Around the Premier League Tracks - 2007

[Merlin]

Friday, 1 June

There were no official matches raced tonight but there was an Inter-League Challenge match at Edinburgh where a souped-up Monarchs side raced against a Wolverhampton Select while at Somerset there was a Challenge match between the Rebels and a Sharp League Select side.


Inter-League Challenge Match: Edinburgh 46, Wolverhampton 44


Edinburgh had hoped to have Jason Crump riding at number one for them but his injury in the Grand Prix last weekend ruled him out. Leigh Adams was invited to take his place but declined. Instead the Monarchs fielded Daniel Nermark at number 1 in place of the injured Ronnie Correy with the returning Theo Pijper at number 3 and the departing William Lawson at number 4. Shane Parker rode at number 5 in place of Henrik Moller who was riding in the Danish Championship while Andrew Tully moved to number 6 to partner Matthew Weathers. Wolverhampton tracked David Howe and Magnus Karlsson as their opening pairing. Redcar pair James Grieves and Chris Kerr were at 3 and 4 while Freddie Lindgren rode at number 5 with Carl Wilkinson and Arlo Bugeja filling the reserve berths.

This was a thoroughly entertaining match played out before a very big crowd at Armadale. The structure of the two teams resulted in a close match with never more than four points between the teams. It was a highly successful return for Theo Pijper to the Edinburgh ranks with his last heat success bringing the house down. William Lawson, too, chose this match to turn in one of his best displays of the season. For Wolverhampton David Howe again turned in a masterful display round the Armadale track and, with backing of the quality of Freddie Lindgren, Magnus Karlsson and a very impressive James Grieves, the Monarchs had their work cut out to win this match.

Wolves opened with a 1-5 from David Howe and Magnus Karlsson as Daniel Nermark finished well behind the Elite League pair but Edinburgh levelled the score with a 5-1 from Matthew Wethers and Andrew Tully ahead of Carl Wilkinson in heat 2. The Monarchs then took the lead with another 5-1 in heat 3 as Theo Pijper and William Lawson led James Grieves home after the Wolves’ man had given them both a very hard race. Freddie Lindgren then won heat 4 by a mile from Shane Parker and Matthew Wethers to take the score to 14-10.

Wolverhampton hit back with a 2-4 in heat 5. David Howe won from William Lawson with Magnus Karlsson keeping Theo Pijper at the back. This cut the gap to 2 points and it was all square again after heat 6 as the visitors scored another 2-4. Again Freddie Lindgren won with ease this time from Daniel Nermark with Carl Wilkinson taking third place after Derek Sneddon had fallen. Heat 7 was curious. Andrew Tully fell on the first bend and remounted while Chris Kerr fell on the second bend and was excluded. However when it was pointed out that the riders had lined up for the race in the wrong gates, Chris Kerr was reinstated and it was an all four back. In the first running of the race Shane Parker had made a good gate and led the race from James Grieves but in the rerun James Grieves made the better start and ran Shane Parker out to the fence in a very hard move causing Parker to have to shut off. Grieves went on to win the race but Andrew Tully and Shane Parker settled for the minor places as Chris Kerr was struck at the back. The race was shared as was the score and there was no change after another shared race in heat 8 won by Magnus Karlsson from Wethers and Sneddon. This took the score to 24-24.

Edinburgh went back in front with a surprising 5-1 in heat 9. William Lawson and Theo Pijper worked themselves to the front and Freddie Lindgren could do nothing to stop them scoring the maximum. James Grieves then won heat 10 with ease from a disappointing Daniel Nermark while Derek Sneddon held off Chris Kerr for a shared heat. Wolverhampton cut the gap to only two points with a 2-4 in heat 11. It looked like being a 1-5 as David Howe was soon off for the win. Magnus Karlsson was in second place from the gate and looked to have the beating of Shane Parker but Parker showed, not for the first time, that he has found the inside line round Armadale by clinging to the kerb to pass Karlsson up the back straight of the third lap to limit the damage. Edinburgh stretched their lead to four points again with a 4-2 in heat 12. Again Theo Pijper and James Grieves had an excellent tussle and again Pijper came out in front while Matthew Wethers behind them picked up the third place point as Carl Wilkinson retired from the race. The score now stood at 38-34.

Wolverhampton levelled the match again with a 1-5 in heat 13. Freddie Lindgren and David Howe were again fast away and pulled clear of Shane Parker and Daniel Nermark for an easy maximum. However the Monarchs were back in front again after heat 14. William Lawson won the race after a titanic battle with Chris Kerr while Andrew Tully took third place for a 4-2 which meant that the Monarchs led by 43-41 going into the last race. Things looked bleak for the home side as Wolves won the toss for gate positions and chose the unbeaten David Howe and Freddie Lindgren to contest the race. Edinburgh went with Theo Pijper and William Lawson. However the stage was set for a fairy story come back for Pijper who made an excellent start to lead Howe and Lindgren round the opening two bends. Howe took up the challenge and, despite his best efforts, he just couldn’t pass Pijper so the heat was shared and Edinburgh had won by two points.


Scorers: For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 11+1 (5), William Lawson 10+1 (5), Matthew Wethers 7+1 (4), Shane Parker 6+1 (4), Andrew Tully 5+1 (4), Daniel Nermark 5 (4), Derek Sneddon 2+2 (4).

For Wolverhampton – David Howe 13+1 (5), Fredrik Lindgren 11+1 (5), James Grieves 9 (4), Magnus Karlsson 7+1 (4), Chris Kerr 2 (4), Carl Wilkinson 2 (4), Arlo Bugeja 0 (4).



Challenge Match: Somerset 46, Sharp League Select 44 .


Somerset were without Magnus Zetterstrom and Ritchie Hawkins. Instead they had Jason Bunyan as a guest at number 1 and used Rider Replacement for at number 5. The Sharp League Select consisted of Craig Boyce and Jason Doyle at 1 and 2, Craig Watson and Andrew Bargh at 3 and 4 with Tom Hedley, Jay Herne and Robert Mear at 5, 6 and 7.

Jason Doyle won the opening heat and Craig Boyce, who missed the gate, soon joined him up front as Somerset conceded a rare opening heat 1-5 with Jason Bunyan third but the scores were level again after the reserves race when Danny Warwick and Simon Walker took a 5-1 from Jay Herne. Emil Kramer rounded Craig Watson early in heat 3 to win the race and he was supported by Jordan Frampton in third place for a home 4-2 which put the Rebels in front by two points and they added another 4-2 in the next race as Jason Bunyan worked his way to the front from the back on the opening lap to lead Tom Hedley and Danny Warwick home. This took the score to 14-10.

The Select side’s opening pairing were at it again in heat 5 with another 1-5 as Doyle and Boyce this time relegated Emil Kramer to third to tie the scores again. They stayed tied after Tom Hedley saw off Bunyan and Katt in heat 6 for a shared race but the Rebels went four points up again in heat 7 which had to be rerun after Craig Watson had fallen and been excluded. This left Emil Kramer and Simon Walker a simple task to head home Andrew Bargh for the 5-1. Jason Doyle remained unbeaten by winning heat 8 but the Select side’s weakness at reserve was exposed again as Warwick and Katt shared the points taking the score to 26-22.

The Rebels increased their lead to six points with a 4-2 in heat 9. Tom Hedley made the gate but was soon passed by Emil Kramer before having to defend his second place ahead of Jordan Frampton then Craig Watson passed Stephan Katt in heat 10 and held on as Jason Bunyan came through to second place to challenge for the lead. The result was a shared race but the Boyce/Doyle pairing produced their third 1-5 of the match against Walker and Warwick to cut the gap to just two points again. It stayed that way in heat 12 after Emil Kramer won the race from Craig Watson. Jay Herne took third place from Danny Warwick and the score now stood at 37-35.

The Select side took the lead for the second time in the match with a 1-5 in heat 13. Craig Boyce continued his unbeaten run while Tom Hedley supported him in second place ahead of Jason Bunyan and Stephan Katt to take the score to 38-40 but the Rebels hit back again in heat 14 with their own 5-1 from Simon Walker and Jordan Frampton to give the home side a two point advantage going into the last heat.

In heat 15 Craig Boyce was partnered by Tom Hedley instead of the unbeaten Jason Doyle and he won the race to complete his paid maximum. Tom Hedley looked like squaring the match when he held third place behind Jason Bunyan but a mistake at the end of the second lap allowed Emil Kramer through for the third place point which shared the race and gave the home side a two point win.

Scorers: For Somerset – Emil Kramer 14+1 (6), Jason Bunyan 11 (6), Simon Walker 8+2 (4), Danny Warwick 6 (5), Jordan Frampton 4+1 (4), Stephan Katt 3+3 (5).

For Sharp League Select – Craig Boyce 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Jason Doyle 11+1 (4)(paid maximum), Tom Hedley 9+1 (5), Craig Watson 7 (4), Jay Herne 2+1 (4), Andrew Bargh 2 (4), Robert Mear 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 2 June

Three matches in three different competitions were raced tonight. At Rye House the Rockets faced Birmingham in the first leg of their semi-final tie in the Premier Trophy. At Workington the Comets took on Newcastle in a Premier League match while the third match was at Stoke where the Potters raced a second round first leg tie in the Knockout Cup against Newport .



Premier Trophy (semi-final, first leg): Rye House 52, Birmingham 38.


Rye House were at full strength while Birmingham had Tomas Suchanek as a guest reserve replacement for Ben Powell.

This was no stroll in the park for the Rockets but, having been held to 24-24 after the first eight heats, they rallied and, with a late surge of four heat wins in the last four races, they eventually ran out 14 point winners to set up what looks an evenly balanced second leg. The Brummies were indebted to a 10 point return from their guest reserve, Tomas Suchanek, who had a strange scoring pattern – three consecutive heat wins, a third place then three consecutive lasts!

The teams exchanged 4-2s in the first two heats with Chris Neath (from Ostergaard) and Tomas Suchanek (from Luke Bowen) the race winners. Rye house took the lead again with another 4-2 in heat 3 when Tai Woffinden showed Jason Lyons the way home then added another in heat 4 with Steve Boxall winning from Emiliano Sanchez who passed Adam Roynon for his second place. This took the score to 14-10.

Ulrich Ostergaard won heat 5 from Tommy Allen and Tai Woffinden then Suchanek struck again in heat 6 beating Chris Neath who had to pass Sanchez for second place. Birmingham therefore scored a 2-4 cutting the lead to two points. Jon Armstrong fell in heat 7 and was excluded from the rerun in which both Rye House riders gated well. However Jason Lyons passed them both to win the race for a share of the points before Tomas Suchanek won for the third time in heat 8. Adam Roynon finished second but Lee Smart got up on the line for the Brummies to pass Luke Bowen for another 2-4 which levelled the match at 24-24.

Tomas Suchanek wasn’t so clever in heat 9 when Tommy Allen and Tai Woffinden worked their way to the front for the evening’s first 5-1 which put the Rockets four points up but Birmingham dug in. Jason Lyons passed Chris Neath to win heat 10 for a 3-3 then Ulrich Ostergaard did likewise in heat 11. Rye House pulled six points in front with another 4-2 in heat 12. Adam Roynon won a terrific race from Jason Lyons while Tai Woffinden made sure that Tomas Suchanek did no more damage by relegating him to the back. This took the score to 39-33.

Another 4-2 came the Rockets’ way in heat 13 when Steve Boxall won the race. Ulrich Ostergaard passed Chris Neath to limit the damage but Rye House were now eight points to the good. They then chose the best moment to go 12 points up by taking a 5-1 in heat 14, too late for Birmingham to use a TR. It was Tommy Allen and Adam Roynon who scored the maximum from Jon Armstrong and Tomas Suchanek. In the last race Steve Boxall did well to hold off the challenge of Ulrich Ostergaard to win the heat while Tai Woffinden finished ahead of Jason Lyons for a vital 4-2 which might yet prove significant giving the Rockets a 14 point lead to defend in the second leg.


