Around the Premier League Tracks - 2006

[Merlin]

Friday, 16 June

There were two matches raced tonight. At Edinburgh the Monarchs raced Berwick in a northern section Premier Trophy match while at Somerset the Rebels took on an Exeter Falcons select side in a challenge match..


Premier Trophy: Edinburgh 61, Berwick 34 Edinburgh won the bonus point on aggregate by 103-85.


Edinburgh were without William Lawson and used R/R for him at number 4. They also nominated Andrew Tully as their number eight. Berwick introduced James Birkinshaw to the side replacing David Meldrum. However with Lee Smethills calling off with a virus infection he was notionally moved to number 2 with Rider Replacement operating in his place. As a result, James Birkinshaw was moved to number 3 to partner Michal Makovsky.

Berwick started with 6 riders but were soon down to 5 after a heat 2 crash involving Craig Branney and Derek Sneddon which resulted in a hospital visit for Branney with a suspected broken ankle. Thankfully it didn’t turn out to be anything worse than sever bruising. While Stanislaw Burza was always a threat, Berwick had no answer to a dominant home side for whom Matthew Wethers was in outstanding form winning from the front and back to complete his first ever 15 point maximum.

Stanislaw Burza was fast away in heat 1 but was passed on the opening bends by Henrik Moller with Theo Pijper joining him shortly after for a 5-1. Craig Branney’s crash in heat 2 meant that Berwick could only field one rider in the ‘all four back’ rerun. Another Edinburgh 5-1 duly materialised but not until Daniel Warwick had passed Derek Sneddon for second place behind Sean Stoddart only to be repassed on the last lap. Another 5-1 for the Monarchs from Matthew Wethers and Theo Pijper in heat 3 looked like being repeated in heat 4 when Rusty Harrison and Derek Sneddon broke clear but Andreas Bergstrom reeled Sneddon in and caught him on the last bend. There was nothing in it on the run in to the line but Bergstrom inched ahead for second place and a 4-2 which took the score to 19-5.

Stanislaw Burza took a TR in heat 5 as Edinburgh gave the R/R ride to number eight Andrew Tully. Although the Berwick man made the gate again, Matthew Wethers, in sparkling form, hunted him down and passed him coming out of bend two on the second lap. With James Birkinshaw third Berwick scored a 3-5 to double their total to 10 points. Andreas Bergstrom worked his way to second place behind Theo Pijper in heat 6 but Henrik Moller lined him up and passed him before the first lap had been completed for another home 5-1 but heat 7 was shared with Rusty Harrison winning from Makovsky and Birkinshaw. Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon added a 5-1 in heat 8 with Michal Makovsky (R/R) third to take the score after eight races to 35-15.

Matthew Wethers won heat 9 from the gate. With Andrew Tully passing Daniel Warwick to finish behind Andreas Bergstrom the race resulted in a 4-2 before Moller and Pijper added their third 5-1 in heat 10. In heat 11 Andreas Bergstrom came in as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back and this worked in Berwick’s favour when Derek Sneddon’s machine packed up on the first bend. Stanislaw Burza was too busy chasing Rusty Harrison to look for his partner so the race finished as a 3-4. Matthew Wethers made it four wins on the trot by taking heat 12 but James Birkinshaw and Daniel Warwick saw off Sean Stoddart for a shared heat making the score 50-25.

Henrik Moller and Rusty Harrison were soon off for a 5-1 in heat 13. Burza chased hard but couldn’t catch Harrison then Michal Makovsky took a TR in heat 14. It was a personal triumph for Matthew Wethers who won the race with ease from Makovsky to complete his five ride maximum. With Sean Stoddart third Berwick took a 4-4 and they scored another 4 points in a surprise heat 15. Without a race winner all night, Stanislaw Burza rocketed from the gate to win the heat by the proverbial mile in a fast time. Henrik Moller suffering from a disintegrating clutch did well to work his way into second place after a poor start but Michal Makovsky held on to third place ahead of the ever pressing Rusty Harrison for a 2-4.


Scorers: For Edinburgh – Matthew Wethers 15 (5)(full maximum), Henrik Moller 13+1 (5), Theo Pijper 12+3 (5)(paid maximum), Rusty Harrison 11+1 (5), Derek Sneddon 5+2 (4), Sean Stoddart 4 (4), Andrew Tully 1 (2).

For Berwick – Stanislaw Burza 11 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Michal Makovsky 9 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Andreas Bergstrom 7+1 (5), James Birkinshaw 5+2 (5), Daniel Warwick 2+1 (7), Craig Branney 0 (2).



Challenge Match: Somerset 49, Exeter 42 .


Somerset were without Paul Fry and used Rider Replacement at number 2 with Glen Phillips moving to number 4. Exeter had Mark Lemon and Michael Coles as their opening partnership, Tommy Allen and Brent Werner at numbers 3 and 4 and Chris Holder at number 5. The reserve berths were filled by Jordan Frampton and Luke Priest.

It was a nostalgic evening as an Exeter Falcons ‘select’ side took to the track in this challenge match led by former Exeter favourites Mark Lemon and Michael Coles.

Magnus Zetterstrom beat Mark Lemon in the opening race for a 4-2 start with heat two producing the same result. Simon Walker went from 15 metres back after touching the tapes but passed Luke Priest for third place as Ben Barker won from Jordan Frampton. Brent Werner won heat 3 but the points were shared as Tommy Allen retired at the back and Glen Phillips fell and remounted for third place behind Stephan Katt. Glenn Cunningham won heat 4 holding off a late challenge from Chris Holder who had passed Ben Barker for another 4-2 which took the score to 15-9.

Stephan Katt won heat 5 as a great battle developed behind him between Mark Lemon, Glen Phillips and Michael Coles but that’s the way it finished for the fourth 4-2 in five heats. Heat 6 was another cracker between Chris Holder and Magnus Zetterstrom with Holder maintaining his first bend advantage to win the race for a shared heat. Heat 7, won by Glenn Cunningham, was also shared but in heat 8 Exeter pulled two points back. Jordan Frampton hit the front while Luke Priest was passed by both Ben Barker and Glen Phillips. Barker passed Frampton on the inside but brought him down and was promptly excluded with the race awarded as a 2-4. This took the score to 27-21.

In heat 9 Exeter pulled another two points back with another 2-4. Chris Holder won the race with Stephan Katt coming from the back to take second with Jordan Frampton third. Somerset stretched their lead to 8 points again with a 5-1 from Magnus Zetterstrom and Glenn Cunningham (R/R) in heat 10 then Mark Lemon won heat 11 to share the points. The lead went to 10 points after a 4-2 in heat 12 won by Stephan Katt with the score moving to 41-31.

Chris Holder took a TR in heat 13. Unfortunately Exeter gave it to the wrong man as it was Mark Lemon who won the heat from Magnus Zetterstrom in an exciting race involving all four riders. Chris Holder took third place from Glenn Cunningham so Exeter gained a 2-5 from the race to cut the gap to seven points. Brent Werner won heat 14 and Magnus Zetterstrom heat 15 both from the gate and both for shared races as the Rebels won by seven points.


Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 13 (5), Stephan Katt 11 (6), Glenn Cunningham 10+1 (5), Glen Phillips 5+2 (5), Simon Walker 5+2 (5), Ben Barker 5 (4).

For Exeter – Chris Holder 12 (5)(including a 2 point TR), Mark Lemon 11+1 (5), Brent Werner 8+1 (4), Jordan Frampton 6 (5), Tommy Allen 4 (4), Luke Priest 1 (5), Michael Coles 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 17 April

There were four Premier League matches raced tonight. At Berwick the Bandits faced Newcastle while at Rye House the Rockets took on Redcar . The third match was at Stoke where the Potters raced against King’s Lynn . Finally at Workington the Comets had Edinburgh as their visitors.


Premier League: Berwick 51, Newcastle 45


Berwick were again missing Lee Smethills with a virus infection and used R/R at number 2 in his place. James Birkinshaw made his home debut riding at number 3 while Craig Branney recovered from his injured foot from last night’s meeting at Edinburgh to take his place at number 7. Newcastle were without Josef Franc and used R/R at number 1.

