Around the Premier League Tracks 2010

[PLUSTAR]

Thursday, 13 May



Premier League: Redcar 42 (0 points), Rye House 51 (4 points) .


Team changes: Redcar had William Lawson as a guest at number 2 for Maks Gregoric and used Rider Replacement for Ben Wilson at number 5.

This was Redcar’s third home league match and they were still looking for their first home win having lost to Edinburgh and drawn with Glasgow in their two attempts to date. It was Rye House’s first away league match and they were back at full strength again.

After an Eklof win in heat 1 for a shared race, Redcar moved ahead with a 4-2 in the reserves race thanks to a win by Stuart Swales. Jordan Frampton won heat 3 but again there was no heat advantage for the Rockets as Tomas Suchanek passed Luke Bowen on the third bend to follow Emiliano Sanchez home for a share of the spoils. However Rye House, with their third race winner, wiped out their two point deficit and went two in front with a 1-5 in heat 4 with Kyle Hughes and Linus Sundstrom leading Jan Graversen home for a 11-13 score.

It got worse for the Bears as Chris Neath made it four race winners from five races while Emiliano Sanchez stopped the Rockets from recording a maximum when he passed Stefan Ekberg. The 2-4 put the visitors four ahead and it stayed that way with a Linus Sundstrom win, Rye House’s fifth in six races, from Gary Havelock and William Lawson for a 3-3. Finally Redcar provided a race winner in heat 7, Stuart Swales, who provided their only other race win in heat 2. The Bears sat on a 5-1 from the gate until Jordan Frampton passed Emiliano Sanchez at the end of the third lap. This reduced Redcar to a 4-2 and, despite their lack of race winners they now only trailed by two points. However an Ekberg, Hughes 1-5 in heat 8 saw the Rockets surge ahead. Both Rockets passed Swales at the end of the first lap while William Lawson finished at the back. The score now stood at 21-27 and they were very much in danger of another home defeat.

Linus Sundstrom scored his third race win of the match (Rockets’ seventh) in heat 9 but Sanchez and Suchanek finished behind him for a shared race. Jordan Frampton was the Rockets’ eighth race winner in heat 10 while Havelock, blocked on the first bend, came from the back to finish second with Lawson third for another shared race as the Bears dug in and stayed six down. The visitors’ lead stretched to eight with a 2-4 in heat 11 won by Stefan Ekberg from Suchanek. Chris Neath took third for a 2-4. It looked all over after the Rockets added another 1-5 in heat 12 through Frampton and Kurt Shields taking the score to 30-42.

Gary Havelock took a TR in heat 13 and, after a passing and repassing bout with Chris Neath, won the race. However Linus Sundstrom kept William Lawson at the back so the Bears were restricted to a 6-3 heat win to trail by nine points which resigned them to defeat. Stuart Swales led heat 12 for three laps but Luke Bowen, in second, got out of shape allowing Sanchez into second only for Swales to drift too wide which saw Sanchez and Bowen through for the first two places and a home 4-2. Seven ahead, the Rockets needed only a shared race for all four match points. They won it though as Linus Sundstrom gated to win the last race from Sanchez and Frampton for a 2-4 and nine point victory.

Scorers: Redcar – Gary Havelock 12 (5) (incl a 6 point TR) Emiliano Sanchez 11+1 (6), Stuart Swales 8 (6), Tomas Suchanek 6+1 (5), William Lawson 3+3 (5), Jan Graversen 2 (3).

Rye House – Linus Sundstrom 13+1 (5), Jordan Frampton 12 (5), Stefan Ekberg 10 (4), Chris Neath 6 (4), Kyle Hughes 4+2 (5), Kurt Shields 4+1 (4)..



Premier League Knockout Cup, 1st round, 2nd leg Sheffield 36, Birmingham 54 - Birmingham won on aggregate by 117-61.


Team changes: Birmingham : used Rider Replacement at number 3 for the injured Chris Kerr. They also had Tom Perry as a guest at number 7 for Jake Anderson.

It looked like Sheffield had an impossible task trying to pull a 38 first leg deficit back but Birmingham were still recovering from last night’s home disaster in the match with Edinburgh which saw them lose Chris Kerr and Jake Anderson to injury and finish with Richard Sweetman and Justin Sedgmen rather second hand from their heavy falls.

However Birmingham soon put an end to the lingering hopes of any Sheffield optimists with a ‘business as usual’ performance by building up a six point lead over the first four races. Steve Johnston won the opening race from Ricky Ashworth for a 3-3 then Paul Cooper won heat 2 from Justin Sedgmen and Tom Perry who passed Arlo Bugeja for third and another shared race. Richard Sweetman took advantage of a Josh Auty engine failure while leading heat 3 to win the race from Josef Franc and score a 2-4 then Jason Lyons and Justin Sedgmen scored a 1-5 after Richard Hall suffered an engine failure at the tapes. This took the score to 9-15 and the Birmingham lead to 44 points.

Steve Johnston won again in heat 5 for the Brummies’ fourth race winner and a 3-3 then Justin Sedgmen made it five race winners in six heats for another 3-3 as Jason Lyons finished at the back behind Ricky Ashworth and Hugh Skidmore. Richard Sweetman continued the run of visiting race winners by taking heat 7 for another 3-3. Aaron Summers came to the party with the Brummies seventh race winner but the action was behind him for second place with Paul Cooper and Justin Sedgmen passing and repassing each other before Cooper finally nailed second. The 2-4 increased the visitors’ lead to eight points at 20-28.

Finally Ricky Ashworth lifted the race winning siege by leading Richard Sweetmen home in a close finish in heat 10. Aaron Summers was third so there was no advantage for the beleaguered Tigers. It was now turning into another rout with Summers and Johnston adding a 1-5 in heat 11 after Richard Hall had fallen for a twelve point lead. Justin Sedgmen became the Brummies ninth race winner in heat 12 beating Franc and Bugeja for a 3-3 and 50 point aggregate lead! Lyons and Johnston added another 1-5 in heat 13 to embarrass the Tigers further. However the home side managed a heat advantage in heat 14 when Josh Auty passed Richard Sweetman with Cooper in third for a 4-2. Birmingham finished things off with another 1-5 this time from Johnston who completed a paid maximum and Richard Sweetman from Josef Franc.

Scorers: Sheffield – Paul Cooper 8+1 (5), Josh Auty 8 (5), Ricky Ashworth 7 (4), Josef Franc 6+1 (5), Richard Hall 3 (4), High Skidmore 2+2 (4), Arlo Bugeja 2+1..

Birmingham – Steve Johnston 13+2 (5) (paid maximum), Justin Sedgmen 12+2 (6), Richard Sweetman 12+1 (5), Jason Lyons 8 (4), Aaron Summers 7+1 (5), Tom Perry 2+1 (5).

[PLUSTAR]

Sunday, 16 May


NB: Sorry no reports for Friday 14 May nor Saturday 15 May due to migraine headache not helped by the score from Armadale on Friday night! The results were:

Friday 14 May: Premier League: Edinburgh 41 (Kevin Wolbert 9), King’s Lynn 49 (William Lawson 13+1) (Edinburgh were garbage);

Somerset 48 Shane Parker 14+1),Sheffield 45 (Josh Auty 14) (good effort by Sheffield);

Premier League Knockout Cup: Scun'thorpe 49 Carl Wilkinson 15), Newcastle 41 Kenni Larsen 11+1) (Newcastle won 100-80 on aggregate).



Saturday 15 May: Premier League: Berwick 39 (Michal Makovsky 11), King’s Lynn 50 ( Kevin Doolan 13 (another four pointer for the Stars);

Stoke 52 ( Lee Smart 14+2), Somerset 37 (Cory Gathercole 14+1);

Workington 55(another huge score for Workington reserve Craig Cook with 15+2), Newport 40 Craig Watson 16+2);

Rye House 50 (Jordan Frampton 14), Sheffield 39 (Ricky Ashworth 10)(takes Rye House to the top of the league).

Today:


Premier League: Glasgow 46 (0 points), Newport 50 (3 points) .



Team changes: Glasgow had new signing Michael Penfold at number 3 replacing Robert Ksiezak while Newport used Rider Replacement for Kim Nilsson at number 5.

Glasgow got off to a winning start with Travis McGowan leading former Tiger, Craig Watson home in the first race. Lee Dicken finished third after Leigh Lanham had suffered an engine failure so the Tigers scored a 4-2. Mitchell Davey got out of shape on the third bend of the reserves race, however, causing Todd Kurtz to run into him. Davey, who was excluded from the rerun, suffered an injury to his shoulder and was withdrawn from the meeting and taken to hospital. Todd Kurtz won the rerun from Jaimie Courtney so the 2-4 to the Wasps levelled the scores again. All eyes were on new signing, Michael Penfold, in heat 3. Perhaps not surprisingly he finished at the back on his Premier League debut and it was Josh Grajczonek who stole the show by coming from the back to pass Anders Mellgren and Kyle Legault to win the race for a share of the points. James Grieves then won heat 4 but with Jaimie Courtney’s bike playing up Alex Davies and Todd Kurtz finished in second and third for another shared heat taking the score to 12-12.

Newport took the lead in heat 5 with a win by Leigh Lanham ahead of Josh Grajczonek. Craig Watson took third from Michael Penfold so the Wasps were two ahead. It stayed that way after Travis McGowan had beaten Alex Davies and Kyle Legault for a 3-3 in heat 6. However Newport streaked six points ahead after James Grieves fell in heat 7 chasing Kyle Legault leaving Legault and Anders Mellgren to score a 1-5 ahead of Jaimie Courtney. Craig Watson won heat 8 but with Courtney and Dicken behind him the 3-3 took the score to 21-27.

Glasgow were in big trouble after the Wasps scored another 1-5 in heat 9. Craig Watson took the R/R ride and won the race with Alex Davies moving into second after Josh Grajczonek had been moved out on the opening two bends. Newport now held a ten point lead but it had arrived at a time when Travis McGowan was due out in the next race. He duly appeared for a TR wearing the black and white helmet cover. Although he won the race Lee Dicken finished behind Kyle Legault and Anders Mellgren so the Tigers were restricted to a 6-3 advantage which cut the gap to seven points. However the Wasps responded with another 1-5 from their top pairing of Craig Watson and Leigh Lanham after James Grieves was unable to recover from a bad start. Newport now led by eleven points and they increased it to 15 in heat 12 with another 1-5 this time from Anders Mellgren and Alex Davies from Jaimie Courtney and Michael Penfold. The score was now 30-45 and it was time for TR number 2 for the Tigers.

Glasgow desperately needed the big 8-1 in heat 13 and they got it with James Grieves taking the TR and winning it from Travis McGowan and Anders Mellgren. The gap was now down to eight points which meant that provided there were at least three finishers in the remaining two races the best the Tigers could do was draw. They needed two 5-1s to rescue a point so heat 14 was crucial. Josh Grajczonek won the race but Kyle Legault took the vital second place to ensure a win for the Wasps. Jaimie Courtney was third and Glasgow took a 4-2 to cut the gap to six points but it was too little, too late. In heat 15 there was a blanket finish between James Grieves and Leigh Lanham. Grieves got the verdict although Lanham didn’t appear to agree with the decision while Travis McGowan finished third ahead of Craig Watson for a 4-2 which left the Wasps with a four point win.


Scorers: Glasgow – Travis McGowan 15+1 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), James Grieves 13 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), Josh Grajczonek 9 (4), Jaimie Courtney 7 (7), Lee Dicken 2+1 (4), Mitchell Davey 0 (1), Michael Penfold 0 (4).

Newport – Craig Watson 12 (6), Kyle Legault 10+1 (5), Alex Davies 9+2 (6), Leigh Lanham 8+1 (5), Anders Mellgren 7+3 (5), Todd Kurtz 4+1 (3).



Premier League: Newcastle 60 (3 points), Redcar 33 (0 points) .


Team changes: Redcar: without Maks Gregoric and Ben Wilson had Birmingham’s Aaron Summers at number 2 as a guest for Gregoric and used Rider Replacement for Wilson at number 5.

After a shared heat 1 won by Kenni Larsen from Aaron Summers and Gary Havelock the Diamonds took a four point lead with a 5-1 in the reserves race won by Dakota North. Another 5-1 in heat 3 from Rene Bach and Jason King doubled the home side’s lead to eight points. Aaron Summers took the R/R ride in heat 4 and led the race until the last lap when Mark Lemon worked his way past for the win. With Jan Graversen finishing third the points were shared with the score at 16-8.

Rene Bach passed Gary Havelock to win heat 5. With Aaron Summers third though the result was a 3-3 but a Larsen, Sneddon 5-1 in heat 6 took the Diamonds into a 12 point lead. Mark Lemon won heat 7 from Suchanek and Sanchez so the gap remained the same from the shared race then heat 8 needed a rerun with all four back after Aaron Summers, who was on a TR, had fallen at the start of the race. In the rerun Derek Sneddon led from the tapes but was passed by Aaron Summers who provided the Bears first race winner of the match. With Jan Graversen third after Adam McKinna had retired Redcar took a 2-7 from the race taking the score to 29-22.

