Sunday 20 April 2008

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008
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Sunday, 20 April
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Three matches were raced today. At Newport the Wasps faced Redcar in a Premier League match. At Glasgow the Tigers took on Birmingham in a Knock Out Cup tie while at Mildenhall the Fen Tigers raced against the Isle of Wight in a Premier League match.


Premier League: Newport 46, Redcar 47


Newport once again used Rider Replacement for the injured Tony Atkin at number 4 while Redcar used Rider Replacement for the injured Chris Kerr at number 2. They also had Aaron Summers (Edinburgh) as a guest at number 7 for Daniel Giffard who was ill.

This looked to be an extremely competitive match as both teams were looking for league points. Newport were hoping that Craig Watson had shaken off his problems to give the Wasps a strong spearhead while Redcar, like many visitors to the Welsh track, would look upon this as a target away win. The Bears were in easy street until an unfortunate accident in heat 10 resulted in James Grieves and Josh Auty being withdrawn from the meeting. Although the Wasps nibbled away at Redcar’s healthy lead they couldn’t make their numerical advantage count as the Bears held on for a one point victory

Redcar made a good start. Gary Havelock and Arlo Bugeja (R/R) made the gate in the opening heat but Paul Clews then Craig Watson passed Bugeja for a 3-3. The Bears took the lead with a 2-4 in the reserves race won by Aaron Summers from Marek Mroz with Arlo Bugeja in third as Jerran Hart fell and remounted. James Grieves passed Nick Simmons (R/R) and Sebastian Truminski to win heat 3 for another shared heat but Redcar doubled their lead with a 2-4 in heat 4. Ty Proctor was the race winner from Paul Clews while Aaron Summers passed Mroz for third place. The score was now 10-14.

Things began to look really bleak for the Wasps after heat 5. James Grieves won the race for the Bears but Sebastian Truminski had engine problems and retired from the race. Then Aaron Summers (R/R) passed Jerran Hart (R/R) on the last lap to join Grieves for a 1-5 which doubled the visitors’ lead to eight points. Ty Proctor beat Craig Watson in heat 6 but Nick Simmons passed Arlo Bugeja for third so the race was shared. Heat 7 produced another 1-5 for Redcar with James Grieves and Josh Auty getting the better of the weak Paul Clews/Jerran Hart pairing to stretch the lead to 12 points. Ty Proctor comfortably won heat 8 for the visitors but Simmons and Mroz kept Summers at the back for a shared heat which took the score to 18-30.

Finally the Wasps managed a heat advantage when Sebastian Truminski won heat 9 from Ty Proctor. Marek Mroz (R/R) took third place for a 4-2 cutting the gap between the sides to 10 points. Heat 10 was disaster for the Bears. Craig Watson took a TR but the race had to be stopped when Josh Auty picked up too much grip and ran into James Grieves with both Bears’ riders ending in the fence. James Grieves came off worse and was taken back to the pits by ambulance with a suspected broken rib. Josh Auty was excluded from the rerun while Aaron Summers replaced James Grieves. Watson and Simmons took the big 8-1 from the heat cutting the Bears’ lead to only three points. Paul Clews kept it that way by winning heat 11 from Gary Havelock and Arlo Bugeja for a shared race. With James Grieves out of the meeting, Redcar had to field both their reserves in heat 12. Sebastian Truminski won the race but Aaron Summers took second ahead of Mroz so the home side scored a 4-2 taking the score to 37-38. It was then announced that Josh Auty had withdrawn from the meeting too so Redcar were down to four fit riders. However with Havelock and Proctor due out in two of the last three heats all did not seem lost.

Gary Havelock won heat 13 for the Bears but, with Ty Proctor falling, Craig Watson and Paul Clews shared the race. Paul Clews took the R/R ride for Newport in heat 14 but fell on the second lap leaving Bugeja and Summers to share the race leaving the visitors one point ahead going into the last heat decider. In the first running Ty Proctor fell on the second lap causing the race to be stopped and rerun without him. At the second attempt, Craig Watson fell but the race was rerun with the three riders then at the third attempt Gary Havelock scored the win which gave the Bears a shared race and a one point win.

