| Sunday 22nd October, Young Shield Semi-final | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swindon 'Softwater' Robins | 49 | 92 | DIXON Ford Sheffield 'STAR' Tigers | 40 | 87 | ||||||||||||||
| Alan Mogridge (g) | 0 | 3 | 3 | ef | 6 | Sean Wilson | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 18 | ||||||
| Martin Dixon | 2 | 2' | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | Paul Lee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| Neil Collins (c) | rider replacement | (7) | (1) | Simon Stead | 1 | 1 | 2' | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | ||||||||
| Claus Kristensen | 3 | 1' | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 1 | Adam Allott | 0 | f | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Paul Fry | 3 | 2' | 0 | 2 | ef | 1' | 8 | 2 | André Compton (g) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1' | 2' | 0 | 8 | 2 | ||
| Oliver Allen | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1' | 2' | 11 | 2 | Darren Pearson | 0 | 1' | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Mark Steel | 1 | 2' | 1' | 1 | 5 | 2 | Andy Moore | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||
1. 67.21 2-4 ( 2-4 ) Wilson, Dixon, Lee, Mogridge(r/rem) 2. 68.89 4-2 ( 6-6 ) Allen, Moore, Steel, Pearson 3. 68.15 5-1 (11-7 ) Kristensen, Dixon(r/r), Stead, Allott 4. 67.33 5-1 (16-8 ) Fry, Steel, Moore, Compton 5. 68.21 3-3 (19-11) Wilson, Allen, Kristensen, Lee 6. 68.30 3-3 (22-14) Mogridge, Compton, Pearson, Dixon(r/rem) 7. 68.08 5-1 (27-15) Allen, Fry, Stead, Allott 8. 67.33 3-3 (30-18) Wilson(t/s), Dixon, Steel, Lee 9. 67.05 1-5 (31-23) Compton, Stead(t/s), Kristensen, Fry 10. 66.90 3-3 (34-26) Mogridge, Stead, Compton(t/s), Dixon(15 yds) 11. 66.55 3-3 (37-29) Wilson, Fry, Allen, Lee 12. 67.30 4-2 (41-31) Kristensen(r/r), Stead, Steel, Moore 13. 68.71 0-5 (41-36) Wilson, Compton, Mogridge(ef), Fry(ef) 14. 68.30 5-1 (46-37) Kristensen, Allen, Allott, Pearson 15. ??.?? 3-3 (49-40) Wilson, Kristensen, Fry, Compton
Having put up such a good show at Owlerton the KO Cup champions were extremely confident that they would be able to contain the Tigers at the Abbey Stadium. Indeed many Tigers fans were sceptical about their chances, but thanks in no uncertain terms to a brilliant unbeaten display by Sean Wilson the Tigers were still in with a glimmer of a chance right up the the final flag.
André was the only other race winner for the Tigers, and he and Simon Stead took the fight to the Robins in support of their gallant captain. Andy Moore rose to the occasion to follow Oliver Allen home in heat 2 and richly deserved more rides than he was given. Paul Lee looked disinterested compared to his Blunsdon form in the League match in July and should have been sent packing after his compulsory 3rd ride. Adam was another who looked as if this was one match too many, while Darren Pearson was just off the pace.
The Robins fans were out in force to cheer their side on and their lads should give the League Champions a stern test in the final.
| Thursday 19th October, Young Shield Semi-final | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield 'Dixon Ford STAR' Tigers | 47 | Swindon 'Softwater' Robins | 43 | ||||||||||||||||
| Sean Wilson | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 | Alan Mogridge (g) | 1' | 2' | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 2 | ||||
| Paul Lee | r | 3 | 0 | 2' | 5 | 1 | Martin Dixon | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1' | 0 | 11 | 1 | ||||
| Simon Stead | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | Neil Collins (c) | rider replacement | (6) | ||||||||||
| Adam Allott | 1' | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | Claus Kristensen | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | |||||||
| André Compton (g) | 3 | 2 | 2' | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | Paul Fry | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | x2 | 6 | |||||
| Darren Pearson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ollie Allen | 3 | 1' | 0 | 0 | 1' | 0 | 5 | 2 | ||||||
| Andrew Moore | 1 | ef | ef | 1' | 2 | 1 | Mark Steel | 2' | tps | 1' | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |||||
1. 63.0 3-3 ( 3-3 ) Wilson, Dixon, Mogridge, Lee(r) 2. 64.2 1-5 ( 4-8 ) Allen, Steel, Moore, Pearson 3. 62.4 3-3 ( 7-11) Dixon(r/r), Stead, Allott, Kristensen 4. 61.9 3-3 (10-14) Compton, Fry, Allen, Moore(ef), Steel(tps) 5. 62.6 1-5 (11-19) Dixon, Mogridge, Stead, Allott 6. 62.3 4-2 (15-21) Lee, Fry, Wilson, Allen 7. 62.8 2-4 (17-25) Kristensen, Compton, Fry(r/r), Pearson 8. 62.1 3-3 (20-28) Wilson(t/s), Dixon, Steel, Lee 9. 62.1 5-1 (25-29) Stead, Compton, Fry, Allen 10. 63.0 5-1 (30-30) Wilson, Lee, Kristensen, Steel(r/r) 11. 62.7 3-3 (33-33) Compton, Mogridge, Dixon, Pearson 12. 62.5 3-3 (36-36) Stead, Kristensen(t/s), Allen, Moore(ef) 13. 63.2 4-2 (40-38) Wilson, Mogridge, Compton, Allen, Fry(2mins) 14. 63.0 3-3 (43-41) Kristensen, Allott, Moore, Steel 15. 63.0 4-2 (47-43) Wilson, Mogridge, Stead, Dixon
A real thriller of a match with no quarter asked or spared from both sides. Darren Pearson's debut replacing the injured Simon Cartwright was somewhat inauspicious as he failed to score and the Tigers cause suffered further when Andy Moore suffered 2 broken chains, the first on the final lap when he had held Paul Fry at bay for three fantastic laps in heat 4!
To be fair Martin Dixon also suffered machine problems and at the end of the day it was the Robins strength in depth that won them a tremendous chance of qualifying for the Young Shield final. The Robins having twice extended their lead to 8 points it was all the Tigers could do to haul themseleves back into the match and preserve their home record, thanks mainly to the home heat leaders including old favourite André Compton.
| Sunday 15th October, Conference League | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peterborough Pumas | 47 | 81 | Sheffield Prowlers | 43 | 99 | ||||||||||||||||
| Ian Barney | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1' | 3 | 1 | 13 | 1 | Adam Allott | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 17 | ||||
| James Horton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | David Speight | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Adam Pryer | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2' | 11 | 1 | James Birkinshaw (c) | rider replacement | ||||||||||||
| David Nix | 1 | 1' | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | Luke Priest | 0 | 1' | f | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Chris Schramm | 1' | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | Andrew Moore | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |||||||
| Gordon Meakins | 1' | 0 | f | 1' | 2 | 2 | Richie Hawkins | x2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
| Derek Harrison | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2' | x | 7 | 1 | Matt Cambridge | 3 | 0 | 2' | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 1 | |||||
1. 65.6 4-2 ( 4-2 ) Barney, Allott,Horton, Speight 2. 67.2 3-3 ( 7-5 ) Cambridge, Harrison, Meakins, Hawkins(2mins) 3. 66.4 4-2 (11-7 ) Pryer, Allott(r/r), Nix, Priest 4. 67.2 3-3 (14-10) Moore, Harrison, Schramm, Cambridge 5. 66.7 3-3 (17-13) Allott, Pryer, Nix, Speight 6. 65.6 4-2 (21-15) Barney, Moore, Horton, Hawkins 7. 67.6 3-3 (24-18) Schramm, Speight(r/r), Priest, Meakins(fx) 8. 67.3 1-5 (25-23) Allott(t/s), Cambridge, Harrison, Hawkins 9. 67.6 2-4 (27-27) Moore, Pryer, Hawkins, Nix 10. 66.6 5-1 (32-28) Barney, Harrison, Cambridge(r/r), Priest(f) 11. 67.3 2-4 (34-32) Allott, Schramm, Cambridge, Meakins 12. awd 2-4 (36-36) Moore(r/r), Pryer, Hawkins(f), Harrison(fx 13. 67.3 3-3 (39-39) Allott, Schramm, Barney, Moore 14. 68.0 3-3 (42-42) Cambridge, Nix, Meakins, Hawkins 15. 66.5 5-1 (47-43) Barney, Pryer, Allott, Moore
Some fine racing in this second half of a double header, with Andy, Adam and Matt all featuring in some tremendous battles with the Pumas. The Prowlers clawed their way back to level pegging when Derek Harrison was excluded from heat 12 having brought down Richie Hawkins on the 3rd turn. Chris Schramm and Ian Barney both passed Andy Moore to keep the scores level in heat 13, and while Matt won heat 14 young Richie couldn't quite get on terms with Graham Meakins at the back.
