Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Wednesday, 27 June

There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Birmingham the Brummies raced Somerset while at King’s Lynn the Stars took Mildenhall.


Premier League: Birmingham 49, Somerset 41


Both Birmingham and Somerset were at full strength

Birmingham’s eight point win in this match was the most there was between the two teams all match. The Brummies were handicapped by the withdrawal of Aidan Collins who had pushed home for the best part of a lap in his second ride for a third place point after suffering an engine failure in a three man rerun of heat 6. Unfortunately he injured his back in the long push home and was withdrawn on medical advice. The Brummies were indebted to an excellent 13 point return from reserve, Lee Smart who won four of his six races.

Somerset never quite had enough scoring power to topple the home side although Magnus Zetterstrom dropped only one point – to Jason Lyons in heat 15 and he, and Emil Kramer, scored more than half the Rebels’ total.

Somerset produced four of the first five winners yet the match was still tied after heat 5. Three 4-2s to the Brummies gave them a 6 point lead after heat 8 and another 4-2 in heat 10 stretched the lead to eight points. Magnus Zetterstrom won heats 11 and 13 while Emil Kramer won heat 12 but the Rebels only managed to pull two points back during that three heat spell.

Lee Smart tied things up for the home side by winning heat 14 for a shared heat while Jason Lyons ensured that Magnus Zetterstrom did not go through the card by winning the last heat with Birmingham taking a 4-2 when Ulrich Ostergaard finished third ahead of Emil Kramer.

Scorers: For Birmingham – Lee Smart 13 (6), Ulrich Ostergaard 11 (5), Jason Lyons 10 (5), Ben Powell 7+2 (6), Emiliano Sanchez 4+2 (3), Aidan Collins 2+1 (2), Jon Armstrong 2 (3).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 14 (5), Emil Kramer 8 (5), Simon Walker 6+1 (5), Jordan Frampton 5 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 4+1 (4), Stephan Katt 3 (4), Danny Warwick 1 (3).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 48, Mildenhall 45.


King’s Lynn were without Grant MacDonald and continued with Simon Lambert at number 7. Mildenhall were at full strength.

Wow! Another last heat decider at Saddlebow Road. For the second time in six days the Stars were pushed all the way, this time by a Mildenhall side who lost Tom P Madsen after he fell heavily in his second ride and withdrew from the meeting. This opened up the stage to Mildenhall’s two most recent signings. Tomas Suchanek won his last three races for 14 points while Paul Fry added another 13 with the aid of a six point Tactical Ride.

It took some time to get the track into a fit state for this meeting to go ahead and particularly early on some of the riders struggled to cope with the conditions.

The Stars opened with two 4-2s only to be shocked by a 1-5 from Kyle Legault and Jason King ahead of Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding. A Paul Lee win in heat 4 produced a shared heat and a score of 12-12.

King’s Lynn then blistered ahead with two 5-1s and two 4-2s over the next four heats to rocket into a 12 point lead with the score moving to 30-18. Tom P Madsen fell in heat 5 while at the back resulting in a visit on track by the ambulance and his withdrawal from the meeting.

The Mildenhall fight back started in heat 9. Paul Fry won a Tactical Ride for a 3-6 heat advantage and Kyle Legault won heat 10 for a shared heat. Then came two race wins from Tomas Suchanek in heats 11 and 12. In his first win, ahead of Paul Lee, he had Shaun Tacey in third place for a 2-4 and in the next race Daniel Nermark only just got up to pass his partner, Kyle Legault, for another 2-4. These heat advantages cut the Stars’ lead to five points with the score at 40-35.

Tomas Topinka won heat 13 from Paul Fry and, with Paul Lee third, the home side stopped the rot with a 4-2 stretching their lead to seven points but they got a jolt when Tomas Suchanek stepped up again to win heat 14. This time Jason King followed him home for a 1-5 to cut the lead further to only three points setting up the last heat decider. Tomas Topinka won the last heat to see the Stars home but the home fans were keeping their fingers crossed that he didn’t suffer an engine failure after Paul Lee had fallen since Kyle Legault and Paul Fry were ready to pounce.


Scorers: For King’s Lynn– Tomas Topinka 14 (5), Paul Lee 9 (5), James Brundle 8+1 (5), Daniel Nermark 7+1 (4), Trevor Harding 5+1 (4), Chris Mills 4+1 (4), Simon Lambert 1 (3).

For Mildenhall – Tomas Suchanek 14 +1 (7), Paul Fry 13+1 (5)(with 6 point TR), Kyle Legault 9 (5), Jason King 5+2 (4), Shaun Tacey 4 (4), Tom P Madsen 0 (2), Mark Thompson 0 (3).

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Tuesday, 26 June

It was Isle of Wight night tonight where the Islanders took on Rye House in the first leg of a Knockout Cup tie.



Knockout Cup (first leg): Isle of Wight 52, Rye House 40.


The Isle of Wight were at full strength and nominated Sam Martin as their number 8. Rye House were without two of their heat leaders, Tai Woffinden and Steve Boxall. They had Danny King at number 3 in place of Woffinden but had to use Rider Replacement at number 5 for Boxall. They also nominated Karlis Ezergailis as their number 8.

Rye House just never seem to be clear of injuries and were again shorthanded on their trip to the Island. The last time these two teams met at this track the home side ran out winners by 16 points in a Premier Trophy match. The Rockets were looking to do much better than that since a similar deficit might well prove too much for them to pull back.

The opening heat resulted in a 4-2 to the Islanders when Chris Holder and Cory Gathercole were split by Chris Neath then Robbie Kessler won the reserves race for a shared heat. The home side doubled their lead to four points with another 4-2 in heat 3. Jason Bunyan beat Danny King while Krzysztof Stojanowski took third place. Rye House hit back in heat 4 with a 2-4 which at one point looked as though it might be a 1-5 when Chris Neath and Robbie Kessler made the gate. Glen Phillips passed Kessler, however, so the Rockets had to be content with a two point advantage from the race as the score went to 13-11.

Heats 5 and 6 both saw the home side score 4-2s thanks to wins from Jason Bunyan and Chris Holder from Chris Neath and Robbie Kessler respectively which extended their lead to six points. Then, in heat 7, Glen Phillips led until lap 3 when he suffered machine problems. As a result he was passed by Danny King and Tommy Allen. It was now King’s turn to hit engine trouble while Phillips had enough juice to follow race winner, Tommy Allen, home. Andrew Bargh was third so the heat was shared. Chris Johnson raced off to win heat 8 while Cory Gathercole and Adam Roynon had a good battle for second place. Gathercole won the battle so the Islanders scored the first 5-1 of the night taking the score to 29-19.

Rye House fell further behind in heat 9 when Jason Bunyan won for the third time beating R/R Tommy Allen. With Luke Bowen failing to finish, Stojanowski took the third place point stretching the lead to 12 points. It was Gathercole’s turn to pull up in heat 10 with a puncture but Chris Holder, like Bunyan in the previous heat, made it three wins from three rides leaving Danny King and Tommy Allen to share the points. In heat 11 Chris Neath took a Tactical Ride and fortune favoured the Rockets when Glen Phillips again hit machine problems and did not finish. However, reserve, Andrew Bargh, rose to the occasion by winning the race leaving Neath and Roynon to fill the minor places. This still gave the Rockets an advantage. They took a 3-5 from the race cutting the home side’s lead to 10 points. Jason Bunyan made it four wins from 4 in heat 12 but Danny King and Robbie Kessler beat Chris Johnson for a share of the spoils taking the score to 42-32 at the interval. The last three heats were going to prove vital for the second leg with the Rockets desperately holding on to keep the gap to manageable proportions.

The lead was back up to 12 points again when Chris Holder completed his four ride maximum in heat 13 and Glen Phillips finished behind Chris Neath for a 4-2. Back came Rye House in heat 14 with a 2-4 to get back to within 10 points of the Islanders. Robbie Kessler was the race winner from Krzysztof Stojanowski with Tommy Allen third but heat 15 looked a dismal prospect for the Rockets with the unbeaten Holder and Bunyan taking their places in the race against them. They avoided the 5-1 though when Danny King finished behind Holder to ruin Bunyan’s maximum. Chris Neath was last but a 12 point defeat was not a bad result considering that Rye House did not lose any more ground after heat 9 when they trailed 33-21. The tie looks well balanced for the second leg at Hoddesdon.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 15 (5)(full maximum), Jason Bunyan 13 (5), Andrew Bargh 6+1 (4), Glen Phillips 5 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 5 (4), Cory Gathercole 4+1 (4), Chris Johnson 4+1 (4),

For Rye House – Chris Neath 13 (6)(with 4 point TR), Robbie Kessler 10+1 (6), Danny King 8 (5), Tommy Allen 7+1 (5), Adam Roynon 2+1 (5), Luke Bowen 0 (3).

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Sunday, 24 June

The Great British summer continued to wreak havoc with the fixture list as all three Premier League matches scheduled to be raced today fell casualty to the seemingly incessant rain.

The matches which should have taken place but were called off were:

Glasgow versus Birmingham,

Newcastle versus Rye House and

Newport versus Mildenhall.

The fixture casualty list caused by the weather must now be reaching a level which is causing alarm to the BSPA. Not only will it prove difficult to rearrange all the wiped out meetings to meet end of season deadlines for playoffs etc. but the lost revenue during June, one of the ‘summer’ months must be substantial.

For Premier League tracks the coming week will see no Premier League matches raced on Friday or Saturday night due to the Premier League Pairs being held at Somerset on Friday and the British Grand Prix at Cardiff on Saturday. This leaves only the meetings on the Isle of Wight (v. Rye House) in a Knockout Cup match on Tuesday, at Birmingham (v. Somerset) and King’s Lynn (v. Mildenhall) in Premier League matches on Wednesday and at Sheffield (v. Workington) again in the Premier League on Thursday – a grand total of four matches for the whole week!

How long will it be before we see some tracks running twice a week or having to resort to double-headers to clear up the backlog and what will be the long term financial implications for the clubs most badly affected?

Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Saturday, 23 June

There were three Premier League matches scheduled for tonight but only two of them made it to the tapes when the match at Rye House between the Rockets and Sheffield was called off due to a waterlogged track. The matches which did go ahead were at Workington where the Comets took on Birmingham and the match at Stoke where the Potters raced against King’s Lynn. In addition to these matches there was an event at Berwick where the Bandits celebrated their 40th Anniversary with an individual meeting.



Premier League: Workington 45, Birmingham 45


Both Workington and Birmingham were at full strength.

Workington returned from their match at Somerset last night, where they went down by 11 points, to face newcomers to the league, Birmingham. The Brummies had seen off the Isle of Wight on Wednesday and were stopping off at Workington on their way to Glasgow for tomorrow’s match.

This was a cracking match with never more than six points between the two sides. The Comets were unfortunate to lose Mattia Carpanese with a dislocated shoulder after his second ride in heat 6 and, with Carl Stonehewer managing only one race win, were not quite at their best. But all credit to Birmingham who pulled back from 30-24 down after heat 9 to lead 41-43 going into the last race.

After exchanging 4-2s in the first two races, three shared heats saw the teams level at 15-15 before a 1-5 from Lee Smart and Emiliano Sanchez ahead of Stonehewer shot the Brummies into a four point lead. Stunned by this Workington’s reply was to hit home a 4-2 from Nieminen and Charles Wright split by Jason Lyons and then two 5-1s from Wright and Branney in heats 8 and 9. It was Charles and John in heat 8 then James and Craig in heat 9!

Now trailing by 30-24, Birmingham hit back with a 1-5 from Jon Armstrong and Jason Lyons with Carl Stonehewer again on the receiving end. Two more shared races were followed by a 2-4 for the visitors in heat 13 when Stonehewer could only split Emiliano Sanchez and Ulrich Ostergaard to level the match again. Heat 14 saw the Brummies move ahead with a 2-4 when Jon Armstrong won again from Craig Branney with Lee Smart third but a terrific race in heat 15 gave the Comets the 4-2 they needed for a draw. James Wright won the heat but the action was behind him where Lyons and Ostergaard tried to shut out Nieminen. Nieminen got passed Ostergaard then nearly caught Lyons on the line. It was a fitting ending to a thrilling match.


Scorers: For Workington – James Wright 13 (5), Kauko Nieminen 10 (5), Carl Stonehewer 7 (4), Craig Branney 6+3 (4), Charles Wright 6 (6), John Branney 2+1 (4), Mattia Carpanese 1 (2).

For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 11+1 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 8+1 (4), Ulrich Ostergaard 8 (5), Lee Smart 7+1 (6), Jon Armstrong 6 (4), Ben Powell 4+1 (3), Aidan Collins 1+1 (3).



Premier League: Stoke 53, King’s Lynn 37


Stoke were at full strength, to start with at any rate, while King’s Lynn had Simon Lambert at number 7 in place of Grant MacDonald.

It was Stoke’s turn to take on the league champions, King’s Lynn, in the knowledge that they had been hammered in the Premier Trophy Group match by 37-52 earlier in the season. However tonight was a different kettle of fish with the Potters getting revenge for that defeat despite losing Glenn Cunningham in the opening heat leaving them to battle on a heat leader short for the whole match.

Things certainly looked ominous for the home side when Cunningham crashed on the first bend of the opening heat and went under the air fence. He had to withdraw from the meeting and King’s Lynn took advantage by taking a 2-4 in the rerun with Ben Barker’s pass on Chris Mills preventing a 1-5. The next two races were shared with Jack Hargreaves suffering an engine failure in heat 2 and Claus Vissing falling in heat 3 but the Potters took a 5-1 in heat 4 from Rusty Harrison and Jack Hargreaves to wipe out the arrears and go two points in front at 13-11.

They added another in heat 5 when Complin and Vissing beat Topinka into third then added a 4-2 from Ben Barker and Barrie Evans split by Trevor Harding to race into an eight point lead. King’s Lynn hit back with a Nermark/Lee 1-5 in heat 7 from Harrison but Stoke replied in kind with a 5-1 from Barker and Evans ahead of Simon Lambert after Chris Mills had fallen and been excluded taking the score to 31-23. James Brundle had laid his bike down to avoid a collision and hurt his hand in the process which caused him to withdraw from the meeting.

The Stars could make no inroads into the Stoke lead when the next three heats were shared so gave Tomas Topinka a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 12 from 15 metres in an effort to retrieve the situation. This was unproductive but, since Nermark won the race, no further ground was lost as the score moved on to 40-32.

Topinka was out for three on the trot in heat 13 and won it but Harrison and Hargreaves kept Harding at the back so there were still eight points between the teams with two races left. Lee Complin and Barrie Evans then clinched the match for the Potters with a 5-1 in heat 14 ahead of Paul Lee then, in an excellent heat 15, Stoke wrapped up a brilliant short-handed display with a further 5-1 as Ben Barker passed Tomas Topinka for the lead and Lee Complin passed Nermark and Topinka for second place to give the Potters a 16 point win.


Scorers: For Stoke – Lee Complin 13+1 (5), Ben Barker 13 (5), Barrie Evans 10+4 (6), Rusty Harrison 8 (4), Claus Vissing 5+2 (4), Jack Hargreaves 4+3 (5), Glenn Cunningham 0 (1).

For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 11 (5), Tomas Topinka 11 (6), Trevor Harding 6 (4), Paul Lee 4+2 (4), Simon Lambert 2+1 (5), James Brundle 2 (2), Chris Mills 1 (4).



Fortieth Anniversary Meeting at Berwick


Unfortunately this meeting was eventually rained off too which was a great shame given all the hard work, effort and expense which had gone into arranging it. The morale from this year is - never organise an outdoor event in June!

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Friday, 22 June


Unusually for a Friday night there were three Premier League matches scheduled for tonight. The big question was how many of them would beat the dreadful weather forecasts. At Edinburgh the Monarchs were up against Redcar while at Somerset the Rebels took on Workington. The third match was at King’s Lynn where the Stars took on Rye House.



Premier League: Edinburgh 40, Redcar 50 Redcar won the aggregate bonus point by 102-81


Edinburgh were again without Henrik Moller and used Rider Replacement at number 5. They also had Jack Roberts at number 6 in place of long term injury victim Daniele Tessari. Redcar had Josh Auty and Benji Compton filling their reserve berths.

The two teams met last night with Redcar winning by 11 points. However the Bears were looking for more than the bonus point having already won at Armadale in the Premier Trophy. With the Monarchs struggling with injuries and Josh Auty now full time at reserve for the Bears the chances of an away win looked bright.

This was a feeble display by the home side who were humiliated by virtually a five man Redcar team. The minute that it became apparent that Gary Havelock and James Grieves were going to go through the card unbeaten it was just a matter of time before the Monarchs succumbed. Redcar produced 12 of the 15 race winners and the fact that it took them until heat 12 to go in front was due to the weakness in their tail. Once the Bears’ two passengers, Arlo Bugeja and Benji Compton, had taken their three compulsory rides it was all over for Edinburgh. In fact had Redcar turned up with only Havelock, Grieves, Josh Auty and Mathieu Tressarieu they would still have won such was their potency.

The racing? Well in seven of the races a Redcar rider won unchallenged while the Monarchs kept afloat by packing the minor places. The Monarchs had one heat success in heat 4 when Matthew Wethers and Derek Sneddon, by far the best of the home riders, scored a 5-1 after Mathieu Tressarieu had lifted badly at the start. Redcar pulled two points back in heat 7 with a 2-4 from Grieves and Kerr then there was parity until heat 11. After heat 11 the programme showed that Redcar held all the aces for the last four races and they banged home two 2-4s and two 1-5s as the home side simply collapsed. Edinburgh have big problems but Redcar, with Josh Auty now in the side permanently, should be a force to be reckoned with.


Scorers: For Edinburgh – Matthew Wethers 11 (6), Ronnie Correy 10 (5), Theo Pijper 8 (5), Derek Sneddon 7+4 (5), Andrew Tully 4+2 (5), Jack Roberts 0 (4).

For Redcar – James Grieves 15 (5)(full maximum), Gary Havelock 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Josh Auty 11 (6), Mathieu Tressarieu 6+1 (4), Chris Kerr 3+1 (4), Benji Compton 1+1 (3), Arlo Bugeja 0 (3).



Premier League: Somerset 52, Workington 41


Somerset were without Emil Kramer who was ill so had to use Rider Replacement at number 3. Workington were at full strength.

With Emil Kramer missing and Workington having such a high scoring top end this looked like being a tough match for the Rebels. The home side were not lacking confidence though after their superb win at Glasgow last Sunday.

As it turned out it was the Somerset reserves who left the Comets gasping. Simon Walker was unbeaten after his first five rides before running a last in heat 15 for his paid 15 points. Add in another 9 points from Danny Warwick and you find that the home reserves outscored the visiting reserves by 22-4, more than the winning margin.

Other points of note? Shock, horror, Magnus Zetterstrom dropped a point in his 17 point total when he was beaten by James Wright while Ritchie Hawkins fell twice restricting his score to 4 points. The Comets led 14-10 after four races but pulled away with a 3-2, two 4-2s and a 5-1 to lead 30-17 by heat 8. A six point TR from Kauko Nieminen resulted in a 2-7 reducing the gap to eight points but Workington could only produce one more race winner after that when James Wright won heat 10. They did get another heat advantage though when Wright took a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres in heat 14 and passed Jordan Frampton to finish behind his partner for a 3-4 but the Rebels ran out comfortable winners.


Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Ztterstrom 17 (6), Simon Walker 13+2 (6), Danny Warwick 9 (5), Stephan Katt 6+1 (5), Jordan Frampton 3 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 4 (4).

For Workington – Kauko Nieminen 15 (5)(with 6 point TR), James Wright 12+2 (6)(with 2 point TS), Carl Stonehewer 7+1 (4), Craig Branney 2 (4), Charles Wright 2 (4), John Branney 2 (4), Mattia Carpanese 1+1 (3).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 49, Rye House 43 Rye House won the aggregate bonus point by 93-89


King’s Lynn were at full strength but Rye House were still without Tai Woffinden and used Leigh Lanham at number 3 as a guest. For some reason Adam Roynon and Robbie Kessler changed places in the team with Roynon moving out of the reserve berth to number 2 and Kessler moving the other way to number 7.

