Main Man

Thank you for that kind sir ... I try to update the scores , press releases and league tables as soon after each MDL meeting as I can --but I am reliant on the clubs sending me the scores and scorers and any report they wish to add. And thank you for noticing one mistake in the league table on the Long Eaton v Milton Keynes meeting !! Well spotted ....used the scores at the top of the results sent and not the heat details.

DIAMOND H BELLE VUE COLTS 19 David Holt 0 Fx F = 0 Max Clegg 3 , 3, 3, 3 = 12 Tom Woolley F = 0 Michael Neale 3, 2, 2' = 7+1 LONG EATON INVADERS 15 Lee Geary 1' , 2, 1 = 4+1 Liam Rumsey 2, Fx, 1' = 3+1 Shaun Tedham Fx, 3, 2 = 5 Lee Springthorpe 2, 1', 0 = 2+1 Ht 1 - Clegg, Rumsey, Geary, Holt (3-3) (3-3) 66.3 Ht 2 - Neale, Springthorpe, Woolley F, Tedham Fx (3-2) (6-5) 68.2 Ht 3 - Tedham, Neale, Holt Fx, Rumsey Fx (2-3) (8-8) 68.1 Ht 4 - Clegg, Geary, Springthorpe (3 riders only - Woolley N.S) (3-3) (11-11) 65.1 Ht 5 - Clegg, Tedham, Rumsey, Holt F (3-3) (14-14) 65.5 Ht 6 - Clegg, Neale, Geary, Springthorpe (5-1) (19-15) 66.2 Belle Vue maintained their unbeaten home record after their top of the table clash with Long Eaton went to a last heat decider at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday. 15-year-old Max Clegg completed a 12 point maximum whilst team mate Michael Neale came through from the back to share in a last race 5-1 to give the Colts the points. Clegg won the opening race, and the Colts were on a 5-1 in heat 2 when the two Invaders riders came together, with Shaun Tedham excluded for falling. In the re-run the Colts again hit the front until Tom Woolley slid off whilst leading. In an attempt to jump straight back on the bike Woolley was thrown over the high-side. Bent forks from that fall ruled him out of the rest of the meeting. And there were two finishers only again in heat 3 as first Liam Rumsey fell, and in the re-run David Holt came down. With Woolley ruled out, Clegg was the sole Colts representative in heat 4, as he won to keep the scores level. Clegg took his third win in heat 5 as Holt fell and the scores remained locked together. Woolley was replaced by Clegg in the final heat and joined fellow 15 year-old Michael Neale to seal the Colts win with the only 5-1 of the night.

was good to see you and your good lady yesterday and have a chat mate. Surprised you didn't mention my shorts as I got a fair bit of ribbing ---but it was hot and it was good to keep cool!!

Midland Development League Thurs May 24th : SHEFFIELD 22 COVENTRY-MERCIA 12 Sheffield 22 : Tom Woolley 2 3 3 8 Ben Holloway R N N 0 Max Clegg 3 3 3 9 Dan Mitchell 2’ 2’ 1 5 +2 Coventry Mercia 12 Dan Greenwood 3 2 N 5 Paul Quarterman f/x f/x N 0 Lee Geary 1 R 2 2 5 Lee Springthorpe 0 1’ 1’ 0 2 Ht 1 : Greenwood Woolley Holloway (ret) Quarterman (f/x) 2-23 2-3 2 : Clegg Mitchell Geary Springthorpe 5-1 7-4 3 : Woolley Mitchell Geary(ret) Quarterman (f/x) 5-0 12-4 4 : Clegg Greenwood Springthorpe 3-3 15-7 5 : Woolley Geary Springthorpe 3-3 18-10 6 : Clegg Geary Mitchell Springthorpe 4-2 22-12 The Coventry-Mercia Vikings were almost down to last man standing as they were beaten 22-12 at Sheffield in their MDL encounter with the Tiger Cubs. Things looked promising in the first heat as Paul Quarterman gated first with partner Dan Greenwood close behind. But that promise only last till the 2nd bend when Quarterman clipped the inside kerb and took himself and his team partner into the fence. Greenwood was winded but jumped back on his bike to take victory in the re-run. Quarterman hurt his hand and fingers but came out for his second ride only to crash and hurt his shoulder in heat 3 and in the re-run Lee Geary , using Lee Springthorpe’s spare engine , came to an abrupt halt blowing the borrowed motor gifting the Tiger Cubs a 5-0 and putting them in almost unassailable lead. The woe continued in heat 4 with Dan Greenwood suffering his first MDL defeat in eight races when young Tiger Cub Max Clegg got the better of him. On his return to the pits it was discovered that the heat one crash had damaged his clutch and he was forced out of the meeting. With Quarterman already out after his two crashes it left Lee Geary to ride his injured team mate’s bike in heats 5 and 6 as he and Lee Springthorpe , who burnt out his clutch but somehow carried on , completed a meeting to forget for the NCA Mercia Vikings.

