Around the Premier League Tracks - 2007

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 4 September

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. In addition to the usual match on the Isle of Wight where Sheffield were the visitors, Mildenhall were at home to Newport.


Premier League: Isle of Wight 59, Sheffield 32


The Isle of Wight were again without Andrew Bargh so had Karl Mason at number 6. Sheffield had a revamped team with Paul Cooper moving into the main body of the team at number 4 as a result of the September averages kicking in. This meant that James Birkinshaw moved to reserve and, as the senior reserve, the Tigers were allowed a guest in his absence. Ben Powell filled the number 6 spot as a result while the injured James Cockle was replaced by Conference League guest, Karlis Ezergailis at number 7.


The Isle of Wight did not start with their usual 5-1. Chris Holder seemed to be having machine problems and had to leave it to Cory Gathercole to win the race from Ben Wilson and Ricky Ashworth for a 3-3. Karlis Ezergailis suffered an engine failure in the reserves race which was won by Chris Johnson from Ben Powell giving the home side a two point lead with a 4-2. Jason Bunyan won heat 3 but Paul Cooper and Lee Complin kept Glen Phillips at the back for another shared race then heat 4 produced the first 5-1 of the match as Krzysztof Stojanowski and Chris Johnson outpaced Joel Parsons giving the Isle of Wight a six point lead with the score 15-9.

The Islanders were now fully into their stride and Jason Bunyan and Glen Phillips scored another 5-1 in heat 5 with the latter storming round the Sheffield pair of Wilson and Ashworth to join Bunyan up front. The lead was now ten points and it increased to 14 with a third consecutive 5-1 in heat 6 from Cory Gathercole and Chris Holder. Lee Complin relieved the siege for Sheffield by winning heat 7 from Stojanowski but Chris Johnson, who had replaced Karl Mason, finished third ahead of Paul Cooper so the race was shared as was heat 8, won by Cory Gathercole from Ben Wilson and Karlis Ezergailis, taking the score to 31-17.

Heat 9 looked a poor prospect for Sheffield but Joel Parsons split the home pair of Glen Phillips and Jason Bunyan for a 4-2. There were only two finishers in an awarded heat 10. Paul Cooper shed a chain at the starting gate then Cory Gathercole fell leaving Chris Holder leading Lee Complin when the race was stopped. This gave the Isle of Wight a 3-2 advantage and a 17 point lead. There was still no sign of a Sheffield TR but they didn’t need one to take a heat advantage from heat 11. Ben Wilson won the race from Krzysztof Stojanowski who passed Ricky Ashworth for a 2-4 to the Tigers. Finally Lee Complin took the Sheffield TR in heat 12. However it was Jason Bunyan who won the race from Complin with Chris Johnson third to deny the visitors a heat advantage with the resultant 4-4 which took the interval score to 44-29.

After the break, the Islanders took a 5-1 from Chris Holder and Krzysztof Stojanowski as Ricky Ashworth came home third. They then punched home another maximum in heat 14 through Glen Phillips and Chris Johnson for a 23 point lead. In the last race Sheffield’s post interval collapse was complete as they conceded a third consecutive 5-1 to Chris Holder and Jason Bunyan with Lee Complin third. The Isle of Wight take a 27 point lead to Sheffield in the battle for the bonus point.


Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 12+1 (5), Chris Holder 11+1 (5), Chris Johnson 9+3 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 9+1 (4), Cory Gathercole 9 (4), Glen Phillips 8+1 (4), Karl Mason 1 (3).

For Sheffield – Lee Complin 11+1 (5)(with 4 point TR), Ben Wilson 8 (5), Ricky Ashworth 3+1 (4), Joel Parsons 3 (4), Paul Cooper 3 (4), Ben Powell 3 (5), Karlis Ezergailis 1+1 (3).



Premier League: Mildenhall 54, Newport 39 Mildenhall won the aggregate bonus point by 96-87.


Mildenhall had Kyle Legault back at number 3 but were still without Tom P Madsen so had to use Rider Replacement at number 1. They nominated Shane Henry as their number 8. Newport were at full strength.

Shaun Tacey took the R/R ride in heat 1 and promptly won the race and broke the track record in the process with a time of 50.19 (is this the quickest track record in the league?). Tomas Suchanek followed him home so the Fen Tigers started with a 5-1. Mark Baseby fell in the reserves race and Barry Burchatt was excluded as being the cause. In the rerun Paul Fry won from Nick Simmons for a 4-2 so the lead increased to six points. It rocketed to ten points after heat 3 when Shaun Tacey again won the race this time followed home by Kyle Legault for a 5-1. Barry Burchatt was not having as good a match as he had when the first attempt to run this fixture was rain-abandoned after he had recorded three consecutive heat wins. He fell in heat 4 on the first bend and was excluded by the referee. Paul Fry matched Shaun Tacey’s two race wins by leading home Chris Schramm for another 4-2 taking the score to 18-6.

There was another rerun in heat 5. This time Shaun Tacey went from saint to sinner by flying through the tapes and was excluded. He was replaced by Mark Baseby. Kyle Legault won the race from the Newport pair of Hedley and Rajkowski for a 3-3. Then the Wasps hit a purple patch. Trailing by 12 points Newport decided to give Chris Schramm a Tactical Ride in heat 6 which he duly won by beating Tomas Suchanek. Paul Fry got a knock on the first bend and Nick Simmons finished third ahead of him for a Newport 2-7 which cut their arrears to seven points. If that was a jolt to the Fen Tigers they had another one coming in the next race when the Wasps added a 1-5 from Tony Atkin and Phil Morris from Jason King. Suddenly a twelve point lead had been reduced to three in the space of two heats. The home fans breathed more easily when Mildenhall replied with a 5-1 in heat 8 from Tomas Suchanek and Paul Fry to take the score to 29-22.

Newport conceded another 5-1 in heat 9. Shaun Tacey and Kyle Legault saw off Chris Schramm then Kyle Legault took the R/R ride in heat 10. This race produced a third consecutive 5-1 for the Fen Tigers as the Newport resistance crumbled. Tomas Suchanek won from Legault and Morris after Tony Atkin had been excluded for causing his partner to fall on the last bend. Mildenhall’s interval lead was now up to 15 points. Unfortunately for Newport, Morris’ fall in heat 10 resulted in a dislocated shoulder and, although it was sorted, Morris withdrew from the meeting. Michal Rajkowski then won heat 11 for a shared race and Barry Burchatt replaced Phil Morris in heat 12. Kyle Legault won the race but Paul Fry again finished last this time behind Simmons and Burchatt for a 3-3 which took the score to 45-30.

Heat 13 was shared too. Jason King executed an excellent pass on Rajkowski to win the race while Chris Schramm passed Tomas Suchanek for third. Mark Baseby fell in heat 14 which was awarded to Tony Atkin who led from Shaun Tacey and Barry Burchatt. This gave the Wasps a 2-4 but in the final race Mildenhall finished off with a 4-2 as Kyle Legault completed his paid maximum by beating Chris Schramm with Tomas Suchanek third. The Fen Tigers took all three points.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Kyle Legault 15+3 (6)(paid maximum), Tomas Suchanek 11+1 (6), Shaun Tacey 11 (5), Paul Fry 10+1 (6), Jason King 6+1 (4), Mark Baseby 1 (4).

For Newport – Chris Schramm 12+1 (5)(with 6 point TR), Michal Rajkowski 6+1 (5), Tony Atkin 6 (4), Nick Simmons 5 (4), Phil Morris 4+1 (3),Tom Hedley 4 (4), Barry Burchatt 2+1 (5).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 5 September

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At King’s Lynn the Stars raced Stoke while at Birmingham the Brummies took on Edinburgh . Both matches produced miserable performances by the visiting sides as neither could manage 30 points.


Premier League: King’s Lynn 64, Stoke 26 King’s Lynn won the aggregate bonus point by 101-79


King’s Lynn were without James Brundle who was suffering from tonsillitis and had Newport’s Chris Schramm as a guest at number 6 in his place. Stoke were without Barrie Evans and had Simon Lambert at number 6 instead. The Stoke 1-4 were all switched round for this match.

The match was no contest as far as the result was concerned. Stoke arrived with a 16 point lead from the corresponding fixture at Loomer Road but would have needed a 39 point lead to have won the bonus point! King’s Lynn simply steamrollered the Potters and had the match won by heat 9, TR and TS options aside. The Potters can point to the unfortunate Lee Complin’s machine problems which restricted him to only three points and included blowing his TR ride. The Stars had three unbeaten riders and, Trevor Harding apart, every one of the team was paid for at least two heat wins. Nonetheless there were some close heats and some good racing with the Potters losing out most of the time.

The home side opened with five 5-1s and a 4-2. The only home man to drop a point during this blitz was Benji Compton who finished third behind Claus Vissing in heat 4. After this run of six heats Stoke had managed just 7 points and were already trailing by six points on aggregate as the Stars led 29-7.

Ben Barker finally relieved the gloom for the visitors with a race win in heat 7 beating Chris Schramm and Trevor Harding for a shared heat but two more 5-1s and a 4-2 followed taking the score to 46-14 before a Rusty Harrison win in heat 11 brought another shared race. Another 5-1 from the Stars took the heat 12 score to 54-18 but the Potters only conceded two more points over the last three heats.

Lee Complin and Claus Vissing finished behind Tomas Topinka in heat 13 for a shared race then Stoke produced their one and only heat advantage of the night. Paul Lee retired from heat 14 leaving Ben Barker to win for the second time beating Chris Schramm. Jaimie Smith picked up the third place point for a Potters’ 2-4 before the inevitable 5-1 in the final race from Nermark and Topinka both of whom completed paid five ride maximums.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Daniel Nermark 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Chris Mills 10+2 (4)(paid maximum), Chris Schramm 10 (4), Benji Compton 6+3 (4), Trevor Harding 6+1 (4), Paul Lee 6+1 (4).

