Around the Premier League Tracks - 2006

[Merlin]

Sunday, 30 April

There were two Premier Trophy matches and one Premier League match raced today. First up was the Premier League match at Newport where the Wasps faced Newcastle. The second match to get underway was the northern section Premier Trophy match at Glasgow where the Tigers staged a local derby against Edinburgh . The third match was also a southern section Premier Trophy match at Mildenhall where the Fen Tigers raced against King’s Lynn



Premier League: Newport 46, Newcastle 44


Newport tracked the same team which rattled up 62 points last Sunday while Newcastle were also at full strength with Manuel Hauzinger returning to the side after his continental exploits. Hauzinger swopped places with Josef Franc who now rode at number 3 instead of 4.

The Wasps may have had a field day last week but they found this a real struggle. Unfortunately the match was marred by an unsavoury incident after heat 13 involving James Grieves and Neil Collins which resulted in Grieves being fined and thrown out of the match (or heat 15 to be more precise).

The Diamonds gave notice of intent by racing into a four point lead over the opening five races. George Stancl won the opening race for a 3-3 then Newcastle took a 2-4 in the reserves race with a Jaimie Robertson win from Joel Parsons while Adam McKinna beat Billy Legg for third place. Carl Wilkinson fell and was excluded from heat 3. Tony Atkin won it though from Franc and Hauzinger so the race was shared as was heat 4 won by Craig Watson from James Grieves. This took the score to 11-13.

Newcastle extended their lead with another George Stancl win in heat 5 from Carl Wilkinson. Christian Henry took third place for a 2-4 to put the Diamonds four ahead. James Grieves won heat 6 for a share of the points but Newport hit back with consecutive 4-2s in heats 7 and 8. In the first Craig Watson and Joel Parsons were split by Josef Franc and in the second Chris Schramm beat Christian Henry with Joel Parsons picking up the third place point. The score after 8 heats was now tied at 24-24.

James Grieves won heat 9 and Josef Franc heat 10 for Newcastle but the Wasps filled the minor places so the score was still tied. In heat 11 Newport took the lead for the first time in the match. Craig Watson ended George Stancl’s winning streak while Joel Parsons picked up third place after Christian Henry had fallen for a 4-2 and two point lead. After heat 12 however the Wasps found themselves behind again when Newcastle scored a 1-5 through Jaimie Robertson and Josef Franc ahead of Carl Wilkinson. The heat 12 score was then 35-37.

Back came Newport with a 5-1 of their own in heat 13. It looked like the race would be shared when Craig Watson led with Stancl and Grieves in the minor places but on the last lap Neil Collins found a gap to pass both Newcastle riders for the maximum heat win which put the Wasps back in front again. Jaimie Robertson won heat 14 for the Diamonds and a shared race which meant that it was a last heat decider. Craig Watson completed his maximum in heat 15 to end Newcastle’s hopes with George Stancl and Josef Franc following him home.


Scorers: For Newport – Craig Watson 15 (5)(full maximum), Chris Schramm 7+2 (4), Neil Collins 7+2 (5), Tony Atkin 6+1 (4), Joel Parsons 6+1 (6), Carl Wilkinson 5 (4), Billy Legg 0 (3).

For Newcastle – George Stancl 11 (5), Josef Franc 10+2 (5), Jaimie Robertson 9 (5), James Grieves 8 (4), Christian Henry 3 (4), Adam McKinna 2+1 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 1+1 (4).



Premier Trophy: Glasgow 49, Edinburgh 44


Glasgow tracked their usual team for this derby match but Edinburgh again had Richie Dennis at number 6 in place of Sean Stoddart.

This was a very good match between two committed teams. There were some exciting races and, although Glasgow had 12 of the race winners, they were never able to shake off a solid Edinburgh side.

Danny Bird made a fast start for a tapes to flag win in heat 1 but Theo Pijper and Henrik Moller followed him home for a shared race. Glasgow then took a four point lead with a 5-1 in the reserves race from James Cockle and Robert Ksiezak. They added another two points to the lead in heat 3 as Kauko Nieminen led from tapes to flag from William Lawson. Behind them Lee Dicken and Matthew Wethers battled hard for the third place point but Wethers never quite made up for his poor start so the Glasgow man took the third place point and the Tigers had a 4-2 win. Then came the first pass of the match. Rusty Harrison made san excellent start to lead from Shane Parker but Parker reeled him in and made his party-piece pass on the fourth bend for an excellent win. This time though Derek Sneddon beat James Cockle for third place so the race was shared. The heat 4 score was 15-9.

Another fast start by Kauko Nieminen was good enough to win heat 5 but Pijper and Moller again shared the heat as Lee Dicken trailed in last. Glasgow went further ahead in heat 6 with another tapes to flag win for Danny Bird. David McAllan tucked in behind him but Rusty Harrison passed McAllan to limit the damage to a 4-2 which put Glasgow eight points up. In heat 7 Robert Ksiezak made a fast start and Shane Parker slipped in behind him. They almost held on for a 5-1 but Ksiezak wasn’t going fast enough and William Lawson moved onto the fourth bend ‘Parker-line’ to sweep past Parker on the run in to the line for second place. The result was another 4-2 which put Glasgow 10 points in front. Edinburgh then gave Theo Pijper a TR in heat 8. In the first running of the heat Pijper and Sneddon led from McAllan. James Cockle came to grief on the fourth bend of the second lap but remounted then McAllan made a desperate charge under Sneddon on the first bend of the third lap causing the Edinburgh rider to fall. McAllan was excluded from the rerun in which Theo Pijper was again fast away. James Cockle got into second place but Derek Sneddon swept round him for a comfortable second place and a big 1-8 to the Monarchs. So once again the TR rule made a mockery of the score. Glasgow had worked hard for their ten point lead but in one fell swoop they found seven points knocked off it by this ridiculous gimmick. The score after heat 8 read 27-24.

Rusty Harrison had an excellent win ahead of Kauko Nieminen in heat 9 for a shared heat as Edinburgh found a new lease of life. However Glasgow added two more points to their lead in heat 10. Danny Bird had his third tapes to flag win while William Lawson and Matthew Wethers tucked in behind him for a share of the points. However Wethers got out of shape on the third bend and David McAllan slipped past him for the point and a Glasgow 4-2. In heat 11 Shane Parker again showed how to use the fourth bend to maximum advantage. Henrik Moller shot to the front from the second bend followed by Theo Pijper but, as the Monarchs sorted themselves out in an attempt to team ride, Moller left Parker too much room round the outside and the Glasgow man passed both of them to win the heat with ease. The shared heat kept the gap at five points but Edinburgh got back to within a point after heat 12. Derek Sneddon was fast away and Matthew Wethers took an inside line round the opening two bends to join him with the Monarchs’ pair then racing off to a 1-5 ahead of Lee Dicken. This took the score after 12 races to 38-37.

Glasgow were now looking for their customary big finish to stretch their lead but they could only add another four points to it. ‘Bird flew’ from the gate with Shane Parker for what looked like a certain 5-1 in heat 13 but Rusty Harrison was having none of it. On the fourth bend of the last lap he swept round Danny Bird to follow Parker home restricting the Tigers’ advantage to a 4-2 and a three point lead. There might have been a very interesting race in heat 14 when Derek Sneddon and William Lawson got themselves to the front on the first bend but Robert Ksiezak fell and the race was rerun with all four back. At the second time of asking Derek Sneddon made the start but Kauko Nieminen passed him to win the heat and share the race then in the last heat Glasgow went with Bird and Parker again. For the second time in three heats Glasgow’s big two hit the front looking for a 5-1. Rusty Harrison challenged briefly but retired from the race on the last lap. Theo Pijper had been charging hard round the inside and on the last bend he caught and passed Danny Bird on the inside to restrict Glasgow to a 4-2 which gave them a 5 point win.


Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 13 (5), Kauko Nieminen 11 (4), Danny Bird 11 (5), Robert Ksiezak 5+1 (4), James Cockle 4 (4), Lee Dicken 3+1 (4), David McAllan 2 (4).

For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 13+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Derek Sneddon 9+2 (6), Rusty Harrison 9 (5), William Lawson 7+1 (4), Henrik Moller 4+2 (4), Matthew Wethers 2+1 (3), Richie Dennis 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Mildenhall 49, King’s Lynn 44 . King’s Lynn won the bonus point on aggregate by 92-91


Both Mildenhall and King’s Lynn were at full strength for this match.

Mildenhall did very well to restrict the Stars to a 6 point win at Saddlebow Road last Wednesday and they did very well to win the return considering that their three heat leaders contributed only 15 points to their 49 point total! A last heat 1-5 gave the Stars the bonus point.

