Around the Premier League Tracks - 2007

[Merlin]

Friday, 13 July

There were two Premier League matches due to be raced tonight but, in true Friday the 13th style, the match at Edinburgh between the Monarchs and Rye House was washed out when, after a beautiful day, the rain arrived right on schedule to KO any action. This left the match at King’s Lynn between the Stars and Sheffield as the sole survivor.


Premier League: King’s Lynn 64, Sheffield 29


King’s Lynn had Benji Compton at number 7 but were otherwise on the usual lines. Sheffield were missing Ricky Ashworth, injured last Sunday in the Four Team Championships, and used Rider Replacement at number 1 instead.

On their last visit to Saddlebow Road, Sheffield had the ignominy of losing every heat 5-1 in a 75-15 whitewash. They could hardly have done any worse but again failed to shine providing only one race winner in the match although it was the one where they gave Andre Compton a Tactical Ride. Although Compton won the race for the six points and rattled up a personal total of 16 points, the Tigers still couldn’t reach the 30 point mark as Compton scored three points more than the rest of his team put together.

Second places for James Cockle in heat 2 and Andre Compton in heat 3 provided the only resistance Sheffield could muster in the opening four races which resulted in two 5-1s and two 4-2s to the Stars giving them an 18-6 lead.

Andre Compton faced Daniel Nermark for the second time in heat 5 when he took the R/R ride and had to battle again for second place as he had to do in heat 3. A King’s Lynn 4-2 in that heat was followed by a 5-1 before Andre Compton was out again this time taking a Tactical Ride. This time he won the race beating James Brundle and Paul Lee in the process for Sheffield’s sole heat advantage – a 3-6. Chris Mills won heat 8 while Ben Wilson took second for a 4-2 to the Stars which took the score to 34-17.

Joel Parsons split the Nermark/Harding pairing in heat 9 for a 4-2 before there was more respite for the Tigers in heat 10. The Stars were on a 5-1 with Topinka and Mills leading from Andre Compton when Mills fell exiting the fourth bend of the second lap. The race was stopped and Mills excluded from the rerun. Topinka again led from the start to win the restart while Compton and Birkinshaw finished behind him for a shared race. Another 5-1 to the Stars in heat 11 was followed by another second place for Andre Compton when he finished behind Daniel Nermark in heat 12. Benji Compton was third so King’s Lynn scored another 4-2 and led by 50-25 with three heats to go.

Paul Lee and Tomas Topinka took another 5-1 in heat 13 then Ben Wilson took a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 14 replacing James Birkinshaw. There was no success as a result of this move for the visitors as Harding and Brundle wrapped up another maximum race win. Daniel Nermark won heat 15 for a full maximum but Andre Compton had the satisfaction of passing Tomas Topinka for second place ruining Topinka’s maximum hopes.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 15 (5)(full maximum), Tomas Topinka 11+2 (5), James Brundle 10+1 (4), Paul Lee 9+2 (4), Chris Mills 8+1 (4), Trevor Harding 6 (4), Benji Compton 5+1 (4).

For Sheffield – Andre Compton 16 (6)(with 6 Point TR), Ben Wilson 4 (6), James Cockle 3 (5), Joel Parsons 3 (6), Paul Cooper 2 (4), James Birkinshaw 1+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 14 July

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Berwick the Bandits raced Rye House while at Workington the Comets took on Sheffield .


Premier League: Berwick 51, Rye House 41


Berwick were at full strength but Rye House were missing Tommy Allen with a back injury. They used Rider Replacement in his place at number 4. Karlis Ezergailis was nominated as their number 8.

Rye House looked sure to start with a 2-4 success in the opening heat but Robbie Kessler suffered a rear wheel puncture on the last bend of the third lap which allowed Sebastian Truminski through to win the race from Chris Neath. Andreas Bergstrom took third place for a Bandits’ 4-2. David Meldrum won the reserves race for a 3-3 then Berwick opened a six point gap with a 5-1 from Jacek Rempala and Stanislaw Burza with Karlis Ezergailis, taking the R/R, ride third. The Rockets hit back with a 2-4 in heat 4. Steve Boxall made the gate and Makovsky could only follow him home. Adam Roynon took third from Meldrum as the score went to 14-10.

Robbie Kessler again made a lightening start in heat 5 but Burza made an excellent outside swoop to pass him. This was only good enough for a shared race as Chris Neath headed home Rempala for third place. The Bandits then put some distance between themselves and the Rockets. Truminski and Bergstrom were fast away in heat 6 for a comfortable 5-1 ahead of Boxall then added a 4-2 in heat 7. It looked as though Adam Roynon had come round the field to take the lead coming off the opening two bends but he had problems with his footrest and retired from the race. Makovsky raced off to win from Tai Woffinden with Sam Martin picking up the gift third place point stretching the lead to 10 points. Kessler was unlucky again in heat 8. He raced into the lead after a ragged start but picked up grip on the second bend which propelled him into the fence with some force. Luckily he seemed none the worse although he was excluded from the rerun which resulted in a 5-1 to the Bandits when Bergstrom and Meldrum gated ahead of Roynon. This took the score to 31-17 and things didn’t look too good for the Rockets.

Steve Boxall made the gate to win heat 9 for a shared race ahead of Rempala and Burza then Rye House began to pull themselves back into the match. They started with a 1-5 in heat 10 when Robbie Kessler again made a fast start. This time Tai Woffinden went with him leaving Bergstrom and Truminski to bring up the rear. This cut the gap to 10 points so Robbie Kessler, out again in heat 11, took a Tactical Ride. Again he made a fast start but this time he was hunted down and passed by Michal Makovsky so had to be content with second place. Chris Neath finished third, so the Rockets again took a heat advantage with the 3-5 cutting the home side’s lead further to eight points. Berwick stretched it to ten again with a 4-2 in heat 12. Rempala made the start to beat Roynon while Meldrum finished third ahead of Woffinden to take the score to 42-32.

Back came the Rockets with a 1-5 in heat 13. Steve Boxall and Chris Neath both made good starts to head Makovsky and Truminski out of the second bend. They were never troubled so the Rockets cut the gap to six points. Steve Boxall took the R/R ride in heat 14 with Rye House needing a heat advantage to take the match to a last heat decider. They didn’t get it though. Although Boxall scored his fourth win in five races Adam Roynon made a poor start and could make no impression on Burza and Meldrum who shared the heat to ensure a Bandits’ win. In the last race Chris Neath touched the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back. It might have been better for the Rockets if he had been withdrawn from the race because it meant that Steve Boxall had to move from gate 4 to gate 2. Burza and Makovsky got the jump on Boxall from the gate so the Bandits finished with a 5-1 giving them a 10 point win to defend for the bonus point when the teams meet later at Hoddesdon.

Scorers: For Berwick – Stanislaw Burza 11+2 (5), Michal Makovsky 11+1 (5), Jacek Rempala 8 (4), David Meldrum 7+2 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 7+1 (4), Sebastian Truminski 6 (4), Sam Martin 1 (3).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 14 (6), Robbie Kessler 9 (5)(with 4 point TR), Chris Neath 6+3 (5), Adam Roynon 6 (6), Tai Woffinden 4+1 (4), Luke Bowen 1+1 (3), Karlis Ezergailis 1 (1).



Premier League: Workington 49, Sheffield 41 .


Workington were without Kauko Nieminen who was riding for Finland in the World Cup. They used Rider Replacement at number 1 in his place and nominated David Haigh as their number 8. Sheffield were again without Ricky Ashworth so they, too, used Rider Replacement at number 1. They nominated Ben Hopwood as their number 8.

