Around the Premier League Tracks 2008
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Thursday, 24 April
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This is Knock Out Cup week and there were two first round, first leg matches raced tonight. One was at Redcar where the Bears raced Mildenhall, the other was at Sheffield where the Tigers took on the Isle of Wight.
Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Redcar 53, Mildenhall 40
Redcar again used Rider Replacement for Chris Kerr at number 2 and nominated David Wallinger as their number 8. The contingent injured in the match at Newport were all pronounced fit as was Daniel Giffard after his illness. Mildenhall used Rider Replacement at number 4 in place of Casper Wortmann and had two guests at reserve. Ben Taylor (Buxton) replaced the injured Mark Baseby while Matthew Wright took over from James Cockle who has been ‘rested’.
Redcar were relieved to be able to track their usual team for this match. They announced to the crowd before the meeting started that, on the recommendation of Kai Laukkanen, they had agreed terms with Finnish rider Johnny Peckerman (is that really a Finnish name?) who will make his debut for the Bears next month. Mildenhall welcomed Robbie Kessler back to the side to give them some much needed top end punch.
The Bears started with a 5-1. Gary Havelock won the race while Dan Giffard (R/R) rode well to maintain his lead over Jan Graversen. However the Fen Tigers took a 2-4 from the reserves race. Matthew Wright won from Arlo Bugeja while Ben Taylor left Dan Giffard pointless to cut the lead to two points. A James Grieves win in heat 3 was only good enough for a 3-3 when Josh Auty suffered an engine failure on the second lap when he lay third to Kai Laukkanen. Redcar pulled a further two points clear in heat 4 when Ty Proctor roared round Robbie Kessler in fine style on the last bend to win the heat while Arlo Bugeja took third. The 4-2 took the score to 14-10.
James Grieves won again in heat 5 after passing Jan Graversen round the outside on the last bend and Josh Auty had an engine failure again on the first lap for another shared race. Gary Havelock scored his second win in heat 6 after pulling away from Robbie Kessler after a tight first lap. Arlo Bugeja took third place for a 4-2 and six point lead but the Fen Tigers hit back in style with a 1-5 in heat 7. Jan Graversen and Kai Laukkanen made the gate and pulled away after a brief challenge from Ty Proctor to cut four points from the lead to stand two points down. Redcar got it all back in the next heat though. Ty Proctor and Dan Giffard gated to beat Jari Makinen taking the score to 27-21.
In heat 9 James Grieves and Josh Auty produced another 5-1 to stretch the home side’s lead to ten points so Kai Laukkanen took a TR in heat 10. He led Gary Havelock entering the third lap when Josh Auty dived under Jari Makinen resulting in the Fen Tiger falling but it was Makinen who was excluded from the rerun. Again Laukkanen made the gate to win for a 3-6 which cut the lead to seven points. Ty Proctor was fast away with Arlo Bugeja in heat 11 but Jan Graversen, who made an awful start, chased down Bugeja to pass him on the line limiting the damage to a 4-2 which stretched the lead to nine points. In heat 12 Kai Laukkanen made the gate from Giffard and Grieves but Giffard passed him on the third bend to take the lead and go on to win the race. James Grieves finished behind Laukkanen so the Bears took a 4-2 which increased their lead to eleven points with the score now 43-32.
Robbie Kessler made the gate in heat 13 and held off the challenges of Gary Havelock and Ty Proctor for a 3-3. Mildenhall tried giving Jan Graversen a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 14 replacing Matthew Wright from 15 metres back while Robbie Kessler took the R/R ride. It didn’t work though as Josh Auty got the better of Kessler while Bugeja kept Graversen at the back for a 4-2 to the Bears taking their lead to 13 points. It looked like being increased further in the last heat when Havelock and Grieves led for a 5-1 but James Grieves suffered an engine failure on the last lap so the race points were shared giving Redcar a 13 point lead to take into the second leg.
Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 13 (5), Ty Proctor 11+1 (5), James Grieves 10 (5), Daniel Giffard 7+2 (5), Josh Auty 6+2 (5), Arlo Bugeja 6 (6).
