Around the Premier League Tracks 2007
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Thursday, 30 August
While King’s Lynn were hosting the Elite League Riders’ Championship at the Norfolk Arena, three tracks ran Premier League matches simultaneously. At Redcar the Bears met Newcastle while at Sheffield the Tigers took on Birmingham. The other match was on the Isle of Wight where Workington were the visitors.
Premier League: Redcar 53, Newcastle 40 Redcar won the aggregate bonus point by 108-78
Redcar were without Mathieu Tressarieu who had been injured racing in France so used Rider Replacement at number 5. Newcastle, however, were at full strength for this match.
After their thumping at home by the Bears, Newcastle were thirsting for revenge in this eagerly awaited local derby. Redcar have proven to be vulnerable at home but not on this occasion although the Diamonds’ cause was not helped when Christian Henry had to withdraw injured after only one ride.
The first three races were all shared. Gary Havelock gated in heat 1 but Henry and Raun tucked in behind him ahead of Auty for the 3-3. In heat 2 Sean Stoddart made the best start but was passed twice by Dan Giffard. Jack Hargreaves retired at the back so it was another 3-3. James Grieves won heat 3 for the Bears but Chris Kerr fell on the second bend leading to another 3-3. Redcar took the lead in heat 4. Carl Wilkinson gated but fell on the same bend as Chris Kerr in the previous heat again on the second lap. Josh Auty moved through to win the race from Sean Stoddart for a 4-2 which took the score to 13-11.
Christian Henry joined the list of fallers when he came off on the first bend of Heat 5. He was excluded from the rerun and took no further part in the meeting with a knee injury. James Grieves and Chris Kerr took a 5-1 from the race to put the home side six points in front. In heat 6 Josh Auty was excluded under the two minute time allowance but his replacement, Daniel Giffard, won the race from Carl Wilkinson and Gary Havelock for a 4-2. Another 4-2 resulted from heat 7 won by Chris Kerr from Josef Franc then heat 8 was shared. Auty and Stoddart fell on the first bend but both took part in the rerun won by Auty from Raun and Stoddart taking the score to 29-19.
Another 5-1 from Grieves and Kerr followed in heat 9 to leave Newcastle struggling. The Bears added another two points to their lead with a 4-2 thanks to a win by Josh Auty from Josef Franc in heat 10. Gary Havelock again finished third. Newcastle got two points back in heat 11 when Sean Stoddart gated to beat James Grieves. Josef Raun took third for a 2-4 to the Diamonds but Grieves was out again in heat 12 and won this time after passing Josef Franc. Daniel Giffard took third for a 4-2 so the score moved to 44-28.
Carl Wilkinson took a Tactical Ride and gated to win heat 13 but Gary Havelock retired leaving Stoddart and Hargreaves to pass and repass each other for third place. Stoddart won that particular battle so the Diamonds registered the big 1-8 cutting the gap to 9 points but the Bears finished with two 4-2s with wins from Chris Kerr and Josh Auty to win by 13 points.
Scorers: For Redcar – James Grieves 14 (5), Josh Auty 12 (6), Chris Kerr 11+2 (5), Daniel Giffard 9 (6), Gary Havelock 5 (4), Jack Hargreaves 2 (4).
For Newcastle – Sean Stoddart 12+2 (6), Josef Franc 9+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 9 (5)(with 6 point TR), Jonas Raun 5+1 (4), Christian Henry 2 (2), Paul Clews 2 (4), Sam Dore 1+1 (4).
Premier League: Sheffield 57, Birmingham 36 Sheffield won the aggregate bonus point by 99-83
Both Sheffield were without James Birkinshaw and used Rider Replacement at number 4 instead. They nominated Ben Hopwood as their number 8. Birmingham were without Emiliano Sanchez and used Rider Replacement at number 2.
Trailing by only five points from the match at Birmingham, Sheffield were strong favourites to win tonight’s match and take the bonus. The Tigers were on a roll with two consecutive away wins while Birmingham were also challenging for a top four finish.