Newcastle slipped behind early in this match and never quite got on terms again despite two 6 point TRs from George Stancl and James Grieves. There was only one 5-1 in this match which went the way of Berwick in heat 5. The other heats all resulted in 4-2s and 3-3s apart from the 3-6s from the TRs.

Seven of the first eight heats were won by Berwick riders as the Bandits cruised into a twelve point lead at 30-18. Successful TRs in heats 9 and 10 saw the lead cut to six points at 39-33 but a 4-2 from Burza and Bergstrom in heat 13 put Berwick eight points up with two heats to go. Michal Makovsky retired in heat 14 as Newcastle took a 2-4 while a ‘tapes to flag’ win from George Stancl in the last heat ended Stanislaw Burza’s maximum hopes.

After heat 14 Craig Branney and Jaimie Robertson indulged in a spot of synchronised wheelies on the back straight but it all went horribly wrong for the Newcastle reserve as he lost control with the bike falling on top of him causing him a suspected broken collarbone.


Scorers: For Berwick – Stanislaw Burza 14 (5), Michal Makovsky 12+1 (6), Craig Branney 10+1 (7), James Birkinshaw 5+2 (4), Daniel Warwick 5+1 (4), Andreas Bergstrom 5 (4).

For Newcastle – George Stancl 18 (6)(including a 6 point TR), James Grieves 13+2 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Manuel Hauzinger 9+1 (6), Jaimie Robertson 3 (5), Christian Henry 2 (5), Adam McKinna 0 (3).



Premier League: Rye House 54, Redcar 40


Rye House were without Jaimie Courtney and Luke Bowen so used R/R at number 2 for Courtney and promoted Danny Betson from their Conference League side to fill the number 6 berth. Ross Brady was fit to take his place in the side at number 3 and the Rockets nominated another of their Conference League team, Ben Powell, as their number eight. Redcar were at full strength.

Rye House made heavy work of this match as Gary Havelock kept winning to keep them in check until a last heat 5-1 from Chris Neath and Edward Kennett finally ended Havelock’s maximum hopes as he finished third.

The Rockets raced to a 14-9 lead from the opening four heats but a 1-5 from Havelock and Tresarrieu resulted in heat 5 when Ross Brady fell and was excluded bringing the score back to 15-14. By heat 10 the Rockets had stretched out a 13 point lead at 36-23 but Gary Havelock won as a TR in heat 11 for a 3-6. Suchanek’s second place in heat 12 as a TR resulted in a 4-4 then a 2-4 from Havelock and Chris Kerr had Redcar trailing by just 8 points. Rye House finished with a 4-2 and 5-1 to produce a 14 point lead to take with them to Redcar for the bonus point.


Scorers: For Rye House – Steve Boxall 15+2 (7), Chris Neath 11+1 (5), Edward Kennett 10+1 (5), Tommy Allen 9+1 (5), Ross Brady 6 (4), Ben Powell 2+1 (1), Danny Betson 1+1 (3).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 16 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Tomas Suchanek 9+1 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Kevin Little 5 (4), Chris Kerr 4 (4), Mathieu Tressarieu 3+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 3 (4), Jack Hargreaves 0 (4).



Premier League: Stoke 47, King’s Lynn 43


Stoke were still without Paul Clews so continued to use R/R at number 3. King’s Lynn were at full strength.

After a fine run of excellent results both home and away the King’s Lynn express finally hit the buffers as Stoke produced a perhaps slightly surprising four point win against them. Nonetheless King’s Lynn had the majority of race winners but an excellent ten point return from Trent Leverington boosted the Potters top end scoring.

The match boiled up to an exciting conclusion after the opening nine heats which saw Stoke build up a six point lead. Troy Batchelor beat Mark Lemon in heat 10 for a 2-4 then Daniel Nermark did likewise against Alan Mogridge in heat 11 for another 2-4. Troy Batchelor won again in heat 12 for the Stars’ third consecutive 2-4 which tied the match at 36-36. Mark Lemon and Alan Mogridge scored a 5-1 in heat 13 against Tomas Topinka to put the Potters four points in front again only for Chris Mills to pass Robbie Kessler round the outside to join Kevin Doolan up front for a 1-5 in heat 14 which tied the scores again at 42-42.

In the last heat Alan Mogridge and Mark Lemon worked their way to the front after a competitive first bend to head off for a 5-1 ahead of Kevin Doolan and Troy Batchelor to give the home side a four point win.


Scorers: For Stoke – Alan Mogridge 12+1 (5), Trent Leverington 10 (5), Mark Lemon 9+2 (5), Robbie Kessler 6+1 (4), Barrie Evans 6 (6), Luke Priest 4+1 (5).

For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 11 (5), Tomas Topinka 8 (4), Troy Batchelor 7 (5), Daniel Nermark 6 (4), Trevor Harding 5 (4), Chris Mills 4+2 (5), John Oliver 2 (3).



Premier League: Workington 57, Edinburgh 39


Workington were still missing Paul Thorp so used R/R at number 2 with Garry Stead moving to number 1 and James Wright to number 5. John Branney filled the number 6 spot in Lee Derbyshire’s absence. Edinburgh were again without William Lawson so used R/R at number 4..

With only two race winners all match Edinburgh were never in the hunt. All the Comets, except John Branney, had at least one race win as the home side consistently led their opponents from the gate or second turn.

After six races Workington had built up a ten point lead so Edinburgh gave Rusty Harrison a TR in heat 7 which he duly won for a 3-6. Edinburgh hung on but lost a 4-2 in heat 8 which put them nine points down so they gave Matthew Wethers a TR. His second place produced a 4-4 result. Following a heat 11 shared race, the Monarchs then gave Theo Pijper a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back. Pijper chased and finally caught and passed Aidan Collins on the last bend but there wasn’t time for Pijper and Wethers, who was in second place, to exchange positions so the race produced a 3-4.

The final three heats all produced advantages for the Comets giving them an eighteen point lead for the bonus point in the return match at Armadale


Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 15 (5)(full maximum), Ritchie Hawkins 14+3 (6), Garry Stead 11 (5), Tomasz Piszcz 10+2 (5), Aidan Collins 6 (6), John Branney 1 (3).

For Edinburgh – Rusty Harrison 13 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Matthew Wethers 10 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Theo Pijper 7+1 (7)(including a 2 point TS), Henrik Moller 5+1 (4), Derek Sneddon 4+2 (6), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Monday, 19 June



For a change there was a Monday night match in the Premier League as Newcastle raced on their alternative race night against Rye House .



Premier League: Newcastle 47, Rye House 42 .


Newcastle were without Jaimie Robertson following the broken collarbone he suffered doing wheelies at Berwick on Saturday night. They had Berwick reserve, Craig Branney, at number 7 as a guest in his place. Rye House once again had to use R/R for Jaimie Courtney at number 2 and used their Conference League rider, Danny Betson, at number 6 in place of broken leg victim, Luke Bowen.

This was an exciting match with some excellent racing and incidents galore. Rye House led at the half way mark but lost out over the last seven heats which went to a last heat decider. Having lost by only five points, the Rockets will be confident of taking the bonus point in the return match later in the season at Hoddesdon.

Newcastle started with a 4-2 heat advantage in the opening race when Christian Henry beat Edward Kennett but they soon found themselves trailing. Craig Branney won the reserves race for the Diamonds and a 3-3 but there were only two starters in a rerun heat 3. After a first bend fall for James Grieves an ‘all four back’ was expected by the crowd but it didn’t happen. James Grieves was excluded from the rerun as was Tommy Allen who was not under power when the race was stopped. Ross Brady won the rerun from Manuel Hauzinger to give Rye House a 2-3 advantage then they added a 2-4 in heat 4 when Chris Neath beat George Stancl with Steve Boxall third. Newcastle found themselves trailing 11-12 after these first four races.