For Mildenhall – Kai Laukkanen 14 (5) (with 6 point TR), Robbie Kessler 10 (5), Jan Graversen 9+1 (7), Matthew Wright 3 (5), Jari Makinen 2+1 (4), Ben Taylor 2+1 (4).
Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Sheffield 52, Isle of Wight 38.
Both teams were at full strength.
Sheffield didn’t get it all their own way in this match. The Islanders led by two points after heat 4 and trailed by only two points after heat ten. However a late surge by the Tigers who scored 5-1s in heats 11, 13 and 15 increased the home side’s lead to 14 points. Incredibly the Islanders failed to give Paul Fry a TR ride in heat 14 after trailing by ten points after heat 13. Fry’s second place would have given the Islanders another two points cutting the lead to twelve points. This oversight could yet come back to haunt the Islanders in the second leg.
The visitors made a good start to this match. Cory Gathercole saw off the strong opening pairing of Parsons and Ashworth to share the opening heat but the Tigers took the lead with a 4-2 in the reserves race won by Sam Martin. It took a pass by James Holder on Lee Smethills to prevent it being a 5-1. Andre Compton won heat 3 but the Islanders took a share of the spoils when Paul Cooper spun round on the third lap finishing last behind Glen Phillips and Paul Fry. The visitors wiped out their two point arrears and went two in front with a 1-5 in heat 4. James Holder gated and Jason Bunyan followed him home ahead of Ben Wilson to take the score to 11-13.
The Isle of Wight continued their resistance with a shared heat 5 won by Andre Compton again. This time Cory Gathercole and Krzysztof Stojanowski kept Paul Cooper at the back but the Tigers got their noses back in front again with a 5-1 in heat 6. It was Joel Parsons and Ricky Ashworth who did the damage by keeping out Jason Bunyan whose challenge ended when he suffered an engine failure while lying third. The Isle of Wight levelled the match again with a 2-4 in heat 7. Glen Phillips passed Ben Wilson round the outside on the last bend of the first lap to win the race while Paul Fry picked up third after Sam Martin had dropped out with machine trouble. Sheffield responded in kind with a 4-2 in heat 8. Joel Parsons won the race from Cory Gathercole who had duelled with Lee Smethills before securing second place. The score now stood at 25-23.
Jason Bunyan flew from the gate to beat Andre Compton in heat 9 but this time Paul Cooper finished third to deny the Islanders a heat advantage so the race was shared then Paul Fry was next up for a fine race win beating Joel Parsons and Ricky Ashworth in the process. Ricky Ashworth had a problem with the fence off the second bend and slipped to the back in this race but he got past Glen Phillips on the last lap while Fry had his hands full keeping Parsons at bay. There were still just two points between the teams at this point but the Tigers relieved the pressure with a 5-1 in heat 11 to treble their lead. Ben Wilson led the race from the start while young Sam Martin came past both Stojanowski and Gathercole off the second bend then held on under pressure from both the visitors for the rest of the race to record the maximum. Andre Compton won again in heat 12 but Glen Phillips and James Holder kept Lee Smethills at the back for a shared race taking the score to 39-33.
Another 5-1 for Sheffield in heat 13 from Ashworth and Wilson stretched the home side’s lead to ten points but for whatever reason the Isle of Wight did not produce the black and white helmet cover in heat 14. As a result Paul Fry’s second place behind Paul Cooper counted for just two points instead of four. James Holder finished third ahead of Sam Martin so the points were shared then in the last race the Tigers took a 5-1 from the gate as Compton and Parsons wrapped things up by giving the Tigers a fourteen point advantage for the second leg on the Island.
Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 14 (5), Joel Parsons 12+1 (5), Ben Wilson 8+1 (4), Ricky Ashworth 6+3 (4), Sam Martin 5+1 (4), Paul Cooper 4+1 (4), Lee Smethills 2 (4).
For the Isle of Wight – Cory Gathercole 8 (5), Paul Fry 7+1 (4), James Holder 7+1 (6), Glen Phillips 7 (5), Jason Bunyan 6+1 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 2+1 (4), Andrew Bargh 1 (4).