Jason Lyons won the opening race from Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding for a shared race and Jon Armstrong won the reserves race which was also shared. It was all square again in heat 3. Shaun Tacey touched the tapes and was replaced by Jon Armstrong. Troy Batchelor won the heat but Armstrong and Jason King finished behind him to keep the scores tied. The deadlock was finally broken in heat 4 as King’s Lynn scored a 2-4. In the first running of the race Jason King fell and was excluded. In the rerun Tomas Topinka won the race passing early race leader Barry Burchatt. John Oliver picked up the gift third place point and the heat 4 score was now 11-13.

The lead changed hands in heat 5 as Mildenhall took a 5-1. Shaun Tacey led from the start but Jason King rode a good race to pass both Trevor Harding and Daniel Nermark to put the Fen Tigers two points ahead. They doubled their lead to four points with a 4-2 in heat 6. Jason Lyons won for the second time this time beating Tomas Topinka after a hard tussle and James Brundle finished third for a 4-2. Super-reserve Jon Armstrong won heat 7 from Doolan and Batchelor for a shared race after Daniel King had had to go from 15 metres back as a result of touching the tapes. The home side went further ahead in heat 8 with another 4-2. James Brundle won the race from Trevor Harding and Barry Burchatt. So the heat 8 score went to 27-21 with the aggregate scores now tied.

In heat 9 another home 4-2 put the Fen Tigers eight points ahead and two on aggregate. Jason King headed home Tomas Topinka with Shaun Tacey third after Chris Mills had fallen. James Brundle won heat 10 from Batchelor and Doolan then Daniel Nermark won heat 11 from Daniel King and Jon Armstrong so both heats were shared. Mildenhall made the mistake of winning heat 12 by 4-2 to go ten points ahead. In the first running of the race the home side were on a 5-1 when Chris Mills fell and was excluded. In the second running Jon Armstrong won the race but this time Troy Batchelor finish second ahead of Shaun Tacey for a 4-2. This took the score after 12 races to 41-31.

Not for the first time today a hard won 10 point lead was decimated by the ludicrous TR rule. In heat 13 Tomas Topinka took the TR and won the heat from Daniel King. Daniel Nermark took third place from Jason Lyons so the Stars took a 2-7 which cut the lead to five points and put them one ahead on aggregate. Things looked much brighter for Mildenhall’s bonus point hope when they scored a 5-1 in heat 14 thanks to Jason King and Jon Armstrong winning from Kevin Doolan. This put the home side nine points in front and three up on aggregate for a bonus point which could prove vital in the qualifying stakes from this section. But it all went wrong for them in heat 15 as the Stars` had the last laugh. In the first running of heat 15 Jason Lyons brought down Daniel Nermark and was excluded from the rerun. In the rerun Tomas Topinka and Daniel Nermark beat Jon Armstrong for the 1-5 which earned King’s Lynn the bonus point by a single point.


Scorers: For Mildenhall – Jon Armstrong 15+2 (7), Jason King 9+2 (4), James Brundle 7 (4), Jason Lyons 6 (5), Shaun Tacey 5 (4), Daniel King 4 (4), Barry Burchatt 3 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 16 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Daniel Nermark 9+1 (5), Troy Batchelor 8+1 (4), Kevin Doolan 4+1 (4), Trevor Harding 3+1 (3), John Oliver 3 (4), Chris Mills 1+1 (5).

[Merlin]

Monday, May 1

There were three Premier Trophy matches raced today, two in the northern section. At Newcastle the Diamonds faced Sheffield while at Workington the Comets took on Stoke . In the southern section Rye House raced against Newport [/color]



Premier Trophy: Newcastle 53, Sheffield 38 . Sheffield won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-83


Both Newcastle and Sheffield were at full strength for this match. The Diamonds had little prospects of the bonus point having a 34 point deficit to pull back from the match at Sheffield.

The Diamonds started brightly with a Henry/Stancl 5-1 but in heat 2 there were only two finishers. Adam McKinna crashed in the first running of the heat then in the rerun Benji Compton fell. With Jaimie Robertson beating Paul Cooper the result was a 3-2. Josef Franc won heat 3 for a shared heat but Newcastle took another 5-1 in heat 4 with James Grieves and Jaimie Robertson beating Andre Compton. The score after heat 4 was 16-7.

Any slender hopes that Newcastle might have had of challenging for the bonus took a battering when they conceded a 1-5 in heat 5. Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson beat Manuel Hauzinger with Josef Franc at the back to cut the home side’s lead to 5 points. In heat 6 Andre Compton kept up the pressure by winning from Stancl and Henry and a shared race then James Grieves won heat 7 for another share of the points. In heat 8 Newcastle gained another two points with a 4-2 when Christian Henry beat Ben Wilson with Jaimie Robertson third. This took the score to 27-20.

Josef Franc made amends for his earlier blob by winning heat 9 but Andre Compton and Paul Cooper filled the minor places for a shared heat. The Diamonds then eased another two points in front with a 4-2 in heat 10. Christian Henry was the race winner but Emiliano Sanchez took second place ahead of George Stancl. This put Sheffield nine points in arrears so they gave Ricky Ashworth a TR in heat 11. It looked good for the Tigers when Ashworth and Ben Wilson hit the front but James Grieves produced a sparkling ride to pass both the Sheffield men to win the race. However by taking second and third Sheffield took a 3-5 advantage from the race to cut the home side’s lead to seven points. Heat 12 produced a 5-1 for the Diamonds as Manuel Hauzinger had a rare race win and was followed home by Jaimie Robertson to put them 11 points ahead with the heat 12 score reading 42-31.

It was Andre Compton’s turn to take a TR in heat 13 but he finished stone cold last as James Grieves beat Ricky Ashworth with George Stancl third for a 4-2. This race had been rerun with all four riders after James Grieves had come to grief on the second bend. The Diamonds scored another 4-2 in heat 14. The race was won by Josef Franc from Emiliano Sanchez and Josef Franc won again in heat 15 with Ricky Ashworth and Emiliano Sanchez sharing the race.


Scorers: For Newcastle – James Grieves 12 (4)(full maximum), Josef Franc 12 (5), Christian Henry 10+1 (4), Jaimie Robertson 8+2 (5), George Stancl 6+1 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 4 (4), Adam McKinna 1 (4)

For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 12 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Emiliano Sanchez 8+2 (5), Andre Compton 6 (4), Ben Wilson 5+2 (4), Kyle Legault 4+1 (4), Paul Cooper 3+1 (4), Benji Compton 0 (4).



Premier Trophy: Workington 64, Stoke 28 . Workington won the bonus point on aggregate by 101-84.


Both Workington and Stoke were at full strength for this match. Workington had a 19 point deficit to pull back from the first match at Stoke last Saturday for the bonus point but they made light work of that having taken the aggregate lead by heat 8.

This was a real hammering for Stoke who were brought down to earth after their fine win on Saturday. Every Comet, apart from Lee Derbyshire, won at least one heat and was paid for double figures. It took Stoke until the last heat to produce a race winner. Mark Lemon was the man to do it for them.

Three 4-2s and a reserves’ race 5-1 saw the home side burst into a 10 point lead and a heat 4 score of 17-7.

In heat 5 the home side added another 4-2 with Mark Lemon splitting Ritchie Hawkins and James Wright then in heat 6 Alan Mogridge took a TR. This ended in failure when Mogridge spun round on the second lap and fell. The race was awarded as a 5-1 to Workington as they moved 16 points ahead. The Comets added another six points to their lead with a 4-2 and 5-1 in heats 7 and 8 to take the score to 35-13. This wiped out Stoke’s first leg lead and left them three points behind on aggregate.

A 4-2 and another 5-1 in heats 9 and 10 were followed by a TR by Mark Lemon in heat 11. Garry Stead won the race but Lemon and Michael Coles took second and third for Stoke’s only race advantage of the match. The 3-5 reduced the gap to 26 points but by this time it was academic. Another 5-1 in heat 12 from Hawkins and Collins took the score to 52-22 and Stoke looked to be struggling to reach the 30 point mark.

Paul Thorp completed a full four ride maximum in heat 13 as he led Garry Stead home for another 5-1. Robbie Kessler finished second to James Wright in heat 14 for a 4-2 then in the last race Mark Lemon ruined Garry Stead’s paid maximum by winning from James Wright and Garry Stead.

Scorers: For Workington – Garry Stead 12+2 (5), Paul Thorp 12 (4)(full maximum), James Wright 12 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 9+1 (4), Tomasz Piszcz 8+2 (4), Aidan Collins 8+2 (4), Lee Derbyshire 3 (4).

