Reports and results week ending 1 July 2012
Sheffield CRA Rockets welcomed British Vet 40 Champion Chris Turner for his first match of the season for the home Northern League fixture against near neighbours Heckmondwike. Turner came in for the injured Radek Handke and how the Rockets were indebted to his availability as his unbeaten score saw the Sheffield Club home by 84-64. Turner started in fine style inflicting the only defeat on Darren Kent in heat one and with Kyle Holland third Sheffield led 6-4. Heat two brought a 5-4 win for the visitors as for the third match running Louis German saw his first race end before it began with a tapes exclusion. The new surface at Cookson Park is producing some thrilling racing, which was again evident in heat five. Kent stalked Sheffield’s Aiden Owen (riding despite having knee ligament damage) for three laps before swooping on turn four to out sprint the Sheffield youngster to the finish line. Pawel Idziorek suffered a tapes exclusion in heat six and Sheffield profited with a 7-2 win. Another maximum in heat seven from Liam Webster/Zak Smurthwaite had Sheffield well in control by 46-32 at the interval. Heat nine saw Turner and Webster combine for another Sheffield 7-3 but then Kent and Idziorek won the next three races for the visitors (the young Polish rider taking a brilliant win in heat 12 after being left at the tapes looking for a Sheffield exclusion before giving chase to pass both Richard Hudson and German). The last heat saw Heckmondwike record there only race win (a maximum 7-3) from the Kent/Idziorek pairing.
Cra/ Sheffield Rockets 84 – Chris Turner 19+1, Liam Webster 16+2, Richard Hudson 14+1, Kyle Holland 9+2, Louis German 8+1, Zak Smurthwaite 7+3, Aiden Owen 6+1, Rob Mawhood 5.
Heckmondwike 64 – Darren Kent 18+1, Pawel Idziorek 16, Adam Watson 10, Justin Naylor 7+1, Laura Watson 7, Andy Morris 6, William Naylor DNR.
Northern Combination - Sheffield v Astley & Tyldesley
Location: Sheffield CSC
Event: 1 July 2012
The Sheffield Rockets then won the first of a double header Northern Combination match against Astley & Tyldesley by 79-71 in a very close and entertaining encounter. Astley took the lead in heat two when the Heslop family scored a maximum 7-3 over the Morton family. Roy and Becky Heslop riding perfectly to keep Niall Morton at bay after Luke Morton had taken a first lap fall. Sheffield levelled matters with a maximum 7-3 in heat three from Richard Hudson and Matt Parrott (making a very encouraging debut). The next four races were all drawn before Astley regained the lead going into the interval with a 6-4 from Reece Pollitt and Ron Makin, with Pollitt making a stunning outside pass on Luke Morton. Sheffield hit back immediately after the interval with a 7-3 maximum from Parrott and Rob Mawhood to lead by 46-44. Another 7-3 maximum from then Hudson/Parrott pairing in heat 11 saw Sheffield increase their lead to 58-52. Heat 12 saw the visitors reduce the deficit with a 6-4 from Joel Partington, who was really beginning to enjoy himself on the wide open raceway and Max Evans. The next two races were drawn, with Becky and Roy Heslop again showing great team riding technique to get the better of James Unwin. The last race brought another 7-3 maximum for Sheffield as Hudson completed his maximum but Kyle Holland was very fortunate not to get an exclusion for a blatant drift of Partington on the very last corner.
Ca/rSheffield Rockets (79) – Kyle Holland 18+1, Richard Hudson 15+1, Matt Parrott 15+1, Niall Morton 10+1, Rob Mawhood 7+1, Luke Morton 6+1, James Unwin 6, Ed Morton 2.
Astley & Tyldesley (71) – Joel Partington 15, Ron Makin 13, Reece Pollitt 13, Becky Heslop 11+1, Roy Heslop 11+1, Max Evans 6+1, Daniel Burns 2, Matt Snell DNR.
