Around the Premier League Tracks - 2006

[Merlin]

Thursday, 25 May

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Sheffield the Tigers raced Somerset while at Redcar the Bears took on the Isle of Wight .


Premier League: Sheffield 48, Somerset 45 . Sheffield won the bonus point by 97-89.


Both Sheffield and Somerset were at full strength for this match. Sheffield had already won by 44-49 at Somerset so were expected to win this match comfortably, and take the bonus point in the process, but they were faced by a determined Rebels side who clearly hadn’t read the script!

There was no sign of anything other than a big home win when Ben Wilson came from the back to pass Magnus Zetterstrom in the opening heat to join his partner, Ricky Ashworth, for the usual 5-1. The Rebels’ reserves led the fightback in heat 2 in which Ben Barker rode round the field on the opening bend while his partner, Simon Walker, passed Benji Compton on the outside on the last bend for a 2-4. Paul Fry then won heat 3 by some distance from Kyle Legault while Emiliano Sanchez had to pass Stephan Katt to share the points. Sheffield went four points ahead again when Andre Compton won heat 4 from Glenn Cunningham and Benji Compton turned the tables on heat 2 winner, Ben Barker, for third and a 4-2. This took the score after four races to 14-10.

Somerset shocked the home side with a 1-5 in heat 5 to level the scores. Magnus Zetterstrom and Glen Phillips did the damage, beating Kyle Legault and Emiliano Sanchez from the gate, with the Sheffield pair unable to do anything about it. However the Tigers hit back immediately when their top pairing, Ashworth and Wilson, scored their second 5-1 ahead of Glenn Cunningham to restore their four point lead. Heat 7 was shared thanks to a second Andre Compton win with Fry and Katt taking the minor places and the same thing happened in heat 8 with Ben Wilson winning from Ben Barker and Glen Phillips to take the score after eight races to 26-22.

Glenn Cunningham became Somerset’s fourth race winner when he won heat 9 from Kyle Legault and Emiliano Sanchez for a shared heat then Paul Fry was the early leader of heat 10 continuing Somerset’s resistance. Ricky Ashworth passed him though and, although Ben Wilson pressurised the Somerset man Fry held on to second to ruin Wilson’s maximum and limit the damage to a 4-2 to the Tigers. This extended the home side’s lead to six points and it stayed that way after heat 11 won by Andre Compton again from Magnus Zetterstrom and Glen Phillips There was no change in heat 12 won by Emiliano Sanchez from Ben Barker and Stephan Katt for another shared heat taking the score to 39-33.

Finally Sheffield opened some distance between their opponents by taking a 5-1 in heat 13 as Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth continued their unbeaten runs. With ten points between the teams the way was now open for Somerset to give Paul Fry a TR in heat 14. Things looked good for the Rebels when Fry and Ben Barker hit the front but Paul Cooper passed Barker then Kyle Legault with a forceful challenge also got past him to limit the Rebels’ advantage to 3-6. This finally clinched the match for Sheffield who were now seven points ahead with only the last race to come. It’s just as well they did because the Rebels finished in some style. Sheffield fielded their two ‘maximum’ men in heat 15 but Magnus Zetterstrom and Paul Fry showed them a clean pair of heels for a shock 1-5 to reduce the winning margin to only three points leaving the crowd wondering when Sheffield last conceded a 1-5 in heat 15.


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

For Somerset – Paul Fry 15+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Magnus Zetterstrom 10 (5), Ben Barker 7 (5), Glenn Cunningham 6 (4), Glen Phillips 4+3 (4), Stephan Katt 2+2 (4), Simon Walker 1 (3).



Premier League: Redcar 51, Isle of Wight 42


Redcar had Kevin Little back in the side after injury so were at full strength. The Isle of Wight were without Krister Marsh and used Rider Replacement at number 3 instead.

The Isle of Wight got off to a perfect start with a 1-5 from Jason Doyle and Chris Holder who beat Gary Havelock into third place but the Bears’ reserves reversed that with a 5-1 in heat 2. Undaunted the Islanders scored another 1-5 in heat 3 when Krzysztof Stojanowski and Jason Doyle headed home Tomas Suchanek and Kevin Little. Back came the Bears again with a 5-1 from Chris Kerr and Daniel Giffard to level the match with the score after four races 12-12.

Thomas Suchanek won heat 5 from Chris Holder and Jason Doyle but Kevin Little finished at the back so the race was shared. Redcar finally took the lead in heat 6 when Gary Havelock beat Jason Bunyan with Mathieu Tresarrieu third for a 4-2 and two point lead. Krzysztof Stojanowski won for the second time in heat 7 but Jack Hargreaves and Chris Kerr filled the minor places for a share of the points. Another Jason Doyle win in heat 8 gave the Islanders a share of the points as Tresarrieu and Giffard took second and third to take the score after eight races to 25-23.

In heat 9 Redcar finally pulled out a six point leads with a 5-1 from Tomas Suchanek and Kevin Little with Jason Bunyan in third and in heat 10 Gary Havelock and Mathieu Tresarrieu added another after Krzysztof Stojanowski had fallen while in second place to stretch the lead further to 10 points. This allowed the Islanders to give Jason Doyle a TR in heat 11 and he made the most of it by winning the race. Better still for the visitors, Chris Holder finished second so the Islanders pulled off the big 1-8 cutting Redcar’s lead to only three points. In heat 12 Krzysztof Stojanowski scored his third win of the match beating Thomas Suchanek but Daniel Giffard finished third to share the points and the score after 12 heats was 39-36

Heat 13 won by Gary Havelock was shared but the home side were home and dry when Kevin Little and Jack Hargreaves took a 5-1 in heat 14 relegating Krzysztof Stojanowski to third place and stretching their lead to seven points with one race to go. Then in the last race the winning margin became nine points with a 4-2 from Gary Havelock who beat Jason Doyle with Tomas Suchanek taking third.


Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 13 (5), Tomas Suchanek 10 (5), Daniel Giffard 7+3 (4), Jack Hargreaves 6+2 (4), Kevin Little 5+1 (4), Chris Kerr 5+1 (4), Mathieu Tresarrieu 5 (4).

For the Isle of Wight – Jason Doyle 17+2 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Krzysztof Stojanowski 10 (5), Chris Holder 8+2 (5), Jason Bunyan 5+1 (4), Chris Johnson 2 (4), Nick Simmons 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 26 May

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Edinburgh the Mionarchs raced the Isle of Wight while at Somerset the Rebels took on King’s Lynn .


Premier League: Edinburgh 56, Isle of Wight 35


Edinburgh were at full strength for this match but the Isle of Wight were without Krister Marsh and used Rider Replacement at number 3 instead..

Edinburgh made heavy weather of this match on a track which had suffered from heavy weather! The afternoon rain had left a wet and greasy surface which caused problems for many of the riders. However this was still an excellent meeting with some exciting races for which the Islanders take a lot of credit for making a good match of it.

The two Edinburgh riders made the gate in the opening heat but Theo Pijper slid off on the tricky surface on the first bend leaving Jason Doyle and Chris Holder to chase after Henrik Moller. Moller looked uncomfortable on the wet surface and Jason Doyle passed him giving the visitors a winning 2-4 start. Sean Stoddart made a fine start to win heat 2 by a ‘mile’ but Derek Sneddon got stuck at the back behind Chris Johnson and Nick Simmons so the race was shared. Jason Doyle appeared again in heat 3 as the R/R and rocketed from the gate to hold off the challenge of William Lawson to win the race. Matthew Wethers took third ahead of a distinctly unhappy looking Krzysztof Stojanowski to ensure another shared race but Edinburgh squared things in heat 4. Rusty Harrison and Derek Sneddon were soon out in front but Jason Bunyan caught and passed Sneddon for a 4-2 which took the score after four races to 12-12.

It was still all square after heat 5 when Chris Holder took a tapes-to-flag win ahead of William Lawson and Matthew Wethers for a 3-3 but Edinburgh finally eased ahead in heat 6 with a 4-2. Henrik Moller demolished the tapes and was replaced by Sean Stoddart. Theo Pijper then won the race from Jason Bunyan while Sean Stoddart took third place after Chris Johnson had fallen on the first bend. The Monarchs were now two points ahead. They stretched it to six points in heat 7. Initially Rusty Harrison led Stojanowski but Stojanowski made a real dog’s breakfast of the pits bend second time round and Sean Stoddart and Nick Simmons nipped past him for a 5-1. Another 5-1 looked a certainty in heat 8 as Derek Sneddon and Theo Pijper were well away but Pijper fell on the third bend as did Jason Doyle and Chris Johnson causing a rerun with Pijper excluded. Derek Sneddon made no mistake in the rerun, winning it for a shared heat which took the score after eight races to 27-21.

Edinburgh moved up a gear after that. William Lawson won heat 9 in the fastest time of the night while Matthew Wethers passed Jason Bunyan behind him for second place. Bunyan repassed Wethers however but the race resulted in a 4-2 to the Monarchs for an eight point lead. It became 12 after heat 10 as Moller and Pijper made no mistakes this time taking a 5-1 ahead of Krzysztof Stojanowski. It was time for the Islanders to play a TR card and Jason Doyle took the ride in heat 11. It turned out to be a bit of a disaster for the visitors as Doyle fell on the second bend after Sneddon and Harrison had roared to the front from the tapes. Doyle brought down his partner, Chris Holder, in the process and was excluded from the rerun. It was the same story in the rerun though as Sneddon and Harrison again outgated Chris Holder and raced off for another 5-1 putting the home side 16 points to the good. Matthew Wethers and Sean Stoddart were well away in heat 12 but, just as the home support were getting ready to cheer a third consecutive 5-1, Krzysztof Stojanowski fell causing the race to be rerun without him. In the second running Wethers was again well away but Sean Stoddart made a poor start this time allowing Chris Johnson into second place. Stoddart fell in his efforts to challenge Johnson for second place but remounted for the point which gave the Monarchs a 4-2 and 18 point lead with the score stretching to 45-27.

