Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Saturday, 14 July

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


Premier League: Berwick 51, Rye House 41

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Premier League: Workington 49, Sheffield 41.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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