Post by Mr X on Apr 9, 2006 14:14:56 GMT
Saturday 8 April 2006, Eastbourne Eagles 46 Wolves 44
Elite League (A) – 1st leg.
Eastbourne Eagles
David Norris 2 1* 2 0 5 + 1
Andrew Moore 0 2 Fx 1* 3 + 1
Dean Barker 1* 2 2* 3 8 + 2
Adam Shields 2 1* 3 3 0 9 + 1
Nicki Pedersen 3 3 3 2 2 13
Brent Werner 3 Fx 3
Lewis Bridger 1 1 1 0 1 1 5
Parry’s International Wolves
Peter Karlsson 3 3 2 1 9
Magnus Karlsson 1 0 3 1* 5 + 1
Ronnie Correy 0 1* 0 2 3 + 1
Fredrik Lindgren 3 2 3 2 1 11
Billy Hamill 2 3 1 3 3 12
Daniel Giffard 0 0 0 0
Christian Hefenbrock 2 0 2* 0 0 4 + 1
Wolves embarked on the long journey down to the south coast expecting a close match. With Ben Wilson, William Lawson and Lee Smethills all in action for their PL teams, Redcar’s Daniel Giffard, a young rider with experience of the Arlington circuit was called in. A cold north wind brought rain and hail showers with it but these thankfully avoided us and the meeting got underway on a dry and chilly night.
PK called tails in the coin toss for gate positions, but as expected the prevailing north wind clashing with the breeze coming off the Sussex coast just caught the edge of the coin in mid air, altering its trajectory just enough to see it land heads side up. I’m sure if Peter had the call to make all over again he’d have taken this into account. Oh well, “them’s the breaks” as they say. Eastbourne chose gates 1 and 3.
Heat 1 - Peter Karlsson ; David Norris ; Magnus Karlsson ; Andrew Moore ; (2-4)(2-4)
A great start by Magnus from the outside gate and he takes the lead. Norris wastes no time in getting past him by the end of the 1st lap, only for PK to come storming through from the back. Pete takes Magnus by the end of the second lap and surprises everyone (especially Norris) by driving inside him going down the back straight and into the 3rd bend on lap 3. Excellent ride from PK and another frantic opening race.
Heat 2 - Brent Werner ; Christian Hefenbrock ; Lewis Bridger ; Daniel Giffard ; (4-2)(6-6)
It’s Werner from the gate with Christian looking comfortable in second in his first race on the track. Bridger easily overhauls Giffard for 3rd place on the 2nd lap.
Heat 3 - Fredrik Lindgren ; Adam Shields ; Dean Barker ; Ronnie Correy ; (3-3)(9-9)
A good outside line from Freddie on the 1st lap and he takes the lead. Ronnie stays very close to the Eastbourne pair but can’t quite find a pass on the inside.
Heat 4 - Nicki Pedersen ; Billy Hamill ; Lewis Bridger ; Christian Hefenbrock ; (4-2)(13-11)
Pedersen storms away from Hamill at the front looking very fast. Bridger beats Christian comfortably which is a blow for Wolves.
Heat 5 - Peter Karlsson ; Dean Barker ; Adam Shields ; Magnus Karlsson ; (3-3)(16-14)
Easy win for PK but its another of those nothing races for Magnus who is well adrift at the back.
Heat 6 - Billy Hamill ; Andrew Moore ; David Norris ; Daniel Giffard ; (3-3)(19-17)
Billy hits the front but the red lights come on. The referee Chris Gay warns Hamill to stay still at the start much to the shock of the Wolves fans who all agree that they couldn’t remember Billy ever moving at the start before! In the rerun Billy makes just as good a start and rides a very wide line scraping the fence on the 2nd bend on his way to a good win.
