Around the Premier League Tracks 2009

[Merlin]

Sunday, 17 May



Premier Trophy:

Glasgow v. Edinburgh

Premier League Knockout Cup:

Newport v. Redcar – match postponed due to waterlogged track

Other Meetings:
World Under-21 Championship Qualifying Round at Rye House
80th Anniversary Meeting at Newcastle



Premier Trophy: .... Glasgow 44 (0 points), Edinburgh 46 (3 points).


Team changes: Glasgow were without Peter Juul, Ross Brady and Lee Smart. In their places they used Rider Replacement for Juul at number 3, had Byron Bekker as a guest for Brady at number 2 and had John Branney as a guest at number 7 for Smart.
Edinburgh were missing Aaron Summers so used Rider Replacement at number 2.

Glasgow needed three points from this match to keep the momentum going in their challenge for a qualifying spot from the group. The result of the match was watched with interest by Berwick fans since the outcome was likely to clarify to some extent what they would have to do in their home and away matches with Sheffield.

Iit was Edinburgh who made the better start. Ryan Fisher got to the front in the opening heat with Shane Parker stuck at the back. The Glasgow number 1 passed Sean Stoddart then sat behind Byron Bekker to share the race. Michal Rajkowski won the battle to the first corner in heat 2 for another shared race then Mitchell Davey did likewise in heat 3 beating Thomas H Jonasson and Andrew Tully for a third 3-3. The deadlock was broken in heat 4 when James Grieves and John Branney gated but hopes of a home 5-1 were dashed when Matthew Wethers rounded Branney on the second bend for second place. The 4-2 put the Tigers two ahead though at 13-11.

The lead changed hands with a 1-5 to the Monarchs in heat 5 when Ryan Fisher and Michal Rajkowski saw off Josh Grajczonek and Mitchell Davey from the gate to put Edinburgh ahead for the first time and it stayed that way with a Shane Parker win in heat 6 from Rajkowski and Wethers. There was a stormy start to heat 7 which resulted in John Branney and Andrew Tully coming down on the first bend. John Branney (a reserve replacement for Mitchell Davey) suffered a leg injury which required a visit from the ambulance causing a lengthy delay as the storm clouds gathered over the stadium. John Branney was withdrawn from the meeting leaving the Tigers to carry on with 5 riders. As a result Mitchell Davey was reinstated to the race. When the race was rerun James Grieves made the gate but had to fend off a tremendous challenge from Thomas H Jonasson who lost out on the line. Andrew Tully took third so the points were shared leaving Edinburgh still two ahead. They increased their lead to six points though as Andrew Tully gated while Michal Rajkowski passed Mitchell Davey off the second bend for a 1-5 in heat 8 which took the score to 21-27. James Grieves took the R/R ride in heat 9 to join Josh Grajczonek and won it. However the points were shared with Michal Rajkowski in second and Matthew Wethers third after passing Josh Grajczonek. Shane Parker won heat 10 for the Tigers but again the points were shared by Jonasson and Tully who finished behind him. Heat 11 produced a brilliant race between James Grieves and Ryan Fisher with the riders passing and repassing each other. Grieves won it though and with Mitchell Davey picking up third from Sean Stoddart Glasgow took a 4-2 which cut their arrears to four points. In heat 12 Josh Grajczonek took the R/R ride but, with Mitchell Davey having had six rides and needed for what could prove a crucial heat 14, he had to go on his own. He couldn't stop the Monarchs from registering another 1-5 with Thomas Jonasson and Michal Rajkowski doing the damage taking the Edinburgh side's lead to eight points at 32-40.

Glasgow have enjoyed some remarkable success in heats 13-15 at home this season and they certainly needed a big finish this time to salvage a win. They looked set for a 5-1 in heat 13 as Parker and Grieves led the race but Ryan Fisher passed Grieves on the second lap for second place restricting the Tigers to a 4-2. The Monarchs' lead had been cut to six points but the Tigers needed a 5-1 from both of the last two races for victory. They didn't get them! In heat 14 Andrew Tully and Michal Rajkowski were off for another 1-5 when Rajkowski's engine packed up. Grajczonek then fell but the race was awarded as a 3-3 to see the Monarchs home for at least three points. They now needed a heat advantage from heat 15 to take all four. This heat was rerun with all four back as Fisher ended up in the fence as the meat in a Tigers' sandwich. The rain had now arrived as Grieves and Parker gated for a 5-1 in the rerun to put a better gloss on the scoreline and prevent the Monarchs from taking all four league points. However this result all but guarantees that Edinburgh will win the group while Glasgow are now likely to need to win at Armadale to have any chance of finishing runners-up.


Scorers: Glasgow – James Grieves 16 (6), Shane Parker 12+2 (5), Mitchell Davey 9 (7), Josh Grajczonek 3+1 (5), John Branney 2+1 (2), Byron Bekker 2 (4).

Edinburgh – Michal Rajkowski 13+3 (7), Ryan Fisher 11 (5), Andrew Tully 9+3 (5), Thomas H Jonasson 9 (5), Matthew Wethers 4+2 (4), Sean Stoddart 0 (4).



World Under-21 Championship Qualifying Round at: .... Rye House.


Winner: Robert Mear, Second: Darcy Ward, Third: Tai Woffinden.

Other qualifiers – Lewis Bridger, Artur Mroczka, Ricky Wells.

Reserves – Pawel Zmarzlik and Kozza Smith.


Scorers: Robert Mear 13, Darcy Ward 13, Tai Woffinden 12, Lewis Bridger 11, Artur Mroczka 10, Ricky Wells 9, Pawel Zmarzlik 9, Kozza Smith 9, Lee Smart 7, Jaimie Courtney 7, Jade Mudgway 6, Pavol Pocko 5, Grant Tregoning 4, Adam Kajoch 3, Kai Huckenbeck 1, Tim Gomez 1, Joe Haines – Withdrawn injured.

Rob Mear dropped his two points to Lewis Bridger and Tai Woffinden. Darcy Ward was beaten by Tai Woffinden and Rob Mear while Tai Woffinden dropped three points as a result of an engine failure in his last race. Joe Haines was a victim of a heat 3 crash when he ploughed into Huckenbeck who fell on the fourth bend. As a result he was taken to hospital with a suspected broken arm.



80th Anniversary Meeting at: .... Newcastle.

Winner: Rory Schlein; Second: Travis McGowan; Third: Daniel King

This meeting took the form of a full 16 rider 20 heat individual with a semi-final and final. The semi final and final had to be cancelled due to torrential rain.

Rory Schlein went through the card registering a five ride 15 point maximum to win the meeting.


Scorers: The other scorers were not available at the time of writing.

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 20 May



Premier League:

Birmingham v. Redcar – meeting postponed; now rearranged for 17 June.

Premier League Knockout Cup

King's Lynn v. Berwick



Premier League Knockout Cup: first round, first leg:.... King's Lynn 58, Berwick 32.


Team changes: King's Lynn were at full strength. Berwick were missing William Lawson riding in the British Final at Poole. Riding as a guest in his place at number 1 was Andre Compton.

The big question in this match was whether or not Berwick could keep the score close enough to give themselves a fighting chance in the second leg. The answer was 'no'. It would be a real sensation if the Bandits could pull back the 26 points by which they trail in the second leg.

Yet it was a match of two halves. I don't know what they put in the tea at King's Lynn but in the nine heats prior to the interval King's Lynn won by 39-15 yet in the six heats after the interval the score was 19-17 to the Stars.

It didn't start too badly for Berwick. A second place from Andre Compton in the opening heat and a stroke of fortune in heat 2, when race leader Kozza Smith developed machine troubles to finish last, saw the Bandits only two adrift. If the flood gates didn't exactly open after that they were certainly
prised apart. Successive 5-1s in heat 3 and 4 had the Bandits reeling as they trailed by 17-7.

There were no tactical rides allowed in this competition to bail the visitors out but they scored two points in heat 5 from Andre Compton after Chris Schramm had come through to win it from third place. Another 5-1 in heat 6 from newcomer Linus Eklof and Tomas Topinka opened the gap to 16 points for the Stars but Berwick had hopes of pulling four points back in heat 7 when Josef Franc and Paul Clews found themselves in front. Darcy Ward passed them both though with Franc succumbing to a fine pass off the last bend to share the points. King's Lynn stretched their lead further with a 5-1 from Eklof and Graversen who was turning out to be a real pain in the neck to Berwick took the lead to 20 points at 34-14.

When Sanchez and Schramm added another 5-1 in heat 9 the Bandits were looking down the throat of a massacre but it was a different story after the interval! Berwick invoked their rights under the tactical gate rule to go from gates 2 and 3 in heat 10. Josef Franc, off gate 2, beat Topinka, a rare occurrence at the Norfolk Arena, and Paul Clews gated ahead of Eklof for third place and a 2-4 to the Bandits. Darcy Ward passed Andre Compton to win heat 11 but Compton and Aarnio filled second and third places for a 3-3. Then Paul Clews won heat 12 for Berwick for another shared heat which took the score to 47-25.

Ward and Makovsky made the start in heat 13 for a 5-1 and 26 point lead then Berwick used the tactical gates option in heat 14 with Josef Franc going off gate 1 and Gino Franchetti gate 2. Franc gated and held off a strong challenge from Chris Schramm to share the points then, in heat 15, Darcy Ward completed his five ride full maximum with another race win from Josef Franc. Schramm retired when lying third so Clews was promoted to gain the extra point for a 3-3.


Scorers: King's Lynn – Darcy Ward 15 (5), Chris Schramm 10+1 (5), Tomas Topinka 9+2 (4), Jan Graversen 8+3 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 8+1 (4), Linus Eklof 7 (4), Kozza Smith 1+1 (4).

Berwick – Josef Franc 10 (5), Paul Clews 7+3 (5), Andre Compton 6 (4), Michal Makovsky 3 (4), Gino Franchetti 3 (4), Tero Aarnio 2+1 (4), Greg Blair 1+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 21 May



Premier Trophy:

Sheffield v. Berwick
Redcar v. Newcastle – match postponed due to a waterlogged track.



Premier Trophy:.... Sheffield 62 (3 points), Berwick 33 (0 points).


Team changes: Sheffield were without Ritchie Hawkins injured at Berwick on Saturday night. They used Rider Replacement instead at number 2 with Paul Cooper moving to number 3. Berwick were at full strength.

Although Edinburgh are virtually certain to win the Northern Group of the Premier Trophy, there are still three other teams who could finish runners up - Workington, Glasgow and Berwick. Favourites are Berwick but a win for the Bandits in this match would eliminate Workington and leave Glasgow needing a win at Edinburgh.