At this stage Summers had scored precisely half of the Bears’ points but things didn’t look too bright for the visitors when they had to track their two reserves in heat 9. So it turned out as Bach and King led Graversen home for a 5-1 increasing the Diamonds lead to 11 points. Heat 10 saw it rocket to fifteen with another 5-1. Derek Sneddon led from the tapes but was passed by Kenni Larsen with the two Diamonds scoring the maximum ahead of Emiliano Sanchez. In heat 11 Gary Havelock took Redcar’s second TR but there was no coconut this time for the visitors as Dakota North and Mark Lemon scored another 5-1, the Diamonds’ sixth of the match for a 19 point lead. In heat 12 Jason King got the better of early race leader Jan Graversen. Tomas Suchanek finished second with Graversen third ahead of Adam McKinna so the race was shared 3-3 with the score now standing at 47-28.

Larsen and Lemon added Newcastle’s seventh 5-1 of the match in heat 13 then Graversen’s second place in heat 14 stopped Bach and North from adding yet another. Finally in the last race Kenni Larsen came from the back to beat Jan Graversen while Mark Lemon had to be content with third having lost out on his paid maximum. The 4-2 took the Diamonds to the 60 point mark and left Redcar to think about potential team changes to get their season back on track.

Scorers: Newcastle – Kenni Larsen 15 (5) Full maximum), Rene Bach 12 (4) (full maximum), Mark Lemon 11+2 (5), Jason King 7+2 (4), Dakota North 7 (4), Derek Sneddon 6+2 (4), Adam McKinna 2+1 (4)..

Redcar – Aaron Summers 11+1 (6) (incl a 6 point TR), Jan Graversen 9+2 (7), Tomas Suchanek 6 (5), Gary Havelock 4+1 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 3+1 (5), Stuart Swales 0 (3).

[PLUSTAR]

Wednesday, 19 May



Premier League: Birmingham 52 (3 points), Scun’thorpe 40 (0 points) .


Team changes: Birmingham, without Chris Kerr, used Rider Replacement (R/R) instead at number 2. They also had Tom Perry at number 7 in place of Jake Anderson. Scun’thorpe also used R/R at number 2 for Joel Parsons.

It looked as though Birmingham were going to have another tough home match when the opening five races were all shared. Magnus Karlsson gated to win the opening race then Justin Sedgmen took the reserves race. Richard Sweetman suffered an engine failure on the line so Aaron Summers win was needed to avoid a heat loss for the Brummies in heat 3 then Jason Lyons won heat 4 for a 12-12 score.

Another fast gate from Summers was enough to win heat 5 from Karlsson but the deadlock was finally broken with a 4-2 to the home side when Steve Johnston and Justin Sedgmen gated in heat 5. David Howe passed Sedgmen in the run in to the line to prevent a 5-1 but the Brummies added another two points to their lead with another 4-2 in a rerun heat 7 which Jason Lyons won from Tero Aarnio after Carl Wilkinson had fallen on the first bend and been excluded. A third 4-2 on the trot opened a six point lead for the Brummies after Summers and Sedgmen had gated only for Carl Wilkinson to pass Sedgmen again on the run to the line. The score was then 27-21.

The Scorpions hit back with a 4-2 in heat 9 after David Howe beat Richard Sweetman. Aaron Summers prospects of a full house were shattered when he found himself at the back off the second bend unable to pass Jerran Hart. The gap was down to four but Birmingham doubled their advantage to eight with a 5-1 from Johnston and Sedgmen in heat 10. Another 5-1 in heat 11 stretched the lead to 12 points. Lyons and Sedgmen gated and kept Karlsson in third so Tero Aarnio was given a TR in heat 12. The Scorpions were sitting on the big 1-8 when Tom Perry fell on the back straight of lap 2 causing a rerun. As often happens the ‘offending’ side turned the tables in the rerun as Aaron Summers gated this time to lead Aarnio and Hart home for a 3-5 taking the score to 42-32.

David Howe stopped Jason Lyons’ maximum hopes by winning heat 13 but Magnus Karlsson was stuck at the back so the race was shared. Carl Wilkinson won heat 14 from Richard Sweetman while Jerran Hart took third for a 2-4 cutting the gap to eight points leaving the Scorpions with a chance of taking a match point. However Lyons and Johnston gated in the last race to end that hope by heading Howe and Karlsson home for a 5-1 and 12 point lead.

Scorers: Birmingham – Jason Lyons 14 (5), Aaron Summers 12 (5), Steve Johnston 11+2 (5), Justin Sedgmen 10+3 (6), Richard Sweetman 4 (4), Tom Perry 1 (5).

Scun’thorpe – David Howe 11 (5), Tero Aarnio 10+1 (5) (incl a 4 point TR), Carl Wilkinson 6+1 (5), Magnus Karlsson 6 (5), Jerran Hart 5+2 (6), Simon Lambert 2+2 (4).



Premier League: King’s Lynn 64 (3 points), Berwick 30 (0 points) .


Team changes: King‘s Lynn, were finally back to full strength with the return of Tomas Topinka and Joe Haines to the team. Despite rumours of a return to the saddle Berwick were yet again without Lee Complin so used R/R at number 4 in his absence. Dakota North guested for Craig Branney at number 7.

Berwick were no match for the Stars and found themselves using a TR as early as heat 5. It took three laps for Tomas Topinka to shake off Adrian Rymel in heat 1 while Joe Haines’ third place point gave the home side a 4-2. The King’s Lynn reserves added a 5-1 in heat 2 then Kozza Smith and Linus Eklof added another in heat 3. A Doolan win over Makovsky in heat 4 resulted in another 4-2 and the Stars led by 18-6.

Adrian Rymel took a TR in heat 5, made an electric start and won from Linus Eklof and Kozza Smith for a 3-6 to the Bandits. It was a temporary blip for the home side who replied with a 5-1 from Haines and Topinka. Kevin Doolan gated to win heat 7 but a seemingly out of control Dakota North won a ’hairy’ race for second after clattering the fence so the result was a 4-2 the same as in heat 8 won by Casper Wortmann from North (again) and Haines taking the score to 34-17.

Smith and Eklof added another 5-1 in heat 9 and Haines and Topinka repeated the dose in heat 10. Adrian Rymel stopped the rot by winning heat 11 from Doolan and Mallett for a 3-3 then Wortmann and Smith went for another 5-1 in heat 12 but Paul Clews chased down and passed Smith to convert it to a 4-2. The score was then 51-24.

Doolan and Topinka added another 5-1 for the home side in heat 13 then Paul Clews took Berwick’s second TR In heat 14. Eklof and Mallett gated but Mallett was passed by Dakota North on the second lap then had to fend off Paul Clews for the rest of the race. He was unsuccessful after the pair passed and repassed each other with Clews prevailing for a 3-4 to the Bandits. Doolan and Topinka then rounded things off with another 5-1 in the final heat.

Scorers: King‘s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 14 (5), Tomas Topinka 11+4 (5) (paid maximum), Linus Eklof 9+2 (4), Casper Wortmann 9+1 (4), Kozza Smith 8+1 (4), Joe Haines 8 (4), Darren Mallett 5+1 (4).

Berwick – Adrian Rymel 12 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), Dakota North 7 (6), Paul Clews 6 (6) (incl a 2 point TR), Michal Makovsky 3 (4), Jade Mudgway 2 (6), Anders Andersen 0 (3).

[PLUSTAR]

Thursday, 20 May



Premier League: Redcar 41 (0 points), Somerset 51 (4 points) .


Team changes: Redcar had new signings, Henning Bager, at number 1 and, Gary Irving, at number 6. In a complete shake-up they used Rider Replacement for the injured Ben Wilson at number 2 with long time number 1, Gary Havelock, moving from number 1 to number 4.

Unfortunately for the Bears the changes did not produce the right result as they went down yet again at home to a Somerset team who were inspired by an unbeaten (by an opponent) performance by Shane Parker.

Ritchie Hawkins was excluded from heat 1 when he tried to anticipate the tapes and got them wrapped around his neck. He was excluded and replaced by James Holder in the rerun. This worked out rather well for the Rebels because James gated and held off the challenges of Tomas Suchanek to win the race for a 3-3. He didn’t win heat 2, however, as Stuart Swales did that. Gary Irving, attempting an outside pass on Holder, crashed causing the race to be awarded as a 3-3. However the bad news for the Rebels was that James Holder dislocated his shoulder and was out of the rest of the meeting. Shane Parker and Sam Masters headed off to lead Gary Havelock looking for a 1-5 in heat 3 but Havelock got past Masters off the last bend to restrict the Rebels to a 2-4 and two point lead. Cory Gathercole then passed both Stuart Swales and Emiliano Sanchez to win heat 4 for a shared heat and 11-13 score.

Havelock emerged for heat 5 and won this comfortably but Lubos Tomicek and Ritchie Hawkins followed him home for another shared race then Henning Bager got his first win for the Bears in heat 6 but Gathercole and Mark Baseby shared the points behind him after Stuart Swales had fallen. It got worse for the Bears as Parker and Masters gated in heat 7 to record a 1-5 which extended the Rebels’ lead to six points. It became eight when Ritchie Hawkins won heat 8 from Sanchez while Baseby picked up third after Swales had fallen again. The score now stood at 20-28 with the Bears in trouble again.

Gathercole won heat 9 from Havelock and Suchanek for a 3-3 but the game looked up when Masters and Parker scored another 1-5 from Irving and Bager increasing Somerset’s lead to 12 points and sending Redcar into TR territory. Sure enough Emiliano Sanchez wore the black and white helmet cover in heat 11 in which Stuart Swales fell yet again causing a rerun with all four back. Hawkins won the race for the Rebels but Sanchez and Swales kept Tomicek at the back so the Bears scored a 5-3 to cut the gap to 10 points. They shaved another two points from Somerset‘s lead with a 4-2 in heat 12 won by Stuart Swales from Mark Baseby and Tomas Suchanek with Masters at the back. The score was then 33-41.

Redcar continued to make inroads to Somerset’s lead with another 4-2 in heat 13. Emiliano Sanchez won the race while Henning Bager’s attempts to catch Cory Gathercole just failed. Nonetheless the Bears took a 4-2 so the gap was down to six with just two races left. Unfortunately for the home boys, Shane Parker was in unstoppable mood and completed a paid maximum by winning heat 14 and putting an end to Redcar’s hopes. Havelock and Swales shared the race so the only question in heat 15 was could the Rebels take all four match points. They could and they did in style with a last heat 1-5 from Gathercole and Parker which stretched the winning margin to ten points.

Scorers: Redcar – Emiliano Sanchez 12 (5) (incl a 4 point TR), Stuart Swales 9+3 (7), Gary Havelock 9 (9), Henning Bager 6+1 (5), Tomas Suchanek 4+1 (5), Gary Irving 1 (5).

Somerset – Shane Parker 13+2 (5) (paid maximum), Cory Gathercole 13 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 7+1 (4), Sam Masters 6+1 (4), Mark Baseby 5+2 (7), James Holder 5 (2), Lubos Tomicek 2 (4).



Premier League: Sheffield 54 (3 points), Berwick 39 (0 points) .


Team changes: Berwick: welcomed back Lee Complin after a lengthy absence due to injury. He took his place in the line up at number 2 while Anders Andersen moved to number 3 and Jade Mudgway to number 6 as a result of the new averages. The Bandits used Casper Wortmann as a guest at number 7 in place of Craig Branney.

Heat 1 was an epic in itself. Firstly, Ricky Ashworth fell on the first bend and all four were invited back for another try. The second attempt provided a crash on the third bend as Hugh Skidmore dived inside Adrian Rymel taking both into the fence. Skidmore was excluded but of more worry was the fact that his injuries required an ambulance ride back to the medical room to be checked over. He was then transferred to a County ambulance and taken to hospital ruling him out of the meeting. After a delay of around an hour the race was rerun with Adrian Rymel leading Ricky Ashworth home. Lee Complin picked up the third place point and the Bandits led 2-4. They soon trailed 7-5 though as Paul Cooper and Arlo Bugeja scored a 5-1 in the reserves race. 7-5 went to 12-6 after another home 5-1 with Josef Franc and Josh Auty leading Paul Clews home. Richard Hall won heat 4 but the real race was for third as Michal Makovsky and Arlo Bugeja exchanged places with Makovsky getting the point for a shared heat with the score now at 15-9.

