Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Sunday, 9 September

Four Premier League matches were raced today. At Newport the Tigers met Sheffield while at Mildenhall the Fen Tigers took on Rye House. The other matches were at Glasgow where the Tigers raced against Berwick and Newcastle where Somerset were the visitors.



Premier League: Newport 43, Sheffield 46

Newport were at full strength while Sheffield were missing James Birkinshaw so they had Ben Powell as a guest at number 6.

Sheffield needed to win this match to keep their top four finish alive but they faced a Newport side returning from Berwick where they won by 29 points. In the end the Wasps found Sheffield a much harder proposition than Berwick but the Tigers owed a great deal to their guest reserve, Ben Powell, for a match-winning 7+1 from the number 6 berth.

Sheffield got off to a cracking start with a 1-5 in the opening heat from Ashworth and Wilson but the Wasps pulled two points back in the reserves race as Nick Simmons won from Ben Powell. An Andre Compton win in heat 3 shared the points but Newport hit back with a 5-1 from Chris Schramm and Barry Burchatt in heat 4 to take the lead by two points with the score at 13-11.

Ricky Ashworth won again in heat 5 from Tony Atkin while Ben Wilson finished third for a 2-4 to the Tigers levelling the scores and then they stunned the expectant home support with a 1-5 in heat 6 from Joel Parsons and James Cockle as Tom Hedley and Sebastian Truminski could only follow them home. Sheffield had now opened up a four point lead and it stayed that way when Chris Schramm won heat 7 from Andre Compton. Newport pulled two points back in heat 8 with a 4-2 from Tom Hedley who won from Ben Wilson and Barry Burchatt taking the score to 23-25.

The Wasps then wiped out the arrears and went in front by two points with a 5-1 in heat 9 from Michal Rajkowski and Tony Atkin. This was countered by a 1-5 from Sheffield from Andre Compton and Paul Cooper to leave the Wasps trailing by two points again. Sheffield then shot themselves in the foot by conceding a 5-0 in heat 11. Ricky Ashworth was excluded for delaying the start after several attempts to get the race under way then Ben Wilson was excluded when he brought down Nick Simmons causing the race to be run with just the two Wasps’ riders. This left Sheffield trailing again, this time by three points, but what a response they mounted to that setback! Andre Compton and Ben Powell took a 1-5 from Rajkowski in heat 12 to put the Tigers into a one point lead with the score now 35-36.

The visitors then struck another 1-5 in heat 13 from Ricky Ashworth and Joel Parsons to rocket into a five point lead with just two heats to go and it was all over for the home side when Ben Powell won heat 14 for a 3-3. Rajkowski won the last heat from Ricky Ashworth while Chris Schramm beat Ben Wilson for a 4-2 but it was too little, too late as the Wasps were brought back down to earth after their heady win on the road last night.

Scorers: For Newport – Chris Schramm 10, Michal Rajkowski 8+1 (5), Tony Atkin 8 (4), Nick Simmons 6+2 (4), Tom Hedley 6 (4), Barry Burchatt 4+2 (4), Sebastian Truminski 1 (4).

For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 11 95), Andre Compton 11 (50, Joel Parsons 7+1 (4), Ben Powell 7+1 (5), Ben Wilson 5+1 (4), Paul Cooper 3+1 (4), James Cockle 2+1 (4).



Premier League: Mildenhall 44, Rye House 49 Rye House won the aggregate bonus point by 114-69


Mildenhall were without Tom P Madsen and Mark Baseby. They used Rider Replacement for Madsen and had Karl Mason as a guest reserve at number 6. Rye House were at full strength.

With other play-off challengers registering away wins this weekend, Rye House needed all three points from this match to keep up their top four finish challenge. They got them too.

It was Stefan Ekberg who got the visitors off to a winning start by beating Kyle Legault in the opening race. Legault did get past Chris Neath for second place though so the result was a 2-4. A 1-5 in the reserves race shot Rye House into a six point lead but Mildenhall replied in kind with a 5-1 from Kyle Legault and Shaun Tacey from Tai Woffinden. Back came the Rockets with another 1-5 this time from Steve Boxall and Adam Roynon as, not for the last time, Jason King was to find himself on the wrong end of a visitors’ maximum heat win. The score at this stage was 9-15.

Kyle Legault won heat 5 for a 3-3 then Boxall did likewise in heat 6. Rye House hit home another 1-5 in heat 7 at the expense of Jason King with Tommy Allen and Tai Woffinden doing the damage to the Fen Tigers’ hopes. Paul Fry beat Stefan Ekberg and Adam Roynon to share heat 8 so the score then stood at 19-29.

