Around the Premier League Tracks 2008
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Sunday, 27 April
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Today’s events were overshadowed by the death of Newport promoter, Tim Stone. The scheduled Knock Out Cup tie between Newport and Rye House was of course cancelled. The Premier Trophy match between Birmingham and King’s Lynn was a casualty of the weather but four other matches took place. At Glasgow the Tigers faced Edinburgh in a Premier Trophy match and at Mildenhall the Fen Tigers took on Redcar in a Knock Out Cup tie. The third match was at Newcastle where the Diamonds raced against Somerset in a Knock Out Cup tie and the fourth was at Stoke where the Potters had Workington as their visitors also in the Knock Out Cup.



Premier Trophy: Glasgow 34, Edinburgh 58


Both teams were at full strength.

Glasgow have had an indifferent start to the season but their win at Birmingham last Wednesday seemed to be just the spur they needed to get their season on track and what better way to do it than take on their nearest and dearest rivals, Edinburgh Monarchs, in another derby match. Edinburgh only had to score 25 points to ensure that they qualified for the semi-finals of the Premier Trophy by topping the section. You wouldn’t have known it though as Glasgow suffered one of their most depressing defeats ever on a warm, sunny afternoon at Ashfield.

It’s hard to say whether any records were set by the score but one record that did change was the track record when Shane Parker lowered the time to 57.1 in heat 3. Parker in fact fought a near lone battle for the Tigers scoring 19 of their 34 points some 56% of their total. He prevented William Lawson, Thomas Jonasson and Matthew Wethers from going through the meeting unbeaten by an opponent.

Heat 1 had to be rerun after Ryan Fisher and Trent Leverington clashed coming off bend 2 with Leverington falling. Fisher was excluded but in the rerun Derek Sneddon made the fastest gate and went on to win despite being pressurised by Leverington for a 3-3. A foretaste of what was to come appeared in the reserves race. Aaron Summers made a superb gate while Andrew Tully followed him home although Josh Grajczonek was never far behind. This gave the Monarchs a 1-5 and four point lead. Shane Parker stormed to the front from the tapes to win heat 3 in a record time but Thomas Jonasson and William Lawson finished behind him for a shared race. Another fine gate by Aaron Summers resulted in another race win for the young Australian. Matthew Wethers followed him home well ahead of Mitchell Davey as Ross Brady slipped from second to last for another 1-5 to the visitors taking the score to 8-16.

Heat 5 provided another tapes-to-flag win for Shane Parker but Derek Sneddon and Ryan Fisher followed him home for a 3-3. It was then announced that Trent Leverington had withdrawn from the meeting so Shane Parker replaced him as a Tactical Substitute in heat 6 from 15 metres back. Robert Ksiezak made the gate but Matthew Wethers passed him on the fourth bend on the first lap. Shane Parker made up the ground on Andrew Tully but found passing him another matter. On the third lap Ksiezak locked up and Tully ran into him and fell. This let Parker through to second but he was too far behind to get near Wethers who won the race. The Tigers took a 5-3 from the race so now trailed by just six points but another 1-5 for the Monarchs in heat 7 shot them into a ten point lead. Thomas Jonasson made an excellent start from Josh Grajczonek. William Lawson passed Grajczonek on the third lap with Brady tailed off badly at the back for the maximum. Now ten points in arrears Glasgow gave Robert Ksiezak a TR in heat 8. Aaron Summers was again fast away with Josh Grajczonek in pursuit but Ryan Fisher cut back off the second bend to pass Grajczonek and the two Monarchs headed off for another 1-5. Grajczonek slowed to allow a woeful Ksiezak through on the tactical ride but he finished miles behind the Edinburgh pair. The score now stood at 18-32 and Glasgow were looking down the barrel of a third home defeat on the trot.

Shane Parker lifted the gloom for the home fans with another superb tapes-to-flag win in heat 10. Andrew Tully and Matthew Wethers filled the minor places so the race was shared heat but heat 10 produced another 1-5 for the visitors. The race had to be rerun with all four back after Grajczonek had fallen before reaching the first turn. In the rerun Lawson and Jonasson left Ksiezak and Grajczonek trailing off the second bend putting the visitors out of sight with an eighteen point lead. Bad went to worse for the Tigers when they conceded another 1-5 in heat 11, the fourth Monarchs 1-5 in five heats. This time it was Fisher and Sneddon who led Davey and Brady home by miles stretching the lead to 22 points. Shane Parker again raised home spirits with another superb win in heat 12. William Lawson finished second but Josh Grajczonek kept Andrew Tully at the back giving Glasgow their second race advantage of the meeting by 4-2 taking the score to 27-47.