The opening three races were all shared. Ben Wilson beat Carl Stonehewer (R/R) in heat 1 then Paul Cooper passed John Branney to win heat 2. Meanwhile Charles Wright passed James Cockle for third for the 3-3. James Wright won heat 3 but James Birkinshaw and Andre Compton filled the minor places again for a 3-3. Workington broke the deadlock in heat 4 with a 4-2. Carl Stonehewer won the race from Joel Parsons while John Branney took third to take the score to 13-11.

James Wright then beat Andre Compton in heat 5 while Craig Branney finished third ahead of the heat 1 race winner, Ben Wilson for another 4-2 and a four point lead. It went to six with another 4-2 in heat 6. However this was at some cost to Workington. In the first running of the heat Joel Parsons was excluded for causing Craig Branney to crash into the back straight fence. The pursuing Mattia Carpanese couldn’t avoid the stricken Branney and crashed into him. Both Workington riders were taken to hospital so had to withdraw from the meeting. In the rerun Workington’s number 8, David Haigh was allowed to replace Branney while Charles Wright replaced Carpanese. Wright won the race from Paul Cooper after the two riders had passed and repassed each other for the two point advantage which increased the Comets’ lead to six. Carl Stonehewer was out again in heat 7 and won again from Andre Compton, also making his third appearance. Charles Wright took the vital third place for a fourth consecutive 4-2 to the Comets giving them an eight point lead. Sheffield hit back with a 2-4 in a rerun heat 8 when Ben Wilson beat John Branney and James Cockle finished third. In the first running of this heat Charles Wright, replacing Mattia Carpanese, was excluded for bringing down James Cockle on the second lap. This took the score to 27-21 with Workington now down to two heat leaders, two reserves and a number 8.

Joel Parsons and Paul Cooper made the gate in heat 9 but James Wright passed Cooper on the last bend of the third lap then repeated the dose on Parsons on the second bend of the last lap for a shared heat. Sheffield then hit back with a 1-5 in heat 10. Andre Compton and Paul Cooper produced the goods for the visitors leading Charles Wright home and reducing the gap to only two points. Carl Stonehewer won heat 11 from Wilson and Cooper for a shared race but the Comets pulled four clear again in heat 12 when James Wright beat Andre Compton while John Branney picked up third for a 4-2 which took the score to 38-34.

Ben Wilson kept Sheffield’s hopes alive by winning heat 13 from Stonehewer and James Wright for a shared race then James Birkinshaw did likewise in heat 14 when he beat Charles Wright and John Branney for another 3-3. This meant that Sheffield needed a 1-5 to earn a draw but it was James Wright and Carl Stonehewer who took a 5-1 after Wright had passed Ben Wilson coming off the second bend to give the Comets an eight point win.

Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 16+1 (6), Carl Stonehewer 15+1 (6), Charles Wright 8+1 (7), John Branney 7+1 (7), Mattia Carpanese 1(1), Craig Branney 1 (2), David Haigh 1 (1).

For Sheffield – Ben Wilson 12 (6), Andre Compton 10+1 (6), Paul Cooper 9+3 (7), James Birkinshaw 5 (3), Joel Parsons 4 (5), James Cockle 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 15 July



Ten Premier League teams were due to be in action today. There were four Premier League matches scheduled together with the first leg of the Final of the Premier Trophy which was held at Birmingham between the Brummies and King’s Lynn . The Premier League matches were at Glasgow between the Tigers and Rye House , at Mildenhall where Berwick were the visitors, at Newport between the Wasps and the Isle of Wight , and, finally, at Newcastle where the Diamonds were at home to Stoke . Unfortunately the weather got to three of those fixtures. The matches at Birmingham and Newport were called off while the match at Mildenhall was abandoned after the second unsuccessful attempt to run heat 3.



Premier League: Glasgow 49, Rye House 40 Rye House won the aggregate bonus point by 97-84


Glasgow were again at full strength but Rye House were missing Tommy Allen who is suffering from a back injury. They used Rider Replacement instead at number 4 and nominated Karlis Ezergailis as their number 8.

Glasgow faced an uphill struggle to pull back the 22 points needed to challenge for the bonus point. This should have been Rye House’s third match of their Northern tour but with the match at Edinburgh called off on Friday it turned out to be a curtailed two-match tour with the first match at Berwick last night.

The Rockets got off to a dreadful start when Chris Neath was excluded for breaking the tapes in the opening heat. He was replaced by Adam Roynon but the visitors lost a 5-1 when Craig Watson led from tapes-to-flag. Robbie Kessler held second place briefly before being passed by David McAllan. Adam Roynon was out again in heat 2 and this time he won the race after rounding Michael Coles. Lee Dicken took third so the race was shared. Shane Parker won heat 3 but it was only good enough for a share of the points as Tai Woffinden and Steve Boxall relegated Robert Ksiezak to the back. Steve Boxall won heat 4 for the Rockets but, for the third race on the trot, the points were shared with Dicken and Leverington following him home. The score now stood at 14-10.

Chris Neath made amends for his tapes exclusion in the opening race by beating Shane Parker in heat 5. It looked as though the Rockets would take a 2-4 from the race but Robbie Kessler retired on the second lap to gift Robert Ksiezak the third place point resulting in this heat being shared too. Rye House finally produced a heat advantage in heat 6 when Steve Boxall beat Craig Watson. Luke Bowen finished third ahead of David McAllan for the third place point so the Rockets took a 2-4 cutting the gap to two points. Rye House were then hit by another injury problem when Robbie Kessler had to withdraw from the meeting leaving the Rockets with only three of their top five plus two reserves and a number 8. Heat 7 had to be rerun after a first bend crash involving Michael Coles and Adam Roynon. The referee decreed all four back and, in the rerun, Tai Woffinden beat Leverington and Dicken as Adam Roynon retired from the race. The points were shared but Glasgow pulled another point clear when they took heat 8 by a 3-2 margin. Luke Bowen retired from the race on the second lap then David McAllan brought down Adam Roynon on the third lap. The race was awarded to race leader Lee Dicken with Adam Roynon declared second. This took the score to 25-22.

In heat 9 Steve Boxall was excluded after falling and hitting the fourth bend fence. This left Parker and Ksiezak to take a 5-1 ahead of Luke Bowen which increased the home side’s lead to 30-23. Rye House hit back with a 2-4 in heat 10. Tai Woffinden beat Craig Watson while Adam Roynon took third place ahead of McAllan cutting the Tigers’ lead to five points. It was down to three after heat 11 won by Chris Neath from Trent Leverington while Luke Bowen passed Michael Coles on the last bend for the 2-4. In heat 12 Shane Parker passed Tai Woffinden to win the race for the home side but Woffinden and Bowen filled the minor places as Lee Dicken pulled out of the race. The result was a 3-3 which took the score to 37-34.

Heat 13 needed three attempts to complete. On the first running Trent Leverington fell on the first bend and all four back was the decision. At the second attempt Chris Neath ended up in the fence as a result of first bend bunching and, again, all four were invited back. At the third attempt Craig Watson made the gate and won the race from Steve Boxall. Behind them Trent Leverington got up on the line to pass Chris Neath giving Glasgow a 4-2 which gave them a five point cushion with two races left. Heat 14 saw Robert Ksiezak make the gate but he was passed by Adam Roynon. Rye House looked as though they would take a 2-4 which would have set up a last heat decider but Luke Bowen shed a chain on the run-in to the line and was passed by Michael Coles to give the Tigers a shared heat and guarantee that they would win the match. In the last race Parker and Watson gated to head home Steve Boxall for a 5-1 which gave the home side a nine point win.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 14 (5), Craig Watson 12+1 (5), Lee Dicken 7+2 (5), Trent Leverington 6+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 5+2 (4), Michael Coles 3+1 (3), David McAllan 2+1 (4).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 10+1 (6), Tai Woffinden 10 (4), Adam Roynon 9 (7), Chris Neath 6 (5), Luke Bowen 4 (7), Robbie Kessler 1 (2), Karlis Ezergailis DNR.



