Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Tuesday, 10 June

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Tuesday night means the Isle of Wight where tonight’s match featured Birmingham as the opposition in a Premier League match.


Premier League: Isle of Wight 51, Birmingham 41.


The Isle of Wight were again without Paul Fry so they used Rider Replacement at number 4. Injury hit Birmingham were once again without Adam Roynon, Phil Morris and Jack Hargreaves so used Rider Replacement at number 1 for Roynon and had Nick Simmons as a guest at number 2 for Morris and John Oliver at number 6 for Hargreaves.

Once again the injury jinx struck Birmingham when, in heat 2, James Birkinshaw fell on the first bend and suffered a leg injury which caused him to withdraw from the meeting leaving the Brummies to soldier on with just three team members and two guests. It meant that their remaining reserve, guest John Oliver, was in for a busy night. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Lee Smart crashed in heat 12 and also had to withdraw from the meeting leaving the visitors with just four fit riders.

It took three attempts to run heat 1. First up Craig Watson fell on the first bend for an all-four-back decision, then, at the second attempt, Watson was moving at the start so it was called back. Thirdly the Islanders gated for an easy 5-1 from Jason Bunyan and Corey Gathercole. Heat 2 saw another first bend bunching incident but this time James Birkinshaw suffered a leg injury and withdrew from the meeting. Undaunted John Oliver rounded Andrew Bargh and James Holder in the three man rerun for a fine win and shared race. Heat 3 was shared. Glenn Phillips won the race under great pressure from Jason Lyons while Andrew Bargh suffered an engine failure on the second lap allowing Lee Smart to pick up the third place point unchallenged. The Islanders pulled six points clear after heat 4 when Krzysztof Stojanowski gated to lead Craig Watson and James Holder home for a 4-2 which took the score to 15-9.

James Holder fell on the first bend and was excluded from the rerun of heat 5 won by Jason Lyons by the proverbial mile from Glen Phillips. With Nick Simmons picking up the gift third place point Birmingham picked up a 2-4 cutting their arrears to four points but Corey Gathercole and Jason Bunyan gated for a 5-1 in heat 6 to increase the home side’s lead to eight points. Birmingham pulled two points back again in heat 7 thanks to another Jason Lyons win this time over Krzysztof Stojanowski while Lee Smart took third place from Bargh. This cut the gap to six points and it stayed that way when Nick Simmons gated to win heat 8 from Gathercole and Holder for a 3-3 which took the score to 27-21.

Another shared heat in heat 9 won by Craig Watson kept the Brummies in the hunt and similarly Jason Lyons won heat 10 but this came at a cost to the Brummies as Lee Smart became their next injury victim when he crashed on the fourth lap and also withdrew from the meeting. Birmingham now fast running out of resources were only able to track one rider in heat 11, Nick Simmons, and he took second place behind Stojanowski for a 4-2 to the Islanders. Jason Lyons kept the good ship Birmingham afloat with another win in heat 12 while Phillips and Holder shared the race behind him taking the score to 40-32.

Bunyan and Stojanowski gated for a 5-1 in heat 13 ahead of Simmons while Watson suffered an engine failure increasing their lead to 45-33 and sealing victory for the home side. Still the Brummies fought on. Nick Simmons took a Tactical Substitute ride in heat 14 from 15 metres and finished second behind James Holder as Andrew Bargh suffered an engine failure so, with John Oliver third, the visitors scored a 3-5. Jason Lyons wrapped things up by winning heat 15 from Bunyan and Phillips to restrict the Islanders to a ten point victory which was quite remarkable all things considered.

Scorers: For the Isle of Wight – Jason Bunyan 12+1 (5), Krzysztof Stojanowski 11+2 (5), Glen Phillips 10+1 (5), Corey Gathercole 8+2 (4), James Holder 8+2 (6), Andrew Bargh 2+1 (5).

For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 17 (6), Nick Simmons 12 (7) (with 4 point TS), Craig Watson 6 (5), John Oliver 4+1 (7), Lee Smart 2+1 (3), James Birkinshaw DNR.

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Monday, 9 June

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Today’s match was at Reading where the Racers were up against Birmingham in a Premier League match.


Premier League: Reading 48, Birmingham 42.


Reading were at full strength while Birmingham were without Adam Roynon, Phil Morris and Jack Hargreaves. They used Rider Replacement at number 1 for Roynon, had Krzysztof Stojanowski at number 2 for Phil Morris and Paul Clews as a guest reserve for Hargreaves at number 6.

