Sheffield Speedway Match Reports 2007

Key:   + = from 15m handicap,  * = Tactical ride for double points,  ! = Tactical substitution from 15m
Sheffield Window Center 'Tigers' v. Parrys International Wolverhampton 'Wolves' Challenge 15th March

Referee: Peter Clarke

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Tot+Bp
1. Ricky Ashworth 7.55 2 3 3 2' 1 11+1
2. Joel Parsons 4.46 0 1 0 1 2
3. André Compton © 9.41 3 3 3 3 3 15
4. James Cockle 3.89 0 0 0 1 1
5. Ben Wilson 6.90 1' 2 3 3 9+1
6. Paul Cooper 3.41 1 1' 0 0 2+1
7. James Birkinshaw 3.78 3 2 1 0 6
Reg Wilson 2 4 3 3 3 4 3 1 3 4 3 3 5 1 4
Sheffield 'Tigers' 2 6 9 12 15 19 22 23 26 30 33 36 41 42 46
Wolverhampton 'Wolves' 4 6 9 12 15 17 20 25 28 30 33 36 37 42 44
Peter Adams 4 2 3 3 3 2 3 5 3 2 3 3 1 5 2
1. Adam Skornicki 5.94 3 2 1' 1 2 9+1
2. David Howe 5.44

1

1' 2' 2 6+2
3. Fredrik Lindgren © 7.80 2 ef r 1' 3+1
4. Magnus Karlsson 3.92 1' 3 2 3 9+1
5. Nicolai Klindt 4.00 ef 2 2 fx 4
6. Carl Wilkinson 3.21 0 0 1' 2 3+1
7. Theo Pijper 3.86 2 3 3 2' 0 10+1
Track record = 59.5
S.Stead & C.Holder
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
61.5 62.4 61.7 62.0 62.4 63.1 64.7 63.4 64.0 64.3 64.5 64.5 64.3 65.1 64.5

2007 Progaramme A big crowd turned out for this opening fixture of the 2007 season. Elite league Wolverhampton, without top men Billy Hamill and Peter Karlsson but bolstered by Adam Skornicki (a Wolves asset on loan to Belle Vue) and young Danish sensation Nicolai Klindt, looked like being formidable opponents for the SHEFFIELD WINDOW CENTRE 'Tigers'. Unfortunately the weather forecast was for rain in the late afternoon which never materialized and resulted in the track being underwatered, badly affecting the quality of the racing.

Adam Skornicki jetted from the tapes to win heat 1 after David Howe earned himself a 15 metre handicap for snagging the tapes on his helmet. David closed down on Joel Parsons and passed him on the pits turn at the end of the 3rd lap. Birko sped to the front in heat 2 with Theo Pijper content to follow him in second. There was a good scrap between Paul and Carl Wilkinson for third place with Carl blasting around Paul at the end of the second lap. Paul wasted no time looking for the grip out wide on the second turn to regain third place and that's how it finished. André left everyone standing as he dominated heat 3. Freddie Lindgren rounded team mate Magnus Karlsson at the end of the second lap but never looked like making up ground on the leader, while at the back James Cockle just kept plugging away and nearly caught Magnus napping on the run to the line. Theo Pijper led heat 4 from Birko and Nicolai Klindt looked able to contain Ben at the back. Birko tried some wild looking lines but there just wasn't enough grip for him, and Ben was gifted a point when Nicolai's bike expired. André took another big win in heat 5 passing Adam Skornicki on the second lap, but David Howe was too much for James to contend with and the heat was shared leaving the teams level after 5 heats.

Ricky sped into the lead in heat 6 but all eyes were on Joel Parsons who moved into second place passing Nicolai out of the second turn. Nicolai showed his potential by regaining the place on the pits turn and the 4-2 put the Tigers into the lead. Magnus was first to show in heat 7 with Ben in close attendance and Paul swooped past Freddie Lindgren out of turn two. Freddie wound it up and blasted past Paul on the pits turn and was making ground on Ben when his motor threw in the towel. Theo Pijper led heat 8 from Birko with Joel running out of track as he tried to round David Howe on the second turn and having to shut off. David then went under Birko who was looking for grip out wide on the same bend on the next lap to claim a maximum win for the visitors and put them back into the driving seat. André rounded Nicolai on the second turn en-route to winning heat 9 but Carl Wilkinson scored his first point by passing James to share the heat. Ricky rounded Magnus into the lead in heat 10 and Joel opened peoples eyes with an audacious move to pass Freddie Lindren and move into third place. Joel settled into a tidy line and looked secure until Freddie spat his dummy and pulled off the track. Scores once again tied at 30-30.

Ben makes his first good start and leads heat 11 from David Howe with Paul hanging onto third ahead of Adam Skornicki. David takes the lead out of the pits turn but Ben dives up the inside on turn 1 to regain the lead. Adam wears down Paul and snatches third place with one lap to go and try as he might Paul cannot return the complement. André leads heat 12 from Birko but the Tigers 5-1 evaporates as both Carl Wilkinson and Freddie Lindgren demote the Tigers reserve. Ricky and Nicolai are having a good tussle in heat 13 until Nicolai tries a ludicrously wide line on the first turn and takes a nasty high speed tumble. After a delay while Nicolai receives medical attention it was Ben who led the restart. Adam puts Ricky under pressure but the home pair take a maximum and extend a four point lead. It's short lived though as Magnus Karlsson and Theo Pijper make easy meat of James and Paul in heat 14 and once again the score are level. André and Ricky are Reg's choices for heat 15, while Peter Adams raises a few eyebrows by overlooking Magnus Karlsson. Theo Pijper and Adam Skornicki are the nominated visitors, and to be fair no-one looked like beating André. As the Tigers skipper leads the way Ricky passes Theo on the inside of the third bend and the Tigers go on to claim an inspirational first win.

There will be very few Premier league clubs who can track the likes of Theo Pijper and Carl Wilkinson at reserve, let alone Magnus Karlsson as a second string so I expect to see some much better score lines from the new Tigers. Birko was struggling tonight as the track lacked the kind of grip that he relishes but our top three did their jobs well. Plenty of encouraging signs from the newcomers, and no breakdowns. Bring on those Fen Tigers!

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