Cycle Speedway Round-Up
Weekending 20 Sept 2009
Grand Prix of Great Britain Finals
19 Sept 2009 - East Park Cycle Speedway
With a prize pot of £1000, the inuagural British Cycle Speedway Grand Prix was always going to be the clash of the titans, and the racing at East Park did not disappoint the large crowd - Full report and images
Birmingham v Great Blakenham
Premier League, 20 Sept
Report: John Heard
Despite fielding what looked a strong top 6, Blakenham were never a match for the Monarchs side who had the bit between their teeth from the very first race.
Birmingham provided 14 of the 18 race winners, had 13 heat advantages and only 3 4th places over the entire meeting - having said that Lewis Osborne with his two heat wins and Adam Peck and Chris Osborne with their solitary victories managed to stop all but Paul Heard from Birmingham in getting maximums.
Heat 1 had Lewis Osborne leading for three laps but a momentary loss of concentration saw Chris Timms pass him and in the same move Chris managed to create the space for Gary Pearce to join him for a 7-3 win. Heat 2 was an easy win for Lewis Bates but the excitement was Dan Osborne and Nathan Groves swapping places at the back before Nathan grabbed the third place on the last lap. The rot was stopped in heat 3 when Paul Heard raced away for the win but Adam Peck and Leon Mower muscled Dominic Rychardski in to last place for a drawn race.
3 heat advantages followed for the Monarchs before the Peck/ Mower pairing managed another 'half' in heat 7 when Leon managed to remount his bike quicker than Gary Pearce after both hit the deck at the start of the third lap. Josh Brooke became the first excluded rider for moving at the tapes in heat 8,however Lewis Osborne grabbed the first heat win for Blakenham in the re-run to limit the damage. Heat 9 saw a great first turn from Paul Heard and Errol Thaw to race away from the Blakenham pair and the half time lead was 55 - 34.
After the break the Monarchs continued to pull away with a mixture of fast starting and clever team riding, and the final 3 heats saw only one Blakenham rider finish after first Dan Osborne was put out for moving at the tapes then Leon Mower failed to finish after clashing with Nathan Groves and in the final race Adam Peck took a hardfall on the starting grid after catching the wheel of Marcus Wadhams and chose to walk to the pits rather than re-mount.
Birmingham 107: Paul Heard 19+1, Chris Timms 17, Nathan Groves 15+1, Marcus Wadhams 12+3, Lewis Bates 12,
Errol Thaw 11+3, Dominic Rychardski 11, Gary Pearce 10+2
Great Blakenham 69: Lewis Osborne 16, Chris Osborne 14, Adam Peck 12+1, Leon Mower 9+2, Josh Brooke 7, Dan Osborne 5, Terry Ashford and Bill Brooke both 3.
Combination
Having to field 6 of their first team for this match, Blakenham were realistically never going to trouble the Monarchs who once again were able to field a completely seperate 8 for this match. The match started with a terrific scarp between Leon Mower and Tom Sensicall which Leon just got the better of and with Josh Brooke grabbing third a 2 point lead was created.
Another great battle followed in heat two between Dan Osborne and Paul Timms and again the Blakenham rider took the flag - the next race saw the first of Chris Osbornes 3 tape exclusions (anyone would think he didn't want to be there!!) and Phil Widdas and Mark Winwood took advantage to relegate Bill Brooke into last place and put the Monarchs in front. This lead changed a couple of times until Adam Lamb was excluded for moving in heat 6 and the resulting 6-3 to Blakenham put the match back level.
Heat 9 however was the most controversial one - referee Al Bentley had warned the riders from heat 8 that they were all very close to missing the one minute to get to the tapes for their race, and then in heat 9 despite Rob Sensicall on the mike announcing that the whistle had gone, three riders took so long to get to the tapes that Al had no choice but to put them all out! Bill Brooke therefore did one lap on his own to claim what will probably be the easiest 4 points of his life!
By this point the result was decided due to the penalty points against Blakenham, however the nominated race did put a smile on everyones face as the Monarchs chose to put Mark Winwoods two young sons Reece and Ryan (aged 9 & 6) out against the two 'senior' riders of Blakenham Terry Ashford and Bill Brooke. In a great sporting gesture the two Blakenham riders encouraged the two young Winwoods all the way around and the smile on Reece Winwoods face at taking the chequered flag was a picture - thank you Terry & Bill.
Birmingham 59: Phil Widdas 13, Mark Winwood 12+2, Tom Sensicall 11, Paul Timms 10+1, Adam Lamb & Mark Fletcher 4+1, Reece Winwood 4, Ryan Winwood 1
Great Blakenham 62: Dan Osborne 14, Leon Mower 13, Bill Brooke 12+1, Josh Brooke 11, Terry Ashford 8, Chris Osborne 4
Thanks to referees Mick Knowles and Al Bentley.
