Around the Premier League Tracks - 2006

[Merlin]

Thursday, 6 April

The Thursday night match at Sheffield saw the Tigers race a Premier Trophy match against Edinburgh .



Premier Trophy: Sheffield 52, Edinburgh 40


Both teams were at full strength. Sheffield tracked the team which has so far run up big wins against Berwick and Newcastle while Edinburgh relied on the side which so far had still to race a match which went beyond 12 heats.

The teams were faced with another very wet track as rain prior to the meeting put the match in jeopardy. In the opening heat the Tigers gated and racked up a 5-1 with Ben Wilson leading from Ricky Ashworth and Theo Pijper. The reserves race was shared with a win for Paul Cooper. Benji Compton fell in an attempt to pass Derek Sneddon and the race was awarded. Compton was subsequently withdrawn from the meeting as a result of his injury. William Lawson led heat three briefly but he slipped to the back as the Sheffield pair and his partner passed him. Kyle Legault won the race with Emiliano Sanchez second for another home 5-1. Then followed a remarkable occurrence when Andre Compton suffered a rare defeat on his home track as Rusty Harrison won heat 4. His main challenge came from Paul Cooper who replaced Benji Compton but Cooper fell on the last bend leaving Andre Compton in second place with Derek Sneddon picking up the third place point. As a result the Monarchs took a 2-4 to make the score after the opening four heats 15-9.

In heat 5 Theo Pijper made a fast start and was never challenged finishing Kyle Legault’s maximum hopes but Legault and Emiliano Sanchez filled the minor places so the heat was shared. Sheffield stretched their lead to eight points in heat 6. It looked as though the Tigers would take a 5-1 when Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson led but Rusty Harrison passed Wilson for second place on the last lap and the result was a 4-2. In heat 7 Andre Compton had a comfortable win but Matthew Wethers and William Lawson team rode to keep Paul Cooper at the back for another shared race. The Monarchs pulled two points back in heat 8. Another fast start from Theo Pijper was enough to see off Ben Wilson and Derek Sneddon took another third place when he held off Paul Cooper for a 2-4. The score after eight heats was 27-21.

Rusty Harrison won heat 9 from Kyle Legault and Emiliano Sanchez for another shared race and in heat 10 the points were again shared. Ricky Ashworth continued his unbeaten run passing William Lawson on the way but behind him Matthew Wethers passed Ben Wilson for the 3-3 as the Edinburgh resistance continued. Heat 11 turned out to be the third consecutive shared heat. Andre Compton won the race but Theo Pijper and Henrik Moller finished behind him. Heat 12 made it four 3-3s on the trot. Emiliano Sanchez made the gate to win but Matthew Wethers passed Paul Cooper to join his partner, Derek Sneddon who had replaced Sean Stoddart, for the shared heat. This took the score after 12 heats to 39-33 with Sheffield still unable to add to the six point lead they enjoyed after heat 4.

Finally, the Tigers scored a 5-1 in heat 13 from Ricky Ashworth and Andre Compton who finished ahead of Henrik Moller and Rusty Harrison to stretch their lead to 10 points. However this enabled Edinburgh to give William Lawson a TR in heat 14. Although Kyle Legault won the race, William Lawson and Derek Sneddon finished behind him which meant a 3-5 to the Monarchs which reduced the gap to eight points. Sheffield finished with a 5-1 to wrack up a 12 point advantage for the return match when Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth headed home Theo Pijper and Rusty Harrison.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 13+2 (5), Andre Compton 13+1 (5), Kyle Legault 10 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 7+3 (4), Ben Wilson 6 (4), Paul Cooper 3 (7), Benji Compton 0 (1).

For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 10 (5), Rusty Harrison 8 (5), William Lawson 7+1 (4)(including a 4 point TR), Derek Sneddon 7+1 (5), Matthew Wethers 5+2 (4), Henrik Moller 2+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 1+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 7 April

There were two Premier Trophy matches scheduled tonight. However at Edinburgh where the Monarchs were due to face Newcastle in the Northern section the meeting at seasonally maladjusted Armadale was called off at 6.10pm due to heavy rain and snow!! Edinburgh have now had three rain-offs, one match abandoned after heat 2, two which just made it to heat 12 before being called off and one full match at Sheffield last night on a rain-soaked track. This left the meeting at Somerset where the Rebels took on the Isle of Wight in the Southern section as the only match raced.



Premier Trophy: Somerset 62, Isle of Wight 31


Somerset already with a team change caused by the injury to Pavel Ondrasik introduced their new signing, Glen Phillips, who replaces leg-break victim Jaimie Smith. In a quirk of fate his first match for his new team was against his previous team, the Isle of Wight , who were at full strength.

In the opening heat Magnus Zetterstrom took the chequered flag followed home by Chris Holder and Jason Doyle but the home side took the lead in heat 2 with a maximum from the reserves Ben Barker and Simon Walker. Paul Fry shed a chain while challenging Krzysztof Stojanowski for the race win on the last lap of heat 3 so the Islanders took advantage with a 2-4 as Stephan Katt moved up to second ahead of Krister Marsh to pull two points back. However Somerset were awarded another 5-1 in heat 4 through Ben Barker and Glenn Cunningham when Nick Simmons fell with Robert Kasprazak well off the pace at the back. This took the score after the opening four races 15-9.

In heat 5 Chris Holder won from Stephan Katt and Paul Fry for a share of the points but Glen Phillips scored his first points for his new club when he followed home his partner, Magnus Zetterstrom, in heat 6 for the Rebels’ third 5-1 of the match against the weak Kasprazak + reserve pairing. This stretched the home side’s lead to 10 points so Krzysztof Stojanowski was nominated for a TR in heat 7. This was not a success as he trailed in third behind Glenn Cunningham and Simon Walker with Krister Marsh suffering an engine failure as the Rebels scored their fourth 5-1. Things didn’t get any better for the Islanders when Nick Simmons failed to start in heat 8 and the visitors went with just three riders. Somerset took another 5-1, their fifth of the match, through Glen Phillips and Ben Barker with Jason Doyle in third place. At this point the Islanders were probably wishing they had Glenn Phillips back in their line up as the score after eight heats went to 33-15.

It was no surprise when the Isle of Wight’s third pairing conceded their third consecutive 5-1 in heat 9. This time it was the turn of Stephan Katt and Paul Fry to hit home a maximum to stretch Somerset’s lead to 22 points. In heat 10 Krzysztof Stojanowski stopped the run of home 5-1s by taking second place behind Magnus Zetterstrom in heat 10. Glen Phillips finished third ahead of Krister Marsh for a 4-2 to the Rebels. Then in heat 11 Chris Holder took the Islanders second TR. This time the visitors made good use of it when Holder won the race from Glenn Cunningham and Simon Walker. This resulted in a 3-6 to the Isle of Wight who now trailed 45-24. In heat 12 Chris Johnson fell and was excluded from the rerun in which Krister Marsh ended Ben Barker’s unbeaten run by finishing ahead of him but behind Stephan Katt for another home 4-2 which took the heat 12 score to 49-28.

Heat 13 produced the race of the match. Chris Holder made a fast start but was passed by Glenn Cunningham on the first lap. He then held on to second place until the last bend when Magnus Zetterstrom got through for a 5-1 to the Rebels who now had the sixty point mark in their sights. In heat 14 Krister Marsh replaced Nick Simmons as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back. Simon Walker won the heat to complete an excellent match for him. Krzysztof Stojanowski took second place with Stephan Katt third so the TS change failed to work for the visitors as they lost another 4-2. In the last heat Magnus Zetterstrom completed his paid maximum but Chris Holder beat Glenn Cunningham for second place with Stojanowski bringing up the rear for a final 4-2 which provided a 31 point win for the Rebels. It was a good scoring night for the Rebels particularly for their two reserves and two newcomers but the Isle of Wight will reflect that Robert Kasprazak, Chris Johnson and Nick Simmons failed to beat an opponent..

Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Glenn Cunningham 11+1 (5), Stephan Katt 10 (4), Ben Barker 9+1 (4), Simon Walker 8+3, Glen Phillips 6+1 (4), Paul Fry 4+2 (4).

For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 14 (5)(including a 6 point TR, Krzysztof Stojanowski 8 (5), Krister Marsh 3 (5), Jason Doyle 2+1 (4), Robert Kasprazak 2 (4), Chris Johnson 2 (4), Nick Simmons 0 (2)

[Merlin]

Saturday, 8 April

It was a bumper night for Premier Trophy action tonight with no fewer than ten teams involved. In the Northern section at Berwick the Bandits raced a local derby match against Newcastle while at Stoke the Potters took on Sheffield . The third match in this section was at Workington where the Comets raced against Glasgow . In the Southern section Mildenhall faced fellow Sunday track Newport on their alternative race night while Rye House were at home to the Isle of Wight who were racing their fourth away match before starting on their home programme.



