Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Sunday, 5 August

There were four Premier League matches scheduled for today but the one at Glasgow where Redcar were due to be the opposition fell victim to the weather . The other three went ahead. At Newport the Wasps met Berwick while at Mildenhall the Fen Tigers took on Birmingham. The other match was at Newcastle where the Diamonds raced against Edinburgh.


Premier League: Newport 38, Berwick 54


Newport were without Tom Hedley so had to use Rider Replacement at number 2. Berwick were missing Sebastian Truminski, Jacek Rempala and David Meldrum. They used Rider Replacement at number 1 in place of Truminski and had Lee Complin as guest in place of Rempala at number 3. Billy Legg rode at number 7 for the Bandits in place of Meldrum.

Newport must hate the sight of Lee Complin lining up against them. Having scored 19 points for Edinburgh in their win at the Newport track he appeared in this match for Berwick and recorded a full 15 point maximum to help the Bandits to a win. Mind you, he wasn’t the only maximum man as Stanislaw Burza also went through the card unbeaten by an opponent.

Tony Atkin won the opening heat for the Wasps but with Rajkowski failing to score the race points were shared. Newport then went into a four point lead with a 5-1 in heat 2 thanks to Nick Simmons and Barry Burchatt. The warning signs were out for the home side however when Lee Complin and Stanislaw Burza squared things with a Berwick 1-5 ahead of Tony Atkin and Phil Morris who fell and remounted. Michal Makovsky won heat 4 for a shared race which took the score to 12-12.

The Atkin/Morris pairing conceded another 1-5 in heat 5 this time to Andreas Bergstrom and Stanislaw Burza but the Wasps neutralised the effect of that with a 5-1 from Barry Burchatt and Michal Rajkowski in heat 6. Back came Berwick with another 1-5 in the maximum blitz with the Complin/Burza pairing striking again this time at the expense of Chris Schramm. Nick Simmons won a rerun heat 8 in a three man race after Chris Schramm fell on the first bend and was excluded taking the score to 22-26.

Michal Makovsky won heat 9 from Atkin and Morris then Berwick were able to field Lee Complin in each of the next three races. The Wasps’ nemesis led the Bandits to two 1-5s and a 2-4 to leave the home side gasping some 14 points in arrears. Complin was partnered by Burza in the first of these maximums then Bergstrom in the second. It didn’t help the home side when Phil Morris retired while leading heat 12 leaving Complin to score another race win from Nick Simmons with Sam Martin picking up the gift third place point. The score now read 29-43.

In heat 13 Newport gave Michal Rajkowski a Tactical Ride but he could only finish second to Michal Makovsky. Bergstrom finished third as Chris Schramm retired so the race was shared 4-4. In heat 14 Burza continued the rout beating Tony Atkin and Sam Martin finished third ahead of Nick Simmons for a 2-4 then Burza was out again to complete his six ride paid maximum in the final heat by winning from Atkin and Rajkowski who shared the points.

Scorers: For Newport – Tony Atkin 11 (6), Michal Rajkowski 8+2 (5)(with 4 point TR), Nick Simmons 8 (6), Barry Burchatt 6+2 (4), Chris Schramm 4 (5), Phil Morris 1+1 (4).

For Berwick – Lee Complin 15 (5)(full maximum), Stanislaw Burza 14+4 (6)(paid maximum), Michal Makovsky 11+1 (6), Andreas Bergstrom 10+1 (5), Sam Martin 4+1 (5), Billy Legg 0 (3).



Premier League: Mildenhall 42, Birmingham 48


Mildenhall were at full strength but Birmingham were missing Henrik Moller who was riding in the Nordic Round of the European Championships. They used Rider Replacement at number 4 instead.

This was a bad day at the office for the Fen Tigers whose poor gating was a major factor in this six point home defeat.

The Brummies got off to a 1-5 start thanks to Ulrich Ostergaard and Ben Powell who headed home Shaun Tacey and Tom P Madsen. Strangely enough these were the only points Ben Powell was to score in his five rides. A comfortable 5-1 for Tomas Suchanek and Mark Baseby in the reserves race returned the score to equality then Jason Lyons won heat 3 to keep it that way. Birmingham were back in front again after heat 4 though with another 1-5 from Manuel Hauzinger and Emiliano Sanchez against heat 2 race winner, Tomas Suchanek, and Jason King. This took the score to 10-14.

Mildenhall got two points back in heat 5 when Kyle Legault won the race from Ostergaard with Paul Fry third then Emiliano Sanchez won heat 6 for a shared race. Heat 7 was a sore one for Mildenhall when they lost another 1-5 this time to Jason Lyons and Manuel Hauzinger to increase the Brummies lead to six points. Manuel Hauzinger was out again in heat 8 and won the race from Tomas Suchanek and Shaun Tacey for a 3-3 taking the score to 21-27.

In heat 9 Mildenhall were looking for a 5-1 when Kyle Legault and Paul Fry led the race but Emiliano Sanchez passed Paul Fry on the last lap to limit the Fen Tigers to a 4-2, cutting the visitors’ lead to four points. Jason Lyons remained unbeaten by winning heat 10 but Tom P Madsen and Shaun Tacey kept the dangerous Hauzinger at the back for a shared race. Mildenhall got even closer after heat 11 when Tomas Suchanek beat Ulrich Ostergaard with Jason King third for a 4-2 reducing the gap between the teams to two points. Kyle Legault and Manuel Hauzinger crashed together going into the first bend in the rerun of heat 12. All four were invited back and Legault won the second rerun from Manuel Hauzinger. Behind this pair Tomas Suchanek passed Jason Lyons but was repassed by Lyons so the heat was shared taking the score to 35-37.