Dead level into the last race and the championship there to be won, unfortunately it was Ian Barney that leapt into the lead, to be joined by Adam Pryer who breezed past Adam Allott with ease. No champagne for the Prowlers then, but a big vote of appreciation to all the riders who have donned the Tigers bib this year.
| Friday 13th October, Young Shield Quarter-final | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull Vikings | 55 | 90 | DIXON Ford Sheffield 'STAR' Tigers | 35 | 90 | ||||||||||||||
| Paul Thorp (c) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | Sean Wilson | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 | |||||
| René Aas | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2' | 6 | 1 | Paul Lee | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| Paul Smith | 1 | 1' | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | Simon Stead | 2 | ef | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||||||
| Lee Dicken | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Adam Allott | 0 | 1 | 0 | fx | 1 | ||||||||
| Garry Stead | 2 | 2' | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | André Compton (g) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Mike Smith | 3 | 3 | fx | 2' | 8 | 1 | Andrew Moore | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
| Jamie Smith | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Simon Cartwright | dnr | 0 | ||||||||||||
1. 66.6 4-2 ( 4-2 ) Thorp, Wilson, Aas, Lee 2. 71.4 4-2 ( 8-4 ) M. Smith, Moore, J.Smith, Cartwright(inj) 3. 67.9 4-2 (12-6 ) Dicken, S.Stead, P.Smith, Allott 4. 68.6 3-3 (15-9 ) Compton, G.Stead, J.Smith, Moore 5. 67.8 3-3 (18-12) Wilson, Dicken, P.Smith, Lee 6. 67.6 4-2 (22-14) Thorp, Compton, Aas, Moore 7. 67.5 5-1 (27-15) M.Smith, G.Stead, Allott, S.Stead(ef) 8. 69.3 2-4 (29-19) Wilson(t/s), Aas, Lee, J.Smith(fx) 9. 68.2 4-2 (33-21) P.Smith, Compton, Dicken, S.Stead(t/s) 10. 67.6 5-1 (38-22) Thorp, Aas, S.Stead, Allott 11. 68.2 2-4 (40-26) Wilson, G.Stead, Lee, M.Smith(fx) 12. 68.1 2-4 (42-30) S.Stead, P.Smith, Compton(t/s), J.Smith 13. 67.7 4-2 (46-32) Thorp, Wilson, G.Stead, Compton 14. 70.6 5-1 (51-33) Dicken, M.Smith, Lee, Allott(fx) 15. 67.6 4-2 (55-35) Thorp, Wilson, G.Stead, Compton Deciding run-off: 67.3 - S.Wilson beat P.Thorp
Friday the 13th part one! Another meeting which went on forever with the decider exceeding the 10pm curfew. Crap racing, crap refereeing (courtesy of Dave Dowling this time) but with the tension being wound tighter and tighter before the unbelievable climax in the run-off.
Paul Thorp cut across Sean on the first turn in heat 1 but when Paul Lee slipped past René out of turn 2 things looked promissing. Paul then went so wide on turn 3 René had no option but to regain 3rd place and that's how things stayed with Paul Lee dropping further and further behind. How has he so quickly forgotten how to ride what used to be his home track? The rot really set in in heat 2 when Jamie Smith collected Simon Cartwright on the first turn and rode him full tilt into the fence. Jamie walked away with damaged front forks while Simon was whisked away to hospital suffering concussion. Justice was served in the rerun when Jamie Smith (not excluded for some inexplicable reason) led for 3 laps before developing a miss-fire. Adam Allott flew from the start in heat 3 only to be stone dead last by the back straight, but guest André Compton was the convincing winner of heat 4, and Sean made no mistakes in heat 5.
René forced André onto the grass in heat 6 but a determined André eventually made a sweet outside pass on turn 2 of the last lap to take second place. After a terrible start to heat 7 things took on a bad complexion as Simon Stead ground to a halt with a blown motor and the Tigers were now only 8 ahead on aggregate. With Simon's bikes already being en-route to the Czech Republic this meant Simon was on borrowed bikes for the rest of the evening. Jamie Smith was at it again in heat 8 falling on the first bend and collecting Paul Lee. The referee showed how consistent his decisions were by excluding him this time! René had the audacity to pass Sean exiting turn 2 but Sean simply blasted around the outside of turns 3 & 4 to regain the lead and put the Tigers back to 10 ahead on aggregate.
Tactical substitute Simon trailed in last in heat 9 but André atoned for a poor start by passing Lee Dicken, but couldn't get the better of Paul Smith. Simon out again in heat 10, this time on Sean's bike, couldn't get past René and the aggregate lead is now 4! Mike Smith goes straight on into the 3rd turn fence in heat 11, but walks away. Sean easily outpaces Garry and the lead is now 6.
Simon traps on Paul Lee's bike in heat 12, and with André in close company the Tigers look on for a 5-1, until 'Black Friday' strikes again with André's bike developing a terrible backfire on the 3rd lap, and Paul Smith gleefully sweeing past down the back straight on the last lap. Heat 13 sees Sean go round Paul Thorp wide into turn 3, but he can't hold it tight enough and Paul regains the lead out of turn 4 while André just can't wrestle Paul Lee's bike around fast enough to catch Garry Stead. Lead is now 6.
Adam makes a lightning start to heat 14 and while Lee Dicken goes clear, Paul Lee slots in behind Adam for a potential 3-3. Inexplicably Adam does the same as Mike Smith in heat 11 and piles into the 3rd turn fence. With no-one to help him in the rerun Paul trundles around last as if a 2 point lead is ample for this stage of the match! The nominated heat sees elbows flashing on the first turn before Paul Thorp emerges in the lead, but Andreé on his spare machine cannot make up ground and the match is drawn on aggregate.
With a run-off to decide who goes through to the semi-finals, and Paul Thorp with home track advantage having beaten Sean three times already the Sheffield supporters heads were down. Just as well Sean doesn't believe in statistics as he set the stadium alight with his own forcefull first turn and the ride of the night to sink the Vikings. The Tigers hardly deserved to go through and Sean could be expected to have some harsh words for certain members of the team who seemed far too complacent. Having said that the fates seemed to be against us with two of our heat leaders suffering mechanical failures and our trump card reserve being hopitalised before reaching the second turn. Swindon are our semi-final opponents and have a tasty looking side. Adam didn't have much idea of how to get around Blunsdon and if Simon isn't fit I fear that Sean may have bought himself and the team just two more pay days.
| Friday 13th October, Conference League (at Armadale) | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashfield | 58 | 98 | Sheffield Prowlers | 32 | 79 | ||||||||||||||||
| Jamie Swales | 2' | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 1 | Jon Priest | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| Robert McNeil | 3 | 3 | 2' | 2' | 2' | 12 | 3 | Richie Hawkins | 1 | r | x | 2' | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1 | ||||
| Aiden Collins | rider replacement | Carl Downs | 2 | 0 | x | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Garry Flint | f | 2' | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | Luke Priest | 1' | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||
| Craig Branney | 0 | 2' | x | 1 | 2' | 5 | 2 | James Birkinshaw (c) | rider replacement | ||||||||||||
| Derek Sneddon | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 21 | Matt Cambridge | 2 | 2' | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 1 | ||||
| Jaz Denholm | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | David Speight | 1' | 3 | 1 | 1' | 0 | f | 6 | 2 | ||||||||
| Steven McAlister | |||||||||||||||||||||
1. 62.8 5-1 ( 5-1 ) McNeil, Swales, Hawkins, J.Priest 2. 61.1 3-3 ( 8-4 ) Sneddon, Cambridge, Speight, Denholm 3. 61.8 3-3 (11-7 ) McNeil(r/r), Downs, Speight, Flint(f) 4. 62.7 1-5 (12-12) Speight, Cambridge(r/r), Denholm, Branney 5. 60.7 5-1 (17-13) Sneddon(r/r), Flint, J.Priest, Hawkins 6. 62.1 5-1 (22-14) Swales, McNeil, Cambridge, 7. 60.1 5-1 (27-15) Sneddon, Branney, L.Priest, Downs 8. 61.6 5-1 (32-16) Sneddon, McNeil, Speight, Hawkins 9. 62.9 1-5 (33-21) Cambridge, Hawkins(r/r), Flint, Branney(r/r)(x) 10. 62.3 5-1 (38-22) Swales, McNeil, L.Priest, Downs(x) 11. 61.3 4-2 (42-24) Sneddon, Hawkins, Branney, J.Priest 12. 62.7 3-3 (45-27) Swales(r/r), Cambridge, Speight, Denholm 13. 63.6 5-1 (50-28) Swales, Branney, Hawkins(t/s), L.Priest(r/r) 14. 6?.? 4-2 (54-30) Sneddon, L.Priest, Flint, Speight 15. 6?.? 4-2 (58-32) Sneddon, Hawkins, Priest, Speight(f)
Missing all three heat leaders, the Prowlers were on a hiding to nothing although Matt Cambridge, Richie Hawkins and David Speight were all commended for their efforts. Derek Sneddon rode to a perfect 7 ride maximum, and Robert McNeil got in on the act with an 18 point paid maximum. Jamie Swales missed out on his finishing behind Richie Hawkins in heat 15.
| Thursday 12th October, Conference League | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield Prowlers | 56 | Peterborough Pumas | 34 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Adam Allott | 3 | 3 | tps | 3 | 2' | 11 | 1 | Ian Barney (c) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | ||||||
| Richie Hawkins | 0 | tps | 0 | 1' | ef | 1 | 1 | James Horton | 1' | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Andrew Moore | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | Adam Pryer | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 11 | |||||||
| Luke Priest | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1' | 3 | 1 | Michael Mitchell | fx | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| James Birkinshaw (c) | rider replacement | (6) | (1) | Chris Schramm | 1 | 0 | 1' | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Matt Cambridge | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 | Gordon Meakins | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| David Speight | 1 | 2' | 2' | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2 | David Nix | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
| Carl Downes | tps | 1 | 1' | tps | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
1. 64.6 3-3 ( 3-3 ) Allott, Barney, Horton, Hawkins 2. 65.0 4-2 ( 7-5 ) Cambridge, Nix, Speight, Meakins 3. 66.1 4-2 (11-7 ) Moore, Pryer, Priest, Nix 4. 66.0 5-1 (16-8 ) Cambridge, Speight, Schramm, Meakins, Downs(tps) 5. 64.2 4-2 (20-10) Moore, Barney, Priest, Horton 6. 65.4 5-1 (25-11) Allott, Speight, Meakins, Schramm, Hawkins(tps) 7. 66.5 4-2 (29-13) Cambridge, Pryer, Downs, Mitchell(fx) 8. 66.4 2-4 (31-17) Horton, Speight, Nix, Hawkins 9. 64.5 3-3 (34-20) Moore, Pryer, Schramm, Priest 10. 67.0 3-3 (37-23) Pryer, Cambridge, Hawkins, Mitchell, Allott(tps) 11. awd 3-3 (40-26) Barney, Cambridge, Downs(f), Horton(f/x) 12. 65.1 4-2 (44-28) Moore, Pryer, Speight, Meakins 13. 66.3 4-2 (48-30) Allott, Schramm, Speight, Barney, Downs(tps) 14. 67.7 3-3 (51-33) Schramm, Cambridge, Priest, Mitchell 15. 64.2 5-1 (56-34) Moore, Allott, Barney, Pryer.