In heat 13 Jason Bunyan was given a TR. Henrik Moller and Rusty Harrison looked set for a 5-1 when they made good starts but Moller pulled a locker on the second bend causing Holder to clip his back wheel and slew into the path of Jason Bunyan who had to bale out. Moller was sent hurtling from his machine into the fence but was not seriously injured. In the rerun Rusty Harrison continued his winning streak chased by the impressive Holder. Strangely at the back Bunyan on the TR appeared to lose interest and, although Holder looked for his partner going into the last lap, Jason Bunyan was so far behind that Holder would virtually have had to stop to get his partner into second place for the extra point! This meant that the Islanders had won the heat 3-4. In heat 14 William Lawson had another big win but Derek Sneddon in second place once again showed his affinity for the pits bend fence by almost coming to grief at it. This allowed Stojanowski and Simmons through to fill the minor places but Sneddon recovered to pass Nick Simmons. If he thought that that was good enough for the third place point he was mistaken as Simmons produced an excellent sweep round the outside to pass him briefly before Sneddon recovered sufficiently to get the verdict on the line. This produced another 4-2 for the home side who now led by 19 points. In the last race the crowd were treated to a fine race between Rusty Harrison and Chris Holder with William Lawson snapping at Holder’s heels for the first two laps. Harrison held on to complete his paid maximum and the 4-2 took the Edinburgh lead to over 20 points.


Scorers: For Edinburgh – Rusty Harrison 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), William Lawson 10+1 (5), Derek Sneddon 8 (5), Matthew Wethers 7+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 7+1 (4), Theo Pijper 5+1 (4), Henrik Moller 5 (4).

For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 9 (5), Jason Bunyan 8+1 (5)(including a 2 point TR), Jason Doyle 8 (5), Chris Johnson 5 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 3 (5), Nick Simmons 2+1 (5).



Premier League: Somerset 51, King’s Lynn 39


Somerset were without Stephan Katt and used Rider Replacement at number 3. King’s Lynn were at full strength but switched their pairings around with Troy Batchelor moving to number 2 and Trevor Harding to number 3..

This match was a close run affair with only two points separating the teams after 12 heats but a late surge by the Rebels earned them a 12 point victory.

Magnus Zetterstrom got the Rebels off to a good start winning the opening heat from Daniel Nermark with Glen Phillips holding off Troy Batchelor for the odd point and a 4-2 lead. Simon Walker won the reserves race which was shared with Ben Barker falling at the back then Kevin Doolan won heat 3 for another shared race as Paul Fry and Glen Phillips followed him home. Heat 4 produced the third consecutive shared heat. Tomas Topinka held off a strong challenge from Glenn Cunningham to win the heat while Ben Barker slipped inside John Oliver on the last lap for the 3-3 bringing the score to 13-11.

Somerset doubled their lead to four points in heat 5 when Paul Fry won from Troy Batchelor with Simon Walker taking third from a lack-lustre Daniel Nermark for a 4-2 and they added another two points to the lead in heat 6. Magnus Zetterstrom took an untroubled win ahead of Tomas Topinka and Glen Phillips’ third place point produced a 4-2. Kevin Doolan won heat 7 from Simon Walker and Glenn Cunningham so this race was shared but the Stars hit back strongly with a 1-5 in heat 8. Troy Batchelor won the race and Chris Mills rode well to hold off Glen Phillips for maximum points which cut the home side’s lead to only two points and took the score to 25-23 after eight races.

Suddenly King’s Lynn were back on level terms again when they added a 2-4 in heat 9. Tomas Topinka won the race from Paul Fry while John Oliver held off Simon Walker to square the match with six races to go. Somerset regained a two point advantage in heat 10 when they took another 4-2. Again Magnus Zetterstrom produced a heat win this time from the back ending Kevin Doolan’s unbeaten run in the process while Glen Phillips reversed his heat 8 defeat by Chris Mills by beating him this time and challenging Doolan unsuccessfully for second place. In heat 11 Glenn Cunningham produced an excellent pass on Troy Batchelor for a heat win but Daniel Nermark took third place from Simon Walker who was none too pleased with Nermark’s tactics in doing so. Heat 12 produced a shared race when Paul Fry beat Trevor Harding with Chris Mills third and the score was now 37-35 with all to race for.

In heat 13 Somerset produced the killer blow and Glenn Cunningham took most of the credit. Magnus Zetterstrom was off for another win but the two Stars were behind him. Cunningham picked off Nermark before reeling in Topinka and passing him on the line for a 5-1 which stretched the lead to six points with just two heats to go. The Rebels then tied up the points with a 4-2 in heat 14. Paul Fry passed Doolan to win the race and Doolan then had to fend off Simon Walker to preserve his two points. Finally in the last race the home side wrapped things up with another 5-1 from their top men on the night Magnus Zetterstrom and Paul Fry when they headed home Tomas Topinka and Kevin Doolan and a 12 point win which had looked unlikely when the teams were all square after heat 9.

Scorers: For Somerset – Paul Fry 15+1 (6), Magnus Zetterstrom 15 (5)(full maximum), Glenn Cunningham 8+2 (4), Simon Walker 7 (6), Glen Phillips 5+1 (5), Ben Barker 1+1 (4).

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

[Merlin]

Saturday, 27 May

Three meetings took place this evening. At Berwick the Bandits raced the color=red] Isle of Wight in a Premier League match while at Workington the Comets took on Newcastle in their rearranged first round, first leg Knock Out Cup tie. The other meeting was at Stoke where the evening was given over to Robbie Kessler’s Testimonial.



Premier League: Berwick 44, Isle of Wight 46


Berwick were without Stanislaw Burza who was serving a one match suspension for riding in Poland last Sunday instead of fulfilling a Premier League match at Glasgow. They used Gary Flint as a guest replacement in his place at number 1. The Isle of Wight were again without Krister Marsh for this third leg of their three match northern tour and used Rider Replacement at number 3 instead. With Jason Doyle having recovered sufficiently from a hand injury sustained at Edinburgh last night the rest of the team was on the usual lines. In addition they nominated John Morrison as their number eight.

The Isle of Wight finished their three match northern tour in some style by beating Berwick with a last heat 1-5. The Islanders had to do it with Chris Holder suffering from a stomach upset, Jason Doyle with an injured hand and using Rider Replacement for Krister Marsh. Berwick found the handicap of racing with a Conference League rider in place of their number one too much of a handicap although they led for most of the match before surrendering to the last heat maximum.

For the third match running the Islanders took the lead in the opening heat. David Meldrum fell and was excluded from the rerun leaving Chris Holder and Jason Doyle to score a 1-5 by beating Gary Flint. A rather impetuous ride from Daniel Warwick ended with him falling which resulted in the Islanders’ reserves sharing the race behind Craig Branney but the Bandits drew level in heat 3. Once again they were indebted to their middle pairing of Makovsky and Smethills who left Jason Doyle (R/R) and Krzysztof Stojanowski behind for a 5-1. They followed that with another 5-1 in heat 4 from Andreas Bergstrom and Craig Branney with Jason Bunyan unable to recover after a hard first bend by Bergstrom. This took the score after four races to 14-10.

The Isle of Wight pulled two points back in heat 5. Chris Holder and Jason Doyle hit the front from the start but Michal Makovsky passed Doyle and set off after Holder. The Islander did well to hold on to his lead and the visitors took a 2-4. When Jason Bunyan pulled off a brilliant pass on David Meldrum in heat 6 it looked as though the match would be all square but Bunyan momentarily lost power allowing Meldrum to repass so the heat was shared. There was then a short interval while track watering took place, a rare occurrence at Berwick, before Andreas Bergstrom headed home Krzysztof Stojanowski with Daniel Warwick third for a 4-2 to increase the lead to four points. Jason Doyle then won heat 8 for a shared race which took the score to 26-22.

Makovsky and Smethills produced another 5-1 in heat 9 as Berwick looked to have struck for home doubling their lead to eight points but the visitors struck back with a 2-4 in heat 10 won by Stojanowski from Meldrum who took three laps to pass Chris Johnson. In heat 11 Andreas Bergstrom had a valuable win over the impressive Chris Holder while Craig Branney unsuccessfully challenged Jason Doyle at the back. This resulted in a shared race but there was a real shock for the Bandits in heat 12. The Isle of Wight reserve, Chris Johnson, got out in front and his partner, Krzysztof Stojanowski tucked in behind him to make sure that Lee Smethills was kept in third place for a 1-5 which cut the Bandits’ lead to two points with the score now at 37-35.

Chris Holder won heat 13 but Craig Branney and Andreas Bergstrom mounted a rearguard action to keep Jason Bunyan at the back to share the spoils then the Islanders were delighted to share heat 14. Michal Makovsky missed the gate badly and, although he overtook Chris Johnson, he was stymied by his own team mate, Craig Branney, which prevented him from mounting a challenge on Stojanowski. This meant that Berwick still had a two point advantage with last race looming. Heat 15 saw Stojanowski and Holder hit the front and that, as they say, was that. The 1-5 resulted in another home defeat for the Bandits who will no doubt take stock and consider their options before their season disintegrates.


Scorers: For Berwick – Craig Branney 10+2 (6), Andreas Bergstrom 10+1 (5), Michal Makovsky 10+1 (5), David Meldrum 7 (4), Lee Smethills 5+2 (4), Gary Flint 1 (3), Daniel Warwick 1 (3).

For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 13+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 13+1 (6), Jason Doyle 8+2 (5), Chris Johnson 6+2 (6), Jason Bunyan 3 (4), Nick Simmons 3 (4).



Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Workington 54, Newcastle 40


Workington used Richie Dennis as a guest reserve replacement for the injured Lee Derbyshire at number 6. Newcastle were without broken scaphoid victim, Adam McKinna, and had Sean Stoddart in his place at number 6..

Newcastle got off to a bright start when George Stancl won the opening heat in the fastest time of the season while Manuel Hauzinger passed Tomasz Piszcz for a 2-4 but the reserves race resulted in a 5-1 with Richie Dennis doing well to keep Jaimie Robertson back in third. Christian Henry then beat James Wright in heat 3 and, with Ritchie Hawkins falling and remounting, Josef Franc’s third place gave the Diamonds a 2-4 to square the match again. Workington were back in front after heat 4 though when Garry Stead passed James Grieves to win the race with Aidan Collins in third place for a 4-2 which brought the score to 13-11.

Workington then struck two consecutive 5-1 blows to take command of the tie. Firstly in heat 5 James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins both passed the fast starting George Stancl then in heat 6 James Grieves had machine trouble from the start as Paul Thorp and Tomasz Piszcz scored another maximum for a 10 point lead. In heat 7 Josef Franc gated to a win over Garry Stead but surprisingly Richie Dennis held off the attentions of Christian Henry for all four laps to share the race. Tomasz Piszcz had his usual heat 8 win beating Manuel Hauzinger and, with Aidan Collins third, the Comets stretched their lead to 12 points taking the score to 30-18.

