Around the Premier League Tracks 2008
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Friday, 21 March
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The Good Friday programme was hit by two call-offs when the Premier Trophy match, due to take place between King’s Lynn and Birmingham, was declared victim to a waterlogged track as was the return match between the same two sides at Birmingham. Nonetheless three other matches were raced. At Edinburgh the Monarchs faced Berwick while at Scunthorpe the Scorpions took on Sheffield both in Premier Trophy matches. The other match was the second leg of a Challenge Match at Somerset where the Rebels had Reading as their visitors.
Premier Trophy: Edinburgh 56, Berwick 35
Edinburgh were at full strength for this match as were Berwick who had Manuel Hauzinger in the side (briefly) having supposedly recovered from his broken collar bone.
Berwick gave a much better account of themselves than the scoreline suggests particularly when they were down to just five men by heat 4. In the opening heat Derek Sneddon and Ryan Fisher looked set to open with a 5-1 when Adrian Rymel and Guglielmo Franchetti crashed into the second bend fence. It was end of the action for the unfortunate Italian who was taken to hospital with a suspected broken collar bone. Rymel gated to win the rerun for a shared race. The Berwick reserves shot from the tapes to lead out of the second bend in heat 2 but by the time the riders reached the third bend both had been passed by Andrew Tully and Aaron Summers in brilliant style. However Tully spoiled the effect by sliding off on the third bend. Summers went on to win the race for another 3-3 but the Monarchs hit the front in heat 3. William Lawson, whose times were over a second faster than anyone else all night, won by a distance from Michal Makovsky with Thomas Jonasson third for a 4-2 and two point lead. Then we had the sad case of Manuel Hauzinger. What do you make of a rider who, in his first ride, leaves the tapes and withdraws from the heat before even turning into the first bend then withdraws from the meeting with a sore shoulder? Matthew Wethers and Andrew Tully cashed in with a 5-1 which took the score to 15-9.
Down to just five men, the Bandits gave it their best shot. William Lawson left Adrian Rymel well behind in winning heat 5 for a 4-2 but a lightning gate and excellent ride from Norbert Magosi in heat 6 was enough to see off Sneddon and Fisher for a shared race. Aaron Summers rode an excellent race in heat 7 to head home an ever-pressing Michal Makovsky for a home 4-2 then Norbert Magosi replaced Guglielmo Franchetti in heat 8 and took a TR at the same time. He jetted from the gate again chased by Sneddon and Tully. Tully dived under him on the third bend just as Magosi tried to close the door and the Berwick rider fell with no apparent contact between the riders. Tully was rather harshly excluded but in the rerun Derek Sneddon made sure that Magosi wasn’t going to leave him trailing at the gate again by making a fast start ahead of him. Andrew McKinna then came to life with a stunning outside pass of the Hungarian to take second but cost his side a point as Magosi’s tactical ride produced only two points instead of four. Berwick took a 3-4 from the race and the score stood at 29-20.
Edinburgh then pulled away with two comfortable 5-1s increasing their lead to 17 points but a fine tapes-to-flag win from Adrian Rymel shared heat 11. Heat 12 was rerun after Magosi and Jonasson came off on the second bend. Magosi was fortunate not to be excluded but the rerun produced a stunning effort from Andrew Tully. Michal Makovsky made the gate and looked to have the race under control but he was stalked on all four laps by Tully who finally caught him in the run in to the line to get the verdict. This gave the Monarchs another 4-2 taking the score to 46-27.
Determined rides by Ryan Fisher and Matthew Wethers made sure that Rymel’s good start in heat 13 was not going to produce another win for the Berwick captain. The 5-1 put Edinburgh 23 points ahead. William Lawson had looked a racing cert for a maximum but in heat 14 his ignition box failed at the gate and his bike didn’t leave the start. Adam McKinna and Tero Aarnio took advantage of a poor gate by Aaron Summers to race off for a 1-5 to give Berwick some crumbs of consolation. In fact McKinna had improved all night and looked fast and assured taking the heat win. Ryan Fisher and Matthew Wethers stormed off in heat 15 to lead the Berwick pair but Rymel fell on the third bend while at the back and the race was rerun without him. Fisher again made a determined start and held off Makovsky to win the race with Wethers third for a final 4-2 to the home side.
Scorers: For Edinburgh – Ryan Fisher 11+2 (5), Derek Sneddon 9+1 (4), Matthew Wethers 9+1 (5), William Lawson 9 (4), Aaron Summers 8+1 (4), Thomas Jonasson 5+1 (4), Andrew Tully 5+1 (4).
For Berwick – Adrian Rymel 9 (5), Michal Makovsky 9 (5), Adam McKinna 8+1 (7), Norbert Magosi 7+1 (7), Tero Aarnio 2+1 (4), Guglielmo Franchetti 0 (1), Manuel Hauzinger 0 (1).
