Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Saturday, 3 May

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Three Premier League matches and a Premier Trophy match were raced today. The Premier League matches were at Berwick where the Bandits faced King’s Lynn, at Stoke where the Potters took on Birmingham and at Workington where Rye House were the visitors. The Premier Trophy match was at Redcar between the Bears and Scunthorpe.



Premier League: Berwick 45, King’s Lynn 45


Berwick introduced Benny Johansson to the team at number 5 and used Rider Replacement at number 4 for Guglielmo Franchetti. King’s Lynn had Shane Parker as a guest at number 1 for the injured Kevin Doolan.

The Stars hopes appeared to have died on the first bend of the first lap when a coming together of the riders resulted in Norbert Magosi and Shane Parker ending in the fence. Although Magosi was able to shake himself down and walk back to the pits, Shane Parker wasn’t so fortunate and was taken from the track by ambulance with a suspected broken collarbone and wrist. In the rerun Adrian Rymel won the race by passing Shaun Tacey while Norbert Magosi picked up third for a 4-2 but the Stars hit back undaunted with a reserves race 1-5 from Kozza Smith and John Oliver who gated to beat Tero Aarnio and put the visitors two points in front. They doubled their lead with a 2-4 in heat 3. The King’s Lynn riders gated again with Tomas Topinka going on to win the race. Behind him Michal Makovsky passed Simon Lambert for second while Lambert had then to fend off the challenge of Adam McKinna to hold on to third. He did so though and the Stars had taken a 2-4 and four point lead. Rusty Harrison won heat 4 from Tero Aarnio while Kozza Smith took third ahead of Bandits’ new boy, Benny Johansson, for another 2-4 which took the score to 9-15.

The Bandits took full advantage of Parker’s withdrawal from the match in heat 5 when Michal Makovsky and Tero Aarnio scored a 5-1 ahead of Shaun Tacey to cut their arrears to two points. Adrian Rymel made the gate in heat 6 for the Bandits and he was joined up front by Norbert Magosi who went on to win the race while an ever charging Kozza Smith could only finish third. The Bandits’ second 5-1 put them into the lead for the first time by two points. They then got a huge boost in heat 7 when Tero Aarnio gated to lead and beat Tomas Topinka for a shared race as Johansson again finished last. This kept the Bandits two points up and it stayed that way with a shared heat 8. Norbert Magosi drove around Kozza Smith to hit the front off the second bend and win the race while at the back Adam McKinna chased Shaun Tacey at the back to no avail. The shared heat took the score to 25-23.

Benny Johansson made the gate in heat 9 but he was passed by Rusty Harrison and Michal Makovsky. Harrison won the race from Makovsky while Johansson’s third place was his first point for the Bandits. The shared heat kept the Bandits two points in front and heat 10 was shared too. This time Tomas Topinka won from Adrian Rymel and Norbert Magosi after passing the two Bandits coming off the second bend. The Stars finally levelled the match again in heat 11. Shaun Tacey gated to win the race but Tero Aarnio chased him hard just losing out on the line. Kozza Smith finished third from Benny Johansson so King’s Lynn scored a 2-4. Tomas Topinka kept the Stars flag flying with a win in heat 12 but Michal Makovsky and Adam McKinna shared the race ahead of John Oliver taking the score to 36-36.

Berwick took the lead again in heat 13. Adrian Rymel and Tero Aarnio led from the tapes but Rusty Harrison moved into second off the second bend. Aarnio hunted down Harrison and almost got past on the last bend. The 4-2 gave the Bandits a two point lead with just two heats to go. Simon Lambert won heat 14 for the Stars but he had to fight hard to maintain his early lead as Tero Aarnio did everything but pass him to finish second by a whisker on the line. Kozza Smith picked up the vital third place from McKinna so the 2-4 levelled the match with one heat to go. Heat 15 was drawn as was the match. Rusty Harrison had an engine failure at the tapes leaving Tomas Topinka to fight a lone battle. He got to the front on the second lap then warded off the challenges of Adrian Rymel to win an excellent race to give the Stars a draw. There can be no doubt that had Parker not been injured King’s Lynn would probably have won the match comfortably so they will look upon this as two points dropped rather than one gained.