Premier League: Mildenhall 7, Berwick 5 abandoned after two heats due to rain – the result does not stand.


Mildenhall had Mark Baseby at number 6 while Berwick were at full strength.

This match lasted two heats before the rain settled in and caused the match to be abandoned. In the opening race Andreas Bergstrom made the gate to beat Shaun Tacey with Sebastian Truminski third giving the Bandits a 2-4. In the reserves race Tomas Suchanek made the gate to win with mark Baseby following him home ahead of Sam Martin. The 5-1 put the Fen Tigers into the lead at 7-5. Jason King went through the tapes in heat 3 and went from 15 metres. In the rerun, Stanislaw Burza fell and was hit by Kyle Legault. Burza was excluded from the second rerun but it all became academic when the rain came down heavily bringing an end to proceedings.


Scorers: For Mildenhall – Tomas Suchanek 3 (1), Mark Baseby 2+1 (1), Shaun Tacey 2 (1), Tom P Madsen 0 (10, Kyle Legault, Jason King and Paul Fry DNR.

For Berwick – Andreas Bergstrom 3 (1), Sebastian Truminski 1 (1), Sam Martin 1 (1), David Meldrum 0 (1), Stanislaw Burza 0 (1), Jacek Rempala and Michal Makovsky DNR.



Premier League: Newcastle 50, Stoke 43 Stoke won the aggregate bonus point by 98-88


Newcastle had George Stancl as a guest at number 1 in place of Christian Henry while Ashley Johnson returned to the number 6 reserve berth due to Adam McKinna’s injuries Stoke had Matthew Wethers as a guest at number 1 in place of Glenn Cunningham. They also had Jonathan Bethell at number 7 in place of Jack Hargreaves.

Newcastle needed to pull back 17 points to square the match on aggregate but this looked an unlikely prospect even against a weakened Stoke side.

The Diamonds opened with a 4-2 when George Stancl won from Matthew Wethers with Carl Wilkinson third then jumped into a six point lead with a 5-1 in the reserves race with Ashley Johnson making a successful return to the team by winning the heat from Sean Stoddart and Barrie Evans. In heat 3 Lee Complin fell while lying second but the race was won by his partner, Claus Vissing, who beat Ross Brady and Josef Franc for a 3-3. Rusty Harrison won heat 4 for the Potters for a shared race as Jonas Raun and Sean Stoddart finished behind him. This took the score to 15-9.

Josef Franc won heat 5 but Matthew Wethers and Ben Barker shared the points behind him after Ross Brady had been excluded under the two minute time allowance and replaced by Ashley Johnson. Newcastle then stormed into a 10 point lead after heat 6 with a 5-1 from Wilkinson and Stancl as Rusty Harrison finished behind them. Stoke then immediately played their TR card giving the ride to Claus Vissing in heat 7. This was a great success as, not only did Vissing win the race, but he was followed home by Lee Complin ahead of Jonas Raun for the big 1-8 which cut the Diamonds’ lead to only three points. Ben Barker then won heat 8 from Stoddart and Wilkinson to keep the Potters in contention with the score now reading 27-24.

Rusty Harrison became the third consecutive race winner for Stoke by taking heat 9 but Josef Franc and Ross Brady took the minor places for another shared heat. The lack of any challenge from the reserve berths was killing the Stoke effort as the Potters were effectively a five man team. Heat 10 had to be rerun with all four back after Claus Vissing fell. In the rerun, George Stancl and Carl Wilkinson scored a killer 5-1 for Newcastle which extended the Diamonds’ lead to seven points against what was likely to be the Potters’ top pairing. Nonetheless back came Stoke with a 2-4 in heat 11 won by Ben Barker from Jonas Raun with Matthew Wethers third cutting the home side’s lead to five points. Claus Vissing made it seven Stoke race winners from 12 heats by taking the winner’s flag ahead of Josef Franc and Sean Stoddart as Barrie Evans fell. The shared heat took the score to 40-35.

George Stancl kept his maximum going in heat 13 by beating Rusty Harrison. Jonas Raun took third place for a 4-2 which was almost enough to see the Diamonds’ home but not enough to challenge for the bonus. Lee Complin won heat 14 from Stoddart and Brady for a shared race then in the final race Stancl completed his maximum by beating Claus Vissing. Rusty Harrison took third place after Carl Wilkinson fell while lying third. The shared race meant that Newcastle had earned a seven point win.

Scorers: For Newcastle – George Stancl 14+1 (5), Sean Stoddart 8+3 (6), Josef Franc 8+1 (4), Carl Wilkinson 7+2 (5), Jonas Raun 6 (4), Ross Brady 4+2 (3), Ashley Johnson 3 (3).

For Stoke – Claus Vissing 15 (5)(with 6 point TR), Rusty Harrison 10+1 (5), Ben Barker 7+1 (4), Lee Complin 5 (4), Matthew Wethers 5 (4), Barrie Evans 1 (5), Jonathan Bethel 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 17 July



Tuesday night so it’s the Isle of Wight and tonight the Wightlink Islanders faced Somerset in a Premier League Match.



Premier League: Isle of Wight 59, Somerset 34 .


The Isle of Wight were without Chris Holder who was on World Cup duty and had Leigh Lanham guesting at number 1 instead. Otherwise they were at full strength as were Somerset .

This was not a good night for Somerset currently challenging for honours at the top of the league. They lost the opening two heats – heat 1 by 4-2 when Cory Gathercole beat Magnus Zetterstrom with Lanham third then heat 2 by 5-1 with Andrew Bargh and Chris Johnson scoring the maximum ahead of Simon Walker – then saw Emil Kramer and Jordan Frampton crashing together in heat 3 after Jason Bunyan had dived inside Kramer moving him into Frampton’s path. Frampton was the one who had to go according to the referee but Emil Kramer went too – straight to the paramedics to be checked over. He was OK and took his place in the rerun finishing second to Jason Bunyan resulting in another 4-2 to the home side. Heat 4 needed to be rerun too after Glen Phillips had fallen on the second bend. He got up to win the all-four-back rerun from Ritchie Hawkins while Chris Johnson finished third after Danny Warwick had fallen. This gave the Islanders another 4-2 advantage and the score now stood at 17-7.

Ten points in arrears, it was time for Magnus Zetterstrom to take a Tactical Ride in heat 5 and he duly won it comfortably from Bunyan and Stojanowski. With Stephan Katt finishing last the Rebels took a 3-6 from the heat and now trailed by seven points. The Isle of Wight hit back with a 5-1 in heat 6 as Cory Gathercole won for the second time. This time Leigh Lanham followed him home ahead of Simon Walker and the maximum heat win put the home side 11 points clear. The lead stretched to 13 points with another home 4-2 in heat 7. Glen Phillips scored his second race win beating Emil Kramer in the process and Andrew Bargh took third place but was unlucky not to follow his partner home for a 5-1 when he picked up a puncture on the last bend allowing Kramer through for second. It looked as though another 4-2 was going the Isle of Wight’s way when Cory Gathercole led Stephan Katt in heat 8 with Chris Johnson in third place but Johnson fell spectacularly on the third lap causing the race to be stopped and awarded with Simon Walker being given the third place point for a shared heat, the first of the match. The score now stood at 32-19.

