Around the Premier League Tracks - 2006

[Merlin]

Thursday 11 May

There were two matches raced tonight one in the Premier Trophy and the other the second leg of a challenge match. At Redcar the Bears raced Glasgow while at Sheffield the Tigers took on King’s Lynn in the second leg of the Pirtek Cup..


Premier Trophy: Redcar 46, Glasgow 44


Redcar were without Kevin Little who injured his shoulder in a heat 3 crash at King’s Lynn last night so they used Rider Replacement at number 4. Glasgow were again without Kauko Nieminen and used Rider Replacement to cover his absence also at number 4..

Redcar were anxious to get back on the winning trail after their 70-22 drubbing at King’s Lynn last night while Glasgow needed to win this match to remain in contention for a semi final spot in this competition.

The first heat had two fallers. In the first running Danny Bird came down as Gary Havelock led the race and Bird was excluded from the rerun in which David McAllan fell while at the back but remounted for the third place point. Gary Havelock won the heat with Matthieu Tresarrieu, making his home debut, in second place for a 5-1. In view of the difficulty the riders were experiencing with the track, Glasgow asked for a track inspection to which the referee agreed. He decided to continue with the meeting on the undertaking that the track would be regraded after a few heats. Robert Ksiezak gated to lead heat 3 but Jack Hargreaves was soon past him only to become the third faller of the match resulting in a Glasgow 1-5 from Ksiezak and James Cockle. Heat 3 was then shared with a win from Tomas Suchanek who passed early leader Ksiezak with Lee Dicken third. Matthieu Tresarrieu became the fourth faller when he came off at the back then remounted. In heat 4 Glasgow scored their second 1-5 with James Cockle winning from Shane Parker and Daniel Giffard with Chris Kerr at the back. This took the heat 4 score to 10-14.

Things got worse for the Bears when they conceded a 2-4 in heat 5 to trail by six points. Danny Bird made the gate and won the heat with Tomas Suchanek in second place while David McAllan passed Jack Hargreaves for third place. In heat 6, Redcar pulled two points back with a 4-2. Gary Havelock beat Shane Parker with Matthieu Tresarrieu picking up the third place point as Robert Ksiezak suffered an engine failure at the starting gate. Heat 7 was shared too. Danny Bird, taking the R/R ride, made another fast start but Chris Kerr followed him home and Jack Hargreaves passed Lee Dicken for third place. There were two more fallers in heat 8. David McAllan won the race but Matthieu Tressarieu, chasing James Cockle, fell and remounted. On the last lap Cockle then fell but still had time to remount and take third place from Tressarieu! Glasgow took a 2-4 from the heat to go six points ahead again as the score after eight races went to 21-27.

Shane Parker gated to win heat 9 from Suchanek and Giffard and a shared race but Redcar got back into the match with a 5-1 in heat 10. Gary Havelock won for the third time and Matthieu Tresarrieu supported him in second place by passing James Cockle with Lee Dicken at the back. This cut the Tigers’ lead to two points but they increased it to four with a 2-4 in heat 11 won by Danny Bird from Chris Kerr with David McAllan third. Tomas Suchanek won heat 12 but Robert Ksiezak and Lee Dicken shared the race after Jack Hargreaves fell on the first bend. This took the score after 12 races to 34-38.

An eventful heat 13 was shared. In the first running of the race, Parker and Bird were off for a 1-5 to Glasgow but Danny Bird made a mess of the third bend allowing Gary Havelock into second place. Next time round Bird got out of shape again causing Chris Kerr to lay down. The race was rerun with Bird excluded. Gary Havelock made a good start but Shane Parker swept round the outside to win the race for a share of the points. Redcar got back on level terms in heat 14. Although James Cockle was the early race leader, Daniel Giffard and Tomas Suchanek passed him to head off for the maximum. David McAllan ended up taking third place as Cockle pulled up. This took the score to 42-42 going into the last race and Glasgow’s misery was complete as the Bears took a 4-2 to win the match by two points. Gary Havelock made a fast start to win the race from Shane Parker with Tomas Suchanek making so hard a move on Danny Bird that Bird’s chain came off and Suchanek took third place for a highly unlikely victory.

Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 14 (5), Tomas Suchanek 13+1 (6), Daniel Giffard 7+1 (5), Matthieu Tresarrieu 5+2 (5), Chris Kerr 5+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 2+1 (5).

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



Pirtek Cup (second leg): Sheffield 58, King’s Lynn 33 Sheffield won the Cup on aggregate by 95-88.


Both Sheffield and King’s Lynn were at full strength for the second leg of this challenge match. Sheffield had 18 points to pull back from the first leg at Saddlebow Road.

Track conditions were not good for this match. The track had been heavily watered and to compound matters there had been some rain causing the start to be delayed. The decision was made to make a start to the match to test the conditions.

In the opening heat Sheffield got off to a good start when Ricky Ashworth won the race from Daniel Nermark. Ben Wilson took third place while Trevor Harding had an engine failure. In heat 2 the Tigers held a 5-1 winning position but Paul Cooper fell causing the race to be rerun. At the time of the stoppage John Oliver was not under power so he was excluded too. The two man race was won by Benji Compton so Sheffield took a 3-2 to lead by three points. Heat 3 produced an easy win for Kyle Legault but Troy Batchelor and Kevin Doolan shared the heat with Emiliano Sanchez looking distinctly uncomfortable at the back. When Tomas Topinka suffered engine failure at the start of heat 4 it was the cue for Sheffield to take a 5-1 from the two Comptons with Andre beating his brother Benji with John Oliver in third place. This took the score after four races to 15-8.

Heat 5 was shared with Emiliano Sanchez beating Daniel Nermark. At the back John Oliver did well to hold off a late challenge from Kyle Legault for third place then in heat 6 Sheffield stretched their lead to 11 points with a 5-1 from Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth with Tomas Topinka in third place. Things didn’t get any better for the Stars when it was announced that Trevor Harding had withdrawn from the meeting with blurred vision. Kevin Doolan made the best start in heat 7 but Andre Compton was soon past for the race win. Doolan and Troy Batchelor shared the race so the Tigers still led by 11 points but trailed by 7 on aggregate. They got a lot closer though with another 5-1 in heat 8. Ben Wilson and Benji Compton came up with the goods ahead of Chris Mills to take the heat 8 score to 31-16 and the aggregate score to 68- 71.

Heat 9 saw the Tigers get within an aggregate point of the Stars with a 4-2. Kyle Legault beat Tomas Topinka with Emiliano Sanchez third from Chris Mills The first TR came in heat 10 taken by Kevin Doolan but it brought no joy to the Stars. Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth scored a 5-1 as Troy Batchelor suffered an engine failure at the back. Now Sheffield led by 21 points in the match and by 3 points on aggregate. Next up for a TR was Daniel Nermark in heat 11 but he could only finish second to Andre Compton. With Paul Cooper in third place the race was shared 4-4 and the Stars faced an uphill struggle. They hung in though in heat 12 sharing the race with a win for Chris Mills from Benji Compton and Emiliano Sanchez with Troy Batchelor at the back. This took the score after 12 heats to 47-26 with Sheffield still 3 points ahead on aggregate.

King’s Lynn’s hopes effectively ended when Tomas Topinka went through the tapes in heat 13 and was replaced by Chris Mills. Ricky Ashworth and Andre Compton took a 5-1 from Daniel Nermark to all but seal the aggregate win. Kyle Legault won heat 14 for a shared race then Ricky Ashworth did likewise in the final heat.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Andre Compton 11+1 (4)(paid maximum), Ben Wilson 10 (4), Benji Compton 9+2 (5), Kyle Legault 9 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 5+1 (4), Paul Cooper 1 (4).

For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 10+1 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Kevin Doolan 8+1 (5), Chris Mills 6 (6), John Oliver 3+2 (6), Troy Batchelor 3+1 (4), Tomas Topinka 3 (4), Trevor Harding 0 (1).

[Merlin]

Friday, 12 May

There were two matches raced tonight, one in the Premier Trophy, the other in the Premier League. At Edinburgh the Monarchs raced Stoke in a Premier Trophy, Northern Section, match while at Somerset the Rebels took on Redcar in a Premier League match.


Premier Trophy: Edinburgh 58, Stoke 36 . Edinburgh won the bonus point on aggregate by 107--80.


Edinburgh were at full strength for this match as were . Stoke who welcomed Alan Mogridge back to the side after a back injury.

After a week of beautiful warm sunshine, winter returned to Armadale this evening leaving the riders to cope with a heavy track on a very cold evening. Passing was not easy so this did not turn out to be a particularly good match. Most of the excitement came in races which featured Mark Lemon and Paul Clews, the latter having one of his most impressive displays at Edinburgh. The Monarchs built up a 24 point lead over the opening 9 heats to tie up the match points and bonus but Stoke more than held their own over the last six races pulling two points back over the final stretch.

Edinburgh started with a 5-1 as Henrik Moller and Theo Pijper made good starts to leave Mark Lemon in their wake. They added a 4-2 from the reserves race, won comfortably by Derek Sneddon from Barrie Evans. In heat 3 it looked as though Stoke would take a heat advantage. Robbie Kessler and Paul Clews led from the tapes and looked set to team ride for a maximum. However, Matthew Wethers rode round the outside of Clews and proceeded to reel Kessler in. On the last bend of the third lap Robbie Kessler executed a very impressive pirouette which would have got the full 10 points for artistic impression had the manoeuvre not resulted in him falling. The rest of the field did some rubber-necking as they passed the stricken Potter with Matthew Wethers winning the race from Paul Clews and another Edinburgh 4-2. Heat 4 resulted in another 5-1 to the Monarchs. Luke Priest shunted Derek Sneddon on the first bend causing both riders to fall so the race was rerun without the Stoke ride. In the rerun Rusty Harrison and Derek Sneddon led Alan Mogridge home to take the score after four races to 18-6.