Premier Trophy: Berwick 42, Newcastle 48


It was another north-east local derby tonight as Berwick took on Newcastle . Berwick were at full strength but Newcastle were without Manuel Hauzinger who was racing in his national championships so used R/R instead. Berwick were looking to atone for the eight point home defeat they suffered at the hands of the Diamonds in their opening match of the season at Shielfield Park.

Newcastle got off to a cracking start with a 1-5 from Christian Henry and George Stancl and it was an uphill struggle for the Berwick boys after that as the Diamonds produced 11 of the 15 race winners. Jaimie Robertson won the reserves race for a shared heat then Josef Franc did likewise in heat 3. Andreas Bergstrom became the first Berwick race winner in heat 4 beating James Grieves with a stunning outside pass on the third lap. With Craig Branney taking third place from Jaimie Robertson, Berwick took a 4-2 which reduced the gap to 2 points. The score after four heats was 11-13.

George Stancl won heat 5 but with Makovsky and Smethills finishing ahead of Henry the result was another shared race. Adrian Rymel took the race win from Grieves in heat 6 but David Meldrum shed a chain so this heat too was shared. However in heat 7 Newcastle pulled four points ahead again when Josef Franc won again from Bergstrom. Adam McKinna took the third place point for a Diamonds’ 2-4 then Christian Henry won heat 8 to share the points and take the heat 8 score to 22-26.

Berwick just couldn’t get back on level terms but Michal Makovsky won heat 9 and was supported by Lee Smethills who took third place behind James Grieves for a home 4-2 cutting the Diamonds’ lead to two points. Josef Franc made it three wins on the trot on his scorecard but David Meldrum and Adrian Rymel shared the points in heat 10. Newcastle then stretched their lead to four points again with a 2-4 in heat 11. Christian Henry won the race from Andreas Bergstrom with George Stancl third for a 2-4 but Berwick finally got back to equality in heat 12. With Christian Henry in this race the Diamonds must have been confident of a 3-3 but when he retired at the back Craig Branney and Lee Smethills took full advantage to score a 5-1. This brought the score after 12 heats to 36-36.

Berwick didn’t enjoy being on level terms for long as Newcastle opened up a two point lead again with a 2-4 in heat 13. In a magnificent race James Grieves took the win from Adrian Rymel but behind them Andreas Bergstrom pushed George Stancl all the way for third place with the Newcastle number 1 holding on for the vital third place. Things looked bleak in heat 14 when Josef Franc won for the fourth time and a timely shared heat leaving the visitors two ahead with the last race to come. In the last race he then came out to complete his five ride maximum holding up the Berwick pair in the process so that his partner, James Grieves, could round the Berwick pair to join him for a 1-5.


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

For Newcastle – Josef Franc 15 (5)(full maximum), James Grieves 11+1 (5), Christian Henry 9 (5), George Stancl 7+1 (4), Jaimie Robertson 4+1 (6), Adam McKinna 2 (5).



Premier Trophy: Stoke 48, Sheffield 42


It was a full strength Stoke side which faced Sheffield . The home side were looking for a drier track than the one they opened their home season with last week in their one point win against Newcastle while Sheffield were hoping to go one better than the narrow defeats they have suffered away from home so far.

Sheffield continued their run of narrow away defeats this time going down by 6 points at Stoke. It may not win them any points but it puts them in a good position for bonus points. Losing a 5-1 in the opening heat did not help their cause. Michael Coles and Mark Lemon did the damage as Ricky Ashworth had to be content with third place. The Tigers hit back with a 2-4 in heat 2 won by Benji Compton from Barrie Evans and Paul Cooper, the Sheffield reserves apparently having recovered from their injuries of Thursday night. Emiliano Sanchez won heat 3 coming from third to first to do so to beat Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler for a 3-3 then Alan Mogridge took heat 4 also for a 3-3 with the two Comptons following in his wake. This took the heat 4 score to 13-11.

Heat 5, won by Robbie Kessler, was shared too but Stoke went four ahead again in heat 6 with Lemon and Coles, split by Andre Compton, doing the damage. Emiliano Sanchez won again in heat 7 again with no support from Kyle Legault for another shared heat but Sheffield cut two points from the Stoke lead with a 2-4 in heat 8. Michael Coles touched the tapes and went from 15 metres back. Ben Wilson won the race from Barrie Evans with Michael Coles unable to catch Benji Compton for third. The heat 8 score had moved on to 25-23.

Andre Compton became the fourth Sheffield rider to win a race in heat 9 but Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler followed him home for a shared race then Stoke pulled four points ahead again in heat 10. Again it was the Lemon/Coles pairing which did the damage with Lemon inflicting the first defeat of the match on Emiliano Sanchez as Michael Coles took third from Kyle Legault. The lead stretched to six points in heat 11 when Alan Mogridge beat Ricky Ashworth on the line after a great race with Barrie Evans third but Sheffield pulled it back to six again with a 2-4 in heat 12 as Sanchez returned to winning way ahead of Paul Clews with Benji Compton third. This took the score after 12 heats to 38-34.

In heat 13 Ricky Ashworth became the fifth visitor to win a race ruining Mark Lemon’s maximum hopes but at the back Alan Mogridge took third place after Andre Compton fell so Stoke’s four point lead remained the same. It was all over after heat 14 when Robbie Kessler beat Kyle Legault, scoring his only points of the match, with Barrie Evans ahead of Benji Compton. The 4-2 put the home side six points ahead with the final race to come. In that race Alan Mogridge was excluded for a tapes offence and was replaced by Barrie Evans. Mark Lemon passed both Sanchez then Ashworth to win and preserve Stoke’s six point lead


Scorers: For Stoke – Mark Lemon 13+1 (5), Alan Mogridge 9+1 (5), Robbie Kessler 8+2 (4), Barrie Evans 7+1 (6), Paul Clews 6 (4), Michael Coles 5 (4), Luke Priest 0 (3).

For Sheffield – Emiliano Sanchez 12+1 (5), Ricky Ashworth 10 (5), Andre Compton 7 (4), Benji Compton 6+1 (5), Ben Wilson 4+1 (4), Kyle Legault 2 (4), Paul Cooper 1 (3).



Premier Trophy: Workington 51, Glasgow 45


Workington and Glasgow were both at full strength for this match with the return less than 24 hours away at Ashfield. Glasgow were looking to keep their unbeaten run in this competition while Workington would be hoping the rain clouds kept at bay following their rain-curtailed match against Edinburgh last week

Glasgow tried everything in this match including two TRs and a TS but still lost by six points. It looked as though they were heading for a 2-4 in the opening race but Danny Bird fell on the last bend while leading so Paul Thorp won from David McAllan with Tomasz Piszcz third for a 4-2 to the Comets. Aidan Collins won the reserves race for a shared heat but Ritchie Hawkins and James Wright scored a 5-1 at the expense of former Comet Kauko Nieminen for a 5-1 to go six points ahead. They increased it to eight points when a titanic struggle between Garry Stead and Shane Parker saw the home man triumph. With Aidan Collins third ahead of James Cockle Workington took a 4-2 which took the score after 4 heats to 16-8.

Danny Bird won heat 5 for a shared heat but the Comets pulled ten points clear with a 4-2 when Paul Thorp beat Shane Parker with Tomasz Piszcz third in heat 6. In heat 7 Kauko Nieminen took a TR but could only finish second to Garry Stead. However, Lee Dicken was third ahead of Lee Derbyshire so Glasgow took a 3-5 advantage to cut the deficit to eight points. This triggered a Tactical Substitute ride from Shane Parker off 15 metres in heat 8. Although he got past Ritchie Hawkins he couldn’t catch Tomas Piszcz so the heat was shared 4-4 with the heat 8 score standing at 30-22.

Heat 9 saw Workington restore their 10 point lead with a James Wright win over Shane Parker with Ritchie Hawkins third for a 4-2. Kauko Nieminen scored his race win in heat 10 beating Paul Thorp and Tomasz Piszcz for a shared heat which kept the difference between the sides at 10 points. Danny Bird took a TR in heat 11 and won from Garry Stead. With James Cockle taking third from Lee Derbyshire, Glasgow scored a 2-7 to shave 5 points from the Comets’ lead. Ritchie Hawkins won heat 12 but Lee Dicken and Robert Ksiezak followed him home for a 3-3 to take the score after twelve heats to 42-37.

Shane Parker produced a last to first win in heat 13 but Paul Thorp and Garry Stead relegated Danny Bird to the back for a shared race then in heat 14 James Wright clinched the match for the Comets when he beat Kauko Nieminen with Aidan Collins third for a 4-2 to increase the home side’s lead to 7 points. In the last race Garry Stead fell while the Glasgow pair were on a 1-5. In the rerun Shane Parker suffered an engine failure as Danny Bird headed James Wright home so the race result was a 2-3 to Glasgow and a six point win.


Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 12+1 (5), Paul Thorp 10 (4), Garry Stead 9+1 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 8 (4), Tomasz Piszcz 6+1 (4), Aidan Collins 6 (5), Lee Derbyshire 0 (3).