For Stoke – Ben Barker 8 (5), Claus Vissing 6+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 5 (4), Lee Complin 3 (4), Glenn Cunningham 2 (4), Simon Lambert 1 (4), Jaimie Smith 1 (4).



Premier League: Birmingham 63, Edinburgh 29 Birmingham won the aggregate bonus point by 107-77.


Birmingham were without Manuel Hauzinger so used Rider Replacement instead at number 2. Gareth Isherwood was nominated as their number 8. Edinburgh had Scunthorpe’s Joe Haines at number 7 at the ripe old age of 16 years and one day. Haines replaced the injured Daniele Tessari.

When Derek Sneddon and George Stancl both made fast starts for Edinburgh in the opening heat things looked good for the Monarchs but it was all downhill from then on. Henning Bager passed a slow looking Stancl for second place restricting the Monarchs to a 2-4 and this win by Derek Sneddon was the Edinburgh side’s only race winner of the entire match producing their only heat advantage. Two 5-1s and two 4-2s later the visitors trailed by ten points at 20-10 and they threw in their TR card in heat 6 with Matthew Wethers taking the ride. He finished second to Henning Bager for a 4-4 but it was just a blip in the Birmingham points storm.

The Brummies then rattled off three 5-1 s and a 4-2 to disappear out of sight at 43-19 by heat 10 before any further relief came the Monarchs’ way with a couple of shared races in heats 10 and 11. Derek Sneddon and George Stancl were on a 1-5 in heat 10 but both were brushed aside by Manuel Hauzinger for the first of the 3-3s then Kai Laukkanen and Jason Lyons had a great tussle in heat 11 before Lyons won the race. Joe Haines did well to beat Lee Smart for third place so the heat produced the second of the 3-3s.

Two more 5-1s and a 4-2 over the last three heats left the visitors in tatters and denied them the consolation of hitting the 30 point mark with only two good races between Lyons and Laukkanen and a spirited performance by Joe Haines leaving them with anything worth remembering after the dizzy heights of their heat 1 success. Birmingham coped with the R/R rides for Emiliano Sanchez with a 6+2 return but with Sanchez now moving up to number 2 in the averages, Jason Lyons will also be able to take one of the R/R rides as the impressive Brummies side continue to challenge for a top four finish.

Scorers: For Birmingham – Henning Bager 15+2 (6), Jason Lyons 15 (5)(full maximum), Manuel Hauzinger 12 (5), Henrik Moller 10+3 (5), Lee Smart 6+2 (5), Ben Powell 5 (4).

For Edinburgh – Kai Laukkanen 7 (5), Matthew Wethers 7 (5)(with 4 point TR), Derek Sneddon 5 (4), George Stancl 4+1 (4), Joe Haines 3+1 (5), Andrew Tully 3 (4), Kalle Katajisto 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 6 September

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Redcar the Bears raced Workington while at Sheffield the Tigers took on the Isle of Wight . There was a bonus point at stake in both matches.


Premier League: Redcar 48, Workington 42 Workington won the aggregate bonus point by 98-84


Redcar were at full strength while Workington used Rider Replacement for Mattia Carpanese at number 2.

Workington badly needed to win this match to keep their play-off chances alive. They looked well placed for the bonus point having won the corresponding match at Derwent Park by 26 points.

Gary Havelock won the opening race under pressure from Kauko Nieminen while John Branney, talking the Rider Replacement ride, finished third ahead of Josh Auty for a shared race. The Comets took the lead in heat 2 thanks to a win by Charles Wright from Jack Hargreaves with John Branney in third place again. The 2-4 put the visitors two points in front and they increased it to four with another 2-4 in heat 3. James Wright and Craig Branney made lightning starts but James Grieves passed his partner, Chris Kerr, and then Branney to take second place. Back came the Bears with a 4-2 in heat 4 won by Matthieu Tressarieu from Ulrich Ostergaard with Jack Hargreaves third. This took the score to 11-13.

It was all square again after heat 5. The Bears pair made the gate but Charles Wright (R/R) passed Chris Kerr on the second lap to finish behind James Grieves for a 4-2 as Kauko Nieminen finished last. Redcar then took the lead with their third consecutive 4-2 in heat 6 with Josh Auty passing Ulrich Ostergaard on the second lap and Gary Havelock in third place. It stayed that way with a 3-3 in heat 7 but it was Craig Branney who won the race from Tressarieu and Giffard while James Wright could make no inroads at the back. Craig Branney took the R/R ride in heat 8 and, although Josh Auty won the race, the Branney brothers filled the minor spots with Craig leading John home ahead of Jack Hargreaves. The 3-3 took the score to 25-23.

Charles Wright was excluded from heat 9 under the two minute time allowance and was replaced by John Branney. The race was called back after an unsatisfactory start with James Grieves warned for moving at the tapes. At the second attempt Ulrich Ostergaard won from the gate beating James Grieves and Chris Kerr for a 3-3 so there were still two points between the teams. Gary Havelock and Josh Auty made the gate in heat 10 and it looked as though the Bears would take a 5-1. However James Wright had other ideas and he passed Josh Auty on the second bend of lap three then Gary Havelock on bend four for an excellent race win and share of the points. Kauko Nieminen became the third consecutive Comets’ race winner in heat 11 but again there was no support for the visitors’ heat leader as Charles Wright suffered an engine failure and the race again finished as a 3-3. James Grieves had a good win in heat 12 just holding off James Wright to get the decision on the line. Charles Wright took third from Daniel Giffard so this was the sixth consecutive 3-3 which took the score to 37-35 with all to race for over the last three heats.

Heat 13 produced a seventh 3-3 on the trot as Gary Havelock held on to beat Ulrich Ostergaard and Kauko Nieminen to keep the teams separated by two points. It looked like staying that way in heat 14 when Chris Kerr led Craig Branney with Charles Wright in third but Wright fell on the third bend of the second lap to let Daniel Giffard through for third which gave the Bears a 4-2 increasing their lead to four points with one heat to go. Gary Havelock rounded off the match by winning the final race from Ulrich Ostergaard while James Grieves passed James Wright for third to give the home side a 4-2 and a six point win. Workington took the bonus point comfortably.

Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 12 (5), James Grieves 11 (5), Josh Auty 7+1 (4), Mathieu Tressarieu 6+1 (4), Chris Kerr 5+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 4+1 (5), Jack Hargreaves 3 (3).

For Workington – Ulrich Ostergaard 11 (5), James Wright 8 (5), Craig Branney 8 (5), Kauko Nieminen 6+1 (4), Charles Wright 6+1 (7), John Branney 3+2 (5).



Premier League: Sheffield 53, Isle of Wight 40 The Isle of Wight won the aggregate bonus point by 99-85.


Sheffield had Andre Compton back in the side but were still missing James Cockle. Byron Bekker filled the number 7 reserve spot for the Tigers in his place. The Isle of Wight had Simon Lambert at number 6 in place of Andrew Bargh.

The Islanders got off to a great start when Chris Holder won the opening heat and set a new track record of 59.3. Behind him Ben Wilson just held on to finish second ahead of the hard pressing Cory Gathercole for a 2-4. James Birkinshaw then passed Simon Lambert on the third lap of heat 2 to win heat 2 while Byron Bekker fell at the back. The race was shared as a result but Sheffield took the lead with a 5-1 in heat 3. Andre Compton won the race but the battle for second place went to the line with Paul Cooper getting the verdict over Jason Bunyan, a decision which did not meet with universal agreement. The Tigers now led by two points and they increased the lead to six points with another 5-1 in heat 4. James Birkinshaw won the race from Joel Parsons and Krzysztof Stojanowski to take the score to 15-9.

It was time for Andre Compton and Chris Holder to meet in heat 5 and it was Holder who won the race. Compton finished second but Cory Gathercole took third ahead of Cooper for a 2-4 to the Islanders cutting the gap to four points. Byron Bekker withdrew from the meeting at this point with a hand injury allowing James Birkinshaw to take his remaining rides. Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson then took a 5-1 in heat 6 from Stojanowski to take the lead to eight points. James Birkinshaw touched the tapes in heat 7 and went from 15 metres back. Then Joel Parsons fell coming out of the second bend and was excluded from the rerun leaving Jason Bunyan and Glen Phillips to chalk up a 1-5 reducing the arrears to four points. It was back to eight again after heat 8. Ben Wilson won the race but James Birkinshaw crashed on the last bend as Cory Gathercole ran him wide. The race was awarded to Wilson and Birkinshaw with Gathercole excluded and the score now read 28-20.

A Compton/Cooper 5-1 from the gate ahead of Stojanowski in heat 9 extended the Tigers’ lead to 12 points and it increased to 14 with a 4-2 in heat 10. Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson made the gate but Jason Bunyan passed Wilson to limit the damage for the visitors. Chris Holder then took a Tactical Ride in heat 11 and won it by beating Joel Parsons. Cory Gathercole finished third while James Birkinshaw retired so the Islanders scored a 2-7 cutting the gap to 9 points. James Birkinshaw was unable to take his place in heat 12 so the Tigers had to go with only three riders. Deciding against a Tactical Substitute, Jason Bunyan and Simon Lambert followed Andre Compton home for a shared race and the score moved on to 42-33.

Chris Holder won heat 13 from Ricky Ashworth while Joel Parsons fell and remounted on the second bend. This meant that Krzysztof Stojanowski finished third and the Islanders took a 2-4. This cut the gap to seven points but had the advantage for Sheffield that it denied the visitors the use of a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 14. The Tigers clinched the win in this heat with Paul Cooper and James Birkinshaw team riding to keep Glen Phillips in third place for a 5-1 and 11 point lead. In the last race Ricky Ashworth denied Chris Holder his maximum by passing the Isle of Wight number 1 on the third bend and going on to win. Paul Cooper finished third and Jason Bunyan last so the Tigers finished with a 4-2 to win by 13 points but lose the bonus by 14 points.

