Main Man

Rider having laps at Peterborough yesterday was Jonas Raun who is looking for a PL team berth . It was NOT Mikkel Bech!

Stoke "Hartshill Cycles" Spitfires 20 Castleford "HG Aerospace Kings" 16 Stoke ,Lee Payne 7,Shaun Tedham 5,Sam Ward 4,Charles Wallace 4>>>> 20 Castleford, Max Clegg 10,Nathan Greaves 5,Sean Phillips 1,Callum Harris 0>>>> 16 The Kings week of woes continued in to the meeting before a wheel had been turned on the track as Callum Harris discovered a fracture in the frame of his JHS and this resulted in his pit crew frantically setting up his Jawa for the meeting. Callum has only done 6 laps practice on this set up and was understandably less assured then he would have been but improved in his second ride before tangling with Sam Ward in his final ride in a first bend bunching incident .He was unable to take his place in the re-run due to extensive damage to both the bike and himself and was replaced by Max Clegg in the re-run. The activity pre-meeting at the opposite side of the Kings pits was no less frantic with Sean Phillips no.1 bike ruled out whilst warming up for the meeting so Sean also had to change bikes. His second bike was set up for a meeting at Rye House the following day and despite this being completely wrong for the Loomer Road track he battled away for a point which could easily have been 2 points but for an inconsiderate exclusion by referee David Dowling in his final ride. Sean came off through no fault of his own and took a nasty bang on his crash helmet leaving him with a bad headache. Captain for the night Max Clegg was in his useful impressive form and had a fantastic second ride hunting down the in form Lee Payne before making an inside pass on the 3rd bend and pulling away to win the heat. Payne had his revenge in the final heat passing Max on the final bend to take second place behind Kings race winner and new signing Nathan Greaves .Nay started the meeting with a still badly swollen hand, the result of coming off his bike earlier in the week while riding for his parent club Dudley Heathens .Everyone feared the worse when challenging for the lead in his opening race his steel shoe came off resulting in him taking a heavy fall on the inside of turn 2 while challenging Lee Payne for the lead. Fortunately despite the hand taking another hit Nathan showed great courage taking 5 points from his remaining two races dropping his only point to Stokes Shaun Tedham. Callum Harris took a heavy fall when he tangled with Sam Ward on the first bend of the penultimate race, riders required treatment from the paramedics and both riders were declared eligible for the re-run with the referee declaring first bend bunching incident with nobody to blame for the race stoppage. Unfortunately Callum had no time to make the necessary repairs in time to take his place in the re-run heat and team manager Pete Hibberd replaced him with Max Clegg who as ever was prepared to fight for the Kings cause Having yet to taste victory after their opening two league matches the Kings will be fighting for league points in their next meeting at Manchester's Belle Vue stadium on Monday June 3rd.Castleford will be hoping that this time luck will not desert them and they can take the league points from the Colts.

MK "mjofoto" Knights = 19 1. Aaron Mogridge - F,0,2* = 2+1 2. Mark Baldock - 3.2,0 = 5 3. Conor Dwyer - 2,3,3 = 8 4. Danno Verge - 1*,0,3 = 4+1 TM: Russell Paine Coventry-Mercia "city gearboxes ltd" Vikings = 17 1. Niall Strudwick - 2,1*,1*,0 = 4+2 2. R/R for Sean Phillips 3. Nick Laurence - 3,3,2,1 = 9 4. Adam Sheppard 1*,0,1,2 = 4+1 TM: Kelvin Lapworth HT1: Baldock, Strudwick, Sheppard, Mogridge (f) HT 2: Laurence, Verge, Dwyer, Sheppard (frem) HT 3: Laurence, Baldock, Sheppard, Mogridge (f) HT 4: Dwyer, Laurence, Strudwick, Verge HT 5: Verge, Sheppard, Strudwick, Baldock HT 6: Dwyer, Mogridge, Laurence, Strudwick (frem) This was a thriller of a meeting that went all the way down to a last heat decider. The Vikings were already on the back foot when news came through that Sean Phillips sustained an injury at Stoke the night before reducing the team down to 3 with the Vikings relying on local guests. Heat 1 was a 3 all as MK's Mark Baldock eased to a tapes to flag victory over the Viking pair with Aaron Mogridge crashing out on the first lap. Heat 2 was almost a 5-1 to the visitors, Adam Sheppard made an excellent start and was being followed closely by teammate Nick Laurence only to hit a tricky spot on the track and fall on the last lap. The Vikings took the lead in heat 3 when Nick Laurence cruised to an easy win, Knights Arron Mogridge fell leaving Adam Sheppard to pick up the point and give the Vikings a two point lead. Heats 4 and 5 were both draws leaving the Knight needing a maximum to claim victory and they did just that. Conor Dwyer stormed from the gate followed by his teammate Mogridge. For the Vikings Niall Strudwick fell on the first bend and remounted with Nick Laurence having no answer for the home pairing. A very hard fought meeting from both teams I would like to thank our 3 riders for filling in on the day and doing their best for us.