Premier Trophy: Scunthorpe 41, Sheffield 48
Premier Trophy: Edinburgh 56, Berwick 35
Edinburgh were at full strength for this match as were Berwick who had Manuel Hauzinger in the side (briefly) having supposedly recovered from his broken collar bone.
Berwick gave a much better account of themselves than the scoreline suggests particularly when they were down to just five men by heat 4. In the opening heat Derek Sneddon and Ryan Fisher looked set to open with a 5-1 when Adrian Rymel and Guglielmo Franchetti crashed into the second bend fence. It was end of the action for the unfortunate Italian who was taken to hospital with a suspected broken collar bone. Rymel gated to win the rerun for a shared race. The Berwick reserves shot from the tapes to lead out of the second bend in heat 2 but by the time the riders reached the third bend both had been passed by Andrew Tully and Aaron Summers in brilliant style. However Tully spoiled the effect by sliding off on the third bend. Summers went on to win the race for another 3-3 but the Monarchs hit the front in heat 3. William Lawson, whose times were over a second faster than anyone else all night, won by a distance from Michal Makovsky with Thomas Jonasson third for a 4-2 and two point lead. Then we had the sad case of Manuel Hauzinger. What do you make of a rider who, in his first ride, leaves the tapes and withdraws from the heat before even turning into the first bend then withdraws from the meeting with a sore shoulder? Matthew Wethers and Andrew Tully cashed in with a 5-1 which took the score to 15-9.
Down to just five men, the Bandits gave it their best shot. William Lawson left Adrian Rymel well behind in winning heat 5 for a 4-2 but a lightning gate and excellent ride from Norbert Magosi in heat 6 was enough to see off Sneddon and Fisher for a shared race. Aaron Summers rode an excellent race in heat 7 to head home an ever-pressing Michal Makovsky for a home 4-2 then Norbert Magosi replaced Guglielmo Franchetti in heat 8 and took a TR at the same time. He jetted from the gate again chased by Sneddon and Tully. Tully dived under him on the third bend just as Magosi tried to close the door and the Berwick rider fell with no apparent contact between the riders. Tully was rather harshly excluded but in the rerun Derek Sneddon made sure that Magosi wasn’t going to leave him trailing at the gate again by making a fast start ahead of him. Andrew McKinna then came to life with a stunning outside pass of the Hungarian to take second but cost his side a point as Magosi’s tactical ride produced only two points instead of four. Berwick took a 3-4 from the race and the score stood at 29-20.
Edinburgh then pulled away with two comfortable 5-1s increasing their lead to 17 points but a fine tapes-to-flag win from Adrian Rymel shared heat 11. Heat 12 was rerun after Magosi and Jonasson came off on the second bend. Magosi was fortunate not to be excluded but the rerun produced a stunning effort from Andrew Tully. Michal Makovsky made the gate and looked to have the race under control but he was stalked on all four laps by Tully who finally caught him in the run in to the line to get the verdict. This gave the Monarchs another 4-2 taking the score to 46-27.
Determined rides by Ryan Fisher and Matthew Wethers made sure that Rymel’s good start in heat 13 was not going to produce another win for the Berwick captain. The 5-1 put Edinburgh 23 points ahead. William Lawson had looked a racing cert for a maximum but in heat 14 his ignition box failed at the gate and his bike didn’t leave the start. Adam McKinna and Tero Aarnio took advantage of a poor gate by Aaron Summers to race off for a 1-5 to give Berwick some crumbs of consolation. In fact McKinna had improved all night and looked fast and assured taking the heat win. Ryan Fisher and Matthew Wethers stormed off in heat 15 to lead the Berwick pair but Rymel fell on the third bend while at the back and the race was rerun without him. Fisher again made a determined start and held off Makovsky to win the race with Wethers third for a final 4-2 to the home side.
Scorers: For Edinburgh – Ryan Fisher 11+2 (5), Derek Sneddon 9+1 (4), Matthew Wethers 9+1 (5), William Lawson 9 (4), Aaron Summers 8+1 (4), Thomas Jonasson 5+1 (4), Andrew Tully 5+1 (4).
For Berwick – Adrian Rymel 9 (5), Michal Makovsky 9 (5), Adam McKinna 8+1 (7), Norbert Magosi 7+1 (7), Tero Aarnio 2+1 (4), Guglielmo Franchetti 0 (1), Manuel Hauzinger 0 (1).
Premier Trophy: Scunthorpe 41, Sheffield 48
Both teams were at full strength fielding the same sides as last night at Owlerton although Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth swapped places with Compton moving to number 1 and Ashworth to number 3.
The Scorpions made a disappointing home start to their Premier Trophy campaign losing to Sheffield by seven points. They led briefly through heats two to four but Sheffield pulled away in heat 8 and never looked back. The home side’s problem was a lack of race winners managing only four over the 15 races.
Sheffield opened with a 2-4 in a race won by Joel Parsons from Andrew Moore and Andre Compton but the Scorpions took a 5-1 from the reserves race after Benji Compton had got up on the line to pass Lee Smethills and follow his partner, Byron Bekker, home. Two shared heats followed won by Ricky Ashworth and Richard Hall to give the Scorpions a two point advantage at 13-11.
