Sunday 12th September, PLRCThursday 16th September, Wake-Smith Conference Classic
D. Hughes 0 1 0 0 r 1 K. Bagshaw 2 1 1 0 2 6 S. Colvin 3 1 1 3 0 8 6th J. Smith 1 2 1 2 1 7 A. Collins 2 r 2 2 2 8 R. Grant 3 2 2 1 1 9 5th A. Moore r 2 2 1 3 8 C. Downs r 0 0 2 0 2 M. Carter 1 2 0 r 1 4 M. Cambridge 0 0 0 x2 1 1 J. Mann 2 0 1 1 2 6 A. Allott 3 3 2 3 2 13 1ST A. Appleton 2 3 3 3 3 14 3rd D. Fairburn 3 3 3 2 3 14 4th J. Birkinshaw 1 3 3 3 3 13 2nd G. Furniss 0 1 3 r - 4 Baker (res) 1 1 HEATS: 1. 66.2 Colvin, Bagshaw, Smith, Hughes 2. 67.8 Grant, Collins, Moore(ret), Downes(ret) 3. 64.5 Allott, Mann, Carter, Cambridge 4. 66.5 Fairburn, Appleton, Birkinshaw, Furniss 5. 65.6 Appleton, Carter, Hughes, Downes 6. 66.1 Fairburn, Grant, Bagshaw, Cambridge 7. 66.5 Birkinshaw, Moore, Colvin, Mann 8. 65.2 Allott, Smith, Furniss, Collins(ret) 9. 67.1 Furniss, Grant, Mann, Hughes 10. 64.7 Birkinshaw, Allott, Bagshaw, Downes 11. 67.2 Fairburn, Collins, Colvin, Carter 12. 65.5 Appleton, Moore, Smith, Cambridge 13. 65.2 Allott, Fairburn, Moore, Hughes 14. 64.9 Appleton, Collins, Mann, Bagshaw 15. 68.5 Colvin, Downes, Baker, Furniss(ret), Cambridge(x2) 16. 66.4 Birkinshaw, Smith, Grant, Carter(ret) 17. 66.1 Birkinshaw, Collins, Cambridge, Hughes(ret) 18. 65.8 Moore, Bagshaw, Carter, Furniss(ns) 19. 64.8 Appleton, Allott, Grant, Colvin 20. 67.9 Fairburn, Mann, Smith, Downes Semi-final 65.1 Allott, Birkinshaw, Grant, Colvin FINAL 64.1 Allott, Birkinshaw, Appleton, Fairburn
David Meldrum 0 0 0 0 0 0 James Grieves 2 0 0 0 0 2 Anders Henriksson 1 0 1 3 1 6 Michael Coles 3 1 1 3 3 11 Neville Tatum 0 1 1 0 0 2 Phil Morris 1 1 1 2 0 5 Sean Wilson 3 1 3 3 3 13 Glenn Cunningham 2 2 2 1 2 9 Leigh Lanham r 2 0 1 1 4 Paul Bentley 1 2 0 1 1 5 Jesper Olsen 2 3 3 3 2 13 Carl Stonehewer 3 3 3 1 3 13 Peter Carr ef 3 2 2 2 9 Paul Pickering 2 3 3 2 1 11 Craig Watson 3 2 2 0 3 10 Les Collins 1 r 2 2 2 7
HEATS:
1 63.4 Coles, Grieves, Henriksson, Meldrum. Both James and Anders pick off fast starting David.
2 62.3 Wilson, Cunningham, Morris, Tatum. Phil dives under Neville into turn 3, but goes so wide that Glenn passes both of them.
3 62.5 Stonehewer, Olsen, Bentley, Lanham(r). Jesper goes around Paul out of turn 2 on the second lap.
4 62.1 Watson, Pickering, Collins, Carr(ef). Peter went through the field and was pushing Craig for the lead when his bike spluttered to a halt on the very last bend.