MDL. Monday 27th May: Coventry “CITY GEARBOXES LTD” Mercia Vikings 18 Stoke Spitfires 18 VIKINGS: Luke Crang F 2 2’ 1’ = 5+2 James Shanes 3 1’ 3 = 7+1 Conor Dwyer R 2 2 = 4 John Markham 2 R = 2 Shaun Tedham N N N CharlesWallace 1’ 1 1 0 = 3+1 Lee Payne 3 3 3 3 =12 Sam Ward 2 1 0 0 = 3 The City Gearboxes Vikings gained their first MDL point of the 2013 season in a 18 all draw with Stoke Spitfires but were left ruing three bits of bad luck that stopped them from recording a win. On a heavy track after the Elite League clash between the Bees and Peterborough they looked on their way to a resounding opening heat maximum heat win only for debutant Luke Crang to crash on the final bend . The plucky Northerner suffered a dead leg where his knee brace dug in but he battled on to take three more rides despite the pain. In heat two Vikings guest Conor Dwyer’s bike stopped as the tapes went with a fuel problem and then in heat 4 John Markham’s clutch burnt out whilst he was in third place. John was forced to miss his last ride with the limping Luke Crang combining with the impressive 16 year old whiz kid James Shanes for a vital 5-1 to level the scores at 15 apiece. Stoke’s Lee Payne ensured his side of a point taking his fourth heat win to complete a 12 point maximum in heat 6 . The Spitfires were without skipper Shaun Tedham following a family bereavement and used rider replacement to cover his rides. Ht 1 : Shanes Ward Wallace (f/rm) Crang (fell) 3-3 3-3 2 : Payne Markham Ward Dwyer (ret) 2-4 5-7 3 : Payne Crang Shanes Ward 3-3 8-10 4 : Payne Dwyer Wallace Markham (ret) 2-4 10-14 5 : Shanes Crang Wallace Ward 5-1 15-15 6: Payne Dwyer Crang Wallace 3-3 18-18

DIAMOND H BELLE VUE COLTS 20 Max Clegg 1 3 3 = 7 Michael Neale F 2' Fx = 2+1 Matt Williamson 3 3 2' = 8+1 David Holt 1 0 2 = 3 LONG EATON INVADERS 16 Lee Geary 2' 1' 1 = 4+2 Luke Crang 3 2 3 = 8 Tom Woolley 2 1 = 3 Ryan MacDonald F F 1 0 = 1 Ht 1 - Crang, Geary, Clegg (frm), Neale (F) (1-5) (1-5) Awarded Ht 2 - Williamson, Woolley, Holt, MacDonald (F) (4-2) (5-7) 66.9 Ht 3 - Clegg, Neale, Woolley, MacDonald (F) (5-1) (10-8) 63.2 Ht 4 - Williamson, Crang, Geary, Holt (3-3) (13-11) 64.8 Ht 5 - Crang, Holt, MacDonald, Neale (Fx) (2-4) (15-15) 65.1 Ht 6 - Clegg, Williamson, Geary, MacDonald (5-1) (20-16) 64.0 The Diamond H Belle Vue Colts recovered from an opening heat 5-1 reversal to record a narrow 20-16 win over the Long Eaton Invaders at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday. Fast starting Luke Crang was quickest away in heat one. but as the two Colts gave chase Max Clegg slid off and remouted. On the last corner Michael Neale fell to give Lee Geary second place and the visitors a 5-1 win. Heat two saw Matt Williamson take a win for the Colts, but the Invaders were denied a share of the points when Ryan MacDonald slid off in third place. Clegg and Neale made up for their heat 1 reversal with a comfortable 5-1 in the next. Race of the night came in the next as Williamson and Crang jetted from the start and raced shoulder-to-shoulder until the bikes locked together on the fourth bend and both riders were sent into the fence. Referee Peter Clarke took the unusual decision to put all four riders back, and Williamson and Crang repeated their duel, with the visitor trying everything to get past the home man. Michael Neale took a heavy fall in heat 5 as he chased Crang, and a 4-2 in the re-run saw the Invaders draw level at 15-15. Ryan MacDonald came into heat 6 replacing Tom Woolley who had machinery problems, but he and Lee Geary could make no impression on Max Clegg and Matt Williamson who wrapped up the meeting with a 5-1 win.

