Saturday 17 May 2008

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008
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Friday, 16 May
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Three meetings took place tonight. In the Premier League Scunthorpe faced Newcastle, while at Somerset the Rebels took on Berwick. The other meeting took place at Edinburgh to celebrate the Monarchs’ 60th anniversary and took the form of a four team tournament.


Premier League: Scunthorpe 56, Newcastle 36


Scunthorpe were at full strength but Newcastle were without Josef Franc, Ben Powell and George Stancl. They had Tomas Topinka (King’s Lynn) riding at number 1 in place of Josef Franc and Daniel Giffard (Redcar) at number 4 in place of Ben Powell. They also used Rider Replacement at number 2 for George Stancl.

After taking a 2-4 from the opening race thanks to their two guests, with Tomas Topinka beating Carl Wilkinson and Daniel Giffard finishing third, the Diamonds steadily lost ground and it was only in the last two races which they won 3-9 that they cut the Scorpions’ winning margin to 20 points.

After that early success in heat 1 the home side scored two 5-1s and a 4-2 in the next three races for an eight point lead. There was plenty of passing in heats 2 and 3 but Viktor Bergstrom and Byron Bekker finally saw off the Newcastle reserves in heat 2 for a 5-1 then Magnus Karlsson won from Jason King for a 4-2 in heat 3. Heat 4 was all from the gate with Richard Hall and Byron Bekker leading Christian Henry home for a 5-1 which took the score to 16-8.

Tomas Topinka briefly stopped the rot for Newcastle when he won heat 5 by driving round Magnus Karlsson and Benji Compton for a shared heat but two more 5-1s in heats 6 and 8 left the Diamonds with little hope. Carl Wilkinson and Andrew Moore did the damage for the home side in heat 6 but machine trouble for Viktor Bergstrom in heat 7 left race winner, Richard Hall, with no support so Jason King and Christian Henry shared the points behind him. Heat 8 saw Carl Wilkinson and Byron Bekker off for a 5-1 which took the score to 32-16.

Magnus Karlsson won heat 9 for the Scorpions while behind him Benji Compton fended off the challenges from Christian Henry to stay in second for another 5-1 to add to the Diamonds’ misery. In heat 10 the unbeaten Tomas Topinka took a TR and R/R but he didn’t remain unbeaten after Andrew Moore won the race. Indeed Carl Wilkinson threatened to make it another 5-1 when he passed Topinka but Topinka got back into second place on the last lap for a 4-4 shared race. Topinka was out again in heat 11 and things looked bright for the visitors when he was joined up front by Sean Stoddart to leave Newcastle sitting on a 1-5. It didn’t happen though. Richard Hall and Viktor Bergstrom were both past Stoddart within a lap then Hall caught and passed Topinka for a fine win which gave the home side a 4-2 and 22 point lead. Byron Bekker then completed a paid maximum in heat 12 when he finished behind his partner, Magnus Karlsson, for another 5-1, the Scorpions’ sixth of the match, to take the score to 50-24.

Things improved for the Diamonds after that. Tomas Topinka won under pressure from Richard Hall in heat 13 for a shared race then the Diamonds celebrated a 1-5 in heat 14 courtesy of Jason King and Sean Stoddart. There was further joy for them in heat 15 when Tomas Topinka completed a fine performance with another heat win, this time from Magnus Karlsson while Jason King took third place after a fine battle with Richard Hall.

Scorers: For Scunthorpe – Magnus Karlsson 13 (5), Richard Hall 11 (5), Carl Wilkinson 9 (4), Byron Bekker 8+4 (4) (paid maximum), Andrew Moore 6+2 (4), Viktor Bergstrom 5 (4), Benji Compton 4+2 (4).

For Newcastle – Tomas Topinka 18 (6) (with 4 point TR), Jason King 8 (6), Sean Stoddart 5+1 (6), Christian Henry 4+1 (5), Daniel Giffard 1 (4), Jaimie Robertson 0 (3).



Premier League: Somerset 58, Berwick 34


Somerset were at full strength while Berwick used Rider Replacement for the missing Benny Johansson at number 4. They also had Jay Herne as a guest at reserve at number 6.