This was an incredible match. Sheffield already tracking a six man team plus number 8 and using R/R lost another two riders as a result of a heat 5 crash which saw Andre Compton and James Cockle forced to withdraw from the meeting. The Tigers rallied in fine style to cope with this handicap and beat Birmingham comfortably despite having to contest three races with only one rider and cope with a Brummies 1-8 in heat 7.
It was business as usual for the Tigers when they started with a heat one 5-1 from Wilson and Ashworth but heat 2 was shared after James Cockle forgot to turn on his fuel leaving Paul Cooper to win for a 3-3. Jason Lyons passed both Paul Cooper on the first lap then Andre Compton on the second lap to win heat 3 for a 3-3 but Sheffield doubled their lead in the next race when James Cockle and Joel Parsons won from Ben Powell for a 5-1 to take the score to 16-8.
Then came heat 5. Henning Bager made contact with Andre Compton on the back straight causing the Sheffield rider to fall. James Cockle following behind ploughed into Compton resulting in injuries to both the Sheffield riders and their withdrawal from the meeting. Bager was excluded while number 8, Ben Hopwood, came into the rerun with Paul Cooper. Cooper passed Ben Powell to win the race while Hopwood picked up the gift third place point for a Tigers’ 4-2 putting them ten points ahead. The Tigers’ lead increased to 14 points thanks to another Ashworth/Wilson 5-1 in heat 6. Jason Lyons took a Tactical Ride in heat 7 while Sheffield, having to manage their limited resources carefully, tracked just one rider. Lyons and Moller gated ahead of Joel Parsons for a 1-8 which cut the gap to 7 points. Heat 8 was another with only one Sheffield rider. Again the lone Tiger, Ben Wilson, rose to the occasion by winning the race for a 3-3 and the score now stood at 29-22.
Andre Compton was replaced by Paul Cooper in heat 9 while Ben Hopwood took the R/R ride. Cooper won the race blasting round the two Birmingham riders for another 3-3 but Birmingham shot themselves in the foot in heat 10. Jason Lyons and Henrik Moller gated to head off for a 1-5 but Lyons fell on the third bend causing the race to be rerun in which Ashworth won from Moller with Wilson third resulting in a 4-2 to the home side instead. The Tigers demoralised their visitors with a fine 5-1 in heat 11. Parsons and Cooper hit the front and team rode beautifully to deny any passing opportunity to the hard chasing Hauzinger and Bager for a 5-1 which increased the lead to 13 points. In heat 12 Sheffield again tracked only one rider. This time Lyons won the race from Cooper and Lee Smart picked up the third place for a 2-4 to Birmingham which took the score to 43-32.
Ricky Ashworth continued his unbeaten run by winning heat 13 while Ben Powell passed Joel Parsons for second place as the Tigers added another 4-2. Cooper and Parsons scored a 5-1 ahead of Powell and Moller in heat 14 then Ashworth and Wilson added another in heat 15 as Jason Lyons finished third. This was a magnificent performance by the Tigers who took all three points as a result to keep their play-off chances intact.
Scorers: For Sheffield – Paul Cooper 17+2 (7), Ricky Ashworth 14+1 (5), Ben Wilson 11+2 (5), Joel Parsons 10+1 (5), James Cockle 2+1 (2), Andre Compton 2 (1), Ben Hopwood 1 (2).
For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 13 (5)(with 6 point TR), Ben Powell 10 (7), Henrik Moller 4+1 (5), Manuel Hauzinger 4 (4), Lee Smart 3+2 (4), Henning Bager 2 (5).
Premier League: Isle of Wight 56, Workington 39 Isle of Wight won the aggregate bonus point by 109-81
The Isle of Wight had Tom Brown at number 6 guesting for the injured Andrew Bargh while Workington were missing Mattia Carpanese who had announced that he was leaving Workington to return to Italy. The Comets had been given a dispensation for Carpanese so used Rider Replacement at number 2.
Workington were considered to be stronger without Carpanese who had completely lost confidence. The Islanders had beaten the Comets round Derwent Park by 11 points recently but they had caught the home side on a bad night when they were struggling with injuries.