Report 1: Horspath v Sheffield - Premier League
Sunday September 20th The Village Horspath
Report: Geoff Gamage
Images: Robert & Richard Hudson
This was the old cliche a match of two halves: the first half saw Horspath capitalise on some Sheffield exclusions to lead by 8 however a confrontation in heat 9 after the race saw both Danny Harper and Pawel Kozlowski see red cards, a pity because this was a great match ridden hard but in good spirit other than that.
The second had a remarkable Stars comeback. Sheffield got off with an opening heat 6-4 courtesy of Jamroczyk / Birks, Hammers went one up following an Angel exclusion for crossing the inside line with a 6-3 from Boaler / Harper. Heat 5 saw lee Smith get a gate exclusion, Birks winning but the 5-4 doubled Horspath's lead, another Angel exclusion for excessive force bought another Horspath 5-4 in heat 7.
Next race Birks got a gate exclusion leaving Mark Carmichael / Harris to grab a 7-2. A drawn heat 9 saw the aforementioned red cards issued. heat 10 Hammer went 10 up a 6-4 from Boaler / Hutt. Stars started a remarkable fightback with a Angel / Pilas 6-4 in the next race, a 4-3 following a Morgans gate exclusion bought another point back for Sheffield in heat 12. A Jamrocyzk / Birks 6-3 chipped another three points back in the 13th.
An Angel / Brown 6-4 in the 15th saw just 2 points separating the teams. Heat 16 proved a disaster for the home side as Burchardt / Jamrocyzk took a 7-2 and now stars three up, this was reduced to two with a 5-4 in the penultimate race. Once again for the Hammers it was Harris / Boaler time however with two points separating the teams and Hammers having a one point lead in the Title race for once they raced for a safe 6-4 as Boaler ensured Birks stayed last.
Credit to both teams, and their supporters in what was a large crowd but mostly credit to Bob Prince who had an excellent match as referee, got every decision right with no controversy. Hammers still have the title in their own hands and hope to have Rafal Dulinski available for the last two matches, as he missed today whilst racing in the Polish Championship at Leszno,
British Premier League
HORSPATH 85 ( Mike Morgans 10+1, Dave Carmichael 12+2, Steve Haris 17+1, Mark Carmichael 13, Danny Harper 5+1, Mark Boaler 17, Mateusz Szymczak 5, Wayne Hutt 6)
SHEFFIELD 85 ( Piotr Jamroczyk 16+1, Jono Birks 9, Pawel Kozlowski 6+1, Remi Burchardt 16+1, Dariusz Pilas 15, Andy Angel 12, Jamie Brown 5, lee Smith 6+1.)
referee Bob Prince
British Premier Combination
HORSPATH 73 ( Wayne Clarke 4+1, Zac Payne 12, Matt Coulter 10, Rachel Edge 8+2, Lee Clarke 11+2, Jack Smith 12+2, George Horsley 6+1, Jake Carter 5+1. penalty points 5)
SHEFFIELD 61 ( Chris Turner 16, Richard Hudson 6, Jamie Brown 16, Jordan Gabitas 8, Sandra Turunski 11, Will Gamble 4.)
Report 2: Horspath v Sheffield - Premier League
Report: Shaun Hudson
Today's top of the table clash lived up to all expectations and proved yet again that the British Premier League is the best league in the world.
This match had everything, great racing, skill, drama and just a touch of controversy ( nothing to worry about ) but enough to keep the large crowd well entertained.
Sheffield got off to the best possible start with well taken 6-4 from Piotr Jamroscyzk and Jono Birks after Horspath Mike Morgan got relegated to the back after a hard first bend, with the next heat shared Horspath had to wait until heat 3 to take the advantage after Andy Angell gained an exclusion for crossing the inside edge.
Sheffield now entered a period of self destruction that saw 3 more exclusions to the Yorkshire men before the interval, this was to prove costly in the final reckoning. Horspath steadily increased there lead as Lee Smith and Jono Birks got there marching orders for tape offences and Andy Angell for excessive force when passing Dave Carmichael which led to the Horspath rider being laid prostrate on the track with a back injury.
With the scores at 42-34 in favour of the home team and one race until the interval, things were about to take a turn for the worse for both sides, after a hard fought race that saw the points shared, Danny Harper and Pawel Kozlowski clashed on the warm down lap and after a brief tussle both riders were red carded and match banned.
