Location: Poole Cycle Speedway, Newfoundland Drive, Baiter, Poole, Dorset
Event: 26 May 2013
A healthy crowd greeted the quality line-up assembled for the 2013 Ade Gale Laurels at sun soaked Harbourside Park with world champion Lukasz Nowacki and British number one Andy Angel leading the introductory parade.
It was Angel along with the Wednesfield trio of Lee Aris, Paul Heard and 2012 Laurels winner Ben Mould who took the chequered flag in the opening races and it was young Welshman Mould who set the early pace with another win from gate one in race five at the expense of clubmate Aris.
You could have thrown a blanket over all four riders at the end of a classic heat six as Mark Carmichael won the dash for the line ahead of Steve Harris, Chris Timms and Mark Boaler.
Thomas Reed rode a brilliant tactical race to hold off Nowacki in heat 7 and Greg Gluchowski scorched round in blistering fashion in the eighth to keep ahead of the constant threat from Heard. Carmichael was comfortably clear of Reed and Aris in heat 9 and Heard made no mistakes from his gate 1 to take the win against hard chargers Angell and Boaler in the tenth.
After two second places, world champion Nowacki leapt from the tapes for a win at the expense of fellow countryman Gluchowski as both riders kept their rostrum aspirations alive with running totals of 10 apiece.
With two inside gate wins under his belt, Mould had a difficult looking gate four in heat 12 but his task was made considerably easier when Chris Timms moved at the tapes and the Wednesfield Ace duly picked up his third win to lead the field on 12 points, one ahead of Heard and two ahead of the chasing pack of Nowacki, Gluchowski and dark horse Carmichael.
As riders prepared for their fourth rides, Heard was the first of the pack leaders to show with a key win from his gate four ahead of Harris after clubmate Aris became the third rider to pick up a tapes exclusion.
With the advantage of an inside gate, Gluchowski relished the conditions on his home track as he saw off the challenge from Boaler and Reed in heat 14 while the chances of Ben Mould making it a double were severely dented when he trailed in last.
Next up to the tapes, Nowacki gained another four points from gate 1 ahead of Angel in the clash of the champions as the Polish star clearly meant business. Carmichael underlined his strengthening challenge in the 16th by finishing ahead of Neil Hollebon and with all riders now having completed 4 rides, the young Newport based star was poised on 14 with Nowacki and Gluchowski as Heard now set the pace on 15.
The pressure on the front runners was notched up by Gluchowski in heat 17 when he gated clear of Timms and Aris to ensure himself a rostrum place and throwing down the gauntlet to the other front runners with 18 points in the bag.
Heat 18 gave Boaler a chance to pick up his only win of the day in a race which did not involve the main contenders who were a concentrated into the all-important penultimate race. So the stage was set with Carmichael on the favoured inside, Mould on two, Heard on three and Nowacki on the difficult outside gate.
The two young Welshmen held their gates but Nowacki threaded his way into second place and prepared to mount a do or die last bend challenge on his Horspath Elite league team mate. This looked to have paid off as he was first to reach the chequered flag but as he executed the overtake, he appeared to cross the inside line and referee Mike Legge was on the spot to issue the inevitable exclusion.
Carmichael had now drawn level with Gluchowski on 18 to leave the meeting outcome still undecided while Heard could only pick up a third place behind Mould to ensure himself of the bronze podium place. Heat 20 would have no influence on the top end outcome but it gave the chance for Poole favourites Reed and Harris to lower the colours of Angell to round off the scheduled races.
Gluchowski won the toss of the coin for positions in the title deciding run-off but the riders had only completed one lap before the young Welshman charged into his opponent on bend one of the second lap as both riders ended in a heap. There was really only one outcome and Carmichael was left wondering whether his chances would have been better with a cleaner pass later in the race. Gluchowski forgot about his newly acquired bruises to pick up his first major individual title since moving to the UK to live.
Jim Gale and meeting sponsor Archie Wilkinson stepped up to present the trophies to round off a superb and well attended day's racing, possibly one of the best Laurels meetings of recent years.
Result
1. Greg Gluchowski 18
2. Mark Carmichael 18
3. Paul Heard 17
Youth Laurels
Jack Harrold underlined his growing reputation in the Youth Laurels, dropping his only points to Jack Lush and Arron Morgan on his way to the top podium place.
Victory ahead of Ricky Johnson in heat 19 took his total to 18 which meant that only Lewis Roberts could now catch him.
The Ipswich star was on 15 points but faced a tough looking heat 20 with the Poole duo of Arron Morgan and Aaron Smith lined up from gates one and two. A win for former British Junior champion Morgan put him on 17 along with Roberts leaving Harrold the clear winner.