A superb weekend and a brilliant performance from the USA team. Proud to have been invited to be part of it and to work alongside Billy Hammill & Co. BJ had a snapped chain in his first ride , went under the air fence in his second but rode superbly thereafter. Gino was winning his first ride when Seb Tressarieu fell and the race was re-run . Gino also had a bad nose bleed but packed it up to go out only for his chain to snap when challenging for the lead and he pushed home for a vital point plus got a vital heat win in his third ride to amke a superb WTC debut. Fish + Ricky were superb throughout and to come back from being 8 down after 8 races to win by 6 was awesome !! Roll on Kings Lynn on July 15th!!

MDL -- Kings Lynn 13 ( Andy Mountain 2r 4+1 , Connor Mountain 3r 3+1, Adam Kirby 2r 3, Josh Bailey 3r 3+1) Coventry 16 ( Chris Widman3r 4+1, Luke Crang 4r 12, Sam Ward 1r 0) Result amended to 13-12 -as Chris Widman's points deducted as ineligible rider.

The City Gearboxes Ltd Vikings lost their unbeaten home record to a determined MK knights side at Brandon on Friday night. The Knights were forced into a late change as Ryan Terry Daley was found to have no license and Mark Baldock being unavailable, local rider Lee Springthorpe was drafted in as cover with R/R at number 3. The Vikings called up the same 3 riders that beat Leicester in the week with all time top points scorer for the Vikings Lee Geary being called up as a guest at No1. The Knights were led by Nathan Greaves who was on form all night with 3 heat wins. He was backed up by Belle Vue's David Holt who looks a far better rider than he did 12 months ago and the ever reliable Lee Springthorpe. For the Vikings both Cam and John had off nights although both tried their hardest. Lee Geary did a good job stepping in, holding off Nathan Greaves for 3 laps in Heat 1 but the star of the show for the Vikings was yet again James Shanes who bagged a credible 8 points which included 2 heat wins. Reflecting on the night Vikings co boss Kelvin Lapworth commented "Fair play to the Knights tonight, they fought hard and deserved their win. Its always hard to loose your unbeaten record at home but it has to go at some point. Our lads gave it their all tonight and we can't ask for any more than that. One thing I can say is we will be back bigger and better from this and the lads will be determined to beat all other teams that come to Brandon in the future". City Gearboxes Ltd Coventry Mercia Vikings - 15 1. Lee Geary 2, 3, 2 = 7 2. Cam Hoskins 0,0,0 = 0 3. John Markham 0,0,0 = 0 4. James Shanes 2,3,3 = 8 Mojofoto Milton Keynes Knights - 21 1. Nathan Greaves 3,3,1*,3 = 10+1 2. David Holt 1,2,2,2 = 7 3. No rider 4. Lee Springthorpe 1,1*,1*,1 = 4+2 HT 1: Greaves, Geary, Holt, Hoskins. HT 2: Greaves, Shanes, Springthorpe, Markham HT 3: Geary, Holt, Springthorpe, Hoskins HT 4: Shanes, Holt, Greaves, Markham HT 5: Shanes, Holt, Springthorpe, Hoskins HT 6: Greaves, Geary, Springthorpe, Markham

Still a few spaces let for Saturday's session ...day licences are available

Mr Norfolk ... didn't get chance to say hello last night at KL. The GP round has been moved to a new TBA date. MDL at KL is next Weds meaning my third trip on the trot to my old stamping ground !! I am behind with MDL work due to USA commitments --off to Italy today to look after Gino at Lonigo!!