Scorers: For Sheffield – James Birkinshaw 11+2 (6), Andre Compton 11 (4), Ricky Ashworth 11 (5), Paul Cooper 8+2 (5), Ben Wilson 8+1 (4), Joel Parsons 4+1 (4), Byron Bekker 0 (1).

For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 17 (5)(with 6 point TR), Jason Bunyan 8 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 4 (4), Glen Phillips 3+1 (4), Simon Lambert 3+1 (4), Cory Gathercole 3 (4), Chris Johnson 2+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Friday, 7 September

Three Premier League tracks ran matches tonight. At Somerset the Rebels met Stoke while at Rye House the Rockets took on Berwick both Premier League matches. The other match was an International Challenge match at Edinburgh between teams labelled ‘Bravehearts’ and ‘Kangaroos’.


Premier League: Somerset 52, Stoke 38 Somerset won the aggregate bonus point by 100-80


Somerset were at full strength while Stoke had Benji Compton as a guest in place of Barrie Evans at number 6.

It took Somerset a long time to get the better of Stoke. The visitors led after heat 5 and after heat 8 the Rebels had turned that round to lead by four points. However a 26-16 advantage over the last seven heats gave the Rebels all three points. Stoke’s deployment of a TR and TS produced nothing with Barker (TR) and Complin (TS) both finishing last.

The first three heats were shared but Stoke took the lead with a 2-4 in heat 4 when Claus Vissing won for the Potters from Ritchie Hawkins with Jaimie Smith passing Danny Warwick for third. Emil Kramer won heat 5 for a shared heat but a 5-1 from Simon Walker and Magnus Zetterstrom in heat 6 turned the Rebels’ arrears round to a two point lead. An engine failure for Frampton in heat 7 helped the visitors to share the points but Simon Walker won heat 8 followed by Ben Barker who passed Danny Warwick for a 4-2 which put the Rebels four points ahead at 26-22.

A 5-1 in heat 9 and 4-2 in heat 10 increased the home side’s lead to ten points so, in heat 11, Ben Barker took a Tactical Ride. However Ritchie Hawkins took Barker wide on the opening bends and he slipped to the back for a blob. Hawkins won from Lee Complin so another 4-2 went Somerset’s way stretching their lead to 12 points. Stoke hit back with a 2-4 in heat 12 when Glenn Cunningham beat Emil Kramer with Jaimie Smith third cutting the gap to ten points again with the score at 41-31.

Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 13 but Lee Complin and Claus Vissing shared the points behind him leaving the Potters needing a 1-8 from heat 14 for any chance of success. They therefore gave Lee Complin, replacing Rusty Harrison, a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back but it was all to no avail as Frampton and Katt recorded a 5-1. Zetterstrom completed his paid maximum in heat 15 beating former Rebel, Glenn Cunningham, while Lee Complin ensured a 3-3 by finishing third.

Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 14+1 (5), Emil Kramer 11 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 8 (5), Simon Walker 7 (4), Stephan Katt 4+2 (4), Daniel Warwick 4 (4), Jordan Frampton 4 (4).

For Stoke – Glenn Cunningham 11 (5), Lee Complin 7+3 (6), Claus Vissing 6+1 (4), Ben Barker 6 (4), Jaimie Smith 4+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 2+2 (3), Benji Compton 2 (3).



Premier League: Rye House 63, Berwick 27 Rye House won the aggregate bonus point by 104-78


Both Rye House were at full strength but Berwick were without Michal Makovsky and David Meldrum. They used Rider Replacement at number 1 for Makovsky and had Byron Bekker at reserve in place of Meldrum.

Rye House had ten points to pull back in the fight for the bonus point but that was no problem for the Rockets who started with four consecutive 5-1s. Even an exclusion for Adam Roynon for failing to beat the two minute time allowance in heat 2, causing him to have to go from 15 metres back, was no problem as Roynon swept past Sam Martin on the second lap and Byron Becker half a lap later to join Luke Bowen up front!

Berwick nominated Jacek Rempala as the Rider Replacement rider in heat 5 but he was excluded for failing to meet the two minute time allowance too! Byron Bekker took his place. Stanislaw Burza took second place behind Tai Woffinden in this heat after passing Tommy Allen for a 4-2 to the Rockets a score which was repeated in heat 6 when Theo Pijper split the Ekberg/Neath pairing. At last Berwick provided a race winner in heat 7. Jacek Rempala made a fast start and led home Luke Bowen and Steve Boxall for a 3-3. No doubt striking while the iron was hot, Berwick then gave Stanislaw Burza a Tactical Ride in heat 8 but this was not a success as he finished on the wrong end of a Rockets’ 5-1 from Ekberg and Roynon taking the score to 46-14.

Heats 9 and 10 produced another two 5-1s for the home side before Berwick shared heat 11. Steve Boxall won the race but Theo Pijper and Stanislaw Burza finished in the minor places ahead of Bowen for the 3-3. The Bandits shared heat 12 too. Another win from Jacek Rempala from Adam Roynon and Tai Woffinden produced the goods for the visitors and took the score to 52-20.

Heat 13 produced the third consecutive 3-3. Chris Neath won the race and it looked like a home 5-1 until Neath took his partner, Steve Boxall, wide on the fourth bend allowing Burza and Pijper through for the shared race. Bowen and Allen took a 5-1 in heat 14 but in the last race Stanislaw Burza ended Ekberg’s full house by winning the race while Boxall finished third for another 3-3. Although they scored 63 points none of the Rockets managed a maximum although they all scored a minimum of 8 points each with five of them recording that score!

Scorers: For Rye House – Stefan Ekberg 14 (5), Tai Woffinden 9+2 (4), Adam Roynon 8+3 (5), Chris Neath 8+2 (4), Tommy Allen 8+2 (4), Steve Boxall 8+2 (5), Luke Bowen 8 (4).

For Berwick – Stanislaw Burza 10+1 (6), Theo Pijper 7+1 (5), Jacek Rempala 7 (6), Andreas Bergstrom 2 (5), Byron Bekker 1 (5), Sam Martin 0 (4).



International Challenge Match at Edinburgh: Bravehearts 47, Kangaroos 46


The Bravehearts consisted of a mixture of Edinburgh and other available Scottish riders supplemented by Workington’s James Wright while the Kangaroos were made up of six Australian riders plus Edinburgh’s Kalle Katajisto.

Although there was little at stake, these two sides served up an entertaining match with some excellent races. Kevin Doolan was the star of the show with five race wins plus two points from a Tactical Substitute ride.

After Doolan had passed Derek Sneddon and James Wright had passed Trent Leverington for a shared opening race the Bravehearts took two 4-2s and a 5-1 in the next three races for an eight point lead. Heats 5 and 6 produced stunning races. First Andrew Tully chased Doolan all race long in the first of these two heats, coming out of the second bend on the last lap slightly ahead but Doolan edged ahead on the next two bends to win on the line, Heat 6 saw a magnificent race between Derek Sneddon and Matthew Wethers with passing and repassing before Sneddon won narrowly. James Wright’s third place put the Bravehearts ten points in front so Shane Parker took a Tactical Ride in heat 7. Parker nosed ahead off the second bend while Kalle Katajisto rounded Blair Scott then George Stancl to follow him down the back straight in second. It looked like a 1-8 but Katajisto fell on the third bend. He remounted though to take third place after Scott pulled out with engine problems. The 2-7 cut the gap to 5 points with the score at 25-20 after heat 7.

The Bravehearts continued to press ahead after this with a 3-2, 5-1 and 4-2 which increased their lead to 12 points. A Doolan win in heat 11 kept it that way with the score now 42-33 but there was drama still to come over the last three heats as the Kangaroos almost snatched it with a spirited comeback. Kevin Doolan replaced Sam Dore in heat 12 as a Tactical Substitute to partner Shane Parker. Parker won the race comfortably from Kai Laukkanen while Doolan passed Sean Stoddart on the second bend of the second lap. He just couldn’t make up enough ground on Laukkanen though to get in a challenge so the heat resulted in a 2-5 with the score reading 42-33.

The Kangaroos took another heat advantage from heat 13 thanks to another Doolan win ahead of Stancl with Wethers third for a 2-4 then another 2-4 came their way in heat 14. Kalle Katajisto made an excellent start to lead into the first corner and he went on to win from Andrew Tully with Arlo Bugeja third leaving the Australians five points down before Doolan and Parker took a 1-5 in heat 15 to cut the winning margin to one point.

Scorers: For the Bravehearts – Kai Laukkanen 10+1 (5), George Stancl 9 (4), Derek Sneddon 9 (5), Andrew Tully 8+2 (4), James Wright 5+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 4 (4), Blair Scott 2+1 (4).


For the Kangaroos – Kevin Doolan 17 (6)(with 2 point TS), Shane Parker 13+1 (5)(with 6 point TR), Matthew Wethers 6 (4), Kalle Katajisto 5 (4), Arlo Bugeja 5 (5), Trent Leverington 0 (3), Sam Dore 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 8 September

Three Premier League matches were raced tonight. At Rye House the Rockets met Mildenhall while at Stoke the Potters took on Birmingham . The other match was at Berwick where the Bandits raced against Newport .


Premier League: Rye House 65, Mildenhall 25


Rye House were at full strength while Mildenhall were missing Tom P Madsen so used Rider Replacement at number 1. They also had Karl Mason at number 6 in place of Mark Baseby.

Another massive win for Rye House was the result of this match as another team failed to hit 30 points at Hoddesdon. This time Mildenhall were the victims.

