Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Friday, 18 April

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Tonight’s matches were at Somerset where the Rebels raced Birmingham in a Premier League match and at Scunthorpe where the Scorpions took on Stoke in a Premier Trophy match.


Premier League: Somerset 48, Birmingham 45


Somerset were at full strength but Birmingham used Rider Replacement for Kyle Legault at number 1, had James Holder at number 4 in place of Phil Morris and Jack Roberts at reserve in place of James Birkinshaw.

After a whirlwind start by the Rebels which saw them score 5-1s in the opening three heats, they looked to be coasting to victory when they led by 18 points with just five heats to go. However they got the shock of their lives when they lost 13 points of that lead in the next three races against another patched up Birmingham side which continues to battle well in the face of adversity.

It was a perfect start for Somerset. An easy 5-1 in the opening heat and in the reserves’ race was followed by a third after Jason Lyons had touched the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back. Adam Roynon stopped the rot by winning heat 4 and was supported by Jack Roberts who passed Brent Werner for third and a 2-4 which took the score to 17-7.

Another 5-1 in heat 5 from Kramer and Katt resulted in the Rebels rocketing to a 14 points lead and the Brummies looking down the barrel of a thrashing. The next two heats were shared with wins from the two Jasons - Jason Doyle and Jason Lyons, the latter having to hold off a strong challenge from Jordan Frampton then Somerset stretched their lead further to 16 points with a win from Henning Loof and a third place from Stephan Katt behind Roynon for the 4-2 which took the score to 32-16.

Kramer and Katt added a 4-2 in heat 9 with Adam Roynon splitting the home pair and this was followed by a Jason Doyle win for a shared heat in heat 10 to keep the Rebels 18 points in front. Then came the fight back! In heat 11 Adam Roynon took an R/R ride and a Tactical Ride. When Jordan Frampton, in second place fell, on the last lap, the Brummies cashed in with the big 1-8 as Lee Smart followed Roynon home ahead of Simon Walker. This cut the lead to 11 points and another two points were knocked off it when Jason Lyons just held on in heat 12 to beat Emil Kramer. Jack Hargreaves took the third place point from Brent Werner for the 2-4 which took the score to 42-33.

The alarm bells were starting to sound in heat 13 as Birmingham made further inroads to the home side’s lead by taking a 1-5 in heat 13 as Roynon and Lyons team rode to keep Jason Doyle in third place. The lead was now down to just five points but Somerset scrambled over the winning line in heat 14. Simon Walker and Stephan Katt were leading 5-1 until Katt developed machine problems which saw him slip to the back. The 3-3 was enough to secure the Rebels’ win but Birmingham finished with a 2-4 in heat 15 with Lyons winning another exciting race with Kramer and Roynon finishing third ahead of Doyle. It was a great effort from Birmingham who won over the last five heats by 9–24.

Scorers: For Somerset – Emil Kramer 13 (5), Jason Doyle 10 (5), Simon Walker 8+1 (4), Stephan Katt 5+2 (4), Henning Loof 5+1 (4), Jordan Frampton 4 (4), Brent Werner 3+1 (4).

For Birmingham – Adam Roynon 17 (6) (with 6 point TR), Jason Lyons 14+1 (6), Jack Roberts 6+3 (6), Jack Hargreaves 5 (5), Lee Smart 2+1 (4), James Holder 1 (3).



Premier Trophy: Scunthorpe 47, Stoke 43.


Both teams were at full strength.

It was another closely fought match at Scunthorpe with this time the Scorpions running out winners by four points in a last heat decider.

The home side went ahead in heat 1 with Andrew Moore winning from Barker and Wilkinson for a 4-2 but the two point lead changed hands in the reserves race won by Mark Burrows in which Stoke scored a 1-5 after the early race leader, Benji Compton, retired. Magnus Karlsson had an engine failure at the gate in heat 3 but Viktor Bergstrom won the race for the Scorpions for a 3-3. The Potters pulled further ahead in heat 4. With the visitors sitting on a 1-5, Benji Compton fell at the end of lap 1 and was excluded as the race had to be rerun. In the second running Emiliano Sanchez led from the gate to win the race while Richard Hall, on a borrowed bike, got up to pass Buzz Burrows on the line to salvage two points for the home side taking the score to 10-14.

Scunthorpe were back on level terms again with a 5-1 in heat 5. Magnus Karlsson and Viktor Bergstrom team rode to keep Ben Barker in third place for the maximum. Emiliano Sanchez then won heat 6 for a shared heat but the visitors were back in front after heat 7 as both home riders fell. Byron Bekker was first to hit the deck on the opening lap but he remounted to complete the race. Richard Hall then fell on the third lap leaving Kristiansen and Complin to score a 1-5 putting the visitors four ahead again. Carl Wilkinson won heat 8 from Burrows and Compton for a 4-2 which pulled two points back and took the score to 23-25.