Things went from bad to worse for Newcastle when they conceded another 5-1 in heat 9. James Wright won the heat but Ritchie Hawkins blocked James Grieves and then raced off to take second place. Newcastle then gave a TR to Josef Franc in heat 10. Tomasz Piszcz led early on only to be passed by both Newcastle riders. Undaunted he fought his way back again to win the race. Christian Henry in second place must have forgotten that his partner was on a TR because he made no effort to let him pass so Josef Franc’s third place meant only one extra point for the Diamonds in a 3-4 heat result. Heat 11 was shared but Garry Stead had his work cut out getting from last place to first. He caught and passed George Stancl on the last bend to take the three points which took the score to 41-26.

In heat 12 it was Christian Henry’s turn for a TR and he made the most of it by winning from Hawkins and Collins for a 3-6 which cut the deficit to 12 points but Workington scored another 5-1 in heat 13 with Thorp and Stead outgunning Stancl and Grieves so the Comets’ lead increased to 16 points. Newcastle cut two points off it though in heat 14 with a 2-4 when Josef Franc beat James Wright with Jaimie Robertson third. It was hard luck on Richie Dennis though who held second place until the last bend when it all went wrong as he let James Wright, who had been riding shotgun behind him, through only to find Robertson passing him too. In heat 15 Newcastle did well to share the race 3-3. James Wright won comfortably but Christian Henry and Josef Franc team rode well to keep Garry Stead at the back to keep the Comets’ lead at 14 points for the second leg tomorrow night.

Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 13 (5), Garry Stead 10+1 (5), Tomasz Piszcz 8+1 (4), Paul Thorp 8 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 6+2 (4), Aidan Collins 6+1 (4), Richie Dennis 3+2 (4).

For Newcastle – Christian Henry 13 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Josef Franc 10+2 (5)(including a 2 point TR), George Stancl 7 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 4+1 (4), James Grieves 3 (4), Jaimie Robertson 2 (4), Sean Stoddart 1 (4).



Robbie Kessler Testimonial: Stoke 30, Sheffield 25, Hull 24, Wolverhampton 24 – Individual Winner: Rory Schlein


This Testimonial meeting took the form of a four team tournament with one rider from each team in each heat over a total of 16 heats. It was followed by an individual event in which the top two from each team contested two semi-finals with the winners and second placed riders taking part in a grand final.

Scorers in the teams event - : For Stoke – Robbie Kessler 10 (4), Mark Lemon 9 (4), Paul Clews 6 (4), Alan Mogridge 4 (3), Luke Priest 1 (1).

For Sheffield – Simon Stead 11 (4), Ricky Ashworth 8 (4), Steve Johnston 4 (4), Adam Allott 2 (4).

For Hull – Rory Schlein 11 (4), Shane Parker 9 (including a 6 point TR), Emiliano Sanchez 4 (4), Ross Brady 0 (4).

For Wolverhampton – David Howe 11 (4)(including a 6 point TR), Chris Neath 6 (4), William Lawson 5 (4), Ben Wilson 2 (4).

In the individual event Rory Schlein won the first semi-final from Mark Lemon, Robbie Kessler and Shane Parker while in the second semi-final David Howe won from Chris Neath, Adam Allott and Luke Priest.

In the final Rory Schlein won with Mark Lemon second and Chris Neath third. David Howe a faller.

[Merlin]

Sunday, 28 May

There were two Premier League matches and one KO Cup match raced today. At Glasgow the Tigers raced Stoke while at Mildenhall the Fen Tigers took on King’s Lynn both in Premier League matches. The third match was at Newcastle where the Diamonds raced against Workington in the second leg of their first round KO cup tie.



Premier League: Glasgow 61, Stoke 32


Glasgow were back at full strength with Kauko Nieminen returning to the team. Stoke , too, were at full strength..

This was just too easy for Glasgow as Stoke managed only two race winners all match.

The first four heats all produced advantages for the Tigers. Danny Bird beat Mark Lemon to the exit from the second bend in the opener for a race win with McAllan third and a 4-2 then Glasgow took their usual 5-1 in the reserves race. Heat 3 looked more promising for the Potters as Robbie Kessler led early on but Kauko Nieminen passed him with Lee Dicken third for another 4-2. In heat 4 James Cockle led from the start but was passed by Alan Mogridge. Shane parker then got into his stride and passed the both of them for another 4-2 which took the score to 17-7.

Stoke immediately gave Mark Lemon a TR and he won heat 5 from Nieminen and Dicken for a 3-6 to cut three points off the Glasgow lead. In heat 6 though Danny Bird and David McAllan beat Alan Mogridge for another 5-1 stretching their lead to 11 points and their was no respite for the Potters as they went on to lose the next three heats too. Heat 7 produced another Parker win with Kessler second for a 4-2 then the Tigers rattled in two more 5-1s. In heat 8, Trent Leverington on his return to his former track, continued his miserable afternoon by being excluded after tangling with David McAllan. The result was another easy 5-1 for McAllan and Cockle to take the score to 34-17.

Heat 9 saw Alan Mogridge take a TR but that was wasted when he came to grief on the first bend. The result was another 5-1 for Dicken and Nieminen although this time Barrie Evans managed to exert some pressure on the home riders. At last Stoke stemmed the tide of heat advantages for the home side but it was due to a David McAllan fall as Bird won the race. Heat 11 produced another Parker win from Mark Lemon with Robert Ksiezak passing Trent Leverington for third and a 4-2 but surprise, surprise, Stoke took a 2-4 in heat 12. Barrie Evans did the honours for the Potters by winning the heat from James Cockle who had to look lively to hold off the pressing Paul Clews. This took the heat 12 score to 48-27.

The Stoke heat win was an oasis in the desert as Glasgow took the usual 5-1s in heats 13 and 15. Heat 14 was shared though when Robert Ksiezak passed Robbie Kessler for first place as Kauko Nieminen in third place retired from the race.


Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5)(full maximum), Danny Bird 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), James Cockle 8+1 (4), Kauko Nieminen 7+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 7+1 (4), David McAllan 6+1 (4), Lee Dicken 5+1 (4).

For Stoke – Mark Lemon 11 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Robbie Kessler 8+1 (5), Barrie Evans 6+1 (5), Alan Mogridge 3 (4), Paul Clews 3 (4), Luke Priest 1 (3), Trent Leverington 0 (4).



Premier League: Mildenhall 45, King’s Lynn 47


Mildenhall introduced Andrew Moore to the team in place of Shaun Tacey while King’s Lynn were at full strength.

Mildenhall must be kicking themselves! Had they given John Armstrong a TR when they trailed 29-39 going into heat 12 rather than the ineffective Andrew Moore in heat 9 and had the match unfolded as it did thereafter the Fen Tigers would have won this match 48-47 instead of losing it 45-47. It’s easy to be wise after the event but Andrew Moore had been less than impressive in his home debut up till then and the only opponent he beat was Daniel Nermark in heat 5.

Jason Lyons won the opening heat from Troy Batchelor and Daniel Nermark and a 3-3 but Mildenhall took a 5-1 in heat 2 from the reserves race in which Barry Burchatt did well to hold off Chris Mills. One heat later it was all square again when new signing Andrew Moore finished third to Trevor Harding and Kevin Doolan for a 1-5 with Doolan passing Moore on the line. Heat 4 won by Daniel King from Tomas Topinka was shared. At the back Barry Burchatt and John Oliver had a good scrap which ended when Burchatt made a mistake on the fourth bend. The score after the opening four races was 12-12.

Troy Batchelor won heat 5 by passing Andrew Moore with Daniel Nermark third so the Stars took a two point lead with the 2-4. Jason Lyons won heat 6 from Topinka and Mills for a shared race but King’s Lynn struck three massive blows in the next three races. In heat 7 Kevin Doolan and Trevor Harding took a 1-5 from Daniel King opening up a six point lead for the Stars. In heat 8 the visitors’ lead stretched to 10 points when Troy Batchelor and John Oliver added another 1-5 with James Brundle third. This took the score after eight races to 19-29.

It looked all over for the Fen Tigers when King’s Lynn made it a hat trick of 1-5s in heat 9. This time it was Tomas Topinka and Chris Mills who did the damage relegating Andrew Moore, who was on a TR, to third place. The Stars now led by 14 points and it was hard to see any way back for the home side. Jason Lyons took a TR in heat 10 but was beaten into second place by Kevin Doolan. With Jon Armstrong third the Fen Tigers at least took a 5-3 advantage but they still trailed by 12 points with both TRs blown. In heat 11 there was a bit of a mystery when Troy Batchelor was replaced by Chris Mills. Daniel King won from Daniel Nermark and Jon Armstrong so the home side pulled another two points back. Heat 12 was shared thanks to a Jon Armstrong win for the home side and the score after 12 races was 32-42.

At last the Fen Tigers scored a 5-1 when Jason Lyons and Daniel King took maximum points from Tomas Topinka and Daniel Nermark leaving them 6 points adrift with two races to go. Kevin Doolan won heat 14 to wrap up the points for the visitors scoring the three points they needed for success. Maybe it’s just as well he did for Mildenhall finished with another 5-1 again from Jason Lyons and Daniel King, this time from Troy Batchelor and Kevin Doolan, to finish only two points down.


Scorers: For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 16 (5), Danny King 11+2 (5), John Armstrong 8+1 (5), Andrew Moore 4 (4), Barry Burchatt 2+1 (3), James Brundle 2 +1 (4), Jason King 2 (4).

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



Knock Out Cup (first round, second leg): Newcastle 55, Workington 40 . Newcastle won through to the second round on aggregate by 95-94.


Newcastle tracked the same side as last night at Workington with Sean Stoddart replacing the injured Adam McKinna at number 6. Workington again had Richie Dennis at number 6 in place of Lee Derbyshire.

Newcastle opened with a 4-2 as George Stancl won from Paul Thorp. Tomasz Piszcz led from the start but was all over the place and slipped to last hitting the second bend fence in the process. Jaimie Robertson won the reserves race but it was only for a shared heat before the Diamonds added two points to their lead in heat 3. Christian Henry got up to pip James Wright on the line for the race win after an eventful heat which saw Wright in first second and third place. Josef Franc took third so the race finished as a 4-2. Garry Stead and Aidan Collins got out in front in heat 4 for what looked like a possible 1-5 but Collins, left to his own devices, was passed by both Grieves and Robertson for a shared heat taking the score to 14-10.

