Around the Premier League Tracks - 2006

[Merlin]

Saturday, 25 March

The melancholic monsoons of miserable March have meant more mud-filled meetings. Three Premier Trophy matches fell victim to the weather. The match at Berwick where Edinburgh were the visitors at least got to heat 2 before a halt was called with the score at the time reading 7-5 to the Bandits but the matches at Workington where Newcastle were to have provided the opposition and at Stoke against Glasgow never even started. The referee at Stoke left the final decision to the riders but they didn’t fancy it so everyone went home. However one match survived and that was the first Premier League match of the season at Rye House where the Rockets were at home to Sheffield .



Premier League: Rye House 53, Sheffield 40


On a cold wet night at Hoddesdon it was a full-strength Rye House team which faced Sheffield also at full strength for this match. Although the Rockets finished comfortable winners, Sheffield, as at Workington last week, produced a stirring fightback to pull back an early 14 point deficit after 5 heats to only 5 points after heat 10 before their challenge ran out of steam. You only have to look at the scores of the respective reserve pairings to see where the main difference lay. Luke Bowen and Steve Boxall scored 18+2 for the Rockets compared to the 5 scored by Paul Cooper and Benji Compton for the Tigers.

Sheffield made an appalling start as Rye House started with three consecutive 5-1s. Jaimie Courtney took Ricky Ashworth wide on the first two bends of the opening heat to follow Stuart Robson home then Steve Boxall swooped past the visitors’ reserves on the back straight of the opening lap of heat 2 to join Luke Bowen for another maximum. Edward Kennett passed Emiliano Sanchez in heat 3 and, when the Sheffield rider pulled a locker, his partner, Kyle Legault clipped his back wheel and fell. Result – another 5-1 to the home side. Steve Boxall led heat 4 but, as Chris Neath tried to pass Benji Compton to join him, he fell and was excluded with the race being awarded. This resulted in a share of the points and a heat 4 score of 18-6.

In heat 5, Edward Kennett won comfortably but the real action was at the back as Tommy Allen came through the field to get himself into second place before eventually losing out to Ricky Ashworth. The 4-2 increased the Rockets’ lead to 14 points but Sheffield came storming back. Andre Compton beat Stuart Robson in heat 6 and Paul Cooper came from the back to pass Jaimie Courtney for a 2-4 to shave two points from the Rockets’ lead. Then in heat 7 it was Emiliano Sanchez’s turn to make the gate and head Luke Bowen home. Chris Neath at the back pulled up and Sheffield took another 2-4 to cut the deficit to 10 points. Ben Wilson made it three Sheffield heat winners on the trot in heat 8 and it looked as though Sheffield might take a 1-5 with Benji Compton in second place but he fell so the points were shared. This took the score after 8 heats to 29-19.

Nothing daunted the Tigers then gave Andre Compton a TR which he duly won from Edward Kennett and Tommy Allen giving Sheffield a 3-6 and cutting another three points off the home side’s lead to 7 points. In heat 10 it was five Sheffield race winners in a row as another fast start from Emiliano Sanchez saw him head home Stuart Robson who just got up on the line to pip Kyle Legault for second place. Still it was another 2-4 heat advantage to Sheffield and the home support looked on uneasily as the Rockets, struggling on the greasy track, were now only five points to the good. In heat 11, however, there was some relief for them as they took a 4-2 in a rerun race. In the first running Ricky Ashworth, having been passed by Luke Bowen, took the Rye House rider off and was excluded for unfair riding. In the rerun, there was a ding-dong battle between Luke Bowen and Ben Wilson for second place behind Chris Neath. It ended when Bowen fell trying to pass Wilson but the Rocket got up to push home for the third place point. Then in heat 12 Edward Kennet and super-reserve Steve Boxall took the 5-1 ahead of Paul Cooper and Emiliano Sanchez which put the Rockets firmly in the driving seat. The score after heat 12 was 43-32.

Ricky Ashworth won heat 13 but Stuart Robson and Chris Neath relegated Andre Compton to the back for the shared heat which clinched the home victory. In heat 14 Luke Bowen took Kyle Legault wide leaving the space for Tommy Allen to come through and join him for a 5-1 to put some icing on the cake for the home side but Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth looked like reversing this in the last heat until Edward Kennett passed Ashworth so Sheffield had to be content with a 2-4.


Scorers: For Rye House – Edward Kennett 12+1 (5), Steve Boxall 9+2 (5), Stuart Robson 9 (4), Luke Bowen 9 (4), Tommy Allen 7+2 (4), Chris Neath 4+1 (4), Jamie Courtney 3+2 (4).

For Away Team – Andre Compton 13+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Emiliano Sanchez 7 (4), Ricky Ashworth 7 (5), Ben Wilson 5 (4), Kyle Legault 3 (4), Paul Cooper 3 (4), Benji Compton 2 (4).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 26 March

There was only one Premier Trophy match raced today. The other two scheduled matches were lost to the weather. The postponed matches were at Newport where the Wasps were due to race their return match against King’s Lynn and the match at Newcastle where Stoke were the visitors. The match at Newcastle was actually started but after Christian Henry off gate 4 couldn’t turn the bike on the first bend and went straight into the safety fence there was only one decision to make. Visibility in addition to the state of the track was also a factor in this postponement. However the match at Mildenhall where the Fen Tigers faced the Isle of Wight did escape the ravages of the weather and was raced. One other scheduled meeting - The Spring Trophy match between Glasgow and Edinburgh - was another which was postponed because of a waterlogged track. So both Scottish clubs had lost three meetings in three days to the rain.



Premier Trophy: Mildenhall 58, Isle of Wight 34


Both Mildenhall and the Isle of Wight were at full strength for this match, Robert Kasprzak having recovered from the shoulder injury sustained at Newport last Sunday.

Mildenhall, after two home and away defeats in early season challenge matches against Rye House and Ipswich were looking to start their Premier Trophy campaign with a win against the Isle of Wight but they got a real shock in the opening race when they conceded a 1-5 in front of a disappointingly low crowd. Jason Doyle and Chris Holder were smartly away from the tapes and Jason Lyons, who didn’t pass the ailing machine of Jason King until the last lap, could make no impression. However it was all square after the reserves race won by Barry Burchatt and Jon Armstrong from Nick Simmons. Back came the Islanders with another 1-5 in heat 3! This time Krzysztof Stojanowski and Krister Marsh outpaced Shaun Tacey for the Islanders’ second maximum in three heats. Again it took Mildenhall just one heat to square the match as Danny King and Barry Burchatt beat Nick Simmons in a race rerun after Robert Kasprzak had fallen while at the back. This took the score after four heats to 12-12.