This was a far better match than the score suggests with the Bandits fighting hard for every point to prevent the Rebels from running up another 60+ score at home.

They didn’t start too well though by losing three 5-1s in the first three heats then a 4-2 in heat 4! Jason Doyle gated to win the opening race but Jordan Frampton and Adrian Rymel had a good scrap for second place on the first two laps. A 5-1 it was though as it was in the reserves race too. Somerset had to work hard for this one though as Walker, Werner and Herne had an exciting battle for the lead. The home pair prevailed. Michal Makovsky made the gate in heat 3 but was passed by first Emil Kramer round the outside then Matthias Kroger on the inside for 5-1 number 3. Stephan Katt and Brent Werner were off in heat 4 but Tero Aarnio passed Werner for second and a 4-2 which took the score to 19-5.

Somerset got a jolt in heat 5 though when lost a 1-5 to Adrian Rymel and Norbert Magosi from Kramer and Kroger but the Rebels replied by banging in two more 5-1s in heats 6 and 7. In the first Tero Aarnio led briefly but was swallowed up by Doyle on the outside and Frampton on the inside then, in the latter, Michal Makovsky was excluded after fencing Stephan Katt. In the rerun Walker and Katt had no trouble running up 5-1 number five. Jordan Frampton and Jay Herne had a battle for the lead but in heat 8 Jordan Frampton won from Jay Herne who got up to pass Brent Werner for second place on the line resulting in a 4-2 which took the score to 34-14.

The two ‘K’s Kramer and Kroger scored 5-1 number six in heat 9 then Berwick took a heat advantage in heat 10 when Jason Doyle fell on the first bend leaving Norbert Magosi to win from Jordan Frampton with Makovsky third after the riders had half expected the race to be stopped. This gave Berwick a 2-4 and they then gave Adrian Rymel a TR in heat 11. It was Simon Walker who won the race though with Rymel second for a 4-4 shared race. Emil Kramer won heat 12 for another shared race taking the score to 52-28.

Jason Doyle passed Adrian Rymel in heat 13 while Stephan Katt took third for a 4-2 then the Rebels looked set for another 5-1 in heat 14. However Matthias Kroger suffered an engine failure so Simon Walker, who completed his maximum, won the race for a 3-3. Finally a good contest between Adrian Rymel and Jason Doyle ended with Rymel winning the race for another shared heat giving the Rebels a 24 point victory.

Scorers: For Somerset – Simon Walker 12 (4) (maximum), Jordan Frampton 11+2 (5), Jason Doyle 10+1 (5), Emil Kramer 10 (4), Stephan Katt 7+1 (4), Matthias Kroger 4+2 (4), Brent Werner 4+1 (4).

For Berwick – Adrian Rymel 13 (5) (with 4 point TR), Tero Aarnio 6 (5), Norbert Magosi 5+1 (5), Jay Herne 5 (6), Michal Makovsky 3 (5), Adam McKinna 2+1 (4).



60th Anniversary Meeting at Edinburgh: Old Meadowbank 18, Coatbridge 12, Powderhall 33, Armadale 33


This anniversary meeting took the form of a four team tournament with riders representing the four eras of the Edinburgh Monarchs at Old Meadowbank, Coatbridge, Powderhall and Armadale. The event was won by the Powderhall team after a run off when Carl Stonehewer beat Matthew Wethers in a four rider top scorers’ race in which Andrew Tully finished third and Ryan Fisher was excluded after falling causing a rerun.

Scorers: For Old Meadowbank – Ryan Fisher 8 (4), Derek Sneddon 4 (4), Theo Pijper 4 (4), James Birkinshaw 2 (4).

For Coatbridge – Mark Burrows 6 (4), Thomas Jonasson 5 (4), Arlo Bugeja 1 (4) , Joni Keskinen 0 (4).

For Powderhall – Carl Stonehewer 12 (5), Andrew Tully 12 (6), Robert Eriksson 9 (5).

For Armadale – Matthew Wethers 10 (4), Jason Lyons 8 (4), Aaron Summers 8 (4), Trent Leverington 7 (4).

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