Adrian Rymel passed Josef Franc in heat 5 but was in turn passed by Josh Auty leading to a 4-2 to the Tigers then Ricky Ashworth won heat 6 for a shared race which kept the Tigers’ eight point lead intact. It was extended to 12 points with a Hall, Cooper 5-1 in heat 7. This led to Lee Complin taking a TR in heat 8. Unfortunately this was not a success for the Bandits as he finished at the back of the field as Paul Cooper produced one of his round the boards rides to win from Casper Wortmann and Arlo Bugeja for a 4-2 taking the score to 31-17.

Josef Franc fell in heat 9 trying to round Michael Makovsky and was excluded from the rerun. There was no advantage for Berwick though as Josh Auty, in sparkling form, saw off Makovsky and Mudgway for a 3-3. Anders Andersen fell in heat 10 and was excluded from the rerun which Ricky Ashworth won from Paul Clews for a 4-2 and 16 point lead. It was time for Berwick to use their second TR as Adrian Rymel’s programmed ride came up in heat 11. He not only won it but team rode along with Lee Complin for the big 1-8 ahead of Richard Hall which cut the gap to nine points getting the Bandits to within touching distance of a match point. Josef Franc suffered an engine failure in heat 12 but Paul Cooper won the race for the Tigers after passing both Mudgway then Wortmann for a shared race and 42-33 score.

The Bandits pulled another two points back in heat 13 with another Rymel win after the Berwick number 1 had fended off Ashworth for all four laps. Behind him there was an equally good tussle between Makovsky and Hall which the Berwick rider won so the 2-4 cut the gap to just seven points. It was all for nothing though as the Tigers cruelly hit home 5-1s in heats 14 and 15 to put a gloss on the scoreboard which suggested that Berwick had been less competitive than in fact they had been in a superb match.
Scorers: Sheffield – Paul Cooper 15+1 (6), Josh Auty 12+3 (5) (paid maximum), Ricky Ashworth 10 (4), Richard Hall 10 (5), Josef Franc 4 (4), Arlo Bugeja 3+1 (5), Hugh Skidmore 0 (1)..

Berwick – Adrian Rymel 15 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), Casper Wortmann 7 (5), Michal Makovsky 6+1 (5), Paul Clews 4 (4), Jade Mudgway 3+3 (4), Lee Complin 3+1 (4), Anders Andersen 1 (3).

[PLUSTAR]

Thursday, 20 May



Premier League: Redcar 41 (0 points), Somerset 51 (4 points) .


Team changes: Redcar had new signings, Henning Bager, at number 1 and, Gary Irving, at number 6. In a complete shake-up they used Rider Replacement for the injured Ben Wilson at number 2 with long time number 1, Gary Havelock, moving from number 1 to number 4.

Unfortunately for the Bears the changes did not produce the right result as they went down yet again at home to a Somerset team who were inspired by an unbeaten (by an opponent) performance by Shane Parker.

Ritchie Hawkins was excluded from heat 1 when he tried to anticipate the tapes and got them wrapped around his neck. He was excluded and replaced by James Holder in the rerun. This worked out rather well for the Rebels because James gated and held off the challenges of Tomas Suchanek to win the race for a 3-3. He didn’t win heat 2, however, as Stuart Swales did that. Gary Irving, attempting an outside pass on Holder, crashed causing the race to be awarded as a 3-3. However the bad news for the Rebels was that James Holder dislocated his shoulder and was out of the rest of the meeting. Shane Parker and Sam Masters headed off to lead Gary Havelock looking for a 1-5 in heat 3 but Havelock got past Masters off the last bend to restrict the Rebels to a 2-4 and two point lead. Cory Gathercole then passed both Stuart Swales and Emiliano Sanchez to win heat 4 for a shared heat and 11-13 score.

Havelock emerged for heat 5 and won this comfortably but Lubos Tomicek and Ritchie Hawkins followed him home for another shared race then Henning Bager got his first win for the Bears in heat 6 but Gathercole and Mark Baseby shared the points behind him after Stuart Swales had fallen. It got worse for the Bears as Parker and Masters gated in heat 7 to record a 1-5 which extended the Rebels’ lead to six points. It became eight when Ritchie Hawkins won heat 8 from Sanchez while Baseby picked up third after Swales had fallen again. The score now stood at 20-28 with the Bears in trouble again.

Gathercole won heat 9 from Havelock and Suchanek for a 3-3 but the game looked up when Masters and Parker scored another 1-5 from Irving and Bager increasing Somerset’s lead to 12 points and sending Redcar into TR territory. Sure enough Emiliano Sanchez wore the black and white helmet cover in heat 11 in which Stuart Swales fell yet again causing a rerun with all four back. Hawkins won the race for the Rebels but Sanchez and Swales kept Tomicek at the back so the Bears scored a 5-3 to cut the gap to 10 points. They shaved another two points from Somerset‘s lead with a 4-2 in heat 12 won by Stuart Swales from Mark Baseby and Tomas Suchanek with Masters at the back. The score was then 33-41.

Redcar continued to make inroads to Somerset’s lead with another 4-2 in heat 13. Emiliano Sanchez won the race while Henning Bager’s attempts to catch Cory Gathercole just failed. Nonetheless the Bears took a 4-2 so the gap was down to six with just two races left. Unfortunately for the home boys, Shane Parker was in unstoppable mood and completed a paid maximum by winning heat 14 and putting an end to Redcar’s hopes. Havelock and Swales shared the race so the only question in heat 15 was could the Rebels take all four match points. They could and they did in style with a last heat 1-5 from Gathercole and Parker which stretched the winning margin to ten points.

Scorers: Redcar – Emiliano Sanchez 12 (5) (incl a 4 point TR), Stuart Swales 9+3 (7), Gary Havelock 9 (9), Henning Bager 6+1 (5), Tomas Suchanek 4+1 (5), Gary Irving 1 (5).

Somerset – Shane Parker 13+2 (5) (paid maximum), Cory Gathercole 13 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 7+1 (4), Sam Masters 6+1 (4), Mark Baseby 5+2 (7), James Holder 5 (2), Lubos Tomicek 2 (4).



Premier League: Sheffield 54 (3 points), Berwick 39 (0 points) .


Team changes: Berwick: welcomed back Lee Complin after a lengthy absence due to injury. He took his place in the line up at number 2 while Anders Andersen moved to number 3 and Jade Mudgway to number 6 as a result of the new averages. The Bandits used Casper Wortmann as a guest at number 7 in place of Craig Branney.

Heat 1 was an epic in itself. Firstly, Ricky Ashworth fell on the first bend and all four were invited back for another try. The second attempt provided a crash on the third bend as Hugh Skidmore dived inside Adrian Rymel taking both into the fence. Skidmore was excluded but of more worry was the fact that his injuries required an ambulance ride back to the medical room to be checked over. He was then transferred to a County ambulance and taken to hospital ruling him out of the meeting. After a delay of around an hour the race was rerun with Adrian Rymel leading Ricky Ashworth home. Lee Complin picked up the third place point and the Bandits led 2-4. They soon trailed 7-5 though as Paul Cooper and Arlo Bugeja scored a 5-1 in the reserves race. 7-5 went to 12-6 after another home 5-1 with Josef Franc and Josh Auty leading Paul Clews home. Richard Hall won heat 4 but the real race was for third as Michal Makovsky and Arlo Bugeja exchanged places with Makovsky getting the point for a shared heat with the score now at 15-9.

Adrian Rymel passed Josef Franc in heat 5 but was in turn passed by Josh Auty leading to a 4-2 to the Tigers then Ricky Ashworth won heat 6 for a shared race which kept the Tigers’ eight point lead intact. It was extended to 12 points with a Hall, Cooper 5-1 in heat 7. This led to Lee Complin taking a TR in heat 8. Unfortunately this was not a success for the Bandits as he finished at the back of the field as Paul Cooper produced one of his round the boards rides to win from Casper Wortmann and Arlo Bugeja for a 4-2 taking the score to 31-17.

Josef Franc fell in heat 9 trying to round Michael Makovsky and was excluded from the rerun. There was no advantage for Berwick though as Josh Auty, in sparkling form, saw off Makovsky and Mudgway for a 3-3. Anders Andersen fell in heat 10 and was excluded from the rerun which Ricky Ashworth won from Paul Clews for a 4-2 and 16 point lead. It was time for Berwick to use their second TR as Adrian Rymel’s programmed ride came up in heat 11. He not only won it but team rode along with Lee Complin for the big 1-8 ahead of Richard Hall which cut the gap to nine points getting the Bandits to within touching distance of a match point. Josef Franc suffered an engine failure in heat 12 but Paul Cooper won the race for the Tigers after passing both Mudgway then Wortmann for a shared race and 42-33 score.

The Bandits pulled another two points back in heat 13 with another Rymel win after the Berwick number 1 had fended off Ashworth for all four laps. Behind him there was an equally good tussle between Makovsky and Hall which the Berwick rider won so the 2-4 cut the gap to just seven points. It was all for nothing though as the Tigers cruelly hit home 5-1s in heats 14 and 15 to put a gloss on the scoreboard which suggested that Berwick had been less competitive than in fact they had been in a superb match.
Scorers: Sheffield – Paul Cooper 15+1 (6), Josh Auty 12+3 (5) (paid maximum), Ricky Ashworth 10 (4), Richard Hall 10 (5), Josef Franc 4 (4), Arlo Bugeja 3+1 (5), Hugh Skidmore 0 (1)..

Berwick – Adrian Rymel 15 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), Casper Wortmann 7 (5), Michal Makovsky 6+1 (5), Paul Clews 4 (4), Jade Mudgway 3+3 (4), Lee Complin 3+1 (4), Anders Andersen 1 (3).

[PLUSTAR]

Saturday, 22 May



Premier League: Berwick 58 (3 points), Scun’thorpe 35 (0 points) .


Team changes: Berwick had new signing Michal Rajkowski at number 4 while Edinburgh’s Kalle Katajisto guested for Craig Branney at number 7. Scun’thorpe used Rider Replacement for Joel Parsons at number 2.

Scun’thorpe came with high hopes for this match after a superb display against Birmingham last night. If they’re wondering what happened they need look no further than the performances of the two sets of reserve where Mudgway and Katajisto outscored Hart and Lambert by 21+4 to 2.

Unfortunately there is not a lot of information about this match at the time of writing. However the opening race was shared as Magnus Karlsson headed home Adrian Rymel and Lee Complin. Kalle Katajisto won heat 2 and along with Jade Mudgway scored a 5-1 for an early four point lead to the Bandits. That lead still stood after the opening four heats with the score at 14-10.

Another Karlsson win in heat 5 saw the Scorpions pull back two points with a 2-4 but the Bandits cancelled that with a 4-2 in heat 6 after which there was a delay due to the sun blinding the riders coming off the back straight. When racing resumed Berwick hit home a 5-1 in heat 7 and 4-2 in heat 8 to rocket their score to 29-19.

Another 5-1 in heat 9 won by Paul Clews had the Scorpions in deep trouble and a 4-2 in heat 10 courtesy of Rymel and Lee Complin stretched the home side’s lead to 16 points. Scun’thorpe benefited from a TR in heat 11 which earned them a 6-3 cutting the gap to 13 points but the Bandits hit back with a 5-1 in heat 12 to increase their lead to 17 points with the score then 46-29.

Rymel and Makovsky scored a 4-2 in heat 13 to top the 50 point mark then Paul Clews and Jade Mudgway added a 5-1 in heat 14 while the last heat, won by Adrian Rymel, again was shared with the Bandits recording a 23 point victory.

Scorers: Berwick – Adrian Rymel 14 (5), Kalle Katajisto 13+1 (5), Paul Clews 11 (5), Jade Mudgway 8+3 (4), Michal Makovsky 6+2 (4), Lee Complin 4+1 (4), Michal Rajkowski 2+1 (3).

Scun’thorpe – Magnus Karlsson 13+1 (5), David Howe 9 (5), Carl Wilkinson 7 (5), Tero Aarnio 4+1 (5), Jerran hart 1 (4), Simon Lambert 1 (6).



Premier League: Rye House 68 (3 points), Redcar 24 (0 points) .


Team changes: Redcar again used Rider Replacement for Ben Wilson at number 2 and had Robert Branford at number 6 for Gary Irving.

This was Redcar’s third match in three nights. Having lost home and away to Somerset they were hoping for better things at Rye House but the Rockets knew that they would go top of the league if they could win this match provided Scun’thorpe didn’t do likewise at Berwick.

The Rockets were fast out of the starting blocks winning the first two races with 5-1s. Ekberg led Suchanek and Bager but, off the last bend, Chris Neath got through to second for the first of the 5-1s. Shields and Hughes added the second after passing early race leader Robert Branford but Jordan Frampton crashed through the fence in heat 3 off the second bend to be excluded. In the rerun Gary Havelock led Luke Bowen home while Suchanek took third for a 2-4. However another 5-1 from Linus Sundstrom and Kyle Hughes rocketed the home side into a ten point lead at 17-7.