Scorers: For Berwick – Tero Aarnio 13+1 (7), Adrian Rymel 12+1 (5), Michal Makovsky 10+1 (5), Norbert Magosi 8+1 (4), Benny Johannson 1+1 (4), Adam McKinna 1+1 (5).

For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 14 (5), Kozza Smith 9 (7), Rusty Harrison 8 (5), Shaun Tacey 7+1 (4), Simon Lambert 5+1 (4), John Oliver 2+1 (5), Shane Parker – Withdrawn.



Premier League: Stoke 56, Birmingham 37


Stoke were at full strength. Birmingham had Henning Bager back in the team at number 1 replacing the injured Kyle Legault. Jack Roberts was nominated as their number 8.

The Potters went ahead with a 4-2 in the opening race. Mark Burrows won the race from Lee Smart while behind this pair Lee Complin and Henning Bager had a ding dong battle for the third place point. Lee Complin won this battle then the Potters banged in a 5-1 in the reserves race. Barrie Evans won the race but Jack Hargreaves passed Jesper Kristiansen into second place before making a hash of the fourth bend then falling and remounting on the next bend. This gave the home side an early six point lead. The Brummies hit back with a 2-4 in heat 3 won by Jason Lyons. Ben Barker settled into second place but a mistake by Klaus Jacobsen let Jack Roberts through who then chased Barker unsuccessfully for a 2-4 to the visitors. Stoke replied with a 4-2. Kristiansen and Sanchez led for the Potters but Adam Roynon passed Sanchez for second at the end of the third lap to take the score to 15-9.

Ben Barker won heat 5 for a shared race then the Potters added two points to their lead in heat 6. Jack Hargreaves fell and was excluded from the rerun in which Lee Complin gated. Adam Roynon almost passed him but had to settle for second and a 4-2 to the home side. Jack Roberts crashed heavily in heat 7 and required medical attention causing the interval to be taken early. In the three man rerun, Emiliano Sanchez got the better of Jason Lyons from the gate and held off all the attempts by Lyons to pass him. This gave the Potters a 4-2 and they now led by 26-16. Heat 8 saw another 4-2 with a good race between Kristiansen, Smart and Burrows finishing in that order taking the score to 30-18.

Ben Barker gated to lead heat 9 and he tried to protect his partner, Jesper Jacobsen, who was in second. However Adam Roynon was not to be denied and passed Jacobsen for second place. This provided Stoke’s fifth 4-2 on the trot and they now led by 14 points. Jason Lyons took a TR in heat 10 and he won it too from the gate. However Burrows and Complin finished behind him so the Birmingham advantage was restricted to a 3-6. Heat 11 provided a 5-1 for the home side after Lee Smart had fallen on the third lap. The race was awarded to Evans and Sanchez extending the lead to 15 points. Jason Lyons won again in heat 12 for a shared race although he was pressurised by Ben Barker. This took the score to 45-30.

Lee Complin won heat 13 for the Potters while Emiliano Sanchez and Adam Roynon fought an excellent battle for second. Sanchez won it so the home side took the 5-1 which sealed the win. They added another in heat 14 after Barrie Evans had gated. Lee Smart, in second place, fell on the third bend then Carpanese did the same thing a lap later. He remounted only to have an engine failure on the last lap. In the last heat Birmingham got a consolation 1-5 in the best race of the match. Adam Roynon led the heat while Jason Lyons and Lee Complin could hardly be separated behind him in the fight for second. This continued for over three laps before Lyons finally finished behind his partner for the maximum.

Scorers: For Stoke – Ben Barker 10 (5), Barrie Evans 10 (4), Jesper Kristiansen 9+2 (4), Lee Complin 9+1 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 8+2 (4), Mark Burrows 7 (4), Klaus Jacobsen 3+1 (4).

For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 16+1 (5) (with 6 point TR), Adam Roynon 10 (5), Lee Smart 5+1 (5), Henning Bager 3 (4), Mattia Carpanese 2 (4), Jack Roberts 1 (2), Jack Hargreaves 0 (5).



Premier League: Workington 46, Rye House 44


Workington introduced their new signing Barry Burchatt who was replacing Scott Smith at number 2. Rye House had Josh Grajczonek (Glasgow) at number 2 as a guest for the injured Luke Bowen. They used Rider Replacement for their other injury victim, Tommy Allen, at number 4 and nominated Gary Irving as their number 8.