William Lawson won heat 5 but all the action was for second place where a ding-dong battle took place between Mark Lemon and Matthew Wethers with the two riders passing and repassing each other several times. Lemon finally made a passing move stick so he took second place in another 4-2 to the Monarchs. Henrik Moller and Theo Pijper left Alan Mogridge trailing in heat 6 for another home 5-1 then Stoke gave Robbie Kessler a TR in heat 7. Rusty Harrison won the race by a distance but Kessler and Clews filled the minor places for a 3-5 advantage to the Potters. They lost another 5-1 in heat 8 as Derek Sneddon and Theo Pijper had an easy win ahead of Trent Leverington to take the score after eight races to 35-15.

Heat 9 also produced a 5-1 for the Monarchs. Matthew Wethers and William Lawson comfortably finished ahead of Alan Mogridge to open the gap to 24 points but, curiously enough, this was the last heat advantage of the match for Edinburgh as Stoke started to get to grips with the match albeit a bit too late. Theo Pijper won heat 10 after passing the Stoke pair and then being briefly repassed by Paul Clews who contested the heat to the end. Henrik Moller lifted at the start so Robbie Kessler took third place to share the heat. In heat 11 Mark Lemon took a TR but Rusty Harrison made a good start to take the wide line preventing Lemon from sweeping round the outside. Trent Leverington beat Sean Stoddart so the race ended as a 3-5 to the Potters. Heat 12 was the best of the night and full credit goes to Paul Clews for a fine win after dicing with Matthew Wethers for most of the race. Clews just held on to win by the narrowest of margins and there was also a good race at the back where Derek Sneddon had his work cut out to beat Barrie Evans for a shared heat which took the score after 12 races to 49-27.

Mark Lemon made the gate in heat 13 but had to fend off Rusty Harrison’s challenge all race before winning narrowly on the line. Henrik Moller took third place from Alan Mogridge for another shared race. Robbie Kessler made a fast start to heat 14 but William Lawson was soon past him. Luke Priest chased Sean Stoddart for third place and got through on the third lap for the third place point and another shared race. In the final heat Mark Lemon again made the gate but had a hard time holding on as both Henrik Moller on the inside and Rusty Harrison on the outside nipped at his heels for all four laps. This produced another shared race and Stoke had won the last six heats by 18-20.


Scorers: For Edinburgh – Rusty Harrison 13 (5), Theo Pijper 9+3 (4)(paid maximum), Derek Sneddon 9+2 (4), William Lawson 9+1 (4), Matthew Wethers 9 (4), Henrik Moller 8+2 (5), Sean Stoddart 1 (4).

For Stoke – Mark Lemon 13 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Paul Clews 8+1 (5), Robbie Kessler 7+1 (4)(including a 4 point TR), Alan Mogridge 3 (4), Trent Leverington 2+1 (4), Barrie Evans 2 (4), Luke Priest 1+1 (4).



Premier League: Somerset 57, Redcar 41 .


Somerset were at full strength for this match but Redcar were again without Kevin Little so used Rider Replacement at number 4..

Somerset opened with a 4-2 with Magnus Zetterstrom winning his first tussle with Gary Havelock and Glen Phillips finishing third then the Rebels hit home a 5-1 in the reserves race from Simon Walker and Ben Barker who passed Jack Hargreaves on the last lap. Paul Fry and Stephan Katt added another 5-1 in heat 3 after Tomas Suchanek had had to go from 15 metres back after touching the tapes and Matthieu Tresarrieu had retired. Heat 4 was no better for the Bears. Glenn Cunningham and Ben Barker added another 5-1 to take the score after four races to 19-5.

Gary Havelock took a TR in heat 5 and won it from Stephan Katt. Matthieu Tresarrieu passed Paul Fry on the last bend so the Bears took a 2-7 cutting the home side’s lead to nine points but they lost another 5-1 in heat 6 to Magnus Zetterstrom and Glen Phillips. In heat 7 Tomas Suchanek took a TR and won, holding off a strong challenge from Glenn Cunningham. Simon Walker was third so Redcar scored a 3-6 to trail by ten points. Ben Barker continued his unbeaten run by holding off a strong challenge in heat 8 from Matthieu Tresarrieu with Glen Phillips third for a home 4-2 which took the score after eight races to 33-21.

Stephan Katt and Paul Fry added another 5-1 for Somerset in heat 9 to stretch the home side’s lead to 16 points then Magnus Zetterstrom won again in heat 10 from Tomas Suchanek. Glen Phillips third place added another 4-2 to the Rebels cause then in heat 11 Glenn Cunningham passed Gary Havelock on the third lap to win the race. With Simon Walker third it was yet another 4-2 to Somerset and they added a 5-1 in heat 12 when Stephan Katt and Ben Barker beat Tomas Suchanek in heat 12 which took the score to 51-27. This completed Ben Barker’s rides in which he was unbeaten for a reserve’s paid maximum

Redcar added 14 points to their total from the last three heats! Firstly, Gary Havelock ended Magnus Zetterstrom’s winning streak in heat 13 for a shared race then Matthieu Tressarieu took a TS in heat 14 from 15 metres back. Tomas Suchanek led the race and Tresarrieu did well to pass both Paul Fry and Simon Walker on the last bend to finish behind his partner for a 1-7. In the last heat Gary Havelock beat Magnus Zetterstrom again and Tomas Suchanek finished third ahead of Stephan Katt for a 2-4 and second consecutive heat advantage to the Bears.


Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 13 (5), Stephan Katt 10+1 (5), Ben Barker 9+3 (4)(paid maximum), Glenn Cunningham 9+1 (4), Simon Walker 6+1 (4), Glen Phillips 5+1 (4), Paul Fry 5+1 (4).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 16 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Thomas Suchanek 14 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Matthieu Tressarieu 7+1 (6)(including a 4 point TS from 15 metres), Chris Kerr 3 (4), Jack Hargreaves 1 (5), Daniel Giffard 0 (5).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 13 May

There was one Premier Trophy match and two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Berwick the Bandits raced Stoke in a Northern Section Premier Trophy match while at Workington the Comets took on Newport and at Rye House the Rockets raced against Mildenhall both for Premier League points.



Premier Trophy: Berwick 46 , Stoke 44


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

This turned out to be a tougher assignment than Berwick might have expected. Even with an under par Alan Mogridge, Stoke’s challenge gave Berwick little room for error with the Clews/Kessler pairing scoring particularly well. The result of the match was decided by a controversial refereeing decision in heat 15 which went Berwick’s way.

Stoke took the lead in the opening heat. Mark Lemon won the race from Stanislaw Burza while Trent Leverington picked up the third place point for a 2-4. Barrie Evans won the reserves race for Stoke after it had been rerun with all four back after Warwick and Priest had fallen on the first bend. Michal Makovsky won heat 3 but Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler took the minor places for a shared race. A struggling Alan Mogridge surrendered first place in heat 4 to Craig Branney and Andreas Bergstrom causing Berwick to take the lead with a 5-1 which took the score after four races to 13-11.

Another 5-1 from Michal Makovsky and Lee Smethills who kept Mark Lemon at the back suggested that Berwick were off and running as they took a six point lead. In heat 6 Barrie Evans won after Alan Mogridge had fallen blocking David Meldrum’s challenge for a shared race then in heat 7 Stoke hit back with a 1-5 from Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler who team rode brilliantly to block Andreas Bergstrom’s every move. This cut the deficit to two points and it stayed that way after heat 8 won by David Meldrum from Trent Leverington with Barrie Evans third from Craig Branney. This took the score after eight races to 25-23.

Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky added another 5-1 to the Berwick score in heat 9 after Alan Mogridge had retired and the Bandits went six points ahead again. It was down to four after heat 10 won by the impressive Paul Clews and it took a last lap pass on Robbie Kessler by David Meldrum to prevent a 1-5 converting it to a 2-4. The tenacious Potters pulled two more back to get within two points of their hosts with another 2-4 in heat 11 with Mark Lemon beating Andreas Bergstrom and Trent Leverington picking up the vital third place. The see-sawing continued in heat 12 as Berwick took a 4-2 to stretch the lead to four points again. Lee Smethills beat Paul Clews with Craig Branney taking third place for a 4-2 which took the score after 12 races to 38-34.

It was all square after heat 13! Alan Mogridge made the gate and Mark Lemon slotted in behind him for a 1-5 ahead of Andreas Bergstrom to tie the match at 39-39. Michal Makovsky won the vital heat 14 from Robbie Kessler but Craig Branney took third from Luke Priest who took his third compulsory ride for a 4-2 which gave the Bandits a two point lead going into the last race. In an eventful heat 15, Lee Smethills touched the tapes and was replaced by Craig Branney. It looked as though the Potters were going to win the match when Paul Clews and Mark Lemon hit the front but, on the last lap, Michal Makovsky burst between the Stoke pair. Mark Lemon moved out to stop his manoeuvre but Makovsky fell. The referee excluded Mark Lemon for his move and awarded the race to the leader, Paul Clews, with Michal Makovsky placed second and Craig Branney third. As a result, the points were shared and Berwick were home by two points. Phew!


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

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



Premier League: Workington 51, Newport 39


Workington had John Branney as a guest at number 6 in place of the injured Lee Derbyshire. Newport had Andre Compton as a guest for Craig Watson at number 5 and used Rider Replacement for Neil Collins at number 1..

A depleted Newport put up stiff resistance in this match. There were never more than four points between the teams until after heat 11 when the Comets pulled ahead and out of touching distance.

The opening race, won by Paul Thorp from R/R Andre Compton, was shared as was the reserves race won by Joel Parsons who failed to score another point all match! Ritchie Hawkins fell in heat 3 and was excluded from the rerun which was won by James Wright for another shared heat then heat 4 followed the shared race pattern with a win from Andre Compton over Garry Stead and Aidan Collins. As a result the score after the opening four races was 12-12.