Rye House struck again in heat 5 when Edward Kennett beat James Grieves with Steve Boxall, out for the third time in four heats, third for a 2-4 increasing the Rockets lead to three points. Chris Neath then won heat 6 from Christian Henry and Josef Franc for a shared heat but Newcastle scored the first 5-1 of the match in heat 7 to take over the lead by one point at 21-20. Both Tommy Allen and Ross Brady fell and remounted during the race presenting George Stancl and Adam McKinna with maximum points. Rye House hit back in heat 8 to retake the lead with a 2-4 won by Steve Boxall from Christian Henry. The score now stood at 23-24.

In heats nine and ten Newcastle hit two killer 5-1s from which the Rockets never fully recovered. In heat 9 Grieves and Hauzinger led Chris Neath home after the Rye House man had led from the gate but got completely out of shape on the second bend. In heat 10 Christian Henry came from last place to pass Ross Brady and Tommy Allen joining his partner, Josef Franc, at the front. Undaunted by these set backs Rye House fought back with a 1-5 in heat 11 from Edward Kennett and Steve Boxall ahead of George Stancl to get within three points of the Diamonds again at 34-31. Heat 12 saw a tremendous scrap between Craig Branney and Steve Boxall with the Newcastle guest winning the race. Manuel Hauzinger finished third so the 4-2 stretched the home side’s lead to 5 points with the score now standing at 38-33.

Back came Rye House again in heat 13 when Chris Neath beat George Stancl. Josef Franc got out of shape then fell so Edward Kennett took third place for a 2-4 cutting the lead to three points again. It stayed that way after a controversial heat 14. James Grieves was well in front but behind him another terrific battle was taking place between Boxall and Branney. It ended in a spectacular crash when Branney tried to go round the outside of Boxall only to lock handlebars which sent both riders crashing into the fence. The referee had a hard decision to make but excluded Branney from the rerun which Boxall led briefly before being passed by James Grieves for a 3-3 which meant that Rye House needed a 1-5 in the last race for victory. It was not to be. James Grieves won the race to clinch victory by beating Chris Neath while at the back George Stancl locked up causing Edward Kennett to lay his bike down without action for the referee.

Scorers: For Newcastle – James Grieves 11 (5), Christian Henry 9+1 (4), George Stancl 9 (5), Craig Branney 6 (5), Josef Franc 5+1 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 5+1 (4), Adam McKinna 2+1 (3).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 12+2 (7), Chris Neath 12 (5), Edward Kennett 9 (5), Tommy Allen 4+1 (5), Ross Brady 3 (4), Danny Betson 2 (4).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 21 June



Tonight’s match at King’s Lynn was the first leg of the second round tie in the Knock-Out Cup between the Stars and Rye House Rockets.



Knock-Out Cup (second round, first leg): King’s Lynn 54, Rye House 41 .


King’s Lynn were without Daniel Nermark who injured himself in a fall while riding in Sweden last night. They used R/R at number 1 in his place. Rye House were without Jaimie Courtney, Ross Brady and Luke Bowen, all out injured. They patched up their side by putting their Conference League rider, Danny Betson, at number 2 in place of Jaimie Courtney, using R/R at number 3 for Ross Brady and employing Ben Powell as a guest at reserve at number 6 for Luke Bowen.

In all the circumstances Rye House will be reasonably satisfied to have restricted the high-flying King’s Lynn side to a 13 point lead. Once again they were heavily indebted to top reserve Steve Boxall (where would they be without him?) to keep their hopes alive. Once again Boxall was asked to take seven rides the last of which he reserved for a winning TR. With twelve race winners King’s Lynn might consider that they were worth a bigger lead to take to the second leg which is now well set up for an exciting tussle.

The first three heats all had fallers leading to three rider finishes. King’s Lynn took a two point lead from a heat one 4-2 won by Kevin Doolan (R/R) from Edward Kennett while Danny Betson fell at the back. Steve Boxall then fell in heat 2 but his team mate, Ben Powell, was awarded the win so the heat was shared 3-3. It was Troy Batchelor’s turn to fall in heat 3 trying to pass Tommy Allen and the race was rerun without him. Kevin Doolan won again so this heat was shared too as was heat 4 won by Tomas Topinka from Chris Neath taking the score after four races to 13-11.

It had been a good start by the depleted Rockets’ side but they fell further behind when King’s Lynn scored a 5-1 in heat 5 through Kevin Doolan (again) and Troy Batchelor and added a 4-2 in heat 6 when Tomas Topinka (R/R) beat Chris Neath stretching the lead to eight points. Tomas Topinka was out again in heat 7 and won again this time beating Tommy Allen and Steve Boxall (R/R) for a shared race. At this point Doolan and Topinka between them has appeared in six of the first seven heats and won them all scoring 18 of King’s Lynn’s 25 points! Ben Powell replaced Danny Betson in heat 8 for the Rockets but he fell trying to pass John Oliver. With Trevor Harding passing Steve Boxall on the second lap King’s Lynn stretched their lead to 10 points with the score standing at 29-19 after eight heats.

Troy Batchelor and Kevin Doolan added five more points to the Stars’ total in heat 9 when they relegated Chris Neath to third place as the match began to slip further away from Rye House. The trend was reversed in heat 10 though! Steve Boxall won the race beating Troy Batchelor (R/R) who came from the back to challenge him while Tommy Allen took third for a 2-4 cutting the gap between the sides to 12 points. King’s Lynn replied with a 4-2 in heat 11 from Tomas Topinka who beat Edward Kennett and Chris Mills and another 4-2 in heat 12 won by Troy Batchelor from Steve Boxall as Tommy Allen (R/R) had an engine failure at the tapes to take the score to 44-28 after twelve races.

Finally Rye House got round to using a TR in heat 13 with Edward Kennett taking the ride. Tomas Topinka continued on his winning way for the home side but Kennet finished second and Chris Neath third so the Rockets took a 3-5 from the race. Then in heat 14 Steve Boxall was wheeled out wearing the black and white helmet cover. After the race was pulled back for an unsatisfactory start with Doolan and Boxall warned for moving, Steve Boxall made a lightning start for the big six points, ending Kevin Doolan’s maximum hopes and pulling three more points back for the Rockets which cut the home side’s lead to eleven points at 50-39. It looked as though the Rockets might share heat 15 when Kennett and Neath slotted in behind Tomas Topinka after Kevin Doolan had missed the gate but Doolan chased down Chris Neath and passed him on the last bend for a last gasp 4-2 which gives the Stars a 13 point lead for the second leg.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 18 (6)(full maximum), Kevin Doolan 14+1 (6), Troy Batchelor 10+1 (5), Trevor Harding 5 (5), Chris Mills 4+1 (4), John Oliver 3+1 (4).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 15+2 (7)(including a 6 point TR), Edward Kennett 11 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Chris Neath 8+1 (6), Tommy Allen 4+1 (4), Ben Powell 3 (4), Daniel Betson 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 22 June

There were two Premier League matches and one Premier Trophy match raced tonight. The Premier League matches were at Redcar where the Bears raced Rye House and at Sheffield where the Tigers took on Berwick . The Premier Trophy match was on the Isle of Wight where the Islanders raced against Newport



Premier League: Redcar 47, Rye House 43 . Rye House won the bonus point on aggregate by 97-87


Redcar were at full strength but Rye House juggled their resources once again to cope with their injury-stricken absentees. They moved Ben Powell to number 2, used R/R for Ross Brady at number 3 and had Danny Betson at number 6 in place of Luke Bowen.

After excellent back to back wins home wins against the two Scottish sides, Redcar might have been excused for thinking that a depleted Rye House side would have been easy pickings but they got a shock as they soon found themselves playing catch-up. The scores were tied until a heat 14 maximum gave the Bears a crucial four point lead going into the last heat.

The Bears opened with a 4-2 as Gary Havelock won from Edward Kennett but they lost a 1-5 in the reserves race when Danny Betson won the race from Steve Boxall with Daniel Giffard third after Jack Hargreaves had fallen. Chris Neath (R/R) won heat 3 for a 3-3 but the Bears lost another 1-5 in heat 4. Chris Neath made it two wins on the trot and Steve Boxall followed him home ahead of Daniel Giffard and Chris Kerr to put the Rockets six points up with the score at 9-15.