one above and all below Just a mention that the Dan Greenwood merchandise orders except the kids T-shirts which have been delayed are ready for collection (and paying for tonight). Steve and Jane Guest will have them by the start line ...and will take orders for those wishing to do so .. on offer Hoodies £25, Polo Shirts £17.50 , Adult T shirts £12 , Kids T-shirts £8.50 and Caps (snap back style) £15.

DIAMOND H BELLE VUE COLTS 20 David Holt 1' EF = 1+1 Max Clegg 2 , 3, 3 = 8 Michael Neale 3, EF, 1' = 4+1 Andy Mellish 2', 2, 1, 2 = 7+1 SHEFFIELD TIGER CUBS 16 Andy Braithwaite F, 2, 3 = 5 Tom Woolley 3, 3, 2 = 8 Martin Wrathall 0, 1, 0 = 1 Andy Blackburn 1, 1', 0 = 2+1 Ht 1 - Woolley, Clegg, Holt, Braithwaite f (3-3) (3-3) 66.1 Ht 2 - Neale, Mellish, Blackburn, Wrathall (5-1) (8-4) 68.3 Ht 3 - Woolley, Mellish, Wrathall, Holt ef (2-4) (10-8) 67.5 Ht 4 - Clegg, Braithwaite, Blackburn, Neale ef (3-3) (13-11) 64.7 Ht 5 - Clegg, Woolley, Mellish, Wrathall (4-2) (17-13) 65.3 Ht 6 - Braithwaite, Mellish, Neale, Blackburn (3-3) (20-16) 67.7 The Diamond H Belle Vue Colts held off a strong challenge from Roses rivals Sheffield to claim a 20-16 victory in their Midland Development League match at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday. The visitors were quickest away from the start in the opening heat with Tom Woolley and Andy Braithwaite taking an early lead before Max Clegg came through to split them by passing Braithwaite. David Holt ensured the points were split by taking third place when Braithwaite fell. A comfortable heat 2 win for Michael Neale and Andy Mellish allowed the home side to open up a four point lead. An eventful heat 3 saw David Holt lead with Tom Woolley in hot pursuit. A mistake by Holt going into the third lap allowed Woolley past, the mistake causing Holt to come to a stop as he shed a chain, and the visitors narrowed the gap to two points. The Colts suffered another mechanical failure as Neale stopped in heat 4, but Clegg was a comfortable winner in the fastest time of the night to share the points, and allow the Colts to maintain their narrow two point lead. Clegg bettered his own fastest time to take his second straight win in the next race, gaining revenge over Woolley for his opening race defeat. Mellish, replacing Holt who had been unable to repair his chain in time, took third place after a scrap with Martin Wrathall, who later fell. Braithwaite took the final race for Sheffield, but with Mellish and Neale packing the minor placings, it was the Colts who claimed the league points in an entertaining match. ---------------------------------------

but did you stay to watch the Vikings notch their first MDL win ??