The Isle of Wight took the lead for the third time in heat 5 when Chris Holder passed Shaun Tacey for a fine win with his partner, Jason Doyle, third for a 2-4 and two point lead. Not to be outdone Mildenhall produced another 5-1 in heat 6 thanks to Jason King and Jason Lyons against the weak looking Chris Johnson/Robert Kasprzak pairing. They followed it with their fourth 5-1 in 7 heats with another 5-1 from Danny King and Jon Armstrong ahead of Krister Marsh to open up a six point gap. Then the crowd witnessed the first of only two shared heats all meeting when Jason Doyle won for the visitors with Jason King and Barry Burchatt bringing up the rear. This 3-3 took the score after eight heats to 27-21.

After this Mildenhall stepped up a gear with successive 5-1s in heats 9 and 10. In heat 9 the Johnson/Kasprzak pairing conceded another maximum to Shaun Tacey and James Brundle although Johnson did challenge Brundle for second place. In heat 10 Jason Lyons scored the three points but Krister Marsh’s challenge on Jason King proved unsuccessful. In heat 11 Jason Doyle was given a TR and he finished second to Daniel King for a 4-4 share of the points. Shaun Tacey won for the second time in a row in a rerun heat 12 from Krister Marsh. Chris Johnson fell in the first running of the race but the stoppage came as a disappointment to Marsh who had just passed Shaun Tacey to take the lead. The resultant 4-2 took the heat 12 score to 45-29.

In heat 13 Chris Holder took a TR just as it started to rain. Unfortunately he fell and was excluded from the rerun which was won with ease by Daniel King and Jason Lyons with third placed Robert Kasprzak miles off the pace. The 5-1 increased the home side’s lead to 20 points after which a track inspection took place which brought the decision that the match would continue. In heat 14 the Islanders were on course to take a 2-4 as Krzysztof Stojanowski led Jon Armstrong with Nick Simmons third but Simmons fell off on the last lap so the race was shared 3-3. Presumably neither Jason Lyons nor Daniel King fancied the last heat because Mildenhall sent out Jon Armstrong and Shaun Tacey. Nonetheless they finished with a 5-1 with Jon Armstrong winning the race while Shaun Tacey held off a challenge from Chris Holder.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Daniel King 12 (4)(full maximum), Shaun Tacey 11+1 (5), Jon Armstrong 10+2 (5), Jason Lyons 8+2 (4), Barry Burchatt 7+2 (4), Jason King 7+1 (4), James Brundle 3+2 (4).

For Isle of Wight – Jason Doyle 11 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Krister Marsh 6+1 (4), Chris Holder 6+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 6 (4), Chris Johnson 2 (4), Nick Simmons 2 (4), Robert Kasprzak 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 28 March

Carol King wrote a song called “It might as well rain until September”. I know how she felt. Last week was a write off for many of the 14 Premier League tracks. Only King’s Lynn, Sheffield, Somerset, Rye House and Mildenhall managed to complete matches. Even then the match at Somerset couldn’t be finished and rain affected the tracks at Rye House and Mildenhall. Matches at Berwick and Newcastle started but the match at Berwick didn’t get beyond heat 2 and at Newcastle they didn’t even complete the opening race! Edinburgh and Glasgow were worst hit as they both lost three matches over the weekend.

It’s perhaps just as well that there were no scheduled matches for yesterday or today because the chances are that they would have been called off too. If it dries up it will be back to the Premier Trophy for most clubs although Edinburgh and Glasgow will be contesting the Spring Trophy home and away (although the Glasgow leg has still to be confirmed) postponed from last weekend.

In the Southern Section of the Premier Trophy, King’s Lynn take on Somerset tomorrow looking for all three points having only 4 points to pull back from the rain-stopped first leg last Friday. On Friday Somerset return home to face Mildenhall then on Saturday Rye House , after racing a Premier League match last weekend, are at home to King’s Lynn- in what should be a fascinating match between two of the southern-based powerhouses. On Sunday Newport complete the action in this section with a home match against Mildenhall who have no home meeting until next Tuesday since Newport are also a Sunday track.

In the Northern Section Sheffield take on Newcastle in an attractive fixture on Thursday then, on Saturday, it’s Stoke’s turn to face Newcastle in what should be a very close match. On the same night Workington race against Edinburgh in what will be the Scottish club’s first official match of the season while under-pressure Berwick try for the fourth successive Saturday to chalk up their first home win of the season against Sheffield with a mountain to climb for the bonus point following their 58-37 defeat at Owlerton last Thursday. Finally on Sunday it’s another north-east derby as Newcastle face Berwick.

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 29 March



The weather finally relented to provide a fine evening for tonight’s one scheduled Premier Trophy, Southern Section match between King’s Lynn and Somerset at Saddlebow Road.



Premier League: King’s Lynn 51, Somerset 43 King’s Lynn won the bonus point on aggregate by 85-81


This match was the return fixture from the one at Somerset last Friday night which was curtailed by the rain to 12 heats. As a result King’s Lynn were faced with only a four point deficit from their 38-34 defeat in search of the bonus point. The Stars’ team was on the usual lines with Simon Lambert back at number 7 in place of Shane Waldron who rode at Somerset. Somerset had Stephan Katt at number 2 in place of broken-wrist victim Pavel Ondrasik. Otherwise the Rebels were on the usual lines.

In the opening heat, rerun with all four riders after Trevor Harding had fallen on the first bend, Daniel Nermark made a fast start from the inside gate to beat Magnus Zetterstrom with Trevor Harding third for a 4-2. The reserves race, won by Chris Mills, was shared before the Rebels faced the strong King’s Lynn pairing of Troy Batchelor and Kevin Doolan in heat 3. Paul Fry made a good run off the outside gate to lead the race but Kevin Doolan gave chase and passed him on the second lap. Troy Batchelor also got up to challenge Fry but had to be content with third place. Another 4-2 to the Stars levelled the aggregate scores. Tomas Topinka continued the run of Stars’ race winners but again Simon Lambert was stuck at the back behind Glenn Cunningham and Ben Barker for a shared heat. The score after the opening four heats was 14-10.

In heat 5 Magnus Zetterstrom won the race for the visitors with Troy Batchelor in second place and Kevin Doolan passing Stephan Katt for third and a 3-3. King’s Lynn looked like taking a 5-1 in heat 6 with Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding leading but Nermark had an engine failure on the third lap allowing Glenn Cunningham and Simon Walker to share the points behind Harding. Heat 7 was also shared. Tomas Topinka won the race but Chris Mills lost too much ground drifting wide on the first bend to challenge Paul Fry and Jamie Smith. Heat 8 made it five shared heats in a row. Trevor Harding won the race but Ben Barker and Stephan Katt filled the minor places ahead of Simon Lambert. This brought the score after heat 8 to 26-22 but with the Stars producing all but one of the race winners it seemed just a matter of time before they pulled away, particularly with Simon Lambert’s three compulsory rides exhausted.