5 61.9 Carr, Lanham, Tatum, Meldrum(fell/rem).
6 62.3 Pickering, Bentley, Morris, Grieves. Paul drives under James out of turn 2, and Phil follows suit on the next bend.
7 61.8 Olsen, Watson, Wilson, Henriksson. Sean swoops past Craig out of turn 2 and tries to go around Jesper on turn 3. Jesper defends the outside line and Sean is lucky to stay on with Craig regaining 2nd place. Try as he might he cannot make up lost ground.
8 61.8 Stonehewer, Cunningham, Coles, Collins. Carl becomes the first winner from gate 3, Les falls on turn 3, remounts but then retires. Glenn winds it up to go around Michael out of turn 4 on the second lap.
9 62.7 Olsen, Collins, Morris, Meldrum.
10 62.0 Stonehewer, Watson, Tatum, Grieves.
11 61.5 Pickering, Cunningham, Henriksson, Lanham. Glenn dives under Anders into turn 3 on the second lap.
12 62.0 Wilson, Carr, Coles, Bentley.
13 61.9 Wilson, Pickering, Stonehewer, Meldrum. Sean leaves no room for Carl on the outside of turn 2 allowing Paul through into 2nd. Carl cannot find his way past.
14 62.0 Olsen, Carr, Cunningham, Grieves. Jesper rides the wide line flat out leaving Peter no opportunity.
15 63.6 Henriksson, Collins, Bentley, Tatum. Les makes up ground lap after lap, but when the chips were down on the last bend he settled for second place.
16 63.8 Coles, Morris, Lanham, Watson. After a poor start Craig looks very subdued and has left himself hovering on the brink of qualification.
17 62.7 Watson, Cunningham, Bentley, Meldrum. Glenn passes Paul, but with Craig recovering his normal Owlerton form it will be Craig in the Semi-final, and no place for the defending PLRC Champion.
18 63.0 Wilson, Collins, Lanham, Grieves.
19 63.8 Stonehewer, Carr, Henriksson, Morris. Carl joins Sean on 13 points while Peter is eliminated regretting his first ride breakdown.
20 63.4 Coles, Olsen, Pickering, Tatum, Michael picks up a crucial win which sees him joins Jesper and Paul in the semi-final run off along with Craig.
Semi-final 63.0 Olsen, Watson, Coles, Pickering. Having chosen gate 4 Jesper is stuck in traffic on the first bend, but recovers to weave his way through the field to takes the win. Craig battles his way past Paul to claim the other qualifying slot while Paul eventually finishes last on a flat rear tyre.
FINAL 63.8 Wilson, Olsen, Watson, Stonehewer. Sean has first choice of gate and surprises everyone by chosing gate 2. Carl takes gate 1, Jesper 3 and Craig gets 4. It's neck and neck on the first bend but Sean emerges from the pack to lead down the back straight. Craig and Jesper then have a ding-dong battle for 2nd place with Carl breathing all over them, until Jesper pulls clear on the widest of lines. Try as he might he is unable to reel Sean in who gives the Tigers supporters yet another success to celebrate in this incredibly succesful year.
Sympathy to Peter Carr who should have qualified for the final, but to be fair did not look good enough to win it, and to Carl Stonehewer who was eclipsed from the gate in the final run off. Craig Watson was not his normal domineering self at what was probably his last PLRC meeting for a number of years. Jesper Olsen was the rider I voted 'most entertaining' and fully deserved his rostrum place but the man of the moment was Sean Wilson.
Praise must go to Graham Trollope and his track staff for producing an excellent track in trying conditions on a sunny afternoon, although he is possibly not the reason that 3.1 second was knocked off the track record. During the interval Viatscheslav Nikulin, the Russian Ice Speedway Champion, riding René Aas' 15 year old 2-valve Jawa Ice Speedway machine, complete with fully spiked tyres, posted a time of 57.2 seconds! I have reason to doubt Simon Cartwright's sanity as he said he would like to have a try himself!!!