Scorers: For Rye House – Steve Boxall 12+1 (5), Tommy Allen 9 (4), Tai Woffinden 8+2 (5), Adam Roynon 8+1 (5), Chris Neath 8 (4), Luke Bowen 5+1 (4), Ray Morton 2+1 (3).

For Birmingham – Ulrich Ostergaard 12 (5), Jason Lyons 10 (5), Tomas Suchanek 10 (7), Emiliano Sanchez 3 (4), Lee Smart 2 (3), Jon Armstrong 1 (4), Aidan Collins 0 (3).



Premier League: Workington 51, Newcastle 39.


Workington had Ricky Ashworth as a guest for James Wright while Newcastle were at full strength.

Newcastle gave Workington a hard match with the scored tied at 24-24 at the half way stage. However a big 5-1, 4-2, 4-2 finish by the Comets put a better gloss on the scoreline giving them a 12 point lead to defend for the bonus point.

Carpanese, Henry and Wilkinson came off in the first heat and Carpanese had to be replaced in the rerun by Charles Wright. Carl Stonehewer won the race for a shared heat then Sean Stoddart did likewise for Newcastle in the reserves race for another 3-3. In heat 3 Ross Brady rocketed from the gate leaving Ricky Ashworth and Josef Franc to scrap for second place. Franc won the battle so Newcastle scored a 1-5 to go four points up. In heat 4 Kauko Nieminen and John Branney hit the front but Jonas Raun rounded Branney to limit the Comets’ advantage to a 4-2. This took the score to 11-13.

Christian Henry won heat 5 for a shared heat when Carl Wilkinson lost his third place to Craig Branney. The scores were level again when Workington took a 4-2 from the next race. Carl Stonehewer passed Jonas Raun for the win while Mattia Carpanese took third place. In heat 7 Nieminen won again from Brady and Franc so this race was shared as was the match and it stayed that way when heat 8 produced another 3-3 as Carl Wilkinson beat John Branney and Mattia Carpanese. This took the score to 24-24.

Workington eased ahead in heat 9 when Craig Branney beat Jonas Raun with Ricky Ashworth third. The 4-2 put the Comets two points in front and they doubled their lead in heat 10 with another Stonehewer win, this time from Josef Franc. Mattia Carpanese took third as Ross Brady retired and Workington led by four points. Kauko Nieminen scored his third win in the match in heat 11 but it was only good enough for a 3-3 as Christian Henry and Carl Wilkinson followed him home. Josef Franc then won heat 12 for the visitors but got no support as Ashworth and John Branney took the minor positions. The score after 12 races was 38-34.

The unbeaten duo of Nieminen and Stonehewer all but tied the match up with a big 5-1 in heat 13 as Raun and Henry could do nothing to stop them. Workington now chased as big a lead as possible with the bonus in mind and added a 4-2 in heat 14 thanks to Craig Branney passing Ross Brady for the win with Charles Wright third. The last heat also produced a 4-2, won by Kauko Nieminen who wrapped up his maximum. However Josef Franc held off Carl Stonehewer for third place, ruining the Comets’ number 1’s maximum, to limit the damage.


Scorers: For Workington – Kauko Nieminen 15 (5)(full maximum), Carl Stonehewer 12+1 (5), Craig Branney 7+1 (4), Ricky Ashworth 6 (4), John Branney 5+2 (4), Mattia Carpanese 3+1 (4), Charles Wright 3 (4).

For Newcastle – Josef Franc 10+2 (5), Ross Brady 7 (4), Jonas Raun 7 (4), Christian Henry 7 (5), Carl Wilkinson 5+2 (4), Sean Stoddart 3 (5), Ashley Johnson 0 (3).



Knockout Cup (second round, first leg): Stoke 49, Newport 41.


Stoke had Lee Complin deputising for Ben Barker who was on under-21 duty. Newport were at full strength.

Stoke found it hard going to build up any sort of lead for the return leg but the usual late semi-collapse by Newport saw the Potters take heat advantages from the last three races to take an eight point lead into the second leg.

The Potters opened up with a 4-2 when Tom Hedley split Glenn Cunningham and Lee Smethills but the next three heats were all drawn. Barrie Evans won the reserves race then Claus Vissing was excluded in heat 3 when he fell on the second lap causing the race to be rerun. Lee Complin won it for the Potters then Chris Schramm beat Rusty Harrison to share heat 4 taking the score to 13-11.

The Potters pulled six points ahead with a 5-1 in heat 5. Lee Complin and Claus Vissing were the home heroes beating Tom Hedley in the process then Chris Schramm came out to win again in heat 6. He got no support though so this race was shared as was heat 7 won by Rusty Harrison from Tony Atkin and Phil Morris. Newport pulled two points back in heat 8. Tom Hedley won the race from Lee Smethills but Barry Burchatt took third place and the 2-4 made the score at this point 26-22.

Lee Complin charged into Chris Schramm in heat 9, fell and was excluded from the rerun. Michal Rajkowski won the race from Claus Vissing so the Wasps scored another 2-4 cutting the lead to two points. Glenn Cunningham kept it that way by beating Phil Morris and Tony Atkin with Lee Smethills stuck at the back. Heats 11 and 12 were shared too. In heat 11 Tom Hedley won from Rusty Harrison then, in heat 12, Claus Vissing did likewise ahead of Phil Morris. This took the score to 37-35.

Stoke doubled their lead to four points with a 4-2 in heat 13. Glenn Cunningham won the race from Michal Rajkowski with Rusty Harrison third then the Potters added another in heat 14. Lee Complin won this one beating Michal Rajkowski who was out for the third time on the trot while Barry Evans took third from Tony Atkin. In the last race the Potters stretched their lead to six points on the night as Glenn Cunningham won the race from Tom Hedley with Lee Complin in third place for a 4-2.


Scorers: For Stoke – Glenn Cunningham 14 (5), Lee Complin 10 (5), Rusty Harrison 8 (4), Claus Vissing 7+1 (4), Barrie Evans 5+1 (5), Lee Smethills 4+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 1+1 (3).

For Newport – Tom Hedley 11 (5), Michal Rajkowski 10+1 (6), Phil Morris 7+1 (4), Chris Schramm 7 (5), Tony Atkin 4+2 (4), Barry Burchatt 2+1 (3), Nick Simmons 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 3 June

There were four matches scheduled for today but only three of them made it to the tapes. An early decision was made to call off the semi-final, second leg, Premier Trophy match at Glasgow, where the Tigers were due to take on King’s Lynn , due to heavy rain and a miserable forecast. This left the second leg, second round, Knockout Cup tie at Newport where Stoke were the visitors, the first leg, second round, Knockout Cup tie between Mildenhall and Rye House and the Premier League match between Newcastle and Berwick .


Knockout Cup (second round, second leg): Newport 50, Stoke 40 Newport won through on aggregate by 91-89.


Newport started off at full strength while Stoke used Rider Replacement for Barry Burchatt who was on under-21 duty.

Wow – what a finish by the Wasps. Stoke seemed to be well placed when they still had the eight point lead they built up last night at Loomer Road after 10 heats of this match had been raced. But Newport, not noted for strong finishes, took heat advantages from five of the last six heats. Four points adrift on aggregate with just two races left they rattled home a 4-2 then 5-1 in the last two heats to sneak through. Considering they lost Tom Hedley when he fell in his second race and withdrew from the meeting it was a great performance.

It all seemed to be going Stoke’s way in the early part of the meeting. Barrie Evans stunned the home support (and no doubt some of his own!) by winning the opening race from Hedley and Glenn Cunningham to put Stoke two points up – ten on aggregate. A reserves’ 5-1 in heat 2 to the Wasps was countered by a 1-5 to Stoke in heat 3 from Lee Complin and Claus Vissing before another surprising reserve success in heat 4! This time it was Barry Burchatt who won the race from Rusty Harrison, Jack Hargreaves and Chris Schramm sharing the heat and making the score 11-13.

Newport took the lead for the first time in heat 5 with a 5-1 from Morris and Atkin ahead of Cunningham but they lost Tom Hedley in heat 6 when he crashed into the fence and had to withdraw from the meeting. Barry Evans won for the second time in the rerun and, with Rusty Harrison second, Stoke were back in front at 17-19. Heats 7 and 8 were shared with the score at 23-25 and things looked bleak for the Wasps now trailing by 10 points on aggregate.

Another Atkin/Morris 5-1 in heat 9 ahead of Rusty Harrison got the Wasps back in front at 28-26 but Stoke hit back in the next race with a 2-4, Claus Vissing beating Michal Rajkowski with Lee Complin third. The match scores were tied again at 30-30 but Newport then stepped up a gear. They might have feared the worst in heat 11 as Stoke’s top two average men, Glenn Cunningham and Rusty Harrison, were out together but Chris Schramm won from Cunningham while Barry Burchatt took third from Harrison. The 4-2 gave Newport a two point lead again and they doubled it with another 4-2 in heat 12. Phil Morris was the winner from Barrie Evans while Barry Burchatt took third as Claus Vissing retired from the race. The score now stood at 38-34 with Stoke still leading by four points on aggregate.

Things looked bright for the Wasps in heat 13 as Chris Schramm and Michal Rajkowski looked like squaring the tie on aggregate with a 5-1. However Rajkowski fell allowing Cunningham and Harrison to share the race with Newport left wondering how expensive that fall might prove. The Wasps then got within two points of Stoke on aggregate with another 4-2 in heat 14. Tony Atkin won from Lee Complin with Rajkowski finishing third to set up a last heat decider. Chris Schramm and Phil Morris then brought the house down with the 5-1 the Wasps needed for aggregate success leaving Claus Vissing and Lee Complin to bring up the rear.


Scorers: For Newport – Chris Schramm 12 (5), Phil Morris 11+2 (5), Michal Rajkowski 9 (6), Tony Atkin 8+1 (4), Barry Burchatt 7+1 (5), Tom Hedley 2 (2), Nick Simmons 1 (3).

For Stoke – Barrie Evans 10+1 (6), Lee Complin 8 (5), Claus Vissing 7+2 (5), Rusty Harrison 6+1 (5), Glenn Cunningham 6 (4), Jack Hargreaves 3+1 (5).



Knockout Cup (second round, first leg): Mildenhall 40, Rye House 49


Mildenhall had their two new signings in the side with Paul Fry lining up at number 5 and Tomas Suchanek at number 7. Rye House were missing Ray Morton, apparently with a sore back, and used Rider Replacement at number 2.

Not a lot went right for Mildenhall in this match. They lost Tom Madsen after the opening heat and made a mess of their Tactical Ride in heat 9. It didn’t help that, until the latter stages of the meeting, they had no answer to Tai Woffinden and Steve Boxall who were in their element on a dry and dusty track. At one point the Rockets had built up a 17 point lead but some late success gave the home support something to cheer about. Nonetheless it leaves the Fen Tigers with the proverbial mountain to climb in the second leg.

In the opening heat Tom Madsen and Chris Neath came to grief on the first bend. Madsen won the all-four-back rerun while Chris Neath came past Shaun Tacey to turn a potential 5-1 to a 4-2. It was, however, Madsen’s last involvement in the meeting leaving the Fen Tigers to struggle on with their reserves covering his rides. Rye House then simply blitzed the home side. Over the next nine heats they took a 0-5, a 1-5 and five 2-4s with the other two heats shared to streak out of sight 17 points ahead. It started with a 1-5 in the reserves race before Jason King went through the tapes in heat 3 having then to start from 15 metres back. A good race ensued between Tai Woffinden and Kyle Legault with the Rye House youngster winning it. Tommy Allen held off the advancing Jason King for a 2-4. Tomas Suchanek made the best start in heat 4 but he was passed by Steve Boxall as Rye added another 4-2 taking the score to 9-15.