It had turned into a rout at Hoddesdon again as the Rockets added another 5-1 in heat 5 from Frampton and Bowen with Henning Bager some way back in third; and another in heat 6 from Ekberg and Neath with Sanchez in third. In an effort to stem the tide the Bears gave Gary Havelock a TR in heat 7. Stop the rot he did although he didn’t win the race. Linus Sundstrom was the race winner but Havelock’s second place ahead of Kurt Shields meant that the race was shared 4-4. In heat 8 Emiliano Sanchez passed Kyle Hughes off the second bend but fell on the fourth bend and was excluded. In the rerun it was business as usual with another 5-1 for the Rockets from Hughes and Ekberg, their sixth in eight races taking the score to 36-14.

The Rockets’ seventh 5-1 arrived in heat 9 but, although Frampton won the race comfortably, Luke Bowen had his work cut out to hold on to second under pressure from Emiliano Sanchez. The run of 5-1s was interrupted again when Gary Havelock followed Chris Neath home for a 4-2 in heat 10. Heat 11, won by Linus Sundstrom, was shared with Bager second and Branford third but an eighth 5-1 went the Rockets way in heat 12 with Frampton and Hughes heading Havelock home taking the score to 53-21.

Sundstrom and Neath added 5-1 number nine in heat 13 and Bowen and Shields 5-1 number ten in heat 15 despite a TR by Tomas Suchanek. Sundstrom and Neath made it eleven 5-1s in heat 15 as the Rockets won by 44 points.

Scorers: Rye House – Linus Sundstrom 15 (5) (full maximum), Chris Neath 11+4 (5) (paid maximum), Kyle Hughes 9+3 (4) (paid maximum), Luke Bowen 9+2 (4), Stefan Ekberg 9+1 (4), Jordan Frampton 9 (4), Kurt Shields 6+1 (4).

Redcar – Gary Havelock 10 (5) (incl a 4 point TR), Emiliano Sanchez 5 (6), Henning Bager 3 (4), Tomas Suchanek 3 (5), Robert Branford 2+1 (6), Stuart Swales 1 (4).



Premier League Knockout Cup, 1st round, 1st leg: Workington 54, Stoke 36.


Team changes: Workington were without Peter Kildemand who was riding in the Danish Championship so they used Rider Replacement at number 4. Stoke had Somerset’s Cory Gathercole as a guest for Jason Bunyan at number 1 and used Rider Replacement for Klaus Jakobsen.

Stoke opened with a 1-5 from Lee Smart and Cory Gathercole but the Comets hit back with two 5-1s in the next two races thanks to Richard Lawson and Rusty Harrison in the reserves race then Craig Cook and Chris Schramm in heat 3. The Comets steadily built up a useful first leg lead uninterrupted by TRs which, of course, are not allowed in the KO Cup competition. By heat 9 the score was 34-20 in favour of the home side with Craig Cook in unstoppable form for them.

Stoke scored a 1-5 in heat 10 through Ricky Wells and Adam Roynon, returning to his former stomping ground, ahead of Andre Compton to cut the gap to 10 points. Stoke thereafter had a hard job holding on. They lost a 4-2 to Lawson and Schramm in heat 11 and another to Schramm and Harrison in heat 12 taking the score to 43-29.

Andre Compton won heat 13 but Cory Gathercole and Hynek Stichauer shared the race behind him but a 4-2 in heat 14 from Craig Cook and Richard Lawson put the Comets 16 points ahead and they extended it to 18 in heat 15 when Craig Cook completed a six ride full maximum while Hynek Stichauer finished second ahead of Chris Schramm for the home side’s fourth 4-2 over the final five races. The Comets look well placed to reach the next round in the return fixture at Stoke tomorrow night. If the Potters are going to pull back the 18 points they will need to find a way of stopping Craig Cook who is enjoying a fantastic run of form.

Scorers: Workington – Craig Cook 18 (6) (full maximum), Richard Lawson 11+1 (6), Chris Schramm 8+1 (6), Rusty Harrison 6+3 (4), Andre Compton 6 (4), John Branney 5+1 (4).

Stoke – Cory Gathercole 8+1 (5), Hynek Stichauer 8 (5), Ricky Wells 6 (4), Adam Roynon 5+1 (4), Lee Smart 5+1 (7), Taylor Poole 4 (6).

[PLUSTAR]

Sunday, 23 May



Premier League: Newport 39 (0 points), Birmingham 52 (3 points) .


Team changes: Birmingham used Rider Replacement for Chris Kerr at number 2.

How bad was this for the Wasps? Apart from the reserves race which was shared, Newport conceded 1-5s in all the others over the first 5 races to trail by 7-23! They gave Leigh Lanham a TR in heat 6 won by Jason Lyons but took a 5-3 when Justin Sedgmen got himself excluded by falling in the first running of the race. The five points rocketed the Wasps’ score into double figures but another 1-5 for the Brummies in heat 7 took the score to 13-31. The Wasps scored their second heat advantage of the match in heat 8 when Craig Watson became the first home rider to win a race and was supported in third by Todd Kurtz with Aaron Summers the meat in the sandwich for a 4-2. The score was then 17-33.

Another 1-5 in heat 9 put the visitors 20 points ahead as the interval mercifully arrived for the Wasps. In heat 10 Newport scored another 4-2 from Lanham and Watson but another Birmingham 1-5 in heat 11 kept the visitors’ lead growing. However it didn’t grow any bigger as Newport staged a bit of a rally (or did Birmingham take their feet off the pedals?) to make some inroads to the lead. A 4-2 in heat 12 from Mellgren and Kurtz took the score to 27-47 to start the rally.

This was followed by a 5-0 in heat 13 which had to be run four times. Firstly Jason Lyons fell and was excluded then, in the rerun, Steve Johnston fell on the first bend for an all four back second rerun. In this Johnston fell again on the first bend and the referee threw him out of the race. In the third rerun Nilsson and Lanham rode round unchallenged for the five points. Heat 14 brought another heat advantage for the Wasps with Kyle Legault winning from Richard Sweetman and Kurt Davies. The last race needed two reruns after Kim Nilsson had fallen causing an ‘all four back’ rerun. Next time Summers fell and was excluded from the second rerun which was won by Richard Sweetman from Nilsson and Lanham for a shared race.

Scorers: Newport – Leigh Lanham 11+2 (5) (incl a 4 point TR), Kim Nilsson 7 (5), Craig Watson 5+1 (4), Kyle Legault 5 (4), Anders Mellgren 4 (4), Alex Davies 4 (4) Todd Kurtz 3+1 (4).

Birmingham – Justin Sedgmen 15 (7), Richard Sweetman 11 (5), Aaron Summers 10+2 (6), Jason Lyons 8+1 (4), Steve Johnston 6+3 (4), Jake Anderson 2+1 (4).



Premier League Knockout Cup, 1st round, 2nd leg: Glasgow 42, King’s Lynn 48 King‘s Lynn won on aggregate by 105-75.

For the first time in a while both teams were at full strength. The Stars carried a 24 point advantage from the first leg and Glasgow never looked likely to pull it back. As it happened, King’s Lynn won with a bit to spare after losing the services of Joe Haines after a heat 3 crash which caused him to withdraw from the meeting.

There was very little passing on a warm, dry afternoon with most races being decided from the gate.

Glasgow opened with a 4-2 when Travis McGowan beat Tomas Topinka with Lee Dicken in third. After a shared reserves race there was a crash in heat 3 between Kozza Smith, Joe Haines and Josh Grajczonek with Haines coming off worst. The rerun with all four back (Mallett replacing Haines) was won by Josh Grajczonek for another 3-3 then King’s Lynn levelled with a 2-4 after James Grieves had broken the tapes and had to go from 15 metres back. Kevin Doolan won the rerun from Anders Andersen and Casper Wortmann taking the score to 12-12.

The next four races were all shared all from the gate but the Stars struck a decisive blow in heat 9 by scoring a 1-5 through Kevin Doolan and Darren Mallett from Grajczonek for a four point lead. Heats 10 and 11 were shared before the visitors opened a six point lead with a 2-4 in heat 12. Kozza Smith won the race from Josh Grajczonek while Darren Mallett picked up the third place point after Anders Andersen had fallen. This took the score to 33-39 with the tie long since settled.

Kevin Doolan kept his maximum going by gating to lead Grieves and McGowan home in heat 13 after Tomas Topinka had suffered an engine failure on the first bend. Casper Wortmann won heat 14 but Michael Penfold scored his first points for the Tigers by taking second ahead of Jaimie Courtney and Mallett. The race was shared as was the last race in which Kevin Doolan completed a brilliant five ride full maximum by leading McGowan and Grajczonek home.

Scorers: Glasgow – Travis McGowan 11+1 (5), Josh Grajczonek 10+1 (5), James Grieves 8 (4), Lee Dicken 5+1 (4), Anders Andersen 4 (4), Jaimie Courtney 2+2 (4), Michael Penfold 2 (4).

King’s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 15 (5) (full maximum), Casper Wortmann 10+1 (6), Kozza Smith 8+1 (5), Darren Mallett 6+2 (6), Tomas Topinka 6 (4), Linus Eklof 3+3 (4), Joe Haines ) (0).



Premier Trophy: Newcastle 56 (3 points), Edinburgh 37 (0 points) .


Team changes: Edinburgh were without Kevin Wolbert and Max Dilger, both on World Cup duty so used Rider Replacement for Wolbert at number 3 and had Cal McDade at number 6 for Dilger.

The opening heats produced 4-2s - one to either side. Larsen gated from Fisher and Sneddon in the opening race then in heat 2 Adam McKinna got a flyer while Dakota North slipped into second behind him. Kalle Katajisto cleverly hunted North down and passed him then set off after McKinna. A dive underneath McKinna on the third bend of lap 3 took him past the Newcastle rider who then baled out and tried to con the referee into thinking that Katajisto had caused him to fall. Cal McDade moved into third and the Monarchs took a 2-4. Bach and King gated for a 5-1 in heat 3 which put the Diamonds four ahead then a fast start by Andrew Tully led to him winning heat 4 by a distance. Katajisto just failed in the run in to the line to catch McKinna so the points were shared for a 14-10 score.

Ryan Fisher split the Bach, King pairing in heat 5 for a 4-2 for the home side then Kenni Larsen won heat 6 from Andrew Tully while Derek Sneddon passed Cal McDade for third and another 4-2 the same score as in heat 7 as Lemon beat Wethers who had to look lively to keep Dakota North at the back. Derek Sneddon won heat 8 with Cal McDade in second. Jozsef Tabaka passed Adam McKinna for third so the race was shared for a 29-19 score.

Andrew Tully took a TR in heat 9 and, after Rene Bach had passed him off the second bend, he chased hard only to be driven wide on an atrocious third bend causing him to fall. This third bend was so slick with no material to hold the riders up that anyone coming off the inside line had no chance of staying upright. The TR was blown and Tully was jeered and booed by certain partisan sections of the ‘crowd’ on the way back to the pits and they weren’t expressing concern for his well-being! He was excluded from the rerun in which Katajisto separated Bach and King only to fall at the same spot. This gave the home side a 5-1 as Katajisto, like Tully was also subjected to the jeers of the crowd after having the nerve to remount for the point. Larsen and Sneddon made fast starts to heat 10. While Larsen won the race unchallenged Sneddon got out of shape and was passed by both Tully and Wethers for a shared race. In heat 11 Ryan Fisher tried his luck as a TR. It couldn’t have helped him that his bike gave out before the riders came to the tapes but he jumped on Matthew Wethers bike. In the first running of the race Kalle Katajisto tried to go round Mark Lemon on the third bend but was left no room so had to bale out. However he amused the crowd with a foot stomping rage and the race was stopped with Lemon leading Fisher. Fisher gated in the rerun to win the race which brought an eerie silence from the loud mouths in the crowd who were not happy. This gave the Monarchs a 3-6 and they got a 2-4 in heat 12 as well. In the first running of the race, Katajisto led King round the first two bends but Wethers and McKinna came to grief on the first bend (at least that’s what I think happened - it was difficult to see because of the immense clouds of billowing dust). All four were invited back but Matthew Wethers was excluded for failing to beat the two minute time allowance. He went from 15 metres back as King and McKinna made the gate at the third attempt. Katajisto passed both down the back straight while Matthew Wethers also passed McKinna. Jason King fell and, shock, horror, he got the same treatment as other fallen riders by being excluded. The Newcastle ‘claque’ could not believe that one of their riders could possibly be treated this way and howled with dismay. At the fourth attempt, Katajisto got the better of McKinna round the opening bends but McKinna rode an excellent race to cling to the line for all four laps to deny Matthew Wethers anywhere to pass him. The 2-4 took the score to 42-33 but that was effectively the end of Edinburgh’s resistance.