What a start for the Rockets! Josh Grajczonek streaked off to win the opening race followed by Chris Neath leaving Daniel Nermark to pick up third place. Barry Burchatt’s start to his Comets’ career began with an engine failure at the tapes as Rye House took a four point lead with the 1-5. It was all square after the reserves race when Joe Haines and John Branney replied in kind with Haines recording the fastest time of the season on the reshaped Derwent Park circuit. The Rockets gated again in heat 3 as Tai Woffinden and Josh Grajczonek (R/R) hit the front but Kauko Nieminen was soon past Grajczonek for second place although the race resulted in a 2-4 advantage to the visitors putting them two ahead. Another 1-5 to the Rockets in heat 4 left the home fans stunned. Stefan Ekberg and Robert Mear took advantage of a slick track to leave Carl Stonehewer and John Branney struggling at the rear as the visitors streaked into a 9-15 lead.

Bad went to worse for the Comets as Josh Grajczonek won for the second time in heat 5 to head home Charles Wright while Chris Neath beat Kauko Nieminen who lost touch after rearing on the fourth bend. The Rockets took a 2-4 from the race which put them eight points ahead but Daniel Nermark led the fight back by winning heat 6 after passing Stefan Ekberg. Robert Mear took third though from Barry Burchatt so the race was shared but Workington got two points back with a 4-2 in heat 7. Carl Stonehewer gated to beat Tai Woffinden with Joe Haines in third for a 4-2. Another two points were shaved from the Rockets’ lead in heat 8 when John Branney beat Josh Grajczonek with Joe Haines, replacing Barry Burchatt, again in third for another 4-2 taking the score to 22-26.

The fightback was completed with a Comets’ 5-1 in heat 9. Kauko Nieminen and Charles Wright get the better of Stefan Ekberg from the gate to level the scores then the home side finally took the lead in heat 10. Daniel Nermark beat Tai Woffinden with Barry Burchatt, now on Nieminen’s bike, taking third for the 4-2 which put the Comets two points in front. Rye House began to wilt as they conceded a 5-1 in heat 11. Carl Stonehewer and Joe Haines both passed Chris Neath on the second bend for the maximum to put the home side six points ahead. It stayed that way with a 3-3 in heat 12. Kauko Nieminen gated to win the race from Tai Woffinden and Robert Mear to take the score to 39-33.

Stefan Ekberg beat Daniel Nermark and Carl Stonehewer in heat 13 to keep the Rockets’ hopes alive then the Rockets took a 1-5 in heat 14 to put the result back in the melting pot! Robert Mear made the gate and Stefan Ekberg slotted in behind him to ward off the challenge of Charles Wright with Joe Haines stuck at the back. This reduced the Comets’ lead to two points with one heat to go. In the last heat Nermark and Nieminen gated but Nermark impeded his partner who slipped to the back. It was a nervous four laps for the home support but Nermark made no mistake to head home Ekberg and Woffinden for the shared race which saw the Comets home by just two points.

Scorers: For Workington – Daniel Nermark 12 (5), Carl Stonehewer 8+1 (4), Kauko Nieminen 8 (5), Joe Haines 7+1 (5), Charles Wright 5+1 (4), John Branney 5+1 (4), Barry Burchatt 1 (3).

For Rye House – Stefan Ekberg 13+1 (6), Tai Woffinden 10+1 (5), Josh Grajczonek 9 (5), Robert Mear 8+3 (7), Chris Neath 4+1 (4), Danny Halsey 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Redcar 55, Scunthorpe 35


Redcar again used Rider Replacement for the injured Chris Kerr at number 2 while Scunthorpe were at full strength.

This match was of little significance since neither had any further interest in the competition. Scunthorpe though would be keen to put last night’s hammering at Somerset out of their minds with an improved performance.

After Gary Havelock had won the opening race for a shared heat it was the Scorpions who drew first blood by taking the lead in heat 2. Viktor Bergstrom won the race from Arlo Bugeja while Byron Bekker took third place for a 2-4. The Bears responded with three consecutive 4-2s which changed the score around. James Grieves won the first from Magnus Karlsson and Josh Auty then Daniel Giffard, after finishing last in heats 1 and 2, suddenly came out to win heat 4 from Richard Hall and Ty Proctor in a close race. These two race advantages took the score to 13-11.