Chris Neath won heat 5 from the gate and Steve Boxall did likewise in heat 6, both for shared heats, but Rye House increased their lead in heat 7 when Tai Woffinden passed Paul Fry with Tommy Allen third for a 2-4. Then Steve Boxall and Adam Roynon, separated by Tomas Suchanek, produced the same score in heat 8 taking the score to 19-29.

Ten points down, Mildenhall nominated Jason King for a TR in heat 9 but this heat turned out a disaster for the Fen Tigers. Firstly Kyle Legault suffered an engine failure causing Luke Bowen to run into him. Legault was excluded but worse was to come in the rerun when Jason King was alleged to have brought down Luke Bowen. King was excluded too. This was the last thing Mildenhall needed and it resulted in Rye House scoring a 0-5 which put them 15 points in front. Woffinden and Allen were fast away for the Rockets in heat 10 but Suchanek got past Allen for second place. However it was yet another 2-4 heat advantage for the Rockets who were now cruising at 21-38. Mildenhall then rallied with two consecutive 5-1s. They got a much needed piece of luck when Chris Neath had an engine failure while leading heat 11 leaving Mark Thompson and Paul Fry to score the maximum then repeated the feat with another in heat 12. This time Tomas Suchanek and Kyle Legault ended Tai Woffinden’s winning run to take the score to 31-40.

Rye House took a 2-4 from heat 13 with Steve Boxall continuing unbeaten in front and Chris Neath finishing third behind Paul Fry. The home side threatened another 5-1 in heat 14 but Mark Thompson following his partner, Jason King, was passed by both Adam Roynon and Tommy Allen so the race was shared. Finally Mildenhall had the satisfaction of finishing with a 4-2 with Kyle Legault ending Steve Boxall’s maximum hopes while Tomas Suchanek rode a great race to pass Tai Woffinden on the last bend for a home 4-2.


Scorers: For Mildenhall – Tomas Suchanek 12+1 (7), Kyle Legault 9+1 (5), Paul Fry 6+1 (4), Jason King 4 (4), Tom Madsen 3 (1), Shaun Tacey 3 (4), Mark Thompson 3 (5).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 17 (6), Tai Woffinden 10 (5), Adam Roynon 6+1 (5), Chris Neath 6 (4), Tommy Allen 5+1 (5), Luke Bowen 5+1 (5),



Premier League: Newcastle 57, Berwick 36


Newcastle were at full strength while Berwick had Sam Martin at number 6 in place of Benji Compton.

This match was as good as over after six heats at which point Berwick trailed by 16 points having just made double figures but what is it about TRs? No sooner had Michal Makovsky been nominated in heat 7 than the Bandits responded with the big 1-8! Not that it made a huge difference to the scoreline as Newcastle simply picked up where they had left off leaving Berwick needing a huge effort in the return fixture to have any chance of the bonus point.

Christian Henry and Carl Wilkinson got the Diamonds off to a good start with a 5-1 in track conditions which didn’t seem to suit the Bandits. Sean Stoddart won the reserves race from Sam Martin after David Meldrum fell when holding second place. The 4-2 put the home side 6 points up but heat 3 was shared with Josef Franc winning and Ross Brady falling. It was Stoddart again in heat 4 after he passed the unsteady looking Jacek Rempala on the second lap. Behind this pair Jonas Raun passed David Meldrum for third and another 4-2 went the home side’s way taking the score to 16-8.

Stanislaw Burza made the gate in heat 5 but was passed by both Franc and Brady for the first of two consecutive 5-1s to the Diamonds. The second, in heat 6, came from Wilkinson and Henry again rocketing the home side into a 16 point lead. However Berwick stopped them in their tracks in heat 7. Michal Makovsky was given a TR and duly delivered followed home by Andreas Bergstrom for a 1-8 which cut the gap to 9 points. David Meldrum fell in heat 8 as Carl Wilkinson passed him and looked none too happy when he was excluded from the rerun in which Jaimie Robertson took second behind Wilkinson for a home 4-2 with the score now at 31-20.

Newcastle added a 5-1 in heat 9 through Franc and Brady again. The lead was now up to 15 points and it stayed that way when heats 10 and 11 were shared. Christian Henry continued his unbeaten run but Wilkinson finished behind Makovsky and Bergstrom in heat 10 while Jonas Raun won heat 11 from Burza and Robertson. Berwick tried their luck with a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 12 when it might have made more sense to try it in heat 11. Jacek Rempala was given the task of going from 15 metres back replacing Sam Martin to partner Michal Makovsky. It was asking a lot against the Newcastle pairing of the unbeaten Josef Franc and on-form Sean Stoddart and so it proved as the home side took another 5-1 after Makovsky fell while in third place. This took the score to 47-28.

In heat 13 Berwick produced their second heat winner. Jacek Rempala and Stanislaw Burza made the gate but Christian Henry and Jonas Raun passed Burza on either side before taking up the chase on race leader Rempala. They couldn’t catch him so the race was shared. Ross Brady won heat 14 from Andreas Bergstrom as Newcastle stretched their lead to 21 points with the 4-2. In the last heat Michal Makovsky blocked the run of both Christian Henry and Josef Franc while Jacek Rempala headed off to win the race. Both Diamonds passed Makovsky before the Bandit fell. Henry just failed to catch Rempala so Berwick finished with a drawn heat and a 21 point deficit which was better than they might have feared after the first six heats.


Scorers: For Newcastle – Josef Franc 13+1 (5), Christian Henry 12+1 (5), Sean Stoddart 10+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 8+1 (4), Ross Brady 7+2 (4), Jonas Raun 6+1 (4), Ashley Johnson 1 (3).

For Berwick – Jacek Rempala 11 (6), Michal Makovsky 10 (5)(with 6 point TR), Andreas Bergstrom 6+3 (4), Jaimie Robertson 4+1 (4), Stanislaw Burza 3 (4), Sam Martin 2 (3), David Meldrum 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 5 June



Tonight’s match on the Isle of Wight featured a Premier League match against Newport .



Premier League: Isle of Wight 69, Newport 21 .


The Isle of Wight were at full strength for this match but Newport were severely handicapped by the absence of their high-scoring reserve, Michal Rajkowski, who had picked up a foot injury in Newport’s epic win over Stoke on Sunday afternoon. Instead they had Somerset’s Daniel Warwick as a guest at Number 6.

When Newport last appeared on the Island they lost 62-31. They would be hoping to do better than that, although the loss of Rajkowski was a blow, but after losing the first three heats 5-1 it didn’t look likely. At this point it looked like the toss of the coin for gate positions prior to heat 1 might well be their biggest success of the night. However things improved but not a lot as the Islanders finished with eleven 5-1s and two 4-2s with two drawn heats!

After losing maximums in the first three heats, during which Danny Warwick fell in heat 2 and Phil Morris made a good start in heat 3 before being passed by Bunyan and Stojanowski, Chris Schramm took some of the growing pressure off the visitors by winning heat 4 against the Islanders most vulnerable pairing of Glen Phillips and Chris Johnson which took the score to 18-6. Schramm’s success was an oasis in the desert!

The Wasps provided second places in heats 5 and 6. Tom Hedley split the Jason Bunyan/Krystof Stojanowski pairing in heat 5 and Danny Warwick the Chris Holder/Cory Gathercole pairing in heat 6. In both cases Newport also provided the last placed rider (in heat 6 it was Chris Schramm, the winner of heat 4!) but at least they had reached double figures even if they were now 16 points in arrears. Andrew Bargh and Glen Phillips scored another 5-1 in heat 7 although again Phil Morris battled through to first place before being passed by both Islanders to take a 20 point lead and it looked doubtful whether the Wasps could even achieve 30 points. It didn’t help when the two Newport riders out in heat 8, Tom Hedley and Barry Burchatt, collided with each other resulting in Hedley being excluded from the rerun. Burchatt was replaced by Danny Warwick for the rerun but another 5-1 seemed inevitable and so it transpired. The score now stood at 36-12.

In heat 9 the Wasps played their TR card with Chris Schramm given the responsibility but this was a failure as Stojanowski and Bunyan rattled up another 5-1 with Schramm third. Three more 5-1s followed to make it six successive maximums on the trot for the home side although once more Phil Morris put up some resistance until being passed in heat 12 by a fence scraping Jason Bunyan for second place. The score now stood at 56-16 and the Wasps were still not certain to hit the 20 point mark as the interval arrived.

The number of consecutive 5-1s for the Isle of Wight went to eight after further maximums in heats 13 and 14 meaning that the Islanders needed four points from the last race to hit 70 while Newport needed two to hit 20. But 70 points is never an easy target to achieve and against all the odds the race was shared. Jason Bunyan was controversially excluded for allegedly taking out Tom Hedley so Hedley and Schramm took a 3-3 from the heat by following Chris Holder home


Scorers: For The Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Andrew Bargh 10+2 (4)(paid maximum), Jason Bunyan 10+2 (5), Chris Johnson 10+1 (4), Cory Gathercole 9+1 (4), Glen Phillips 8+3 (4), Krystof Stojanowski 8+2 (4).

For Newport – Chris Schramm 6+1 (5), Tom Hedley 6 (5), Phil Morris 3 (4), Danny Warwick 3 (4), Tony Atkin 2 (4), Barry Burchatt 1 (4), Nick Simmons 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 6 June


It was cup night tonight as the second legs of two cup ties were due to be determined in different competitions. In a second round, second leg tie in the Knockout Cup King’s Lynn raced Redcar while at Birmingham the Brummies took on Rye House to decide who would contest the final of the Premier Trophy against either King’s Lynn or Glasgow.


Knockout Cup: King’s Lynn 59, Redcar 33 King’s Lynn won through on aggregate by 104-78.


King’s Lynn had Shane Waldron in the number 7 slot at reserve in place of John Oliver while Redcar had Karlis Ezergailis as a guest at number 6 and Rusty Hodgson at number 7.

King’s Lynn went into this match as short odds-on favourites by virtue of forcing a 45-45 draw at Redcar last Thursday. Saddlebow Road is a virtual fortress these days with most visiting teams struggling to keep a hold on the Stars. History did not suggest that Redcar would change that considering that, on their two visits to the track, last year they conceded 70 and 63 points. With inexperienced riders at number 4 and reserve it seemed that the Bears would need to look to their top four to provide most of the challenge. However the Bears did a bit better on this occasion although they never looked like triumphing on the night.

It wasn’t the usual blistering start from the Stars. Gary Havelock led the opening race for the Bears until the final lap when Tomas Topinka finally managed to pass him. Third place from Chris Mills gave the home side a 4-2 start then the reserves race was shared. James Brundle won comfortably but Shane Waldron finished at the back after being passed by Rusty Hodgson. James Grieves passed Trevor Harding in heat 3 to finish behind Daniel Nermark for another 4-2, the same score as in heat 4 when Chris Kerr took second place behind Paul Lee. This time Shane Waldron beat Rusty Hodgson for third place as the score moved to 15-9.

Gary Havelock became the Bears’ first race winner when he held off the race long challenge of Daniel Nermark as light drizzle fell on the track. Mathieu Tressarieu finished last again so the heat was shared. Redcar’s resistance continued as Chris Kerr took second behind Topinka in heat 6 for a 4-2 after Chris Mills had passed Karlis Ezergailis. King’s Lynn finally managed a 5-1 in heat 7 from James Brundle and Paul Lee who saw off James Grieves and the Bears now trailed by 12 points. Mathieu Tressarieu suddenly came to life in heat 8 after being warned in the first running of the race for moving at the tapes. He won the race from Chris Mills and Shane Waldron as Rusty Hodgson fell on the final lap. The score now stood at 30-18 with the Bears doing much better than on previous visits.