This was the close encounter expected from these two sides. Reading did not have the usual high returns from Ulrich Ostergaard and Tom P Madsen who managed just 9 points between them and they were indebted to a 12 point return from reserve, Jaimie Smith, and 9+2 from Chris Mills to pull them through. Birmingham may be injury ravaged but they sure know which guests to use on specific tracks. Indeed Krzysztof Stojanowski and Paul Clews, their two guests for this match, scored one point short of half their total!

It looked so comfortable for the Racers when they took a six point lead from the first two races. Chris Mills and Mark Lemon opened with a 5-1 from Stojanowski after Craig Watson had fallen and remounted then, when Paul Clews could only split Jaimie Smith and Nicki Glanz in the reserves race, they added a 4-2. Their troubles started in heat 3. With Tomas Suchanek and Ulrich Ostergaard sitting on a 5-1, Ostergaard suffered an engine failure and was never really effective after that on his second bike. Jason Lyons and Lee Smart shared the race behind Suchanek then the Brummies pulled two points back with a 2-4 in heat four. They were hoping for a 1-5 as Watson and Birkinshaw led from the tapes but Madsen passed Birkinshaw to restrict them to a two point heat advantage which took the score to 14-10.

They did even better in heat 5 with a dream 1-5 from Lyons and Stojanowski from Ostergaard to level the scores again and Reading knew they were going to have to dig deep for the points. However the Racers hit back immediately with a 5-1 from their top pairing of Mills and Lemon with Lemon sitting shotgun behind Mills to ward off any challenge from Clews and Watson. A 4-2 in heat 7 restored Reading’s early six point lead thanks to a win from Jaimie Smith who clung on desperately to hold off Jason Lyons with Tom P Madsen pressing both of them just behind. Birmingham looked well placed to hit back with a 1-5 in heat 8 as Stojanowski and Birkinshaw gated but Jaimie Smith and Chris Mills both passed Birkinshaw so the heat was shared and the score now stood at 27-21.

Ulrich Ostergaard produced his only race win of the match in heat 9 beating Clews and Watson but with Suchanek stuck at the back the race was shared. Reading then pulled eight points clear with a 4-2 in heat 10. Mark Lemon passed early leader, Jason Lyons, while Chris Mills passed Lee Smart to add two points to their lead. Heat 11 produced another 3-3 in a race won by Jaimie Smith from Stojanowski. A close battle at the back was resolved by Paul Clews who got the better of Tom P Madsen to ensure the points were shared. Birmingham pulled two points back in heat 12 when Jason Lyons beat Ostergaard while Paul Clews finally pipped Nicki Glanz on the line for a 2-4. This took the score to 39-33.

Birmingham looked set to score a 1-5 from heat 13 as Craig Watson sat behind Krzysztof Stojanowski but, on the last lap, Tom P Madsen passed Craig Watson and the Birmingham rider fell. Madsen was excluded to the anger of the home fans and the race was rerun rather than awarded. At the second attempt again the Brummies sat on a 1-5 but Mark Lemon passed Watson on the third lap to rescue two points for the Racers in a 2-4 advantage to the visitors who now trailed by just four points. Tomas Suchanek won heat 14 while Paul Clews passed Jaimie Smith for second place and another 4-2, this time to Reading, which sealed victory for the home side while, in the last race, Jason Lyons won for the Brummies from Lemon and Mills for a shared heat.

Scorers: For Reading – Jaimie Smith 12 (5), Mark Lemon 11+2 (5), Chris Mills 9+2 (5), Ulrich Ostergaard 6 (4), Tomas Suchanek 6 (4), Tom P Madsen 3 (4), Nicki Glanz 1 (3).

For Birmingham – Jason Lyons 15 (6), Krzysztof Stojanowski 11+1 (6), Paul Clews 9+1 (6), Craig Watson 5+1 (5), Lee Smart 1+1 (4), James Birkinshaw 1 (3).

Around the Premier League Tracks 2008

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Sunday, 8 June

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Today’s matches were at Glasgow where the Tigers raced against Workington and at Newcastle where the Diamonds took on Stoke in Premier League matches.


Premier League: Glasgow 41, Workington 49


Glasgow were missing Shane Parker and Josh Grajczonek through injury while Anders Andersen was absent through riding in the European Championships. They had Adrian Rymel as guest at number 1 and Adam McKinna as a guest at number 7. They also used Rider Replacement for Andersen at number 3. Workington were missing the injured Joe Haines so used Rider Replacement at number 4.

Already using a six man team with R/R, the last thing Glasgow could cope with in their efforts to beat the high-flying Comets were two non-scoring reserves. As it was they did well with their limited resources and only trailed by two points after heat 10. However Workington’s Daniel Nermark had three rides to come in heats 11, 13 and 15 and he won them all with the Comets scoring 4-2s in each of those races to win by eight points.