SHEFFIELD 62 ARENA ESSEX 28 Sean Wilson 3 3 3 3 12 Leigh Lanham 2 1 3 2' 2 2 11+1 Paul Lee 0 1 fx 2' 3+1 Gary Carbett 1' 0 1 2 4+1 André Compton 3 3 2' 3 3 14+1 Troy Pratt 2 1 0 0 3 Simon Stead 1 2' 3 3 9+1 Roger Lobb 0 0 1 1 2 4 Scott Smith 3 3 3 ef 9 Colin White 1 2 1 1' 0 5+1 Adam Allott 2' tx 2 0 1 5+1 John Wainwright 0 0 0 0 Simon Cartwright 3 2' 2' 2' 1 10+3 Andy Moore 1 0 0 1 1. 64.4 ( 3-3 ) Wilson, Lanham, Corbett, Lee 2. 64.8 ( 8-4 ) Cartwright, Allott, Moore, Wainwright 3. 64.1 (12-6 ) Compton, Pratt, Stead, Lobb 4. 66.2 (17-7 ) Smith, Cartwright, White, Moore 5. 63.9 (22-8 ) Compton, Stead, Lanham, Corbett 6. 65.5 (26-10) Wilson, White, Lee, Wainwright 7. 65.9 (31-11) Smith, Cartwright, Pratt, Lobb, Allott(tps) 8. 64.4 (33-15) Lanham(t/s), Allott(res), Lobb, Lee(fx) 9. 63.4 (38-16) Stead, Compton, White, Wainwright 10. 65.4 (43-17) Wilson, Lee, Lobb, Pratt 11. 65.0 (46-20) Smith, Corbett, Lanham, Allott 12. 65.7 (51-21) Compton, Cartwright, Lobb(t/s), Pratt 13. 63.8 (54-24) Wilson, Lanham, White, Smith(ef) 14. 64.8 (58-26) Stead, Lobb, Allott, Moore 15. 64.7 (62-28) Compton, Lanham, Cartwright, White
Highlights;
7. Simon Cartwright (replacing Adam after he taped) makes a lovely outside pass around Troy on the pits turn to follow Scud home.
8. Paul is excluded after going down on the first turn under pressure from Leigh Lanham. Mr. Ackroyd obviously hasn't heard of first bend bunching. Young Adam briefly heads Leigh Lanham in the rerun, and holds off Gary for 3 laps until Gary slips inside him into turn 1. Adam responds immediately by blasting around Gary into turn 3 and retakes 2nd place.
Eddy's boys were not really interested, one heat winner (Lanham beat Allott) in 15 races. The Premier League Champions looked the part with only Paul Lee riding below expectations. My rider of the year, Simon Cartwright, had a brilliant meeting and dropped his only point to Leigh Lanham when he was nominated for heat 15. Scud spoiled his maximum when his engine seized at the start of heat 13, but no-one looked like troubling either André or Sean.
