Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Thursday, 15 May

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Tonight’s matches were at Sheffield where the Tigers raced Glasgow in a Premier League match and at Redcar where the Bears took on Stoke in a Premier Trophy match.


Premier League: Sheffield 63, Glasgow 29


Sheffield were at full strength but Glasgow again were without Shane Parker and Josh Grajczonek. They had Tomas Topinka as a guest for Parker and used Rider Replacement at number 2 for Grajczonek. Ben Hopwood was again nominated as their number 8.

After losing the opening two races to 5-1s it looked like being a long night for the Scottish Tigers. Ross Brady made an excellent gate to lead the opening race but was passed by Ricky Ashworth on the fourth bend. Joel Parsons soon repeated the doze leaving Brady to finish third after Trent Leverington had fallen on the third lap and remounted. The 5-1 was followed by another when Paul Cooper and Sam Martin beat Ross Brady from the gate. As happened last night at Birmingham all Glasgow’s points after the first two heats were scored by Brady although this time he had two as opposed to last night’s six. Tomas Topinka led heat 3 for the visitors until he was passed by Andre Compton. Lee Smethills finished third for a 4-2 to put Sheffield ten points ahead. Mitchell Davey made the gate in heat 4 but was passed by Ben Wilson and Paul Cooper off the second bend for another 5-1 which took the score to 19-5.

In heat 5 Andre Compton and Lee Smethills gated to head home Trent Leverington for another 5-1 while Ben Hopwood was given the R/R ride. Robert Ksiezak gated in heat 6 but was passed by Ricky Ashworth after he was subject to a strong challenge by Joel Parsons. Parson finished third so the race resulted as a 4-2 for a 20 point lead to the home side. In heat 7 Glasgow gave Tomas Topinka a TR but Ben Wilson led him home from the tapes. However the visitors finally got into double figures when Topinka finished second and was supported by Lee Dicken in third for a 3-5 advantage to the visitors. Joel Parsons and Paul Cooper replied with another 5-1 in heat 8. Robert Ksiezak fell while in third place so Mitchell Davey took the third place point. Then, rather surprisingly, it was announced that Ross Brady had withdrawn from the meeting after aggravating a shoulder injury although it’s not clear what happened. The score was now 36-14.

The rout continued when Andre Compton and Lee Smethills gated for another 5-1 ahead of Ksiezak in heat 9 then Ricky Ashworth and Joel Parsons repeated the score ahead of Tomas Topinka in heat 10 to put the Yorkshire Tigers 30 points ahead. Heat 11 was shared though after Sam Martin’s bike packed up leaving Leverington and Hopwood (R/R) to follow Ben Wilson home for a 3-3. Andre Compton won heat 12 but the interest was in the action behind him as Paul Cooper tried unsuccessfully to pass Tomas Topinka all race. The 4-2 took the score to 53-21.

After the interval, following heat 12, Glasgow fared better. In heat 13 Ricky Ashworth gated but Robert Ksiezak and Trent Leverington slotted in behind him to keep Ben Wilson at the back and share the race. Then Lee Smethills won heat 14 but Lee Dicken finished second ahead of Sam Martin as Mitchell Davey fell at the back. This ended up as a 4-2. Glasgow then provided their sole race winner when Tomas Topinka gated to beat Joel Parsons and Paul Cooper with Robert Ksiezak at the back for a shared race.

Scorers: For Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 12 (4) (maximum), Andre Compton 12 (4) (maximum), Joel Parsons 10+2 (5), Paul Cooper 9+3 (5), Ben Wilson 9 (4), Lee Smethills 8+2 (4), Sam Martin 3+1 (4).

For Glasgow – Tomas Topinka 12 (5) (with 4 point TR), Robert Ksiezak 5 (6), Trent Leverington 4+1 (4), Lee Dicken 3+1 (4), Mitchell Davey 3 (7), Ben Hopwood 1+1 (2), Ross Brady 1 (2).