Tom P Madsen won heat 13 from Ostergaard and Sanchez for a 3-3 but Birmingham struck a decisive blow by taking heat 14 when Manuel Hauzinger beat Paul Fry with Emiliano Sanchez third for a 2-4 which put the Brummies four ahead with one race to go. The visitors wrapped things up with a 2-4 in the final race when Ulrich Ostergaard beat Kyle Legault with Jason Lyons third for a six point win.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Kyle Legault 12+1 (5), Tomas Suchanek 9 (5), Tom P Madsen 7 (5), Paul Fry 6 (4), Shaun Tacey 4+3 (4), Mark Baseby 2+1 (3), Jason King 2 (4).

For Birmingham – Manuel Hauzinger 14+1 (7), Ulrich Ostergaard 12 (5), Jason Lyons 11+1 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 9+2 (5), Ben Powell 2+1 (5), Lee Smart 0 (3).



Premier League: Newcastle 46, Edinburgh 44


Newcastle had Sam Dore at number 6 as a replacement for Adam McKinna while Edinburgh had John McPhail at number 6 in place of Daniele Tessari.

Newcastle snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in this match after trailing by four points with just two heats to go. Edinburgh had pulled back from 6 points down after heat 7 to take the lead for the first time in heat 13 but the Diamonds produced a storming finish to gain the points.

George Stancl blazed past the field off the second bend to win the opening heat for a share of the points before Newcastle struck with a 4-2 in the reserves race. Sean Stoddart made the gate and Andrew Tully could not catch him. Sam Dore was third and the Diamonds were two up. Josef Franc won heat 3 after Ross Brady had made the start. Kai Laukkanen passed Brady on the second bend and Kalle Katajisto did likewise a lap later, again for a shared heat. Newcastle doubled their lead in heat 4 with another 4-2. Carl Wilkinson won the race comfortably while Matthew Wethers held off Sean Stoddart for second place. The score now stood at 14-10.

Edinburgh hit back with a 2-4 in heat 5. Derek Sneddon made the gate and led going into the third bend while George Stancl was at the back. A fantastic manoeuvre by Stancl saw him pass both Newcastle riders to slip in behind Sneddon going into the second lap. Stancl then tried to protect Sneddon but Josef Franc was much faster than the Edinburgh captain so Stancl had to abandon the plan to ensure he won the race. Sneddon took third and there were now just two points between the teams again. Back came Newcastle in heat 6 with a 4-2 from Christian Henry and Jonas Raun who finished behind Matthew Wethers then another 4-2 in heat 7 when Carl Wilkinson gated ahead of Kai Laukkanen and held off the Finn’s challenge to win the heat. Sam Dore took third place and the Diamonds had stretched their lead to six points. Edinburgh hit back with a 1-5 in heat 8. Sneddon and Tully were fast away and paired up coming off the second bend to ride side by side for all four laps. Raun could find no way through and in desperation tried a wide sweep round the third bend on the last lap only to come to grief as Tully led his partner home for the maximum. The score was now 25-23.

Josef Franc won heat 9 from the gate but the action was behind him. Matthew Wethers passed Ross Brady who was now in full flight but Andrew Tully hunted him down to pass him in the run in to the line after Brady had gone wide on the last bend. The race was shared then Newcastle pulled four points in front again with a 4-2 in heat 10. Christian Henry won this one from the gate with Laukkanen second while Jonas Raun took third place. The lead didn’t last long though because Edinburgh hit back with a 1-5 in heat 11. Derek Sneddon made the gate while George Stancl worked his way past Wilkinson to sit behind his partner and give an exemplary display in the art of team riding. Wilkinson was all over the place trying to pass the Monarchs’ pairing but Stancl was always in control of the situation and the Edinburgh maximum levelled the scores. They stayed level when Josef Franc won heat 12 from the gate with Laukkanen and Tully following him home for a shared race which took the score to 36-36.

The home fans were stunned as Edinburgh hit them with a 1-5 in heat 13. It was another fine effort from Stancl who got to the second bend in front of Wilkinson and Henry. Matthew Wethers slipped up the inside of both the Diamonds cutting back off gate 4 to join his partner but couldn’t hold off Wilkinson who passed him to move into second. That’s the way it stayed until the last bend when Carl Wilkinson went way out into the dirt to try to catch Stancl and ended up with an engine problem in the run up to the line allowing Matthew Wethers to repass him for the maximum. Edinburgh were now four points in front and looked to be in the driving seat. However the Diamonds had other ideas. Sean Stoddart simply flew from the gate in heat 14 and, try as he did, Andrew Tully just failed to pass him in the run in to the line after an excellent four lap battle. Sam Dore picked up the easy third place point from John McPhail so the visitors’ lead was down to two points going into the last race where they had to face the unbeaten Stancl. There was a delay to the start of heat 15 as the track was extensively watered for the one remaining race. This worked to Newcastle’s advantage for, as Josef Franc and George Stancl battled for the lead round the first two bends, Christian Henry picked up a colossal amount of drive off the outside of these bends to soar past both riders into the lead. Franc won his tussle on the outside of Stancl so the Diamonds secured the 5-1 they needed to win the match.

Scorers: For Newcastle – Josef Franc 13+1 (5), Christian Henry 11 (5), Carl Wilkinson 8 (4), Sean Stoddart 8 (6), Jonas Raun 3+1 (4), Sam Dore 3 (3), Ross Brady 0 (3).

For Edinburgh – George Stancl 13 (5), Andrew Tully 9+2 (6), Matthew Wethers 8+1 (4), Kai Laukkanen 8 (5), Derek Sneddon 5+2 (4), Kalle Katajisto 1+1 (3), John McPhail 0 (3).