4 April - Oxford 58 v Wolves 32

[Lawt]

Friday 4th April 03… Oxford 58… Wolverhampton 32… ELA

Oxford

Wiltshire 3 2 3 3 2* 13 + 1
McGowan R 1* F 1 2 + 1
Ulamek 3 3 3 3 12
Klingberg 2* 2* 1 3 8 + 2
Pedersen 2* 3 3 2* 3 13 + 2
Kolenko 0 1 0 F 1
Gjedde 3 3 2 1 9

Wolverhampton

Max 2 1 3 2 1 0 9
David Howe R/R
Ermolenko 1 F 2 0 2 5
Skornicki 0 0 1 1* 2 4 + 1
Karlsson 1 3 2 2 0 1 9
Grieves 1* 2 0 0 0 3 + 1
Allen 1* 0 1* 2 + 2

Last Monday’s meeting was just about as good as it can get in speedway. Last night’s match couldn’t have been more different. The team were completely psyched out by Oxford and offered no effective resistance. We were very lucky not to have seen Oxford get 60 points.

Heat 1 - Wiltshire ; Max ; Grieves ; McGowan(R) ; (3-3)(3-3)
Wiltshire gates and leads easily, McGowan has engine failure whilst third allowing the trailing Grieves a lucky paid two points.

Heat 2 - Gjedde ; Grieves ; Allen ; Kolenko ; (3-3)(6-6)
Grieves and Allen make a reasonable start but Gjedde moves through to the front on the third lap. Kolenko off the pace.

Heat 3 - Ulamek ; Klingberg ; Ermolenko ; Skornicki ; (5-1)(11-7)
Lightning gates from the Oxford pair. Adam miles off the pace. Sam makes superb pass to get third place from Adam (sorry – cynical mode took over!)

Heat 4 - Gjedde ; Pedersen ; Karlsson ; Allen ; (5-1)(16-8)
From the tapes, Gjedde looks very quick and is supported by Pedersen. PK makes little impression.

Heat 5 - Ulamek ; Klingberg ; Max ; Ermolenko(F) ; (5-1)(21-9)
Both Oxford riders pass Mikael Max easily, Klingberg going between our two, and Sam (Tactical Substitute) falls on the third bend whilst chasing.

Heat 6 - Karlsson ; Wiltshire ; McGowan ; Grieves ; (3-3)(24-12)
Wolves at last win a heat and gain the only heat advantage of the night as Peter makes a decent start and leads the whole race. James tries.

Heat 7 - Pedersen ; Ermolenko ; Kolenko ; Skornicki ; (4-2)(28-14)
Pedersen passes Sam easily to win. Adam is nowhere and Kolenko seems to have improved.

Heat 8 - Max ; Gjedde ; Skornicki ; McGowan(F) ; (2-4)(30-18)
Mikael (Tac sub) and Adam manage Wolves only heat advantage of the meeting. McGowan falls.

Heat 9 - Ulamek ; Karlsson ; Klingberg ; Grieves ; (4-2)(34-20)
Peter makes a gate but is passed by Ulamek in a wide sweep on the second lap. Grieves tries.

Heat 10 - Wiltshire ; Karlsson ; McGowan ; Ermolenko ; (4-2)(38-22)
Both Oxford riders pass Peter (tac sub) and a 5-1 looks likely but PK regains second place by passing McGowan.

Heat 11 - Pedersen ; Max ; Skornicki ; Kolenko ; (3-3)(41-25)
Mikael looks slightly quicker but still not fast enough to beat Pedersen who leads from the start. Adam is in as tac sub for R/R having just been taken out of the previous heat.

Heat 12 - Ulamek ; Ermolenko ; Gjedde ; Grieves ; (4-2)(45-27)
Sam passes Gjedde to get second.

Heat 13 - Wiltshire ; Pedersen ; Max ; Karlsson ; (5-1)(50-28)
Easy 5-1 for Oxford as Pedersen moves round Mikael on the first/second bend. All fight seems to have evaporated from the Wolves heatleaders now.

Heat 14 - Klingberg ; Skornicki ; Allen ; Kolenko(F) ; (3-3)(53-31)
Oxford are on a 5-1 when Kolenko falls whilst second. His fall saves Wolves from the embarrassment of an Oxford 60 point score. Thanks Jernej.

Heat 15 - Pedersen ; Wiltshire ; Karlsson ; Max ; (5-1)(58-32)
The very uninterested Wolves top two allow Oxford yet another easy 5-1 from the tapes to make the bonus point virtually impossible to reach.

