Cycle Speedway Reports
Week Ending 29 June 2008
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NORTHERN FOURS LEAGUE ROUND 3 AT HECKMONDWIKE. 29-6-08
STOKE 48 HULL 42 HECKMONDWIKE 35 BURY 19
Stoke continued their unbeaten Northern Four's League campaign with a comfortable win at Heckmondwike. Both Bury and Heckmondwike were short of riders, but the home side were determined to make Hull fight hard for their third successive runner up slot.
On a deep yet fast Firth Park circuit Stoke started well and opened up a 4 point lead over Heckmondwike and Hull after the first set of races. This continued to the interval with Stoke on 26 from Heckmondwike and Hull on 18 points and Bury back in fourth place with 9. The Staffordshire side extended their lead in the next set with Hull making their numerical advantage show to open up a gap in second place. Into the final group of races and Stoke eased to a 6 point victory with Hull finishing strongly and Heckmondwike in a comfortable third place from Bury.
Stoke put in a strong team display led by Errol Thaw and Simon Munden. Hull's Adam Stephenson again shone in this format with good support from Matt Beharrell and the rest of the side. For the home side James Carter and Darren Kent were again on top form while Neil Howarth led his two man side well.
Stoke: Errol Thaw 14, Simon Munden 12, Richard Harrison 10, Leighton Bates 10, Adam Ellis 2.
Hull: Adam Stephenson 14, Matt Beharrell 10, Lewis Aylmer 8, Ian Swanborough 7, Ben Swanborough 3.
Heckmondwike: James Carter 15, Darren Kent 14, Richard Westcott 6.
Bury: Neil Howarth 11, Fred Rothwell 8.
NORTHERN PAIRS LEAGUE
The Northern Pairs league was raced in continuous rain which left a soaked track that was slippery in places. In the under 13's, that featured three Stockport pairs, Jack and Matt Lush raced unbeaten save a heat 2 win for Ali Lamb. The senior / under 19 / under 16 meeting was something of a formality but the riders agreed to race in the tough conditions with Bury's Neil Howarth / Fred Rothwell heading home Hull's Adam Stephenson / Lewis Aylmer and Matt Beharrell / Ben Swanborough.
Under 13's: Jack Lush (Stockport) 13+2 & Matt Lush (Stockport) 13+2 =26, Ali Lam (Stockport) 13+1 & Jake Read (Stockport) 9+1 = 22, Jack Sweeney (Stockport) 7 & Jordan Sweeney (Stockport) 5 = 12.
Seniors: Neil Howarth (Bury) 14 & Fred Rothwell (Bury) 9+3 = 23
Under 19's: Adam Stephenson (Hull) 10+2 & Lewis Aylmer (Hull) 10 = 20
Under 16's: Matt Beharrell (Hull) 13 & Ben Swanborough (Hull) 4 = 17
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Leicester v Norwich
In very warm conditions at Eaton Park, The Money Centre / Norwich Stars entertained the Championship chasing Leicester / Clements Ltd Monarchs looking to improve their poor record against Leicester, but whilst missing the injured Dave Solomon, Norwich welcomed their newest recruit Rafael Baumgarten to the delights of British Premier League Cycle Speedway writes Glenn Grange.
Not having beaten a Leicester side since 1997, Norwich were in a determined mood after their successful away win at local rivals Hethersett in the South-East League Division One, and when The Stars scored a Heat 3 7 - 3 heat win over the Leicester duo of Marcus Wadhams and Mark Whitehead to go into the lead (16 - 14), could the impossible be ready to happen was the question on the lips of the large crowd of spectators watching. Sadly though, this was not to be the day of a memorable victory for Norwich as by the interval, Leicester had turned things around and recaptured the lead (41 - 47).
With the score fairly close, the second half produced some competitive racing in which Leicester suffered three exclusions, two for ?moving at the tapes? and one for ?Obstruction?. Norwich almost were able to take advantage of these exclusions, but unfortunately, the much more experienced visiting riders made sure that this did not happen. For their effort, Norwich ran Leicester uncomfortably close, but in the end class told with Leicester going on to take the win and Premier League points by 84 - 91.