King’s Lynn managed to race their first home league match of the season on Wednesday night and, in an effort to catch up their backlog of fixtures, they faced Rye House tonight. The Rockets were protecting a 10 point lead from the match at Hoddesdon to secure the bonus point.

I wonder how long ago it is since there was a last heat decider in a league match at King’s Lynn. It happened tonight as the Rockets gave them a real run for their money and outdid them in the heat win stakes producing 8 race winners to the Stars’ 7. It wasn’t a one man show either as four different Rye House riders shared the race wins. The Stars suffered a blow in heat 2 when Grant MacDonald fell and suffered a suspected broken wrist.

It was all going so well for the Stars despite MacDonald’s injury when they shot into a six point lead after heat 4. They stretched it to eight points by heat 7 and responded to a 1-5 from the Rockets in heat 8 through Robbie Kessler and Adam Roynon with a 5-1 of their own in heat 9 from Daniel Nermark and Trevor Harding. Three shared heats took the match to the interval after heat 12 when the score stood at 40-32.

Heat 13 was eventful. Steve Boxall fell while leading the race and, while Tomas Topinka managed to avoid him, Paul Lee and Chris Neath crashed too. In the rerun Chris Neath passed Tomas Topinka for another shared heat then Rye House gave Leigh Lanham a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres in heat 14. This one had the home nerves jangling. Tommy Allen won the race while Leigh Lanham came from the back to pass James Brundle and Trevor Harding. There wasn’t time for the Rye House riders to sort out the finishing position so the heat resulted in a 1-7 which took the score to 44-42 and, suddenly, King’s Lynn’s long unbeaten home record was under pressure. However the Stars rallied to win the final heat 5-1 thanks to Topinka and Nermark who both finished ahead of Lanham and Neath. Rye House had the consolation of winning the bonus point.


Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Tomas Topinka 12 (5), James Brundle 7+2 (7), Paul Lee 6+2 (4), Trevor Harding 6+2 (4), Chris Mills 4+2 (4), Grant MacDonald 0 (1).

For Rye House – Leigh Lanham 14 (6)(with 4 point TS), Chris Neath 10 (5), Robbie Kessler 6+1 (5), Steve Boxall 6 (4), Tommy Allen 3 (3), Luke Bowen 2+1 (3), Adam Roynon 2+1 (4).

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Thursday, 21 June

Two Premier League matches were due to be raced tonight but, with the crowd already in the stadium, the one at Sheffield where the Tigers were scheduled to take on Birmingham was called off due to a waterlogged track. This left the sole action at Redcar where the Bears faced Edinburgh.


Premier League: Redcar 52, Edinburgh 41

Redcar had Josh Auty back at reserve to partner Benji Compton. Matthew Wethers returned to the Edinburgh team but Henrik Moller was missing having suffered an injury in Denmark last night so they had to use Rider Replacement at number 5. They again had Jack Roberts at number 6 for the injured Daniele Tessari.

The two teams were due to trade fixtures on consecutive nights with the first of them tonight. Redcar had already beaten Edinburgh home and away in the Premier Trophy and, with the Monarchs suffering from injuries, were big favourites for this match. Edinburgh, on the other hand were looking to build on last Sunday’s away win at Newport.

The opening heat was shared as Gary Havelock pulled clear of Theo Pijper down the back straight while Derek Sneddon took third place. The Bears took a 4-2 for a two point lead from the reserves race won by Josh Auty who passed early race leader, Matthew Wethers, with Benji Compton third, after Jack Roberts had touched the tapes and had to go from 15 metres. James Grieves and Chris Kerr left the Monarchs’ pair way behind from the start of heat 3 resulting in a 5-1 to the home side which increased their lead to six points. However Edinburgh hit back in heat 4 with a 1-5. Derek Sneddon ran Matthew Tressarieu wide to move ahead then Matthew Wethers passed Tressarieu who fell causing the race to be awarded. The score then stood at 13-11.

James Grieves and Chris Kerr replied with another 5-1 for the Bears restoring their six point lead in heat 5 and they increased it to eight with a 4-2 in heat 6 in which Gary Havelock scored his second race win. Behind him Jack Roberts fell while in second place leaving Matthew Wethers to finish ahead of Benji Compton. In heat 7 Ronnie Correy made the start but the race was stopped when Andrew Tully hit the fence trying an outside sweep and was excluded from the rerun. In the second running, Correy missed the start and could only follow Josh Auty and Mathieu Tressarieu home as the Bears scored another 5-1 which took the lead to 12 points. In heat 8 Derek Sneddon was given a Tactical Ride as expected and he duly delivered the six points by winning. Matthew Wethers finished second ahead of Arlo Bugeja so Edinburgh took a big 1-8 cutting the deficit to 5 points with the score now standing at 28-23. At this point Derek Sneddon and Matthew Wethers had scored 19 of Edinburgh’s 23 points!

In heat 9 Matthew Wethers split the maximum pairing of James Grieves and Chris Kerr so the Bears took a 4-2 to go seven points ahead again then heat 10 was shared. Gary Havelock chalked up his third win of the meeting but Ronnie Correy and Andrew Tully finished behind him for the 3-3 as Arlo Bugeja seemed to have machine problems when lying third. Heat 11 had to be rerun. Derek Sneddon and Theo Pijper led the first running of the race for two laps but both were passed by Josh Auty. However Mathieu Tressarieu fell trying to pass Sneddon and the race had to be rerun with Tressarieu excluded. In the rerun the Edinburgh pair were again on a 1-5 but this time Josh Auty could only pass Derek Sneddon so the heat ended as a 2-4 with Theo Pijper winning it. There were only five points between the teams at this point and Redcar geared up for a big finish with Josh Auty replacing Benji Compton in heat 12. Another potential Redcar maximum bit the dust in heat 12 when, with the rain lashing down, Ronnie Correy beat James Grieves and Josh Auty for a shared heat which took the score to 40-35.

Gary Havelock was now the only unbeaten rider in the match and he completed his four programmed rides by winning heat 13. Theo Pijper took second place while Mathieu Tressarieu passed Matthew Wethers on the last lap for a 4-2 which put the Bears seven points ahead. They stretched their lead to 11 points with a heat 14 5-1. Chris Kerr and Josh Auty made the gate to lead Andrew Tully home. Then, in the last race Theo Pijper touched the tapes and withdrew from the race to allow Ronnie Correy to retain gate 3. This paid off because, in the rerun, Ronnie Correy ran James Grieves wide on the fourth bend then cut back to clamp Gary Havelock on the line to head off for a fine, tactically aware, win. The race was therefore shared and Redcar ended up with an 11 point win.

Scorers: For Redcar – Gary Havelock 14 (5), James Grieves 12+1 (5), Josh Auty 11+2 (5), Chris Kerr 8+2 (4), Mathieu Tressarieu 3+1 (4), Benji Compton 2 (3), Arlo Bugeja 2 (4).

For Edinburgh – Derek Sneddon 12+1 (5)(with 6 point TR), Matthew Wethers 10+2 (7), Ronnie Correy 10 (5), Theo Pijper 7 (5), Andrew Tully 2+1 (4), Jack Roberts 0 (4).

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Wednesday, 20 June


There were two Premier League matches raced tonight. At Birmingham the Brummies raced against the Isle of Wight while at King’s Lynn the Stars took on Newport.


Premier League: Birmingham 48, Isle of Wight 42

Birmingham were at full strength but the Isle of Wight were missing reserve, Chris Johnson, so had Sam Martin as their Conference League guest at number 7.

This was Birmingham’s first meeting for two weeks since last week’s home match was rained off. The Isle of Wight were relieved to find that Jason Bunyan had recovered from the wrist injury he suffered last night on the Island although they were not so lucky with the injury to Chris Johnson. They would have taken heart from the way they coped with adversity in the match against Stoke last night and a close encounter was expected.

Chris Holder won the opening race with ease from Aidan Collins and Ulrich Ostergaard for a shared heat but the Brummies took the lead with a 5-1 in the reserves race thanks to Lee Smart and Ben Powell although Sam Martin was unlucky to suffer an engine failure on the second lap while lying second. Jason Lyons won heat 3 but Jason Bunyan and Krzysztof Stojanowski filled the minor places for another shared race. It was back to a home 5-1 in heat 4 with Emiliano Sanchez and Ben Powell heading home Glen Phillips to take the score to 16-8.

Heat 5 was rerun with all-four-back after Jason Lyons had fallen on the first bend. In the rerun Chris Holder won for the second time beating Jason Lyons who ruined an Islanders’ 1-5 by taking Cory Gathercole round the outside for a 2-4 cutting the home side’s lead to six points. It went back to eight in the next race when Ostergaard won from Phillips with Collins third. In heat 7 Stojanowski crashed into Lee Smart on the opening bend and was excluded from the rerun which was won by Emiliano Sanchez. Jason Bunyan took second place for a 4-2 so there were now 10 points between the teams. The Islanders passed up the chance to give Cory Gathercole a TR and must have regretted it when he won heat 8. It didn’t help the Brummies cause when Ben Powell had to go from 15 metres back after touching the tapes but, with Aidan Collins shedding a chain on the opening bend, he passed Sam Martin for second with Martin finishing third for a 2-4 to the visitors. This took the score to 28-20.

The Brummies regained their ten point lead in heat 9 when Jason Lyons won from Glen Phillips and Jon Armstrong for a 4-2 but it was back to eight again when Jason Bunyan beat Ulrich Ostergaard with Krzysztof Stojanowski third for a 2-4. The Islanders had given up a second opportunity to use a TR which again would have yielded an extra three points. This meant that Chris Holder could not go for double points in heat 11. The Islanders must have been kicking themselves about this because Chris Holder and Cory Gathercole scored a 1-5 in heat 11 ahead of Emiliano Sanchez which cut the lead to only four points. It could have been one point! Jason Lyons beat Jason Bunyan in heat 12 and, with Ben Powell third, the 4-2 increased the Brummies’ lead to six points again with the score now 39-33.