Holder and Gathercole started with a 5-1 from Ostergaard in heat 1 but the Comets pulled two points back with a 2-4 in the reserves race. John Branney won from Chris Johnson with Charles Wright third. The home side responded with a 4-2 in a race won by Jason Bunyan from James Wright then Kauko Nieminen won heat 4 for a 3-3 which took the score to 14-10.
Heats 5 and 6 resulted in 5-1s to the Islanders thanks to Bunyan and Phillips in heat 5 then Gathercole and Holder in heat 6. This rocketed the home side into a 12 point lead but in heat 7 James Wright took a Tactical Ride. He won it too from Krzysztof Stojanowski and with Craig Branney third the Comets took a 2-7 cutting the deficit to 7 points. Any hopes the Comets had of making further inroads to the home side’s lead were dashed by a home 5-1 in heat 8 from Gathercole and Johnson which took the score to 31-20.
Kauko Nieminen won heat 9 for a 3-3 but another Gathercole/Holder 5-1 in heat 10 put the Isle of Wight 15 points ahead and out of sight. Kauko Nieminen was given a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 11 from 15 metres back but it was Stojanowski who won the race. Ostergaard slowed to let Nieminen through for second place so the Comets did take a 3-5 heat advantage but a 4-2 in heat 12 from Bunyan and Johnson split by James Wright took the score to 46-31.
Chris Holder kept his unbeaten record by winning heat 13 from Ostergaard and Nieminen for a 3-3 then Glen Phillips won heat 14 also for a shared race. In heat 15 Holder completed his paid maximum while Kauko Nieminen finished ahead of Gathercole to deny him his maximum as the race finished as a 4-2 to the Isle of Wight for a 17 point win and all three points.
Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Cory Gathercole 12+1 (5), Jason Bunyan 11 (4), Glen Phillips 7+2 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 7 (4), Chris Johnson 6+2 (4), Tom Brown 0 (4).
For Workington – Kauko Nieminen 14+1 (6)(with 4 point TS), James Wright 11 (4)(with 6 point TR), Ulrich Ostergaard 5+1 (4), Craig Branney 4 (5), John Branney 4 (6), Charles Wright 1 (5).
While King’s Lynn were hosting the Elite League Riders’ Championship at the Norfolk Arena, three tracks ran Premier League matches simultaneously. At Redcar the Bears met Newcastle while at Sheffield the Tigers took on Birmingham. The other match was on the Isle of Wight where Workington were the visitors.
Premier League: Redcar 53, Newcastle 40 Redcar won the aggregate bonus point by 108-78
Redcar were without Mathieu Tressarieu who had been injured racing in France so used Rider Replacement at number 5. Newcastle, however, were at full strength for this match.
After their thumping at home by the Bears, Newcastle were thirsting for revenge in this eagerly awaited local derby. Redcar have proven to be vulnerable at home but not on this occasion although the Diamonds’ cause was not helped when Christian Henry had to withdraw injured after only one ride.
The first three races were all shared. Gary Havelock gated in heat 1 but Henry and Raun tucked in behind him ahead of Auty for the 3-3. In heat 2 Sean Stoddart made the best start but was passed twice by Dan Giffard. Jack Hargreaves retired at the back so it was another 3-3. James Grieves won heat 3 for the Bears but Chris Kerr fell on the second bend leading to another 3-3. Redcar took the lead in heat 4. Carl Wilkinson gated but fell on the same bend as Chris Kerr in the previous heat again on the second lap. Josh Auty moved through to win the race from Sean Stoddart for a 4-2 which took the score to 13-11.
Christian Henry joined the list of fallers when he came off on the first bend of Heat 5. He was excluded from the rerun and took no further part in the meeting with a knee injury. James Grieves and Chris Kerr took a 5-1 from the race to put the home side six points in front. In heat 6 Josh Auty was excluded under the two minute time allowance but his replacement, Daniel Giffard, won the race from Carl Wilkinson and Gary Havelock for a 4-2. Another 4-2 resulted from heat 7 won by Chris Kerr from Josef Franc then heat 8 was shared. Auty and Stoddart fell on the first bend but both took part in the rerun won by Auty from Raun and Stoddart taking the score to 29-19.