For Stoke – Mark Lemon 12 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Alan Mogridge 4 (4), Paul Clews 4 (4), Robbie Kessler 3 (5), Michael Coles 2+1 (4), Luke Priest 2 (4), Barrie Evans 1 (4).



Premier Trophy: Rye House 58, Newport 38 . Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 104-85


Rye House were at full strength for this match while Newport preferred Sam Hurst at number 7 to Billy Legg. Newport had a one point lead from their home match.

This match was overshadowed by a suspected broken bone injury to Neil Collins following a clash with Tommy Allen in heat 5. Collins withdrew from the match and went to hospital.

Ross Brady won heat 1 but Chris Schramm and Neil Collins shared the points. In the reserves race the Rockets took a four point lead with a 5-1 and they added a 4-2 in heat 3 won by Tommy Allen from Carl Wilkinson and Edward Kennett. Craig Watson won heat 4 for the Wasps but the race was shared taking the score to 15-9.

Neil Collins withdrew from the meeting following a clash with Tommy Allen in heat 5. Kennett and Allen took a 5-1 from the race and Rye House were now 10 points ahead. Craig Watson took a TR in heat 6 and won the race from Jaimie Courtney. Joel Parsons headed Ross Brady home so the Wasps took a 2-7 cutting the Rockets’ lead to 5 points. It stayed that way when Chris Neath won heat 7 for a shared heat but the Rockets scored another 5-1 in heat 8 through Steve Boxall and Jaimie Courtney to take the score to 30-21.

Another home 5-1 in heat 9 put them out of sight. Tommy Allen and Edward Kennett did the damage as Craig Watson retired from the race. Newport then gave Carl Wilkinson a TR in heat 10 and the Wasp scored the full six points beating Jaimie Courtney who must have been getting fed up with this. At the back Tony Atkin beat Ross Brady so Newport scored another 2-7 to cut their deficit to 8 points. Chris Schramm then won heat 11, beating Chris Neath in the process, for a shared heat. In heat 12 Joel Parsons split the Kennett/Boxall pairing with TR hero, Carl Wilkinson, at the back. This 4-2 for Rye House took the heat 12 score to 44-34.

The Rockets only dropped one more point. A Brady/Neath 5-1 ahead of Craig Watson was followed by a 4-2 from Luke Bowen and Tommy Allen with Tony Atkin in second place. In the last heat Neath and Kennett consigned Craig Watson to another third place at the wrong end of a 5-1 to wrap up the match.

Scorers: For Rye House – Chris Neath 12+1 (5), Edward Kennett 11+1 (5), Tommy Allen 9+1 (4), Steve Boxall 8+1 (4), Luke Bowen 6+2 (4), Jaimie Courtney 6+1 (4), Ross Brady 6 (4).

For Newport – Craig Watson 11 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Carl Wilkinson 10 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Chris Schramm 6 (4), Joel Parsons 6 (7), Tony Atkin 4+1 (4), Neil Collins 1+1 (1), Sam Hurst 0 (0).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 2 May



There was only one Premier Trophy match raced tonight and that was as usual on the Isle of Wight where the Islanders were at home to Mildenhall.



Premier Trophy: Isle of Wight 56, Mildenhall 39. Mildenhall won the bonus point on aggregate by 97-90


The Isle of Wight had Simon Walker as a guest at number 6 while Mildenhall were at full strength for this match

The flags are out on the Isle of Wight tonight as the Islanders registered their first win of the season in some style beating Mildenhall comfortably and they weren’t all that far from challenging for the bonus point too. It was a solid performance by the home side while Mildenhall were effectively a three man team. Their bottom four scorers contributed a measly 5 points to their cause.

Jason Lyons recorded the fastest time of the season at Smallbrook when he won the opening heat for a 3-3. The reserves race produced a 5-1 for the Islanders with Jon Armstrong back in third place but Mildenhall pulled two points back with a 2-4 in heat 3 won by Shaun Tacey from Krzysztof Stojanowski with Jason King third. In heat 4 Jason Bunyan came from fourth place to win the race from Daniel King. Nick Simmons took third place as Jon Armstrong suffered an engine failure. The 4-2 made the heat 4 score 14-10.

Jason Lyons won again in heat 5 but again it was only for a shared race. Heat 6 needed three attempts to get under way. Firstly it was pulled back when Jason Doyle got a flier then, in the rerun, Chris Holder touched the tapes. He went from 15 metres back. Jason Doyle eventually won the race from Daniel King and Chris Holder passed Barry Burchatt for third place and a 4-2 to stretch the Islanders lead to 6 points. They added another 4-2 in heat 7. Simon Walker led for over a lap but Jason Bunyan then Shaun Tacey passed him for a 4-2 and eight point lead. The lead went to 10 points after yet another 4-2 in heat 8 won by Jason Doyle from James Brundle with the score now at 29-19.

It was time for Mildenhall to play a TR card and Daniel King was the man nominated in heat 9. He won the race too having to pass both Krzysztof Stojanowski and Krister Marsh to do so and the Fen Tigers took a 3-6 advantage cutting the home side’s lead to seven points. The Isle of Wight took a 5-1 in heat 10 from Chris Holder and Jason Bunyan from Shaun Tacey as Jason King fell causing the race to be awarded. Mildenhall then nominated Jason Lyons for a TR in heat 11. Jason Bunyan and Lyons were involved in a thrilling battle for first place but it was Bunyan who took the chequered flag. With Simon Walker third the race resulted in a 4-4. Krister Marsh beat Shaun Tacey in heat 12 with Nick Simmons third for another 4-2 which took the heat 12 score to 45-32.

Jason Lyons won heat 13 from Bunyan and Holder but the shared race meant that the Islanders were home and dry. They added a celebratory 5-1 in heat 14. Krzysztof Stojanowski won the race but Simon Walker rode very well to hold off Jason King for second place. In the last race Jason Lyons won for the fourth time but Bunyan and Stojanowski followed him home for a shared race.


Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 13 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 10+1 (5), Jason Doyle 9+2 (4), Chris Holder 7+1 (4), Simon Walker 7+1 (4), Krister Marsh 5+2 (4), Nick Simmons 5+1 (4).

For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 16 (5)(included a 4 point TR), Danny King 10 (4), Shaun Tacey 8 (5), James Brundle 2 (4), Jason King 2 (4), Jon Armstrong 1 (4), Barry Burchatt 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 3 May



The meeting at King’s Lynn was the restaging of the British Under 21 Final postponed from 19th April



The British Under 21 Championship Final at King’s Lynn.

Champion: Ben Wilson
Runner up: Daniel King
Third: Lewis Bridger
Fourth: Steve Boxall

The final of the British under-21 Championship took the form of a full 16 rider, 20 heat individual. The top two point scorers were seeded directly to the final deciding heat. The next four scorers contested a semi final with the winner and second placed rider filling the two remaining spots in the final. All but one of the riders currently rides in either the Conference League or Premier League. Only one, Lewis Bridger, is an Elite League rider.

After heat 12 when all riders had had 12 races only one rider remained unbeaten – Lewis Bridger on 9 points. With only one point dropped on 8 points were Ben Wilson and Daniel King while Steve Boxall had 7 points with Edward Kennett and Jason King on 6 points. Jason King was particularly unlucky because he was actually unbeaten but had suffered an exclusion in his first ride under the two minute rule.

After 16 races all the riders had had 4 scheduled rides. Lewis Bridger had been beaten by Daniel King in heat 14 so he and Daniel King led with 11 points each. Ben Wilson also won again so he too was on the 11 point mark in a three way tie for the lead. Steve Boxall and Jason King were on 9 points and James Wright had moved into contention with 8 with Edward Kennett on 7 and Richie Dennis on 6.

Daniel King was the first to book his place in the final by winning heat 19 to finish on 14 points. He was joined by Ben Wilson who won heat 20 from Lewis Bridger and Jason King also to finish on 14 points. This left Lewis Bridger with 13 points, Steve Boxall with 12 points and James Wright and Jason King both with 10 points to contest the semi-final. The race was won by Lewis Bridger from Steve Boxall, James Wright and Jason King so Bridger and Boxall joined Daniel King and Ben Wilson in the final.

In the first running of the final Daniel King ran into Steve Boxall who crashed into the fence. With the meeting duration now well over the three hour mark the final was rerun with all four riders. It was Sheffield rider, Ben Wilson, who hit the front to take the title from Mildenhall’s Daniel King. A good battle developed for third place with Lewis Bridger finally heading home Steve Boxall.