Kyle Legault took a Tactical Ride in heat 9 and won the race after passing Steve Boxall. He was supported by Shaun Tacey who took third from Luke Bowen giving the Fen Tigers a 7-2 advantage to cut the Rockets’ lead in half. They added a 4-2 in heat 10 when Tomas Suchanek beat Tai Woffinden with Paul Fry third for a 4-2 which got the home side to within three points of their visitors. However another 1-5 from Chris Neath and Stefan Ekberg ahead of Jason King put Rye House seven points ahead again but undeterred Mildenhall returned the compliment with a 5-1 in heat 12 from Kyle Legault and Paul Fry who was involved in an exciting battle with Adam Roynon for second place. This took the score to 36-39 leaving the Rockets distinctly worried.

The home side’s fight back took a knock when Jason King fell on the third bend of heat 13. This left Tomas Suchanek to take on Neath and Boxall and he could only split the Rye House pair with Neath winning the race for a 2-4 which put the Rockets five points ahead with just two races left. Tommy Allen and Adam Roynon added a 1-5 in heat 14 to ensure an away win then, in the last heat, Stefan Ekberg fell on the first bend and was excluded. In the rerun Kyle Legault won from Tomas Suchanek to give the Fen Tigers a consolation 4-2.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Kyle Legault 20 (6)(with 6 point TR), Tomas Suchanek 9 (6), Paul Fry 9 (6), Shaun Tacey 4 (5), Jason King 2 (4), Karl Mason 0 (3).

For Rye House – Steve Boxall 10 (5), Stefan Ekberg 9 (5), Adam Roynon 9 (5), Chris Neath 8 (4), Tommy Allen 6 (4), Tai Woffinden 5 (4), Luke Bowen 2 (3).



Premier League: Glasgow 62, Berwick 28 Glasgow won the aggregate bonus point by 110-70.


Glasgow were missing Robert Ksiezak so used Rider Replacement at number 4. They nominated Gary Beaton as their number 8.Berwick had Kalle Katajisto as a guest at number 2 in place of (presumably) John Morrison and John McPhail as a guest at number 7 in place of David Meldrum. They also used Rider Replacement at number 3 in place of the injured Michal Makovsky.

Another very weak Berwick team took to the track at Glasgow following last night’s hammering by Newport. Glasgow took advantage by rattling up a big win although only Shane Parker managed a maximum for the home men.

The Tigers got off to a 5-1 winning start from Craig Watson and David McAllan as Matej Kus fell and retired from the race. They followed that with another 5-1 in the reserves race but the Bandits shared heat 3 won by Shane Parker from Rempala and Katajisto. Stanislaw Burza won heat 4 for the visitors for another shared race and the score then stood at 16-8.

Heat 5 produced a 4-2 for the Tigers as Shane Parker beat Matej Kus with Gary Beaton third. Heat 6 produced the same score when Craig Watson beat Burza with McAllan third. Heat 7 saw Matej Kus, rather than Jacek Rempala, take a Tactical Ride but this was unproductive as Kus fell in front of Michael Coles who ran over the new Berwick signing. Kus was withdrawn from the meeting suffering from concussion and was replaced in the rerun by Sam Martin. Leverington won the race from Rempala so another 4-2 went the Tigers’ way. Heat 8 produced a Glasgow 5-1 as McAllan and Dicken finished ahead of Katajisto to take the score to 37-17.

In heat 9 Stanislaw Burza reared his bike into the tapes so had to go from 15 metres back. Shane Parker won the race but Burza passed Gary Beaton for second place on the last bend for another 4-2. Heat 10 saw another win for Craig Watson from Jacek Rempala but behind them Stanislaw Burza got out of shape causing McAllan to take avoiding action. Burza recovered but McAllan didn’t so the race was shared. Trent Leverington and Michael Coles added a 5-1 in heat 11 and Shane Parker and Lee Dicken did likewise in heat 12 after Jacek Rempala had failed to beat the two minute time allowance and had to go from 15 metres back. The score was now 50-22.

Leverington and Watson added a 5-1 in heat 13 but Rempala won heat 14 for a shared race. In the last race Craig Watson and Stanislaw Burza tangled and fell. Burza was unable to take his place in the rerun so the heat was run with three riders. Parker completed his maximum but Rempala finished second to ruin Watson’s maximum resulting in a 4-2 to the Tigers.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5)(full maximum), Craig Watson 12+1 (5), Trent Leverington 11 (4), Lee Dicken 8+3 (4), Michael Coles 7+2 (4), David McAllan 6+1 (4), Gary Beaton 3+1 (4).