Larsen, Fisher and Lemon came off the second bend of heat 13 together with elbows flailing but the Diamonds had the greater speed and pulled away for a 5-1. Rene Bach won heat 14 by a distance but Wethers got himself into second and held North off for the four laps for second and a 4-2. Rene Bach completed a superb maximum in the final race while Kenni Larsen followed him home for a paid maximum.

But in all honesty it was a dire match in warm weather on just about the slickest, dryest, and roughest track you could imagine. There were endless long delays while a decrepit old fire engine dawdled in vain round the track dribbling a few drops of water here and there (mainly there!). The meeting dragged on so long that it took two hours and 33 minutes from start to finish.

Scorers: Newcastle – Rene Bach 15 (5) (full maximum), Kenni Larsen 14+1 (5) (paid maximum), Mark Lemon 9+1 (4), Dakota North 6+2 (5), Jason King 5+2 (4), Derek Sneddon 5 (4), Adam McKinna 2 (3).

Edinburgh – Ryan Fisher 10 (4) (incl a 6 point TR), Andrew Tully 9 (6), Matthew Wethers 7+1 (6), Kalle Katajisto 7 (7), Cal McDade 3 (4), Jozsef Tabaka 1+1 (4).

[PLUSTAR]

Wednesday, 26 May



Premier League: King’s Lynn 60 (3 points), Stoke 35 (0 points) .


Team changes: Stoke had Somerset’s Cory Gathercole as a guest for the injured Jason Bunyan at number 1, Scun’thorpe’s Simon Lambert as a guest for the injured Taylor Poole at number 7 and used Rider Replacement for Klaus Jakobsen at number 2. They nominated Adam Lowe as their number 8.

This was another runaway win for the Stars as they registered a 25 point win which included seven 5-1s. Stoke had their moments though but unfortunately for them nothing like enough of them but the general opinion was that they had put up a spirited performance not always a feature of visiting sides to the Norfolk Arena.

The opening two races resulted in 4-2s for the Stars won by firstly Joe Haines from Cory Gathercole and Tomas Topinka then Casper Wortmann from Simon Lambert and Darren Mallett. Kozza Smith won heat 3 but Ricky Wells and Adam Roynon kept Linus Eklof at the back for a shared race before the Stars scored their first 5-1 of the match through Kevin Doolan and Wortmann for a 16-8 score.

The Stars got a shock in heat 5 through as Stoke scored a 1-5 through Cory Gathercole and Adam Roynon who made fast starts to lead Linus Eklof and Kozza Smith home cutting the gap to four points again. Joe Haines and Tomas Topinka scored 5-1 number 2 for the Stars in heat 6 to double the lead to eight points and it stayed that way with a Doolan win in heat 7 from Roynon and Wells. Haines and Wortmann added 5-1 number 3 in heat 8 taking the score to 30-18.

Two more home 5-1s arrived in heats 9 and 10 to end the match as a contest then Cory Gathercole took a TR in heat 11. The result was a 4-4 with Doolan winning it from Gathercole and the Stars sixth 5-1 was the outcome of heat 12 from Kozza Smith and Casper Wortmann for a 49-25 score. Casper Wortmann’s second place in the race behind his partner meant that he had completed his first ever four ride maximum in the Premier League.

Doolan and Topinka added a seventh 5-1 in heat 13 then Adam Roynon took the Potters’ second TR in heat 14, a bit late to get them back into contention! He won it though after passing Darren Mallett. Simon Lambert took third from Linus Eklof giving the Potters a 2-7 heat advantage. The Stars gave Casper Wortmann a heat 15 outing to see if he could register a five ride maximum but Cory Gathercole got the better of him off the second bend to follow Kevin Doolan home for a 4-2.

Scorers: King‘s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 15 (5) (full maximum), Joe Haines 11+1 (4) (paid maximum), Casper Wortmann 10+3 (5), Kozza Smith 9 (4), Tomas Topinka 8+2 (4), Darren Mallett 4 (4), Linus Eklof 3+1 (4).

Stoke – Cory Gathercole 12 (5) (incl a 4 point TR), Adam Roynon 11+2 (6) (incl a 6 point TR), Ricky Wells 5+1 (4), Hynek Stichauer 3 (4), Simon Lambert 3 (5), Lee Smart 1 (6).



Premier League: Birmingham 44 (3 points), Redcar 33 (0 points) Match abandoned after heat 12 due to weather and fence damage - the result stands.


Team changes: Birmingham : with Chris Kerr still absent but moving to reserve, Birmingham had Berwick’s Paul Clews as a guest at number 6 and new signing, Kyle Newman, formerly with Newport at number 7. Redcar still had Ben Wilson out with injury, so the Bears used Rider Replacement for him at number 5.

This match lasted just 12 heats before being called off because of the rain and a demolished fence. During the course of these 12 heats, Birmingham ran up five 5-1 heat advantages to build up a 20 point lead. Redcar then staged a come back which lasted just two heats before they were stopped in their tracks by the weather etc.!

5-1s in the opening two races suggested it was going to be long, hard night for the Bears. However Redcar managed a 2-4 in heat 3 after Richard Sweetman, in the lead, found his bike slowing which caused him to slip to the back. Gary Havelock won the race from Justin Sedgmen while Tomas Suchanek picked up third place. Suchanek was out again in heat 4 and split the Johnston, Newman pairing for a 4-2 to the home side which took the score to 16-8.

Henning Bager finished behind Sweetman in heat 5 with Sedgmen in third for a Brummies 4-2 just as the rain started. Jason Lyons and Aaron Summers repeated their 5-1 heat success in the opening race at the expense of Stuart Swales leaving the Bears 14 points down so the visitors gave Gary Havelock a TR in heat 7. He led Steve Johnston for over a lap before being passed but his second place resulted in a 4-4 shared race as Paul Clews finished third. Emiliano Sanchez then came to the party after three last places to win heat 8 from Summers while Stuart Swales took third from Kyle Newman for a 2-4 taking the score to 31-19.

Heats 9 and 10 both ended as Brummies 5-1s stretching their lead to 20 points but, in heat 11, Emiliano Sanchez took a TR and won it from Steve Johnston. With Henning Bager third the Bears scored a 2-7 and they added a 1-5 in heat 12. Gary Havelock led the race and Justin Sedgmen, in second, tried to round him but crashed into the safety fence. The race was awarded so, as Stuart Swales had passed Kyle Newman, he was promoted to second place with a paid win as the Bears reduced the deficit to 11 points. Their run of success was brief as the match was called off at that point.

Scorers: Birmingham – Jason Lyons 9 (3), Aaron Summers 8+3 (4), Steve Johnston 8 (3), Justin Sedgmen 6 (4), Richard Sweetman 5+1 (3), Kyle Newman 4+1 (4), Paul Clews 4 (3).

Redcar – Gary Havelock 11 (4) (incl a 4 point TR), Emiliano Sanchez 9 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), Stuart Swales 6+1 (5), Henning Bager 4 (3), Tomas Suchanek 3 (4), Gary Irving 0 (3).

[PLUSTAR]

Wednesday, 26 May



Premier League: King’s Lynn 60 (3 points), Stoke 35 (0 points) .


Team changes: Stoke had Somerset’s Cory Gathercole as a guest for the injured Jason Bunyan at number 1, Scun’thorpe’s Simon Lambert as a guest for the injured Taylor Poole at number 7 and used Rider Replacement for Klaus Jakobsen at number 2. They nominated Adam Lowe as their number 8.

This was another runaway win for the Stars as they registered a 25 point win which included seven 5-1s. Stoke had their moments though but unfortunately for them nothing like enough of them but the general opinion was that they had put up a spirited performance not always a feature of visiting sides to the Norfolk Arena.

The opening two races resulted in 4-2s for the Stars won by firstly Joe Haines from Cory Gathercole and Tomas Topinka then Casper Wortmann from Simon Lambert and Darren Mallett. Kozza Smith won heat 3 but Ricky Wells and Adam Roynon kept Linus Eklof at the back for a shared race before the Stars scored their first 5-1 of the match through Kevin Doolan and Wortmann for a 16-8 score.

The Stars got a shock in heat 5 through as Stoke scored a 1-5 through Cory Gathercole and Adam Roynon who made fast starts to lead Linus Eklof and Kozza Smith home cutting the gap to four points again. Joe Haines and Tomas Topinka scored 5-1 number 2 for the Stars in heat 6 to double the lead to eight points and it stayed that way with a Doolan win in heat 7 from Roynon and Wells. Haines and Wortmann added 5-1 number 3 in heat 8 taking the score to 30-18.

Two more home 5-1s arrived in heats 9 and 10 to end the match as a contest then Cory Gathercole took a TR in heat 11. The result was a 4-4 with Doolan winning it from Gathercole and the Stars sixth 5-1 was the outcome of heat 12 from Kozza Smith and Casper Wortmann for a 49-25 score. Casper Wortmann’s second place in the race behind his partner meant that he had completed his first ever four ride maximum in the Premier League.

Doolan and Topinka added a seventh 5-1 in heat 13 then Adam Roynon took the Potters’ second TR in heat 14, a bit late to get them back into contention! He won it though after passing Darren Mallett. Simon Lambert took third from Linus Eklof giving the Potters a 2-7 heat advantage. The Stars gave Casper Wortmann a heat 15 outing to see if he could register a five ride maximum but Cory Gathercole got the better of him off the second bend to follow Kevin Doolan home for a 4-2.

Scorers: King‘s Lynn – Kevin Doolan 15 (5) (full maximum), Joe Haines 11+1 (4) (paid maximum), Casper Wortmann 10+3 (5), Kozza Smith 9 (4), Tomas Topinka 8+2 (4), Darren Mallett 4 (4), Linus Eklof 3+1 (4).

Stoke – Cory Gathercole 12 (5) (incl a 4 point TR), Adam Roynon 11+2 (6) (incl a 6 point TR), Ricky Wells 5+1 (4), Hynek Stichauer 3 (4), Simon Lambert 3 (5), Lee Smart 1 (6).



Premier League: Birmingham 44 (3 points), Redcar 33 (0 points) Match abandoned after heat 12 due to weather and fence damage - the result stands.


Team changes: Birmingham : with Chris Kerr still absent but moving to reserve, Birmingham had Berwick’s Paul Clews as a guest at number 6 and new signing, Kyle Newman, formerly with Newport at number 7. Redcar still had Ben Wilson out with injury, so the Bears used Rider Replacement for him at number 5.

This match lasted just 12 heats before being called off because of the rain and a demolished fence. During the course of these 12 heats, Birmingham ran up five 5-1 heat advantages to build up a 20 point lead. Redcar then staged a come back which lasted just two heats before they were stopped in their tracks by the weather etc.!

5-1s in the opening two races suggested it was going to be long, hard night for the Bears. However Redcar managed a 2-4 in heat 3 after Richard Sweetman, in the lead, found his bike slowing which caused him to slip to the back. Gary Havelock won the race from Justin Sedgmen while Tomas Suchanek picked up third place. Suchanek was out again in heat 4 and split the Johnston, Newman pairing for a 4-2 to the home side which took the score to 16-8.

Henning Bager finished behind Sweetman in heat 5 with Sedgmen in third for a Brummies 4-2 just as the rain started. Jason Lyons and Aaron Summers repeated their 5-1 heat success in the opening race at the expense of Stuart Swales leaving the Bears 14 points down so the visitors gave Gary Havelock a TR in heat 7. He led Steve Johnston for over a lap before being passed but his second place resulted in a 4-4 shared race as Paul Clews finished third. Emiliano Sanchez then came to the party after three last places to win heat 8 from Summers while Stuart Swales took third from Kyle Newman for a 2-4 taking the score to 31-19.

Heats 9 and 10 both ended as Brummies 5-1s stretching their lead to 20 points but, in heat 11, Emiliano Sanchez took a TR and won it from Steve Johnston. With Henning Bager third the Bears scored a 2-7 and they added a 1-5 in heat 12. Gary Havelock led the race and Justin Sedgmen, in second, tried to round him but crashed into the safety fence. The race was awarded so, as Stuart Swales had passed Kyle Newman, he was promoted to second place with a paid win as the Bears reduced the deficit to 11 points. Their run of success was brief as the match was called off at that point.

Scorers: Birmingham – Jason Lyons 9 (3), Aaron Summers 8+3 (4), Steve Johnston 8 (3), Justin Sedgmen 6 (4), Richard Sweetman 5+1 (3), Kyle Newman 4+1 (4), Paul Clews 4 (3).

Redcar – Gary Havelock 11 (4) (incl a 4 point TR), Emiliano Sanchez 9 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), Stuart Swales 6+1 (5), Henning Bager 4 (3), Tomas Suchanek 3 (4), Gary Irving 0 (3).

[PLUSTAR]

Friday, 28 May



Premier League: Edinburgh 59 (3 points), Scun’thorpe 34 (0 points) .


Team changes: Scun’thorpe again used Rider Replacement at number 2 for the injured Joel Parsons.

