Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Sunday, 14 October

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Three matches were raced today. Two of the were at Glasgow where the Tigers ran a double header. In their first match they faced Birmingham in a Premier League match. They then took on Stoke again in a Premier League match. The other match was at Newcastle where the Diamonds raced against Redcar in the first leg of the Tyne Tees trophy.

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Premier League: Glasgow 43, Birmingham 46 Birmingham won the aggregate bonus point by 99-83

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Glasgow had Kauko Nieminen guesting for the injured Shane Parker with Rider Replacement operating for Craig Watson at number 1 while Birmingham also used Rider Replacement at number 1 for Manuel Hauzinger and had Shaun Tacey at number 4 for Henrik Moller, Chris Schramm at number 5 for Henning Bager and John Branney at number 6 for Ben Powell.

This turned out to be a thrilling and exciting meeting marred by two dreadful accidents, the first of which resulted in a trip for David McAllan to hospital and a ban from both meetings for Phil Morris. The second accident might have cost Glasgow the match as Robert Ksiezak went over the fence after lifting while on a 5-1 with his partner in the last race.

Although Chris Schramm led the opening heat early on he was passed by David McAllan. Phil Morris also passed Schramm for second place so the race was shared. Birmingham took the lead in heat 2. John Branney made the gate to win the race from Michael Coles while Lee Smart eventually got the better of Lee Dicken for third place and a 2-4. Robert Ksiezak made the gate in heat 3 to win from Jason Lyons. Behind them Shaun Tacey moved Nieminen out to move into third place but Nieminen re-passed him on the third lap for a 4-2 which levelled the scores again. Heat 4 was won by Chris Schramm for a 3-3 which took the score to 12-12.

Jason Lyons saw off Robert Ksiezak at the start of heat 5. Kauko Nieminen moved into second place and the race was shared but in heat 6 Glasgow took the lead with a 4-2 thanks to a win from Nieminen. Chris Schramm got the better of a duel with David McAllan for second place to put the Tigers two points ahead. However the Brummies hit back with a 1-5 wiping out the Glasgow lead and putting themselves back in front in heat 7 when Shaun Tacey and Jason Lyons beat Trent Leverington. A David McAllan win in heat 8 resulted in a shared heat with the score now standing at 23-25.

Heat 9 was a disaster for the visitors as they conceded a 5-0. Chris Schramm was excluded for bringing down Robert Ksiezak in the first running while in the rerun John Branney fell and was excluded from the second rerun which gave the Tigers a gift five points. This resulted in Glasgow re-taking the lead by a three point margin but Birmingham knocked two points off that in heat 10 when Jason Lyons won from David McAllan with Shaun Tacey taking third place ahead of Leverington. Birmingham followed this with a 1-5 from Shaun Tacey and Phil Morris with Trent Leverington and Michael Coles trailing at the back to put the Brummies three points ahead again, a lead they kept after a shared heat 12 won by Jason Lyons which took the score to 34-37.

In heat 13 Phil Morris took David McAllan wide on the fourth bend and the Glasgow rider crashed heavily into the fence. At first it looked a serious enough accident to call for an emergency ambulance but later reports suggested that McAllan’s injuries were not as bad as had at first seemed. Nonetheless he went to hospital for a check up and withdrew from this and the following meeting. Referee Jim McGregor took a dim enough view of the incident to band Phil Morris from taking any further part in this meeting and also banned him from the Stoke meeting which was to follow and in which Morris was due to have been a guest for Glenn Cunningham effectively imposing a one match ban on the Birmingham rider. In the rerun Chris Schramm won from Leverington and Dicken who had to push home for a point to share the heat 3-3. Shaun Tacey won heat 14 to maintain Birmingham’s lead so they went into the last heat leading by three points with Glasgow needing a 5-1 to pull it round. The Tigers looked as if they might do it too when Kauko Nieminen and Robert Ksiezak led from the start. With Jason Lyons pressing hard Ksiezak found some extra grip on the fourth bend causing his bike to lift and the rider to be catapulted over the fence into the brick wall. Amazingly he walked away from the accident. The race was awarded as a 3-3 so Birmingham took all three points.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Kauko Nieminen 14 (6), David McAllan 9 (4), Robert Ksiezak 8+2 (6), Lee Dicken 5+3 (6), Trent Leverington 5+1 (5), Michael Coles 2 (3).

