Around the Premier League Tracks - 2006

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 18 April

At long last the Isle of Wight began their home programme with a Premier Trophy match against Somerset as speedway resumed on the Island and provided action on a Tuesday night.



Premier Trophy: Isle of Wight 34, Somerset 59 . Somerset won the bonus point on aggregate by 121-65.



The Isle of Wight team had a number of changes to that which has lost so heavily on the road so far. Jason Doyle was missing from the Islanders line up so they used R/R at number 2. Robert Kasprzak has been replaced at number 5 by Jason Bunyan while Karlis Ezergailis and Matt Wright filled the reserves spots. Somerset were on the same lines as usual after the changes they had made due to injuries.

There was a bonus point at stake in this match but to get into contention the Isle of Wight needed to pull back a 31 point deficit having lost 62-31 at the Oak Tree Arena. This never looked on the cards as the Islanders struggled from the start with their patched up side. They won the toss and that was as good as it got for them. They lost the opening heat 2-4 to the Rebels with Magnus Zetterstrom recording the first race win on the Island this year. Chris Holder was second but former Islander, Glen Phillips, took third place. The reserves race finished all square. Simon Walker won the race but the home reserves shared the heat when Ben Barker had an engine failure at the gate. Krzysztof Stojanowski won heat 3 but Somerset shared the race through Paul Fry and Stephan Katt. Jason Bunyan then won heat 4 but again the Rebels filled the minor positions for a shared heat so the heat 4 score went to 11-13.

Somerset then pulled away in devastating fashion leaving the hopes of their hosts in tatters. Heat 5 saw Zetterstrom win again and this time Glen Phillips finished behind him to score a 1-5 against Krister Marsh and Stojanowski putting the Rebels six points ahead. It got worse for the home side as Glenn Cunningham headed Chris Holder home in heat 6 with Simon Walker third for a 2-4 to stretch the visitors’ lead to eight points. Worse went to disastrous for the Islanders when Somerset took a 1-5 in heat 7 with Paul Fry and Stephan Katt winning from Karlis Ezergailis as Jason Bunyan pulled out of the race. The gap was now 12 points and it went to 14 when Glen Phillips took heat 8 from Krister Marsh with Ben Barker third for a 2-4. The score after heat 8 made dismal reading for the home support at 17-31.

Krzysztof Stojanowski took a TR for the Isle of Wight in heat 9 and offered some relief to the beleaguered home side by winning the race from Glenn Cunningham. Krister Marsh beat Simon Walker for the odd point. This gave the home side a 7-2 heat win cutting the gap between the sides to 9 points. In heat 10 the Islanders then gave Chris Holder a TR. Just when they needed a bit of luck, the Isle of Wight watched as Chris Holder pulled up with a puncture while lying second. As a result Stephan Katt and Paul Fry were left to head home Karlis Ezergailis for another 1-5 stretching the Somerset lead to 13 points. It was stretched even further in heat 11 to 17 points with yet another 1-5 from the Rebels, their fourth of the night, thanks to Magnus Zetterstrom and Glenn Phillips with Jason Bunyan back in third. Just when it seemed that it couldn’t get any worse for the home side it did! They lost a fifth 1-5 in heat 12 with Stephan Katt and Simon Walker doing the damage this time leading Krister Marsh home although this was an entertaining race as Marsh and Walker passed and repassed each other. The heat 12 score read 27-48 as the record books were consulted to find out what the biggest away win was in this tournament.

In heat 13 Glenn Cunningham was penalised for tape touching and elected to start with the 15 metre handicap. He made light work of this by passing both Chris Holder and Jason Bunyan before the second lap had been completed to join Magnus Zetterstrom for Somerset’s sixth maximum heat win and fourth on the trot. At last the Isle of Wight managed another heat advantage in heat 14. Krzysztof Stojanowski won the race from Ben Barker with Karlis Ezergailis taking advantage of Paul Fry’s problems with his machine to take third place and a 4-2 to the home side. Finally in the last heat the curtain came down on a truly miserable opening night for the Islanders with a 2-4 for Somerset. Magnus Zetterstrom completed his maximum but Chris Holder took second place from Glenn Cunningham as Krzysztof Stojanowski failed to finish.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Krzysztof Stojanowski 12 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Chris Holder 7 (5), Krister Marsh 5 (5), Karlis Ezergailis 5 (6), Jason Bunyan 4 (4), Matt Wright 1+1 (5).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 15 (5), Glenn Cunningham 10+1 (5), Stephan Katt 9+2 (4), Glen Phillips 8+2 (4), Paul Fry 7+1 (4), Simon Walker 6+1 (4), Ben Barker 4+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 20 April

The match at Sheffield where the Yorkshire Tigers were due to meet the Glasgow Tigers was washed out by rain so the only match raced was in the Premier Trophy at Redcar where the Bears were at home to Edinburgh .



Premier Trophy: Redcar 45, Edinburgh 44


Redcar still looking for their first win were at full strength as were Edinburgh who were looking to make it two away wins on the trot. In the event Redcar produced their first win of the season while Edinburgh were involved in their third consecutive match where there was only one point between the teams with the Monarchs losing two of them.

Edinburgh made a bright start to the match by winning the opening heat. Henrik Moller made a fast start to beat Gary Havelock and set a new track record into the bargain. Behind him Theo Pijper took third place from Richard Juul for a 2-4 and a two point lead for the Monarchs. They looked like taking another 2-4 in heat 2 when Derek Sneddon passed Jack Hargreaves to go on and win. However, Sean Stoddart in third place suffered an engine failure so the heat was shared. Heat 3 was won by Matthew Wethers who passed Kevin Little on the opening lap. Tomas Suchanek scored his first home point in third place so this heat was shared too. Heat 4 resulted in the third consecutive shared heat but it was the two reserves who took first and second place. Derek Sneddon rattled up his second heat win from Daniel Giffard while Chris Kerr took third place from Rusty Harrison. This took the score after four races to 11-13.

In heat 5 Henrik Moller scored his second race win by beating Kevin Little. Again he was supported in third place by Theo Pijper for another Monarchs’ 2-4 which doubled their lead to four points. It was all square after heat 6 though when Redcar hit back with a 5-1 from Gary Havelock and Richard Juul who headed Rusty Harrison home. Monarchs hit back immediately with a 1-5 of their own to restore their four point lead. William Lawson won the race while behind him Matthew Wethers won an exciting battle for second place from Chris Kerr. They doubled the lead to eight points with another 1-5 in heat 8. Theo Pijper was adjudged to have beaten his team mate, Derek Sneddon, on the line with Daniel Giffard taking the third place point. This took the heat eight score to 20-28.

Back came Redcar in heat 9 with another 5-1 this time from Kevin Little and Tomas Suchanek who relegated the unbeaten to that point Derek Sneddon to third with Rusty Harrison at the back. The gap between the teams was now back to four points. It stayed that way when Gary Havelock headed home William Lawson and Matthew Wethers in heat 10 for a 3-3. The Monarchs gained a point in heat 11 with a race win from Theo Pijper who finished ahead of Chris Kerr. There were only two finishers after Henrik Moller looped at the gate in the first running of the race and was excluded and Daniel Giffard suffered an engine failure at the tapes in the rerun. Chris Kerr then fell but remounted for second place and a 2-3 race result. Redcar pulled back two points in heat 12 when Kevin Little beat Matthew Wethers with Jack Hargreaves taking third place from Sean Stoddart. The score after 12 races was now 34-37.

Redcar then burst in front for the first time with a heat 13 5-1. Chris Kerr and Gary Havelock scored the maximum from Henrik Moller with Derek Sneddon who replaced Rusty Harrison finishing at the back. This put the Bears a point in front with two heats to go. Back came the Monarchs with another 1-5 with Derek Sneddon winning and his partner, William Lawson, in second place ahead of Daniel Giffard. This meant that Edinburgh led 40-43 going into the last race. In the first running of the race there was first bend bunching which resulted in William Lawson being harshly excluded. In the rerun Redcar pulled the match round with another 5-1 with Gary Havelock and Kevin Little making the gate and winning from Matthew Wethers.

Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 13+1 (5), Kevin Little 12+1 (5), Chris Kerr 7+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 5 (5), Tomas Suchanek 3+2 (5), Jack Hargreaves 3 (4), Richard Juul 2+1 (4).

For Edinburgh – Derek Sneddon 12+1 (6), Matthew Wethers 9+2 (5), Theo Pijper 8 (4), William Lawson 7+1 (5), Henrik Moller 7 (4), Rusty Harrison 1 (3), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday 21 April

There were two Premier Trophy matches raced tonight, both in the Northern section. At Edinburgh the Monarchs raced Redcar while at Workington the Comets took on Newcastle . There was one other match – a Challenge match between Somerset and Rye House



Premier Trophy: Edinburgh 52, Redcar 40 Edinburgh won the bonus point on aggregate by 96-85


Edinburgh were without Rusty Harrison who was suffering from a chest infection so the Monarchs used R/R in his stead. Redcar were at full strength.

This was the second match in a ‘four matches in four days’ spell for both teams. For Edinburgh it was a night when, missing top scorer Rusty Harrison, Henrik Moller produced a brilliant performance to warm the hearts of the Monarchs fans. Had he not suffered two engine failures whilst leading just before entering the last lap he would have registered a paid 16 point return. Redcar relied heavily on class act Gary Havelock and Armadale specialist Kevin Little but it was a very entertaining match with many passes and a lot of good speedway.