This match seemed to take forever, primary cause being the inordinate length of time referee Graham Flint held the riders on the green light before releasing the tapes. This led to 4 sets of tapes being destroyed, with another set going after a starting gate malfunction.
Ian Barney was the pick of the visitors, although he had no response when young David Speight passed him out of turn 2 in heat 13 relegating him to last place! Chris Schramm took time to settle in, surprising as you would have thought Owlerton would have required a similar set-up to Alwalton?
Adam only dropped points when he went through the tapes, Andrew was untouchable as he rode to a 5 ride maximum on Robbie K's wide outside line, and Matt Cambridge continues to improve looking confident and stylish. David Speight deserved his paid 11 score and the margin of victory would have been much greater had the Prowlers not given all Jamie's rider replacement rides to No.8 Carl Downs. This was probably intended to give him an idea of what to expect tomorrow when he moves into the team propper at Armadale in the absence of Adam and Andrew!
| Sunday 8th October, Conference League | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield Prowlers | 40 | 72 | Rye House Rockets | 38 | 96 | ||||||||||||||||
| Adam Allott | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | Simon Wolstenholme (c) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1' | 12 | 1 | ||||||
| Richie Hawkins | ef | 1 | 1 | 1 | ef | 3 | Daniel Gifford | 1' | 1' | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | ||||||||
| Andrew Moore | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1' | 10 | 1 | David Mason | 2 | 2 | 2' | 2 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 1 | ||||||
| Luke Priest | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Russell Payne | fx | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| James Birkinshaw (c) | rider replacement | (7) | (1) | Phil Ambrose | rider replacement | (7) | |||||||||||||||
| Matt Cambridge | 3 | 3 | r | 2 | 1 | 9 | Nathan Morton | 2 | 1 | 0 | x | 3 | |||||||||
| David Speight | f | 2' | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | Garry Sweet | 1' | 0 | 1' | 1' | 2' | 5 | 4 | |||||||
1. 65.1 3-3 ( 3-3 ) Allott, Wolstenholme, Gifford, Hawkins 2. 67.7 3-3 ( 6-6 ) Cambridge, Morton, Sweet, Speight(f) 3. 66.0 4-2 (10-8 ) Moore, Mason, Priest, Payne(fx) 4. 69.2 5-1 (15-9 ) Cambridge(r/r), Speight, Morton(r/r), Sweet 5. 66.9 3-3 (18-12) Moore, Wolstenholme, Gifford, Priest 6. 66.3 4-2 (22-14) Allott, Wolstenholme(t/s), Hawkins, Morton 7. 66.1 3-3 (25-17) Allott(r/r), Mason, Sweet, Cambridge(r) 8. 69.5 1-5 (26-22) Gifford, Mason(t/s), Hawkins, Speight 9. 67.1 3-3 (29-25) Moore, Wolstenholme(r/r), Sweet, Priest 10. 65.3 4-2 (33-27) Allott, Mason, Hawkins, Morton(x) 11. 67.3 3-3 (36-30) Wolstenholme, Cambridge, Moore, Gifford 12. 66.6 1-5 (37-35) Mason, Sweet, Cambridge, Speight 13. 66.2 3-3 (40-38) Allott, Mason, Wolstenholme, Hawkins(ef) 14. match abandoned
The second half of the double header saw the Rockets claw back from an eight point defecit despite losing Russell Payne after a spectacular off on the first turn first time out. It's hard to tell if his ancient Weslake would have had been on the pace at Owlerton. After six or seven outings each in the first match the Prowlers top men were beginning to struggle as they discovered aches in muscles they didn't even know they had!
The Rockets 5-1 in heat 12 brought them back to just two behind and a mouthwatering conclusion was in prospect. Adam Allott outpaced the Rockets top pair to win heat 13 but had to receive medical attention as he returned to the pit gate in obvious distress. After a lengthy delay he was taken straight to hospital in the ambulance suffering from a partially collapsed lung! With a considerable delay likely until the ambulance returned and the evening wearing on the referees decision was to abandon the match with the result standing.
While the Rockets could be justifyably peeved as they could have turned over the weakened and exhausted Prowlers, David Mason should consider himself very lucky as he would have had little or no chance of defending his Bronze Helmet against the Prowlers top scorer. Fingers crossed that the Prowlers can re-group in time for the Peterborough match on Thursday.
| Sunday 8th October, Conference League | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield Prowlers | 48 | 100 | St. Austell BWOC Gulls | 42 | 80 | ||||||||||||||||
| Adam Allott | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 18 | Wayne Barrett | rider replacement | (6) | |||||||||||
| Richie Hawkins | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Richard Ford | 1' | 2 | 2' | 0 | 5 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Andrew Moore | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2' | 16 | 1 | Gary Phelps | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||||||
| Luke Priest | 0 | 1 | 1' | 1' | 3 | 2 | Darren Andrews | 1' | ef | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| James Birkinshaw (c) | rider replacement | (6) | Jason Prynne (c) | 2' | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1' | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Matt Cambridge | 3 | 0 | 2' | fx | 1 | fx | 2 | 8 | 1 | Martin Williams | 1' | 0 | 1' | 0 | 1' | tps | 3 | 3 | |||
| David Speight | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Gary Lobb | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14 | ||||||||
1. 63.8 3-3 ( 3-3 ) Allott, Prynne(r/r), Ford, Hawkins 2. 65.2 3-3 ( 6-6 ) Cambridge, Lobb, Williams, Speight 3. 64.4 3-3 ( 9-9 ) Moore, Phelps, Andrews, Priest 4. 66.9 1-5 (10-14) Lobb, Prynne, Speight, Cambridge(r/r) 5. 64.4 4-2 (14-16) Moore, Ford, Priest, Williams(r/r) 6. 64.0 3-3 (17-19) Allott, Prynne, Williams, Hawkins 7. 64.2 5-1 (22-20) Allott(r/r), Cambridge, Phelps, Andrews(ef) 8. 67.3 1-5 (23-25) Lobb, Ford, Speight(f/rem), Cambridge(fx) 9. 65.9 3-3 (26-28) Prynne, Moore, Priest, Williams 10. 63.7 4-2 (30-30) Allott, Phelps, Hawkins, Andrews(ns) 11. 66.5 4-2 (34-32) Moore(r/r), Lobb(r/r), Cambridge, Ford 12. 68.6 3-3 (37-35) Moore, Phelps, Williams, Speight(f/rem) 13. 68.6 3-3 (40-38) Allott, Phelps|(r/r), Prynne, Cambridge(fx) 14. 73.6 3-3 (43-41) Lobb, Cambridge, Priest, Williams(tps) 15. 66.8 5-1 (48-42) Allott, Moore, Lobb, Prynne
The Prowlers were missing James Birkinshaw, Lee Hodgson, Andrew Taylor and Malcolm Carter, all injured, and chose to give Richie Hawkins his debut against the experienced St. Austell Gulls. Having won comfortably in Cornwall it must have been a shock to find themselves trailing by four points after four heats, quick staring reserve Gary Lobb responsible for most of the damage. As the rain began to fall track conditions became a little slippy, but it was mostly the Prowlers who were caught out, Matt Cambridge in particular as he was just trying that little bit too hard.
Andy Moore dropped just one point to the opposition in six rides, but Adam Allott went one better with a perfect six ride maximum. The Prowlers had a long tail however with David Speight, Luke Priest and Richie Hawkins only managing 3rd places after some sluggish starts.
The match was delicately ballanced until Martin Williams touched the tapes in heat 14 earning himself an exclusion after which the Prowlers twin spearhead romped away to win the nominated heat. The deciding factor in the Gulls defeat was probably Darren Andrews withdrawal from the meeting following machine failure, after all this junior has in the past beaten Robbie Kessler around Owlerton!