Premier Trophy: Redcar 52, Stoke 38.


Redcar introduced their new signing, Joni Keskinen (Finland), as a replacement for Chris Kerr. Stoke were at full strength.

It must be track record week. After Jason Lyons broke the track record at Birmingham last night, Gary Havelock then James Grieves both broke the Redcar track record in this nothing at stake meeting to complete the Premier Trophy section matches.

Gary Havelock was first to set the new time (54.7) in the opening heat in which the main interest lay in the performance of Joni Keskinen. He finished behind Mark Burrows and Lee Complin for a shared race but looked promising. Josh Auty won the reserves race but Jesper Kristiansen and Klaus Jacobsen took second and third for another 3-3. The Bears took the lead in heat 3 after James Grieves had lowered the new track record further to 54.5. Ben Barker took second while Daniel Giffard’s third place earned the home side a 4-2 for a two point lead. Heat 4 provided another home race winner when Ty Proctor won from Emiliano Sanchez and Jesper Kristiansen for another 3-3 which took the score to 13-11.

It was the same again in heat 5. James Grieves won the race but the Stoke riders, Complin and Burrows, shared the points behind him. A feeling of Déjà vu must have come over the Bears fans when Gary Havelock won heat 6 and Joni Keskinen never moved from the start for another 3-3. Ty Proctor won heat 7 after making the gate. Josh Auty passed Barrie Evans on the second lap to move into third before challenging Ben Barker unsuccessfully for a 4-2 giving the Bears a four point lead. It didn’t seem much of a lead given that the Bears had provided all seven race winners! In fact it wasn’t as they found out when Jesper Kristiansen and Mark Burrows made the gate to lead Josh Auty home for a 1-5 which levelled the scores at 24-24.

Redcar took a two point lead again in heat 9 when James Grieves won for the third time. Redcar were sitting on a 5-1 from the gate but Daniel Giffard got out of shape on the third bend of the last lap to let Emiliano Sanchez through for second place and a 4-2. Ben Barker and Barrie Evans gated to lead heat 10 but Gary Havelock caught and passed Barrie Evans then Arlo Bugeja did likewise to share the points. The Bears finally put some distance between themselves and the Potters by they scoring a 5-1 in heat 11 when Ty Proctor and Josh Auty gated and fended off the challenges of Lee Complin to open up a six point lead. Another 5-1 from Grieves and Bugeja in heat 12 put the Bears ten points to the good. However Ben Barker had passed both home men to lead the race until the final bend when he made a mess of it allowing both the Bears through. The score went to 41-31.

Now ten points down Stoke gave Lee Complin a TR in heat 13 but it was to no avail as Proctor and Havelock gated to record a third successive 5-1 to seal victory as the home side now led by 14 points. The Potters got some consolation with a 2-4 in heat 14 when Barrie Evans gated to win from Daniel Giffard with Jesper Kristiansen third. In the last race James Grieves gated with Ty Proctor at the back but Proctor passed Lee Complin for third so the result was a 4-2 giving the Bears a 14 point win.

Scorers: For Redcar – James Grieves 15 (5), Ty Proctor 13 (5), Gary Havelock 10+1 (4), Josh Auty 7+1 (5) Daniel Giffard 4 (4), Arlo Bugeja 3+2 (4), Joni Keskinen 0 (3).

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

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Wednesday, 14 May

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Tonight’s matches were at Birmingham where the Brummies raced Glasgow and at King’s Lynn where the Stars took on Rye House both in Premier League matches.


Premier League: Birmingham 52, Glasgow 40


Birmingham, still without Phil Morris, used Rider Replacement at number 4. Jack Roberts took over at reserve in place of Mattia Carpanese and Paul Starke was nominated as their number 8. Glasgow were without Shane Parker and Josh Grajczonek so had Carl Stonehewer as a guest at number 3 in place of Parker and used Rider Replacement at number 2 for Grajczonek. They also nominated Ben Hopwood as their number 8.