IOW 43 SHEFFIELD 48 Scott Swain 3 3 2 2† ef 3 13 Sean Wilson 2 3 3 3 2 13 Danny Bird 0 2' 2 r 4+1 Paul Lee 1' 1 3 2' 7+2 Neville Tatum 3 x2 3 3 1 10 André Compton 2 2' 3 2 0 9+1 Wayne Carter 0 0 2 2 Simon Stead 1' 3 1 3 8+1 Phillipe Berge 2 1 1 2 6 Scott Smith 3 1 2 1 7 Tommy Palmer 3 2 0 ef 0 5 Adam Allott 1 0 0 1 Nick Simmons 2' 0 1' 0 3+2 Simon Cartwright r 1 0 1' 1 3+1 † = Golden double HEATS: 1. Swain, Wilson, Lee, Bird. 70.9 (3-3) 2. Palmer, Simmons, Allott, Cartwright (fell rmtd, ret). 72.5 (8-4) 3. Tatum, Compton, Stead, Carter. 71.0 (11-7) 4. Smith, Berge, Cartwright, Simmons. 72.9 (13-11) 5.(r/r tps) Wilson, Palmer, Lee, Carter. Tatum (ex-tps). 71.8 (15-15) 6. Swain, Bird, Smith, Allott. 71.7 (20-16) 7. Stead, Compton, Berge, Palmer. 72.6 (21-21) 8. Lee, Bird, Simmons, Cartwright. 71.4 (24-24) 9. Tatum, Smith, Cartwright, Palmer (ef). 72.3 (27-27) 10. Compton, Swain, Stead, Bird (ret). 71.4 (29-31) 11.(r/r uns. st) Wilson, Lee, Berge, Palmer. 72.3 (30-36) 12. Tatum, Compton, Swain (Golden Double), Allott. 71.4 (35-38) 13. Wilson, Berge, Smith, Swain (ef). 71.4 (37-42) 14. Stead, Carter, Cartwright, Simmons. 73.0 (39-46) 15. Swain, Wilson, Tatum, Compton. 71.1 (43-48)
Congratulations to the Sheffield Star Tigers - Premier League Champions after winning this close tussle.
It was nip and tuck in the early stages with the Islanders establishing an early four point advantage only for the Tigers to level the scores with a 5-1 in heat 7 from Simon Stead and Andre Compton.
Paul Lee produced an excellent ride to fend off Danny Bird's passing attempts in heat 8 but then the Islanders suffered a blow (if you excuse the pun!) when in-form reserve Tommy Palmer blew his brand new engine to bits in a crucial heat 9.
Heat advantages in races 10 and 11 either side of the interval to Sheffield put them six points up at 30-36 and firmly in command.
Swain had to worki to split the impressive Compton / Stead partnership in heat 10 whilst Wilson and Paul Lee jetted from the tapes in the restart of heat 11 for a 5-1.
Ironically that race had been stopped by referee Chris Gay at the first time of asking who issued a warning to the Sheffield skipper to remain stationary at the start!
With the Islanders deep in trouble, Scott Swain was introduced as a Golden Double tactical substitute in heat 12.The gamble appeared to be working as he swiftly passed young Adam Allott on the first lap to move into third place. However André Compton maintained his cool and kept Swain pegged back in thid place for the remainder of the race.
Swain's bike let him down whilst he was holding third place in the next race and any hope of the Islanders pulling the match out of the bag had disappeared.
A 4-2 in that heat 13 and another in the penultimate race ensured Sheffield's victory on the night and that the celebrations could well and truly begin in the clubhouse bar.
It was a solid, all round professional performance from the Star Tigers with only Adam Allott looking unlikely to get amongst the points.
The two second strings - Paul Lee and Simon Stead - were the main difference between the two sides scoring paid 18 between them as opposed to their counterparts from the IOW who could only muster a total of six (paid seven).