Kyle Legault and Tomas Suchanek made the start in the opening heat but by the end of lap 2 Stefan Ekberg and Chris Neath were past Suchanek. They couldn’t catch Legault however so the race was shared. A 5-1 for the Rockets resulted from the reserves race then Shaun Tacey split the Woffinden/Allen pairing for a 4-2 to the Rockets. It might have been better for the Fen Tigers but Kyle Legault finished at the back after forgetting to turn on his fuel tap. What followed next was the now usual Rye House blitz. The Rockets ran off seven straight 5-1s to disappear out of sight taking the score to 47-13 after heat 10.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the crowd though. Suchanek pressed Allen and Woffinden in heat 5 and in the next race Chris Neath only just got the verdict for second on the line from Jason King. In heat 7 Kyle Legault took a TR but, although he gated well, he was soon passed by Steve Boxall and Luke Bowen for no advantage. Heat 10 saw an exclusion for Kyle Legault as he brought down Stefan Ekberg with the race awarded to Neath and Ekberg.

In heat 11 Tomas Suchanek ended the visitors’ points drought by winning from Boxall and Bowen from the gate for a 3-3 then Kyle Legault managed a second place behind Tai Woffinden in heat 12 after a thrilling race with Adam Roynon in which the riders changed positions several times. This resulted in a 4-2 for the home side but they added another 5-1 in heat 13 before Tommy Allen’s engine failure in heat 14 resulted in a 3-3 as Luke Bowen won from Tacey and Paul Fry. Finally Kyle Legault finished the meeting as he had started it – with a race win. He beat Woffinden and Boxall in heat 15 for a 3-3 ruining Woffinden’s full house in the process.

Scorers: For Rye House – Tai Woffinden 14 (5), Steve Boxall 11+2 (5), Stefan Ekberg 10+1 (4), Luke Bowen 10+1 (4), Chris Neath 8+3 (4), Adam Roynon 7+3 (4), Tommy Allen 5+2 (4).

For Mildenhall – Kyle Legault 9 (6), Shaun Tacey 5 (5), Tomas Suchanek 5 (6), Paul Fry 3+1 (5), Jason King 3 (5), Karl Mason 0 (3).



Premier League: Stoke 45, Birmingham 48 Birmingham won the aggregate bonus point by 101-85


Stoke had Benji Compton at number 6 for Barrie Evans while Birmingham used Rider Replacement for the injured Emiliano Sanchez.

It looked as though it would be a good night for Stoke when Lee Complin broke the 11 year old track record formerly held by Billy Hamill in a time of 60.6 in the opening heat. He won from Manuel Hauzinger while Ben Barker did well to hold off Henning Bager for a 4-2. It all started to go wrong for the home side though when they lost a 1-5 in the reserves race to turn their two point lead to a two point arrears. The Brummies had high hopes of adding a 1-5 in heat 3 as Jason Lyons and Henrik Moller led from the tapes but Moller made a mess of the fourth bend to slip to the back resulting in a 3-3. Henning Bager passed Claus Vissing in heat 4 on the third lap for another shared race after Ben Powell has fallen and the score stood at 11-13.

Manuel Hauzinger made a fast start to heat 5 but his bike packed up leaving Jason Lyons to win the race from Harrison and Cunningham for another shared heat then Stoke finally hit back in heat 6. Lee Complin moved into the lead on the fourth bend after the two visitors had made the gate and Ben Barker followed him through on the second lap for a 5-1 ahead of Henning Bager and once again the two point lead changed hands with Stoke now in front. Back came Birmingham in heat 7. The Brummies pair again made the gate but Claus Vissing passed Henrik Moller on the third bend to chase after Jason Lyons. Jaimie Smith fell on the fourth bend so the heat resulted in a 2-4 which levelled the score. Hauzinger and Powell made the gate in heat 8 but Ben Barker passed both of them to keep the scores tied at 24-24.

Stoke then took the lead in heat 9. Glenn Cunningham was first away to beat Henning Bager while Rusty Harrison held off the charging Lee Smart for a 4-2 and two point lead again. Back came Birmingham in heat 10 with a 2-4 to tie the match again. Jason Lyons beat Lee Complin with a flyer from the gate. Ben Barker was comfortably third but he hit the air fence on the second bend of the last lap which allowed Henrik Moller through for third place. Hauzinger and Powell roared away from the tapes again in heat 11 but Claus Vissing muscled his way past Powell for second place. The Brummies scored a 2-4 and they were back in front by two points again. Their lead went to four points for the first time in the match when they added another 2-4 in heat 12. Jason Lyons continued on his way to a maximum by making another fast start to beat Glenn Cunningham with Lee Smart third taking the score to 34-38.

Heat 13 was a disaster for the Potters as a massive start from Manuel Hauzinger and Henning Bager left Lee Complin in their wake resulting in a 1-5 to the Brummies increasing their lead to eight points with just two heats to go. There was some consolation for the home side, however, as the eight point deficit enabled Lee Complin to take a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back in heat 14 replacing Benji Compton. In the first running of the race Ben Powell fell on the fourth bend and failed to clear the track causing a rerun without him. In the second running Lee Complin produced a stunning race by passing Henrik Moller on the second bend of the second lap. Rusty Harrison had made a good start and once Lee Complin had passed him the Potters took the big 8-1 to narrow the gap to just one point going into the last heat. Much to the annoyance of the home side this heat was called back for an unsatisfactory start after Jason Lyons, moving at the tapes, was caught out when the tapes went up. In the rerun Lyons made no mistake at the second attempt and held off Lee Complin for the win. Behind him there was another good tussle with Manuel Hauzinger beating Glenn Cunningham for a three point win and all three points which gives the Brummies a massive boost in their challenge for a top four place.

Scorers: For Stoke – Lee Complin 17 (6)(with 6 point TS), Glenn Cunningham 8+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 6+2 (4), Ben Barker 6+1 (4), Claus Vissing 6 (4), Jaimie Smith 2+1 (4), Benji Compton 0 (3).

For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 18 (6)(full maximum), Manuel Hauzinger 11 (6), Henning Bager 8+1 (5), Ben Powell 5+2 (5), Lee Smart 3+1 (4), Henrik Moller 3 (4).



Premier League: Berwick 32, Newport 61 Newport won the aggregate bonus by either 99-67 or 99-86 depending on the outcome of an appeal against the amended score of the match between the two sides at Newport.


Berwick completely ‘redesigned’ their team after last night’s match at Rye House. They said “cheerio” to Andreas Bergstrom and Theo Pijper and substituted them with Matej Kus and John Morrison. Matej Kus, who came into the side on assessed 8 point average, was at number 1 with Byron Bekker at number 2. Rempala remained at four while R/R was operated at number 5. Stanislaw Burza moved to number 5 while Joe Haines filled the number 7 reserve berth to partner Sam Martin at 6. Newport managed somehow to get Berwick rider, Sebastian Truminski, into their side after ‘dispensing’ with the services of the supposedly injured, Phil Morris who, despite a shoulder injury, had declared himself fit to ride. Truminski had still to serve a one match ban for his non-appearance at Newport for Berwick but that seems to have got lost in the wash. Truminski came into the Wasps’ side as a direct replacement for Morris.

Perhaps a veil should be thrown over this sorry match. Newport opened with four consecutive 1-5s before Berwick finally managed to get a ‘genuine’ point on the board with a 2-4 in heat 5 thanks to a second place from Rempala as he split the Rajkowski/Hedley pairing. Heat 6 was shared after Chris Schramm had been excluded with Byron Bekker and Matej Kus picking up the gift three points behind Nick Simmons. Two more 1-5s from Newport took the score after eight heats to 11-37.

There was an oasis in the desert for the Bandits in heat 9 when Jacek Rempala took a TR and won the race followed by Stanislaw Burza for an 8-1 beating Nick Simmons after Chris Schramm had been excluded but Newport hit two more 1-5s in heats 10 and 11 before another Rempala win in heat 12 ahead of Sebastian Truminski gave the Bandits a shared race taking the score to 24-51.

Heat 13 was another 1-5 to the Wasps from Schramm, who this time wasn’t excluded, and Rajkowski but Berwick managed a shared race in heat 14 with another Rempala win before finishing with a 4-2 in heat 15 as Rempala won from Truminski again while Burza ended Rajkowski’s maximum hopes by relegating him to last to ensure that the Bandits at least topped the 30 point mark.

Scorers: For Berwick – Jacek Rempala 17 (6)(with 6 point TR), Stanislaw Burza 5+1 (6), Matej Kus 3+1 (5), Byron Bekker 3 (4), Sam Martin 2 (5), Joe Haines 2 (4).


For Newport – Sebastian Truminski 11+2 (5), Michal Rajkowski 11+1 (5), Tony Atkin 10+1 (4), Tom Hedley 8+2 (4), Nick Simmons 8+1 (4), Barry Burchatt 7+4 (4), Chris Schramm 6 (4).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 9 September

Four Premier League matches were raced today. At Newport the Tigers met Sheffield while at Mildenhall the Fen Tigers took on Rye House . The other matches were at Glasgow where the Tigers raced against Berwick and Newcastle where Somerset were the visitors.



Premier League: Newport 43, Sheffield 46


Newport were at full strength while Sheffield were missing James Birkinshaw so they had Ben Powell as a guest at number 6.

Sheffield needed to win this match to keep their top four finish alive but they faced a Newport side returning from Berwick where they won by 29 points. In the end the Wasps found Sheffield a much harder proposition than Berwick but the Tigers owed a great deal to their guest reserve, Ben Powell, for a match-winning 7+1 from the number 6 berth.

Sheffield got off to a cracking start with a 1-5 in the opening heat from Ashworth and Wilson but the Wasps pulled two points back in the reserves race as Nick Simmons won from Ben Powell. An Andre Compton win in heat 3 shared the points but Newport hit back with a 5-1 from Chris Schramm and Barry Burchatt in heat 4 to take the lead by two points with the score at 13-11.

Ricky Ashworth won again in heat 5 from Tony Atkin while Ben Wilson finished third for a 2-4 to the Tigers levelling the scores and then they stunned the expectant home support with a 1-5 in heat 6 from Joel Parsons and James Cockle as Tom Hedley and Sebastian Truminski could only follow them home. Sheffield had now opened up a four point lead and it stayed that way when Chris Schramm won heat 7 from Andre Compton. Newport pulled two points back in heat 8 with a 4-2 from Tom Hedley who won from Ben Wilson and Barry Burchatt taking the score to 23-25.