Newcastle then struck with a 5-1 in heat 5 as Josef Franc and Christian Henry headed home Tomasz Piszcz who was so much out of control that his partner, Paul Thorp, looked scared to pass him. Now eight points in front, the Diamonds now trailed on aggregate by six points and they pulled two more back in heat 6. George Stancl made the gate to beat Garry Stead and, with Manuel Hauzinger taking the third place point, another 4-2 came Newcastle’s way. This put them 10 points ahead but they now needed to face the TRs. First up was James Wright in heat 7. James Grieves won the heat but James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins filled the minor places for a 3-5 cutting two points from the Newcastle lead. In heat 8 though the Diamonds were back in business - big time. Jaimie Robertson and Manuel Hauzinger scored a 5-1 over Aidan Collins with Tomasz Piszcz, again having trouble mastering the track, finishing last. This took the score to 31-19 and Newcastle trailed by only two points on aggregate.

Workington played their second TR in heat 9 and Garry Stead obliged by winning the race from Christian Henry and Josef Franc for a 3-6 reducing Newcastle’s lead to 9 points but things were beginning to look desperate for the Comets when they conceded another 5-1 in heat 10. Manuel Hauzinger won the race while George Stancl protected him from a challenge for Ritchie Hawkins as James Wright finished last. Now Newcastle were 13 points to the good and only one behind on aggregate as the alarm bells rang in the visitors’ camp. Still the Comets stuck to their task and were clearly not in a mood to surrender. James Grieves won heat 11 passing Tomasz Piszcz the early race leader with Paul Thorp in third place for a shared race. Then Ritchie Hawkins won heat 12 from Christian Henry and Jaimie Robertson for another shared race. It was all about the aggregate score now as the tie reached fever pitch with Newcastle looking favourites with the score after 12 races 85-86 on aggregate.

Workington tipped the scales back in their favour in heat 13. The unbeaten to that point George Stancl could hardly have chosen a worse moment to run a blob but he finished last as Paul Thorp won the race from James Grieves and Garry Stead. Now the Comets had a three point cushion with just two heats to go and in heat 14 there was no change when James Wright won from Franc and Robertson and a shared heat. After providing only one race winner prior to heat 12 Workington had produced three on the trot just when they needed them badly. The whole tie hinged on heat 15 with Newcastle needing a 5-1 to win on aggregate. Two points would be enough for the Comets to win through. Newcastle chose to go with James Grieves and Josef Franc, who had only scored 7 points from his four rides, while Workington went with Garry Stead and James Wright. Workington then won the toss for gate positions but in the event it was the Diamonds who celebrated success. James Grieves and Josef Franc got to the front and some excellent team riding by Grieves helped to produce the necessary 5-1 for the Diamonds. Garry Stead finished third and the Diamonds’ fans celebrations began. Phew!


Scorers: For Newcastle – James Grieves 13 (5), Jaimie Robertson 9+3 (5), Josef Franc 9+2 (5), Christian Henry 9+1 (4), George Stancl 8+1 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 7+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).

For Workington – Garry Stead 13 (5)(including a 6 point TR), James Wright 9 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Paul Thorp 6+1 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 5+1 (4), Tomasz Piszcz 3 (4), Aidan Collins 3 (5), Richie Dennis 1+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Monday, 29 May

Bank Holiday Monday produced three fixtures at Premier League tracks. At Glasgow the Tigers raced the second leg of their usual season opener, The Spring Trophy against Edinburgh while two other Premier League matches also took place. At Workington the Comets took on Stoke and at Rye House the Rockets raced against Berwick



Spring Trophy: Glasgow 49, Edinburgh 41 . Glasgow won on aggregate by 85-83


Both Glasgow and Edinburgh were at full strength for this match..

This was the second leg of what was to have been the seasonal opener for these two teams. The weather had other ideas though and, even when the Edinburgh leg got under way last March, it didn’t get past heat 12 before the rain caused it to be abandoned. At that time Edinburgh had built up a 6 point lead at 42-36 despite Glasgow having scored two 6 point TRs but subsequent attempts to run the second leg also fell foul of the weather until tonight when it was staged on a pleasant sunny evening.

If a week is a long time in politics a minute can be a long time in speedway! With three and three quarter laps completed in heat 14 of this match the Trophy was heading back to Edinburgh as they were on a comfortable 1-5 which would have put the aggregate score beyond Glasgow but a very heavy crash involving William Lawson and the fourth bend fence completely changed the picture as Glasgow took a 3-3 from the race and then scored the necessary 5-1 in heat 15 for overall victory.

This was a tense and close fought match through all 15 heats although many of the heats were very processional and decided from the gate. There were never more than four points between the teams as Glasgow provided most of the race winners and most of the last places.

Danny Bird, who made five rocket-like starts in this match, won the opening heat but Henrik Moller and Theo Pijper were comfortably placed behind him for a 3-3 before David McAllan came to grief on the last lap. In the reserves race Robert Ksiezak squeezed Derek Sneddon out on the second bend and, as the riders entered the third bend James Cockle dived hard underneath Sneddon. Unfortunately he couldn’t control the move and shot across from the inside of the bend to the fence causing Sneddon to bale out. Cockle was excluded from the rerun but Ksiezak made another fast start to win the race for another shared heat. In heat 3 Lee Dicken took an early lead but got out of shape on the second bend hampering both Kauko Nieminen and William Lawson behind him. Matthew Wethers grabbed his chance by racing through on the inside for the victory but Nieminen was the big loser as Lawson could not get past Dicken for second place. This gave the Monarchs a 2-4 and a two point lead before we had the first of two cracking races between Shane Parker and Rusty Harrison in heat 4. Harrison made the gate and rode the line he knew that Parker usually favoured but Parker was not to be denied. After a couple of laps perched on Harrison’s back wheel he made an excellent inside pass off the second bend for the victory. At the back Sneddon beat Cockle so the race was shared and the score after 4 races was 11-13.

Heat 5 was also shared when Kauko Nieminen made a blistering start. Theo Pijper moved into second place and Henrik Moller passed Lee Dicken round the outside of the second bend to join his partner for the 3-3. A tapes to flag win for Danny Bird and a third place for David McAllan behind Rusty Harrison produced the 4-2 which levelled the match for Glasgow then the Tigers took the first 5-1 of the match in heat 7 when Robert Ksiezak made another fast start with Shane Parker in second holding off the attentions of William Lawson to give the home side a four point lead. However Edinburgh took the second 1-5 of the match in heat 8 when, for the second time this season, Pijper and Sneddon saw off Cockle and McAllan to level the scores again at 24-24.

Glasgow moved two points in front again in heat 9. Another fast start by Kauko Nieminen produced another win while Dicken took third place from Sean Stoddart for a 4-2. Danny Bird stormed from the gate to win heat 10 and it looked briefly as though David McAllan might join him. However William Lawson passed McAllan on the second bend and a couple of laps later Matthew Wethers produced a fine pass on the inside of McAllan on the third/fourth bends to share the race. Edinburgh levelled the match again in heat 12. In the first running of the race Lee Dicken made an excellent start and had made it to the front off the second bend only to discover to his obvious frustration that his partner, Robert Ksiezak, had come to grief on the first corner causing a rerun with all four back. In the rerun Derek Sneddon made the gate with Ksiezak taking second ahead of the ever pressing Matthew Wethers with Lee Dicken falling while at the back. This produced a 2-4 and the 36-36 score meant that Edinburgh still led by six points on aggregate.

Heat 13 produced the usual 5-1 for Glasgow from Bird and Parker but not before the crowd were treated to a brilliant race. Rusty Harrison moved into second place behind Bird and denied Parker the opportunity of his favourite outside run. For all four laps Parker stalked Harrison and off the final bend he just edged past on the inside to win by a wheel on the line. This meant that Glasgow were now only two points down on aggregate but it looked as though Edinburgh were going to tie up the match in heat 14. After James Cockle had been replaced by Robert Ksiezak for tape touching, Derek Sneddon jetted from the gate and was joined off the second bend up front by his partner William Lawson with Kauko Nieminen chasing forlornly behind them. The celebrations in the Edinburgh camp were suddenly brought to a halt as Lawson got into the deep shale on the apex of the third/fourth bends. His bike straightened and he was catapulted into the fence in a horrific looking crash which brought a hush from the crowd. After a lengthy interval he was able to limp into the ambulance for the journey back to the pits. The race was awarded but Edinburgh only took a 3-3 which meant that they were two points up on aggregate going into the last race. Shane Parker made a lightning start in the final race with Danny Bird on his tail. Try as he did Rusty Harrison could make no inroads so Glasgow took the 5-1 they needed to win the trophy.


Scorers: For Glasgow – Danny Bird 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Shane Parker 13+2 (paid maximum), Kauko Nieminen 8 (4), Robert Ksiezak 8 (5), Lee Dicken 3 (4), James Cockle 2+1 (5), David McAllan 1 (4).

For Edinburgh – Derek Sneddon 11+2 (5), Rusty Harrison 8 (5), Theo Pijper 7+2 (5), Henrik Moller 5+1 (4), Matthew Wethers 5+1 (4), William Lawson 4 (4), Sean Stoddart 1+1 (3).



Premier League: Workington 58, Stoke 38


Workington had John Branney at number 6 for the injured Lee Derbyshire while Stoke were at full strength.

Workington were keen to get back on the winning trail following their Knock-out Cup defeat at Newcastle the previous evening and Stoke were the target for them to redeem themselves by running up a big score.

Stoke took the lead in the opening heat with a 2-4. Mark Lemon won the race from Paul Thorp while Trent Leverington finished third as Tomasz Piszcz trailed in at the back. Workington threatened a 5-1 in heat 2 but Barrie Evans worked his way past John Branney for second place and the 4-2 levelled the scores again. Ritchie Hawkins won heat 3 passing Robbie Kessler in the process but with James Wright pulling up at the end of the third lap the heat was shared. Workington finally took the lead in heat 4 with a Garry Stead win from Alan Mogridge while Branney again beat Luke Priest. This 4-2 made the score 13-11 after four heats.

Then the flood gates opened! Workington scored five 5-1s over the next six heats to open up a 22 point lead. Mark Lemon could do nothing to prevent James Wright and Ritchie Hawkins take the first of them in heat 5 then Alan Mogridge fell while leading heat 6 to gift another to Piszcz and Thorp. The oasis in this desert was heat 7 which was shared by Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler as they followed Garry Stead home before Collins and Piszcz added another 5-1 in heat 8 to make the score 31-17.

A routine Wright/Hawkins 5-1 in heat 9 was followed by a more interesting 5-1 in heat 10 as Paul Thorp had some work to do to protect Tomasz Piszcz from the challenges of Paul Clews. Finally Stoke gave a TR to Mark Lemon in heat 11 and he obliged with his second race win of the match beating Garry Stead and Aidan Collins for a 3-6. He was helped to some extent by Barrie Evans who was in second place for over a lap keeping the Comets’ pair at the back while Lemon scampered off. Stoke followed this with a shared race in heat 12. Ritchie Hawkins won the race but Evans and Clews kept out Collins for the three points which took the score to 47-28.

