Sunday 23 September 2007

Around the Premier League Tracks 2007
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Sunday, 23 September

Four Premier League matches were raced today. At Newport the Wasps faced the Isle of Wight while at Glasgow the Tigers took on Redcar. The third match was at Mildenhall where the Fen Tigers raced against Berwick. Finally at Newcastle the Diamonds had Birmingham as their visitors.


Premier League: Newport 39, Isle of Wight 50 the Isle of Wight won the bonus point by 119-60.


Newport were missing the injured Tom Hedley so had to use Rider Replacement at number 2. The Isle of Wight were at full strength.

This was an important match for both teams with Newport chasing a Young Shield place and the Isle of Wight a top four place. Unfortunately the rain soaked the track and there was a delay to let the worst of it pass before the match proceeded. Chris Holder won the opening race for a shared heat then, in heat 2, Chris Johnson fell on the second bend and was excluded. However Andrew Bargh for the Islanders to keep the scores tied. The visitors then took the lead in heat 3 when Jason Bunyan won from Tony Atkin and Glen Phillips for a 2-4. Chris Johnson fell again in heat 4 and was excluded. In the rerun Chris Schramm won from Krzysztof Stojanowski. Nick Simmons fell on the last bend but pushed home for the gift third place point. This gave the Wasps a 4-2 to square the match at 12-12.

In heat 5 the Islanders took the lead again when Chris Holder won for the second time. Sebastian Truminski took second ahead of Cory Gathercole for a 2-4 but on a very wet track there were three fallers in heat 6. Firstly Michal Rajkowski fell on the third bend while leading and was excluded from the rerun in which Krzysztof Stojanowski fell on the second lap and was excluded from the second rerun. This time it was Barry Burchatt (R/R) who fell and the race was awarded to the sole survivor, Andrew Bargh, for a 0-3 to the Isle of Wight which gave them a five point lead. Worse was to follow for the home side as Jason Bunyan and Glen Phillips added a 1-5 ahead of Chris Schramm to put the Islanders well ahead with a nine point advantage. Cory Gathercole won heat 8 for the visitors but Simmons and Atkins finished behind him for a shared race taking the score to 18-27.

Newport then rocked the Islanders with consecutive 5-1s. In heat 9 Truminski and Simmons beat Stojanowski then in heat 10 Rajkowski and Schramm did likewise to Phillips and Bunyan. This reduced the Wasps’ arrears to one point but Chris Holder and Cory Gathercole replied with a 1-5 ahead of Chris Schramm to stretch the gap to five points again. In heat 12 the visitors turned the screw with a 2-4. Andrew Bargh was the race winner with Barry Burchatt taking second ahead of their more illustrious partners, Bunyan and Truminski. The 2-4 extended the Isle of Wight’s lead to seven points with the score now 31-38.

It was all over for the Wasps when Stojanowski and Holder added another 1-5 in heat 13 ahead of Schramm and Rajkowski which put the visitors eleven points ahead but it did allow the Wasps to give a Tactical Ride to Nick Simmons in heat 14. Glen Phillips won from Simmons and Atkin but the Wasps took a 5-3 advantage then, in the final race, another 2-4 to the visitors from Jason Bunyan who beat Chris Schramm and Glen Phillips gave the Isle of Wight an eleven point win and all three points.


Scorers: For Newport – Nick Simmons 12+2 (7)(with 4 point TR), Chris Schramm 10+1 (6), Sebastian Truminski 5 (5), Tony Atkin 4+2 (4), Michal Rajkowski 4+1 (4), Barry Burchatt 4 (4),

For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 11+1 (4)(full maximum), Jason Bunyan 10 (5), Andrew Bargh 9 (5), Glen Phillips 8+1 (5), Cory Gathercole 6+1 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 6 (4), Chris Johnson 0 (2).



Premier League: Glasgow 48, Redcar 47 Redcar won the aggregate bonus point by 98-89.


Glasgow were at full strength but Redcar were without Mathieu Tressarieu, Josh Auty and Jack Hargreaves. They had to use Rider Replacement for Tressarieu and had Paul Cooper as a guest for Auty at number 2 with Adam McKinna filling in for Hargreaves at number 7.