Sure enough in heat 9 Troy Batchelor and Kevin Doolan scored the threatened 5-1 ahead of Glenn Cunningham to stretch the Stars’ lead to 8 points. When Paul Fry could only split Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding in heat 10, King’s Lynn added another two points to their lead stretching it to 10 points with the 4-2. It was TR time and Magnus Zetterstrom appeared in heat 11 with the black and white helmet cover. It was Tomas Topinka who kept up his winning run though heading the closely following Zetterstrom home. Chris Mills took the third place point from Stephan Katt so the race was shared 4-4. As expected Chris Mills replaced Simon Lambert in heat 12 for the Stars while the Rebels must have wished they’d given a TR to Jamie Smith who won this one from Mills and Batchelor. Smith’s celebratory wheelie came to an abrupt end when he caught the tractor’s grader and was thrown from his bike. The shared heat meant that the gap stayed at 10 points with the heat 12 score reading 42-32.

After a lengthy delay while the medics attended to Jamie Smith, Magnus Zetterstrom emerged to win heat 13 ruining Tomas Topinka’s maximum hopes. Daniel Nermark took third place so the race was shared. In heat 14 Paul Fry took a TR but Kevin Doolan won the heat with Chris Mills third for another shared heat this time a 4-4 leaving Somerset still looking for a heat advantage. In the first running of the last heat Paul Fry and Daniel Nermark came together going into the third bend with Paul Fry falling as a result. Daniel Nermark was excluded as the culprit. In the rerun Somerset finally won a heat. Magnus Zetterstrom beat Kevin Doolan with Paul Fry unchallenged for third place. The 2-4 reduced the Stars 10 point advantage to eight points but it was too little too late for the Rebels as the Stars took all three points.


Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 11+2 (5), Tomas Topinka 11 (4), Trevor Harding 8, Troy Batchelor 7+1 (4), Daniel Nermark 7+1 (5), Chris Mills 7 (5), Simon Lambert 0 (3).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 15 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Paul Fry 11 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Ben Barker 5+1 (4), Glenn Cunningham 5 (4), Jamie Smith 4+1 (4), Simon Walker 2+2 (4), Stephan Katt 1+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 30 March

It was another miserable, wet day north of the border but it was a different story at Sheffield where the Tigers were at home to Newcastle in a Premier Trophy, Northern Section, match.



Premier Trophy: Sheffield 64, Newcastle 30


Both Sheffield and Newcastle were at full strength for this clash.

The Tigers opened with a 4-2 with Ben Wilson heading home George Stancl. Behind them Ricky Ashworth had a hard job holding on to third place from Christian Henry until Henry fell on the last bend. The reserves race, won by Benji Compton, was shared. An interesting tussle developed for second place between Paul Cooper and Jaimie Robertson but it ended when Cooper pulled out with engine problems. Engine problems hit Newcastle in heat 3. Kyle Legault, as he was last week, looked in good form but Josef Franc, who was in second place at the time, dropped out with a sick motor so Emiliano Sanchez joined Legault for a 5-1 to put the home side 6 points ahead. The two Comptons raced off for another 5-1 in heat 4 with Andre beating Benji while at the back Jaimie Robertson did his best to pass his partner, James Grieves, for the odd point without success. The score after the opening four heats was 17-7.

Ten points in arrears, Newcastle immediately gave George Stancl a TR in heat 5 but he was beaten into second place by Kyle Legault. However Christian Henry finished third ahead of Emiliano Sanchez for a 3-5 to the Diamonds cutting the home side’s lead to 8 points. James Grieves once again showed no great liking for the Sheffield track and was on the end of another 5-1 in heat 6, this time from Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth, which opened the gap to 12 points. Newcastle were still looking for their first race winner as Andre Compton won heat 7 from Josef Franc with Paul Cooper holding on to third despite some pressure from Manuel Hauzinger. The 4-2 stretched the lead to 14 points. The Diamonds were really struggling and there was no respite in heat 8 as the Tigers notched up another 5-1 from Ben Wilson and Benji Compton ahead of Christian Henry as Jaimie Robertson’s bike packed up. This was Ben Wilson’s third consecutive race win and it took the score after eight heats to 34-16.

In heat 9, Kyle Legault joined Ben Wilson by scoring his third race win of the meeting but the action was behind him where James Grieves just held on to second place beating Emiliano Sanchez in a blanket finish for a 4-2 which opened the gap between the teams to 20 points. Ricky Ashworth won heat 10 with Ben Wilson just holding on to second place from the pressing Josef Franc. This was Wilson’s fourth unbeaten ride and the 5-1 left Newcastle facing a hard task to reach the season’s previous lowest score for 15 heats of 34 points registered by the Isle of Wight at Mildenhall and Somerset at Rye House. George Stancl enjoyed a brief lead in heat 11 but Andre Compton winning his third race of the match passed him before a lap had been completed. Paul Cooper held on to third place under pressure from Christian Henry and the 4-2 got Newcastle past the 20 point mark. In heat 12 Christian Henry was given a TS ride from 15 metres back, replacing Manuel Hauzinger, and Jaimie Robertson replaced Adam McKinna. However it was all to no avail as Christian Henry’s 15 metre handicap was of no consequence since he suffered an engine failure at the ‘tapes’ as Emiliano Sanchez and the unbeaten Benji Compton took an easy 5-1. This brought the score after 12 heats to 52-22.

After heat 13 it was questionable whether Newcastle would even reach 30 points as an Andre Compton/Ricky Ashworth maximum from George Stancl and James Grieves made it seven 5-1s to the Tigers from the 13 heats. In heat 14 Josef Franc took the remaining TR and Adam McKinna replaced Jaimie Robertson. In the best race of the match Josef Franc just missed out on first place, losing to Kyle Legault on the line, with Paul Cooper third. This resulted in a 4-4 shared heat leaving Newcastle needing three points from the final race to reach the 30 point mark. They got them too. Andre Compton completed his full maximum but George Stancl and Josef Franc ensured the shared race with Ben Wilson ruining a previously perfect score with a blob.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 15 (5)(full maximum), Kyle Legault 12 (4)(full maximum), Ben Wilson 11+1 (5), Benji Compton 9+3 (4)(paid maximum), Ricky Ashworth 8+2 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 6+1 (4), Paul Cooper 3 (4).

For Newcastle – George Stancl 11 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Josef Franc 8+1 (5)(including a 4 point TR), James Grieves 4 (4), Jaimie Robertson 3 (4), Christian Henry 2 (5), Adam McKinna 1+1 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 31 March

There were two matches raced tonight, one in the Premier Trophy and the other a Challenge match. At Somerset the Rebels faced Mildenhall in a Premier Trophy, southern section, match while at Edinburgh the Monarchs took on Glasgow in the rescheduled first leg of the Spring Trophy.



Premier Trophy: Somerset 50, Mildenhall 43


It was another rain-soaked track that faced the two teams. Somerset, having already lost Pavel Ondrasik, were tonight also without Jaimie Smith following his injury at King’s Lynn on Wednesday. They used R/R in his stead with Stephan Katt replacing Pavel Ondrasik at number 2. Mildenhall had no such problems and tracked a full strength side.