Redcar hit back quickly with consecutive 5-1s in heats 5 and 6. Ben Powell led from the gate in heat 5 but was passed by both Tomas Suchanek and Kevin Little then, in heat 6, Mathieu Tresarrieu and Gary Havelock, who passed Chris Neath on the second lap, added another maximum which put the Bears two points in front. Chris Kerr fell in heat 7 and was excluded from the rerun which was won by that man Boxall again. Hargreaves finished second ahead of Tommy Allen but the 2-4 meant that the scores were tied again after seven races. Steve Boxall, out for the fourth time, kept his unbeaten run going for a shared heat which meant that the score after eight races was 24-24.

Tomas Suchanek won heat 9 but Kevin Little didn’t make it to the first bend before his bike packed up so this race was shared too but in heat 10 Redcar took the lead again as the Rockets began to run out of options to cover adequately for their missing riders. Gary Havelock and Mathieu Tresarrieu scored a 5-1 ahead of Tommy Allen. Back came the Rockets again with Edward Kennett winning heat 11 with Steve Boxall second for a 1-5 which tied the scores again. They remained level when Steve Boxall, taking his sixth ride, remained unbeaten after a great early tussle with Tomas Suchanek by winning from Hargreaves and Suchanek to keep the scores level at 36-36 after twelve races.

It stayed level after heat 13 as Rye House kept the pressure on the home side. Gary Havelock won the race but Edward Kennett and Chris Neath followed him home for a shared race. Out came Steve Boxall again in heat 14 for his seventh ride partnered by Danny Betson who replaced Tommy Allen. This time there was no happy ending for Boxall. Kevin Little and Jack Hargreaves got out in front and team rode brilliantly to deny the Rye House man any passing line. This gave Redcar a 5-1 and some breathing space going into the last heat with a four point lead. Rye House needed a 1-5 to force a draw but Gary Havelock was fast away to win the race. Neath and Kennett followed him home to share the race and the Bears were relieved to take a four point win from the match. Rye House had the consolation of taking the bonus point though.


Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Tomas Suchanek 9+1 (5), Mathieu Tresarrieu 7+2 (4), Jack Hargreaves 7+1 (5), Kevin Little 6+2 (4), Daniel Giffard 4 (3), Chris Kerr 0 (4).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 16+3 (7), Chris Neath 12+1 (6), Edward Kennett 8+1 (5), Danny Betson 4+1 (4), Tommy Allen 2 (4), Ben Powell 1 (4).



Premier League: Sheffield 56, Berwick 39


Sheffield were at full strength while Berwick used R/R at number 2 for Lee Smethills and had John Oliver at number 6 in place of the injured Craig Branney. It was the first time (I think) that a Grade C reserve had deputised for a Grade A reserve but John Oliver’s previous performance at Sheffield no doubt swayed Berwick’s thinking.

Berwick were only trailing by six points after 9 heats but they fell away losing four 5-1s in the last six races during which it was only the use of TRs which kept them from losing more heavily. It was a great return by James Birkinshaw to his former home track but Stanislaw Burza chose a bad time to run four lasts. Sheffield take a 17 point lead to Shielfield later in the season in their quest for the bonus point.

Sheffield opened with two 5-1s and it looked as though the Bandits were in for a lean time of it. However, James Birkinshaw came out in heat 3 to win from Kyle Legault. Michal Makovsky took third place from Emiliano Sanchez to earn the Bandits a 2-4 then they shared heat 4 when John Oliver and Andreas Bergstrom followed Andre Compton home to leave the score reading 15-9 after four races.

In heat 5 James Birkinshaw (R/R) came out to win again from Sanchez and Legault and a shared race but Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson scored a 5-1 in heat 6 from Andreas Bergstrom to stretch Sheffield’s lead to ten points. It was James Birkinshaw time again in heat 7 and how! He led from Andre Compton early on and when Compton dived under him on the third bend he kept the throttle wound on to see off Sheffield’s top man for a fine heat win. Michal Makovsky again took the third place point which gave Berwick a 2-4 and Berwick scored another 2-4 in heat 8 when Michal Makovsky (R/R) won from Ben Wilson with John Oliver third which took the score after eight races to 27-21.

Kyle Legault won heat 9 from Andreas Berg while John Oliver took an excellent third place ahead of Emiliano Sanchez for a shared heat but that’s as good as it got for the Bandits. The Ashworth/Wilson pairing produced another 5-1 at the expense of Makovsky and Birkinshaw and Andre Compton and Paul Cooper scored another in heat 11 with Stanislaw Burza again failing to open his account. Heat 12 produced an exciting race. James Birkinshaw took a TR for Berwick but Emiliano Sanchez headed him from the gate. Try as he did Birkinshaw going ever wider could not pass the Sheffield man but Daniel Warwick finished third so Berwick took a 3-5 from the race to make the score 43-31.

Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth scored a 5-1 from Andreas Berg and Stanislaw Burza in heat 13 then Michal Makovsky took a TR in heat 14. He won the race from Kyle Legault so a 3-6 came Berwick’s way but another Compton/Ashworth 5-1 in heat 15 denied Berwick the consolation of reaching the 40 point mark.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 14 (5), Ricky Ashworth 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Ben Wilson 8+3 (4), Kyle Legault 8+1 (4), Paul Cooper 5+3 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 5 (4), Benji Compton 3.

For Berwick – James Birkinshaw 13 (6)(including a 4 point TR), Michal Makovsky 13 (6)(including a 6 point TR), John Oliver 7+1 (7), Andreas Bergstrom 5+1 (4), Daniel Warwick 1+1, Stanislaw Burza 0 (4).



Premier Trophy: Isle of Wight 61, Newport 34 . The Isle of Wight won the bonus point on aggregate by 103-81


The Isle of Wight had new signing Ray Morton at number 5 while they used R/R at number 2 for broken collarbone victim Jason Bunyan. Newport had Somerset’s Stephan Katt as their guest for Craig Watson and used R/R for Neil Collins at number 3.

The main interest in this match, which was of no significance to the southern group of the Premier Trophy, was the return of Ray Morton to the Islanders’ colours in place of Krister Marsh. He did well with 6+1 from his four rides and gives the Isle of Wight a very powerful looking side once Jason Bunyan returns from injury. All the home riders were paid for at least 7 points and they restricted Newport to just two race winners.

Heat 1 produced a bit of a surprise. Krzysztof Stojanowski (R/R) won the race but Chris Schramm did well to keep Chris Holder back in third place. It was the only points Holder dropped all night as the Islanders opened with a 4-2. Two 5-1 heat wins followed but not before Chris Schramm and Krzysztof Stojanowski had had a fantastic battle in heat 3 with the two riders virtually inseparable for three and a half laps until Stojanowski finally got passed the Newport man. Carl Wilkinson won heat 3 by passing Ray Morton on the third lap for a shared heat and the score after four races stood at 17-7.

Stojanowski and Doyle added a 5-1 in heat 5 then Chris Johnson taking the R/R ride fell in heat 6 and was excluded from the rerun which was won by Chris Holder for a shared heat. In heat 7 Carl Wilkinson took a TR and brightened up the Wasps’ evening by winning the race from Ray Morton. Better still for Newport, Tony Atkin was third so the Wasps scored a 2-7 to trail by 9 points. Chris Holder won heat 8 from Chris Schramm and a 4-2 which took the score to 31-20.

Doyle and Stojanowski scored their third consecutive 5-1 as a pairing in heat 9 beating Carl Wilkinson into third place then Chris Holder won heat 10. However Tony Atkin ended Jason Doyle’s unbeaten run by taking second place with the 4-2 taking the score to 40-23. Ray Morton demolished the tapes in heat 11 and went from 15 metres back. Chris Johnson won the race for the home side but Stephan Katt finally got off the mark by taking second place with Chris Schramm third for a shared race. In heat 12 Tony Atkin took a TR but failed to repeat his performance of heat 10 by beating Jason Doyle. Doyle got his own back this time and Atkin’s second place resulted in a 4-4 share of the points taking the score to 47-30.