The match was marred by a horrific crash between Shane Parker and James Grieves in heat 3 which resulted in both riders being withdrawn from the meeting and Grieves being taken to hospital for a check up. This however was an unfortunate prelude to a thrilling and sensational match in which the Bears produced a truly magnificent performance in the circumstances. The real winners were the spectators!

It was a bright start for the Bears as they took a 2-4 from the opening race. Gary Havelock was the winner from Craig Watson while Daniel Giffard beat David McAllan for third. However the two point lead changed hands with an easy 5-1 for the Tigers in the reserves race before there was carnage in heat 3. In the first running of the race Paul Cooper fell as Robert Ksiezak made contact with him. Controversially the referee excluded Cooper. In the rerun James Grieves clipped the back of Shane Parker’s back wheel and both riders were thrown into the air, landed heavily and their bikes finished on top of them. Parker was able to limp back dazedly to the pits with what looked like an arm injury while Grieves was eventually taken from the track by ambulance. Parker was withdrawn from the meeting and Grieves went to hospital for X-rays. James Grieves was excluded from the rerun leaving the Bears without a rider to contest it and Michael Coles replaced Parker for an uncontested 5-0 which put the Tigers seven points ahead. Chris Kerr won heat 4 from Leverington and Dicken to take the score to 15-8.

Lee Dicken replaced Shane Parker in heat 5. Gary Havelock won again but after a good race behind him Ksiezak and Dicken fended off Adam McKinna for a 3-3. Glasgow added four points to their lead with a 5-1 in heat 6. Craig Watson made the gate but it was the progress of McAllan which excited the crowd. He was last away from the gate but passed Chris Kerr on the second lap then Daniel Giffard on the third and his partner, Craig Watson, on the last lap to win the race. Heat 7 was won by Trent Leverington but Paul Cooper and Daniel Giffard shared the points behind him after Giffard had passed Michael Coles on the third lap. Chris Kerr won again in heat 8 from McAllan and Dicken for a 3-3 which took the score to 29-18.

Lee Dicken was out again in heat 10 and won the race by beating Chris Kerr who had led from the tapes. Dicken passed Kerr on the third bend and Ksiezak passed the Bear as well at the end of the second lap but Kerr got back into second place again by repassing Ksiezak for a 4-2. It looked all over for the visitors when Watson and McAllan added a 5-1 in heat 10 to put the Tigers 17 points ahead. But Redcar weren’t about to give up! Gary Havelock took a TR in heat 11. He not only won it, but with a fine piece of team riding, was followed home by Paul Cooper ahead of Trent Leverington for the big 1-8 which cut the gap to 10 points again leaving the aggregate scores tied. There was a further shock for Glasgow in heat 11 when Paul Cooper replaced James Grieves as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back. He rode a brilliant race to make up the ground and pass both Coles and Dicken on the final bend while Daniel Giffard was unlucky not to be awarded third place on the line. The 3-6 cut the Glasgow lead to seven points at 42-35.

The Bears were in full flow now and looked to be heading for a 1-5 in heat 13 as Havelock and Kerr led Watson and Leverington until Watson dived up the inside on the third bend and fell causing the race to be rerun without him. The Bears were undaunted though and still took a 1-5 as Havelock and Kerr saw off Trent Leverington in the rerun cutting the gap now to three points. It stayed that way after heat 14. Robert Ksiezak won the race but Paul Cooper, who pressed Ksiezak all the way to the last bend, and Daniel Giffard filled the minor places for a shared race which set up a last heat decider. David McAllan and Craig Watson went for Glasgow and the unbeaten, Gary Havelock, and Chris Kerr for the Bears. Redcar won the toss for gate positions and took 2 and 4. In the first running of the race David McAllan jumped the tapes while Chris Kerr fell off on the first bend causing the race to be rerun with all-four-back. In the rerun Gary Havelock completed his full five ride maximum while Craig Watson took second place by the width of a tyre from Chris Kerr. The Bears finished with a 2-4 but fell a point short of what would have been a sensational win given that they were down to five riders after heat 3 and trailed by 17 points after heat 10. They did have the consolation of taking the bonus point after winning over the last four races by 10-26 to frighten the living daylights out of the Tigers in one of the best matches ever seen at the Ashfield stadium.


