Poole v Sheffield | Elite League
Location: Poole Cycle Speedway, Newfoundland Drive, Baiter, Poole, Dorset
Event: 30 June 2013
Any fears that this top of the table clash would not live up to all the pre-match hype were quickly dispelled in a series of breathtaking opening exchanges which kept a healthy sized Harbourside crowd on the edge of their seats.
Thomas Reed opened up proceedings with an impressive win while partner Gav Wheeler battled with Andy Angell for four laps before they tangled allowing Ryan Hoyland to slip past them and snatch second place.
Marcin Szymanski trailed Jamie Ball for a lap in the next before completing a trademark turbo-charged pass with his namesake and team partner, new boy Arek Szymanski handily placed ahead of fellow countryman Pawel Izdoriak for another 6-4.
Bartosz Giezma led heat three from the tapes but Comets captain Gluchowski powered by for an impressive win with partner Steve Harris riding a sensible third to split the two Stars. A classic Gavin Wheeler first bend saw him outfox the Hoyland/Stephenson pairing for a drawn heat four while heat five was similarly split after Andy Angell could get nowhere near Thomas Reed in heat five.
Heat six was a classic with Idziorek fast away from the tapes and Gluchowski in hot pursuit until he saw the smallest of gaps on the final bend to squeeze through and in the process creating just enough space for team partner Harris to join him for a loudly acclaimed 7-3.
Gavin Wheeler was ruled out at the tapes in heat seven but Thomas Reed made short work of the Stars duo in the re-start to notch his third straight win. Poole now held a nine point lead and had supplied every heat winner but in heat eight, Andy Angell unveiled his British Champion credentials with an exciting win ahead of Marcin Szymanski who shed a chain as he attempted a late burst to the chequered flag.
The margin remained at nine points at the interval after another shared heat with Arron Morgan capitalising on a gap created by team partner Phil Howells who was unfortunate not to split the fiesty Idziorek/Stephenson pairing. Comets captain Gluchowski opened up the second half with another win in a shared heat 10 before a startling heat 11 saw a sudden changed in fortunes for the visitors in a race where the home side held a 7-3 until Arek Szymanski picked up an exclusion when Adam Stephenson hit the deck while challenging for second place.
Matt Smith won the re-start and try as he might Marcin Szymanski could not find a way past Stephenson who, to say the least, used every inch of the track to ensure a morale boosting 7-2 win and an altogether different score line of 56-52. The pendulum swung back the other way in heat 12 when Jamie Ball got his marching orders after an unfair challenge on Wheeler just as the Poole number one was settling into a 7-3 with partner Reed.
As so often happens in re-run situations, the Poole pair fared less well in the re-start as Idzoriak sped away impressively but gradually Devon Express Reed reeled him in and passed the young Polish star clinically for a scintillating fourth win of the day.
Greg Gluchowski matched Reed for race wins in heat 13 while partner Harris earned his corn with a well judged third place ahead of Angell. Bartosz Giemza rounded off his afternoon with a win ahead of hard charging Arek Szymanski in a shared heat 14 and with the score line 73-64, the Stars had an urgent need to shine in heat 15 if they were to get anything from the meeting.
However, it was the home duo who were fired up, none more so than Marcin Szymanski who levelled his private score with Stephenson and shepherded team partner Leyton Glover home for a match winning 7-3 into the bargain.
Thomas Reed duly completed his 20 maximum in heat 16 and Pawel Idziorek rounded off an up and down performance with an excellent win in the penultimate race of the day. With the destiny of the Elite points now beyond question, there were still two pressing issues to resolve with Gluchowski just a race win away from matching Thomas Reed's tally while Euro champ Szymanski had a score to settle with British champ Angell.
Both issues favoured the Comets as they surged passed the Sheffield captain to generate another big response from an appreciative crowd who had just witnessed another Harbourside epic. Poole maintain their place at the top of the table but the Stars will all out for revenge when the two sides clash at the Graves Centre later in the season.
Result
Poole 98: Thomas Reed 20, Greg Gluchowski 20, Marcin Szymanski 15+2, Gavin Wheeler 11, Arek Szymanski 9+2, Steve Harris 9+1, Arron Morgan 5, Leyton Glover 5, Phil Howells 4+1.
Sheffield 79: Bartosz Giemza 15+1, Ryan Hoyland 13, Pawel Idziorek 12, Adam Stephenson 10+2, Matt Smith 10+1, Andy Angell 10, Jamie Ball 7+1, Aiden Owen 2.
Division 2
Poole 70: Oli Sidwick 13, Aaron Smith 11+2, Pete Young 11+1, Hayden Chant 10+1, Callum Albin 10, Luke Armes 7, Jay Briggs 4, Niall Instone 4.
Sheffield 58: Richard Hudson 13, Aiden Owen 9+2, Ben Swanborough 9, Matt Parrot 8, Kyle Holland, 8+3, Zac Smurthwaite 7+1, Vicky Brown 4.
Horspath v Ipswich | Elite League
Location: Horspath Cycle Speedway Recreation Ground, Horspath
Event: 30 June 2013
Result
Horspath 97: Lewis Bates 14, Mark Carmichael 11, Lukasz Nowacki 15+2, Mateusz Szymczak 11, Jack Harrold 17+1, Mark Boaler 14+5, Errol Thaw 5, Dave Carmichael 8+1, Jordan Richardson & George Horsley dnr.
Ipswich 76: Chris Osborne 8, Adam Peck 11, Leon Mower 9, Lewis Roberts 14, Jamie Chittock 5, Lewis Osborne 6, Charlie Rumbold 4, Jordan Stant 8, Ashley Hill 11.
Division 2
Horspath 71: Errol Thaw 12, Mike Burgess 9+1, George Horsley 7+2, Richard Harrison 15+1, Jordan Richardson 11+2, Simon Munden 13 penalty pts 4.
Ipswich 67: Charlie Rumbold 18, Matt Hill 5, Fraser Harris 6, Ashley Hill 16+1, Lauren Jacobs 5, Dan Knights 11.
Birmingham v Wednesfield | Elite League
Location: Sandwell Cycle Speedway, Sandwell, West Midland
Event: 30 June 2013
Result
Birmingham 55
Wednesfield 74
