Post by Pieman on Apr 19, 2005 10:57:20 GMT
WOLVES 49 ARENA-ESSEX 47, ELITE LEAGUE A, MONDAY 18TH APRIL
Parry’s International Wolves:
Mikael Max 3 3 3 3 1 =13
Ronnie Correy 1 1 2 2* =6+1
Fredrik Lindgren 1 3 1* 3 0 =8+1
Steve Johnston 3 R 2 3 =8
David Howe 2 3 1 0 =6
Magnus Karlsson 2* 1 0 F =3+1
Krzysztof Pecyna 3 1* 1* 0 =5+2
Husqvarna Hammers:
Gary Havelock 2 2 6^ 1* 3 =14+1
Roman Povazhny 0 1* 3 2* =6+2
Leigh Lanham 2 2 1 2 =7
Josh Larsen 0 0 0 2 =2
Tony Rickardsson 3 2 6^ 2 2* =15+1
Paul Hurry R 0 0 1* =1+1
Piotr Swist 1 0 0 1* =2+1
Arena-Essex win 99-90 on aggregate.
This was a match of two halves if ever I saw one! Wolves pulled away well in the first half with good riding all round, and even the bonus point looked a possibility. In the later heats, however, the team failed to adapt to the changing areas of grip on the track and almost lost the win on the night, David and Magnus in particular unable to find drive when it was most needed.
Arena won the toss and took gates one and three.
Heat 1: Max, Havelock, Correy, Povazhny, 56.62. 4-2, 4-2.
Mikael led all the way after slight contact with Povazhny (remember his days as a Wolf?) on the first turn, while Ronnie chased Havelock until lifting a little on lap two. Povazhny almost clipped the fence on the last lap.
Heat 2 (re-run): Pecyna, Karlsson, Swist, Hurry, 57.78. 5-1, 9-3.
Hurry moved off early on the first attempt, with the rerun seeing Krys make his usual fast gate to lead all the way. Hurry tried the outside line on Magnus only for his bike to fail on the last lap.
Heat 3: Johnston, Lanham, Lindgren, Larsen, 58.90. 4-2, 13-5.
Freddie missed the start but tried to go between the Hammers on turn one, taking Larsen for third. He tried the outside on Lanham but couldn’t quite get up to join the rapid Johno for the 5-1.
Heat 4: Rickardsson, Howe, Pecyna, Swist, 57.04. 3-3, 16-8.
The Arena pair gated, but both Wolves passed Swist down the back straight. Rickardsson took his customary win.
Heat 5: Lindgren, Havelock, Povazhny, Johnston (ret), 58.24. 3-3, 19-11.
Johno’s bike failed as they left the line, while the visitors led. Freddie then produced a stunning ride to go outside of Povazhny on lap two, then cut inside Havelock a lap later for a great win.
Heat 6: Max, Rickardsson, Correy, Hurry, 57.09. 4-2, 23-13.
The eight-point margin meant that Rickardsson couldn’t be given a Tactical Ride in this heat, but he still led into turn one. Mikael then surprised many by powering past on the outside for the lead and the win in a time only just slower than Rickardsson in heat four, while Ronnie was not too far away either.
Heat 7 (re-run): Howe, Lanham, Karlsson, Larsen, 58.15. 4-2, 27-15.
Wolves gated, so the race was stopped and re-run. The home pair gated again in the re-run, with Lanham taking second on the second despite Magnus trying his hardest.
Heat 8: Povazhny, Correy, Pecyna, Swist, 58.97. 3-3, 30-18.
Povazhny led all the way, while Swist missed the start and was kept at the back.
Heat 9: Rickardsson (double), Johnston, Lindgren, Hurry, 57.45. 3-6, 33-24.
With the lead at twelve and Rickardsson in this heat, it was obvious the black and white helmet would appear. Rickardsson, Johno and Freddie all went side by side down the back straight on lap one, emerging in that order.
Heat 10: Max, Correy, Lanham, Larsen, 58.51. 5-1, 38-25.
Wolves led out of the second turn and were away for a good 5-1.
Heat 11: Havelock (double), Povazhny, Howe, Karlsson, 59.21. 1-8, 39-33.
This was the turning point in the match. with Wolves missing the gate and David, who ran second initially, failing to find that the grip had switched to the outside allowing Havelock through and eventually past his team mate for the win, and the bonus point was all but secured for Arena.
Heat 12: Lindgren, Lanham, Hurry, Pecyna, 58.69. 3-3, 42-36.