Redcar made a good start. Moller led Havelock into the first turn but Havelock turned hard on the second bend and slipped up the inside to pass Moller and go on to win. Behind this pair Richard Juul rode a good race to keep Theo Pijper at the back so the Bears started with a 2-4. Derek Sneddon won the reserves race for a shared heat but heat 3 was a cracker. William Lawson was soon away for a comfortable race win but behind him there was a titanic struggle between Matthew Wethers and Kevin Little. It ended with a big swoop round the outside by Little on the last two bends which just failed as Wethers pipped him narrowly on the line for second place. The 5-1 wiped out Redcar’s lead and the Monarchs were now two in front instead. Henrik Moller led from the start in heat 4 and it looked like Edinburgh were heading for a comfortable 5-1 when, on the last bend of the third lap, Moller’s fuel tank split and he lost power as he ran out of fuel. This caused him to drift across the bend leaving Derek Sneddon insufficient room to pass. Sneddon crashed into the fence and Chris Kerr following behind came down too. The race was awarded to Sneddon so it was shared 3-3 and the heat 4 score read 13-11.

Heat 5 was another excellent race. Gary Havelock just made it to the corner ahead of William Lawson but several times during the race Lawson got his front wheel ahead of Havelock. However Gary Havelock kept him pinned to the inside of the bends which gave him the greater grip coming off the corners as he went on to win. Matthew Wethers for a good view of the action following the pair of them home for another shared race. In heat 6 Theo Pijper led from the start as Henrik Moller got stuck at the back on the opening two bends. However he soon picked off Chris Kerr and Jack Hargreaves to join Pijper and they then sailed off for a 5-1 to stretch Edinburgh’s lead to 6 points but Redcar pulled two points back in heat 7. A blistering start from Kevin Little and a ride which proved that he had not forgotten the quickest way round Armadale was too good for William Lawson. Tomas Suchanek took third place ahead of Sean Stoddart for a Bears’ 2-4 to cut the gap to four points. Edinburgh restored their 6 point lead with a ‘tapes to flag’ win from Theo Pijper in heat 8 but behind him Richard Juul rode well to fend off the challenge of Derek Sneddon for a 4-2 which took the score after eight heats to 27-21.

Matthew Wethers and William Lawson scored a 5-1 against Chris Kerr in heat 9 to put the Monarchs 10 points ahead then, in the next race Henrik Moller and Theo Pijper did likewise against Kevin Little who was on a TR. However it was only a last gasp pass on the fourth bend which took Pijper past Little who had looked secure in second place for most of the race. So instead of a 4-4 the race resulted in a 5-1 to Edinburgh which virtually sealed the win and bonus point. It was TR time again in heat 11 and, as expected, Gary Havelock wore the black and white helmet cover. This time Havelock was beaten by a fast ‘tapes to flag’ win from Theo Pijper. Derek Sneddon passed Richard Juul for the third place point so the race resulted in a 4-4. Sneddon was out again in heat 12 and won comfortably. However a much better ride from Tomas Suchanek kept Matthew Wethers in third place for another home 4-2 which took the heat 12 score to 45-29.

In heat 13 Henrik Moller outgated Gary Havelock and looked like winning when on the last bend of the third lap he shed his primary chain allowing Havelock to sail past for the win. Matthew Wethers finished second as Redcar took a 2-4. They scored another 2-4 in heat 14 when Kevin Little gated for a fine win as William Lawson could not get near enough to challenge. In the last heat Henrik Moller was again fast away but a clever bend 2 cut back from Gary Havelock took him past for the race win with Pijper and Moller following him home for a shared heat.


/b]: For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 13+1 (6), William Lawson 11+1 (5), Derek Sneddon 11 (5), Matthew Wethers 9+2, Henrik Moller 8+2 (6), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 16 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Kevin Little 8 (5), Chris Kerr 4 (4), Daniel Giffard 3+2 (4), Richard Juul 3 (4), Tomas Suchanek 3 (4), Jack Hargreaves 3 (4).



Premier Trophy: Workington 50, Newcastle 40 Workington won the bonus point by 96-87


Workington were at full strength again as were Newcastle who had Jaimie Robertson back in the side following his suspension..

Newcastle won the opening heat. George Stancl and Christian Henry made the gate but Paul Thorp passed Henry before the end of the first lap limiting the damage to a 2-4. Aidan Collins won the reserves race for a shared heat then the Comets drew level again in heat 3. James Wright produced a fine race to come from the back to beat Josef Franc with Ritchie Hawkins third for a 4-2. Another 4-2 in heat 4 saw the Comets take the lead. Garry Stead beat James Grieves who passed Aidan Collins and then had to fend off the challenge of the Workington number 7 for the rest of the race. This took the heat 4 score to 13-11.

Another James Wright win in heat 5 produced a third consecutive 4-2 with George Stancl second and Ritchie Hawkins third as the Comets surged four points ahead. James Grieves stopped the rot by winning heat 6 from Piszcz and Thorp for the first of two shared heats. Garry Stead won again in heat 7 but Franc and Hauzinger shared the points for Newcastle. In heat 8 Workington stretched their lead to six points. Tomasz Piszcz won the race with Christian Henry passing Aidan Collins for second place for a 4-2 which took the score after eight races to 27-21.

James Grieves touched the tapes in heat 9 and went from 15 metres back. James Wright won again but Ritchie Hawkins in second place suffered an engine failure so a potential home 5-1 ended in a shared race. In heat 10 Manuel Hauzinger fell and was excluded from the rerun which was won by his partner Josef Franc so the race was shared as was heat 11. Garry Stead produced his third consecutive race win to maintain the home side’s six point lead. Ritchie Hawkins came from third place to win heat 12 from Manuel Hauzinger with Aidan Collins third as the Diamonds slipped further behind. The score after the twelve heats was 40-32.

Paul Thorp and Garry Stead were heading for a 5-1 in heat 13 when Stead suffered an engine failure so the heat was shared and Newcastle now needed two 1-5s for a share of the points. They declined the option of using a Tactical Substitute which, if successful, could still have yielded a win. Josef Franc won the race spoiling James Wright’s maximum hopes in a shared race which clinched the match and bonus point. James Wright then rounded things off by winning the final race from James Grieves and Paul Thorp for a 4-2 giving Workington a 10 point win.


For Workington – James Wright 14 (5), Garry Stead 9 (4), Paul Thorp 8+2 (5), Aidan Collins 7+1 (5), Tomasz Piszcz 7 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 5 (4), Lee Derbyshire 0 (3).

For Newcastle – James Grieves 10+1 (5), Josef Franc 10 (5), George Stancl 7+2 (4), Christian Henry 5 (4), Adam McKinna 4 (5), Manuel Hauzinger 3+1 (4), Jaimie Robertson 1+1 (3).



Challenge: Somerset 53, Rye House 42


Somerset were on the usual lines as were Rye House who now have Ross Brady at number 1 in place of Stuart Robson.

Somerset opened with two 4-2s in the first three heats as wins for Zetterstrom, Walker and Fry saw them into an early four point lead. Glenn Cunningham won heat 4 but this time Steve Boxall and Chris Neath shared the points as the heat 4 score reached 14-10.

Stephan Katt and Paul Fry added a 5-1 in heat 5 with Ross Brady third to extend the home side’s lead to eight points and Magnus Zetterstrom made it six Rebels race winners on the trot in heat 6 when he beat Chris Neath. Glen Phillips was third to increase the lead to 10 points with the 4-2. In heat 7 Edward Kennett took a TR but Rye House were still left looking for their first race winner as Glenn Cunningham won the race. With Kennett second and Tommy Allen third, Rye House at least took a 3-5 heat advantage then in heat 8 the Rockets finally produced a race winner. The unlikely candidate was Jaimie Courtney who beat Ben Barker and Glen Phillips for a shared race. This took the heat 8 score to 29-21.

Rye House produced another heat advantage in heat 9. This time it was Chris Neath who won the race from Stephan Katt after Paul Fry had been excluded after looping at the start. This narrowed the gap to six points but it was back to eight with a Magnus Zetterstrom win in heat 10 when he beat Tommy Allen with Glenn Phillips relegating Edward Kennett to last place for a 4-2. Glenn Cunningham produced his third race win in heat 11 beating Jaimie Courtney and Simon Walker for another 4-2 and a home 10 point lead. Stephan Katt was the winner of heat 12 but Bowen and Kennett filled the minor places for a shared race taking the score after 12 races to 39-29.

Glenn Cunningham and Magnus Zetterstrom continued on their unbeaten way in heat 13 with a 5-1 from Chris Neath but Rye House took the big 1-8 in heat 14. Tommy Allen on a TR and Steve Boxall produced the maximum heat win to put a bit of gloss on the Rye House score with the match already done and dusted. They probably knew what was coming in heat 15 and, true to form, Zetterstrom and Cunningham rounded things off with a final maximum and an eleven point win.


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

For Rye House – Tommy Allen 9+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Chris Neath 8+1 (5), Edward Kennett 7+1 (4)(including a 4 point TR), Jaimie Courtney 7 (4), Steve Boxall 6+1 (5), Luke Bowen 4+1 (4), Ross Brady 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 22 April

There were three meetings staged tonight. Two of them were Northern section Premier Trophy matches. The first was at Berwick where the Bandits raced Redcar while at Stoke the Potters took on Edinburgh . The third meeting was at Rye House where the Qualifier for the Championship of Great Britain was held.