It was quite a start for the Tigers. In the opening heat Ricky Ashworth lowered the track record to 59.2 and was followed home by Joel Parsons taking the R/R ride after he had passed Tero Aarnio with his trademark inside pass on the third bend. Then in heat 2, Gino Franchetti fell on the fourth bend and was excluded from the rerun won by Josh Auty and Chris Mills for another 5-1 after Greg Blair had suffered an engine failure and pushed home for one and a quarter laps for the third place point! Joel Parsons won the third heat from Josef Franc while Paul Clews fell then remounted. This meant another 4-2 for the Tigers and a ten point lead. Richard Hall kept the run of Sheffield race winners going in heat 4 but the action was behind him for second. Mills had the early advantage but was passed on the inside on the first bend on the third lap by Michal Makovsky. Mills got by again down the back straight but Makovsky again moved into second on the last lap. Although he pulled a locker in front of Mills both riders recovered to finish the race in front of Franchetti for another 4-2 which took the score to 18-6.

Sheffield rattled another 5-1 past the Bandits in heat 5 thanks to Joel Parsons again and Paul Cooper with the hard chasing Aarnio in third and William Lawson in last place retiring with engine trouble. Things went from bad to worse for the Bandits in heat 6 when Michal Makovsky caused his partner, Gino Franchetti, to fall going down the back straight. Makovsky was excluded for his efforts. The track was regraded before the race was rerun. Ricky Ashworth made the start while Josh Auty passed Franchetti on the second lap for another Sheffield 5-1 and 20 point lead. Berwick at last produced a race winner in heat 7 when Josef Franc held off the challenge of Richard Hall. Meanwhile Josh Auty passed Paul Clews for third so the result was a shared race. With all of the delays the meeting had been running for more than an hour and a half before heat 8 was reached. It was a milestone of a race too because Berwick won it with a 2-4 and yet the Tigers sat on a 5-1 from the tapes! Tero Aarnio then passed Paul Cooper at the start of the second lap before heading off after Chris Mills and passing him on the inside one lap later. Mills then fell and remounted leaving Cooper to chase Aarnio in vain. The 2-4 cut the gap to 18 points at 33-15 as half the crowd went off for a shave and the other half to put their curlers in.

In heat 9 Berwick set out to capitalise on their new found form by giving Michal Makovsky a tactical ride. It turned out to be quite a race as Parsons, Cooper and Makovsky passed and repassed each other with the result undecided till the last bend. When the smoke had cleared Joel Parsons had won it with Makovsky second and Cooper third. The points were therefore shared 4-4. Ricky Ashworth produced his third win of the meeting in heat 10 and was joined up front by Chris Mills taking the R/R ride. Mills had his work cut out keeping Clews behind him while Franc, stuck at the back, decided he'd had enough and pulled up. Maybe being up so late was catching up with him! The Tigers lead now stood at 22 points. William Lawson finally got on the score sheet in heat 11. Richard Hall won the race but there was a ding dong battle for the minor places. Tero Aarnio went into the last bend in second place while Josh Auty came roaring round the outside of William Lawson. The three riders seemed to cross the line together but Lawson got second and Auty third. Another 4-2 to the Tigers put them 24 points up and another came their way in heat 12. Paul Cooper won this one from Paul Clews while Chris Mills and Greg Blair both had falls when in second place. Both remounted but it was Mills who won the scramble for third place. The score moved to 50-24 as a result.

Ricky Ashworth completed his fourth consecutive race win in heat 13 while Richard Hall eventually passed Michal Makovsky after a long chase on the last bend for another home 5-1. Berwick finally used their second tactical ride in heat 14 with Josef Franc entrusted with the job of scoring six points. He did it too but Parsons and Auty finished behind him for a 3-6. In the last race Tero Aarnio fell on the second bend and was excluded from the rerun in which Ricky Ashworth and Josef Franc produced a memorable race before Ashworth completed his full five ride maximum. Parsons' third place point gave the Tigers a 4-2 and 29 point win.


Scorers: Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 15 (5), Joel Parsons 14+1 (6), Richard Hall 10+1 (4), Paul Clews 9+1 (5), Josh Auty 8+3 (5), Chris Mills 6+2 (5).

Berwick – Josef Franc 13 (5) (incl 6 point TR), Michal Makovsky 7 (incl 4 point TR), Tero Aarnio 5 (5), Paul Clews 3 (4), William Lawson 2 (4), Gino Franchetti 2 (5), Greg Blair 1 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 22 May



Premier Trophy:

Somerset v. Newport

Premier League:

Edinburgh v. Scun.thorpe



Premier Trophy:.... Somerset 56 (3 points), Newport 36 (0 points).


Team changes: Both teams were at full strength.

With only three race winners, Newport were never going to threaten to take anything from this match. Somerset exposed their middle pair weakness and scored two 5-1s and a 3-3 against the Werner-Kerr pairing. However the Rebels were grateful to an excellent contribution from Tom Brown at reserve who was involved in three 5-1 heat wins to help produce 12 of the Rebels 20 point win. The three league points keep the Rebels in contention to qualify for a semi final spot from the Premier Trophy group stage. Scun.thorpe will now need to take all three points from the Wasps' visit to the Eddie Wright Raceway when they meet on the 29th May.

The opening two races won by Emil Kramer and James Holder produced shared heats but Simon Walker and Cory Gathercole produced a 5-1 in heat 3 for a four point lead to the Rebels. A rerun heat 4 was won by Steve Johnston who passed both Jordan Frampton then James Holder for the 3-3 which took the score to 14-10.

Wins for Cory Gathercole and Jordan Frampton resulted in two more shared races in heats 5 and 6 but the Rebels doubled their lead to eight points with a 5-1 in heat 7 through Steve Johnston and Tom Brown while Jay Herne won heat 8 for another 3-3 which took the score to 28-20.

Jordan Frampton, back at his former track, won heat 9 from Gathercole and Kramer heat 10 from Brent Werner both races being shared. At this stage only eight adrift the Wasps were still in the hunt for a point but heat 11 all but put that lofty ambition beyond their reach. A first bend melee saw Lemon and Fry hit the deck and Fry was excluded. In the rerun Johnston ran Lemon wide and Tom Brown said “thanks” and slipped up the inside to join his partner for the Rebels third 5-1 win and a 12 point lead. It was all over and the fat lady prepared for her akimbosong when Simon Walker and Jay Herne combined to thump home 5-1 number four ahead of former Rebel Brent Werner in heat 12 taking the score to 44-28.

Jordan Frampton took a tactical ride in heat 13 but finished second to Emil Kramer. However Mark Lemon won the battle for third place from Steve Johnston so the Wasps took their one and only heat advantage of the night with the 3-5. James Holder was next up to try his luck on a tactical ride in heat 14 but he finished well at the back as Gathercole and that man Brown scored another 5-1 in reply to the Wasps' insolence. Finally Steve Johnston won heat 15 but Mark Lemon, elbows akimbo, barged his way past Kramer who recovered to pass Jordan Frampton for a 4-2 to the home side and 20 point win.


Scorers: Somerset – Emil Kramer 12 (5), Steve Johnston 12 (5), Cory Gathercole 10+1 (4), Tom Brown 8+3 (4), Simon Walker 7+1 (4), Jay Herne 6+2 (4), Justin Sedgmen 1+1 (4).

Newport – Jordan Frampton 11+1 (5) (incl 4 point TR), Mark Lemon 7+2 (5), James Holder 6+1 (4), Paul Fry 5+1 (4), Chris Kerr 4+1 (4), Brent Werner 3 (4), Kyle Newman 0 (4).



Premier League:.... Edinburgh 51 (3 points), Scun.thorpe 40 (0 points).


Team changes: Edinburgh were without Thomas H Jonasson missing on World under-21 Championship duty so used Rider Replacement at number 3. Scun.thorpe were at full strength.

What a glorious night at Armadale. The temperature was 19C at 6.45pm, the sun was shining, a good crowd had assembled. Unfortunately the match did not match the weather and was disappointing. There seemed to be no passing lines at all other than a 'hold your breath' blast round the outside and the position out of the second bend was where the riders generally finished other than mistakes due to pilot error. However a succession of falls held the crowd's interest and there was some excitement towards the end as the Scorpions threatened to take a league point. Indeed, they forced a last heat decider but it all ended in tears for them when Magnus Karlsson fell and they left empty-handed.

From the early exchanges it looked as though David Howe and Magnus Karlsson were going to go through the card. By heat 6 they had both had two rides and won them comfortably with Ryan Fisher having lost to the pair three times. Unfortunately for them the support was virtually non-existent until Carl Wilkinson and then Viktor Bergstrom got their gating sorted late on in the match.

David Howe got the better of Ryan Fisher round the first two bends of heat 1 albeit with a bit of a locker while Aaron Summers got over his Czech-lag by finishing third for a drawn race. Heat 2 was a comedy of errors! Rajkowski made the gate but had trouble with his cut-out on the first bend. While he juggled with it Sean Stoddart, Jerran Hart and Byron Bekker slipped past but Hart fell on the second bend second time round and impeded his partner allowing Rajkowski back into second place for a 5-1. Aaron Summers and Andrew Tully stormed away from Carl Wilkinson in heat 3 but Wilkinson fell on the fourth bend so it was Viktor Bergstrom who ended up on the end of the 5-1 instead. Magnus Karlsson then gated in heat 4 and won by a mile while Bekker glided to the deck on the first bend and remounted so the race was shared and the score was now 16-8.

David Howe beat Fisher (R/R) again in heat 5 while Tully moved into third off the second bend for a 3-3, then Magnus Karlsson was next to lead Fisher home in heat 6 but again he had no support. Heat 7 produced two falls both on the fourth bend but on different laps. First down was Viktor Bergstrom while in last place on the first lap with the Monarchs on a 5-1. Next time it was Rajkowski who lost it and slammed into the fence while leading from Wethers. At the third attempt Wethers gated to win the race from Wilkinson for a 3-2. Heat 8 looked a certain 5-1 for the home side and that's the way it worked out as Summers and Stoddart headed Lambert home after Bekker had fallen on the first bend at the back. The score was now 30-17 but that's as good as it got for the Monarchs.