CITY GEARBOXES VIKINGS = 19 1. John Markham 2*, 3, F, N = 5+1 2. Cam Hoskins 3,2,X, N = 5 3. R/R - Nick Mallett 4. James Shanes 2*,2, 3, 2 = 9+1 LEICESTER LION CUBS = 17 1. Jez Pestell R, 3, 3, = 6 2. Freddie Owen 1, 1, 1* = 3+1 3. Ben Holloway 0, 1, 1 = 2 4. Lee Springthorpe 1, 3, 2 = 6 Vikings win 41 - 31 on aggregate Ht 1: Hoskins, Markham, Owen, Pestell ®. HT 2: Markham, Shanes, Springthorpe, Holloway HT 3: Springthorpe, Hoskins, Holloway, Markham (f) HT 4: Pestell, Shanes, Owen, Hoskins (f) HT 5: Shanes, Springthorpe, Owen, Hoskins (ns) HT 6: Pestell, Shanes, Holloway, Markham (ns) The City Gearboxes Ltd Vikings are through to the semi finals of the MDL KO cup after a solid team effort from a depleted team at Brandon last night beating the Leicester Lion cubs 19 - 17 on the night and 41 - 31 on aggregate. Top scores for the Vikings was 16 year old James Shanes who scored 9 plus 1 including a heat win and coming a very close 2nd in his other 3 outings showing what huge potential he has for the future. New Viking recruit John Markham put on a solid show with 5 points but the biggest smile in the pits was on the face of young Cam Hoskins who recorded his first ever heat win at MDL level. The Leicester team did not go down without a fight and were led by the in form Jez Pestell with solid back up from the ever improving Lee Springthorpe. Next up for the Vikings will be a home league encounter this Friday against the reigning league champions MK knights

As the Americans do not have averages and as it was a challenge it was agreed to allow the TM's to choose their riders in heat 15

USA : 1. Gino Manzares ©; 2. Chris Thomas: 3. Scott Campos: 4. Rocco Scopellite ; 5. Ben Morley; 6. Hayden Simms: 7. Jamison Dilkey

Chopper --- the boy did you proud!!

JJ --my biggest problem was not having enough volunteers to help (and a BIG Thank You to those who did step forward to help) >> I was trying to be in three places at once and at the end had to take the red flag on the centre as Dan Gilkes' mum had to leave after Dan blew an engine . It was the first one I had done at Coventry and although it all went well and everyone was pleased there were certain areas I now know I have to plug and improve on. The queue bit will be sorted with the barriers moved further down next time . And what lunch break -it wasn't planned !!! My flag marshalls all went to get a cup of tea and a quick comfort break whilst the track was watered but when I got them back I suddenly realised the medical staff had gone for theirs too!! Bad news on young Mitchell ---- get well soon young man>>>>>and well done for not making a fuss despite clearly being in pain after your crash!

The 'Skills Coaches' Invaders claimed their first Midland Development League points of the season this evening when they saw off the challenge of the Stoke Spitfires at Leicester's Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium to record their first win of the season, defeating the Potteries side by a six point margin, 20:14. Despite debutant Haydon Ball enduring engine problems which restricted him to a total of just one, paid two, the side, ably led by Lee Geary, who notched his first nine point maximum of the season managed to overcome a depleted Spitfires side who were hampered by the unavailability of Shaun Tedham and tracked only three riders. Last minute efforts were made by the management of both teams to try and find a replacement but to no avail. Jez Pestell won both of the races he appeared in and Sean Phillips scored four, paid five. Scores Invaders Lee Geary 9(3) Sean Phillips 4+1(4) Jez Pestell 6(2) Haydon Ball 1+1(2) Spitfires Emmerson Jones 1+1 (2) Shaun Tedham NS Lee Payne 6(4) Sam Ward 7+2(4)

Good day's training --well done to one and all. Here's to wishing young Mitchell Beckett a swift recovery from his hand injry.

Would have been nice to start with a victory (especially over my friends the Heathens ) ..but proud of The Storm. Great team spirit and an amazing fightback.

no second half at NL meetings

Friday 19th April at 8pm TRAVEL PLUS TROPHY 2nd leg: COVENTRY STORM v DUDLEY COVENTRY Storm finally get their home season underway at Brandon on Friday (8pm) – with adult admission pegged at just £10 for all National League level fixtures. In addition, all children go free as the Coventry promotion look to provide a full meaningful fixture list to include racing on several Fridays where Elite League action is not possible due to the International calendar. Dudley provide the opposition in the second leg of the Travel Plus Trophy with many Heathens fans set to make the trip for the first full-scale meeting at Brandon involving the former Cradley club since the mid-1990s. And although the Heathens clearly hold the upper hand in the tie as a whole after their 60-35 first leg win, the return fixture still promises to provide some fascinating racing between talented youngsters on both sides. With Oliver Greenwood unfortunately ruled out due to a badly broken wrist, Coventry have booked currently unattached former Buxton heat-leader Robert Branford as a guest. Co-bosses Blayne Scroggins and Laurence Rogers wish to place on record their thanks to the Dudley promotion, and manager Will Pottinger, for their agreement to this move which would not be permissible in a League fixture, but which enables two full seven-man teams to take to the track. Meanwhile Coventry’s British Under-21 Final representatives Joe Jacobs and skipper James Sarjeant will both be keen to get the better of the Heathens’ big guns, with Ashley Morris and Lewis Blackbird leading the visitors. Scroggins said: “After the disappointment of the snow-off last month I’m pleased that finally we can get on track at Brandon, and show the Coventry fans what we are all about. “For fans of the Bees who have not seen a National League meeting before, please come along and support the team. The National League can produce some fantastic racing and this is the chance to see some of the stars of tomorrow, and who knows maybe a future Bee!” Representatives of meeting sponsors Travel Plus Tours will also be present offering information on future speedway trips, and the trophy will be presented by Peter Hughes after the meeting. And the Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club will be making a presentation of £200 to each Storm rider during the interval with proceeds of last year’s 50/50 draw. COVENTRY: Joe Jacobs, Richard Franklin, Robert Branford, Brendan Johnson, James Sarjeant, Trevor Heath, Martin Knuckey. DUDLEY: Ashley Morris, Gareth Isherwood, Paul Starke, Dan Greenwood, Lewis Blackbird, Max Clegg, Nathan Greave