For Glasgow – Shane Parker 13 (6)(including a 4 point TS), Danny Bird 12 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Kauko Nieminen 10 (4)(including a 4 point TR), Lee Dicken 3+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 3+1 (5), James Cockle 2+1 (3), David McAllan 2 (3).



Premier Trophy: Mildenhall 49, Newport 40 Mildenhall took the bonus point on aggregate by 94-85.


Mildenhall and Newport were both able to track full-strength teams for this match. Newport were looking for revenge after being held to a draw in their home leg last Sunday in an unfortunate last heat.

Mildenhall made the perfect start in the opening heat with a 5-1 from the two Jasons- Lyons and King but heat 2 resulted in a crash between Barry Burchatt and Billy Legg which resulted in Legg having to go to hospital for examination. Burchatt sat out the rerun which was contested by two riders with Jon Armstrong winning from Joel Parsons for a 3-2. If Mildenhall thought they were out for a stroll in the park they got a rude awakening in heat 3 as the Wasps scored a 1-5 from Carl Wilkinson and Tony Atkin who kept Shaun Tacey back in third place. Daniel King came out to beat Craig Watson in heat 4 for a shared race which took the score after four races to 12-11.

In heat 5 Shaun Tacey and James Brundle made amends for conceding a 1-5 in heat 3 by scoring a 5-1 in heat 5 to open the Fen Tigers lead to 5 points. Jason Lyons then beat Craig Watson for a shared heat 6 and Daniel King took heat 7 beating Wilkinson and Atkin for a 3-3. Heat 8 was also shared, the third on the trot, with a win for Jason King and the heat 8 score moved to 26-21.

Newport then slipped up a gear. They pulled two points back in heat 9 with a Joel Parsons win from Shaun Tacey and Craig Watson to cut the lead to 3 points then, after Jason Lyons had won heat 10 for a share of the points, the Wasps pulled another two points back with a 2-4 in heat11. This time it was Chris Schramm who won the heat inflicting the only defeat of the match on Daniel King. Neil Collins took third place and the visitors trailed by only one point at 33-32. Newport’s purple patch continued as the home side were shocked to find themselves three points in arrears when Carl Wilkinson and Joel Parsons scored a 1-5 ahead of Shaun Tacey to take the score after heat 12 to 34-37.

But that was as close as Newport got as they lost the last three races all by the 5-1 margin to finish in the most disappointing fashion. Jason Lyons and Daniel King did the damage in heats 13 and 15 and James Brundle and Jon Armstrong beat the impressive and hard-worked Joel Parsons in heat 14.


Scorers: For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 15 (5)(full maximum), Daniel King 12+2 (5), Shaun Tacey 7 (4), Jason King 5+1 (4), James Brundle 5+1 (4), Jon Armstrong 5+1 (4), Barry Burchatt 0 (4).

For Newport – Joel Parsons 12+3 (7), Carl Wilkinson 9+1 (5), Craig Watson 7 (5), Tony Atkin 5+2 (4), Chris Schramm 5+1 (4), Neil Collins 2 (4), Billy Legg 0 (1).



Premier Trophy: Rye House 52, Isle of Wight 20 Match abandoned after heat 12 due to rain but the result stands.


Injury hit Rye House had to use R/R for broken-wrist victim, Stuart Robson. However they were relieved when Edward Kennett and Tommy Allen were able to take their places in the side following the injuries they sustained at King’s Lynn last Wednesday. They also announced the signing of Ross Brady who will take his place in their line up next week. The Isle of Wight lined up for their fourth away match on the trot with a full strength team still looking for their first point of the season.

The rain finally took its toll on this match and it was abandoned after heat 12 once a result had been reached, The Isle of Wight must have wished it had been abandoned after heat 8 when they trailed 32-16 because they lost the remaining four heats by the 5-1 margin. The opening heat was shared as Chris Neath won from Chris Holder and Jason Doyle but Rye house scored the first of their seven 5-1s in heat 2 from Luke Bowen and Steve Boxall. In heat 3 Edward Kennett took the first of his five race wins beating Krister Marsh and Krzysztof Stojanowski with Tommy Allen bringing up the rear. Heat 4 was the Rockets’ second 5-1 this time from Chris Neath and Steve Boxall which took the score after the opening four heats to16-8.

Edward Kennett won heat 5 but Chris Holder was second ahead of Tommy Allen for a 4-2 but another 5-1 came Rye House’s way in heat 6. This time it was Steve Boxall and Jaimie Courtney’s turn to expose the dreadfully weak Robert Kasprazak plus reserve pairing for the Islanders. In heat 7 Chris Neath continued on his winning way but Krister Marsh took second place from Luke Bowen so the race resulted in a 4-2 to the home side stretching their lead to 16 points. In heat 8 Jason Doyle became the Islanders one and only race winner all match when he beat Steve Boxall and Jaimie Courtney. It’s a pity they hadn’t given Doyle a TR since they needed the points so badly. Still the heat was shared and the heat 8 score was now 32-16.

That really was that. Edward Kennett appeared in three of the next four heats and Neath the other as the visitors disintegrated. They tried a TR for Krister Marsh in heat 10 but Kennett and Jaimie Courtney relegated him to third place so there was no double point score. Then in heat 11 Chris Holder took a TR but he fared no better finishing third behind Neath and Luke Bowen after falling while in second place. All four heats went by maximums to the home side who finished up 32 points in front.


Scorers: For Rye House – Edward Kennett 15 (5)(full maximum), Chris Neath 12 (4)(full maximum), Steve Boxall 11+3 (5), Luke Bowen 6+1 (3), Jaimie Courtney 5+3 (3), Tommy Allen 3+1 (3).

For the Isle of Wight – Jason Doyle 5+2 (4), Chris Holder 5 (3), Krister Marsh 5 (3), Robert Kasprazak 2 (3), Nick Simmons 2 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 1+1 (3), Chris Johnson 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday 9 April

There were three Premier Trophy matches raced today. At Newport the Wasps raced Newport in the Southern Section while in the Northern section at Glasgow the Tigers took on Workington . The third match, also in the Northern section was at Newcastle where the Diamonds raced against Edinburgh



Premier Trophy: Newport 47, Rye House 46


Newport were again at full strength using Sam Hurst at number 7 while Rye House continued to use R/R for the injured Stuart Robson.

Well what a match this was. Newport were reduced to using a TR after heat 4 but finally fought back to win by one point. There was no sign of the drama to come as Chris Neath won the opening race for a 3-3 but things started to go pear-shaped for the Wasps when they conceded a 1-5 in the reserves race when Joel Parsons fell on the third lap while leading. Things got worse for the home side when Edward Kennett won heat 3 from Carl Wilkinson and Tommy Allen for a 2-4 to put the Rockets 6 ahead. Then unbelievably Chris Neath and Steve Boxall scored a 1-5 over Craig Watson to put the home side in a lot of bother as the heat 4 score read 7-17.

Within four heats Newport were in front! Firstly Carl Wilkinson took a TR in heat 5 and partnered with Tony Atkin they scored the big 8-1 ahead of Edward Kennett to cut the gap to 3 points. Chris Neath won heat 6 for a share of the points but Craig Watson made amends for his heat 4 aberration by winning heat 7 from Tommy Allen with Joel Parsons taking third from Edward Kennett to take the score to 22-23. The come back was complete in heat 8 when Chris Schramm and Joel Parsons scored a 5-1 ahead of Steve Boxall to complete a devastating spell for the Wasps. The heat 8 score was now 27-24.

Chris Neath made it three wins in a row in heat 9 but Carl Wilkinson and Tony Atkin shared the heat behind him then, in heat 10, Edward Kennett took the three points from Neil Collins and Chris Schramm for another shared heat. Heat 11 saw Rye House back in front again. Again Craig Watson found himself on the wrong end of a 1-5 when he was beaten by Steve Boxall and Tommy Allen so the Rockets edged 1 point in front again at 34-35. Back came the home side with a 4-2 with Carl Wilkinson beating Edward Kennett with Joel Parsons third to take the heat 12 score to 38-37.

Craig Watson scored a vital win in heat 13 and Neil Collins followed him home for a 5-1 ahead of the unbeaten at that stage Chris Neath and Newport now held a 5 point lead. Back came Rye House with a 1-5 in heat 14 from Steve Boxall and Tommy Allen to get within a point of their hosts going into the last race. Heat 15 provided a win for Edward Kennett but Craig Watson passed Chris Neath to join his partner, Carl Wilkinson, for the three points Newport needed for the win. Phew!


Scorers: For Newport – Carl Wilkinson 14+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Craig Watson 10 (5), Neil Collins 7+2 (4), Chris Schramm 7+2 (4), Tony Atkin 4+2 (4), Joel Parsons 4+1 (5), Sam Hurst 1 (3).

For Rye House – Chris Neath 13 (6), Steve Boxall 12+1 (6), Edward Kennett 12 (6), Tommy Allen 7+2 (5), Luke Bowen 2+1 (4), Jaimie Courtney 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Glasgow 44, Workington 46 Workington won on aggregate by 97-89


Glasgow went into this match without David McAllan and used R/R for him instead but Workington were at full strength..