Coventry Mercia Vikings chalk up first league win : The National Cash Advance Vikings notched up their first Midland Development League win at Coventry on Friday night with a resounding 24-12 success over the Stoke Spitfires. With light rain falling making conditions greasy the Vikings secured their success with a solid performance with number one Dan Greenwood showing his class with an unbeaten nine points out of nine as he recorded back to back maximums against the Spitfires. He was ably backed up by Lee Geary who was undefeated by an opponent to notch up a paid maximum with 8 paid 9. Captain Paul Quarterman dropped just one point in his three outings to Spitfires skipper Shaun Tedham in heat 4 whilst young Cam Hoskins battled hard in the conditions . He had to lay the bike down in heat one when he picked up drive coming out of bend two narrowly avoiding the Stoke pairing and this seem to unsettle him for the rest of the night but is all part of speedway’s big learning curve. Stoke were hit hard by debutant Adam Kirby’s machine troubles with the youngster sidelined for the meeting after discovering a rattling engine on his way out for his first ride. The Vikings next MDL action is at Sheffield on Thursday night when they meet the Tigers Cubs at Owlerton with the side including Dan Greenwood, Adam Portwood, Lee Springthorpe and Paul Quarterman. COVENTRY NCA MERCIA VIKINGS 24 Dan Greenwood 3 3 3 9 Max Cam Hoskins F 1’ 0 1+1 Paul Quarterman 2’ 2 2’ 6+2 Lee Geary 3 2’ 3 8+1 Paid Max STOKE SPITFIRES 12 Shaun Tedham 2 3 1 6 John Markham 1’ 1 2 0 4+1 Simon Pearce 1 0 0 1’ 2+1 Adam Kirby N N N 0 Ht 1 : Greenwood Tedham Markham Hoskins(fell) 3-3 3-3 70.7 2 : Geary Quarterman Pearce Kirby (n/s) 5-1 8-4 72.1 3 : Greenwood Geary Markham Pearce 5-1 13-5 70.3 4 : Tedham Quarterman Hoskins Pearce 3-3 16-8 73.1 5 : Greenwood Markham Pearce Hoskins 3-3 19-11 67.8 6 : Geary Quarterman Tedham Markham 5-1 24-12 71.6

v The Coventry -Mercia Vikings are back in home action this Friday (May 18th) in the second half which follows the Coventry v Peterborough Elite Match (8pm start). The National Cash Advance Vikings will be looking for revenge for the recent defeat at Loomer Road against the Spitfires in a MDL match curtailed due to the curfew. The Vikings were down to two riders that night after an eventful heat one that saw Freddie Owen stretchered off with a shoulder injury after Shaun Tedham fell in front of him. In the re-run replacement Martin Knuckey came to grief on the first bend and put his machine out of use for the rest of the meeting. Skipper Owen , after top scoring against Milton Keynes at Rye House last Saturday crashed on Sunday at Kings Lynn breaking his leg and ankle ruling him out for the better part of the season. Against the Knights the Vikings battled hard with team boss Kelvin Lapworth commenting , “Although we lost tonight I was delighted with the teams performance. All the lads gave it 100% and we had a very good buzz in the pits. The season still has a very long way to go and the way we rode tonight I believe we can make it all the way to the play off final" The Vikings squad system sees just Paul Quarterman , who will captain the side , remain from the quartet who rode against Milton Keynes. Dan Greenwood returns to the side at number one with Cam Hoskins at two and Lee Geary at 3 . Teams : Coventry Mercia Vikings : 1 Dan Greenwood, 2 Cam Hoskins, 3 Paul Quarterman ©, 4 Lee Geary Stoke Spitfires : 1. Shaun Tedham ©, 2. John Markham, 3. Simon Pearce, 4. Adam Kirby

Last night's MDL meeting Diamond H Belle Vue Colts v Sheffield Toger Cubs was postponed due to rain. It has been provisionally re-arranged for next Monday 21 May.