Magnus Karlsson was given a tactical ride in heat 9 while Matthew Wethers took the R/R ride. Wethers flipped the bike at the tapes and fell heavily. He was excluded for breaking the tapes leaving Rajkowski to face the Scorpions pair on his own. This time it wasn't quite so easy for Karlsson. Rajkowski made the gate leaving Karlsson to take up the chase while Tully snapped at his heels. Karlsson executed one of the few passes of the night on Rajkowski which was no surprise since he clearly had too much speed for the Edinburgh reserve, sailing past him for an easy win while Tully, stuck behind his partner, finished third. The 3-6 cut the gap to 10 points and it stayed that way when Fisher gated at last to win heat 10. Summers made a poor start and could only follow Wilkinson and Bergstrom round at the back. Finally David Howe was beaten in heat 11! Michal Rajkowski made the gate on him and won unchallenged but Wethers struggled round at the back for another 3-3 to keep the gap at ten points. Carl Wilkinson at last found his gating boots in heat 12. Although Tully chased him hard all race there was no way past so a third consecutive race took the score to 42-32.

With Howe and Karlsson due out in heats 13 and 15 there was some concern in the Edinburgh ranks but the heat 13 1-5 didn't materialise. It was an even break from the tapes but Karlsson powered round the outside to win the race comfortably. However Ryan Fisher got the better of David Howe off turn 2 to take two points for the Monarchs. The 2-4 cut the gap to 8 points so Edinburgh now needed a 5-1 in heat 14 to secure all three points but they didn't get it. Andrew Tully made a good start to lead the field round the first two turns but Viktor Bergstrom obviously was aware of the situation and with a determined effort worked his way into second place ahead of Rajkowski. The Monarchs had to settle for a 4-2 which put them 10 points ahead going into heat 15. Scun.thorpe therefore needed a 1-5 to secure a single league point and won the vital toss for gate positions. Surprisingly they took gates 1 and 3 but the tactics became clear. David Howe headed Andrew Tully on the inside from the gate while Magnus Karlsson took Ryan Fisher right out to the fence on the first bend. There was nowhere for Fisher to go and he fell leaving Magnus Karlsson to complete a hard first-second bend sweep to lead down the back straight. Tully got the better of Howe also down the back straight and passed Karlsson going into the third bend. Karlsson then discovered that what goes around comes around as Tully rode a wide line round turns three and four. This time it was Karlsson who fell, crashing into the fourth bend fence, and he was excluded from the rerun in which Andrew Tully charged away from David Howe for a 3-2 , the second of the match, and eleven point win for the home side.


Scorers: Edinburgh – Andrew Tully 12+3 (6), Ryan Fisher 11 (6), Michal Rajkowski 9+2 (6), Aaron Summers 8+2 (5), Sean Stoddart 6+2 (4), Matthew Wethers 5 (4).

Scun.thorpe – Magnus Karlsson 15 (5) (incl 6 point TR), David Howe 11 (5), Carl Wilkinson 7 (4), Viktor Bergstrom 4+1 (4), Simon Lambert 2+1 (4), Byron Bekker 1 (4), Jerran Hart 0 (4).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 23 May



Premier League:

Berwick v. Scun.thorpe
Stoke v. Newcastle
Workington v. Rye House



Premier League: ..... Berwick 47 (2 points), Scun.thorpe 43 (1 point).


Team changes: Berwick were without Gino Franchetti and had Mitchell Davey as a guest at number 6. Scun.thorpe were at full strength.

The Scorpions relied heavily on David Howe and Magnus Karlsson but only Carl Wilkinson provided any substantial support. Berwick by contrast had too much all round strength and never looked in danger of dropping as much as a point until a late rally by the Scorpions gave them a fright.

The visitors started with a race win though and it looked like it might be a 1-5 as Howe and Bergstrom led the race but Tero Aarnio passed Bergstrom with William Lawson stuck at the back. The 2-4 gave the Scorpions a two point lead but it was all change in the reserves race when Mitchell Davey led Greg Blair home for a 5-1 despite the efforts of Byron Bekker to get on terms with the Berwick youngster. It was Greg's first paid race win in Berwick's colours and the Bandits were now two up. Carl Wilkinson split the Franc – Clews partnership in heat 3 but the 4-2 doubled the Bandits lead to four points. Magnus Karlsson won heat 4 easily from Michal Makovsky for a 3-3 so the score was now 14-10.

Josef Franc scored his second race win in heat 5 beating David Howe who had to look lively to keep Paul Clews behind him. The 4-2 put Berwick six up and there was no change in heats 6 and 7 won by Karlsson and Makovsky but heat 8 resulted in another 4-2 for the home side. Tero Aarnio was the race winner but Jerran Hart burst into life for second place ahead of Mitchell Davey taking the score to 28-20.

Another Karlsson race win in heat 9 resulted in another shared race then Carl Wilkinson beat Tero Aarnio in heat 10. William Lawson just got the verdict for third ahead of Simon Lambert so this race was shared too. Heat 11 made it three shared races on the trot with Makovsky beating Howe and Bergstrom so the Scorpions were still only eight behind. Simon Lambert passed Paul Clews in heat 12 but Clews chased him down to regain the lead. Byron Bekker kept Mitchell Davey at the back so this became the fourth shared heat with the score now 40-32.

Scun.thorpe hit back in heat 13. Magnus Karlsson pulled away after an even break at the tapes with Makovsky and Howe. Lawson again registered a zero and the 2-4 pulled the visitors' arrears back to six points. They pulled another two points back in heat 14 when Carl Wilkinson beat Josef Franc while Jerran Hart took advantage of an engine failure for Greg Blair to move into third. The 2-4 pulled the gap back to four points and all of a sudden Scun.thorpe were within four points of a draw. They needed a 1-5 in the last race for two league points while Berwick needed a 5-1 for all three points. There was no stopping Magnus Karlsson though who completed a full five ride maximum. Franc and Makovsky followed him home for a shared race so both sides left with league points.


Scorers: Berwick – Josef Franc 11+1 (5), Michal Makovsky 11 (5), Tero Aarnio 9 (4), Paul Clews 7 (4), Mitchell Davey 5+1 (4), William Lawson 2+2 (4), Greg Blair 2+1 (4).

Scun.thorpe – Magnus Karlsson 15 (5) (full maximum), Carl Wilkinson 10 (5), David Howe 8 (4), Simon Lambert 3+1 (4), Jerran Hart 3 (4), Viktor Bergstrom 2+1 (4), Byron Bekker 2+1 (4).


Premier League: ..... Stoke 51 (3 points), Newcastle 38 (0 points).


Team changes: Stoke were at full strength.
Newcastle were without Steve Boxall (hand injury) and Kenni Larsen so had Jason Lyons as a guest at number 1 for Boxall and used Rider Replacement at number 2 for Larsen.

Well Newcastle could hardly have asked for a better start than to be awarded a 0-5 in heat one! The race was rerun after an unsatisfactory start. At the second attempt Lyons made a hash of the third and fourth bends Tom P Madsen passed him then Jason Bunyan suffered an engine failure before Madsen got out of shape also on turn four and Craig Branney crashed into both the Stoke riders. The referee put a stop to the farce and awarded the Diamonds the 0-5 after which the track was regraded. Unfortunately both Tom P Madsen and Craig Branney had to withdraw injured from the meeting leaving the fans with a lot of changes to make to their programmes.

Stoke scored a 5-1 in a three-rider reserves race after Mark Burrows had passed Casper Wortmann to join Jesper Kristiansen up front. Newcastle replied with a 2-4 as Derek Sneddon won from Lee Complin while Trent Leverington kept Klaus Jakobsen at the back. Newcastle now enjoyed a three point lead and Jason King kept it that way by winning heat 4 for a shared heat taking the score to 10-13.

The Diamonds pulled further away with another 2-4 in heat 5 won by Jason Lyons from Lee Complin and Derek Sneddon giving them a five point lead but Stoke pulled their arrears back to a single point again with a 5-1 in heat 6 thanks to Bunyan and Burrows who took advantage of a 15 metre handicap for Jason King who was excluded under the two minute rule. Derek Sneddon was next to suffer a 15 metre handicap in heat 7. However that didn't kick in until the rerun because in the first running of the race Phil Morris fell and was excluded. Sneddon's handicap was incurred when he was excluded for delaying the start of the race by spinning his rear wheel at the start. Kristiansen won the race while Sneddon made up his handicap to pass his partner, Trent Leverington, for second. The result was a 3-3 and Jason King won again in heat 8 for another shared race which took the score to 23-24.

Stoke finally hit the front with a 5-1 in heat 9. Klaus Jakobsen gated for the win while Complin and King passed and repassed each other. Complin nailed second place so the Potters took a 5-1 and led by three. Bunyan won from Sneddon for a 4-2 in heat 10 giving the home side a 4-2 and five point lead at 32-27. Newcastle hit back with a 1-5 in heat 11 as Trent Leverington and Jason Lyons gated to lead Phil Morris home. This meant that the Diamonds only trailed by one point but that went to three when they conceded a 4-2 in heat 12 when Jakobsen got the better of Sneddon on the first two bends. The score now stood at 37-34.

Bunyan and Morris looked to be off for a 5-1 in heat 13 but Lyons passed Morris for second so the Potters had to be content with a 4-2. At this point the Diamonds' resistance collapsed as the Potters finished with two 5-1s in heats 14 and 15. Complin and Kristiansen netted the first and Bunyan and Complin the second for a 13 point win.


Scorers: Stoke – Jesper Kristiansen 12+2 (7), Jason Bunyan 12 (5), Lee Complin 11+2 (5), Mark Burrows 6+2 (4), Klaus Jakobsen 6 (4), Phil Morris 4 (4), Tom P Madsen 0 (0).

Newcastle – Jason Lyons 11+1 (5), Derek Sneddon 10 (6), Jason King 8 (5), Trent Leverington 6+1 (5), Craig Branney 2+1 (1), Casper Wortmann 1 (7).



Premier League: ..... Workington 49 (3 points), Rye House 41 (0 points).


Team changes: Workington were without John Branney so had Jan Graversen as a guest at number 7. Rye House were without Tommy Allen so had Josh Auty as a guest at number 4. They were also without the injured Joe Haines for whom they used Rider Replacement at number 2.

If the Comets thought this would be a breeze they got a rude awakening as Rye House gave them a hard time of it and were unlucky not to leave with a point. It took a last heat 5-1 for the home side to earn them all three points.

The home side opened with a 4-2 for an early two point lead but when Bowen and Silver combined for a 1-5 in the reserves race the Rockets were in front. Doolan and Lawson replied with a 5-1 in heat 3 and now the Comets were two in front again and when they added another 5-1 through Graversen and Compton for a six point lead at 15-9 it looked as though they would ease ahead.

Back came the Rockets in heat 5. They got a break when Kevin Doolan had to retire with an engine failure while leading leaving Bowen and Mear sitting on a 1-5. Lawson came to the rescue by pipping Mear on the line for second in a damage limitation exercise. Rockets took a 2-4 and trailed by four then the next three heats won by Rymel, Compton and Sundstrom were all shared taking the score after eight heats to 26-22.