Paul Thorp beat Mark Lemon in heat 13 while Garry Stead finished third for a home 4-2 but Stoke’s big success of the night came in heat 14 when Robbie Kessler took a TR and won in determined fashion from James Wright. Behind them Barrie Evans beat John Branney to give the Potters a 2-7 advantage but they lost a 5-1 in heat 15 when Mark Lemon trailed in behind Ritchie Hawkins and Paul Thorp.


Scorers: For Workington – Ritchie Hawkins 13+2 (5), Paul Thorp 11+3 (5), Garry Stead 9 (4), Tomasz Piszcz 8+1 (4), James Wright 8 (4), Aidan Collins 7+1 (5), John Branney 2 (3).

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



Premier League: Rye House 65, Berwick 27


Rye House Rockets cruised to another home win over a disappointing Berwick side. For the visitors, Stanislaw Burza rode well for his three heat wins and was the only Berwick rider to offer much resistance. Berwick were at full strength while Rye House again used rider replacement for the injured Jamie Courtney. However, with the current form of both reserve riders, Steve Boxall and Luke Bowen, Courtney's absence is not being missed. For the second meeting in a row, Rye House named Danny Betson at number 8.

Tommy Allen took the first rider replacement ride in heat 1 and won comfortably after passing Bursa off the second bend. Ross Brady took third place ahead of David Meldrum. Heat 2 saw the first of eight 5-1 heat wins for the home side when Bowen and Boxall finished well clear of Daniel Warwick and Craig Branney. Allen won again in heat 3 ahead of team mate Edward Kennett with Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky never quite near enough to challenge. Boxall produced the fastest time of the afternoon when he won heat 4. His partner, Chris Neath, started poorly and couldn't get on terms with Andreas Bergstrom who held on for second place. 18-6 to Rye House after four heats.

Heat 5 was one of the best. Burza forced his way to the front ahead of Allen and Kennett and looked to have the race in the bag. With a lap to go, Kennett finally got a challenge in but he was too wide. Again, Burza established a lead down the back straight but Kennett gave it one last go off the last bend. There was nothing in it at the line but Burza had held on by an inch. Boxall and Brady took a 5-1 in heat 6 but while Boxall made it look very easy, Brady was struggling for pace. Bergstrom slowly began to catch him but the line came in time for Brady. Bowen and Neath were too good for Makovsky and Smethills, Neath keeping a close watch on the Berwick pair and leaving Bowen to blaze out in front.

Berwick gave Bergstrom a tactical substitute ride in heat 8 but, from a 15 metre handicap, there was no way he was going to get close to the Bowen/Boxall partnership. Rye scored another 5-1 in heat 9. Kennett took his familiar wide course and won easily, leaving Allen to fend off Bergstrom and make it 41-13 after 9 heats.

Danny Betson took the rider replacement ride in heat 10, partnering Brady, but couldn't repeat last week's race win. This time it was Brady who led from start to finish. Betson found himself in second place but a couple of errors allowed Makovsky through. Two more 5-1s followed. Neath and Bowen beat Burza (tactical ride) and Meldrum in heat 11 and the Kennett/Boxall pairing won heat 12.

The last three heats were shared. Burza gated quickly in heat 13 to win from Neath and Brady and then the rain arrived. After a few minutes delay, Makovsky appeared as a tactical rider in heat 14 and led from the tapes. Once again, Bowen reminded the home fans of his progress when he caught and passed Makovsky with impressive ease while Allen struggled to get round the wet track into third place. Burza led all the way in the last heat to record his third race win, this time ahead of Neath and Kennett.


Scorers: For Rye House – Luke Bowen 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Steve Boxall 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Edward Kennett 11+2 (5), Tommy Allen 10+2 (5), Chris Neath 10+1 (5), Ross Brady 7+2 (4), Danny Betson 1 (1).

For Berwick – Stanislaw Burza 12 (5), Michal Makovsky 7 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Andreas Bergstrom 5 (5), Lee Smethills 2 (4), Craig Branney 1 (4), David Meldrum 0 (3), Daniel Warwick 0 (4).

(Match Report by Candyman)

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 30 May



The one Premier League match raced tonight was, as usual for a Tuesday evening, on the Isle of Wight where the Islanders were at home to Berwick.



Premier League: Isle of Wight 53, Berwick 42 . The Isle of Wight won the bonus point on aggregate by 99-86.


The Isle of Wight were again without Krister Marsh and used Rider Replacement at number 3. They also nominated Shane Waldron as their number eight. Berwick were without Andreas Bergstrom who was riding in Sweden and had to use a Conference League guest in his place. Tom Brown filled in at number 5.

The Isle of Wight were on the crest of a wave going into this match after their recent big home wins and away win at Berwick on Saturday night. By contrast Berwick were in a slough of despond. Having lost at home while using a Conference League rider in place of Stanislaw Burza and experienced a thumping at Rye House, they now had to face the Islanders again with a Conference League guest this time in place of Andreas Bergstrom. However they put up some spirited resistance to deny the home side another easy win and, had Bergstrom been able to ride, they might just have caused some real concern in the home camp.

The Isle of Wight’s formidable top pairing of Chris Holder and Jason Doyle gated to a 5-1 in the opening heat but the next two heats were shared. A rerun reserves race was won by Chris Johnson but the Berwick pair of Craig Branney and Daniel Warwick shared the race in spite of the efforts of Nick Simmons to catch Warwick at the death. Jason Doyle (R/R) won heat 3 from Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky while Krzysztof Stojanowski retired at the back. A second 5-1 came the home side’s way in heat 4 from Jason Bunyan and Chris Johnson. Craig Branney retired with an engine failure while Tom Brown remounted after falling for the third place point which took the score to 16-8.

Stanislaw Burza became Berwick’s first race winner in heat 5 making a good start and holding off the challenge of Krzysztof Stojanowski with Nick Simmons third for a shared race but the weak Berwick third pairing were no match for Doyle and Holder in heat 6 as they rattled up another 5-1 to put the home side 12 points ahead. In heat 7 Michal Makovsky took a TR. When Makovsky and Lee Smethills hit the front there were prospects of a Berwick 1-8 but Jason Bunyan rode an excellent race to pass firstly Lee Smethills then Michal Makovsky to win the race limiting the damage to a 3-5 Berwick advantage. Jason Doyle won heat eight but the Berwick pair of Meldrum and Branney tucked in behind him to share the race. The score after eight races was 30-20.

In heat 9 the Isle of Wight gave number eight, Shane Waldron, a R/R ride. Daniel Warwick led for a lap for Berwick before being passed by Krzysztof Stojanowski. With Craig Branney finishing third this race too was shared as was heat 10. It was Michal Makovsky’s turn to face the Doyle/Holder pairing and he worked his way to the front on a competitive first lap to become Berwick’s second race winner ending Chris Holder and Jason Doyle’s unbeaten run. In heat 11 Stanislaw Burza took a TR. The race was rerun after David Meldrum had come to grief on the second bend and been excluded. Stanislaw Burza ‘did the business’ by winning the heat and ending Jason Bunyan’s unbeaten run for a 3-6 advantage and Berwick now trailed by only seven points having taken the last five heats by 15-20. Then in heat 12 Lee Smethills continued the Berwick resistance by winning the race from Stojanowski and Simmons for another shared race to take the score to 42-35 as the Islanders discovered that the Bandits were no pushover, weakened team or not.

Berwick were unlucky in heat 13. Stanislaw Burza again led from the start but was passed by Jason Bunyan before suffering an engine failure. Tom Brown also had bike problems and struggled to make it home for third place behind Chris Holder. The 5-1 settled the issue with the Islanders now 11 points up with two heats to go. In heat 14 Michal Makovsky made a good start and won the race as Chris Johnson and Krzysztof Stojanowski teamed up behind him to keep Craig Branney at the back for a shared race. The last race was also shared but not before another brilliant ride by Jason Bunyan who had to pass both Michal Makovsky and Stanislaw Burza to win the race.


Scorers: For theIsle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 14 (5), Jason Doyle 13+1 (6), Chris Holder 8+3 (4), Chris Johnson 8+2 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 8+1 (5), Nick Simmons 2+2 (4), Shane Waldron 0 (1).

For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 12+2 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Stanislaw Burza 12 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Lee Smethills 6+1 (4), Craig Branney 4+2 (5), Daniel Warwick 4+1 (4), Tom Brown 2 (3), David Meldrum 2 (4).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 31 May



Tonight’s meeting was the second leg of the first round Knock-out Cup tie between King’s Lynn and Berwick.



Premier League: King’s Lynn 70, Berwick 20 . King’s Lynn won through to the second round on aggregate by 116-64.


Both King’s Lynn and Berwick were at full strength for this match. King’s Lynn reverted to their early season line-up with Trevor Harding back at number 2 and Troy Batchelor returning to number 3. Berwick welcomed Andreas Bergstrom back from Sweden having missed him last night on the Isle of Wight.

Berwick started this match with a four point advantage from the first leg but it was never likely to be enough to give them a reasonable chance of an aggregate win. Indeed a 44 point lead wouldn’t have been enough! It took 60.1 seconds for their lead to be wiped out in the opening heat when Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding cut inside the fast starting Stanislaw Burza on the second bend for a 5-1. Following a delay to let the sun go down, the Stars scored another 5-1 when John Oliver made a good start to lead his partner, Chris Mills, home from Craig Branney. Not to be outdone, Troy Batchelor and Kevin Doolan added a third 5-1 in heat 3 with the Berwick pair of Makovsky and Smethills never in contention. The sequence ended in heat 4. Tomas Topinka won easily enough but at the back John Oliver passed Andreas Bergstrom but fell on the third lap trying to pass Craig Branney. This led to a shared race and the score after four races was 18-6.

It was back to the 5-1s in heat 5 as Doolan and Batchelor added another with David Meldrum finishing third after a battle with his partner, Stanislaw Burza for the odd point. 5-1 number five appeared in heat 6 as Trevor Harding and Daniel Nermark won from the gate from Andreas Bergstrom. 5-1 number six then arrived in heat 7 with Tomas Topinka winning. However Chris Mills had to pass Lee Smethills to join his partner up front with a disappointing Makovsky trailing in last. The now routine 5-1 number seven followed in heat 8 with Trevor Harding and John Oliver winning from David Meldrum and the score now read 38-10.