In heat 9 Chris Kerr ran Daniel Nermark very wide on the opening bends then crashed on the second lap causing the race to be stopped and awarded as a 5-1 to King’s Lynn. Topinka won heat 10 but Grieves passed Mills for a 4-2 leaving the visitors now trailing by 18 points. Gary Havelock was given a TR in heat 11 but he never really challenged Paul Lee who won the race. Mathieu Tressarieu finished third, though, so the Bears scored a 3-5 from the race. In heat 12 Redcar had to go with just one rider after Karlis Ezergailis and then Rusty Hodgson were both excluded when they failed to meet the two minute time allowance. James Grieves finished behind Daniel Nermark for a 4-2 which took the score to 46-28.

Gary Havelock won again in heat 13 with Topinka and Lee taking second and third as Chris Kerr fell and remounted. King’s Lynn took the expected 5-1 in heat 14 then in the last race the Stars finished with a 5-1 from Nermark and Topinka with Havelock relegated to third.


Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 14 (5), Tomas Topinka 13+1 (5), Paul Lee 9+2 (4), James Brundle 8+1 (4), Trevor Harding 7+2 (4), Chris Mills 5 (4), Shane Waldron 3+1 (4).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 13 (5)(with a 4 point TR), James Grieves 7 (5), Mathieu Tressarieu 4+1 (4), Chris Kerr 4 (4), Karlis Ezergailis 3 (4), Rusty Hodgson 1+1 (5), Arlo Bugeja 1 (4).



Premier Trophy (semi-final, second leg): Birmingham 58, Rye House 35 Birmingham won through to the final on aggregate by 96-87.


Birmingham were at full strength for this match while Rye House were missing Ray Morton and used Rider Replacement in his place at number 2.

Birmingham trailed by 14 points from the first leg at Hoddesdon so the tie looked to be finely balanced. The Brummies would be worried though by the ease with which Rye House won their previous visit to Perry Barr last April (39-53). Both teams had changed since then with the Rockets perhaps not looking quite so threatening this time. However, the Rye House injury jinx struck yet again in devastating fashion. Firstly Tai Woffinden had to be taken to hospital with a hand injury after falling in his first race to leave the visitors with just three top team men and two reserves. Then Chris Neath fell in his second race and had to be removed from the track by ambulance. He, too, went to hospital with a back injury leaving the Rockets with just four riders. Then Tommy Allen had to withdraw from the meeting as a result of his fall in heat 3 with a knee injury leaving the visitors with just three riders – Steve Boxall and two reserves. The Rockets asked for an abandonment but the referee ordered them to soldier on. What a fiasco and what an insult to the paying public!

Chris Neath won the opening heat for the Rockets for a 3-3 then Adam Roynon, who finished last in heat 1 came out to win the rerun of heat 2 but only after Luke Bowen had fallen on the first bend in the first running of the heat and been excluded after the Brummies reserves had both gated well. Heat 3 was rerun, too, after Tommy Allen had crashed into the fence and been excluded. Tai Woffinden fell too but not before the race had been stopped so he was allowed to take part in the rerun. However Rye House were dealt a terrible blow when Woffinden had to be taken to hospital with hand injuries following his fall. This left the already short-handed Rockets with only five riders with both reserves now having to cover Woffinden’s four scheduled rides. Luke Bowen replaced Woffinden in the rerun of heat 3. Jason Lyons took the opportunity to lower the track record to 57.3 but Bowen took second place to restrict the damage to a 4-2 Birmingham then struck with a 5-1 from Ben Powell and Emiliano Sanchez who locked up on the opening two bends forcing Steve Boxall to back off much to the annoyance of the Rockets’ brigade. This took the score to 15-9 and cut Rye House’s aggregate lead to 8 points. Unfortunately the Rockets could only field one rider in heat 7, Luke Bowen again, and promptly lost a 5-1 to Sanchez and Lee Smart.

Things went from bad to worse for Rye House in heat 5 when Chris Neath hit the fence coming off the fourth bend. This required the services of the ambulance yet again with the Rockets looking like they might run out of riders. Neath went off to hospital with a back injury In the rerun Luke Bowen was again the Rockets’ sole rider against the same pairing but he didn’t do so well this time as Birmingham took a 5-1 through Lyons and Armstrong. The Rockets’ aggregate lead was now down to four points and things looked very bleak for them. However Rye House are used to adversity and they shocked the home side in heat 6 when Steve Boxall and Adam Roynon scored a 1-5 ahead of Ulrich Ostergaard to open up their aggregate lead to eight points again. At this point it was announced that Tommy Allen had withdrawn from the meeting with a knee injury leaving Rye House with one top team man and two reserves. The match threatened to turn into a complete fiasco. Struggling to manage their limited resources, Steve Boxall went as Rider Replacement and Tactical Substitute in heat 8. He won the race for all six points but Adam Roynon failed to score so Rye House’s success was limited to 3-6 taking the score to 29-22 with the aggregate score reading 67-74.

In heat 9 Steve Boxall was out again and finished second to Jason Lyons for a 4-2 which put the Brummies 9 points ahead on the match and now 5 behind on aggregate. In heat 10 Adam Roynon was the sole Rye House rider and could not stop Ulrich Ostergaard and Aidan Collins from scoring another 5-1 which put the home side 13 points ahead, one down on aggregate. Luke Bowen was the sole Rye House rider in heat 11 as the match descended into a farce. Sanchez and Smart took another 5-1 so, for the first time in the tie, Birmingham led on aggregate – by three points. There were only three riders in heat 12, too. Luke Bowen could only watch from the back as Lyons and Powell scored a third consecutive 5-1 taking the score to 48-27 with the home side leading 86-79 on aggregate.

Steve Boxall went on his own in heat 13 for the Rockets and finished second to Ostergaard for a 4-2. Then Adam Roynon was Rye House’s sole rider in heat 14. He won it too to remind the hosts of what might have been. In the last race only Steve Boxall could represent Rye House since the two reserves had taken their full quota of seven rides each. Boxall won the race from Ostergaard and Sanchez. For Rye House to lose on aggregate by only 9 points was remarkable given the circumstances.


Scorers: For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 12 (4)(full maximum), Ulrich Ostergaard 11 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 10+2 (5), Lee Smart 8+2 (4), Ben Powell 8+2 (4), Jon Armstrong 5+2 (4), Aidan Collins 4+3 (4).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 17 (6), Adam Roynon 9+1 (7), Luke Bowen 6 (7), Chris Neath 3 (2), Tommy Allen 0 (1), Tai Woffinden 0 (0).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 7 June

Two Premier League matches took place tonight. At Redcar the Bears raced Stoke while at Sheffield the Tigers took on Mildenhall .


Premier League: Redcar 45, Stoke 45


Redcar again had Karlis Ezergailis as a guest reserve to partner Rusty Hodgson at numbers 6 and 7 while Stoke were at full strength.

With both teams suffering cup defeats over the last week they were keen to get back on the winning trail. Stoke have yet to take a point at Redcar but managed to score at least 40 points in their two previous visits so needed to be taken seriously. What a thriller it turned out to be!

Redcar seem to have developed a habit of giving the opposition an early lead in matches at the South Tees Motor Park and tonight was no exception. After sharing the opening race thanks to a win from Gary Havelock, Stoke jumped into the lead with a 1-5 from Hargreaves and Evans in the reserves race. James Grieves won heat 3 but again the race was only shared with Vissing and Complin filling the minor places. Redcar squared things in heat 4. Jack Hargreaves was excluded after falling and crashing into Rusty Hodgson. In the rerun Rusty Harrison, in second place, had machine problems so Rusty Hodgson got passed for the 5-1 which took the score to 12-12.

Stoke were back in front after heat 5, though. Glenn Cunningham beat James Grieves while Ben Barker supported him by taking third place from Arlo Bugeja for a 2-4 giving the Potters a two point lead. The teams then traded 5-1s over the next two heats. Redcar hit back in heat 6 with a 5-1 from Mathieu Tressarieu and Gary Havelock from Evans and Harrison putting the Bears two up but Stoke were back in front by two points after heat 7. This time Lee Complin and Claus Vissing made the gate to keep Chris Kerr in third place for another maximum. Mathieu Tressarieu won heat 8 but Ben Barker and Jack Hargreaves made sure the points were shared taking the score to 23-25.

Redcar levelled the match in heat 9. James Grieves won the race from Barrie Evans as Rusty Harrison had yet another engine failure allowing Arlo Bugeja to take third place. The Bears scored a 4-2 as a result then the next two races were shared. Gary Havelock passed Lee Complin on the final lap of heat 10 to win the race then Chris Kerr had his work cut out holding on to his lead in heat 11 as Glenn Cunningham and Ben Barker pressed hard. The match reached fever pitch as Stoke went back in front in heat 12. This time Claus Vissing beat James Grieves and Barrie Evans took third place while Rusty Hodgson fell. The 2-4 to the Potters took the score to 35-37 as the Bears struggled to contain their visitors.

Heat 13 looked crucial as Havelock and Kerr faced Cunningham and Harrison. Redcar really couldn’t afford to lose this one with a weak looking heat 14 to follow. Rusty Harrison was replaced by Jack Hargreaves but it was Glenn Cunningham who thwarted the Bears by winning the race and ending Gary Havelock’s unbeaten run which kept the Potters two points in front with every chance of taking an advantage in heat 14. They did too! It didn’t help the Bears’ cause when Karlis Ezergailis fell in the first running of the heat on the second lap and was excluded from the rerun. In the second running of the race Barrie Evans won for the Potters but Arlo Bugeja passed Lee Complin to deny the Potters a match winning 1-5. Nonetheless Stoke were now four points up at 40-44 with just one heat to go needing two points from the last race to win. They didn’t get them as Gary Havelock and James Grieves rescued the home side with a 5-1 ahead of Vissing and Cunningham to earn a point for the Bears in a 45-45 draw.


Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 13+1 (5), James Grieves 12+1 (5), Chris Kerr 8+1 (4), Mathieu Tressarieu 6 (4), Rusty Hodgson 3+1 (4), Arlo Bugeja 3 (4), Karlis Ezergailis 0 (4).

For Stoke – Claus Vissing 9+2 (5), Glenn Cunningham 9+1 (5), Barrie Evans 9+1 (5), Lee Complin 7+1 (4), Ben Barker 6+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 4+1 (4), Rusty Harrison 1 (3).



Premier League: Sheffield 52, Mildenhall 38 .


Sheffield were at full strength. Paul Cooper moved into the main body of the team at number 4 while James Birkinshaw moved to number 6 to partner the returning James Cockle at reserve. With Tom P Madsen able to take his place in the Fen Tigers side following his crash on Sunday, Mildenhall were able to parade their new look team with Paul Fry at number 5 and Tomas Suchanek at reserve.

Mildenhall have no decent form round Sheffield having suffered two sizeable defeats in their two matches at the Yorkshire track so started as long odds shots for tonight’s match between the two sets of Tigers but what a terrific fight they put up giving Sheffield one of their hardest home matches of the season.

The Fen Tigers got off to a decent start as Ricky Ashworth had another poor heat 1 at home, having to follow Tom Madsen and Shaun Tacey to the flag. Meanwhile Ben Wilson headed off into the distance for an easy win and a shared race. Normally Sheffield are hot stuff in the reserves race but Mark Thompson won this one from James Birkinshaw and James Cockle for another 3-3. It got better for Mildenhall when former Sheffield favourite, Kyle Legault, beat Andre Compton in heat 3. It was touch and go who would get the decision for third place as the riders crossed the line together but the referee gave Paul Cooper the verdict ahead of Jason King. This meant another shared race and the home fans knew they had a fight on their hands when Paul Fry won heat 4 for the visitors by passing James Cockle as Joel Parsons finished third for the fourth drawn race on the trot which took the score to 12-12.