The crowd wondered what the track would be like after heavy rain around 5.00pm left it looking very heavy but the answer arrived in heat 1 when Ryan Fisher demolished the old track record which had stood for nearly four years by shaving 0.7 seconds off it to a new 53.9 seconds. Simon Lambert fell on the second bend so Jozsef Tabaka took advantage by slipping into third behind Magnus Karlsson for a 4-2. Kalle Katajisto started another stunning performance in heat 2 by breaking the old track record too to win from Jerran Hart and Simon Lambert for a shared heat then Kevin Wolbert and Matthew Wethers gated to a 5-1 in heat 3 putting the Monarchs six points ahead. Heat 7 was a cracker. Andrew Tully was fast away and was never troubled in winning the race but a titanic struggle developed behind him between Kalle Katajisto and David Howe. The pair changed positions a couple of times before Katajisto finally saw off Howe’s challenge for another 5-1 and ten point lead at 17-7.

Immediately Scun’thorpe gave Magnus Karlsson a TR in heat 5 off gate 1. He made no mistake by gating to win ahead of Wethers and Wolbert for a 3-6 to the Scorpions but the Monarchs replied with a 4-2 in heat 6. Ryan Fisher led from tapes to flag and there was nothing that David Howe, in second, could do to stop him. Tabaka took third after Jerran Hart had fallen and remounted. A Tully win in heat 7 resulted in a 3-3 then came another exciting ride from Kalle Katajisto who was outgated by Carl Wilkinson in heat 8. He stalked Wilkinson then chose his moment beautifully to execute a round the boards pass on the third and fourth bends on the third lap for another win. Tabaka passed Simon Lambert so the Monarchs scored a 4-2 for a 31-20 lead.

The home side got a jolt, however, when David Howe and Jerran Hart both gated to lead Matthew Wethers and Kevin Wolbert home in heat 9 for a shock 1-5 (well it shocked me!) cutting the Monarchs’ lead to just seven points. Edinburgh responded with a 5-1 in heat 10 thanks to a Fisher, Katajisto 5-1 from Wilkinson. Andrew Tully won heat 11 for a 3-3 then another 5-1 in heat 12 seemed to have sealed all three points for the home side when Wolbert and Katajisto led home Tero Aarnio for a 45-30 score.

David Howe took Scun’thorpe’s second TR in heat 13 but Ryan Fisher gated while Andrew Tully worked his way off the second bend into third. He pressurised Magnus Karlsson passing him at the start of the third lap. Karlsson came to grief on the fourth bend of the same lap with David Howe at the back. The race was awarded to Edinburgh as a 4-2. Kalle Katajisto was out again in heat 14 and won from Matthew Wethers to complete a six ride paid maximum and record another 5-1. Katajisto was given another ride in heat 15 to see if he could complete a seven ride maximum but this time it was a bridge too far. Although he briefly passed David Howe to join his partner, Ryan Fisher, for a potential 5-1, David Howe got past the young Finn again so the race finished as a 4- 2 with Fisher completing a full five ride maximum and Katajisto, dropping two points in the race, having to be content with a paid 19 score!

Scorers: Edinburgh – Kalle Katajisto 17+2 (7), Ryan Fisher 15 (5) (full maximum), Andrew Tully 11+1 (4) (paid maximum), Matthew Wethers 7+2 (4), Kevin Wolbert 6+2 (4), Jozsef Tabaka 3 (3), Max Dilger 0 (3).

Scun‘thorpe – Magnus Karlsson 10 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), David Howe 9 (5), Jerran Hart 6+2 (6), Carl Wilkinson 6 (5), Tero Aarnio 2+1 (4), Simon Lambert 1+1 (5).



Premier League: Somerset 46 (0 points), Rye House 47 (3 points) .


Team changes: Somerset were missing Sam Masters and used Rider Replacement at number 3 instead. They also had Newcastle’s Dakota North as a guest for James Holder at number 6 and nominated Matt Bates as their number 8.

Rye House took the lead in the opening heat with a 2-4 from Stefan Ekberg and Chris Neath with Ritchie Hawkins in second. It was a lead they were never to relinquish as they recorded another away victory. They had to survive a tough struggle in heat 15 though as the Rebels threatened to steal the win at the death but it just didn’t happen for the home side.

Dakota North won the reserves race for a 3-3 then Shane Parker rounded Jordan Frampton in heat 3 for another drawn heat but the Rockets doubled their lead with another 2-4 in heat 4. Linus Sundstrom and Kyle Hughes muscled their way to the front to threaten a 1-5 but Cory Gathercole passed Hughes on the second lap and almost caught Sundstrom. The result was a 2-4 and 10-14 score.

The fast gating Rockets were fast away in heat 5 but Shane Parker took to the end of the first lap to sweep round both Neath and Ekberg to head off for the win and another 3-3. Linus Sundstrom gated to win heat 6 for another shared race then Cory Gathercole did likewise in heat 7. The alarm bells started ringing for the Rebels in heat 8 after Ekberg took Hawkins wide on the second bend allowing Kyle Hughes through for second. The Rockets rode off for a 1-5 which took the score to 20-28.

A tight race in heat 9 saw Linus Sundstrom pip Shane Parker to win it for another 3-3 but a 2-4 from Frampton and Bowen stretched the Rockets’ lead to ten points in heat 10. This allowed Cory Gathercole to take a TR in heat 11. He won this from Ekberg and, when Chris Neath, retired with engine trouble, Ritchie Hawkins finished third for a 7-2 cutting the gap to five points. The Rockets responded to this with a 1-5 in heat 12 from Kyle Hughes and Jordan Frampton increasing the visitors’ lead to nine points at 33-42.

Somerset hit back hard in heat 13 with a 5-1. Lubos Tomicek finally came to the party with a win while Cory Gathercole, who ended up at the back after his front wheel had lifted on the run to the first bend, passed both Neath and Sundstrom to follow Tomicek home. The maximum cut the gap to just five points and they shaved another two points off it with a 4-2 in heat 14 from Parker and North. This left the Rebels trailing by three points going into the last race. They needed a 5-1 to pull of what would have been a sensational fight back but it didn’t happen. Shane Parker gated to raise home hopes but Linus Sundstrom got the better of Cory Gathercole on the first bend to slot into second place. Despite Gathercole’s best efforts Sundstrom held on for the two points the Rockets’ needed to win the match by a single point.

Scorers: Somerset – Cory Gathercole 14+1 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), Shane Parker 14 (5), Ritchie Hawkins 7+1 (5), Dakota North 6+1 (7), Lubos Tomicek 5 (4), Mark Baseby 0 (4).

Rye House – Linus Sundstrom 12 (5), Stefan Ekberg 9+1 (5), Jordan Frampton 8+2 (4), Kyle Hughes 7+2 (5), Luke Bowen 6+1 (4), Chris Neath 3 (4), Kurt Shields 2 (3).



Premier League: Redcar 44 (0 points), Sheffield 49 (3 points) .


Team changes: Sheffield were without Josef Franc and used Rider Replacement at number 4 instead.

Redcar just can’t seem to buy a win anywhere at the moment and, following last night’s drubbing at Sheffield, they lost again to the Tigers to remain without a Premier League home win to their name after five attempts. The Bears were never in front in this match and after two shared races won by Hugh Skidmore, after Ricky Ashworth had fallen and been excluded, then Stuart Swales in the reserves race they fell behind to a 2-4 in heat 3 won by Josh Auty from Gary Havelock and Hugh Skidmore. Worse followed as Richard Hall and Paul Cooper added a 1-5 ahead of Ben Wilson in heat 4 for a score of 9-15.

Another 2-4 from a Skidmore win ahead of Havelock and Ashworth increased the Tigers’ lead to 11-19 in heat 5 but the Bears hit back with 4-2 in heat 6 as Henning Bager won from Richard Hall and Emiliano Sanchez. The Bears were hit with another Sheffield 1-5 in heat 7 from Josh Auty and Ricky Ashworth so found themselves ten points in arrears requiring the black and white helmet cover to look for a revival. Emiliano Sanchez took the TR in heat 8 and won it after passing Skidmore. With Swales supporting him in third place, the Bears scored a 7-2 cutting the gap to five points at 23-28.

The revival continued with a 5-1 in heat 9 from Suchanek and Bugeja cutting the visitors’ lead to a single point. Sanchez won heat 10 and with Bager challenging for second it looked as though the Bears might actually go in front but disappointingly for the home support, Bager slipped to the back and the race was shared. Sheffield pressed ahead again over the next two races with 2-4 s in each thanks to wins for Ashworth then Auty taking the score to 35-40.

Redcar were unable to make any other inroads into the Sheffield lead as Ricky Ashworth and Josh Auty (twice) won the last three races all for shared races with Josh Auty particularly impressive.

Scorers: Redcar – Emiliano Sanchez 14 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), Gary Havelock 9+2 (5), Henning Bager 6+1 (4), Stuart Swales 6+1 (5), Tomas Suchanek 5 (4), Ben Wilson 4+1 (4), Gary Irving 0 (3).

Sheffield – Josh Auty 16+1 (6), Hugh Skidmore 10 (5), Ricky Ashworth 9+1 (6), Richard Hall 7 (5), Paul Cooper 4+2 (5).

[PLUSTAR]

Saturday, 29 May



Premier League: Berwick 58 (3 points), Somerset 35 (0 points) .


Team changes: Berwick had Newcastle’s Adam McKinna guesting for the injured Craig Branney at number 7 while Somerset had Bournemouth’s Kyle Howarth guesting at number 6 for the injured James Holder. They also used Rider Replacement for Sam Masters who was on World Cup Duty at number 3 and nominated James McBain as their number 8.

It was a cold night at Berwick with some heavy clouds around. The track looked a bit on the dry side and very slick so the racing tended to be very strung out. However the centre green presenter had a great time regaling the crowd with his homey anecdotes and reminding everyone at every conceivable opportunity that Paul Clews was a British Finalist.

Any chance that Somerset might have had disappeared completely when they lost Cory Gathercole in a heat 6 crash with Lee Complin. As it happened the Rebels found themselves 10 points down after three races through poor gating on a very much one line track. The first two races saw the Bandits fast away for consecutive 5-1s and in heat 3 British Finalist, Paul Clews, made an electric start to get to the first bend ahead of Shane Parker and Michal Rajkowski for a 4-2. Michal Makovsky tried hard to lean on Cory Gathercole going into the first bend of heat 4 but Cory was having none of it and a big ‘E’ (elbow) sent Makovsky to the back as the Rebel shot off to win the race and Makovsky shot off towards the burger bar. Makovsky recovered sufficiently to pass Kyle Howarth to finish behind Adam McKinna for a shared race while the Berwick centre green presenter crooned to the crowd about Makovsky’s magnificent team riding to protect McKinna. This was an education for me since I didn’t know you could team ride with a partner who was a good ten bike lengths ahead of you! The score was then 17-7.

British Finalist, Paul Clews gated to lead Ritchie Hawkins home for a 5-1 ahead of Ritchie Hawkins in heat 5 while a desperately slow looking Lubos Tomicek finished way at the back. Then effectively came the end of the match for Somerset in heat 6 yet they scored a 1-5 from it! Initially Adrian Rymel crashed through the tapes having to start from 15 metres back in the rerun in which Cory Gathercole chased the fast gating Lee Complin until, coming off the fourth bend of lap 3, Complin turned left towards the centre green. Gathercole right on his back wheel could not avoid crashing into him and ended up flying through the air to land on the centre green damaging his shoulder in the process. Complin was rightly excluded and the race awarded to Gathercole. Meanwhile behind this pair Kyle Howarth had ridden a superb race to maintain his 15 metre lead from the tapes over Adrian Rymel. He was rewarded with a paid win for finishing second and the Rebels cut the deficit to 10 points again. Unfortunately Gathercole was withdrawn from the meetings by the medics while Complin suffered a broken toe which did not, however, prevent him from continuing in the meeting. Somerset then gave a Tactical Ride to Shane Parker in heat 7 and he won this comfortably from Michal Makovsky and Jade Mudgway for a 3-6 which brought the Rebels even closer by reducing the gap to seven points. And they weren’t finished! Somerset’s guest Kyle Howarth made a great start to heat 8 and rode a great race to head Lee Complin and Ritchie Hawkins home for his first ever Premier League heat win. With Hawkins in third the Rebels scored a 2-4 and were now only five points adrift at 28-23.

It was never going to last though with such depleted resources and British Finalist, Clews, and Rajkowski benefited from Somerset having to field their two reserves in heat 9 to score a 5-1 increasing their lead to nine points. Rymel outgated Shane Parker in heat 10 with Lee Complin in hot pursuit for a 4-2 then Makovsky and Mudgway gated to another 5-1 ahead of Tomicek. Ritchie Hawkins having fallen on the third bend. Somerset used their second TR in heat 12 with Ritchie Hawkins wearing the black and white helmet cover. This was not a success as Hawkins fell on the third bend. The race was rerun without him and it was Adam McKinna and Michal Rajkowski who were fast away heading for a 5-1. However Kyle Howarth chased Rajkowski hard and, when the Raj found his bike temporarily slowing he shot past him into second down the back straight so the Bandits had to be content with a 4-2 which took the score to 46-29.