Freddie just posted on facebook that they have postponed his op on his right leg till next week. Also posted a picture of the tyre burn mark on his neck --nasty one!

Stoke Spitfires 16- Shaun Tedham 3,F,3 =6 Lloyd Barrett F,1,F,F=1 Ross Walter 3,3,2=8 Jamie Collins 1,F-=1 Scunthorpe Stags 19- Tommy Fenwick 2,0,1=3 Simon Allen 1*,2*,1* =4+3 Adam Kirby 2,3,2=7 Max Clegg F, 2,3=5

MILTON KEYNES 23 Nick Laurence - 9 max (3 rides) Conor Dwyer - 5+1 (2) Tom Braddock - 6 (3) Alex McLoed - 3+1 (4) NCA Mercia Vikings 13 Martin Knuckey - 2+2 (3) Freddie Owen - 4 (3) Paul Quarterman - 4 (3) Lee Springthorpe - 3+1 (3) HT 1: Laurence, Dwyer, Owen, Knuckey (fexc) re-run HT 2: Braddock, Quarterman, Springthorpe, McLeod. HT 3: Laurence, McLeod, Owen, Quarterman (fexc) awarded HT 4: Dwyer, Springthorpe, Knuckey, Braddock (fexc) awarded HT 5: Laurence, Owen, McLeod, Springthorpe (f) HT 6: Braddock, Quarterman, Knuckey, McLeod. Last night at the Rye House raceway the National Cash Advance Vikings went down to a 23 - 13 defeat to a very strong Milton Keynes line up but meeting was a lot closer than the score line suggests. Heat 1 saw the home side cruise to an easy 5-1 with Vikings Martin Knuckley taking a tumble on his very first ride at the tricky Rye House circuit. Heat 2 looked to be going the same way for the Knights but Paul Quarterman chased down Alex Mcleod for three laps forcing the Knights No 4 into a mistake on the last lap allowing him and fellow Viking Lee Springthorpe through for a share of the points. Heat 3 saw some drama as Quarterman feel whilst in second resulting in an awarded 5-1 for the home side. Heat 4 looked set to be another home 5-1 until the very last bend, with Conor Dwyer in the lead his teammate Tom Braddock hit a rut and went straight into Dwyer. Conor received medical attention on the track for about 5 minutes but soon got to his feet although he was ruled out of the rest of the meeting with a suspected dislocated thumb. The race was awarded as a shared 3-3. Heat 5 saw a Knights 4-2 but the best race of the night was heat 6, Braddock got a good start but it was behind where all the action was with Paul Quarterman and Martin Knuckey riding out of their skin to get past Mcleod on the last lap. Commented Kelvin Lapworth, team manager of the Vikings , "Although we lost tonight I was delighted with the teams performance. All the lads gave it 100% and we had a very good buzz in the pits. The season still has a very long way to go and the way we rode tonight I believe we can make it all the way to the play off final"

wish I could!!

as did a certain John Louis!!

MDL –Long Eaton 24 Milton Keynes 11 The Invaders are sitting pretty on top of the MDL after Saturday nights' 24-11 win over MK Knights at Beaumont Park. The margin of victory might've been even greater but for a mechanical problem suffered in Heat 3 by Tom Stokes, who won his other two rides in some style, and Ben Holloway having to retire from Heat 5 with a minor injury to his forearm. Highlight of the match was a magnificent moment in Heat 6 which saw Liam Rumsey swoop from 4th to 2nd in the space of around 30 yards on the second turn, and follow Lee Geary home for the 5-1. The skipper himself was once again untouchable with a nine point maximum. Invaders Tom Stokes 3 ef 3 = 6 Ben Holloway 2* 1 ret. = 3+1 Lee Geary © 3 3 3 = 9 Liam Rumsey 2* 2 2* = 6+2 Knights Adam Briggs 1 ef 0 = 1 Adam Sheppard 0 1 ef = 1 Connor Dwyer 0 3 2 = 5 Alex McLeod 1 2 1 = 4 H1 Stokes, Holloway, Briggs, Sheppard 5-1 / 5-1 66.72 H2 Geary, Rumsey, McLeod, Dwyer 5-1 / 10-2 69.25 H3 Dwyer, Rumsey, Sheppard, (Stokes ef) 2-4 / 12-6 69.84 H4 Geary, McLeod, Holloway (Briggs ef) 4-2 / 16-8 70.25 H5 Stokes, Dwyer, (Sheppard ef, Holloway ret.) 3-2 / 19-10 65.94 H6 (Sheppard replaced Briggs) Geary, Rumsey, McLeod, Sheppard 5-1 / 24-11 70.72