Premier Trophy: Berwick 53, Redcar 43


Berwick had new signing Stanislaw Burza at number 1 in place of Adrian Rymel who has been dropped from the side. Redcar tracked the same team for the third night in a row.

Stanislaw Burza’s debut ride lasted two bends when he shed a chain. This left Gary Havelock to win the race from David Meldrum as the Bears took a 2-4 from the opening race for the second consecutive night. Berwick squared the match in heat 2 with a 4-2 from Craig Branney who won from Daniel Giffard and Daniel Warwick. Berwick then took the lead with a 5-1 against the weak Chris Kerr + reserve pairing with Craig Branney winning for the second time in a row and Andreas Bergstrom following him home. The heat 4 score was 14-10.

Another 5-1 followed in heat 5 from Michal Makovsky and Lee Smethills who both made a fast start. Try as he might Gary Havelock could not catch Smethills so the Bears fell eight points behind. The lead stretched to 12 points in heat 6 with another Berwick 5-1. This time it was new boy Burza who scored his first points for his new team ahead of David Meldrum with Chris Kerr third. Redcar then gave a TR to Tomas Suchanek who came up with the goods with a win ahead of Andreas Bergstrom and Daniel Warwick for a 3-6 advantage to the Bears to cut the gap to 9 points. They made further inroads to the Berwick lead in heat 8 with a 2-4 race win. Berwick were in a 5-1 winning position when David Meldrum lost his footing and crashed into the fence. In the rerun Richard Juul headed home Craig Branney with Daniel Giffard picking up the gift third place. This took the score after 8 heats to 29-22.

Any hopes the Bears might have had were crushed in the next two heats both of which finished as 5-1s to the Bandits. In heat 9 Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky were never troubled as Chris Kerr finished third then in heat 10 it was Stanislaw Burza and David Meldrum who took maximum points from Kevin Little with Tomas Suchanek finishing last this time! In heat 11 Gary Havelock took a TR and had little trouble registering the win. Andreas Bergstrom lost second place when he pulled out with an engine failure so Richard Juul followed Daniel Warwick home for the third place which gave the Bears a 2-7 cutting the home side’s lead to 10 points. Kevin Little then burst into life with a heat 12 race win for a share of the points which took the score to 44-34. It was Gary Havelock again in heat 13. Andreas Bergstrom finally got past his partner, Stanislaw Burza, to pass Chris Kerr but the result was a 2-4 to the visitors who had cut the lead to eight points again. Michal Makovsky continued his rich vein of form with another race win in heat 14 but Tomas Suchanek finished second and, when Daniel Warwick drifted too wide on the pits bend on the third lap, Jack Hargreaves passed him for third place and a shared race. In the last heat Michal Makovsky passed the faster starting Gary Havelock to win by a distance in the fastest time of the night. Stanislaw Burza finished third ahead of Tomas Suchanek for a 4-2 which gave Berwick a ten point lead for the bonus in the return match at Redcar.


Scorers : For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 14+1 (5), Craig Branney 10 (4), Stanislaw Burza 7 (5), David Meldrum 6+2 (4), Lee Smethills 6+2 (4), Andreas Bergstrom 6+1 (4), Daniel Warwick 4+1 (4)

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 15 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Tomas Suchanek 10 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Kevin Little 5+1 (4), Richard Juul 5 (4), Chris Kerr 4 (4), Daniel Giffard 3 (4), Jack Hargreaves 1+1 (4).



Premier Trophy: Stoke 44, Edinburgh 49


Stoke were without Alan Mogridge who had pulled out of the Championship of Great Britain qualifier at Rye House to ride for the Potters. The BSPA took a dim view of his withdrawal, however, and banned him from riding in this match. Stoke were allowed to use R/R in his place. Edinburgh were at full strength.

Edinburgh got off to a good start when Henrik Moller made the gate in heat 1 and held off the challenge of Mark Lemon to win the race. Theo Pijper picked up third place from Michael Coles for a 2-4 and a two point Edinburgh lead. Derek Sneddon won the reserves race for a shared heat but Stoke pulled level in heat 3. Robbie Kessler made the start with William Lawson chasing hard. At the back an exciting race between Paul Clews and Matthew Wethers ended with the Stoke man taking the point for a 4-2. Paul Clews led heat 4 chased by Derek Sneddon but Sneddon fell on the third lap and the race was awarded to Clews with Rusty Harrison in second and Luke Priest picking up the gift third place point. The 4-2 put the Potters two points in front as the heat 4 score was 13-11.

In heat 5 it was all square again as Edinburgh scored another 2-4. Theo Pijper beat Robbie Kessler and Henrik Moller consigned Paul Clews to the back but after heat 6 the Potters were back in front again. Mark Lemon made the gate from Rusty Harrison with Michael Coles third and that’s how it finished with Stoke taking a 4-2 from the heat and a two point lead again. The Potters then pulled six points in front with the first 5-1 of the match. Barrie Evans got a flyer from the gate leaving Robbie Kessler and Matthew Wethers to contest second place. The referee gave it to Kessler on the run in - a decision which was not met with universal agreement. Edinburgh immediately hit back with a 1-5 of their own. Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon both made fast starts leaving Michael Coles in their wake so the score after eight heats was 25-23.

Rusty Harrison made a good start to heat 9 and went on to win the race from Clews and Kessler and a shared heat but in heat 10 Edinburgh rocked the home side with another 1-5. William Lawson led the race and the battle was at the back where Mark Lemon chased Matthew Wethers hard for second place. Just as Lemon finally got past for what looked like second place his bike packed up so Wethers took second place back again. This result wiped out Stoke’s lead and saw Edinburgh lead by two points at 29-31. Mark Lemon was out again in heat 11. Henrik Moller took an early lead but Lemon passed him for the race win. With Moller and Theo Pijper filling the minor places the Monarchs stayed two points up. They stretched the lead to four points in heat 12 when Matthew Wethers won the heat from Barrie Evans who passed the hard-worked Derek Sneddon for second place. This 2-4 took the score after 12 heats to 34-38.

Heat 13 produced another shock for the home side. In the first attempt to get the race under way Rusty Harrison jumped the start and was excluded by the referee. In came Derek Sneddon again and together with Henrik Moller they gated leaving Mark Lemon trailing in their wake for the 1-5 which stretched the Monarchs’ lead to eight points at 35-43. This allowed Mark Lemon to be introduced in heat 14 as a Tactical Substitute starting from 15 metres back joining Robbie Kessler in an effort to get back into contention. It was Derek Sneddon and William Lawson who made the gate but, although Mark Lemon did eventually pass both the Edinburgh riders on the last bend, it was too late because Robbie Kessler had pulled up with an engine failure. This resulted in a 3-6 but it was too little too late as the Monarchs held a 5 point lead going into the last race needing only a finisher to guarantee the win. In the event the last heat was won by Mark Lemon with Rusty Harrison and Theo Pijper sharing the points behind him. Mark Lemon had incredibly contrived to ride in five of the last six heats starting in heat 10 and missing only heat 12.


Scorers: For Stoke – Mark Lemon 18 (7)(including a 6 point TS ride), Robbie Kessler 8+2 (5), Barrie Evans 8 (7), Paul Clews 6 (5), Luke Priest 2+1 (3), Michael Coles 2 (3).

For Edinburgh – Derek Sneddon 11+1 (6), Theo Pijper 9+2 (5), Rusty Harrison 9 (5), Henrik Moller 8+1 (4), Matthew Wethers 6+1 (4), William Lawson 6+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).



Championship of Great Britain (Qualifier) at Rye House

Winner: Edward Kennett
Second: Paul Hurry
Third: Garry Stead
Fourth: Chris Neath

Other qualifiers: Oliver Allen and Ricky Ashworth

This meeting took the form of a 16 rider 20 heat individual with each rider taking 5 rides and meeting all the others once during his programmed rides. The top four point scorers went into a grand final with the next two also qualifying for the next stage.


Scorers in the qualifying heats: Edward Kennett 14, Chris Neath 13, Garry Stead 11, Paul Hurry 10, Oliver Allen 9, Ricky Ashworth 9, Daniel King 8, Carl Wilkinson 8, Andre Compton 8, Andrew Moore 7, Phil Morris 6, James Grieves 6, Glenn Cunningham 5, James Wright 3, Shaun Tacey 2, Paul Thorp 1.

[Merlin]

Sunday, 23 April

There were three Premier Trophy matches and one Premier League match raced today. First off was the Premier League match at Newport the Wasps faced Edinburgh . Next to start was the match at Mildenhall where the Fen Tigers took on Somerset . The third match was at Glasgow where the Tigers raced against Stoke . Finally the last match to begin was the one at Newcastle where the Diamonds had Redcar as their visitors.


Premier League: Newport 62, Edinburgh 31


Both Newport and Edinburgh were able to track full strength sides for this match which was Edinburgh’s fourth in four days.