For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 15+1 (6), Shaun Tacey 10 (5), Chris Schramm 10+2 (5), Phil Morris 6+1 (5), John Branney 3 (3), Lee Smart 2+1 (4).

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Premier League: Glasgow 43 , Stoke 41 Glasgow won the bonus Point on aggregate by 94-84. The match was curtailed to 14 heats after a horrendous looking accident in heat 15 which was not rerun.

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Glasgow were without Craig Watson, Shane Parker, Robert Ksiezak and David McAllan for this match. They again had Kauko Nieminen as a guest for Parker and used Rider Replacement for Craig Watson. They also drafted in Lee Smart for McAllan and John Branney for Robert Ksiezak. Gary Beaton was nominated as their number 8. Stoke were without Rusty Harrison, Glenn Cunningham, Chris Schramm and Jaimie Smith so used Rider Replacement at number 4 and had Shaun Tacey as a guest at number 3 and Chris Schramm as a guest at number 5. Jaimie Smith was replaced by Luke Priest at number 7. This meant that four of the riders who represented Birmingham in the first meeting also took part in the second! Who said that double-headers were expensive to run?

Stoke got off to a bad start when Ben Barker was excluded for having no dirt deflector in heat 1. He came back into the race off 15 metres but Leverington and Smart took a 5-1 from the heat with Barker finishing ahead of his partner, Lee Complin. Stoke hit back with a 2-4 in the reserves race. Luke Priest and Barrie Evans made the gate but on the last bend Lee Dicken passed Evans for second place to prevent what had looked like a 1-5. Kauko Nieminen won heat 3 but Barrie Evans and Shaun Tacey shared the points behind him for a 3-3. Glasgow stormed into a six point lead in heat 4 when Leverington and Dicken saw off Chris Schramm for a 5-1 which took the score to 15-9.

The Tigers seemed to be on easy street with another 5-1 in heat 5 as John Branney and Kauko Nieminen won from Lee Complin after Ben Barker had pulled out of the race at the tapes. The Tigers’ had now opened up a ten point lead and Stoke must have regretted not giving a Tactical Ride to Chris Schramm in heat 6 when he won it accompanied by his partner, Barrie Evans for a 1-5 to the Potters cutting the gap to six points. It was down to two points when Stoke hit home another 1-5 in heat 7 as Lee Complin and Shaun Tacey made the gate to keep Trent Leverington back in third place. With the TR Stoke could have been a point ahead at this stage. Back came Glasgow in heat 8 with another 5-1 this time from Lee Dicken and Lee Smart from Ben Barker to open their lead to six points again with the score now at 27-21.

With Kauko Nieminen out in three of the next four heats Glasgow were looking to put this match to bed and in heat 9 Nieminen won from Barrie Evans and Chris Schramm for a 3-3. In heat 10 Nieminen won again but this time it wasn’t so easy as Shaun Tacey passed him at the end of the third lap. However he re-passed Tacey and with Chris Schramm third this race was shared too. In heat 11 Stoke pulled two points back. Lee Complin won for the second time from Trent Leverington while Ben Barker took third place from Michael Coles for a 2-4. In heat 12 it was Nieminen again but again Stoke packed the minor places for a shared race to keep within touching distance and take the score to 38-34.