The Comets scored the first heat advantage of the match with a 5-1 in heat 5 from Ritchie Hawkins and James Wright then Tomasz Piszcz won heat 6 but Paul Thorp, who was on a 5-1 with him, had an engine failure on the last bend so the heat was shared. The Wasps squared the match in heat 7 when Carl Wilkinson and Tony Atkin took a 1-5 after Garry Stead’s bike packed up. Stead had to push home for a quarter of a lap for the third place point since Craig Branney had retired on the second lap. Newport’s joy was short-lived because they found themselves four points behind again after conceding a 5-1 in heat 8. Tomasz Piszcz and Aidan Collins won the race ahead of Chris Schramm to take the score after eight races was 26-22.

Andre Compton kept the visitors’ ship afloat by winning heat 9 from James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins for a shared race then Tomasz Piszcz won heat 10 which was also shared when Carl Wilkinson and Tony Atkin filled the minor places. Heat 11 made it three shared races on the trot when Garry Stead won from Schramm and Atkin but the lead stretched to six points when the Comets scored a 4-2 in heat 12. Ritchie Hawkins beat Carl Wilkinson with Aidan Collins third to take the score after 12 races to 39-33.

Paul Thorp beat Andre Compton in heat 13 while Garry Stead took third place for another 4-2 which put the home side eight points up with two races to go. Newport then gave Andre Compton a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back in heat 14 in place of Billy Legg but he couldn’t overcome the handicap as James Wright and Aidan Collins wrapped up the match with a 5-1 heat win. Andre Compton did win the last race, however, beating Tomasz Piszcz and James Wright in the process for a shared race.


Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 11+2 (5), Tomasz Piszcz 11 (5), Aidan Collins 8+3 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 7+1 (4), Garry Stead 7 (4), Paul Thorp 6 (4), John Branney 1+1 (3).

For Newport – Andre Compton 16 (7), Carl Wilkinson 8+2 (6), Tony Atkin 7+2 (5), Chris Schramm 4+1 (5), Joel Parsons 3 (4), Billy Legg 1+1 (3).



Premier League: Rye House 53, Mildenhall 40


Rye House were back at full strength with the return of Steve Boxall to the side following his injury in the British under-21 Championship at King’s Lynn. Mildenhall , too, were able to track a full strength side.

In their third home meeting this year against Mildenhall, the Rockets can thank Luke Bowen for helping them to their third win. With three race wins and an 11 point total, Bowen produced his best performance for the Rockets this year.

It looked as if Mildenhall would take an early lead but James Brundle's engine failure in heat 1 allowed Jamie Courtney through into third place behind Jason Lyons and Ross Brady for a shared heat. The second heat was also shared although Bowen almost caught the fast starting Jon Armstrong on the line, Steve Boxall taking third
place ahead of Barry Burchatt. Rye took the lead in heat 3 when Tommy Allen led all the way to win from team mate Edward Kennett, who had to be on his guard when Allen moved out wide coming off the fourth bend, twice almost catching Kennett's front wheel.

Chris Neath suffered a carburetor problem in heat 4 and had to retire, leaving Boxall to hold on against the chasing Daniel King. Heats 5 and 6 were also shared before two 5-1s put the home side 30-18 ahead. Bowen and Neath won heat 7 easily from Jason King and Shaun Tacey, and Jamie Courtney, fresh from a win in heat 6, teamed up with Boxall to beat Armstrong and Brundle.

Mildenhall came back into contention courtesy of a Daniel King tactical ride in heat 9. King led from the tapes and recorded the fastest visiting rider time this season to beat Kennett and Allen. Ross Brady produced a better ride in heat 10 when he beat Jason King and Jon Armstrong, and Rye House increased their lead in heat 11 when Bowen and Neath produced a great ride to keep Jason Lyons, taking a tactical ride, behind them.

Heat 12 looked to be heading for a 3-3, Kennett leading Tacey and Burchatt with Boxall at the back, but the last bend saw Boxall sweep past both Mildenhall riders for a 5-1 heat win to put Rye House 46-29 ahead. At this stage, the only home rider not to have won a race was Rye's top man, Chris Neath !

Mildenhall finished the meeting in better style. Heat 13 was re-run when Brady hit the safety fence on the third bend after Jason Lyons had slid underneath him. As Brady made his way to the hospital in an ambulance, Lyons beat Neath in the re-run with Daniel King third. The latest news on Ross Brady is that he has damaged, not broken, his ankle. Bowen won again in heat 14 but Jason King and Armstrong kept Tommy Allen at the back for a 3-3. Heat 15 saw Rye's top scorer, Luke Bowen paired with Chris Neath against Jason Lyons and Daniel King. Unfortunately, Bowen missed the fast gate he needed and Lyons led from the tapes ahead of Neath with King finishing third.



Scorers: For Rye House – Luke Bowen 11 (5), Edward Kennett 9+1 (4), Steve Boxall 8+3 (4), Chris Neath 8+2 (5), Jaimie Courtney 7+1 (4), Tommy Allen 5+2 (4), Ross Brady 5 (4).

For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 13 (5), Daniel King 12 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Jon Armstrong 7+3 (6), Jason King 6 (4), Barry Burchatt 1+1 (4), Shaun Tacey 1 (3), James Brundle 0 (3).


(Match Report by Candyman)

[Merlin]

Sunday, 14 May

It was a busy day for speedway fans with three Premier Trophy matches and a Premier League match raced today. Throw in the World under-21 Qualifier at Sheffield and there was bound to be a clash for some riders. First match up was the Premier Trophy clash between Newport and King’s Lynn . Later in the afternoon another Premier Trophy match began at Glasgow where the Tigers took on Redcar . The third match to start was the Premier League meeting at Newcastle where the Diamonds raced against the Isle of Wight in a match which was abandoned due to the weather. Finally at Stoke the Potters had Berwick as their visitors in a Premier Trophy match.


Premier Trophy: Newport 48, King’s Lynn 45 . King’s Lynn won the bonus point on aggregate by 97-92.


Newport had Chris Neath as a guest for Craig Watson and used Rider Replacement for Neil Collins. They also had Sam Hurst at number 7 in place of Billy Legg. King’s Lynn were without Troy Batchelor who was riding at Sheffield in the World under-21 Championship Qualifier so used Rider Replacement at number 3 instead. This match was vitally important to King’s Lynn who needed to take the bonus point at least by avoiding a defeat of 8 points or more to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament. Failure to do so would result in Somerset qualifying instead.

Newport started brightly with Chris Neath winning the opener as R/R beating Daniel Nermark. Chris Schramm was third for a 4-2 to the Wasps. Joel Parsons touched the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back in the reserves race. Chris Mills won for the Stars but Joel Parsons got up into second place with his partner, Sam Hurst in third after John Oliver had fallen and remounted. As a result the heat was shared as was heat 3 in which Carl Wilkinson passed both the King’s Lynn riders on the opening bend. Kevin Doolan and R/R Daniel Nermark finished second and third as Tony Atkin pulled up with an engine failure at the back. Chris Neath took his second heat win in heat 4. Tomas Topinka suffered an engine failure on the last lap in second place promoting John Oliver to second and Sam Hurst to third. This gave the Wasps a 4-2 to double their lead with the heat 4 score at 14-10.

Carl Wilkinson then took his second race win in heat 5 but with Tony Atkin retiring from the race it was only good enough for a share of the points. In heat 6 Tomas Topinka touched the tapes and started from 15 metres back This was bad news for the Stars as Wilkinson and Chris Schramm scored a 5-1 to put the Wasps 8 points in front and the Stars progression in the competition in some jeopardy. King’s Lynn pulled two points back in heat 7 with a 2-4 when Kevin Doolan beat Chris Neath with Trevor Harding, taking the R/R ride, third but the alarm bells were ringing after Newport scored a 5-1 in heat 8 to go 10 points ahead. Trevor Harding suffered an engine failure as Chris Schramm and Joel Parsons took maximum points for the Wasps by beating John Oliver. This took the heat 8 score to 29-19.

There was no TR for the Stars in heat 9 as Tomas Topinka beat Carl Wilkinson and Tony Atkin so the heat was shared 3-3. However in heat 10 Kevin Doolan took a TR for King’s Lynn while Tony Atkin was Newport’s R/R. There was no heat advantage for the Stars as Chris Schramm won the heat from Doolan. Tony Atkin took third so the race was shared 4-4. Chris Neath won heat 11 for another shared race then Carl Wilkinson did likewise in heat 12 to take the score after 12 races to 42-32.

In heat 13 Tomas Topinka took King’s Lynn’s second TR but he finished last! Daniel Nermark won the race to keep the Stars’ hopes alive with Chris Schramm (R/R) and Chris Neath in the minor places. In heat 14 King’s Lynn gave Daniel Nermark a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back. Kevin Doolan won the heat for the Stars from Tony Atkin while Nermark got past Joel Parsons to double his third place point giving King’s Lynn a 2-5 advantage which cut Newport’s lead to 7 points with one race to go. So with the match tied up for the Wasps it was all about the bonus point with King’s Lynn needing a heat 15 race advantage for qualification. The Stars breathed a huge sigh of relief when Tomas Topinka and Kevin Doolan came up with the goods with a 1-5 ahead of Chris Neath with Carl Wilkinson falling to qualify for the semi-finals.


Scorers: For Newport – Carl Wilkinson 14 (6), Chris Neath 13+1 (6), Chris Schramm 11+1 (5), Tony Atkin 4+1 (5), Joel Parsons 4+1 (5), Sam Hurst 2+1 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 16+1 (6)(including a 4 point TR), Daniel Nermark 12+1 (6)(including a 2 point TS from 15 metres), Tomas Topinka 7 (5), Chris Mills 4+1 (5), Trevor Harding 3+2 (5), John Oliver 3 (4).