MDL --- Stoke 13 Coventry Mercia Vikings 9 (curtailed to 4 heats due to time curfew) With two major crashes in the preceding Midland Cup clash between Stoke and Dudley the MDL encounter between Stoke Spitfires and Coventry Mercia Vikings was held over four heats rather than six due to the time curfew at Loomer Road. The MDL match was also full of incident with heat one ending up as a match race. The first staging only reached the first bend when home captain Shaun Tedham crashed with Vikings skipper Freddie Owen having nowhere to go and ending up in an untidy heap. After an ambulance ride back he was withdrawn from the meeting with a shoulder injury. In the re-run Martin Knuckey who had come in to replace him also fell on the first turn and had to drag his bike off the track and the minor damage caused forced him out of the meeting. The two remaining Vikings battled on with Dan Greenwood unbeaten in his two rides whilst Paul Quarterman picked up three points. Stoke Spitfires 13 Shaun Tedham X 3 3 John Markham 2 1’ 3+1 Andy Mellish 3 2 5 Jamie Collins 2’ x 2+1 Coventry Mercia Vikings 9 Dan Greenwood 3 3 6 max Freddie Owen n n 0 Paul Quarterman 1 2 3 Martin Knuckey f n n 0 Ht 1 : Greenwood Markham Knuckey (fell) Owen (ns) Tedham exc 2-3 2-3 2 : Mellish Collins Quarterman Knuckey (ns) 5-1 7-4 3 : Tedham Quaterman Collins (exc) Owen (ns) 3-2 10-6 4 : Greenwood Mellish Markham Knuckey (ns) 3-3 13-9

Sheffield 'Samaritans' Tiger Cubs 22 1) Tom Woolley - 3,2,3 = 8 2) Andy Blackburn - 1,1,0 = 2 3) Max Clegg - 3,3,3 = 9 4) Rachel Hellowell - 2*,1*,0 = 3+2 Halifax 'Hargreaves Foundry' Dukes 13 1) Michael Mitchell - F,2,2 = 4 2) Dan Mitchell - 2,3,2 = 7 3) Adam Kenyon - R,NS,1*,1* = 2+2 4) Liam Carr - NS,NS,- = 0 Heat 1 - Woolley (red), D. Mitchell (yellow), Blackburn (blue), M. Mitchell (white) Fell 4-2, Awarded/No time Heat 2 - Clegg (red), Hellowell (blue), Kenyon (white) Retired, Carr (yellow) NS 5-0 / 9-2, 67.5 Heat 3 - D. Mitchell (white), Woolley (red), Hellowell (blue), Kenyon (yellow) NS 3-3 / 12-5, 69.2 Heat 4 - Clegg (blue), M. Mitchell (white), Blackburn (red), Carr (yellow) NS 4-2 / 16-7, 67.6 Heat 5 - Woolley (red), D. Mitchell (white), Kenyon (yellow), Blackburn (blue) 3-3 / 19-10 Heat 6 - Clegg (red), M. Mitchell (white), Kenyon (yellow), Hellowell (blue) 3-3 / 22-13

well done Kyle!!