The home side recorded another 5-1 in heat 9 thanks to Krzysztof Stojanowski and Jason Bunyan who added another four points to the lead and the doze was repeated in heat 10 through Gathercole and Lanham with Kramer third. Gathercole completed a full four ride 12 point maximum in the process. Somerset rallied by replying with a 1-5 of their own. Stephan Katt won the race for the Rebels and Magnus Zetterstrom followed him home ahead of Glen Phillips. The Rebels’ joy was short lived, though, because the home side took another 5-1 in heat 12 through Andrew Bargh and Jason Bunyan taking the score to 48-27.

Magnus Zetterstrom won heat 13 for a shared race as Leigh Lanham and Glen Phillips followed him home but another 5-1 went to the home side when Krzysztof Stojanowski and Andrew Bargh beat the two Somerset reserves. In the last heat Magnus Zetterstrom finished in style by beating Jason Bunyan and Cory Gathercole for another shared heat which gave the Islanders a 25 point victory.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Cory Gathercole 13+1 (5), Jason Bunyan 11+2 (5), Andrew Bargh 9+1 (5), Glen Phillips 8+1 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 8+1 (4), Leigh Lanham 7+2 (4), Chris Johnson 3+1 (3).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 16+1 (5)(with 6 point TR), Emil Kramer 5 (4), Stephan Katt 5 (5), Simon Walker 4 (5), Danny Warwick 2+1 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 2 (4), Jordan Frampton 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 18 July

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Birmingham the Brummies raced Workington while at King’s Lynn the Stars took on Redcar .


Premier League: Birmingham 46, Workington 44 Birmingham won the aggregate bonus point by 91-89


Birmingham were at full strength with Manuel Hauzinger making his home debut for his new club. Workington were missing both Mattia Carpanese and Craig Branney who were injured in the match against Sheffield last Saturday. They used Rider Replacement at number 4 for Branney and had Chris Johnson as a guest for Carpanese at number 2.

Short-handed Workington gave Birmingham a hard match and actually provided nine heat winners to the Brummie’s 6 . Nonetheless they took nothing from the match as they went down by two points. Having only drawn with Birmingham at home the Comets lost out on the bonus point as well.

The Comets started well by taking the opening heat 2-4 when Kauko Nieminen beat Ulrich Ostergaard with Chris Johnson third. After a shared reserves race won by Charles Wright, the Brummies took the lead in heat 3 with a 5-1 from Jason Lyons and Jon Armstrong as James Wright trailed in third. Carl Stonehewer won heat 4 but the race was shared and the score went to 13-11.

Workington levelled the match in heat 5 with another Nieminen/Johnson 2-4. This time Jason Lyons was the meat in the sandwich. Workington kept on supplying the race winners as Carl Stonehewer won heat 6 and James Wright heat 7 but on both occasions Charles Wright came in last so both races were shared. At this stage the Comets had produced six of the seven race winners but Manuel Hauzinger won heat 8 for the home side. This race was shared too though as Johnson and Charles Wright followed him home taking the score to 24-24.

Heats 9 and 10 resulted in 4-2s to the Brummies, the first won by Jason Lyons from Carl Stonehewer, the other by Ulrich Ostergaard from James Wright. This gave the home side a four point lead but the Comets hit back with a 2-4 in heat 11 when Kauko Nieminen saw off Emiliano Sanchez and Chris Johnson finished third. Back came the Brummies with another 4-2 when Jason Lyons beat James Wright supported by Manuel Hauzinger in third. The score with three heats to go stood at 38-34.

Ostergaard won heat 13 but Stonehewer and Nieminen shared the race before Carl Stonehewer took the Rider Replacement ride in heat 14. He won it too but again there was no support as Smart and Hauzinger filled the minor places. This set up a last heat decider with Workington needing a 1-5 for a drawn match. It looked good for the Comets when Nieminen and Stonehewer led from the gate but Jason Lyons was in no mood for surrender and hunted down Stonehewer before executing the pass which gave the Brummies all three points.

Scorers: For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 13 (5), Ulrich Ostergaard 9+1 (5), Manuel Hauzinger 8+2 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 6 (4), Lee Smart 4+2 (4), Jon Armstrong 3+1 (3), Ben Powell 3 (4).

For Workington – Carl Stonehewer 14 (6), Kauko Nieminen 13+1 (5), James Wright 8 (4), Chris Johnson 5 (5), Charles Wright 4+1 (7), John Branney 0 (3).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 61, Redcar 32 King’s Lynn won the aggregate bonus point by 110-76.


King’s Lynn had new signing Benji Compton at number 7. Redcar had Darren Mallet at number 7.

It must have been quite a shock for the home support when they watched Josh Auty pass Tomas Topinka to join his partner, Gary Havelock, up front for an opening 1-5 to the Bears but the retribution exacted by the Stars for this piece of audacity was frightening. King’s Lynn responded with three consecutive 5-1s to lead by 16-8 after four races.

In heat 5 Daniel Nermark won for the second time but Redcar’s top pairing brought some respite from the onslaught by sharing the race when Josh Auty passed Trevor Harding to finish behind Gary Havelock. Two more 5-1s followed for the home side before the impressive Josh Auty passed Benji Compton on the last bend to take second place behind Chris Mills in heat 8 for a 4-2 to the Stars. This took the score to 33-15.

King’s Lynn resumed the 5-1 trail after this minor interruption with two more maximums in heats 9 and 10 then Redcar gave a Tactical Ride to Gary Havelock in heat 11. In the first running of the race Josh Auty and Paul Lee clashed on the first bend with Auty falling. All four were invited back for the rerun in which Auty and Lee clashed again. This time Auty was excluded from the rerun but the luckless Lee was removed from the track by ambulance and took no further part in the meeting. In the second rerun Gary Havelock won for the 6 points while Brundle and Compton, who replaced Lee, followed him home for a 3-6 to the visitors. In heat 12 Chris Kerr replaced Arlo Bugeja as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back but finished at the back as Daniel Nermark won from James Grieves and Benji Compton. This gave King’s Lynn a 4-2 in the heat and the score moved on to 50-25.

Tomas Topinka and James Brundle made the gate in heat 13 but Brundle was passed by Havelock and Tressarieu for a shared heat then Chris Kerr took second place in heat 14 behind Trevor Harding by passing James Brundle for a 4-2 which extended the home side’s lead to 27 points. In heat 15 Daniel Nermark completed his full five ride maximum by passing early race winner, Gary Havelock, while Tomas Topinka took third for a final 4-2.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 15 (5)(full maximum), Tomas Topinka 11 (5), Benji Compton 8+1 (5), Chris Mills 7+2 (4), Trevor Harding 7+2 (4), James Brundle 7+2 (5), Paul Lee 6 (2)

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 15 (5)(with 6 point TR), Josh Auty 5+2 (4), James Grieves 4 (5), Chris Kerr 3 (5), Mathieu Tressarieu 2+1 (4), Arlo Bugeja 2 (3), Darren Mallet 1 (4)

[Merlin]

Thursday, 19 July

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


Premier League: Sheffield 55, Somerset 37


Sheffield were without the injured Ricky Ashworth so were forced to use Rider Replacement at number 1. Somerset were without Emil Kramer who was suffering from concussion sustained in an accident at the Isle of Wight so used Rider Replacement at number 3.