Chris Holder scored his fourth win of the match in heat 13 but Emiliano Sanchez and Ulrich Ostergaard kept Glen Phillips at the back so the race was shared. Krzysztof Stojanowski then won heat 14 but with Smart and Powell finishing behind him for a 3-3 the Brummies retained their six point lead and the match was out of the Islanders’ reach. It wouldn’t have been, of course, if they had used the TR when one of the two opportunities had arisen giving the crowd a last heat decider! As it turned out the Isle of Wight went with Holder and Gathercole instead of Bunyan but Cory Gathercole was excluded after crashing into the fence on the second bend leaving Chris Holder to fight for his maximum alone against Jason Lyons and Ulrich Ostergaard. He won the race for the full 15 points and the Brummies ended up with a 6 point win.


Scorers: For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 12+1 (5), Ulrich Ostergaard 9+2 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 9 (4), Ben Powell 8+3 (5), Lee Smart 6 (4), Aidan Collins 3 (4), Jon Armstrong 1 (3).

For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 15 (5)(full maximum), Jason Bunyan 9 (4), Cory Gathercole 6+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 5+1 (4), Glen Phillips 5 (4), Andrew Bargh 1 (4), Sam Martin 1 (4).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 56, Newport 36


King’s Lynn were at full strength with Grant MacDonald making his home debut for the Stars at number 7. Newport were missing Tony Atkin so used Rider Replacement at number 4. They were also without Barry Burchatt so had former King’s Lynn rider, Simon Lambert, at number 7.

It’s an incredible statistic but due to involvement in other competitions and to rain-offs this was King’s Lynn’s first home league meeting of the season while all other tracks had ridden at least three. They could hardly have asked to meet a team with a poorer league record at Saddlebow Road. On their last two league matches Newport scored 26 points in each losing 64-26 last year and 67-26 in 2005. Nevertheless this proved a much better and more incident-packed meeting than might have been expected.

It was perhaps no surprise when the Stars opened with a 5-1 from Tomas Topinka and Chris Mills. Tom Hedley was in second place but struggled badly on the bends which allowed Chris Mills to pass him on the third lap. Nick Simmons then had to lay his bike down to avoid hitting his partner who was clearly ill at ease. Newport’s sensational high-scoring reserve got his evening off to a good start by winning the reserves race despite the attentions of James Brundle while Simon Lambert, in third place, got into trouble allowing Grant MacDonald to open his home account with the third place point. The third race was full of incident. Tom Hedley made the start and led the race comfortably when he fell off on the third lap. Meanwhile Trevor Harding passed Phil Morris to move into third place on the first lap before also passing Daniel Nermark on the last bend to win the race. The result was another 5-1 to King’s Lynn which took them eight points ahead. Heat 4 was shared. Paul Lee won the race surviving a hard challenge by Chris Schramm by letting the Newport rider through then cutting back to repass him. Simon Lambert beat Grant MacDonald for third place so the points were shared as the score went to 16-8.

Trevor Harding and Daniel Nermark gated in heat 5 for another home 5-1 ahead of Hedley to go twelve points ahead. Michal Rajkowski and Chris Schramm made excellent gates in heat 6 and Rajkowski went on to win the race although Tomas Topinka and Chris Mills both passed Schramm for a shared heat to keep the pattern of 5-1s and 3-3s going. The pattern continued in heat 7 as King’s Lynn scored another 5-1. This time Michal Rajkowski took the R/R ride but he missed the gate this time and never figured in the race. James Brundle and Paul Lee took all five points from Phil Morris to open a 16 point gap. Heat 8 and the 5-1/3-3 pattern continued. This time a 3-3 was due and it duly arrived. Chris Mills won the race but Tom Hedley and Simon Lambert finished behind him as the score went to 32-16.

Things changed in heat 9 when Daniel Nermark fell and was excluded. Michal Rajkowski again caused the Stars some problems with another fast start. Nermark gave chase and passed him on the third lap but crashed into the fence in doing so. The race was rerun and the unthinkable happened. The pattern was continued with the race ending in a 1-5 this time for the Wasps! Michal Rajkowski made another fast start to head off for the win while, behind him, Chris Schramm passed Trevor Harding for the maximum reducing the gap to 12 points. At last there was a 4-2 - in heat 10. Michal Rajkowski was off once again but this time Topinka executed a fine cut back to pass the Newport reserve. Chris Mills finished third so the gap increased to 14 points. The Stars added another 4-2 in heat 11 when Paul Lee won the race. Simon Lambert finished second ahead of James Brundle while Tom Hedley finished last then, in heat 12, Michal Rajkowski was given a TR. It turned out to be the wrong heat for the TR though as this time he was beaten by Daniel Nermark who passed him on the outside of the third bend. Newport were still heading for a heat advantage until Phil Morris fell heavily on the last bend while lying third. This let James Brundle through for third place so the race was shared 4-4 with the score now standing at 45-29.

Paul Lee and Tomas Topinka scored a 5-1 against Chris Schramm in heat 13 but Schramm was out again as R/R in heat 14 and this time it was a different story. The Newport rider worked his way through from last place to second passing James Brundle then, on the last bend, Trevor Harding with a very forceful inside dive to join his partner, Michal Rajkowski up front for a 1-5. In the last race King’s Lynn ensured a 20 point win with another Lee/Topinka 5-1 again ahead of Schramm out for the third consecutive heat. Newport’s two reserves ended up scoring 22 of their 36 points!


Scorers: For King’s Lynn Paul Lee 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Tomas Topinka 12+2 (5), Trevor Harding 8 (4), Daniel Nermark 7+2 (4), Chris Mills 7+2 (4), James Brundle 7 (5), Grant MacDonald 1+1 (3).

For Newport – Michal Rajkowski 18 (7)(with a 4 point TR), Chris Schramm 8+2 (6), Simon Lambert 4+2 (4), Tom Hedley 4 (6), Phil Morris 2 (4), Nick Simmons 0 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Tuesday, 19 June



If you wanted speedway action tonight you needed to travel across the Solent to the Isle of Wight where the Islanders took on Stoke in a Premier League match.



Premier League: Isle of Wight 48, Stoke 42.


Both the Isle of Wight and Stoke were at full strength for this match.


The Isle of Wight were looking for a big win tonight to wipe out the memory of last week’s televised home defeat at the hands of King’s Lynn while Stoke were keen to build on some recent impressive away displays. However it wasn’t long before, for the second week running, the Islanders were hit hard by injuries. They lost both Jason Bunyan and Chris Holder in the first half of the meeting and had to go with only one rider in two heats. Nevertheless they rallied to shake off their handicap and beat a Potters team which had looked threatening.

Under leaden skies this match was pushed through at a faster pace than usual to beat the impending rain. The home side were keen to reach a winning margin as quickly as possible and they started well by taking the opening heat 5-1. Chris Holder and Cory Gathercole did the damage against Ben Barker and Glenn Cunningham. Things didn’t go so well for them after that though. The home reserves looked destined to add another maximum in heat 2 when Andrew Bargh and Chris Johnson led the race but Bargh suffered an engine failure allowing Barrie Evans and Jack Hargreaves to follow Johnson home for a share of the points. Proceedings came to an abrupt halt in the next race, however. The original running was pulled back for an unsatisfactory start then, at the next attempt, Claus Vissing picked up grip and reared into the fence taking Jason Bunyan with him. Vissing was excluded while Bunyan needed a check by the medics to make sure he was alright. In the second rerun Krzysztof Stojanowski won the race from Lee Complin while Jason Bunyan finished third for a 4-2 increasing the Islanders’ lead to six points. Rusty Harrison provide Stoke’s first race winner when he won heat 4. It was only good enough for a 3-3 since Glen Phillips and Andrew Bargh finished behind him with Jack Hargreaves at the back. This took the score to 15-9.

It was turning out an unfortunate night for Jason Bunyan when he fell on the second lap in heat 5 while chasing Glenn Cunningham for the lead. Cunningham won the race with Stojanowski second. Ben Barker picked up the third place point for a 2-4 to the Potters which cut the gap to four points. Things continued to go badly for the home side when Chris Holder slipped to last place in heat 6 with what appeared to be machine problems. Cory Gathercole won the race though to keep the Islanders four points in front while Rusty Harrison and Barrie Evans shared the points behind him. The Potters continued to hold their own in heat 7 by sharing this race, too. It was Andrew Bargh who won it for the Isle of Wight but Lee Complin and Claus Vissing took the minor places ahead of Glen Phillips. There was then a hold up when Chris Johnson needed medical attention after falling in the pits and hurting his head As a result he was withdrawn from the meeting. Even worse for the Islanders, Jason Bunyan had to withdraw, too, since he had injured his wrist when he fell in heat 5. This left the Islanders seriously depleted and things didn’t get any better when Stoke, sensing the prospect of victory, shared heat 8. Ben Barker won the race, beating Andrew Bargh, with Cory Gathercole finishing third. This took the score to 26-22.

Heat 9 was run with only three riders since Jason Bunyan could not take his place and reserve, Andrew Bargh, could not cover for all of Bunyan and Johnson’s remaining rides. The home side were struggling when Rusty Harrison and Barrie Evans took a 1-5 after Krzysztof Stojanowski crashed into the fence while leading on the opening lap and could only coast round at the back on a damaged machine. The scores were now tied at 27-27 with the Isle of Wight facing an uphill struggle for the second week running. They dug in, however, and regained the lead in heat 10 with a 4-2. It looked like being a 5-1 when Chris Holder and Cory Gathercole led until the very last bend when Lee Complin passed Gathercole to take second place. Back came the Potters with a 2-4 from Glenn Cunningham and Ben Barker separated by Glen Phillips to level the scores again at 33-33.