Referee Bob Prince was in no mood for any misbehaviour and kept both teams in check and handled the match very well as nobody wanted a repeat of the 2008 meeting between the two sides. With Sheffield still 8 points down the all important half time team talk seemed to work wonders as a rejuvenated Stars set about getting back into the game.
A well taken heat 11 6-4 from Angell and Pilas over Harris and Mark Carmichael stared the comeback, a superb ride from the loan Stars rider, Remi Burchardt recovered another point after Mike Morgans was excluded for a tape offence. Heat 13 saw Mark Boaler drop his first point of the day to the flying Jamroscyzk, while Jono Birks took third place for another heat advantage to Sheffield. A superb heat 15 saw Angell take another good win while the hard working Jamie Brown rode a great race to relegate Hutt to the back and give another 6-4 to Sheffield.
With the gap down to just a 2 point lead to Horspath, Sheffield delivered the killer blow in heat 16, Horspaths loan rider, Dave Carmichael was over hauled by Burchardt and Jamroscyzk as the Star's moved back in to the lead by 3 points. Heat 17 saw the loan Andy Angell take the win over Mark Carmichael and Morgans to limit the damage to a one point advantage to the Hammers.
The dreaded last heat decider was on us now and what a race it proved to be, Harris and Boaler on the inside grids against Pilas and Birks, Harris made the gate pressed by Pilas, a clever move by Boaler kept Birks on his outside as it looked like he was going to attempt to cut back. Harris pulled away as Pilas attempted to help his team partner who tried everything to find away past Boaler, right up to the last corner Jono Birks tried to make an opening but just couldn't squeeze past a jubilant Boaler.
The resulting Horspath 6-4 tied the match at 85 - 85, both set of supporters gave a rousing ovation to the two teams who had given there all and provided a superb afternoons entertainment. Just a final mention to the Sheffield supporters whose enthusiastic support helped lift there team when the going got tough, you were great !!.
Combination Match
Despite two maximums from Chris Turner & Jamie Brown, Sheffield couldn't quite take the win, however there was lots of great racing from both teams and Sandra Tomborski aboard her new bike scored 11pts while Jordan Gabbitas 8pts and Richard Hudson 6pts were always in the thick of the action, team Captain William Gamble turned in another vintage performance and led the way as always.
Two great matches in one day, a welcome boost and long may it continue.
Poole v Leicester
Images: Graham Sutton
Report:
Premier League encounters between Poole and Leicester are seldom dull affairs and this was no exception to the rule as the destiny of the two points was in the balance until the closing heats. The visitors missed the services of Craig Marchant and Mark Newey while the home side, already without any of their Polish stars, suffered the last minute loss of skipper Chris Roberts who was delayed en route from a football match.
Early exchanges saw Poole take 6 - 4 wins in heats 2, 4 and 6 with Thomas Reed's victory over newly crowned GP champion Lukas Nowacki being the highlight. However, Reed was left on the deck in heat 7 after coming off second best in an encounter with Dan Pike and Kev Burns who notched a 6 - 4 of their own to narrow the margin to 4 points. The hosts looked set to restore their 6 point advantage before the break as Ben Donohue superbly passed Adam Stephenson, only to needlessly send the Hull based star flying, giving Leicester a 5 - 4 win and the match was anybody's at 46 -43.
A very ragged start to heat 11 did not attract the expected re-run allowing the visitors to pick up the easiest 7 - 3 they will ever get and the match tipped in their favour at 54 - 55. Nowacki kept them ahead in the next with a comfortable win over Gav Wheeler and the in-form Pete Young. Up to this point in spite of the close and robust racing, there had been one solitary exclusion in marked contrast to the BTC encounter in July which racked up no less than eleven.
However, tapes infringements in the next two heats proved pivotal and Leicester were guilty on both occasions as nerves got the better of first Nicky Whitehead and then Adam Stephenson. Sole representatives Kev Burns and Dan Pike fought gamely but could not prevent the home side taking a 6 - 3 followed by a 7 - 2 to lead 77 - 70.
Gav Wheeler evened the score with Lukas Nowacki for a share of the spoils in heat 16 to maintain the 7 point margin then a very tactical penultimate race almost produced a Leicester 7 - 3 on the final lap until young guns Reed and Mould outpaced Leon Yelland on the final bend for a 5 - 5. Heat 18 was now academic in match terms, but not for stand-in skipper Pete Young who sped home for his 3rd race win and a total score more reflective of his ability than the BTC disappointment seven days previously.
While more crucial PL matches were being ridden elsewhere, these two sides were battling for mid-table supremacy in near perfect weather conditions and racing was enjoyed by another healthy attendance. The match was preceded by an impeccably observed one minute silence for Poole founder members Roger Nicholson and Colin Sanders.