Three of the opening races were won by Glasgow reserve Ross Brady. He beat Henning Bager and Lee Smart in heat 1 as the R/R thanks to a stunning gate, then the two Birmingham reserves in heat 2, again from the gate, before he had a race off in heat 3. On both occasions he had no support so the heats were shared. Jason Lyons won the third race from Carl Stonehewer while Jack Roberts took third from Lee Dicken for a 4-2 giving Birmingham a two point lead. Adam Roynon suffered an engine failure in heat 4 as Brady won again with another jet-propelled start, this time from Jack Roberts (R/R). Robert Ksiezak’s third place gave the Tigers a 2-4 to level the match with the score at 12-12.

The scores stayed tied when Jason Lyons won heat 5 in a new track record time (57.4) while Trent Leverington and Mitchell Davey (R/R) took third as Jack Hargreaves (R/R) fell on the final bend for a 3-3. Birmingham then struck with a 5-1 in heat 6. Ross Brady (replacing Mitchell Davey) was excluded under the two minute time allowance so went from 15 metres back. He could make no impact as Henning Bager led Robert Ksiezak then, when Lee Smart passed Ksiezak on the last lap, the home side recorded the maximum for a four point lead. They increased their lead to six points when Adam Roynon beat Carl Stonehewer in heat 7 with Jack Hargreaves taking third from Lee Dicken for a 4-2 but the Tigers hit back in heat 8 with a 1-5 when Robert Ksiezak (R/R) and Ross Brady gated to head home Lee Smart and Jack Roberts cutting the gap to two points and taking the score to 25-23.

It stayed that way in heat 9 when Jason Lyons beat Robert Ksiezak while Jack Roberts in third fell and gifted third place to Mitchell Davey for a shared race. There was no change in heat 10 either. The Glasgow riders made the gate but Henning Bager passed them both on the opening lap. Carl Stonehewer got past Bager to win the race while Lee Smart passed Lee Dicken for third and a shared race. Birmingham doubled their lead in heat 11 when Adam Roynon won from Ross Brady who again made the gate. Jack Hargreaves took a valuable point by beating Trent Leverington for third place as Leverington’s bike packed up so the home side scored a 4-2. They followed this by increasing their lead to six points with another 4-2 when Jason Lyons beat Carl Stonehewer by a distance while Jack Roberts chased Stonehewer but had to be content with picking up third place from Mitchell Davey. This took the score to 39-33.

Glasgow looked as though they might get back into the match when they sat on a 1-5 from the gate in heat 13. However Roynon passed Ksiezak as Leverington’s bike ran out of fuel so the Brummies took an eight point lead with the 4-2. This allowed Carl Stonehewer to take a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 14 from 15 metres back. Ross Brady gated again but he was passed by first Lee Smart then Jack Hargreaves. Stonehewer got up to pass Hargreaves but couldn’t catch Smart so the race was shared 4-4. In the last race Jason Lyons completed an immaculate maximum while Adam Roynon joined him for a 5-1 ahead of Stonehewer giving the home side a 12 point win.

Scorers: For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 15 (5) (maximum), Adam Roynon 11+1 (5), Lee Smart 8+3 (5), Henning Bager 8 (4), Jack Hargreaves 6 (6), Jack Roberts 4+1 (5).

For Glasgow – Carl Stonehewer 14 (6) (with 4 point TS), Ross Brady 13+1 (7), Robert Ksiezak 9 (6), Mitchell Davey 2+2 (4), Trent Leverington 2 (4), Lee Dicken 0 (3).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 62, Rye House 31.


King’s Lynn were at full strength while Rye House used Rider Replacement at number 4 for the injured Tommy Allen. They also nominated Adam Lowe as their number 8.