Adrian Rymel and Trent Leverington led off the second bend with Daniel Nermark third in the opening heat but Nermark wasn’t doing third places in this match and was soon past Leverington but couldn’t catch Rymel so Glasgow led for the one and only time in the match with the 4-2. An easy reserves race 1-5 for John Branney and Charles Wright reversed the two point lead and 2-4s in the next two heats to the visitors had the Comets in complete control. In the second of those Carl Stonehewer made a superb pass on the fast starting Robert Ksiezak on the first two bends of lap 4 for a 9-15 lead.

Passing was restricted on a fast drying track and although Adrian Rymel’s fast starts were causing the visitors problems there was no change to the their lead after the sides traded 4-2s in heats 6 and 7. A shared heat 8 took the score to 21-27 but Glasgow’s hopes were resurrected by two 4-2 advantages in heats 9 and 10. Ksiezak beat Stonehewer in the first while Rymel did likewise to Nieminen in the second all from the gate as the Tigers now trailed by just 29-31.

Then came the Nermark show. The pick of his three race wins in heats 11,13 and 15 was his win in heat 13 which was quite superb after Ksiezak had made an electric start and ridden to the front on the opening two bends round the boards. Nermark reeled him in and passed him down the back straight on the third lap. Six points down with two heats left, the Tigers’ hopes were briefly raised again in heat 14 when Lee Dicken and Mitchell Davey led from the gate and looked set for a 5-1. However John Branney passed Davey entering the first bend of the second lap and Davey got badly out of shape allowing Charles Wright through as well and the home side’s hopes died. The meeting ended with another excellent race between Adrian Rymel and Daniel Nermark but good though Rymel was he was no match for Nermark who was quite outstanding.

Scorers: For Glasgow – Adrian Rymel 13 (6), Robert Ksiezak 11 (6), Trent Leverington 8 (5), Lee Dicken 7+1 (5), Adam McKinna 1+1 (4), Mitchell Davey 1 (4).

For Workington – Daniel Nermark 14 (5), Kauko Nieminen 12 (5), John Branney 9+1 (7), Carl Stonehewer 8 (4), Charles Wright 3+2 (4), Tomi Reima 3 (5).



Premier League: Newcastle 48, Stoke 42.


Newcastle were without Josef Franc and Richard Juul and had Arlo Bugeja as a guest at number 7. They also used Rider Replacement at number 1 for Franc. Stoke were missing Lee Complin and Ben Barker and had Matthew Wethers as a guest at number 1 and Ryan Fisher as a guest at number 3.

It took a heat 14 5-1 to Newcastle and a superb 6 ride 18 point maximum from Jason King to see the Diamonds home in this match. Fortunes swung one way then the other over the opening four heats which saw Newcastle take 4-2s in heats 1 and 3 but lose a 1-5 in the reserves race to Stoke’s two Danes, Klaus Jakobsen and Jesper Kristiansen, after Jerran Hart had fallen and been excluded. The scores were tied at 12-12 at that stage.

Newcastle then pulled six points clear with a 5-1 from Jason King and George Stancl then a 4-2 from Jason King and Sean Stoddart in heats 5 and 6 but, after a Ryan Fisher win over Christian Henry in heat 7 for a shared race, the Potters pulled the arrears back to just 4 points with a 2-4 from Mark Burrows and Jesper Kristiansen in heat 8 which took the score to 26-22.

Another 5-1 from Stancl and King ahead of Emiliano Sanchez in heat 9 put the home side eight points ahead which looked decisive but the Potters hit back with a 2-4 from Matthew Wethers and Mark Burrows in heat 11 then a 1-5 in heat 13 from Wethers and Sanchez to cut the Diamonds lead to just two points.

The 5-1 from Jason King and Jerran Hart in heat 14 saw the Diamonds home and dry before King completed his maximum in heat 15 holding off the challenges of Ryan Fisher all race long to preserve the home side’s six point lead.

Scorers: For Newcastle – Jason King 18 (6) (maximum), George Stancl 11 (6), Christian Henry 10 (5), Jerran Hart 5 (5), Sean Stoddart 3 (5), Arlo Bugeja 1 (3).

For Stoke – Ryan Fisher 11 (5), Mark Burrows 8+1 (5), Emiliano Sanchez 7 (4), Matthew Wethers 5+1 (4), Jesper Kristiansen 5+1 (4), Klaus Jakobsen 4+1 (4), Barrie Evans 2+1 (4).