STOKE Easy Rider Potters went down to their second defeat in twenty four hours as they went down to a 51-44 against the Redcar Bears at the South Tees Motor Sport Park last night to leave the Potters firmly rooted to the bottom of their Premier Trophy group.
Stoke pairing Michal Makovsky and Michal Rajkowski lead the opening heat until Gary Havelock and then Tomas Suchanek both pass Rajkowski to keep the scores level after the opening heat.
The Potters fell behind in heat two after Redcar’s pairing of Stuart Swales and Jan Graversen made a good start but Taylor Poole rounded Graversen and then chased down Swales with the veteran racer keeping Poole as bay to take victory for a Bears 4-2. The Bears extended their lead in heat three as Ben Wilson and Maks Gregoric gained a maximum heat advantage over Hynek Stichauer and skipper Klaus Jakobsen to give the Bears a six point lead. Redcar continues to dominate the early heats as Emiliano Sanchez came from last to first to take victory in heat four as the Bears were on for a maximum heat advantage before Poole overhauled Graversen to take second place splitting the Bears pairing but Redcar extended their lead to eight points as the Potters trail 16-8.
Heat five took three attempts to run firstly Gregoric and Makovsky have a coming together and then Gergoric and Rajkowski have a coming together Maks Gregoric being excluded from the rerun. The Easy Rider Potters gain their first heat advantage of the evening as Michal Makovsky passes Ben Wilson at the end of the first lap to take his second victory of the night with Rajkowski taking third place for a Potters 4-2 reducing the deficit to six points. The Potters continue their revival as Ricky Wells takes victory from home skipper Havelock with James Holder taking third place keeping Suchanek at bay for a Stoke 4-1 race win as the Potters trail 20-16 after six heats.
The Bears restored their eight point lead in heat seven as Sanchez and Swales combined to get the better of Stichauer and Jakobsen to take a 5-1 heat win as the Bears lead 25-17 at the halfway stage of the meeting. The Bears scored their second maximum heat advantage in three heats as Ben Wilson takes victory in heat nine and partner Gregoric taking second place with Gregoric having to re-pass Potters reserve Holder as the two dual for the four laps. Redcar open up a twelve point lead as the Potters trail 33-21.
Potters youngster Taylor Poole storms from third to first to take victory in heat ten first passing Bears skipper Havelock and then Suchanek to take a sensational victory, but the Potters are unable to capitalise on the youngsters win as Stichauer trails in at the back.
Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey gives guest Michal Makovsky the black and white helmet colour as he introduces Makovsky as a tactical ride in heat eleven. Sanchez got the better start and despite Makovsky’s best efforts he could not find away past, Poole fell trying to pass Swales to give the Bear third place and keep Redcar’s twelve point lead in tact.
Makovsky takes his third victory of the night but the Bears pairing of Havelock and Sanchez take the minor placings for a drawn race as Redcar maintain their twelve point lead after thirteen heats as the Bears seal victory with two heats remaining.
Stoke team manager Vasey nominates Poole as a tactical ride in heat fourteen and the 17 year old duly delivers with partner Klaus Jakobsen joining him to give the Potters an 8-1 heat advantage over Gregoric and Swales as the Potters trail 47-42 going into the final race.
Redcar banked all three points in heat fifteen as Ben Wilson took victory from Potters guest Makovsky but Sanchez took third place holding off Poole to gain a 4-2 for the Bears and a 51-44 victory.
Potters team manager Malcolm Vasey said “This was a battling performance and far better than the despairing one we had at Birmingham last night. I’m disappointed we did not come away with a point in the end because I did feel that we deserved it but Sanchez just got the better of Taylor in heat fifteen after they had swapped places three or four times in the last race. Taylor and Michal were superb for us tonight and James Holder was great value and deserved a few more points for his efforts.”
Redcar 51: Ben Wilson 14, Emiliano Sanchez 11+1, Gary Havelock 8, Stuart Swales 7+2, Mak Gregoric 5+2, Tomas Suchanek 4+2, Jan Graversen 2
Stoke 44: Taylor Poole 16, Michal Makovsky 15, Hynek Stichauer 4, James Holder 3+1, Ricky Wells 3, Klaus Jakobsen 2+1, Michal Rajkowski 1
STOKE Easy Rider Potters went down to their second defeat in twenty four hours as