Premier Trophy: Glasgow 58, Redcar 36 . Glasgow won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-82.


Glasgow were again without Kauko Nieminen and used Rider Replacement at number 4. They nominated Andrew Tully as their number 8. Redcar were barely recognisable with three of their team missing. Matthieu Tresarrieu was riding in the World under-21 Championship at Sheffield so the Bears used Rider Replacement for him at number 2. They were still without Kevin Little still suffering from a shoulder injury so had Edinburgh’s Matthew Wethers as a guest at number 4. Tomas Suchanek was missing too. He was riding on the continent and Redcar had Edinburgh reserve Derek Sneddon in his place at number 3.

This was no contest. Shane Parker and Danny Bird went through the card for Glasgow while the two Edinburgh guests scored 20+1 with the help of TRs to the rest of the Redcar riders’ 16. But the big unanswered question was why Gary Havelock did not take a TR – leaving them to Matthew Wethers and Derek Sneddon – and why he did not appear in heat 15.

Glasgow got off to a good start. Danny Bird beat Gary Havelock in the opening heat with David McAllan third for a 4-2 then added a reserves race 5-1 in heat 2. Matthew Wethers came from the back in heat 3 to pass both Lee Dicken and Robert Ksiezak for Redcar’s first race winner and a shared heat then Shane Parker won heat 4 from Chris Kerr with James Cockle third for another 4-2 which took the heat four score to 16-8.

Gary Havelock won heat 5 but with Matthew Wethers taking the R/R ride and falling while third the race was shared. Glasgow took a 5-1 against the weak Redcar third pairing thanks to David McAllan and Danny Bird to take a 12 point lead so Matthew Wethers was given a TR in heat 7. The race was won by Shane Parker but Derek Sneddon in second place got his wires crossed and did Wethers no favours keeping him in third place for a 3-4 rather than 3-5. David McAllan and James Cockle had a comfortable 5-1 in heat 8 to take the score to 32-17.

Any lingering hopes of a Bears’ fightback ended with another 5-1 to the Tigers in heat 9 through Danny Bird and Lee Dicken to put the Tigers 19 points ahead. Glasgow looked like scoring another 5-1 in heat 10 when Danny Bird and David McAllan looked set for the maximum. However McAllan got out of shape on the last bend and Derek Sneddon and Matthew Wethers took full advantage by passing him to share the race. Shane Parker won again in heat 11 beating Gary Havelock and, with Robert Ksiezak third, another 4-2 went the Tigers’ way. In heat 12 Redcar gave a TR to Derek Sneddon. The crowd were none too impressed when he was allowed to remain in the race when it was rerun after James Cockle had fallen but Sneddon made no mistake winning the race from Lee Dicken after James Cockle had fallen on the last bend while in second place. This gave Jack Hargreaves third place so the Bears took a 2-7 to reach the 30 point mark as the score went to 46-30.

Heat 13 resulted in the routine Parker/Bird 5-1 with Havelock third but the Bears scored a 2-4 in heat 14 thanks in part to an engine failure for David McAllan while well in front. Matthew Wethers won the race from Robert Ksiezak. In the last heat Redcar went with Wethers and Chris Kerr who were no match for Shane Parker and Danny Bird who both completed maximums with a 5-1.


Scorers: For Glasgow – Danny Bird 15+3 (6)(paid maximum), Shane Parker 15 (5), Robert Ksiezak 8 (5), James Cockle 7+2 (5), David McAllan 7 (5), Lee Dicken 6+2 (4).

For Redcar – Matthew Wethers 10+2 (6)(including a 2 point TR), Derek Sneddon 10 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Gary Havelock 8 (4), Chris Kerr 4 (6), Jack Hargreaves 3 (5), Daniel Giffard 1 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 17, Isle of Wight 18 Match abandoned due to rain after heat 6 so the result does not stand.


Newcastle were without Josef Franc and used Rider Replacement instead at number 4. However they welcomed Adam McKinna back at number 6. The Isle of Wight were also without a rider, Chris Holder, so they too used Rider Replacement this time at number 1.

This match started but never looked like finishing due to the conditions and poor visibility. The abandonment after heat 6 came as no surprise and it might have not been such a disappointment to Newcastle as the Isle of Wight because it was not shaping up to be one of the Diamonds’ better nights.

George Stancl was excluded for tape touching in heat 1 and was replaced by Jaimie Robertson. The Isle of Wight then proceeded to take a 1-5 with Jason Bunyan winning the heat from Jason Doyle and Robertson. Jaimie Robertson and Adam McKinna then took a 5-1 in the reserves race to draw level again then Christian Henry won heat 3 from Krister Marsh and Krzysztof Stojanowski for a share of the points. James Grieves won heat 4 from Jason Bunyan but Jaimie Robertson fell as Nick Simmons took third place for a shared heat bringing the heat 4 score to 12-12.

In heat 5 Jason Doyle won from Christian Henry after Adam McKinna had fallen and been excluded. Krister Marsh suffered an engine failure so there were only two finishers leading to a 2-3 heat win for the Islanders. In heat 6 George Stancl beat Jason Bunyan but Chris Johnson took third place after Manuel Hauzinger had been excluded under the two minute rule and been replaced by Adam McKinna who fell.

With the score at 17-18 proceedings were brought to a halt so the two teams will have to start all over again later in the season.

Scorers: For Newcastle – Christian Henry 5 (2), Jaimie Robertson 4 (3), James Grieves 3 (1), George Stancl 3 (2), Adam McKinna 2+1 (3), Manuel Hauzinger 0 (3).

For theIsle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 7 (3), Jason Doyle 5+1 (2), Chris Johnson 2+1 (2), Krister Marsh 2 (2), Krzysztof Stojanowski 1+1 (1), Nick Simmons 1+1 (2).



Premier Trophy: Stoke 58, Berwick 37 . Stoke won the bonus point on aggregate by 102-83


Stoke were at full strength but Berwick were without Michal Makovsky who was still suffering from his heat 15 fall last night. They were also without Lee Smethills who had injured his hand testing an engine after last night’s meeting. Luke Bowen was drafted in to guest for Smethills at number 3 while the Bandits were forced to use Rider Replacement for Makovsky at number 4..

Without their best pairing it was difficult to see how Berwick could make much of a challenge in a match where there was little at stake with both sides unable to qualify for the semi-finals.

Berwick took the opening heat as Stanislaw Burza beat Mark Lemon with David Meldrum finishing ahead of Trent Leverington for a 2-4 but the Potters levelled again with a reserves race 4-2 with Barrie Evans beating Craig Branney. Andreas Bergstrom, taking the R/R ride touched the tapes in heat 3 so started 15 metres back. Stoke cashed in with a 5-1 from Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler. Alan Mogridge fell at the start of heat 4 and lay on the track for some time before getting up and brushing himself down for the rerun which was an all four back affair, Mogridge duly won the race from Branney and Priest for a 4-2 advantage to the home side and a score of 15-9 after the opening four races.

Stanislaw Burza split the Kessler/Clews pairing in heat 5 for a 4-2 which increased the Potters’ lead to eight points. The lead went to 12 points with a Stoke 5-1 in heat 6 when Mark Lemon and Trent Leverington finished first and second but the Potters got a shock in heat 7 as Berwick hit back with a 1-5 of their own. Craig Branney as R/R won the heat with Luke Bowen second ahead of Alan Mogridge in a heat the Potters might have expected to win themselves. This cut the gap between the sides to eight points but it was 12 again with a Stoke 5-1 from Leverington and Priest after Craig Branney had been excluded for ditching Luke Priest in the fence. This took the heat 8 score to 30-18.

Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler extended the home side’s lead to 16 points with a 5-1 in heat 9 and this was followed by a 4-2 in heat 10 when Mark Lemon beat the lively Craig Branney with Trent Leverington third. In heat 11 Berwick gave a TR to Stanislaw Burza but he was beaten by Barrie Evans with Alan Mogridge third leading to a 4-4 shared heat. Paul Clews, in a rich vein of form, won heat 12 from Luke Bowen and Luke Priest for a 4-2 which took the score to 47-27.

Mark Lemon and Alan Mogridge added another 5-1 from Bergstrom and Burza in heat 13 then Berwick gave a TR to Craig Branney in heat 14. This was a howling success as Branney won the heat. Better still for Berwick, their guest Luke Bowen took second place ahead of Barrie Evans and Robbie Kessler so the Bandits took a big 1-8 to add a gloss to their score while knocking seven points off the home side’s lead. In the last heat Mark Lemon and Robbie Kessler took a 5-1 from Andreas Bergstrom and Stanislaw Burza giving Stoke a 21 point win.


Scorers: For Stoke – Mark Lemon 14 (5), Paul Clews 10 (4), Robbie Kessler 9+3 (5), Alan Mogridge 7+1 (4), Barrie Evans 7 (4), Trent Leverington 6+1 (4), Luke Priest 5+1 (4).

For Berwick – Craig Branney 15 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Stanislaw Burza 9 (5), Luke Bowen 7+2 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 3 (6), David Meldrum 2 (4), Daniel Warwick 1 (4).



World under-21 Championship at: Sheffield .

Winner: Karol Zabik
Second: Chris Holder
Third: Adrian Miedzinski
Fourth James Wright

World under-21 Championship at: Holsted (Nordic Champion) .

Winner: Henrik Moller
Second: Fredrik Lindgren
Third: Antonio Lindback
Fourth: Sebastian Alden

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 16 May



This is this week when the first round matches in the Knock Out Cup take place and first up was tonight’s first leg match on the Isle of Wight where the Islanders raced their home leg against Rye House.



Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Isle of Wight 53, Rye House 41 .


