Around the Premier League Tracks 2007
Tuesday, 12 June
The sole action tonight was at the Isle of Wight where the Islanders took on King’s Lynn in a Premier League Match.
Premier League: Isle of Wight 42, King’s Lynn 47
The Isle of Wight were at full strength while King’s Lynn had Mildenhall’s Tomas Suchanek as the guest reserve replacement for John Oliver.
This match was televised by Sky Sports 1 so was almost certainly the most watched Premier League match in history! The Isle of Wight are a formidable side at home and rarely lose at home but they faced the current league champions who have ridden all five of their league matches so far away from home and won four of them! The television audience were treated to an exhilarating match in the warm sunshine.
In the opening heat, Tomas Topinka made a fabulous gate to lead out of bend two but Chris Holder was soon on his tail and did all but ride up Topinka’s back in his efforts to get through. Somehow Topinka held on while behind them Cory Gathercole, comfortably lying third, suffered a puncture crossing the starting gate at the beginning of the second lap leaving Chris Mills to cruise home for third and a 2-4 to the Stars. The Islanders levelled again in heat 2. Chris Johnson made a fine start to lead Tomas Suchanek with Andrew Bargh in third place. Johnson couldn’t shake of Suchanek but the Stars’ guest was stuck on the inside and couldn’t find a way through. At the back Andrew Bargh, in third place, came under pressure from James Brundle but the Stars’ rider baled out on the third bend of the third lap trying to dive inside Bargh. The referee stopped the race and awarded it as a 4-2 to the home side. The Islanders took a four point lead in heat 3. Jason Bunyan and Krzysztof Stojanowski made the better starts and when Stojanowski moved Nermark over on the first bend the home side were away. Nermark was never far away from Stojanowski but, despite a last bend challenge which just failed, the home side scored a 5-1. They added a 4-2 in heat 4. Glen Phillips and Chris Johnson simply rocketed from the gate to leave the Stars in trouble but a majestic swoop by Paul Lee round the outside of Chris Johnson saw him move into second off the fourth bend. At the back Suchanek, who had replaced Brundle, brought up the rear and again found himself stuck on the inside of Johnson unable to make a telling move on him. This took the score to 15-9.
King’s Lynn pulled two points back in heat 5. This time the Stars made the gate and Tomas Topinka was well away. Jason Bunyan took up the chase on Chris Mills and it was just a matter of time before Bunyan passed him. He made his move at the end of the second lap and passed Mills off the fourth bend of the second lap to take up the chase on Topinka. There was no catching the King’s Lynn captain so the heat ended as a 2-4. The Islanders hit back with a 5-1 in heat 6. Holder and Gathercole made the gate with Paul Lee left stranded on the line. Suchanek was seen off by the home men round the opening bends while Lee also passed his partner to take up the chase. He had conceded too much ground at the tapes though and never looked like passing Gathercole. The home side’s lead stretched to 8 points but the visitors now had four races from the inside gates. In heat 7 Trevor Harding made the start from the favourable gate 3 to lead from the second bend. Daniel Nermark also made a good start but overcooked the second bend to allow Glen Phillips through. However he recovered to swoop round the outside of Phillips round the third and fourth bends into second place to ride shotgun behind his partner for a 1-5 to the Stars which cut the Islanders’ lead to four points again. It went to 6 again after heat 8. Cory Gathercole made an excellent start and a round the boards burst round the opening bends saw him into the lead down the back straight. Chris Johnson, off the graveyard gate 2, did well to move briefly into second place but Chris Mills had the outside run and got into second place. The race was strung out after that and the 4-2 took the score to 27-21.
Heat 9 became the first shared race of the meeting. Jason Bunyan shot from gate 4 to ride the boards emerging in front of Paul Lee, who had also made a good start, down the back straight. Tomas Suchanek worked his way into third place from the start to share the points ahead of Stojanowski who pulled up at the back. Chris Holder touched the tapes in heat 10 and went from 15 metres back. It was all action in this heat but it turned out disastrous for the Islanders. Nermark had a clear run to the first bend and was joined by Trevor Harding in second place as Gathercole and Holder gave chase. Gathercole, who looked to be impeding a frantic effort from Holder, fell on the third bend of the second lap as Holder drove under him. The Islanders’ number 1 then scraped the fence in his efforts to catch Harding but, on the last bend, he went just too wide as Harding also took a wide line and crashed heavily into the fence. This gave the Stars a 0-5 and now there was only one point between the teams at 30-29. Glen Phillips won heat 11 getting the better of Topinka, off the dreadful gate 2, from the start. Topinka might have been expected to put Phillips under pressure but the Isle of Wight man won comfortably. Chris Mills was in third place so the race was shared. So far gate 2 had not produced a single race winner! Heat 12 saw a brilliant ride from Daniel Nermark. Jason Bunyan made a fabulous start off gate 1 and headed for the second bend fence. Nermark was too long in the tooth to be caught by that move and cut back from the outside to roar inside Bunyan and head off for a classy win. Tomas Suchanek took a good third place having started off gate 2 so the visitors took a 2-4 which saw them into the lead for the first time in the match with the score standing at 35-36.