This match had an incredible 11 shared heats as there were never more than six points between the two teams. Workington were defending a 6 point advantage gained last night but, in fact, Glasgow were never in front in this match. In the opening heat Danny Bird took the three points after the race had been pulled back when Paul Thorp got a flier in the first running. Aidan Collins passed both Glasgow reserves to win heat 2 then James Wright won heat 3. In heat 4 Garry Stead led until the last bend but Shane Parker came inside to win the race. In each case the race was shared so the score after 4 heats was 12-12.

The break in the sequence of shared heats came in heat 5 when Paul Thorp and Tomasz Piszcz scored a comfortable 1-5 ahead of Kauko Nieminen to put the visitors four ahead then we had another sequence of shared heats. In heat 6 Garry Stead won by a ‘mile’ from Danny Bird and Robert Ksiezak then in heat 7 Glasgow got a bit of a sickener. Shane Parker was trying to shepherd Robert Ksiezak round for a 5-1 but on the last bend James Wright shocked them by driving round the outside on the last bend to win the race and share the points. Kauko Nieminen took the R/R ride in heat 8 and won the race for yet another shared heat so the score after heat 8 was 22-26.

Garry Stead had another heat win in heat 9 beating Kauko Nieminen but Lee Dicken picked up third place so it was another drawn heat. Heat 10 produced the same result won by Danny Bird then Shane Parker won heat 11. Again the race was shared as Tomasz Piszcz and Paul Thorp filled the minor places. Heat 12 produced a surprising win from Ritchie Hawkins. Surprising? Well he hadn’t looked like scoring a point until then. This heat was also to prove crucial to the final result because, although Robert Ksiezak took second place, Aidan Collins took the vital third place for a 2-4 which stretched the Comets’ lead to 6 points as the heat 12 score read 33-39.

Glasgow badly needed their usual big finish from Parker, Bird and Nieminen but Garry Stead split Parker and Bird in heat 13 to limit Glasgow’s success to four points which still left them four points behind. James Wright won heat 14 to ensure that Workington would not lose the match but Kauko Nieminen and Robert Ksiezak scored the three points which gave Glasgow a chance of a draw in the last heat. It was not to be because again Garry Stead split the Parker/Bird pairing. Although Glasgow took a 4-2 it wasn’t enough and they went down by two points.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 14 (5), Danny Bird 10 (5), Kauko Nieminen 10 (5), Robert Ksiezak 7+3 (5), Lee Dicken 2+1 (5), James Cockle 1+1 (5), Jonathan Bethell DNR

For Workington – Garry Stead 12 (5), James Wright 10+1 (5), Aidan Collins 8+2, Tomasz Piszcz 8+1 (4), Paul Thorp 5+2 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 3 (3), Lee Derbyshire 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Newcastle 46, Edinburgh 47


Newcastle were without Austrian rider Manuel Hauzinger, riding in his national championships and used R/R instead. Edinburgh were at full strength.

It was perhaps fitting that Edinburgh should win this match by one point after using a TR given their two point defeat at Brough Park last year when Newcastle used two successful TRs. But the Monarchs’ success looked extremely unlikely when they trailed by 10 points after 9 heats. Newcastle looked to be heading for a 5-1 in the opening heat when George Stancl and Christian Henry led the way but Theo Pijper passed Henry on the last bend to limit the damage to a 4-2 to the home side. Derek Sneddon won heat 2 to share the heat then Josef Franc did likewise in heat 3. In heat 4 Newcastle doubled their lead to four points with a 4-2. James Grieves made a fast start in this heat but, when Rusty Harrison pulled a locker, Derek Sneddon had to lay down his machine so Adam McKinna took the third place point. The heat 4 score was 14-10.

Josef Franc and Jaimie Robertson were fast away in heat 5 for a 5-1 ahead of Theo Pijper so the Diamonds had doubled their lead again to 8 points. George Stancl won from Rusty Harrison in heat 6 with Christian Henry picking up the third place point and Newcastle had opened up a 10 point lead. Edinburgh got back into it in heat 7 though when William Lawson passed James Grieves for the heat win with Matthew Wethers third for a 4-2 to cut the gap to eight points. In heat 8 Theo Pijper came to grief in first bend bunching and was harshly excluded. However Derek Sneddon won the heat to share the points and take the score after eight heats to 28-20.

In heat 9 Josef Franc beat Rusty Harrison with Adam McKinna third to stretch the home side’s lead to 10 points again. There was no indication of the turn around the crowd were to witness at this stage. However, in heat 11 William Lawson took a TR and won the race with ease. Christian Henry took second place but Matthew Wethers took a very valuable third place from George Stancl at the back for a 2-7 to Edinburgh who were now just 5 points adrift. Then came an incredible heat 11. Henrik Moller who had changed his set up after advice from William Lawson’s father made an excellent gate with Theo Pijper and the two of them took a 1-5 with James Grieves well at the back. This brought the Edinburgh side roaring back into the match now just one point adrift. Jaimie Robertson won heat 12 for the Diamonds but Derek Sneddon and Matthew Wethers filled the minor places for a shared heat and the heat 12 score was 38-37.

If heat 11 was a real shock for the Newcastle fans it was nothing to heat 13. Again Henrik Moller made a fast start but George Stancl brought him down on the first bend. Result – all four back! It made no difference as the young Dane was again well away. Rusty Harrison came round the outside of George Stancl and James Grieves to join him for another 1-5 to stun the home side as the Monarchs were now 3 points in front. However Newcastle hit back in heat 14 when Josef Franc made it four wins out of four. William Lawson passed Jaimie Robertson for second place so the heat finished 4-2 to the Diamonds to cut the Monarchs’ lead to one points at 43-44. In the last heat Rusty Harrison was well away but George Stancl passed him to win the race. However William Lawson took a comfortable third ahead of the hitherto unbeaten Josef Franc to share the heat and earn Edinburgh a one point win. Phew again!


Scorers: For Newcastle – Josef Franc 12 (5), George Stancl 10 (5), Jaimie Robertson 9+2 (6), Christian Henry 5+1 (4), James Grieves 5 (4), Adam McKinna 5 (6).

For Edinburgh – William Lawson 14+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Rusty Harrison 11 (5), Derek Sneddon 8 (5), Theo Pijper 6 (4), Henrik Moller 4+2 (4), Matthew Wethers 4+2 (4), Sean Stoddart 0 (3)

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 12 April


The only meeting tonight was the Ashley Jones Memorial Trophy at King’s Lynn .



Ashley Jones Memorial Trophy

Winner: Shane Parker
Runner-up: Tomas Topinka
Third: Oliver Allen
Fourth: Jason Doyle

It was third time lucky with the weather as this meeting in tribute to Ashley Jones was finally staged at King’s Lynn . Ashley Jones died from injuries he sustained in a speedway accident last November in Australia. He was an immensely popular rider with the fans at King’s Lynn and elsewhere and was one of the members of the Stars’ team which won the Young Shield at the end of last season. A very high quality field assembled to compete for the trophy consisting of mainly fellow Australians and team colleagues past and present from King’s Lynn.

The meeting took the format of a full 16 rider, 20 heat individual with the top four scorers contesting a grand final.

After all the riders had completed three of their five rides Oliver Allen led the field with an unbeaten 9 points with Rory Schlein and Shane Parker in joint second with 8 points each. Jason Doyle had 7 points and Tomas Topinka 6. Craig Watson crashed in his third race with 5 points to his credit and withdrew from the meeting.

The position changed after each rider had had four rides. The field leader, Oliver Allen, dropped two points when he finished third to Tomas Topinka and Shane Parker in heat 15 and Rory Schlein moved into the lead, winning heat 16 from Jason Lyons and Shaun Tacey, with 11 points. Oliver Allen and Shane Parker had 10 points each while Tomas Topinka moved into joint fourth place with 9 points together with Jason Doyle. The nearest challengers to the top five at this stage were Daniel Nermark on 8 and Troy Batchelor with 7.

In heat 17 Oliver Allen got back to winning ways beating Chris Holder and Kevin Doolan to guarantee his place in the final with 13 points. In heat 18 Rory Schlein suffered an engine failure to leave him on 11 points. In this race Jason Doyle won from Shane Parker so Doyle moved on to 12 points as did Parker. Daniel Nermark won heat 19 to finish with 11 points, the same as Rory Schlein. It looked as though Tomas Topinka would join Doyle and Parker on 12 points but in heat 20 Adam Allott rather upset the apple cart by beating Topinka and Troy Batchelor.

So after the 20 qualifying heats had been completed the top three scorers were: Oliver Allen with 13 and Jason Doyle and Shane Parker both with 12. There were three riders who finished on 11 points: Rory Schlein, Daniel Nermark and Tomas Topinka so there was a three man race-off for the last remaining place in the final.

In the race-off Tomas Topinka made the best start and won from Rory Schlein and Daniel Nermark to join Oliver Allen, Jason Doyle and Shane Parker in the final.