The Bears’ lead increased to four points when James Grieves won for the second time in heat 5 from Carl Wilkinson while Josh Auty made an excellent pass on Andrew Moore for third. Richard Hall put a stop to the home successes by winning heat 6 from Gary Havelock and Arlo Bugeja for a shared race but another 4-2 in heat 7, won by Ty Proctor from Magnus Karlsson, put the Bears six points ahead. The Scorpions got back into the match with a 1-5 in heat 8. Carl Wilkinson and Viktor Bergstrom did the damage by beating Ty Proctor and Daniel Giffard cutting the lead to just two points with the score at 25-23.

James Grieves and Josh Auty produced their third consecutive 4-2 as a pairing in heat 9 when Richard Hall split them in heat 9 so the lead increased to four points again. In a rerun heat 10, called back after an unsatisfactory start, Gary Havelock was the early race winner. Magnus Karlsson in second place made a mess of the second bend then Josh Auty passed firstly Viktor Bergstrom then his partner, Gary Havelock, to win the race and the Bears scored a 5-1 for an eight point lead. Heat 11 was won by Ty Proctor while Moore and Wilkinson shared the heat behind him. Heat 12 was shared too. James Grieves completed a four ride maximum by beating Karlsson and Bergstrom taking the score to 40-32.

Another 5-1 for the Bears in heat 13 from Havelock and Proctor put them 12 points up sealing victory but the Scorpions gave Viktor Bergstrom a TR in heat 14. It was to no avail as Josh Auty and Arlo Bugeja raced off for another 5-1. The Scorpions collapse continued as they conceded another 5-1 in the final heat to Grieves and Havelock giving the Bears a 20 point lead which perhaps gave a rather unfair picture of a match which seemed a lot closer than that for most of the way.

Scorers: For Redcar – James Grieves 15 (5) (full maximum), Gary Havelock 12+2 (5), Ty Proctor 10+1 (5), Josh Auty 9 (5), Arlo Bugeja 6+2 (5), Daniel Giffard 3 (5).

For Scunthorpe – Carl Wilkinson 8+2 (5), Viktor Bergstrom 8+2 (6), Richard Hall 7 (5), Magnus Karlsson 6 (4), Andrew Moore 5 (4), Byron Bekker 1 (3), Benji Compton 0 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Friday, 2 May

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Tonight’s matches were at Edinburgh where the Monarchs raced King’s Lynn and at Somerset where the Rebels took on Scunthorpe both in Premier League matches.


Premier League: Edinburgh 54, King’s Lynn 39


Edinburgh were without Thomas Jonasson who was riding in the Swedish round of the under-21 Championship so used Rider Replacement at number 2. King’s Lynn were without the injured Kevin Doolan so had Shane Parker (Glasgow) as a guest at number 1.

This was Edinburgh’s first home league match of the season while it was King’s Lynn’s fourth away from home. The Monarchs went into the match on the back of a string of excellent wins both home and away but the Stars having faced a number of rained-off meetings and lost at Mildenhall and Reading last weekend were looking to get back on song.

What an excellent meeting this turned out to be as the Stars provided some stiff opposition. The Edinburgh riders must have been surprised to be confronted with a sun-soaked track rather than the usual rain-soaked one on a pleasant mild evening at Armadale. The excitement kicked off in heat 1 when William Lawson made the start from Shane Parker with Andrew Tully on Parker’s tail. While Parker tried hard to reel in Lawson, Tully was doing the same to Parker. It was Tully who eventually succeeded in passing Parker on the inside of the first bend on the third lap to join Lawson up front for an opening 5-1. The Stars were already in trouble when Aaron Summers rounded the field on the opening two bends of the reserves race and was joined by Andrew Tully for a second 5-1. Tomas Topinka jetted from the gate in heat 3 while Derek Sneddon gave chase. Sneddon tried an outside line drive off the fourth bend but locked up causing his partner, Ryan Fisher, to have to shut off to avoid hitting him. This allowed Topinka to sail off for a comfortable win and 3-3 but Edinburgh stretched their lead to ten points when Matthew Wethers led from tapes-to-flag in heat 4. Rusty Harrison passed Aaron Wethers for second place while Kozza Smith was challenging hard for third by the end of the race. The 4-2 took the score to 17-7.