The Isle of Wight were at full strength for this first round match but Rye House were without Ross Brady who injured his ankle at Hoddesdon last Saturday night. They used Rider Replacement at number one in his absence.

If Rye House thought they could repeat the seven point win they managed on the Island a few weeks ago in the Premier Trophy they were in for a rude awakening. With their team now at full fitness, the Islanders showed that yet again they are going to be a formidable proposition round their own track. Only another high-scoring night from reserve, Steve Boxall (did the powers that be foresee this sort of thing when they invented the reserves rules?), and the use of TRs, which are allowed this year in this competition, saved the Rockets from a heavier defeat.

Wins from Steve Boxall in heats two and four, both for shared heats, stopped the Islanders from making greater progress than they did with a heat one 5-1 and heat three 4-2. Chris Holder and Jason Doyle did the damage in the opener with both of them passing Jaimie Courtney and Edward Kennett while Krzysztof Stojanowski won heat 3 from Edward Kennett with Krister Marsh third for a 4-2. In heat 4 Chris Neath was excluded under the two-minute rule and went from 15 metres back. The Rockets had run four last places at this stage with the score standing at 15-9.

The Isle of Wight scored two more 5-1s in heats five and six from Stojanowski and Marsh then Doyle and Holder to romp into a 14 point lead but Rye House, or rather Steve Boxall, put the brakes on their progress in heats seven and eight during which they pulled back eight points thanks to the nonsense of the TR rule. In heat 7 Edward Kennett took the TR but with Boxall chasing Jason Bunyan so hard, Kennett was too far behind him for the two Rockets to sort out their finishing order. As a result the heat ended as a 3-4 with Kennett third behind Bunyan and Boxall. In heat 8 it was Steve Boxall’s turn to take the TR. This race was awarded with the Rye House riders in first and second when Jason Doyle clipped Jaimie Courtney’s back wheel causing Courtney to fall and be removed from the track by ambulance. With Doyle excluded the Rockets took a big 1-8 to cut another seven points from the home side’s lead. Although early indications suggested that there was no serious injury from the fall, Jaimie Courtney was taken to hospital for a check up leaving the Rockets with just five riders. The score after eight races was 29-23 but the Islanders were relieved to have the two TRs out of the way although they still faced the prospect of facing Boxall three more times in the last seven heats.

The Isle of Wight now had to rebuild their lead and started with a 4-2 in heat 9 with Krzysztof Stojanowski winning from Chris Neath and Krister Marsh third. They added another in heat 10. Chris Holder won the race while Tommy Allen did well to withstand the challenge of Jason Doyle to limit the damage. The Islanders now led by 10 points but Chris Neath took the R/R ride for the Rockets in heat 11 to join Steve Boxall against Jason Bunyan and Chris Johnson. Chris Johnson fell in the first running of the heat while challenging Boxall for third place so the race was rerun. Chris Neath won the race from Bunyan with Boxall taking third so Rye House pulled two points back. Steve Boxall was out again in heat 12 replacing Luke Bowen to partner Edward Kennett and they took a 1-5 against Krister Marsh to reduce the home side’s lead to four points as the score was now 40-36.

The Islanders doubled their lead to eight points in heat 13 with a 5-1 from Chris Holder, who passed Chris Neath in fine style off the fourth bend, and Jason Bunyan but it was Steve Boxall time again in heat 14. He won the race ruining Stojanowski’s maximum in the process but the heat was shared as Tommy Allen suffered an engine failure. In the last heat the home side repaired some of the damage done by Boxall by taking a 5-1. Chris Holder completed his paid maximum while Jason Bunyan followed him home ahead of Edward Kennett with Chris Neath suffering an engine failure for a 12 point lead to take into the second leg.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 13+2 (5), Jason Bunyan 12+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 11 (4), Jason Doyle 6+1 (4), Krister Marsh 5+1 (4), Nick Simmons 4+1, Chris Johnson 2+2 (4).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 20+1 (7)(including a 6 point TR), Edward Kennett 9 (6)(including a 2 point TR), Chris Neath 7 (6), Jaimie Courtney 3+1 (3), Tommy Allen 2 (4), Luke Bowen 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Date

There was one Premier League match and one Premier Trophy match raced tonight. At Sheffield the Tigers raced Newport for Premier League points while at Redcar the Bears took on Workington in a Premier Trophy, Northern Section match..


Premier League: Sheffield 63, Newport 30 .


Sheffield were at full strength for this match but injury-hit Newport had Chris Holder as a guest at number 5 in place of Craig Watson and used Rider Replacement at number 1 for Neil Collins. Sam Hurst was preferred at reserve for this match.

There are currently few teams who can mount a challenge to Sheffield round the fast Owlerton circuit and Newport are not one of them. This match was over as a contest before the first four heats had been completed.

Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson started with the familiar 5-1 in the opening heat although Chris Holder challenged Wilson for all four laps. Joel Parsons made a fast start to heat 2 but was passed By Paul Cooper with Benji Compton third for a 4-2. Another home 5-1 materialised in the rerun of heat 3 after Carl Wilkinson had fallen while leading and been excluded. Then in heat 4 Joel Parsons beat Benji Compton again to finish behind Andre Compton after Chris Holder had fallen for another 4-2 which made the score after four heats 18-6.

In heat 5 Kyle Legault, who had looked uncomfortable in his first race, dived under Chris Schramm propelling the Newport rider into his partner, Carl Wilkinson with the pair of them falling. Legault was excluded from the rerun which was won by Emiliano Sanchez for a 3-3. Ashworth and Wilson took their second 5-1 in heat 6 although Chris Holder gave Ben Wilson a hard time for second place. Andre Compton won heat 7 but Carl Wilkinson and Tony Atkin kept Paul Cooper at the back for another shared race but it was another home 5-1 in heat 8 as Ben Wilson remained unbeaten and was joined up front by Benji Compton who this time beat Joel Parsons. The score after eight races was 34-14.

Kyle Legault won heat 9 from Chris Holder and Emiliano Sanchez’s third place gave Sheffield a 4-2 advantage with the same score resulting from heat 10 as Ricky Ashworth won for the third time. This time Carl Wilkinson finished behind him ruining Ben Wilson’s paid maximum hopes. A third consecutive 4-2 was the result of heat 11. It looked as though Andre Compton and Paul Cooper were heading for a maximum but Tony Atkin got up to pass Paul Cooper on the last bend. In heat 13 Newport rather belatedly played their first TR card. Carl Wilkinson took the ride and made full use of it by winning from Sanchez with Parson’s winning his fourth ride against Benji Compton. This gave Newport a 2-7 which made the score after 12 races 48-27.

Compton and Ashworth continued on their unbeaten way in heat 13 for a 5-1 over Chris Holder then in heat 14 Newport’s second TR went to Tony Atkin. This was not a success as Kyle Legault and Paul Cooper scored another 5-1. Then in the last race it was a third successive 5-1 to the Tigers as Andre Compton completed his full maximum and Ricky Ashworth a paid maximum again ahead of Chris Holder for a 33 point win for the Tigers.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 15 (5)(full maximum), Ricky Ashworth 13+2 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 9 (4), Ben Wilson 8+2 (4), Kyle Legault 8+1 (4), Paul Cooper 6+1 (4), Benji Compton 4+1 (4).

For Newport – Carl Wilkinson 12 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Joel Parsons 6 (5), Chris Holder 6 (6), Tony Atkin 5+1 (5), Chris Schramm 1+1 (5), Sam Hurst 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Redcar 42, Workington 49 .


Redcar were still without Kevin Little so used Rider Replacement at number 5 but were relieved that Gary Havelock had recovered from a twisted knee he suffered at Glasgow last Sunday. Workington had John Branney at number 6 in place of the injured Lee Derbyshire.

Just as they did last week, Redcar got off to a 5-1 start from Gary Havelock and Mathieu Tresarrieu this time against Tomasz Piszcz and Paul Thorp. The reserves race was won by Jack Hargreaves for a shared race after Daniel Giffard had pulled up with machine problems. In heat 3 the Bears increased their lead to six points when James Wright brought his partner, Ritchie Hawkins, off. In the rerun Tomas Suchanek won the race from Hawkins and a 4-2 but things took a decided turn for the worse for the home fans in the next two heats. In heat 4, Chris Kerr fell and Garry Stead and Aidan Collins scored a 1-5 to pull four points back with the score at 13-11.

Workington took another 1-5 in heat 5 as Paul Thorp and Tomasz Piszcz reversed their heat 1 performance at the expense of Tomas Suchanek and suddenly the Comets were in front by two points. Garry Stead beat Gary Havelock in heat 6 for a shared race but Redcar were back on level terms after they scored a 4-2 in heat 7. Chris Kerr won the race from Ritchie Hawkins and James Hargreaves took third place from James Wright. However the Comets struck back with a 2-4 in heat 8 which was rerun after Mathieu Tresarrieu had fallen and been excluded. Tomasz Piszcz continued his amazing run of heat 8 successes by beating Daniel Giffard taking the score to 23-25.

Garry Stead won again in heat 9 from Suchanek and Hargreaves for a shared race then Gary Havelock won heat 10 from Ritchie Hawkins and James Wright for another 3-3. It was announced that Mathieu Tresarrieu had withdrawn from the meeting with a damaged knee as a result of his crash in heat 8. In heat 11 Workington doubled their lead to four points with a 2-4. Paul Thorp won the race from Chris Kerr while Tomasz Piszcz finished third then, in heat 12, the lead went to six points for the Comets. Ritchie Hawkins won the race from Daniel Giffard while Aidan Collins took third from Tomas Suchanek. This took the score after twelve heats to 33-39.