Another 5-1 from Grieves and Kerr followed in heat 9 to leave Newcastle struggling. The Bears added another two points to their lead with a 4-2 thanks to a win by Josh Auty from Josef Franc in heat 10. Gary Havelock again finished third. Newcastle got two points back in heat 11 when Sean Stoddart gated to beat James Grieves. Josef Raun took third for a 2-4 to the Diamonds but Grieves was out again in heat 12 and won this time after passing Josef Franc. Daniel Giffard took third for a 4-2 so the score moved to 44-28.
Carl Wilkinson took a Tactical Ride and gated to win heat 13 but Gary Havelock retired leaving Stoddart and Hargreaves to pass and repass each other for third place. Stoddart won that particular battle so the Diamonds registered the big 1-8 cutting the gap to 9 points but the Bears finished with two 4-2s with wins from Chris Kerr and Josh Auty to win by 13 points.
Scorers: For Redcar – James Grieves 14 (5), Josh Auty 12 (6), Chris Kerr 11+2 (5), Daniel Giffard 9 (6), Gary Havelock 5 (4), Jack Hargreaves 2 (4).
For Newcastle – Sean Stoddart 12+2 (6), Josef Franc 9+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 9 (5)(with 6 point TR), Jonas Raun 5+1 (4), Christian Henry 2 (2), Paul Clews 2 (4), Sam Dore 1+1 (4).
Premier League: Sheffield 57, Birmingham 36 Sheffield won the aggregate bonus point by 99-83
Both Sheffield were without James Birkinshaw and used Rider Replacement at number 4 instead. They nominated Ben Hopwood as their number 8. Birmingham were without Emiliano Sanchez and used Rider Replacement at number 2.
Trailing by only five points from the match at Birmingham, Sheffield were strong favourites to win tonight’s match and take the bonus. The Tigers were on a roll with two consecutive away wins while Birmingham were also challenging for a top four finish.
This was an incredible match. Sheffield already tracking a six man team plus number 8 and using R/R lost another two riders as a result of a heat 5 crash which saw Andre Compton and James Cockle forced to withdraw from the meeting. The Tigers rallied in fine style to cope with this handicap and beat Birmingham comfortably despite having to contest three races with only one rider and cope with a Brummies 1-8 in heat 7.
It was business as usual for the Tigers when they started with a heat one 5-1 from Wilson and Ashworth but heat 2 was shared after James Cockle forgot to turn on his fuel leaving Paul Cooper to win for a 3-3. Jason Lyons passed both Paul Cooper on the first lap then Andre Compton on the second lap to win heat 3 for a 3-3 but Sheffield doubled their lead in the next race when James Cockle and Joel Parsons won from Ben Powell for a 5-1 to take the score to 16-8.
Then came heat 5. Henning Bager made contact with Andre Compton on the back straight causing the Sheffield rider to fall. James Cockle following behind ploughed into Compton resulting in injuries to both the Sheffield riders and their withdrawal from the meeting. Bager was excluded while number 8, Ben Hopwood, came into the rerun with Paul Cooper. Cooper passed Ben Powell to win the race while Hopwood picked up the gift third place point for a Tigers’ 4-2 putting them ten points ahead. The Tigers’ lead increased to 14 points thanks to another Ashworth/Wilson 5-1 in heat 6. Jason Lyons took a Tactical Ride in heat 7 while Sheffield, having to manage their limited resources carefully, tracked just one rider. Lyons and Moller gated ahead of Joel Parsons for a 1-8 which cut the gap to 7 points. Heat 8 was another with only one Sheffield rider. Again the lone Tiger, Ben Wilson, rose to the occasion by winning the race for a 3-3 and the score now stood at 29-22.
Andre Compton was replaced by Paul Cooper in heat 9 while Ben Hopwood took the R/R ride. Cooper won the race blasting round the two Birmingham riders for another 3-3 but Birmingham shot themselves in the foot in heat 10. Jason Lyons and Henrik Moller gated to head off for a 1-5 but Lyons fell on the third bend causing the race to be rerun in which Ashworth won from Moller with Wilson third resulting in a 4-2 to the home side instead. The Tigers demoralised their visitors with a fine 5-1 in heat 11. Parsons and Cooper hit the front and team rode beautifully to deny any passing opportunity to the hard chasing Hauzinger and Bager for a 5-1 which increased the lead to 13 points. In heat 12 Sheffield again tracked only one rider. This time Lyons won the race from Cooper and Lee Smart picked up the third place for a 2-4 to Birmingham which took the score to 43-32.