The Islanders finished with two 5-1s and a 4-2 with wins from Chris Holder in heat 13 and from Krzysztof Stojanowski in both heats 14 and 15 which gave Stojanowski a six ride paid maximum.

Scorers: For The Isle of Wight – Krzysztof Stojanowski 16+2 (6)(paid maximum), Chris Holder 15+1 (6), Jason Doyle 12+1 (5), Ray Morton 6+1 (4), Nick Simmons 6+1 (4), Chris Johnson 6+1 (5).

For Newport – Carl Wilkinson 13+1 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Tony Atkin 9 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Chris Schramm 7+1 (5), Joel Parsons 3 (6), Stephan Katt 2 (4), Sam Hurst 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Friday, 23 June

There were two Premier League matches and a Premier Trophy match raced tonight. The Premier League matches were at Edinburgh where the Monarchs raced Sheffield while at Somerset the Rebels took on Mildenhall . The Premier Trophy match was in the northern section at Workington where the Comets raced against Redcar



Premier League: Edinburgh 52, Sheffield 44


Edinburgh welcomed back William Lawson to the side which brought them up to full strength. Sheffield were also at full strength.

It was another night when Edinburgh were hampered by poor gating. They had to come from the back on a number of occasions to earn points, not easy on a slick track. Sheffield made full use of their two TRs for which they became eligible at just the right time on both occasions and an eight point deficit puts the bonus point well within their grasp in the return match.

Henrik Moller was the meat in an Ashworth/Wilson sandwich on the first bend of the opener which resulted in Moller crashing into the fence and hurting his knee. In the ‘all four back’ rerun, Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson were fast away but Theo Pijper cut back on the second bend to pass the field and take the lead. Henrik Moller rounded Ashworth and chased Wilson catching and passing him on the second bend of lap 2 to join Pijper up front for a 5-1. It looked as though Edinburgh would add another 5-1 in heat 2 when Derek Sneddon and Sean Stoddart led from the start. On the fourth bend of the second lap Sneddon got completely out of shape but recovered to keep second place behind Stoddart but one lap later he pulled a locker on the same bend and fell gifting Sheffield a shared race. Kyle Legault made a lightning start to heat 3 but was caught and passed briefly by William Lawson on the second bend. However, on the outside line, Legault had enough speed on the third and fourth bends to repass Lawson for the race win and another shared heat. Rusty Harrison made a good start to lead heat 4 but Benji Compton crashed on the third bend causing the race to be rerun in which Andre Compton made the fast start this time and won comfortably for another shared race taking the score to 14-10 after four races.

William Lawson and Matthew Wethers powered round the first and second bends to race off for a second 5-1 for the Monarchs in heat 5 but Andre Compton produced another tapes to flag win in heat 6 for a shared race. Kyle Legault made another fast start in heat 7 from Rusty Harrison and for a moment it looked as though Harrison would have his work cut out to keep Emiliano Sanchez behind him. However Harrison had other ideas, got himself on the outside line and chased and passed Legault in fine style to win the race for another shared heat. Theo Pijper won heat 8 but Ben Wilson passed Derek Sneddon to limit the damage to a 4-2 which took the score to 29-19 after eight heats.

Conveniently Andre Compton was due out in heat 9 so took a TR which he won from William Lawson for a 3-6 to Sheffield cutting the Monarchs lead to seven points. It was Emiliano Sanchez’s turn to shoot from the gate in heat 10 and despite Henrik Moller and Theo Pijper chasing him hard for all four laps Sanchez held on to win the race although Moller almost got up on the line to pip him for first place. Edinburgh took a 4-2 in heat 11 when Rusty Harrison worked himself to the front to head Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth. Ashworth recovered from a fourth bend meeting with the fence to remain in third place but Ben Wilson picked up drive coming off the second bend on the last lap and crashed into the fence turning a 3-3 into a 4-2 giving Edinburgh a nine point lead. This was a double edged sword for the home side because it meant that Kyle Legault could take a TR in heat 12. He duly won the race with another fast start to give Sheffield their second 3-6 of the match and Edinburgh found their lead cut to six points with the score standing at 42-36.

In heat 13 Rusty Harrison and Ricky Ashworth broke from the gate together but Harrison rode round Ashworth to lead down the back straight. Andre Compton was in third place but Henrik Moller reeled him in and passed him on the inside of the third bend of the third lap to give the Monarchs a 4-2 and eight point lead. Benji Compton was the surprise early leader of heat 14 from William Lawson with Emiliano Sanchez passing Derek Sneddon for third. Lawson seemed curiously unwilling to pass Compton but, weighing up his moment, he finally did so coming off the fourth bend of the third lap to win the race for a 3-3 before Andre Compton shot from the gate to head home Lawson and Harrison in the last heat for another 3-3.

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

For AwayTeam – Andre Compton 15 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Kyle Legault 11 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Emiliano Sanchez 6+1 (4), Ricky Ashworth 5 (4), Benji Compton 3+1 (4), Ben Wilson 3 (4), Paul Cooper 1+1 (4).



Premier League: Somerset 53, Mildenhall 42


Somerset used R/R for Paul Fry at number 2 moving Glen Phillips to number 4. Mildenhall were at full strength.

This was a close contest until heats 9 and 10 when the Rebels doubled their six points lead to twelve. Mildenhall produced heat advantages in three of the last five heats, two with the aid of TRs, but it was a case of too little, too late. Somerset had eleven of the fifteen race winners and will be satisfied with the size of their win given that they were using R/R for Paul Fry. With Emil Kramer due to join the team they should be a powerful force.

An opening race 5-1 from Magnus Zetterstrom and Glen Phillips (R/R), who passed Jason Lyons, for the Rebels was neutralised by a 1-5 from Jon Armstrong and Barry Burchatt in heat 2 for the Fen Tigers after Simon Walker had fallen and been excluded and Barry Burchatt had had to go from 15 metres back after touching the tapes. Stephan Katt and Glenn Phillips added another 5-1 in heat 3 from the Kings (Daniel and Jason) then Glenn Cunningham passed both Jon Armstrong and Brent Werner to win heat 4 for a shared race taking the score to 14-10.

Jason Lyons won heat 5 for a 3-3 but Somerset increased their lead to six points with a 4-2 from Zetterstrom and Barker (R/R) split by Brent Werner in heat 6. Glenn Cunningham and Stephan Katt then won heats 7 and 8 both for shared heats to take the score to 27-21.

The Fen Tigers fell a further six points behind when they lost a 4-2 in heat 9 when Stephan Katt beat Brent Werner with Glen Phillips third and a 5-1 in heat 10 as Magnus Zetterstrom and Glenn Cunningham (TR) beat the Kings taking the score to 36-24. Jason Lyons took a TR in heat 11 but was beaten by Glenn Cunningham. However with James Brundle third the visitors took a 3-5 cutting the gap between the sides to 10 points. Out came Daniel King in heat 12 wearing the black and white helmet cover and he did better winning the race from Stephan Katt and Ben Barker for a 3-6. This made the score after twelve races 42-35.

Cunningham and Zetterstrom continued their unbeaten runs taking a 5-1 in heat 13 from Jason Lyons but Jason King won heat 14 from Glen Phillips with Jon Armstrong third for a 2-4. In the last heat Magnus Zetterstrom beat Daniel King to complete his paid five ride maximum but Glenn Phillips missed out on a six ride paid maximum when he finished last to Jason Lyons.

Scorers: For HomeTeam – Magnus Zetterstrom 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Glenn Cunningham 14+1 (6), Stephan Katt 12+1 (5), Glen Phillips 9+2 (5), Ben Barker 3+1 (6), Simon Walker 0 (3).

For AwayTeam – Daniel King 12 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Jason Lyons 10+1 (5)(including a 4 point TR), Jon Armstrong 6+2 (5), Brent Werner 6 (4), Jason King 4+1 (4), James Brundle 3+1 (4), Barry Burchatt 2+1 (3).