Scorers: For Glasgow – Lee Dicken 11+3 (7), Craig Watson 9+1 (5), Robert Ksiezak 9 (4), David McAllan 7+1 (5), Trent Leverington 7 (4), Michael Coles 5+3 (5), Shane Parker DNR.

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 18 (5)(with 6 point TR)(full maximum), Paul Cooper 12+1 (6), Chris Kerr 11+1 (6), Daniel Giffard 5+2 (7), Adam McKinna 1 (5), James Grieves 0 (1).



Premier League: Mildenhall 54, Berwick 39 Mildenhall won the aggregate bonus point by 99-84.


Mildenhall were without Kyle Legault, Tom P Madsen and Mark Baseby. They used Rider Replacement at number 3 in place of Madsen and had Steve Boxall as a guest to replace Kyle Legault. Joe Haines filled the number 6 berth in place of Baseby. Berwick were without Matej Kus, Michal Makovsky, Stanislaw Burza and John Morrison. They used Rider Replacement for Kus at number 3 and had Tommy Allen at number 1 as a guest for Makovsky. Danny Halsey filled the number 7 spot.

Mildenhall needed to beat Berwick by more than ten points to pip Edinburgh for a Young Shield place but they made heavy weather of it as the Berwick guests scored 29 points more than the Bandits’ own riders.

The Fen Tigers started with a 5-1 from Steve Boxall and Jason King but Sam Martin won the reserves race for Berwick for a 3-3. Steve Boxall (R/R) won again in heat 3 but Chris Mills and Tommy Allen finished behind him for another shared race. In heat 4 the home side added another 5-1 from Shaun Tacey and Paul Fry while a pitiful Rempala finished way at the back behind young Danny Halsey. The score was now 16-8 and Mildenhall looked well on their way.

A 4-2 in heat 5, won by Shaun Tacey from Tommy Allen, took the lead to the magic ten points but it wasn’t all plain sailing after that. Steve Boxall won heat 6 while Rempala and Martin shared the points by finishing ahead of Jason King then Chris Mills took a Tactical Ride for Berwick. He won it too beating Paul Fry and Shaun Tacey but unfortunately for Berwick he got no support from Jacek Rempala who finished last. The Bandits now trailed by only seven points so the Fen Tigers had to rebuild their lead. They started with a 5-1 in heat 8 with Jason King and young Joe Haines heading home Arlo Bugeja and Danny Halsey to take the score to 31-20.

Tomas Suchanek won heat 9 from Rempala while Paul Fry took third from Martin. The 4-2 stretched the home side’s lead to 13 points. Chris Mills won heat 10 for the Bandits after it looked like finishing as a 5-1 to the home side. Steve Boxall got out of shape on the last bend allowing Mills through to share the points then Berwick hit back with a 2-4 in heat 11. Tommy Allen was proving an excellent choice of guest for the Bandits and he won heat 11 from Shaun Tacey while Arlo Bugeja finished third ahead of Joe Haines. Back came Mildenhall with a 4-2 when Tomas Suchanek beat Chris Mills. On the last bend Paul Fry got by Sam Martin to put the home side 13 points ahead again with the score now 44-31.

Tommy Allen won again in heat 13 but Rempala could offer him no support by finishing at the back behind Tacey and Boxall so the points were shared. In heat 14 Chris Mills fell and was excluded from the rerun in which Fry and Suchanek took a 5-1 ahead of Halsey. In the last race Tommy Allen completed an excellent performance by beating his usual team mate, Steve Boxall, while Chris Mills, another very good guest for the Bandits, finished third for a 2-4 to cut the winning margin to 15 points.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Steve Boxall 14+1 (6), Shaun Tacey 11+1 (6), Paul Fry 10+2 (6), Tomas Suchanek 9+1 (5), Jason King 6+2 (4), Joe Haines 4+1 (3).