Sheffield finally took the lead in heat 5. Andre Compton won this race and Paul Cooper passed Tom P Madsen and Shaun Tacey to follow him home for a 5-1 and a four point lead. They added a 4-2 in heat 6. Ben Wilson won the race under pressure from Paul Fry while Fry’s second place was gained under pressure from Ricky Ashworth. Sheffield were now 6 points in front. However Mildenhall cut their lead to only two points by taking heat 7 with a 1-5. Kyle Legault and Jason King did the damage with James Birkinshaw finishing third after Joel Parsons had problems with his clutch. Mildenhall had claimed four of the seven heat winners at this point but they lost a 5-1 in heat 8. Ben Wilson and James Cockle did the damage leaving Shaun Tacey and Tomas Suchanek well behind. The score now stood at 27-21.

Andre Compton was beaten again in heat 9. Paul Fry led from the tapes and was under pressure from Paul Cooper. He resisted that so Andre Compton took up the chase on the last lap but Fry took the race win. This resulted in a shared race which kept Sheffield six points to the good. In heat 10 Kyle Legault fell on the third lap while at the back. This might have been disastrous for the Fen Tigers but not so on this occasion as Jason King won the race from the top Tigers’ pairing of Ashworth and Wilson ruining Ben Wilson’s maximum in the process. Joel Parsons had a great race with Tom P Madsen in heat 11 with the two riders passing and repassing each other. Parsons prevailed but James Birkinshaw could make no inroads at the back as Madsen and Tacey shared the heat. Heat 12 was shared too. Andre Compton won it but all the action was behind him. Mark Thompson gave his partner. Kyle Legault, a hard time but Legault soon passed him and went after Cockle. He dived up the inside of Cockle and Cockle all but fell off. When the dust had settled Legault had taken second and Thompson third taking the score to 39-33.

Sheffield finally opened some clear water between themselves and the Fen Tigers with a 5-1 in heat 13. Ricky Ashworth finally won a heat while Joel Parsons passed both Paul Fry and Tom P Madsen for the maximum. This put the Tigers 10 points in front. The downside of this was that Jason King was then able to take a Tactical Ride in heat 14. Unfortunately it went pear-shaped for Mildenhall when James Birkinshaw and Paul Cooper took a 5-1 ahead of King to end the visitors’ resistance. The last race was shared. Although Andre Compton won it, Ben Wilson was passed by both Kyle Legault and Paul Fry to finish at the back.


Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 13 (5), Ben Wilson 10+1 (5), Paul Cooper 6+4 (4), Joel Parsons 6+2 (4), Ricky Ashworth 6 (4), James Birkinshaw 6 (4), James Cockle 5+2 (4).

For Mildenhall – Kyle Legault 10 (5), Paul Fry 9+1 (5), Jason King 6+1 (4), Shaun Tacey 5+1 (4), Tom P Madsen 4+1 (4), Mark Thompson 4+1 (4), Tomas Suchanek 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Friday, 8 June

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Edinburgh the Monarchs were at home to last season’s champions King’s Lynn while at Somerset the Rebels took on Glasgow in another England v Scotland clash..


Premier League: Edinburgh 43, King’s Lynn 47


Edinburgh welcomed back Ronnie Correy following his absence from the team with leg injuries. They also had Theo Pijper replacing William Lawson at number 3 while Buxton’s Jack Roberts rode at reserve in place of Daniele Tessari. King’s Lynn had Mildenhall’s Tomas Suchanek at reserve in place of John Oliver.

King’s Lynn were hoping to go one better than last year when a last heat 2-4 earned them a draw after they had trailed by 6 points at the half way stage. On that occasion Tomas Topinka and Kevin Doolan scored 30 of the Stars’ 45 points although they were without Daniel Nermark. This time they provided 11 of the 15 race winners thanks to consistent fast starts so never looked like losing. Edinburgh found the handicap of poor gating too much to overcome on what became a very dry track.

It was a very warm sunny evening at Armadale (the temperature was 21C-70F when the match started and only dropped to 18C-65F by the finish!). Perhaps the Edinburgh riders were thrown by this unusual occurrence which was reflected in their poor starts.

Yet it started well for the Monarchs when Ronnie Correy sped off in the opening heat for what looked like a certain 5-1 when Derek Sneddon passed Chris Mills on the third bend. However Sneddon seemed to have trouble turning the bike and was repassed by Mills on the last lap with Tomas Topinka stuck at the back for a 4-2. The Stars levelled the score in heat 2 with a 2-4. Tomas Suchanek featured for the only time in the match with a tapes-to-flag win. James Brundle followed him in second place and it took some hard work from Matthew Wethers to pass him round the inside for second place. The Stars did score a 1-5 in heat 3 though as Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding left Theo Pijper and Andrew Tully stranded at the gate to put the visitors four points ahead. Edinburgh looked as though they would reply with a 5-1 of their own in heat 4 when Henrik Moller and Matthew Wethers led down the back straight. Paul Lee had other ideas passing Wethers before chasing down Moller. Moller failed to defend his position on the final two bends leaving Lee all the room in the world to pull off an excellent outside pass to get the verdict on the line. This meant that the race was shared 3-3 and the score stood at 10-14.

Tomas Topinka was never challenged with a tapes-to-flag win in heat 5 from Pijper and Tully resulting in a shared heat but Edinburgh squared the match in heat 6. Derek Sneddon made the gate with Ronnie Correy covering him from behind and the two Monarchs scored an easy 5-1 from Paul Lee but King’s Lynn were back in front again after heat 7. Another fast gate from Nermark saw him off and running. Henrik Moller’s inside line drive off the second bend caught the King’s Lynn man for a couple of laps but Nermark was on the better line and he pulled away. With Trevor Harding third, the Stars scored a 2-4 to go two points ahead again. However Edinburgh scored another 5-1 in heat 8 when Sneddon and Wethers headed home Suchanek and Mills by a distance to put the Monarchs two points ahead with the score standing at 25-23.

The home side flattered to deceive, however, because, with the track now having dried out, gating was paramount and they were second best in this department. James Brundle made a blinder of a start to win heat 9. Behind him it took Theo Pijper two and a half laps to pass Andrew Tully who promptly fell off on the next bend gifting the third place point to Paul Lee for a 2-4 which squared the match again. The Stars were back in front after heat 10. For once Daniel Nermark did not make a race-winning start. Derek Sneddon led the race to the first bend with Ronnie Correy driving hard round the first and second bends round the outside but Sneddon moved over taking Trevor Harding with him and blocking Correy’s run. Nermark nipped up the inside for another race win while Correy was stuck at the back. This gave the visitors a 2-4 and a two point lead again before Henrik Moller brought the house down with the ride of the night in heat 11. James Brundle and Tomas Topinka looked to have secured a 1-5 when they headed off ahead of both Monarchs. However Moller, sticking like a limpet to the line, got enough drive to pass Topinka on the inside before heading off after Brundle. He caught and passed him with an exquisite cut back and drive off the second bend to hit the front for the win which shared the points. Nermark made another fast start to win heat 12 for a 3-3 so the score now stood at 35-37.

Heat 13 saw a determined dash for the first bend which resulted in Henrik Moller being catapulted into the safety fence as Topinka moved out taking Correy with him just as Moller tried to close them both down. The race was rerun with all four riders after a lengthy delay while Moller was checked out. In the rerun Topinka made the gate and that was that. Correy and Moller shared the points behind him as the match moved into a crucial heat 14 with King’s Lynn still two points in front. In this heat James Brundle replaced Suchanek and made a terrific gate to leave the Monarchs stranded. Wethers couldn’t catch him and, with Harding taking third place, the Stars scored a 2-4 to open up a four point lead with one heat to go. It looked a forlorn hope for Edinburgh to rescue a point with a 5-1 and Nermark saw to it that the league points went back to Norfolk with another fast start resulting in a win which completed his full maximum. Pijper took second and Correy passed Topinka for third so the race was shared. King’s Lynn already look favourites to win the league again this year with this sort of away performance.


Scorers: For Edinburgh – Derek Sneddon 9 (4), Theo Pijper 9 (5), Matthew Wethers 8+3 (5), Ronnie Correy 8+2 (5), Henrik Moller 8+1 (4), Andrew Tully 1+1 (4), Jack Roberts 0 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 15 (5)(full maximum), James Brundle 9 (5), Tomas Topinka 7+1 (5), Trevor Harding 5+1 (4), Paul Lee 5 (4), Tomas Suchanek 4+1 (4), Chris Mills 2 (4).



Premier League: Somerset 56, Glasgow 36 .


BothSomerset and Glasgow were at full strength for this match.

This was effectively a rerun of the KO Cup clash of five weeks ago when the Rebels won by 52-38. The only personnel change was that Stephan Katt rode for Somerset in place of Tomas Suchanek. Glasgow were hoping to do better this time on a track on which they had never won although they came close when losing 46-44 in 2004. The Tigers, however, turned out to be a four man team as Smethills, Dicken and McAllan scored only 1 point between them.

Up until heat 7 Glasgow were very much in this match, trailing by only two points, but with such a large tail they couldn’t sustain their challenge and suffered a heavier defeat than they did in the recent cup tie. Somerset got off to a 5-1 winning start as Magnus Zetterstrom, having missed the gate, came past the field to win in a very fast time. Stephan Katt took second place from George Stancl to put the Rebels four points to the good. Glasgow hit back in heat 2 with a 2-4 cutting the lead to two points. Robert Ksiezak held off the challenge of Simon Walker to win the race after Danny Warwick locked up allowing Lee Smethills through for third. The next four races were all shared to keep the Rebels two points in front. Shane Parker and Trent Leverington won heats 3 and 4 unsupported to take the score to 13-11.

George Stancl won heat 5 from the gate giving Glasgow four race winners on the trot but Magnus Zetterstrom stopped their run by winning heat 6. Robert Ksiezak and Trent Leverington were content to team ride to keep Stephan Katt at the back although Katt nearly got up on the line. Then Shane Parker scored his second race win in heat 7. Simon Walker passed David McAllan on the third lap for the 3-3. The run of shared heats ended in heat 8, however, when Stephan Katt and Daniel Warwick ccomfortably headed home Robert Ksiezak who had replaced Lee Dicken. This took the score to 27-21.

Emil Kramer won heat 9 but the interest was at the back as Ksiezak and Frampton fought for the third place point behind Trent Leverington. Ksiezak won this particular battle so the race was shared. Then came the meeting of the big two and it was Magnus Zetterstrom who won unchallenged from Shane Parker. David McAllan was passed again, this time by Stephan Katt so Somerset took a 4-2 to lead by eight points. The Rebels moved up a gear and took heat 11 with a 5-1 when both Simon Walker and Ritchie Hawkins passed the fast gating George Stancl for the maximum. The lead stretched to 12 points so Shane Parker took a Tactical Ride in heat 12. It was Emil Kramer who won the heat, however, as Parker had to be content with second. Behind him Daniel Warwick passed Robert Ksiezak for third place so the race was shared 4-4. The score now stood at 43-31.

Somerset then took two giant steps to set up an excellent chance of the bonus point when the teams meet again with consecutive 5-1s in heats 13 and 14. In heat 13 Ritchie Hawkins and Magnus Zetterstrom easily beat Leverington and Stancl then, in heat 14, Simon Walker led from the tapes to be joined by Jordan Frampton when he passed Robert Ksiezak on the second lap. In the last race Shane Parker got some measure of revenge for his defeat by Zetterstrom in heat 10 by outgating the Rebels’ mighty one for a fine win. Emil Kramer finished second ahead of Zetterstrom for a shared race.


Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 12+2 (5), Emil Kramer 12 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 9+1 (4), Simon Walker 9+1 (4), Stephan Katt 6+1 (4), Jordan Frampton 4+3 (4), Daniel Warwick 4+2 (4).

For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5)(with a 4 point TR), Robert Ksiezak 8+1 (6), Trent Leverington 7+1 (5), George Stancl 5 (4), Lee Smethills 1 (4), Lee Dicken 0 (3), David McAllan 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 9 June

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


Premier League: Rye House 57, Glasgow 35


Rye House recovered from the carnage of Birmingham on Wednesday night missing just Tai Woffinden. In his place the Rockets used Danny King as a guest at number 3. They also had their new signing, Robbie Kessler, at number 2 in place of Ray Morton. Glasgow were at full strength but for this match Trent Leverington moved to number 4 with David McAllan taking the number 5 spot.

Things looked bleak on Wednesday night when the Rockets finished with just three riders, Steve Boxall and the two reserves. However Chris Neath and Tommy Allen recovered in time for this match and, with Robbie Kessler, making his debut and Danny King riding for Tai Woffinden the Rockets had a full line up. Glasgow were looking for a better result than the 20 point defeat they suffered at Somerset last night but didn’t get it.

Robbie Kessler made an excellent debut for his new club by storming from the gate to win the opening race. Chris Neath tucked in behind him and saw off the brief challenge from George Stancl for a 5-1 to the home side. Robert Ksiezak shot from the gate in heat 2. Behind him Adam Roynon came from the back and almost caught Ksiezak on the line while Luke Bowen finished third for a shared race. Danny King won heat 3 by a distance while Shane Parker finished second ahead of Tommy Allen. This gave the Rockets a 4-2 heat win stretching their lead to six points. Adam Roynon was excluded from heat 4 for breaking the tapes and was replaced by Luke Bowen. The second attempt to run the race was called back and David McAllan was warned for moving at the start. In the third attempt Steve Boxall won comfortably while Robert Ksiezak had to withstand the challenge of Luke Bowen to hold on to his second place. The result was another 4-2 for the Rockets and the score now stood at 16-8.

Rye House moved further ahead in heat 5. Lee Dicken made the gate but was passed by Danny King at the end of the second lap with Tommy Allen third as George Stancl withdrew with an engine failure. The lead stood at 10 points but it went to 14 when the Rockets took a predictable 5-1 as Robbie Kessler and Chris Neath had an easy win ahead of McAllan and Smethills. This prompted Glasgow to give Shane Parker a TR in heat 7. The race had to be rerun as Luke Bowen and Trent Leverington clashed coming off the start. All four were invited back and it was Trent Leverington who challenged Steve Boxall for the lead. He passed Boxall, too, at the end of the first lap but Boxall was back in front a lap later. Leverington then had to back off to let TR Parker through for second so Glasgow took a 3-5 from the heat cutting the lead to 12 points. Both Glasgow riders made a fast start to heat 8 and were in a 1-5 position until the second lap. Then Adam Roynon and Robbie Kessler passed Robert Ksiezak to chase after Dicken. Roynon caught and passed him at the end of lap three and Kessler almost got up on the line to turn the heat round for a 5-1. However it finished as a 4-2 and the score moved on to 32-18.

The Glasgow third pairing was having a lean night and they conceded another 5-1 in heat 9 when Danny King and Tommy Allen headed home David McAllan stretching the home side’s lead to 18 points. It went to 20 with another 4-2 in heat 10. The Rye House pair made the gate and looked set for a 5-1 but Shane Parker passed Kessler for second place to limit the damage. The interval was taken at this point and after the break Glasgow hit back with consecutive 2-4s. In heat 11 both Stancl and Dicken made fast starts but Steve Boxall passed Stancl on the last lap to restrict the Tigers to a 2-4. There was more success in heat 12 when Shane Parker beat Danny King. Behind them Adam Roynon passed Robert Ksiezak before making a mistake which let Ksiezak through again for third place. The resultant 2-4 took the score to 45-29.

Rye House regained their 20 point lead with a 5-1 in heat 13 when Chris Neath and Steve Boxall led George Stancl home from the gate. Tommy Allen fell on the second bend of the opening lap in heat 14 and the referee invited all four back. In the rerun again the Glasgow pair had their gating boots on. It looked like a 1-5 but Tommy Allen got past Leverington on the second lap and Luke Bowen just failed to do likewise on the line. The 2-4 to the Tigers cut the gap to 18 points again. In the last heat, though, Rye House added a 5-1 to win by 22 points. Steve Boxall and Chris Neath, completing his paid maximum, got to the front and kept Parker in third place with Dicken at the back.


Scorers: For Rye House – Chris Neath 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Steve Boxall 12+2 (5), Danny King 11 (4), Robbie Kessler 8 (4), Tommy Allen 6+1 (4), Adam Roynon 5 (4), Luke Bowen 2+1 (5).

For Glasgow – Shane Parker 12 (5)(with a 4 point TR), Robert Ksiezak 9 (5), Lee Dicken 7 (5), George Stancl 3 (4), Trent Leverington 2+1 (4), David McAllan 2 (4), Lee Smethills 0 (3).



Premier League: Berwick 44, King’s Lynn 46


Berwick had Tom Brown at number 6 in place of Benji Compton while King’s Lynn had Newcastle’s Adam McKinna at reserve in place of John Oliver.

Berwick, without a league point to their name this season, might have appreciated a less daunting task to try to record their first win than a match against the current league champions, King’s Lynn. The Bandits confidence is at a very low ebb in complete contrast to the Stars who recorded their third away win of the season last night at Edinburgh.

A close competitive match saw the Stars pull back a 6 point deficit after heat 9 to record a match winning 1-5 in the last heat which gave them their fourth away win from five away fixtures! Berwick just can’t seem to buy a win these days and will be disappointed with another last heat failure.

Tomas Topinka got the Stars off to a winning start beating Stanislaw Burza. Chris Mills took third place as Jaimie Robertson fell so the Stars gained a 2-4. It was all square after the reserves race. David Meldrum won the heat from James Brundle and Tom Brown for a 4-2. Trevor Harding won heat 3 from Andreas Bergstrom and Michal Makovsky with Daniel Nermark bringing up the rear for a shared heat but the Bandits soared into a four point lead with a 5-1 in heat 4. David Meldrum won for the second time while Jacek Rempala followed him home ahead of Paul lee. This took the score to 14-10.

The next two heats were shared. Heat 5 was won by Michal Makovsky with Tomas Topinka and Chris Mills taking the minor places ahead of Andreas Bergstrom. Stanislaw Burza then won heat 6 but James Brundle and Paul Lee followed him home so the Bandits remained four points ahead. King’s Lynn shaved two points from the lead with a 2-4 in heat 7. Daniel Nermark won this time from Jacek Rempala. Trevor Harding picked up the third place point while Tom Brown fell. Chris Mills won heat 8 but Jaimie Robertson and David Meldrum shared the heat behind him as the match developed into a titanic struggle. The score now stood at 25-23.

Berwick struck a massive blow in heat 9 with another 5-1. Michal Makovsky and Andreas Bergstrom did the damage as Paul Lee could only follow them home. Straightaway King’s Lynn hit back with a 1-5. Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding led Stanislaw Burza home and the gap between the sides was down to two points again. The next four heats were all shared as this match went down to the wire. Jacek Rempala won heat 11 from Topinka and Mills then Daniel Nermark took heat 12 from Makovsky and Meldrum. This took the score to 37-35.

In heat 13 Tomas Topinka won the race but Jacek Rempala and Stanislaw Burza kept Paul Lee at the back then in the vital heat 14 Trevor Harding once again produced a vital race win for the Stars. However Tom Brown and Andreas Bergstrom shared the points as James Brundle finished last. This produced a last heat decider with Berwick two points ahead. However Tomas Topinka and Daniel Nermark did the business by taking the 1-5 the Stars needed for the win as, not for the first time this season, Berwick let a match slip with a last heat failure. The Stars are almost beginning to look out of sight in the race for the league championship even this early in the season.


Scorers: For Berwick – Jacek Rempala 10+1 (5), Michal Makovsky 9+1 (5), David Meldrum 8+2 (5), Stanislaw Burza 7+1 (4), Andreas Bergstrom 5+2 (4), Tom Brown 3 (3), Jaimie Robertson 2 (4).

For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 13 (5), Daniel Nermark 11+1 (5), Trevor Harding 9+1 (4), Chris Mills 6+2 (4), James Brundle 4 (5), Paul Lee 3+1 (4), Adam McKinna 0 (3).



Premier League: Workington 57, Mildenhall 35


Workington were without Mattia Carpanese so used Rider Replacement at number 2 for Carpanese. However James Wright was able to take his usual place in the Comets’ side having recovered from his injury at Ipswich on Thursday night. Mildenhall were at full strength.

On their only previous visit to Derwent Park, Mildenhall lost by 9 points. The Fen Tigers would be looking to get closer on this occasion particularly after their excellent performance at Sheffield on Thursday night. It just didn’t happen.

Mildenhall took a 2-4 in the opening heat when Tom P Madsen won the race from Carl Stonehewer who passed Shaun Tacey at the end of the third lap to prevent a 1-5 but the Fen Tigers weren’t in front for long as the Comets hit them with two consecutive 5-1s. It was a Wright/Branney finish to both races with Charles Wright and John Branney winning the reserves race then James Wright and Craig Branney winning heat 3 both times from the gate. In heat 4 Kauko Nieminen was caught out by the uneven track conditions and slipped to the back. Paul Fry won the race but Nieminen recovered to pass Tomas Suchanek so the race was shared and the score stood at 15-9.

Heat 5 was called back and Shaun Tacey warned for jumping the start. At the second attempt James Wright won in a very fast time but Madsen and Tacey filled the minor places for a shared race. Mildenhall’s luck was out in heat 6 when Paul Fry suffered an engine failure at the tapes. Mark Thompson then fell but remounted to take the point as Stonehewer and John Branney sailed off for a 5-1 stretching the Comets’ lead to 10 points. It stayed that way when Kauko Nieminen won heat 7 from Legault and King for a shared race after Charles Wright lost a chain while lying third. Craig Branney passed Shaun Tacey on the inside to win heat 8 while John Branney and Tomas Suchanek fought it out for the third place point. Branney got it so the Comets added a 4-2 to the score which went to 30-18.

Mildenhall fell further behind when the home side added a 5-1 through James Wright and Craig Branney, the gap now at 16 points, with James Wright recording the season’s fastest time. Heat 10 was shared. Carl Stonehewer won the race but Kyle Legault did not make it easy for him. Jason King took third place for the 3-3. In heat 11 Tom P Madsen took a Tactical Ride Although he made a good start Kauko Nieminen got round the outside of him to win the race. With Shaun Tacey third behind Madsen Mildenhall took a 3-5 advantage pulling two points back. In heat 12 Charles Wright replaced John Branney then promptly exceeded the two minute time allowance and had to go from 15 metres back. James Wright won the race with Kyle Legault and Tomas Suchanek following him home for a 3-3 which took the score to 44-30

A Stonehewer/Nieminen 5-1 in heat 13 increased the Comets’ lead to 18 points and Jason King kept it that way by winning heat 14 for a shared race. The last race was rerun after Stonehewer was caught between Madsen and Legault. In the rerun Stonehewer and James Wright took another 5-1 with Kyle Legault third for a 22 point win.


Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Carl Stonehewer 14 (5), Kauko Nieminen 9+2 (4), Craig Branney 9+2 (5), John Branney 8+3 (5), Charles Wright 3 (6).

For Mildenhall – Tom P Madsen 10 (5)(with a 4 point TR), Kyle Legault 8 (5), Shaun Tacey 5+2 (4), Jason King 5+2 (4), Paul Fry 4 (4), Tomas Suchanek 2+1 (5), Mark Thompson 1 (3).