Doolan and Richard Lawson looked to be about to add another four points to the Comets' lead in heat 9 but Linus Sundstrom caught Lawson on the line to limit the damage to a 4-2. Workington took another 4-2 from heat 10 to lead by eight points but Rye House replied with a 2-4 when Rob Mear gated to beat Andre Compton and Luke Bowen. Heat 12 produced another 4-2 for the home side as Doolan beat Bowen and Graversen with Neath at the back. This took the score to 40-32 but Rye House were not finished.

With Rymel and Compton out for the Comets it looked a good opportunity for the home side to wrap things up. However Linus Sundstrom beat Rymel after a hairy moment while Rob Mear kept Compton at the back. The 2-4 reduced the gap to six points and it closed further to four after heat 14. Jan Graversen was the early race leader but he was passed by Luke Bowen, Richard Lawson and Josh Auty in turn which turned a 4-2 into a 2-4. This meant that there was all to race for in heat 15 with Workington needing nothing less than a 5-1 for all three points while Rye House needed a 1-5 for a draw and two points. Any other result would mean a 2-1 sharing of the points but Doolan and Rymel gated from Sundstrom for the 5-1 the Comets needed in an enthralling meeting.


Scorers: Workington – Adrian Rymel 13+1 (5), Kevin Doolan 12 (5), Andre Compton 7+1 (4), Richard Lawson 7+1 (4), Jan Graversen 6+1 (5), Charles Wright 4 (4), Luke Priest 0 (3).

Rye House – Luke Bowen 13+1 (7), Linus Sundstrom 12 (6), Chris Neath 7 (5), Robert Mear 5 (5), Andrew Silver 2+1 (3), Josh Auty 2+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 24 May



Premier League:

Newport v. Workington
Birmingham v. Sheffield

Premier League Knockout Cup:

Glasgow v. Somerset

Premier Trophy:

Newcastle v. Redcar



Premier League: ..... Newport 47 (2 points), Workington 43 (1 point).


Team changes: Newport had Tony Atkin at number 6 in place of Kyle Newman. Workington again had Jan Graversen at number 7 as a guest reserve replacement for John Branney.

After the first four races of this match it looked like the slow gating Wasps were in for a bit of a drubbing as they found themselves eight points down but they hit back well and, after the next four races, it was all square again. After that it was nip and tuck between the two sides with never more than two points between them.

In the early stages Newport simply couldn't live with the Comets out of the gate. Adrian Rymel and Charles Wright opened with a 2-4 and Graversen and Priest added a 1-5 in the reserves race. Kevin Doolan and Richard Lawson looked set for another 1-5 in heat 3 until Chris Kerr rescued a point for the home side by passing Lawson and they now trailed by 8 points as a result of the 2-4. Andre Compton made it four Workington race winners on the trot in a shared heat 4 with the score standing at 8-16.

It all turned round though. Brent Werner and Chris Kerr led Adrian Rymel home after Kerr had passed Rymel on the second lap in heat 5 which was rerun after Charles Wright had crashed in the first running. The 5-1 was just what the home side needed after such a poor start and they added a 4-2 in heat 6 when Paul Fry had a tapes to flag win ahead of Andre Compton and Mark Lemon had passed Luke Priest for third. There were now just two points between the sides but Workington stretched it to four again with a Richard Lawson win from Jordan Frampton who passed Kevin Doolan to prevent a 1-5. Back came the Wasps again and a 5-1 in heat 8 from Fry and Holder levelled the match again at 24-24.

Newport went ahead for the first time in heat 9 with another race win from Brent Werner who held off a determined challenge from Andre Compton while Chris Kerr took third for a 4-2. Mark Lemon won heat 10 after he had passed Doolan at the start of the last lap for a shared race but it was all square again after heat 11. Adrian Rymel won the race from Lemon while Charles Wright passed Tony Atkin on the run to the line for a 2-4. Brent Werner made it a hat trick of wins in heat 12 but it was only good enough for a 3-3 which took the score to 36-36.

The match could have gone either way and the outcome was no clearer after Adrian Rymel won heat 13 from Lemon and Frampton again for a shared heat but the Wasps struck a massive blow in the crucial heat 14. Jan Graversen and Richard Lawson made the gate for the Comets but Chris Kerr burst between them on the third and fourth bend then James Holder passed Lawson on the outside and Graversen on the inside to hold on for second and a 5-1 which put the home side four up with just one race to go. Finally Mark Lemon won heat 15 to lead the Wasps to victory while Kevin Doolan finished second and Adrian Rymel third for a shared race which gave Newport two league points and Workington one. After their opening salvo in the early heats Workington must have been disappointed to leave with just a single point for their efforts but full credit to Newport for battling back so well to win the match.


Scorers: Newport – Mark Lemon 9 (5), Brent Werner 9 (5), Chris Kerr 8+1 (4), Paul Fry 8 (4), Jordan Frampton 7+1 (4), James Holder 5+3 (5), Tony Atkin 1 (3).

Workington – Adrian Rymel 11+1 (5), Kevin Doolan 10 (5), Andre Compton 7 (4), Jan Graversen 6+1 (5), Richard Lawson 5+1 (4), Luke Priest 2+1 (3), Charles Wright 2 (4).



Premier League:.... Birmingham 49 (2 points), Sheffield 43 (1 point).


Team changes: Birmingham were without Ludvig Lindgren so used Rider Replacement at number 2. Manual Hauzinger came into the side at number 3 with Richard Sweetman moving to reserve to join James Cockle. Sheffield were without the injured Ritchie Hawkins and used Rider Replacement at number 2.

An entertaining match was fought out between these two sides. Birmingham enjoyed the long-missing luxury of a high scoring reserve in Richard Sweetman who rattled up 14 points and a fall from his seven outings while Sheffield likewise had Josh Auty scoring 13+2 from the reserve berth also from 7 rides. In fact the reserves had a big say in the outcome with the four of them totalling no less than 39 of the 92 points scored – i.e. over 42%!

When Sheffield led by two points after nine heats another miserable result looked possible for the Brummies but they hit a purple patch with three 5-1s in four heats which saw them wipe out their arrears and rocket into a ten point lead. It might have been better if they'd just been satisfied with an eight point lead because a 0-8 to the Tigers in heat 14 earned them a point from a match which looked as though it had slipped from their hands.

Birmingham made a good start to the meeting with a 4-2 in the reserves race and a 5-1 in heat 4 courtesy of Tomasz Piszcz and Tommy Sweetman coupled with two shared heats won by Jason Lyons and returning hero, Manuel Hauzinger, for a six point lead with the score after four heats reading 15-9.

Sheffield replied with a 1-5 in heat 5 with a brilliant ride from Josh Auty to pass both the Brummies to join Ricky Ashworth for the maximum and three shared races followed with wins for Lyons and Piszcz again in heats 6 and 7 then Chris Mills in heat 8 leaving the gap between the sides still at two points with the heat 8 score standing at 25-23.

Another 1-5 in heat 9 this time from Josh Auty and Richard Hall set the alarm bells ringing in the home camp but they responded immediately with a 5-1 in heat 10 thanks to a fine win from Richard Sweetman revelling in his move to reserve. Jason Lyons at the back passed both Parsons then Cooper to join him and the Brummies were two up again. Sweetman was out again in heat 10 and won that one too but there was no advantage for the home side as Ashworth followed him home and Auty won a pass and repass battle with Piszcz for third place. It was three on the trot for Sweetman who was out yet again in heat 12 and he made it a hat trick of wins while Manuel Hauzinger joined him for another 5-1 which put the home side six points ahead with the score now 39-33.

Piszcz and Lyons added yet another 5-1 in heat 13 but this was a bit of a Pyrrhic victory as, now ten points behind, it opened the way for Sheffield to nominate Chris Mills for a tactical ride in heat 14 which turned out to be a disaster for Birmingham. The first running of the heat was called back for an unsatisfactory start then, in the second running, Richard Sweetman fell at the end of the second lap causing Robert Ksiezak to take avoiding action. Ksiezak's bike stopped and both Brummies riders were excluded, Sweetman for being the cause of the stoppage and Ksiezak for not being under power. This left Chris Mills and Josh Auty to score an uncontested 0-8 undoing a lot of the hard work the home side had put in to establish their lead which was now cut to just two points resulting in a last heat decider. Birmingham took a 5-1 from it with Lyons leading Piszcz home but they were just the one point they didn't score in heat 14 short of taking all three league points.


Scorers: Birmingham – Richard Sweetman 14 (7), Jason Lyons 13+2 (5) (paid maximum), Tomasz Piszcz 11+1 (5), Manuel Hauzinger 5+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 3+1 (5), James Cockle 3 (4).

Sheffield – Josh Auty 13+2 (7), Chris Mills 9 (4) (incl 6 point TR), Ricky Ashworth 9 (5), Paul Cooper 4+3 (5), Richard Hall 4+1 (5), Joel Parsons 4 (4).



Premier League Knockout Cup, first round, second leg: ..... Glasgow 45, Somerset 44 – Somerset won on aggregate by 90-89..


Team changes: Glasgow were without Ross Brady so used Rider Replacement at number 2. They introduced their new signing RobinTornqvist at number 3 and nominated Adam McKinna as their number 8. Somerset were at full strength.

Glasgow had only a two point deficit to pull back from the first leg in this rerun cup tie after the first attempt had been washed out by a thunderstorm. Although they levelled on aggregate by heat 4 it took until heat 7 before they finally conjured up a lead over the two legs. Somerset didn't give up though and with a succession of shared heats they kept the pressure on Glasgow despite an outstanding performance from Lee Smart at reserve for the Tigers. After a maximum heat win for the Rebels in heat 14 the match went to a last heat decider but an exclusion for James Grieves left the Tigers hopes in tatters and Somerset, who take great credit for their performance, move on to meet Rye House in the second round.

For the second week running Shane Parker finished third in the opening race behind his partner Mitchell Davey (R/R) as Emil Kramer won the race for a 3-3. Glasgow were looking at a 5-1 in the reserves race but Mitchell Davey fell while leading and, although he remounted, he finished at the back. Lee Smart won the race for the Tigers for another shared heat. Josh Grajczonek won heat 3 from Simon Walker and Cory Gathercole while new signing, Robin Tornqvist, finished at the back. The run of shared heats was finally broken in heat 4. James Grieves gated to win from Steve Johnston while Lee Smart took the vital third place point from Jay Herne. The 4-2 put the Tigers two ahead with the score now 13-11 and the aggregate scores level.