Report by Bryn Williams
Sunday 29th August,
PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS - Peterborough
SEMI FINAL 1 Isle of Wight 17 Edinburgh 6 N.Tatum 3 1 4 R.Brady 0 0 0 W.Carter 1 1 2 P.Carr 1 0 1 P.Berge 2 3 5 J.Grieves 0 1 1 S.Swain 3 3 6 K.Little 3 1 4 D.Bird J.Elkins Newport 13 Swindon 12 C.Watson r 3 3 G.Cunningham r 2 2 F.Smart 1 0 1 N.Collins 1 2 3 A.Appleton 2 2 4 S.Masters 2 f 2 A.Henriksson 3 2 5 S.Bishop 2 3 5 C.Neath O.Allen 1. 62.6 Tatum, Bishop, Smart, Grieves 2. 63.9 Little, Appleton, Carter, Cunningham(ef) Andrew winds it on around the outside for a full lap to squeeze around Wayne on lap 3. 3. 63.4 Henriksson, Berge, Collins, Brady 4. 62.8 Swain, Masters, Carr, Watson(ef) Craig most unlucky to stop while in a commanding lead. 5. 62.8 Watson, Cunningham, Tatum, Brady 6. 63.4 Swain, Collins, Little, Smart 7. 65.0 Berge, Appleton, Grieves, Masters(fell) Steve was well ahead when he clattered hard into the fence on turn 2. 8. 64.5 Bishop, Henriksson, Carter, Carr
SEMI FINAL 2
Glasgow 7 Arena Essex 14
L.Collins 2 2 4 R.Lobb 2 0 2
P.Bentley 0 3 3 C.White 2 2 4
W.Beveridge 0 0 0 T.Pratt 1 1 2
D.Felton 0 0 0 L.Lanham 3 3 6
G.Corbett
Sheffield 16 Newcastle 11
S.Wilson 1 3 4 D.Walsh 2 1 3
A.Compton 3 2 5 R.Eriksson 1 1 2
S.Smith 1 2 3 J.Olsen 3 3 6
S.Stead 3 1 4 S.Swales 0 0 0
P.Lee P.Gould
1. 62.2 Compton, Collins, Partt, Swales
2. 63.2 Lanham, Walsh, Smith, Bentley
Paul drifts too wide on turn 2 to let slow starting Scud
into 3rd place.
3. 62.6 Stead, Lobb, Eriksson, Beveridge
All into the restart after Will and Robert fall heavily on
the first bend. Simon traps.
4. Olsen, White, Wilson, Felton
Jesper takes Sean to the fence on turn 2 and Sean drops
a place. Sean does a Screeny on Jesper & dumps him on
the track on the back straight.
5. 61.6 Wilson, Collins, Walsh, Lobb
Les goes under Roger on turn 1, and around David on
turn 4 on the last lap!
6. 64.3 Lanham, Compton, Eriksson, Felton
André winds it up to go around Robert on the 3rd lap.
7. 63.6 Olsen, Smith, Pratt, Beveridge
8. 64.9 Bentley, White, Stead, Swales
Simon on André's bike after his failed under 2 minutes.The track was under watered leaving the heavily populated back straight choking under clouds of dust, and the riders struggling to find drive even up against the boards. During the interval the track was watered, but only superficially.
Only talking points from the semi finals were the total anihilation of the Edinburgh 'Sick notes', and Sean rousing the fans by deliberately flooring Jesper after their clash.
FINAL
Isle of Wight 10 Newport 24 N.Tatum 3 0 1 4 C.Watson 3 3 3 9 W.Carter 0 2 0 2 F.Smart 3 3 2 8 P.Berge 1 0 1 2 A.Appleton 1 1 0 2 S.Swain r 0 2 2 A.Henriksson 3 2 0 5 D.Bird C.Neath Arena Essex 10 Sheffield 28 L.Lanham 1 1 1 3 S.Wilson x 2 3 5 C.White 0 1 2 3 A.Compton 2 3 2 7 R.Lobb 1 2 0 3 S.Smith 2 3 3 8 T.Pratt 0 0 1 1 S.Stead 2 1 3 6 G.Corbett P.Lee 2 2 1. Tatum, Stead, Appleton, White Simon grasstracking through from last to challenge Neville for the lead. 2. 65.6 Henriksson, Lee, Lobb, Carter, Wilson(ex 2 mins) Paul picks up 2 places but Anders is miles ahead. 3. Watson, Compton, Berge, Pratt 4. 66.1 Smart, Smith, Lanham, Swain(ef) Scott pulls up while leading and in sight of the chequered flag. 5. 64.9 Watson, Wilson, Lanham, Tatum Sean tries every which way but cannot get past. 6. 65.5 Compton, Henriksson, White, Swain 7. 66.2 Smith, Lobb, Appleton, Berge Scud goes through the field with one foot on the grass, while Phillipe goes nowhere. 8. 65.6 Smart, Carter, Stead, Pratt 9. 65.1 Wilson, Swain, Pratt, Appleton Sean dives under Scott into turn 3 10. 66.1 Stead, White, Berge, Henriksson Simon has his work cut out to keep Phillipe at bay when he is presented with a lovely gap to go under Colin into turn 1 on the last lap. 11. 66.2 Smith, Smart, Lanham, Carter Frank (gate 1) inexplicably goes wide on turn 1 allowing Scud to nip through on the inside. With one foot on the grass there is nothing they can do to pass him. 12. 65.3 Watson, Compton, Tatum, Lobb Craig shows his dominance on the day as he powers past André for a clean sweep in the final.