| Thursday 5th October, Premier League Play-Off | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield 'Dixon Ford STAR' Tigers | 55 | Hull Vikings | 35 | ||||||||||||||||
| Sean Wilson | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 | Paul Thorp (c) | 3 | 3 | r | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |||||
| Paul Lee | 1' | 1 | 3 | 2' | 7 | 2 | René Aas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Simon Stead | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2' | 12 | 1 | Paul Smith | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| Adam Allott | 1' | 1' | 2' | x2 | 4 | 3 | Lee Dicken | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | fx | 9 | ||||||
| Robert Kessler | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | Garry Stead | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | r | 11 | ||||||
| Simon Cartwright | 3 | ef | 0 | 2' | 5 | 1 | Jamie Smith | 0 | 0 | 1' | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Andrew Moore | 1 | 1 | 2' | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | Mike Smith | 2 | ef | 0 | 2 | |||||||
1. 63.1 3-3 ( 3-3 ) Thorp, Wilson, Lee, Aas 2. 65.6 4-2 ( 7-5 ) Cartwright, M.Smith, Moore, J.Smith 3. 66.0 3-3 (10-8 ) Dicken, S.Stead, Allott, P.Smith 4. 66.1 4-2 (14-10) Kessler, G.Stead, Moore, M.Smith(ef) 5. 64.6 3-3 (17-13) Thorp, S.Stead, Allott, Aas 6. 66.2 4-2 (21-15) Wilson, G.Stead, Lee, J.Smith 7. 65.4 2-4 (23-19) Dicken, Kessler, P.Smith, Cartwright(ef) 8. 65.6 5-1 (28-20) Lee, Moore, Aas, M.Smith 9. 64.1 5-1 (33-21) S.Stead, Allott, G.Stead, Thorp(t/s)(r) 10. 65.0 5-1 (38-22) Wilson, Lee, Dicken, P.Smith 11. 63.8 2-4 (40-26) G.Stead(t/s), Kessler, Thorp, Cartwright 12. 64.9 3-3 (43-29) S.Stead, Dicken(t/s), J.Smith, Moore 13. 63.6 2-4 (45-33) G.Stead, Wilson, Thorp, Kessler 14. awd 5-1 (50-34) Moore, Cartwright, J.Smith, Dicken(fx), Allott(2min) 15. 64.4 5-1 (45-35) Wilson, S.Stead, Thorp, G.Stead(r)
After a couple of nail biting encounters between the Tigers and Vikings this season this match at first appeared to be yet another in the same vein. Paul Thorp sped away from Sean to win the first heat, and with Lee Dicken passing Robbie to win heat 7 the Tigers held a narrow 4 point advantage. Heat 8 saw Andy Moore bravely squeezing around René on the 4th turn to join Paul in a 5-1 and suddenly the wind had left the Vikings' sails.
Tactical substitute Paul Thorp rode through the tapes (before the green light) in heat 9 and despite frantic activity in the pits to sort out his clutch he was forced onto Lee Dicken's bike. It was obviously not to his liking and he retired in last place. With Garry Stead too far behind Adam to mount any sort of challenge the Tigers lead was now up to 12. When Paul Lee made an uncharacteristic fast start and team rode with Sean to yet another 5-1 the Viking were now 16 points down and looking broken.
Eric Boocock put Garry Stead in as a tactical in heat 11 and he responded by claiming his first win while Robbie consolidated second place ahead of Thorpy and Simon C (who was Andy Moore's spare machine). Lee Dicken was drafted into heat 12 but to little effect as Simon Stead came through from 3rd to claim the win and preserve the Tigers 14 point lead. The Vikings sped into the lead in heat 13 and while Sean went around Thorpy on turn 2 of the 3rd lap, Garry Stead was by then too far ahead, and the Tigers lead was down to 12.
The vital heat 14 was delayed when Adam developed engine problems and despite a frantic rush to get him a spare machine he exceeded the 2 minute allowance. This left the Sheffield reserves against the Vikings top scorer, but in a tremendous race young Andy Moore took the lead from Lee Dicken with an audacious wide 4th bend pass before pulling out a slight lead. Lee kept up the pressure, all the while resisting Simon C (on Paul Lee's bike) trying to find a way through on the inside, until the last lap when he collected young Andy full astern (red mist? stuck throttle?) throwing then both headlong into the fence. Andy was able to walk away from the debris but Lee left the track in the Ambulance. The race awarded 5-1 and the lead back to 16. Perhaps the Vikings heads went down as Garry Stead retired from heat 15 and Thorpy could only watch as Sean and Simon blasted away to another 5-1 and the comfort of a 20 point first leg advantage.
An unexpected big win for the Tigers on a track which was obviously not at its best. Times were slow and passing seemed more difficult than usual, probably due to recent stock cars and the wet weather. The second leg next Wednesday should be a formality, especially if Lee Dicken is unfit.
| Saturday 30th September, Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berwick 'ACC BT Cellnet' Bandits | 51 | 82 | DIXON Ford Sheffield 'STAR' Tigers | 39 | 98 | ||||||||||||||
| Paul Bentley | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | Sean Wilson (c) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | r | 10 | |||||||
| Jorg Pingel | rider replacement | (4) | (1) | Paul Lee | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
| David Meldrum | 1' | 1' | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2' | 13 | 3 | Simon Stead | ef | 2 | 1' | 2 | 5 | 1 | ||||
| Scott Smith | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2' | 3 | 11 | 1 | Simon Cartwright | 3 | 1' | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |||||
| Alan Mogridge | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 13 | Robbie Kessler | 3 | 3 | r | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||||||
| Dean Felton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2' | 5 | 1 | Andrew Moore | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Phil Pickering | 1' | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Adam Allott | 3 | 1 | 1' | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |||||
1. 68.5 3-3 ( 3-3 ) Wilson, Bentley, Meldrum(r/r), Lee 2. 70.3 3-3 ( 6-6 ) Allott, Felton, Pickering, Moore 3. 68.9 3-3 ( 9-9 ) Cartwright, Smith, Meldrum, Stead(ef) 4. 67.5 2-4 (11-13) Kessler, Mogridge, Allott, Pickering 5. 67.8 4-2 (15-15) Meldrum, Wilson, Smith, Lee 6. 68.1 2-4 (17-19) Kessler, Bentley, Moore, Felton(r/r) 7. 67.4 3-3 (20-22) Mogridge, Stead, Cartwright, Felton 8. 68.2 3-3 (23-25) Smith(r/r), Lee, Allott, Pickering 9. 67.7 5-1 (28-26) Meldrum, Smith, Moore, Kessler(r) 10. 67.5 3-3 (31-29) Bentley, Cartwright, Stead, Felton(r/r) 11. 66.6 2-4 (33-33) Wilson, Mogridge, Lee, Pickering 12. 67.7 4-2 (37-35) Meldrum, Stead, Felton, Allott 13. 66.3 4-2 (41-37) Mogridge, Wilson, Bentley, Kessler 14. 70.3 5-1 (46-38) Smith, Felton, Cartwright, Allott 15. 67.2 5-1 (51-39) Mogridge, Meldrum, Kessler, Wilson(r)
The Tigers kept the scoreline close throughout the early stages of the match but then collapsed in the latter stages. Very little passing in evidence, Paul Bentley went under Robbie in heat 13, and Simon Stead battled around Dean Felton in heat 10 and that was about it! At the time there was still a mathematical possibility that the Tigers could have won the League if they had amassed a big enough win, but it looked as if heads went down when they realized it wasn't going to happen. Good display by Scud against his owning club and a very impressive show by Simon Cartwright who looked fast and confident (and moves back to reserve for October).
| Thursday 28th September, Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIXON Ford Sheffield 'STAR' Tigers | 54 | 93 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 39 | 92 | ||||||||||||||
| Sean Wilson | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2' | 14 | 1 | Robert Eriksson | 1' | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |||
| Paul Lee | 0 | 2' | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Blair Scott | 2 | 0 | f | 0 | 1' | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Simon Stead | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | Peter Carr | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 17 | ||||||
| Simon Cartwright | 1' | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | Ross Brady | 0 | 1' | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Robert Kessler | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2' | 3 | 14 | 1 | Kevin Little | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| Andrew Moore | 3 | 0 | 0 | fx | 3 | Christian Henry | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2' | 7 | 1 | |||||||
| Adam Allott | 1 | 2' | 1' | 0 | 4 | 2 | Will Beveridge | 0 | fx | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
1. 61.2 3-3 ( 3-3 ) Wilson, Eriksson, Scott, Lee 2. 62.3 4-2 ( 7-5 ) Moore, Henry, Allott, Beveridge 3. 60.9 3-3 (10-8 ) Carr, Stead, Cartwright, Brady 4. awd 5-1 (15-9 ) Kessler, Allott, Little, Beveridge(fx) 5. 62.0 4-2 (19-11) Stead, Eriksson, Cartwright, Scott 6. 63.5 5-1 (24-12) Wilson, Lee, Henry, Little 7. 61.8 3-3 (27-15) Kessler, Carr, Brady, Moore 8. 62.2 3-3 (30-18) Eriksson(t/s), Lee, Allott, Scott(f) 9. 62.6 4-2 (34-20) Stead, Henry, Cartwright, Scott(t/s) 10. 61.8 4-2 (38-22) Wilson, Carr, Lee, Brady 11. 62.0 3-3 (41-25) Kessler, Eriksson, Scott, Moore 12. 61.1 2-4 (43-29) Carr, Stead, Beveridge, Allott 13. 62.3 5-1 (48-30) Wilson, Kessler, Eriksson, Little 14. 62.8 1-8 (49-38) Carr(G*D), Henry, Cartwright, Moore(fx) 15. 61.5 5-1 (54-39) Kessler, Wilson, Carr, Eriksson
A tremendous win for the Tigers against the old adversary who yet again displayed their dislike for the wide open spaces of Owlerton. The Tigers clawed back the fouteen point defecit by heat 9 but were always facing a Peter Carr golden double in heat 14. Not wanting to disappoint the Owlerton public Peter Carr twice blasted his way from the handicapped start to steal six points after Andrew Moore fell into the fence on the first occasion. This set the meeting alight as it meant the Tigers required a 5-1 over Carr and Eriksson to claim the bonus point, which they accomplished in style with PC trailed off well behind.
PC was the cream of the Monarchs but he received scant support. Eriksson's points were all cheap and he failed to beat any Sheffield heat leader. Kevin Little disgraced himself by finishing last in all his rides, even succumbing to reserve Adam Allott! Blair Scott and Ross Brady were little better, both riding below their best Owlerton form and Will Beveridge was a pale shadow of the heat leader who visited with Glasgow last season. The only saving grace was the excellent form showed by Christian Henry who looks to be a potential star of the future if he maintains that kind of improvement!
