Wolves V Belle Vue EL 18/6/2012

[stevebrum]

I thought at one stage we were determined to throw this away tonight!

A confident start and 10 up after 5 heats we ceetainly looked determined and the Aces very much there for the taking.

4 accidents by Wolves riders nearly forced points in Jim Lynch`s hands.

Pontus had a nasty get off in heat 6 even tho he was at the back. His machine kept lifting alarmingly on every lap , eventually it spat him off with some anger. Result a ripped off nailed bed to his thumb and a trip to the hospital.

Heat 7 was about as predictable as it gets. Miskowiak in as a tactical. Stone last after failing to hold onto 2nd.

This it where it started to go wrong.

Heat 8 was no surprise with King Artur in good form.

Ty then went and got out of shape in heat 9 on a tricky patch on midle of 3rd/4th bend whilst in 2nd. He was down for a while and eventually got to his feet , limping off holding his side - he wasnt to be seen again either.

Then Freddie got into the same trouble chasing Cook for a couple of laps and fell in the same place as ty and went down arkwardly on his shoulder - i must admit i feared for a while it was another rider with a shoulder injury - no surprise to see the Aces get a maximum in the re-run. In the first staging Wolves were on a 3 all.

After the break we came back fighting, freddie riding Ricky to a superb 5-1 over Schlein in 11.

Heat 12 looked the same for 3 laps, another 5-1 on the cards. However Adam picked up grip and clattered the 4th bend fence - he too was down a while. The irony comment from behind me was "once a spoon , always a spoon". To his credit he battled hard all night.

Thank god for exams and thank god no Lukasz. Otherwise we may well have been in the brown stuff again.

WOLVES

FREDDIE - 5 excellent wins, yet struggled to catch cook in heat 10 prior to the crash. Against stronger opposition i doubt he would have gone thru the cards. However ill take 15 out of 5 completed rides as a good night. 4.5/5 (would have been 5 IF he had caught Cook).

PONTUS - Easy win over the rubbish Russsian in heat 1, then had trouble controlling the bike in his next. Hope he is ok. 1/5

BOBBY - Great when gates, rubbish behind. Paid 12 looks a good score and i suppose he more than did his job. I`m still not convinced however. 3.5/5

TY - Seems to be overtrying a little to hard at the moment and he locked it too hard in heat 9. Again, hope he too is ok. 2/5

rr - scored 7+2. Still is nowhere near enough.

RICKY - another good night for Ricky and featured in some cracking heats with Freddie. Paid 15 another good night 4/5

ADAM - NOW, THIS is what we want from a number 7. Battles, can win races and beat quality riders. Bye bye Lukasz, bye bye. 4/5 MOTM

ACES

Schlein - i imagine he still isnt up to fitness yet still . Had the pace but didnt seem capable of holding onto leads or battling thru traffic. Have seen him have tremendous meetings at the Green, plus average ones like this. 2/5

rr - scored 3. Patrick could have made a huge difference tonight.

Artur.- Started like a bullet. Quick, out the gate and gone. However in traffic, not so good. That said a superb nite for him. 4/5 Aces MOTM

Cook - Looked quick and more than capable. Great to see a British lad coming thru the ranks. Nearly had Freddie as a Monmore scalp. Good night for Cookie. 3.5/5

Lemon - Didnt actually beat a Wolves rider, Charlie would have scored more. 1.5/5

Dryml - im amazed he scored as much as paid 9. Up until heat 14 he hadnt even beaten a Wolves rider! So the win in heat 14 was a surprise and a hugely flattering scoreline for a rider, bar heat 14 who did little. 1.5/5

Gafurov - Awful. Truly awful. Sowka in a russian race jacket. 0/5

The aces will rightly feel that could have won this with Charlie and Patrick in, and i believe they stood a chance of a point at the least.

However that said our scoreline should have neen more comprehensive , falls saw paid to a huge win.

[richiej95]

The Wolverhampton Wolves came on strong in the closing stages after a superb Belle Vue Aces fightback to eventually take a 51-42 victory at Monmore Green to snatch all 3 points.