Somerset had no answer to the two six ride paid maximums scored by Andre Compton and Ben Wilson. Even the imperious Magnus Zetterstrom had to play second fiddle to Sheffield’s top two and, unusually for him, he managed only one race win from his six rides. In fact Sheffield produced 13 of the 15 race winners leaving the Rebels to fight for the scraps.

In the opening heat Andre Compton took the R/R ride to join Ben Wilson and their task was made much easier when Magnus Zetterstrom broke the tapes and went from 15 metres back. A 5-1 duly resulted with Zetterstrom stuck at the back behind his partner Stephan Katt. Another 5-1 followed in heat 2 won by James Cockle and already the Rebels were facing an uphill task. However they dug in and shared the next four races before scoring a 2-4 in heat 7 when Magnus Zetterstrom won from Joel Parsons with Jordan Frampton third. During this run, Andre Compton won heat 3 and Ritchie Hawkins heat 4 after passing James Cockle on the last bend taking the score after heat 4 to 16-8.

Andre Compton won heat 5 then Joel Parsons fell and was excluded from heat 6. Ben Wilson won again in the rerun before Zetterstrom’s win in heat 7 reduced the gap to six. Danny Warwick split Ben Wilson and James Cockle for a 4-2 in heat 8 which took the score on to 28-20.

A Compton/Birkinshaw 5-1 in heat 9 effectively sealed the match for the Tigers who now led by 12 points but heat 10 was shared after James Birkinshaw had fallen in a tussle with Jordan Frampton for third place behind Ben Wilson and Ritchie Hawkins. In heat 11 Magnus Zetterstrom took a Tactical Ride but had to settle for second place behind Joel Parsons who cleverly blocked the Rebels’ number 1’s every move to pass him. Stephan Katt finished third in the three rider race, after Paul Cooper had fallen and been excluded in the first running, to give the Rebels a 3-5 advantage. Sheffield were looking for a 5-1 in heat 12 as Compton and Cockle led but Simon Walker passed Cockle limiting the damage to a 4-2 and taking the score to 43-31.

Ben Wilson won heat 13 from Zetterstrom and Hawkins for a 3-3 then Somerset gave Ritchie Hawkins a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back in heat 14. This was unproductive though as Hawkins finished last behind Cooper, Frampton and Cockle as Sheffield added two more points to their lead. Compton and Wilson completed their paid maximums in heat 15 relegating Zetterstrom to third place for an 18 point win.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 17+1 (6)(paid maximum), Ben Wilson 17+1 (6)(paid maximum), James Cockle 8 (5), Joel Parsons 6+1 (5), Paul Cooper 5+1 (4), James Birkinshaw 2+1 (4).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 12 (6), Ritchie Hawkins 9+1 (7), Jordan Frampton 5+2 (5), Stephan Katt 5+1 (5), Simon Walker 4+1 (4), Danny Warwick 2 (3).



Premier League: Redcar 49, Berwick 41 .


Redcar had Greg Blair at number 7 while Berwick were at full strength.

Although they went down by eight points Berwick took this match to a last heat decider after being in contention throughout. In the end they could not produce enough race winners, particularly in the early stages of the match, to give the Bears real problems.

Gary Havelock and Josh Auty led the opening race but Auty was passed by both Andreas Bergstrom and Sebastian Truminski for a shared race. Greg Blair won the reserves race but Sam Martin passed third placed Bugeja on the third lap to finish behind David Meldrum for another 3-3. Redcar took the lead in heat 3 when James Grieves led Jacek Rempala home while Chris Kerr kept Stanislaw Burza at the back for a 4-2. Blair fell in heat 4 leaving Mathieu Tressarieu to share the heat by beating Meldrum and Michal Makovsky taking the score to 13-11.

Truminski became the first Berwick race winner in heat 5 while Kerr and Grieves finished behind him for another 3-3 but Redcar increased their lead to four points with another 4-2 in heat 6. The race had to be rerun after Josh Auty had fallen on the first bend. All four were invited back and Gary Havelock won from Michal Makovsky while Josh Auty was third. Heat 7 saw Mathieu Tressarieu pass Jacek Rempala on the third lap to finish behind race winner Stanislaw Burza but Berwick took a 2-4 from the race and were only two behind again. Josh Auty won heat 8 but Bergstrom and Meldrum made sure that the Bandits lost no further ground. The score was now 25-23.

Grieves and Kerr made the gate for the Bears in heat 9 but Makovsky passed Kerr out of the second bend for a 4-2 to the home side who were now four in front as a result. They added another two points to their lead with another 4-2 in heat 10 but not until Jacek Rempala, who was leading the race, had fallen leaving Havelock to lead Burza and Auty home. Back came Berwick with a 2-4 in heat 11. Andreas Bergstrom won the race from Mathieu Tressarieu while Truminski finished third. There was no change in heat 12 as Jacek Rempala this time stayed on to beat Grieves easily. Greg Blair beat David Meldrum for the third place point which took the score to 38-34.

Sebastian Truminski became the third consecutive Bandits’ winner in heat 13 leading home Tressarieu and Havelock for another shared race then Chris Kerr won heat 14 although he was almost caught on the line by Burza. Meldrum took third from Blair keeping the Bandits’ hopes alive going into the last race but Havelock and Tressarieu gated to leave Truminski and Rempala at the back for a 5-1 which gave the Bears an eight point win.

Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 13+1 (5), Mathieu Tressarieu 11+1 (5), James Grieves 9+1 (4), Chris Kerr 7 (4), Josh Auty 5 (4), Greg Blair 4+1 (5), Arlo Bugeja 0 (3).

For Berwick – Sebastian Truminski 8+1 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 7 (4), Stanislaw Burza 7 (4), Jacek Rempala 7 (5), David Meldrum 6+2 (5), Michal Makovsky 5+1 (4), Sam Martin 1+1 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 20 July

There were three matches scheduled for tonight but the weather again intervened causing the cancellation of two of them. The King’s Lynn versus Birmingham match, the first leg of the Premier Trophy final, and the Somerset versus Newcastle Premier League match were the casualties. This left the match at Edinburgh where the Monarchs raced against Mildenhall in a Premier League match as the sole survivor.


Premier League: Edinburgh 53, Mildenhall 40


Edinburgh were almost unrecognisable with four new faces in their redeclared team. Taking over at number 1 from Theo Pijper was George Stancl, at number 3 from Ronnie Correy was Kai Laukkanen, at number 5 from Henrik Moller was Kalle Katajisto while Aaron Summers came in at number 6. Mildenhall were at full strength.

A big crowd was in attendance on a pleasant if slightly chilly summer evening to see the renaissance of the Edinburgh side after the major surgery which had been carried out during the week. There was a certain nervousness about how the new team would take to the track particularly since the visitors, Mildenhall, had won the corresponding league match last year. However, they never looked like repeating that result in this match.

The Monarchs opened with a 4-2 after George Stancl had comfortably won the race from Shaun Tacey with Derek Sneddon third then followed that with a stunning 5-1 in heat 2. Matthew Wethers won the race as expected but behind him Aaron Summers rode an excellent opening first two bends to work himself into second place coming out of bend two. Try as they might neither Mark Baseby, who fell and remounted in the process, nor Tomas Suchanek could catch Summers and the Monarchs were six points ahead. It looked like they would add to that lead in heat 3 when Kai Laukkanen and Andrew Tully powered round the first two turns as Kyle Legault got out of shape causing Jason King to bale out and the race to be rerun. At the second attempt Legault made a flying start and try as he might Kai Laukkanen could not get past him. The race was shared as was heat 4 won again by Matthew Wethers this time from Tomas Suchanek and Paul Fry after Kalle Katajisto had reared at the gate and made a miraculous recovery after almost falling off. The score was now 12-6.