Newport got off to an incredible start winning each of the first four heats by the 5-1 margin. Neil Collins and Chris Schramm opened with a 5-1 from Henrik Moller then in heat 2 Sean Stoddart fell after running into Joel Parsons and was excluded causing the race to be rerun with three riders. Derek Sneddon was well in front in the rerun until the last lap when his bike began to splutter and threw him off so the Wasps roared into an eight point lead with another 5-1. It got worse for Edinburgh when they conceded another 5-1 in heat 3. Matthew Wethers fell on the third bend and was excluded from the rerun in which Tony Atkin and Carl Wilkinson stretched the Wasps’ lead to 12 points. The rout continued in heat 4 when Rusty Harrison laid down on the second bend in order to avoid hitting Derek Sneddon who had fallen in front of him. Incredibly the race was not stopped and they both remounted. Craig Watson and Billy Legg headed home Rusty Harrison as Derek Sneddon retired from the race to take the score after the opening four heats to 20-4 with the Edinburgh riders having recorded five falls over these heats.

In heat 5 Theo Pijper took a TR and produced the full six points by beating Carl Wilkinson and Tony Atkin with Moller at the back. The 3-6 provided Edinburgh with some relief but they suffered another disaster in heat 6. Rusty Harrison took a TR but finished behind Neil Collins and Chris Schramm so Newport took their fifth 5-1 in six heats to stretch the lead to 17 points as Edinburgh looked to be heading for a long, tortuous afternoon with both TRs used. Heat 7 produced the first shared race. Craig Watson won but Mathew Wethers and William Lawson kept Joel Parsons at the back. In heat 8 Chris Schramm and Billy Legg continued on their unbeaten way with a sixth Newport 5-1 as Theo Pijper finished third and Derek Sneddon retired again. This took the score after 8 heats to 36-15.

Heat 9 produced another home advantage. Carl Wilkinson won the race from Rusty Harrison with Tony Atkin third for a 4-2 which stretched the home side’s lead to 23 points. William Lawson won heat 11 ruining the maximum hopes of Chris Schramm and Neil Collins who filled the minor places for a shared race but Newport scored another 4-2 in heat 11. Craig Watson won the race from Theo Pijper but Joel Parsons took third place from Henrik Moller. In heat 12 William Lawson took a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back but it was unproductive since Carl Wilkinson and Billy Legg raced off for another 5-1 to the Wasps to take the score after heat 12 to 52-23.

Heat 13 provided the home side’s eighth 5-1 when Craig Watson and Neil Collins relegated Rusty Harrison to third place with Edinburgh now looking highly unlikely to reach the 30 point mark. In the first running of heat 14 William Lawson was well ahead when Derek Sneddon fell again causing the race to be stopped and rerun. Before the rerun Lawson’s bike packed up and he had to ride Theo Pijper’s machine. Joel Parsons won the heat for the Wasps from Lawson with Tony Atkin third. The Wasps’ 4-2 opened a 35 point gap between the teams. Then incredibly, after all that had gone on before, Edinburgh scored a 1-5 in heat 15 when Theo Pijper and Rusty Harrison beat Neil Collins and Craig Watson to take their total over the 30 point mark after all!


Scorers: For Newport – Craig Watson 12 (5), Neil Collins 10+2 (5), Carl Wilkinson 10+1 (4), Chris Schramm 9+2 (4), Joel Parsons 9+1 (5), Billy Legg 6+3 (3), Tony Atkin 6+1 (4).

For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 12 (5)(including a 6 point TR), William Lawson 8+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 7+1 (5), Matthew Wethers 2 (4), Derek Sneddon 1 (3), Henrik Moller 1 (4), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Mildenhall 54, Somerset 41 Mildenhall won the bonus point on aggregate by 97-91


Mildenhall and Somerset tracked their usual sides for this return match for which Somerset held a 7 point lead in search of the bonus.

There was some doubt whether this match would go ahead due to a combination of rain and power failure which affected the red and green lights. Eventually the rain eased and they were prepared to run with the good old elastic and flags. However the power came back on so there was no need.

The opening four heats were all shared. Magnus Zetterstrom won the opening race from James Brundle and Jason Lyons then Jon Armstrong took the reserves’ race. In heat 3 Shaun Tacey locked up on the fourth bend causing Jason King to collide with him. Tacey was excluded as the race was rerun with Jason King heading home the Somerset pair of Stephan Katt and Paul Fry. Daniel King took heat 4 but not until he had made a fantastic ride round the boards on the last bend to pass Glenn Cunningham who had led from the start. This took the score after 4 heats to 12-12.

Somerset finally broke the deadlock in heat 5. Magnus Zetterstrom won again, this time from Jason King, while Glen Phillips finished ahead of Shaun Tacey for a 2-4 and a 2 point lead. The lead didn’t last long. In heat 6 Jason Lyons and James Brundle took a 5-1 with Glenn Cunningham just losing out for second place on the line. This put Mildenhall two points ahead. They added another 5-1 in heat 7 from Daniel King and Jon Armstrong who had a ding-dong battle with Stephan Katt for second place to surge 6 points ahead before Glen Phillips won heat 8 for Somerset. He received no support so the race was shared and the heat 8 score had moved to 27-21.

In heat 9 on-form reserve Jon Armstrong replaced Shaun Tacey for Mildenhall and he followed Jason King home for yet another Fen Tigers’ 5-1 which stretched the score 32-22. Somerset had fallen out of the match and they conceded another 5-1 in heat 10 when Jason Lyons and James Brundle repeated their success of heat 6 to stretch the home side’s lead further to 14 points. It was time for Somerset to wheel out the old black and white helmet cover and sure enough Magnus Zetterstrom appeared wearing it in heat 11. He continued on his untroubled way winning the heat from Daniel King. With Glen Phillips relegating Jon Armstrong to the back the Rebels took a 2-7 cutting the Fen Tigers’ lead to 9 points and putting themselves only two down on aggregate. In heat 12 it was Stephan Katt’s turn for a TR. Although he was beaten by Jon Armstrong making amends for his heat 11 blob Simon Walker took third from Shaun Tacey and the Rebels took a 3-5 which took the heat 12 score to 42-35 and squared the aggregate scores.

Magnus Zetterstrom won again in heat 13 but Glenn Cunningham finished behind Jason Lyons and Daniel King so the heat was shared. In heat 14 Mildenhall took an important 4-2. The match result was done and dusted but the matter of the bonus point was still in the balance. Jon Armstrong won again from Paul Fry with Jason King third to give the Fen Tigers a two point bonus point advantage going into the last heat. In heat 15, Jason Lyons and Daniel King finally lowered Magnus Zetterstrom’s colours relegating him to third place for a 5-1 and all three points went to the home side.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Jon Armstrong 13+2 (5), Jason Lyons 12+1 (5), Daniel King 11+2 (5), Jason King 9 (4), James Brundle 8+2 (4), Barry Burchatt 1+1 (3), Shaun Tacey 0 (3).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 16 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Stephan Katt 7 (4)(including a 4 point TR), Glenn Phillips 5 (4), Paul Fry 4+1 (4), Glenn Cunningham 4 (5), Ben Barker 3+1 (4), Simon Walker 2+1 (4).



Premier Trophy: Glasgow 56, Stoke 36


Glasgow were at full strength as were Stoke who had Alan Mogridge back in the side following the BSPA’s refusal to let him ride for the Potters last night.

Glasgow were quickly off the mark in this match. They took the first race 4-2 with a comfortable Danny Bird win from Mark Lemon after the race had been rerun following a first bend fall for Lemon after he’d been nudged by Bird. This was followed by a reserves race 5-1 won by James Cockle but Stoke then produced the winners of the next four heats. Robbie Kessler won heat 3 for a 3-3 then Alan Mogridge had an intelligent win against Shane Parker in heat 4 which was also shared making the heat 4 score 15-9.

Mark Lemon won heat 5 from Nieminen and Dicken with Michael Coles falling at the back for another shared heat then it became four shared races on the trot when Alan Mogridge won heat 6 after the early race leader, Danny Bird, lost power. Glasgow effectively killed off the match with consecutive 5-1s in heats 7 and 8. In the first Robert Ksiezak made the gate and Shane Parker sat behind him as Paul Clews followed them home after Robbie Kessler had pulled up with machine problems. David McAllan and James Cockle had a tapes to flag maximum in heat 8 as the score reached 31-17.

Stoke then reached for the black and white helmet and gave the unbeaten Alan Mogridge a TR in heat 9. He wasn’t unbeaten after this race as Kauko Nieminen passed him for a fine win. Mogridge did take second and when Lee Dicken got into a spot of bother Barrie Evans came through to third place for a 3-5 heat advantage for the Potters cutting the gap to 12 points. Danny Bird led heat 10 but suffered an engine failure leaving Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler sitting on a 1-5. However David McAllan brought the house down by first reeling in Kessler then chasing and passing Clews as well to win the race and share the points. Disaster struck Stoke in heat 11. Mark Lemon on a TR made a poor start but raced round the outside of Robert Ksiezak on the second bend to chase Shane Parker. However he ran out of room, crashed into the fence, and fell heavily causing him to withdraw from the meeting. In the rerun Michael Coles split the Parker/Ksiezak pairing as Glasgow took a 4-2 and a 14 point lead. In heat 12 Robert Ksiezak and James Cockle looked to be heading for another 5-1 but on the last bend James Cockle’s engine casing disintegrated causing him to lose control and fall. This left Clews and Evans to follow Ksiezak over the line for a shared race as the heat 12 score went to 44-30.

A Bird/Parker 5-1 from the gate put the Tigers further ahead and they scored a 4-2 in heat 14 with Kauko Nieminen taking his score to double figures with a win over Robbie Kessler. In the last race Shane Parker was soon off and running but behind him Alan Mogridge roared round Danny Bird to follow Robbie Kessler home for another shared heat and a 20 point defeat.


Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 12+2 (5), Robert Ksiezak 10+1 (5), Kauko Nieminen 10 (4), David McAllan 9 (4), Danny Bird 7+1 (5), James Cockle 6+2 (4), Lee Dicken 2+2 (4).

For Stoke – Alan Mogridge 12+1 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Robbie Kessler 8+1 (5), Mark Lemon 5 (3), Paul Clews 5 (4), Barrie Evans 3+1 (5), Michael Coles 3 (4), Luke Priest 0 (4).



Premier Trophy: Newcastle 53, Redcar 42


Newcastle and Redcar were both at full strength for this meeting which was the Bears’ fourth match in four days.


No details of this meeting are currently available other than that it was an excellent meeting with some breathtaking racing and lots of passing. Christian Henry recorded the fastest time of the season when he defeated Gary Havelock in heat 1. The highlights of the meeting were the tussles between James Grieves and Gary Havelock.

In heat 11 Grieves got the better of the Redcar number 1 executing an brilliant pass but the tables were turned when they met again in heat 13. In heat 15 it was James Grieves again who looked like beating Havelock but Josef Franc fell while challenging Havelock for second place causing the race to be rerun. At the second time of asking Gary Havelock made a fast start to win the race.


Scorers: For Newcastle – James Grieves 13 (5), Jaimie Robertson 11+3, Christian Henry 8+1, Josef Franc 8, George Stancl 7+1, Manuel Hauzinger 3+1, Adam McKinna 3+1

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 16 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Kevin Little 12 (including a 4 point TR), Tomas Suchanek 5+1, Chris Kerr 3+1, Jack Hargreaves 3, Daniel Giffard 2, Richard Juul 2.

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 25 April

The Isle of Wight staged their second home match of the season tonight – a Premier Trophy match against Rye House .



Premier Trophy: Isle of Wight 43, Rye House 50 Rye house won the bonus point by 102-63


The Isle of Wight were able to field a much stronger side than the one which was turned over last Tuesday night by Somerset. They had Jason Doyle back at number two following his injury at King’s Lynn and the reserve berths were filled by Daniel Giffard and Nick Simmons. Rye House were on the usual lines and were strong favourites for the bonus point with a 32 point lead.

After a fairly torrid time since his signing by Rye House, Ross Brady won the opening heat from Jason Doyle and Chris Holder to share the points but the Rockets took the lead in heat 2. Steve Boxall won the race from Daniel Giffard but at the back Nick Simmons, in third place, suffered an engine failure while under pressure from Luke Bowen so the race resulted in a 2-4 for a two point advantage to the visitors. That typing nightmare Krzysztof Stojanowski won heat 3 but Tommy Allen and Edward Kennett tucked in behind to share the heat. In heat 4 Rye House went further in front. Nick Simmons had another engine failure, this time at the starting gate, as Steve Boxall and Chris Neath headed off for a 1-5. Jason Bunyan passed Neath on the third lap to limit the damage to a 2-4 but the Rockets now had a four point lead with the score after four heats at 10-14.

The Isle of Wight clawed two points back in heat 5. Another fast start by Ross Brady looked like it might produce another race win but Krzysztof Stojanowski passed him on the third lap. With Krister Marsh third from Jaimie Courtney it was a 4-2 for the home side which cut the Rockets’ lead to two points. Heat 6 produced an excellent battle between Chris Neath and Chris Holder. The Islanders’ number 1 finally caught his Rye House opponent on the last bend of the last lap for the win but since Jason Doyle had suffered an engine failure at the tapes it was only good enough for a 3-3. Tommy Allen won heat 7 for the Rockets but Daniel Giffard and Jason Bunyan finished behind him as Edward Kennett had an engine failure at the back on the third lap. Just when the Islanders needed to keep their challenge going they lost a bad 1-5 in heat 8. Jason Doyle was excluded under the two minute rule so the home side went with their two reserves. For Rye House, Jaimie Courtney raced off to win the heat and he was followed home by Steve Boxall who was now unbeaten by an opponent from three rides. The maximum heat loss found the home side six points down with the score after eight heats reading 21-27.

Chris Neath and Luke Bowen made fast starts to heat 9 but on the fourth bend Bowen was passed by both Stojanowski and Marsh for a share of the points which kept the Rockets six points in front but they went further ahead with a 2-4 in heat 10. Edward Kennett won the race but Chris Holder and Jason Doyle looked like sharing the heat until Jason Doyle had another engine failure letting Tommy Allen through for third place. This put Rye House eight points ahead and the Islanders were in big trouble again. Ross Brady leapt from the gate in heat 11 but Jason Bunyan passed him on the second lap. Jaimie Courtney took third place for a shared heat so there was still no joy for the home side. A further worry for the home fans was the announcement that Jason Doyle was still struggling with his injuries and had gone to hospital for a check up.

Heat 12 was another sore one for the Isle of Wight. Edward Kennett and Steve Boxall scored a 1-5 against Krister Marsh to increase Rye House’s lead to 12 points with just three heats to go. In heat 13 the Islanders gave a TR to Chris Holder and they gave their fans something to shout about when he and Jason Bunyan scored the big 8-1 against Chris Neath and Ross Brady. This knocked seven points off the visitors’ lead which meant that there were now just 5 points between the teams. It was all over though in heat 14 when Steve Boxall completed a paid maximum by beating Krzysztof Stojanowski with Tommy Allen third for the 2-4 which clinched the points for the visitors. Edward Kennett wrapped things up with a heat 15 win with Chris Holder and Jason Bunyan taking the minor places for a shared heat.

Scorers: For The Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 14+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 10 (4), Jason Bunyan 9+3 (5), Daniel Giffard 5 (5), Krister Marsh 3+1 (4), Jason Doyle 2 (4), Nick Simmons 0 (4).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 13+2 (5), Edward Kennett 10+1 (5), Ross Brady 7 (4), Tommy Allen 7 (4), Chris Neath 7 (5), Jaimie Courtney 4+1 (4), Luke Bowen 2+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Wednesday 26 April

There were two Premier Trophy matches raced tonight. At Redcar the Bears faced Berwick while at King’s Lynn the Stars took on Mildenhall .



Premier Trophy: Redcar 54, Berwick 39 . Redcar won the bonus point on aggregate by 97-92.


Both teams were at full strength for this match. Redcar, having raced four matches in four days over last weekend, had enjoyed the luxury of two days off before returning to action. For Berwick much interest centred on how new signing Stanislaw Burza would fare on the smaller tracks after his successful debut for the Bandits last Saturday night at Shielfield Park. Berwick carried forward a ten point lead in their quest for the bonus point.

Stanislaw Burza took the opening heat from Gary Havelock equalling Henrik Moller’s track record time into the bargain. Richard Juul finished third so the heat was shared but the Bears took a 5-1 in heat 2. Daniel Warwick slipped to the back allowing Daniel Giffard to join his partner, Jack Hargreaves, up front with Craig Branney third to put the home side four points in front. Berwick pulled two points back in heat 3when Lee Smethills won the race from Kevin Little who had to pass Michal Makovsky for second place and a 2-4 following which the meeting was held up for some time for the track to be watered and graded. On the resumption the Bears doubled their lead to four points with a 4-2. Daniel Giffard beat Andreas Bergstrom with Chris Kerr in third place to take the score after four races to 14-10.

The track had now turned into a battle from the gate with the inside line totally dominant. In heat 5 Stanislaw Burza made another fast start and led all the way. Tomas Suchanek following behind had a go at passing the Berwick number 1 but settled for second with Kevin Little third for a shared heat. Redcar then put some distance between themselves and the Bandits with a 5-1 from Gary Havelock and Richard Juul ahead of Andreas Bergstrom who had blown his engine in the pits prior to the start of the meeting. The Bears now led by eight points but Berwick hit back with a 1-5 in heat 7 when Lee Smethills won for the second time and was followed home by Michal Makovsky who passed Chris Mills for the second place points. In heat 8 Craig Branney led briefly but was passed by Richard Juul. Daniel Giffard finished third after David Meldrum had fallen in a hard first bend battle with Juul. The resultant 4-2 increased the home side’s lead to six points as the heat 8 score went to 27-21.

Redcar began to turn their thought s to the bonus point when they stretched their lead to ten points with a heat 9 5-1 from Tomas Suchanek and Kevin Little with the unfortunate Bergstrom finishing third after being passed by Kevin Little on the fourth bend. In heat 10 Berwick had Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky out and it looked like they might cut the Bears’ lead when they hit the front. However Gary Havelock made an excellent pass on both of them on the third and fourth bends to win the race and share the heat. This led to a TR for the unbeaten Stanislaw Burza in heat 11 with Berwick replacing David Meldrum with Craig Branney against the vulnerable Bears’ third pairing. In the event the Bandits made a real mess of it. Hargreaves and Kerr made the gate for the Bears but on the third and fourth bends Branney drifted wide and blocked his partner Burza who was thereafter unable to mount a challenge. As a result, instead of having their lead cut, the Bears stretched it with the 5-1 to 14 points.
In heat 12 Lee Smethills took another TR for the Bandits and a splendid race ensued. Daniel Warwick made the start and moved the two home riders over for Lee Smethills to pass through and hit the front. Suchanek passed Warwick and pursued Smethills all the way finishing only a bike’s length down. Meanwhile Warwick blocked Daniel Giffard as he tried to pass him so the heat finished as a 2-7 to Berwick who pulled back to 9 points in arrears and one ahead on aggregate as the heat 12 score went to 42-33.