Paid maximums for Sean and Robbie who both brushed PC aside with imperious ease. Simon Stead was however my man-of-the-match for his excellent wins from the back in heats 5 and 9. The first saw him make up yards of ground on quick starting Robert Eriksson (after being baulked by his own team mate on the first turn). He then squeezed through the smallest of gaps on the outside of the last turn on lap 3. The second was even better! Trapping last he passed Simon C out of turn 2 and gave chase to Blair Scott and Christian Henry. After a breathtaking first bend he powered straight past Scott on the inside out of turn 2, and then without a pause for breath he went straight around Henry on the outside of turn 3! Brilliant!!
Paul was his usual frustrating self as he steadfastly refused to move off the white line. He luckily had Sean to cover him in heat 6, but Tigers fans are beginning to seriously doubt whether Paul will ever get any better. A quiet day for Simon Cartwright whose only moment worthy of note was when he blasted around Blair Scott on the very last bend of heat 9. Andrew Moore was the comfortable winner of heat 2, but thereafter found the competition a little tough and he took a nasty tumble when he caught his arm in the fence in heat 14. Adam Allott still hasn't got his bike right and he trailed in last in heat 12 issueing clouds of blue smoke. His moment of glory was the ease with which he dismissed heat leader Kevin Little in heat 4, but he lost a place to Blair Scott in heat 8 before Blair threw it all away on the last bend.
With the Tigers out of the title chase this result was only important in deciding who we get to pick in the play-offs!
| Thursday 21st September, Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIXON Ford Sheffield 'STAR' Tigers | 50 | 94 | Hull Vikings | 43 | 88 | ||||||||||||||
| Sean Wilson | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 14 | Paul Thorp (c) | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | r | 15 | 1 | ||||
| Paul Lee | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2' | 5 | 1 | René Aas | 0 | 1 | 2' | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | |||||
| Simon Stead | 2' | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | Paul Smith | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |||||||
| Simon Cartwright | 3 | 0 | 1' | 2 | 6 | 1 | Lee Dicken | 1 | 1' | r | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Robert Kessler | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1' | 1 | 11 | 1 | Garry Stead | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | ||||
| Andrew Moore | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Phil Pickering | 1 | ef | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| Adam Allott | 2' | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | Jamie Smith | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
1. 61.2 4-2 ( 4-2 ) Wilson, Thorp, Lee, Aas 2. 63.8 5-1 ( 9-3 ) Moore, Allott, Pickering, J.Smith 3. 62.0 5-1 (14-4 ) Cartwright, S.Stead, Dicken, P.Smith 4. 62.4 4-2 (18-6 ) Kessler, G.Stead, Allott, J.Smith 5. 60.4 2-4 (20-10) Thorp, S.Stead, Aas, Cartwright 6. 60.7 4-2 (24-12) Wilson, G.Stead, Lee, Pickering(ef) 7. 61.2 3-3 (27-15) Kessler, P.Smith, Dicken, Moore 8. 63.0 1-8 (28-23) Thorp(G*D), Aas, Lee, Allott 9. 62.4 3-3 (31-26) G.Stead, S.Stead, Cartwright, Pickering 10. 64.5 5-1 (36-27) Wilson, Lee, P.Smith, Dicken 11. 62.6 3-3 (39-30) Kessler, Aas, Thorp, Moore 12. 62.3 2-4 (41-34) G.Stead(t/s), S.Stead, J.Smith, Allott 13. 61.1 3-3 (44-37) Thorp, Wilson, Kessler, G.Stead 14. 63.6 2-4 (46-41) P.Smith(t/s), Cartwright, Aas(t/s), Moore 15. 61.3 4-2 (50-43) Wilson, G.Stead, Kessler, Thorp(r)
The injury hit Vikings found the Tigers still smarting from the 1 point reversal at New Craven Park. No mistakes were made this time, and despite a spirited Golden Double fightback at the half-way stage the match points were never really in doubt.
Thorp beat Sean fair and square in heat 13 after a flying start, but pulled out of heat 13 as Robbie Kessler relegated him to last place. He can consider himself lucky in the heat 8 Golden Double as for 2 laps he had no idea what to do about the wide riding Paul Lee, until Paul turned off his brain and tried his favourite inside line. Thorpy gratefully accepted the place on the next bend and with René almost stopping before the line the 8-1 was secured. Bruce seems not to have learned anything about Owlerton in the last two years! Garry Stead twice beat his namesake Simon but couldn't gate alongside Sean or Robbie. Paul Smith claimed a cheap win as a heat 14 tac-sub but didn't ride like a heat-leader, and with René and Lee Dicken struggling the Vikings had too long a tail.
Sean rode well, Robbie claimed three wins, although Steady was a little subdued. Simon Cartwright got stuck in although the same could not be said for comeback man Paul Lee who was still in pain from his broken big toe. Adam Allott burned out two sets of clutch plates before Nicky let on he had changed the clutch spring cups over to titanium ones(!) and Andy struggled after his heat 2 win.
David Speight looked sharp in his after the match rides and it took Matt Cambridge a couple of laps to find his way past. Hopefully we will return from Peterborough on Sunday with a full complement of juniors.
| Saturday 16th September, Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stoke Potters | 50 | 94 | DIXON Ford Sheffield 'STAR' Tigers | 40 | 88 | ||||||||||||||
| Paul Pickering (c) | 3 | 2 | 2' | 1 | 2 | 10 | 1 | Sean Wilson (c) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2' | 3 | 15 | 1 | |||
| Mark Burrows | 2' | 1' | 1' | 3 | inj | 7 | 3 | Paul Lee | rider replacement | (1) | |||||||||
| David Walsh | 3 | 1' | 3 | 3 | 10 | 1 | Simon Stead | 1 | ef | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||||
| Tony Atkin | 2' | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | Simon Cartwright | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||||||
| Rene Madsen | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | Robbie Kessler | 3 | 3 | fx | 3 | fx | 1 | 10 | ||||||
| Wayne Broadhurst | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | Andrew Moore | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||
| Neil Painter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Adam Allott | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1' | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
1. 62.8 5-1 ( 5-1 ) Pickering, Burrows, Wilson, Moore(r/r) 2. 66.0 4-2 ( 9-3 ) Broadhurst, Moore, Painter, Allott 3. 64.4 5-1 (14-4 ) Walsh, Atkin, Stead, Cartwright 4. 65.4 2-4 (16-8 ) Kessler, Madsen, Allott, Painter 5. 63.4 3-3 (19-11) Wilson, Atkin, Walsh, Cartwright(r/r) 6. 64.1 3-3 (22-14) Kessler, Pickering, Burrows, Moore 7. 65.1 4-2 (26-16) Madsen, Cartwright, Broadhurst, Stead(ef) 8. 64.8 3-3 (29-19) Wilson(t/s), Broadhurst, Burrows, Allott 9. 64.4 4-2 (33-21) Walsh, Stead(t/s), Atkin, Kessler(fx) 10. 64.7 5-1 (38-22) Burrows, Pickering, Cartwright, Stead 11. 64.9 2-4 (40-26) Wilson, Madsen, Stead(r/r), Painter 12. 64.5 3-3 (43-29) Walsh, Stead, Allott, Broadhurst 13. 64.2 1-5 (44-34) Kessler, Wilson, Pickering, Madsen 14. awd 4-2 (48-36) Atkin, Cartwright, Broadhurst, Kessler(fx) 15. 64.1 2-4 (50-40) Wilson, Pickering, Kessler, Broadhurst, Burrows(inj)
After a lot of rain on Friday and with puddles all over the infield the track looked amazingly good, and indeed there was no evidence of the usual Loomer Road hazzards. Unfortunately there was neither any evidence of grip and the racing was mainly processional. Sean locked up on the very first turn allowing Pickers and Buzz into an unassailable lead, and when Adam let every one go first on the first bend in heat 2 it started to look glum. Tony Atkin graciously accepted 2nd place when Steady went far too wide on the 4th bend in heat 3 but thankfully Robbie romped away with heat 4, although Adam surrendered 2nd place to Rene Madsen.
Sean was quick to make ammends making no mistake in heat 5, and Robbie gave Pickers and Buzz a good view of his rear wheel in heat 6. Steady was hit by gremlins in heat 7 and although Simon Cartwright just squeezed ahead of Rene out of turn 2, Rene dived back into the lead on the next turn. Sean came in as a tac-sub to win heat 8 but Adam was welded to the white line.
Walsh and Atkin made a real hash of the 2nd turn in heat 9 and just as tac-sub Steady swooped into the lead Robbie slid off at the back. Steady took second in the rerun, but out again in the next heat he contrived to forget to turn his fuel on! Out again in heat 11 as rider replacement and set for a 5-1 with Sean he too pulled a locker on turn 1 from which he barely recovered. Setting off on a long chase he eventually passed Neil Painter on the second bend on the last lap. Guess who was out in heat 12 and tiring in his comeback meeting, although Adam made his sole contribution to the entertainment sneaking under Broadhurst on the 4th turn. Robbie popped out to win heat 13 with Sean diving past Pickers out of the 2nd turn on lap 2 to join him for the maximum.
Reg now resorted to the Golden Double in a desperate attempt to salvage the bonus point, and it looked as if it might pay off for a few seconds as Simon Cartwright led the field into the first turn. Robbie off 15 meters had already made up the defecit and was going to breeze past Wayne Broadhurst just as Wayne pulled a locker on the second turn. Left with the option of collecting Wayne or baleing out Robbie did the decent thing and waited for the race to be stopped, but to the very evident joy of the partisan Loomer Road faithful the referees decision was to exclude Robbie, and to award the race which had'nt even completed a single lap. A delay ensued while the Sheffield team manager (I could think of a better term) protested to Mr Craig Ackroyd but the only outcome was a £100 fine for Robbie for not attempting to leave the track.