This is Knock Out Cup week and there were two first round, first leg matches raced tonight. One was at Redcar where the Bears raced Mildenhall, the other was at Sheffield where the Tigers took on the Isle of Wight.
Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Redcar 53, Mildenhall 40
Redcar again used Rider Replacement for Chris Kerr at number 2 and nominated David Wallinger as their number 8. The contingent injured in the match at Newport were all pronounced fit as was Daniel Giffard after his illness. Mildenhall used Rider Replacement at number 4 in place of Casper Wortmann and had two guests at reserve. Ben Taylor (Buxton) replaced the injured Mark Baseby while Matthew Wright took over from James Cockle who has been ‘rested’.
Redcar were relieved to be able to track their usual team for this match. They announced to the crowd before the meeting started that, on the recommendation of Kai Laukkanen, they had agreed terms with Finnish rider Johnny Peckerman (is that really a Finnish name?) who will make his debut for the Bears next month. Mildenhall welcomed Robbie Kessler back to the side to give them some much needed top end punch.
The Bears started with a 5-1. Gary Havelock won the race while Dan Giffard (R/R) rode well to maintain his lead over Jan Graversen. However the Fen Tigers took a 2-4 from the reserves race. Matthew Wright won from Arlo Bugeja while Ben Taylor left Dan Giffard pointless to cut the lead to two points. A James Grieves win in heat 3 was only good enough for a 3-3 when Josh Auty suffered an engine failure on the second lap when he lay third to Kai Laukkanen. Redcar pulled a further two points clear in heat 4 when Ty Proctor roared round Robbie Kessler in fine style on the last bend to win the heat while Arlo Bugeja took third. The 4-2 took the score to 14-10.
James Grieves won again in heat 5 after passing Jan Graversen round the outside on the last bend and Josh Auty had an engine failure again on the first lap for another shared race. Gary Havelock scored his second win in heat 6 after pulling away from Robbie Kessler after a tight first lap. Arlo Bugeja took third place for a 4-2 and six point lead but the Fen Tigers hit back in style with a 1-5 in heat 7. Jan Graversen and Kai Laukkanen made the gate and pulled away after a brief challenge from Ty Proctor to cut four points from the lead to stand two points down. Redcar got it all back in the next heat though. Ty Proctor and Dan Giffard gated to beat Jari Makinen taking the score to 27-21.
In heat 9 James Grieves and Josh Auty produced another 5-1 to stretch the home side’s lead to ten points so Kai Laukkanen took a TR in heat 10. He led Gary Havelock entering the third lap when Josh Auty dived under Jari Makinen resulting in the Fen Tiger falling but it was Makinen who was excluded from the rerun. Again Laukkanen made the gate to win for a 3-6 which cut the lead to seven points. Ty Proctor was fast away with Arlo Bugeja in heat 11 but Jan Graversen, who made an awful start, chased down Bugeja to pass him on the line limiting the damage to a 4-2 which stretched the lead to nine points. In heat 12 Kai Laukkanen made the gate from Giffard and Grieves but Giffard passed him on the third bend to take the lead and go on to win the race. James Grieves finished behind Laukkanen so the Bears took a 4-2 which increased their lead to eleven points with the score now 43-32.
Robbie Kessler made the gate in heat 13 and held off the challenges of Gary Havelock and Ty Proctor for a 3-3. Mildenhall tried giving Jan Graversen a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 14 replacing Matthew Wright from 15 metres back while Robbie Kessler took the R/R ride. It didn’t work though as Josh Auty got the better of Kessler while Bugeja kept Graversen at the back for a 4-2 to the Bears taking their lead to 13 points. It looked like being increased further in the last heat when Havelock and Grieves led for a 5-1 but James Grieves suffered an engine failure on the last lap so the race points were shared giving Redcar a 13 point lead to take into the second leg.
Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 13 (5), Ty Proctor 11+1 (5), James Grieves 10 (5), Daniel Giffard 7+2 (5), Josh Auty 6+2 (5), Arlo Bugeja 6 (6).
