Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Thursday, 27 September

There were two meetings scheduled for tonight. However the Tyne Tees Trophy match between Redcar and Newcastle was postponed because of the weather leaving the Sunday Sport Trophy, second leg tie, between Sheffield and Stoke as the survivor.


Sunday Sport Trophy (second leg): Sheffield 49, Stoke 41. The scores were tied on aggregate 90-90 but Sheffield won the trophy when Andre Compton beat Lee Complin in a race-off.


Sheffield were still without James Birkinshaw and had Ben Hopwood at number 6 in his place. Stoke were missing Ben Barker, Glenn Cunningham and Rusty Harrison so had Mark Burrows at number 2 in place of Barker, Jason Bunyan at number 3 in place of Cunningham and used Rider Replacement for Harrison at number 4.

There were different rules for this match. No Tactical Rides were allowed and the old Tactical Substitute rules applied, i.e. a Tactical Substitute was allowed when a team was six points or more behind with the TS rider starting from scratch and not scoring double points. TS rides were not allowed in heats 8, 14 and 15. Stoke had an eight point lead using the same rules from the first leg at Loomer Road.

What a start there was to this match. When was the last time Sheffield lost 1-5s in both the opening two races? That’s what happened tonight yet two races later the match was all square again on a wet track which caused the riders some problems!

Lee Complin and Mark Burrows were quick off the mark in the opening heat leaving Ricky Ashworth to struggle with his bike and Ben Wilson to pick up third place. This maximum was followed by another from Barrie Evans and Jaimie Smith as James Cockle pulled up at the back. Ben Hopwood fell on the last bend but pushed home for the point. The Tigers trailed by eight points but quickly turned things round. Andre Compton and Paul Cooper scored a 5-1 ahead of Jason Bunyan in heat 3 and in the next race Claus Vissing fell while in third place and was excluded. In the rerun Joel Parsons and James Cockle again led to score the equalising 5-1 taking the score to 12-12.

Andre Compton and Paul Cooper were fast away in heat 5 but Lee Complin passed Cooper to fill second place. The 4-2 put Sheffield in the lead by two points and they scored another 4-2 in heat 6 for a four point lead. Claus Vissing made the best start but was passed by Ben Wilson on the back straight. Ricky Ashworth took up the chase but Vissing rode well to keep him at bay. Back came the Potters with another 1-5, their third of the meeting, when Jason Bunyan and Claus Vissing both passed Joel Parsons who had made the gate to level the scores again. Sheffield were back in front again after heat 8. Ben Wilson won the race while Mark Burrows passed James Cockle for second place as the Tigers scored a 4-2 to take the score to 25-23 with Stoke still six points ahead on aggregate.

Sheffield pulled away with a 5-1 in heat 9 when Compton and Cooper again produced the goods by relegating Claus Vissing to third place and a 4-2 from Ricky Ashworth and Ben Wilson who was passed by Jason Bunyan stretched the home side’s lead to eight points and levelled the aggregate scores. Stoke gave an old style Tactical Substitute ride in heat 11 to Jason Bunyan replacing Mark Burrows and partnering Lee Complin. This turned out a good move as Bunyan won the race and was followed home by his partner, Lee Complin, for another Stoke 1-5 which cut Sheffield’s lead to just four points. James Cockle fell on the opening bend of heat 12 and was excluded leaving Andre Compton to beat Jason Bunyan and Barrie Evans for a shared race taking the score to 38-34. This meant that Stoke still led by four points on aggregate.

It was all square on aggregate after heat 13. Andre Compton and Joel Parsons scored a 5-1 ahead of Claus Vissing after Lee Complin had made a terrific effort trying to get past but ran out of room, hit the fence and fell. The Tigers were now eight points to the good but had to face Lee Complin taking the R/R ride in heat 14. Complin duly won the race from Paul Cooper and was supported by Barrie Evans in third place for a 2-4 which cut the Tigers’ lead on the night to six points and put Stoke back in front by two points on aggregate with one heat to go. Lee Complin’s bike seized prior to the last race and he rode Buzz Burrows machine instead only to finish well at the back. Andre Compton won the race but Jason Bunyan took second ahead of Paul Cooper for a 4-2 which gave Sheffield an eight point victory on the night but tied the aggregate scores. This meant that the destination of the Trophy had to be decided by a race-off between Andre Compton and Lee Complin. Unfortunately there wasn’t a race as Complin’s bike packed up just after the tapes rose leaving Compton to coast round to win the trophy for Sheffield.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 15 (5)(full maximum), Paul Cooper 8+2 (5), Ben Wilson 8 (4), Joel Parsons 7+1 (4), Ricky Ashworth 7 (4), James Cockle 3+1 (4), Ben Hopwood 1 (4).

For Stoke – Jason Bunyan 13 (6), Lee Complin 10+1 (6), Claus Vissing 6+1 (5), Barrie Evans 5+1 (6), Mark Burrows 4+1 (3), Jaimie Smith 3+1 (4).