It was clear that the Islanders could only field Andrew Bargh in a crucial heat 12 but he kept the home flag flying by winning the race from Claus Vissing and Barrie Evans. This gave the home side a massive boost since they could now finish by tracking two riders in the last three races with Chris Holder in two of them. Things looked even brighter when Chris Holder and Glen Phillips recorded a 5-1 in heat 13 ahead of Rusty Harrison and Glenn Cunningham to give the Islanders a four point lead. Stojanowski then won heat 14 to keep the home side four up going into the last heat. Lee Complin and Barrie Evans took second and third as Andrew Bargh retired with engine trouble for the 3-3. Finally, the Isle of Wight claimed victory with a last heat 4-2. Chris Holder won it from Lee Complin while Krzysztof Stojanowski finished third ahead of Rusty Harrison.


Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Chris Holder 12 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 10 (5), Andrew Bargh 9+1 (7), Cory Gathercole 7+2 (4), Glen Phillips 6+1 (4), Chris Johnson 3 (1), Jason Bunyan 1 (2).

For Stoke – Lee Complin 10 (5), Rusty Harrison 9 (5), Barrie Evans 7+4 (5), Glenn Cunningham 6 (4), Ben Barker 6 (4), Claus Vissing 3+1 (4), Jack Hargreaves 1+1 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Sunday, 17 June


With no rain-offs for a change there were three Premier League matches raced today. At Newport the Wasps raced against Edinburgh while at Glasgow the Tigers took on Somerset both in afternoon matches. The third match was an evening start at Newcastle where the Diamonds took on King’s Lynn.



Premier League: Newport 42, Edinburgh 47 Edinburgh won the aggregate bonus point by 106-75.


Newport were without Tony Atkin, injured at Edinburgh on Friday night, so had to use Rider Replacement at number 4. Edinburgh were without both their reserves and had Stoke’s Lee Complin as a guest at number 7 for Matthew Wethers and Sam Martin at number 6 for Daniele Tessari.

Newport completed their ‘Scottish’ week by taking on Edinburgh at home this afternoon. They beat Glasgow at home last Sunday, lost at Ashfield on Thursday, but took the bonus point, then lost at Armadale on Friday. This time they were looking to pull back some 26 points to level on aggregate but Edinburgh’s record last year at Newport gave them some cause for optimism. However if Newport expected Michal Rajkowski to be their match winner at reserve they reckoned without Edinburgh’s guest reserve replacement for Matthew Wethers. It wasn’t Rajkowski who set the heather on fire at reserve; it was Lee Complin who dropped only one point to the Wasps in his 7 races – to Phil Morris in heat 12!

Tom Hedley took the opening race from Derek Sneddon and Theo Pijper for a shared race but the Monarchs took the lead in the reserves race when Lee Complin beat Michal Rajkowski while young Sam Martin passed Barry Burchatt on the fourth bend for third place. The 2-4 gave Edinburgh a two point lead and it stayed that way when Ronnie Correy won heat 3 by a distance from Phil Morris and Michal Rajkowski for a 3-3. The visitors’ lead stretched to three points in heat 4 after a rerun which resulted when Barry Burchatt fell. Unfortunately for Edinburgh Henrik Moller had also come to a stop after running into Lee Complin so was excluded for not being under power. In the rerun Lee Complin easily beat Chris Schramm for a 2-3 which took the score to 10-13.

Newport hit back with a 5-1 in heat 5. Tom Hedley, the R/R, scored his second win taking Derek Sneddon wide round the opening bends. Phil Morris took advantage by slipping up the inside to join his partner and, suddenly, the Wasps now led by one point. They stretched it to three points with a 4-2 in heat 6. Tom Hedley was again the race winner from Henrik Moller while Rajkowski finished third and the home side repeated that score in heat 7. Michal Rajkowski, out for the fourth time in seven heats, flew from the gate to win while Ronnie Correy took second place. Chris Schramm was third and the 4-2 gave Newport a five point lead. Ominously for the Wasps though Lee Complin won for the third time in heat 8 while Barry Burchatt was awarded second place on the line from Derek Sneddon as some thought that Sneddon had passed him. With Tom Hedley this time stuck at the back the Monarchs took a 2-4 which took the score to 25-22.

Rajkowski, now running out of rides, won heat 9 by pushing Henrik Moller wide on the second bend. Again the watching Phil Morris nipped up the inside for a 5-1 to Newport which stretched their lead to seven points. In heat 10, Edinburgh replaced Andrew Tully with Lee Complin and he and Ronnie Correy combined to score a 1-5 by passing Tom Hedley on the opening lap. The lead was down to three points again. It stayed that way after heat 11. This race had to be rerun as the bikes of Michal Rajkowski and Derek Sneddon locked together in the first running. In the second running, Chris Schramm won comfortably while Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon relegated Rajkowski to the back for a 3-3. However the famous Newport late collapse was well and truly on as the Monarchs applied the pressure. In heat 12 Lee Complin replaced Sam Martin. Phil Morris looked to have made the start but Ronnie Correy flew round the outside to head off for the win. At the back, Lee Complin passed Barry Burchatt and headed off after Morris. He just missed out on second place on the line so the Wasps limited the damage to a 2-4 which took the score to 36-35.

Edinburgh were back in front with a 1-5 in heat 13. Theo Pijper and Henrik Moller made the gate and that was that. The lead changed hands with the Monarchs now in front by three points and it stayed that way when heat 14 was shared. It was that man Complin who again won the race and Edinburgh would have been home and dry had Andrew Tully maintained his third place. However he got too close to Rajkowski and fell retiring from the race. This meant that Edinburgh only needed a second place from heat 15. They did better than that. Ronnie Correy made the gate and clearly aware of the position clamped Phil Morris on the line to make sure of at least a second place. Meanwhile Tom Hedley soared round the outside of this pair but if he thought that was going to take him into the lead he was sadly mistaken. Complin went even wider and zoomed past Hedley for his fifth race win to give Edinburgh a 2-4 and a five point win.


Scorers: For Newport – Michal Rajkowski 12+1 (7), Tom Hedley 12 (6), Phil Morris 8+2 (5), Chris Schramm 7+1 (5), Barry Burchatt 2 (4), Nick Simmons 1 (3).

For Edinburgh – Lee Complin 18+1 (7), Ronnie Correy 12 (5), Theo Pijper 6+1 (4), Henrik Moller 5+1 (4), Derek Sneddon 5+1 (4), Sam Martin 1 (3), Andrew Tully 0 (3).



Premier League: Glasgow 40, Somerset 49 Somerset won the aggregate bonus point by 105-76.


Glasgow had Robbie Kessler at number 6 in place of Robert Ksiezak who was riding in Latvia. Somerset were at full strength.

This was Glasgow’s third match in four days and they were hoping for a hat-trick of wins having beaten Newport at home on Thursday and Berwick away last night. The Tigers had 20 points to pull back to square on aggregate for the bonus point but this looked a tall order after failing to pull back a 16 point deficit in the recent KO Cup match between the sides. For Somerset this should have been their third match on consecutive nights but last night’s scheduled match at Workington fell victim to the weather.

Glasgow, cock-a-hoop after last night’s excellent away win at Berwick, were brought down to earth by a rampant Somerset side who ran out nine point winners for all three points. In the opening heat the Tigers, not for the first time in the opening heat this season, conceded a 1-5. George Stancl shed a chain and Magnus Zetterstrom and Stephan Katt took advantage to sail off ahead of David McAllan for the maximum. Glasgow quickly levelled again with their own 5-1 in heat 2. Robbie Kessler and Michael Coles gated well relegating Simon Walker to third place and the match stayed all square after heat 3. Shane Parker came within a tenth of a second of his own track record to beat Emil Kramer and Jordan Frampton. With Lee Dicken stuck at the back the heat was shared but the Tigers rocketed into the lead with a 5-1 in heat 4. Danny Warwick gated but went wide on the second bend. Robbie Kessler and Trent Leverington needed no second invitation and shot past him for the maximum with Ritchie Hawkins finishing third. The score was now 14-10.

Heat 5 saw the first battle of the big guns, Parker and Zetterstrom. It was Zetterstrom who shot ahead coming off the second bend to win the race while, at the back, Stephan Katt held off the challenge of Lee Dicken for a 2-4 to the Rebels which cut the gap to two points. In heat 6, Ritchie Hawkins was excluded for bringing down David McAllan on the second bend so the race was rerun with three riders. In the rerun George Stancl led from Simon Walker. David McAllan tried too hard to pass Walker on the last bend of the third lap and crashed. The race was awarded as a 3-2 with McAllan excluded. As a result of the injury he picked up, McAllan was withdrawn from the meeting on doctor’s orders. However Glasgow added a point to their lead. Somerset pulled two points back in heat 7 when Emil Kramer scored a tapes-to-flag win. Behind him Trent Leverington finished second but Jordan Frampton’s third place gave the Rebels a 2-4, a score they repeated in the next heat. Heat 8 is often pivotal at Glasgow and this was no exception. Danny Warwick after two lasts finally leapt from the gate to win the race from Robbie Kessler. Stephan Katt beat Michael Coles so the 2-4 brought the Rebels to within a point of Glasgow with the score now 24-23.

Glasgow opened the lead to three points again when Shane Parker won from Ritchie Hawkins. Behind him Lee Dicken took third place from Simon Walker for a 4-2. This was followed by a lengthy regrading of the track but it seemed to be to Somerset’s advantage since they hit Glasgow with a 1-5 and 2-4 in the next two races. In heat 10 Emil Kramer led from Stancl and Kessler but Jordan Frampton passed both Glasgow riders to join his partner for the maximum which wiped out the Tigers’ lead and put the Rebels three points in front. In heat 11 Magnus Zetterstrom continued his unbeaten run holding off the challenges of Trent Leverington for all four laps. Stephan Katt finished third ahead of Michael Coles to stretch the Rebels’ lead to five points and Glasgow were in big trouble. They got two points back in heat 12 though. Shane Parker won the race from Emil Kramer while behind them Robbie Kessler won a good tussle with Simon Walker for third place. The 4-2 took the score to 34-37.

