Post by Lawt on Jun 19, 2004 16:04:11 GMT
OXFORD 40 WOLVES 54, ELITE LEAGUE B, FRIDAY 18TH JUNE
Oxford
1. Greg Hancock X-6-2*-3-2 = 13+1
2. Travis McGowan 1-0-X-3-3-2 = 9
3. R/R for Ulamek 0-2-2-X = 4
4. N.K. Iversson 1-0-0-X-2 = 3
5. Rafal Dobrucki X-2-3-2-1-0 = 8
6. Jonas Davidsson 3-0-0-0 = 3
7. Ryan Fisher X-0-2-2-X = 4
Wolves
1. Mikael Max 3-2*-3-2-3 = 13+1
2. Adam Skornicki 2*-2*-3-2-1 = 10+2
3. R/R for Nermark 2*-1*-1-3 = 7+2
4. David Howe 3-2-X-3-3 = 11
5. Sam Ermolenko X-2-3-0-1 = 6
6. Frederick Lindgren 1*-1*-1-2* = 5+3
7. James Grieves 2-3-1*-1*-1-1 = 9+2
Heat Details
1. MAX, SKORNICKI, McGowan, Fisher(FX), Hancock(2mins) 1-5, 1-5.
Hancock excluded by two minute rule! Fisher replaces him and leads but then falls on bend 4, first lap and fetches off McGowan. The rerun is a Wolves 5-1 from tapes to flag. Great start and a season's fastest time for Mikael.
2. Davidsson, GRIEVES, LINDGREN, Fisher. 3-3, 4-8
From the gate but Fisher fell again on the 4th bend 1st lap when he was in last place. He remounted and completed the race.
3. HOWE, SKORNICKI, Iversson, McGowan 1-5, 5-13
Wolves from the gate, excellent move from Adam who moves wide on the 1st and 2nd bends to block Iversson’s line. McGowan almost falls at the back but recovers.
4. GRIEVES, Fisher, Dobrucki(EX), ERMOLENKO(EX) 2-3, 7-16
First time out Sam goes for the outside line on bend 3 as James goes wide as well. Sam falls and hits the pit gate fence and is excluded though he's not too happy with the line James took as they entered the bend! In the rerun, Dobrucki goes for the outside on the 2nd bend, James moves out and Dobrucki hits the fence as they start the back straight. 50-50 decision but the ref excludes the Oxford rider much to the home fans annoyance.
Rerun - Fine win from James from the gate.
5. SKORNICKI, MAX, Dobrucki (TR), Iversson 2-5, 9-21
Superb ride from Adam, expertly shepherded home by Mikael who team rode better than I have ever seen him do before. Iversson challenged with Dobrucki (on double points) nowhere, then Iversson fell on the last bend allowing Dobrucki the extra point! Can’t say if it was deliberate!
6. Hancock(TR), ERMOLENKO, LINDGREN, McGowan(X) 6-3, 15-24
Hancock leads from Sam, on 1st bend, 2nd lap McGowan makes a dive up the inside and takes Greg down and Sam has to avoid the carnage and falls as well! McGowan's excluded. In the rerun, Hancock passes Sam on 1st bend but Sam chases him and stays very close.
7. Dobrucki, HOWE, GRIEVES, Davidsson. 3-3, 18-27
Dobrucki won from the gate, David was close to the lead while James fended off Davidsson.
8. McGowan, SKORNICKI, GRIEVES, Davidsson. 3-3, 21-30
Adam joins James at the front for a 5-1 after the first lap and it looks good, but an excellent ride from McGowan who passes both Wolves on the outside during the 2nd lap to take the three points.
9. ERMOLENKO, Fisher, LINDGREN, Iversson 2-4, 23-34
Great race! Fisher leads for 2 laps but Sam blasts round him on the outside of the third bend on the second lap. Freddie passes Iversson on the inside, last bend of the race. It was a great move from both Wolves riders! Our tails were really up at this point.
10. McGowan, Hancock, GRIEVES, HOWE(FX) 5-1, 28-35
5-1 to Oxford when David falls at the beginning of the second lap while challenging. He was not hurt. No mistakes from Oxford in the rerun.