Somerset were quickly into their stride and gained heat advantages in all of the opening four heats. It didn’t help Mildenhall’s cause when Jason Lyons was excluded for tape touching in the opening heat. The Fen Tigers decided to replace him with Jon Armstrong and he managed to split the home pairing of Magnus Zetterstrom and Stephan Katt for a 4-2. It was Armstrong again out in heat 2 and he repeated his second place of heat 1 by splitting the home reserves for another Rebels 4-2 as Somerset doubled their lead to four points. They doubled it again to eight points when Paul Fry and Simon Walker led Shaun Tacey home for a 5-1, Walker doing extremely well to hold off Tacey. Glenn Cunningham won heat 4 from Daniel King with Ben Barker picking up the third place point for another 4-2 to the home side which took the score after the opening four heats to 17-7.

Mildenhall stopped the rot in heat 5. Jason Lyons took a TR and scored all six points winning from Simon Walker. Jason King was third, though, so the Fen Tigers took a 2-7 halving their deficit to only 5 points. However Somerset hit back quickly with another 5-1 in heat 6 thanks to Magnus Zetterstrom and Stephan Katt from Daniel King to increase their lead to 9 points. After this the visitors’ resistance stiffened. They shared heat 7 when James Brundle and Shaun Tacey followed Glenn Cunningham home for a 3-3 then, in heat 8, Jason King was given a TR. Rather bizarrely his bike caught fire as the tapes rose and he was excluded losing any advantage the visitors might have gained from the TR. Jon Armstrong came to the rescue, though, by winning the race for another shared heat which brought the score after eight heats to 30-21.

Mildenhall then pulled two points back in heat 9 won by Daniel King from Paul Fry with the ubiquitous Armstrong taking third place from Simon Walker for the 2-4. Shaun Tacey then pulled off an unexpected heat win over Magnus Zetterstrom to share the points in heat 10 and Jason Lyons made it four race winners on the trot for the visitors in heat 11 ending Glenn Cunningham’s winning streak for another shared heat. It became five race winners in a row when on-fire reserve Jon Armstrong won heat 12. He was followed home by his partner, Shaun Tacey, as the Fen Tigers came roaring back into contention with a 1-5 ahead of Ben Barker and Stephan Katt reducing the difference to three points. The score after 12 heats was now 39-36.

Magnus Zetterstrom made amends for his heat 10 lapse by winning heat 13 but Jason Lyons and Daniel King followed him home ahead of Glenn Cunningham for a 3-3 which maintained the three point gap. Finally Somerset sealed the match with a 4-2 in heat 14. Paul Fry beat Jon Armstrong, taking his seventh ride, with Simon Walker third to stretch the lead to five points with one heat to go. The Rebels finished with another 4-2 when Magnus Zetterstrom beat Jason Lyons with Glenn Cunningham third.


Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 14 (5), Simon Walker 9+2 (7), Glenn Cunningham 9 (5), Paul Fry 8 (4), Stephan Katt 6+2 (5), Ben Barker 4+1.

For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 13 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Jon Armstrong 13 (7), Shaun Tacey 7+2 (4), Daniel King 7+1 (5), James Brundle 2 (3), Jason King 1 (4), Barry Burchatt 0 (3).



Spring Trophy: Edinburgh 42, Glasgow 36 match abandoned after heat 12. The result stands.


Edinburgh finally got their season under way after three rain-offs although the rain did its best to prevent this match taking place. It started raining as the match began and did not relent all night. However, the track stood up remarkably well with respectable times being recorded and only two falls. By the end of heat 12 the rain was getting steadily worse and the match was sensibly abandoned. The Monarchs had Henrik Moller making his home debut. Glasgow ’s away win at Berwick was fast becoming a distant memory as they too had suffered three rain-offs prior to this match taking place.

The Monarchs opened with a 4-2 when Theo Pijper roared round the outside of Danny Bird on the first two bends for a comfortable win. David McAllan never left the starting gate leaving Henrik Moller to pick up third place unchallenged. In heat 2, the Glasgow reserves left their Edinburgh counterparts for dead at the tapes but weren’t going quickly enough. There was nothing between the riders as they entered the last lap. Derek Sneddon slipped inside James Cockle to challenge Robert Ksiezak as Sean Stoddart reeled in Cockle. On the third bend of the last lap, Stoddart fell as did Cockle who demolished the safety fence into the bargain. Stoddart picked himself up to push home for third place as Robert Ksiezak held on for the win. When the dust (or should it be mud?) settled the race had been shared. Edinburgh then hit the Tigers with consecutive 5-1s. William Lawson and Matthew Wethers led Lee Dicken and Kauko Nieminen from start to finish before the Tigers fans watched in disbelief as Shane Parker was beaten into third place by the fast-starting Derek Sneddon and Rusty Harrison in heat 4. This brought the score after 4 heats to 17-7.

Immediately Glasgow gave Danny Bird a TR and he produced the goods with a tapes to flag win. William Lawson suffered an engine failure at the tapes and it looked as though Glasgow might take a big 1-8 as David McAllan joined his partner up front. However Matthew Wethers restricted the damage by passing McAllan for second place. Nonetheless Glasgow’s 2-7 halved the Edinburgh lead to five points. In heat 6 Theo Pijper made another fast start with Robert Ksiezak slotting into second place. Ksiezak managed to hold up Henrik Moller who had worked himself into third and Shane Parker soon pounced to pass Moller and his own partner for a shared heat. Rusty Harrison won heat 7 for a shared heat but Edinburgh scored another 5-1 in heat 8. Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon were soon out in front of David McAllan and Robert Ksiezak to open up a nine point lead and take the score after eight heats to 40-21.

Handily for Glasgow the nine point lead was established just before Shane Parker was due out for his third ride so he was duly nominated for a TR. He had little difficulty obliging in the fast time of the night by taking the full six points beating William Lawson in the process. At the back Robert Ksiezak, after making another fast start, held off the challenges of Matthew Wethers so Glasgow scored their second 2-7 of the match to cut the deficit to four points. Edinburgh had high hopes of taking an advantage in heat 10 but, although Henrik Moller gated well to lead for two laps, Kauko Nieminen burst into life to pass the young Dane and win the race ending Theo Pijper’s winning run in the process. This left the gap at four points but the Tigers cut it to two in heat 11. Danny Bird was never challenged in winning the heat from Rusty Harrison but David McAllan took third place from Sean Stoddart for a 2-4. Edinburgh immediately responded with a 5-1 in heat 12. The highly impressive Derek Sneddon made another fast start and won comfortably as Matthew Wethers slotted in behind him ahead of Robert Ksiezak. The score after 12 heats was 42-36.

At this point the rain which had persisted all night finally got too heavy to continue so the match was abandoned. Since heat 12 had been reached the result stands and Edinburgh carry a six point advantage to the second leg.