Scorers from the heats: Ben Wilson 14, Daniel King 14, Lewis Bridger 13, Steve Boxall 12, James Wright 10, Jason King 10, Edward Kennett 8, James Brundle 7, Richie Dennis 6, Joshua Auty 6, Joel Parsons 5, Ben Barker 5, Jaimie Courtney 4, Benji Compton 3, Luke Bowen 2 (4), Simon Lambert 1, Robert Mear (reserve) 0 (1), Ben Hopwood (reserve) 0 (1).

[Merlin]

Thursday, May 4

There were two Premier Trophy matches raced tonight both in the northern section. At Redcar the Bears faced Newcastle while at Sheffield the Tigers took on Workington



Premier Trophy: Redcar 51, Newcastle 44 . Newcastle won the bonus point on aggregate by 95-93.


Redcar were at full strength but Newcastle were without Christian Henry who was suffering from the flu and used Rider Replacement at number 2. Newcastle carried forward a nine point lead from the match at Brough Park in the contest for the bonus point.

After a delayed start to let the crowd in, Adam McKinna fell in the opening race taking the R/R ride for Christian Henry and had to be checked over by the medics after which he was taken to hospital since he seemed very disorientated. This left the Diamonds with just five riders and it was clear that they would need to juggle their resources carefully. The rerun of heat 1 resulted in a win for Gary Havelock in a new track record time (53.4). George Stancl took second place from Richard Juul as the Bears took a 4-2 and two point lead. The reserves race also had only three riders without Adam McKinna. However Jaimie Robertson won the heat for a share of the points. Newcastle were level again after heat 3. Josef Franc won the race from Kevin Little and Manuel Hauzinger beat Tomas Suchanek for a 2-4 but Redcar were back in front again after heat 4 with Daniel Giffard winning from Jaimie Robertson with Chris Kerr heading home James Grieves at the back for another 4-2. The score after four races was 13-11.

In heat 5 Redcar struck a blow to Newcastle’s hopes when Kevin Little and Tomas Suchanek led home George Stancl and R/R Manuel Hauzinger. This 5-1 put the Bears 6 points ahead but in heat 6 James Grieves who was last first time out won from Garry Havelock. With Richard Juul taking third place from Jaimie Robertson the race was shared. The Bears went eight points in front by taking a 4-2 in heat 7. Chris Kerr won the race from Manuel Hauzinger but, in a reverse of fortunes, Josef Franc who won first time out finished last behind Jack Hargreaves. Josef Franc took the R/R ride in heat 8 and won it from Daniel Giffard and Richard Juul so the heat was shared and the score after 8 races was 28-20 with Redcar only one point behind on aggregate.

The home side’s lead stretched to ten points in heat 9 when Kevin Little beat James Grieves with Tomas Suchanek third for a 4-2. Newcastle must have wished that they had given Josef Franc a TR in heat 10 as he won from Richard Juul and Gary Havelock for a 3-3 but they did give James Grieves a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 11 from 15 metres back in place of the R/R option. This resulted in a minor success as Chris Kerr won the race. James Grieves got up into second place with George Stancl third so the Diamonds took a 3-5 to pull two points back. In heat 12 Tomas Suchanek won the race from Manuel Hauzinger with Jaimie Robertson third. This resulted in a shared heat and the score after 12 races was 41-33 with the Bears one point down on aggregate in the battle for the bonus point.

A heat 13 5-1 from Gary Havelock and Chris Kerr over George Stancl and James Grieves was a massive blow to Newcastle but it did put them in a position to give Josef Franc a TR in heat 14 since they now trailed by 12 points. They made good use of it too. Josef Franc won the race for the full six points from Kevin Little and, with Jaimie Robertson third, the result was a 2-7 to the visitors. Although the match points were heading Redcar’s way, the Diamonds took a two point aggregate lead into the final heat looking to secure the bonus point. Josef Franc won the final heat from Gary Havelock and Chris Kerr so the Bears, while winning the match, missed out on the bonus point by two points.

Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 11+1 (5),Chris Kerr 10+1 (5), Kevin Little 10 (4), Tomas Suchanek 6+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 6+1 (4), Richard Juul 5+2 (4), Jack Hargreaves 3 (4),

For Newcastle – Josef Franc 18 (6)(including a 6 point TR), James Grieves 9 (6)(including a 4 point TS from 15 metres), Jaimie Robertson 7+1 (7), George Stancl 5+1 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 5 (5), Adam McKinna 0 (1).



Premier Trophy: Sheffield 57, Workington 38 . Sheffield won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-88.


Both Sheffield and Workington were at full strength for this match. Sheffield had five points to pull back from the first match at Workington in search of the bonus point.

In the opening heat Ben Wilson fell and was excluded from the rerun which was brought back for a restart when Paul Thorp got a flyer. Ricky Ashworth had a tapes to flag victory for a shared race. There was then a delay as Lee Derbyshire required medical attention to an eye problem. In heat 2 he then fell on the third lap and required further medical attention of a different nature after which he was sent to hospital with a suspected broken leg. This caused a lengthy delay while an ambulance turned up to take him to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital to the extent that an hour after the start time only one heat had been raced. In the rerun of the reserves race Sheffield scored a 5-1 to put them four points ahead, one behind on aggregate. It looked like another 5-1 would go the Tigers’ way in heat 3 as Kyle Legault and Emiliano Sanchez led heat 3 but James Wright passed Sanchez on the third lap to limit the damage to a 4-2 which put the home side six points ahead and saw them lead on aggregate. Benji Compton touched the tapes in heat 4 and Paul Cooper came into the heat in his place. Andre Compton won the race from Garry Stead but with Paul Cooper third it was another 4-2 to Sheffield which took the score after heat 4 to 16-8.

In heat 5 Paul Thorp was soon off for a comfortable win. With Tomasz Piszcz in second place it looked as though the Comets would earn their first race advantage but Piszcz decided to have a close inspection of the fence and was passed by Kyle Legault and then Emiliano Sanchez so the heat finished as a 3-3. In heat 6 Workington had another race winner in Garry Stead from Ricky Ashworth and new British under-21 Champion, Ben Wilson, for another 3-3. Heat 7 was rerun after Ritchie Hawkins had fallen and been excluded. Andre Compton had another easy win ahead of James Wright with Paul Cooper picking up the gift third place point for a 4-2 which put the Tigers 10 points ahead. Workington threatened a 1-5 in heat 8 as Tomasz Piszcz and Aidan Collins led from the tapes. However the third lap was a bad one for the Comets’ reserve as first Ben Wilson passed him followed by Benji Compton. The shared heat took the score after eight races to 29-19.

In heat 9 Garry Stead took a TR. Emiliano Sanchez was the early race leader but Stead passed him on the last bend for the full six points. He got no support so the race result was a 3-6 to Workington cutting the Sheffield lead to seven points and getting them back to only two down on aggregate. In heat 10 the Comets slipped 11 points behind again when Sheffield’s Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson took a 5-1 from James Wright so they gave Paul Thorp a TR in heat 11, a brave move with Andre Compton in the heat for the home side. Compton duly won the race to continue his unbeaten run with Paul Thorp second. Tomasz Piszcz finished third so the Comets took a 3-5 from the heat bringing them back to nine points in arrears, four on aggregate. Heat 12 was won by Emiliano Sanchez from Ritchie Hawkins who passed Benji Compton for second place to give Sheffield another two points’ advantage with the 4-2 as the heat 12 score went to 44-33.

Andre Compton had his fourth win in heat 13 with Paul Thorp in second place. The real race was at the back though between Ricky Ashworth and Garry Stead with the Sheffield rider prevailing for a 4-2. The result of heat 14 was another 4-2 to Sheffield. Kyle Legault was the race winner beating James Wright and Paul Cooper. In the last heat Ricky Ashworth made the early running followed by Paul Thorp and Gary Stead but Andre Compton had passed both Workington riders before the first lap had been completed for a final heat 5-1 to Sheffield giving them a 19 point win.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Ricky Ashworth 12 (5), Kyle Legault 9+1 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 7+1 (4), Ben Wilson 5+2 (4), Benji Compton 5+1 (4), Paul Cooper 5+1 (5).

For Workington – Paul Thorp 12 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Garry Stead 11 (5)(including a 6 point TR), James Wright 7 (4), Tomasz Piszcz 5+2 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 2 (4), Aidan Collins 1 (7), Lee Derbyshire 0 (1).

[Merlin]

Friday, 5 May

There were two matches raced tonight. At Edinburgh it was the return local derby between the Monarchs and Glasgow Tigers in a northern section Premier Trophy match. The other match was at Somerset where the Rebels took on Sheffield in a Premier League match.