Redcar have enjoyed some remarkable recoveries at home already this season but not this time. Paul Thorp and Garry Stead virtually closed out the match with a 1-5 against Gary Havelock in heat 13 to put the Comets 10 points up with just two heats to go. In heat 14, Tomas Suchanek took a TR but the Bears gave the TR to the wrong man since it was Jack Hargreaves who won the race from James Wright with Suchanek third. As a result the Bears scored a 5-2 but it was too little to late as they trailed by seven points with only heat 15 to come. In the final race Garry Stead completed his paid maximum beating Gary Havelock for the third time. At the back Chris Kerr took third place from Ritchie Hawkins so the race was shared and Workington had recorded their third away victory in this tournament to all but secure their place as section winners.


Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 11 (5), Jack Hargreaves 9+2 (6), Tomas Suchanek 8 (5)(including a 2 point TR), Chris Kerr 6+1 (5), Daniel Giffard 5 (6), Mathieu Tresarrieu 3+2 (3).

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

[Merlin]

Friday, 19 May

The Cup week continues with both Friday night tracks hosting first round, first leg matches tonight. At Edinburgh the Monarchs raced Newport while at Somerset the Rebels took on Stoke . The second legs of these two matches are due to be raced this Sunday and Saturday respectively.


Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Edinburgh 56, Newport 40


Edinburgh were again at full strength for this match while Newport had Andre Compton as a guest for Craig Watson and used Rider Replacement for Neil Collins. Sam Hurst was again at reserve.

An aggressive and very physical display by Newport, who managed their resources with great diligence, restricted Edinburgh to a 16 point lead for Sunday’s return clash in Wales. In view of their 31 point league win a few weeks ago against the Monarchs, the Wasps may feel that they can overcome Edinburgh’s lead but they will know that it was only two successful TRs which prevented a much heavier defeat.

In the opener, Compton and Moller led from the tapes but Compton pushed the young Dane out on the second bend to gain the advantage down the back straight. At the back a down-on-power Theo Pijper passed Chris Schramm to share the points then there was another big shove in the second heat. Joel Parsons sent Derek Sneddon out wide but it wasn’t good enough to give him a winning lead as Sneddon reeled him in and passed him on the third lap. Sean Stoddart was third for a 4-2 heat advantage. In heat 3 it was Carl Wilkinson’s turn to do the shoving, this time on William Lawson, who was sent sprawling fencewards on the second bend. However the referee invited all four back, a decision met with some derision by the home support. In the rerun Wilkinson tried a repeat performance but this time Lawson was too quick for him and was soon well in front for the win as Wilkinson was left attending to the attention of Matthew Wethers. The heat finished as a 4-2 and Edinburgh were four points ahead. Heat 4 followed a similar pattern as the others. Harrison and Sneddon gated well but Parsons got under Sneddon on the third bend to send him outwards towards the fence allowing Compton into third place for a shared race. The score after four races was 14-10.

Lawson and Wethers were soon away for an easy 5-1 in heat 5 before Carl Wilkinson fell on the fourth bend on the second lap. The referee awarded the race to the Edinburgh riders so the home side’s lead was doubled to eight points. Pijper and Moller made good starts in heat 6 and had little trouble registering another 5-1 leaving Andre Compton in their wake to stretch the lead to 12 points. Heat 7 provided an excellent race, not between Harrison and Wilkinson who settled into first and second respectively, but between Tony Atkin and Sean Stoddart for third place. Stoddart passed Atkin coming off the inside of the second bend on each lap but Atkin on the wide line found the drive of the fourth bend each time to regain the lead but it was a blanket finish with Atkin just taking the point to share the heat. Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon made good starts to heat 8 but Sneddon was passed by both Schramm and Parsons coming off the second bend. Schramm then shocked Pijper by passing him on the outside of the third bend then Joel Parsons rode into the side of the Edinburgh captain causing him to straighten up and slip to the back. Pijper recovered however to repass both Parsons and Schramm but Sneddon fell on the fourth bend as the race was shared taking the score to 30-18.

In heat 9 Andre Compton took a TR and made a better start than William Lawson holding off Lawson’s challenge all race for the win. Wethers took third with Sam Hurst well of the pace but Newport scored a 3-6 to reduce Edinburgh’s lead to nine points. In heat 10 Theo Pijper and Henrik Moller were off again for another 5-1 with no challenge from Wilkinson in third place to increase the Monarchs’ lead to 13 points. Rusty Harrison won heat 11 from the hard chasing Schramm while Tony Atkin this time took third place without a challenge from Stoddart so the race was shared and Newport gave Carl Wilkinson a TR in heat 12. The Newport man made a good start and won comfortably from Wethers and Sneddon so it was another 3-6 to the visitors reducing the deficit to 10 points. The score was now 44-34.

Rusty Harrison got a flying start in heat 13 and Henrik Moller was quickly in behind him for a comfortable 5-1. Chris Schramm fell on the third lap promoting Compton to third as the race was awarded. Heat 14 was awarded too but not until the crowd had been entertained to an excellent battle. Derek Sneddon made the gate but Joel Parsons and Tony Atkin passed him off the second bend to head for a 1-5. Sneddon challenged both Wasps round the outside and eventually saw both of them off as Parsons tried to shut the door on him. William Lawson at the back watched the battle up front resolve itself before cleverly sweeping under both the Wasps riders to join his partner turning a 1-5 into a 5-1. On the third lap Tony Atkin rode into Joel Parsons knocking his partner off so the referee awarded the race. Edinburgh went into the last race looking for their third consecutive 5-1 with the unbeaten Rusty Harrison and Theo Pijper lining up against Andre Compton and Carl Wilkinson. Compton made the best start to hit the front with the Monarchs in the minor places but an extravagant outside drive by Harrison round the third and fourth bends saw him fall so Newport took a 2-4 as Wilkinson picked up the third place point – a point which the Monarchs may yet well rue!


Scorers: For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 12+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 12 (5), William Lawson 10+1 (4), Henrik Moller 8+3 (4), Derek Sneddon 7+1 (5), Matthew Wethers 6+2 (4), Sean Stoddart 1 (3).

For Newport – Andre Compton 15+1 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Carl Wilkinson 12 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Joel Parsons 6+1 (5), Chris Schramm 5 (5), Tony Atkin 2+2 (5), Sam Hurst 0 (3).



Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Somerset 57, Stoke 38


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

A solid performance by Somerset gave them a 19 point lead to defend in the second leg tomorrow night with all their riders contributing well to the win. Stoke now have a formidable task to overcome the Rebels’ lead and will hope for better from their two reserves in particular who failed to beat an opponent between them.

Mark Lemon got the Potters off to a good start by winning heat one for a share of the points but a reserves race 5-1 gave the Rebels an early four point lead. Stephan Katt won heat 3 for the Rebels but Robbie Kessler and Paul Clews consigned Paul Fry to the back for another 3-3. Heat 4 was shared too when Alan Mogridge won from Cunningham and Barker to take the score after four races to 14-10.

Somerset then struck with two consecutive 5-1s. In heat 5 Paul Fry and Stephan Katt got out in front and team rode well to ensure that their was no way past for Mark Lemon. Then in heat 6 Glenn Phillips made the start and was joined up front by Magnus Zetterstrom once he had passed Alan Mogridge to put the home side 12 points in front. Stoke hit back in heat 7 though when the fast starting Robbie Kessler won the race from Glenn Cunningham with Paul Clews in third for a 2-4 cutting the difference between the teams to ten points. Heat 8 saw Trent Leverington burst into life for the one and only time in the match to win the heat for a shared race taking the score to 29-19.

The gap increased to 12 points when, after an excellent tussle, Paul Fry won heat 9 from Mogridge and Katt for a 4-2 then Stoke fell even further behind as Somerset took a 5-1 in heat 10 thanks to Magnus Zetterstrom and Glen Phillips against the Kessler/Clews partnership after Kessler had led early on. Now 16 points in arrears Stoke played a TR card giving the ride to Mark Lemon in heat 11. He duly won the race from Cunningham and Walker for a 3-6 to the Potters cutting the home side’s lead to 13 points but the Rebels hit back with a 5-1 in heat 12 from Ben Barker and Stephan Katt who both passed early race leader Barrie Evans to take the score to 46-29. In heat 13 Mark Lemon could only split Magnus Zetterstrom and Glenn Cunningham so Somerset added another two points to their lead with a 4-2. In heat 14 Stoke played their second TR card this time with Robbie Kessler wearing the black and white helmet cover. It was only good enough for a shared race since Kessler finished second to Paul Fry for a 4-4. In the last heat Magnus Zetterstrom won again but the Rebels couldn’t take their lead to 20 plus points when Mark Lemon and Robbie Kessler headed home Paul Fry for a shared race.


Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 13+1 (5), Ben Barker 9+1 (4), Paul Fry 9 (5), Stephan Katt 8+2 (4), Glen Phillips 7+3 (4), Glenn Cunningham 7 (4), Simon Walker 4+2 (4).

For Stoke – Mark Lemon 14 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Robbie Kessler 11+1 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Alan Mogridge 6 (4), Paul Clews 3+1 (4), Trent Leverington 3 (4), Barrie Evans 1 (4), Luke Priest 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 20 May

There were three First Round, Knock Out Cup matches raced tonight with a fourth postponed because of the weather. At Berwick the Bandits raced King’s Lynn while at Stoke the Potters took on Somerset . The third match was at Rye House where the Rockets raced against the Isle of Wight . The match at Workington where the Comets were due to take on Newcastle was postponed for a week as a result of a waterlogged track.



Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Berwick 47, King’s Lynn 43


Both Berwick and King’s Lynn were at full strength for this tie which became the first leg after the scheduled match at King’s Lynn last Wednesday night was postponed by rain.

Berwick had little chance of building up much of a lead to take to the second leg since they could provide only five race winners all match. King’s Lynn were in contention for most of the match and look well placed to win on aggregate with only four points to pull back after tonight’s efforts. Berwick were for once presented with a bone dry track no doubt left that way because of the threat of rain but sod’s law prevailed and no such rain obliged leaving the riders to struggle on a dry dusty surface.