Matthew Wethers shot to the front in heat 13 but Grajczonek kept him occupied for the whole four laps. Behind this pair Ross Brady took third place after Derek Sneddon kept making a hash of his attempts to pass him by pulling lockers on the second bend. This resulted in a shared race then heat 14 provided the race of the afternoon. Aaron Summers going for his maximum touched the tapes and went from 15 metres back. That looked to have ended his chances on a track that was now super-slick but it didn’t put him off. Thomas Jonasson was soon off to win the race while Summers at the back reeled in Grajczonek to sit on his tail for a couple of laps. On the third lap he rounded Grajczonek in fine style on the fourth bend and kept the gas on down the home straight to thunder under Lee Dicken approaching the first bend. He made the pass stick and followed Jonasson home for a brilliant ride to complete a paid maximum much to the delight of the Monarchs’ support and his own team mates. The 1-5 increased the lead to 24 points and it stayed that way when Shane Parker completed a brilliant personal performance with his fifth race win of the meeting. Lawson and Wethers finished ahead of Ksiezak for a shared race.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 19 (6) (with 4 point TR), Josh Grajczonek 5 (7), Robert Ksiezak 4+2, Trent Leverington 2 (1), Mitchell Davey 2 (3), Ross Brady 1+1 (4), Lee Dicken 1 (4).

For Edinburgh – Aaron Summers 11+1 (4) (paid maximum), Matthew Wethers 10+3 (5), William Lawson 10+2 (5), Thomas Jonasson 10+1 (4), Derek Sneddon 7+1 (4), Ryan Fisher 6+2 (4), Andrew Tully 4+1 (4).



Knock Out Cup (first round, second leg): Mildenhall 40, Redcar 50 Redcar won through to the second round on aggregate by 103-80.


Mildenhall used Rider Replacement at number 1 in place of Casper Wortmann while Redcar used Rider Replacement for Chris Kerr at number 2.

The Fen Tigers had thirteen points to pull back from the first leg at Redcar last Thursday but they never looked like doing it. The euphoria after their win over King’s Lynn yesterday soon evaporated as another home defeat materialised. Redcar scored solidly throughout the team and, with the top end punch provided by James Grieves and Ty Proctor, they were able to win with ease without the usual double figure score from Gary Havelock.

Any chance the Fen Tigers had of pulling back the arrears all but disappeared after the first four races by which time the Bears had added another eight points to their overall lead. Daniel Giffard won the first race from Jan Graversen while Gary Havelock finished third for a 2-4 then Arlo Bugeja won the reserves race from Matt Wright. Giffard added third place for another 2-4 then James Grieves won a rerun heat 3 after Josh Auty had fallen and been excluded for a 3-3. Ty Proctor and Dan Giffard took advantage of Robbie Kessler’s engine failure by adding a 1-5 in heat 4 taking the score to 8-16.

Henning Loof and Kai Laukkanen scored a 5-1 ahead of Gary Havelock in heat 5 to revive home hopes but another win by Ty Proctor in heat 6 when he beat Robbie Kessler was accompanied by an excellent ride by Arlo Bugeja for third and another 2-4 increasing the visitors’ lead to six points. The Fen Tigers rallied again with two 4-2s in heats 7 and 8. Kessler beat Grieves in heat 7 then Graversen held off Proctor in heat 8 cutting the lead to two points and taking the score to 23-25.

Ty Proctor won again in heat 9 this time beating Kai Laukkanen while Arlo Bugeja took third from Loof for a 2-4 and four point lead. The Bears took another 2-4 in heat 10 when James Grieves beat Kai Laukkanen. Jan Graversen touched the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back so Josh Auty was able to take third putting the visitors six points ahead in the match. In an excellent heat 11 Gary Havelock finally won a race beating Kessler and Auty for another 2-4 and eight point lead. Grieves beat Laukkanen again in heat 12 while at the back Jari Makinen and Arlo Bugeja had a great race for third. Graversen prevailed so the heat was shared and the score stood at 32-40.

The lead increased to ten in heat 13 with yet another 2-4. Robbie Kessler had an engine failure as Ty Proctor won again from Graversen and Havelock. Henning Loof took a TR in heat 14 but finished last. Matt Wright led until the last bend when Josh Auty got past him while Dan Giffard finished third for Redcar’s eighth 2-4. Kai Laukkanen won the last race from James Grieves while Jan Graversen took third place ahead of Ty Proctor. The 4-2 cut the winning lead from 12 to 10.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Kai Laukkanen 13+1 (6), Jan Graversen 8 (6), Robbie Kessler 7 (5), Matt Wright 5 (4), Henning Loof 4+1 (5), Jari Makinen 3+1 (4).