It was all square again after heat 9. Magnus Karlsson roared round Emiliano Sanchez for the race win while Viktor Bergstrom’s third place gave the Scorpions a 4-2 and equality. In heat 10 Carl Wilkinson led from the start while Lee Complin took Andrew Moore wide leaving him out of contention. Complin passed Wilkinson on the last bend but the home man repassed him on the line for a shared race. Richard Hall’s win in heat 11 produced another 3-3 but the Scorpions were back in front with a 4-2 in heat 12. Richard Hall won from Mark Burrows as Benji Compton finished third. This took the score to 37-35.

The home side struck a massive blow by scoring a 5-1 in heat 13 to go six ahead. Richard Hall and Andrew Moore did the damage after a passing and repassing bout between Hall and Emiliano Sanchez but Stoke pegged two points back in heat 14 as Burrows beat Bergstrom and Complin for a 2-4 which set up a last heat decider. Magnus Karlsson then scored his fourth consecutive race win from Burrows and Sanchez to see the Scorpions home.

Scorers: For Scunthorpe – Magnus Karlsson 12 (5), Carl Wilkinson 9 (4), Viktor Bergstrom 8+1 (4), Richard Hall 8 (5), Andrew Moore 6+2 (4), Byron Bekker 2 (4), Benji Compton 2 (4).

For Stoke – Mark Burrows 15 (7), Emiliano Sanchez 10+1 (5), Jesper Kristiansen 6+1 (4), Lee Complin 6+1 (4), Ben Barker 4+1 (4), Barrie Evans 2+1 (3), Klaus Jacobsen 0 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Thursday, 17 April

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The weather claimed another casualty tonight. The match at Redcar, who are no strangers to rain this season, was called off during the afternoon as the wet stuff arrived again. They were due to race Scunthorpe and the call off left the match at Sheffield where the Tigers raced against King’s Lynn in a Premier League match as the sole survivor.


Premier League: Sheffield 48, King’s Lynn 40.

Both teams were at full strength.

King’s Lynn stepped in at short notice to fill the blank in Sheffield’s fixture list caused by Berwick being unable to fulfil their scheduled fixture there. This meant that the Stars were racing their fifth match in seven days and it gave them the opportunity to repair the damage from the home draw with Edinburgh in last night’s match.

The match started with a clutch of five shared heats. Joel Parsons won the opening race for the Tigers but Ricky Ashworth finished at the back behind Shaun Tacey and Tomas Topinka. John Oliver then won the reserves race for the Stars but Simon Lambert suffered an engine failure for 3-3 number 2. The third in heat 3 was won by Kevin Doolan from Andre Compton and Paul Cooper then Lee Smethills passed Simon Lambert to win heat 4 while the two heatleaders, Rusty Harrison and Ben Wilson, had their own battle behind them. Rusty Harrison passed Ben Wilson for third place taking the score to 12-12.

King’s Lynn were on a 1-5 from the gate in heat 5 but Andre Compton passed Shaun Tacey off the second bend and Tomas Topinka off the third to win the race, In heat 6 the deadlock was broken but only by one point. In the first running of the race John Oliver fell as Joel Parsons dived under him with Oliver excluded. Then, in the rerun, it looked as though the Tigers were off to a 5-1 until Ricky Ashworth fell on the last bend of lap 2 causing the race to be stopped and rerun again with just two riders. This time there was a close and exciting race between Joel Parsons and Rusty Harrison which ended with Parsons pipping Harrison on the line for a 3-2. Back came King’s Lynn with a 2-4 in heat 7 which reversed the one point lead in their favour. Kevin Doolan won from Ben Wilson while Kozza Smith took third place from Sam Martin after chasing Ben Wilson in vain for second. Lambert and Tacey made the gate in heat 8 but both were passed by Joel Parsons on the third bend resulting in another shared race with the score moving to 23-24.

Heat 9 produced a classic race with Paul Cooper passing race leader, Rusty Harrison, then Andre Compton also hunting down the King’s Lynn man. However Harrison fought his way back to the front to win the race for a 3-3, the same result as heat 10 when Kevin Doolan and Joel Parsons passed and repassed each other. Parsons lost out by drifting too wide on the last lap to let Doolan through for shared race number eight! The sequence was broken in heat 11 when Sheffield turned the one point lead around with a 4-2 with Ben Wilson winning from Tomas Topinka with Lee Smethills in third. Back came King’s Lynn to turn the lead round once again with a 2-4 from Doolan and Lambert split by Compton taking the score after 12 heats to 35-36.