The Wasps then wiped out the arrears and went in front by two points with a 5-1 in heat 9 from Michal Rajkowski and Tony Atkin. This was countered by a 1-5 from Sheffield from Andre Compton and Paul Cooper to leave the Wasps trailing by two points again. Sheffield then shot themselves in the foot by conceding a 5-0 in heat 11. Ricky Ashworth was excluded for delaying the start after several attempts to get the race under way then Ben Wilson was excluded when he brought down Nick Simmons causing the race to be run with just the two Wasps’ riders. This left Sheffield trailing again, this time by three points, but what a response they mounted to that setback! Andre Compton and Ben Powell took a 1-5 from Rajkowski in heat 12 to put the Tigers into a one point lead with the score now 35-36.

The visitors then struck another 1-5 in heat 13 from Ricky Ashworth and Joel Parsons to rocket into a five point lead with just two heats to go and it was all over for the home side when Ben Powell won heat 14 for a 3-3. Rajkowski won the last heat from Ricky Ashworth while Chris Schramm beat Ben Wilson for a 4-2 but it was too little, too late as the Wasps were brought back down to earth after their heady win on the road last night.

Scorers: For Newport – Chris Schramm 10, Michal Rajkowski 8+1 (5), Tony Atkin 8 (4), Nick Simmons 6+2 (4), Tom Hedley 6 (4), Barry Burchatt 4+2 (4), Sebastian Truminski 1 (4).

For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 11 95), Andre Compton 11 (50, Joel Parsons 7+1 (4), Ben Powell 7+1 (5), Ben Wilson 5+1 (4), Paul Cooper 3+1 (4), James Cockle 2+1 (4).



Premier League: Mildenhall 44, Rye House 49 Rye House won the aggregate bonus point by 114-69


Mildenhall were without Tom P Madsen and Mark Baseby. They used Rider Replacement for Madsen and had Karl Mason as a guest reserve at number 6. Rye House were at full strength.

With other play-off challengers registering away wins this weekend, Rye House needed all three points from this match to keep up their top four finish challenge. They got them too.

It was Stefan Ekberg who got the visitors off to a winning start by beating Kyle Legault in the opening race. Legault did get past Chris Neath for second place though so the result was a 2-4. A 1-5 in the reserves race shot Rye House into a six point lead but Mildenhall replied in kind with a 5-1 from Kyle Legault and Shaun Tacey from Tai Woffinden. Back came the Rockets with another 1-5 this time from Steve Boxall and Adam Roynon as, not for the last time, Jason King was to find himself on the wrong end of a visitors’ maximum heat win. The score at this stage was 9-15.

Kyle Legault won heat 5 for a 3-3 then Boxall did likewise in heat 6. Rye House hit home another 1-5 in heat 7 at the expense of Jason King with Tommy Allen and Tai Woffinden doing the damage to the Fen Tigers’ hopes. Paul Fry beat Stefan Ekberg and Adam Roynon to share heat 8 so the score then stood at 19-29.

Kyle Legault took a Tactical Ride in heat 9 and won the race after passing Steve Boxall. He was supported by Shaun Tacey who took third from Luke Bowen giving the Fen Tigers a 7-2 advantage to cut the Rockets’ lead in half. They added a 4-2 in heat 10 when Tomas Suchanek beat Tai Woffinden with Paul Fry third for a 4-2 which got the home side to within three points of their visitors. However another 1-5 from Chris Neath and Stefan Ekberg ahead of Jason King put Rye House seven points ahead again but undeterred Mildenhall returned the compliment with a 5-1 in heat 12 from Kyle Legault and Paul Fry who was involved in an exciting battle with Adam Roynon for second place. This took the score to 36-39 leaving the Rockets distinctly worried.

The home side’s fight back took a knock when Jason King fell on the third bend of heat 13. This left Tomas Suchanek to take on Neath and Boxall and he could only split the Rye House pair with Neath winning the race for a 2-4 which put the Rockets five points ahead with just two races left. Tommy Allen and Adam Roynon added a 1-5 in heat 14 to ensure an away win then, in the last heat, Stefan Ekberg fell on the first bend and was excluded. In the rerun Kyle Legault won from Tomas Suchanek to give the Fen Tigers a consolation 4-2.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Kyle Legault 20 (6)(with 6 point TR), Tomas Suchanek 9 (6), Paul Fry 9 (6), Shaun Tacey 4 (5), Jason King 2 (4), Karl Mason 0 (3).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 10 (5), Stefan Ekberg 9 (5), Adam Roynon 9 (5), Chris Neath 8 (4), Tommy Allen 6 (4), Tai Woffinden 5 (4), Luke Bowen 2 (3).



Premier League: Glasgow 62, Berwick 28 Glasgow won the aggregate bonus point by 110-70.


Glasgow were missing Robert Ksiezak so used Rider Replacement at number 4. They nominated Gary Beaton as their number 8. Berwick had Kalle Katajisto as a guest at number 2 in place of (presumably) John Morrison and John McPhail as a guest at number 7 in place of David Meldrum. They also used Rider Replacement at number 3 in place of the injured Michal Makovsky.

Another very weak Berwick team took to the track at Glasgow following last night’s hammering by Newport. Glasgow took advantage by rattling up a big win although only Shane Parker managed a maximum for the home men.

The Tigers got off to a 5-1 winning start from Craig Watson and David McAllan as Matej Kus fell and retired from the race. They followed that with another 5-1 in the reserves race but the Bandits shared heat 3 won by Shane Parker from Rempala and Katajisto. Stanislaw Burza won heat 4 for the visitors for another shared race and the score then stood at 16-8.

Heat 5 produced a 4-2 for the Tigers as Shane Parker beat Matej Kus with Gary Beaton third. Heat 6 produced the same score when Craig Watson beat Burza with McAllan third. Heat 7 saw Matej Kus, rather than Jacek Rempala, take a Tactical Ride but this was unproductive as Kus fell in front of Michael Coles who ran over the new Berwick signing. Kus was withdrawn from the meeting suffering from concussion and was replaced in the rerun by Sam Martin. Leverington won the race from Rempala so another 4-2 went the Tigers’ way. Heat 8 produced a Glasgow 5-1 as McAllan and Dicken finished ahead of Katajisto to take the score to 37-17.

In heat 9 Stanislaw Burza reared his bike into the tapes so had to go from 15 metres back. Shane Parker won the race but Burza passed Gary Beaton for second place on the last bend for another 4-2. Heat 10 saw another win for Craig Watson from Jacek Rempala but behind them Stanislaw Burza got out of shape causing McAllan to take avoiding action. Burza recovered but McAllan didn’t so the race was shared. Trent Leverington and Michael Coles added a 5-1 in heat 11 and Shane Parker and Lee Dicken did likewise in heat 12 after Jacek Rempala had failed to beat the two minute time allowance and had to go from 15 metres back. The score was now 50-22.

Leverington and Watson added a 5-1 in heat 13 but Rempala won heat 14 for a shared race. In the last race Craig Watson and Stanislaw Burza tangled and fell. Burza was unable to take his place in the rerun so the heat was run with three riders. Parker completed his maximum but Rempala finished second to ruin Watson’s maximum resulting in a 4-2 to the Tigers.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5)(full maximum), Craig Watson 12+1 (5), Trent Leverington 11 (4), Lee Dicken 8+3 (4), Michael Coles 7+2 (4), David McAllan 6+1 (4), Gary Beaton 3+1 (4).

For Berwick – Jacek Rempala 12 (6), Stanislaw Burza 9+1 (6), Kalle Katajisto 4+1 (5), Matej Kus 2 (2), Sam Martin 1 (7), John McPhail 0 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 48, Somerset 41


Newcastle were without Sean Stoddart who was injured riding at Edinburgh on Friday night. They used Rider Replacement at number 2 as Stoddart had moved into the main body of the team with Paul Clews moving to reserve. Somerset were at full strength.

Somerset are another team vying for a top four place and, in view of results elsewhere over the weekend they needed to win this match to keep their challenge going. For Newcastle it might have turned out badly but they always looked to have this match under control with Paul Clews at reserve having a field day. Already without Stoddart they lost Jonas Raun in a heat 5 accident when he hit the fence leaving the starting gate and had to be taken to hospital.

Magnus Zetterstrom won the opening heat from Christian Henry while Sam Dore passed Simon Walker for third place to earn the Diamonds a share of the points. The Rebels took the lead in heat 2. Their two reserves, Jordan Frampton and Daniel Warwick, made the gate but after they had had a coming together Paul Clews passed Warwick to limit the damage to a 2-4. Back came Newcastle with two consecutive 5-1s. In heat 3 Emil Kramer made the best start but was soon passed by Josef Franc and then by Jonas Raun on the run in to the line. This turned round the two point deficit to a two point lead and it increased to six after heat 4. Danny Warwick gated but Carl Wilkinson passed him round the outside while Paul Clews did likewise on the inside. The 5-1 took the score to 15-9.

In heat 5 Josef Raun fell and was stretchered off with what looked like a foot injury causing him to withdraw from the meeting. Zetterstrom won the race from Franc and, with Walker in third place, the Rebels cut the gap to four points with the 2-4. Heat 6 had to be rerun when Christian Henry crashed. He was excluded from the rerun but Paul Clews rose to the occasion by passing both Danny Warwick and Ritchie Hawkins for a 3-3. Carl Wilkinson won heat 7 from Kramer and Katt also for a 3-3. In heat 8 Jordan Frampton, who replaced Simon Walker, dived under the home pair who had made the gate. Both of them fell but, to the consternation of the crowd, the referee excluded Sam Dore from the rerun. There was a delay while the fence was being repaired during which the ambulance returned to the stadium then promptly took Jordan Frampton to hospital with concussion. Since Danny Warwick was already in the heat, there was no-one eligible to replace Frampton so the heat was rerun with only two riders. Paul Clews beat Warwick for a 3-2 which took the score to 26-21.