The meeting opened in nervy fashion, as Belle Vue man Craig Cook blasted through the tapes. A cracking opening race then followed in the rerun, as Freddie Lindgren charged inside opposition number one Rory Schlein coming off turn 4 on lap 2 to give Wolves a 4-2 thanks to Pontus Aspgren taking third.

Reserve pairing Ricky Wells and guest Adam Roynon then raced clear from the gate for a comfortable heat 2 maximum to stretch the Wolves advantage to 6 early on.

Belle Vue swiftly began a fightback, with Artur Mroczka holding on under pressure fromTy Proctor to instigate an Aces 4-2.

Reserves Roynon and Wells again combined for a 5-1 next time out though, with in-form Wells rounding Aces pair Gafurov and Lemon within the space of a lap to join Roynon at the front.

Another mistake then cost Belle Bue dear, as Alea Dryml blasted through the tapes in heat 5, before Robert Miskowiak held off Mroczka for a 4-2 thanks to Proctor crossing the line in third.

A nasty crash for Pontus Aspgren at the back saw heat 6 declared level with Freddie Lindgren at the front at the time of the fall, preserving that 10 point Wolves lead.

Yet the visiting Aces struck a massive 8-1 in the 7th race of the night, as Craig Cook race round to join Artur Mroczka, wearing the black and white helmet, at the front to move Belle Vue back within 3.

Yet another win for the fast Mroczka in heat 8 kept the Manchester outfit in touch with a 3-3, before another level race in heat 9 after Miskowiak overcame the exclusion of partner Proctor after a fall to take the chequered flag.

Soon, Belle Vue had a shock lead, as Cook and Mroczka were gifted a 5-1 after first Freddie Lindgren was excluded after a nasty fall and then Adam Roynon fell in the rerun before picking himself up to take a point.

Yet Wolves would not lie down, and they instantly restored their 3 point advantage with a 5-1 from Lindgren and Wells who team rode home from Schlein superbly after Wells pulled off a stunning move to blast around the Aces pair on turn 2.

Wolves threw away some precious points next time out, as Adam Roynon fell whilst on a 5-1 with Robert Miskowiak, although the race was awarded, meaning Wolves stayed ahead.

Heat 13 would turn out to be vital, as Wells and Lindgren again combined for a maximum over Schlein to all but wrap up a Wolves victory, giving them a 7 point lead with only two heats remaining.

Wolves were assured of victory despite a Belle Vue heat advantage in the penultimate race of the night, but it was all still to play for going into heat 15 with it still to be decided if Belle Vue would take a losing bonus point.

RIDER RATINGS (/5)

Wolves:

Fredrik Lindgren:- Looked quick and despite what people say, still think he would have taken Cook before he fell. 4.5

Pontus Aspgren:- Got a point in his first ride, just a shame he got spat of the bike as he looked relatively quick in first. 2

Robert Miskowiak:- Not convincing, but even if he is just a gater his scores have been excellent, with last night no exception. 4

Ty Proctor:- Not great in first two but did beat opponents, unfortunate to be caught out on turn 3/4. 3

Ricky Wells:- Superb again, continues to hit big scores, and his 5-1s with Freddie late on were absolutely vital. 4.5 MOTM

Adam Roynon:- A superb guest, which made the difference between a win and a loss. Relieved we still got maximum points after that fall on an easy 5-1 though! 4.5

Belle Vue

Rory Schlein:- Looked pretty quick but just couldn't convert it into points, gating was poor, not a good enough score. 2

Artur Mroczka:- Superb performance, although faded late on. 4 BV MOTM

Craig Cook:- Looks a shrewd signing on his average, very good and quick. 4

Mark Lemon:- Off the pace, only points were gifted. 1

Ales Dryml:- Score flatters him massively, only beat an opponent once, although that was a good win. Still expected more from him. 2

Renat Gafurov:- Awful, off the pace, a meeting for him to forget, just couldn't ride the tight track. 0