In heat 13 Redcar moved one point ahead on aggregate with a 4-2 which put them 11 points in front. Gary Havelock saw off Stanislaw Burza while at the back Chris Kerr passed Andreas Bergstrom. Michal Makovsky won heat 14 for the Bandits but Kevin Little and Jack Hargreaves finished in the minor places ahead of Craig Branney so Redcar needed to do no worse than draw the final heat to pick up their first ever bonus point. They got it too as Gary Havelock and Kevin Little made the gate leading Lee Smethills and Stanislaw Burza home for a 5-1 and a 15 point win.

Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 14 (5), Kevin Little 9+3 (5), Jack Hargreaves 7+1 (4), Tomas Suchanek 7 (4), Richard Juul 6+2 (4), Daniel Giffard 6+1 (4), Chris Kerr 5+1 (4).

For Berwick – Lee Smethills 15 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Stanislaw Burza 8 (5), Michal Makovsky 7+2 (4), Andreas Bergstrom 4 (4), Craig Branney 4 (5), Daniel Warwick 1 (4), David Meldrum 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: King’s Lynn 48, Mildenhall 42 .

The war of words which had preceded this match added some spice to the proceedings. Both King’s Lynn and Mildenhall were at full strength for a match which could well have a big bearing on who qualifies from the section stage of this competition to the semi-finals..

What a start for Mildenhall! James Brundle led from tapes to flag while Jason Lyons passed Daniel Nermark for a 1-5 start, something of a rarity for visiting teams to Saddlebow Road. Super reserve Jon Armstrong won heat 2 from Chris Mills and Simon Lambert with Barry Burchatt falling on the opening lap so the heat was shared. An eventful heat 3 was won by Shaun Tacey, returning to his former track, after a titanic struggle with Kevin Doolan. Behind them Troy Batchelor got up to pass Jason King on the line to prevent the Stars from falling further behind as the points were shared 3-3. Tomas Topinka then won heat 4 from the gate but Daniel King and Jon Armstrong finished behind him for another shared race as the score went to 10-14 after four races.

Things looked like improving for the home side in heat 5 as Doolan and Batchelor got to the front but Troy Batchelor fell on the fourth bend and Jason Brundle ran into him. Batchelor was excluded from the rerun but Kevin Doolan won it from Brundle and Lyons for the fourth shared heat in a row. In heat 6, however, the Stars drew level. Daniel Nermark hit the front with Trevor Harding following ahead of Daniel King for a 5-1 but it was back to a shared heat in heat 7 when Tomas Topinka won from Jason King and Shaun Tacey. Heat 8 was rerun after an unsatisfactory start and it resulted in another 5-1 to the Stars when Trevor Harding and Chris Mills saw off James Brundle and Jon Armstrong, a result which must have been a big disappointment to the Fen Tigers. The heat 8 score stood at 26-22 with the home side now hoping to pull further ahead with the bonus point in mind as the interval arrived.

During the interval it was announced that Troy Batchelor had withdrawn from the meeting suffering from concussion so Chris Mills replaced him in heat 9. Daniel King won the heat from Kevin Doolan while Chris Mills picked up third from Barry Burchatt who retired from the heat so the points were shared. A rerun heat 10 was won by Trevor Harding from Jason King. Daniel Nermark forced his way past both the Mildenhall riders before making a hash of the fourth bend which saw him relegated to the back. However he recovered to get past Shaun Tacey again so King’ Lynn took a 4-2 which stretched their lead to six points. Mildenhall pulled two points back in heat 11. Jason Lyons won the race after a passing and repassing bout with Tomas Topinka while James Brundle was awarded third when the race was stopped after he had run into Chris Mills who had fallen in front of him. This cut the gap to 4 points. Heat 12 was rerun with all four back after Chris Mills had fallen on the first bend after a clash with Jon Armstrong. In the rerun Mildenhall squared the match with a 1-5 from Shaun Tacey and Jon Armstrong. Chris Mills did his best to pass Armstrong for second place without success so the heat 12 score went to 36-36 and it was all to race for in the final three heats.

It was first blood to King’s Lynn with a 4-2 in heat 13. Tomas Topinka led from the gate with Jason Lyons in second place and Daniel Nermark third so the Stars moved two points ahead again. There was no change in heat 14 when Kevin Doolan passed Daniel King for the win. Chris Mills suffered an engine failure while in third place so the race was shared and heat 15 became a last heat decider. King’s Lynn went with Kevin Doolan and Tomas Topinka while Mildenhall had Daniel King and Jason Lyons. The Stars breathed a sigh of relief as Tomas Topinka and Kevin Doolan came through safely for a 5-1 ahead of Daniel King and a six point win.


Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 14 (5), Kevin Doolan 12+1 (5), Trevor Harding 8+1 (4), Chris Mills 6+2 (6), Daniel Nermark 6 (4), Troy Batchelor 1+1 (2), Simon Lambert 1+1 (4).

For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 8+2 (5), Jon Armstrong 7+3 (5), Shaun Tacey 7+1 (4), Daniel King 7+1 (5), James Brundle 7 (4), Jason King 6 (4), Barry Burchatt 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Thursday, April 27



There was only one Premier Trophy match raced tonight and that was at Sheffield in a battle of the Tigers with the Yorkshire variety meeting the Scottish variety as Glasgow were the visitors.



Premier Trophy: Sheffield 54, Glasgow 41 . Sheffield won the bonus point on aggregate by 98-92.


Sheffield were at full strength for this match as were Glasgow with James Cockle having recovered from his injuries from last Sunday. Glasgow were defending a seven point lead from their home victory over Sheffield in their search for the bonus point.

Danny Bird won the opening race for a 3-3 but Sheffield took a 5-1 in the reserves race won by Benji Compton from Paul Cooper for a four point lead. Kauko Nieminen passed Emiliano Sanchez in heat 3 and the Sheffield rider then suffered an engine failure. However the race was won by Kyle Legault so this race was shared too. In heat 4 Andre Compton beat Shane Parker and, with Benji Compton taking third place from James Cockle, the home side increased their lead to 6 points with the 4-2 bringing the heat 4 score to 12-6.

In heat 5 Emiliano Sanchez was penalised for touching the tapes and went from 15 metres back. Danny Bird won for the second time beating Kyle Legault but Emiliano Sanchez pulled back the handicap to pass David McAllan whose bike promptly packed up resulting in another 3-3. In heat 6 a virtuoso ride from Shane Parker saw him pass both Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson for another shared race but Sheffield increased their lead to eight points in heat 7 with an Andre Compton win from Kauko Nieminen with Paul Cooper taking third place as Lee Dicken suffered an engine failure. Eight down Glasgow adopted their usual procedure in these circumstances by immediately giving Shane Parker an extra ride as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back in heat 8 in place of David McAllan. This was not a success though. Ben Wilson and Benji Compton scored a 5-1 as Parker suffered an engine failure at the end of the third lap while lying third. As a result Sheffield were now 12 points in front with the heat 8 score reading 30-18.

Heat 9 saw Shane Parker beaten into second place by Kyle Legault. Behind them Emiliano Sanchez chased and passed Robert Ksiezak finally getting by the Glasgow reserve on the last lap. This extended the home side’s lead to 14 points and it stayed that way when Kauko Nieminen won heat 10 from Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson. In heat 11 Glasgow played their first TR card as the unbeaten Danny Bird took the ride. However he was beaten into second place by Andre Compton but, with David McAllan taking third place from Paul Cooper, Glasgow took a 3-5 advantage to cut two points from the Sheffield lead. They pulled another two points back in heat 12 although it looked at one stage as though Glasgow would register a 1-5. In the first running of the race Benji Compton fell and was excluded from the rerun. In the rerun it was James Cockle and Robert Ksiezak who led for the visitors but Emiliano Sanchez got past Ksiezak on the last bend to limit the damage to a 2-4. This brought the heat 12 score to 42-32 and Glasgow now trailed by only three points for the bonus.

The Scottish Tigers’ hopes were dashed when Sheffield took a comfortable 5-1 in heat 13 from Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth ahead of Shane Parker and Danny Bird. It was now time for Glasgow to play their second TR card and this time Kauko Nieminen took the full six points by beating Kyle Legault who was having a tussle with James Cockle behind him. Cockle eventually finished third ahead of Paul Cooper so Glasgow scored a 2-7 which cut the gap to nine points leaving a last heat decider for the bonus point with Sheffield now only two points ahead. Glasgow fielded Danny Bird and Kauko Nieminen in the last race but they could only watch as Ricky Ashworth and Andre Compton led the way home for a 5-1 to clinch all three points.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Kyle Legault 10 (4), Ricky Ashworth 9+3 (5), Ben Wilson 8+1 (4), Benji Compton 6+1 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 4+1 (4), Paul Cooper 3+1 (4).

For Glasgow – Kauko Nieminen 14 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Danny Bird 10 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Shane Parker 8 (5), James Cockle 6 (5), Lee Dicken 1+1 (3), David McAllan 1 (3), Robert Ksiezak 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Friday, 28 April

There was one Premier Trophy match and one Premier League match raced tonight. At Edinburgh the Monarchs faced Newcastle in a Premier Trophy, Northern section match while at Somerset the Rebels started their Premier League campaign against Workington



Premier Trophy Edinburgh 51, Newcastle 44 . Edinburgh won the bonus point on aggregate by 98-87.