Ricky Ashworth continued his unbeaten run by winning heat 13 while Ben Powell passed Joel Parsons for second place as the Tigers added another 4-2. Cooper and Parsons scored a 5-1 ahead of Powell and Moller in heat 14 then Ashworth and Wilson added another in heat 15 as Jason Lyons finished third. This was a magnificent performance by the Tigers who took all three points as a result to keep their play-off chances intact.
Scorers: For Sheffield – Paul Cooper 17+2 (7), Ricky Ashworth 14+1 (5), Ben Wilson 11+2 (5), Joel Parsons 10+1 (5), James Cockle 2+1 (2), Andre Compton 2 (1), Ben Hopwood 1 (2).
For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 13 (5)(with 6 point TR), Ben Powell 10 (7), Henrik Moller 4+1 (5), Manuel Hauzinger 4 (4), Lee Smart 3+2 (4), Henning Bager 2 (5).
Premier League: Isle of Wight 56, Workington 39 Isle of Wight won the aggregate bonus point by 109-81
The Isle of Wight had Tom Brown at number 6 guesting for the injured Andrew Bargh while Workington were missing Mattia Carpanese who had announced that he was leaving Workington to return to Italy. The Comets had been given a dispensation for Carpanese so used Rider Replacement at number 2.
Workington were considered to be stronger without Carpanese who had completely lost confidence. The Islanders had beaten the Comets round Derwent Park by 11 points recently but they had caught the home side on a bad night when they were struggling with injuries.
Holder and Gathercole started with a 5-1 from Ostergaard in heat 1 but the Comets pulled two points back with a 2-4 in the reserves race. John Branney won from Chris Johnson with Charles Wright third. The home side responded with a 4-2 in a race won by Jason Bunyan from James Wright then Kauko Nieminen won heat 4 for a 3-3 which took the score to 14-10.
Heats 5 and 6 resulted in 5-1s to the Islanders thanks to Bunyan and Phillips in heat 5 then Gathercole and Holder in heat 6. This rocketed the home side into a 12 point lead but in heat 7 James Wright took a Tactical Ride. He won it too from Krzysztof Stojanowski and with Craig Branney third the Comets took a 2-7 cutting the deficit to 7 points. Any hopes the Comets had of making further inroads to the home side’s lead were dashed by a home 5-1 in heat 8 from Gathercole and Johnson which took the score to 31-20.
Kauko Nieminen won heat 9 for a 3-3 but another Gathercole/Holder 5-1 in heat 10 put the Isle of Wight 15 points ahead and out of sight. Kauko Nieminen was given a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 11 from 15 metres back but it was Stojanowski who won the race. Ostergaard slowed to let Nieminen through for second place so the Comets did take a 3-5 heat advantage but a 4-2 in heat 12 from Bunyan and Johnson split by James Wright took the score to 46-31.
Chris Holder kept his unbeaten record by winning heat 13 from Ostergaard and Nieminen for a 3-3 then Glen Phillips won heat 14 also for a shared race. In heat 15 Holder completed his paid maximum while Kauko Nieminen finished ahead of Gathercole to deny him his maximum as the race finished as a 4-2 to the Isle of Wight for a 17 point win and all three points.
Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 13+2 (5)(paid maximum), Cory Gathercole 12+1 (5), Jason Bunyan 11 (4), Glen Phillips 7+2 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 7 (4), Chris Johnson 6+2 (4), Tom Brown 0 (4).
For Workington – Kauko Nieminen 14+1 (6)(with 4 point TS), James Wright 11 (4)(with 6 point TR), Ulrich Ostergaard 5+1 (4), Craig Branney 4 (5), John Branney 4 (6), Charles Wright 1 (5).
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