For the third match of the day Sheffield named a very strong line up for the Phantoms Combination encounter with Astley, who in reverse named three under 10’s in the team. Not surprisingly, the Phantoms prevailed by an 82-68 scoreline. Sheffield took three of the first four heats by maximum margins to streak into a 26-14 lead. Then heat five probably brought the race of the day as Astley’s Ron Makin and Joel Partington took a 7-3 maximum over Zak Smurthwaite and Vicky Brown. From the gate there was never more than a couple of bike lengths between the four riders with the visitors leading for the first two laps. Smurthwaite then produced a stunning pass to take both Astley riders on the same bend. Makin then nudged back in front on the last bend and with Smurthwaite caught in two minds. Partington shot past to get the verdict right on the line. The teams then traded 6-4 wins to the interval which arrived with Sheffield in front by 45-35. The next four races were all drawn heats but each had their own piece of action. Roy Heslop team rode well to see that Max Evans beat Amber Webster. Then Partington and Reece Pollitt relegated a subdued Sandra Tamborska to last place. Makin took a heavy fall after clipping wheels with Amber Webster. Then Matt Snell produced a great pass to get the better of Billie Owen. Sheffield secured the League points with further maximum wins in heats 13 & 14 leaving the last race irrelevant. But the Astley riders took a brilliant 7-3 maximum with Becky Heslop completing a fine days racing with second place behind Pollitt (and a third defeat of Brown) to finish unbeaten by a Sheffield rider.
Sheffield Phantoms 82 – Liam Webster 16+2, Vicky Brown 12, Sandra Tamborska 12+1, Louis German 10+2, Zak Smurthwaite 10, Amber Webster 10+2, Aiden Owen 8, Billie Owen 4.
Astley & Tyldesley 68 – Reece Pollitt 16+1, Joel Partington 13, Becky Heslop 11+1, Ron Makin 9+1, Max Evans 7, Matt Snell 6+1, Daniel Burns 3, Roy Heslop 3+1.
British Team Knockout Cup - Quarter Final - Wednesfield v Birmingham
Location: Wednesfield CSC
Event: 1 July 2012
Drama again for the second day running for Wednesfield Aces in the final heat as they faced local rivals Birmingham Monarchs in the Quarter Final of the British Team KO Cup.
The match started with Birmingham bringing in one of their subs Paul Heard who obliged with a win over Aces’ Lee Aris for a 6-4, the next two heats were drawn but a 7-3 in heat four swung the advantage in Wednesfield's favour after some fine work from Aces pair of Jewkes & Aris against Birmingham’s Wadhams & Groves,
Wednesfield hit the self destruction button in the following race when what looked like a comfortable 5-5 with Birmingham’s Heard leading Mark Griffiths and the Aces’ Ricki Johnson doing a fine containing job of Stu Bentley for three and a half laps. This was until the Aces youngster suffered a lapse of concentration and allowed Bentley to come alongside and forced him onto the centre green but the ref saw it differently and excluded Johnson giving Birmingham a 6-3 and a one point lead. But the Aces soon put that right when they drafted in sub Chris Jewkes to pair up with Ben Mould and produced a 7-3 win,
Birmingham’s Chris Timms showed why he is classed as one of the country’s top riders when he won the next heat against Aces Johnson & Aris but it only produced a 5-5, Wednesfield seized the oppotunity in heat eight to extend theirlead bringing in sub Mark Griffiths to replace youngster Matt Haddock paired with team partner Gavin Wheeler they strolled to another 7-3 win against the visitors partnership of Stu Bentley & Nathan Groves putting the home team 7 points up, heat nine was a 5-5 with the score at the halfway stage 48-41,
First race after the interval Wednesfield gained a 5-5 after a classic start from Griffiths gave him the 4points first place against Birmingham’s fast starter Paul Heard, but Aces normally alert Ben Mould suffered a lack of concentration allowing Harrold past and ended up in last place. The next heat was also a 5-5 with another win for Birmingham’s Chris Timms.
the next three heats were all drawn 5-5 and then in heat 16 Birmingham clawed their way back with a 6-3 win after the Aces Luke Draisey was excluded for a tapes infringement. With two heats remaining and still five point clear, Wednesfield knew all they had to do was get two 5-5s and the job was done.
Birmingham knew they had to do something to try and salvage this match and they had saved the use of their two reserves until the end. They brought in Wadhams in heat 17 and he took the race win with Aces Wheeler & Aris just happy to pick up the minor places happy in the fact that they knew all that was needed was for the same thing to happen in the final heat and the match would be won. Both teams made substitutions in the final race, the Aces bringing in Mark Griffiths to team up with Ben Mould and Birmingham drafting in Paul Heard to partner Chris Timms. The race got under way and as expected, the Aces pair let the Birmingham lads take the lead but Timms dropped back going up the back straight on the final lap and British under 19 Champion Ben Mould fell for the trick and being a racer he was tempted to pass with a space left by Timms on the inside going into the turn. Timms closed the gap leaving Mould nowhere to go other than over the inside line, Ben Pulled back but Referee Robin Spicer had no choice and excluded the Aces star giving Birmingham a last heat 7-2 bringing the score all level at 87-87.