Kramer gated to win heat 5 but, with Justin Sedgmen retiring, the race was shared as was heat 6 won by Steve Johnston from Shane Parker with Smart (R/R) again picking up the third place point this time from Tom Brown. Glasgow finally hit the front on aggregate with a 5-1 from Grieves and Davey ahead of Gathercole giving them a six point lead in the match. In heat 8 Lee Smart passed Justin Sedgmen on the last bend to win the race while Tom Brown finished third ahead of Josh Grajczonek so this heat was shared with the match score reading 27-21 and the Tigers leading 71-67 on aggregate.

In heat 9 Somerset exercised their right to choose their gate positions under the Tactical Gate rule and went off gates 3 and 4. It was a success. The Rebels hit back with a 1-5 as Tom Brown was 'shepherded' round by Steve Johnston leaving Grajczonek and Tornqvist to bring up the rear. Glasgow's lead in the match was cut to two points and the scores were tied on aggregate again. It stayed that way after Shane Parker won heat 10. Walker and Gathercole kept Davey at the back for another 3-3, the seventh of the match so far. However Glasgow were back in front on aggregate with a 4-2 in heat 11. James Grieves ended Emil Kramer's winning run while Lee Smart took third from Sedgmen. Heat 12 produced 3-3 number 8. Somerset sat on a 2-4 with Simon Walker leading from Lee Smart but Smart, having an inspired afternoon, passed Walker to win the heat. Tornqvist finished at the back but the 3-3 kept Glasgow four ahead at 38-34 and two up on aggregate at 82-80.

With Parker and Grieves out in heats 13 and 15 it looked ominous for the visitors. However it was Steve Johnston who gated to win heat 13 leaving Parker and Grieves to team ride to keep Emil Kramer at the back. The aggregate lead stayed at two with this the ninth shared race of the match.
With the inspired Lee Smart out in heat 14 with Josh Grajczonek Glasgow had a good opportunity to close out the tie but Somerset had other ideas. It was Cory Gathercole and Jay Herne who hit the front for a 1-5 which levelled the match and left Somerset two points ahead on aggregate with one race to go. Once again it was down to Parker and Grieves to pull the Tigers through. The vital coin toss went Glasgow's way and they took the favourable gates 2 and 4 with Grieves off gate 2 and Parker off gate 4 against Emil Kramer and Steve Johnston. When the race got under way there was drama as Kramer moved Grieves over on the second bend and the Glasgow rider crashed into the fence after picking up too much grip. The referee excluded Grieves leaving the Rebels needing only go pick up the three points to win on aggregate. The drama wasn't finished there though as Emil Kramer's bike packed up at the start in the rerun. He was excluded under the two minute rule so went from 15 metres back. However his bike packed up again so a second exclusion meant that he was out of the race and couldn't be replaced. This meant that any problem for Steve Johnston could yet see a Glasgow aggregate win! However there was no such final twist in the tail and Parker won the race with Johnston finishing the four laps for second giving the Rebels a one point aggregate win. It was scant consolation for the Tigers' fans that they at least won the match.

Scorers: Glasgow – Lee Smart 13+1 (7), Shane Parker 11+1 (5), James Grieves 10+1 (5), Josh Grajczonek 6 (4), Mitchell Davey 4+1 (4), Robin Tornqvist 1+1 (4).

Somerset – Steve Johnston 12+1 (5), Emil Kramer 8 (5), Tom Brown 7+2 (5), Cory Gathercole 6+2 (4), Simon Walker 6 (4), Jay Herne 3+2 (3), Justin Sedgmen 2 (4).



Premier Trophy: ..... Newcastle 51 (3 points), Redcar 39 (0 points).


Team changes: Newcastle were without Steve Boxall, Kenni Larsen and Craig Branney. They had Josef Franc as a guest at number 1 for Boxall, used Rider Replacement for Kenni Larsen at number 2 and had Michal Rajkowski at number 7 as a guest for Branney. Redcar were at full strength.

There was little at stake in this match since both teams were out of the running to qualify for the semi-final stage of the Premier Trophy.

The match started with two shared heats, Josef Franc winning the first from Gary Havelock and Michal Rajkowski the second from Arlo Bugeja but then Newcastle took the lead with a 5-1 from Trent Leverington and Derek Sneddon from Carl Stonehewer after Ben Wilson had been excluded. Ty Proctor was Redcar's first race winner in heat 4 but Jason King and Michal Rajkowski followed him home for another 3-3 which took the score to 14-10.

Derek Sneddon beat Gary Havelock in heat 5 but Havelock and Robbie Kessler finished behind him for another shared race. Then came a fantastic race in heat 6 which was rerun without Benji Compton who fell in the first running. Michal Rajkowski made the gate while Ty Proctor slipped past Josef Franc into second. There was a great battle between Rajkowski and Proctor but Rajkowski got the better of Proctor on the run to the line. This gave Newcastle a 4-2 and six point lead and It stayed that way when Jason King passed early race leader, Ben Wilson, in heat 7 with Carl Stonehewer in third for another 3-3. There was yet another 3-3 in heat 8 when Jason King passed the fast gating Robbie Kessler with Arlo Bugeja third. This took the score to 27-21.

Trent Leverington made the gate in heat 9 but in a first bend melee he went too wide and crashed into the fence so was excluded from the rerun. Derek Sneddon made the gate at the second attempt and held on for all four laps holding off all the challenges Ty Proctor could mount. This was the seventh 3-3 in nine heats! The eighth appeared one race later. Carl Stonehewer won the race to the first bend and held on to win from Franc and Rajkowski. Heat 11 produced...yes you've got it a 3-3! This time Jason King had to pass the fast gating Kessler and Wortmann but eventually he won the race comfortably while Wortmann slipped to the back. Finally there was a race advantage in heat 12 and it went to Newcastle. Michal Rajkowski gated just ahead of Carl Stonehewer and he held off all of Stonehewer's challenges to win the race. Benji Compton fell off at the back as Trent Leverington took third. The 4-2 opened Newcastle's lead to eight points with the score now 40-32.

Another 4-2 in heat 13 took the Diamonds' lead to 10 points. Josef Franc won the race from Ty Proctor and Jason King passed Havelock for third. This gave the Bears the chance to give Ben Wilson a tactical ride. It wasn't a success though as he slipped to the back after Bugeja rounded the opening bends on the outside to lead. Derek Sneddon passed him though so the result was a 4-2 to the Diamonds for a twelve point lead. Heat 15 finished perhaps fittingly as a 3-3. Jason King won after a good battle with Carl Stonehewer while Ty Proctor moved into third when Derek Sneddon fell.


Scorers: Newcastle – Jason King 15 (6), Michal Rajkowski 12+2 (7), Derek Sneddon 11+1 (5), Josef Franc 9 (4), Trent Leverington 4 (5), Casper Wortmann 0 (3).

Redcar – Ty Proctor 10+1 (5), Carl Stonehewer 9+1 (5), Robbie Kessler 6+2 (4), Gary Havelock 5+1 (4), Arlo Bugeja 4+2 (4), Benji Compton 3+1 (4), Ben Wilson 2 (4).

[Merlin]

Monday, 25 May



Premier League:

Rye House v. Workington
Scun.thorpe v. Edinburgh



Premier League:.... Rye House 58 (3 points), Workington 35 (0 points).


Team changes: Rye House were again minus Joe Haines and Tommy Allen. They used Rider Replacement at number 2 for Haines and had Robert Ksiezak as a guest at number 3 for Allen. Workington again had Jan Graversen at number 6 as a guest reserve replacement for John Branney.

Rye House started like a train powering into a 14 point lead after scoring three 5-1s and a 4-2 in the opening four races. Only guest, Jan Graversen, managed a 'genuine' point when he finished second to Luke Bowen in the reserves race. The heat 4 score made depressing reading for the Comets at 19-5. The track, however, was badly in need of attention so grading and watering took place before the match resumed.

The Comets' fortunes changed in heat 5 which produced a 0-5 after both Rye House riders had been excluded. Chris Neath had an engine failure at the starting gate and Robert Ksiezak lifted on the third bend. He took out Adrian Rymel who needed medical attention before the race was rerun. Normal service was resumed in heat 6 with a Sundstrom – Mear 5-1 before Workington's hopes took a further blow when Adrian Rymel had to withdraw from the meeting with concussion. To cheer them up Kevin Doolan took a tactical ride in heat 7. He won it too emerging from the second bend in front of Bowen and Sundstrom so the visitors pulled three points back with the 3-6 to trail by 10 points. Charles Wright then stormed to the front from the start of heat 8 and held on despite the combined challenges of Silver then Bowen. The shared heat took the score to 30-20.

Luke Priest fell twice in heat 9 before the race was stopped with Rye House on a 5-1. In the rerun Robert Ksiezak was feeling unwell and had to be replaced by Luke Bowen. It still ended up a 5-1 in the rerun with Chris Neath and Luke Bowen seeing off Andre Compton for a 14 point lead. Heat 10 produced an exciting race as Rob Mear chased down race leader, Kevin Doolan, to pass him on the line. Andrew Silver took third so the Rockets added two more to their lead with the 4-2. Workington then gave their second tactical ride to Charles Wright in heat 11. In the first running of the race Linus Sundstrom crashed through the fence on the third bend and was excluded. Luke Bowen won the rerun but with Wright second and Graversen third the Comets took a 3-5 advantage. Rye House recovered those two points with a 4-2 in heat 12 won by Neath from Doolan taking the score to 46-30.

A fine pass by Linus Sundstrom on Andre Compton earned Rye House a 4-2 in heat 13. Heat 14 produced another rerun when Jan Graversen crashed into Robert Ksiezak and was excluded. In the rerun Luke Bowen fell at the end of the third lap leaving Ksiezak to lead Richard Lawson home for a 3-2. The last fall of the meeting was reserved for the last race. This time it was Charles Wright who came to grief on the third bend causing a rerun from which he was excluded. This marathon of a meeting finally reached its conclusion with a win for Chris Neath with Rob Mear following him home ahead of Doolan for a 5-1 giving the Rockets a 23 point win.

It was interesting to note that, no doubt due to all the falls and reruns, this meeting which had a start time of 2.00pm had only reached heat 13 when the match at Scun.thorpe which had a start time of 3.00pm had been completed.


Scorers: Rye House – Chris Neath 15 (6), Luke Bowen 12+1 (5), Robert Mear 10+3 (5), Linus Sundstrom 10+1 (5), Andrew Silver 6+2 (5), Robert Ksiezak 5+1 (4).

Workington – Kevin Doolan 11 (5) (incl 6 point TR), Charles Wright 10 (5) (incl 4 point TR), Andre Compton 5 (4), Adrian Rymel 3+1 (2), Jan Graversen 3+1 (5), Richard Lawson 3 (4), Luke Priest 0 (5).