Scorers: For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 10+1 (4), Derek Sneddon 10+1 (4), Rusty Harrison 7+1 (3), Matthew Wethers 6+2 (4), William Lawson 5 (3), Henrik Moller 3 (3), Sean Stoddart 1+1 (3).

For Glasgow – Danny Bird 11 (3)(including a 6 point TR), Shane Parker 9 (3)(including a 6 point TR), Robert Ksiezak 6+1 (5), Kauko Nieminen 4+1 (3), David McAllan 3 (4), Lee Dicken 3 (4), James Cockle 0 (2).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 1 April

Wow! A full programme of four Premier Trophy matches was raced tonight and, no, it’s not an April Fool joke. As the weather partially relented there were three matches raced in the Northern section and one in the Southern section. However not all of them made it to heat 15. In the Northern section at Workington the Comets raced Edinburgh while at Berwick the Bandits took on Sheffield . The third Northern section match was at Stoke where the Potters raced against Newcastle . The one Southern section match was at Rye House where the Rockets met King’s Lynn in a battle of the favourites for the section winners.



Premier Trophy: Workington 41, Edinburgh 34. Abandoned after 12 heats due to rain and poor visibility. The result stands.


Workington and Edinburgh were both at full strength for this match which was the Monarchs’ first official fixture of the season..

The opening heat was strange to say the least. Firstly, Paul Thorp was excluded for having no dirt deflector on his bike. Aidan Collins replaced him (I didn’t realise that an exclusion of this nature had the facility for a replacement rider! You learn something new every day!). Then Tomasz Piszcz’s engine blew up on the start line and he was given a fresh two minutes to replace it (again that’s new to me!). Finally when the race started the Comets looked to be heading for a 5-1 from Piszcz and Collins only for Collins to develop motor problems allowing Henrik Moller through for second place. The result was a 4-2 to the home side. In the reserves race Workington looked to be heading for another 4-2 until Derek Sneddon passed Aidan Collins while Lee Derbyshire held off Sean Stoddart for a shared heat. In heat 3 the Comets scored a 5-1 from James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins ahead of Matthew Wethers as William Lawson suffered an engine failure. Edinburgh hit back with a 2-4 in heat 4 when Rusty Harrison beat Garry Stead with Derek Sneddon third ahead of Lee Derbyshire who had replaced Aidan Collins. This took the score after heat 4 to 14-10.

James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins scored another 5-1 in heat 5 ahead of Theo Pijper to double their lead then Rusty Harrison won heat 6 from the back for a shared heat. In heat 7 the Wethers/Lawson pairing suffered another 5-1 reverse this time from Aidan Collins and Garry Stead to move 12 points ahead. However Edinburgh hit back in heat 8 with Theo Pijper taking a TR. He duly won the race after a fast start and with Derek Sneddon taking third place ahead of Aidan Collins the Monarchs scored a 2-7 to cut the home side’s lead to 7 points. The score after eight heats was 29-22.

In heat 9 Workington stretched their lead to nine points when James Wright beat Rusty Harrison with Ritchie Hawkins third for a 4-2. Workington must have expected to increase their lead in heat 10 as Paul Thorp and Tomasz Piszcz faced the Wethers/Lawson pairing which had lost two 5-1s already. However Derek Sneddon replaced William Lawson and a gutsy first place from Matthew Wethers who passed Tomas Piszcz on the last bend was followed by a third place point from Derek Sneddon who kept Paul Thorp at the back for a Monarchs 2-4 to cut the home side’s lead to 7 points. Theo Pijper won heat 11 from Garry Stead and Aidan Collins as Henrik Moller slowed up at the back so the race was shared. Heat 12 was rerun after Matthew Wethers and Aidan Collins had come to grief with all four back. In the rerun it was Ritchie Hawkins from the tapes but Derek Sneddon took second place with Matthew Wethers passing Aidan Collins for the third place point and a shared heat. The rain which had started during heat 10 was now getting heavier as the heat 12 score went to 41-34.

The match was then abandoned due to poor visibility with the result standing since heat 12 had been reached. Edinburgh have now started three matches so far and managed to race a total of 26 heats for an average of just under 9 heats per match. Is this a record?

Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 9 (3), Ritchie Hawkins 8+2 (4), Tomasz Piszcz 8+1 (4), Aidan Collins 7+1 (7), Garry Stead 6+1 (3), Paul Thorp 2 (3), Lee Derbyshire 1+1 (2).

For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 10 (4)(including a 6 point TR), Rusty Harrison 8 (3), Derek Sneddon 8 (5), Matthew Wethers 6+1 (4), Henrik Moller 2 (3), William Lawson 0 (2), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Berwick 46, Sheffield 44 Sheffield won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-81


Both Berwick and Sheffield were able to track full-strength teams for this match. Berwick were looking to pull back a 21 point Sheffield lead in their quest for the bonus point.

Sheffield made a good start to this match taking the opening heat 2-4 with a win from Ben Wilson from Adrian Rymel with Ricky Ashworth third. Paul Cooper then won the reserves race for a shared heat but Berwick registered a 5-1 in heat 3 from Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky ahead of Emiliano Sanchez to take a two point lead of their own. Sheffield immediately squared the match with another 2-4 from the two Comptons. Andre won from Andreas Bergstrom and Benji took third place from Craig Branney. The score after the opening four heats was 12-12.

Ricky Ashworth won heat 5 but this time Ben Wilson was at the back behind Smethills and Makovsky so the race was shared as was heat 6 won by Adrian Rymel from Andre Compton and Paul Cooper. Heat 7 made it three shared heats on the trot with a win from Andreas Bergstrom as Emiliano Sanchez and Kyle Legault kept Daniel Warwick at the back. However the Tigers went back in front again in heat 8. David Meldrum brought down Ben Wilson in the first running of the race and was excluded from the rerun won by Wilson and Benji Compton from Craig Branney. The heat eight score was now 22-26.

Andre Compton kept Sheffield four points in front by winning heat 9 from Michal Makovsky and Lee Smethills for a 3-3 then in heat 10 Kyle Legault brought down David Meldrum as the Bandits were sitting on a 5-1. He was excluded from the rerun. Justice was done when Meldrum and Adrian Rymel took the 5-1 from Emiliano Sanchez and the score was all square again. Back in front went Sheffield in heat 11 as Ben Wilson beat Andreas Bergstrom with Ricky Ashworth third for a 2-4 and Emiliano Sanchez kept the visitors in front by winning heat 12 from Craig Branney and Lee Smethills. The score after heat 12 was 35-37.

Berwick squared the match again in heat 13. Adrian Rymel beat Andre Compton and Andreas Bergstrom took the third place point as Ricky Ashworth retired from the race for a 4-2. Then the Bandits went in front in heat 14. Michal Makovsky won the race from Kyle Legault and Craig Branney picked up the odd point as Benji Compton fell. The resultant 4-2 gave Berwick a two point lead going into the last heat. The Bandits just scraped home with a shared last heat. Andre Compton won the race but Adrian Rymel and Michal Makovsky filled the minor places relegating Ben Wilson to the back.