Premier Trophy: Workington 50, Redcar 43 . Workington won the bonus point on aggregate by 99-85.


Workington had Paul Thorp back in the side at number 2 and had John Branney at number 6. Redcar were without Mathieu Tresarrieu and used R/R at number 2 in his absence.

With Workington having already won the northern section there was nothing at stake in this match. Unfortunately details are unavailable at present.

Scorers: For Workington – Ritchie Hawkins 13+1 (5), James Wright 12 (5), Garry Stead 8+2 (4), Paul Thorp 7 (4), Tomasz Piszcz 6+1 (4), Aidan Collins 4+1 (4), John Branney 0 (4).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 16 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Tomas Suchanek 7+1 (6), Chris Kerr 6 (5), Daniel Giffard 6 (5), Jack Hargreaves 5+2 (4), Kevin Little 3+2 (5).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 24 June

There were matches raced tonight. One in the Premier League between Berwick and Sheffield , the other the second leg of the quarter final tie in the Knock-Out Cup at Rye House between the Rockets and King’s Lynn .


Premier League: Berwick 43, Sheffield 47 . Sheffield won the bonus point on aggregate by 103-82.


Berwick had Lee Smethills back in the side at number 3 but were missing Craig Branney. They had Jon Armstrong from Mildenhall as a guest in his place at number 7. Sheffield were at full strength.

Berwick were dealt a bad blow in the opening heat when James Birkinshaw ploughed into the first bend fence and had to be taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle. That was bad enough but when their guest reserve, Jon Armstrong, managed only two points and Stanislaw Burza at number 1 could only manage 5 points it was too much for the Bandits against a good Sheffield side who were well led by Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth.

After James Birkinshaw had been safely settled in the ambulance and taken off to hospital Berwick started the match by conceding a 1-5 in the opening race to Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson. The Bandits pulled two points back with a 4-2 in the reserves race won by Daniel Warwick from Paul Cooper. They followed that by scoring a 5-1 in heat 3 from Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky after Makovsky had passed Kyle Legault causing him to fall. Andreas Bergstrom produced a brilliant ride in heat 4 to pass Andre Compton round the outside for a comfortable win. With Jon Armstrong picking up the third place point Berwick added a 4-2 to take the score after four races to 14-10.

The next three heats were shared. Michal Makovsky won heat 5 from Ricky Ashworth. Andre Compton beat Daniel Warwick in heat 6 and Emiliano Sanchez won heat 7 from Andreas Bergstrom. In heat 8 though the scores were all square again. Ben Wilson and Paul Cooper led from the tapes and, although Daniel Warwick passed Paul Cooper he was repassed by the Sheffield man a lap later for a Sheffield 1-5 which took the score to 24-24.

In heat 9 Andre Compton gated to beat the Makovsky/Smethills pairing for a shared race then in heat 10 Stanislaw Burza had his one moment of glory on the night by winning the heat. Daniel Warwick had got himself into second place but was brilliantly passed by Kyle Legault then by Emiliano Sanchez. Sanchez then suffered an engine failure so the heat was eventually shared. In heat 11 the fast gating Ashworth and Wilson threatened a Sheffield 1-5 but Andreas Bergstrom got by Wilson and chased after Ashworth. He looked to be catching the Sheffield number 1 but Ashworth shut the door on him so Sheffield took a 2-4 to level the match again. Lee Smethills won heat 12 from Kyle Legault for another shared race which took the score after twelve heats to 36-36.

Not for the first time this season heat 13 turned out to be a disaster for Berwick. Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth were fast away and might have been challenged by Andreas Bergstrom but for the fact that it took Bergstrom three laps to pass his partner, Stanislaw Burza, so the Sheffield big guns scored a 1-5 at a crucial time to take the lead at 37-41. Michal Makovsky produced a fine ride to beat Emiliano Sanchez in heat 14 and, with Daniel Warwick third, the Bandits pulled two points back with the 4-2 to trail 41-43 going into the last heat. It all went wrong for Berwick again in heat 15 when Andreas Bergstrom crashed into the fourth bend fence to be excluded from the rerun to guarantee a Sheffield win. In the rerun Andre Compton beat Michal Makovsky for a 2-4 which gave the visitors a four point win.

Scorers: For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 12+1 (5), Daniel Warwick 9+1 (7), Andreas Bergstrom 8 (5), Lee Smethills 7+1 (4), Stanislaw Burza 5+1 (4), Jon Armstrong 2 (4).

For Sheffield – Andre Compton 14 (5), Ricky Ashworth 11+1 (5), Ben Wilson 7+2 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 6 (4), Paul Cooper 5+2 (5), Kyle Legault 4 (4), Benji Compton 0 (3).



Knock-Out Cup (quarter final, second leg): Rye House 49, King’s Lynn 44 . King’s Lynn won through to the semi final on aggregate by 98-90


Rye House were again without Jaimie Courtney, Ross Brady and Luke Bowen all out injured. Instead they had Danny Betson at number 2, used R/R at number 3 for Ross Brady and used Ben Powell at number 6. King’s Lynn were missing Daniel Nermark and used R/R at number 1 instead.

Rye House needed to pull back a 13 point lead from the first leg to make progress to the semi final of the Cup. King’s Lynn looked to be containing the Rockets well and were only trailing by two points on the night with just four heats to go. However consecutive 5-1s for Rye House in heats 12 and 13 put them within touching distance of the Stars and gave the visitors some worrying moments until Kevin Doolan raced off to win the last two races to see King’s Lynn through.

The match opened with a shared race won by Edward Kennett for Rye House but the Rockets took a 5-1 from the reserves race thanks to Steve Boxall and Ben Powell for a four point lead. Kevin Doolan won heat 3 and Tomas Topinka heat 4 after passing Steve Boxall and Chris Neath both for shared races so the score after four heats was 14-10.

It was Kevin Doolan again who won heat 5 from Steve Boxall and Tommy Allen then Tomas Topinka again who won heat 6 from Edward Kennett and Danny Betson both for shared races but Rye House were pegged back to all square on the night again in heat 7 when Kevin Doolan won for the third time and was followed home by Trevor Harding for a 1-5 after Chris Neath had fallen while lying third. Rye House then fell behind on the night when they conceded a 2-4 in heat 8. Chris Mills held off the challenge of Steve Boxall to win the race and Troy Batchelor picked up third place as Danny Betson suffered an engine failure. The score after eight races now stood at 23-25 and Rye House looked dead and buried.

The Rockets rallied with a 5-1 in heat 9 when Steve Boxall and Tommy Allen relegated the previously unbeaten Tomas Topinka to third to go two points ahead at 28-26 and the next two races were shared. Edward Kennett finally stopped Kevin Doolan’s winning run by winning heat 10 then Tomas Topinka won heat 11 from Chris Neath to keep the gap at two points. The Rockets saw a glimmer of hope when they took a 5-1 in heat 12 with Steve Boxall and Tommy Allen beating Chris Mills to take the score to 39-33 which meant that they still trailed by 7 points on aggregate.

The glimmer turned into a shaft when Rye House scored another 5-1 in heat 13. Chris Neath and Edward Kennett saw off Tomas Topinka and Troy Batchelor (R/R) to make the score 44-34 which left them now trailing by only three points on aggregate with two heats to go. However, because they now trailed by ten points, King’s Lynn were able to give Kevin Doolan a TR in heat 14. In the first running of the race Tommy Allen and Chris Mills crashed into the third bend fence with Mills excluded which put even more pressure on Kevin Doolan. However he made the gate for the big six points to finally extinguish the Rockets’ fire. Doolan then gated to win the last race too to finish with a 20 point total. Edward Kennett took second ahead of Tomas Topinka for a 2-4 which made the Stars’ passage to the next round look a little more comfortable than it actually was.

Scorers: For Rye House – Steve Boxall 15+2 (7), Edward Kennett 12+1 (5), Chris Neath 9 (5), Tommy Allen 8+4 (6), Ben Powell 4+2 (3), Danny Betson 1+1 (4).