THE MONEY CENTRE / NORWICH STARS 87 - Ian Grange 13+3, Rafael Baumgarten 8, Leigh Cossey 8, Richard Williamson 14,
Lee Grange 16+1, Nick Myhill 16+2, Gary Colby 5+1, Richard Hunt 4.
LEICESTER / CLEMENTS LTD MONARCHS 91 - Mark Newey 18, Lukas Nowacki 10+2, Dave Hemsley 20, Craig Marchant 10+1,
Mark Whitehead 9+1, Marcus Wadhams 11, Kevin Burns 4+1, Norman Venson 9+1.
In the Combination match, the young at heart Norwich side had to admit second best to a strong Leicester side, going down by 56 - 73.
Missing Lewis Conner through injury and Kieran Parr doing a disappearing act, Norwich tried to keep tags on a Leicester side that sit on top of the Combination table, but it was to be a tough task. The only real highlight for Norwich was the 7 - 3 heat win recorded by Danny Wright and Liam Parker in Heat 7 (32 - 37), but that success was short lived as Leicester proved to be the better side in the end.
THE MONEY CENTRE / NORWICH STARS B 56 George Solomon 12+3, James Wakefield 8, Danny Wright 8, Liam Parker 12+2, Joshua Colby 11, Robert Warminger 4+1, Andy Barratt 1.
LEICESTER / CLEMENTS LTD MONARCHS B 73 Nick Whitehead 13, Lucy Whitehead 7+1, Jake Hogan 12+2, Robbie Venson 15+1, Tom Sensical 15+1, Michelle Whitehead 7, Steff Whitehead 4.
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Sheffield v Wednesfield
Premier League 29 June 2008
A thriller of a match right from the word go with the result in doubt right up to the final heat, everything started well for Sheffield with a Kozlowski/Spear 6-4 in the opening heat including a great pass by Pawel on Chris Jewkes. However then the heavens opened and what at first looked like a heavy shower turned into a downpour and this was the cue for Wednesfield to turn on the pressure.
The Aces powered into the lead with some fine riding and some well timed tactical moves that saw Lee Aris & Garry Pearce down in the reserve positions. As the rain continued, Wednesfield opened up a 6 point lead as the Star's seemed to struggle, not helped by exclusions to Mad Dog Sieradzki and Andy Angel.
With the arrival of the interval the Star's were still 6 behind at 41-47 and as the riders sought shelter from the persistent rain it was time for the all important team talk. As the match was getting ready to resume the rain began to ease and the sun broke through which lead to feverish activity on the track, the standing water around the inside edge was mostly removed with just the home straight still partly flooded.
Gradually the Star's began to erode the Wednesfield lead however every point was hotly contested and it wasn't until a Heat 15 7-3 from Andy Angel and Mitchell Spear that Sheffield nosed ahead 78-77, with the points shared in heat 16 it was still all to play for however a slip from Lewis Bates and then a tape exclusion for Terry Norman cost the Aces dearly.
Even the last heat served up a large portion of drama with Andy Franks crashing heavily and taking a knock to the head which saw quite a long delay as he was helped from the track, when the re run finally got under way, Chris Jewkes did well to split the Syzmanski/Sieradzki pairing and limit the Star's to a 6-3 and a 4 point win on the day.
For Sheffield Marcin Syzmanski was quite superb as he recorded another 20pt maximum, Ryan Hoyland scored a gritty 13+1 to show just how much he has improved this season, once again though this was a true team effort with not one rider failing to score vital points just when things were beginning to look bleak.
Lewis Bates and Terry Norman were the pick of the visitors and Wednesfield may feel somewhat hard done by but Sheffield's never say die attitude won the day again, a cracking match well handled by ref Bob Prince, even the terrible rain and conditions couldn't wipe the smile of the Star's supporters faces as the team took one more step towards the title.
