Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Sunday, 26 August

Bank Holiday Sunday saw four Premier League matches take place. At Glasgow the Tigers faced Newcastle while at Newport the Wasps took on Somerset. The third match was at Mildenhall where the Fen Tigers raced against the Tigers of Sheffield. Finally at Birmingham the Brummies had King’s Lynn as their visitors.


Premier League: Glasgow 55, Newcastle 38


Both Glasgow and Newcastle were at full strength for this match.

The opening two heats were shared. David McAllan made a fast start to heat 1 to beat Jonas Raun and Christian Henry passed Craig Watson on the last bend for a 3-3. Michael Coles won heat 2 but Sam Dore and Sean Stoddart finished behind him for another drawn heat. Shane Parker and Robert Ksiezak put the Tigers four points ahead in heat 3 with Parker breaking the track record into the bargain then Trent Leverington made it four race winners on the trot for the home side by winning heat 4. Again however Lee Dicken was last so this heat was shared taking the score to 14-10.

Jonas Raun was excluded for tape touching in heat 5 so was replaced by Sean Stoddart. Parker won again after he pulled away from Christian Henry. Ksiezak was third so the race finished as a 4-2. The same score was recorded in heat 6 when McAllan won again beating Carl Wilkinson who passed Craig Watson so the Tigers were now eight points up. Josef Franc became the first visiting rider to win a race in heat 7 when he beat Trent Leverington. Paul Clews passed Michael Coles for third place so Newcastle scored a 2-4 from the heat. Glasgow replied with a 4-2 in heat 8. David McAllan kept his unbeaten run going by finishing ahead of Jonas Raun while Lee Dicken scored his first point ahead of Sean Stoddart. This took the score to 28-20.

Sam Dore fell in heat 9 causing the race to be rerun. Shane Parker won the heat and with Ksiezak behind him another 5-1 went to the Tigers putting them 12 points ahead. Josef Franc won heat 10 for the Diamonds with Watson and McAllan in second and third for a shared race then Christian Henry was given a Tactical Ride in heat 11. He won the race from Trent Leverington who prevented a 1-8 by passing Jonas Raun on the last bend of the second lap. The Diamonds took a 2-7 though cutting the gap to 7 points. In heat 12 Shane Parker was in front again but at the end of the last lap Josef Franc and Lee Dicken clashed on the last bend of the second lap. Dicken fell and the referee eventually excluded the Newcastle rider. In the rerun Parker and Dicken scored a 5-1 ahead of Sean Stoddart to stretch the gap to 11 points with the score now 43-32.

Craig Watson finally won a race in heat 13 while Christian Henry finished second after a race long tussle with Trent Leverington for a home 4-2. Josef Franc was then given a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back replacing Paul Clews in heat 14. Ksiezak and Coles took a 5-1 from the race as Franc was unable to make up the handicap. In the last race Shane Parker completed his maximum but Henry and Franc finished ahead of McAllan for a shared heat giving the Tigers a 17 point win and Newcastle a lot to do on Monday night to challenge for the bonus point..

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5), David McAllan 11+1 (5), Robert Ksiezak 8+2 (4), Trent Leverington 8 (4), Craig Watson 6 (4), Michael Coles 5+1 (4), Lee Dicken 3+1 (4).

For Newcastle – Christian Henry 13+1 (5)(with 6 point TR), Josef Franc 8+1 (6), Jonas Raun 5 (4), Carl Wilkinson 4+1 (4), Sean Stoddart 4+1 (6), Paul Clews 2 (3), Sam Dore 2 (3).



Premier League: Newport 48, Somerset 42 Somerset won the aggregate bonus point by 103-77

Newport were at full strength but Somerset were missing Magnus Zetterstrom who was riding in Poland. The Rebels were only allowed a Conference League guest in his place so had Karl Mason at number 1.

There is only limited information available about this match but it’s clear that Magnus Zetterstrom’s absence cost the Rebels an away win which might yet be significant as so many teams chase a top four finish.

The first four heats were shared leaving things tied at 12-12 before Newport took the lead with a 5-1 in heat 5 from Tony Atkin and Phil Morris. Ritchie Hawkins won heat 6 from Michal Rajkowski with Jordan Frampton third for a 2-4 to Somerset cutting their arrears to two points. It was all square after heat 7 when Emil Kramer won again from Chris Schramm. Stephan Katt was third for a 2-4. The Rebels then took a four point lead with a 1-5 in heat 8 through the efforts of Simon Walker and Jordan Frampton taking the score to 22-26.

Tony Atkin won heat 9 but Phil Morris was excluded so the race points were shared then in heat 10 the Wasps pulled two points back with a 4-2. Rajkowski won the race from Emil Kramer while Hedley picked up third place after Stephan Katt had been excluded. Jordan Frampton won heat 11 for a 3-3 and Phil Morris did likewise in heat 12 taking the score to 35-37. Even with a two point lead the visitors looked fragile without Zetterstrom’s usual heat 13 and 15 appearances.

When Ritchie Hawkins was excluded from heat 13 Chris Schramm and Michal Rajkowski took a 5-1 which put the Wasps two points in front then another 5-1 from Tony Atkin and Nick Simmons sealed a win for the home side. Rajkowski won heat 15 for a shared race and Newport earned a six point win.

Scorers: For Newport – Michal Rajkowski 12+1 (5), Tony Atkin 11 (5), Chris Schramm 9 (4), Phil Morris 6+2 (4), Nick Simmons 5+2 (4), Barry Burchatt 3+2 (4), Tom Hedley 2+1 (4).

For Somerset – Jordan Frampton 13+1, Emil Kramer 10+2 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 10 (5), Simon Walker 7 (4), Stephan Katt 1, Danny Warwick 1, Karl Mason 0 (3).