In heat 13 Magnus Zetterstrom won again. Behind them George Stancl and Trent Leverington teamed up to keep Ritchie Hawkins at the back but they didn’t succeed. Hawkins passed Leverington on the last bend for another 2-4 which increased the visitors’ lead to five points again with just two heats to go. Heat 14 has proved an Achilles heel for Glasgow on many occasions and so it proved again. Danny Warwick and Jordan Frampton scored a 1-5 over Lee Dicken as Robbie Kessler suffered an engine failure to clinch the match for the visitors. In the last heat Magnus Zetterstrom completed his maximum by beating Shane Parker again while Trent Leverington took third place ahead of Emil Kramer for a shared heat giving Somerset an excellent nine point win.


Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 13 (5), Robbie Kessler 10 (5), Trent Leverington 7+2 (5), George Stancl 5 (4), Michael Coles 2+1 (4), Lee Dicken 2 (4), David McAllan 1 (2).

For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 15 (5)(full maximum), Emil Kramer 10 (5), Jordan Frampton 6+3 (4), Danny Warwick 6 (4), Stephan Katt 5+1 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 4 (4), Simon Walker 3 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 45, King’s Lynn 45


Newcastle welcomed Adam McKinna back into the team after a lengthy absence following an accident when he smashed both his wrists. He took the number 6 position with Ashley Johnson dropping out. King’s Lynn had their new signing, Grant McDonald, at number 7 but they also switched Paul Lee to number 4 with Trevor Harding moving to number 5 for this match.

Newcastle were hoping to become only the second side to beat King’s Lynn in the league this season while the Stars, yet to race a league match at home, were riding their sixth away match having already won five of them. Their only away loss so far was at Rye House. Newcastle had already beaten King’s Lynn at Brough Park last April in a KO Cup match by 50-40 although on that occasion the Stars were without both of their own reserves.

Newcastle got off to a good start. They threatened the Stars with a 5-1 in the opening heat as Christian Henry and Carl Wilkinson made the gate. Tomas Topinka passed Wilkinson though so the heat result was a 4-2 the same as heat 2. Sean Stoddart won the race from James Brundle while Adam McKinna took third from Grant McDonald. Heat 3 finished all square. Josef Franc was too fast for Daniel Nermark but Paul Lee finished third ahead of Ross Brady then Trevor Harding won heat 4 from Jonas Raun and Sean Stoddart for another 3-3 which took the score to 14-10.

In heat 5 Ross Brady and Josef Franc made the gate for the Diamonds but again Tomas Topinka made a pass, this time on Josef Franc, to finish second for another 4-2 giving the Diamonds a six point lead. King’s Lynn hit back with a 2-4 in heat 6 when James Brundle and Trevor Harding made fast starts. Brundle won the race but Carl Wilkinson passed Trevor Harding to cut the Stars’ advantage from the heat to two points. There was a real shock for the Stars in heat 7. Sean Stoddart replaced Adam McKinna when the latter was excluded under the two minute rule. It could have been a 5-1 as he and Jonas Raun led from the gate but Raun fell leaving Daniel Nermark and Paul Lee to follow Stoddart home for a shared race. Newcastle went six points ahead again with a 4-2 in heat 8. Carl Wilkinson won the race while at the back Sean Stoddart passed James Brundle but couldn’t quite catch Chris Mills so had to be content with third place. This took the score to 27-21.

If Newcastle thought they were going to run away with it they were rudely awakened by a King’s Lynn 1-5 in heat 9. James Brundle and Trevor Harding saw off Josef Franc and Ross Brady for the maximum heat win after the two Newcastle riders had got into a tangle with each other. This cut the gap to only two points again. King’s Lynn continued to hang in by sharing heat 10. Christian Henry led from Daniel Nermark while Carl Wilkinson passed Paul Lee to take up the chase on Nermark. Wilkinson overdid it though and locked up allowing Paul Lee back into third place for a 3-3. The match was all square again after heat 11. Chris Mills won the race from Jonas Raun while Tomas Topinka finished third ahead of Adam McKinna for a 2-4. Daniel Nermark finally won a race when he took heat 12. Josef Franc and Sean Stoddart kept James Brundle at the back so the heat was shared with the score going to 36-36.

It was still level after heat 13. Christian Henry won the race for the Diamonds but Trevor Harding and Tomas Topinka shared the race by finishing ahead of Jonas Raun. Heat 14 was clearly going to be crucial. For Newcastle Adam McKinna had yet to take his third ride to partner the unpredictable Ross Brady while King’s Lynn had still to give Grant McDonald his third ride so he partnered Paul Lee. This race was shared too, the fifth on the trot. Ross Brady made the gate for the win with Paul Lee second. At the back Grant McDonald scored his first point for the Stars, and a vital one at that, by beating Adam McKinna. As a result the match came to a last heat decider with the teams all square. The last heat finished all square too so the match was drawn. Daniel Nermark won the race from Josef Franc and Christian Henry while Trevor Harding finished at the back.


Scorers: For Newcastle – Christian Henry 10+1 (5), Sean Stoddart 9+2 (5), Josef Franc 9 (5), Carl Wilkinson 6 (4), Ross Brady 6 (4), Jonas Raun 4, Adam McKinna 1 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 12 (5), Trevor Harding 8+1 (5), James Brundle 8 (5), Tomas Topinka 6+1 (4), Paul Lee 5+3 (4), Chris Mills 5 (4), Grant McDonald 1+1 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

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Saturday, 16 June

The weather claimed two more casualties again tonight. Waterlogged tracks caused the early cancellation of two Premier League matches - one at Workington where the Comets were due to race Somerset and the other at Stoke where the Potters were due to take on Edinburgh. The sole survivor was the match at Berwick where the Bandits raced against Glasgow.



Premier League: Berwick 43, Glasgow 48


Berwick were without Jaimie Robertson who had strained a muscle in his back. They used Rider Replacement instead at number 2. Glasgow were without Robert Ksiezak who is riding in Latvia tomorrow in an under-21 championship meeting and had Chris Schramm as a guest replacement at number 7.

Berwick had lost all eight consecutive league matches going into tonight’s clash and might have looked for an easier task than to take on Glasgow for whom Berwick has frequently been a happy hunting ground. Glasgow turned up with two former Berwick riders in their ranks both at reserve! Michael Coles rode at number 6 while Newport’s third heat leader, Chris Schramm, rode at number 7 as a guest.

The Bandits made a dreadful start to this match. In the opening heat George Stancl had a tapes to flag win while behind him David McAllan passed both David Meldrum and Stanislaw Burza to join him up front for a 1-5. They looked like adding another 1-5 in heat 2 when Michael Coles and Chris Schramm led the race until the last bend when Schramm fell. Even then the Bandits lost the race since Benji Compton had retired from the race resulting in only two finishers and a 2-3 to the Tigers. It got worse for the home side when they lost a 2-4 in the third heat. It wasn’t that way from the gate though as Michal Makovsky hit the front with Andreas Bergstrom in third place. However the home 4-2 turned into a 2-4 when, firstly, Lee Dicken passed Bergstrom when the Berwick rider made a hash of the second bend on lap 2 then Shane Parker reeled in Makovsky to pass him on the same bend on the last lap. In heat 4 Berwick stopped the rot by sharing the race. Jacek Rempala won the race, but with David Meldrum falling and retiring, Chris Schramm and Trent Leverington filled the minor places. The score was now 8-15.

Michal Makovsky won heat 5 but got no support from Andreas Bergstrom as Stancl and McAllan relegated him to the back for a 3-3. Then the same thing happened in heat 6. This time Stanislaw Burza won the heat but Leverington and Coles finished ahead of Compton for another shared race. Berwick then fell further behind as Glasgow scored another 2-4 in heat 7. Jacek Rempala led from the start but Shane Parker passed him coming off the second bend for a comfortable win. With Benji Compton retiring again at the back Lee Dicken was left to pick up the third place point for another Glasgow race advantage. Berwick now trailed by nine points and desperately needed a heat win to get back into the match so they gave Michal Makovsky a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres in heat 8 as he filled the spot due for the absent Jaimie Robertson. McAllan and Schramm led for the Tigers but Makovsky passed Schramm on the third lap for a second place to score four points. It didn’t give the home side an advantage though with Meldrum last. The heat was shared 4-4 and the score now stood at 20-29.

At last Berwick gave their fans something to cheer about when they took a 5-1 from heat 9. The race was awarded after Trent Leverington was excluded after taking off Andreas Bergstrom on the third lap with Makovsky and Bergstrom in first and second. This cut the gap to five points but Shane Parker prevented any further erosion of the Glasgow lead by winning heat 10 from Burza and Bergstrom for a shared race. The match was effectively over in the next race when George Stancl and David McAllan scored a 1-5. It didn’t look that way from the gate however as both home men made a good start. Stancl worked his way to the front on the second bend while McAllan passed Meldrum and Rempala to stretch the Tigers’ lead to nine points again. Shane Parker kept it that way by winning heat 12 from Meldrum and Makovsky and a shared race which took the score to 32-41.

In heat 13, Glasgow got the three points they needed to ensure an away victory. George Stancl, the early race leader, was passed by Stanislaw Burza but with Trent Leverington in third place ahead of Rempala the heat was shared. The Bandits then took a 5-1 from Heat 14 when Andreas Bergstrom and David Meldrum headed home Chris Schramm but it was too little, too late and only served to put a better reflection on the score. Shane Parker then completed his full maximum in heat 15 by beating Makovsky and Burza for another shared race and a five point win.


Scorers: For Berwick – Michal Makovsky 15+1 (6)(with a 4 point TR), Stanislaw Burza 10+1 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 6+2 (5), David Meldrum 6+1 (7), Jacek Rempala 6 (4), Benji Compton 0 (3).

For Glasgow – Shane Parker 15 (5)(full maximum), George Stancl 10 (4), David McAllan 8+3 (5), Michael Coles 5+1 (4), Trent Leverington 4+2 (4), Chris Schramm 4 (5), Lee Dicken 2 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks

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Friday, 15 June

The two Premier League matches scheduled for tonight both beat the weather and went ahead as planned. At Edinburgh the Monarchs raced Newport while at Somerset the Rebels took on Berwick.


