Post by Lawt on Mar 23, 2005 16:53:09 GMT
Posted for Pieman:
WOLVES 55 OXFORD 38, AIR TEK CHALLENGE 2ND LEG, MONDAY 21ST MARCH
Parry’s International Wolves:
Mikael Max 3 3 3 2 =11
Ronnie Correy 1 2* 2* 2* =7+3
Fredrik Lindgren 3 1* 3 3 X =10+1
Steve Johnston 1 2 2* 2* =7+2
David Howe 3 2 2 1* X =8+1
Magnus Karlsson 3 0 0 3 =6
Krzysztof Pecyna 2* 1 3 0 =6+1
Silver Machine:
Greg Hancock 2 6^ 3 3 2* =16+2
Travis McGowan 0 R 0 1 =1
Niels Kristian Iversen 2 3 0 2 =7
Lukas Dryml 0 1 1 1 3 =6
Billy Hamill 2 R 2^ 0 =4
Tom P. Madsen R 1 0 1* =2+1
Kjastas Puodzuks 1 0 1 0 =2
^ = Tactical ride, double points scored.
Wolves win 95-86 on aggregate.
It was hard to believe at times that this match was a warm-up challenge fixture, as the Wolves went at it like a Cup final! All seven riders were absolutely flying all night to inflict an easy defeat on a poor Oxford side, with Freddie and Krys looking especially impressive. Every rider took at least a paid win, and if the team shows consistency like this throughout the season they could perform a lot better than many previously thought.
Before the start, I took predictions on how the aggregate result would turn out, but no-one predicted a win of this size for the Wolves!
Oxford won the toss and took gates 2 and 4.
Heat 1: Max, Hancock, Correy, McGowan, 58.72. 4-2, 4-2.
Mikael led all the way in the fastest time of the night, with Ronnie losing out to Hancock for second on lap two.
Heat 2: Karlsson, Pecyna, Puodzuks, Madsen (ret), 60.96. 5-1, 9-3.
Wolves’ reserves led all the way, while Madsen held third until his bike failed starting the last lap.
Heat 3: Lindgren, Iversen, Johnston, Dryml, 60.25. 4-2, 13-5.
Freddie and Johno led until the Aussie went wide allowing Puk inside him, but on lap two he was back ahead and they ran side by side until Puk found the grip on the inside to retake the place. Johno tried a last bend outside run, but stayed third. Freddie won, ending a cracking heat of speedway.
Heat 4: Howe, Hamill, Pecyna, Puodzuks, 59.64. 4-2, 17-7.
The meeting was now being rushed through as rain was falling, but none of this bothered David, who took Hamill on turn two and went on for the win, with Krys staying ahead of Pudsey at the back.
Heat 5: Hancock (double), Johnston, Lindgren, McGowan (ret), 59.88. 3-6, 20-13.
With the Cheetahs (oops!) ten points down, a double ride was inevitable. Hancock took advantage to lead all the way, while McGowan pulled off on lap one.
Heat 6: Max, Correy, Puodzuks, Hamill (ret), 61.67. 5-1, 25-14.
Hamill gated but then slowed and stopped after half a lap, leaving the Wolves to take another 5-1.
Heat 7: Iversen, Howe, Dryml, Karlsson, 61.83. 2-4, 27-18.
Puk led from the start, while Magnus went wide on turn two and was unable to make up the ground.
Heat 8: Pecyna, Correy, Madsen, McGowan, 61.56. 5-1, 32-19.
Wolves gated once again (what’s happened here?) with Krys emerging from turn one in front. Ronnie fought hard around the first two laps with Madsen, before just pulling clear for second behind Krys, who took a great first win in Britain.
Heat 9: Lindgren, Johnston, Hamill (double), Madsen, 60.44. 5-2, 37-21.
Another double ride was given to Hamill, but it proved little advantage to Oxford as Freddie and Johno team-rode to a great 5-2. Billy who?!
Heat 10: Max, Correy, Dryml, Iversen, 60.15. 5-1, 42-22.
The rain had abated by now, leaving Mikael slightly better conditions to take his third win. Behind him, Ronnie took Puk for third on turn two, with the Dane then almost fenced by team-mate Dryml on turn four handing Ronnie second! The Rocket left the visitors to scrap for third, with Dryml stuffing Puk wide again on the last turn for the point!
Heat 11: Hancock, Howe, McGowan, Karlsson, 59.80. 2-4, 44-26.
Wolves gated again but Magnus fell back behind the Oxford pair on lap one. Starting lap three Hancock found drive from nowhere to power around David for the win.
Heat 12: Lindgren, Iversen, Madsen, Pecyna, 60.23. 3-3, 47-29.
Freddie went inside both Oxford riders to lead, with Madsen coming back around the outside only to almost hit Freddie and fall back to third behind Puk.