King’s Lynn’s eighth 5-1 was the result of heat 9. Batchelor and Doolan won from Bergstrom and all of the Stars’ riders were still unbeaten apart from John Oliver. The sequence of six consecutive maximums finally ended in heat 10 when Michal Makovsky passed Daniel Nermark off the second bend. He held on for second place as Trevor Harding won the race for a 4-2 extending the Stars’ lead to 34 points. But it was back to normal service in heat 11 as Tomas Topinka and Chris Mills added a ninth 5-1 from Stanislaw Burza. In heat 12 Lee Smethills took a TR but Berwick gave it to the wrong man! Troy Batchelor won from Craig Branney who moved into second place when Lee Smethills moved John Oliver over but Oliver passed Lee Smethills on the third lap for third place so it was another 4-2 for the home side stretching their lead to 40 points as the score was now 46-16 with Berwick still not guaranteed to reach 20 points.

Daniel Nermark and Stanislaw Burza came together approaching the first bend but the race continued and resulted in another 5-1 for the Stars with Tomas Topinka and Daniel Nermark winning from Andreas Bergstrom. In heat 14 Michal Makovsky took Berwick’s second TR but to no effect. It was King’s Lynn’s 11th 5-1 when Kevin Doolan and Chris Mills wrapped up their maximums with Makovsky finishing third. In the last heat King’s Lynn elected to go with John Oliver and Trevor Harding against Michal Makovsky and Andreas Bergstrom. With Berwick winning the toss for gate positions surely the Bandits would find the two points they needed to hit the 20 point mark. They just made it! Trevor Harding joined the maximum men by winning the race but Michal Makovsky finished second ahead of John Oliver who held on to third place from Bergstrom’s challenge for a 4-2.


Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Trevor Harding 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Tomas Topinka 12 (4)(full maximum), Troy Batchelor 11+1 (4)(paid maximum), Kevin Doolan 10+2 (4)(paid maximum), Chris Mills 8+4 (4)(paid maximum), Daniel Nermark 8+2 (4), John Oliver 7+1 (5).

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

[Merlin]

Thursday, 1 June

There were two meetings tonight. One was a Premier League match between Sheffield and King’s Lynn , the other a Premier Trophy match between Redcar and Stoke .


Premier League: Sheffield 45, King’s Lynn 45


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

Sheffield came into this match on the back of their comparative struggle to beat Somerset at Owlerton last week while King’s Lynn had the confidence booster of running up 70 points against Berwick last night. It made for a closely contested match and that’s how it turned out.

There was no usual 5-1 to Sheffield in the opening heat in this match. Ricky Ashworth did win it but Ben Wilson hit the fence coming off the second bend and could only follow Trevor Harding and Daniel Nermark home for a shared race. The reserves race was shared too when Chris Mills won comfortably from Benji Compton and Paul Cooper. Then King’s Lynn broke the deadlock by taking the lead in heat 3. The race was called back after the Stars made the gate and looked set for a 1-5 but in the rerun Kevin Doolan was again well away. This time Emiliano Sanchez took second place from Troy Batchelor as Kyle Legault had an engine problem at the back. The 2-4 put the Stars two points ahead but Sheffield looked as though they might pull the points back in heat 4 when the two Comptons, Andre and Benji, made fast starts. Tomas Topinka then passed Benji on the first lap and John Oliver did likewise on the last bend for a shared race which took the score to 11-13.

Things got worse for Sheffield as their middle pairing conceded a 1-5. Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding did the damage with Harding holding off a late challenge from Emiliano Sanchez to increase the visitors lead to six points. The Tigers hit back strongly with a 5-1 in heat 6 when Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson beat Tomas Topinka into third place to cut the lead to two points again. Then in heat 7 it was all square when Andre Compton won from Kevin Doolan while Paul Cooper and Troy Batchelor had a good race at the back with Cooper holding on to his third place for a 4-2. Benji Compton was the early race leader in heat 8 with Ben Wilson stuck at the back but John Oliver passed Compton at the start of lap two while Wilson likewise passed Trevor Harding eventually getting up to second place. The result was a shared race though and the score after eight heats was 24-24.

Tomas Topinka won heat 9 comfortably but Emiliano Sanchez and Kyle Legault filled the minor places after Chris Mills fell and remounted for another shared race. The scores were still level after heat 10 when Kevin Doolan won from Wilson and Ashworth who passed Troy Batchelor on the first lap to share the points. Sheffield broke the deadlock in heat 11. Although Trevor Harding led for most of the opening lap he was passed by Andre Compton who won for the third time with Daniel Nermark also coming through for second place. Then Paul Cooper also passed Harding at the end of the third lap and set off after Nermark but the race finished a 4-2 and the Tigers were two points to the good. The unthinkable happened in heat 12 when Sheffield conceded a 1-5 to find themselves trailing by two points again. John Oliver and Troy Batchelor did the damage by heading home Benji Compton although their task was made easier by Emiliano Sanchez forgetting to switch his fuel on. The score after twelve heats was 35-37 and it was all to race for over the last three heats.

There was much relief in the home camp when Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth scored a heat 13 5-1 to reverse the damage of heat 12 and put the home side two points in front again. They kept it that way in heat 14. Kevin Doolan won the race but Kyle Legault and Paul Cooper slotted in behind him ahead of John Oliver for a shared race which meant that heat 15 would be a last heat decider with King’s Lynn needing a heat advantage to avoid returning home empty handed. And a heat advantage they got! There was a touch of luck about it though as Ricky Ashworth leading the race had an engine failure on the third lap. Behind him Andre Compton had passed Kevin Doolan but Tomas Topinka was promoted to first place as a result of Ashworth’s misfortune and the Stars took a 2-4 to tie the match up at 45-45.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 14 (5), Ricky Ashworth 9+2 (5), Ben Wilson 6+1 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 5 (4), Paul Cooper 4+2 (4), Benji Compton 4+1 (4), Kyle Legault 3+1 (4).

For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 12 (5), Tomas Topinka 10 (5), John Oliver 7+1 (5), Daniel Nermark 6+1 (4), Trevor Harding 4+1 (4), Troy Batchelor 3+1 (4), Chris Mills 3 (3).



Premier Trophy: Redcar 48, Stoke 43 . Stoke won the bonus point on aggregate by 92.5-91.5


Redcar were without Mathieu Tresarrieu and used Rider Replacement in his place at number 2. Stoke were at full strength..

In a close meeting between these two sides, neither of which have any chance of making further progress in this competition, Redcar let an 11 point lead after heat 10 slip by losing heat advantages in the next four races to lose the bonus point by a single point. Both sides had high scoring reserves with the Bears gaining a slight advantage from Jack Hargreaves and Daniel Giffard’s 15+1 to Stoke’s Barrie Evans and Luke Priest with 12+1.

For Stoke Mark Lemon took a Tactical Ride in heat 11 but he was beaten by Chris Kerr. Trent Leverington’s only point of the match gave the Potters a 3-5 heat win which was to prove decisive in deciding the destination of the bonus point. Gary Havelock suffered his only defeat of the night in heat 13 when he was finally beaten by Mark Lemon. Redcar will feel that they really should have taken the bonus point. They provided 10 of the 15 race winners and every one of their six man team won at least one race.

Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 14 (5), Daniel Giffard 8 (4), Jack Hargreaves 7+1 (5), Chris Kerr 7 (6), Kevin Little 6+2 (5), Tomas Suchanek 6 (5).

For Stoke – Mark Lemon 14 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Robbie Kessler 9+1 (5), Luke Priest 7 (5), Barrie Evans 5+1 (4), Alan Mogridge 4+1 (4), Paul Clews 3 (4), Trent Leverington 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Friday, 2 June

There were two Premier League matches and one Premier Trophy match raced tonight. At Newport the Wasps raced Glasgow while at Somerset the Rebels took on Berwick both in Premier League matches. The third match was at Edinburgh where the Monarchs raced against Sheffield in a Premier Trophy match.



Premier League: Newport 44, Glasgow 46


Newport were again without both Craig Watson and Neil Collins. They had Chris Neath as a guest at number 1 and used Rider Replacement at number 3 but were further handicapped by the introduction of the new set of averages which meant that Neil Collins had moved to number three in the averages from number two with the result that Chris Neath was no longer eligible for a R/R ride. Billy Legg was preferred to Sam Hurst at number 7 for this match Glasgow were at full strength.

There is a ‘history’ between the two clubs in this fixture and tonight’s clash was no exception. The Newport fans were incensed by some of the refereeing decisions and there were some ugly scenes at the end of the match which needed some protection for the referee as the bad feeling threatened to spill over.

Glasgow hit the front from the start. Danny Bird won the opening heat from Chris Neath and was supported by David McAllan for a 2-4. Robert Ksiezak gated to win heat 2 but James Cockle fell as the heat was shared as was heat 3. Although Tony Atkins won the race, Lee Dicken and Kauko Nieminen filled the minor places before Glasgow increased their lead in heat 4. Shane Parker won the race from Carl Wilkinson with James Cockle taking third for another 2-4 which took the score after four races to 10-14.

Heat 5 was awarded as David McAllan fell twice and was excluded. Danny Bird took his second race win so the heat was shared. However Glasgow’s progress was brought to an abrupt halt when Chris Neath and Chris Schramm gated to take a 5-1 ahead of Shane Parker which levelled the scores at 18-18. The Wasps followed that with another 5-1 in heat 7 with Carl Wilkinson and Joel Parsons heading home Kauko Nieminen to put the home side four points ahead. Chris Schramm won heat 8 but James Cockle and David McAllan shared the points with the score moving to 26-22 after eight races.

There was no change in heat 9 won by Shane Parker from Wilkinson and Atkin but in heat 10 Newport stretched their lead to six points. Chris Neath won from Nieminen and Schramm took third for a 4-2 but it all went wrong for the Wasps in heat 11. Carl Wilkinson fell and was excluded from the rerun which left Billy Legg to face Danny Bird and James Cockle. The result was a 1-5 to the Tigers and the lead was cut to two points. Tony Atkin won heat 12 but James Cockle and Lee Dicken followed him home ahead of Joel Parsons for a shared heat which took the score to 37-35.

The vital heat 13 saw Chris Neath beat Glasgow’s top two of Bird and Parker to keep the Wasps two points in front but Kauko Nieminen beat Tony Atkin after an exciting heat 14 with Atkin scraping the fence to find the drive to make the pass. The controversy started at the back though as Joel Parsons dived under James Cockle. Cockle slid off and the referee angered the home support by excluding the Wasps man. Cockle seemed anxious to ‘discuss’ the incident with Parsons and things began to look nasty. This result gave Glasgow a 2-4 to level the match going into the last race. In heat 15 Carl Wilkinson came to grief on the first corner but there was no ‘all four back’ from the referee to the dismay of the home fans as Wilkinson was excluded. It looked like Chris Neath had rescued a point for the Wasps as he led the rerun but Shane Parker had other ideas and passed Neath to win the heat while Danny Bird picked up the gift point at the back for the 2-4 which gave Glasgow a two point win.