Scorers: For Berwick – Adrian Rymel 12+1 (5), Michal Makovsky 9+3 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 8 (4), Lee Smethills 7+2 (4), Craig Branney 5+1 (5), David Meldrum 3 (4), Daniel Warwick 2 (3).

For Sheffield – Andre Compton 13 (5), Ben Wilson 9 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 7 (4), Ricky Ashworth 5 (4), Paul Cooper 4+1 (5), Kyle Legault 3+1 (4), Benji Compton 3+1 (4)



Premier Trophy: Stoke 45, Newcastle 44


On a rain soaked track at Stoke this match between the Potters and Newcastle went ahead to the surprise of some of the spectators. Both teams were at full strength.

Newcastle after their thrashing at the hands of Sheffield last Thursday got off to a winning start when George Stancl and Christian Henry took a 2-4 in the bopening heat with Mark Lemon splitting the visitors. Luke Priest won the reserves race but Adam McKinna and Jaimie Robertson filled the minor places for a shared heat. Stoke levelled the match with a 4-2 in heat 3 with Robbie Kessler heading Josef Franc home and Paul Clews third. Then in heat 4 James Grieves beat Alan Mogridge and Luke Priest for a shared heat which took the heat four score to 12-12.

Newcastle struck again with the Stancl/Henry pairing doing the damage. Christian Henry won the race with George Stancl second ahead of Robbie Kessler for the 1-5 which gave the Diamonds a four point lead. The lead didn’t last long though as in the next heat Stoke squared things again with a 5-1 from Mark Lemon and Michael Coles as James Grieves was back in third place. Josef Franc won a rerun heat 7 from Alan Mogridge and Barrie Evans to keep the match tied but Newcastle struck again with a 1-5 in heat 8 with Christian Henry again involved. He won the race and was followed home by his partner, Jaimie Robertson, with Luke Priest and Michael Coles bringing up the rear. The score after eight heats was 22-26.

James Grieves won heat 9 for a 3-3 to maintain Newcastle’s lead but Stoke squared things for the third time with a 5-1 in heat 10 from Mark Lemon and Michael Coles ahead of Hauzinger and Franc. Then in heat 11 the Potters hit the front for the first time with a 4-2 from Alan Mogridge and Barrie Evans with George Stancl splitting the home pairing. Christian Henry fell on the third lap. Heat 12 resulted in a 3-3 with Manuel Hauzinger winning the race from Barrie Evans and Paul Clews so the score after twelve heats was 37-35.

Back came Newcastle in heat 13 with a win from George Stancl who beat Mark Lemon. James Grieves picked up the third place point as Alan Mogridge suffered an engine failure on the first lap. The 2-4 tied the scores again at 39-39. In heat 14 the Diamonds suffered a blow when Josef Franc fell and was excluded from the rerun. Things went from bad to worse for them when, in the rerun with Robbie Kessler leading, Jamie Robertson fell under pressure from Barrie Evans and the race was awarded as a 5-0 to put the match out of Newcastle’s reach. The vital missing point was to prove vital for Newcastle as they earned a last heat 1-5 from James Grieves and George Stancl ahead of Mark Lemon and Alan Mogridge for a one point defeat.

Scorers: For Stoke – Mark Lemon 11 (5), Robbie Kessler 8+1 (4), Alan Mogridge 7 (5), Barrie Evans 6+2 (5), Luke Priest 5+1 (3), Michael Coles 4+2 (4), Paul Clews 4+1 (4).

For Newcastle – George Stancl 12+2 (5), James Grieves 11 (5), Christian Henry 7 (4), Josef Franc 5 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 4 (4), Jaimie Robertson 3+2 (5), Adam McKinna 2 (5).



Premier Trophy: Rye House 50, King’s Lynn 40


Both Rye House and King’s Lynn were at full strength for this match but Rye House didn’t finish that way as Stuart Robson was taken to hospital after a heat 10 crash with a suspected broken wrist.

Daniel Nermark led the opening heat for three laps before Stuart Robson passed him. Chris Mills who had replaced Trevor Harding excluded under the two minute rule took third place as Jaimie Courtney fell while at the back. The result was a shared heat which was also the result of heat 2 won by Chris Mills who passed Luke Bowen for all three points. In heat 3 Tommy Allen fell on the first bend and was excluded from the rerun which was won by Edward Kennett with Kevin Doolan chasing hard for the third consecutive 3-3. In heat 4 the deadlock was broken. Chris Neath won the race but Tomas Topinka had to come from the back to pass Steve Boxall for second place. The result was a 4-2 which brought the heat 4 score to 13-11.

In heat 5 Edward Kennett won again this time beating Daniel Nermark. Tommy Allen at the back looked out of sorts and was passed by Trevor Harding before he pulled up. This resulted in another 3-3, the fourth in five heats. King’s Lynn were back on level terms again after heat 6. Tomas Topinka won the race from Stuart Robson and Chris Mills finished third ahead of Jaimie Courtney for a 2-4 and an 18-18 scoreline. In heat 7 the Stars struck again with another 2-4. Kevin Doolan was fast away to give Chris Neath his only defeat of the match and Troy Batchelor took third place from Luke Bowen. This put the visitors two points ahead but they were behind again after heat 8. Luke Bowen replaced Jaimie Courtney and he followed Steve Boxall home for a 5-1 ahead of Chris Mills to take the heat 8 score to 25-23.

Tomas Topinka won heat 9 to end Edward Kennett’s winning run but Kennett and Tommy Allen filled the minor places for a shared heat keeping the Rockets two points ahead but there was disaster ahead for them. In heat 10 Stuart Robson clipped Kevin Doolan’s back wheel after picking up drive on the second bend and he was thrown through the fence. He withdrew from the match and was taken to hospital for X-rays to his wrist with a break suspected. The heat was rerun with Robson excluded and Kevin Doolan passed Jaimie Courtney to win the race. However Courtney rode well to prevent Troy Batchelor from joining his partner up front so the result was a 2-4 to the Stars which brought them level again at 30-30. Chris Neath was back to winning ways in heat 11 leading Daniel Nermark home. Luke Bowen took third place from Trevor Harding so the Rockets took a 4-2 to put themselves two points in front again. In heat 12 the Rockets again showed the power of their two reserves as Steve Boxall won the race. Behind him Troy Batchelor passed Edward Kennett but Kennett got back to take second place on the line for a vital 5-1 for the home side which put them six points ahead at 39-33 after 12 heats.

Without Stuart Robson in heat 13 it was left to Chris Neath to win the race for a share of the points with Tomas Topinka and Daniel Nermark bringing up the rear and the Rockets were nearly home and dry. Luke Bowen came out to win heat 14 for a 3-3 to clinch the match for the home side as his partner, Steve Boxall, suffered an engine failure. In the last heat Chris Neath and Edward Kennett added a 5-1 to stretch the Rockets winning margin to 10 points to take to Saddlebow Road in the fight for the bonus point.