Under the rules of the competition the first three heats have to be re-run to decide a winner,
Heat 1 the Aces used reserve Mark Griffiths to good effect capitalizing on his gating skills paired with Lee Aris they took a 7-3 win against Birminghams Nathan Groves & Marcus Wadhams,
Heat 2 The home club used their other reserve Chris Jewkes alongside Gavin Wheeler. Birmingham responded by using their sub Paul Heard with Jack Harrold. Heard, as expected, shot into the lead the Aces pair making sure there was no way past for young Jack Harrold resulting in a 5-5
Heat 3 Birmingham knew they had to secure a maximum heat advantage to level the score again, the Aces had on the start grid Luke Draisey & Ben Mould up against Chris Timms & Scott Millward. The pressure was on for the Birmingham lads to be first out the gate but the pressure cooker valve blew when Millward eager to get a good start moved under starters orders at the tapes and was excluded, in the re-run Ben Mould did what he should have done in heat 18 and just sat and cruised around behind Chris Timms giving the Aces a 5-4 heat win and taking the Aces onto the semi-final stage of the competition.
Wednesfield 104: Chris Jewkes 19,Mark Griffiths 19,Gavin Wheeler 16,Lee Aris 14,Ben Mould 14,Luke Draisey 8,Matt Haddock 7,Ricki Johnson 7.
Birmingham 99: Chris Timms 22,Marcus Wadhams 20,Paul Heard 20,Jack Harrold 11,Mark Winwood 8,Nathan Groves 8, Scott Millward 6,Stu Bentley 4.
British Team Knockout Cup – Quarter Finals - Ipswich v Stockport 2006
Location: Ipswich CSC
Event: 1 July 2012
Elite league Ipswich were drawn at home to Northern League Stockport
in this afternoon's British team quarter finals and for the first time in weeks most probably started
slight favourites to progress to the next round .
Ipswich laid down the marker in the first two heats with a 7-3 from Brooke and Ash Hill ,this was followed by a 6-4 from Williamson and Chittock and a six point cushion. Stockport didn't panic and Higham and Radcliffe produced a fine 7-3 heat win in the third to bring them back within two points. Ipswich responded well in the fourth with Brooke and Stant securing another 7-3 to move the hosts six points clear again. Heat five was a shared ,in the sixth heat Grange and Roberts were able to increase Ipswich's lead to eight points with a 6-4. Higham and Radcliffe against recorded a 7-3 this time seeing off Brooke and A.Hill to close the gap to four points. Heat eight saw an exclusion to Chittock for use of the leg and though team mate Williamson managed to win the re-run, the heat result saw Stockport pull another point closer. In heat nine, things got even better for the visitors when Matt and Jack Lush got the better of Grange and Stant to claim a 6-4 advantage to go into the interval only a point behind. Half time score was Ipswich 45 Stockport 44 .
The second half stared with heats ten and eleven being shared ,then Ipswich stepped up a gear in the next two heats winning 6-4 on both occasions to open up a five point lead. Heat fourteen was shared.
Once again Stockport showed they weren't going to lie down and with Higham the pick of the visitors supported by Matt Lush, brought the match to within one point with a7-3 over Matt Hill and Williamson. But the home team kept their nerve and managed to win the final three heats 6-4 ,6-4 and a 6-3 in the final heat after Radcliffe had been excluded for not allowing enough room ,so after a few scares along the way, it was the host club who progressed to the semi-finals at Hull on July 15th for the first time since 1994 .
Final score Ipswich 93 Stockport 85 .
British Team Knockout Cup - Leicester v Bury
Location: Leicester CSC
Event: 1 July 2012
Full credit to Bury who put everything into the match but in truth they never looked likely to trouble the Monarchs. Chris Parish was the only heat winner for the visitors, riding a superbly controlled race to take the penultimate heat from a hard pressing Peck. Most of the heats were over by the first bend but there were a few decent races with Jarvis passing Parish in the fourth and Burns and Ashford both picking their way through traffic to join their partners at the front.
Stephenson, Whitehead, Jarvis and Marchant all rode unbeaten for Leicester whilst Howells and Ashford had their scores restricted by tape infringements.
Leicester now face Ipswich in the semi final and the Monarchs can expect a stern test from the Suffolk team.
Leicester 117: P Howells 16, K Burns 14+5, A Stephenson 17+3, C Marchsnt 17+3, A Peck 18+1, J Ashford 12+2, C Jarvis 11+1, N Whitehead 12
Bury 59: C Parish 13, W Owens 10+1, N Howarth 9, L Jamson 7, P Dyson 8, C Dyson 4, R Livesy 5+1, J Elston 3
British Team Knockout Cup - Poole v Horspath
Location: Poole CSC
Event: 1 July 2012
Already most people’s favourites for the Cup this season with an all-star predominantly British look to their squad, Horspath shortened the odds considerably with a predictable win against their South Coast rivals although there was little to suggest the eventual margin of victory in the opening exchanges.