The final was marred by a bad crash when Jason Doyle crashed heavily after appearing to clip Shane Parker’s back wheel. In the second staging Shane Parker won the Trophy heading home Tomas Topinka who passed Oliver Allen for second place .

Scorers from the qualifying heats: Oliver Allen 13, Jason Doyle 12, Shane Parker 12, Tomas Topinka 11, Rory Schlein 11, Daniel Nermark 11, Troy Batchelor 8, Adam Allott 8, Kevin Doolan 6, Matthew Wethers 6, Trevor Harding 6, Craig Watson 5 (3), Chris Holder 5, Jason Lyons 3 (4), Shaun Tacey 2, Chris Mills 1.

[Merlin]

Thursday, 13 April

It was an historic night as the Premier League welcomed a new track and team to its ranks. The Premier Trophy match at Redcar was the first match for the new side and their first visitors were Sheffield. .



Premier Trophy: Redcar 44, Sheffield 46


Redcar had to make a change to their side before a wheel was turned when Matthieu Tressarieu was injured in France. Richard Juul was drafted into the side to partner new captain, Gary Havelock. Kevin Little, having recovered from his injuries sustained at Workington last season, formed the middle pairing with former Isle of Wight rider, Tomas Suchanek, while the exciting young American, Chris Kerr was at number 5. Jack Hargreaves and Daniel Giffard filled the reserve berths. Sheffield were on the usual lines with their two reserves having recovered from the injuries they suffered last Thursday at Owlerton.

The first heat had to be rerun after Ben Wilson fell when his handlebars snapped and he was excluded from the rerun. Gary Havelock had the distinction of winning the first heat from Ricky Ashworth and Richard Juul so the Bears opened with a 4-2. Heat 2 had to be rerun too after Paul Cooper touched the tapes and had to start with a 15 metre handicap. The rerun had to be stopped as well after Benji Compton fell on the first bend and had to be taken from the track by ambulance to hospital which meant that he would be unable to take any further part in the meeting. The newcomers did not have their troubles to seek. One hour after the scheduled start time only one race had been completed due to delays to let the large crowd in and to rerun heats. Things got worse when the floodlights then failed plunging the stadium into darkness!

Eventually the lights came back on and the meeting restarted at around 9.00pm with a 5-1 to the Bears from Hargreaves and Giffard as Sheffield had to go with one rider, Paul Cooper, off the 15 metres handicap. Emiliano Sanchez led heat 3 but on the final bend Kevin Little passed him to win the heat and share the points as Sanchez was followed home by his partner, Kyle Legault. Sheffield hit back with a 1-5 in heat 4 when Andre Compton and Paul Cooper finished ahead of Daniel Giffard with Chris Kerr looking well off the pace. This took the score after the opening four heats to 13-11.

Kevin Little won heat 5 but again it was only good enough for a shared heat as Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson filled the minor places relegating Tomas Suchanek to the back. Gary Havelock won heat 6 for another shared heat when Paul Cooper passed Richard Juul for third place behind Andre Compton. In heat 7 Chris Kerr looked much better and won from a hard-pressing Emiliano Sanchez and Kyle Legault for another share of the points and there was no change in heat 8 when Paul Cooper continued to shine by winning the race from Daniel Giffard and Richard Juul. This took the score after eight heats to 25-23.

In heat 9 Sheffield were back on level terms when Andre Compton beat Kevin Little. At the back the impressive Cooper passed Tomas Suchanek for third place for a 2-4 almost getting up on Little for second. This squared the match at 27-27. Redcar immediately hit back with a 5-1 from Gary Havelock and Daniel Giffard who replaced Richard Juul in the race to put the Bears four points in front. Heat 11 was shared. Jack Hargreaves fell and was excluded but Chris Kerr won again to take the three points. In heat 12 Paul Cooper continued to sparkle by winning with his partner, Emiliano Sanchez , taking second place ahead of Kevin Little so Sheffield were back on level terms again with the heat 12 score reading 36-36.

Gary Havelock continued on his winning way in heat 13 followed by Andre Compton. With Chris Kerr taking the third place point from Ricky Ashworth the Bears were ahead again at 40-38 but it all went wrong in heat 14 when Kyle Legault and that man Cooper again scored another 1-5 for the Tigers against Jack Hargreaves and Tomas Suchanek. This wiped out the Bears’ lead and put Sheffield two points in front going into the last heat. Gary Havelock completed a full maximum by winning the last race but Emiliano Sanchez and Andre Compton took the minor places ahead of Kevin Little for a shared race to see the visitors home by two points.


Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 15 (5)(full maximum), Kevin Little 9 (5), Daniel Giffard 7+2 (5), Chris Kerr 7 (4), Jack Hargreaves 4 (4), Richard Juul 2+1 (3), Tomas Suchanek 0 (4).

For Sheffield – Paul Cooper 13+3 (7), Andre Compton 11+1 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 8+1 (5), Kyle Legault 6+2 (4), Ricky Ashworth 5+1 (4), Ben Wilson 3+1 (4), Benji Compton 0 (1).

[Merlin]

Friday, 14 April

There were three Premier Trophy matches raced tonight. Somerset again had their newcomers Stephan Katt and Glen Phillips in place of Pavel Ondrasik and Jaimie Smith while Newport were at full strength.

Magnus Zetterstrom got the Rebels off to a good start by winning the opening heat but, with Glen Phillips suffering an engine failure while on a 5-1 with Zetterstrom, Newport shared the points through Neil Collins and Chris Schramm. Undaunted the Rebels got a 5-1 in the next race from their reserves but the machine gremlins hit them again in heat 3 when Paul Fry pulled out while on a 5-1 with Stephan Katt so this race was shared too. In heat 4 Billy Legg fell and the race was awarded to race leader Craig Watson with the points being shared. The heat 4 score was 14-10.

Stephan Katt won again in heat 5 with Chris Schramm well back in second place. Paul Fry finished third for a Rebels’ 4-2 to increase their lead to six points. Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 6 from Craig Watson. With Glen Phillips third another 4-2 went on the scorecard with Somerset now 8 points ahead. Glenn Cunningham won heat 7 from Carl Wilkinson and Simon Walker as the Rebels lead was extended to 10 points with the 4-2. Then in heat 8 Newport fell out of contention as Glen Phillips and Ben Barker scored the 5-1 which put the Rebels 14 points ahead with the heat 8 score reading 31-17.

In heat 9 Newport gave Craig Watson a TR but Stephan Katt produced his third race win to deny the Wasps’ skipper. Paul Fry finished third so the race was shared 4-4. Carl Wilkinson and Tony Atkin shared heat 10 when they finished behind Magnus Zetterstrom then Glenn Cunningham beat Neil Collins with Simon Walker third for another home 4-2 to stretch the lead to 16 points. Newport responded by giving Carl Wilkinson a TR in heat 12. The Wasp took full advantage by winning the race inflicting on Stephan Katt his one and only defeat of the match. With Joel Parsons third the visitors took a 2-7 cutting Somerset’s lead to 11 points as the score after 12 races stood at 44-33.

Newport struck again in heat 13 when Neil Collins produced an amazing ride to pass Magnus Zetterstrom on the back straight for a fine win. Craig Watson finished third for a Newport 2-4 and a nine point gap between the sides. Simon Walker won heat 14 from Tony Atkin with Paul Fry third so the 4-2 opened the difference between the teams to 11 points. In the last race Magnus Zetterstrom and Stephan Katt finished things off with a 5-1 ahead of Neil Collins and Craig Watson.



Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 14 (5), Stephan Katt 13+1 (5), Glenn Cunningham 7+1 (4), Simon Walker 7+1 (4), Ben Barker 7+1 (4), Glen Phillip 4 (4), Paul Fry 3 (4).

For Newport – Carl Wilkinson 12 (4)(including a 6 point TR), Craig Watson 10 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Neil Collins 8 (5), Tony Atkin 4+2 (4), Chris Schramm 4+1 (4), Joel Parsons 2 (5), Billy Legg 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 15 April

There were two Premier Trophy matches raced tonight. At Berwick the Bandits faced Workington while at Stoke the Potters took on Redcar



Premier Trophy: Berwick 45, Workington 45


Berwick were at full strength for this match but Workington were without Paul Thorp who failed a fitness test following his horrendous accident at Edinburgh last night. So once again the Comets had to go without their number 1 although this time they were able to use R/R instead.

There don’t seem to be many dull moments for those who follow Workington on their travels. After scoring 46 points and losing at Newcastle, the Comets scored 46 at Glasgow and won, 45 at Edinburgh and won and, now, 45 points at Berwick and drew! This result almost certainly guarantees them qualification for the later stages of the Premier Trophy.

The Comets scored a 1-5 in the opening heat when Ritchie Hawkins as R/R made a fast start and was joined up front by Tomasz Piszcz after a forceful second bend which saw off Adrian Rymel. Berwick equalised with their own 5-1 in the reserves race but the Comets were back in front after taking a 2-4 in heat 3. James Wright won the race from Michal Makovsky who held off Ritchie Hawkins for second place. This turned out to be Makovsky’s only defeat of the match. A fast start by Garry Stead in heat 4 earned Workington a 3-3 as Bergstrom and Branney followed him home to take the score after the opening four heats to 11-13.