Sheffield 89 Marcin Syzmanski 20, Ryan Hoyland 13+1, Pawel Kozlowski 12+1, Andy Angel 12+1, Mitchell Spear 11+1, Radek Sieradzki 11+1, Chris Turner 7+1, Jamie Brown 3
Wednesfield 85 Lewis Bates 16, Terry Norman 14, Chris Jewkes 13+1, Garry Pearce 12+1, Tom Haddock 11+2, Lee Aris 11,Chris Timms 4, Andy Franks 4
Combination Match
Sheffield 47 Mick Knowles 12, Kyle Brough 8+1, Richard Hudson 7+1
Wednesfield 83 Matt Haddock 15+2, Sam Smith 14+2, Dale Peace 14
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Poole v Horspath
Premier League 29 June 2008
Images: Graham Sutton (more at foot of page)
Poole/Seaview Coaches 97 (Aaron Lowey 17, Thomas Reed 16+1, Chris Roberts 13+1, Dave Murphy 12, Gavin Wheeler 11+2, Tom Colling 11+2, Ben Donohue 9+2, Dominic McRae 8).
Horspath Hammers 79 (Steve Harris 17+1, Matt Szymczak 16+1, Lewis Osborne 15, Mark Carmichael 11, Joe Wyatt 8, Matt Coulter 4, Dave Carmichael 4, Rachael Edge 4).
Referee - Ian Sizer
Division 2:
Poole 79 (M.Mildon 12+4,J.Williams 12,M.Elston 11+1,K.Lowman 10+2,A.Hedgecock 10,A.Morgan 10,S.Hearn 7,T.Ebel 7),
Horspath 50 (M.Carmichael 10,J.Wyatt 9,R.Edge 8,C.Riorden 7+1,W.Clark 6,M.Coulter 6,J.Richardson 5).
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Round 5 of the Manchester League Grand Prix series
Stockport, Wednesday 25 June 2008
A poor turn out at senior level saw Stockport take the win on the night, with Astley & Tyldesley having already clinched victory in the Division 1 (senior) series. Terry Norman raced unbeaten. In the Senior Grand Prix series, any one of three riders can take the series win, with one round remaining at Bury on 9th July. Dariusz Pilas leads on 57 points, followed by Remi Burchardt on 56 and Terry Norman on 53.
Manchester League Division 1 result
Stockport 2006 28 Astley & Tyldesley 12 Bury 0.
Stockport: Terry Norman 16, Chris Eaton 12.
A & T: Andy Knowles 6, Mike Hack 6.
Referee - Jeff Radcliffe (Stockport).
Stockport's win on the night has clinched overall victory in the Division 2 (junior) series, whilst Bury took second place on the night to move a point ahead of A & T. Jack Sweeney raced unbeaten, but Adam Watson's 12 points in the U-10 category was sufficient to see him win the U-10 Grand Prix series, as his 70 points tally cannot be caught. Ali Lam took his fifth consecutive maximum score in the U-13 category, but with an 8 points lead he could still be caught with one round remaining! Jack Lush also raced unbeaten in this event. Leo Brindley scored a maximum in the U-16 match, but Dylan Radcliffe's 15 points tally puts him 12 points clear in the series. Matthew Bailey was the sole rider in the U-19 category and he has clinched overall victory in that category.
Manchester League Division 2 result (top 5 scorers count to team totals)
Stockport 2006 77 Bury 68 Astley & Tyldesley 58.
U-10s: Jack Sweeney (Stockport) 16, Adam Watson (A & T) 12, Stephen McKeown (Bury) 8.
U-13s: Ali Lam (Stockport) 16, Jack Lush (Stockport) 16, Adam Phillips (A & T) 14, Matt Lush (Stockport) 14, Liam Burke (Bury) 13, Jake Read (Stockport) 12, Joe Pickford (Stockport) 12, Joel Partington (A & T) 11, Alex McDougall (Bury) 10, Adam South (Bury) 8, Chris South (Bury) 7, Georgina Healey (Stockport) 7, Carmen Brierley (Bury) 6, Sophie Pickford (Stockport) 5.
U-16s: Leo Brindley (Bury) 16, Dylan Radcliffe (Stockport) 15, Ben Higham (Stockport) 14, Ben Dickenson (A & T) 13, Kevin Yang (Bury) 12, Jon-Luc Miladinovic (Bury) 11, Robin Yang (Bury) 8, Elliott Barnes (A & T) 8, Laura Watson (A & T) 7, Luke Jamson (A & T) 7.
U-19s: Matthew Bailey (Bury) 16.
Referee - Jeff Radcliffe (Stockport).
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Poole v Horspath
Premier League 29 June 2008
Images: Graham Sutton