Premier Trophy: Edinburgh 48, Glasgow 44 . Glasgow won the bonus point on aggregate by 93-92.


Edinburgh , with Sean Stoddart back at number 6, were at full strength as were Glasgow for this derby match. Glasgow had a five point advantage from the match raced at Ashfield last Sunday in the battle for the bonus point.

This was not one of the better derby matches with falls by riders on both sides having an impact on the scoring. Glasgow, trailing by eight points with three heats to go, pulled back four points over the last three heats. It wasn’t enough for any match points but it was just enough for the bonus point which they took by a single point.

In the opening race Henrik Moller and Danny Bird made fast starts but Bird had the better run round the outside of the second bend and pulled away. Pijper passed Moller and the Dane then got completely out of shape on the last bend of the third lap to let David McAllan through for third place and a 2-4 start to the Tigers. In heat 2 Derek Sneddon fell on the first bend and was excluded from the rerun in which Robert Ksiezak and James Cockle left Sean Stoddart for dead at the gate. However Stoddart with the bit between his teeth reeled in and passed James Cockle to limit the damage to a 2-4. Nonetheless Glasgow were now four points ahead after only two heats. The lead didn’t last long though as William Lawson and Matthew Wethers raced from the gate for a 5-1 ahead of Kauko Nieminen to square the match in heat 3. Rusty Harrison and Derek Sneddon made good starts to heat 4 and Shane Parker never looked like catching them so it was another 5-1 to the Monarchs which put them four points ahead with the heat 4 score reading 14-10.

Back came Glasgow in heat 5. Another lightning start from Danny Bird produced a tapes to flag win. David McAllan joined him at the front but a lap later William Lawson had passed McAllan although Matthew Wethers was stuck at the back. This gave the Tigers a 2-4 which left them only two behind. Shane Parker had a tapes to flag win in heat 6 for a shared race but Edinburgh hit home another maximum in heat 7. It was Sean Stoddart who became the hero. While Rusty Harrison was seeing off Kauko Nieminen, Sean slipped past Nieminen off the second bend and the Monarchs were off to a 5-1 with Nieminen powerless to prevent it. This put Edinburgh six points up and they made it eight in heat 8. James Cockle burst from the tapes but Theo Pijper passed him down the back straight. Derek Sneddon in third place chased Cockle to the line and almost got the verdict when Cockle’s front wheel lifted alarmingly as he crossed the finish line. The 4-2 brought the score after heat 8 to 28-20.

Shane Parker won heat 9 after making another fast start. William Lawson was on his back wheel for a lap but Parker eventually pulled away for a shared race. In heat 10 Kauko Nieminen pulled off a fine tapes to flag win from Pijper and Moller for another 3-3 so Glasgow then replaced David McAllan in heat 11 with Shane Parker as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back. In the first running of the race, Danny Bird made the start but trying to clamp Rusty Harrison on the line he overdid his cutback and got completely out of shape. At the same time Sean Stoddart nipped up the inside to join Rusty Harrison as the Monarchs sped off for a 5-1. However on the third bend Bird fell crashing into the safety fence causing the race to be rerun without him. In the rerun Sean Stoddart held off Shane Parker until the last bend of the third lap when the Glasgow man passed him on the outside for second place. This provided a 4-4 shared race. There was another fall in heat 12. James Cockle and Derek Sneddon were having a great tussle for the lead. Sneddon passed Cockle down the back straight of the second lap but went too wide on the fourth bend and was sucked into the fence as Cockle repassed on the inside. Sneddon’s fall looked a bad one and he was taken from the track by ambulance. However it turned out to be not serious. In the rerun Matthew Wethers shot from the gate to win the race and share the points so the heat 12 score was 41-33 with Edinburgh leading on aggregate by three points. They had the big Glasgow finish to contend with though.

In heat 13 Danny Bird and Shane Parker rocketed from the gate for a 1-5 to cut the home side’s lead to four points but they lost by the same score in heat 14. In this heat William Lawson led Kauko Nieminen with Sean Stoddart nipping at Nieminen’s heels as they entered the second lap. Lawson locked up slightly on the second bend causing Nieminen to back off a bit and he was struck from the back by Robert Ksiezak who ran over him after he had fallen. Meanwhile Sean Stoddart had slipped up the inside to join Lawson at the front. The race was stopped and, rather surprisingly, awarded as a 5-1 to Edinburgh which put them eight points ahead again. The match was now out of Glasgow’s reach but they could still win the bonus point with a last heat 1-5. They did too with Bird and Parker leaping from the gate again to leave Pijper trailing in their wake. It was confirmed after the meeting that Kauko Nieminen had suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder and gone off to hospital for treatment.


Scorers: For Edinburgh – William Lawson 10 (5), Theo Pijper 10 (5), Rusty Harrison 9 (4), Sean Stoddart 7+2 (4), Matthew Wethers 6+2 (4), Henrik Moller 3+2 (4), Derek Sneddon 3+1 (4).

For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15+2 (6)(including a 4 point TS ride), Danny Bird 12 (5), Kauko Nieminen 6 (4), Robert Ksiezak 5 (5), James Cockle 4+1 (4), David McAllan 2 (3), Lee Dicken 0 (3).



Premier League: Somerset 44, Sheffield 49 .


Both Somerset and Sheffield were at full strength for this match.

Somerset lost an opening heat 1-5 and never got back on level terms after that. Magnus Zetterstrom suffered an engine failure and Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson raced off for the first of the three 1-5s they were to score as a partnership to put the Tigers four up. The Rebels pulled two points back in the reserve race when Paul Cooper split the Simon Walker/Ben Barker partnership and heat 3, won by Stephan Katt, was shared as was heat 4 won by Andre Compton. This took the heat 4 score to 11-13.

Ashworth and Wilson had their second 1-5 success in heat 5 ahead of Katt and Fry to put the Tigers six points ahead again then Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 6 with Andre Compton and Paul Cooper filling the minor places for a 3-3. Glenn Cunningham won heat 7 for the Rebels. It was only for another shared race though as Emiliano Sanchez and Kyle Legault followed him home. It was three shared races on the trot when Ben Wilson continued his unbeaten run by winning heat 8 as Sheffield kept their lead intact. The score after eight heats was 21-27.

Somerset at last made some inroads to the Sheffield lead with a 4-2 in heat 9. Paul Fry, after two zeroes, won the race by beating Andre Compton. Stephan Katt finished third so the Tigers’ lead was down to four points. Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 10 but got no support as Glen Phillips finished at the back behind Legault and Sanchez. The match was effectively settle in the next two heats both of which went to Sheffield by 1-5. In heat 11, Ashworth and Wilson completed their hat trick of 1-5s from Cunningham then in heat 12 Kyle Legault and Paul Cooper added another maximum from Stephan Katt taking the heat 12 score to 30-42.

In heat 13 Magnus Zetterstrom took a TR and won the race from Ricky Ashworth, the Sheffield rider’s first defeat of the match. Behind him Glenn Cunningham took third place so the Rebels won the race 7-2 to cut five points from the Tigers’ lead but it still left them seven points behind with only two heats left. Paul Fry won heat 14 but, with Sanchez and Cooper behind him for a 3-3, the visitors were home and dry. Magnus Zetterstrom won the last heat but, as in heat 13, Ricky Ashworth finished second ahead of Glenn Cunningham for a 4-2 resulting in a comfortable Sheffield win by five points.

Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 15 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Glenn Cunningham 7+1 (5), Stephan Katt 6 (4), Paul Fry 6 (4), Ben Barker 5 (4), Simon Walker 3 (4), Glen Phillips 2+1 (4).

For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 13 (5), Ben Wilson 9+3 (5), Kyle Legault 8+1 (4), Andre Compton 7 (4), Paul Cooper 6+3 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 6+2 (4), Benji Compton 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 6 May

There were three matches raced tonight , all of them for Premier League points. At Berwick the Bandits raced Glasgow while at Stoke the Potters took on Newport . The third match was at Workington where the Comets raced against Rye House



Premier League: Berwick 51, Glasgow 44


Berwick were at full strength for this match but Glasgow were missing Kauko Nieminen who dislocated his shoulder at Edinburgh last night so they used Rider Replacement at number 4 instead.

Without Kauko Nieminen, Glasgow were unable to repeat their Premier Trophy success at Berwick when they won 44-46. Indeed this was really a match between Berwick and Bird/Parker. Glasgow’s top two scored an incredible 35+2 which must be some sort of record. They must be very disappointed to come away empty handed after that effort but the only points that the other team members scored at the expense of the Berwick riders were in heat 5 when Lee Smethills suffered an engine failure and heat 12 when Craig Branney fell while lying second.