King’s Lynn is not one of Rye House’s happy hunting grounds but when you lose four 5-1s in the opening four heats there’s not much prospect of a result. The Stars started with a win from Kevin Doolan, back in the side after his injury. Robert Mear was in second place until he was passed on the inside by Shaun Tacey on the second lap for the first of the home maximums. Kozza Smith won the reserves race despite whacking the fence while John Oliver followed him home for the second 5-1. Tomas Topinka and Simon Lambert beat Tai Woffinden in heat three for the third then Rusty Harrison and Kozza Smith saw off Stefan Ekberg for the fourth and a score of 20-4.

Simon Lambert was excluded under the two minute time allowance in heat 5 so went from 15 metres back. Tomas Topinka won the race from Robert Mear while Lambert caught and passed Chris Neath on lap three only to be repassed by the Rye House number one. This resulted in a shared race but the Rockets lost yet another 5-1 in heat 6 to Kevin Doolan and Shaun Tacey to trail by 20 points. Heat 7 brought some cheer to the visitors when Tai Woffinden took a TR and won the race from Rusty Harrison. Robert Mear (R/R) took third from John Oliver so the Rockets scored a 2-7 cutting the gap to 15 points. It was back to normality in heat 8 as the Stars scored their sixth 5-1 through Shaun Tacey and Kozza Smith with Luke Bowen in third taking the score to 35-16.

The Stars’ seventh 5-1 came along in the next heat when Tomas Topinka and Simon Lambert gated to lead Stefan Ekberg home for a 23 point lead. Kevin Doolan continued his unbeaten run by winning from Tai Woffinden in heat 10. Woffinden was passed by Shaun Tacey off the second bend but he repassed Tacey on the next lap. This gave the Stars a 4-2 and 25 point lead. In heat 11 Chris Neath was excluded under the two minute time allowance and was replaced by Luke Bowen. Then John Oliver fell on the first bend resulting in an all-four-back rerun. In the rerun John Oliver won the race followed by Rusty Harrison from Robert Mear for the Stars’ eighth 5-1. Kozza Smith gated in heat 12 to follow Tomas Topinka but Tai Woffinden passed him to give chase to Topinka. The 4-2 took the score to 53-22.

Kevin Doolan led heat 13 but suffered an engine failure on the final bend allowing Stefan Ekberg to take the race win. Rusty Harrison passed Chris Neath for third place and a 2-4 to the Rockets. Ekberg was out again in heat 14 and he won that too beating Lambert and Oliver for a shared race. Kevin Doolan gated to win the last race but Tomas Topinka found himself at the back but passed Stefan Ekberg on the first lap. He couldn’t pass Tai Woffinden though so the race finished as a 4-2 giving the Stars a 31 point win.

Scorers: For King’s Lynn – Tomas Topinka 13 (5), Kevin Doolan 12 (5), Rusty Harrison 9+1 (4), Shaun Tacey 8+2 (4), Kozza Smith 8+2 (4), Simon Lambert 6+2 (4), John Oliver 6+2 (4).

For Rye House – Tai Woffinden 13 (5) (with 6 point TR), Stefan Ekberg 9 (6), Robert Mear 4 (5), Chris Neath 3+1 (4), Luke Bowen 2 (6), Daniel Halsey 0 (5).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Tuesday, 13 May

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Tonight on the Isle of Wight it was back to aggregate scoring as the Islanders took on Sheffield in the second leg of their first round Knock Out Cup tie.


Knock Out Cup (first round, second leg): Isle of Wight 54, Sheffield 38 The Isle of Wight won through to the next round on aggregate by 92-90.


The Isle of Wight welcomed back Krzysztof Stojanowski after his shoulder injury but were without Paul Fry following his accident at Berwick. They used Rider Replacement instead at number 4. Sheffield were at full strength.

Sheffield won the first leg of this tie by 52-38 so the Islanders had a 14 point deficit to pull back in this match. Both teams came into this match on the back of away defeats. The home side lost at Glasgow by nine points on Sunday while the visitors suffered a twenty seven point defeat at Reading on Monday.