Heat 5 produced a stunning race. Tomasz Piszcz took an early lead and was chased by Michal Makovsky who had to keep an eye on James Wright behind him who was threatening to pass him. With challenges on every bend it took a final two bends charge round the boards by Makovsky to earn the race win and another share of the points. Berwick finally got back on level terms with a 4-2 in heat 6. This time Adrian Rymel made no mistake for a comfortable win ahead of Garry Stead with David Meldrum picking up the third place point for an 18-18 score. However Berwick were behind yet again after heat 7. Ritchie Hawkins won the race from Andreas Bergstrom who held off the challenges of James Wright as Workington took a two point lead from the 2-4. In heat 8 Berwick fell further behind as Tomasz Piszcz won the race from David Meldrum with Aidan Collins getting on the scoresheet with third place. The 2-4 took the score after eight heats to 22-26.

Berwick squared the match again with a 5-1 in heat 9. This time Michal Makovsky was supported by Lee Smethills in second place as Garry Stead was relegated to third. It looked like Berwick were set to take the lead for the first time in heat 10. Adrian Rymel and David Meldrum charged to the front but the 5-1 turned into a 2-4 when firstly Adrian Rymel suffered an engine failure and then David Meldrum was passed by James Wright. So yet again the Bandits found themselves two points in arrears! In heat 11 Workington stretched their lead to 4 points with another 2-4. Yet again Tomasz Piszcz surged into the lead then baulked Andreas Bergstrom as Garry Stead passed the pair of them. However the drama wasn’t over as Daniel Warwick fell at the back and Piszcz’s bike packed up leaving him to free wheel over the line for the third place point. It was all square yet again in heat 12 as Berwick scored an equalising 5-1. Lee Smethills and Craig Branney took full points for the Bandits as Ritchie Hawkins came to grief by falling. The score after 12 heats was 36-36.

In heat 13 Tomasz Piszcz was the R/R for Paul Thorp but it was Garry Stead who won the race from Adrian Rymel with Piszcz taking third place for a 2-4 which put Berwick two points down yet again! Heat 14 was rerun after an unsatisfactory start which saw the Berwick pair rocket to the front. James Wright was not impressed with how close Craig Branney was to him at the starting line but the referee finally overruled the Starting Marshal and Clerk of the Course by ordering Branney to move over. Michal Makovsky eventually won the heat but a clearly disgruntled Branney finished last behind James Wright and Aidan Collins for a shared heat which meant that Berwick were still two points down going into the last heat.

Workington surprised most of the crowd by electing to go for Garry Stead and James Wright in heat 15 rather Tomas Piszcz whose fast starts had caused Berwick a lot of problems. As it happened Makovsky won the race from Garry Stead but Adrian Rymel finished third ahead of James Wright for the 4-2 which drew Berwick back to all square again in what had been a riveting match.


Scorers: For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 14 (5), Adrian Rymel 7 (5), Craig Branney 6+2 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 6 (4), Lee Smethills 5+1 (4), David Meldrum 5 (4), Daniel Warwick 2+1 (3).

For Workington – Garry Stead 14 (6), James Wright 10+1 (6), Tomasz Piszcz 9+1 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 8 (5), Aidan Collins 3+1 (5), Lee Derbyshire 1 (3).



Premier Trophy: Stoke 49.5, Redcar 43.5


Stoke and Redcar were both at full strength for this match. After a late start to their programme Redcar are certainly intent on catching up as they were riding their third match in three nights.

Redcar made a good start by taking a 2-4 in the opening heat won by Gary Havelock from Mark Lemon with Richard Juul beating Michael Coles for third but the Bears found themselves two points down after Stoke took a 5-1 in the reserves race. Another 5-1 in heat 3 from Robbie Kessler and Paul Clews ahead of Kevin Little stretched the lead to six points with heat 4 being shared with Daniel Giffard and Chris Kerr following race winner Alan Mogridge home. The heat 4 score was then 15-9.

Heat 5 produced the first dead heat of the season but it was for third place! Gary Havelock produced his second race win by beating Robbie Kessler but the referee declared that Paul Clews and Richard Juul had dead-heated for the third place point so the 2.5-3.5 cut the difference between the sides to 5 points. Mark Lemon won heat 6 with Jack Hargreaves taking second from Michael Coles so Stoke went 7 points in front with the 4-2. The lead went to 11 points when Barrie Evans and Alan Mogridge scored a 5-1 ahead of Kevin Little in heat 7 so Redcar immediately gave Richard Juul a TR in heat 8. He duly came up with the goods with a win from Michael Coles and Daniel Giffard so the 3-6 cut the Bears deficit to 8 points with the heat 8 score reading 29.5-21.5.

Redcar won heat 9 too taking a 2-4 when Chris Kerr beat Robbie Kessler with Jack Hargreaves in third after Paul Clews had fallen so the gap between the sides was now 6 points. It stayed that way when heat 10, won by Mark Lemon, was shared but Stoke got more concerned when after a 2-4 to Redcar their lead was cut to only four points in heat 11. Again Gary Havelock won this time from Alan Mogridge and Richard Juul picked up the odd point when Barrie Evans fell. Kevin Little took the three points by winning heat 12 from Paul Clews and Luke Priest so the score after 12 heats was 39.5-35.5.

Another Havelock win in heat 13 produced another shared heat to keep the gap at 4 points and there was no change after heat 14 won by Kessler but shared by Tomas Suchanek and Daniel Giffard. So we had a last heat decider with Redcar needing a 1-5 for a drawn match. This time though Mark Lemon got the better of Gary Havelock to win the heat. Alan Mogridge took third from Kevin Little so the last heat 4-2 gave the Potters a six point win.

Scorers: For Stoke – Mark Lemon 13 (5), Robbie Kessler 10 (4), Alan Mogridge 9+2 (5), Luke Priest 5+2 (4), Barrie Evans 5+1 (4), Paul Clews 4.5+2 (4), Michael Coles 3 (4).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 14 (5), Richard Juul 8.5 (4)(including a 6 point TR), Kevin Little 7 (5), Chris Kerr 4+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 4 (4), Tomas Suchanek 3+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 3+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 16 April

There were three Premier Trophy matches raced today. First to get under way was the match at Newport where the Wasps raced Somerset ; second up at Mildenhall the Fen Tigers took on Rye House . The third match to start was at Glasgow where the Tigers raced against Newcastle



Premier Trophy: Newport 51, Somerset 44 Somerset won the bonus point on aggregate by 99-91


Newport were at full strength as was the revamped . Somerset side.

Newport had 15 points to pull back to contest the bonus point and they made a great start with two 5-1s in the opening four heats. It was Neil Collins and Chris Schramm who took the first of them in heat 1 with Magnus Zetterstrom finishing third. After Simon Walker won the reserves race for Somerset and a shared heat Tony Atkin and Carl Wilkinson banged in the second 5-1 with Stephan Katt and Paul Fry bringing up the rear. Craig Watson won heat 3 for a shared heat and the score after the opening four heats was 16-8.

Somerset hit back with a 2-4 in heat 5. Magnus Zetterstrom beat Tony Atkin with Glen Phillips taking third from Carl Wilkinson to reduce the gap to 6 points. Newport then replied with another 5-1 in heat 6. It was Chris Schramm and Neil Collins again repeating their feat in heat 1 with the maximum from Glenn Cunningham as Newport moved ten points ahead. Craig Watson won again in heat 7 to keep it that way then Chris Schramm beat Glen Phillips in heat 8 with Joel Parsons third for a 4-2 to put the Wasps 12 ahead on the match and now only 3 down on aggregate. The heat 8 score was 30-18.

Somerset gave Glenn Cunningham a TR in heat 9 but Carl Wilkinson beat him and Tony Atkin took third to ensure that the heat was shared 4-4. The excellent Collins/Schramm pairing had another heat advantage in heat 10. Neil Collins won from Paul Fry with Chris Schramm taking third as Stephan Katt suffered an engine failure. The resultant 4-2 stretched the Wasps lead to 38-24, now only one behind on aggregate. However they suffered a crushing blow in heat 11. Magnus Zetterstrom took a TR and won with Glen Phillips second from Joel Parsons and Craig Watson for the big 1-8 which cut 7 points from the home side’s lead. Newport were now only 7 ahead on the match and 8 behind on aggregate. Carl Wilkinson and Joel Parsons set about building up the lead again in heat 12 with a 4-2 when Stephan Katt split them with the heat 12 score moving to 43-34.

Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 13 from Craig Watson and Neil Collins then Paul Fry won heat 14 from Joel Parsons and Tony Atkin both for shared heats to guarantee Newport the match win and Somerset the bonus point. Finally Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 15 from Carl Wilkinson with Paul Fry rather spoiling Neil Collins’ day by taking third place for a Rebels’ 2-4.