Heat 9 was won by Josef Franc but, with Sam Dore’s chain rear chain giving way before the first bend, the race was shared. Somerset then slipped further behind in heat 10. Christian Henry won the race while Paul Clews passed Emil Kramer to finish behind Stephan Katt for a 4-2 increasing the gap to 7 points. The Rebels got two points back in heat 11 when Magnus Zetterstrom beat Carl Wilkinson with Simon Walker third. The gap was back to five points but Somerset were well and truly out of it when the Diamonds scored a 5-1 in heat 12. Josef Franc and Paul Clews headed Emil Kramer home. The lead stretched to 9 points with the score at 40-31.

To make matters worse for the visitors, Magnus Zetterstrom broke the tapes in heat 13 and had to go from 15 metres back. Ritchie Hawkins won the heat after passing Carl Wilkinson as the Newcastle man’s seat came off. Meanwhile Christian Henry suffered an engine failure whilst lying third allowing Zetterstrom through for the third place point which gave the Rebels a 2-4. They were now 7 points down again but with only two heats to go they needed two 1-5s to win the match. Paul Clews saw to it that that didn’t happen by sweeping past the field on the back straight for a shared race. In the final race Magnus Zetterstrom won from Franc and Wilkinson for a shared heat leaving the Rebels seven points adrift.

Scorers: For Newcastle – Paul Clews 16+2 (7), Josef Franc 12+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 12 (5), Christian Henry 6 (4), Jonas Raun 2 (2), Sam Dore 1+1 (7).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 13 (5), Daniel Warwick 7+2 (7), Ritchie Hawkins 7 (5), Stephan Katt 5+1 (4), Emil Kramer 4 (4), Jordan Frampton 3 (1), Simon Walker 2 (3).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 11 September



It was Redcar’s turn to cross the Solent for a match on the Isle of Wight in a Premier League Match. Unfortunately not all of the Bears made the short trip across the water.



Premier League: Isle of Wight 50, Redcar 40 The Isle of Wight won the aggregate bonus point by 105-75.


With the return to the side of Andrew Bargh after his injury, the Isle of Wight were at full strength. Redcar would have been at full strength too but Gary Havelock got caught in traffic and could not make his way to the Island in time for the meeting. This meant that the Bears had to go with a six man team. Since Gary Havelock had been declared at number 1 and was therefore due to take a minimum of three rides, the Bears were forced to track one rider only in three of the heats in which he was scheduled to race.

Chris Holder and Cory Gathercole were faced with Josh Auty only in the opening race and led the heat from the start. Gathercole hit the fence on the fourth bend and catapulted off it into Josh Auty causing him to fall and his bike to shoot out of control onto the centre green where it hit one of the track staff. All concerned dusted themselves down, Gathercole was excluded from the rerun and Chris Holder won the second attempt to stage the heat from Josh Auty and a 3-2 win. The reserves race ended as a 4-2 to the Islanders with Chris Johnson winning from Jack Hargreaves. Andrew Bargh fell on the third lap but was so far ahead of Daniel Giffard that he had time to remount and continue the race for third place. The Bears hit back in heat 3 albeit with a bit of luck. Jason Bunyan suffered an engine failure while leading which allowed James Grieves through for the win from Glenn Phillips. This was balanced by a 4-2 to the home side when Krzysztof Stojanowski won from Mathieu Tressarieu and Chris Johnson taking the score to 13-10.

There was another 3-2 score in heat 5 as Josh Auty faced up alone to Glenn Phillips and Jason Bunyan. Bunyan’s bike packed up just after leaving the tapes leaving Phillips to lead Auty home then in the next race the Islanders took a 5-1 with Chris Holder winning again. Gathercole had his work cut out to hold onto his second place from Mathieu Tressarieu as the home side went eight points up. Back came the Bears again with another James Grieves win after passing Krzysztof Stojanowski. Chris Kerr was soon past Andrew Bargh for a 2-4 cutting the gap to six points but another home 5-1 in heat 8 from Cory Gathercole and Chris Johnson extended it to ten points with the score reading 28-18.

Back came the Bears again in heat 9. Mathieu Tressarieu appeared with the black and white helmet cover to take a Tactical Ride and for the third time running Jason Bunyan’s bike packed up. At least it covered a couple of laps this time but his retiral left Tressarieu to score the full six points from Glen Phillips while Daniel Giffard picked up the gift third point. This gave Redcar a 2-7 heat advantage which cut the home side’s lead to five points. Chris Holder won heat 10 from James Grieves and, with Cory Gathercole third, the Islanders took a 4-2 to go seven points ahead then Josh Auty passed Andrew Bargh to win heat 11. Jack Hargreaves was allowed to replace the absent Havelock in this race but finished last behind Stojanowski who was fortunate to hold on to his third place after getting out of shape. The result was a shared race. Incredibly it was four engine failures on the trot for Jason Bunyan in heat 12 leaving James Grieves to win the race from Chris Johnson while Daniel Giffard picked up another gift point. This gave the Bears another 2-4 which took the score to 39-34 at the interval with just three races to go. Bunyan’s continuing machine problems had certainly balanced out Havelock’s non-appearance.

After the interval, Redcar couldn’t bring in a replacement for the missing Havelock in heat 13. Chris Holder and Krzysztof Stojanowski scored a 5-1 ahead of Mathieu Tressarieu to put the home side nine points ahead and to leave the Bears needing to use a Tactical Substitute in heat 14 to give them any chance of success. None was forthcoming and the heat produced the third 3-2 race win of the night. Firstly Andrew Bargh suffered an engine failure on the first bend then Chris Kerr fell at the end of the second lap before Glen Phillips passed Jack Hargreaves for the race win. Chris Holder won the last race for another maximum while James Grieves and Josh Auty followed him home for a shared race giving the Islanders a ten point win on the night and all three points.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 15 (5)(full maximum), Glen Phillips 10 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 8+2 (5), Chris Johnson 8+1 (4), Cory Gathercole 6+1 (4), Andrew Bargh 3 (4), Jason Bunyan 0 (4).

For Redcar – James Grieves 13 (5), Mathieu Tressarieu 10 (4)(with 6 point TR), Josh Auty 9+1 (5), Jack Hargreaves 4 (5), Chris Kerr 2 (4), Daniel Giffard 2 (4), Gary Havelock DNR.

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 12 September



With Birmingham dedicating their meeting tonight to mainly Conference League riders and reserves who were racing for the Alan Pearce Memorial Trophy, the sole Premier League action was at King’s Lynn where the Stars took on Glasgow .



Premier League: King’s Lynn 52, Glasgow 40 King’s Lynn won the aggregate bonus point by 94-91.


King’s Lynn were at full strength while Glasgow were missing Craig Watson so had to use Rider Replacement at number 1 in his absence.

With a nine point lead from the match at Ashfield, Glasgow looked to have their work cut out to take anything from this match. No reason was given for Craig Watson’s absence but without him the task didn’t get any easier.

King’s Lynn certainly didn’t get it all their own way and the expected one-way traffic didn’t materialise. Heat 1 had to be rerun after an unsatisfactory start and after David McAllan had been warned to stay still at the tapes. At the second attempt to stage the race Tomas Topinka was fast away while Chris Mills passed David McAllan. Attempting to pass Trent Leverington, taking the R/R ride, Mills collided with Leverington bringing down the Glasgow man and causing McAllan to have to lay down his bike. Mills was excluded from the race which Topinka eventually won to share the points. The reserves race finished as a 3-3 too. James Brundle won for the Stars beating Lee Dicken while Michael Coles held off Benji Compton’s challenge at the back. Daniel Nermark won heat 3 comfortably from Shane Parker but Robert Ksiezak kept Paul Lee at the back for another share of the points. There was still no break in the scoring in heat 4. Trevor Harding had bike trouble and had to change machines before the start. Trent Leverington won the race while Benji Compton had to pass Lee Dicken to avoid the Stars falling behind with the score now at 12-12.

King’s Lynn finally took the lead in heat 5. Daniel Nermark led the race from the start while Paul Lee passed Robert Ksiezak (R/R) and David McAllan to join him up front for a 5-1. Tomas Topinka won heat 6 but Trent Leverington and Michael Coles filled the minor places until Chris Mills passed Coles on the last lap for a 4-2 to put the home men six points ahead. Back came the Tigers with a 1-5 in heat 7. Robert Ksiezak made the gate; Parker joined him up front and made sure that Trevor Harding was not going to pass either of them. This cut the lead to just two points again. Chris Mills won heat 8 while McAllan got past Compton on the third bend for a 4-2 to the Stars taking the score to 26-22. Daniel Nermark won heat 9 from Trent Leverington while Paul Lee finished third for a 4-2 which increased the Stars’ lead to six points again. Topinka beat Shane Parker in heat 10 while Chris Mills passed Robert Ksiezak on the outside of the last bend for another 4-2 to the Stars taking the score to 34-26. Shane Parker took the R/R ride in heat 11 and won it from James Brundle. David McAllan beat Trevor Harding for third place so the Tigers took a 2-4 cutting the gap to 6 points again. Parker was out again in heat 12 and was leading the race when Michael Coles fell causing the race to be rerun without him. He won the rerun though from Daniel Nermark so the heat was shared leaving six points between the teams with the score reading 39-33.