For Redcar – Ty Proctor 14 (6), James Grieves 13 (5), Daniel Giffard 7+1 (5), Gary Havelock 6 (4), Josh Auty 5 (5), Arlo Bugeja 5 (5).



Knock Out Cup (first round, second leg): Newcastle 39, Somerset 39 – match abandoned after heat 13 due to rain. The result stands. Somerset won through to the second round on aggregate by 103-67


Newcastle used Rider Replacement at number 2 in place of George Stancl while Somerset were at full strength.

There are no further details currently available for this match.

Scorers: For Newcastle – Josef Franc 13 (5), Christian Henry 10 (4), Ben Powell 5+3 (4), Jason King 5 (5), Sean Stoddart 4+1 (5), Jaimie Robertson 2+2 (3).

For Somerset – Emil Kramer 12 (4) (maximum), Brent Werner 9 (5), Jason Doyle 8 (4), Jordan Frampton 6+2 (4), Matthias Kroger 3 (4), Simon Walker 1+1 (3), Stephan Katt 0 (2).



Knock Out Cup (first round, first leg): Stoke 42, Workington 50

Both teams were at full strength.

This was scheduled to be the second leg of this Cup tie but with last night’s match at Workington postponed due to the weather it became the first leg. When Stoke led by ten points after heat 9 it was hard to foresee that they would lose by eight points just six heats later but that’s what happened. The Potters simply collapsed over the last third of the match losing by 10-28 with heat advantages to the Comets in every one of the last six races. Their chances of winning the tie now look slim with the away leg still to come.

The first race, won by Daniel Nermark, was shared but the Potters took a four point lead with a 5-1 in the reserves race. Workington hit back with a 2-4 in heat 3 as Kauko Nieminen won from Klaus Jacobsen with Charles Wright winning an exciting battle at the back with Ben Barker for third. Carl Stonehewer rounded Jesper Kristiansen in heat 4 for another 3-3 taking the score to 13-11.

Another Nermark win in heat 5 produced another 3-3 but Lee Complin won a passing bout with Carl Stonehewer in heat 6 to set up a 4-2 with Mark Burrows third. This put the Potters four points to the good and, after another Nieminen win in heat 7 for another shared race, they followed it with a 5-1 in heat 8 to storm into an eight point lead. Mark Burrows and Jesper Kristiansen led the Potters charge from John Branney taking the score to 28-20.

Stoke continued to stretch their lead in heat 9 when a 4-2 from Ben Barker and Klaus Jakobsen separated by Carl Stonehewer put the Potters ten points in front. The Comets pulled two points back in heat 10 when Charles Wright took advantage of a Lee Complin engine failure at the tapes to win from Mark Burrows. Nieminen had an argument with the fence but almost got up to pip Burrows on the line but, in retrospect, it turned out well for the visitors that he didn’t! Now eight points down Workington introduced Kauko Nieminen to heat 11 as a Tactical Substitute for Scott Smith from 15 metres back. As Daniel Nermark headed off into the distance, Nieminen was soon past Barrie Evans to hunt down Emiliano Sanchez. He caught and passed him right on the line for a 1-7 to the Comets who had now pulled their arrears back to just two points. It was all square one heat later when Nieminen, out for his third ride on the trot, won from Ben Barker while Joe Haines beat Jesper Kristiansen for third place and a 4-2 which took the score to 37-37.

Stoke just couldn’t stop the tide now as Daniel Nermark continued his winning ways in heat 13 heading Lee Complin home after the two riders had passed and repassed each other. Carl Stonehewer took third for a 2-4 which put the Comets two points ahead. Charles Wright got into the act again by winning heat 14 from Barrie Evans with John Branney passing Klaus Jakobsen for third and another 2-4 for a four point lead. It seemed inevitable at this stage that Nermark and Nieminen would finish the match off with a 1-5 in heat 15 and that’s what happened but not before Nieminen had won a terrific battle with Lee Complin to get second place on the line. This gave the Comets an eight point lead to take into the second leg.

Scorers: For Stoke – Lee Complin 8 (5), Mark Burrows 7+1 (4), Jesper Kristiansen 7+1 (4), Ben Barker 7 (5), Barrie Evans 6+1 (4), Klaus Jakobsen 4+1 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 3+1 (4).

For Workington – Kauko Nieminen 16+1 (6) (with 4 point TS) Daniel Nermark 15 (5) (maximum), Carl Stonehewer 8 (4), Charles Wright 7 (4), John Branney 3 (4), Joe Haines 1 (4), Scott Smith 0 (3).