Key:  + = from 15m handicap,  * = Tactical ride for double points
SHEFFIELD SPEEDWAY MATCH REPORTS 2009
SHEFFIELD WINDOW CENTRE Tigers v Berwick Bandits Premier TrophyMay 21

Referee: Tony Steele

010203040506070809101112131415
1. Ricky Ashworth © 7.57 3 3 3 3 3 15
2. Ritchie Hawkins r/r 5.91 - - - - (8+3)
3. Paul Cooper 5.51 1 2' 2 1 3 9+1
4. Joel Parsons 6.06 2' 3 3 3 2 1 14+1
5. Richard Hall 6.83 3 2 3 2' 10+1
6. Josh Auty 4.55 3 2' 1' 1 1' 8+3
7. Chris Mills 4.93 2' 1 0 2' 1 6+2
Eric Boocock 5 5 4 4 5 5 3 2 4 5 4 4 5 3 4
Sheffield Tigers 5 10 14 18 23 28 31 33 37 42 46 50 55 58 62
Berwick Bandits 1 2 4 6 7 8 11 15 19 20 22 24 25 31 33
Dave Peet 1 1 2 2 1 1 3 4 4 1 2 2 1 6 2
1. William Lawson 7.84 0 r 2 0 2
2. Tero Aarnio 5.49 1 1 3 0 fx 5
3. Paul Clews © 5.41 0 0 1 2 3
4. Josef Franc 7.44 2 3 r *6 2 13
5. Michal Makovsky 7.65 2 x *4 1 7
6. Greg Blair 3.00 1 - 0 0 1
7. Gugliemo Franchetti 4.43 fx 0 1 1 0 2
Track record = 59.2
R. Ashworth, 21 May 2009
0102030405060708091011121314 15
59.261.1 61.360.561.5 61.461.363.262.162.5 62.663.162.563.0 62.7

Ricky won heat 1 in a new track record time. Joel Parsons (rider replacement) passed William Lawson on the second turn, and then Tero Aarnio on the third to get the Tigers off to a big start. Gino Franchetti fell on the fourth bend gaining himself a disqualification from heat 2. In the rerun Greg Blair's bike expired with over a lap to go. He just made it past the tapes for the start of lap four and set off for a long, long push. Joel trapped ahead to win heat 3 but Paul Clews fell on the pits turn while in second place. Richard Hall took an easy win in heat 4 while Chris Mills and Michal Makovsky scrapped for second place. Michal passed Chris on the first bend of the third lap but nearly collected the fence on the back straight allowing Chris back through. Michal passed him again on the last lap and just held on to the chequered flag. Joel and Paul trapped ahead for another big win in heat 5 with William retiring at the back of the field. The Tigers are looking good with a sixteen point advantage.

Ricky led heat 6 but Michal wiped out his team mate on the second bend and earned himself a disqualification. Racing eventually resumed (after the tractor had broken the tapes!) with Josh passing Gino at the start of the second lap to join Ricky for another 5-1. Josef trapped to lead heat 7 and Richard emerged from a tight third bend in second place. Josh passed Paul Clews at the end of the second lap for a shared heat but great racing. The Tigers trap in heat 8 but Tero picks off Paul Cooper on the second turn, and then Chris on the third to lead. Chris fell on the third lap leaving Paul closing down the leader but he ran out of laps. Joel and Paul Cooper take the early lead in heat 9 but Michal (on a tactical ride) goes around Paul on the third turn. Paul fought back on the first turn but Michal makes it stick on the second and sets off after Joel. He takes the lead on the third lap only for Joel to fight back and it's Joel who makes the deciding pass on the last lap to claim the win. Cracking speedway! Ricky and Chris trap to lead heat 10. After two laps Ricky leaves Chris to fend for himself and he just managed to hold off Paul Clews despite strong challenges on the last lap. Tigers lead by 22 points.

Richard trapped but Josh was slow from the tapes and set about chasing William. It looked as though Will had done enough but Josh wound it all on around the last two bends. It was a blanket finish for second place with the referee calling the order as Will, Josh and Tero but there were mere inches between them! Brilliant! Paul Cooper made a good start to lead heat 12 from Greg Blair who slid off on the third turn. Chris followed suit a few yards later and they both raced to climb back on with Chris being quicker. We then had two races to watch half a lap apart with Paul Clews hounding Paul Cooper all the way to the line and Greg chasing hard after Chris. Ricky trapped to lead heat 13 from Michal and Richard passed Will on the third bend of the second lap. Richard tried inside and out but Michal looked to have his measure until he made a mistake exiting the second turn on the last lap allowing Richard to sweep past into the third turn. Josef was wearing the black & white in heat 14 and made a perfect start. Joel passed his team mate but couldn't catch Josef and saw his chance of a maximum spoiled. Tero fell on the second turn of heat 15 but walked back to the pits. Josef trapped in the restart but Ricky passed him on the inside of the pits turn. Josef retook the lead at the start of the second lap only for Ricky to pass him at the start of lap 3. Josef cut back under him exiting turn two but Ricky went around him on turn three and held on to the finish line.

The score line certainly didn't reflect the standard of racing and this was one of the most entertaining meetings at Owlerton this year.

Return to Sheffield Speedway fixtures and results
Return to Sheffield Speedway homepage