The see-saw continued in heat 13 with Sheffield scoring a 4-2. Ben Wilson got the better of Topinka off the second bend and although Ashworth also passed the Stars’ number 1 he repassed for second place. The Tigers were now a point in front again but heat 14 saw the end of the visitors’ challenge. John Oliver was deemed to be at fault when his bike lifted causing Paul Cooper to run into him and then hit the fence. Oliver was excluded then in the rerun Simon Lambert fell on the third lap challenging Cooper and Smethills. This resulted in an awarded race with the 5-0 to the home side putting them out of reach of the Stars. In the last race Kevin Doolan was excluded for tape touching and had to go from 15 metres back. In the rerun he hit the fence and was thrown down the back straight. He recovered and the race was awarded as a 4-2 with Andre Compton as first and Tomas Topinka second. The 4-2 gave the Tigers an eight point win on the night.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Andre Compton 12 (5), Joel Parsons 11+1 (5), Lee Smethills 8+1 (5), Ben Wilson 8 (4), Paul Cooper 5+2 (4), Ricky Ashworth 3 (4), Sam Martin 1+1 (3).

For King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 12 (5), Tomas Topinka 9+1 (5), Rusty Harrison 6+1 (4), Simon Lambert 5 (5), Shaun Tacey 4+2 (4), John Oliver 3 (4), Kozza Smith 1 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Wednesday, 16 April

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With the match at Birmingham where Somerset were the visitors being postponed in controversial circumstances apparently due to an overwatered and badly prepared track tonight’s only match was at King’s Lynn where the Stars raced against Edinburgh in a Premier League match.


Premier League: King’s Lynn 45, Edinburgh 45.


Both teams were at full strength.

This was King’s Lynn’s fourth match in six days and they were hoping to restore their home dominance after last week’s home defeat and subsequent draw and win on the road. They didn’t manage it as it took a last heat 5-1 for the Stars to rescue a point against a resilient Edinburgh side who pulled back from an eight point deficit to lead by four points after heat 14.

Tomas Topinka won the first heat but Ryan Fisher fell while third behind his partner, Derek Sneddon, so King’s Lynn started with a 4-2. Aaron Summers was leading heat 2 for the Monarchs when he blew a hole in his engine on the third lap turning a 3-3 into a 5-1 for the home side and six point lead. Kevin Doolan came through the field in heat 3 to lead while Kozza Smith passed William Lawson for third then fell off on lap three. This led to a shared race but Edinburgh pulled two points back in heat 4. Andrew Tully and Matthew Wethers led from the gate for the Monarchs but Rusty Harrison passed Wethers on the second lap to limit the damage to a 2-4 taking the score to 14-10.

Kevin Doolan had another comfortable win in heat 5 but an unsteady Kozza Smith retired from the race as Sneddon and Fisher shared the points. King’s Lynn doubled their lead in heat 6 when Tomas Topinka and Shaun Tacey took a 5-1 although Tacey had to look lively to keep ahead of a determined Matthew Wethers who fell on the last bend in his efforts to get by. The Monarchs roared back in heat 7 though when Thomas Jonasson won the race while William Lawson passed John Oliver for a 1-5 cutting the gap to four points again. King’s Lynn added two more points to their lead with a 4-2 in heat 8 won by Shaun Tacey from Andrew Tully. Derek Sneddon fell on the last lap while lying second and under no pressure so the score went to 27-21.

Kevin Doolan won heat 9 by a distance but Kozza Smith fell while lying third so the race was shared as was heat 10 won by Tomas Topinka with William Lawson and Thomas Jonasson passing Shaun Tacey. Edinburgh cut the lead again this time to only two points with a 1-5 from Ryan Fisher and Derek Sneddon in heat 11 after Sneddon and Harrison had passed and repassed each other. It was all square when the Monarchs took a 2-4 from heat 12. Thomas Jonasson made the gate and left Kevin Doolan in his wake fending off a strong challenge from Andrew Tully for a 2-4 which took the score to 36-36.

Tomas Topinka continued his winning streak by taking heat 13 but Ryan Fisher finished behind him while Matthew Wethers got up on the line to beat Rusty Harrison for third for a shared heat but the Monarchs then hit the Stars with a 1-5 in heat 14. William Lawson won the race while Andrew Tully won the duel with John Oliver for second. This put Edinburgh four points ahead with one race to go. They lost the toss for gate positions and Topinka and Doolan gated from 1 and 3 to take the 5-1 they needed for a draw. However Doolan didn’t have it all his own way as William Lawson challenged him in vain for the vital second place the visitors needed for the three league points.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 15 (5) (full maximum), Kevin Doolan 13+1 (5), Shaun Tacey 6+1 (4), John Oliver 5 (4), Simon Lambert 3+1 (4), Rusty Harrison 3 (4), Kozza Smith 0 (4).

For Edinburgh – William Lawson 9+2 (5), Thomas Jonasson 9+1 (5), Andrew Tully 9+1 (5), Ryan Fisher 6+1 (4), Derek Sneddon 6+1 (4), Matthew Wethers 4+1 (4), Aaron Summers 2+1 (3).