Robbie's nomination for heat 15 brought huge boos from the Potties which were merely amplified by the first bend bunching which saw Robbie and Buzz tumbling hard into the first turn fence. Mark received trackside attention before going to hospital complaining of lower back pain. Best wishes to Mark for a speedy recovery. Robbie rode to a spirited 3rd place behind Sean and Pickers in the rerun on an uncontrollable bike which was later found to have a wrecked diamond and forks, Altogether an expensive evening for Robbie who must learn to stop falling as it doesn't do him or his bikes any good whatsoever!
| Monday 11th September, Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle KBS Diamonds | 47 | 91 | 'Dixon Ford' Sheffield STAR Tigers | 43 | 91 | ||||||||||||||
| Jesper Olsen | rider replacement | Sean Wilson | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | ||||||||||
| Krister Marsh | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Paul Lee | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| Stuart Swales | 2' | 3 | 1' | 2 | 2 | 1' | 11 | 3 | Paul Bentley (g) | fx | 3 | 1 | 2' | 3 | 9 | 1 | |||
| André Compton | 3 | 2' | 3 | 2 | 2' | 2 | 14 | 2 | Simon Cartwright | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| David Walsh (g) | 3 | 3 | 1' | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | Robbie Kessler | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2' | 0 | 12 | 1 | |||
| Rob Grant | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | Andrew Moore | ef | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Paul Macklin | 1 | f | f | 1 | Adam Allott | 2 | 1' | 1 | 4 | 1 | |||||||||
1 64.6 4-2 ( 4-2 ) Walsh, Wilson, Marsh, Lee 2 66.5 4-2 ( 8-4 ) Grant, Allott, Macklin, Moore(ef) 3 65.9 5-1 (13-5 ) Compton, Swales, Cartwright, Bentley(fx) 4 66.6 3-3 (16-8 ) Walsh, Kessler, Allott, Macklin(f) 5 64.7 5-1 (21-9 ) Swales, Compton, Wilson, Lee 6 65.7 4-2 (25-11) Compton, Kessler, Marsh, Moore 7 65.8 3-3 (28-14) Bentley, Grant, Walsh, Cartwright 8 awd 2-4 (30-18) Wilson(t/s), Marsh, Lee, Macklin(f) 9 65.2 3-3 (33-21) Kessler, Compton, Swales, Moore 10 65.9 2-4 (35-25) Kessler(t/s), Swales, Bentley, Marsh 11 65.7 1-5 (36-30) Wilson, Bentley(t/s), Grant, Walsh 12 65.3 2-4 (38-34) Bentley, Swales, Lee(t/s), Grant 13 66.1 1-5 (39-39) Wilson, Kessler, Walsh, Marsh 14 66.4 5-1 (44-40) Grant, Compton, Allott, Cartwright 15 65.6 3-3 (47-43) Wilson, Compton, Swales, Kessler Run-off for bonus point: Compton, Wilson 64.7
A thrilling meeting in which a below-strength Newcastle team rode superbly to pull out a fourteen point lead after seven heats, only to see themselves outgunned in the six following as Sheffield, reinforced by four tactical substitutions, pulled level after heat 13. Newcastle then worked hard to create a four point winning margin, and Andre Compton (who was control personified all evening) excelled himself by defeating Sean Wilson in the bonus point run-off.
Newcastle had David Walsh as guest for Bjarne Pedersen, who is still ill, and used r/r for Jesper Olsen (who said on the PA that he hopes to return in a couple of weeks). Sheffield had Paul Bentley guesting for Simon Stead.
Sheffield stuttered in the opening heats. In heat 1 Walsh had a surprisingly easy win over Wilson, while in the reserves' race Rob Grant was unchallenged and Paul Macklin (who seemed to have machinery problems from the ride-around) picked up a point when Andy Moore packed up.
Things went from bad to worse from a Sheffield perspective in heat 3 as Andre Compton and Stuart Swales had an easy win over Simon Cartwright in a rerun caused by a fall involving Swales and Paul Bentley on turn 3 in which Bentley appeared to lock up and was collected by Swales.
In heat 4 Macklin spectacularly somersaulted at the tapes but was thankfully unhurt: meanwhile Robbie Kessler led out of turn 2 but was overhauled by Walsh, who was unchallenged to the flag.
Heat 5 saw Wilson surprisingly passive as Swales and Compton took another 5-1. Compton was out again in heat 6, and scored a comfortable win, with Marsh snapping at Kessler's heels throughout the last two laps.
David Walsh (who had blown his engine at the end of the first heat) completely missed the gate in heat 7, but overhauled Cartwright to follow Rob Grant in his (fruitless) chase of Bentley.
Sean Wilson was the first of four Sheffield tac subs, being introduced for Adam Allott in heat 8, and winning easily ahead of Krister Marsh, himself a distance ahead of Paul Lee. The points were shared in heat 9 as Kessler stayed well clear of Compton and Swales, but in the next four heats the Tigers moved up a gear and wiped out a twelve point deficit through use of tac subs.
Sheffield were set for a 5-1 in heat 10, but Stuart Swales produced a fine pass of Bentley on the third lap and set off in pursuit of tac sub Kessler, but without success. A 5-1 did come in the next heat, in which Walsh was the meat in a sandwich of Wilson and Bentley on the second bend, and dropped away to fourth. The arrears were further reduced in heat 12, where Lee was the tactical, and beat Grant for one point, with Bentley keeping Swales at bay for the win.
Rider replacement in heat 13 had to be Krister Marsh, and perhaps unsurprisingly he was never competitive with Wilson and Kessler: disappointingly, however, neither was David Walsh, who followed the Sheffield pair without being able to make a real challenge.
Newcastle had to pull something out of the bag in heat 14, and did so as Compton helped Grant to his second win of the evening, leaving the Diamonds four ahead going into the last heat, in which Wilson was the unchallenged winner ahead of Compton and Swales, with Kessler curiously quiet at the back.
The 3-3 in heat 15 set up a run-off for the bonus point between Sean Wilson and Andre Compton, and the tension produced a superb match race. Compton made the gate and led out of turn 2, but Wilson ate up the ground on the back straight and passed on the inside on turn 3, only for Compton to take the lead back off turn 4, a position he held to the finish.
For Newcastle, Andre Compton was back to his best, and very much the rider of the night. He was solidly supported by Stuart Swales and David Walsh, whose performance tailed off somewhat. Rob Grant continues to develop in leaps and bounds, and again made a very meaningful contribution.
Sheffield relied almost entirely on their heat leaders. Sean Wilson was not his usual dominant self, however, particularly early on, but he was well supported by Robbie Kessler and the perennial guest at Newcastle, Paul Bentley. The second strings made little contribution, with Paul Lee - who has ridden Brough Park very well in the past - particularly disappointing.
All in all, by far the best meeting at Newcastle this season, in my view.
Match report by Vaughan Jones.
| Sunday 10th September, Premier League Riders Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Fry | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 9th | ||||||||||||
| Anders Henriksson | fx | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | =12th | ||||||||||||
| Robbie Kessler | 3 | 1 | fx | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8th | ||||||||||||
| Michael Coles | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11th | ||||||||||||
| Ray Morton | 0 | r | 0 | 16th | |||||||||||||||
| Carl Stonehewer | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 1st | ||||||||||||
| Colin White | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | =12th | ||||||||||||
| Les Collins | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 10th | ||||||||||||
| Paul Pickering | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 3rd | ||||||||||||
| Alan Mogridge | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 6th | ||||||||||||
| Peter Carr | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 2nd | ||||||||||||
| Paul Thorp | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 5th | ||||||||||||
| Phil Morris | 0 | 1 | 2 | r | 0 | 3 | 14th | ||||||||||||
| André Compton | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7th | ||||||||||||
| Sean Wilson | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 4th | ||||||||||||
| Robert Eriksson | 1 | r | r | 1 | 15th | ||||||||||||||
| Adam Allott (res) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
1 (re-run) 62.5 Kessler, Fry, Coles, Henriksson (FX) 2 63.0 Stonehewer, White, Collins, Morton 3 62.5 Pickering, Mogridge, Carr, Thorp 4 61.9 Wilson, Compton, Eriksson, Morris 5 62.5 Pickering, Fry, Morris, Morton (R) 6 61.7 Stonehewer, Mogridge, Compton, Henriksson 7 60.9 Wilson, Carr, Kessler, White 8 62.2 Thorp, Coles, Collins, Eriksson (R) 9 61.3 Stonehewer, Fry, Carr, Eriksson (R) 10 61.3 Wilson, Thorp, Henriksson, Allott 11 (re-run) 62.2 Compton, Pickering, Collins, Kessler (FX) 12 62.4 Mogridge, Morris, Coles, White 13 61.3 Thorp, Fry, White, Compton 14 61.9 Collins, Carr, Henriksson, Morris (R) 15 61.6 Mogridge, Kessler, Allott (three riders only) 16 61.9 Pickering, Stonehewer, Wilson, Coles 17 61.5 Wilson, Mogridge, Collins, Fry 18 62.6 Pickering, Henriksson, White, Allott 19 62.0 Stonehewer, Kessler, Thorp, Morris 20 62.1 Carr, Compton, Coles, Allott semi final 61.0 Wilson, Carr, Thorp, Mogridge (F) FINAL (re-run) 60.9 Stonehewer, Carr, Pickering, Wilson (X)
An excellent meeting marred only by Jim McGregor's inconsistent refereeing. The track improved as the meeting progressed and was still offering excellent racing after 22 heats. As is often the case with top class line-ups, the racing was a little poor in the opening heats. Les Collins picked up a place in heat 2 but nothing much happened until André battled past Pickers in heat 11.
Les Collins and Peter Carr featured in a real hummdinger in heat 14 with PC resorting to his classic 3rd bend dive on the last lap. Les has seen it all before though and brilliantly cut back to the inside line out of turn 4 to take the win.