Roberts won the toss for the run-off for second and third and was leading the race when Morgan attempted an inside pass which referee Robin Spicer ruled illegal so it was the Suffolk star who got the race verdict.
Result
1. Jack Harrold
2. Lewis Roberts
3. Arron Morgan
Junior Laurels
British under 13 champion Will Tidball won his four qualifying heats with some comfort to earn himself first pick in the all important draw for grid positions in the Junior Laurels final.
However, his luck seemed to have run out when he drew gate three while much improved home rider Callum Albin lined up in pole position.
The Poole junior held his nerve and rode a text book race to pick up the title, proving to himself that he is now fully recovered from a serious knee injury sustained a year ago which cast a doubt over his fitness to continue racing.
Can there be a more sporting and magnanimous young rider in the sport than young Will Tidball who for once at this level had to be content with second place while younger brother and youngest competitor Owen, who finished fourth, seems to be cast in the same mould! Gilt edged Swindon prospect Jake Neighbour clinched the third podium place with an accomplished performance.
Result
1. Callum Albin
2. Will Tidball
3. Jake Neighbour
Ladies Laurels
Lauren Davies outscored the rest of the field in the Ladies Laurels with four impressive wins and looked odds-on to take the title from defending champion Sandra Tambourska. Nearest contender, British champion Lauren Jacobs did not meet Davies in the qualifying races but dropped her only point to Vicky Brown on her route to the final.
With 10 from three rides, Lauren Hookway sat in behind Davies in heat 10 to reach the final while Michelle Whitehead needed to finish ahead of Tambourska in the following race to make sure of her place. In heat 12 Jacobs raced home for the four points she needed after Vicky Brown was ruled out at the tapes.
The draw for gate positions did not favour Davies who drew the difficult grid four allowing Jacobs to speed away from the inside. Davies found herself stuck in heavy traffic for a couple of laps and though she eventually powered past Hookway and Whitehead, she was left with too much ground to make up and it was the Ipswich star who took the major honours.
This was a brilliant shop window for women’s and girls cycle speedway and gave an appreciative crowd the chance to see just how much the quality of top competitors has improved, with Lauren Jacobs the worthy champion.
Result
1. Lauren Jacobs
2. Lauren Davies
3. Lauren Hookway
The Ade Gale Laurels
Location: Poole Cycle Speedway, Newfoundland Drive, Baiter, Poole, Dorset
Event: 26 May 2013
A healthy crowd greeted the quality line-up assembled for the 2013 Ade Gale Laurels at sun soaked Harbourside Park with world champion Lukasz Nowacki and British number one Andy Angel leading the introductory parade.
It was Angel along with the Wednesfield trio of Lee Aris, Paul Heard and 2012 Laurels winner Ben Mould who took the chequered flag in the opening races and it was young Welshman Mould who set the early pace with another win from gate one in race five at the expense of clubmate Aris.
You could have thrown a blanket over all four riders at the end of a classic heat six as Mark Carmichael won the dash for the line ahead of Steve Harris, Chris Timms and Mark Boaler.
Thomas Reed rode a brilliant tactical race to hold off Nowacki in heat 7 and Greg Gluchowski scorched round in blistering fashion in the eighth to keep ahead of the constant threat from Heard. Carmichael was comfortably clear of Reed and Aris in heat 9 and Heard made no mistakes from his gate 1 to take the win against hard chargers Angell and Boaler in the tenth.
After two second places, world champion Nowacki leapt from the tapes for a win at the expense of fellow countryman Gluchowski as both riders kept their rostrum aspirations alive with running totals of 10 apiece.
With two inside gate wins under his belt, Mould had a difficult looking gate four in heat 12 but his task was made considerably easier when Chris Timms moved at the tapes and the Wednesfield Ace duly picked up his third win to lead the field on 12 points, one ahead of Heard and two ahead of the chasing pack of Nowacki, Gluchowski and dark horse Carmichael.
As riders prepared for their fourth rides, Heard was the first of the pack leaders to show with a key win from his gate four ahead of Harris after clubmate Aris became the third rider to pick up a tapes exclusion.
With the advantage of an inside gate, Gluchowski relished the conditions on his home track as he saw off the challenge from Boaler and Reed in heat 14 while the chances of Ben Mould making it a double were severely dented when he trailed in last.
Next up to the tapes, Nowacki gained another four points from gate 1 ahead of Angel in the clash of the champions as the Polish star clearly meant business. Carmichael underlined his strengthening challenge in the 16th by finishing ahead of Neil Hollebon and with all riders now having completed 4 rides, the young Newport based star was poised on 14 with Nowacki and Gluchowski as Heard now set the pace on 15.