11. MAX, Dobrucki, SKORNICKI, Fisher(X) 2-4, 30-39
Fisher falls yet again in his favourite place, 4th bend (I’m sure he was aiming at a target on the air fence each time!). Great pass by Mike in the first bend of the rerun and Adam pushes Dobrucki hard too.
Unbelievably, at 9.50pm the referee fined Adam £100 for delaying the start. What a joke! Wagstaffe should have been fined about a £1,000 at that rate for delaying the meeting earlier!
12. HOWE, LINDGREN, McGowan, Iversson(fx) 2-5, 32-44
McGowan off 15 metres, double points. Iversson excluded after a 3rd lap fall. Yet another delay, at 10.05pm... Rerun - Great ride from Freddie who pins McGowan to the outside of the track. Travis tries too hard, goes too wide and slides off! He remounts and push starts the bike for the doubled point.
13. Hancock, MAX, Dobrucki, ERMOLENKO. 4-2, 36-46
Mikael leads, fine pass from Hancock on 3rd and 4th bend but 2nd place is enough for Wolves!
14. HOWE, Iversson, GRIEVES, Davidsson. 2-4, 38-50
Great pass by David on last bend. Good ride from James who held on for 3rd place.
15. MAX, Hancock, ERMOLENKO, Dobrucki. 2-4, 40-54
Another cracker... Hancock on the inside, Mikael outside for all 4 laps... Mike led for the whole race by a bike length. Great ride from Sam who pushed Hancock hard as well.
I have to say that I seriously doubted the wisdom of travelling to this meeting and almost didn’t make the effort. The factors that cause me to feel like that were: 1; our recent below par form, 2; the Oxford team’s recent good form, 3; our extremely poor form on the Sandy Lane track, and 4; the continued use of rider replacement.
I am incredibly glad that I did go because I witnessed probably the best Wolves away performance I have seen for many a year. Thank you to the team and the management for an incredible meeting that I will remember for a long, long time. Those few Wolves fans present (and all those who joined in on the Forum Live Updates page) were treated to a fantastic display of gritty, determined riding, a readiness to attack what looked like a very difficult track surface, and a solid team spirit that led to an extremely well-deserved victory.
In short, we saw maximum effort, maximum commitment and we got maximum enjoyment! It doesn’t get much better……
I imagine that Oxford’s supporters, team and management will not believe that so many things could go wrong on one night. I almost felt sorry for them – but then I remembered the last time I visited the stadium……..
WEATHER: **** Dry, patchy sunshine, and very cold as the evening wore on.
TRACK CONDITIONS: *** Looked awful when we arrived but the surface was deceiving and it rode better than it looked. Wolves riders handled it much better than the Oxford team – Hancock excluded. (I avoided the obvious pun here!)
ATTENDANCE: *** Reasonable crowd that strangely diminished as the match progressed. Probably a p****d off polecat.
WOLVES PERFORMANCE: ***** As good as it could be. Absolutely Brilliant. Simply Superb. Do you get the message?
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: **** For those of us supporting Wolves and neutrals. Oxford fans would have given it a single star – maybe.
REFEREE – Ronnie Allan – a tough meeting which handled very well indeed, apart from fining Adam.
WOLVES MAN OF THE MATCH: As ever, a very tough decision. I could have awarded it to any of the team but four men stood out. In the end I have decided that it should go to Adam because he not only rode an excellent meeting but he had to pick up his form from quite a low point after the Poole meeting. Well done Adam – you kicked off the meeting with two great paid wins which inspired the rest of the team to follow suit.
RIDERS PERFORMANCES:
MIKAEL: ***** Top riding on a circuit which I don’t think he would count amongst his favourites.
JAMES: **** Once again he comes to our rescue and delivers 100% effort. Fantastic never-give-up attitude.
DAVID: **** Excellent night’s racing topped by his brilliant last bend pass of McGowan in heat 14.
SAM: **** Unlucky in two races which limited his scoring but still a great effort.
FREDDIE: **** Deserves the four stars just for his fantastic ride to keep McGowan out when he was on double points. His knowledge of the lines the chasing rider was using was exceptional. But he also rode well in all his other races.
ADAM: ***** What a come back! Paid 12 from the arduous number 2 position is superb. I hope this performance silences his critics and gives him a deserved confidence boost.
