STOKE Easy Rider Potters suffered a humiliating 60-32 defeat against Birmingham in the Premier Trophy at Loomer road last night as the West Midlands outfit booked a semi final place.
It’s the second time in a week that the Brummies have scored sixty points against the Potters as Stoke could only muster one race advantage all evening compared to Birmingham’s ten on an evening that Birmingham dominated proceedings providing thirteen race winners out of a possible fifteen with only Taylor Poole and Hynek Stichauer winning a race each for the Potters.
The Easy Rider Potters got off to the worst possible start as Aaron Summers and Steve Johnston took a comfortable maximum heat advantage in the opening heat over Gary Havelock and Michal Rajkowski to put the Brummies four up after the opening heat.
Stoke’s response was immediate though as Taylor Poole and James Holder levelled the scores with a superb 5-1 over Birmingham’s flying reserve Justin Sedgmen and Tom Perry.
The Brummies went back in front in heat three as Richard Sweetman showed his liking for the Loomer road circuit with a victory over Potters skipper Klaus Jakobsen while Chris Kerr grabbed third place from Hynek Stichauer after Stichauer went wide at the end of the first lap allowing Kerr to give up the inside to give the Brummies a 4-2 race win and a two point lead. Birmingham extended their lead with a second 4-2 heat advantage on the bounce as Jason Lyons took a comfortable victory from Ricky Wells with Tom Perry taking third after Potters reserve Poole fell while challenging Brummies skipper Lyons for the lead and coming to grief at the end of the first lap as Birmingham lead 14-10 after four heats. The Potters fell further behind as the Brummies gained their second maximum heat victory of the evening as Sedgmen and Lyons took a comfortable win over Havelock to open up an eight point lea d for the West Midlands outfit after six races. The Brummies struck their second 5-1 heat win in successive heats as Sweetman and Kerr held off a spirited challenge from Wells to leave Stoke trailing by twelve points at the halfway stage of the meeting as Birmingham lead 27-15 after seven heats.
Stoke team manager Malcolm Vasey immediately strikes back by introducing Taylor Poole as a tactical ride in heat number eight to try and stem the tide and attempt to claw some points back. The move fails to have the desired effect as the Brummies pairing of Sedgmen and Summers make the start and keep Poole at bay to gain their fourth 5-1 of the night as Birmingham open a sixteen point lead as the Potters struggle to find a way back into the meeting.
Stichauer and Jakobsen make a superb gate in heat nine but veteran Aussie and Birmingham skipper Jason Lyons passes both Potters riders in one superb move coming off turn four as he moves from third to first in the space of twenty metres to coast to a comfortable victory as the Brummies maintain their sixteen point advantage.
Birmingham continue to pile of the pressure as Kerr rides a superb first and second turn to lead Potters number one Havelock down the back straight with Sweetman takes third ahead of reserve ride James Holder as the Brummies gain a 4-2 to lead 21-39 and seal the victory on the night for the Brummies and they maintain their unbeaten record in the Premier Trophy with five races still to complete. After the interval there was no let up as Summers and Johnston took a comfortable maximum heat win in heat eleven over Holder to open up a twenty two point lead for the West Midlands side.
Stoke team manager Vasey brought in Hynek Stichauer as a tactical ride in heat twelve to try reduce the deficit , but Kerr had different ideas as Kerr took a comfortable victory over Stichauer with Sedgmen getting the better of Poole for third place for a drawn four all heat to maintain the Brummies twenty two point lead.
Stoke had no answer to the Brummies as they gained their ninth heat advantage of the evening as Lyons and Johnston teamed up for an easy 5-1 over Wells and Havelock as the lacklustre Potters trail 53-27 after thirteen races.
The Brummies rounded the meeting off with a 4-2 in the final heat as Birmingham skipper Jason Lyons completed his paid maximum with Potters skipper Klaus Jakobsen holding Steve Johnston at bay to take second place as the Brummies complete a comprehensive 60-32 victory over the Potters.
A furious Stoke promoter Dave Tattum said “That was the worst performance by a Stoke team in all the years that I have promoted here and it was totally unacceptable to the supporters, the sponsors and the club as a whole, we were a complete shambles tonight and changes will now have to be made. I really cannot believe how poor we were and I can only describe our performance as an absolute disgrace and I can only apologise to the sponsors and supporters of the club for such an inept performance.”
Stoke 32: Hynek Stichauer 9, Klaus Jakobsen 7+1, James Holder 4+2, Taylor Poole 4, Ricky Wells 4, Gary Havelock 4, Michal Rajkowski 0
Birmingham 60: Jason Lyons 14+1, Aaron Summers 10+1, Richard Sweetman 10 Chris Kerr 9+1, Steve Johnston 8+4, Justin Sedgmen 8, Tom Perry 1
STOKE Easy Rider Potters suffered a humiliating 60-32 defeat against Birmingham in