The pressure on the front runners was notched up by Gluchowski in heat 17 when he gated clear of Timms and Aris to ensure himself a rostrum place and throwing down the gauntlet to the other front runners with 18 points in the bag. Heat 18 gave Boaler a chance to pick up his only win of the day in a race which did not involve the main contenders who were a concentrated into the all-important penultimate race. So the stage was set with Carmichael on the favoured inside, Mould on two, Heard on three and Nowacki on the difficult outside gate. The two young Welshmen held their gates but Nowacki threaded his way into second place and prepared to mount a do or die last bend challenge on his Horspath Elite league team mate. This looked to have paid off as he was first to reach the chequered flag but as he executed the overtake, he appeared to cross the inside line and referee Mike Legge was on the spot to issue the inevitable exclusion.
Carmichael had now drawn level with Gluchowski on 18 to leave the meeting outcome still undecided while Heard could only pick up a third place behind Mould to ensure himself of the bronze podium place. Heat 20 would have no influence on the top end outcome but it gave the chance for Poole favourites Reed and Harris to lower the colours of Angell to round off the scheduled races.
Gluchowski won the toss of the coin for positions in the title deciding run-off but the riders had only completed one lap before the young Welshman charged into his opponent on bend one of the second lap as both riders ended in a heap. There was really only one outcome and Carmichael was left wondering whether his chances would have been better with a cleaner pass later in the race. Gluchowski forgot about his newly acquired bruises to pick up his first major individual title since moving to the UK to live.
Jim Gale and meeting sponsor Archie Wilkinson stepped up to present the trophies to round off a superb and well attended day's racing, possibly one of the best Laurels meetings of recent years.
Result
1. Greg Gluchowski 18
2. Mark Carmichael 18
3. Paul Heard 17
Youth Laurels
Jack Harrold underlined his growing reputation in the Youth Laurels, dropping his only points to Jack Lush and Arron Morgan on his way to the top podium place.
Victory ahead of Ricky Johnson in heat 19 took his total to 18 which meant that only Lewis Roberts could now catch him.
The Ipswich star was on 15 points but faced a tough looking heat 20 with the Poole duo of Arron Morgan and Aaron Smith lined up from gates one and two. A win for former British Junior champion Morgan put him on 17 along with Roberts leaving Harrold the clear winner.
Roberts won the toss for the run-off for second and third and was leading the race when Morgan attempted an inside pass which referee Robin Spicer ruled illegal so it was the Suffolk star who got the race verdict.
Result
1. Jack Harrold
2. Lewis Roberts
3. Arron Morgan
Junior Laurels
British under 13 champion Will Tidball won his four qualifying heats with some comfort to earn himself first pick in the all important draw for grid positions in the Junior Laurels final.
However, his luck seemed to have run out when he drew gate three while much improved home rider Callum Albin lined up in pole position.
The Poole junior held his nerve and rode a text book race to pick up the title, proving to himself that he is now fully recovered from a serious knee injury sustained a year ago which cast a doubt over his fitness to continue racing.
Can there be a more sporting and magnanimous young rider in the sport than young Will Tidball who for once at this level had to be content with second place while younger brother and youngest competitor Owen, who finished fourth, seems to be cast in the same mould! Gilt edged Swindon prospect Jake Neighbour clinched the third podium place with an accomplished performance.
Result
1. Callum Albin
2. Will Tidball
3. Jake Neighbour
Ladies Laurels
Lauren Davies outscored the rest of the field in the Ladies Laurels with four impressive wins and looked odds-on to take the title from defending champion Sandra Tambourska. Nearest contender, British champion Lauren Jacobs did not meet Davies in the qualifying races but dropped her only point to Vicky Brown on her route to the final.
With 10 from three rides, Lauren Hookway sat in behind Davies in heat 10 to reach the final while Michelle Whitehead needed to finish ahead of Tambourska in the following race to make sure of her place. In heat 12 Jacobs raced home for the four points she needed after Vicky Brown was ruled out at the tapes.
The draw for gate positions did not favour Davies who drew the difficult grid four allowing Jacobs to speed away from the inside. Davies found herself stuck in heavy traffic for a couple of laps and though she eventually powered past Hookway and Whitehead, she was left with too much ground to make up and it was the Ipswich star who took the major honours.
This was a brilliant shop window for women’s and girls cycle speedway and gave an appreciative crowd the chance to see just how much the quality of top competitors has improved, with Lauren Jacobs the worthy champion.
Result
1. Lauren Jacobs
2. Lauren Davies
3. Lauren Hookway