Premier League: Stoke 46, Newport 43 Newport won the aggregate bonus point by 92-90


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

This was a rerun of the match raced last Saturday between the same two teams in which Stoke won by eight points. A similar win tonight would gain them the aggregate bonus point since they only lost 49-44 at Newport last April. Stoke went into this match on the back of a draw gained at Redcar on Thursday night while Newport were pleased to have Michal Rajkowski back in the side after he missed Tuesday night’s match for the Wasps on the Isle of Wight.

Newport clearly learned from last week’s match as Stoke again proved vulnerable at home. The Wasps trailed after the opening two heats but, after that, inspired by reserve, Michal Rajkowski, they streaked ahead of their hosts only to be shocked by a tremendous home fightback.

Ben Barker got the Potters off to a good start by winning the opening heat from Tom Hedley. Glenn Cunningham was third as Nick Simmons fell so the home side led 4-2 but their lead was cut to one point after heat 2. Jack Hargreaves and Barry Burchatt collided and Burchatt was excluded from the rerun. However Hargreaves was unable to take his place in the rerun so there were just two riders left. Michal Rajkowski won it from Barrie Evans for a Wasps’ 2-3 and the visitors added a 2-4 in heat 3. Tony Atkin and Phil Morris gated well and headed for a 1-5 until Lee Complin forced his way past Morris to limit the damage. The 1-5 was only delayed. In heat 4 Rajkowski won again and this time was supported by his partner, Chris Schramm leaving Rusty Harrison to bring up the rear. The score now stood at 9-14.

It got worse for the home side as they lost another 2-4 in heat 5. Tom Hedley won the rerun after an unsatisfactory start in the first running. Claus Vissing was second but Nick Simmons took the third place point when Lee Complin suffered an engine failure. Rajkowski appeared again in heat 6 and won again. Chris Schramm fell so Cunningham and Barker shared the heat. Heat 7 was shared, too, as Rusty Harrison won the race. A hard challenge by Tony Atkin caused Barrie Evans to fall and although he remounted Morris and Atkin took second and third. In heat 8 Ben Barker at last stopped Rajkowski’s winning run by pipping the Wasps’ number 6 on the line. It was only good enough for another 3-3 since Tom Hedley took third place and the score stood at 20-27.

Stoke looked well and truly doomed when Michal Rajkowski won heat 9. With Chris Schramm in second place, the Wasps threatened a 1-5 but Lee Complin got past Schramm so the Wasps had to be content with a 2-4. This put the visitors 9 points ahead but Stoke had the consolation that Rajkowski could only take two more rides in the last six heats. Maybe that’s what inspired the Stoke revival but Newport must have wondered what hit them as within four heats the Potters had edged in front! Glenn Cunningham won heat 10 and Ben Barker passed Tony Atkin to join him up front for a much needed 5-1 cutting the visitors’ lead to 5 points. The shaved another two points off the lead in heat 11 as Rusty Harrison won for the second time when he passed Tom Hedley. Barrie Evans took third for the 4-2 with only three points between the teams now.

Roared on by the home crowd the Potters had their tails up now and Claus Vissing kept the pot boiling by winning heat 12 beating Michal Rajkowski into the bargain. Phil Morris was third though so the heat was shared taking the score to 34-37.

A 5-1 from Cunningham and Harrison in heat 13 ahead of Schramm brought the house down as the Potters wiped out the deficit and now led by one point. Even the bonus point was in reach now but the home spirits were dampened when that man Rajkowski emerged to win heat 14. Lee Complin took second but Tony Atkin got up to pass Barrie Evans on the line to give Newport a 2-4 which put them 41-42 ahead with just one heat to go. Stoke then produced the perfect finish when Glenn Cunningham and Ben Barker combined for a 5-1 in the last heat ahead of Tom Hedley and Chris Schramm to see the Potters home. A great finish to a memorable match, Stoke’s only regret was losing out on the bonus point. Newport at least left with one point but they will no doubt reflect on yet another second half collapse which saw a promising position disappear like the morning dew.


Scorers: For Stoke – Glenn Cunningham 12 (5), Ben Barker 11+3 (5), Rusty Harrison 9+1 (4), Lee Complin 6 (4), Claus Vissing 5 (4), Barrie Evans 3 (6), Jack Hargreaves 0 (2).

For Newport – Michal Rajkowski 19 (7), Tom Hedley 9+1 (5), Tony Atkin 6+1 (4), Phil Morris 4+1 (4), Chris Schramm 4+1 (5), Nick Simmons 1 (4), Barry Burchatt 0 (1).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 10 June

There were three Premier League matches raced today. At Newport the Wasps raced Glasgow while at Mildenhall the Fen Tigers took on Stoke . The third match was at Newcastle where the Diamonds raced against Workington



Premier League: Newport 54, Glasgow 38


Newport fielded a full strength team as did Glasgow . The Tigers reverted to their usual line up from last night with Trent Leverington back at 5 and David McAllan at number 4.

Both teams came into this match on the back of a disappointing result. Newport looked to have the meeting in the bag at Stoke last night until the Potters staged a late recovery to take both points. Glasgow, riding the third and last match of their southern tour, were looking for a big improvement on the two heavy defeats they suffered at Somerset and Rye House over the past two nights. They won the corresponding match at Queensway Meadows last year by two points so this match offered them the best chance of success.

Newport got off to a flying start. They dropped only two points from the first four heats to rock the Tigers giving them the proverbial mountain to climb. The Wasps are not noted for opening heat 5-1 successes although Glasgow have got into the depressing habit of conceding them. However Tom Hedley and Nick Simmons took a maximum from heat 1 ahead of George Stancl for a four point lead which went to six after the reserves race. Michal Rajkowski, in sensational form for the Wasps, won from Robert Ksiezak. Barry Burchatt took third for a home 4-2 and they threatened to add a 5-1 in heat 3 when Phil Morris and Tony Atkin headed Shane Parker from the tapes. However Parker made a fine pass on Atkin to rescue two points from the heat. Another 5-1 went the Wasps’ way in heat 4 as Barry Burchatt and Chris Schramm saw off Trent Leverington to take the score to 18-6.

Glasgow steadied the ship by sharing the next two heats. In heat 5 Phil Morris won again but Lee Dicken and George Stancl filled the minor places for the 3-3 then Tom Hedley won heat 6 from Leverington and Ksiezak leaving the Tigers still looking for their first race winner. They were still looking after heat 7 as Michal Rajkowski kept the home winning run going by beating Shane Parker. Chris Schramm took third place so the Wasps added two points to their lead with a 4-2. It got worse for Glasgow as the Wasps added another 5-1 in heat 8. Tom Hedley won the race and Barry Burchatt followed him home as Lee Dicken retired to take the score to 33-15.

At last Glasgow enjoyed some success in heat 9 with a 1-5 of their own. Trent Leverington and Robert Ksiezak combined to head home Phil Morris cutting the home side’s lead to 14 points. Glasgow looked to cash in on this in heat 10 with Shane Parker taking a Tactical Ride and Robert Ksiezak replacing David McAllan. Newport countered these moves by replacing Nick Simmons with Michal Rajkowski. The result was a shared heat although it took a last gasp pass by Parker on the line for second place ahead of Michal Rajkowski for Glasgow to score four points. Tom Hedley won the race with Rajkowski third for a 4-4. Heat 11 was shared. Chris Schramm won the race but Stancl and Dicken shared the points by surprisingly relegating Michal Rajkowski to the back. In heat 12 Robert Ksiezak fell and Barry Burchatt was excluded for being the culprit. In the rerun Shane Parker became the second Glasgow rider to win a heat. Phil Morris took second place so the race gave the Tigers a 2-4 cutting the Newport lead further to eight points with the score reading 43-31 as the interval arrived.

With Glasgow needing three 1-5s for a draw, Newport continued to stage one of their famous late collapses in heat 13 when Chris Schramm fell and was excluded from the rerun. This left Nick Simmons to face George Stancl and Trent Leverington on his own. In the rerun the Tigers scored one of the 1-5s they needed with George Stancl winning from Trent Leverington who some adjudged to have taken off Nick Simmons. Simmons remounted for the third place point. Newport then sealed the match with a 5-1 in heat 14. Tony Atkin won the race while Michal Rajkowski survived a McAllan charge for second place. Tom Hedley’s full maximum was not risked in the final heat so Newport went with Phil Morris and Rajkowski. The Wasps won this heat 5-1 too with Rajkowski winning it and Morris finishing second ahead of Leverington as Parker finished at the back.


Scorers: For Newport – Michal Rajkowski 12+1 (6), Tom Hedley 12 (4)(full maximum), Phil Morris 11+1 (5), Chris Schramm 6+1 (4), Barry Burchatt 6+1 (4), Tony Atkin 4 (4), Nick Simmons 3+1 (3).

For Glasgow – Shane Parker 11 (5)(with a 4 point TR), Trent Leverington 9+1 (5), George Stancl 7+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 6+2 (5), Lee Dicken 3+1 (4), David McAllan 1 (3), Lee Smethills 1 (4).



Premier League: Mildenhall 49, Stoke 44 Mildenhall won the aggregate bonus point by 99-84


Mildenhall were at full strength while Stoke had Lee Smart as a guest reserve replacement for Jack Hargreaves who was injured last night.

Mildenhall, riding their third match in four days, were hoping to repeat their shock ten point win at Stoke four weeks ago while the Potters were hoping to continue their recent impressive away form. They started like a racehorse but finished like a carthorse though. This match had a remarkable similarity to the one at Stoke last night when the Potters pulled back a big early Newport lead to produce a storming finish to win the match. This time the Potters were on the receiving end!

What a start by the Potters. After the first four heats they had already built up a ten point lead thanks, to a large extent, to their guest Lee Smart at reserve. Ben Barker won the opening heat from Tom P Madsen and Shaun Tacey with Glenn Cunningham bringing up the rear but the Potters stormed into a four point lead in the reserves race. The Mildenhall pair made the gate but Mark Thompson moved his partner, Tomas Suchanek, wide and Barrie Evans got through to lead the race. Two laps later Lee Smart who had also passed Suchanek got through on the inside to join Evans for the Stoke maximum. In heat 3 Jason King made the start but he too went wide and the Stoke pair of Claus Vissing and Lee Complin shot through the gap to lead the race. King fought his way back to repass Complin but with Kyle Legault stuck at the back Mildenhall conceded a 2-4. Things went from bad to worse for the home side in heat 4 when Lee Smart and Rusty Harrison headed off for an unchallenged 1-5 taking the score to 7-17.

Kyle Legault took a Tactical Ride in heat 5 and when he and Jason King made the start it looked like Mildenhall might take an 8-1. However Legault impeded his partner and the Stoke pair of Cunningham and Barker worked their way through. King fought back and caught Barker on the line so the Fen Tigers took a 7-2 from the heat reducing the gap to five points. Their joy didn’t last long though because Barrie Evans and Rusty Harrison were off for another 1-5 in heat 6 ahead of Madsen and Tacey to open their lead to nine points. Paul Fry raised home spirits with a win ahead of Vissing and Complin for a shared heat. Then Mildenhall took a 4-2 from heat 8. Tomas Suchanek won the race from Lee Smart while Shaun Tacey took third place ahead of Ben Barker. This took the score to 22-29.

Mildenhall were given fresh hope when Kyle Legault and Jason King combined to score a 5-1 ahead of the previously unbeaten Barrie Evans and Rusty Harrison to get to within three points of the Potters. Heat 10 was shared to keep things that way. Tom P Madsen won the race with a superb gate but Lee Complin and Claus Vissing kept Shaun Tacey at the back. However Stoke hit back with a 1-5 in heat 11. Glenn Cunningham and Ben Barker did the damage keeping Paul Fry back in third place and opening the visitors’ lead to seven points again. Back roared the Fen Tigers in heat 12. Kyle Legault and Tomas Suchanek finished ahead of Claus Vissing and the gap was down to three points again with the score standing at 36-39.