Sheffield turned the score around with a 1-5 in heat 5 as Parsons and Compton led Magnus Karlsson home but the home side squared the match again in heat 6 after Wilkinson fended off the challenge of Ben Wilson for a 4-2. Richard Hall won again in heat 7 holding off the challenge of Paul Cooper for a 3-3 but Sheffield struck with another 1-5 in heat 8. Joel Parsons and Lee Smethills gated ahead of Carl Wilkinson and that was that. The score was now 22-26.
A Sheffield rider won every one of the last seven races giving the Scorpions no chance of pulling back the deficit. Ben Wilson started with a win over Magnus Karlsson in heat 9 then Ricky Ashworth did likewise in heat 10 both for shared races. There were only two finishers to heat 11. With Sheffield on a 1-5 Richard Hall fell and was excluded from the rerun in which Joel Parsons suffered an engine failure for a 2-3. Ricky Ashworth then had a comfortable win from Karlsson and Compton in heat 12 taking the score to 33-38.
Andre Compton led home Moore and Hall in heat 13 and Paul Cooper repeated this in heat 14 with a win from Bekker and Bergstrom in heat 14. Both races were shared but the visitors finished with a 2-4 in the last race as Andre Compton scored his third race win on the trot and Ricky Ashworth finished third behind Richard Hall.
Scorers: For Scunthorpe – Richard Hall 9+1 (5), Byron Bekker 7 (4), Magnus Karlsson 7 (5), Andrew Moore 6+1 (4), Carl Wilkinson 6 (4), Viktor Bergstrom 3+3 (4), Benji Compton 3+2 (4).
For Sheffield – Andre Compton 12+1 (5), Ricky Ashworth 11+1 (5), Joel Parsons 9 (4), Ben Wilson 7 (4), Paul Cooper 5 (4), Lee Smethills 4+2 (4), Sam Martin 0 (4).
Challenge Match (second leg) : Somerset 52, Reading 41 Reading won on aggregate by 95-89
Somerset opened their home campaign at full strength but Reading were without the injured Danny Warwick and had Robert Mear (Rye House) as a guest at reserve.
The Rebels had a 17 point deficit to overcome from the first leg of this Challenge match at Reading last Monday where they lost 37-54. They were on course when they led by ten points after heat 6 but a massive 1-8 for the Racers in heat 8 left them with too much to do.
Jason Doyle got his Somerset career off to the perfect start by winning heat 1 from Mark Lemon in a shared race then the Rebels rocketed into a four point lead with a 5-1 in the reserves race after Jaimie Smith had packed up on the first bend. Simon Walker retired in heat 3 so Emil Kramer’s win was only good enough to share the race. Tom P Madsen made a good start to heat 4 but Brent Werner rode round him on the third bend to take the lead. This gave the Rebels a 4-2 stretching their lead to 15-9.
The tapes then packed up and after a lengthy delay the meeting was restarted by using elastic at the start line. This seemed to suit the Rebels who scored a 5-1 when Walker and Kramer beat Mark Lemon for a ten point lead. Jason Doyle won again to keep it that way but Ulrich Ostergaard took a TR in heat 7 and gated well with Chris Mills. Despite a massive race-long attempt by Jordan Frampton to pass the pair of them the Racers’ pair held on for the big 1-8 which cut the lead to only three points. Stephan Katt passed Tomas Suchanek going into the last lap for a 3-3 which prevented the Racers from making further inroads to the deficit. This took the score to 27-24.
The two teams exchanged 4-2s in the next two heats then Mark Lemon finally won a race in heat 11 for a 3-3 which kept the lead at three points. Time was running out for Somerset to claw the 17 points back but in heat 12 it looked as though they might take a 5-1 when Katt and Kramer led Ostergaard. However the Reading man passed Kramer and managed to hold him off to restrict the damage to a 4-2 taking the score to 40-35.
Brent Werner made a fast start to win heat 13 while Mark Lemon kept Jason Doyle in third place for another 4-2. Simon Walker and Jordan Frampton then sealed victory on the night for the Rebels by taking a 5-1 in heat 14 before Brent Werner finished the proceedings with a heat 15 win in an exciting race with Lemon and Ostergaard as Doyle retired at the back.
Scorers: For Somerset – Brent Werner 10+1 (5), Stephan Katt 10 (5), Emil Kramer 9+1 (4), Jason Doyle 9 (5), Jordan Frampton 7+2 (4), Simon Walker 7 (4), Henning Loof 0 (4).
For Reading – Ulrich Ostergaard 14+1 (5) (with 6 point TR), Mark Lemon 10 (5), Tom P Madsen 5+1 (4), Chris Mills 4+2 (4), Tomas Suchanek 3+1 (4), Jaimie Smith 3+1 (4), Rob Mear 2 (4).
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