In heat 5 Tom P Madsen made the start but Kai Laukkanen roared up the inside off the second bend to win the race by a distance. Behind him Madsen and Shaun Tacey decided to team ride to block Andrew Tully at the back. This succeeded as Tully’s efforts were frustrated leading to another 3-3. Heat 6 saw Edinburgh score another 5-1 which put them 6 points in front. Derek Sneddon made a fast start and George Stancl followed him off the second bend content to sit behind him as the impressive Mark Baseby took up the challenge. Baseby fell on the third lap so Paul Fry scored the third place point. Now 10 points adrift Mildenhall quickly played their TR card giving the ride to Kyle Legault. He didn’t let them down either by streaking from the gate again to head home Matthew Wethers. Jason King finished third so the Fen Tigers enjoyed a 2-7 success cutting the home side’s lead to five points. Edinburgh hit back with a 4-2 in heat 8. Shaun Tacey made a superb gate while Derek Sneddon and Matthew Wethers tucked in behind him. Sneddon made a brilliant sweeping pass round the outside of Tacey on the fourth bend on lap 2 to take the lead although Wethers was unable to catch the Mildenhall man. The score now stood at 29-22.

In heat 9 Kai Laukkanen was quickly away and Andrew Tully rode a strong inside line round the opening bends to join him as Paul Fry spun on the second bend leaving Mark Baseby to take up the chase. Baseby fell on the third lap but still had enough time to remount and take third place ahead of his partner. The result was another 5-1 to the Monarchs who now led by 11 points. Derek Sneddon was controversially excluded under the two minute time allowance in heat 10 and was replaced by Matthew Wethers. When the tapes rose George Stancl picked up phenomenal grip coming into the first bend and slewed to the outside of the track causing Kyle Legault to fall so the race was rerun with Stancl fortunate not to have been excluded. In the rerun Kyle Legault made another sparkling gate and, despite pressure from Stancl for most of the race, he held on to win and share the points. Mildenhall then took a 1-5 in heat 11. Shaun Tacey and Tom P Madsen left Katajisto and Summers standing at the gate and were never troubled reducing the deficit to 7 points but Edinburgh replied in kind in heat 12 in an excellent race. Kyle Legault made yet another superb start and headed down the back straight ahead of Wethers and Laukkanen. He didn’t have it his own way this time though as Matthew Wethers rode a stunning third/fourth bend to round Legault and lead down the home straight. Legault tried to regain his position by trying to run Wethers wide on the first two bends of lap two but his plan backfired as not only did Wethers race away from him but Laukkanen swept through on the inside to join his partner up front. That was the way it finished and Edinburgh were 11 points in front again with the 5-1 as the score went to 43-32.

George Stancl made the gate in heat 13 and, although Tom P Madsen passed him down the back straight, Stancl regained the lead coming off the fourth bend to win the race comfortably for a shared heat. Tomas Suchanek and Jason King led briefly from the gate in heat 14 but King fell on the first bend leaving his partner to contest the race on his own. Matthew Wethers passed Suchanek coming out of the second bend but Suchanek held on to second place by holding off the determined challenges of Andrew Tully for a 4-2. In the final race another fast start from Kyle Legault was good enough to produce another race win for the Fen Tiger as he saw off first of all the challenge of Stancl and then Laukkanen to end up with a magnificent 16 points.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Matthew Wethers 16+1 (7), Kai Laukkanen 12+1 (5), George Stancl 11+2 (5), Derek Sneddon 7 (4), Andrew Tully 4+2 (4), Aaron Summers 2+1 (3), Kalle Katajisto 1 (3).

For Mildenhall – Kyle Legault 16 (5)(with 6 point TR), Shaun Tacey 8+1 (5), Tom P Madsen 6+1 (4), Tomas Suchanek 5 (5), Paul Fry 3+2 (4), Mark Baseby 1 (3), Jason King 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 21 July

The weather intervened again to cancel two of tonight’s scheduled matches – at Berwick where the Bandits were due to meet Mildenhall on the second leg of their northern tour and at Rye House where the Rockets were due to race Newcastle both matches in the Premier League There were two survivors. The Premier League matches at Workington between the Comets and Glasgow and at Stoke between the Potters and Redcar .


Premier League: Workington 47, Glasgow 43


Workington were missing injury victims Mattia Carpanese and Craig Branney so had Lee Smart guesting at number 2 and used Rider Replacement at number 4. Glasgow were at full strength.

This match was a ding-dong affair which inevitably went to a last heat decider. Throughout the match there were never more than four points between the teams with the Comets eventually taking a four point victory when Kauko Nieminen finally ended Craig Watson’s run of wins.

Glasgow opened with a 2-4 when Craig Watson beat Kauko Nieminen with David McAllan third but the Comets replied in kind with a 4-2 in the reserves race won by Charles Wright from Michael Coles. Robert Ksiezak and Shane Parker made the gate in heat 3 and tried to team ride home for the 1-5 after Lee Smart had fallen on the first bend and retired from the race. However James Wright made a stunning outside pass on both Glasgow riders on the last lap so the heat was shared. Workington then took the lead in heat 4 when Carl Stonehewer headed home Trent Leverington with James Branney third for a 4-2 which took the score to 13-11.

Craig Watson won again in heat 5 but the Wright Brothers kept McAllan at the back so the race was shared. Then the Comets opened up a four point lead when Kauko Nieminen won from Trent Leverington and Lee Smart got up to beat Michael Coles on the line for a 4-2. Back came Glasgow in heat 7 when Shane Parker beat Carl Stonehewer with Robert Ksiezak third for a 2-4 which cut the gap to two points again. It was all square once more after heat 8 which also went to Glasgow by 2-4. The race had to be rerun after Charles Wright had hit the fence and been excluded. In the rerun David McAllan won the race from Lee Smart with Coles picking up the gift point to tie the scores at 24-24. This was a setback to Workington who looked to the races where Glasgow did not track Watson or Parker to make headway.

Carl Stonehewer took the R/R ride in heat 9 and followed James Wright home ahead of Trent Leverington for the only 5-1 of the match to give the Comets a 4 point lead again. Glasgow responded with a 2-4 from Parker and Ksiezak split by Kauko Nieminen cutting the gap to two then, in heat 11, with another 2-4 from Watson and McAllan split by Stonehewer to level the scores again. Workington were back in front, however, after heat 11 when James Wright passed Shane Parker to win the race with Charles Wright in third place for another 4-2 which took the score to 37-35.

Craig Watson won for the fourth time in heat 13 while Nieminen and Stonehewer followed him home for a 3-3 then Robert Ksiezak won heat 14 for a shared heat which left the Comets two points in front with the last heat to come. In heat 15 Kauko Nieminen and James Wright went for the Comets while the unbeaten Craig Watson and Shane Parker went for the Tigers. Kauko Nieminen became the home hero by winning the race and ending Watson’s maximum hopes while James Wright got up on the line to pass Shane Parker for a 4-2 which gave the Comets a four point win.

Scorers: For Workington – Kauko Nieminen 12 (5), James Wright 12 (5), Carl Stonehewer 10+2 (5), Charles Wright 7+1 (5), Lee Smart 3 (5), John Branney 3 (5).

For Glasgow – Craig Watson 14 (5), Shane Parker 10 (5), Robert Ksiezak 6+1 (4), Trent Leverington 5 (4), David McAllan 5 (4), Michael Coles 3 (4), Lee Dicken 0 (4).



