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Location: Ipswich Cycle Speedway, Ipswich, Suffolk
Event: 21 April 2013
The sun shone down on the Whitton Raceway and with the home team geared up for a tough encounter from their Norfolk neighbours Hethersett.
The home team had already pencilled their opponents as their main threat to their South East crown but were left a little disappointed to see the away team arrive with only seven riders at their disposal with Hethersett having to call upon the evergreen Mel Perkins.
The message was loud and clear that the home team wouldn't be pulling any punches and were going to put the match to bed as soon as they possibly could and that was noticeable after the opening two heats as Ipswich raced into a 14 to 6 lead ,
Firstly Chittock/Rumbold saw off the challenge of Grange/Buxton with the young Hethersett rider going to be the pick of the Hethersett team and deserved more than the nine points he scored as he shown off some impressive passing . Heat two Roberts /Williamson were too much for Perkins/D.Riley as they secured another 7-3 .
A shared heat in three saw dad and son combination out think the young Hill as he got himself caught on the outside and no place to go. Heat three saw young Buxton out on his own against Chittock/Mower and the Ipswich pairing had little trouble in gaining the upper hand and comfortbly saw off the challenge .
Heat five saw Ipswich drop their first and only heat to Grange / O.Riley another Hethersett rider who looks in great shape and was very impressive all afternoon with his never say die attitude and a score of 13+2 reflects a good return for his efforts .
Heat six gave Ipswich another 7-3, with Ashley Hill attoning for his earlier heat by winning the heat followed by team mate Brooke, heat seven Rumbold was replaced by Stant to partner Chittock and the home team riders were too strong for the Chambers, Chittock was to go on to secure five second places and in the process five bonus points 15+5 and is starting to mature as all complete rider showing that he can act as the holding rider and it’s not all about his gating prowess.
Ipswich continued to dominate in heats eight and nine with 6-4 in favour of Roberts/Williamson then Brooke/Mower 7-3 wrapping a 23 point advantage by half time .
If Hethersett thought that the home team might take their foot off the gas that was simply dispelled in the opening heat with Ipswich's young guns Hill /Knights getting the home team off to the perfect start with another 7-3 , heats eleven and twelve went the way of the home club 7-3 on both occasions
It was heat thirteen which saw the first of two exclusions, firstly Brooke for forcing Buxton onto the centre green , then in the re run with Hethersett having the advantage Buxton was excluded in the re run for turning right on his opponents Hill while sitting in a 7-2 position .
The rest of the match went the much the way of the home team sharing two heats and winning the other three.
Result
Ipswich 109: Lewis Roberts 20, Jamie Chittock 15, Joshua Brooke 15, Ashley Hill 12, Charlie Rumbold 11, Leon Mower 10, Dan Knights 10, Richard Williamson 9, Jordan Stant 7.
Hethersett 67: Olly Riley 13, Dan Chambers 12, Lee Grange 11, Danielle Riley 9, Olly Buxton 9 , Dave Chambers 7, Mel Perkins 7 .
Referee - Harley Hamill (Norfolk)
Division 2
Ipswich 88: Richard Fellgett 18, Daniel Knights 16, Jordan Stant 15, Will Clarke 12, Fraser Harris 11,
Lauren Jacobs 9, Pierce Bacon 7, Leon Mower Dnr.
Hethersett 67 : Dan Chambers 16 , Danielle Riley 14, Olly Riley 13, Olly Buxton 11,
Mel Perkins 7, Dave Chambers 6 .
Referee - Harley Hamill (Norfolk )
Great Blakenham v East London | South East League Div 1, South East League Div 2
Location: Great Blakenham Cycle Speedway, Mill Lane, Great Blakenham, Ipswich
Event: 21 April 2013
Report: Glenn Grange
The 2013 regional cycle speedway season kicked off at Harford Park last Sunday with the local Norwich Stars taking their place back in the South East League Division 1 with a visit from a Great Blakenham side, which although was not up to full strength, still posed a threat with three premier league riders namely Adam Peck, Lewis and Chris Osborne in their line-up.
With the powerful heat leader trio leading the visitors attack, there was still a way to defeat the Suffolk visitors and that was to tactically points share most of the heats, and when they break down with the reserves and second string riders, that was time to do the damage, and this is what duly happened.
Great Blakenham recorded seven heat winners, which resulted in skilled scoring heats, and Norwich hit them with 7-3 heat wins in heats 4 and 9, to make a half time score of Norwich 48, Gt. Blakenham 42.
The second half scoring was much the same as the first half, with Alan Parkins being involved in two unusual incidents involving his rear inner tube. He was in good point scoring positions when in heats 12 and 16, all of a sudden his rear inner tube came away from his wheel, causing Alan to retire from the race dropping vital points.
Norwich knew that they had to be at least five point ahead going into the final heat, and this they achieved by leading 89-78 prior to heat 18. As expected Peck and Lewis Osborne raced away from home riders of Steven Clare and Jamie Medler to score a 7-3 heat win.
Result
Norwich Stars 92: Gary Colby 13+4, Alan Parkins 9, Steven Clare 11+3, Danny Margitson 14+2, Paddy Wenn 15+1, Jamie Medler 12+1, Alex Dyball 10+1, Toby Sands 8+1.
Great Blakenham 85: Sam Turland 7, Adam Peck 19+1, Will Jennings 7, Chris Osborne 16, Lewis Osborne 20, Terry Ashford 6, Vlad Simmons 2, Sam Broom 2, Gavin Whitehouse 6.
