Great Britain Cycling Team win Cycle Speedway Junior Ashes Series in Australia

Great Britain Cycling Team win Cycle Speedway Junior Ashes Series in Australia

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The Great Britain Cycling Team's junior men's cycle speedway squad won their second straight match of the three-round Ashes competition against Australia, securing the series ahead of the final showdown.

The senior men's team just missed out on levelling their series, a defeat that means Australia will take the Ashes on their home turf.

A rejuvenated Australia pushed the tourists all the way, but in the end just fell short of squaring off the match scores.

Great Britain took an early lead in heat two, after the first heat’s points were shared, when Ewan Hancox and Brandon Whetton conjured up a 6-4 advantage but they quickly lost their advantage when Australia’s Jack Norman and Michael Ratcliff picked up a 7-3.

The two teams traded 6-4s again from their inside grids before Norman and Ratcliff inflicted another 7-3 on to the visitors to lead by four points after seven races.

Great Britain levelled off the match at half time with a crucial 7-3 of their own by Carl Parfitt and Adam Watson over DJ Thompson and Thomas Jansen.

After two more rounds finishing with level points, Whetton and Hancox scored a 6-4 to take the lead of the match from outside grids in heat 11.

In heat 13, Hancox was excluded by referee Bob Prince for making a pass over the inside line and the re-run resulted in a 7-2 to Australia, cutting Britain’s lead cut down to a three-point deficit.

The Great Britain team responded to the setback with three 6-4s on the trot, putting them three points up going into the last heat, meaning nothing but a 7-3 or better would do for the home nation.

Britain’s Whetton rode off from grid one with Norman in hot pursuit for the entire race, but the Australian could not get close enough to the 2016 European junior champion to attempt a pass.

Whetton took the win to share the heat and give Great Britain a finely executed series victory after two rounds.

The final test takes place at Le Fevre Cycle Speedway in Adelaide on Thursday 23 November.

Junior scores

GREAT BRITAIN 91
Will Jeffery 12, Ed Morton 14+1, Brandon Whetton 18, Ewan Hancox 9, Adam Watson 11+1, Haydn Rowley 13+1, Carl Parfitt 10, Fraser Garnett 4

AUSTRALIA 88
Matty Snowden 11, Todd Clarke 14+1, Darnell Thompson 12, Brodie Wohlschlager 8+1, Jack Norman 15+3, Michael Ratliff 15, Thomas Jansen 2, Aussie Jones 11+2

Great Britain suffered a reversal of fortunes in the senior men’s match, as Australia won the series, after taking a second win in the three match competition.

Paul Heard won the opener for Great Britain but it was Australia who took the first advantage of the match in the second race, as Ty Geertsen and Braden Makepeace split the British pairing of Josh Brooke and Ashley Hill.

Great Britain hit straight back at their hosts with their own 6-4, with Zac Payne racing to victory while Myke Grimes saw off Daniel Robb's challenge to take third, however Shane Bentley and Ryan Edson immediately replied with another 6-4 to retake the lead of the match in heat four.

Two shared heats followed with race wins for Australia's Bobby McMillan and Britain's Grimes, before Australia secured their first significant blow in the match; Cody Chadwick and Robb took a 7-3 against Paul Heard and Chris Timms.

Australia pressed home their advantage in the next two heats, as Britain’s Timms picked up an exclusion before the halfway stage.

After the break, McMillan scored his second win of the day, with Britain’s Brooke following suit, butunfortunately Timms picked up his second exclusion of the day, gifting Australia another point to add to their significant lead.

Heard and Ben Mould gave Britain some hope in the following race, scoring a 6-4 over McMillan and Geertsen, with the next heat shared.

In heat 14, Australia’s Chadwick was put straight out by referee Pawel Cegielski for allegedly taking Timms off track limits from the start.

The re-run gave the British team an opportunity to haul themselves back into contention, and they took it, with a 7-2 over McMillan, who fell after a robust challenge from Timms coming out of bend four.

The deficit was now reduced to just seven points, but the Great Britain team could not make any further in-roads into the scoreline as the next three heats finished with shared points, as Australia successfully controlled the match to its conclusion.

Australia's six heat wins to Britain’s three did the damage in an otherwise close match.

Senior scores

GREAT BRITAIN 84


Charlie Rumbold 5, Paul Heard 15, Ashley Hill 7, Josh Brooke 15+1, Myke Grimes 12+2, Zac Payne 11+1, Chris Timms 6, Ben Mould 13+1

AUSTRALIA 93

Shane Bentley 15+1, Joel Chadwick 12, Ty Geertsen 12+3, Braden Makepeace 7, Cody Chadwick 12+2, Daniel Robb 12, Ryan Edson 10, Bobby McMillan 1