Poole 93 - Pete Young 17 Ben Mould 15 Gavin Wheeler 15 Thomas Reed 14 Sam Hearn 12 Tom Colling 10 Jake Williams 7 Ben Donohue 3
Leicester 84 - Lukas Nowacki 18 Daniel Pike 17 Kev Burns 13 Leon Yelland 13 Mark Whitehead 8, Adam Stephenson 6 Nicky Whitehead 6 Matt Hartshorn 3
Referee Richard Hughes
Division 2:
Poole 93 - Leyton Glover 16 Arron Morgan 13 Chris Roberts 11 Luke Armes 11 Matt Elston 8 Charlotte Cox 5 Kayleigh Stiggants 2
Leicester 61 - Lukas Nowacki 16 Nicky Whitehead 15 Steph Whitehead 10 Matt Hartshorn 7 Sam Hartshorn 7 Lucy Whitehead 6
Referee Mike Legge
Wednesfield v Norwich
Report: Ian Grange
Wednesfield delivered a typical workman-like performance to comfortably beat Norwich 82-92 in this afternoon's Premier League match at Eaton Park. Without Terry Norman, who was watching Man City getting mugged by United, Wednesfield fielded a home grown team. Norwich welcomed back Ian Grange after a long layoff through injury but were again without key riders Nick Myhill, Jazz Abbott and Craig Norton.
Norwich's season has been punctuated by glaring errors at key times in tight matches and this afternoon was no exception. In the very first heat, Richard Williamson overdid it while chasing Lee Aris, pirouetted out of control and gifted Wednesfield any easy 7-3. After a number of tied races, Norwich, with Dave Solomon and Phil Howells prominent, clawed their way back into the match and by the interval trailled 41- 44.
After the break, Norwich enjoyed their best spell of the match, taking two consecutive 6-4s to lead for the first time, 53-51. But any thoughts of recovery were shortlived when Lee Grange (pictured) had no answer to the strong Lee Aris/Chris Jewkes combination which restored the Aces' advantage. From then on it was one-way traffic, Wednesfield taking three of the remaining six races to run out ten point winners.
Phil Howells enjoyed probably his best match of the season; he was only beaten once, by Lee Aris in heat eight. Dave Solomon and Richard Williamson scored well from reserve berth but it was a tactic which left Norwich exposed higher up the order. The number one/two pairing of Lee Grange and Richard Hunt only managed 15 points between them while Ian Grange battled hard but was clearly short of match practice.
Lee Aris turned in another selfless performance while Chris Jewkes returned to something more like his old form. Scott Doherty had a mixed afternoon, winning two races and being excluded twice. Star of the show was Roger Cox (pictured), riding at number two, he was quick to snatch the opportunities Lee Aris presented him with, going on to score 16 solid points.
Score Norwich 82 Wednesfield 92
Combo Norwich 90 Wednesfield 51
20/9 South-East Youth Leagues Match 5 at Gt.Blakenham
U10
KESGRAVE 58 George Wiggins 14 Ollie Knight 12
IPSWICH 49 Ben Harvey 13
GT.BLAKENHAM 46 Colby Hack 16
COLCHESTER 30 Tom Smith 9
HETHERSETT 13 Oliver Forder-Wilcox 5
U14
IPSWICH 51 Richard Fellgett 16 Charlie Rumbold 13
KESGRAVE 46 Ross Knight 14 Harry Swallow 12
COLCHESTER 41 Patrick Kruger 12 Shane Findley 12
GT.BLAKENHAM 28 Lily Gedge 7 Finlay Hack 7 Lewis Brinkhoff 7
HETHERSETT 19 Scott Grimes 15
Referee Ray Pyke
16/9 Norfolk Grand Prix Series Round 8 at Hethersett
A Final Results
U13/Novice -- 1 Rob Warminger NOR 2 Oliver Riley NOR 3 Danielle Riley NOR 4 Rowan Ewbank NOR
U16 - 1 Harley Hamill HET 2 Dan Chambers HET 3 Carly Grimes HET
U19/Senior/Vets - 1 Ian Grange NOR 2 Lee Grange NOR 3 Leigh Cossey NOR 4 Philip Adams HET
17 riders
Referees - various
Final positions (best 6 scores count)
U13/Novice
1 Rob Warminger NOR 150
2 Danielle Riley NOR 126
3 Oliver Riley NOR 118
U16
1 Dan Chambers HET 135
2 Carly Grimes HET 101
3 Josh Colby NOR 101
Carly Grimes won race-off by default
U19/Senior?Vets
1 Leigh Cossey NOR 135
2 Lee Grange NOR 128
3 Philip Adams HET 106
after race-off with Ben Collins HET
39 riders took part in the series.