Danny Bird set the pattern in the opening heat with a fast start and fast win. This produced a shared heat but without Bird or Parker in heats two or three Glasgow conceded two 5-1s. In the reserves race Robert Ksiezak fell on the last bend to lose his second place but Smethills and Makovsky had no difficulty taking a 5-1 in heat 3. Shane Parker stopped the rot in heat 4 with a tapes to flag win. Robert Ksiezak also made a good start but was passed by Bergstrom and Branney so the race was shared. This took the heat 4 score to 16-8.

Glasgow pulled two points back in heat 5. Danny Bird made another electric start to beat Michal Makovsky but Lee Smethills pulled up with an engine failure allowing David McAllan to pick up his only point of the match as the Tigers took a 2-4. Unsupported wins for Parker and Bird, taking a R/R ride, in the next two heats kept the Berwick lead at six points but without either of their big two Glasgow conceded the inevitable 5-1 in heat 8 to David Meldrum and Craig Branney. However this was a bit of a double edged sword for Berwick because it took them 10 points ahead at 29-19.

Glasgow gave Shane Parker a TR in heat 9 but he chose the worst possible time to concede his only point of the match. The race was rerun after an unsatisfactory start with Parker leading but Michal Makovsky beat him to the first bend in the rerun and went on to win the race which finished as a 4-4 shared heat. In heat 10 it looked as though the Bandits might have to be content with a 4-2 as James Cockle held second place going into the last lap. David Meldrum made a hard challenge on the second bend of the last lap to pass the Glasgow reserve so it was another 5-1 to the Bandits, a move which did not go down well with the Glasgow supporters. In heat 11 Danny Bird took a TR and continued with his power gating and heat wins with all six points. Again there was no support with Andreas Bergstrom coming from the back to second place and Daniel Warwick just holding off David McAllan. This resulted in a 3-6 to the Tigers cutting the home side’s lead to 11 points. Heat 12 looked bad for Glasgow without Bird or parker but Craig Branney came to grief on the second lap allowing Lee Dicken and James Cockle through for a shared heat. This brought the score after 12 races to 44-33.

It was time for the Parker/Bird double act in heats 13 and 15 and, as in the Premier Trophy match, they duly obliged but in heat 14 Makovsky and Warwick took a home 5-1 to balance things a bit. In the last race Shane Parker took Michal Makovsky wide on the opening bend and Makovsky got too near the fence and fell causing the race to be rerun virtually assuring the resultant 1-5.


Scorers: For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 10+1 (5), Stanislaw Burza 9 (5), David Meldrum 7+3 (4), Daniel Warwick 7+3 (4), Lee Smethills 7 (4), Andreas Bergstrom 6 (4), Craig Branney 5+3 (4).

For Glasgow – Danny Bird 19+2 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Shane Parker 16 (5)(including a 4 point TR), James Cockle 6+1 (6), Lee Dicken 2 (4), David McAllan 1 (5), Robert Ksiezak 0 (4).



Premier League: Stoke 50, Newport 36 . Match abandoned before the completion of heat 15 as a result of the curfew which applies at Stoke. The result stands.


Stoke had new signing Trent Leverington in the side at number 2 to replace Michael Coles who has been dropped. Newport were without Neil Collins following his accident at Rye House when he broke three ribs and a collarbone last Monday. They used Rider Replacement at number one in his place.

The recent spate of injuries continues unabated. This time it was the unlucky Craig Watson who suffered a dreadful injury just as he did last season around this time. In heat 15 his throttle jammed open at the start of the race and he was sent careering into the first bend safety fence. Unfortunately he went under the air fence and hit the one behind it suffering a badly broken arm. Early indications suggest that it will need an operation and that he will be out of the saddle for a long time. With Neil Collins also out injured the Wasps have lost their top two average riders.

On a very dry track, Newport might have got off to a good start if Chris Schramm had not fallen while leading Mark Lemon. With Tony Atkin, taking the R/R ride, finishing behind Lemon and Trent Leverington taking the gift third place the Potters took a two point lead with a 4-2. Luke Priest and Barrie Evans added a 5-1 in the reserves race then Paul Clews won heat 3 from Carl Wilkinson who passed Robbie Kessler for a 4-2 which stretched the home side’s lead to eight points. Newport hit back with a 1-5 in heat 4 thanks to Craig Watson and Joel Parsons. Trent Leverington finished third after Luke Priest had fallen causing the race to be awarded. The heat 4 score was 14-10.

The Wasps pulled another two points back in heat 5 with Carl Wilkinson winning from Paul Clews. Chris Schramm took third after Robbie Kessler had retired from the race. There were only two points between the teams but Stoke doubled it to four with a 4-2 in heat 6. Mark Lemon won the race and Craig Watson passed Leverington for second place. Robbie Kessler won heat 7 and with Barrie Evans in second it looked like a 5-1 for the Potters but Carl Wilkinson made a last bend swoop round the outside of Evans on the last bend to rescue two points for the Wasps. The 4-2 put Stoke six points up but Newport pulled two back again in heat 8. Chris Schramm beat Trent Leverington while Joel Parsons passed Luke Priest for the odd point and a 2-4 which took the heat 8 score to 26-22.

Newport’s chances took a bad blow in heat 9. The race was rerun after Billy Legg fell and was excluded. Then Craig Watson burst the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back. At the third attempt Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler team rode to keep Craig Watson in third as the Potters took a 5-1 to go eight ahead. It became ten after heat 10 when Mark Lemon beat Carl Wilkinson with Trent Leverington third for a 4-2. As a result Craig Watson took a TR in heat 11 but Mark Lemon, out again as R/R, won comfortably. Watson was second and with Chris Schramm in third place Newport took a 3-5 heat advantage to close to within eight points. Carl Wilkinson blasted past Luke Priest to win heat 12 but Paul Clews was third for a shared race. The heat 12 score was then 41-33.

Mark Lemon beat Craig Watson for the third time in heat 13 with Paul Clews third putting the home side ten ahead again with the 4-2. Tony Atkin took a TR in heat 14 but gained no advantage from it as Robbie Kessler and Barrie Evans took a 5-1 from the gate. Then came the last race and Craig Watson’s injury which understandingly took a while to handle. Time ran out as the curfew was passed so the match was abandoned without the race being rerun.


Scorers: For Stoke – Mark Lemon 15 (5), Robbie Kessler 10 (5), Paul Clews 9+2 (5), Trent Leverington 6 (5), Barrie Evans 5+2 (4), Luke Priest 5 (4).

For Newport – Craig Watson 13 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Carl Wilkinson 11 (5), Chris Schramm 5+1 (5), Joel Parsons 4+1 (5), Tony Atkin 3 (5), Billy Legg 0 (3).



Premier League: Workington 59, Rye House 31


Workington were without Lee Derbyshire who badly broke his leg at Sheffield last Thursday. They had in his place Edinburgh’s Sean Stoddart. Rye House too had injury problems with Steve Boxall missing after breaking his wrist at King’s Lynn last Wednesday. They had at number 7 as a guest Jon Armstrong of Mildenhall who has been returning some sensational scores from the reserve berth for the Fen Tigers.

Rye House owe a big debt to Jon Armstrong, guesting for the injured Steve Boxall in this match. His 11+1 and two race wins helped the Rockets over the 30 point mark in a heavy defeat.

There was no hint of the carnage to come in heat 1 when the Rockets shared the points after Tomasz Piszcz had fallen and been excluded from the rerun. Paul Thorp won the race from Ross Brady and the heat was shared. Workington took the lead in the reserves race. Aidan Collins beat Jon Armstrong with Sean Stoddart taking third place ahead of Luke Bowen for a 4-2. They added a 5-1 in a rerun heat 3 from Ritchie Hawkins and James Wright after Tommy Allen had fallen and been excluded then a 4-2 in heat 4 when Chris Neath could only split the Garry Stead/Aidan Collins pairing. This made the score after four heats 16-8.

James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins added another 5-1 in heat 5 after Ross Brady had retired and yet another in heat 6 from Paul Thorp and Tomasz Piszcz. This was particularly disappointing for Chris Neath who was on a TR at the time and finished third for no advantage. It got better for the Rockets in heat 7 when they took a 2-4. Edward Kennett beat Garry Stead while Tommy Allen picked up third place. Heat 8 was shared with a win from Jon Armstrong as Tomasz Piszcz suffered a heat 8 defeat for the first time in nine matches, The score after eight races was 31-17.