Heat 7 - Nicki Pedersen ; Fredrik Lindgren ; Ronnie Correy ; Brent Werner(Fx) ; (3-3)(22-20)
Brent Werner is trailing going into the 3rd bend when he takes a heavy fall and his bike somersaults over the fence, fortunately in a place where no spectators were stood. He’s excluded and eventually leaves the track clutching his shoulder. After the delay, Freddie makes a good start to emerge from the first bend in front of Nicki who charges round him on the 3rd and 4th bend. Freddie considers an outside move of his own but wisely thinks better of it with Pedersen in such form and has to settle for second. Pedersen actually offers him a handshake after the race which Freddie accepts!
Heat 8 - Magnus Karlsson ; Christian Hefenbrock ; Lewis Bridger ; Andrew Moore(Fx) ; (1-5)(23-25)
The first sniff of controversy. The Wolves pair gate first and Moore gets it all wrong coming out of the 2nd bend and slides off gently. He looks up, sees the Wolves 5-1 and decides to stay down, gesturing wildly to the referee that his bike is pinning him to the track. He’s unlikely to win any Oscars and the referee puts the red lights on at the very moment that Bridger falls spectacularly on the 3rd bend. Moore is excluded and Bridger is fortunate that referee Chris Gay either didn’t see his fall or decided that it happened after the race had been stopped and was allowed back in the rerun. The Wolves pair make no mistakes in the rerun and secure the 5-1 to put us two points in front at the interval.
In the interval it is confirmed that Brent Werner is out of the meeting with a shoulder / collarbone injury and the meeting looks there for the taking for Wolves. The team look well motivated for the win in the pits, though you had to feel for Daniel Giffard who looks a forlorn figure sat on his own in the corner of the pits while the other six team members talk tactics and gee each other up for the “2nd half.” Uncle Bob works his magic during the interval re-grading the track furiously. It’s noticeable that the track staff are doing their usual trick of only grading the gates to be used by home riders in the next race… this is par for the course at Eastbourne and probably the only track who do this to such an extent.
Heat 9 - Adam Shields ; Dean Barker ; Billy Hamill ; Daniel Giffard ; (5-1)(28-26)
This was a shocker for Wolves. Not sure how much effect the track and gate work had on this result but it seems too much of a coincidence that Billy makes a dreadful start from the inside and try as he might he can’t find a way past Barker for 2nd place. The grip is on the outside now and Barker shows Hamill his back wheel and the fence throughout. Eastbourne take the lead again.
Heat 10 - Fredrik Lindgren ; David Norris ; Andrew Moore ; Ronnie Correy ; (3-3)(31-29)
Another fine win for Freddie. At the back we have the classic battle between the white liner (Ronnie) and the fence scraper (Andrew Moore). Ronnie turns the bike tight and passes Moore going into the bends as Moore picks up the drive and flies back round him coming out of the bends. The outside is the better line however and Moore takes the point.
Heat 11 - Nicki Pedersen ; Peter Karlsson ; Magnus Karlsson ; Lewis Bridger ; (3-3)(34-32)
Pedersen makes a fine start from the inside and pulls away for an easy win. PK looks to be struggling in this one but holds a safe 3rd in front of Magnus who beats Bridger easily.
With Pedersen looking unbeatable, Wolves bring in Christian to replace the out of touch Giffard as we look to get back onto level terms.
Heat 12 - Dean Barker ; Ronnie Correy ; Lewis Bridger ; Christian Hefenbrock ; (4-2)(38-34)
The home pairing are first away but Barker does Bridger no favours and gets in his way at the end of lap 1. Ronnie takes his chance and storms past on the inside but Christian is unable to follow him and the lead is extended to 4. Now we desperately need an advantage – somehow – from heat 13.
Heat 13 - Billy Hamill ; Nicki Pedersen ; Peter Karlsson ; David Norris ; (2-4)(40-38)
An absolutely storming winning for Billy Hamill over a previously unbeaten Nicki Pedersen. Hamill is off gate 3 and just inside Pedersen. They make an even start but Hamill launches himself so quickly into the first bend and his whole body language is screaming “you’re not coming round the outside of me Nicki!”. Even Pedersen thinks better of it and has to concede the lead to the aggressive American. PK has a look up the inside on lap 1 and almost edges in front of Pedersen who has the faster outside line but there’s no catching Hamill at the front who wins the race in classic style. The lead is back down to 2 points and we’re still in with a chance.