Tomas Topinka continued his unbeaten run by winning heat 13 from Trent Leverington who passed Trevor Harding for second place with David McAllan at the back giving the home side an eight point lead with the 4-2. This might not have been too clever by the Stars because it allowed Shane Parker to take a Tactical Substitute ride replacing Lee Dicken to partner Robert Ksiezak in heat 14. However Paul Lee came to the rescue by making a fast start and, although Parker got by Brundle on the third lap, he wasn’t likely to catch Lee. With Robert Ksiezak at the back the heat was shared 4-4 ensuring that the Stars had won the match but heat 15 was left to determine the destination of the bonus point for which the Glasgow lead was down to a single point. Needless to say the home side went with Topinka and Nermark while the Tigers tracked Parker and Leverington. Topinka led Parker into the first bend while Nermark came round the outside to join his partner for a 5-1 to the home side which gave them all three points. It was a gallant effort from Glasgow particularly missing Craig Watson and the final score perhaps didn’t reflect just how good a challenge they produced.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Daniel Nermark 14 (5), Paul Lee 6+1 (4), James Brundle 6 (4), Chris Mills 5 (4), Trevor Harding 4 (4), Benji Compton 3+2 (4).

For Glasgow – Shane Parker 18 (7)(with 4 point TS), Trent Leverington 11 (6), Robert Ksiezak 4+2 (5), David McAllan 4+1 (5), Lee Dicken 2 (3), Michael Coles 1+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 13 September

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Redcar the Bears raced Glasgow while at Sheffield the Tigers took on Workington .


Premier League: Redcar 51, Glasgow 41


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


Glasgow were boosted by the return of Craig Watson to the team and a spirited display at King’s Lynn last night in their search for the win which they needed to keep their slim play-off hopes alive. However they lost Trent Leverington in a heat 4 smash and couldn’t provide enough race winners to seriously challenge the Bears although there were never more than ten points between the teams.

Josh Auty fell in the opening heat while chasing Craig Watson for a potential 5-1 as Gary Havelock led the race. This meant that the heat was shared as was the reserves race won by Lee Dicken. Robert Ksiezak made a fast start to heat 3 but he was passed by James Grieves on the second lap for another 3-3 as Shane Parker took third place. Trent Leverington and Mathieu Tressarieu collided at the start of heat 4 causing the Glasgow rider to withdraw from the meeting with concussion and blurred vision. Tressarieu won the rerun but Lee Dicken took second place resulting in a 4-2 to the Bears which out them ahead at 13-11.

Craig Watson made the gate in heat 5 to beat James Grieves while David McAllan finished third for a 2-4 to the Tigers which tied the match again. Then the Bears struck with a 5-1 in heat 6 from Josh Auty and Gary Havelock. Both Glasgow riders made fast starts to this race but Auty and Havelock passed both of them to put the home side four points up. In heat 7 Shane Parker chased after race leader, Mathieu Tressarieu, but eventually Tressarieu pulled away leaving Parker and Ksiezak to share the points before Redcar opened up a six point lead in heat 8. Josh Auty came from last to first in brilliant fashion while David McAllan took second from Jack Hargreaves for a 4-2 which produced a score of 28-20.

Grieves and Kerr punched home another 5-1 in heat 9 to increase the Bears’ lead to ten points and it stayed that way when Gary Havelock beat Ksiezak and Parker in heat 10 for a 3-3. Craig Watson took a Tactical Ride for Glasgow in heat 11 and, with Tressarieu lifting at the gate, he looked good for six points. However Tressarieu passed him at the end of the second lap but, with McAllan taking third place, the Tigers took a 3-5 advantage from the heat cutting the arrears to eight points. They cut it further to six points with a 2-4 in heat 12. Shane Parker finally won a race beating James Grieves while Michael Coles took third to take the score to 40-34.

Craig Watson made a fast start to heat 13 and held on to beat Havelock and Tressarieu who completely missed the gate for a shared race. Robert Ksiezak won heat 14 but again the race was shared before Grieves and Havelock rounded off proceedings with a 5-1 ahead of Watson and Parker to give the home side a ten point win.

Scorers: For Redcar – James Grieves 13 (5), Gary Havelock 12+2 (5), Mathieu Tressarieu 10+1 (4), Josh Auty 6 (4), Chris Kerr 4+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 4 (4), Daniel Giffard 2+2 (4).

For Glasgow – Craig Watson 13 (5)(with 4 point TR), Robert Ksiezak 8+1 (4), Shane Parker 7+2 (5), Lee Dicken 6 (7), David McAllan 5+2 (4), Michael Coles 2 (4), Trent Leverington 0 (1).



Premier League: Sheffield 61, Workington 32 Sheffield won the aggregate bonus point by 102-81.


Sheffield were without James Birkinshaw and had Ben Powell as a guest in his place at number 6. Workington were still using Rider Replacement at number 2 for Mattia Carpanese.

Workington held an eight point advantage for the bonus point but were well and truly blitzed over the opening six heats which saw them score just ten points. The Comets only managed to supply two race winners all match while Kauko Nieminen’s unusually low score left them struggling. Every Sheffield rider won a race with the Tigers giving a solid performance all down the line with Andre Compton chalking up yet another full maximum round Owlerton.

The home side opened with two 5-1s from Ashworth and Wilson then Cockle and Powell although in this race Workington’s cause wasn’t helped by a tapes exclusion for John Branney who then had to go from 15 metres back. Paul Cooper and James Wright has a good battle in heat 3 but it was for second place behind Andre Compton. James Wright won that tussle so the heat resulted in a 4-2. Joel Parson won heat 4 from Ulrich Ostergaard while James Cockle had an engine failure at the back of the field. The race was shared so the score stood at 17-7.

Kauko Nieminen suffered an engine failure in heat 5 but he was already on the wrong end of a 5-1 from Compton and Cooper which increased the home side’s lead to 14 points. It was 16 after heat 6 when Ben Wilson passed Ulrich Ostergaard for the win while Ashworth finished third as Charles Wright had an engine failure. The Comets gave James Wright a Tactical Ride in heat 7 and he responded by winning the race by a mile from Powell and Parsons while Craig Branney this time had the engine failure. This resulted in a 3-6 for the Comets but they lost another 4-2 in heat 8. Ben Wilson had to pass Charles Wright to win the race after Wright had swooped round the outside of him on the opening two bends while James Cockle’s third place point took the score to 33-18.

Andre Compton and Paul Cooper added another 5-1 in heat 9 although Cooper had to look lively to hold off the hard pressing Ostergaard. Wilson and Ashworth scored another 5-1 in heat 10 with James Wright in third place to put the Tigers 23 points ahead. Heat 11 provided some excitement after Ben Powell showed what a good choice of guest Sheffield had made by leading home Kauko Nieminen to win on the line. Nieminen had passed Joel Parsons on the third bend of lap 3 but had been repassed by Parson one bend later. However the Workington man passed him again on the back straight of the last lap and nearly caught Powell on the run in to the line. The result was a 4-2 for the Tigers while heat 12, won by Andre Compton, was shared taking the score to 50-25.

Ulrich Ostergaard became the second race winner for the Comets when he won heat 13 by passing both Ashworth and Parsons down the back straight for a shared race. The home side then finished with two 4-2s from heats 14 and 15. The former was won by Paul Cooper from Craig Branney while in the last heat Andre Compton completed his maximum by heading home Ulrich Ostergaard and Ben Wilson.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 15 (5)(full maximum), Ben Wilson 12+1 (5), Paul Cooper 8+2 (4), Ricky Ashworth 8+1 (4), Ben Powell 8+1 (4), Joel Parsons 6+2 (4), James Cockle 4 (4).

For Workington – James Wright 10+1 (5)(with 6 point TR), Ulrich Ostergaard 10 (5), Charles Wright 6 (6), Kauko Nieminen 3 (4), Craig Branney 2 (4), John Branney 1+1 (6).

[Merlin]

Friday, 14 September

Three Premier League matches were raced tonight. At Edinburgh the Monarchs met Rye House while at Somerset the Rebels took on Redcar . The other match was at King’s Lynn where the Stars raced against Birmingham .


Premier League: Edinburgh 50, Rye House 45 Rye House won the aggregate bonus point by 113-72


Edinburgh had Michael Coles at number 7 in place of Daniele Tessari while Rye House were missing Stefan Ekberg and used Rider Replacement at number 2.

Rye House came, saw and were conquered. Clearly Edinburgh hadn’t read the script as the Rockets spluttered to defeat instead of cruising to the anticipated, easy victory. The Monarchs set their stall out as early as heat 1 and aided by a slice of fortune and a tendency for the Rye riders to bale out in the early heats they heaped the pressure on their beleaguered visitors who, not for the first time this season, cracked under pressure.

Surprisingly the Rockets gave the R/R ride in heat 1 to what looked like their best replacement option, Steve Boxall. However this manoeuvre quickly backfired as George Stancl and Derek Sneddon stormed to the first bend for a comfortable 5-1. The Rockets looked to be reversing that score in heat 2 when Adam Roynon, leading by the proverbial mile, suffered an engine failure leaving his partner, Luke Bowen, to take the race win for a 3-3. Rye House had only one finisher in heat 3 as well when Tommy Allen fell trying to hold off Kai Laukkanen but again they provided the race winner in Tai Woffinden for another shared heat. It happened again in heat 4 when Adam Roynon spun on the first bend leaving Steve Boxall to race off for the three points leaving Wethers and Coles in his wake to take the score to 14-10.

There was another Rye faller in heat 5 when Luke Bowen came to grief on the fourth bend as Kai Laukkanen led Chris Neath. In the rerun it was Andrew Tully who charged into the lead with Kai Laukkanen in his wake but Chris Neath passed Laukkanen to rescue two points from the race for the visitors. The 4-2 put Edinburgh six points up and it stayed that way when George Stancl made another fast start to heat 6. He ran the field wide on the opening bends to see off Roynon and Boxall but his partner, Derek Sneddon, was pushed to the back as a result and fell at the end of the third lap trying to make up the lost ground. Rye House got two points back in heat 7. They were looking good for a 1-5 as Tai Woffinden and Tommy Allen ‘rocketed’ from the gate but Matthew Wethers was quickly past Allen into second. Kalle Katajisto, who was faster than Allen, went for the big outside swoop on the second bend of lap 2, picked up some unexpected grip and came off leaving the Rockets to pick up a 2-4 which cut the home side’s lead to four points. Derek Sneddon won heat 8 by a distance but all the action was behind him as Tommy Allen, Michael Coles and Adam Roynon battled for the minor positions. Tommy Allen held Coles up allowing Roynon to come through from the back so the race was shared and the score stood at 26-22.