Further disaster struck the Islanders when Chris Holder had to withdraw from the meeting as a result of his heat 10 fall. He was replaced in heat 11 by Chris Johnson. This was a fabulous heat. Tomas Topinka gated from gate 1 and Paul Lee got the drop on Glen Phillips off gate 4. Lee cleverly denied Phillips the outside run but Phillips ‘did a Nermark’ by cutting back off the top of the second bend to roar inside Lee into second place. Phillips rode out of his skin to catch Topinka but had Paul Lee to worry about since the King’s Lynn man was all over his exhaust pipe. There was little between the riders all race with the outcome in doubt until the riders crossed the line. There was no change in the riding order so a 2-4 to the Stars increased their lead to three points. James Brundle also had to pull out of the meeting so Suchanek took his place in heat 14. Andrew Bargh rose to the occasion for the home side with an excellent ride from the start to hold off the ever pressing Trevor Harding and Tomas Suchanek with Krzysztof Stojanowski stuck at the back. This produced a shared race so the match went down to a last heat decider with the Islanders needing a 5-1 to win. They won the toss however and chose gates 1 and 3 with Phillips on the inside gate and Bunyan off three. The Stars had Tomas Topinka off gate 2 and Daniel Nermark gate 4. It was all over when Nermark and Topinka made the start and led down the back straight. A terrific effort from Jason Bunyan saw him pass Topinka at the end of the opening lap but it was too little, too late. The Stars took a 2-4 for a five point lead and the match ended with gate 2 having failed to provide a race winner.
The Isle of Wight will be disappointed to lose a home meeting but the real winner was speedway as this match was as good as, and better than, many televised Elite League matches. Well done to both sides.
Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 12 (5), Glen Phillips 9 (5), Cory Gathercole 5+1 (4), Chris Holder 5 (3), Chris Johnson 5 (5), Andrew Bargh 4 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 2+1 (4).
For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 12+1 (5), Tomas Topinka 12 (5), Trevor Harding 6+2 (4), Tomas Suchanek 6+1 (6), Paul Lee 6 (4), Chris Mills 5+1 (4), James Brundle 0 (2).
Tuesday, 12 June
The sole action tonight was at the Isle of Wight where the Islanders took on King’s Lynn in a Premier League Match.
Premier League: Isle of Wight 42, King’s Lynn 47
The Isle of Wight were at full strength while King’s Lynn had Mildenhall’s Tomas Suchanek as the guest reserve replacement for John Oliver.
This match was televised by Sky Sports 1 so was almost certainly the most watched Premier League match in history! The Isle of Wight are a formidable side at home and rarely lose at home but they faced the current league champions who have ridden all five of their league matches so far away from home and won four of them! The television audience were treated to an exhilarating match in the warm sunshine.
In the opening heat, Tomas Topinka made a fabulous gate to lead out of bend two but Chris Holder was soon on his tail and did all but ride up Topinka’s back in his efforts to get through. Somehow Topinka held on while behind them Cory Gathercole, comfortably lying third, suffered a puncture crossing the starting gate at the beginning of the second lap leaving Chris Mills to cruise home for third and a 2-4 to the Stars. The Islanders levelled again in heat 2. Chris Johnson made a fine start to lead Tomas Suchanek with Andrew Bargh in third place. Johnson couldn’t shake of Suchanek but the Stars’ guest was stuck on the inside and couldn’t find a way through. At the back Andrew Bargh, in third place, came under pressure from James Brundle but the Stars’ rider baled out on the third bend of the third lap trying to dive inside Bargh. The referee stopped the race and awarded it as a 4-2 to the home side. The Islanders took a four point lead in heat 3. Jason Bunyan and Krzysztof Stojanowski made the better starts and when Stojanowski moved Nermark over on the first bend the home side were away. Nermark was never far away from Stojanowski but, despite a last bend challenge which just failed, the home side scored a 5-1. They added a 4-2 in heat 4. Glen Phillips and Chris Johnson simply rocketed from the gate to leave the Stars in trouble but a majestic swoop by Paul Lee round the outside of Chris Johnson saw him move into second off the fourth bend. At the back Suchanek, who had replaced Brundle, brought up the rear and again found himself stuck on the inside of Johnson unable to make a telling move on him. This took the score to 15-9.