Scorers: For Newport – Chris Neath 13 (5), Tony Atkin 11+1 (5), Chris Schramm 7+2 (5), Carl Wilkinson 7 (6), Joel Parsons 4+1 (6), Billy Legg 2+1 (3).

For Glasgow – Danny Bird 12 (5), Shane Parker 11+1 (5), James Cockle 8+1 (6), Kauko Nieminen 7+1 (4), Lee Dicken 3+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 3 (3), David McAllan 2+1 (3).



Premier League: Somerset 53, Berwick 39


Somerset started this match at full strength but Paul Fry suffered a broken leg in a crash in heat 14. Berwick also tracked a full strength side..

Things looked bright for Berwick in the early heats when heat 5 was completed with the Bandits enjoying a one point lead but it all went pear shaped from then on for the visitors as Somerset took control.

Magnus Zetterstrom scored his usual heat 1 victory but Glen Phillips got out of shape on the second bend and David Meldrum shot through to join Stanislaw Burza for a share of the points. Simon Walker won the reserves race but Ben Barker retired with machine problems before Daniel Warwick fell leaving two finishers and a 3-2 to Somerset. Paul Fry won heat 3 but Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky shared the race. Ben Barker touched the tapes in heat 4 and started from 15 metres back. Glenn Cunningham won the race but again the Berwick riders, Branney and Bergstrom, followed him home for a shared race. This took the score to 12-11 after the opening four races.

Berwick took the lead in heat 5. Stanislaw Burza won the race beating Paul Fry and David Meldrum took third place when Stephan Katt retired. The 2-4 changed the one point advantage to the Bandits from the Rebels but the Bandits lost the next four races. In heat 6 Zetterstrom and Phillips scored a 5-1 from Andreas Bergstrom then, in heat 7, Glenn Cunningham won from Lee Smethills with Simon Walker taking third from Michal Makovsky for a 4-2 which put the Rebels five points in front. Five points became seven in a rerun heat 8 thanks to a win from Glen Phillips from Craig Branney after David Meldrum had fallen and been excluded. This took the score after eight heats to 27-20.

The Rebels’ lead increased to 11 points when they scored a 5-1 in heat 9 from Katt and Fry from Bergstrom but the Bandits pulled two points back in heat 10. It looked like another 5-1 for Somerset was in the bag but Magnus Zetterstrom retired then Michal Makovsky passed Glen Phillips for a 2-4 to cut the lead to nine points. Berwick then gave Stanislaw Burza a TR in heat 11 but it was Glenn Cunningham who won the race with his partner, Simon Walker, finishing second for a 5-1 to the home side which effectively ended the Bandits’ hopes. Lee Smethills was next to try his luck with a TR in heat 12 and he won the race from Stephan Katt and Ben Barker for a 3-6 cutting the home side’s lead to ten points with the heat 12 score reading 42-32.

Heat 13 was awarded when Glenn Cunningham fell trying to pass Stanislaw Burza who was in second place round the outside. Magnus Zetterstrom won the race which was awarded and the points were shared. Heat 14 was a disaster for Somerset. Craig Branney and Paul Fry both fell on the first bend and Fry suffered a broken leg. In the rerun, Michal Makovsky passed Simon Walker with Paul Fry’s replacement, Ben Barker, finishing ahead of Branney for a shared race but Somerset wrapped things up with a 5-1 from Zetterstrom and Cunningham to end up winning by 14 points.


Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 12 (5), Glenn Cunningham 11+1 (5), Simon Walker 8+1 (4), Glen Phillips 7+1 (4), Paul Fry 7+1 (4), Stephan Katt 5 (4), Ben Barker 3+2 (5).

For Berwick – Lee Smethills 11 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Stanislaw Burza 9 (5), Michal Makovsky 7+1 (4), Craig Branney 6 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 4+2 (4), David Meldrum 2+1 (4), Daniel Warwick 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Edinburgh 54, Sheffield 39 . Edinburgh won the bonus point on aggregate by 94-91.


Edinburgh were without William Lawson who is out with a broken arm. They used Rider Replacement at number 4 instead. Sheffield were without Ben Wilson who was practising for tomorrow night’s Grand Prix and they used Rider Replacement to cover for his absence at number 2..

This match was really about the bonus point as it became clear that Sheffield did not have enough firepower to win the match. Edinburgh went into the match 12 points adrift after losing 52-40 at Owlerton. A 1-8 in heat 13 looked to have sunk the Monarchs hopes but two excellent races in heats 14 and 15 saw them home and dry by three points on aggregate.

Theo Pijper and Henrik Moller were fast away in the opening heat and Ricky Ashworth never challenged as the Monarchs opened with a 5-1. They looked like adding to it in heat 2. Derek Sneddon was soon in front and off for a big win while Sean Stoddart made just about the worst gate imaginable. However Stoddart was soon after the field and passed Paul Cooper who was again all at sea on the Armadale track. However chasing Benji Compton for second place he fell so the points were shared. Emiliano Sanchez shot from the gate in heat 3 to leave Theo Pijper (R/R) trailing in his wake. It looked as if the Tigers might take a heat advantage from the race since Kyle Legault was third but he fell on the last bend of the third lap causing the race to be stopped and awarded as a 3-3. Andre Compton made a fast start in heat 4 and won comfortably from Sneddon and Rusty Harrison for another shared race taking the score after four races to 14-10.

Heat 5 was a cracker. Ricky Ashworth made a fast start and looked to have the race under control but Matthew Wethers was in determined mood and never gave up. On the last two bends he went for a big outside drive and passed Ashworth just before the riders crossed the line. Derek Sneddon’s third place gave the Monarchs a 4-2 advantage increasing their lead to six points. In heat 6 Theo Pijper made the start ahead of Andre Compton but Compton couldn’t really get after Pijper because he was too busy fending off the challenge of Henrik Moller for second place. The 4-2 increased Edinburgh’s lead to eight points and they were on course to pull back the aggregate deficit. However Sheffield took a 1-5 from heat 7. Rusty Harrison demolished the tapes and went from 15 metres back. In the restart Sean Stoddart fell on the first bend and Harrison had to take evasive action which cost him at least another 15 metres. This left Kyle Legault and Emiliano Sanchez to head off for an easy maximum although Harrison never stopped trying and wasn’t far off the Sheffield pair by the end of the race. This cut the lead to only four points but Edinburgh hit back immediately with a 5-1 in heat 8 with Pijper and Sneddon winning comfortably from Kyle Legault restoring the Monarchs’ eight point lead as the score went to 28-20.

Andre Compton won heat 9 with Derek Sneddon and Matthew Wethers sharing the race then Edinburgh struck again with another 5-1. It was Henrik Moller and Theo Pijper who took the race with ease from Kyle Legault as Emiliano Sanchez was stuck at the back. A fine race by Rusty Harrison in heat 11 saw him pass Ricky Ashworth but Benji Compton took third from Sean Stoddart and a shared race. Edinburgh then hit home another 5-1 in heat 12 with a fine win for Derek Sneddon. Matthew Wethers came from the back to pass Kyle Legault for the maximum which put the Monarchs 16 points ahead in the match and four on aggregate. The score after 12 races was 44-28.

In heat 13 Andre Compton took a TR and both he and Ricky Ashworth made fast starts racing off to a big 1-8 which changed the picture entirely. The Edinburgh lead was down to nine points and they also trailed by three points on aggregate. In heat 14 Emiliano Sanchez took a TR but Sneddon and Wethers romped away for another 5-1 which put the Monarchs 13 points ahead in the match and one on aggregate going into the last heat in which Sheffield needed a heat advantage to rest the bonus point back. They tracked their 1-8 pair of heat 13 in Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth while Edinburgh sent out Theo Pijper and, rather surprisingly, Henrik Moller. It was the right decision for the home side though as Moller rocketed from gate 4 to round the field and head off for the win. Ricky Ashworth held on for a lap or so but Moller was determined and pulled away. At the back Theo Pijper passed Andre Compton to give Edinburgh a 4-2 and all three points.


Scorers: For Edinburgh – Derek Sneddon 16+1 (7), Theo Pijper 14+1 (6), Matthew Wethers 9+4 (5), Henrik Moller 9+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 6+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).

For Sheffield – Andre Compton 14 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Ricky Ashworth 9+1 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 6+1 (4), Kyle Legault 6 (5), Benji Compton 3+1 (6), Paul Cooper 1+1 (5).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 4 June

There were three Premier League matches raced today. First to kick off was the match at Rye House where the Rockets raced Workington . Second to start was the match at Mildenhall where the Fen Tigers took on the Glasgow Tigers. The third match in the evening was at Stoke where Berwick were the visitors.



Premier League: Rye House 49, Workington 41 . Workington won the bonus point on aggregate by 100-80.


Rye House were without the injured Jaimie Courtney and used Rider Replacement at number 2. They nominated Danny Betson as their number eight and, with the new averages kicking in they had Edward Kennett at number 1 with Ross Brady moving to number 3. Workington were missing James Wright who was practising in Germany for the World under 21 Team Cup Championship. They had Josef Franc as a guest and, in a rearranged team under the new averages, Franc rode at number 1 with Paul Thorp moving to number 2 and Tomasz Piszcz to number 4. They also had Mildenhall rider Matthew Wright as a guest at number 6 in place of the injured Lee Derbyshire. (I think that just about covers it!)

This match saw carnage the likes of which is rarely seen on a speedway track. In heat 3 Ross Brady and Ritchie Hawkins crashed on the first and second bends. Ross Brady was propelled through the second bend fence and, although he was able to walk back to the pits, he withdrew from the meeting with a leg ligament injury. Worse was to come in heat 5.

Luke Bowen replaced Ross Brady. Josef Franc and Paul Thorp came off and Luke Bowen ran into both of them on the second bend. The momentum threw him over the fence and he landed some 20 metres away on the dog track. Josef Franc got up and seemed to be OK but Paul Thorp looked to have suffered a broken leg and was placed in a protective cast. Worst of all was the condition of Luke Bowen who lay on his stomach in absolute agony. His neck was put in a brace and he has a suspected broken leg.