Free from his Kalety duties, Steve Harris opened with a win in a shared heat one with Lewis Bates following suit in the next as the Hammers drew first blood with a 6 - 4 advantage. Then, Tom Colling drew the cheers as he celebrated his birthday with an immaculate four laps to hold off Mark Boaler while Leyton Glover clinched third under pressure from Sean Rudman.
A Reed/Sidwick 6-4 from gates 2 and 4 over Carmichael and Chris Osborne in heat four put the home side ahead for what was to be the only time in the match as the Harris/Thaw combination hit straight back with a maximum win to re-take the lead 26-24. A Bates/Osborne 6 - 4 doubled the advantage in heat six and there the match ended as a spectacle and a contest after a controversial seventh race.
Mark Boaler was allowed to re-start after tapes movement was attributed to noise and in the re-start Thomas Reed picked up an exclusion when Sean Rudman took a tumble in what to most people seemed a 50-50 racing incident. To rub salt in the wound, Sam Hearn moved at the tapes in the re-start and even though Boaler sportingly advised the referee that there had been a clear noise, just two visiting riders contested a single lap "race".
With pressure relieved, the Hammers were able to pick off race wins almost at will as the younger and less experienced home side lost more points in a vain attempt to claw back the deficit. Steve Harris was a powerful presence for Horspath not only on the track with a fine 20 point maximum but in the pits where his tactical and motivational input was highly noticeable. On this evidence, it will take a very good team performance to divert the big cup away from Oxford for what would be a third Hammers BTC win at Hull in a fortnight's time.
Poole 72: Arron Morgan 13 Thomas Reed 12 Tom Colling 12 Pete Young 10 Sam Hearn 9 Leyton Glover 8 Oli Sidwick 4 Ben Donohue 4
Horspath 103: Steve Harris 20 Mark Boaler 15 Lewis Bates 14 Sean Rudman 14 Mark Carmichael 13 Lewis Osborne 11 Errol Thaw 10 Chris Osborne 6
SE League - Division 2 - East London B v Kesgrave
Location: East London CSC
Event: 1 July 2012
East London 85 Kesgrave 89.
East London used Lee Galley a first team rider, so points were deducted. So the result includes penalty points.
Women's Pairs League Match
Location: Wednesfield CSC
Event: 30 June 2012
A great afternoon’s racing for all the riders involved and this league will in the future be another success story. There was some very entertaining racing with no quarter given by some of the very talented young women racers,
Winners of Div 1 were the Girlie Monarchs Team of Lauren Davies & Michelle Whitehead,
Winners of Div 2 were Herthersett Tiffany Collins & Carl Grimes,
Winners of Div 3 were Young Lions Elizabeth Rigley & Chloe Whitehead
South & South Wales League Division 1 – Hellingly v Exeter
Location: Hellingly CSC
Event: 1 July 2012
Hellingly 89: NeilHollebon 20, Martin Hollebon 19, Steven Archer13, Jesse Moore 13, Tristian Bassett 9, Steve Cradock 9, M.Stretton 3, E.Patel 3
Exeter 90: Aaron Herbert 17, Dave Murphy 14, Andy Collett 12, Rob Geach 12, Andy Yard 12, Craig Nethercott 10, Aaron Coles 7, Will Tidball 6.
Hellingly v Exeter Cycle Speedway 1 July 2012
Hellingly 89: Tristan Bassett 9, Neil Hollebon 20, Sam Craddock 9, Jessie Moore 13, Nicky Stretton 3, Martin Hollebon 19, Steve Archer 13. Ettien Patel 3
Exeter 90: Rob Geach 13 (+2,) Aaron Coles 6 (+1), Andy Yard 11 (+1), Aaron Herbert 17, Andy Collett 12 (+2), Craig Nethercott 10 (+3), Will Tidball 7, Dave Murphy 14 (+2)
The second last heat had the (at least) 110 year old pairing of Andy Collett and Dave Murphy who rode to gain 7 points between them which was instrumental to the final result.
Division 2
Hellingly 48: Triistan Bassett 8, Josh Goble 3, Demetri Aitken 6, Ettien Patel 6, Richard Ball 6, Nicky Stretton 11, Tyler Vallance 2, Sam Craddock 6
Exeter 91: Lauren Hookway 12 (+3), Connor Tucker 14 (+1), Owen Tidball 11 (+2), Robert Croal 14 (+1), Dan Winchester 12 (+1), Sam Riddle 4