Derek Sneddon led Shane Parker from the tapes in heat 5 but Shaun Tacey did his partner no favours by cutting under Parker and almost knocking him off. Ryan Fisher took full advantage by nipping through on the inside of the second bend to join Sneddon in a 5-1 with Parker finishing third. Rusty Harrison blasted from the tapes in heat 6 but was soon passed by William Lawson coming off the second bend for the win. John Oliver passed Summers for third and a shared race. Then we had a superb race between Matthew Wethers and Tomas Topinka who was on a TR in heat 7. Wethers passed the fast starting Topinka but the Stars’ man took up the challenge and reeled Wethers in again. When Wethers failed to move out to defend his lead, Topinka stormed round the outside of the last bend to pip Wethers for the win. This gave the Stars a 3-6 advantage cutting the lead to 11 points then we had another superb race in heat 8. Shane Parker replaced Kozza Smith as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back. Shaun Tacey made a fast start to lead the race but all eyes were on Parker as he tried to reel in Aaron Summers from his handicap. After several unsuccessful attempts he finally did it with an inside drive off the second bend on the last lap. He couldn’t quite get to Matthew Wethers in second place but it was Aaron Summers who brought the house down by repassing Parker off the last bend to relegate him to last and nullify the TS ride. The heat was shared and the score went to 31-20.

Derek Sneddon and Ryan Fisher increased the home side’s lead to 15 points with a 5-1 in heat 9 then the Monarchs added a 4-2 in heat 10 when William Lawson finally ended Tomas Topinka’s winning run. It looked like a 5-1 to the Monarchs when Ryan Fisher followed Sneddon off the second bend. Topinka wasn’t finished though and he chased after Fisher putting him under considerable pressure. On the last bend Fisher moved out to defend his position but overcooked the bend giving Topinka the chance to nip inside and win the race on the line. The Stars fought back with a 1-5 in heat 11. Shane Parker made a fast gate and was joined by Shaun Tacey as Matthew Wethers made an indifferent start. That’s the way it finished so the Edinburgh lead was down to 13 points. King’s Lynn got another two points back in heat 12 when Tomas Topinka won again this time from Sneddon with John Oliver third. The 2-4 took the score to 43-32.

Shane Parker and William Lawson served up a thrilling race in heat 13. Parker just edged ahead from the gate leaving Lawson to chase for all four laps. This he did and eventually got the better of Parker off the last bend to nose home ahead of the Stars’ guest right on the line. Ryan Fisher gated in heat 14 while Andrew Tully was passed by Kozza Smith for second. Tully caught up with Smith off the second bend, second lap but what was developing into an enthralling race was curtailed as Smith slid off on the third bend. Edinburgh ran away with the 5-1 but King’s Lynn got a consolation 2-4 in the final race. Shane Parker and Tomas Topinka made superb starts in the nominated riders’ race but Lawson passed Topinka with drive off the second bend to take up the chase on Parker. This time Parker had too big a lead for him to do anything about it so he won the race ruining Lawson’s maximum. Tomas Topinka finished third to cut the winning margin to 15 points.

Scorers: For Edinburgh – William Lawson 14 (5), Derek Sneddon 10 (5), Ryan Fisher 9+3 (5), Matthew Wethers 9 (5), Andrew Tully 7+3 (5), Aaron Summers 5+1 (5).

For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 15 (5) (with 6 point TR), Shane Parker 10 (6), Shaun Tacey 5+1 (4), Rusty Harrison 5 (4), John Oliver 3+1 (4), Kozza Smith 1 (4), Simon Lambert 0 (3).



Premier League: Somerset 63, Scunthorpe 29.


Both teams were at full strength.

After their stunning 64-28 win over Newcastle last week, Somerset didn’t do quite so well this week winning by only 34 points compared to last week’s 36! Scunthorpe simply had no answers and had Magnus Karlsson and Carl Wilkinson not managed five race wins between them the Scorpions would have been sunk without trace. As it was the Rebels went through the meeting without recording a last place.