For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 20 (6)(including a 6 point TR), Tomas Topinka 12 (6), Trevor Harding 5+2 (5), Chris Mills 5 (5), Troy Batchelor 2+1 (5), John Oliver 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 25 June

Two matches were raced today both in the Premier League Knock-Out Cup quarter finals. At Glasgow the Tigers raced Newcastle in a first leg tie while at Mildenhall the Fen Tigers took on Somerset in a second leg tie.


Knock-Out Cup (Quarter final, first leg): Glasgow 55, Newcastle 41


Glasgow were again at full strength but Newcastle were missing reserve Jaimie Robertson and had Derek Sneddon as a guest at number 7 in his place.

Glasgow emerged favourites to qualify for the semi-finals after building a 14 point lead over Newcastle. They had strength all down the line although Newcastle were very unlucky to lose Manuel Hauzinger after his crash in heat 3. Former Glasgow riders, James Grieves and Christian Henry, led the Diamonds scoring but it was a very poor performance from George Stancl returning to the scene of his former glory. He was on the receiving end of three 5-1s. Indeed the only Glasgow rider he beat was James Cockle in heat 4!

Josef Franc nipped out the gate to win the opening race for a shared heat but Glasgow took a 5-1 from the reserves race for an early four point lead. Newcastle then lost Manuel Hauzinger in heat 3 when he lifted on the home straight and demolished the first bend fence. It looked a horrific accident but amazingly he escaped without any serious damage although he was ruled out of the rest of the meeting. In the rerun, James Grieves won from Kauko Nieminen for a share of the points but Glasgow moved six points in front in heat 4 when Shane Parker beat George Stancl for a 4-2 which made the score after four races 15-9.

Newcastle hit back immediately with a 1-5 in heat 5 as Josef Franc and Christian Henry gated to relegate Kauko Nieminen to third place. Glasgow returned the complement in an amazing race when Danny Bird and David McAllan scored a 5-1 at the expense of George Stancl. Stancl had already passed McAllan who then had his hands full holding off Derek Sneddon. However he got the better of Sneddon and chased after George Stancl passing him on the last bend to take second place. There was more woe for Newcastle in heat 7. James Grieves gated but was soon passed by Shane Parker. The attention then switched to Robert Ksiezak who chased and passed Grieves on the second lap to join his partner for another 5-1 which had Newcastle reeling at 26-16. As luck would have it the ten point gap appeared just as heat 8 came up and Newcastle gave Christian Henry a TR. Not for the first time this season Glasgow lost a 1-8 in the heat and, yet again, Derek Sneddon was the villain as far as Glasgow were concerned. Sneddon and Cockle appeared to collide at the start with Cockle stopping. However the referee saw nothing wrong so the race continued with Henry and Sneddon winning from David McAllan for the big 1-8 which took the score to 27-24 after eight races.

Back came Glasgow with another 5-1 in heat 9. Kauko Nieminen led from George Stancl but Lee Dicken passed Stancl coming off the second bend for another maximum heat win which extended Glasgow’s lead to seven points. Back came Newcastle with a 2-4 in heat 10. James Grieves sped off as Derek Sneddon took Danny Bird wide on the opening bend. David McAllan fell on the last lap at the back and the race was awarded. Back came Glasgow in heat 11 with another 5-1. Shane Parker and Robert Ksiezak scored the maximum at the expense of Christian Henry and the previously unbeaten Josef Franc to stretch the lead to nine points. Derek Sneddon replaced Manuel Hauzinger in heat 12 but Newcastle declined the opportunity to replace Adam McKinna with a Tactical Substitute in one of the ‘soft’ heats. Robert Ksiezak, who had replaced James Cockle, gated again to win the race but Derek Sneddon passed Lee Dicken for second place to limit the damage to a 4-2. The score after 12 heats was now 43-32. The usual Parker/Bird 5-1 duly arrived in heat 13 then James Grieves took a TR in heat 14. Robert Ksiezak made another fast start but fell on the second bend causing a rerun. In the rerun the Newcastle pair gated. James Grieves sped off for the full six points but Kauko Nieminen passed Derek Sneddon for a 2-7 to Newcastle cutting the gap to ten points. However the inevitable Parker/Bird combination produced a last heat 5-1 to open the lead to 14 points which is likely to be too much for the Diamonds to pull back in the second leg tomorrow night.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5), Danny Bird 11+2 (5), Robert Ksiezak 9+3 (5), Kauko Nieminen 8 (4), Lee Dicken 4+2, David McAllan 4+1 (4), James Cockle 4 (3).

For Newcastle – James Grieves 14 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Christian Henry 9+1 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Derek Sneddon 6+1 (7), Josef Franc 6 (4), George Stancl 5 (4), Adam McKinna 1 (4), Manuel Hauzinger 0 (1).



Knock-Out Cup (Quarter final, second leg): Mildenhall 40, Somerset 53 . Somerset won through to the semi-finals on aggregate by 106-82


Mildenhall were at full strength but Somerset were without Glen Phillips who was riding long track and used R/R in his place at number 2. Emil Kramer made his debut for the Rebels at number 4 in place of the injured Paul Fry. Lee Smart was at reserve as a guest in place of Simon Walker who is out injured.

Mildenhall had done well to limit the Rebels to an 11 point lead in the first leg on Friday night but any chance they might have had of pulling the deficit back disappeared in the first five heats when they found themselves trailing by another 10 points. It got worse as the Rebels won with ease. Once again Somerset showed that they have the Midas touch when it comes to signing riders to cover for their injuries. Emil Kramer, replacing Paul Fry, dropped only one point to the opposition on his way to top scoring for the Rebels on his debut.

In heat 1 Emil Kramer made a dream start to his Somerset career by winning the race with Magnus Zetterstrom second ahead of the challenging Jason Lyons for a 1-5. They added another 1-5 in the reserves race when Ben Barker and their guest, Lee Smart, rather surprisingly headed home Jon Armstrong to make the score 2-10. The Fen Tigers hit back with their own 5-1 in heat 3 thanks to the two Kings with Daniel winning from Jason as Stephan Katt finished third. Any joy from that result was greeted with dismay at the result from heat 4 as Glenn Cunningham and Ben Barker raced away for another 1-5 ahead of Brent Werner to make the score after the opening four races 8-16.

Bad went to worse when the Rebels thumped in a 2-4 to stretch their lead to 10 points in heat 5. Magnus Zetterstrom won the race from Jason King who passed Emil Kramer who took third ahead of Daniel King. Glenn Cunningham made it five race winners from six heats for the Rebels in heat 6 when he beat Jason Lyons and James Brundle for a shared heat. In heat 7 Brent Werner took a TR as Ben Barker took the R/R for Glen Phillips to join Stephan Katt. This turned out to be a disaster for Mildenhall as Werner finished stone cold last. Ben Barker won again (he’d better watch or he’ll be told to get into the main body of the team!). He beat Jon Armstrong with his partner, Stephan Katt, taking third place for another 2-4 for the Rebels which now saw them 12 points ahead. Their lead went to 14 after heat 8. Emil Kramer beat James Brundle for the Rebels’ seventh race winner with Ben Barker losing his unbeaten tag by finishing behind James Brundle. This took the score after eight races to 17-31 with Mildenhall effectively out of the competition.

Somerset just kept on winning races. It was Glenn Cunningham in heat 9 heading home the Kings for a shared race. In heat 10 Jason Lyons took Mildenhall’s second TR. At last the home fans had something to cheer about as Jason Lyons won the heat from Stephan Katt. James Brundle finished third so the Fen Tigers took a 7-2 to cut the visitors’ lead to nine points. The cheering soon turned to groans as Somerset punched home another 1-5 in heat 11. Again it was Brent Werner who had to follow home both Rebels as Magnus Zetterstrom and Emil Kramer took maximum points. But it was back to the cheering in heat 12 when Daniel King won the race and Barry Burchatt did well to relegate Stephan Katt to third place for a home 5-1 which took the score after 12 races to 33-42.