James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins made it three 5-1s from their partnership in heat 9 then Paul Thorp and Tomasz Piszcz added another in heat 10 as the Comets went 22 points ahead. In heat 11 Ross Brady took a TR but he fell and was excluded from the rerun. Perhaps Rye House gave the TR to the wrong man because it was Jon Armstrong who won the rerun for a shared race. Heat 12 was shared too when Edward Kennett won for the second time ending Ritchie Hawkins’ unbeaten run in the process. The score after 12 races was 47-25.

Paul Thorp had his fourth win of the match in heat 13 and Garry Stead joined him for another home 5-1 before James Wright continued his unbeaten run winning heat 14 for a 3-3. In the last heat James Wright completed his paid maximum but Paul Thorp ruined his by finishing third to Jon Armstrong as the Comets scored a final 4-2.


Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Paul Thorp 13 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 9+2 (4), Garry Stead 9+1 (4), Tomasz Piszcz 6+2 (4), Aidan Collins 6+2 (5), Sean Stoddart 2+1 (3).

For Rye House – Jon Armstrong 11+1 (7), Edward Kennett 7 (5), Chris Neath 5 (4), Tommy Allen 4 (4), Jaimie Courtney 2+1 (3), Ross Brady 2 (3), Luke Bowen 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Sunday, May 7

There were two Premier League and two Premier Trophy matches due to be raced today. The rain caused two of these to be abandoned – the Premier League match at Mildenhall where the Fen Tigers were due to go head to head with Workington and the Premier Trophy match scheduled at Glasgow [/color] where the Tigers were due to race Redcar . The matches which did take place were the Premier League match at Newport where the Wasps raced against Stoke and the Premier Trophy match at Newcastle where the Diamonds took on Berwick in a local derby.



Premier League: Newport 44, Stoke 52 . Stoke won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-80.


Newport , as they had to do so often last year, had a guest for Craig Watson who was so badly injured at Stoke last night. They were also without Neil Collins also nursing broken bones so had to use Rider Replacement at number 1. Stoke were again without Alan Mogridge and used Rider Replacement at number 5. They also nominated Adam Lowe as their number eight.

Spare a thought for Newport yet again decimated by injuries. Having lost Neil Collins last Monday with broken ribs and a broken collarbone the last thing they needed was another long-term injury to Craig Watson but that’s the situation they faced after last night’s accident at Stoke. To make matters worse they then suffered a home defeat to the Potters in this league match.

The Wasps probably sensed that things were not going to improve when their guest, Chris Neath, suffered an engine failure in the opening race while leading. Mark Lemon beat Chris Schramm for the three points and Trent Leverington picked up the gift third place for a 2-4 to the Potters who then doubled their lead to four points in heat 2 which was awarded after Billy Legg had fallen while in third place. Barrie Evans took first place from Joel Parsons for another 2-4. Tony Atkin took heat 3 from Robbie Kessler and Carl Wilkinson finished third after Robbie Kessler had retired so Newport pulled two points back with the 4-2. In heat 4 Chris Neath beat Luke Priest and Trent Leverington for a shared race so the heat four score was 11-13.

Newport were all square again after heat 5 thanks to a win for Carl Wilkinson over Mark Lemon with Tony Atkin third giving them a 4-2 but they were behind again after the next heat. Chris Schramm fell and was excluded from the rerun of heat 6 which was won by Robbie Kessler from Tony Atkin for a Potters’ 2-4 and things got worse for the Wasps when they conceded a 1-5 in heat 7. Chris Neath fell and again there was a rerun which was again won by Robbie Kessler this time with his partner Paul Clews backing him up in second place from Billy Legg to put the visitors six points up. Newport pulled two points back with a 4-2 in heat 8 won by Chris Schramm from Trent Leverington to take the score after eight races to 22-26.

Mark Lemon beat Carl Wilkinson to share the points in heat 9 but Newport conceded another killer 1-5 in heat 10. Again it was Robbie Kessler and Paul Clews who did the damage relegating Chris Schramm and Carl Wilkinson to the back to rocket into an eight point lead. The lead went to ten points in heat 11 when Mark Lemon beat Chris Neath with Trent Leverington taking third place from Joel Parsons for a 2-4. Newport then gave a TR to Carl Wilkinson who duly obliged with the full six points. However there was bit of a shambles when first Billy Legg was excluded under the two minute rule and was replaced by Joel Parsons who suffered the same fate! The result was a 6-3 to the Wasps cutting Stoke’s lead to seven points with the heat 12 score now 34-41.

In heat 13 Mark Lemon was next to be excluded under the two minute rule and he was replaced by Barrie Evans. Then Chris Neath suffered an engine failure leaving Paul Clews to win the race for the Potters from Chris Schramm with Barrie Evans picking up the gift third place point for a 2-4 putting the visitors nine points ahead. In heat 14 Tony Atkin took a TR and, like Carl Wilkinson before him, he too won the race for six points. Unfortunately for the wasps Joel Parsons fell as Stoke took the three points in the 6-3 result which guaranteed them all five points from the home and away meetings over the two days. In the last race, Chris Schramm fell and was excluded leaving Mark Lemon to win the race from Tony Atkin with Robbie Kessler third and an eight point victory for the Potters.




Scorers: For HomeTeam – Tony Atkin 15+1 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Carl Wilkinson 12 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Chris Schramm 8 (6), Chris Neath 5 (4), Joel Parsons 3 (6), Billy Legg 1 (3).

For AwayTeam – Mark Lemon 14 (6), Robbie Kessler 12 (6), Paul Clews 10+3 (5), Barrie Evans 7 (5), Trent Leverington 5+1 (5), Luke Priest 4+1 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 51, Berwick 44 . Newcastle won the bonus point on aggregate by 99-86


Newcastle were without Christian Henry still not recovered from the flu virus and used Rider Replacement at number 4 in his place. They were also without Adam McKinna and had Sean Stoddart at number 6 as a guest in his place. In a change to the pairings Manuel Hauzinger moved to number 2. Berwick were at full strength for this match but had also shuffled their pairings with Lee Smethills moving to number 2 and David Meldrum to number 3..

The opening heat was rerun after Manuel Hauzinger had fallen on the second bend and stayed down. In the three-rider rerun Stanislaw Burza made a fast getaway and led for half the race until George Stancl passed him on the inside. As a result the points were shared. There was a faller in heat 2 as well. Daniel Warwick came to grief on the fourth bend and was excluded from the rerun which was won by Jaimie Robertson from Craig Branney and Sean Stoddart for a 4-2 to the Diamonds and a two point lead. Heat 3 was shared with Josef Franc winning from Michal Makovsky and David Meldrum with Manuel Hauzinger unable to get past Meldrum despite his best efforts. Heat 4 was an excellent race won eventually by James Grieves after all four riders had been involved. Andreas Bergstrom came from the back to take second place and Jaimie Robertson pipped the hard chasing Craig Branney for third place. This 4-2 doubled the Newcastle lead to four points with the heat 4 score at 14-10.

In heat 5 Sean Stoddart took the R/R ride and did well to hold the hard-challenging Lee Smethills at the back as Josef Franc beat Stanislaw Burza up front. This meant another 4-2 had gone the Diamonds’ way and their lead was now six points. A third consecutive 4-2 to the Diamonds stretched their lead to eight points. George Stancl eventually pulled away from the challenge of Andreas Bergstrom but at the back Manuel Hauzinger passed Daniel Warwick for third place. In heat 7 James Grieves won comfortably from Michal Makovsky while at the back Sean Stoddart passed David Meldrum for the third place point giving Newcastle their fourth consecutive 4-2 and a 10 point lead. In heat 8 Andreas Bergstrom took a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres replacing Craig Branney. Manuel Hauzinger was excluded under the 2 minute rule and Sean Stoddart replaced him. Lee Smethills made the gate and Sean Stoddart moved into second place. At the back Andreas Bergstrom passed Jaimie Robertson but got out of shape on the second bend of the last lap and was repassed by Robertson. The result was a shared heat bringing the score after eight races to 29-19.

Josef Franc made the gate again in heat 9 and won the race. Andreas Bergstrom took second place but Daniel Warwick couldn’t hold on to his third place and was passed by Jaimie Robertson for Newcastle’s favourite score – a 4-2! This meant the lead had stretched to 12 points. It stayed that way when George Stancl won heat 10 from Meldrum and Makovsky for a shared race as the crowd waited for the inevitable TR. It came in heat 11 entrusted to Stanislaw Burza and the Bandits made full use of it. Burza and Smethills were soon away and it was left to Sean Stoddart to challenge Smethills all the way for second place with James Grieves stuck at the back. Smethills held on and the Bandits came roaring back into the match with a big 1-8 cutting seven points from Newcastle’s lead to trail by only three points. However Newcastle hit back with a 5-1 in heat 12 won by Jaimie Robertson and Josef Franc ahead of Daniel Warwick to put the Diamonds seven ahead again with the heat 12 score now at 42-35.