The meeting started with two 5-1s for the home side from Doyle and Frampton then Werner and Walker before the Scorpions got off the mark with a 3-3 in the third heat. This turned out to be quite a battle between Magnus Karlsson and the Rebels’ new boy, Matthias Kroger. Karlsson managed to hold on to win on the line while Kramer made sure the points were shared by finishing third. Viktor Bergstrom did a black flip with tuck at the gate in heat 4 so was excluded and replaced by Byron Bekker. Stephan Katt streaked off for the win but Richard Hall rescued second place by passing Brent Werner for a 4-2 which took the score to 17-7.

It was back to the 5-1s in heats 5 and 6 with Kramer and Kroger ‘doing the business’ in the former and Frampton and Doyle in the latter. Heat 7 featured Magnus Karlsson again, this time on a TR. He made the gate but Stephan Katt soared round him on the third bend to relegate him to second. Simon Walker took third as Benji Compton retired from the race on the third lap. This meant that the race points were shared 4-4 and heat 8 resulted in a shared race too. Carl Wilkinson made the gate to win from Jordan Frampton while Werner won the battle at the back for third place taking the score to 34-16.

Emil Kramer scored a tapes-to-flag win in heat 9 while Matthias Kroger held off the challenge of Richard Hall for second and another 5-1. Magnus Karlsson ended Jason Doyle’s maximum hopes by winning heat 10 but this was only good enough for a 3-3. Carl Wilkinson made it back-to-back race winners for the Scorpions by passing Stephan Katt in heat 11 for another 3-3 then Magnus Karlsson completed the hat trick by winning heat 12 after getting the better of Emil Kramer on the first bend. Again there was no support so this race was shared too with the score moving to 48-26.

There ended the Scorpions’ resistance. The Rebels scored three more 5-1s over the last three heats with only heat 15 worthy of note. Stephan Katt got the better of Magnus Karlsson in that race while Matthias Kroger joined him up front by passing Karlsson up the inside for the maximum. With 15 last places, three riders failing to score and another failing to beat an opponent Scunthorpe will wish to draw a veil over this performance.

Scorers: For Somerset – Stephan Katt 14 (5), Matthias Kroger 11+3 (5), Jason Doyle 9+2 (4), Emil Kramer 9+1 (4), Jordan Frampton 8+2 (4), Simon Werner 6+3 (4), Brent Werner 6+2 (4).

For Scunthorpe – Magnus Karlsson 14 (5) (with 4 point TR), Carl Wilkinson 8 (5), Richard Hall 5 (5), Viktor Bergstrom 2 (6), Andrew Moore 0 (4), Benji Compton 0 (4), Byron Bekker 0 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Thursday, 1 May

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Following the rained-off matches at the Isle of Wight on Tuesday and at Birmingham and King’s Lynn yesterday, the rain finally relented to allow tonight’s two matches to take place. At Redcar the Bears raced Berwick in a Premier League match while at Sheffield the Tigers took on Newcastle in Premier Trophy match.


Premier League: Redcar 51, Berwick 41


Redcar were again without Chris Kerr So used Rider Replacement at number 2. They also nominated Jittendra Duffel as their number 8. Berwick were without new signing, Benny Johansson due to travel difficulties so tracked Gary Beaton at number 5. They also used Rider Replacement in place of Guglielmo Franchetti at number 4. Martin Emerson was nominated as their number 8.

Berwick took the lead in heat 1 with a 2-4. Adrian Rymel beat Gary Havelock while Norbert Magosi was left to pick up the third place point after Daniel Giffard suffered an engine failure after the tapes went up. A reserves race 5-1 for the Bears reversed the lead after Adam McKinna had touched the tapes and had started from 15 metres back. Adam McKinna led heat 3 from the tapes and it took until the last bend of the race before James Grieves got up to get the verdict on the line. Michal Makovsky took third for a shared race but Redcar doubled their lead with a 4-2 from Ty Proctor and Daniel Giffard, split by Tero Aarnio, in heat 4 taking the score to 14-10.

James Grieves won heat 5 but it was only good enough to share the points as Rymel and Magosi finished behind him but the Bears added two points to their lead with a 4-2 in heat 6 when Gary Havelock had a comfortable win ahead of Tero Aarnio while Arlo Bugeja picked up third. Michal Makovsky won heat 7 for the Bandits but again the points were shared as Proctor and Bugeja filled the minor places. Ty Proctor gated in heat 8 but was passed by Norbert Magosi. He repassed the Hungarian while Daniel Giffard also got past him for a Redcar 5-1 which took the score to 29-19.