Scorers: For Rye House – Chris Neath 14 (5), Edward Kennett 12+2 (5), Steve Boxall 8+1 (5), Luke Bowen 8+1 (6), Stuart Robson 5 (3), Jaimie Courtney 2 (3), Tommy Allen 1+1 (3). Heat 3 was rerun

For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 11 (5), Kevin Doolan 10 (5), Chris Mills 7+2 (6), Daniel Nermark 7+1 (4), Troy Batchelor 4+1 (4), Trevor Harding 1+1 (4), Simon Lambert 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 2 April

There were two Premier Trophy matches raced today. At Newport the Wasps raced Mildenhall in the Southern section while at Glasgow the Tigers took on their namesakes from Sheffield in the Northern section. The third match scheduled in the Northern Section was at Newcastle where the Diamonds were to have raced against Berwick but the weather claimed another victim as the match was called off due to a waterlogged track.



Premier Trophy: Newport 45, Mildenhall 45


Both Newport and Mildenhall were at full strength for this match.

Unfortunately there are only sketchy details available on this match at present. However there was never much between the two sides. Newport had taken a 16-14 lead in after the opening five heats but Mildenhall levelled the match in heat 6 when Daniel King beat Neil Collins with Jon Armstrong picking up the third place point to register a 2-4, the visitors’ first heat advantage of the match.

Craig Watson won heat 7 to share the race but Mildenhall took the lead in heat 8 when Jason King beat Chris Schramm with Barry Burchatt taking third place from Sam Hurst for a 2-4. The Fen Tigers then led by 23-25.

Heat 9 was shared but Newport wiped out their two point deficit and took the lead with a 5-1 in heat 10 from Chris Schramm and Neil Collins with James Brundle taking third place ahead of a disappointing Shaun Tacey. Heats 11 and 12 were shared so the Wasps were still two points in front after 12 heats with the score reading 37-35.

The Wasps increased their lead to four points when Craig Watson rattled off his fourth race win ahead of Jason Lyons with Neil Collins beating Daniel King for third. Mildenhall took a 2-4 in heat 14 to pull Newport’s lead back to two points with only the last heat to come. With Craig Watson out in heat 15 it looked as though the Wasps were well placed for a win but he collided with Daniel King at the start of the race and appeared to have damaged his bike. In the rerun it was Lyons who raced to victory. At the back Neil Collins took second place but Daniel King was third ahead of Watson so the 2-4 to the visitors levelled the score at 45-45, the first drawn match of the season.


Scorers: For Newport – Craig Watson 12 (5), Neil Collins 9+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 8+2 (4), Chris Schramm 6+1 (4), Tony Atkin 5 (4), Joel Parsons 4 (4), Sam Hurst 1+1 (4).

For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 12 (5), Daniel King 8+1 (5), Jon Armstrong 8 (5), Jason King 5+2 (4), James Brundle 5+1 (4), Shaun Tacey 4 (4), Barry Burchatt 3 (3).



Premier Trophy: Glasgow 51, Sheffield 44


Glasgow finally got their home season under way with this match against Sheffield . Both teams were at full strength and approached the match in good form. Glasgow already had recorded an away win at Berwick while Sheffield had produced some creditable away results e.g. going down by just two points at Berwick last night

Glasgow kicked off with the worst possible start as Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson skated off to win heat 1 by 1-5 against Danny Bird but their joy was short lived as the Glasgow reserves, James Cockle and Robert Ksiezak, reversed that score in heat 2 to level the scores. Kauko Nieminen won heat 3 for a 3-3 then Glasgow hit the front. Shane parker passed Andre Compton for the heat win as James Cockle outpaced Benji Compton. This took the heat 4 score to 13-11.

Sheffield were back on level terms when Ricky Ashworth beat Nieminen in heat 5 with Ben Wilson third for a 2-4 then heat 6 had to be run three times. In the first running, David McAllan had moved at the start so the referee called all four back although Sheffield were on a 2-4 at the time. In the rerun, Danny Bird touched the tapes as his bike seized so he was excluded. Robert Ksiezak came into the race and took second place behind Andre Compton. With David McAllan third the race was shared and the scores still tied but Glasgow made a decisive move in heats 7 and 8 both resulting in 5-1s to the Glasgow species of Tiger. In heat 7 Robert Ksiezak made the start and Shane Parker slipped in behind him to deny the Sheffield pair of Sanchez and Legault. Then in heat 8 David McAllan and James Cockle repeated the dose leaving Ben Wilson in their wake for another maximum. This brought the score after eight heats to 28-20 with Sheffield in danger of slipping out of the match completely.

They fell ten points behind in heat 9 when Kauko Nieminen held off the challenge of Andre Compton for the race win with Lee Dicken taking his only point of the match in beating Paul Cooper for third. This gave Glasgow a 4-2. Heat 10 was rerun after a nasty looking accident between Legault and McAllan. Legault was excluded although this was not a universally held view of the incident. In the rerun Emiliano Sanchez passed both James Cockle then Danny Bird for a shared heat. In heat 11 Shane Parker won again but this time he was on his own as Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth relegated Robert Ksiezak to the back. Sheffield got back into the match in heat 12 though. Emiliano Sanchez took a TR and, although James Cockle made the start, He was passed by the Sheffield rider who got support from Paul Cooper who took his only point of the match in beating Lee Dicken. This gave Sheffield as 2-7 which brought the score after 12 heats 40-35.

Any hopes that the visitors might have entertained of continuing their challenge effectively ended when Parker and Bird took a 5-1 from Andre Compton to put the Glasgow side 9 points ahead again. Sheffield then took advantage of the situation by giving Kyle Legault a TR in heat 14. In the first running of the heat Legault was brought down by Robert Ksiezak who was excluded for his trouble. In the rerun Kauko Nieminen raced round the Sheffield pair on the first two bends for another race win but, since the Sheffield pair filled the minor places in the correct order, the visitors scored a 3-5 which narrowed the gap to 7 points. Glasgow were unable to stretch their lead any further in heat 15 despite a fine race win from the back by Shane Parker. Kauko Nieminen rather spoiled an excellent home debut by trailing in last behind Emiliano Sanchez and Andre Compton.


Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 14+1 (5), Kauko Nieminen 11 (5), James Cockle 9+2 (5), Robert Ksiezak 7+1 (5), Danny Bird 5+1 (4), David McAllan 4+1 (4), Lee Dicken 1 (4).