Jason Lyons won heat 13 ending Magnus Zetterstrom’s winning run in the process and Brent Werner finished third ahead of Glenn Cunningham who was also unbeaten to that point. The 4-2 made the score 37-44 giving the Fen Tigers an outside chance of winning the match with two 5-1s. However Stephan Katt put paid to that idea by winning heat 14 as R/R and Ben Barker completed a very impressive meeting by taking second place ahead of Jason King for another Rebels’ 1-5. Emil Kramer won heat 15 and it looked as though Magnus Zetterstrom would follow him home for a 1-5 until Daniel King passed him on the second lap. With Jason Lyons finishing last the visitors finished with a 2-4 giving them a bigger winning margin by which they won the first leg.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Jason Lyons 12 (5)(including a 6 point TR), Daniel King 10 (5), Jason King 6+2 (4), James Brundle 4+1 (4), Jon Armstrong 3 (3), Brent Werner 3 (4), Barry Burchatt 2+1 (5).

For The Somerset – Emil Kramer 12+1 (5), Magnus Zetterstrom 11+1 (5), Ben Barker 11+2 (6), Glenn Cunningham 9 (4), Stephan Katt 8 (5), Lee Smart 2+1 (5).

[Merlin]

Monday, 26 June



The only match raced tonight was the return leg of the quarter final of the Premier League Knock-Out Cup tie at Newcastle where the Diamonds again faced Glasgow.



Knock-Out Cup (Quarter final, second leg): Newcastle 48, Glasgow 42 . Glasgow won through to the semi final on aggregate by 97-89.


Newcastle were without Manuel Hauzinger who was injured at Glasgow yesterday and had to use Rider Replacement at number 3. They were also without Jaimie Robertson and had Chris Mills of King’s Lynn deputising in his place at number 7. By contrast Glasgow were at full strength again.

With three of the R/R rides for Manuel Hauzinger having to be covered by the two reserves who scored only 5 points between them from eleven rides, Newcastle were effectively a four man team. While it was enough for them to win on the night it wasn’t enough to pull back the 14 point lead Glasgow had built up from the first leg.

Newcastle needed to make a good start to have any chance but they found themselves playing catch up almost immediately. Danny Bird passed both Josef Franc and Christian Henry to win the opening heat for a shared race but Robert Ksiezak and James Cockle took a 1-5 in heat 2 to put the Tigers four points ahead and increase their aggregate lead to 18 points. Newcastle had to field one of their two reserves in seven of the next eight heats and were clearly going to struggle. And so it proved. James Grieves won heat 3 from Dicken and Nieminen for a 3-3 then George Stancl beat Shane Parker in heat 4. This time Chris Mills took the third place from Cockle who gifted him the point by falling so Newcastle took a 4-2 which took the score to 11-13.

James Grieves won heat 5 from Danny Bird for a share of the points then Newcastle drew level with a 4-2 in heat 6. Josef Franc beat Shane Parker with Christian Henry taking third so the scores were level again at 18-18. It didn’t last long as Glasgow pulled ahead again in heat 7 when Kauko Nieminen beat George Stancl with Lee Dicken third for a 4-2 which put the Tigers two points ahead again. Christian Henry then won heat 8 from David McAllan for a shared heat which took the score to 23-25.

Glasgow increased their lead to four points when Shane Parker beat James Grieves with Robert Ksiezak third for a 4-2 but it was all square again when Josef Franc and Christian Henry took a 5-1 ahead of Kauko Nieminen to level things up at 30-30. Again it didn’t last long as Danny Bird beat George Stancl in heat 11 with David McAllan third ahead of Adam McKinna for another Glasgow 2-4 which put them two points ahead again. Newcastle now needed four consecutive 5-1s to tie the match on aggregate which would have had a bookmaker allowing you to name your own odds. However they got the first one OK when Christian Henry and Chris Mills both passed Robert Ksiezak in heat 12 for maximum points which saw the Diamonds take the lead for the first time in the match with the score now reading 37-35.

In heat 13 George Stancl and Josef Franc then completed the second leg of mission impossible by taking a second 5-1 by leaving Shane Parker and Danny Bird in their wake. However Kauko Nieminen produced the second place Glasgow needed in an eventful heat 14 when he followed James Grieves home. James Cockle had led the race until he hit the fence and slipped to the back. Chris Mills took third and the 4-2 gave Newcastle the consolation of winning the match on the night. Danny Bird won the nominated race from Josef Franc with Shane Parker taking third from George Stancl for a 2-4 which cut Newcastle’s lead to four points on the night.


Scorers: For Newcastle – Josef Franc 11+2 (5), Christian Henry 11+1 (5), James Grieves 11 (4), George Stancl 10 (5), Chris Mills 5+1 (6), Adam McKinna 0 (5).

For Glasgow – Danny Bird 11 (5), Shane Parker 9 (5), Kauko Nieminen 7+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 5 (4), David McAllan 4+1 (4), James Cockle 3+2 (4), Lee Dicken 3 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 10 August



There was only one Premier League match raced tonight and that was at Sheffield where the Tigers were at home to Redcar.



Premier League: Sheffield 49, Redcar 41 .


Sheffield had to use R/R for the injured Kyle Legault at number 4. They also gave a debut to Tai Woffinden on his sixteenth birthday at number 7 in place of Benji Compton and nominated David Speight as their number eight. Redcar were at full strength.

After home and away defeats at the hands of Stoke last week Sheffield were anxious to get their championship challenge back on the rails with a big win. They could have chosen an easier task than to meet a fired up Redcar side in this match. Eventually Sheffield scrambled to an eight point win but will it be enough for the bonus point in the return match at Redcar tomorrow night?

After Gary Havelock had won the opening race for a share of the spoils the Bears’ reserves had Sheffield in trouble with a 1-5 in heat 2. Sheffield levelled again in the next heat thanks to a 5-1 from Sanchez and Cooper. Then Andre Compton won heat 4 to keep the score tied at 12-12.

Not for long though as Redcar scored another 1-5 in heat 5 through Havelock and Kerr who came from the back to restore the Bears’ four point lead but again Sheffield hit back immediately with a 5-1 this time from Wilson and Ashworth. Two shared heats followed so the scores were still tied after heat 8 at 24-24.

An excellent race from Tomas Suchanek in heat 9 saw off Sanchez while Hargreaves took third place for the visitors ahead of David Speight for a 2-4 to see Redcar back in front again. An inspired Mathieu Tressarieu then came out to beat Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth to keep the Bears in front and alarm bells were ringing in the home camp for the second week running. Heat 11 saw the first clash of the giants and it was Andre Compton who triumphed over Gary Havelock. The mercurial Cooper took a good third place for Sheffield ahead of Chris Kerr for the 4-2 which squared matters again. Heat 12 turned out to be crucial. Paul Cooper, in as reserve replacement for Tai Woffinden, won the race with Emiliano Sanchez second for a big 5-1 which put Sheffield in front for the first time in this match at 38-34.

Gary Havelock took revenge for his heat 11 defeat by beating Andre Compton in heat 13 but Ricky Ashworth kept Suchanek at the back for a shared race. It was all over after heat 14. Emiliano Sanchez won the race while Paul Cooper again rose to the occasion by holding off a determined challenge from Mathieu Tressarieu to get the verdict on the line. The 5-1 gave Sheffield an eight point lead which had looked unlikely earlier in the meeting. It stayed that way after heat 15 was shared. Andre Compton beat Gary Havelock for the second time but Mathieu Tressarieu took third from Ben Wilson for the 3-3.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 14 (5), Paul Cooper 10+2 (7), Emiliano Sanchez 10+1 (5), Ben Wilson 10 (5), Ricky Ashworth 5+4 (4), Tai Woffinden 0 (3), David Speight 0 (1).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 13 (5), Mathieu Tressarieu 8+1 (5), Daniel Giffard 7+1 (5), Tomas Suchanek 5+1 (4), Chris Kerr 4+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 3+1 (3), Kevin Little 1+1 (4).