Premier League: Stoke 45, Redcar 44 Stoke won the aggregate bonus point by 90-89.


Stoke were without Glenn Cunningham and the retired Jack Hargreaves. They had Emiliano Sanchez as a guest at number 1 and introduced new signing Jaimie Smith, returning from a long spell on the sidelines due to injury, at number 7. Redcar were missing broken wrist victim Josh Auty and had Shane Waldron as a guest at number 2. They were also missing Mathieu Tressarieu so had to use Rider Replacement at number 5. However they welcomed back Daniel Giffard to the number six reserve berth and had Karlis Ezergailis at number 7.

Having drawn the match at Redcar and considering the weakened Bears’ line-up Stoke might have expected to win this match with a bit to spare but it didn’t turn out that way and in the end they just scrambled home for all three points.

In the opening heat the Potters opened up a four point lead with a 5-1 when Emiliano Sanchez and Ben Barker won from Shane Waldron as Gary Havelock packed up. However the Bears levelled again with a 1-5 in heat 2 when Daniel Giffard celebrated his comeback with a win. Karlis Ezergailis followed him home with Barrie Evans in third but the Potters replied with another 5-1 in heat 3. In the first running of the race, Chris Kerr fell on the first bend and all four were invited back. In the rerun Chris Kerr fell again this time while lying second on the second lap. The race was stopped and rerun again with Claus Vissing and Lee Complin beating an uncomfortable looking James Grieves for the maximum. Rusty Harrison won heat 4 but Ezergailis and Giffard finished in the minor places after Jaimie Smith had fallen for a shared race which took the score to 14-10.

In heat 5 Claus Vissing fell on the first bend and all four were invited back. In the rerun Shane Waldron fell and again all four were invited back. In the second rerun Redcar took a 2-4 when Gary Havelock won from Claus Vissing with Shane Waldron third from Lee Complin. Stoke replied with a 5-1 from Barker and Sanchez as Chris Kerr finished third putting the Potters 6 points ahead but Redcar then scored a 1-5 to pull back to two points down through Chris Kerr and James Grieves from Evans and Harrison. Heat 8 resulted in a 5-0 when both Bears’ riders, Karlis Ezergailis and Shane Waldron, were excluded. This missing point was to prove very expensive for Redcar as subsequent events were to prove. The score at this stage was 27-20.

Redcar again came storming back with a 1-5 this time through Daniel Giffard and James Grieves against the Stoke pairing of Complin and Vissing then they followed that up with a 2-4 when James Grieves beat Emiliano Sanchez who passed Chris Kerr relegating him to third. These two heats successes cut the home side’s lead to only one point and it stayed that way after Gary Havelock won heat 11 from Harrison and Evans for a 3-3. Stoke then scored a crucial 5-1 in heat 12 when Claus Vissing and Jaimie Smith relegated James Grieves to third taking the score to 38-33. Redcar were unable to recover from this blow.

Gary Havelock won heat 13 from Harrison and Sanchez to keep it that way then Chris Kerr won heat 14 from Complin and Evans for another 3-3. This shared race ensured that Stoke would win the match and take the bonus point and it was as well that they did share the race because Redcar finished with a 1-5 from Havelock and Kerr ahead of Vissing to cut the winning margin to a single point. Redcar had provided six of the last seven race winners but the support they received was not quite enough for any reward.

Scorers: For Stoke – Claus Vissing 9 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 8+1 (4), Ben Barker 8+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 7 (4), Lee Complin 5+1 (4), Barrie Evans 4+2 (4), Jaimie Smith 4+1 (4).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 12 (5), Chris Kerr 10+1 (5), James Grieves 9+2 (5), Daniel Giffard 7+1 (5), Karlis Ezergailis 4+1 (5), Shane Waldron 2 (3).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 22 July

The full programme of three Premier League matches was raced today without interference from the weather for a change. At Newport the Wasps met King’s Lynn while at Glasgow the Tigers took on Workington . The other match was at Newcastle where the Diamonds raced against Mildenhall .


Premier League: Newport 48, King’s Lynn 44 King’s Lynn won the aggregate bonus point by 100-84


Newport were at full strength for this match but King’s Lynn were without Paul Lee so used Rider Replacement at number 5.

At the time of writing there was very little information about this match. After heat 8 the Wasps had built up a four point lead with the score at 26-22 and they increased it to eight points after heat 12 at which point the score was 40-32. Daniel Nermark took a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 14 and finished second for four points taking the score to 47-39. King’s Lynn finished with a 1-5 from Nermark and Topinka but it was too late to have any effect on the destination of the points.


Scorers: For Newport – Chris Schramm 8+1, Tom Hedley 8+1, Michal Rajkowski 8, Phil Morris 8, Tony Atkins 6+3, Barry Burchatt 5+2, Nick Simmons 5.

For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 17+1 (6)(with 4 point TS), Tomas Topinka 16+1 (6), Trevor Harding 6, Chris Mills 3+1, James Brundle 2, Benji Compton 0.



Premier League: Glasgow 49, Workington 42 Glasgow won the aggregate bonus point by 92-89


Glasgow were again at full strength but Workington were in some disarray. They started without Mattia Carpanese and Craig Branney through injury and used Simon Walker as a guest at number 2 and Rider Replacement at number 4. David Craig was nominated as their number 8. It wasn’t long though before Charles Wright joined the casualty list leaving the Comets with five riders plus a number 8.

Workington had only a four point lead to protect for the bonus point but their chances of taking anything from this match appeared to have disappeared when Charles Wright was forced to retire from the meeting after crashing into the first bend fence in his opening ride. Nevertheless the Comets with only four scoring riders took the Tigers to a last heat decider for the bonus at which point, remarkably, they trailed by only one point on aggregate!

The Comets won the opening race 2-4. Kauko Nieminen beat Craig Watson from the gate and Simon Walker scored the third place point but the visitors were hit by a bad blow in heat 2. Charles Wright crashed into the fence and had to withdraw from the meeting which meant that his fellow reserve was in for a busy afternoon particularly since Workington were operating R/R. In the rerun Craig Branney fell leaving Lee Dicken and Michael Coles to cruise round for a 5-1 which put the Tigers two points in front. Parker won heat 3 from James Wright while Ksiezak took third for a 4-2 which increased the home side’s lead to four points. Carl Stonehewer won heat 4 for a shared heat. The score at this point was 14-10.

It just wasn’t Workington’s day. Simon Walker missed the two minute deadline in heat 5 and had to go from 15 metres back almost guaranteeing last place. Parker won again while Nieminen took second ahead of Ksiezak. Craig Watson gated to beat Stonehewer in heat 6 while McAllan took third for another 4-2 as Glasgow inched further ahead with an eight point lead. This allowed Workington to cover one of Craig Branney’s R/R rides with Kauko Nieminen who came into the race as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back. James Wright beat Trent Leverington while Nieminen passed Coles for third giving the visitors a 2-5 advantage and cutting the gap to 5 points. Glasgow hit back with a 4-2 in heat 8 as David McAllan won from Simon Walker. Lee Dicken took third so the Tigers were 7 points up with the score standing at 28-21.

Glasgow continued their 4-2 assault with another in heat 9. This was one of the better races as Carl Stonehewer led until the third lap when Shane Parker passed him on the inside to win the heat. Ksiezak was third again so the lead went to 9 points. Nine became 11 after heat 10 as Watson gated to beat James Wright with McAllan third from David Haig, the Comets’ number eight. The Tigers then received a jolt when the Comets registered a 1-5 in heat 11 as Simon Walker and Kauko Nieminen passed Leverington coming off the second bend cutting the gap to 7 points again. Glasgow scored another 4-2 in heat 12 though when Parker beat James Wright with Dicken third to restore the 9 point lead with the score now 41-32.