For Sheffield – Emiliano Sanchez 14 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Andre Compton 9+1 (5), Ricky Ashworth 7+1 (4), Ben Wilson 6+1 (4), Kyle Legault 5+1 (4)(including a 4 point TR), Benji Compton 2+1 (4), Paul Cooper 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 4 April


There are some interesting matches looming up over the next week. None more so than the return match at King’s Lynn tomorrow night where the Stars are seeking to overturn Rye House’s 10 point lead from their home Premier Trophy match raced last Saturday night. It looks like it will be a struggle for the Hoddesdon outfit because they have lost their number one, Stuart Robson, for six weeks or so with a broken wrist. Stuart is due to have bones in his wrist pinned tomorrow and hopefully this will help to speed up the recovery for this talented rider.

Somerset will be hoping that their injury jinx keeps clear after losing two riders already with broken bones. No sooner than they had replaced Pavel Ondrasik with Stephan Katt but they lost Jaimie Smith with a broken leg in a bizarre accident at King’s Lynn last Wednesday when Jaimie, celebrating a heat 12 win with a wheelie, failed to notice the tractor coming the other way towards him. He caught the grader and was thrown from his bike. The Rebels have made another short term replacement by signing Glenn Phillips, who formerly rode for the Isle of Wight. Curiously enough Glenn’s first match for the Rebels will be against the Isle of Wight when they visit the Oak Tree Stadium on Friday night.

On Saturday night Mildenhall race the return match from last Sunday when they face Newport. The Fen Tigers grabbed a draw with a last heat 2-4 at Newport after Craig Watson had to use his sub-par second machine in the heat and finished last. This was the season’s first drawn match. On the same night Rye House should dispose of the Isle of Wight before heading for Newport on Sunday looking for an away win.

In the Northern section of the Premier Trophy Edinburgh have a tough four days ahead of them. On Thursday night they travel to Sheffield whose home form has been awesome so far before returning home on Friday to face a Newcastle side who have a number of Armadale specialists including three former Edinburgh riders in James Grieves, Christian Henry and Adam McKinna. Then on Sunday they travel to Newcastle for the return leg.

Newcastle in addition to the matches against Edinburgh have three in three days by fitting in a trip to Berwick on Saturday night hoping to repeat their early season success at Shielfield Park. On the same night Stoke face Sheffield hoping for a drier night than they have encountered so far while Workington will hope to get to heat 15 this time when they race Glasgow at Derwent Park. Glasgow have Kauko Nieminen, former Workington rider, in their ranks in what should be an interesting match.

On Sunday, Glasgow race the return leg against Workington some 19 hours later to conclude the week’s action. Next week the Isle of Wight begin their home programme so there will once more be Premier League/Trophy action on Tuesday nights now that holidaymakers will be flocking back to the Island to enjoy this sensational seasonal weather!

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 5 March

The sole Premier League match raced tonight was at the usual Wednesday night track, King’s Lynn where the Stars were at home to Rye House .



Premier League: King’s Lynn 65, Rye House 28 King’s Lynn won the bonus point on aggregate by 105-78


There were three points at stake in this match as King’s Lynn faced Rye House for the second time in five days. The Stars were looking to overturn the 10 points by which the Rockets won at Hoddesdon on Saturday night for the bonus point. They had Simon Lambert at reserve in an unchanged side but Rye House were without broken-wrist victim Stuart Robson and used R/R in his stead.

It took the home side just four heats to build up a winning margin and take the lead on aggregate. In the opening race Chris Neath, taking the R/R ride, won in the fastest time of the season at Saddlebow Road but he was so fast that he lapped his partner, Jaimie Courtney, who was consequently excluded! The opening heat was therefore shared but the Stars then ran up three 5-1s in a row. In the reserves race Simon Lambert passed both the Rye House riders to join his partner, Chris Mills, up front for the first of the maximums. Then Kevin Doolan and Troy Batchelor were next up heading home Edward Kennett before Tomas Topinka and Simon Lambert again in heat 4 made it three in a row. In this race Chris Neath, in second place, suffered an engine failure as Simon Lambert passed Steve Boxall. Boxall fell on the last lap but got up for the third place point. The score after the opening four races was 18-6 with King’s Lynn already two points up on aggregate.

Things went from bad to worse for the Rockets who simply disintegrated. In heat 5 it was Doolan and Batchelor for another easy 5-1 from Tommy Allen before Chris Neath appeared in heat 6 for a TR. The result was yet another 5-1 for the Stars, their fifth in a row, as Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding headed Neath home. Since he failed to beat an opponent, Neath’s one point was not doubled. Edward Kennett and Chris Mills crashed in heat 7 as they exited the second bend and Mills was excluded from the rerun to end the run of 5-1s. Edward Kennet was replaced by Steve Boxall as Kennett was checked over by the medics but Tomas Topinka won the race for a 3-3. In heat 8 Steve Boxall took the second Rye House TR and he brought some relief for the Rockets by passing Trevor Harding to win the race for the full six points. With Jaimie Courtney at the back it gave the visitors a 3-6 race advantage to bring the score after the opening eight races to 34-17.

Chris Neath touched the tapes in heat 9 and had to start from 15 metres back so it was back to the 5-1s as Batchelor and Doolan completed their third maximum heat win as a pairing. Chris Neath took third place as Luke Bowen suffered an engine failure. King’s Lynn now led by 21 points, 11 on aggregate. Steve Boxall replaced Edward Kennett in heat 10. Daniel Nermark won the race but Steve Boxall got the better of Trevor Harding for second place so the race resulted in a 4-2 to the Stars with the Rockets hitting the 20 point mark, Boxall having scored 12 of them! Heat 11 provided another King’s Lynn 5-1 with, reserve, Chris Mills being followed home by Tomas Topinka from Luke Bowen but in heat 12 Steve Boxall and Luke Bowen followed Troy Batchelor home for a 3-3 to bring the score after 12 races to 51-24 with Boxall’s total now at 14 out of the Rye House 24.

With Edward Kennett on the sidelines reducing Rye House to five riders, their resources were stretched to the limit as Jamie Courtney took the R/R ride for Stuart Robson in heat 13. Tomas Topinka and Daniel Nermark scored a 5-1 in the heat with Chris Neath third and Rye House now looked to be struggling to hit the 30 point mark, the lowest total of the season so far. Things got no better for them in heat 14 as Tommy Allen fell and was excluded as Kevin Doolan and Chris Mills took maximum points from Steve Boxall taking the score to 61-26. In the last heat Chris Mills joined Troy Batchelor as the nominated riders for the home side against Chris Neath and Luke Bowen. Batchelor completed his five ride paid maximum as Chris Neath took second place from Chris Mills for a 4-2 to the Stars. A night surely Rye House will want to forget!

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Troy Batchelor 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Kevin Doolan 11+1 (4)(paid maximum), Tomas Topinka 11+1 (4)(paid maximum), Daniel Nermark 10+1 (4), Chris Mills 9+1 (5), Trevor Harding 6+2 (4), Simon Lambert 5+3 (4).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 15 (7)(including a 6 point TR), Chris Neath 8 (6), Tommy Allen 2+1 (5), Luke Bowen 1+1 (6), Edward Kennett 1 (1), Jaimie Courtney 1 (5).