In heat 13 Glasgow entrusted the R/R ride to their number 8 Gary Beaton. Lee Complin made it three race wins on the trot by beating Trent Leverington while Chris Schramm finished third for a 2-4 which cut the Tigers’ lead to two points with just two races to go. John Branney came to the Tigers’ rescue by winning the heat but Ben Barker and Barrie Evans set up another last heat decider by sharing the points behind him. In heat 15 there was another horrendous accident when Chris Schramm spun 360 degrees entering the third bend and Lee Complin clipped him at full speed. The momentum took Complin over the safety fence and he crashed into the brick wall in front of the bar area at Ashfield. With the fence in a state of disrepair the meeting was abandoned at this point with the score standing as at heat 14.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Kauko Nieminen 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Trent Leverington 11 (5), Lee Dicken 7+1 (5), John Branney 6 (4), Lee Smart 5+2 (4), Michael Coles 0 (4), Gary Beaton 0 (1).

For Stoke – Barrie Evans 10+2 (6), Lee Complin 10 (5), Chris Schramm 7+2 (5), Shan Tacey 6+3 (4), Ben Barker 5 (5), Luke Priest 3 (3).

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Tyne Tees Trophy, first leg: Newcastle 45, Redcar 45

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Newcastle were without Christian Henry and Jonas Raun so had George Stancl as a guest at number 1. Craig Branney was due to guest at number 2 for the Diamonds but pulled out of the meeting so they used Rider Replacement instead. Redcar were without Mathieu Tressarieu and had Adam Roynon as a guest at number 2 instead.
George Stancl passed Gary Havelock at the end of the first lap to go on to win the opening heat while Sam Dore’s fall on the third lap ensured a shared heat. In the reserves race the Bears threatened to score a 1-5 until Jack Hargreaves hit a rut and fell causing the race to be awarded as a 3-3. Heat 3 was shared too. Josef Franc made the gate from James Grieves and, although Sean Stoddart briefly held third place, he was passed by Josh Auty for the third consecutive 3-3. The deadlock was broken in heat 4. Chris Kerr came from the back to move into second place behind Carl Wilkinson while Paul Clews got up to pip Jack Hargreaves on the line for a 4-2 taking the score to 13-11.

In heat 5 Sean Stoddart and Josef Franc made the gate and there was nothing Gary Havelock could do about the 5-1 which extended the Diamonds’ lead to six points. George Stancl kept it that way with a heat 6 win from Giffard and Kerr but the Bears hit back with a 2-4 in heat 7 when James Grieves beat a hard-pressing Carl Wilkinson with Josh Auty in third place. Newcastle then restored their six point lead by taking a 4-2 in heat 8. Carl Wilkinson (R/R) won the race from Adam Roynon while Paul Clews picked up third place taking the score to 27-21.

Josef Franc remained unbeaten by an opponent in heat 9 winning it from Chris Kerr. However Daniel Giffard picked up the third place point when Sean Stoddart fell for another shared race. James Grieves beat George Stancl in heat 10 but this time Sean Stoddart took third place from Josh Auty so this heat was shared too. Redcar hit back with a vengeance though. In heat 11 Adam Roynon made the gate closely followed by Gary Havelock and Carl Wilkinson was left to follow the two Bears home for a 1-5 which closed the gap between the sides to two points. James Grieves kept the pressure on by winning heat 12 from the previously unbeaten Josef Franc for a 3-3 which took the score to 37-35.

The Redcar comeback was complete when they took a 2-4 in heat 13. Gary Havelock beat George Stancl with Chris Kerr in third place after Carl Wilkinson had fallen on the third lap for a 2-4. Sean Stoddart stopped the run of four consecutive race winners for the Bears by winning heat 14 but it was only good enough to share the race as Jack Hargreaves and Josh Auty team rode behind him to keep Paul Clews at the back. In the last race James Grieves tied the match by beating George Stancl and Josef Franc with Gary Havelock stuck at the back.

Scorers: For Newcastle – George Stancl 12 (5), Josef Franc 11+2 (5), Carl Wilkinson 9 (5), Sean Stoddart 7+1 (5), Paul Clews 5+1 (7), Sam Dore 1+1 (3).

For Redcar – James Grieves 14 (5), Gary Havelock 8+1 (5), Chris Kerr 6+1 (4), Adam Roynon 6+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 6+1 (4), Josh Auty 3+2 (4), Jack Hargreaves 2 (4).