Workington scored another 1-5 in heat 13. Craig Watson fell while in second place and the race was awarded to Nieminen and Stonehewer and the home side’s lead was now down to 5 points. Carl Stonehewer took the R/R ride in heat 14 and won the race for a shared heat which meant that Glasgow had won the match since they were still five points clear. There was the little matter of the bonus point to race for however and Parker completed his maximum in heat 15 to secure that while Nieminen finished second and Watson just managed to hold off Stonehewer for third and a final 4-2 giving Glasgow a 7 point win.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5)(full maximum), Craig Watson 9 (5), Lee Dicken 6+1 (4), Trent Leverington 6 (4), David McAllan 5 (4), Robert Ksiezak 5 (4), Michael Coles 3+2 (4).

For Workington – Kauko Nieminen 14+1 (6)(with 2 point TS), Carl Stonehewer 12+1 (6), James Wright 9 (5), Simon Walker 6 (4), John Branney 1 (7), Charles Wright 0 (1), David Haig 0 (1).



Premier League: Newcastle 48, Mildenhall 42


Newcastle again had Ashley Johnson at number 6 in place of Adam McKinna. Mildenhall were at full strength.

Newcastle welcomed back Christian Henry and Ross Brady to the side to face the Mildenhall Fen Tigers on what should have been the third leg of their northern tour but became the second when last night’s match at Berwick was washed out.

Newcastle made the perfect start with a 5-1 from Christian Henry and Carl Wilkinson in heat 1 but Mildenhall made the perfect reply with a 1-5 from the reserves race thanks to Tomas Suchanek and Mark Baseby. Mildenhall then went in front in heat 3. Kyle Legault won the race from Josef Franc while Jason King passed Ross Brady on the third lap for a 2-4 giving the Fen Tigers a two point lead. The home side got another shock when the visitors added a 1-5 in heat 4 with Paul Fry and Tomas Suchanek, the latter passing Jonas Raun in the run up to the line, doing the damage. Mildenhall were now six points to the good but the Diamonds hit back with a 5-1 in heat 5 through Ross Brady and Josef Franc. Both Shaun Tacey and Tom P Madsen fell in this heat but Tacey remounted for the third place point. Newcastle then took the lead again with another 5-1 in heat 6 this time from Christian Henry and Carl Wilkinson again. Paul Fry finished third. Back came the Fen Tigers with their own 1-5 with Kyle Legault and Jason King heading home Jonas Raun to put the visitors back in front by two points but Newcastle levelled the match with a 4-2 in heat 8. Carl Wilkinson continued his unbeaten run beating Tomas Suchanek while Sean Stoddart beat Shaun Tacey for third taking the score to 24-24.

Josef Franc won heat 9 but Paul Fry and Mark Baseby passed Ross Brady to share the points. The Henry/Wilkinson pairing produced their third consecutive 5-1 in heat 10 with Wilkinson passing Kyle Legault on the third lap. The Diamonds now led by four points. Heat 11 was rerun after Sean Stoddart had fallen and been excluded. In the rerun Tom P Madsen beat Jonas Raun while Tomas Suchanek picked up the third place point. This gave the visitors a 2-4 and the home side’s lead was down to 2 points. Heat 12 was won by Josef Franc but Legault and Baseby shared the spoils so the score after 12 heats was 37-35.

Christian Henry completed his four ride maximum in heat 13 while Paul fry took second and Josef Raun third after Tom P Madsen had fallen. The 4-2 to the Diamonds gave them a bit of breathing space as they now led by four points with two heats remaining. It was all over after heat 14 when Ross Brady gated to win from Jason King while Sean Stoddart’s third place ahead of Suchanek consigned the Fen Tigers to defeat. Kyle Legault won the final race from Wilkinson and Franc for a six point win.

Scorers: For Newcastle – Christian Henry 12 (4)(full maximum), Carl Wilkinson 11+3 (5), Josef Franc 11+2 (5), Ross Brady 6 (4), Jonas Raun 5 (4), Sean Stoddart 3 (5), Ashley Johnson 0 (3).

For Mildenhall – Kyle Legault 12 (5), Tomas Suchanek 8+1 (5), Paul Fry 8 (5), Jason King 5+1 (4), Mark Baseby 4+3 (4), Tom P Madsen 4 (4), Shaun Tacey 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Tuesday, 24 July



This week’s meeting on the Isle of Wight was between the Islanders and Glasgow Tigers in a Premier League Match.



Premier League: Isle of Wight 59, Glasgow 32 .


The Isle of Wight and Glasgow were both at full strength for this match

Glasgow went the way of many others to the Island’s Smallbrook track ending up on the wrong end of a 27 point defeat. The Islanders provided 12 of the 15 race winners leaving the Tigers with a big task to win the aggregate bonus point when the two teams meet later in the season at Ashfield.

Glasgow’s early resistance lasted for three heats. Cory Gathercole fell while Chris Holder won the opening race for a shared heat then Lee Dicken was excluded in heat 2 under the two minute time allowance and had to go from 15 metres back. The Islanders were on a 5-1 when Andrew Bargh developed engine trouble allowing Coles and Dicken to share the race. Jason Bunyan won heat 3 from Shane Parker but Robert Ksiezak took third place from Krzysztof Stojanowski for another shared race. The Islanders finally took the lead with a 5-1 from Glenn Phillips and Chris Johnson in heat 4 to lead by 14-10.

Two more 5-1s followed. Stojanowski and Bunyan scored the first of them in heat 5 ahead of Craig Watson then Chris Holder made a bad start in heat 6 but passed both Coles and Leverington to follow his partner, Cory Gathercole, home for the second maximum. Glasgow were now 12 points adrift so gave Shane Parker a Tactical Ride in heat 7. They gave it to the wrong man though as it was Robert Ksiezak who won the race from Glen Phillips as Parker trailed home third. This gave the Tigers a 2-5 heat success cutting the gap to 9 points. The Islanders stretched their lead to 11 points with a 4-2 from Gathercole and Johnson in heat 8 with David McAllan finishing second taking the score to 30-19.

Two more 5-1s for the Islanders followed. In heat 9 Jason Bunyan recovered from a bad start to pass Coles and Leverington to follow Stojanowski home for the first maximum then Chris Holder and Cory Gathercole scored the second ahead of Parker and Ksiezak. Glen Phillips won heat 11 while Craig Watson and David McAllan shred the points behind him. Shane Parker then won heat 12 from Jason Bunyan but Chris Johnson took third from Michael Coles for a shared race which took the score to 46-27.

Heat 13 produced another home 5-1, their sixth of the match, as Holder and Phillips beat Watson into third place but Robert Ksiezak popped out the gate to win heat 14 from Stojanowski and Johnson for a shared race before Holder and Bunyan wrapped up proceedings with another 5-1 in the last race as Ksiezak and Parker finished at the back.

Scorers: For The Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 14+1 (5), Jason Bunyan 11+ 3 (5), Glen Phillips 10+1(4), Cory Gathercole 8+1 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 8 (4), Chris Johnson 8+3 (5), Andrew Bargh 0 (3).

For Glasgow – Robert Ksiezak 8+1 (5), Shane Parker 8 (5)(with 2 point TR), Craig Watson 6 (4), David McAllan 4+2 (4), Trent Leverington 3 (4), Michael Coles 2 (4), Lee Dicken 1+1 (4).