Premier League:.... Scun.thorpe 49 (2 points), Edinburgh 44 (1 point).


Team changes: Both teams were at full strength.

Edinburgh looked to be heading for a heavy defeat as they slipped 14 points behind after heat 9 having provided only two race winners at that point in Andrew Tully and Michal Rajkowski. For the Scorpions David Howe, Viktor Bergstrom and Magnus Karlsson were unbeaten but if they thought it was all over they were in for a rude awakening as Edinburgh pulled back 11 points over heats 10-12 and forced a last heat decider.

Ryan Fisher came to grief on the second bend and was excluded from the rerun of the opening heat. Aaron Summers led briefly at the second attempt but was soon passed by David Howe and Viktor Bergstrom giving the home side a 5-1. Michal Rajkowski gated to win the reserves race then the Monarchs pulled two points back in heat 3 with a win from Andrew Tully who passed Carl Wilkinson and Thomas H Jonasson in third. Scun.thorpe responded with a 4-2 of their own with a win from Magnus Karlsson over Matthew Wethers taking the score to 14-10.

Summers led heat 5 till the end of the third lap when he was passed by Simon Lambert but with Ryan Fisher ahead of Wilkinson the race was shared. Scun.thorpe doubled their lead to eight points with a 5-1 from Howe and Bergstrom in heat 6 and the lead stayed at eight when Magnus Karlsson won again from Tully and Johnasson. The lead was stretched to 12 points with another home 5-1 in heat 8 from Bergstrom and Hart who team rode to keep Summers back in third. The score was now 30-18.

Carl Wilkinson gated to win heat 9 while Matthew Wethers had his work cut out keeping Simon Lambert back in third to restrict the damage to a 4-2 which put the Scorpions 14 puts ahead. Then the Monarchs rocked their opponents with three heat advantages on the trot. Andrew Tully took a tactical ride in heat 10 and made a good gate. He was joined up front by Thomas H Jonasson for what looked like a 1-8 but David Howe rode a hard second bend on the second lap to pass Jonasson to restrict the damage to a 2-7 which cut the gap to nine points. Ryan Fisher made an excellent round the boards pass on Magnus Karlsson on the third and fourth bend of the opening lap of heat 11 while Aaron Summers passed a toiling Byron Bekker for third and a 2-4 for the Edinburgh side who now trailed by just seven points. The lead was down to just three points a race later! Thomas Jonasson gated and was away while Michal Rajkowski and Simon Lambert had a good tussle for second place. Lambert moved into second but was repassed by Rajkowski on the last bend for a 1-5 to Edinburgh which took the score to 39-36. It was now a different match.

Scun.thorpe nerves were soothed with a Howe – Karlsson 5-1 in heat 13, the home pair team riding well to keep their opponents at the back. The Scorpions led by seven points again at 44-37 but Edinburgh were not finished. Andrew Tully gated to win heat 14 while Rajkowski won the battle for second for another 1-5 which once again cut the gap to three points at 45-42 with one race to go. Scun.thorpe needed a 5-1 for all three points while Edinburgh needed only two points for a league points and a 1-5 for victory. David Howe made the gate in heat 15 but Magnus Karlsson found himself behind both Tully and Jonasson coming out of the second bend. He eventually passed Jonasson but not till the last two bends of the last lap and Andrew Tully's second place was good enough for a 2-1 split of the points.


Scorers: Scun.thorpe – David Howe 13+1 (5), Magnus Karlsson 11+1 (5), Viktor Bergstrom 8+1 (4), Carl Wilkinson 6 (4), Simon Lambert 5 (4), Jerran Hart 4+2 (4), Byron Bekker 2 (4).

Edinburgh – Andrew Tully 16 (5) (incl 6 point TR), Michal Rajkowski 7+2 (5), Thomas H Jonasson 6+1 (5), Ryan Fisher 5+1 (4), Matthew Wethers 5 (4), Aaron Summers 5 (4), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Thursday, 28 May



Premier League:

Redcar v. King's Lynn

Premier League Knockout Cup:

Home v. Away



Premier League:.... Redcar 38 (0 points), King's Lynn 54 (4 points).


Team changes: Both teams were at full strength.

King's Lynn started like an express train with a 1-5 in heat 1 after Tomas Topinka and Linus Eklof made the gate and Robbie Kessler fell and remounted. They added a 2-4 in the reserves race won by
Jan Graversen from Arlo Bugeja after Benji Compton had fallen and retired from the race. If he had continued he would have seen Kozza Smith fall and remount in front of him. The Bears pulled two points back in heat 3 with a 4-2 from Stonehewer and Wilson then Ty Proctor rounded the field on the first two bends of heat 4 to lead Darcy Ward home for a shared race which took the score to 10-14.

Tomas Topinka won again in heat 5 but this time Eklof finished last behind Stonehewer and Wilson so the heat was shared. Darcy Ward made the gate in heat 6 to lead Kessler and Havelock home for another 3-3 but the Stars pulled further ahead in heat 7 when Ty Proctor, having passed Chris Schramm, couldn't get to Emiliano Sanchez leaving the Stars to score a 2-4 for a six point lead. It stayed that way after Linus Eklof won heat 8 from Kessler and Bugeja for another 3-3 which took the score to 21-27.

Darcy Ward won a terrific battle in heat 9 with Carl Stonehewer but Ben Wilson's third place point meant a shared race then Redcar were in big trouble after conceding another 1-5 in heat 10. Chris Schramm and Emiliano Sanchez gated to leave Gary Havelock back in third which put the visitors ten points ahead at 25-35. Ty Proctor was not given the tactical ride in heat 11 which was a pity for the Bears because he beat Eklof and Topinka, the Stars' top pairing. His three points were only enough to share the race. Carl Stonehewer was the one selected for the TR in heat 12 but he could only finish second to Chris Schramm while Jan Graversen picked up third for the visitors for another shared race this time by 4-4 taking the score to 32-42.

It was all over bar the shouting after heat 13 when King's Lynn posted another 2-4 for a twelve point lead. Tomas Topinka won the race but not until he had fended off a hard challenging Ty Proctor to get the verdict on the line. Darcy Ward took third. Sanchez and Graversen added a 1-5 in heat 14 after Ben Wilson had fallen and been excluded from the rerun. Ty Proctor won the last race for a 3-3 leaving the Stars with a 16 point win and a warning to the rest of the league that they mean business in their challenge for the Premier League crown. On this form who's going to stop them.

Scorers: Redcar – Ty Proctor 13 (5), Carl Stonehewer 11 (5) (incl 4 point TR), Arlo Bugeja 4+1 (5), Robbie Kessler 4 (4), Ben Wilson 3+2 (4), Gary Havelock 3+1 (4), Benji Compton 0 (3).

King's Lynn – Darcy Ward 11+1 (5), Tomas Topinka 10+1 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 10+1 (4), Chris Schramm 8 (5), Jan Graversen 7+2 (5), Linus Sundstrom 7+1 (4), Kozza Smith 1 (3).



Premier League Knockout Cup – first round second leg:.... Sheffield 56, Edinburgh 34 – Edinburgh win on aggregate by 93-87.


Team changes: Sheffield were missing Ritchie Hawkins and used Rider Replacement at number 2 instead. Edinburgh were without Thomas H Jonasson and used Rider Replacement instead at number 3.

Edinburgh brought a 28 point lead with them from the first leg at Armadale and, with the Tigers recovering their best Owlerton form last week against Berwick, the question was – would 28 points be enough?

What a start for the Monarchs! After an all four back rerun Ryan Fisher and Aaron Summers stormed from the tapes to score a 1-5 against Joel Parsons (R/R) after Ricky Ashworth had an engine failure while back in third place. The aggregate lead was now 32 points but Sheffield shaved two points from it with a 4-2 in the reserves race when Josh Auty passed Michal Rajkowski after the Monarchs had led for a lap and a half. Andrew Tully was excluded from heat 3 after he had dived inside Paul Cooper and was adjudged to have brought the Sheffield rider down. Aaron Summers won the rerun after an exciting race to the line with Paul Cooper to keep Edinburgh in front in the match. There was no joy for the home side in heat 4 either as Matthew Wethers made a poor gate but swept round Richard Hall and Chris Mills off bend 2 for another shared race taking the score to 11-13 with the Monarchs' aggregate lead now 72-42.

Sheffield pulled themselves back into the match with a 5-1 in heat 5 after Joel Parsons and Paul Cooper gated and Cooper cleverly blocked all Ryan Fisher's efforts to pass him. The two point lead changed hands and the Tigers had at last made inroads into their aggregate arrears. Heat 6 was pulled back after Ashworth was caught rolling at the gate. He then crashed through the tapes in the rerun but it was still an all four back decision! At the next attempt the Tigers gated. Rajkowski came to grief on the second bend but remounted to watch Chris Mills and Ricky Ashworth to take maximum points. This 5-1 put the Tigers six ahead in the match and they increased it to eight points when Richard Hall gated to lead Ryan Fisher home for a 4-2. Another 5-1 for the home side in heat 8 after Mills and Auty had gated increased their lead on the night to 30-18 leaving them still trailing by 77-61 now with only sixteen points to pull back.

A 4-2 in heat 9 after Joel Parsons had led home Wethers who passed Cooper shaved another two points from the arrears now down to fourteen points and the Monarchs were in some disarray with their lead halved and six heats still to go. There was some respite for the visitors in heat 10. Ricky Ashworth just got the better of Andrew Tully from the gate but with Matthew Wethers in third the race was shared. Ritchie Hall won heat 11 from Ryan Fisher while Josh Auty took third from Aaron Summers for a 4-2 to the Tigers so the aggregate lead was down to 12 points but Sheffield were running out of heats still needing three 5-1s to level the match with four races left. Chris Mills failed to beat the two minute time allowance in heat 12 and had to go from 15 metres back since the Tigers' other reserve, Josh Auty, had replaced Paul Cooper in the line up. Still it didn't stop the Tigers from taking a 4-2 from the race as Josh Auty led Andrew Tully home after passing him on the second bend of the second lap while Chris Mills passed Michal Rajkowski on the same bend. The match score now stood at 45-27 and the aggregate score at 76-86.

Three 5-1s would now have given the Tigers a win overall while two 5-1s and a 4-2 were needed to force a replay. Edinburgh took advantage of the tactical gates rule in heat 13 going off 1 and 3 instead of 2 and 4. The race was called back after Ashworth once again jumped the start. Richard Hall won the race at the second attempt but Matthew Wethers took second ahead of Ricky Ashworth after a thrilling bout of passing and repassing for a 4-2 which put the Tigers 20 points ahead and eight behind on aggregate. Provided they had a finisher in each of the last two races Edinburgh could force a draw on aggregate at the worst while Sheffield needed two 5-1s to force a replay. However Andrew Tully finally resolved all the issues by taking second place behind Josh Auty and ahead of Joel Parsons in heat 14 for the 4-2 which saw the Monarchs through to the next round. To round things off Richard Hall won heat 15 but Matthew Wethers and Ryan Fisher finished behind him for a 3-3.