Lawt
Very Proud to be a Wolf
Oxford
1. Greg Hancock X-6-2*-3-2 = 13+1
2. Travis McGowan 1-0-X-3-3-2 = 9
3. R/R for Ulamek 0-2-2-X = 4
4. N.K. Iversson 1-0-0-X-2 = 3
5. Rafal Dobrucki X-2-3-2-1-0 = 8
6. Jonas Davidsson 3-0-0-0 = 3
7. Ryan Fisher X-0-2-2-X = 4
Wolves
1. Mikael Max 3-2*-3-2-3 = 13+1
2. Adam Skornicki 2*-2*-3-2-1 = 10+2
3. R/R for Nermark 2*-1*-1-3 = 7+2
4. David Howe 3-2-X-3-3 = 11
5. Sam Ermolenko X-2-3-0-1 = 6
6. Frederick Lindgren 1*-1*-1-2* = 5+3
7. James Grieves 2-3-1*-1*-1-1 = 9+2
Heat Details
1. MAX, SKORNICKI, McGowan, Fisher(FX), Hancock(2mins) 1-5, 1-5.
Hancock excluded by two minute rule! Fisher replaces him and leads but then falls on bend 4, first lap and fetches off McGowan. The rerun is a Wolves 5-1 from tapes to flag. Great start and a season's fastest time for Mikael.
2. Davidsson, GRIEVES, LINDGREN, Fisher. 3-3, 4-8
From the gate but Fisher fell again on the 4th bend 1st lap when he was in last place. He remounted and completed the race.
3. HOWE, SKORNICKI, Iversson, McGowan 1-5, 5-13
Wolves from the gate, excellent move from Adam who moves wide on the 1st and 2nd bends to block Iversson’s line. McGowan almost falls at the back but recovers.
4. GRIEVES, Fisher, Dobrucki(EX), ERMOLENKO(EX) 2-3, 7-16
First time out Sam goes for the outside line on bend 3 as James goes wide as well. Sam falls and hits the pit gate fence and is excluded though he's not too happy with the line James took as they entered the bend! In the rerun, Dobrucki goes for the outside on the 2nd bend, James moves out and Dobrucki hits the fence as they start the back straight. 50-50 decision but the ref excludes the Oxford rider much to the home fans annoyance.
Rerun - Fine win from James from the gate.
5. SKORNICKI, MAX, Dobrucki (TR), Iversson 2-5, 9-21
Superb ride from Adam, expertly shepherded home by Mikael who team rode better than I have ever seen him do before. Iversson challenged with Dobrucki (on double points) nowhere, then Iversson fell on the last bend allowing Dobrucki the extra point! Can’t say if it was deliberate!
6. Hancock(TR), ERMOLENKO, LINDGREN, McGowan(X) 6-3, 15-24
Hancock leads from Sam, on 1st bend, 2nd lap McGowan makes a dive up the inside and takes Greg down and Sam has to avoid the carnage and falls as well! McGowan's excluded. In the rerun, Hancock passes Sam on 1st bend but Sam chases him and stays very close.
7. Dobrucki, HOWE, GRIEVES, Davidsson. 3-3, 18-27
Dobrucki won from the gate, David was close to the lead while James fended off Davidsson.
8. McGowan, SKORNICKI, GRIEVES, Davidsson. 3-3, 21-30
Adam joins James at the front for a 5-1 after the first lap and it looks good, but an excellent ride from McGowan who passes both Wolves on the outside during the 2nd lap to take the three points.
9. ERMOLENKO, Fisher, LINDGREN, Iversson 2-4, 23-34
Great race! Fisher leads for 2 laps but Sam blasts round him on the outside of the third bend on the second lap. Freddie passes Iversson on the inside, last bend of the race. It was a great move from both Wolves riders! Our tails were really up at this point.
10. McGowan, Hancock, GRIEVES, HOWE(FX) 5-1, 28-35
5-1 to Oxford when David falls at the beginning of the second lap while challenging. He was not hurt. No mistakes from Oxford in the rerun.
