PREMIER TROPHY - Stoke 49 Sheffield 44 (Hynek 11+1)
Mariusz Kochanek,
11.04.2010, 02:07
STOKE Easy Rider Potters gained their first victory of the season despite losingskipper Jason Bunyan through a knee injury as they gained a 49-44 victory over arch rivals Sheffield in the Premier Trophy at Loomer Road on Saturday night.
The Tigers did not leave empty handed though as they took a point from the meetinghaving lost by less than a six point margin.
Sheffield got off to a flying start with maximum points in the opening heat as Tigers skipper Ricky Ashworth and Hugh Skidmore took a comfortable victory over Michal Rajkowski after Potters skipper Jason Bunyan retired from the race on the first lap.
The Potters were on a 4-2 in heat two when James Holder seemed to lose control going into the third turn on the second lap causing him to fall, referee Graham Flint stopping the race and excluding Holder from the rerun. In the rerun Tigers pairing Arlo Bugeja and Paul Cooper made a superb start Cooper holding Taylor Poole at bay before the youngster made a superb move up the inside of Cooper coming off the second turn of the final lap to take second place, but the Tigers extended their lead with the 4-2 heat advantage as they take a six point lead after just two heats.
The Potters gained a fortunate maximum heat advantage in heat three Hynek Stichauer was leading comfortably with the Sheffield pairing of Josh Auty and Richard Hall second and third before both Tigers riders slipped off gifting Klaus Jakobsen second place, Auty getting up to eventually finish third as Stoke reduce the deficit to two points with the Sheffield leading 8-10 after three heats.
Stoke took the lead in heat five as Klaus Jakobsen and Stichauer took maximum points over Ashworth and Skidmore to give the Easy Rider Potters a 16-14 lead.
The Potters extended their lead to six points as James Holder took a superb victory in heat seven with his partner Ricky Wells coming from last to second to take maximum points for Stoke as he first took Josh Auty and then passing Richard Hall coming off the final bend to give the Potters a 24-18 lead at the halfway stage of the meeting.
The Easy Rider Potters extended their lead in heat eight after referee Graham Flint award the heat as Hugh Skidmore brought down Potters youngster Taylor Poole, Skidmore being excluded as the primary cause of the stoppage. Michal Rajkowski and Poole were leading when the race was stopped after Rajkowski went around Tigers reserve Paul Cooper while Poole went on the inside coming off the final turn of the first lap Cooper being the meat in the sandwich as he was left in third place before Skidmore also passed him on the next turn, giving the Potters a 29-19 lead after eight heats. The Potters gained their third successive maximum heat win on the bounce as Stichauer and Jakobsen take a comfortable victory over Josef Franc and Bugeja to open up a fourteen point lead for the Potters after nine races.
Sheffield reduced the deficit to twelve points as Josh Auty got the better of Rajkowski in heat ten with Hall taking third place for a 4-2 heat advantage but the Potters still lead 36-24. Tigers skipper Ricky Ashworth was introduced as a tactical ride in heat eleven and he promptly delivered as he took victory from Rajkowski and Poole to gain a 6-3 heat advantage for the South Yorkshire outfit reducing Stoke’s lead to nine points with just four heats remaining. The Tigers again made headway into the Potters lead as Richard Hall and reserve Cooper took maximum points from Stichauer and Holder to reduce the Potters lead to five points with the Stoke leading 40-35. The Tigers take their fourth heat advantage on the bounce as they gain maximum points from Josef Franc and Ashworth over Wells to leave the meeting finely balanced with the Potters still in front just as they lead 41-40 with two heats remaining.
The Potters sealed victory in heat fourteen as young reserve Taylor Poole and Klaus Jakobsen headed home Josh Auty and Paul Cooper to give the Easy Rider Potters a maximum 5-1 heat advantage and a 46-41 lead going into the final race.
Potters boss Malcom Vasey said “Everyone rode with a lot of courage when you lose your number one and skipper after his first ride and are losing 3-9 after two heats and then come back to win at all has been terrific and if Sheffield had not had the success they did with the tactical ride the margin of victory would have been greater and all in all it was an excellent performance by the team, let’s not forget Sheffield won at Redcar the other week and we really have battled tonight and everyone of the team is a hero tonight. I’d also like to say it was great to hear the crowd getting behind the lads because that really helped the team hearing the crowd and it really does make a difference and they really did play their part tonight.”
Klaus Jakobsen said “I’m really pleased tonight, I struggled in our last meeting and was disappointed but tonight everything came good for me. I missed the gate a couple of times and tried the outside and inside and never gave up. I’m riding with Hynek now and we’re beginning to get an understanding between us now and things are going well. We do have a good team spirit here and all get on well and we really worked hard to get the win tonight especially losing Jason so early in the meeting as he is such an influential rider, but we all dug deep and got a hard fought victory under our belts and I’m really pleased for the team, club and the supporters.”
Stoke 49: Taylor Poole 13+2, Hynek Stichauer 11+1, Klaus Jakobsen 10+4, Ricky Wells 6+2, Michal Rajkowski 6, James Holder 3, Jason Bunyan 0
Sheffield 44: RickyAshworth 15+1, Josef Franc 8+1, Paul Cooper 6+1, Josh Auty 5, Richard Hall 5, Arlo Bugeja 3, Hugh Skidmore 2+1
STOKE Easy Rider Potters gained their first victory of the season despite losingskipper Jason Bunyan through a knee injury as they gained a 49-44 victory over arch