For Berwick – Chris Mills 14 (6)(with 6 point TR), Tommy Allen 13+1 (6), Sam Martin 4+1 (5), Jacek Rempala 4 (5), Arlo Bugeja 2 (4), Daniel Halsey 2 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 43, Birmingham 47 Birmingham won the aggregate bonus point by 104-79.


Newcastle without Christian Henry and Jonas Raun had George Stancl at number 1 and used Rider Replacement at number 2. Birmingham again without Henning Bager/Paul Hurry and Henrik Moller used Rider Replacement at number 1 and had Derek Sneddon as a guest at number 2.

George Stancl won the opening heat for the Diamonds from Phil Morris and Sam Dore’s third place point gave the home side a 4-2 but this was levelled out by a 2-4 in heat 2. In the first running of the race Sam Dore fell when he hit the fence on the third lap. He was excluded from the rerun and taken to hospital with a knee problem. In the rerun Ben Powell beat Paul Clews to square the match. Birmingham took the lead in heat 3 with a win from Jason Lyons. It looked like being a 1-5 when Phil Morris was in second place in the race for the line but Sean Stoddart passed him for second place with Josef Franc stuck at the back. Back came Newcastle in heat 4. Lee Smart led from Carl Wilkinson from the gate with Manuel Hauzinger in third but the Diamonds turned the race around with Wilkinson passing Smart and Clews passing Hauzinger for a 4-2 which took the score to 12-12.

In heat 5 Jason Lyons (R/R) won again after passing Josef Franc while Sean Stoddart passed Sneddon for a shared race. George Stancl won again in heat 6 but Ben Powell and Manuel Hauzinger kept Sean Stoddart at the back for another 3-3. The deadlock was broken again in heat 7 when Jason Lyons won for the third time from Carl Wilkinson. With Sam Dore out of the meeting and Newcastle using R/R for Raun the Diamonds elected not to use one of Paul Clews’ valuable rides by going with just the one rider so Phil Morris was left to pick up the gift third point giving the Brummies a 2-4 and two point lead. Newcastle replied in kind in heat 8 with Wilkinson (R/R) winning this time from Lee Smart in a race where positions changed constantly. Paul Clews finished third ahead of Ben Powell so the 4-2 levelled the scores again at 24-24.

Heat 9 was shared with Josef Franc winning for the Diamonds. Sean Stoddart disappointed by finishing behind Powell and Hauzinger and the match remained all square. Disaster struck the home side in heat 10 when George Stancl’s machine failed at the tapes leaving Jason Lyons to win for the fourth time supported by Phil Morris with Clews in third. This gave the Brummies a 1-5 which put them four points ahead for the first time in the match. Newcastle needed an advantage in heat 11 against a weakish Birmingham pairing. They got it too scoring a 5-1 courtesy of Wilkinson and Clews with Derek Sneddon third. The match was therefore level again but Birmingham struck with another 1-5 in heat 12. Jason Lyons led the race but the Diamonds were sitting on a 3-3 until Josef Franc made a mistake moving his partner, Paul Clews, out and allowing Ben Powell through for the Birmingham maximum. This took the score to 34-38.

The match continued to ebb and flow as Newcastle hit back with another 5-1 in heat 13 to level the scores again. This time Carl Wilkinson and George Stancl headed home Hauzinger and Powell after both Diamonds had passed Ben Powell, the early race leader. Not to be outdone it was Birmingham’s turn to score a 1-5 in heat 14. Phil Morris and Lee Smart beat Clews and Stoddart to take a four point lead again with just one race left. In heat 15 George Stancl won for the Diamonds, ending Jason Lyons’ maximum hopes, but Morris and Lyons were content to fill the minor places to keep Carl Wilkinson at the back for all three points.

Scorers: For Newcastle – Carl Wilkinson 14 (6), George Stancl 11+1 (5), Paul Clews 8+1 (7), Josef Franc 6 (4), Sean Stoddart 3+1 (5), Sam Dore 1 (2).

For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 16+1 (6), Phil Morris 11+1 (6), Ben Powell 9+1 (6), Lee Smart 7+1 (5), Manuel Hauzinger 3+2 (4), Derek Sneddon 1 (3).

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