Lubos Tomicek led heat 13 from the gate but was no match for Makovsky and Rymel who both cruised past him for a 5-1. Another fast gate from British Finalist, Paul Clews, who certainly had his gating boots on left Shane Parker to follow him in second. Mudgway took third so the Bandits added a 4-2 to the score leaving them needing a 5-1 in the last race to hit the 60 point mark. However Shane Parker made the gate in the final heat and it was all British Finalist, Clews, and Makovsky could do to follow him home for a shared race.

Scorers: Berwick – Paul Clews (British Finalist) 14 (5), Michal Makovsky 10+2 (5), Adrian Rymel 9+1 (4), Jade Mudgway 7+2 (4), Adam McKinna 7+1 (4), Michal Rajkowski 6+2 (4), Lee Complin 5+1 4).

Somerset – Shane Parker 15 (5) (incl a 6 point TR), Kyle Howarth 9+1 (7), Cory Gathercole 6 (2), Ritchie Hawkins 3 (5), Lubos Tomicek 2 (5), Mark Baseby 0 (6).



Premier League: Workington 42 (0) points), Sheffield 47 (3 points) .


Team changes: Sheffield : used Rider Replacement for Josef Franc at number 4.

Sheffield arrived at Workington on the back of a home win against Berwick and an away win against Redcar on successive nights. They made it three wins on the trot with another away win this time at Workington although falling a couple of points short of taking all four match points.

The Tigers took a 2-4 from heat 1 as Ricky Ashworth beat Andre Compton with Hugh Skidmore in third but the Comets wiped that out and took the lead with a 5-1 in the reserves race through Rusty Harrison and Richard Lawson. In heat 3 there were only two finishers as firstly Hugh Skidmore fell on the first bend and was excluded then Chris Schramm fell on the third lap. Josh Auty won the race from Craig Cook and a 2-3 so there was now just a single point between the teams. Heat 4 produced another 5-1 for the Comets as Rusty Harrison won again and was supported in second place by Peter Kildemand after the race had been rerun without Richard Hall who fell in the first running and was excluded. This took the score to 14-9 and everything in the home camp looked rosy.

It didn’t look rosy for long! In heat 5 Ashworth and Skidmore headed Craig Cook home for a 5-1 with Chris Schramm stranded at the tapes after his bike failed to move. Now the home side were just a point ahead again and it stayed like that after Richard Hall had won heat 6 from Compton and Branney for a 3-3. The owners of the one point lead switched in heat 7 when the Tigers took a 2-4. Ricky Ashworth won for the third time this time beating Peter Kildemand despite the strong efforts of the Comet to pass him. Josh Auty’s third place put Sheffield a point ahead. Hugh Skidmore won heat 8, the Tigers 6th race winner of the match so far, while Schramm took second after failing to pass the Sheffield man for another 2-4 taking the score to 22-25.

Back came Workington in heat 9 with a 5-1 from Craig Cook and Chris Schramm which wiped out the visitors’ lead and put the Comets a point ahead again. Sheffield struck back immediately in heat 10 with a 1-5 from Richard Hall and Josh Auty to restore their three point lead. Peter Kildemand won heat 11 finally lowering Ricky Ashworth’s colours but Skidmore’s third place meant that the race was shared. With Auty and Ashworth in great form though Workington conceded another 2-4 in heat 12
When Josh Auty and Paul Cooper gated to sit on a 1-5. Chris Schramm passed Cooper on the third bend, third lap though for two points limiting the damage to a 2-4 and producing a 33-38 score.

Workington pulled two points back with a 4-2 in heat 13. Andre Compton beat Ricky Ashworth while Peter Kildemand took third from Richard Hall. There were now just three points between the teams with two races left. Josh Auty worked his way to the front in heat 14 for a shared race so the Comets needed a 5-1 to win by a single point while Sheffield needed a 1-5 for all four points. Neither were successful but the Tigers would not be too concerned as Ricky Ashworth and Josh Auty took a 2-4 with Compton in second for an excellent away win.

Scorers: Workington – Andre Compton 9 (5), Rusty Harrison 9 (5), Peter Kildemand 8+1 (5), Craig Cook 7+1 (4), Chris Schramm 4+1 (4), Richard Lawson 4+1 (4), John Branney 1+1.

Sheffield – Ricky Ashworth 16 (6), Josh Auty 13+1 (6), Hugh Skidmore 7+2 (5), Richard Hall 7 (5), Paul Cooper 4 (5), Arlo Bugeja 0 (3).

[Merlin]

Friday, 11 June



Premier League: Edinburgh 51 (3 points), Workington 39 (0 points) .


Team changes: Edinburgh were without three of their riders in various GP Qualifiers. David Howe guested for Ryan Fisher, William Lawson guested for Kevin Wolbert and Rider Replacement at number 2 was used for Tobias Busch. Workington were missing the injured Chris Schramm and used Rider Replacement at number 3 instead.

Edinburgh won this highly competitive match by 51-39 which, at one stage, looked as if it would go down to the wire. But they gained three valuable points to remain top of the Premier League.

And, for skipper Matthew Wethers, who scored ten points, that was what mattered most. He said: "We have got to be happy to be leading the table even although it's early in the season. It was a pretty good team effort and also a good effort by our two guests."

It was by no means plain sailing, especially over the first four races where Monarchs contrived to squander points. For once, Finn Kalle Katajisto endured a less than perfect evening and his eight-point tally was a reminder that double figure scores, which he has been racking up of late, cannot be guaranteed.

His most glaring mishap occurred in heat four when partner Andrew Tully came to grief after Comets star Peter Kildemand took away his front wheel. In the rerun, Tully and Katajisto collided with each other on the first bend – which earned Katajisto a disqualification.

"I was blinded by the sun", said Katajisto, "I lost my vision and couldn't see where I was going and I panicked a little. It wasn't my best meeting but the team won and that was the most important thing." The incident shook Katajisto up a bit but, to his immense credit, he bounced back to win a critical heat 14 clash against Craig Cook, which effectively sealed the match for Monarchs.

This was William Lawson’s first competitive meeting since injuring his foot riding for his Elite League club Belle Vue Aces five weeks ago. He scored a very valuable nine points after a shaky start and his sixth-race win, his sole victory on the night, was a brilliant effort as he blocked Kildemand's attempts to pass him at every turn.

Howe didn't let Monarchs down either as he piled up 12 points from five starts, including a trio of race wins. "I felt happy to have helped Monarchs out," said Howe, "And I was pleased with my display, it was a tough meeting because Workington put up a good fight."

Andrew Tully also rallied to the cause and his 12 points ultimately proved invaluable. His 5-1 with Howe over Kenny Ingalls and Craig Cook in heat 10 helped knock the stuffing out of the Comets. Tully said: "We got the win we wanted. Workington nicked a point at King's Lynn last week and could have done so against us but, thankfully, we held on in the end."

Workington, who used rider replacement for the injured Chris Schramm, will perhaps be a tad dismayed that acting skipper Andre Compton had a stinker, which reflected his struggle for form this season. Compton managed a meagre four points and could only win one race.

He said: "Early on things were going for us but we saw a difference after Edinburgh had the track watered. It then suited their guys, who pulled away in the second half of the meeting. But I was happy with our display, we pulled together as a squad.

"Normally we come to Armadale expecting nothing, but all the lads tried and I can't ask for anything more. I wasn't pleased by my own performance. I got caught out by the grip in my first ride and this caught a few people out.

“But my biggest problem since I moved to No.1 is coming out in heat five and not coming out again until heat eleven. It's like turning up at a different meeting, the bike is cold and everything is different, I've not quite got my head round adapting to it."

Compton added: "I wished I'd done better because Armadale is one of my favourite tracks. But Edinburgh are riding well right now and they had decent guests to compensate for their missing riders."

Monarchs also earned nine points from the rider replacement facility for Tobias Busch which they will consider an excellent return.

( Adapted from the Edinburgh Evening News Report)

Scorers: Edinburgh – Andrew Tully 12+3 (6), David Howe 12 (5), Matthew Wethers 10 (5), William Lawson 9 (5), Kalle Katajisto 8+1 (6), Max Dilger 0 (3)..

Workington – Peter Kildemand 11 (6), Rusty Harrison 9 (5), Craig Cook 7+1 (6), Kenny Ingalls 5+2 (5), Andre Compton 4+1 (4), Richard Lawson 3+1 (4)..



Premier League: Somerset 42 (0 points), Birmingham 48 (3 points) .


Team changes: Somerset : still missing Cory Gathercole used Rider Replacement at number 3 while Birmingham had Jerran hart as a guest at number 6 for Chris Kerr.

Birmingham produced a stunning win at the Oak Tree Arena by recording a six point victory against the Rebels effectively without their number 1, Jason Lyons, who was withdrawn from the meeting after a crash in the opening heat with Lubos Tomicek.

Undaunted the rest of the side rallied to leave the Rebels well beaten although their win wasn’t quite enough for the fourth match point.. The Brummies showed their mettle as early as heat 2 when they scored a 1-5 in the reserves race to move four points ahead but the Rebels pulled two back with a heat four 4-2 from Shane Parker and Mark Baseby. Somerset squared the match with another 4-2 in heat 5 after a fine win from Sam Masters then forged ahead with another two 4-2s in heats 6 and 7 with further wins from heat 1 winner, Ritchie Hawkins, and Shane Parker to lead by 23-19.

After a track grading and watering Birmingham had three match defining races. It began with a 2-4 in heat 8 in which Ritchie Hawkins had to pass Kyle Newman to finish behind Aaron Summers to prevent a 1-5. The Rebels’ lead was down to two points and it changed hands in heat 9 when Steve Johnston and Jerran Hart scored a 1-5 ahead of Somerset’s best pairing of Sam Masters and Shane Parker. Another of the same from Justin Sedgmen and Richard Sweetman in heat 10 saw the visitors surge six points ahead against their shell-shocked hosts at 27-33.

Shane Parker raised home spirits with a heat 11 win from Aaron Summers while James Holder’s third place produced a 4-2 cutting the Brummies’ lead to four points but a calamitous 1-5 against the Rebels in heat 12 from Sedgmen and Newman had the home side staring down the barrel of a defeat as they now trailed by 32-40.

Again Shane Parker came to their rescue with a win in heat 13. He was supported this time by Lubos Tomicek in second for a 5-1 which brought the Rebels back to within touching distance at four points in arrears but it was all over when Richard Sweetman won heat 14 from Sam Masters with Kyle Newman picking up third, after James Holder retired, for a match winning 2-4. With a six point lead the Brummies needed an advantage from the last race for the fourth match point but Ritchie Hawkins denied them by winning from Sedgmen and Johnston for a 3-3.

Scorers: Somerset – Ritchie Hawkins 13 (6), Shane Parker 12 (6), Sam Masters 9 (5), Lubos Tomicek 4+2 (5), James Holder 3 (5), Mark Baseby 1 (3)..

Birmingham – Justin Sedgmen 13 (5), Aaron Summers 9 (4), Kyle Newman 8+2 (6), Steve Johnston 8+1 (5), Jerran Hart 5+2 (6), Richard Sweetman 5+1 (4).

[Merlin]

Saturday, 12 June



Premier League: Rye House 53 (3 points), Newcastle 43 (0 points) .


Team changes: Newcastle were missing Kenni Larsen riding overseas and covered his absence with Rider Replacement at number 2. They also had Kyle Howarth at number 6 in place of the injured Adam McKinna.

Rye House quickly shook off their hangover of last week’s home defeat at the hands of Edinburgh by rattling in three 5-1s in the opening four races for an early 18-6 lead. Only an engine failure for Kurt Shields in heat 2 gave the Diamonds any respite during this onslaught but it didn’t stop there. Newcastle looked like sharing heat 5 until Stefan Ekberg passed Mark Lemon for third behind Chris Neath and Jason King so the Rockets added a 4-2. 5-1 number four arrived in heat 6 from Luke Bowen and Jordan Frampton to open up an eighteen point lead. However that was as good as it got for the Rockets who then led 27-9.

After sharing heat 7 behind race winner Linus Sundstrom the Diamonds had possibly unique back to back 2-7s in heats 8 and 9 to cut ten points from the Rockets’ lead. In heat 8 Mark Lemon took the TR for the full six points with support in third place from Dakota North. Now just 13 down the Diamonds then gave Rene Bach a TR in heat 9 and he won it from Ekberg. However with Chris Neath having an engine failure while leading the race there was an element of luck about Bach’s win. Kyle Howarth picked up the third place point for the second 2-7 so the score progressed to 34-26.