Heat 16 was a classic with Pickers flying into the lead while Sean fought from the back passing both Michael Coles and Stoney. Stoney then got the bit between his teeth and pressured Sean into a rare mistake on the last lap to snatch back second place.
Robbie Kessler looked set for a semi-final place as he led heat 19 but incredibly went too wide and gifted Stoney the win on the last bend! Michael Coles then waved PC through to the front in heat 19 to make doubly sure that it was PC and not Robbie in the semi's.
The semi-final looked settled as Sean powered to an emphatic win, but a desperate PC attempted another 3rd bend dive from a long way behind which resulted in Alan Mogridge being deposited in the fence. Unbelievably Jim McGregor decided that this was a legitimate maneouvre and Moggo was dumped out of the final!
With Jim McGregor now taking even firmer control he proceeded to exclude Sean as Peter Carr failed in a suicidal attempt to go around Sean on the outside of turn 2, exactly at the point where the camber runs out for the tractor gate. PC knew he wouldn't make it and was later heard to admit that Sean shouldn't have been excluded, but significantly omitted to pass this on to Mr. McGregor's guide dog! Stoney could hardly beleive his luck as he hit the front in the rerun, and although PC barged his way past Pickers, Jimmy Mac failed to find any way to exaggerate PC's second place into the PLRC title.
A good meeting as PLRC's go with excellent riding on a beautifully prepared track but tragically marred by abysmal and inconsistent refereeing.
| Thursday 7th September, Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield 'Dixon Ford STAR' Tigers | 48 | 89 | Workington 'Kirkland Carpets' Comets | 42 | 90 | |||||||||||||||
| Sean Wilson | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | Carl Stonehewer | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2' | 2 | 2 | 11 | 1 | |||||
| Paul Lee | 1 | 2' | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | Lee Smethills | rider replacement | ||||||||||||
| André Compton | 1 | 2' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | Peter Karlsson | 2' | 2 | 2 | r | 3 | 1' | 10 | 2 | ||||
| Simon Cartwright | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | Brent Werner | 3 | 1' | 1' | 2 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 2 | ||||||
| Robert Kessler | r | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | Mick Powell | 3 | 1 | 1' | 0 | 1' | 6 | 2 | |||||||
| Andrew Moore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | James Mann | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Adam Allott | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1' | 0 | 9 | 1 | Adrian Newman | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
1. 4-2 ( 4-2 ) Wilson, Stonehewer, Lee, Newman(r/r) 2. 4-2 ( 8-4 ) Allott, Mann, Moore, Newman 3. 1-5 ( 9-9 ) Werner, Karlsson, Compton, Cartwright 4. 2-4 (11-13) Powell, Allott, Newman, Kessler(r) 5. 5-1 (16-14) Cartwright, Compton, Stonehewer, Mann 6. 5-1 (21-15) Wilson, Lee, Powell, Mann 7. 3-3 (24-18) Kessler, Karlsson, Werner, Moore 8. 3-3 (27-21) Allott, Karlsson(t/s), Werner(t/s), Lee 9. 3-3 (30-24) Compton, Stonehewer(t/s), Powell, Cartwright 10. 4-2 (34-26) Wilson, Werner, Lee, Karlsson(ef) 11. 1-5 (35-31) Werner, Stonehewer, Kessler, Moore 12. 3-3 (38-34) Karlsson, Compton, Allott, Mann 13. 4-2 (42-36) Wilson, Stonehewer, Kessler, Powell 14. 3-3 (45-39) Cartwright, Werner, Powell(t/s), Allott 15. 5-1 (48-42) Wilson, Stonehewer, Karlsson, Compton
Despite a lukewarm display from Grand Prix star Carl Stonehewer the Comets have sufficient strength in depth to take the bonus point by the odd point. Stoney never won a race, but Brent Werner put on one of his better Owlerton performances. Sean was untouchable as he sped to a perfect maximum, but André made very hard work of his score, and failed yet again when the chips were down in heat 15, so often a characteristic of his 1999 season. Dismal displays by Robbie Kessler and Paul Lee have to be the reasons why this bonus point was lost, and the Tigers will now require some serious away wins if they want to keep the trophy cabinet stocked!
| Thursday 24th August, Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield 'Dixon Ford STAR' Tigers | 59 | Berwick 'ACC BT Cellnet' Bandits | 31 | ||||||||||||||||
| Sean Wilson | 2' | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 1 | Paul Bentley | 1 | 0 | 1' | 0 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Paul Lee | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2' | 6 | 1 | Jorg Pingel | r | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | r | 7 | |||||
| Simon Stead | dnr | 2' | 3 | 3 | 8 | 1 | David Meldrum | 1 | 1' | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| Adam Allott | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | Scott Smith | 3 | 2 | ef | fx | 5 | ||||||||
| Robert Kessler | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2' | 12 | 1 | Alan Mogridge | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | ||||
| Andrew Moore | 2' | 0 | fx | 0 | 2 | 1 | Wesley Waite | fx | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Simon Cartwright | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2' | 1' | 9 | 2 | Dean Felton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
1. 62.7 5-1 ( 5-1 ) Lee, Wilson, Bentley, Pingel(r) 2. awd 5-1 (10-2 ) Cartwright, Moore, Felton, Waite(fx) 3. 62.6 2-4 (12-6 ) Smith, Allott, Meldrum, Moore, Stead(dnr) 4. 62.8 4-2 (16-8 ) Kessler, Mogridge, Cartwright, Felton 5. 63.2 5-1 (21-9 ) Allott, Stead, Pingel, Bentley 6. 62.7 4-2 (25-11) Wilson, Mogridge, Lee, Waite 7. awd 3-3 (28-14) Kessler, Smith, Meldrum, Moore(fx) 8. 62.5 2-4 (30-18) Mogridge(t/s), Cartwright, Pingel, Lee 9. 61.0 4-2 (34-20) Stead, Mogridge, Allott, Waite 10. 63.1 5-1 (39-21) Wilson, Lee, Meldrum, Smith(ef) 11. 62.3 3-3 (42-24) Kessler, Pingel, Bentley, Moore 12. 63.1 5-1 (47-25) Stead, Cartwright, Meldrum, Smith(t/s,fx) 13. 62.6 4-2 (51-27) Wilson, Mogridge, Kessler, Bentley 14. 63.7 3-3 (54-30) Pingel(t/s), Allott, Cartwright, Felton 15. 62.3 5-1 (49-31) Wilson, Kessler, Mogridge, Pingel(r)
Steady took a real purler in heat 3 when it was four abreast around the first 2 corners and he just ran out of track. He missed the rerun as he was being checked out by the paramedics, but returned painfully to the saddle with a very sore back to go unbeaten in his remaining rides, including posting the fastest time of the year in heat 9! As if he didn't have enough aches and pains already he was also the innocent victim of a nasty spill in heat 12 when Scud bounced off the fence on the second turn and his bike collected Simon who was right on his tail. Simon Cartwright also had to lay down having just blasted around David Meldrum and all three spent quite some time on the track before managing to walk back to the pits. Scud's helmet saved the day again, but split apart and was impounded by the referee, and Scud withdrew from the meeting suffering from concussion.
The Bandits' had two ineffectual heat leaders and nothing in reserve and were easy prey for the fired up Tigers. Adam and Simon both left straight after the meeting for long hauls to Slovenia and Poland respectively, Adam for the World U19 Final, and Simon for the World U21. Another good home return from Simon C who is destined to return to the team come September...
| Wednesday 23rd August, Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull Vikings | 45 | 'Dixon Ford' Sheffield STAR Tigers | 44 | ||||||||||||||||
| Paul Thorp | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 12 | Sean Wilson | 1 | x | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||||||
| Mike Smith | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | Paul Lee | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |||||||||
| Paul Smith | 0 | 2' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | Simon Stead | 2' | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 1 | ||||
| Lee Dicken | 1 | x2 | 2' | 3 | 6 | 1 | Adam Allott | 3 | 0 | 1' | 2 | 6 | 1 | ||||||
| Garry Stead | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | Robbie Kessler | tx | 2 | r | 3 | 5 | ||||||||
| René Aas | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1' | x | 11 | 1 | Andrew Moore | 1' | 1' | 1' | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Jamie Smith | fx | 0 | f | 0 | Simon Cartwright | 2 | 2 | 0 | fx | 4 | |||||||||
1 67.6 2-4 ( 2-4 ) Lee, Thorp, Wilson, M.Smith 2 68.4 3-3 ( 5-7 ) Aas, Cartwright, Moore, J.Smith(fx) 3 67.3 1-5 ( 6-12) Allott, S.Stead, Dicken, P.Smith 4 67.9 3-3 ( 9-15) G.Stead, Cartwright, Moore, J.Smith, Kessler(tx) 5 68.8 5-1 (14-16) Aas, P.Smith, Lee, Wilson(x), Dicken(x2) 6 66.7 3-3 (17-19) Thorp, Kessler, Moore, M.Smith 7 66.5 4-2 (21-21) Aas, S.Stead, G.Stead. Allott 8 67.8 4-2 (25-23) M.Smith, Lee, Aas, Cartwright 9 66.9 5-1 (30-24) P.Smith, Dicken, Moore, Kessler(r) 10 67.8 3-3 (33-27) Thorp, S.Stead, Allott, J.Smith(f) 11 67.2 2-4 (35-31) Wilson, G.Stead, Lee, Aas 12 67.5 3-3 (38-34) S.Stead, P.Smith, R.Aas, A.Moore 13 67.7 2-4 (40-38) Kessler, Thorp, Wilson, G.Stead 14 3-2 (43-40) Dicken, Allott, Aas(x), Cartwright(fx) 15 68.3 2-4 (45-44) Wilson, Thorp, S.Stead, P.Smith
Robbie excluded for nearly touching the tapes in heat 4, and Sean for allegedly fencing René in heat 5, and our 6 point lead had vanished. The Tigers rallied in the latter stages and were on a 5-1 in heat 14 until the 3rd bend caught Simon(C) out again. Adam missed the gate in the re-run and despite René throwing away a point we were left needing a 5-1 in heat 15. Steady did get his nose ahead of Thorpy towards the end of the race, but Paul got the better line on the exit of the bend to deny the Tigers by one point!