From 3 points down to the Wasps the Tigers were inspired by 2 brilliant rides from Scud to claim the Premier Fours trophy for the first time. Every member of the team played their part and even Paul Lee chipped in 2 vital points at a crucial stage of the final.
NEWPORT 52 SHEFFIELD 38 Craig Watson 2 3 2' 3 2 12+1 Sean Wilson 3 3 3 3 1 3 16 Andrew Appleton 0 1' 2' 1 3 7+2 Paul Lee 1 1 2' 1 0 5+1 Anders Henriksson 2 2 3 3 10 André Compton 3 1' 1 1 3 9+1 Scott Pegler rider replacement Simon Stead 0 2 0 2' 4+1 Frank Smart 2' 3 2' 2 2' 1' 12+4 Scott Smith 1 1 1 3 Bobby Eldridge 2' 0 0 0 x 2+1 Jamie Birkinshaw 1 0 0 1 Chris Neath 3 3 0 2' 1 9+1 Simon Cartwright f fx ef 0
Very little on track action. Sheffield opened with a 4-2 but quickly cancelled by a most easy Newprort 5-1 in heat 2. Two more Newport 5-1 results meant they held a 25-17 lead after heat 7.
In came Wilson as T/S to partner Lee in heat 8 and they duly took a 5-1 to bring it to a four point meeting. Slightly surprising move by Newport in heat 9 though to give Frank Smart his R/R ride to partner Henriksson against the embarrasingly woeful Smith and Birkinshaw. No disrepect intended but putting Eldridge in would have guarenteed a home 5-1 and thus saving Smart for heat 14. Anyway, the guaranteed Newport 5-1 was duly taken along with another one in the next heat for a twelve point lead (36-24).
Wilson and Lee pulled back a couple in heat 11 but another Newport 5-1 in heat 12 made it 43-29 and the bonus point was looking to be staying in Wales. Especially as Cartwright had only had two rides at this point. However, a rather astute tactical change by Sheffield replacing Smith with Cartwright in heat 13 thus giving him his third ride. From the gate, Watson and Smart took Wilson wide and then easily team rode for yet another Newport 5-1 and a lead of 40-30. Level on aggregate and two races left.
A bit of incident in heat 14 though. Neath in as R/R to partner Eldridge and Compton in as T/S to partner Stead. From the tapes, a spot of first bend bunching saw Eldridge hit the 'dirt' resulting in his exclusion. This did seem harsh as from our vantage point (end of turn 2) it looked a genuine bunching incident and all four perhaps back in. From the restart, Neath was taken very wide indeed and I think he even clipped the fence a little trying to get round exiting turn 2.
Wilson gained revenge for his only defeat in heat 13 by taking the final heat from Watson and Smart. Bonus point (and the title?) come to Yorkshire.
Newport are undoubtedly a tidy side and all played their parts most well. Neath especially impressive for me.
Wilson kept the Tigers in it and recieved some support from Compton and Lee (rode and tried hard). Stead was OK if gating but Smith was all at sea. Birkinshaw and (especially) Cartwright will want to forget this one very quickly.
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