Rye House had a 28 point deficit to pull back if they had any hopes of the bonus point. Heat 1 was rerun after Paul Thorp came down on the second bend having run out of room. In the rerun Josef Franc led the way to win the heat on the line from Edward Kennett but the race was shared when Tommy Allen passed Paul Thorp on lap 3 as Paul Thorp drifted home last. Steve Boxall won the reserves race while Luke Bowen, after a poor start, passed Matthew Wright for third behind Aidan Collins for a 4-2. After Ross Brady’s fall in heat 3 Steve Boxall replaced him in the ‘all four back’ rerun and won the race. However Tommy Allen who seemed to be struggling slipped back from second to fourth before falling and causing the race to be awarded as a 3-3. Chris Neath and Steve Boxall took a 5-1 in heat 4 from Garry Stead to increase the Rockets’ lead to six points with the score standing at 15-9.

Then came heat 5 after delay of nearly and hour and a quarter. Having lost Ross Brady and Luke Bowen and, since they were already without Jaimie Courtney, Rye House were now down to four riders plus their number 8 and it seemed that the Rockets would only be able to track one rider in a number of heats. However with Paul Thorp excluded as the cause of the heat 5 stoppage and with Josef Franc also excluded for not being under power at the time of the stoppage, Workington had no riders in the rerun so Steve Boxall and Tommy Allen rode round for an unopposed 5-0 which gave the Rockets an eleven point lead. Garry Stead won heat 6 from Edward Kennett while Danny Betson beat Matthew Wright for a shared heat. In heat 7 Ritchie Hawkins took a TR as Chris Neath came out on his own for the Rockets. He picked a poor time to touch the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back. However he made up for it by making light of the handicap to pass Hawkins and was unlucky not to get the decision over Tomasz Piszcz on the line. This meant that Workington only gained a point with their TR as they took a 2-5 heat win. Steve Boxall won heat 8 for a shared race as Matthew Wright and Aidan Collins finished ahead of Danny Betson and the score reached 28-20 with Workington making heavy weather of trying to beat such a severely handicapped side.

Rye House went with just Tommy Allen in heat 9 and lost a 2-4 as Garry Stead won the race to cut the Rockets’ lead to six points. Heat 10 was rerun with ‘all four back’ after Edward Kennett hit the first bend fence as a result of a hard first bend from Tomasz Piszcz. In the rerun Edward Kennett won the heat but Piszcz and Hawkins took the minor places for a shared heat. In heat 11 Rye House again had to go with just Chris Neath. It was enough for a shared race as Chris Neath won after early race leader Josef Franc got completely out of shape on the second bend. There was another three rider race in heat 12 but Steve Boxall won for Rye House for another shared heat which took the score to 39-33.

Workington finally pulled two more points in heat 13 to get within touching distance when Josef Franc beat Chris Neath with Garry Stead taking third from Edward Kennett. This 2-4 took the score to 41-37 with just two heats to go. Rye House wrapped it up in heat 14 with a 5-1 from Steve Boxall and Tommy Allen who came from the back to join his partner. Chris Neath won heat 15 but Josef Franc and Garry Stead shared the points with Edward Kennet last. Full credit to Rye House for winning with such depleted resources. They actually would have won the match if only their top four had turned up. It was the second time this season that Steve Boxall at reserve had scored 20+1 from seven rides. Full credit to him but surely these ridiculous reserve rules have to be rethought!


Scorers: For Rye House – Steve Boxall 20+1 (7), Chris Neath 13 (5), Tommy Allen 7+3 (5), Edward Kennett 7 (5), Danny Betson 1+1 (3), Luke Bowen 1 (1), Ross Brady 0 (1).

For Workington – Josef Franc 9+1 (5), Garry Stead 9+1 (5), Tomasz Piszcz 7 (4), Aidan Collins 6+1 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 5+3 (4)(including a 2 point TR), Matthew Wright 5 (5), Paul Thorp 0 (2).



Premier League: Mildenhall 49, Glasgow 44 .


Mildenhall were without Andrew Moore who had retired from the sport and were given special dispensation from the BSPA to use R/R at number 3 instead. They nominated Mark Thompson as their number 8. Glasgow were without Danny Bird who had a headache and they too used R/R this time at number 1. They nominated Mark Baseby as their number eight.

Mildenhall got off to a 5-1 start from James Brundle and Jason Lyons with Lee Dicken (R/R) finishing third but Glasgow pulled two points back in the reserves race when James Cockle won from Jon Armstrong who passed Robert Ksiezak for second place and a 2-4. Kauko Nieminen won heat 3 for a shared race but Mildenhall, rather unexpectedly, took a 5-1 in heat 4. Daniel King won the race and Barry Burchatt did well to hold off James Cockle with Shane Parker stuck at the back. This took the score after four races to 15-9.

In heat 5 Jason King won from Kauko Nieminen and James Brundle (R/R) finished third ahead of McAllan for a 4-2 stretching the home side’s lead to eight points. It went to 10 in heat 6 as Jason Lyons beat Shane Parker with James Brundle taking third from Robert Ksiezak so Glasgow gave Kauko Nieminen a TR in heat 7. He won it too beating Danny King who was on Jason Lyons’ bike and with James Cockle third from Jon Armstrong Glasgow took a 2-7 which cut Mildenhall’s lead to five points. If that was bad for the Fen Tigers it was nothing compared to heat 8. David McAllan and James Cockle took a 1-5 ahead of Barry Burchatt and James Brundle so the home side found themselves with just a one point lead as the score stood at 26-25.

In heat 9 Jon Armstrong (R/R) beat Shane Parker with Robert Ksiezak in third place for a shared heat. Jason Lyons had a comfortable win in heat 10 but Dicken and Nieminen shared the race as Brundle finished last again. Shane Parker was the R/R in heat 11 and he won the race for a shared heat as Armstrong and King followed him home to preserve Mildenhall’s one point lead. Mildenhall might have hoped for a race advantage in heat 12 with Danny King taking the R/R ride but it was Lee Dicken who took the race win for Glasgow becoming the fifth Glasgow heat winner. James Cockle fell so the race was shared as Mildenhall toiled to hang on to their one point lead with the score after 12 races now 38-37.

Jason Lyons won heat 13 but Shane Parker and Robert Ksiezak took second and third with Danny King finishing at the back for another shared heat so Mildenhall still had a one point lead. They increased it to three in a vital heat 14. Jon Armstrong won the race from Robert Ksiezak while Jason King took the vital third place from Kauko Nieminen to score a 4-2 which meant that Glasgow needed a 1-5 in the last heat for victory while two points would be enough for Mildenhall. Mildenhall went with Jason Lyons and Daniel King while Glasgow opted for Shane Parker and Robert Ksiezak. Jason Lyons completed his paid maximum beating Shane Parker for the third time while Daniel King took third place for a 4-2. Glasgow can now surely lay to rest the claim that they are a two man team with all their riders, bar Robert Ksiezak, winning races. Had Danny Bird been riding it may have been a different story.


Scorers: For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Jon Armstrong 13+1 (7), Daniel King 9+1 (6), Jason King 5+1 (4), James Brundle 5 (5), Barry Burchatt 3+1 (3).

For Glasgow – Kauko Nieminen 12+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Shane Parker 11 (6), James Cockle 7+1 (5), Lee Dicken 6 (4), Robert Ksiezak 5+2 (6), David McAllan 3 (4).



Premier League: Stoke 56, Berwick 37


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

Berwick never really threatened as the three 5-1s from the Kessler/Clews partnership for Stoke was too much for them ever to stage a recovery. After keeping the score reasonably close until heat 8 they finished the match poorly

The opening race was shared. Mark Lemon beat Stanislaw Burza and, although David Meldrum fell and remounted, he still took third place since Trent Leverington retired from the race. Craig Branney won the reserves race for a 3-3 then came the first of the 5-1s from Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler in heat 3. They team rode well to keep Michal Makovsky behind them to open up a 4 point gap and Alan Mogridge kept it that way by winning heat 4 from Bergstrom and Branney to take the score to 14-10.

The second 5-1 from Stoke’s middle pairing arrived in heat 5 with Kessler leading Clews and Burza home to open an eight point lead. Daniel Warwick and Andreas Bergstrom were well away in heat 6 but Mark Lemon passed them both before Trent Leverington also passed Warwick for a 4-2 to put the Potters 10 points ahead. Michal Makovsky won heat 7 but Barrie Evans and Alan Mogridge shared the points behind him. Craig Branney took a TR in heat 8 and won the race after David Meldrum had gone through the tapes and suffered the 15 metre penalty. The 3-6 reduced the home side’s lead to seven points as the score went to 29-22.

The third 5-1 from Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler had Berwick trailing by 11 points as Bergstrom and Warwick finished at the back after Warwick had led briefly. Mark Lemon kept Stoke’s lead intact by winning heat 10 from Smethills and Makovsky. Stanislaw Burza took a TR in heat 11 but this last throw of the dice by Berwick failed
when Barrie Evans and Alan Mogridge made the gate and team rode to keep Burza in third place. To compound things Craig Branney fell so Berwick lost another 5-1 to trail by 15 points. Paul Clews continued unbeaten winning heat 12 by passing Lee Smethills on the third lap. Luke Priest took third place as Daniel Warwick fell at the back and the 4-2 increased the home side’s lead to 17 points and the score after twelve races was 46-29.

Stanislaw Burza was excluded from heat 13 under the two minute rule and Craig Branney replaced him. Berwick by now had fallen completely out of the match and they conceded another 5-1 to Mark Lemon and Alan Mogridge who won the battle round the first two bends to head home Andreas Bergstrom. Robbie Kessler completed his paid maximum by taking heat 14 from Makovsky and Branney for a shared race. In the last race, Paul Clews hit the fence on the first bend, was thrown into the air, landed on the fence and ended up back on top of his bike. He was knocked out in the process and was taken to hospital by ambulance – a sad end to a fine performance. After a long delay the race was eventually rerun with Paul Clews excluded. Stanislaw Burza burst from the tapes to lead Mark Lemon. The Stoke number 1 was powerless to prevent Burza from winning and ruining his maximum in the process and, with Michal Makovsky finishing third, Berwick finished with a 2-4 which cut Stoke’s final winning margin to 19 points.
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Scorers: For Stoke – Mark Lemon 14 (5), Paul Clews 11+1 (5), Robbie Kessler 10+2 (4)(paid maximum), Alan Mogridge 8+3 (4), Barrie Evans 7 (4), Luke Priest 3+2 (4), Trent Leverington 3 (4).

For Berwick – Craig Branney 11+2 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Michal Makovsky 8+1 (5), Stanislaw Burza 7 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 6 (4), Lee Smethills 4 (4), David Meldrum 1+1 (3), Daniel Warwick 0 (4).