Stancl and Grieves added another 5-1 in heat 13 to increase Newcastle’s lead to 11 points so Berwick gave Craig Branney a TR in heat 14 rather than Michal Makovsky for some reason. This worked out well for the Bandits too (but would have been better with Makovsky as the TR)! An excellent race developed between Michal Makovsky and Josef Franc which ended when Franc, trying to pass Makovsky on the second lap, went too wide on the third bend and bit the dust. This left Makovsky and Branney to take a 1-7 (!) ahead of Sean Stoddart which pulled the score back to 48-43, too little, too late for the Bandits. In the last heat George Stancl completed his five ride full maximum but Burza and Bergstrom followed him home for a shared race ahead of Jaimie Robertson giving Newcastle a seven point victory and all three points.


Scorers: For Newcastle – George Stancl 15 (5)(full maximum), Josef Franc 11+1 (5), Jaimie Robertson 9+1 (6), James Grieves 8+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 7 (6), Manuel Hauzinger 1 (5).

For Berwick – Stanislaw Burza 13 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Michal Makovsky 8+1 (4), Andreas Bergstrom 7+1 (6), Lee Smethills 6+2 (4), Craig Branney 6 (3)(including a 4 point TR), David Meldrum 3+1 (4), Daniel Warwick 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 9 May



There was only one match raced tonight – a Premier Trophy, southern section fixture between the Isle of Wight and King’s Lynn.



Premier Trophy: Isle of Wight 64, King’s Lynn 32 . King’s Lynn won the bonus point on aggregate by 99-90.


The Isle of Wight were at full strength for this match but King’s Lynn were without Daniel Nermark who was riding for his Swedish club. Consequently the Stars only option was to line up with a Conference League rider as replacement for Nermark so they had Shane Waldron at number 1.

This was a bit of a rags to riches story! The Islanders lost the corresponding fixture at King’s Lynn by 67-26 but, incredibly, they were on for the bonus point after the opening 7 heats of this match at which point they had dropped only two points. Tactical rides provided consecutive 4-4 shared races in heats 8 and 9 which all but doubled what the Stars had scored in these opening seven heats and helped them to take the bonus point.

The home side opened with three consecutive 5-1s the best of which was that in heat 2 in which it took until the last bend for Nick Simmons to pass John Oliver for second place behind Chris Johnson. Otherwise it was plain sailing but Tomas Topinka partially stopped the rot by taking second place in heat 4 behind Jason Bunyan to restrict the Isle of Wight to a 4-2. The score after these opening four races was 19-5.

Troy Batchelor split the Stojanowski/Marsh pairing in heat 5 for a 4-2 but the Islanders were back on the rampage with another two 5-1s in heats 6 and 7. In heat 6 Chris Holder did well to pass Tomas Topinka to join Jason Doyle for the maximum before Jason Bunyan and Chris Johnson added another in heat 7 after Kevin Doolan had lifted at the tapes and Johnson had passed Trevor Harding. In heat 8 King’s Lynn gave a TR to Troy Batchelor and he finished second to Jason Doyle for a 4-4 and shared race. The heat 8 score read 37-13.

In heat 9 the Stars used their other TR giving it to Tomas Topinka but he had to be content with second place behind Krister Marsh after an excellent race which also involved Krzysztof Stojanowski, who finished third, and Chris Mills. This meant a second consecutive 4-4 shared race. Back came the home side with another 5-1 in heat 10 from Jason Doyle and Chris Holder who eventually passed Kevin Doolan at the end of the third lap after pressurising him all the way. Things looked brighter for the Stars in heat 11 as Troy Batchelor and Chris Mills made the gate. However Mills was passed by both Chris Johnson and Jason Bunyan so the heat was shared 3-3 which meant that the Stars had at last passed the 20 point mark. They did even better in heat 12 when Kevin Doolan won the race from Krister Marsh with Chris Mills in third place for a 2-4 which took the heat 12 score to 51-25 and guaranteed that King’s Lynn would take the bonus point.

The Isle of Wight registered their seventh 5-1 of the match in heat 13 when Jason Bunyan and Chris Holder finished ahead of Tomas Topinka then King’s Lynn gave Kevin Doolan a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back in heat 14. This turned out to be a good idea because Doolan got past Chris Johnson then his partner, Trevor Harding, to finish second behind Krzysztof Stojanowski for a 3-5, the Stars second heat win and one which took them over the 30 point mark. Finally, in the last heat, the Isle of Wight finished as they started – with a 5-1, their eighth of the match – with Jason Doyle completing a full 15 point maximum, followed home by Chris Holder completing the perfect five ride paid maximum ahead of Tomas Topinka completing an uncharacteristic low score.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Doyle 15 (5)(full maximum), Chris Holder 10+5 (5)(paid maximum), Jason Bunyan 10+1 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 9+1 (4), Krister Marsh 9 (4), Chris Johnson 7+1 (4), Nick Simmons 4+1 (4).

For King’s Lynn – Troy Batchelor 10 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Tomas Topinka 9 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Kevin Doolan 9 (5)(including a 4 point TS from 15 metres), Trevor Harding 2+1 (4), John Oliver 1 (3), Chris Mills 1 (5), Shane Waldron 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 10 May



There was only one Premier League match raced tonight and that was at King’s Lynn where the Stars were at home to Redcar.



Premier League: King’s Lynn 70, Redcar 22 .


King’s Lynn had Daniel Nermark back in the side after missing last night’s match on the Isle of Wight so were at full strength for this match. Redcar had Matthieu Tresarrieu at number 2 replacing Richard Juul.

Oh dear! What can be said about this match? The statistics show that King’s Lynn rattled up eleven 5-1 heat wins and two 4-2s while the other two races were shared, one with the aid of a TR. Only Gary Havelock, who beat Tomas Topinka and Chris Mills in heat 12, Chris Kerr, who beat Trevor Harding in heat 6 and Troy Batchelor while on a TR in heat 9 and Matthieu Tresarrieu who beat John Oliver in heat 8 scored any ‘genuine’ points. All the other points Redcar scored were the one point crumbs at the end of 5-1s. It has to be said though that the Bears were handicapped by the withdrawal of Kevin Little. with a shoulder injury after a crash in heat 3 which also involved Tomas Suchanek and Troy Batchelor.

The opening four heats all provided 5-1s to King’s Lynn with the Bears losing Kevin Little after a crash on the first bend of heat 3. In heat 4 John Oliver did well to hold off the attentions of Chris Kerr to finish behind Tomas Topinka to keep the home run of maximums going giving the perfect 20-4 score after the opening four races.

In heat 5 Gary Havelock took a TR but it made no difference as he finished third to Kevin Doolan and Troy Batchelor for another 5-1. In heat 6 Chris Kerr finally took a second place to stop the run of 5-1s when he finished behind Daniel Nermark but ahead of Trevor Harding. With Kevin Little out the Bears’ middle pairing was particularly vulnerable and they conceded another 5-1 in heat 7 to Tomas Topinka and Chris Mills. In heat 8 Matthieu Tresarrieu managed a second place behind Trevor Harding by passing John Oliver on the last bend to spoil Oliver’s maximum. The 4-2 brought the score after eight races to 38-10.

In heat 9 Chris Kerr took a TR and split the Kevin Doolan/Troy Batchelor pairing for a 4-4 but it was back to the 5-1s in heat 10 from Nermark and Harding after Suchanek had led briefly on the opening lap. In heat 11 Redcar had their only race winner of the night when Gary Havelock beat Tomas Topinka to share the heat 3-3. Tomas Suchanek looked as if he would take a second place in heat 12 but he fell on the last bend so the Stars scored another 5-1. This took the score after twelve races to 55-19.

King’s Lynn finished with three more 5-1s in the last three heats to complete a miserable night for the Premier League’s new team with Daniel Nermark and Kevin Doolan completing paid maximums.


Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 14 (5), Kevin Doolan 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Daniel Nermark 11+1 (4)(paid maximum), Troy Batchelor 9+1 (4), Chris Mills 8+3 (4), Trevor Harding 8+2 (4), John Oliver 7+3 (4)..

For Redcar – Chris Kerr 8 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Gary Havelock 6 (5), Tomas Suchanek 2 (4), Matthieu Tressarieu 2 (4), Jack Hargreaves 2 (5), Daniel Giffard 2 (5), Kevin Little 0 (1).