Scorers: Sheffield – Richard Hall 14 (5), Josh Auty 13+1 (6), Joel Parsons 10 (6), Chris Mills 9+1 (5), Ricky Ashworth 6+1 (4), Paul Cooper 4+2 (4).

Edinburgh – Matthew Wethers 11+1 (6), Ryan Fisher 9+1 (6), Aaron Summers 6+1 (5), Andrew Tully 6 (5), Michal Rajkowski 2 (5), Sean Stoddart 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 29 May



Premier League:

King's Lynn v. Redcar
Somerset v. Berwick

Premier Trophy

Edinburgh v. Glasgow
Scun.thorpe v. Newport



Premier League: .... King's Lynn 57 (3 points), Redcar 38 (0 points).


Team changes: King's Lynn were without Kozza Smith and had Darren Mallett at number 6. Redcar were at full strength.

King's Lynn were never challenged in this Premier League match. Indeed had it not been for a 16 point return from Ty Proctor, Redcar would have been sunk without trace. The only other credit the Bears could take from this match was the fact that they prevented the Stars from hitting 60 points.

Robbie Kessler managed a second place to Tomas Topinka in the opening race but the two points were all that Redcar managed over the first four races. Three consecutive 5-1s left them 19-5 down.
Things improved slightly for the Bears even though they lost another 4-2 to Chris Schramm and Emiliano Sanchez in heat 5. Ty Proctor won heat 6 from Eklof and Topinka for a shared race but regrettably he wasn't on a tactical ride. That was reserved for Ben Wilson in heat 7 up against Darcy Ward which made it a strange choice. However it was Carl Stonehewer who led the race early on before Ward passed him. Wilson then passed Stonehewer and the Bears ended up with a 3-5 heat advantage. An Eklof – Graversen 5-1 followed in heat 8 which took the score to 34-16.

Proctor won again in heat 9 for a 3-3 but it only momentarily stopped the Stars' charge. Topinka and Eklof added another 5-1 ahead of Stonehewer then Darcy Ward beat Havelock with Mallett third for a 4-2. Carl Stonehewer won heat 12 for another shared race and the score now stood at 49-25.

Finally Ty Proctor was given a TR, unusually in heat 13, against Topinka and Ward. He won it comfortably while his partner, Gary Havelock was involved in an exciting tussle with Darcy Ward behind him. Ward won this one after a passing and repassing bout off the last bend but the Bears took a 2-7 from the race as Topinka had the unusual experience of finishing last on his own track. When Darren Mallett fell in heat 14, Chris Schramm's victory was only worth a 3-3 then Ty Proctor completed a fantastic performance by winning the last heat against Ward and Schramm for another share of the points.


Scorers: King's Lynn – Darcy Ward 13 (5), Chris Schramm 12+1 (5), Jan Graversen 8+3 (4), Linus Eklof 8+1 (4), Tomas Topinka 7+1 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 6+2 (4), Darren Mallett 3+1 (4).

Redcar – Ty Proctor 16 (5) (incl 6 point TR), Ben Wilson 7 (4) (incl 4 point TR), Carl Stonehewer 5+1 (5), Gary Havelock 5 (4), Arlo Bugeja 2+1 (4), Robbie Kessler 2 (4), Benji Compton 1 (4).



Premier League: .... Somerset 61 (3 points), Berwick 35 (0 points).


Team changes: Both teams were at full strength.

Berwick were well and truly hammered by a rampant Rebels team who provided two maximum men in Steve Johnston and Emil Kramer. The Berwick score was enhanced by six extra points gained from two successful tactical rides by Josef Franc and Tero Aarnio and no other Bandit managed a race win.

Somerset tore into the Bandits from the start and, despite a 2-4 glitch in the reserves race won by the impressive Tero Aarnio, they had rattled up a 17-7 lead after four heats with three 5-1 victories. Another came along in heat 6 increasing the home side's lead to 14 points then Berwick gave Tero Aarnio a tactical substitute ride in heat 8. He duly won it for the visitors but with Simon Walker and Jay Herne finishing ahead of the woeful William Lawson, there was no support forthcoming and the Bandits were restricted to a 3-6 advantage which took the score to 31-20.

Two 5-1s and two 4-2s later rocketed the Rebels into a 23 point lead as Steve Johnston and Emil Kramer kept their maximum hopes alive with Justin Sedgmen getting into the act with race wins in heats 9 and 12. By heat 12 Somerset were 49-26 ahead.

Johnston and Kramer added the expected 5-1 in heat 13 but, hand it to Berwick, they knew when to play their tactical cards correctly. In heat 14 Josef Franc wore the black and white helmet cover and , like Aarnio before him, he won from Tom Brown. Since Cory Gathercole retired from the race Tero Aarnio's third place gave the Bandits a 2-7 race win – sheer luxury! Finally Johnston and Kramer completed their maximums with another 5-1 in heat 15 to take the Rebels score over 60 and leave the Bandits to lick their wounds. Without the tacticals the Bandits would not even have reached the 30 point mark.

It was a big pay day therefore for the Rebels who, with nine bonus points, were paid for 70 points but Berwick must be asking questions of some of their riders and the words 'Makovsky' and 'Lawson' spring to mind.


Scorers: Somerset – Steve Johnston 15 (5) (full maximum), Emil Kramer 13+2 (5) (paid maximum), Justin Sedgmen 9 (4), Simon Walker 7+2 (4), Cory Gathercole 7+2 (4), Tom Brown 6+1 (4), Jay Herne 4+2 (4).

Berwick – Tero Aarnio 12 (5) (incl 6 point TR), Josef Franc 10 (5) (incl 6 point TR), Paul Clews 5+1 (5), Michal Makovsky 3, William Lawson 2+1 (3), Greg Blair 2 (4), Gino Franchetti 1 (4).



Premier League: .... Edinburgh 53 (3 points), Glasgow 40 (0 points).


Team changes: Edinburgh were at full strength but Glasgow were without James Grieves, Ross Brady and Lee Smart. They had Travis McGowan as a guest at number 5 for Grieves, Ben Hopwood at number 7 in place of Smart and used Rider Replacement at number 2 for Brady. They also nominated Adam McKinna as their number 8.

Glasgow needed to win this match to qualify for the semi-finals of the Premier Trophy as runners up to Edinburgh. Even a draw would leave Berwick needing to beat Sheffield by more than 18 points in their last group stage match. However the Tigers fell short of their target but were still well in the match until they conceded a 5-1 in heat 12. After that it was 'The Raj' show.

The pattern was set for an entertaining match when Ryan Fisher beat Shane Parker to the first bend in the first race then warded off all Parker's challenges for a win just three tenths of a second outside the track record. Matthew Wethers third place gave the Monarchs a 4-2 and they added another in the reserves race for an early four point lead. Heat 3 was a strange affair as Robin Tornqvist and Andrew Tully had a jousting contest of barging and shoving behind race leader Michal Rajkowski which ended in tears for Tully when he fell after finally passing Glasgow's new Swede. Travis McGowan then won by a mile from Matthew Wethers for another 3-3 which took the score to 14-10.

Shane Parker sat behind Rajkowski briefly in heat 5 before oozing to the front round the outside for another shared heat then Travis McGowan won heat 6 after Ryan Fisher had made a boo boo on the second bend second time round for another 3-3. With Parker and McGowan looking so dominant it looked as though the Monarchs were going to have to make hay in the races when they were not involved. Josh Grajczonek shot from the gate with his partner Tornqvist to lead the Edinburgh pair in heat 7. Tully and Summers were soon past Tornqvist then Grajczonek pulled a huge locker on the fourth bend causing Tully, close behind him, to seek refuge on the centre green. The referee stopped the race and excluded Grajczonek. In the rerun Summers and Tully scored a comfortable 5-1 to double the Edinburgh lead to 8 points. Wethers rounded the Glasgow pair on the first two bends of heat 8 but Grajczonek took second and the Edinburgh 4-2 took the score to 29-19.

Travis McGowan took a tactical ride for the Tigers in heat 9 and was well in front when Andrew Tully visited the first bend fence again. The race was awarded so Glasgow took a 2-7 cutting their arrears to five points at 31-26. Ryan Fisher won heat 10 but Grajczonek and Tornqvist looked set to share the points behind him until Wethers passed Tornqvist for a 4-2 which put the Monarchs 7 ahead again. Their lead was cut to five though after the Tigers took a 2-4 in heat 11. Aaron Summers made an electric start to lead from Shane Parker and held on for three and a half laps until Parker wound it on round bends one and two on the last lap to pass Summers down the back straight for a fine win. Meanwhile Ryan Fisher produced his weekly fall on the second bend and, although he remounted, there was no catching Adam McKinna who took third. With Parker and McGowan due out in heats 13 and 15 Glasgow were now in with a real chance if they could restrict the damage in a weak looking heat 12 for them. They couldn't as Summers and Tully took an easy 5-1 from Tornqvist and Davey leaving the Tigers 9 points adrift with the score at 42-33. Then came the fireworks from Michal Rajkowski who rattled off three heat wins on the trot to 'polish' things off for the Monarchs.

In heat 13 he gated ahead of Travis McGowan and Shane Parker with Fisher at the back. McGowan took up the chase as Fisher moved past Parker off the fourth bend. Rajkowski rode an excellent race to defy a last bend inside pass effort by McGowan for a 4-2. Rajkowski then won heat 14 from Mitchell Davey who rode well to keep Summers back in third place. Rajkowski then brought the house down by repeating his heat 13 performance. Again he gated ahead of McGowan and Parker and again McGowan could not get close enough to challenge him so the race ended up a 3-3. It was an excellent meeting though with Glasgow taking advantage of the points Edinburgh shed and looking much more competitive than they have been for some time at Armadale.


Scorers: Edinburgh – Michal Rajkowski 16 (6), Aaron Summers 13 (6), Ryan Fisher 9 (5), Matthew Wethers 7+2 (5), Andrew Tully 5+3 (4), Sean Stoddart 4 (3).

Glasgow – Travis McGowan 16 (5) (incl 6 point TR), Shane Parker 9+1 (5), Josh Grajczonek 5+1 (5), Robin Tornqvist 4 (4), Mitchell Davey 4 (6), Adam McKinna 1 (2), Ben Hopwood 1 (3).