Scorers: For Newport – Craig Watson 13+1 (5) (with 6 point TR), Sebastian Truminski 9+1 (5), Nick Simmons 8+3 (5), Marek Mroz 8+1 (6), Paul Clews 7+1 (5), Jerran Hart 1 (4).

For Redcar – Gary Havelock 14 (5), Ty Proctor 11 (6), Aaron Summers 10+2 (7), James Grieves 6 (2), Arlo Bugeja 4+1 (7), Josh Auty 2+1 (3).



Knock Out Cup (first leg, second round): Glasgow 40, Birmingham 52


Glasgow were at full strength again but Birmingham again without Kyle Legault used Rider Replacement at number 1 and had Jason King (Newcastle) as a guest at number 4 in place of Phil Morris.

With some extremely impressive away results in the last couple of weeks, Birmingham were hoping to at least keep the score in this match to reasonable proportions to maximise their chances of progress in the return leg next Wednesday. Glasgow were buoyed by their fighting finish in last week’s home Premier League match in which they almost pipped King’s Lynn after trailing badly during the earlier part of the match.

The Tigers got off to the best possible start by scoring a 5-1 in the opening race. Shane Parker and Ross Brady led from the tapes and, although Brady was pressed by Lee Smart, the Tigers’ pair took the maximum. The home side must have been looking for a repeat score in heat 2 particularly when Josh Grajczonek and Lee Dicken gated but Jack Hargreaves took Lee Dicken wide allowing Jack Roberts to slip through to second with Dicken slipping to the back for a shared race. It was all square again after heat 3. The two Jasons – King and Lyons – recorded a 1-5 for the Brummies after making the gate then the visitors took the lead in heat 4. The race was rerun with all-four-back after Dicken and Roberts clashed on the opening bend. In the rerun Adam Roynon made the gate while Lee Dicken slotted into second place with Jack Roberts leading Robert Ksiezak at the back. Dicken slipped back to last after making a mess of the opening bends but he fought with great determination to pass firstly his partner, Ksiezak, then Roberts to take second place. This limited the damage to a 2-4 as the score went to 11-13.

Trent Leverington and Mitchell Davey made the gate in heat 5 to sit on a 5-1 but, on the second lap, Davey lost control of his machine and baled out onto the centre green clearly in some pain. He was taken from the track by ambulance as a precaution. The race was awarded to Leverington with Lee Smart second and Jason King (R/R) third for a shared race. Davey withdrew from the meeting with bruising to his upper thigh. Glasgow levelled again in heat 6 with a 4-2. Although Ross Brady made the gate it was Shane Parker who came through from third to win the race while Adam Roynon finished second with Brady third. Birmingham went four points ahead with a 1-5 in heat 7. Jason King made the gate with Robert Ksiezak in pursuit but Jason Lyons worked his way past Ksiezak to join his partner up front for the maximum. Heat 8 was awarded after Ross Brady had fallen on the second bend of the third lap. Lee Dicken took the three points while Lee Smart and Jack Roberts took the minor placings for a 3-3 which took the score to 22-26.

Josh Grajczonek gated with Trent Leverington in heat 9 but Adam Roynon passed Grajczonek for second so the Tigers had to be content with a 4-2 which cut the gap to two points. Jason Lyons got the better of Shane Parker in heat 10 and with Jason King beating Lee Dicken, who replaced Ross Brady, Glasgow slipped four points behind as Birmingham took a 2-4. The Brummies then rocked Glasgow with an easy 1-5 in heat 11 from Lee Smart and Adam Roynon ahead of Robert Ksiezak doubling their lead to eight points. This signalled a Tactical Substitute ride for Shane Parker from 15 metres in heat 12. Although Glasgow hopes were raised when Trent Leverington made the gate, he was passed off the second bend by Jason Lyons who went on to win the race. Parker got by Hargreaves and Leverington for second so Glasgow took a 3-5 advantage from the heat cutting the gap to six points with the score now 34-40.