/b]: For Newport – Carl Wilkinson 10+1 (5), Neil Collins 9+2 (5), Chris Schramm 9+1 (4), Craig Watson 8 (4), Tony Atkin 7+1 (4), Joel Parsons 7 (5), Billy Legg 1+1 (3).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 16 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Paul Fry 7+1 (5), Glenn Cunningham 7 (4)(including a 4 point TR), Glen Phillips 5+1 (4), Stephan Katt 5 (4), Simon Walker 3 (4), Ben Barker 1+1 (4).



Premier Trophy: Mildenhall 46, Rye House 44


Mildenhall were at full strength while Rye House introduced Ross Brady to the side to replace the injured Stuart Robson..

Rye House, who won on the same track in an early season challenge match looked to be heading for another away win when they led 30-36 after heat 11 but a strong finish from the Fen Tigers consigned them to a two point defeat.

The home side opened with a 5-1 from James Brundle and Jason Lyons with newcomer Ross Brady finishing last. Rye House took a 2-4 in heat 2 when Steve Boxall beat Jon Armstrong with Luke Bowen third to pull two points back and they then found themselves in front when they scored a 1-5 in heat 3. Edward Kennett and Tommy Allen did the damage leading home Jason King and Shaun Tacey. Worse was to follow for Mildenhall as they conceded another 1-5 in heat 4 when Steve Boxall and Chris Neath led Danny King home. The heat 4 score was now 9-15.

Ross Brady then won heat 5 to share the points but Mildenhall shaved two points off the Rockets’ lead with a 4-2 in heat 6. Jason Lyons beat Chris Neath with James Brundle third for a 4-2. Daniel King won heat 7 for a 3-3 but Rye House moved four points ahead again in heat 8 as Steve Boxall made it three heat wins from three starts with Jon Armstrong second. Jaimie Courtney picked up the point from James Brundle for a 2-4 which took the score after eight races to 21-27.

In heat 9 Chris Neath beat Jason King but Shaun Tacey passed Luke Bowen for third place to share the points. Heat 10 also resulted in a shared race when Edward Kennett led Brundle and Lyons home and heat 11 also produced a 3-3 as Steve Boxall made it four wins from 4 starts. In heat 12 Steve Boxall replaced Luke Bowen and Jon Armstrong replaced Barry Burchatt who was taken off on the first bend and had to withdraw from the meeting. Shaun Tacey and Jon Armstrong finally lowered Steve Boxall’s colours taking a 5-1 with Edward Kennett bringing up the rear. This got the Fen Tigers back to within two points of the Rockets as the score progressed to 35-37 after 12 heats.

Mildenhall then squared the match with a 4-2 from Jason Lyons and Daniel King split by Chris Neath in heat 13 then Tommy Allen won heat 14 for Rye House. This time Steve Boxall finished last so the heat was shared and the last heat approached with the scores tied at 42-42. When the dust settled after a blistering race in heat 15 Daniel King had taken the three points from Chris Neath with Jason Lyons third for a 4-2 to Mildenhall and a two point match win. For the home fans this was just perfection!


[/color]: For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 10+2 (5), Daniel King 9+1 (5), Jon Armstrong 9+1 (6), Shaun Tacey 6+1 (4), Jason King 6+1 (4), James Brundle 6 (4), Barry Burchatt 0 (3).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 13 (6), Chris Neath 11+1 (5), Edward Kennett 8 (5), Tommy Allen 6+2 (4), Ross Brady 3 (4), Jaimie Courtney 2 (3), Luke Bowen 1 (3).



Premier Trophy: Glasgow 54, Newcastle 36


Glasgow had David McAllan back in the side so were at full strength . Newcastle were without the banned Jaimie Robertson and had Edinburgh reserve Derek Sneddon as a guest in his place..

Newcastle opened with a 2-4 when Danny Bird had an engine failure at the tapes. George Stancl won from David McAllan as the Diamonds took a two point lead but it was Glasgow who led by two points after a 5-1 in the reserves race. Kauko Nieminen beat Josef Franc in the third heat and Lee Dicken finished third for a Glasgow 4-2 and a four point lead but James Grieves beat Shane Parker in heat 4 to share the race as the heat four score read 14-10.

George Stancl won heat 5 for a shared race as Christian Henry fell at the back but James Grieves won heat 6 from Danny Bird and this time Adam McKinna provided the third place point when he held off David McAllan for a 2-4 to the Diamonds cutting the Tigers’ lead to two points. However Grieves turned out to be Newcastle’s last race winner of the match. Heat 7 provided the first 5-1 of the match. Josef Franc fell after a clash with James Cockle and was excluded from the rerun which produced a home maximum with James Cockle and Shane Parker winning from Manuel Hauzinger. David McAllan took heat 8 from Christian Henry. With Robert Ksiezak falling after being passed by Derek Sneddon the points were shared so the heat 8 score was 27-21.

With the Glasgow riders consistently outgating Newcastle on a bone dry track Newcastle struggled to hold on. Kauko Nieminen led James Grieves home in heat 9 as Lee Dicken fell at the back for a 3-3 then Shane Parker overcame a poor start to pass the field in heat 11. Again it was only for a 3-3 as Stancl and Henry kept Cockle at the back. Lee Dicken withdrew from the meeting so Glasgow went with their two reserves in heat 12. Cockle won from Hauzinger with Ksiezak third for a 4-2 to stretch the Glasgow lead to 8 points. The score after 12 heats was 40-32.

In the first running of Heat 13 James Grieves tried to ride round Shane Parker on the second bend but Parker moved out to block him and Grieves fell and was excluded. Parker and Bird outgated Stancl in the rerun for another Glasgow 5-1 stretching their lead to 12 points. Newcastle then gave Josef Franc a TR in heat 14 but it was completely wasted when he suffered an engine failure when lying second. Nieminen won from Sneddon so Glasgow’s lead stretched to 14 points with the 4-2. In the last heat another Bird/Parker 5-1 resulted when the Glasgow duo left Stancl and Parker behind at the start.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 12+2 (5), James Cockle 11+1 (6), Kauko Nieminen 11 (4), Danny Bird 10+1 (5), David McAllan 5 (4), Robert Ksiezak 3+1 (3), Lee Dicken 2+1 (3).

For Newcastle – George Stancl 10 (5), James Grieves 8 (5), Manuel Hauzinger 5 (4), Christian Henry 4+1 (4), Derek Sneddon 4+1 (4), Josef Franc 3+1 (4), Adam McKinna 2+2 (4).

[Merlin]

Monday, 17 Aril

There were three Premier Trophy matches raced today. In the Northern section at Newcastle the Diamonds faced Glasgow while at Workington the Comets took on Berwick . The third match was in the Southern section at Rye House where the Rockets raced against Mildenhall . All three matches were return fixtures so there was a bonus point at stake in each one.



Premier Trophy: Newcastle 53, Glasgow 42 . Glasgow won the bonus point on aggregate by 96-89.


In the return match from yesterday afternoon Newcastle were again without the suspended Jaimie Robertson so again had Derek Sneddon as the ‘A’ grade reserve guest. Glasgow were without Lee Dicken following his heavy fall at Ashfield and used Rider Replacement in his stead..

Newcastle had a formidable task trying to pull back the 18 points by which they lost at Glasgow but they gave it a good go. George Stancl won the opening heat but at the back the Glasgow pair took second and third for a shared heat. Heat 2 looked as though it might result in a 1-5 for Glasgow as Cockle and Ksiezak led on the second lap. However Robert Ksiezak hit the fence on the back straight, fell and was excluded from the rerun. This time Derek Sneddon won comfortably while behind him James Cockle had a good tussle with Adam McKinna before securing second place. The 4-2 put the Diamonds in front and, in heat 3, they doubled their lead to four points. Josef Franc was never troubled in beating Kauko Nieminen while Manuel Hauzinger took third place for a 4-2. In heat 4 the Newcastle crowd were none too pleased when James Cockle fell and failed to clear the track as the Newcastle pair were on a 5-1. In the rerun James Grieves and Derek Sneddon again led from the start. Although Shane Parker passed Sneddon he never looked like reeling in Grieves. However Grieves suffered an engine failure on the third lap so Glasgow took a 2-3 with Parker winning the race. This took the score after 4 heats to 13-10.

Manuel Hauzinger demolished the tapes in heat 5 and was replaced by Derek Sneddon. Then David McAllan bumped into Derek Sneddon on the first bend with Sneddon in turn hitting Josef Franc with both Newcastle riders ending on the deck. The race was rerun with all four back and it resulted in another big win for Josef Franc. Derek Sneddon took third from David McAllan with Danny Bird stuck at the back. The 5-1 heat win increased Newcastle’s lead to 7 points and it stretched to 11 with another 5-1 in heat 6, this time from George Stancl and Christian Henry who won comfortably from Shane Parker. It was then TR time and in came Kauko Nieminen wearing the black and white helmet cover in heat 7. He won it too and it looked briefly as though the Tigers might respond with a big 1-8 but James Grieves passed James Cockle and chased Nieminen all the way to the line just failing to get up on Nieminen. This resulted in a 2-7 to Glasgow shaving 5 points from Newcastle’s lead. In heat 8 Christian Henry won from James Cockle with Derek Sneddon heading David McAllan home for a 4-2 to the home side which took the heat 8 score to 29-21.