Wolves
Our riders were all completely blown away by the heavily watered track which had a very rough surface that cut up quite badly towards the end of the evening. However, the track was not dangerous (see Peterborough report!) and was ridden expertly by the Oxford team. Professional riders should be able to adapt to different track conditions and surfaces and we were not able to do so. PK had a moan at Wagstaff about the track at one point and was booed by the home fans. Terrace rumours said that Peter Adams had told our team to take it easy and at all costs avoid injuries (we do have a bad history at Oxford) so perhaps that was the reason for the abysmal performance. I would like to hear Peter Adams’ response to that rumour. David Howe told a fan at the pits entrance that he was very glad he wasn’t having to race on the track.
The meeting also showed up our very poor gating once again. We can live with this when the riders are able to attack the track and make passes but on such a track as last night’s we MUST be able to get out of the starts in competitive positions or it is game over before the second bend. Gating lessons from Wolves asset Seb Ulamek would be a good idea as he was masterful out of the starts.

Oxford
Rode well and took full advantage of home track advantage. They were far more aggressive and keen to pass than Wolves and also made full advantage of their gating skills. A well deserved win and probably the bonus point too.

Five Star Ratings
Weather: ***** Lovely evening
Track Conditions: ** Very rough and undulating. Took away the spectacle from the racing.
Attendance: * Very low attendance compared to other tracks I have visited this year. Probably due to incredibly high admission (£13 + £1 to park) and programme price (£2) and totally poor facilities, i.e. no flushing toilets, no food facility outside stadium building, inaudible PA on third bend, etc. The crowd will only get smaller if the price and facilities remain the same.
Entertainment Value: ** Home fans would enjoy the big win but the racing was very poor.
Wolves Performance: * Don’t suppose I can go lower than one star can I?
Man of the Match: David Howe – for turning up and supporting the team whilst injured.
Referee (Robbie Perks): ***** No decisions to make.

Mark Lawton
Still proud to be a Wolf

[otoresu]

I think you were just about spot on with your report! I thought the track was in a dreadful condition and no wonder we were so bad .Did you see the hole in the first bend? Excuses apart ,the facilities seem to have got worse too.Where is the tea bar that used to be going into the third turn? I was dying for a cuppa, but had to walk all the way round! Worse track,worse facilities but MORE MONEY!!!!!!!!

[wolfgang]

The report is spot on. We stank. Nearly as much as the toilets. It was reminiscent of our bad times at Bradford in the 80s and 90s, but then Odsal was a radically different track and our poor scores there could be excused. Although last night's track was dire, we were beaten time and again in the first quarter of the first lap, before the track surface had much influence on the outcome. The track can't really be used as an excuse.

Perhaps we won't be visiting Oxford much longer. Everything about Oxford last night had the air of a speedway in decline. The expensive admission and programme (packed with grammatical and spelling errors), the inaudible PA, the deteriorating decor, and those atrocious toilets, all indicate serious problems. And shouldn't the start time have been 7.30, not 8.00? That pyramid scheme sounds like a winner!

[Lefty]

Hi Folks,
I agree with both the report and the replies. Oxford seems to have mirrored Peterborough in starting late with first races at 7.50pm and 8.00 pm respectively. In both cases the queue at the turnstiles were long, but once inside crowds were only average based on previous Wolves visits. In both cases admission prices did not appear to be displayed, slowing down the entrance rate.
On the track I think the bonus point might be in doubt

Keep smilin' - Lefty

[Joy]

Well that was my first visit to Oxford last night. I didn't know what to expect but even the good company i was with couldn't compensate for the miserable evening.
The track was in a shocking condition and the facilities even worse
Not to mention the cost of everything even down to a glass of coke in the bar!!!!!
It makes you realise what a great place Monmore is

[otoresu]

Joy said:

Well that was my first visit to Oxford last night. I didn't know what to expect but even the good company i was with couldn't compensate for the miserable evening.
The track was in a shocking condition and the facilities even worse
Not to mention the cost of everything even down to a glass of coke in the bar!!!!!
It makes you realise what a great place Monmore is

Did you say 'Good company?' Who were you stood with then???(ha ha)
Now you know how spoilt we are at Monmore, I mean, we have an excellent SMOOTH track, cracking facilities and it's less than £1.25 for a coke!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Oh my god, I've become David Howe, (and it's all your fault!!!)

[Joy]

Sorry about that ;D ;D ;D Maybe MM2 will take pity on you and change you back to James Grieves. ;D ;D ;D

[otoresu]

Joy said:

Sorry about that ;D ;D ;D Maybe MM2 will take pity on you and change you back to James Grieves. ;D ;D ;D

PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE could i go back to being James Grieves? You don't know what grief being David Howe causes!!!!!

[beegee]

otoresu said:

PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE could i go back to being James Grieves? You don't know what grief being David Howe causes!!!!!

As much grief as it caused me to be God Sam.

[Yozza]

Joy said:

Well that was my first visit to Oxford last night. I didn't know what to expect but even the good company i was with couldn't compensate for the miserable evening.
The track was in a shocking condition and the facilities even worse
Not to mention the cost of everything even down to a glass of coke in the bar!!!!!
It makes you realise what a great place Monmore is

For those of you that remember, I had a moan about everything to do with Oxford last year.........the track, the facilities, the promotion etc., and I said then it would be very doubtful I went back.
From the comments above it seems as though it has got worse, so I am still in no hurry to go back there!
Thanks again to all involved with the updates!