For Mildenhall – Kai Laukkanen 14 (5) (with 6 point TR), Robbie Kessler 10 (5), Jan Graversen 9+1 (7), Matthew Wright 3 (5), Jari Makinen 2+1 (4), Ben Taylor 2+1 (4).
Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Sheffield 52, Isle of Wight 38.
Both teams were at full strength.
Sheffield didn’t get it all their own way in this match. The Islanders led by two points after heat 4 and trailed by only two points after heat ten. However a late surge by the Tigers who scored 5-1s in heats 11, 13 and 15 increased the home side’s lead to 14 points. Incredibly the Islanders failed to give Paul Fry a TR ride in heat 14 after trailing by ten points after heat 13. Fry’s second place would have given the Islanders another two points cutting the lead to twelve points. This oversight could yet come back to haunt the Islanders in the second leg.
The visitors made a good start to this match. Cory Gathercole saw off the strong opening pairing of Parsons and Ashworth to share the opening heat but the Tigers took the lead with a 4-2 in the reserves race won by Sam Martin. It took a pass by James Holder on Lee Smethills to prevent it being a 5-1. Andre Compton won heat 3 but the Islanders took a share of the spoils when Paul Cooper spun round on the third lap finishing last behind Glen Phillips and Paul Fry. The visitors wiped out their two point arrears and went two in front with a 1-5 in heat 4. James Holder gated and Jason Bunyan followed him home ahead of Ben Wilson to take the score to 11-13.
The Isle of Wight continued their resistance with a shared heat 5 won by Andre Compton again. This time Cory Gathercole and Krzysztof Stojanowski kept Paul Cooper at the back but the Tigers got their noses back in front again with a 5-1 in heat 6. It was Joel Parsons and Ricky Ashworth who did the damage by keeping out Jason Bunyan whose challenge ended when he suffered an engine failure while lying third. The Isle of Wight levelled the match again with a 2-4 in heat 7. Glen Phillips passed Ben Wilson round the outside on the last bend of the first lap to win the race while Paul Fry picked up third after Sam Martin had dropped out with machine trouble. Sheffield responded in kind with a 4-2 in heat 8. Joel Parsons won the race from Cory Gathercole who had duelled with Lee Smethills before securing second place. The score now stood at 25-23.
Jason Bunyan flew from the gate to beat Andre Compton in heat 9 but this time Paul Cooper finished third to deny the Islanders a heat advantage so the race was shared then Paul Fry was next up for a fine race win beating Joel Parsons and Ricky Ashworth in the process. Ricky Ashworth had a problem with the fence off the second bend and slipped to the back in this race but he got past Glen Phillips on the last lap while Fry had his hands full keeping Parsons at bay. There were still just two points between the teams at this point but the Tigers relieved the pressure with a 5-1 in heat 11 to treble their lead. Ben Wilson led the race from the start while young Sam Martin came past both Stojanowski and Gathercole off the second bend then held on under pressure from both the visitors for the rest of the race to record the maximum. Andre Compton won again in heat 12 but Glen Phillips and James Holder kept Lee Smethills at the back for a shared race taking the score to 39-33.
Another 5-1 for Sheffield in heat 13 from Ashworth and Wilson stretched the home side’s lead to ten points but for whatever reason the Isle of Wight did not produce the black and white helmet cover in heat 14. As a result Paul Fry’s second place behind Paul Cooper counted for just two points instead of four. James Holder finished third ahead of Sam Martin so the points were shared then in the last race the Tigers took a 5-1 from the gate as Compton and Parsons wrapped things up by giving the Tigers a fourteen point advantage for the second leg on the Island.
Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 14 (5), Joel Parsons 12+1 (5), Ben Wilson 8+1 (4), Ricky Ashworth 6+3 (4), Sam Martin 5+1 (4), Paul Cooper 4+1 (4), Lee Smethills 2 (4).
For the Isle of Wight – Cory Gathercole 8 (5), Paul Fry 7+1 (4), James Holder 7+1 (6), Glen Phillips 7 (5), Jason Bunyan 6+1 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 2+1 (4), Andrew Bargh 1 (4).
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