For Berwick – Jacek Rempala 12 (6), Stanislaw Burza 9+1 (6), Kalle Katajisto 4+1 (5), Matej Kus 2 (2), Sam Martin 1 (7), John McPhail 0 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 48, Somerset 41


Newcastle were without Sean Stoddart who was injured riding at Edinburgh on Friday night. They used Rider Replacement at number 2 as Stoddart had moved into the main body of the team with Paul Clews moving to reserve. Somerset were at full strength.

Somerset are another team vying for a top four place and, in view of results elsewhere over the weekend they needed to win this match to keep their challenge going. For Newcastle it might have turned out badly but they always looked to have this match under control with Paul Clews at reserve having a field day. Already without Stoddart they lost Jonas Raun in a heat 5 accident when he hit the fence leaving the starting gate and had to be taken to hospital.

Magnus Zetterstrom won the opening heat from Christian Henry while Sam Dore passed Simon Walker for third place to earn the Diamonds a share of the points. The Rebels took the lead in heat 2. Their two reserves, Jordan Frampton and Daniel Warwick, made the gate but after they had had a coming together Paul Clews passed Warwick to limit the damage to a 2-4. Back came Newcastle with two consecutive 5-1s. In heat 3 Emil Kramer made the best start but was soon passed by Josef Franc and then by Jonas Raun on the run in to the line. This turned round the two point deficit to a two point lead and it increased to six after heat 4. Danny Warwick gated but Carl Wilkinson passed him round the outside while Paul Clews did likewise on the inside. The 5-1 took the score to 15-9.

In heat 5 Josef Raun fell and was stretchered off with what looked like a foot injury causing him to withdraw from the meeting. Zetterstrom won the race from Franc and, with Walker in third place, the Rebels cut the gap to four points with the 2-4. Heat 6 had to be rerun when Christian Henry crashed. He was excluded from the rerun but Paul Clews rose to the occasion by passing both Danny Warwick and Ritchie Hawkins for a 3-3. Carl Wilkinson won heat 7 from Kramer and Katt also for a 3-3. In heat 8 Jordan Frampton, who replaced Simon Walker, dived under the home pair who had made the gate. Both of them fell but, to the consternation of the crowd, the referee excluded Sam Dore from the rerun. There was a delay while the fence was being repaired during which the ambulance returned to the stadium then promptly took Jordan Frampton to hospital with concussion. Since Danny Warwick was already in the heat, there was no-one eligible to replace Frampton so the heat was rerun with only two riders. Paul Clews beat Warwick for a 3-2 which took the score to 26-21.

Heat 9 was won by Josef Franc but, with Sam Dore’s chain rear chain giving way before the first bend, the race was shared. Somerset then slipped further behind in heat 10. Christian Henry won the race while Paul Clews passed Emil Kramer to finish behind Stephan Katt for a 4-2 increasing the gap to 7 points. The Rebels got two points back in heat 11 when Magnus Zetterstrom beat Carl Wilkinson with Simon Walker third. The gap was back to five points but Somerset were well and truly out of it when the Diamonds scored a 5-1 in heat 12. Josef Franc and Paul Clews headed Emil Kramer home. The lead stretched to 9 points with the score at 40-31.

To make matters worse for the visitors, Magnus Zetterstrom broke the tapes in heat 13 and had to go from 15 metres back. Ritchie Hawkins won the heat after passing Carl Wilkinson as the Newcastle man’s seat came off. Meanwhile Christian Henry suffered an engine failure whilst lying third allowing Zetterstrom through for the third place point which gave the Rebels a 2-4. They were now 7 points down again but with only two heats to go they needed two 1-5s to win the match. Paul Clews saw to it that that didn’t happen by sweeping past the field on the back straight for a shared race. In the final race Magnus Zetterstrom won from Franc and Wilkinson for a shared heat leaving the Rebels seven points adrift.

Scorers: For Newcastle – Paul Clews 16+2 (7), Josef Franc 12+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 12 (5), Christian Henry 6 (4), Jonas Raun 2 (2), Sam Dore 1+1 (7).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 13 (5), Daniel Warwick 7+2 (7), Ritchie Hawkins 7 (5), Stephan Katt 5+1 (4), Emil Kramer 4 (4), Jordan Frampton 3 (1), Simon Walker 2 (3).