24 March COVENTRY (H) CH.

24 March COVENTRY (H) CH. Mar 24, 2003 23:34:53 GMT

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Post by Mr X on Mar 24, 2003 23:34:53 GMT

Monday 24 March 2003… Wolves 44 Coventry 46… Challenge.

Wolves
Mikael Max 3 2 2 3 3 1* 14 + 1
David Howe 1 1* 2 1* 5 + 2
Sam Ermolenko 3 1 2 1 7
Adam Skornicki 0 0 0 0
Peter Karlsson 3 3 2 1 2* 2 13 + 1
James Grieves 2 0 0 2
Magnus Karlsson 1* 1 1* 0 3 + 2

Coventry Bees
Billy Hamill 2 3 3 2 3 13
Billy Janniro 0 2* 3 1 6 + 1
Lee Richardson 2 1* 3 3 Fx 9 + 1
Ryan Fisher 1* 2 0 1 4 + 1
Andreas Jonsson 2 3 3 0 8
Stuart Robson 3 0 1 2* 6 + 1
Jason Bunyan 0 0 0 0 0

It’s first blood to Coventry in 2003, as a late rescue bid by the Karlsson boys just fails to save the match for Wolves…

Heat Details:
Heat 1 - Mikael Max ; Billy Hamill ; David Howe ; Billy Janniro ; (4-2)(4-2)
Mikael streaks away to win easily in a fast time of 56.68.

Heat 2 - Stuart Robson ; James Grieves ; Magnus Karlsson ; Jason Bunyan ; (3-3)(7-5)
Magnus is soon past Bunyan, but Robson wins easily.

Heat 3 - Sam Ermolenko ; Lee Richardson ; Ryan Fisher ; Adam Skornicki ; (3-3)(10-8)
Excellent ride from Sam who cuts inside Richardson on the back straight. Adam well adrift at the back.

Heat 4 - Peter Karlsson ; Andreas Jonsson ; Magnus Karlsson ; Jason Bunyan ; (4-2)(14-10)
Classic PK – chases Jonsson then turns hard to cut inside him coming out of the 4th bend on lap 2… a superb maneouvre.

Heat 5 - Billy Hamill ; Billy Janniro ; Sam Ermolenko ; Adam Skornicki ; (1-5)(15-15)
Bees pairing make the start and Janniro holds off Ermolenko’s challenge.

Heat 6 - Andreas Jonsson ; Mikael Max ; David Howe ; Stuart Robson ; (3-3)(18-18)
A fast start from Jonsson, Mikael takes two laps to get past David Howe and can’t catch him.

Heat 7 - Peter Karlsson ; Ryan Fisher ; Lee Richardson ; James Grieves ; (3-3)(21-21)
Richardson gates and moves wide on Peter, but the Wolves man cuts back inside. Another smart move from Peter.

Heat 8 - Billy Janniro ; David Howe ; Magnus Karlsson ; Jason Bunyan ; (3-3)(24-24)
Magnus rides an aggressive 1st turn but just misses out. Impressive ride by Janniro.

Heat 9 - Andreas Jonsson ; Sam Ermolenko ; Stuart Robson ; Adam Skornicki ; (2-4)(26-28)
Easy win for Jonsson… Wolves pair go either side of Robson on turn two, but Adam is struggling and Robson powers past on the 3rd lap.

Heat 10 - Lee Richardson ; Mikael Max ; David Howe ; Ryan Fisher ; (3-3)(29-31)
Fast start from Richardson who rides a faultless race. Mikael is quick but can’t find a way past.

Heat 11 - Billy Hamill ; Peter Karlsson ; Billy Janniro ; James Grieves ; (2-4)(31-35)
There’s no holding these Bees heat leaders… no mistakes from Hamill.

Heat 12 - Lee Richardson ; Stuart Robson ; Sam Ermolenko ; Magnus Karlsson ; (1-5)(32-40)
Sam tries to force Robson wide on the first turn but the Coentry man holds on. Wolves hopes look dead and buried.

Heat 13 - Mikael Max ; Billy Hamill ; Peter Karlsson ; Andreas Jonsson ; (4-2)(36-42)
Race of the night. Mikael rides around Hamill coming out of the second bend. Peter stalks the American holidaymaker and tries the outside on the 3rd bend of lap 3. Hamill rides him right out to the fence, Jonsson nips through the gap, but Peter isn’t finished and dives inside Jonsson to grab back 3rd place. The 4-2 is ideal for Wolves…

Heat 14 - Mikael Max ; Peter Karlsson ; Ryan Fisher ; Jason Bunyan ; (5-1)(41-43)
Challenge or not, it’s a double tactical as the Karlsson boys come out to keep Wolves in the match. An expected and easy 5-1.

Heat 15 - Billy Hamill ; Peter Karlsson ; Mikael Max ; Lee Richardson(Fx) ; (3-3)(44-46)
A dramatic finish. First time out Hamill, Mikael and Richardson hit the first turn together, Richardson goes down and stays there. Referee Rob Perks excludes him. In the rerun, Hamill moves slightly at the start, but still gets the drop from gate 1. For a split second it appears the Wolves duo might go either side of him out of turn 2, but Hamill finds the drive and pulls away for an easy win.

There’s never a good time to lose to your local rivals, but an early season challenge defeat isn’t too damaging for Wolves. The match didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t know… Coventry are, as ever, very dangerous opponents at Monmore… Wolves don’t appear to have a big scorer at reserve, and our hopes seem to hinge on the Sam Ermolenko / Adam Skornicki pairing, who seem somewhat hit and miss.

Wolves
Mikael: Three wins from six rides looks mediocre by his ultra high standards these days, but the opposition was strong tonight.
David: Scored in every ride but will be dissapointed to lose out to Janniro in Heat 8.
Sam: Excellent first ride, but conceded two vital 5-1’s in heats 5 and 12. Needs to find more consistency.
Adam: A very poor night, well off the pace. Rumour has it he was having problems with his shoulder dislocating last week… hope this won’t prove a big problem. Something definitely wrong tonight.
Peter: Some excellent overtaking moves, but even he can’t do it every race against this opposition.
James: Did everything he could be expected to do… i.e. beat Jason Bunyan. Hard to judge him further than that tonight.
Magnus: Same as James above… difference being he met Bunyan three times. Rides the track well, and should beat opposing number sevens on a regular basis.

Coventry
A very solid performance from their top six as you would expect at Monmore. Look a better balanced side than Wolves at this very early stage. Bunyan isn’t good enough, but it is unlikely to matter.

Five Star Ratings
Weather: ***** Superb… dry and very mild.
Track Conditions: **** Fast, close racing.
Attendance: *** A good turn out, but a little lacking for atmosphere.
Entertainment Value: *** Good match, but lacked the tension attached to a league match.
Wolves Performance: ** or ***. Must do better!
Man of the Match: Peter Karlsson – still finds lines that others don’t know exist.
Referee (Rob Perks): *** Most refs would have put Richardson back in to Heat 15… not that Wolves fans were complaining…

It’s the real thing tomorrow… Eastbourne away in the league, live on Sky TV.

Mark Rowe.

Post by Mr X on Mar 24, 2003 22:50:15 GMT

Post by Mr X on Mar 24, 2003 23:34:53 GMT