 4-2 and put the Diamonds ahead with the score after four races standing at 13-11 and the aggregate deficit down to 10 points.

Chris Kerr fell and was excluded in heat 5 but, in the rerun, Gary Havelock showed Franc and Henry a clean pair of heels for his second race win and a shared heat. George Stancl won heat 6 from Kerr and Hargreaves for another shared race then Christian Henry did likewise as R/R for James Grieves in heat 7 from Kevin Little and Lee Smethills. Heat 8 was the pivotal heat of the match. Chris Kerr and Daniel Giffard shot from the tapes for a crucial 1-5 ahead of the Newcastle reserves to turn a two point deficit into a two point lead. The score was now 23-25 and Redcar already had one hand on the Trophy leading on aggregate by 14 points.

Gary Havelock as R/R for Mathieu Tresarrieu jetted from the gate to win heat 9 from the Henry/Franc pairing to share the points and the next three heats were shared too as Redcar consolidated their position. Heat 10 saw George Stancl win from Little and Smethills and, in heat 11, Gary Havelock continued his winning ways. Chris Kerr had made a bad start to this heat and could only follow Franc (R/R) and McKinna home to share the points then, in heat 12, Newcastle reserve, Jaimie Robertson, pulled off a fine win from Kevin Little. With Christian Henry falling, Jack Hargreaves picked up the third place point, again to share the spoils as the destination of the Trophy was decided in Redcar’s favour with Newcastle still unable to get back on level terms in the match. The score after twelve race stood at 35-37 with Redcar still 14 points ahead on aggregate.

The coup de gras came in heat 13. Any lingering hopes Newcastle had disappeared when Gary Havelock and Lee Smethills scored a 1-5 ahead of George Stancl to put the Bears 6 points ahead in the match with just two races to go. Josef Franc won heat 14 for the Diamonds but the Bears clinched victory on the night by sharing the points when Daniel Giffard and Lee Smethills followed him home. Finally, in heat 15, Kevin Little ended his Redcar and speedway career in fine style by winning the race from Christian Henry passing both Newcastle riders on the way. Behind this pair Daniel Giffard took third place from Josef Franc for a 2-4 to the Bears extending their winning margin to eight points.

Scorers: For Newcastle – George Stancl 12 (5), Christian Henry 11+1 (6), Josef Franc 10+2 (6), Jaimie Robertson 6 (5), Adam McKinna 2+1 (5), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 15 (5)(full maximum), Kevin Little 12 (6), Daniel Giffard 8+1 (5), Chris Kerr 6 (5), Lee Smethills 5+4 (5), Jack Hargreaves 3+2 (4).