The Rockets stretched the lead to ten points again with a win by Frampton from Sneddon and Bowen but the Diamonds made further progress with consecutive 2-4s in heats 11 and 12 thanks to wins from Bach and King so all of a sudden the match was in the balance as the gap was down to six points. Newcastle had won 12-24 over the last six races but a 5-1 from Sundstrom and Frampton over Lemon and Bach all but ended Newcastle’s hopes of a point in heat 13. So it turned out as the last two races won by Derek Sneddon then Linus Sundstrom were shared.

Scorers: Rye House – Linus Sundstrom 13+1 (5), Jordan Frampton 9+3 (5), Kyle Hughes 9+1 (5), Stefan Ekberg 8 (4), Chris Neath 7+1 (4), Luke Bowen 7 (4), Kurt Shields 0 (3).

Newcastle – Rene Bach 12+1 (6) (incl a 6 point TR), Mark Lemon 9 (5)(incl a 6 point TR), Jason King 9 (6), Derek Sneddon 7+1 (5), Dakota North 4 (5), Kyle Howarth 2+1 (3). .



Premier League: Berwick 42 (0 points), Glasgow 48 (3 points) .


Team changes: Berwick still without Craig Branney used Rider Replacement at number 3 while Glasgow introduced their three newcomers. Joe Screen came into the side at number 1, John Branney at number 3 and Nick Morris at number 6.

Glasgow fans watched in a state of euphoria as the new-look Tigers took the Bandits apart in the opening heats to build up a ten point lead after just three races! Joe Screen got them off to a good start by winning the opening race from Adrian Rymel while Lee Dicken took third at Jade Mudgway’s expense for an opening 2-4. Jaimie Courtney and Nick Morris stormed to the front to add a 1-5 from the reserves race then Travis McGowan and John Branney did likewise in heat 3 after Branney had passed Michal Rajkowski. Bandits recovered some ground after this onslaught with a 5-1 in heat 4 from Michal Makovsky and Paul Clews so the score after the opening four races was 9-15. Glasgow’s three new boys were all unbeaten at this stage.

Another Joe Screen win in heat 5 from Lee Complin saw the Tigers power to an eight point lead when Lee Dicken took third for a 2-4 but Berwick rallied again with a 4-2 from Clews and Rymel who were separated by Josh Grajczonek. Wins for Travis McGowan and Lee Dicken in heats 7 and 8 resulted in shared heats but Berwick got back into contention with a 5-1 in heat 9 from Lee Complin and Michal Rajkowski which cut the gap to just two points at 26-28.

John Branney dealt the Bandit’s a blow by winning heat 10 from Adrian Rymel. Travis McGowan who had been relegated to the back passed Michal Rajkowski for third so the Tigers doubled their lead to four points but Berwick responded with a 4-2 of their own when Paul Clews passed Joe Screen to win heat 11. Michal Makovsky took third so the bandits were now just two down again at 32-34.

The turning point came in heat 12. Paul Clews and Jade Mudgway looked like putting Berwick ahead for the first time when they sat on a 5-1 but Clews developed a puncture and baulked Mudgway allowing John Branney to nip through for another race win. Nick Morris picked up the gift third place point so instead of a home 5-1, Tigers scored a 2-4 to go four up again at 34-38.

Back came Berwick with a 4-2 in heat 13 won by Adrian Rymel who finally shook off his lethargy. Josh Grajczonek took second with Michal Makovsky in third as Joe Screen at the back suffered an engine failure. There was again just two points between the teams and McGowan kept it that way by winning heat 14 from Complin and Clews. In the last race Travis McGowan led Adrian Rymel but Joe Screen came past the Berwick rider and went on to win the race for a 1-5 and six point win.

Scorers: Berwick – Paul Clews 11+2 (7), Adrian Rymel 9 (5), Lee Complin 7 (4), Michal Makovsky 7 (5), Jade Mudgway 5+2 (5), Michal Rajkowski 3+1 (4).

Glasgow – Travis McGowan 12+1 (5), Joe Screen 11 (5), John Branney 8+1 (4), Josh Grajczonek 6 (4), Lee Dicken 5 (4), Nick Morris 3+1 (4), Jaimie Courtney 3 (4).

[Merlin]

Sunday, 13 June



Premier League: Glasgow 53 (3 points), Redcar 30 (0 points) The match was abandoned after heat 13 due to rain - the result stands..


Team changes: Redcar were without Henning Bager and Emiliano Sanchez. Aaron Summers guested for them at number 1 in place of Bager and they used Rider Replacement at number 2 for Sanchez.

The Glasgow fans eagerly awaited Joe Screen’s home debut but it didn’t quite go to script. Stuart Swales taking the R/R ride led the former British Champion home and, with Aaron Summers in third, the Bears opened with a 2-4. Swales’ moment of triumph was followed by a moment of tragedy when he crashed into the fence at the start of the reserves race and had to withdraw from the meeting with injuries to hand and knee. Without him it was likely that any hopes Redcar might have had disappeared as young Kyle Howarth was left to take all the visitors’ remaining reserve rides. Since two of the remaining R/R rides were due to be shared between the reserves, it meant that Redcar would be consigned to at least two races in which they could field just one rider. When heat 2 was rerun over an hour after the official start time, the Glasgow pair of Courtney and Morris left Irving well behind for the easiest of 5-1s putting the Tigers two ahead. They increased their lead to six with 4-2s in each of the next two races which produced comfortable wins for firstly, Travis McGowan, then Josh Grajczonek for a 15-9 score.

Aaron Summers raised the visitors’ spirits with a fine win over John Branney and Travis McGowan for a shared heat 5 then, just as the rain arrived, Joe Screen and Lee Dicken put the Tigers ten up with a 5-1 ahead of Ben Wilson. Redcar immediately gave Gary Havelock a Tactical Ride in heat 7 but Grajczonek beat him with Morris in third after Suchanek failed to leave the start. This produced a 4-4 but another 5-1 went to Glasgow in heat 8 as Dicken and Courtney led Irving home after Ben Wilson had fallen on the first bend. The score was now 32-18.

Travis McGowan won heat 9 by a distance while John Branney passed Ben Wilson for another 5-1 which increased Glasgow’s lead to 18 points. Joe Screen won heat 10 from Gary Havelock while Tomas Suchanek opened his account with a third place against Lee Dicken for a shared race. Aaron Summers took Redcar’s second TR in heat 11 and he won it too from Grajczonek and Morris. However the Bears could only track one rider in the race so the result was a 3-6 to the Bears. As the rain got even heavier McGowan and Courtney scored a 5-1 ahead of Gary Havelock in heat 12 for a score of 48-29. There then followed a delay due to the weather before heat 13, won by Screen and Grajczonek for a 5-1, was the last action of the match which was finally abandoned at that point.

Scorers: Glasgow – Joe Screen 11 (4), Travis McGowan 10+1 (4), Josh Grajczonek 10+1 (4), Jaimie Courtney 8+2 (4), John Branney 5+1 (3), Lee Dicken 5+1 (4), Nick Morris 4+2 (3)..

Redcar – Aaron Summers 11 (4) (incl a 6 point TR), Gary Havelock 9 (4) (incl a 4 point TR), Ben Wilson 4 (5), Stuart Swales 3 (1), Gary Irving 2 (6) Tomas Suchanek 1+1 (4).



Premier League: Newcastle 56 (3 points), Rye House 38 (0 points) .


Team changes: Newcastle had new signing Anders Andersen at number 6 replacing the injured Adam McKinna. They were without Kenni Larsen and used Rider Replacement at number 2 in his place.


Mark Lemon won the opening race but Luke Bowen and Jordan Frampton followed him home for a 3-3. Rye House took the lead in the reserves race. Anders Andersen hit the front off the second bend but Dakota North fell and remounted. Andersen held off Kyle Hughes until the last lap when Hughes got through for the win and a 2-4. Chris Neath led from the tapes in heat 3 but was soon passed by the other three riders to find himself at the back. Stefan Ekberg moved into the lead and held off a late challenge from Jason King to win the race for another 3-3 which kept the Rockets two points ahead. Linus Sundstrom gated to lead heat 4 until the last lap when he was passed by Rene Bach. Dakota North took third for a 4-2 which levelled the scores again at 12-12.

From then on it was one way traffic with Newcastle providing all but one of the remaining race winners. 4-2s in heats 5 and 7 sandwiched a 5-1 from Lemon and King ahead of Linus Sundstrom in heat 6. Mark Lemon won heat 8 from Kyle Hughes and Luke Bowen to take the score to 28-20.

Linus Sundstrom broke the run of Newcastle race winners by leading King and Sneddon home in heat 9 but that was the last Rye House success. They did manage a heat advantage in heat 10 however! Rene Bach won the race but Jordan Frampton, taking a Tactical Ride, finished second with Luke Bowen third for a 3-5 advantage. A North, King 5-1 in heat 12 then took the progressive score to 44-30.

Mark Lemon won heat 13 but Frampton and Sundstrom kept Rene Bach at the back for a shared race before Stefan Ekberg took the Rockets’ second TR in heat 14. Derek Sneddon won the race from Ekberg and Anders Andersen for a 4-4 then Lemon and Bach rounded things off with another 5-1 in the last race for an eighteen point win. For Mark Lemon it was a personal triumph as he completed a full six ride 18 point maximum.

Scorers: Newcastle – Mark Lemon 18 (6) (full maximum), Rene Bach 13+2 (6), Jason King 11+2 (5), Derek Sneddon 6+2 (5), Anders Andersen 4 (4), Dakota North 4 (4).

Rye House – Stefan Ekberg 10 (4) (incl a 4 point TR), Jordan Frampton 9+1 (5) (incl a 4 point TR), Linus Sundstrom 8+1 (5), Kyle Hughes 5 (4), Luke Bowen 4+2 (4), Chris Neath 1 (4), Kurt Shields 1 (4).

[Merlin]

Wednesday, 16 June



Premier League: Birmingham 58 (3 points), Stoke 34 (0 points) .


Team changes: Birmingham had Paul Clews as a guest at number 6 for Chris Kerr. Stoke had Claus Vissing at number 1 and used Rider Replacement for Jason Bunyan at number 2. Benji Compton guested at number 3 with Taylor Poole at number 4 while Jan Graversen rode at number 5 with Lee Smart at number 6 and Ricky Wells at number 7.

The opening heats suggested that it might be a close match but, once the Brummies got into their stride, Stoke were a well beaten side with the result decided by heat 12 as Birmingham went to the top of the Premier League displacing Edinburgh as leaders. Birmingham started with a 4-2 from Aaron Summers and Jason Lyons, split by Lee Smart, then Lee Smart came out again in the reserves race to win it for a shared race. Stoke took a 2-4 from heat 3 thanks to a win by Taylor Poole from Richard Sweetman, Benji Compton and Justin Sedgmen to level the scores but the Brummies moved two ahead again with a win by Steve Johnston from Jan Graversen, Kyle Newman and Ricky Wells in heat 4. The score was then 13-11.

After a shared heat 5, Summers and Lyons scored a 5-1 in heat 6 to put Birmingham six ahead before Steve Johnston won again in heat 7 this time beating Taylor Poole and Paul Clews for a 4-2 which increased the Brummies lead to eight points. Aaron Summers made it three wins in a row in heat 8 for a shared race and a score of 28-20.

Stoke slipped twelve points down when Sweetman and Sedgmen scored a 5-1 in heat 9 from Smart and Graversen. Lyons and Summers, completing a four ride paid maximum, added another to leave the Potters trailing by 16 points and all but out of it. Claus Vissing took a Tactical Ride in heat 11. Steve Johnston won the race but the Potters took a 3-5 advantage when Vissing and Lee Smart filled the minor places behind him. Stoke then gave Lee Smart their second Tactical Ride in heat 12 but he finished last as Clews and Sedgmen added another 5-1 taking the score to 46-28 to secure all three points.

Steve Johnston completed a full four ride maximum in heat 13 by beating Claus Vissing. Jason Lyons took third for a 4-2 increasing the home side’s lead to 20 points. A Richard Sweetman win in heat 14 kept it that way as Taylor Poole and Ricky Wells shared the race behind him. Summers and Johnston completed their maximums in heat 15 with a 5-1 ahead of Vissing and Smart for a 24 point win.

Scorers: Birmingham – Aaron Summers 14+1 (5), Steve Johnston 14+1 (5), Richard Sweetman 9+1 (4), Jason Lyons 7+1 (4), Justin Sedgmen 6+2 (4), Paul Clews 6, Kyle Newman 2+1 (4).

Stoke – Claus Vissing 12 (6), Lee Smart 8+2 (7), Taylor Poole 7 (5), Benji Compton 3 (4), Ricky Wells 2+1 (4), Jan Graversen 2 (4).