| Monday 21st August, Conference League | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rye House Rockets | 58 | Sheffield Prowlers | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simon Wolstenholme | 1' | 1' | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2' | 12 | 3 | Adam Allott | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | f | 14 | |||||
| Simon Moon | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2' | 11 | 1 | L. Priest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| David Mason | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 18 | Andy Moore | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 12 | |||||
| David Osborn | 0 | 2' | 1 | 1' | 4 | 2 | David Speight | 1' | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Phil Ambrose | rider replacement | James Birkinshaw | rider replacement | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nathan Morton | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | Matt Cambridge | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |||||||
| Garry Sweet | 2' | 2' | 1' | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | Lee Hodgson | 1 | fx | 1 | ||||||||||
1. 58.4 3-3 ( 3-3 ) Allott, Moon, Wolstenholme, Priest 2. 60.9 5-1 ( 8-4 ) Morton, Sweet, Hodgson, Cambridge 3. 58.7 3-3 (11-7 ) Mason, Morre, Speight, Osborn(f/rem) 4. 60.1 5-1 (16-8 ) Moon, Sweet, Moore, Hodgson(f/x) 5. 58.0 5-1 (21-9 ) Mason, Osborn, Cambridge, Priest 6. 58.9 3-3 (24-12) Allott, Moon, WOlstenholme, Cambridge 7. 58.1 4-2 (28-14) Mason, Moore, Morton, Speight 8. 57.6 3-3 (31-17) Allott, Moon, Sweet, Priest 9. 58.4 4-2 (35-19) Mason, Cambridge, Osborn, Priest 10. 60.9 5-1 (40-20) Wolstenholme, Moon, Moore, Speight(f/rem) 11. 59.3 4-2 (44-22) Wolstenholme, Allott, Morton, Priest 12. 57.9 4-2 (48-24) Mason, Moore, Sweet, Cambridge 13. 58.2 2-4 (50-28) Allott, Wolstenholme, Cambridge, Sweet 14. 59.7 3-3 (53-31) Moore, Morton, Osborn, Speight 15. 58.3 5-1 (58-32) Mason, Wolstenholme, Moore, Allott(f) Bronze Helmet: David Mason beat Andy Moore(holder)
The Prowlers, already weakened by the loss of James Birkinshaw through injury, suffered a further blow when Lee Hodgson suffered a broken leg in his second outing. Adam and Andy battled away but the Prowlers tail was too long for the very strong Rye House outfit.
| Thursday 3rd August, Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield 'T.C.Harrison STAR' Tigers | 48 | Stoke Potters | 44 | ||||||||||||||||
| Sean Wilson | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2' | 1 | 18 | Paul Pickering (c) | x2 | 3 | 2' | 3 | 1 | fx | 9 | 1 | ||||
| Paul Lee | 2' | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Mark Burrows | 0 | 2' | 3 | f | 2' | 7 | 2 | |||||
| Simon Stead | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | David Walsh | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||
| Adam Allott | ef | ef | 1' | 0 | 1 | 1 | Tony Atkin | 1' | 1' | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Robert Kessler | 3 | 3 | f | 3 | 3 | 12 | Paul Thorp (g) | 2 | 2 | 3 | r | 6 | 2 | 15 | |||||
| James Birkinshaw | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | Wayne Broadhurst | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||
| Simon Cartwright | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Paul Macklin | 1 | x2 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
1. 66.7 5-1 ( 5-1 ) Wilson, Lee, Macklin, Burrows, Pickering(2 mins) 2. 68.8 4-2 ( 9-3 ) Cartwright, Broadhurst, Birkinshaw, Macklin(2 mins) 3. 66.6 3-3 (12-6 ) Stead, Walsh, Atkin, Allott(ef) 4. 66.7 4-2 (16-8 ) Kessler, Thorp, Cartwright, Macklin 5. 67.7 1-5 (17-13) Pickering, Burrows, Stead(pushed), Allott(ef) 6. 66.4 4-2 (21-15) Wilson, Thorp, Lee, Broadhurst 7. 66.5 3-3 (24-18) Kessler, Walsh, Atkin, Birkinshaw 8. 67.1 1-5 (25-23) Burrows, Pickering(t/s), Lee, Cartwright 9. 65.4 3-3 (28-26) Thorp, Stead, Allott, Broadhurst 10. 66.3 4-2 (32-28) Wilson, Walsh, Lee, Atkin 11. 66.0 2-3 (34-31) Pickering, Birkinshaw, Kessler(f), Burrows(f) 12. 65.3 4-2 (38-33) Stead, Walsh, Cartwright, Broadhurst 13. 65.2 5-1 (43-34) Kessler, Wilson, Pickering, Thorp(15yds) 14. 67.1 1-8 (44-42) Thorp(G/D), Burrows(t/s), Cartwright, Allott 15. 63.8 4-2 (48-44) Kessler, Thorp, Wilson, Pickering(fx)
Where do you start to write this match up? The track was saturated by a steady downpour for an hour or more just before the start and both teams allowed Graham Trollope extra time to work on the track. With a good forecast for the evening it was worth the 30 minute wait, and indeed the resulting surface was eminently raceable. After a delayed start we then experienced Paul Pickering running into Sean before the 30 yard post and the race was restarted. Paul and Sean both went into the pits to sort out machinery but only Sean returned within the 2 minutes. Paul Macklin came out to replace his captain, and went into the tapes! Electing to go from a 15yd handicap he then very nearly earned an exclusion under the 2 minute time allowance as his bike wouldn't start. Paul then came back out for heat 2 having been given extra time for two on the trot and guess what? He got excluded under the 2 minute rule as he couldn't get his bike started! Half an hour late starting, it now has taken 25 minutes to run 2 races!
Proceedings stepped up a pace now although both Steady and Adam suffered engine failures in heat 5, and the Stoke management had the audacity to ask for a track inspection after heat 6. Extra time was allowed for Graham and his tractor to do his stuff on the rapidly drying track.
The Potters benefitted from a Paul Pickering tactical substitution in heat 8 as he pushed Buzz home for another 5-1 and narrowed the magin to just 2 points. Sean blasted around Dave Walsh to win heat 10 and with Paul Lee 3rd the margin was stretched back to 4, but disaster struck in heat 11. Pickers was leading comfortably from Robbie while Buzz was comfortable in 3rd until he made a right dogs dinner of the 1st bend on the last lap and fell heavily gifting 3rd place to James. Not to be outdone Robbie needlessly attacked the last bend and also overdid things taking an awkward tumble which will have done his ribs no good at all. In an attempt to keep the bike going Robbie tried to scramble back on board only to end up being dragged right off the circuit which MUST have hurt his ribs!
Heat 12 and the margin goes to 5 points thanks to the ride of the night from Steady. Chasing wide riding David Walsh Simon made a gallant attempt up the inside out of turn 4 on the third lap and very nearly got alongside. David obviously decided he needed to cover the inside line and left Simon a run at the grippy outside which Simon grabbed with both hands to lead by 4 bike lengths down the rear straight!
At this point everyone on the terraces including grannies, babes in arms, and the greyhounds in their kennels knew that a 3-3 was required from heat 13 to prevent a double tactical substitution in heat 14, and that a 5-1 would be murderous as it would allow a Golden Double. Did our championship winning team manager tell our riders what the score was? If he did they bloody ignored him! The surprising thing was that they went for Burrows to accompany Thorp when I would have expected Walsh to have been given the job. It made no difference as Buzz trapped, Adam cocked up the second turn and Thorpy was soon in second place. Buzz kept checking over his shoulder but it took a full throttle last turn from Thorpy to claim the 6 points. It's time someone told the management that Reg isn't respected out on the terraces, more like he's a laughing stock!
Just two up into heat 15 and it looked good as Robbie sped from the tapes. Sean joined him by passing Paul Pickering down the back straight and Paul took a high speed tumble into the fence on the 3rd turn as he went ever wider looking to get back on terms. Robbie repeated the exercise in the rerun, but when Thorpy blasted around Sean out of turn 2 and scraped the fence as he chased after Robbie, Sean decided enough was enough with such a busy weekend ahead and settled for 3rd.
The junior second-half was now cancelled as it was already past 10pm and the Tim Lucking memorial Trophy will have to be restaged at a later date. We have now had 2 consecutive matches at Owlerton where heat 14 Golden Doubles by visiting riders and their guests have been used against us. I wonder who Arena will use next week?
| Sunday 30th July, Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workington 'Kirkland Carpets' Comets | 48 | Sheffield 'T.C.Harrison STAR' Tigers | 41 | ||||||||||||||||
| Carl Stonehewer | ef | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2' | 3 | 13 | 1 | Sean Wilson | 3 | 3 | 3 | x | 2 | 2 | 13 | |||
| Lee Smethills | f | 1' | 1 | 2 | 1 | Paul Lee | 2' | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |||||||
| Peter Karlsson | 2 | 2 | 2' | 3 | 3 | 12 | 1 | Simon Stead | 3 | 1' | 2 | ef | 6 | 1 | |||||
| Brent Werner | 1' | 1' | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | Adam Allott | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
| Mick Powell | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 11 | Paul Fry (g) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 12 | |||||