11. MAX, Dobrucki, SKORNICKI, Fisher(X) 2-4, 30-39
Fisher falls yet again in his favourite place, 4th bend (I’m sure he was aiming at a target on the air fence each time!). Great pass by Mike in the first bend of the rerun and Adam pushes Dobrucki hard too.
Unbelievably, at 9.50pm the referee fined Adam £100 for delaying the start. What a joke! Wagstaffe should have been fined about a £1,000 at that rate for delaying the meeting earlier!
12. HOWE, LINDGREN, McGowan, Iversson(fx) 2-5, 32-44
McGowan off 15 metres, double points. Iversson excluded after a 3rd lap fall. Yet another delay, at 10.05pm... Rerun - Great ride from Freddie who pins McGowan to the outside of the track. Travis tries too hard, goes too wide and slides off! He remounts and push starts the bike for the doubled point.
13. Hancock, MAX, Dobrucki, ERMOLENKO. 4-2, 36-46
Mikael leads, fine pass from Hancock on 3rd and 4th bend but 2nd place is enough for Wolves!
14. HOWE, Iversson, GRIEVES, Davidsson. 2-4, 38-50
Great pass by David on last bend. Good ride from James who held on for 3rd place.
15. MAX, Hancock, ERMOLENKO, Dobrucki. 2-4, 40-54
Another cracker... Hancock on the inside, Mikael outside for all 4 laps... Mike led for the whole race by a bike length. Great ride from Sam who pushed Hancock hard as well.
I have to say that I seriously doubted the wisdom of travelling to this meeting and almost didn’t make the effort. The factors that cause me to feel like that were: 1; our recent below par form, 2; the Oxford team’s recent good form, 3; our extremely poor form on the Sandy Lane track, and 4; the continued use of rider replacement.
I am incredibly glad that I did go because I witnessed probably the best Wolves away performance I have seen for many a year. Thank you to the team and the management for an incredible meeting that I will remember for a long, long time. Those few Wolves fans present (and all those who joined in on the Forum Live Updates page) were treated to a fantastic display of gritty, determined riding, a readiness to attack what looked like a very difficult track surface, and a solid team spirit that led to an extremely well-deserved victory.
In short, we saw maximum effort, maximum commitment and we got maximum enjoyment! It doesn’t get much better……
I imagine that Oxford’s supporters, team and management will not believe that so many things could go wrong on one night. I almost felt sorry for them – but then I remembered the last time I visited the stadium……..
WEATHER: **** Dry, patchy sunshine, and very cold as the evening wore on.
TRACK CONDITIONS: *** Looked awful when we arrived but the surface was deceiving and it rode better than it looked. Wolves riders handled it much better than the Oxford team – Hancock excluded. (I avoided the obvious pun here!)
ATTENDANCE: *** Reasonable crowd that strangely diminished as the match progressed. Probably a p****d off polecat.
WOLVES PERFORMANCE: ***** As good as it could be. Absolutely Brilliant. Simply Superb. Do you get the message?
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: **** For those of us supporting Wolves and neutrals. Oxford fans would have given it a single star – maybe.
REFEREE – Ronnie Allan – a tough meeting which handled very well indeed, apart from fining Adam.
WOLVES MAN OF THE MATCH: As ever, a very tough decision. I could have awarded it to any of the team but four men stood out. In the end I have decided that it should go to Adam because he not only rode an excellent meeting but he had to pick up his form from quite a low point after the Poole meeting. Well done Adam – you kicked off the meeting with two great paid wins which inspired the rest of the team to follow suit.
RIDERS PERFORMANCES:
MIKAEL: ***** Top riding on a circuit which I don’t think he would count amongst his favourites.
JAMES: **** Once again he comes to our rescue and delivers 100% effort. Fantastic never-give-up attitude.
DAVID: **** Excellent night’s racing topped by his brilliant last bend pass of McGowan in heat 14.
SAM: **** Unlucky in two races which limited his scoring but still a great effort.
FREDDIE: **** Deserves the four stars just for his fantastic ride to keep McGowan out when he was on double points. His knowledge of the lines the chasing rider was using was exceptional. But he also rode well in all his other races.
ADAM: ***** What a come back! Paid 12 from the arduous number 2 position is superb. I hope this performance silences his critics and gives him a deserved confidence boost.
Lawt
Very Proud to be a Wolf