Jason Lyons stormed from the tapes to win heat 13 from Shane Parker and Robert Ksiezak but it was all over for the Tigers when they conceded another 1-5 in heat 14. Jason King and Jack Roberts headed home the two Glasgow reserves to put the Brummies into an unassailable 10 point lead. In the last race Jason Lyons completed a paid maximum by beating Shane Parker again while Adam Roynon finished third ahead of Trent Leverington for a 12 point win for the Brummies. It seems there’s no stopping this Birmingham side.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 16 (6) (with 4 point TS), Trent Leverington 8+1 (5), Josh Grajczonek 5 (5), Lee Dicken 5 (5), Ross Brady 3+1 (3), Robert Ksiezak 3+1 (4), Mitchell Davey 0 (2).

For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 16+2 (6) (paid maximum), Jason King 11+1 (5), Adam Roynon 10+1 (5), Lee Smart 8 (4), Jack Roberts 6+2 (4), Jack Hargreaves 1 (5)..



Premier League: Mildenhall 41, Isle of Wight 52

Mildenhall introduced their new signing Jari Makinen at number 2 to make an all Finnish top pairing (is this a first?). They also used Rider Replacement for Casper Wortmann at number 4 and had Chris Schramm as a guest for Robbie Kessler at number 5. The Isle of Wight were at full strength.

Mildenhall were hoping that Lady Luck would smile on them for a change after a series of rain-offs and injuries which has so far decimated their season. After home hammerings at the hands of Berwick and Birmingham they were also hoping to record their first win of the season. The Isle of Wight, now back at full strength were, of course, hoping to cash in on the Fen Tigers’ misfortunes. It turned out to be another hard afternoon for the home side.

The opening heat was shared but only after Jason Bunyan had fallen and remounted. Cory Gathercole won the race from the two Finns, Kai Laukkanen and Jari Makinen. Mildenhall’s problems began in the reserves race during which both home riders fell. James Holder and Andrew Bargh stayed on though for the four laps to record a 1-5. Jan Graversen (R/R) came through the field brilliantly to win heat 3 but Krzysztof Stojanowski and Paul Fry finished in the minor places for another shared race. Then the Islanders hit home another 1-5 from James Holder and Glen Phillips with Chris Schramm finishing third. This took the score to 8-16.

Things went from bad to worse for the Fen Tigers when both Graversen and Mark Baseby fell on the first bend of heat 5. Graversen was excluded and Baseby could do nothing to prevent Bunyan and Gathercole from running away with another 1-5 in the rerun to put the visitors twelve points ahead. Kai Laukkanen came out as a TR in heat 6 and won the race from Phillips and Bargh for a 6-3 shaving three points from the Islanders’ lead but the visitors added two more points to it with a 2-4 in heat 7 when Stojanowski beat Schramm with Paul Fry third. Heat 8 was another disaster for Mildenhall as James Holder scored his third successive race win with his partner, Cory Gathercole in second for another 1-5 for the Islanders which took the score to 18-33.

The home side rallied with a 5-1 in heat 9 as Jan Graversen and Chris Schramm (R/R) led Glen Phillips home. Then Kai Laukkanen won heat 10 for a shared race but it was then announced that Mark Baseby had withdrawn from the meeting with an ankle injury leaving the pointless James Cockle to complete his remaining rides. Chris Schramm won heat 11 beating Gathercole and Bunyan with Cockle last for another shared race. Jan Graversen won heat 12 but, with Cockle last again, Stojanowski and Bargh shared this heat too taking the score to 32-43.

The last three heats were all shared as the Isle of Wight successfully defended their lead. Kai Laukkanen beat Bunyan and Phillips in heat 13 while Paul Fry took heat 14 by winning from Graversen while James Cockle at the seventh attempt finally got on the score sheet by finishing third. Kai Laukkanen completed a brilliant personal display by winning heat 15 but again their was no heat advantage for the home side as Gathercole and Bunyan followed him home to share the points.

Scorers: For Mildenhall – Kai Laukkanen 17 (5) (with 6 point TR), Jan Graversen 11 (6), Chris Schramm 8+1 (5), Jari Makinen 2+1 (5), Mark Baseby 2 (2), James Cockle 1+1 (7).

For the Isle of Wight – Cory Gathercole 11+2 (5), James Holder 9 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 8+1 (4), Jason Bunyan 7+2 (5), Paul Fry 7+1 (4), Glen Phillips 6+2 (4), Andrew Bargh 4+3 (4).

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