Hurry tried to take Freddie wide on the first turn, but that only pushed him into the dirt and he found the drive to take the lead. Arena team-rode Krys out of the points.
Heat 13: Max, Rickardsson, Havelock, Howe, 58.49. 3-3, 45-39.
Arena gated but it was Mikael who led out of the first turn, with David holding out Rickardsson briefly until the Swede found the drive to take him. Mikael took the win to secure the match.
Heat 14: Johnston, Larsen, Swist, Karlsson (fell), 59.23. 3-3, 48-42.
Johno brilliantly went around the other three on turn two for the lead, before Larsen drove inside Magnus into turn three for the second time, the Wolf hitting the deck although no contact was visible (it looked as though Magnus’s bike failed). Magnus got of the track in time so the race continued, with Johno taking a good win.
Heat 15: Havelock, Rickardsson, Max, Lindgren, 58.73. 1-5, 49-47.
Wolves lost out at the gate, with Mikael briefly moving past Rickardsson for second. The Arena pair hugged the outside line, and pulled away for the win and the bonus point.
Five star ratings:
Weather: ***** Rain was forecast but it stayed away.
Track conditions: **** Perfect early on, but the inside slickened in the later heats.
Attendance: **** Difficult to judge, so I’ll say a chinchilla.
Wolves Performance: *** Two thirds good, one third not so good.
Entertainment value: **** Close fighting all night, especially between the heat leaders.
Man of the Match: Mikael Max gets the award this week for his two defeats of Rickardsson.
Referee: ***** No decisions to make.
Rider ratings:
Mikael Max: **** One ride short of a full Max.
Ronnie Correy: **** Looked as fast and consistent as ever.
Fredrik Lindgren: **** Brilliant racing from the back.
Steve Johnston: **** Getting there…
David Howe: *** Did not read the track well in the later heats.
Magnus Karlsson: ** Looked slower than his usual Monmore form.
Krzysztof Pecyna: *** Fast gating once again.
The main thing in this match was, apart from the Wolves win, that the racing was close all night. The track could have been slightly better prepared later on, but the two 8-1 heat losses were our undoing when it came to the bonus. Let’s hope for a good performance at Eastbourne this Saturday, and of course back at the Green against Swindon next week.
Once a Wolf, always a Wolf
Dave Goddard a.k.a. Pieman
Parry’s International Wolves:
Mikael Max 3 3 3 3 1 =13
Ronnie Correy 1 1 2 2* =6+1
Fredrik Lindgren 1 3 1* 3 0 =8+1
Steve Johnston 3 R 2 3 =8
David Howe 2 3 1 0 =6
Magnus Karlsson 2* 1 0 F =3+1
Krzysztof Pecyna 3 1* 1* 0 =5+2
Husqvarna Hammers:
Gary Havelock 2 2 6^ 1* 3 =14+1
Roman Povazhny 0 1* 3 2* =6+2
Leigh Lanham 2 2 1 2 =7
Josh Larsen 0 0 0 2 =2
Tony Rickardsson 3 2 6^ 2 2* =15+1
Paul Hurry R 0 0 1* =1+1
Piotr Swist 1 0 0 1* =2+1
Arena-Essex win 99-90 on aggregate.
This was a match of two halves if ever I saw one! Wolves pulled away well in the first half with good riding all round, and even the bonus point looked a possibility. In the later heats, however, the team failed to adapt to the changing areas of grip on the track and almost lost the win on the night, David and Magnus in particular unable to find drive when it was most needed.
Arena won the toss and took gates one and three.
Heat 1: Max, Havelock, Correy, Povazhny, 56.62. 4-2, 4-2.
Mikael led all the way after slight contact with Povazhny (remember his days as a Wolf?) on the first turn, while Ronnie chased Havelock until lifting a little on lap two. Povazhny almost clipped the fence on the last lap.
Heat 2 (re-run): Pecyna, Karlsson, Swist, Hurry, 57.78. 5-1, 9-3.
Hurry moved off early on the first attempt, with the rerun seeing Krys make his usual fast gate to lead all the way. Hurry tried the outside line on Magnus only for his bike to fail on the last lap.
Heat 3: Johnston, Lanham, Lindgren, Larsen, 58.90. 4-2, 13-5.
Freddie missed the start but tried to go between the Hammers on turn one, taking Larsen for third. He tried the outside on Lanham but couldn’t quite get up to join the rapid Johno for the 5-1.
Heat 4: Rickardsson, Howe, Pecyna, Swist, 57.04. 3-3, 16-8.