Premier League: Edinburgh 59, Newport 33


Edinburgh again had Jack Roberts at number 6 in place of the injured Daniele Tessari. Newport were at full strength


Armadale’s unique weather system was at it again tonight. With huge belts of torrential rain falling all over the surrounding area it stopped at Armadale in time for this match to take place and it stayed dry until the match was completed only for the rain to return with a vengeance immediately after racing finished! The crowd was well down on the usual level; in fact many fans who did not turn up would be astonished to find out the match had taken place.

The opening race had to be rerun after Nick Simmons had fallen on the first bend and been excluded. In the rerun Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon gated for the second time with Tom Hedley third giving the Monarchs the perfect 5-1 start. They added a 4-2 in the reserves race. Michal Rajkowski made an electric start but he was reeled in by Matthew Wethers who finally passed him on the last bend to win on the line. Behind this pair Jack Roberts took a comfortable third place from Barry Burchatt. Heat 3 also produced a 4-2. Phil Morris and Tony Atkin made the start but Ronnie Correy got between them exiting the second bend and was off for the win. Andrew Tully took third place after Tony Atkin had retired from the race with an engine failure. A third consecutive 4-2 was the result of heat 4. Henrik Moller suffered engine problems at the gate and was excluded for failing to beat the two minute time allowance. He was replaced by Jack Roberts who again beat Barry Burchatt while Matthew Wethers passed Chris Schramm on the second bend to win the race. The score was now 17-7.

When Andrew Tully rode around Nick Simmons and Tom Hedley on the first two bends Edinburgh were off for a 5-1 in heat 5 with Ronnie Correy well in front to increase their lead to 14 points. But heat 6 was a strange one. Again Michal Rajkowski made a lightning gate but, when Theo Pijper put him under pressure on the third lap, the Pole’s machine packed up. Meanwhile Derek Sneddon fell on the second bend but remounted to join the chase. On the third lap, while Rajkowski waited for the riders to pass him by, Sneddon rode straight into the pits! There were only two finishers as a result and the home side scored a 3-2. Newport then gave Phil Morris a Tactical Ride and took the big 1-8 but it came at a cost. Matthew Wethers replaced Jack Roberts to counter the TR move and had a terrific battle with Morris with the riders passing and repassing but on the last bend Wethers picked up too much grip reared, turned and fell and Tony Atkin clipped his bike trying to avoid him. Atkin, clearly in pain, pulled up and Henrik Moller nipped through for second place. However the referee correctly awarded the second place to Atkin for the full 8 points. Wethers had twisted his ankle and was in some pain but went back to the pits to have it strapped. Atkin meanwhile had stopped on the back straight in some distress. Eventually he had to withdraw from the meeting and went to hospital with a suspected broken leg. The 1-8 reduced the gap to 8 points but Edinburgh stretched it to 10 with a 4-2 in heat 8. Michal Rajkowski again made the gate but again Matthew Wethers reeled him in to put him under pressure. He eventually passed Rajkowski when the Pole went wide on the second bend on the last lap to win the race while Derek Sneddon finished behind this pair. The score was now 30-20.

Rajkowski was out again in heat 9 and things looked bright for the Wasps when Chris Schramm joined him up front. Eventually Andrew Tully passed Schramm then a big mistake by the Newport rider saw Ronnie Correy move into third and the race was shared. This was the only shared race of the match! When Phil Morris fell on the second bend of heat 10 and was excluded, the Monarchs’ pair of Pijper and Sneddon took an easy 5-1 ahead of Burchatt. Michal Rajkowski replaced Burchatt in heat 11 but had to go on his own after Tom Hedley fell on the first turn and was excluded. In the rerun the Pole struggled to turn the bike and ran straight across the first bend to crash into the second bend fence taking Matthew Wethers, on his outside, with him. To the surprise of the crowd the referee ‘invited’ all three riders back for the rerun in which Rajkowski missed the gate for the first time. Wethers and Moller headed off unchallenged for another 5-1 to be followed by a 4-2 in heat 12. Again Rajkowski was in the race but it was Ronnie Correy who made the start for an unchallenged win ahead of Phil Morris. At the back Jack Roberts had the crowd roaring when he passed Rajkowski on the inside of the second bend to take a comfortable third place point. The score was now 47-27.

Chris Schramm made the best start to heat 13 but, under pressure from Theo Pijper, he fell on the third bend and sportingly cleared the track as quickly as he could. This left Pijper and Moller to scoot off for an unchallenged 5-1. The Wasps took their second heat advantage from heat 14. Michal Rajkowski, replacing Tony Atkin, made another good start. Andrew Tully trying an outside run in an effort to pass him came to grief on the second bend and, like Schramm in heat 13, cleared the track quickly to allow the race to continue. Rajkowski won it but Jack Roberts took second place with Burchatt third for a 2-4. In the last heat Pijper completed his maximum while Ronnie Correy fended off an early challenge from Chris Schramm to follow his team mate home for a 5-1 which gave the Monarchs a 26 point lead to defend in the return fixture on Sunday.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – Theo Pijper 15 (5)(full maximum), Ronnie Correy 12+2 (5), Matthew Wethers 12 (5), Henrik Moller 5+2 (4), Derek Sneddon 5+2 (4), Andrew Tully 5+1 (4), Jack Roberts 5 (4).

For Newport – Michal Rajkowski 11 (7), Phil Morris 10 (5)(with 6 point TR), Chris Schramm 5 (5), Tony Atkin 2+1 (2), Tom Hedley 2 (4), Barry Burchatt 2 (4), Nick Simmons 1 (3).



Premier League: Somerset 59, Berwick 35 Somerset won the aggregate bonus point by 108-76.


Both Somerset and Berwick were at full strength.

Berwick are still looking for their first win in the league this season but were never in the hunt in this match although they fought hard to keep to within 12 points by the end of heat 12 only to concede the remaining heats 5-1. In fact they only supplied one race winner as the Rebels romped away with it to take all three points.

Things started badly for the Bandits when Stanislaw Burza touched the tapes in the opening heat and went from 15 metres back. This gave Magnus Zetterstrom and Stephan Katt an easy opportunity to open proceedings with a 5-1 a scoreline the Rebels repeated in heat 2. Simon Walker found himself stranded at the gate but within the space of a lap he had passed Benji Compton and David Meldrum to join his partner, Danny Warwick, up front for a maximum. Emil Kramer gated to win heat 3 while Michal Makovsky took second ahead of Jordan Frampton for a 4-2 but Berwick tasted some success in heat 4. Ritchie Hawkins suffered an engine failure leaving Jacek Rempala and Danny Warwick to fight out a tremendous battle for first place all race long. Rempala prevailed so, with Meldrum third, the Bandits pulled two points back with a 2-4 which took the score to 16-8.

Stanislaw Burza split the home pairing of Kramer and Frampton for a 4-2 in heat 5 and the Rebels eased another two points in front with a similar score in heat 6. Magnus Zetterstrom was soon off and away but Rempala took second place ahead of Stephan Katt as the home side’s lead stretched to 12 points. Heat 7 was shared. Ritchie Hawkins took an unchallenged win from Michal Makovsky while Andreas Bergstrom held off the challenge of Simon Walker for third place. In heat 8 Berwick made the novel move of giving Stanislaw Burza a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres as he replaced Jaimie Robertson. Burza caught and passed Danny Warwick on the second lap so David Meldrum let his partner through. Danny Warwick then passed Meldrum but, while going after Burza, he shed a chain. Stephan Katt won the race but the Bandits took a 3-5 which resulted in the score reading 30-20.

Still 10 points down Berwick then gave a Tactical Ride to Jacek Rempala in heat 9 and, although he made the start, the Berwick man was passed round the outside by Emil Kramer on the second bend then had his work cut out holding off Jordan Frampton. However he did so the race was shared 4-4. Zetterstrom continued his winning ways in heat 10 while Andreas Bergstrom and Michal Makovsky team rode behind him to relegate Stephan Katt to third place to share the points and keep the gap at 10 points. Somerset moved 12 points ahead again in heat 11. Ritchie Hawkins won the race while Burza fended off the challenges of Simon Walker for second place and a 4-2. Heat 12 was shared when Danny Warwick suffered an engine failure at the gate leaving Emil Kramer to take his fourth win of the meeting and Makovsky and Compton to bring up the rear. This took the score to 44-32.

And that was it for the Bandits! After the interval the Rebels hit home three consecutive 5-1s with the main point of note being Ritchie Hawkins’ progression from fourth to second after two laps in heat 13 to join Magnus Zetterstrom. In heat 14 Andreas Bergstrom led briefly but was passed by Walker and Frampton then the two Swedes, Zetterstrom and Kramer, both completed their maximums in heat 15.


Scorers: For Somerset – Magnus Zetterstrom 15 (5)(full maximum), Emil Kramer 14+1 (5)(paid maximum), Ritchie Hawkins 8+1 (4), Stephan Katt 6+1 (4), Simon Walker 6+1 (4), Jordan Frampton 5+1 (4), Danny Warwick 5 (4).

For Berwick – Stanislaw Burza 11 (6)(with 4 point TS), Jacek Rempala 9 (4)(with 4 point TR), Michal Makovsky 7+1 (5), Andreas Bergstrom 4+1 (4), David Meldrum 3+1 (4), Benji Compton 1+1 (4), Jaimie Robertson 0 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2007


Thursday, 14 June

There were two Premier League matches scheduled for tonight but only one survived the weather. With Sheffield due to race a Top Gun meeting with a Conference League field of youngsters and a match between Redcar and Workington casualties to the rain the one match which did take place was at Glasgow where the Tigers took on Newport.


Premier League: Glasgow 49, Newport 42 Newport won the aggregate bonus point by 96-87


Glasgow were at full strength with new signing, Michael Coles making his debut at number 6. Newport, too, were on the usual lines.


This was the first match of Newport’s their two day visits to the Scottish tracks. In tonight’s clash they were protecting a 16 point lead from last Sunday’s match in search of the bonus point. Glasgow were racing on an off-night as the first of a three matches in three days spell. It turned out to be a very entertaining match.

The Tigers started with two 5-1s. George Stancl and David McAllan got the Tigers off to the perfect start after Nick Simmons had been excluded and replaced by Michal Rajkowski then they added another maximum heat win in heat 2. In the first running of the heat Michal Rajkowski fell on the second bend while leading the race and was excluded. In the rerun Robert Ksiezak scored the three points and he was followed home by Michael Coles ahead of Barry Burchatt to open up an eight point lead after just two races. Two races later the Wasps had fallen another four points in arrears as the score went to 18-6 with only four points in it for the bonus point.