Luke Bowen withdrew from the meeting complaining of a sore knee and, counting the number of rides Adam Roynon now looked like he might have to cover to replace Bowen and take R/R rides, the Rockets looked like having to go with one rider in one of the remaining heats. They chose heat 9 to go with just the one rider so Steve Boxall faced Kai Laukkanen and Andrew Tully on his own. Kai Laukkanen made the gate while Andrew Tully cut back on the second bend to leave Boxall in his wake resulting in a Monarchs 5-1 which put them eight points ahead. George Stancl and Derek Sneddon added another 5-1 in heat 10. Tai Woffinden missed the gate in this race and any chance he had of coming from the back was scuppered by his own partner, Tommy Allen, who seemed disinclined to let him through to challenge the Edinburgh pair. This suited the Monarchs and Derek Sneddon finally saw off Allen’s early challenge although the Rye House rider did not seem too pleased after the race for some reason or other. Edinburgh’s lead now stood at 12 points and the inevitable TR was due. However Rye House decided to use Tai Woffinden as a Tactical Substitute instead in heat 11 from 15 metres back. Matthew Wethers and Kalle Katajisto were soon clear of Chris Neath and it was now down to the hard charging Woffinden to take up the challenge. This he did and he made up the ground on Katajisto by the back straight of lap three. Katajisto’s attempt to keep him at bay ended with the young Finn falling on the third bend gifting third place to Neath who was miles at the back. Woffinden couldn’t catch Wethers though so the race finished as a 3-5 to Rye. They gained another heat advantage in heat 12 when the impressive Woffinden, out for three in a row, simply blew Laukkanen away for an easy heat win. Adam Roynon finished third so the 2-4 cut the gap to 8 points with the score now at 41-33.

Any lingering hopes the Rockets had were finally extinguished in heat 13 when Matthew Wethers and George Stancl shot from the gate for a comfortable 5-1 ahead of Boxall and Neath to clinch the two points. In heat 14 Rye House gave a Tactical Ride to Adam Roynon who, along with Tommy Allen, simply flew from the tapes in a questionable start. Andrew Tully passed Allen just as the Rye House man’s engine stopped so the Rye advantage was 3-6 from the heat. In a cracking last heat Matthew Wethers led from start to the third bend of the fourth lap when Tai Woffinden came under him and nearly had him in the fence. Wethers got stuck in the deep shale out by the fence which allowed Adam Roynon through for second place on the line.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – George Stancl 11+1 (4)(paid maximum), Matthew Wethers 11 (5), Andrew Tully 9+1 (5), Derek Sneddon 7+2 (4), Kai Laukkanen 7+1 (4), Michael Coles 3+1 (4), Kalle Katajisto 2+2 (4).

For Rye House – Tai Woffinden 16 (6)(with 4 point TS), Adam Roynon 12+2 (6)(with 6 point TR), Steve Boxall 6+1 (5), Chris Neath 4+1 (4), Tommy Allen 4 (5), Luke Bowen 3 (2).




Premier League: Somerset 53, Redcar 40 Somerset won the aggregate bonus point by 99-87


Somerset were missing Emil Kramer and used Rider Replacement at number 3 while Redcar were without Josh Auty and had Karlis Ezergailis at number 2 instead.

Gary Havelock got the Bears off to a promising start when he outgated Magnus Zetterstrom and held on to win the opening race for a 3-3 but the visitors were four points down after an easy 5-1 to the Rebels in the reserves race. Zetterstrom was out again in heat 3, this time as R/R for Kramer, and this time he made no mistake winning the heat from James Grieves and Chris Kerr who had passed Stephan Katt on the first bend. This resulted in a 3-3 but Redcar pulled two points back in heat 4 with a 2-4 thanks to a win for Mathieu Tressarieu from Ritchie Hawkins. Danny Warwick made a dog’s breakfast of the race and slipped to the back before falling on the third bend of the second lap causing the race to be stopped and awarded. This took the score to 13-11.

Karlis Ezergailis twice jumpstarted heat 5 so the referee excluded him. Daniel Giffard took his place and Gary Havelock won again for another shared race. Three heat advantages for the home side followed leaving Redcar in big trouble. Magnus Zetterstrom made a poor start to heat 6 but still came through the field to lead Tressarieu and Walker home for a 4-2 then the Rebels added a 5-1 in heat 7 from Ritchie Hawkins and Jordan Frampton after both had passed early leader James Grieves. Heat 8 brought another maximum to the Rebels. Simon Walker won by a distance but it took Danny Walker to the last bend to finally pass Jack Hargreaves for the 5-1 which took the score to 30-18.

Mathieu Tressarieu won heat 9 but Katt and Hawkins shared the points behind him then another Zetterstrom win orchestrated a 4-2 heat win for the Rebels in heat 10. Danny Warwick was clamped to the line by Chris Kerr round the opening bends and ended up at the back. However he recovered to pass James Grieves on the third lap for the third place point. In heat 10 Gary Havelock took a Tactical Ride and won the race after passing Ritchie Hawkins who led for the first two laps. With Ezergailis tailed off at the back the result was a 3-6 to the Bears which reduced their arrears to 11 points and it stayed that way after a shared heat 12 which was won by Simon Walker after he had passed James Grieves. Daniel Warwick fell again so the score progressed to 43-32.

Then followed one of the races of the season between the unbeaten Havelock and Zetterstrom. The lead changed hands several times before Zetterstrom prevailed. With Ritchie Hawkins third the Rebels took a 4-2 increasing their lead to 13 points and putting the match outwith the Bears’ reach. Chris Kerr won heat 14 for a shared race then Magnus Zetterstrom did likewise in heat 15 to give the Rebels all three points.

Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 17 (6), Jordan Frampton 10+2 (6), Ritchie Hawkins 9+1 (5), Simon Walker 9+1 (5), Stephan Katt 4+2 (4), Daniel Warwick 4+2 (4).


For Redcar – Gary Havelock 15+1 (5)(with 6 point TR), Mathieu Tressarieu 10 (5), Chris Kerr 6+1 (4), James Grieves 5 (4), Daniel Giffard 2+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 2 (5).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 49, Birmingham 44


King’s Lynn were at full strength but Birmingham were without Emiliano Sanchez and the rider the Brummies have signed to replace him, Phil Morris, so used Rider Replacement at number 1. They were also missing Henrik Moller and Lee Smart so had Chris Schramm at number 4 in place of Moller and Simon Lambert in place of Lee Smart.

King’s Lynn were riding their second home match in three days having beaten Glasgow at the Norfolk Arena on Wednesday night. Once again the home support were treated to a ding-dong battle which went to a last heat decider in which Daniel Nermark and Tomas Topinka again produced the goods to see the Stars home. Birmingham were unlucky when Manuel Hauzinger fell in the opening race and took no further part in the meeting. Since they were already using Rider Replacement for Emiliano Sanchez this left them to battle through the entire match with just five riders, only three of them their own!

Hauzinger’s fall came on the first bend of the second lap while holding third place. The race was rerun and the Topinka/Mills 5-1 was to prove important. The Stars added a 4-2 in the reserves race won by James Brundle and added two more points to the lead with another 4-2 in heat 3 when Daniel Nermark passed Jason Lyons on the outside to win the race with Paul Lee third. Trevor Harding won heat 4 from Simon Lambert and Henning Bager for a shared race but it was this third Stars’ pairing which was to prove their Achilles’ heel as the match progressed. The heat 4 score stood at 16-8.

In heat 5 Jason Lyons took the R/R ride and won it by beating Daniel Nermark. Paul Lee’s third place shared the heat but another Topinka/Mills 5-1 in heat 6 stretched the Stars lead to twelve points and things looked bleak for the Brummies. However Jason Lyons took a Tactical Ride in heat 7 and won it after passing first Trevor Harding then James Brundle. Chris Schramm backed him up by also passing Brundle at the end of the third lap for second place and the big 1-8 so the gap was cut to five points. In heat 9 Paul Lee had an engine failure at the gate so Daniel Nermark’s race win was for a shared heat. The lead stretched to seven points when Tomas Topinka beat Jason Lyons in heat 10 with Chris Mills third for a 4-2 but back came the Brummies with a 1-5 in heat 11. Henning Bager and Ben Powell exploited the Stars’ third pair weakness with the maximum which cut the home side’s lead to just three points. Daniel Nermark won again in heat 12 to steady the ship but with Benji Compton losing his third place to an engine failure the race was shared and the score was 39-36.

Tomas Topinka won heat 13 from Henning Bager while Trevor Harding’s third place gave the Stars a bit more breathing space as the 4-2 opened the gap to five points again. However the alarm bells were ringing when Birmingham scored another 1-5 in heat 14. Super guest 1, Simon Lambert, won the race with super guest 2,Chris Schramm, team riding home ahead of Lee and Brundle to close the gap to one point going into heat 15 with the Stars leading 44-43. The last heat produced a controversial start as Tomas Topinka got a flyer from the gate. The race was allowed to continue but there was no way through for Jason Lyons as Nermark and Topinka took the 5-1 to close out the match.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Daniel Nermark 14 (5), Chris Mills 8+2 (4), Trevor Harding 5 (4), James Brundle 4 (4), Paul Lee 3 (4), Benji Compton 1 (4).

For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 16 (6), Simon Lambert 10+1 (7), Henning Bager 9 (6), Chris Schramm 5+1 (5), Ben Powell 4+1 (6), Manuel Hauzinger 0 (1).