Heat 14 - Adam Shields ; Fredrik Lindgren ; Lewis Bridger ; Christian Hefenbrock ; (4-2)(44-40)
Wolves need at least a 3-3 here but Christian takes a tumble on the 2nd bend and the race is stopped. He’s very lucky to be allowed back in the rerun, but Bridger makes another excellent start and Eastbourne have a 5-1 for the first lap. Freddie soon passes Bridger but can’t catch Shields at the front. Christian chases Bridger for 3rd but spins round 360 degrees (Dukie Ermolenko style) on the 3rd bend of lap 3 and the vital point slips away. Bridger has taken two vital 3rd places in from of Christian and celebrates by falling off on the celebration lap, then falling again as he pulls a huge wheelie over the line. Just our luck – he gets a vital 3rd place then falls twice on the victory lap!
Heat 15 - Billy Hamill ; Nicki Pedersen ; Fredrik Lindgren ; Adam Shields ; (2-4)(46-44)
Wolves need a very unlikely 5-1 for a draw and nominate Hamill and Lindgren (and not PK) as Eastbourne win the gate and put Pedersen off gate 1.
Billy Hamill makes another storming start and first bend off gate 4 and is briefly joined at the front by Freddie who is on the inside. Pedersen switches to the outside line and charges round Freddie on the 4th bend. Billy is looking to team ride with Freddie for the match saving 5-1 but has to go for the win when he sees Pedersen so close behind him. That’s the way it stays and Wolves are agonisingly close to a great away win…
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Report generated at www.speedwayplus.co.uk
* = Bonus Point
^ = Tactical Ride - Double Points from the tapes
! = Tactical Substitute - Double Points from 15 Metres
Weather: The glow of the moon shimmering off the branches of the tree on the 2nd bend showed that the temperature hovered around the 5 to 7 degree Celsius mark throughout the meeting.
Track: Well prepared. Not very oval. Fast outside line. Gates favoured the home riders throughout.
Attendance: Not huge but a good turnout of travelling Wolves fans.
Wolves Performance: Very close to a vital away win. Very encouraging but in the final reckoning not quite enough support for the heat leaders.
Entertainment: A close, tense meeting and some good, clean racing.
Referee: Chris Gay. Should have excluded Christian in heat 14 and must have been having hallucinating when he thought he saw Billy roll at the start.
Man of the Match: Billy Hamill is an easy choice after his stunning wins in heats 13 and 15.
Rider Ratings: (now on a scale of ten with 6 being the average expectation)
Peter Karlsson: 8 Suffering from a fever which was probably why he didn’t get the nod for heat 15. Slightly down on his brilliant form so far this season but still beat everyone bar Pedersen.
Magnus Karlsson: 7 One poor ride but otherwise a much better performance.
Ronnie Correy: 5 He was always in the thick of the action and it’s a surprise to look back and see he only actually beat Lewis Bridger. Rode his customary tight inside line but the dirt was out wide tonight.
Fredrik Lindgren: 8 Another assured performance. Adapts brilliantly to all shapes and sizes of away track.
Billy Hamill: 9 An astonishing performance in heats 13 and 15 where he bullied Pedersen into submission with two fantastic, aggressive rides. Brilliant stuff.
Christian Hefenbrock: 5 Adapted well to the track in the early stages but his three dropped points to Lewis Bridger were vital in the final reckoning.
Daniel Giffard: 4 Tried hard no doubt but never looked liked scoring.
So there you have it, a fine performance but an agonising two point defeat. In the final analysis, this was a match there for the taking at the interval with Brent Werner out but Wolves just fell short. I’m still happy that this team can go to most away tracks and have a chance to win, and we should be very strong at home.
Peterborough at home on Monday, then the Good Friday marathon. See you there.
Mark Rowe.