Edinburgh tracked the same team as usual following the on-off saga of the signing of John Oliver. Sean Stoddart continued at number 6. Newcastle were without Manuel Hauzinger who was riding on the continent so they used Rider Replacement at number 3..

This was an unexpectedly comfortable win for Edinburgh for whom Theo Pijper was head and shoulders above anyone else on track. All of the riders contributed to their win, especially Sean Stoddart who showed determination and style for his best points haul of the season. Only Rusty Harrison seemed to be off colour. Newcastle fought back well in the second half but left their recovery too late. However they played their part in a highly entertaining match but suffered badly at reserve where the only genuine point they took in 10 rides was from Derek Sneddon’s fall in heat 14.

George Stancl led from the tapes in the opening heat but Theo Pijper drove round the outside of him to win the race. At the back, Christian Henry held off the challenge of Henrik Moller, riding loaned equipment, to ensure a shared race. Heat 2 was something special. Sean Stoddart, the rider Monarchs were seeking to replace, produced a fast start to win the race with ease much to the joy of the Monarchs’ supporters while Derek Sneddon finished behind him for a 5-1 to Edinburgh. The third heat saw a typical jet-propelled start from Josef Franc but it wasn’t good enough to win the race. William Lawson reeled him in before passing him on the second lap for the race win recording a time just two fifths of a second outside the track record. Matthew Wethers finished third so the race produced another heat win for the Monarchs with the 4-2 putting them 6 ahead. Derek Sneddon and Rusty Harrison made the start in heat 4 but Grieves got past Harrison as Sneddon won with ease. Another 4-2 put the Monarchs eight points ahead with the heat 4 score standing at 16-8.

Heat 5 resulted in an excellent tussle at both ends. Up front George Stancl made a fast start and led from William Lawson. Several times Lawson looked as though he might catch the Newcastle number one but Stancl’s locker on the second bend of lap three caused Lawson to back off and he couldn’t make up the lost ground. Behind this pair Matthew Wethers took third place after a good race with Christian Henry so the race was shared. In heat 6 Edinburgh extended their lead to ten points with a 4-2. James Grieves was the early heat leader but Theo Pijper was not to be denied and drove under him on the second lap to pull away for the heat win. Grieves then had to turn his attention to fending off Henrik Moller who suddenly started to press him for second place. A ten point deficit usually means it’s TR time and so it turned out. Josef Franc took the TR in heat 7. Another lightening gate from Franc saw him hit the front from the tapes and, although Rusty Harrison challenged him, Franc never looked like surrendering his lead. At the back Sean Stoddart overcame a poor start by passing Adam McKinna to limit Newcastle’s heat advantage to 3-6. Edinburgh added another two points to their lead though with a 4-2 in heat 8. Christian Henry suddenly put on his gating boots to lead the race but again Theo Pijper was just too fast for the Diamonds’ man who rode a good race and he passed Henry at the end of the third lap. Derek Sneddon was third as Edinburgh moved nine points clear with the heat 8 score standing at 30-21.

In heat 9 James Grieves made a good start but, in a cracking race, William Lawson chased hard all race pulling up on Grieves to get the referee’s decision on the line. Although there were no protests at the decision from the Newcastle camp it looked from the terraces that Grieves should have got the verdict! Matthew Wethers third place meant that Edinburgh had taken another 4-2 and they now stood 11 points ahead. In heat 10 Josef Franc did not make a good start and finished a very poor last. Theo Pijper continued on his unbeaten way while Henrik Moller eventually got up to pass Jaimie Robertson for a home 5-1 and a 15 point lead to put the Monarchs in the comfort zone. Newcastle weren’t finished though and started a comeback in heat 11. George Stancl took a TR and Christian Henry and Stancl both made fast starts to leave Rusty Harrison chasing them. However Harrison fell on the second bend of the last lap and the race was stopped with the Diamonds heading for a maximum. The referee awarded the race but, unfortunately for the Diamonds, they hadn’t sorted themselves out for the 1-8 as Henry led Stancl when the race was stopped so the result was a 1-7 instead! Christian Henry took the Rider Replacement ride in heat 12 and another lightening gate took him clear of the field to head home Matthew Wethers and Sean Stoddart who passed Adam McKinna for third place and a shared heat which brought the score to 43-34 after 12 heats.

In heat 13, Rusty Harrison tried a practice start on the back straight before the race started and his bike packed up. Already on two minutes he walked slowly back to the pits as Theo Pijper produced his bike for him on track. Harrison seemed reluctant to accept the offer and when the race started was tailed off at the back. The race was another good one. It looked as though the experience of Stancl and Grieves would be too much for Henrik Moller but the young Dane was determined. He forced his way past Grieves and gave Stancl a hard time of it all the way to the line. This gave Newcastle a 2-4 and the gap was cut to 7 points with two to go. In heat 14 Derek Sneddon hit the fence on the fourth bend and fell causing the race to be rerun with three riders. Josef Franc made the gate then rode all over the track in an effort to keep the charging William Lawson at bay. He just managed it and with Jaimie Robertson picking up the gift third place it was another 2-4 to the Diamonds who were now only five down – too little, too late. Heat 15 was another excellent race. George Stancl led for two laps but he just couldn’t hold Theo Pijper whose inside drive off the second bend took him past the Newcastle man. Stancl spent the rest of the race fending off a strong challenge from William Lawson while at the back Josef Franc seemed strangely disinterested after making a poor gate. The final 4-2 gave Edinburgh a 7 point victory in an excellent match.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 15 (5), William Lawson 11 (5), Derek Sneddon 7+1 (5), Sean Stoddart 5+2 (3), Matthew Wethers 5+2 (4), Henrik Moller 5+1 (4), Rusty Harrison 3 (4).

For AwayTeam – George Stancl 14+1 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Josef Franc 11 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Christian Henry 9+1 (5), James Grieves 7 (4), Jamie Robertson 2 (6), Adam McKinna 1 (4).



Premier League: Somerset 50, Workington 40.


Somerset and Workington were both on the usual lines for their first Premier League match of the season.

It was only a late surge by the Rebels which pulled them clear for the ten point win in this Premier League match. Workington led by two points after 8 heats and the match was still all square after heat 10.

It was an eventful opening race – not for Magnus Zetterstrom who won it but for Glen Phillips who fought his way from the back into second place before suffering an engine failure on the run in to the line. This allowed Paul Thorp through for second place although Phillips had enough momentum to finish third ahead of Tomasz Piszcz. This got the Rebels off to a 4-2 winning start and they looked like adding a 5-1 in heat 2 as Simon Walker and Ben Barker led the race. Barker suffered an engine failure though so the points were shared. Ritchie Hawkins, returning to his former track, showed that he hadn’t forgotten how to ride it by winning heat 3 from Paul Fry and Stephan Katt for another shared heat and it was three shared races in a row when Garry Stead produced a fast start to take heat 4 from Glenn Cunningham. This took the heat 4 score to 13-11.

Workington squared the match in heat 5. Paul Thorp won the race but behind him an excellent scrap developed for second place with Stephan Katt eventually triumphing over Tomas Piszcz. The 2-4 levelled things up but Somerset were ahead again in heat 6. Magnus Zetterstrom won the race while Garry Stead had to fend off Glen Phillips for second place which resulted in a 4-2 and two point lead for the home side. Glenn Cunningham won heat 7 from James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins for a shared race but Somerset found themselves behind after heat 8. Tomasz Piszcz led the race and Aidan Collins passed Glen Phillips to follow him home for a 1-5 which brought the score after eight races to 23-25.

Heat 9 saw a battle for first place between Stephan Katt and Garry Stead with the Rebel winning. Paul Fry took third place so the 4-2 brought Somerset back on level terms again. Although Hawkins and Wright made the better starts in heat 10 Magnus Zetterstrom was soon passed both of them for a race win and shared heat to keep the score tied but in heat 11 Somerset struck for home with a 5-1. Tomasz Piszcz moved out on the first bend sending Glenn Cunningham and Simon Walker sprawling to find himself excluded for unfair riding. In the three man rerun Cunningham and Walker saw off Paul Thorp for maximum points and a four point lead at a crucial time. In an excellent heat 12 Stephan Katt won from Ritchie Hawkins up front while Aidan Collins won the battle at the back from Simon Walker and a shared heat. Workington’s chances virtually ended when the Rebels scored another 5-1 in heat 13. Magnus Zetterstrom was soon away while behind him Glenn Cunningham passed Paul Thorp and Garry Stead to follow his partner home for an eight point lead with two to go. Workington declined the chance to use a Tactical Substitute in heat 14 for double points and an outside chance of a win. The race was won by Paul Fry who fended off James Wright’s challenge. With Aidan Collins third the race was shared and Somerset were home and dry. In the last race Magnus Zetterstrom completed his maximum. Ritchie Hawkins finished second ahead of Glenn Cunningham so the Rebels stretched their win to 10 points which may have quite an impact on the bonus point situation when the return match is raced.


Scorers: For Somerset – Zetterstrom 15 (5)(full maximum), Glenn Cunningham 11+1 (5), Stephan Katt 9+1 (4), Paul Fry 6(4), Simon Walker 5+1 (5), Glenn Phillips 3 (4), Ben Barker 1+1 (3).

