Around the Premier League Tracks 2008
.
.
Saturday, 15 March
.
.
Two of the scheduled three matches started tonight but only one finished. At Berwick the Bandits faced Edinburgh in the first Premier Trophy match of the season. The second Premier Trophy match scheduled was at Stoke where the Potters were due to take on Newcastle but this was postponed due to a waterlogged track. At Rye House the Rockets raced against Reading in what was now the first leg of the Thames Valley Trophy but this match only reached heat 7 before a halt was called due to heavy rain..


Premier Trophy: Berwick 42, Edinburgh 48


Berwick were without Manuel Hauzinger who has a broken collar bone. They were not allowed a facility for him so used Greg Blair (Redcar) instead. Edinburgh were at full strength.

Considering that the Bandits had to track a weakened side and that Edinburgh had a convincing win last night in their season opener, many thought this match would be a formality for the Monarchs. It was anything but as the Edinburgh side were consistently outgated in the early part of the match and only hit the front in heat 11. After that the visitors were always in control but it was a spirited display by the Bandits who were in with a shout until heat 14.

There was not a great deal of passing in this match with gating of paramount importance. It was the Berwick heatleaders who excelled in this department in the early stages. Comfortable wins for from the gate for the Bandits by Rymel, Magosi and Makovsky in the opening three heats were countered by the Monarchs by filling the minor places in heats 1 and 2 for shared races but machine problems for Jonasson in heat 3 resulted in a third place for Tero Aarnio and a 4-2 for Berwick to put them in front. In heat 4 a sensational race by young Greg Blair saw him rocket from the tapes and lead the field all the way to the line but Andrew Tully caught and passed him as the two riders crossed the line. Since Matthew Wethers had retired with an engine failure Berwick had hoped to take another 4-2 but had to be content with a shared race taking the score to 13-11.

Michal Makovsky and Adrian Rymel continued winning races for the Bandits in the next two heats but the Monarchs kept following them home although they were lucky when Franchetti dropped out with engine trouble in heat 6 while comfortably third. In heat 7 Edinburgh drew level. In the first running Jonasson and Lawson made the start but Greg Blair ran into Jonasson’s back wheel and fell bringing down his partner, Norbert Magosi. In the rerun William Lawson stormed off to win but Magosi followed him home as Jonasson nursed a sick engine round for third place giving the Monarchs a 2-4. Derek Sneddon won heat 8 from Franchetti while Andrew Tully was all over Adam McKinna for the four laps but couldn’t find a way past. This meant another 3-3 with the score tied at 24-24.

In heat 9 Matthew Wethers had machine trouble and borrowed Derek Sneddon’s bike. The improvement was instant. He shot from the gate to head home Michal Makovsky for a fine win while Tero Aarnio took third place for the match’s seventh shared heat. Adrian Rymel made another fast start to lead from tapes to flag in heat 10 but the Bandits were unlucky when Franchetti surrendered his third place with another engine failure. This allowed Jonasson on a sick motor again to coast round to follow William Lawson for shared heat number eight. The scores were still tied. Edinburgh then moved up a gear and took control of the match. Derek Sneddon and Ryan Fisher led Norbert Magosi when Greg Blair fell at the back causing the race to be stopped as the riders entered the third lap. The referee stopped the race rather quickly and awarded the 1-5 to Edinburgh although Magosi was still in contention at the time. This put the visitors into a four point lead and it stayed that way after Makovsky won again in heat 12 from Jonasson while Tully chased down Magosi and passed him with a brilliant dive under the Hungarian on the second last bend. The score was now 34-38.

Heat 13 all but sealed the match for the Monarchs. A blistering ride by Matthew Wethers (back on his own machine) saw him round Adrian Rymel on bends one and two to head off to win the race in comfort. Ryan Fisher took third and the 2-4 stretched the lead to six points. William Lawson tied things up for Edinburgh by winning heat 14 although Tero Aarnio was never far behind in a much improved ride. Andrew Tully finished third for another 2-4 which put the visitors eight points ahead. Adrian Rymel stormed from the gate to win the last heat from Matthew Wethers while Makovsky finished third ahead of Lawson who was suffering from clutch problems.

Scorers: For Berwick – Adrian Rymel 14 (5), Michal Makovsky 12 (5), Norbert Magosi 6 (6), Tero Aarnio 4+1 (4), Adam McKinna 2+2 (5), Guglielmo Franchetti 2 (4), Greg Blair 2 (4).

For Edinburgh – William Lawson 10 (5), Matthew Wethers 10 (5), Derek Sneddon 9+1 (4), Andrew Tully 7+1 (5), Ryan Fisher 6+2 (4), Thomas Jonasson 4+1 (4), Aaron Summers 2+2 (3).



Thames Valley Trophy: Rye House 26, Reading 19 match abandoned after heat 7 due to heavy rain.


Both teams were at full strength but the match did not make it past heat 7. By that time Rye House had built up a seven point lead while Reading had successfully played their TR card.

The Rockets started in style with a 5-1 from Neath and Bowen while Mark Lemon finished third but the next two races were shared. Jaimie Smith won heat 2 for the Racers then the crowd were treated to an excellent race in heat 3. Tommy Allen fell in the first running and was excluded while in the second running Ulrich Ostergaard led from the tapes and was involved in a terrific tussle with Tai Woffinden. After the riders had passed and repassed, Woffinden finally made his last lap dive under Ostergaard stick to win the race. Chris Mills fell and remounted for third. Robert Mear won heat 4 while his partner, Stefan Ekberg, followed him home for another 5-1 taking the score to 16-8.

Mark Lemon then lowered Tai Woffinden’s colours by winning heat 5 while Tomas Suchanek took third for a Reading 2-4 but another 5-1 from Chris Neath and Luke Bowen stretched the Rockets’ lead to ten points. With the rain falling heavily and the track getting greasy the match now looked in jeopardy. Heat 7 was run however with Ulrich Ostergaard taking a TR. He won it too beating Stefan Ekberg and Danny Betson while Chris Mills fell and remounted. With the riders now looking tentative on the wet surface a halt was called to the proceedings.

Scorers: For Rye House – Chris Neath 6 (2), Tai Woffinden 5 (2), Robert Mear 5 (2), Luke Bowen 4+2 (2), Stefan Ekberg 4+1 (2), Danny Betson 2+2 (2), Tommy Allen 0 (2).

For Reading – Ulrich Ostergaard 8 (2) (with a 6 point TR), Mark Lemon 4 (2), Jaimie Smith 3 (2), Tom P Madsen 2 (2), Chris Mills 1+1 (2), Tomas Suchanek 1 (2), Danny Warwick 0 (2).