they are on the Long eaton website Mike. www.longeatoninvaders.co

Result does not count and meeting will be re-run> I understand it was Danno Verge who went to hospital but his girlfriend had posted on facebook that he was ok.

Last few spaces available for Sunday 21st session.

K O CUP MERCIA VIKINGS TAKE 1ST LEG CUP LEAD –BUT IT’S AN 8 POINTS LEAD AS RESULT AMENDED!! The Coventry CITY GEARBOXES Mercia-Vikings returned from local rivals Leicester on Saturday night with mixed feelings as they secured a good first leg lead but lost Andy Braithwaite with a broken collarbone. The result had to be re-amended after the referee had disqualified Vikings skipper Martin Knuckey after he won heat 4 due to not having a rear wheel disc on after he had to hurriedly swap wheels when racing two rides in succession having discovered a slow puncture in his original tyre. This ruling though has been amended for 2013 and Vikings co – team boss Laurence Rogers immediately appealed the decision but once a race has been declared it cannot be changed on the night but the SCB acted swiftly and amended the race to its original finishing positions with Knuckey as race winner. This amends the meeting result to Leicester 14 Coventry 22 and not 16-20 giving the Vikings an 8 point cushion for the home leg and putting them in the driving seat to meet Long Eaton in the semi-finals of the MDL Cup. The Vikings though will be without Andy Braithwaite for a while after the Vikings No. 3 crashed whilst leading heat 2 suffering a collarbone break. The three man side then got on with the task in hand with 16 year old debutant James Shanes shining with a paid 9 score which would have been double figures but for coming to a halt when mounted on team mate Nick Mallett’s bike in heat 3. The youngster produced two astounding rides winning his debut race from behind in heat 2 with a superb round the boards pass of Lee Springthorpe and then in heat 5 repeated the same move to ###### victory on the line from home skipper Ben Holloway. Nick Mallett , racing for the first time in five years with just one practice session in the winter rode steadily after hitting mechanical gremlins in the pits. Skipper Knuckey starts the 2013 season then with a 12 point maximum that sets him up well for his National League debut for Coventry Storm on Tuesday night (9th) against Dudley at Wolverhampton. The City Gearboxes Vikings started with an opening 4-2 heat win and never lost the lead with two drawn heats plus a further 2-4 heat success and ending with a maximum 5-1 from Knuckey and Shanes in heat 6. Leicester Lion Cubs 14 1. Freddie Owen 0 1’ 0 1 = 2+1 2. Ben Holloway 2 2 2 = 6 3. Lee Springthorpe 2 2 1’ F = 5 +1 4. Alec Wright 1 N N = 1 Coventry CITY GEARBOXES Mercia-Vikings 22 1. Martin Knuckey 3 3 3 3 = 12 MAX 2. Nick Mallett 1 1 0 = 2 3. Andy Braithwaite f/x N N = 0 4. James Shanes 3 R 3 2’ = 8 +1 Ht 1 : Knuckey Holloway Mallett Owen 2-4 2-4 70.75 2 : Shanes Springthorpe Wright Braithwaite (f/x) 3-3 5-7 74.50 3 : Knuckey Holloway Owen Shanes (ret) 3-3 8-10 72.55 4 : Knuckey Springthorpe Mallett Owen 2-4 10-14 73.6 5 : Shanes Holloway Springthorpe Mallett 3-3 13-17 6 : Knuckey Shanes Owen Springthorpe (fell) 1-5 14-22 70.47 2nd leg at Coventry Friday April 12th

will pass that on and edit it as this was the report sent to me !