Stoke were now about to find out what Newport went through last night when the Potters pulled back a big deficit to win with a late rally. In heat 13 Madsen won the race while Glenn Cunningham and Rusty Harrison kept Paul Fry at the back for a shared heat but Mildenhall had their tails up and were not to be denied. In heat 14 Lee Complin made the best start but was passed on either side by Jason King and Tomas Suchanek as the Fen Tigers recorded another 5-1 which finally put them into the lead at 44-43 with a last heat decider still to come. In the last heat Legault and Madsen brought the house down with yet another 5-1 as they saw off Cunningham and Vissing. This gave the Fen Tigers all three points.


Scorers: For Mildenhall – Kyle Legault 15 (5)(with a 6 point TR), Tom P Madsen 11+1 (5), Tomas Suchanek 8+2 (5), Jason King 8+1 (4), Paul Fry 4 (4), Shaun Tacey 2+1 (4), Mark Thompson 1 (3).

For Stoke – Glenn Cunningham 8 (5), Lee Smart 7+1 (4), Claus Vissing 7+1 (5), Barrie Evans 7 (4), Rusty Harrison 5+3 (4), Lee Complin 5+1 (4), Ben Barker 5+1 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 49, Workington 41 Workington won the aggregate bonus point by 92-88


Both teams used Rider Replacement for missing riders. Newcastle at number 3 for the missing Josef Franc and Workington at number 2 for the injured Mattia Carpanese. Workington nominated John McPhail as their number 8.

This looked like being an interesting match with Newcastle having two targets – the first to win the match and the second to pull back the 12 points needed to tie the aggregate scores.

The opening three heats were shared. Christian Henry won the opener from Carl Stonehewer and Charles Wright then Sean Stoddart won the reserves race. Charles Wright (again) and John Branney followed him home then James Wright took heat 3 passing early race leader Ross Brady who eventually finished third behind Carl Wilkinson. Newcastle then took three heat advantages to lead by eight points. In heat 4 Jonas Raun beat Kauko Nieminen while Sean Stoddart took third for a 4-2 taking the score to 13-11.

Newcastle doubled their lead when Ross Brady gated to beat Carl Stonehewer with Jonas Raun third. The 4-2 put the Diamonds four points ahead and they doubled their lead again in heat 6. This time it was Carl Wilkinson and Christian Henry who did the damage. They were leading Kauko Nieminen when Charles Wright fell off at the back causing the race to be awarded as a 5-1. In heat 7 Craig Branney touched the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back. Workington still took a heat advantage though when James Wright beat Jonas Raun while Craig Branney reeled in Ashley Johnson for third. This gave the Comets a 2-4 cutting the lead to six points. It stayed that way when Carl Wilkinson won heat 8 and the two Branneys finished second and third to share the points. The score now stood at 27-21.

Heat 9 saw the Diamonds open up an eight point lead again. Christian Henry remained unbeaten winning the heat from Kauko Nieminen while Ross Brady finished third for a 4-2. Newcastle again had the bonus point in their sights needing to pull back another four points to get on equal terms for it. James Wright ended Christian Henry’s unbeaten run by winning for the third time in heat 10. Carl Wilkinson was third so the heat was shared. Back came the Comets with a 2-4 in heat 11. Carl Stonehewer won the race from Jonas Raun and John Branney took third place cutting the gap to 6 points. James Wright kept on winning scoring his fourth win of the night ahead of Ross Brady and Sean Stoddart. The shared heat took the score to 39-33.

There was no change in heat 14. Christian Henry won the race but Nieminen and Stonehewer kept Raun at the back for the seventh shared heat of the match. Heat 14 was going to be decisive one way or another and when Ross Brady won it from Craig Branney with Sean Stoddart third the 4-2 guaranteed a Diamonds’ win and left them needing a 5-1 in the last heat to tie on aggregate for the bonus point. With the unbeaten James Wright in the heat for the Comets that didn’t look likely. It looked as though they might just do it though as Carl Wilkinson and Christian Henry made the gate. Wilkinson fell on the first bend though so Kauko Nieminen and James Wright finished behind Henry for another shared heat which gave the Comets the bonus point.


Scorers: For Newcastle – Christian Henry 16+1 (6), Ross Brady 10 (5), Carl Wilkinson 9+1 (6), Jonas Raun 8 (5), Carl Sean Stoddart 6 (5), Ashley Johnson 0 (3).

For Workington – James Wright 13+1 (5), Kauko Nieminen 9 (5), Carl Stonehewer 8+1 (4), Craig Branney 5 (5), John Branney 3+2 (5), Charles Wright 3+1 (6).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 12 June



The sole action tonight was at the Isle of Wight where the Islanders took on King’s Lynn in a Premier League Match.



Premier League: Isle of Wight 42, King’s Lynn 47 .


The Isle of Wight were at full strength while King’s Lynn had Mildenhall’s Tomas Suchanek as the guest reserve replacement for John Oliver.

This match was televised by Sky Sports 1 so was almost certainly the most watched Premier League match in history! The Isle of Wight are a formidable side at home and rarely lose at home but they faced the current league champions who have ridden all five of their league matches so far away from home and won four of them! The television audience were treated to an exhilarating match in the warm sunshine.

In the opening heat, Tomas Topinka made a fabulous gate to lead out of bend two but Chris Holder was soon on his tail and did all but ride up Topinka’s back in his efforts to get through. Somehow Topinka held on while behind them Cory Gathercole, comfortably lying third, suffered a puncture crossing the starting gate at the beginning of the second lap leaving Chris Mills to cruise home for third and a 2-4 to the Stars. The Islanders levelled again in heat 2. Chris Johnson made a fine start to lead Tomas Suchanek with Andrew Bargh in third place. Johnson couldn’t shake of Suchanek but the Stars’ guest was stuck on the inside and couldn’t find a way through. At the back Andrew Bargh, in third place, came under pressure from James Brundle but the Stars’ rider baled out on the third bend of the third lap trying to dive inside Bargh. The referee stopped the race and awarded it as a 4-2 to the home side. The Islanders took a four point lead in heat 3. Jason Bunyan and Krzysztof Stojanowski made the better starts and when Stojanowski moved Nermark over on the first bend the home side were away. Nermark was never far away from Stojanowski but, despite a last bend challenge which just failed, the home side scored a 5-1. They added a 4-2 in heat 4. Glen Phillips and Chris Johnson simply rocketed from the gate to leave the Stars in trouble but a majestic swoop by Paul Lee round the outside of Chris Johnson saw him move into second off the fourth bend. At the back Suchanek, who had replaced Brundle, brought up the rear and again found himself stuck on the inside of Johnson unable to make a telling move on him. This took the score to 15-9.

King’s Lynn pulled two points back in heat 5. This time the Stars made the gate and Tomas Topinka was well away. Jason Bunyan took up the chase on Chris Mills and it was just a matter of time before Bunyan passed him. He made his move at the end of the second lap and passed Mills off the fourth bend of the second lap to take up the chase on Topinka. There was no catching the King’s Lynn captain so the heat ended as a 2-4. The Islanders hit back with a 5-1 in heat 6. Holder and Gathercole made the gate with Paul Lee left stranded on the line. Suchanek was seen off by the home men round the opening bends while Lee also passed his partner to take up the chase. He had conceded too much ground at the tapes though and never looked like passing Gathercole. The home side’s lead stretched to 8 points but the visitors now had four races from the inside gates. In heat 7 Trevor Harding made the start from the favourable gate 3 to lead from the second bend. Daniel Nermark also made a good start but overcooked the second bend to allow Glen Phillips through. However he recovered to swoop round the outside of Phillips round the third and fourth bends into second place to ride shotgun behind his partner for a 1-5 to the Stars which cut the Islanders’ lead to four points again. It went to 6 again after heat 8. Cory Gathercole made an excellent start and a round the boards burst round the opening bends saw him into the lead down the back straight. Chris Johnson, off the graveyard gate 2, did well to move briefly into second place but Chris Mills had the outside run and got into second place. The race was strung out after that and the 4-2 took the score to 27-21.

Heat 9 became the first shared race of the meeting. Jason Bunyan shot from gate 4 to ride the boards emerging in front of Paul Lee, who had also made a good start, down the back straight. Tomas Suchanek worked his way into third place from the start to share the points ahead of Stojanowski who pulled up at the back. Chris Holder touched Phillips the tapes in heat 10 and went from 15 metres back. It was all action in this heat but it turned out disastrous for the Islanders. Nermark had a clear run to the first bend and was joined by Trevor Harding in second place as Gathercole and Holder gave chase. Gathercole, who looked to be impeding a frantic effort from Holder, fell on the third bend of the second lap as Holder drove under him. The Islanders’ number 1 then scraped the fence in his efforts to catch Harding but, on the last bend, he went just too wide as Harding also took a wide line and crashed heavily into the fence. This gave the Stars a 0-5 and now there was only one point between the teams at 30-29. Glen Phillips won heat 11 getting the better of Topinka, off the dreadful gate 2, from the start. Topinka might have been expected to put Phillips under pressure but the Isle of Wight man won comfortably. Chris Mills was in third place son the race was shared. So far gate 2 had not produced a single race winner! Heat 12 saw a brilliant ride from Daniel Nermark. Jason Bunyan made a fabulous start off gate 1 and headed for the second bend fence. Nermark was too long in the tooth to be caught by that move and cut back from the outside to roar inside Bunyan and head off for a classy win. Tomas Suchanek took a good third place having started off gate 2 so the visitors took a 2-4 which saw them into the lead for the first time in the match with the score standing at 35-36.

Further disaster struck the Islanders when Chris Holder had to withdraw from the meeting as a result of his heat 10 fall. He was replaced in heat 11 by Chris Johnson. This was a fabulous heat. Tomas Topinka gated from gate 1 and Paul Lee got the drop on Glen Phillips off gate 4. Lee cleverly denied Phillips the outside run but Phillips ‘did a Nermark’ by cutting back off the top of the second bend to roar inside Lee into second place. Phillips rode out of his skin to catch Topinka but had Paul Lee to worry about since the King’s Lynn man was all over his exhaust pipe. There was little between the riders all race with the outcome in doubt until the riders crossed the line. There was no change in the riding order so a 2-4 to the Stars increased their lead to three points. James Brundle also had to pull out of the meeting so Suchanek took his place in heat 14. Andrew Bargh rose to the occasion for the home side with an excellent ride from the start to hold off the ever pressing Trevor Harding and Tomas Suchanek with Krzysztof Stojanowski stuck at the back. This produced a shared race so the match went down to a last heat decider with the Islanders needing a 5-1 to win. They won the toss however and chose gates 1 and 3 with Phillips on the inside gate and Bunyan off three. The Stars had Tomas Topinka off gate 2 and Daniel Nermark gate 4. It was all over when Nermark and Topinka made the start and led down the back straight. A terrific effort from Jason Bunyan saw him pass Topinka at the end of the opening lap but it was too little, too late. The Stars took a 2-4 for a five point lead and the match ended with gate 2 having failed to provide a race winner.

The Isle of Wight will be disappointed to lose a home meeting for the first time in three years but the real winner was speedway as this match was as good as, and better than, many televised Elite League matches. Well done to both sides.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 12 (5), Glen Phillips 9 (5), Cory Gathercole 5+1 (4), Chris Holder 5 (3), Chris Johnson 5 (5), Andrew Bargh 4 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 2+1 (4).

For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 12+1 (5), Tomas Topinka 12 (5), Trevor Harding 6+2 (4), Tomas Suchanek 6+1 (6), Paul Lee 6 (4), Chris Mills 5+1 (4), James Brundle 0 (2).