King’s Lynn pulled two points back in heat 5. This time the Stars made the gate and Tomas Topinka was well away. Jason Bunyan took up the chase on Chris Mills and it was just a matter of time before Bunyan passed him. He made his move at the end of the second lap and passed Mills off the fourth bend of the second lap to take up the chase on Topinka. There was no catching the King’s Lynn captain so the heat ended as a 2-4. The Islanders hit back with a 5-1 in heat 6. Holder and Gathercole made the gate with Paul Lee left stranded on the line. Suchanek was seen off by the home men round the opening bends while Lee also passed his partner to take up the chase. He had conceded too much ground at the tapes though and never looked like passing Gathercole. The home side’s lead stretched to 8 points but the visitors now had four races from the inside gates. In heat 7 Trevor Harding made the start from the favourable gate 3 to lead from the second bend. Daniel Nermark also made a good start but overcooked the second bend to allow Glen Phillips through. However he recovered to swoop round the outside of Phillips round the third and fourth bends into second place to ride shotgun behind his partner for a 1-5 to the Stars which cut the Islanders’ lead to four points again. It went to 6 again after heat 8. Cory Gathercole made an excellent start and a round the boards burst round the opening bends saw him into the lead down the back straight. Chris Johnson, off the graveyard gate 2, did well to move briefly into second place but Chris Mills had the outside run and got into second place. The race was strung out after that and the 4-2 took the score to 27-21.
Heat 9 became the first shared race of the meeting. Jason Bunyan shot from gate 4 to ride the boards emerging in front of Paul Lee, who had also made a good start, down the back straight. Tomas Suchanek worked his way into third place from the start to share the points ahead of Stojanowski who pulled up at the back. Chris Holder touched the tapes in heat 10 and went from 15 metres back. It was all action in this heat but it turned out disastrous for the Islanders. Nermark had a clear run to the first bend and was joined by Trevor Harding in second place as Gathercole and Holder gave chase. Gathercole, who looked to be impeding a frantic effort from Holder, fell on the third bend of the second lap as Holder drove under him. The Islanders’ number 1 then scraped the fence in his efforts to catch Harding but, on the last bend, he went just too wide as Harding also took a wide line and crashed heavily into the fence. This gave the Stars a 0-5 and now there was only one point between the teams at 30-29. Glen Phillips won heat 11 getting the better of Topinka, off the dreadful gate 2, from the start. Topinka might have been expected to put Phillips under pressure but the Isle of Wight man won comfortably. Chris Mills was in third place so the race was shared. So far gate 2 had not produced a single race winner! Heat 12 saw a brilliant ride from Daniel Nermark. Jason Bunyan made a fabulous start off gate 1 and headed for the second bend fence. Nermark was too long in the tooth to be caught by that move and cut back from the outside to roar inside Bunyan and head off for a classy win. Tomas Suchanek took a good third place having started off gate 2 so the visitors took a 2-4 which saw them into the lead for the first time in the match with the score standing at 35-36.
Further disaster struck the Islanders when Chris Holder had to withdraw from the meeting as a result of his heat 10 fall. He was replaced in heat 11 by Chris Johnson. This was a fabulous heat. Tomas Topinka gated from gate 1 and Paul Lee got the drop on Glen Phillips off gate 4. Lee cleverly denied Phillips the outside run but Phillips ‘did a Nermark’ by cutting back off the top of the second bend to roar inside Lee into second place. Phillips rode out of his skin to catch Topinka but had Paul Lee to worry about since the King’s Lynn man was all over his exhaust pipe. There was little between the riders all race with the outcome in doubt until the riders crossed the line. There was no change in the riding order so a 2-4 to the Stars increased their lead to three points. James Brundle also had to pull out of the meeting so Suchanek took his place in heat 14. Andrew Bargh rose to the occasion for the home side with an excellent ride from the start to hold off the ever pressing Trevor Harding and Tomas Suchanek with Krzysztof Stojanowski stuck at the back. This produced a shared race so the match went down to a last heat decider with the Islanders needing a 5-1 to win. They won the toss however and chose gates 1 and 3 with Phillips on the inside gate and Bunyan off three. The Stars had Tomas Topinka off gate 2 and Daniel Nermark gate 4. It was all over when Nermark and Topinka made the start and led down the back straight. A terrific effort from Jason Bunyan saw him pass Topinka at the end of the opening lap but it was too little, too late. The Stars took a 2-4 for a five point lead and the match ended with gate 2 having failed to provide a race winner.
The Isle of Wight will be disappointed to lose a home meeting but the real winner was speedway as this match was as good as, and better than, many televised Elite League matches. Well done to both sides.
Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 12 (5), Glen Phillips 9 (5), Cory Gathercole 5+1 (4), Chris Holder 5 (3), Chris Johnson 5 (5), Andrew Bargh 4 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 2+1 (4).
For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 12+1 (5), Tomas Topinka 12 (5), Trevor Harding 6+2 (4), Tomas Suchanek 6+1 (6), Paul Lee 6 (4), Chris Mills 5+1 (4), James Brundle 0 (2).
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