Eight points down again, Glasgow took the opportunity to introduce Danny Bird as a Tactical Substitute in place of Robert Ksiezak in heat 9 from a 15 metre handicap to partner Shane Parker but Bird finished last to thwart Glasgow’s hopes. Josef Franc had another impressive win this time ahead of Shane Parker with Manuel Hauzinger third for a 4-2 to put Newcastle 10 points in front and now only eight down on aggregate. In heat 10 it looked as though Newcastle were going to pull back another 4 points as George Stancl and Christian Henry led for a 5-1. Henry fell though on the first bend of the third lap letting Kauko Nieminen and James Cockle through for three points and a shared heat. In heat 11 the disappointing Danny Bird finally won a race beating James Grieves in the process. Adam McKinna fell and David McAllan took third place for a Glasgow 2-4 but in heat 12 the Diamonds scored another 5-1. This time David McAllan taking the R/R ride fell on the second lap forcing the referee to stop the race. The referee decided to award the race to the two Newcastle riders, Derek Sneddon and Manuel Hauzinger, who comfortably led James Cockle at the time. This took the heat 12 score to 43-31 with the Diamonds now trailing by only six points on aggregate with three heats to go.

However Glasgow still had one throw of the tactical dice to make and Shane Parker took the TR in heat 13. James Grieves led the race from Parker with Stancl in third place so it looked like a 4-4. James Grieves then fell on the first bend of the last lap so Parker sailed through for the full six points from Stancl with Danny Bird picking up the gift point at the back. The 2-7 finished Newcastle’s hopes for the bonus point as their match lead was cut to 7 points while their aggregate deficit went to 11 points. Josef Franc continued on his wining way with another impressive win in heat 14. Kauko Nieminen took second place with McKinna third for a Newcastle 4-2 then in the last heat Franc completed his full maximum with another fine win. Behind them an excellent race developed between Parker and Stancl with the riders passing and repassing each other on the last two laps. Parker finally got the better of his former Glasgow colleague after Nieminen had fallen at the back.



Scorers :For Newcastle – Josef Franc 15 (5)(full maximum), George Stancl 12 (5), Derek Sneddon 11+1 (5), Christian Henry 5+1 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 4+1 (4), James Grieves 4 (4), Adam McKinna 2 (4).

For Glasgow – Shane Parker 14 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Kauko Nieminen 12 (5)(including a 6 point TR), James Cockle 7+1 (7), Danny Bird 6 (5), David McAllan 3+1 (5), Robert Ksiezak 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Workington 63, Berwick 29 . Workington won the bonus point on aggregate by 108-74.


Workington had Paul Thorp back in the side after missing the match at Berwick on Saturday night through injury so the Comets were at full strength. Berwick , too, tracked an unchanged side.

The score says it all. Berwick had one moment of triumph when they took a 1-5 in heat 7 but otherwise it was a bleak night for the Bandits. They were unlucky when Adrian Rymel suffered an engine failure while leading heat 1. Paul Thorp moved into first place with David Meldrum finishing ahead of Tomasz Piszcz for a home 4-2. This turned out to be Piszcz’s only defeat on the match. Lee Derbyshire came from the back to join his partner, Aidan Collins, for a 5-1 in heat 2 and James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins banged home another in heat 3 ahead of Smethills and Makovsky. A 4-2 in heat 4 won by Garry Stead from Andreas Bergstrom took the score after 4 heats to 18-6 and it looked like being a long night for the Bandits.

James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins added another 5-1 in heat 5 but in heat 6 Tomasz Piszcz was pushed all the way by Andreas Bergstrom to win by the narrowest of margins on the line. Lee Derbyshire was third so the Comets took another 4-2 to pull 18 points ahead. Michal Makovsky then inflicted the only defeat of the match on Garry Stead in heat 7 to follow his partner, Lee Smethills home for a Bandits’ 1-5 to cut the gap to 14 points. It could have been even better if the Bandits had given Smethills a TR. Workington pulled away again in heat 8 with another maximum, their fourth of the match so far. This took the score after eight heats 33-15.

Two more 5-1s went to Workington in heats 9 and 10. The second of them was particularly unfortunate for Berwick since Michal Makovsky fell while on a TR. Adrian Rymel split the Garry Stead/Aidan Collins pair in heat 11 for a Comets’ 4-2 then in heat 12 Lee Smethills took a TR. Although Ritchie Hawkins continued on his unbeaten way, Smethills took second place with Craig Branney third. This resulted in a Bandits’ 3-5 which took the score after 12 heats to 50-24.

The former Hull top two of Garry Stead and Paul Thorp scored a comfortable 5-1 in heat 13 while James Wright completed his maximum by winning heat 14. Lee Derbyshire fell as the Bandits shared the race, the only shared race of the meeting. In the last race Lee Smethills had an engine failure at the tapes while Ritchie Hawkins completed a paid maximum by finishing ahead of his partner, Garry Stead, and Andreas Bergstrom for Workington’s eighth 5-1 of the match.


Scorers:For Workington – Ritchie Hawkins 12+3 (5)(paid maximum), Garry Stead 12+1 (5), James Wright 12 (4)(full maximum), Tomasz Piszcz 10 (4), Aidan Collins 6+1 (4), Lee Derbyshire 3+1 (3).

For Berwick – Lee Smethills 9 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Andreas Bergstrom 7 (5), Michal Makovsky 4+1 (4), Craig Branney 3+1 (5), Adrian Rymel 3 (4), David Meldrum 3 (4), Daniel Warwick 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Rye House 50, Mildenhall 40 . Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 94-86


Mildenhall took a two point lead into the second leg of this Premier Trophy match at Hoddesdon. Ross Brady was making his home debut for Rye House after being signed as a temporary replacement for the injured Stuart Robson - a tough act to follow.

Mildenhall started brightly with the first two race winners. Jason Lyons led from the gun in heat 1 to beat Brady and Jamie Courtney comfortably, and Jon Armstrong followed up in heat 2 ahead of the in-form Steve Boxall. Barry Burchatt took advantage of Luke Bowen's engine failure to take third place and give Mildenhall an early 7-5 lead.

Rye House hit back with three successive 4-2s. Edward Kennett led all the way in heat 3 with Shaun Tacey heading Tommy Allen, Chris Neath passed Daniel King on the third lap of heat 4 (Boxall third) and Kennett won again in heat 5, leading home Lyons and Allen.

It looked as if Brady would record his first home win in heat 6 but Daniel King produced the ride of the afternoon to win comfortably, despite being last from the tapes. He moved from fourth to second on lap 2 and took Brady on the outside of the fourth bend on lap 3. Jamie Courtney finished ahead of Armstrong for a shared heat. Rye House opened up an eight point lead courtesy of Neath and Bowen in heat 7 but Armstrong made another fast start to win heat 8 from Boxall. It was Armstrong's turn again in heat 9. Yet again he was first to the bend, this time ahead of Allen and Kennett. Kennett chased hard but couldn't get on terms. Brady looked to have his best chance of a race win in heat 10 but Courtney was first away and Jason King passed Brady on the third bend. The 4-2 result put Rye House 34-26 ahead after ten heats.

Two 4-2 race wins by Mildenhall brought them back into contention. First, Lyons and James Brundle led Neath and Bowen in heat 11. Neath passed Brundle but couldn't get to Lyons. Heat 12 was a close one. Armstrong and Tacey were first away and although Kennett passed Tacey, he could not catch Armstrong who led him home in a replay of heat 9.

Neath won heat 13 easily but Brady drifted too wide on the fourth bend of the first lap to allow both Lyons and Daniel King through for a shared heat. It was 41-37 to Rye House with two heats remaining.

The start of the penultimate heat was delayed when Burchatt first broke the tapes then failed to make the two minutes in the re-run. Unfortunately for the visitors, this was Burchatt's third start and so Armstrong was not available to step in as reserve. Tommy Allen won from Jason King and Bowen to clinch the match win although Mildenhall still had a chance to level the tie if they could manage a 5-1 in the last heat. It was not to be. Neath raced away in front and Kennett passed Armstrong at the end of the first lap to follow his team mate home.

This was a competent performance from Rye House but the absence of Stuart Robson will undoubtedly affect their title chances this season. Indeed, there is a whisper that Robson might be out of action for longer than was originally thought.

Scorers: For Rye House - Chris Neath 14 (5), Edward Kennett 12+1 (5), Tommy Allen 6+1 (4), Jamie Courtney 5+2 (4), Ross Brady 5 (4), Steve Boxall 5 (4), Luke Bowen 3+1 (4).


For Mildenhall – Jon Armstrong 13 (6), Jason Lyons 9+1 (4), Daniel King 7 (5), Shaun Tacey 4 (4), Jason King 4 (4), James Brundle 2 (4), Barry Burchatt 1 (3)

(Match Report by Candyman)