Ok Phil. Thanks mate ..and thanks for you have done for Gino

having seen the you tube ride of Gino perhaps it was but did not see anyone doing it !! Did Little_End get the whole meeting ?? If so the American boys wouild like to get hold of a copy please. Buxton Hitmen = 39 Robert Branford - 11+1 Luke Priest - 10+2 Dean Felton 8+1 Richard Andrews - 4 Tim Webster - 4 Ryan Blacklock - 2 Michael Neale - 0 USA Touring Team = 51 Gino Manzares - 16 Aaron Fox - 10+1 Russell Green - 8+1 Bryce Starks - 7 Mikey Buman - 6+1 Brad Pappalardo 4+1 R/R for Dylan Black Read more: http://speedwayupdates.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Buxton&action=display&thread=9988#ixzz1tNKwoYwq

Rye House 24 – Luke Chessell 8+1 (4 rides), Danno Verge 6 (3) Tom Braddock 7 (4), Brad Tokely DNS MK “Alpine Cooling” Knights 11 – Sean Phillips 3 (3 rides), Niall Strudwick 5 (3), Nick Laurence 5 (3), Alex McLeod 1 (2). 1: Strudwick, Verge, Phillips, Chessell (Fx), Phillips - race awarded. (2-4)(2-4) 2: Chessell, Laurence, McLeod, Braddock (Fx), 62.6 (3-3)(5-7) 3: Braddock, Laurence, Verge, McLeod (fell, non-starter in re-run), 59.9 (4-2)(9-9) 4: Chessell, Strudwick, Braddock, Phillips, 62.3 (4-2)(13-11) 5: Verge, Phillips (two riders only), 66.8 (3-2)(16-13) 6: Braddock, Chessell, Laurence, Strudwick, 62.3 (5-1) (21-14)

Chris has arrived back in UK and is back home in Bicester ---welcome home!!

This was the report sent to me by Long Eaton.

LONG EATON v HALIFAX MDL .. Sat 21st April Long Eaton ran out easy winners against Halifax in their first MDL home meeting of the season, with a 26-7 victory in an eventful match at Beaumont Park. On a very wet track, skipper Lee Geary and Tom Stokes were both in sparkling form, while Connor Coles contributed well after a first heat fall. Chris Widman, however, suffered a nasty fall in his first ride and was forced to withdraw from the meeting. We understand Chris' injuries amount to severe bruising, but hopefully nothing more than that, and we wish him a speedy return to action. In heat one Lee Geary's new clutch sent him rocketing away from the tapes and he led by some distance, but the three riders trailing behind him all came to grief, each falling separately. None were hurt but the heat was stopped and awarded to Geary.........the other three all excluded as none were under power at the time of the stoppage. In heat two Invaders' Chris Widman collided with the Dukes' Liam Carr as they reached the first turn. After receiving attention, both were able to walk back to the pits. The referee declared an unsatisfactory start and asked all four riders back to the tapes, but unfortunately neither Widman nor Carr were able to take any further part in the meeting, and were replaced by Lee Geary and Adam Kirby respectively. The home side won five of the six heats, with the other one all square, so it was a comfortable victory in the end. Invaders Lee Geary © 3 2* 3 3 2* = 13+2 Connor Coles F 2* 2* 0 = 4+2 Tom Stokes 3 3 3 = 9 Chris Widman F, retired Dukes Lee Springthorpe F 1 1 1 1* 1 = 5+1 Dan Mitchell F EF = 0 Adam Kirby F 0 2 0 = 2 Liam Carr F, retired HT1 Geary (Coles, Springthorpe and MItchell all fell) 3-0 / 3-0 No Time HT2 (rerun) (Widman and Carr fell in first run) Stokes, Geary, Springthorpe (Kirby fell) 5-1 / 8-1 67.91 HT3 Geary, Coles, Springthorpe ( Mitchell EF at the tapes) 5-1 / 13-2 70.19 HT4 Stokes, Coles, Springthorpe, Kirby 5-1 /18-3 67.19 HT5 Geary, Kirby, Springthorpe, Coles 3-3 / 21-6 69.28 HT6 Stokes,. Geary, Springthorpe, Kirby 5-1 / 26-7 67.21