Division 2
In the division 2 match, a young Norwich side, boosted by Alex Dyball, Danny Margitson and Jamie Medler saw off a visiting side that turned out in the division 1 match. With 11 riders to call on, the Norwich top 6 all went on to score double figures with Rohan Ewbank and Mason Parkins leading the way with 16 point each.
Dane Parkins went on to score 15+1, and Alex Dyball scored 14 points. Danny Margitson and Jamie Medler scored 13+3 each, with Kieran Money 3, Ciaran Wenn 2, Mia Sands 1, Aaron Mills 1, and Iwan Sands 1, being the other points scorers as Norwich went on to win the match by 95-64.
Astley & Tyldesley v Newcastle | Northern League
Location: Astley & Tyldesley Miners Welfare Club, Manchester
Event: 21 April 2012
Astley & Tyldesley hosted Northumbria Vikings in a Northern League fixture at Gin Pit on Sunday.
A&T welcomed new signings, brothers Paul and Mark Graham for their debuts, whilst the visitors had former Tameside rider Mark Mulvey making his debut in their colours.
In the division 1 match, track conditions were dry and dusty as the forecasted heavy rain hadn't materialised. A&T drew first blood in heat 2 to take the lead after Ashie Patterson was excluded on the gate, but a Jason Keith/Mark Mulvey 6-4 over Danny Swales/Mark Graham in the next race put the visitors in front.
A 7-3 to the Parr brothers in heat 4 over Ron Makin/Stefan Whitelegg extended Northumbria's lead, but A&T hit back with a 7-3 from Graham/Swales after Michael Parr fell in heat 7 and the gap was just 1 point at the interval. Parr/Mulvey started off the 2nd half with a 6-4 heat win over Swales/ George Hughes, then the next two races proved to be crucial in the match.
A tangle on the first bend in heat 10 resulted in both A&T riders hitting the floor. The race was stopped and a re-run with all four riders was called, but the referee subsequently changed his mind, with Danny Hughes excluded from the re-run.
Paul Graham split the Keith / Patterson pairing in the re-run, as the Vikings extended their lead to 6 points. Terry Kirkup and Gavin Parr flew out of the traps in the next race to take a 7-3 heat win over the M. Graham / Swales pairing, to put Northumbria in a strong position with a 59-49 lead with four heats remaining. A&T hit back with two late 6-4 heat wins, but Northumbria held on to win 77-71, to take their first Division 1 win of the season.
For A&T, Paul Graham, Mark Graham, Danny Swales and Danny Hughes all won races, with good support from Ron Makin. Jason Keith led Northumbria's scoring, losing only to a fine Danny Hughes pass in heat 12. Only a sheared crank halted Gavin Parr, as he scooted round to take 4th place in heat 14, with strong scores from Michael Parr, Mark Mulvey and Terry Kirkup. It was a good hard fought match, ridden in a good spirit throughout.
Result
A&T 71: Paul Graham 15 (1), Danny Swales 14 (1), Danny Hughes 14, Ron Makin 9 (2), Mark Graham 9 (1), George Hughes 5, Roy Heslop 4, Stefan Whitelegg 1.
Northumbria 77: Jason Keith 19, Michael Parr 16, Gavin Parr 15 (2), Mark Mulvey 11 (1), Terry Kirkup 10, Daniel Wharrier 3, Ashie Patterson 2, Keith Oldham 1.
Referee - Bill Phillips
Division 2 result
A&T 81: Ron Makin 18 (1), Roy Heslop 15 (2), George Hughes 14 (3), Ciaran Collins 12 (1), Stefan Whitelegg 10, Max Evans 9, Daniel Burns 3, Matt Snell dnr.
Northumbria 68: Scott Latimer 14 (1), Daniel Wharrier 14, Ashie Patterson 9 (2), Jim Graham 9, Keith Oldham 6 (1), Chrsitine Amos-Adams 6, Andy Amos-Adams 6, Neil Magee 4 (1).
Referee - Bill Phillips
Exeter Aces v Newport | South/South Wales League
Location: Exeter Aces Cycle Speedway Club
Report: Colin Simmons
Newport Dig-It Cycle Speedway Team increased their lead at the top of South/South Wales Division One league after an emphatic 100 points to 79 victory at last seasons league champions Exeter aces.
Newport made a cautious start getting to grips with the fast, grippy Devon circuit but then slowly asserted their superiority by gaining three heat advantages in heats seven, eight and nine to lead at the break by seven points.
During the interval break, inspirational captain Kieran Jones was recieving medical treatment on a badly cut knee but was up and riding for the second half, which saw the Welsh team either drawing the heats or winning them. In fact they only had one heat advantage go against them in all the match, stretching the lead to run out comfortable victors by 21 points.
This was a very strong all round team performance by Newport who now top their regional league by two points.
Result
Exeter 79 Tom Reed 19 Arron Herbert 18 Craig Nethercott 14 Dan Winchester 10 Joe Avery 6 Rob Geach 5 + 1 Andrew Yard 5 Andy Riddle 2.
Newport 100 Dan Bock 16 + 1 Mark Carmichael 14 + 2 Chris Davies 14 + 1 Jack Harrold 14 Nicky Evans 11 + 2 Oli Sidwick 11 + 2 Aaron Hughes 10 + 3 Kieran Jones 10 + 2.
Newport's division two team also won at Exeter by 67 to 53 to remain top of the league. Colin Simmons and Jacob Soper scored maximums but it was the Josh Davis/Kev Greaves pair that really impressed with much improved displays.