The opening heat was shared after Daniel Nermark led from tapes to flag but Berwick took a 5-1 from the reserves race and looked to build on that advantage. Unfortunately for the Bandits they were not able to provide another race winner until heat 8. Heat 3 was won by Kevin Doolan from Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky for a shared heat then Tomas Topinka won heat 4 from Andreas Bergstrom and Craig Branney also for a 3-3 as the score went to 14-10.

King’s Lynn pulled two points back in heat 5 with another win from Nermark ahead of Makovsky with Trevor Harding taking third for a 2-4 then they levelled the match with another 2-4 in heat 6. Tomas Topinka won the race but,when David Meldrum pulled up while third, Chris Mills took third place behind Stanislaw Burza. Kevin Doolan had another race win in heat 7 for another share of the points as Daniel Warwick did extremely well to hold off the challenge of Troy Batchelor then in heat 8 David Meldrum ended Berwick’s heat winner drought by beating Chris Mills with Craig Branney third for a 4-2 which took the score to 25-23.

Spurred on by this success the Bandits then added a 5-1 when Michal Makovsky and Lee Smethills both passed Tomas Topinka and Chris Mills to stretch the lead to six points. The euphoria didn’t last long because in the very next heat Troy Bachelor and Kevin Doolan raced from the start to record a 1-5 which cut the Bandits’ lead to two points again. Andreas Bergstrom passed Daniel Nermark in heat 11 to share the points then the Bandits struck with another 5-1 in heat 12. Troy Batchelor touched the tapes and started from 15 metres back but he couldn’t overcome this handicap as Craig Branney and Lee Smethills headed Chris Mills home to restore the Bandits’ six point lead with the score standing at 39-33.

Tomas Topinka won heat 13 but Daniel Nermark lost power on the first bend and drifted into the path of the two Berwick riders balking them in the process. There was no rerun so the race was shared. Kevin Doolan continued his unbeaten run by winning heat 14 for a shared race. The last heat produced a 2-4 win for the Stars. Tomas Topinka won the race but Michal Makovsky at least had the satisfaction of ending Kevin Doolan’s maximum hope by finishing second.


Scorers: For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 10+1 (5), Craig Branney 9+2 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 8+1 (5), Lee Smethills 6+2 (4), David Meldrum 6 (4), Stanislaw Burza 5+1 (4), Daniel Warwick 3+2 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 12+1 (5), Tomas Topinka 12 (5),
Daniel Nermark 8 (4), Chris Mills 6 (5), Troy Batchelor 3 (4), Trevor Harding 2
(4), John Oliver 0 (3).



Knock Out Cup (first round, second leg): Stoke 51, Somerset 41 , Somerset won through to the second round on aggregate by 98-89.


Both Stoke were at full strength for this second leg tie following their 57-38 defeat at Somerset last night. Somerset were without Glen Phillips and used Rider Replacement instead at number 2. They also nominated Lee Smart as their number eight.

Stoke never looked like pulling back the first leg deficit in this match. Indeed after 11 heats they were still only four points ahead in the match and trailed by 15 points on aggregate. Although they stretched their winning margin to ten points on the night the tie was effectively decided long before the end.

Somerset gave the R/R ride to their number eight, Lee Smart, in the opening race which was won by Magnus Zetterstrom from Mark Lemon all from the gate for a 3-3. On a track which heavily favoured the inside line, Barrie Evans won the reserves race but Ben Barker passed Luke Priest for another shared heat. Heat 3 had to be rerun after the referee had pressed the wrong button putting on the two minute warning light instead of raising the tapes! Then, in the restart, Robbie Kessler rode Stephan Katt wide on the first bend causing the Somerset man to fall. The referee called all four back and at the third attempt the race was again deadlocked when Kessler won from Katt with Paul Fry taking third. Stoke finally made a breakthrough in heat 4. Alan Mogridge won the race from Glenn Cunningham and this time Luke Priest not only beat Barker but pressed Cunningham unsuccessfully for most of the race for second place. The resultant 4-2 took the score to 13-11.

Magnus Zetterstrom won again in heat 5 but, at the back, Paul Clews passed Simon Walker for third place behind Kessler to share the race and maintain Stoke’s two point advantage. Stoke doubled their lead to four points in heat 6. Mark Lemon beat Glenn Cunningham who passed Trent Leverington for second place. However Leverington’s third place point gave the Potters another 4-2.advantage. Things began to boil up in heat 7 when Stoke at last looked as thought they might yet challenge for the aggregate win. Paul Fry led early on but Alan Mogridge passed him on the second lap then Barrie Evans did likewise on the third lap for a 5-1 which again doubled the Potters’ lead this time to eight points to cut the aggregate deficit to 11 points. However they lost ground in heat 8 when Trent Leverington was excluded after crashing into Stephan Katt as he tried to cut under the Somerset man. In the rerun Stephan Katt led Barrie Evans home while Barker picked up the gift point for a 2-4 which took the score to 27-21 leaving the Potters still 13 points behind on aggregate with heats fast running out.

In heat 9 Somerset delivered a killer blow to Stoke’s hopes when their reserve Simon Walker roared to the front to win in fine style from Paul Clews. With Glenn Cunningham taking third place from Robbie Kessler the 2-4 reduced the Potters lead on the night to only four points leaving them with the proverbial mountain to climb. It didn’t get any better for them in heat 10 for, although Mark Lemon won the race by passing Katt and Fry, the Rebels consigned Leverington to the back for a shared race. Heat 11 was shared too. Magnus Zetterstrom saw to that as he won for the third time on the trot from Mogridge and Evans but in heat 12 Stoke produced a 5-1 with Luke Priest and Paul Clews winning comfortably from Stephan Katt. It was too little, too late but it did extend the Potters’ lead to eight points as the score reached 40-32., still 11 points down on aggregate with just three races to go.

In heat 13 Mark Lemon finally lowered Zetterstrom’s colours and it looked briefly as though the home side might take another 5-1 as Alan Mogridge slotted into second place. However Zetterstrom passed Mogridge on the second lap and Somerset were all but home and dry although they lost the heat 4-2 to go ten points down in the match. This allowed them to give Paul Fry a TR in heat 14. Although Robbie Kessler won the race, Fry took second ahead of Barrie Evans for a 4-4 shared race before Zetterstrom signed off with another race win in heat 15 beating Mark Lemon and Alan Mogridge to share the points.


Scorers: For Stoke – Mark Lemon 13 (5), Alan Mogridge 10+1 5), Barrie Evans 9+1 (5), Robbie Kessler 8 (4), Paul Clews 5+2 (4), Luke Priest 4 (3), Trent Leverington 2+1 (4).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 14 (5), Stephan Katt 8 (5), Paul Fry 7+1 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Glenn Cunningham 5 (4), Simon Walker 5 (6), Ben Barker 2+1 (4), Lee Smart (No 8) 0 (1).



Knock Out Cup (first round, second leg): Rye House 66, Isle of Wight 26. Rye House won through to the second round on aggregate by 107-79.


Rye House began the second leg of this KO Cup tie trailing the Isle of Wight by 12 points. With Jamie Courtney still in hospital on the island after a bad crash in Tuesday's first leg, and likely to be out of the side for many weeks, Rye used rider replacement at number two. Danny Betson was promoted from the Conference League side and named at number eight, his debut in Premier League racing. The visitors were at full strength. Despite the scoreline, the match contained some of the best racing seen at the track this year.

Heat 1 gave no indication of what was to come when Chris Holder had a surprisingly easy win over Ross Brady. Tommy Allen, as rider replacement, took third place ahead of Jason Doyle. The Rye reserve pairing of Luke Bowen and Steve Boxall won easily from Chris Johnson and Nick Simmons in heat 2. Edward Kennett led in heat 3 and was soon well in control. Allen's engine gave up on the fourth bend allowing Krister Marsh and Krzysztof Stojanowski through into the minor places. Rye scored another 5-1 in heat 4. Boxall led but Chris Neath soon took over at the front. Bunyan and Simmons couldn't get close. 16-8 to Rye House after four heats.

Chris Holder was out for his second race in heat 5 but it was Kennett from the inside gate who led and was soon sailing off into the distance. Allen was behind him with Holder at his heels throughout. On the last lap, Holder threw everything at Allen and twice looked to edge ahead as he charged into the bends on Allen's inside. Allen kept his nerve off the last bend and got the power on first to win by a bike length.

Heat 6 was even better. Brady, Boxall (as rider replacement) and Bunyan were together throughout the race. Brady kept his lead to win while Bunyan managed to
squeeze into second place. Heats 7 and 8 saw Rye House increase their lead further thanks to two 5-1s. Neath and Bowen were too good for Marsh and Stojanowski and then the Rye reserves, Boxall and Bowen (as rider replacement) won easily from Doyle and Simmons. 35-13 to Rye House after eight heats.

Allen led heat 9 from Kennett with Bunyan, on a tactical ride, in third place. Kennett
moved into the lead at the end of the second lap, staying wide as Allen kept to the
inside and Bunyan waited for his chance. Just as another 5-1 was looming, Bunyan's persistence paid off and he moved past Allen right on the line to split the home riders.

Danny Betson's time came in heat 10, the last of the rider replacement spots, partnering Brady against Marsh and Stojanowski. Betson was first to the bend, ahead of Brady, and never looked in danger. Behind him, Brady was coming under pressure from Stojanowski and had to give up second place at the end of the third lap. Neath won heat 11 in a canter leaving Bowen and Doyle to slug it out for second place. They changed positions at least twice but it was Doyle at the line. Chris Holder surprised Kennett and Boxall with a great start in heat 12 but he couldn't stay in front. Kennett passed him on the outside of the third bend and Boxall repeated the move a lap later.