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

[Merlin]

Saturday, 29 April

There were two Premier Trophy matches raced tonight. At Berwick the Bandits raced Edinburgh while at Stoke the Potters took on Workington . There was also the second leg of a Challenge Match at Rye House where the Rockets raced against Somerset



Premier Trophy: Berwick 51, Edinburgh 42


Berwick were at full strength for this match but . Edinburgh had Richie Dennis at number 6 replacing Sean Stoddart.

A bitterly cold night and a heavy, deep, over-watered track are not usually good ingredients for a cracking speedway match and this was no exception. Berwick ran out worthy winners mainly through the electric gating and unbeaten pairing of Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky. Edinburgh who had seven race winners and six heat advantages always seemed to find this pair popping up to damage their hopes of pulling Berwick’s early lead back.

There wasn’t a pass to be seen in the first half of the match but things improved later on as the riders found a way to race on the slurry. An opening heat 4-2 from Burza and Meldrum was followed by a shared heat 2 won by Derek Sneddon. Smethills and Makovsky leapt from the gate to the first of their three 5-1s in heat 3 but Edinburgh hit back in heat 4 with a 1-5 from Derek Sneddon and Rusty Harrison after Andreas Bergstrom made a terrible start. This took the heat 4 score to 13-11.

Smethills and Makovsky had Edinburgh 6 points in arrears with their second 5-1 in heat 5 but Edinburgh were unlucky not to pull two points back in heat 6. Rusty Harrison, leading the race by a distance, pulled out on the last bend of the third lap with the win in his pocket. This promoted Stanislaw Burza to first and Richie Dennis to second with David Meldrum picking up the gift point. So an Edinburgh 2-4 turned into a Berwick 4-2 and the Bandits were now eight points in front. However Edinburgh hit back with a 2-4 in heat 7 won by William Lawson from Andreas Bergstrom and Matthew Wethers to cut the Bandits’ lead to six points. They then shaved another two points off the lead with another 2-4 in heat 8. It looked like the Monarchs might take a 1-5 as Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon led David Meldrum. Sneddon was finding the track surface difficult to handle and eventually lost his second place to David Meldrum for the first genuine pass of the night. This brought the score to 26-22 after eight heats.

Makovsky and Smethills then appeared again for their third 5-1 to put the Monarchs eight behind again. In heat 10 William Lawson was badly hampered by David Meldrum who fell in front of him. Lawson clipped Meldrum’s bike and did well to stay on but the referee was not disposed to call for a rerun. Meanwhile Matthew Wethers got to the front and Stanislaw Burza could only follow in his wake. This gave Edinburgh another 2-4 cutting the lead to six points again. Heat 11 was unique – there were two passes! Daniel Warwick jumped out of the start to lead Theo Pijper. As Pijper challenged on the inside Andreas Bergstrom wound it on round the outside to pass both of them but Pijper gained the two points by eventually passing Warwick. The 4-2 increased the Bandits’ lead to eight points again. In heat 12 it was that man Smethills again. Craig Branney made a fast start to head home for the win while Smethills followed him home for a 5-1 and paid maximum. This brought the score to 42-30 after 12 heats.

It was now time for Edinburgh to play a TR card and Rusty Harrison took the ride in heat 13. He won it too with ease while Henrik Moller scored his only point of the match by beating Stanislaw Burza so the Monarchs scored a 2-7 to cut Berwick’s lead to seven points. They pulled another point back in heat 14 when William Lawson rode an excellent race to ruin Michal Makovsky’s maximum hopes although he was helped by Derek Sneddon who baulked Makovsky’s run round the second bend on the third lap with Edinburgh threatening a 1-5. Makovsky did pass Sneddon so Edinburgh had to be content with a 2-4. The last race saw Andreas Bergstrom and Michal Makovsky burst from the gate for an unchallenged 5-1 and nine point win.


Scorers: For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 13+1 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 10+1 (5), Lee Smethills 9+3 (4)(paid maximum), Stanislaw Burza 8 (4), Craig Branney 4+1 (4), David Meldrum 4 (4), Daniel Warwick 3 (4).

For Edinburgh – Rusty Harrison 9+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Theo Pijper 9 (5), Derek Sneddon 8 (5), William Lawson 7 (4), Matthew Wethers 6 (4), Richie Dennis 2 (3), Henrik Moller 1 (4).



Premier Trophy: Stoke 56, Workington 37


Both Stoke and Workington were at full strength for this match..

After their home defeat at the hands of Edinburgh last week, Stoke could hardly have landed a tougher match against the on-form Workington side. In the end, though, they won comfortably.

Mark Lemon passed Tomas Piszcz to win the opening heat but Michael Coles fell with the heat shared 3-3. The Stoke reserves took a 5-1 in heat 2 to put the home side four points up and they increased it to six with a 4-2 in heat 3. The Potters looked as though they were headed for another 5-1 as Robbie Kessler and Paul Clews led James Wright. Clews got out of shape on the third bend and James Wright passed him for the two points.

The third bend was causing the riders some problems and Alan Mogridge fell having passed Garry Stead. The race was rerun with Mogridge excluded and the Comets took full advantage with a 1-5 from Garry Stead and Aidan Collins to cut the gap to two points with the heat four score now 13-11.

Paul Thorp shocked everyone by bursting through the tapes in heat 5 and he was excluded. Aidan Collins took his place. Robbie Kessler won the race but behind him a good tussle developed between Paul Clews and Tomas Piszcz. Clews passed the Workington man but Piszcz chased him hard eventually falling on the last bend when he clipped the Potters’ wheel (no pun intended!). This resulted in a 5-1 for the home side and a 6 point lead again. Garry Stead won heat 6 from the gate beating Mark Lemon for a shared race then in heat 7 Stoke threatened another 5-1 as Barrie Evans and Alan Mogridge led James Wright. Wright got up to pass Mogridge and wasn’t far off catching Evans too. The result was a home 4-2 and an eight point lead. Tomasz Piszcz won the next heat for a share of the points so the score after heat 8 was 28-20.

Garry Stead beat Clews and Kessler for another shared race in heat 9 and heat 10 produced the same result won by Mark lemon. Stoke then went 12 ahead with a killer 5-1 in heat 11 from Alan Mogridge and Barrie Evans although Tomasz Piszcz gave it everything in his efforts to catch them. Barrie Evans and Paul Clews added another maximum in heat 12 as Stoke threatened to run away with it. The score after 12 heats stood at 44-28.

Workington finally gave Garry Stead a TR in heat 13 but Mark Lemon and Alan Mogridge took a third consecutive 5-1 so Stead’s one point was not doubled. In heat 14 Workington tried again, this time giving James Wright the TR. Success for the Comets this time! James Wright produced an excellent ride to pass first Barrie Evans, his only defeat of the match, and then Robbie Kessler for all six points. This gave the visitors a 3-6 advantage but Stoke added two more points to their lead with a final heat 4-2 when Alan Mogridge beat James Wright with Mark Lemon third.


Scorers: For Stoke – Barrie Evans 12+2 (5), Mark Lemon 12 (5), Robbie Kessler 9+1 (4), Alan Mogridge 8+2 (5), Paul Clews 7+2 (4), Luke Priest 5+1 (3), Michael Coles 3+1 (4).

For Workington – James Wright 14 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Garry Stead 10 (5), Tomas Piszcz 4+1 (4), Aidan Collins 4+1 (6), Paul Thorp 3 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 2+1 (4), Lee Derbyshire 0 (3).



Challenge Match (second leg): Rye House 62, Somerset 30 Rye House won on aggregate by 104-83


Both Rye House and Somerset were at full strength for this match.

There was nothing at stake other than pride in this match, the second leg of a fixture filler and Rye House ran out easy winners as Somerset conceded no fewer than eight 5-1s over the fifteen races.

Ross Brady started off his unbeaten run with a win over Magnus Zetterstom with Jaimie Courtney third for a 4-2. Then followed three 5-1s for the Rockets to put them 15-9 ahead after four races.

Magnus Zetterstrom stopped the rot by winning heat 5 for a shared race then Glenn Cunningham took a TR in heat 6. Brady and Courtney scored another 5-1 however so it was to no avail. Stephan Katt became Somerset’s second race winner in heat 7 for a shared race and heat 8, won by Jaimie Courtney was shared too so the score after eight races was 33-15.

Two more home 5-1s followed before Magnus Zetterstrom took a TR in heat 11. He finished second to Chris Neath so the race was shared 4-4. Katt split the Kennett/Boxall pairing in heat 12 for a 4-2 to take the score to 51-23.

Ross Brady completed his paid maximum in heat 13 with Neath following for another 5-1 then Bowen and Allen add another in heat 14. But, lo and behold, the Rebels had the last laugh with a 1-5 success in the final heat to reach the 30 point mark when Stephan Katt and Magnus Zetterstrom saw off Tommy Allen and Edward Kennett.


Scorers: For Rye House – Ross Brady 11+1 (4)(paid maximum), Edward Kennett 10+1 (5), Tommy Allen 9+3 (5), Chris Neath 9+2 (4), Jaimie Courtney 9+1 (4), Luke Bowen 7+2 (4), Steve Boxall 7 (4).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 11+1 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Stephan Katt 10 (5), Glenn Cunningham 4 (4), Ben Barker 2+1 (4), Glen Phillips 2 (4), Paul Fry 1 (4), Simon Walker 0 (4).