The Arena pair gated, but both Wolves passed Swist down the back straight. Rickardsson took his customary win.
Heat 5: Lindgren, Havelock, Povazhny, Johnston (ret), 58.24. 3-3, 19-11.
Johno’s bike failed as they left the line, while the visitors led. Freddie then produced a stunning ride to go outside of Povazhny on lap two, then cut inside Havelock a lap later for a great win.
Heat 6: Max, Rickardsson, Correy, Hurry, 57.09. 4-2, 23-13.
The eight-point margin meant that Rickardsson couldn’t be given a Tactical Ride in this heat, but he still led into turn one. Mikael then surprised many by powering past on the outside for the lead and the win in a time only just slower than Rickardsson in heat four, while Ronnie was not too far away either.
Heat 7 (re-run): Howe, Lanham, Karlsson, Larsen, 58.15. 4-2, 27-15.
Wolves gated, so the race was stopped and re-run. The home pair gated again in the re-run, with Lanham taking second on the second despite Magnus trying his hardest.
Heat 8: Povazhny, Correy, Pecyna, Swist, 58.97. 3-3, 30-18.
Povazhny led all the way, while Swist missed the start and was kept at the back.
Heat 9: Rickardsson (double), Johnston, Lindgren, Hurry, 57.45. 3-6, 33-24.
With the lead at twelve and Rickardsson in this heat, it was obvious the black and white helmet would appear. Rickardsson, Johno and Freddie all went side by side down the back straight on lap one, emerging in that order.
Heat 10: Max, Correy, Lanham, Larsen, 58.51. 5-1, 38-25.
Wolves led out of the second turn and were away for a good 5-1.
Heat 11: Havelock (double), Povazhny, Howe, Karlsson, 59.21. 1-8, 39-33.
This was the turning point in the match. with Wolves missing the gate and David, who ran second initially, failing to find that the grip had switched to the outside allowing Havelock through and eventually past his team mate for the win, and the bonus point was all but secured for Arena.
Heat 12: Lindgren, Lanham, Hurry, Pecyna, 58.69. 3-3, 42-36.
Hurry tried to take Freddie wide on the first turn, but that only pushed him into the dirt and he found the drive to take the lead. Arena team-rode Krys out of the points.
Heat 13: Max, Rickardsson, Havelock, Howe, 58.49. 3-3, 45-39.
Arena gated but it was Mikael who led out of the first turn, with David holding out Rickardsson briefly until the Swede found the drive to take him. Mikael took the win to secure the match.
Heat 14: Johnston, Larsen, Swist, Karlsson (fell), 59.23. 3-3, 48-42.
Johno brilliantly went around the other three on turn two for the lead, before Larsen drove inside Magnus into turn three for the second time, the Wolf hitting the deck although no contact was visible (it looked as though Magnus’s bike failed). Magnus got of the track in time so the race continued, with Johno taking a good win.
Heat 15: Havelock, Rickardsson, Max, Lindgren, 58.73. 1-5, 49-47.
Wolves lost out at the gate, with Mikael briefly moving past Rickardsson for second. The Arena pair hugged the outside line, and pulled away for the win and the bonus point.
Five star ratings:
Weather: ***** Rain was forecast but it stayed away.
Track conditions: **** Perfect early on, but the inside slickened in the later heats.
Attendance: **** Difficult to judge, so I’ll say a chinchilla.
Wolves Performance: *** Two thirds good, one third not so good.
Entertainment value: **** Close fighting all night, especially between the heat leaders.
Man of the Match: Mikael Max gets the award this week for his two defeats of Rickardsson.
Referee: ***** No decisions to make.
Rider ratings:
Mikael Max: **** One ride short of a full Max.
Ronnie Correy: **** Looked as fast and consistent as ever.
Fredrik Lindgren: **** Brilliant racing from the back.
Steve Johnston: **** Getting there…
David Howe: *** Did not read the track well in the later heats.
Magnus Karlsson: ** Looked slower than his usual Monmore form.
Krzysztof Pecyna: *** Fast gating once again.
The main thing in this match was, apart from the Wolves win, that the racing was close all night. The track could have been slightly better prepared later on, but the two 8-1 heat losses were our undoing when it came to the bonus. Let’s hope for a good performance at Eastbourne this Saturday, and of course back at the Green against Swindon next week.
Once a Wolf, always a Wolf
Dave Goddard a.k.a. Pieman
?? We are just a bunch of faceless cowards!!!!