Heat 13: Hancock, Max, Howe, Hamill, 59.73. 3-3, 50-32.
Oxford appeared to have lost the plot by now, as Dryml arrived at the tapes along with the ex-Spoons pairing! The Czech embarrassedly watched from the centre green, while Mikael put Hamill wide handing Hancock the lead. Wolves team-rode behind him to keep Hamill at the back.
Heat 14: Karlsson, Johnston, Dryml, Puodzuks, 59.99. 5-1, 55-33.
From the gate – again!
Heat 15 (re-run): Hancock, Dryml, Lindgren (f.exc), Howe (exc, not under power), 60.62. 0-5, 55-38.
Oxford once again lost it as Greg and Dryml came out in each other’s programmed helmet colours! David’s bike failed on the startline, while the visitors led. Starting lap two Freddie piled Dryml into the turn one fence (possibly in revenge for their clash at Monmore last season!), with the Wolves heat leader excluded. David also had to go due to his engine failure, leaving the Oxford pair to fight it out for the win in the rerun. Jokes were exchanged between Wolves fans as to whether they would take each other out in the process! Amazingly it almost happened, with Dryml aiming in on Hancock second time around, but they continued for the 5-0.
Five Star Ratings:
Weather: * Rain throughout the first half of the match, with the wind even blowing it under the main stand!
Track conditions: *** Not too bad, but fairly slick later on.
Attendance: **** A small stoat.
Wolves performance: ***** Brilliant all the way, even from the gate!
Entertainment value: ***** A quality match to kick-start the Monmore season.
Man of the Match: After much deliberation, it goes to David Howe for his victory over Hamill in heat four, and good consistency throughout.
Referee (Graham Reeve): ***** Called everything correctly.
Rider ratings:
Mikael Max: ***** Almost a full Max!
Ronnie Correy: **** Superb consistency from the difficult No.2 spot.
Fredrik Lindgren: ***** Great out-and-out speed all night.
Steve Johnston: **** An improvement on his performance at Cowley last week.
David Howe: ***** A great start to an important season.
Magnus Karlsson: **** Two good wins.
Krzysztof Pecyna: ***** Above everyone’s expectations.
A better start to the season could not have been possible, with the team gelling instantly to produce a top quality performance. Let’s hope this carries on to Belle Vue on Friday.
Once a Wolf, always a Wolf
Dave Goddard a.k.a. Pieman.
WOLVES 55 OXFORD 38, AIR TEK CHALLENGE 2ND LEG, MONDAY 21ST MARCH
Parry’s International Wolves:
Mikael Max 3 3 3 2 =11
Ronnie Correy 1 2* 2* 2* =7+3
Fredrik Lindgren 3 1* 3 3 X =10+1
Steve Johnston 1 2 2* 2* =7+2
David Howe 3 2 2 1* X =8+1
Magnus Karlsson 3 0 0 3 =6
Krzysztof Pecyna 2* 1 3 0 =6+1
Silver Machine:
Greg Hancock 2 6^ 3 3 2* =16+2
Travis McGowan 0 R 0 1 =1
Niels Kristian Iversen 2 3 0 2 =7
Lukas Dryml 0 1 1 1 3 =6
Billy Hamill 2 R 2^ 0 =4
Tom P. Madsen R 1 0 1* =2+1
Kjastas Puodzuks 1 0 1 0 =2
^ = Tactical ride, double points scored.
Wolves win 95-86 on aggregate.
It was hard to believe at times that this match was a warm-up challenge fixture, as the Wolves went at it like a Cup final! All seven riders were absolutely flying all night to inflict an easy defeat on a poor Oxford side, with Freddie and Krys looking especially impressive. Every rider took at least a paid win, and if the team shows consistency like this throughout the season they could perform a lot better than many previously thought.
Before the start, I took predictions on how the aggregate result would turn out, but no-one predicted a win of this size for the Wolves!
Oxford won the toss and took gates 2 and 4.
Heat 1: Max, Hancock, Correy, McGowan, 58.72. 4-2, 4-2.
Mikael led all the way in the fastest time of the night, with Ronnie losing out to Hancock for second on lap two.
Heat 2: Karlsson, Pecyna, Puodzuks, Madsen (ret), 60.96. 5-1, 9-3.
Wolves’ reserves led all the way, while Madsen held third until his bike failed starting the last lap.
Heat 3: Lindgren, Iversen, Johnston, Dryml, 60.25. 4-2, 13-5.
Freddie and Johno led until the Aussie went wide allowing Puk inside him, but on lap two he was back ahead and they ran side by side until Puk found the grip on the inside to retake the place. Johno tried a last bend outside run, but stayed third. Freddie won, ending a cracking heat of speedway.