Premier League: Mildenhall 43, Sheffield 46 Sheffield won the aggregate bonus point by 98-81


Mildenhall were at full strength but Sheffield used Rider Replacement for the injured James Birkinshaw at number 4.

Tom P Madsen suffered a foot injury in heat 1 when Ricky Ashworth made contact with him but Shaun Tacey won the race from Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson for a 3-3. The Fen Tigers took the lead in heat 2. Mark Baseby won the race from James Cockle with Tomas Suchanek third for a 4-2 then the home side added a 5-1 in heat 3 from Kyle Legault and Paul Fry with Andre Compton third for a six point lead. James Cockle won heat 3 for Sheffield while Joel Parsons finished third behind Jason King for a 2-4 taking the score to 14-10.

Kyle Legault and Paul Fry added two points to Mildenhall’s lead with a 4-2 in heat 5 when Ricky Ashworth could only split the home pairing. The Fen Tigers then rocketed into a ten point lead with a 5-1 in heat 6 from Tom Madsen and Shaun Tacey as Joel Parsons could only follow them home. Heat 7 won by Andre Compton was shared then Ben Wilson won heat 8 also for a shared heat taking the score to 29-19. In neither race did Sheffield see fit to use a Tactical Ride, a decision they might have regretted.

Kyle Legault was controversially excluded from heat 9 when he was deemed to have clashed with Paul Cooper although there had not appeared to have been any contact. Paul Fry won the race from Joel Parsons for a 3-2 in a two rider finish to put the home side 11 points in front. There was still no TR from the visitors when in heat 10 Sheffield hit back with a 2-4 from Andre Compton and Paul Cooper with Shaun Tacey taking second place. This cut the gap to 9 points and Sheffield’s opportunity for a TR was gone. Perhaps their arithmetic had gone awry because they tried to give a TR to Ashworth in heat 11 until it was pointed out that they were now only 9 points down. Heat 11 resulted in a 1-5 for the visitors through Ashworth and Wilson cutting the gap to only five points then in heat 12 Kyle Legault lifted and was lucky to be included in the rerun of the heat which was shared taking the score to 35-30.

Tom P Madsen was ruled out of the match as was Kyle Legault leaving the Fen Tigers ill-prepared for the last three heats. In heat 13 Ricky Ashworth and Joel Parsons raced off for another 1-5 to the Yorkshire Tigers leaving them only one point adrift. Heat 14 was shared leaving the final race as a last heat decider. Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth cashed in by taking a 1-5 to win all three points for the visitors who had turned an 11 point deficit into a 3 point win over the last 6 heats and given their play-off chances a massive, albeit slightly fortunate, boost.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Shaun Tacey 10+1 (5), Paul Fry 9+1 (5), Kyle Legault 7+1 (4), Jason King 6 (4), Mark Baseby 4+1 (4), Tomas Suchanek 4+1 (5), Tom P Madsen 3 (3).

For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 13 (5), Andre Compton 12+1 (5), Ben Wilson 6+2 (4), Joel Parsons 6+1 (5), James Cockle 5 (5), Paul Cooper 4+1 (6).



Premier League: Birmingham 43, King’s Lynn 46

Birmingham were without the unfortunate Emiliano Sanchez so used Rider Replacement at number 2 with Manuel Hauzinger moving to number 5. King’s Lynn were at full strength.

Chris Mills won the opening race with Tomas Topinka at the back while Moller and Bager earned a 3-3 but the Brummies failed to score in heat 2. Lee Smart fell after taking the lead while Ben Powell had an engine failure. This gave the Stars a 0-5 which was to prove crucial to the end result. Daniel Nermark won from the Lyons/Moller pairing in heat 3 for another 3-3 but the Brummies hit back with a 5-1 in heat 4 from Manuel Hauzinger and Ben Powell to take the score to 11-12.

Jason Lyons won heat 5 but Henrik Moller finished behind Topinka and Mills so this race was shared but another 5-1 from Hauzinger (R/R) and Bager in heat 6 put the home side ahead for the first time. King’s Lynn replied in kind with a 1-5 from Nermark and Lee as this time Hauzinger finished third. Chris Mills scored another race win in heat 8 for a 3-3 and the score was now 23-24.

The Brummies were back in front after heat 9 when Lyons beat Harding with Moller third for a 4-2 and it stayed that way after Daniel Nermark won heat 10 from Bager and Powell for another 3-3. Heat 11 was pivotal, too, when Manuel Hauzinger fell leaving Topinka and Mills to score another 1-5 with Lee Smart third. The Stars were now three points to the good but Birmingham pulled two of them back with a 4-2 in heat 12 when Jason Lyons finally lowered Nermark’s colours as Ben Powell picked up third. This took the score to 35-36.

Tomas Topinka won heat 13 from Hauzinger and Bager for a 3-3 but Birmingham took a 4-2 in heat 14 from Ben Powell, who beat Paul Lee, and Henrik Moller. This put the home side 1 point ahead going into the last race. Disaster struck for the Brummies again when Jason Lyons’ bike gave up the ghost at the starting gate leaving Tomas Topinka and Daniel Nermark to race off for a 1-5 which gave the Stars a three point win.

Scorers: For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 11 (5), Ben Powell 9+2 (6), Manuel Hauzinger 9 (5), Henning Bager 8+4 (6), Henrik Moller 5+1 (5), Lee Smart 1 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 13+1 (5), Tomas Topinka 11 (5), Chris Mills 9+2 (4), Paul Lee 4+1 (4), James Brundle 3+1 (3), Trevor Harding 3 (4), Benji Compton 3 (5).