Heat 9 produced a 4-2 for the home side thanks to another James Grieves win and third place for Josh Autry behind Tero Aarnio. However Redcar got a jolt in heat 10 when the Bandits took a 1-5 from Makovsky and Aarnio after Gary Havelock had suffered an engine failure at the first bend. This cut the difference between the teams to eight points. Heat 11 saw the Bears pull two further points ahead with a 4-2 when Ty Proctor beat Adrian Rymel with Arlo Bugeja third but Berwick then gave Michal Makovsky a TR in heat 12. James Grieves won the race but Makovsky was second with Aarnio third so Berwick reclaimed the two points again with a 3-5 taking the score to 41-33.

Berwick’s chances disappeared in heat 13 when Proctor and Havelock scored a 5-1 from Rymel to stretch the lead to 12 points. Berwick got two points back with a 2-4 in heat 14 won by Tero Aarnio before a shared heat 15 won by Adrian Rymel left Redcar ten points to the good.

Scorers: For Redcar – Ty Proctor 15+1 (6), James Grieves 14 (5), Arlo Bugeja 7+2 (5), Gary Havelock 7+1 (4), Daniel Giffard 6+1 (5), Josh Auty 2 (5).

For Berwick – Tero Aarnio 13+2 (7), Michal Makovsky 11+1 (5) (with 4 point TR), Adrian Rymel 11 (5), Norbert Magosi 3+1 (4), Adam McKinna 3 (6), Gary Beaton 0 (3).



Premier Trophy: Sheffield 59, Newcastle 33.


Sheffield were at full strength but Newcastle were again missing George Stancl so, as usual, they used Rider Replacement at number 2.

There wasn’t a great deal between the sides over the opening six heats. Josef Franc won the opener from Joel Parsons leaving Ricky Ashworth to coast round for third place after both he and Ben Powell had suffered engine failures. The shared race was followed by a 4-2 for the Tigers when Paul Cooper won heat 2. It looked as though Sam Martin would join him for a 5-1 but Jaimie Robertson passed him for second place on the third lap. Andre Compton won heat 3 after passing first Ben Powell then Christian Henry while Lee Smethills finished at the back. Sheffield doubled their lead in heat 4 with another 4-2. Ben Wilson won the race but the action was behind him. Paul Cooper passed Sean Stoddart into second place but Jason King passed Cooper right on the line to take the score to 14-10.

Heats 5 and 6 were shared. The former was won by Andre Compton from Josef Franc and the latter by Jason King from Ashworth and Parsons. However the Tigers scored a 4-2 from heat 7 when Ben Wilson won from Christian Henry with Sam Martin taking third after Ben Powell fell. They added a 5-1 in heat 8 from Cooper and Parsons to take the score to 29-19 and leave the Diamonds struggling.

Andre Compton won heat 9 from Jason King for another 4-2 then Ashworth and Parsons put the Tigers on Easy Street with a 5-1 from Henry in heat 10 to rocket the home side into a 16 point lead. Newcastle then gave a TR to Josef Franc and things looked better for the visitors when he led from the tapes. However Franc got it all wrong on the last bend of the second lap allowing Ben Wilson through for the win. Jason King finished third so Newcastle took a 3-5 advantage from the race. Sheffield then took another 5-1 in heat 12, this time from Compton and Cooper taking the score to 46-28.

As usual Sheffield finished strongly over the final three heats dropping only two points. Josef Franc split the Ashworth/Wilson pair in heat 13 for a 4-2 then Lee Smethills won heat 14. Sam Martin passed Jaimie Robertson for third place behind Ben Powell for another 4-2 then Compton and Ashworth wrapped up the proceedings with a last heat 5-1.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 15 (5) (maximum), Ricky Ashworth 11+2 (5), Ben Wilson 10 (4), Paul Cooper 9+1 (4), Joel Parsons 7+3 (4), Lee Smethills 4 (4), Sam Martin 3 (3).

For Newcastle – Josef Franc 13 (6) (with 4 point TR), Jason King 8+1 (6), Christian Henry 5 (4), Jaimie Robertson 4+1 (5), Ben Powell 3+1 (5), Sean Stoddart 0 (4).