Heat 4: Howe, Hamill, Pecyna, Puodzuks, 59.64. 4-2, 17-7.
The meeting was now being rushed through as rain was falling, but none of this bothered David, who took Hamill on turn two and went on for the win, with Krys staying ahead of Pudsey at the back.
Heat 5: Hancock (double), Johnston, Lindgren, McGowan (ret), 59.88. 3-6, 20-13.
With the Cheetahs (oops!) ten points down, a double ride was inevitable. Hancock took advantage to lead all the way, while McGowan pulled off on lap one.
Heat 6: Max, Correy, Puodzuks, Hamill (ret), 61.67. 5-1, 25-14.
Hamill gated but then slowed and stopped after half a lap, leaving the Wolves to take another 5-1.
Heat 7: Iversen, Howe, Dryml, Karlsson, 61.83. 2-4, 27-18.
Puk led from the start, while Magnus went wide on turn two and was unable to make up the ground.
Heat 8: Pecyna, Correy, Madsen, McGowan, 61.56. 5-1, 32-19.
Wolves gated once again (what’s happened here?) with Krys emerging from turn one in front. Ronnie fought hard around the first two laps with Madsen, before just pulling clear for second behind Krys, who took a great first win in Britain.
Heat 9: Lindgren, Johnston, Hamill (double), Madsen, 60.44. 5-2, 37-21.
Another double ride was given to Hamill, but it proved little advantage to Oxford as Freddie and Johno team-rode to a great 5-2. Billy who?!
Heat 10: Max, Correy, Dryml, Iversen, 60.15. 5-1, 42-22.
The rain had abated by now, leaving Mikael slightly better conditions to take his third win. Behind him, Ronnie took Puk for third on turn two, with the Dane then almost fenced by team-mate Dryml on turn four handing Ronnie second! The Rocket left the visitors to scrap for third, with Dryml stuffing Puk wide again on the last turn for the point!
Heat 11: Hancock, Howe, McGowan, Karlsson, 59.80. 2-4, 44-26.
Wolves gated again but Magnus fell back behind the Oxford pair on lap one. Starting lap three Hancock found drive from nowhere to power around David for the win.
Heat 12: Lindgren, Iversen, Madsen, Pecyna, 60.23. 3-3, 47-29.
Freddie went inside both Oxford riders to lead, with Madsen coming back around the outside only to almost hit Freddie and fall back to third behind Puk.
Heat 13: Hancock, Max, Howe, Hamill, 59.73. 3-3, 50-32.
Oxford appeared to have lost the plot by now, as Dryml arrived at the tapes along with the ex-Spoons pairing! The Czech embarrassedly watched from the centre green, while Mikael put Hamill wide handing Hancock the lead. Wolves team-rode behind him to keep Hamill at the back.
Heat 14: Karlsson, Johnston, Dryml, Puodzuks, 59.99. 5-1, 55-33.
From the gate – again!
Heat 15 (re-run): Hancock, Dryml, Lindgren (f.exc), Howe (exc, not under power), 60.62. 0-5, 55-38.
Oxford once again lost it as Greg and Dryml came out in each other’s programmed helmet colours! David’s bike failed on the startline, while the visitors led. Starting lap two Freddie piled Dryml into the turn one fence (possibly in revenge for their clash at Monmore last season!), with the Wolves heat leader excluded. David also had to go due to his engine failure, leaving the Oxford pair to fight it out for the win in the rerun. Jokes were exchanged between Wolves fans as to whether they would take each other out in the process! Amazingly it almost happened, with Dryml aiming in on Hancock second time around, but they continued for the 5-0.
Five Star Ratings:
Weather: * Rain throughout the first half of the match, with the wind even blowing it under the main stand!
Track conditions: *** Not too bad, but fairly slick later on.
Attendance: **** A small stoat.
Wolves performance: ***** Brilliant all the way, even from the gate!
Entertainment value: ***** A quality match to kick-start the Monmore season.
Man of the Match: After much deliberation, it goes to David Howe for his victory over Hamill in heat four, and good consistency throughout.
Referee (Graham Reeve): ***** Called everything correctly.
Rider ratings:
Mikael Max: ***** Almost a full Max!
Ronnie Correy: **** Superb consistency from the difficult No.2 spot.
Fredrik Lindgren: ***** Great out-and-out speed all night.
Steve Johnston: **** An improvement on his performance at Cowley last week.
David Howe: ***** A great start to an important season.
Magnus Karlsson: **** Two good wins.
Krzysztof Pecyna: ***** Above everyone’s expectations.
A better start to the season could not have been possible, with the team gelling instantly to produce a top quality performance. Let’s hope this carries on to Belle Vue on Friday.
Once a Wolf, always a Wolf
Dave Goddard a.k.a. Pieman.