Details are not readily available but Newport rallied after that and, with a Tactical Ride producing a 2-5 and a 1-5 in heat 8 when Hedley and Burchatt beat McAllan and Ksiezak, they had reduced the gap to seven points when the score then stood at 28-21.

By heat 10 Glasgow had pulled two more points clear at 35-26 and the fight for the bonus point was still on with seven points still separating the two teams.

It looked as though Glasgow were going to take all three points when they lead by 15 points after heat 13 at 47-32, just one point behind with two heats to go but in heat 14 Newport made sure that the bonus point was going back to Wales when Tony Atkin and, reserve replacement, Michal Rajkowski scored a 1-5 ahead of Lee Dicken and Robert Ksiezak. Then in the last heat the crowd were stunned when Tony Atkin, again, and Chris Schramm made the gate on Glasgow pair, George Stancl and Shane Parker. Although Parker passed Stancl after two laps he couldn’t catch the Wasps’ pair so Newport lost by only seven points.



Scorers: For Glasgow – Shane Parker 13 (5), George Stancl 11 (5), Trent Leverington 10+1 (4), Robert Ksiezak 5+1 (4), David McAllan 4+2 (4), Michael Coles 3+1 (4), Lee Dicken 3 (4)

For Newport – Tony Atkin 11+2 (5), Chris Schramm 8+1 (5), Phil Morris 6+2 (4), Michal Rajkowski 5 (6), Barry Burchatt 4+1 (4), Nick Simmons 4 (4), Tom Hedley 4 (4).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2007

Wednesday, 13 June


There were two Premier League matches scheduled for tonight but the weather intervened once again to cause the cancellation of both matches. The meetings in question were between Birmingham and Mildenhall and King’s Lynn and the Isle of Wight.


The match at King’s Lynn almost got started. Jason Bunyan had been nominated as the Isle of Wight’s Rider Replacement for the absent Chris Holder for heat 1 and the riders were on two minutes when there was a heavy shower which doomed any action. One day the Stars will actually get to race a Premier League match at home. The previous scheduled match against Rye House was also cancelled because of the rain.

With the sky darkening and rain starting in the area there was always a danger that this match, too, might be called off. After last night’s thrilling encounter between these two sides on the Island, things didn’t look too bright for the Islanders. Chris Holder’s withdrawal would almost certainly have consigned them to defeat so perhaps they wouldn’t have been too disappointed with the decision. With King’s Lynn already five points to the good in search of the bonus point that looked a forlorn task for the visitors as well.

So the weather intervenes yet again to cause a cancellation. With the number of rain-offs already and the continuing forecasts for unsettled weather it can’t be long before a crisis situation arises in trying to rearrange fixtures.

Around the Premier League Tracks 2007


Tuesday, 12 June



The sole action tonight was at the Isle of Wight where the Islanders took on King’s Lynn in a Premier League Match.



Premier League: Isle of Wight 42, King’s Lynn 47


The Isle of Wight were at full strength while King’s Lynn had Mildenhall’s Tomas Suchanek as the guest reserve replacement for John Oliver.

This match was televised by Sky Sports 1 so was almost certainly the most watched Premier League match in history! The Isle of Wight are a formidable side at home and rarely lose at home but they faced the current league champions who have ridden all five of their league matches so far away from home and won four of them! The television audience were treated to an exhilarating match in the warm sunshine.

In the opening heat, Tomas Topinka made a fabulous gate to lead out of bend two but Chris Holder was soon on his tail and did all but ride up Topinka’s back in his efforts to get through. Somehow Topinka held on while behind them Cory Gathercole, comfortably lying third, suffered a puncture crossing the starting gate at the beginning of the second lap leaving Chris Mills to cruise home for third and a 2-4 to the Stars. The Islanders levelled again in heat 2. Chris Johnson made a fine start to lead Tomas Suchanek with Andrew Bargh in third place. Johnson couldn’t shake of Suchanek but the Stars’ guest was stuck on the inside and couldn’t find a way through. At the back Andrew Bargh, in third place, came under pressure from James Brundle but the Stars’ rider baled out on the third bend of the third lap trying to dive inside Bargh. The referee stopped the race and awarded it as a 4-2 to the home side. The Islanders took a four point lead in heat 3. Jason Bunyan and Krzysztof Stojanowski made the better starts and when Stojanowski moved Nermark over on the first bend the home side were away. Nermark was never far away from Stojanowski but, despite a last bend challenge which just failed, the home side scored a 5-1. They added a 4-2 in heat 4. Glen Phillips and Chris Johnson simply rocketed from the gate to leave the Stars in trouble but a majestic swoop by Paul Lee round the outside of Chris Johnson saw him move into second off the fourth bend. At the back Suchanek, who had replaced Brundle, brought up the rear and again found himself stuck on the inside of Johnson unable to make a telling move on him. This took the score to 15-9.

King’s Lynn pulled two points back in heat 5. This time the Stars made the gate and Tomas Topinka was well away. Jason Bunyan took up the chase on Chris Mills and it was just a matter of time before Bunyan passed him. He made his move at the end of the second lap and passed Mills off the fourth bend of the second lap to take up the chase on Topinka. There was no catching the King’s Lynn captain so the heat ended as a 2-4. The Islanders hit back with a 5-1 in heat 6. Holder and Gathercole made the gate with Paul Lee left stranded on the line. Suchanek was seen off by the home men round the opening bends while Lee also passed his partner to take up the chase. He had conceded too much ground at the tapes though and never looked like passing Gathercole. The home side’s lead stretched to 8 points but the visitors now had four races from the inside gates. In heat 7 Trevor Harding made the start from the favourable gate 3 to lead from the second bend. Daniel Nermark also made a good start but overcooked the second bend to allow Glen Phillips through. However he recovered to swoop round the outside of Phillips round the third and fourth bends into second place to ride shotgun behind his partner for a 1-5 to the Stars which cut the Islanders’ lead to four points again. It went to 6 again after heat 8. Cory Gathercole made an excellent start and a round the boards burst round the opening bends saw him into the lead down the back straight. Chris Johnson, off the graveyard gate 2, did well to move briefly into second place but Chris Mills had the outside run and got into second place. The race was strung out after that and the 4-2 took the score to 27-21.

Heat 9 became the first shared race of the meeting. Jason Bunyan shot from gate 4 to ride the boards emerging in front of Paul Lee, who had also made a good start, down the back straight. Tomas Suchanek worked his way into third place from the start to share the points ahead of Stojanowski who pulled up at the back. Chris Holder touched the tapes in heat 10 and went from 15 metres back. It was all action in this heat but it turned out disastrous for the Islanders. Nermark had a clear run to the first bend and was joined by Trevor Harding in second place as Gathercole and Holder gave chase. Gathercole, who looked to be impeding a frantic effort from Holder, fell on the third bend of the second lap as Holder drove under him. The Islanders’ number 1 then scraped the fence in his efforts to catch Harding but, on the last bend, he went just too wide as Harding also took a wide line and crashed heavily into the fence. This gave the Stars a 0-5 and now there was only one point between the teams at 30-29. Glen Phillips won heat 11 getting the better of Topinka, off the dreadful gate 2, from the start. Topinka might have been expected to put Phillips under pressure but the Isle of Wight man won comfortably. Chris Mills was in third place so the race was shared. So far gate 2 had not produced a single race winner! Heat 12 saw a brilliant ride from Daniel Nermark. Jason Bunyan made a fabulous start off gate 1 and headed for the second bend fence. Nermark was too long in the tooth to be caught by that move and cut back from the outside to roar inside Bunyan and head off for a classy win. Tomas Suchanek took a good third place having started off gate 2 so the visitors took a 2-4 which saw them into the lead for the first time in the match with the score standing at 35-36.

Further disaster struck the Islanders when Chris Holder had to withdraw from the meeting as a result of his heat 10 fall. He was replaced in heat 11 by Chris Johnson. This was a fabulous heat. Tomas Topinka gated from gate 1 and Paul Lee got the drop on Glen Phillips off gate 4. Lee cleverly denied Phillips the outside run but Phillips ‘did a Nermark’ by cutting back off the top of the second bend to roar inside Lee into second place. Phillips rode out of his skin to catch Topinka but had Paul Lee to worry about since the King’s Lynn man was all over his exhaust pipe. There was little between the riders all race with the outcome in doubt until the riders crossed the line. There was no change in the riding order so a 2-4 to the Stars increased their lead to three points. James Brundle also had to pull out of the meeting so Suchanek took his place in heat 14. Andrew Bargh rose to the occasion for the home side with an excellent ride from the start to hold off the ever pressing Trevor Harding and Tomas Suchanek with Krzysztof Stojanowski stuck at the back. This produced a shared race so the match went down to a last heat decider with the Islanders needing a 5-1 to win. They won the toss however and chose gates 1 and 3 with Phillips on the inside gate and Bunyan off three. The Stars had Tomas Topinka off gate 2 and Daniel Nermark gate 4. It was all over when Nermark and Topinka made the start and led down the back straight. A terrific effort from Jason Bunyan saw him pass Topinka at the end of the opening lap but it was too little, too late. The Stars took a 2-4 for a five point lead and the match ended with gate 2 having failed to provide a race winner.

The Isle of Wight will be disappointed to lose a home meeting but the real winner was speedway as this match was as good as, and better than, many televised Elite League matches. Well done to both sides.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 12 (5), Glen Phillips 9 (5), Cory Gathercole 5+1 (4), Chris Holder 5 (3), Chris Johnson 5 (5), Andrew Bargh 4 (4), Krzysztof Stojanowski 2+1 (4).

For King’s Lynn – Daniel Nermark 12+1 (5), Tomas Topinka 12 (5), Trevor Harding 6+2 (4), Tomas Suchanek 6+1 (6), Paul Lee 6 (4), Chris Mills 5+1 (4), James Brundle 0 (2).