Premier League: .... Scun.thorpe 52 (3 points), Newport 38 (0 points) .


Team changes: Scun.thorpe were at full strength while Newport had Adam Wrathall at number 6 in place of Kyle Newman.

Scunthorpe's target was quite clear cut in this, their last Premier Trophy group stage match. They had to beat Newport by more than six points to clinch the runners up spot in the group and qualify for the semi-finals. They did it but it was no walk in the park for the Scorpions who were still only six points ahead after 12 heats. Heat advantages in the last three races took them into a semi-final tie against Edinburgh Monarchs.

The Scorpions had a setback in the opening race when Paul Fry and Mark Lemon scored a 1-5 but two 4-2s and a 5-1 over the next three races put them in front at 14-10. Newport's opening pair produced another race win in heat 5, this time a 4-2 which cut the gap to two points but Viktor Bergstrom and David Howe replied with a 5-1 in heat 6 so the home side's lead was extended to six points. An excellent race between Brent Werner and Magnus Karlsson developed in heat 7 with the Newport rider winning it then the Wasps shook the home side with another 1-5 in heat 8 thanks to Paul Fry and James Holder. The score was now 25-23 and Scun.thorpe's chances of qualification didn't seem quite so rosy.

Back to back 4-2s in heats 9 and 10 restored their six point lead. They were followed by two shared races in heats 11 and 12 taking the score to 39-33 and leaving the home side looking towards their big two, Howe and Karlsson, to see them over the line. They managed a 4-2 in heat 13 when Mark Lemon could only split the pair but another 4-2 in heat 14 won by Carl Wilkinson from Chris Kerr put the Scorpions ten points up so only a 1-5 for the Wasps in the last race could deny the home side the three league points they needed. There was a 5-1 in heat 15 OK but it went to the home side with Howe and Karlsson delivering the goods.


Scorers: Scun.thorpe – David Howe 12+1 (5), Magnus Karlsson 11+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 9 (4), Simon Lambert 8+1 (4), Viktor Bergstrom 5 (4), Byron Bekker 4+1 (4), Jerran Hart 3 (4).

Newport – Paul Fry 10+1 (5), Mark Lemon 8+1 (5), Brent Werner 6 (4), James Holder 5+2 (5), Jordan Frampton 5 (4), Chris Kerr 4 (4), Adam Wrathall 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Saturday 30 May



Premier League:

Rye House v. Sheffield
Stoke v. Somerset
Workington v. Birmingham



Premier League: ..... Rye House 52 (3 points), Sheffield 38 (0 points).


Team changes: Rye House had Carl Stonehewer as a guest in place of Rob Mear and used Rider Replacement at number 3 in place of Joe Haines. Sheffield used Rider Replacement at number 2 in place of Ritchie Hawkins.

Looking at the final score you would think that this was a comfortable win for the Rockets but the truth of the matter is that Sheffield gave them a hard time before they finally pulled away late in the match.

Sheffield started with a 1-5 a rare occurrence at Hoddesdon these days. Ricky Ashworth and Paul Cooper did the damage but the Rockets replied with a 5-1 in the reserves race to level again after Josh Auty had fallen. Neath won heat 3 which was awarded after Luke Bowen had fallen just as his partner had passed Joel Parsons. The points were shared but Rye House went in front in heat 4 with a 5-1 from Sundstrom and Silver in the rerun after Richard Hall had fallen and been excluded. The Rockets now led by 14-10.

The falls continued unabated and Chris Mills was next to come to grief in heat 5 which was shared thanks to a Ricky Ashworth win. Josh Auty fell again in heat 6 which was rerun with all four back. In the rerun it was Carl Stonehewer's turn to fall so Tommy Allen's win produced another 3-3 as did heat 7 won by Joel Parsons who did well to hold off Linus Sundstrom. Tommy Allen was the next faller in heat 8. In the rerun Joel Parsons and Josh Auty took a 1-5 for the Tigers which levelled the scores again at 24-24.

A good win for Silver who held off Auty for the whole race gave the Rockets a 4-2 in heat 9 to put them ahead again then Joel Parsons won heat 10 for a shared race. Heat 11 had to be rerun as Ricky Ashworth collided into Bowen and Sundstrom on the first bend. It was all four back back for the rerun which was won by Luke Bowen for another 4-2 which put the home side four up. They doubled that lead in heat 12 thanks to a 5-1 from Bowen and Neath which took the score to 40-32 with the Tigers now looking a beaten side.

Ashworth kept their hopes alive by winning heat 13 but with Richard Hall suffering an engine failure at the gate it was only good enough to share the points. Chris Mills fell in heat 14 as Neath and Bowen wrapped things up for the Rockets with another 5-1 then Chris Neath won the final heat from Ashworth with Sundstrom passing Parsons for third and a 4-2 giving the Rockets a 14 point lead.


Scorers: Rye House – Luke Bowen 14+2 (7), Chris Neath 13+2 (6), Linus Sundstrom 10+1 (6), Andrew Silver 8+2 (5), Tommy Allen 6 (4), Carl Stonehewer 1+1 (3).

Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 13 (5), Joel Parsons 12 (6), Josh Auty 6+1 (6), Paul Cooper 4+2 (5), Chris Mills 2 (4), Richard Hall 1+1 (4).



Premier League: ..... Stoke 49 (3 points), Somerset 40 (0 points).


Team changes: Stoke used Rider Replacement for Tom P Madsen at number 2 and had Gareth Isherwood at number 8. Somerset used Rider Replacement for Justin Sedgmen at number 3..

When Stoke led by a single point at 24-23 after heat 8 it looked as though this match might go down to the wire but the Potters upped a gear towards the end to take all three points. Somerset were handicapped by the loss of Jay Herne who, despite being awarded two points when a Phil Morris charge sent him into the fence in heat 4, was awarded second place.

Two 4-2s for the Potters over the first three heats resulted in a four point Stoke advantage but the score was turned around when the Rebels were awarded a 0-5 in heat 4. Steve Johnston was in front when the race was stopped while the referee decreed that Buzz Burrow, still under power at the back, should not be awarded the third place point. Maybe it was retribution – is that in the rule book? Anyway the five points to the Rebels put them in front at 11-12.

Complin and Jakobsen threatened a 5-1 in heat 5 but Emil Kramer rescued a second place so the Potters had to be content with a 4-2 which nonetheless put them back in front by a point. The next three heats were all shared so the home side's one point lead was still the difference between the sides after heat 8 with the score at 24-23.

Stoke began to pull away after that. Unfortunately using R/R and with Jay Herne now out of the match the Rebels were only able to field one rider in each of the next two heats and the Potters cashed in with two 4-2s to increase their lead to five points. A Kramer win in heat 11 stopped the haemorrhaging of points but it was only good enough for a shared race then heat 12 saw the Potters reach the comfort zone with a 5-1 from Klaus Jakobsen and Buzz Burrows. Stoke now led by 40-31 and even a single point for the Rebels was beginning to look decidedly odds against.

Somerset took a 2-4 from heat 13 though and it might have been a 1-5 as Steve Johnston and Emil Kramer seemed set for the maximum only for Kramer to be caught and passed on the line by Jason Bunyan. The lead was down to seven points but heat 14 produced a 4-2 after a rerun without Tom Brown who fell and was excluded. Now nine points in arrears the Rebels needed a 1-5 in heat 13 for a single league point but Jason Bunyan won the race from Johnston and Kramer to see the Potters home for all three points.


Scorers: Stoke – Jason Bunyan 13 (5), Klaus Jakobsen 11 (6), Lee Complin 10 (4), Jesper Kristiansen 7+1 (6), Mark Burrows 4+3 (5), Phil Morris 4+1 (4).

Somerset – Steve Johnston 13 (5), Emil Kramer 9+1 (5), Cory Gathercole 9 (4), Tom Brown 4+1 (7), Simon Walker 3 (5), Jay Herne 2+1 (2).



Premier League: ..... Workington 51 (3 points), Birmingham 44 (0 points).


Team changes: Workington with Craig Cook replacing Luke Priest at number 6 were at full strength. Birmingham had Lee Smart as a guest in place of Richard Sweetman at number 7.

When Workington soared into a 30-12 lead after heat 7 everything looked tickety boo for the Comets but a comeback by the Brummies took it to a last heat decider for a point. The Comets needed a fast gate and win from Kevin Doolan for a 3-3 to secure all three points.

The Comets started like an express train. Two 5-1s and two 4-2s took them into a 12 point lead at 18-6 in the first four races. Kevin Doolan then won heat 5 but Birmingham at least stopped the rot by sharing the race with Jason Lyons and Ludvig Lindgren relegating Richard Lawson to the rear. It was only a momentary breather for the Brummies as Workington moved further ahead with a 4-2 from Rymel and Wright then Craig Cook won his first ever race in a Comets' race jacket in heat 7 with Andre Compton following him home for a 5-1 from Robert Ksiezak. After John Branney had fallen and been excluded Birmingham provided their first race winner in heat 8 when Ludvig Lindgren beat Charles Wright. Lee Smart's third place gave the Brummies a 2-4 which took the score to 32-16.

Tomasz Piszcz took a tactical ride in heat 9 and won from Lawson and Doolan so Birmingham pulled another three points back with the 3-6 and had cut the gap to 13 points. An Adrian Rymel win in heat 10 produced a 3-3 but the visitors pulled two more points back in heat 11 when Jason Lyons took a tactical ride. He could only finish second to Andre Compton but Ludvig Lindgren's third place gave the Brummies a 3-5 cutting the lead to 11 points. A 4-2 from Doolan and Branney stretched the Comets' lead to 13 points again with the score now 45-32.

The home fans started to worry when Lyons and Piszcz gated to a 1-5 in heat 13 cutting the Birmingham arrears to just nine points and they continued to make inroads to that lead with a 2-4 in heat 14 won by Robert Ksiezak cutting the arrears to seven. Birmingham needed a last heat advantage to take a single league point but they were denied by Kevin Doolan who beat Lyons and Piszcz for the 3-3 the Comets needed from the race.


Scorers: Workington – Kevin Doolan 13+1 (5), Adrian Rymel 10 (5), Andre Compton 8+1 (4), John Branney 7 (5), Charles Wright 5+1 (4), Richard Lawson 4+1 (4), Craig Cook 4 (3).

Birmingham – Tomasz Piszcz 13+2 (5) (incl 6 point TR), Jason Lyons 12 (5) (incl 4 point TR), Robert Ksiezak 6+1 (4), Lee Smart 6 (7), Ludvig Lindgren 5+2 (4), James Cockle 2 (2), Manuel Hauzinger 0 (3).