Ricky Ashworth leapt from the gate in the opening heat to win the race comfortably but he got no support from Joel Parsons who followed Krzysztof Stojanowski and Cory Gathercole home for a shared race but the Islanders moved two points clear in the reserves race. David Bargh and Paul Cooper made the best starts but it was Cooper who got his nose in front and kept it there until he was passed by James Holder on the line. This gave the home side a 4-2 and they added a 5-1 in heat 3. Glen Phillips and Cory Gathercole (R/R) gated to win unchallenged by Andre Compton who finished third. Now six points ahead the Islanders consolidated their lead as Jason Bunyan won from Ben Wilson and Paul Cooper for a shared race which took the score to 18-12 which meant that the Isle of Wight now trailed on aggregate by eight points.

Ricky Ashworth made another superb start in heat 5 for the Tigers but Glen Phillips was on his tail until he passed Ashworth on the last bend. Joel Parsons in third place made sure the race points were shared but the home side got two points closer to their objective with a 4-2 in heat 6. Cory Gathercole won the heat from Ben Wilson while Krzysztof Stojanowski took third for a 4-2. The Tigers were really struggling when the Islanders landed a 5-1 in heat 7. Andre Compton reared at the gate and, by the time he recovered, David Bargh and Jason Bunyan were gone increasing the home side’s lead to ten points. It got even worse for Sheffield when another 5-1, this time from Cory Gathercole and James Holder, put the home side 16 points ahead giving them a two point lead on aggregate. The score was now 32-16 (70-68).

Sheffield played their TR card in heat 9 with Ben Wilson wearing the black and white tablecloth but there was no gain for the Tigers who, of course, were now chasing the tie. Wilson did make the gate and led for over two laps until Glen Phillips passed him. With James Holder taking third from Paul Cooper the race points were shared 4-4. It looked all over when the Islanders scored another 5-1 in heat 10. Krzysztof Stojanowski was the race winner while Cory Gathercole headed home Andre Compton for second to put the home side twenty points ahead (six on aggregate). Jason Bunyan came from the back to lead the field in heat 11 while Ricky Ashworth and Joel Parsons shared the points behind him. At last Sheffield took their second heat advantage of the match when Andre Compton beat Glen Phillips in heat 12 while Sam Martin survived a late challenge by James Holder to hold on to third for a Sheffield 2-4. The score now stood at 46-28 which meant that the home side’s aggregate lead was four points (84-80).

Suddenly the Tigers gave themselves fresh hope when they took a 2-4 from heat 13. Ben Wilson made the gate and held on to win under pressure from Jason Bunyan while Ricky Ashworth beat Krzysztof Stojanowski for the vital third place. This reduced the Tigers’ arrears on the night to 16 points which meant that with two races left the Islanders aggregate lead had been reduced to just two points. In heat 14 Sheffield gave Andre Compton a Tactical Substitute ride from 15 metres back and replaced Sam Martin with Paul Cooper against the two home reserves. James Holder and Andrew Bargh made the gate but Andre Compton brought down Bargh on the first lap of the third bend and was excluded. The race was awarded as tempers became heated so the 5-1 went to the Islanders to see them home and dry into the next round. In heat 15 Jason Bunyan went through the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back. Then, in the rerun, Glen Phillips went through the tapes and was excluded so the Islanders went with just Bunyan. Ben Wilson and Andre Compton took advantage by scoring a 1-5 despite the best efforts of Bunyan to catch them.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight[/u][/b] – Cory Gathercole 11+3 (5), Jason Bunyan 11+1 (5), Glen Phillips 11 (5), James Holder 9+1 (6), Andrew Bargh 6+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 6 (4).

For Sheffield – Ben Wilson 14 (5) (with 4 point TR), Ricky Ashworth 8 (4), Andre Compton 7+1 (6), Paul Cooper 5+1 (5), Joel Parsons 2+2 (4), Lee Smethills 1 (3), Sam Martin 1 (3).