Rye House took another 5-1 in heat 13 when Neath and Brady lined up against Holder and Bunyan. This one was very close with all four riders tightly grouped for the four laps. Neath won it from Brady, ahead of Bunyan. Bowen won again in heat 14 from Stojanowski and Allen.

Kennett and Neath were in the last heat against Holder and Bunyan. The home pair gated quickly and were soon in control. Rye House had won the match by 66-26 to make the score over two legs 107-79. Both Neath (full) and Kennett (paid) recorded maximums but it will be Danny Betson who will remember this tie and his race win in heat 10. The Islanders managed just three shared heats and one heat winner - Holder in heat 1. However, they never let their heads drop and scored a maximum for effort.


Scorers: For Rye House – Chris Neath 15 (5); Edward Kennett 13+2 (5); Luke Bowen 11+2 (5); Steve Boxall 11+2 (5); Ross Brady 8+1 (4); Tommy Allen 5+2 (5); Danny Betson 3 (1).


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


(Match Report by Candyman)

[Merlin]

Sunday, 21 May



The weather wiped out three of today’s scheduled matches leaving only one Premier Trophy match unscathed. The casualties were the first round, second leg KO cup tie between Newport and Edinburgh , the Premier League match between Mildenhall and Somerset and the first round, first leg KO Cup tie between Newcastle and Workington . The only survivor was the Premier Trophy match at Glasgow where the Tigers were at home to Berwick.



Premier Trophy: Glasgow 57, Berwick 38 . Glasgow won the bonus point on aggregate by 103-82


Glasgow were still without Kauko Nieminen and again used Rider Replacement at number 4 while Berwick arrived without Stanislaw Burza who was apparently riding in Poland. Their only option to cover his absence was the use of a Conference League guest and they tracked John Branney at number 1. So for the second week running Glasgow were faced with a match against a side missing a key member of the team.

Glasgow’s chances of qualifying for the semi-final of the Premier Trophy rested on winning this match, the match at Stoke and a Stoke victory at Sheffield, the last of which looks a long shot. Consequently there was not a great deal at stake. The weakened Berwick team were no match for the home side. The Bandits ran no fewer than twelve last places and were outscored at reserve by 19+2 – 3.

Danny Bird kicked off proceedings with his usual fast start and heat 1 win but David Meldrum took second ahead of David McAllan as the Tigers started with a 4-2. They added a reserves race 5-1 in heat 2 after Daniel Warwick had led from the start but Berwick hit back with a 1-5 from Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky, once again the mainstay of the team. Shane Parker embarked on another maximum by winning heat 4 from Craig Branney with James Cockle taking third for a 4-2 to the Tigers which took the score after four races to 14-10.

In heat 5 David Meldrum led from tapes to flag seeing off the challenge from Lee Dicken. James Cockle took third place to share the points but Glasgow thumped home two consecutive 5-1 heat wins to take complete command. First up were Bird and McAllan in heat 6 who headed home Andreas Bergstrom yet again handicapped by poor gating followed by an excellent piece of team riding by Shane Parker to see the fast starting Robert Ksiezak home in first place ahead of the dangerous Makovsky/Smethills pairing in heat 7. This gave Glasgow a 12 point lead so Berwick responded by giving David Meldrum a TR in heat 8. It looked like being a disaster for the Bandits when McAllan and Cockle worked themselves to the front off the first corner but Meldrum passed Cockle to share the points 4-4 and take the score to 31-19.

Danny Bird took the R/R ride in heat 9 and again made a fast start to win from Andreas Bergstrom with Lee Dicken third to add two more points to the Glasgow lead with the 4-2. Bird was out again in heat 10 but this time he did not get to the front off the second bend and looked less than impressive trailing home behind Makovsky and Smethills who scored their second 1-5 of the match cutting the Tigers’ lead to 10 points. That’s as close as the Bandits got however as they lost a 5-1 in heat 11. David Meldrum was excluded for moving at the start and had to go from 15 metres back. Left with only Conference League rider, John Branney, at the tapes Robert Ksiezak and Shane Parker had no problem repeating their 5-1 success of heat 7 to restore the home side’s 14 point lead. Lee Smethills and Daniel Warwick made the gate for the Bandits in heat 12 but Cockle and Dicken passed Warwick on the third and fourth laps respectively to share the race points and bring the score to 44-30.

The customary Parker/Bird 5-1 materialised in heat 13 to stretch the lead to 18 points then Michal Makovsky took the ‘saved-up’ TR in heat 14. He duly won the race but with Craig Branney falling Berwick had to be content with a 3-6 victory. In the last race Parker and Bird scored another 5-1 to give Glasgow a 19 point win and all three points at stake.


Scorers: For Glasgow – Danny Bird 14+2 (6), Shane Parker 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Robert Ksiezak 11+1 (5), James Cockle 8+1 (5), David McAllan 7+2 (5), Lee Dicken 4+1 (4).

For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 13+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), David Meldrum 9 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Lee Smethills 8+1 (4), Andreas Bergstrom 4 (4), Craig Branney 3 (4), John Branney 1 (4), Daniel Warwick 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 23 May



The Isle of Wight began their Premier League campaign tonight with a visit from Newcastle before setting off on their northern tour on Thursday to race against Redcar, Edinburgh and Berwick. Newcastle are making use of their long trip to the Island by calling in at King’s Lynn tomorrow night.



Premier League: Isle of Wight 57, Newcastle 35 .


Both the Isle of Wight and Newcastle were at full strength for this match.

The Premier League match between these two sides at Newcastle nine days ago was abandoned due to rain and poor visibility with the Islanders leading 17-18 so they must have been confident of a big win particularly considering the thrashing they gave Newcastle on the Island in the corresponding fixture last year. It didn’t quite work out that way though particularly in the early stages as Newcastle put up stiffer resistance this time!

Manuel Hauzinger was probably the outsider to win heat 1 but win it he did! In fact Newcastle looked like starting with a 1-5 until Chris Holder passed George Stancl on the last lap to limit the damage to a 2-4. The reserves race went to the home side by the maximum 5-1 after a passing and repassing bout between Chris Johnson and Jaimie Robertson with Johnson taking second place behind his partner, Nick Simmons. This put the home side two points up but they found it difficult to extend that lead. Josef Franc won heat 3 from Stojanowski but Krister Marsh held on to third place despite a strong challenge from Christian Henry. The race was therefore shared just as heat 4 was too. James Grieves and Jaimie Robertson made fast starts but Jason Bunyan passed them both on the back straight to win the heat for a 3-3 taking the score after four races to 13-11.

Krzysztof Stojanowski won heat 5 but Hauzinger and Stancl rode well together to keep Krister Marsh at the back for another shared race, the third on the trot. In heat 6 the Islanders moved further ahead. It looked as though James Grieves was going to win the race but, after chasing him for three and a half laps, Chris Holder found a way past. With Jason Doyle in third place the Isle of Wight moved four points ahead with the 4-2. Then Newcastle slipped further behind when the Islanders scored a 5-1 in heat 7. Although Christian Henry led from the tapes his lead did not last beyond the back straight of the opening lap as Jason Bunyan on the inside and Chris Johnson on the outside executed a scissors movement relegating him to third. With Josef Franc stuck at the back the home side’s lead stretched to eight points. It lengthened to ten points after heat 8. Jason Doyle won the race but the action was behind him where Manuel Hauzinger, returning to his former track, successfully contested the battle for second place with Nick Simmons. The result was a 4-2 and the score after eight heats was now 29-19.

In heat 9 James Grieves took a TR and again made an excellent gate. He held the lead for two laps but Krzysztof Stojanowski roared past him for the win with Krister Marsh in third. This meant a 4-4 share of the points. Heat 10 resulted in another 4-2 when Chris Holder won the race after passing the fast starting Josef Franc with Jason Doyle in third place as Christian Henry pulled up with machine problems. Heat 11 brought no joy to the Diamonds either. George Stancl took the second TR and was leading the race when, on the second lap, he fell. Jason Bunyan went on to win from Manuel Hauzinger but another 4-2 to the Islanders increased their lead to 14 points. In heat 12, Christian Henry provided Newcastle’s third race winner by beating Krister Marsh and Nick Simmons but, with Jaimie Robertson finishing last, it only produced a share of the points for the visitors as the score after twelve races was 44-30.

When Jason Bunyan and Chris Holder scored a 5-1 from the gate in heat 13 against James Grieves and George Stancl, Newcastle must have started worrying about the eventual size of their defeat for their prospects of winning the bonus point. They were now 18 points in arrears with two difficult races to go. However Josef Franc won heat 14 to share the heat from Chris Johnson and Krzysztof Stojanowski for a 3-3 and was nominated for heat 15 with James Grieves. In the first running of the race Chris Holder fell on the second lap but remounted as Josef Franc and James Grieves collided with each other. Franc was excluded from the rerun. Finally the expected 5-1 materialised with Jason Bunyan completing a full five ride maximum and Chris Holder taking second place from James Grieves resulting in a 22 point win for the Islanders.

The Isle of Wight will be delighted with another convincing home performance in which all their team contributed to the win while Newcastle will reflect on the poor returns from their top average men, Stancl and Grieves, neither of whom won a race, in any analysis of this defeat.


Scorers: For The Isle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 15 (5)(full maximum), Chris Holder 12+2 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 9+1 (4), Chris Johnson 7+2 (4), Nick Simmons 5+1 (4), Jason Doyle 5 (4), Krister Marsh 4+1 (4).

For Newcastle – James Grieves 10 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Manuel Hauzinger 9 (4), Josef Franc 8 (5), Christian Henry 4 (4), George Stancl 2+1 (4), Jaimie Robertson 2+1 (5), Adam McKinna 0 (3).