Nsw Championship

[Trackman]

Report by Peter White

 

CHRIS HOLDER won his third NSW Championship in a row with consummate

ease on Boxing Night.

He rode a 15-point maximum in his five qualifying heats and then

outpaced Kozza Smith, Jason Doyle and James Holder in the final.

Holder won all his races from the start or around the first corner

and although Doyle and Smith were able to stay with him whenever they

clashed, they were never likely to beat him.

Holder was always going to win this title barring mechanical failure

as he was clearly a cut above this field both going into the meeting

and during the meeting itself.

In fact his only real challenge this season will come away from his

Sydney home when he travels interstate for the Australian

Championship rounds.

Doyle was the best of the rest through the heats, finishing with 14

points after being beaten only by Holder.

But in the final Kozza Smith (12 points) rode an absolute blinder on

the first two laps to hold right onto Holder's back wheel before

Holder pulled away to win by five metres at the chequered flag. This

pushed Doyle back to third place throughout the race and in the title

result.

It was a stirring performance from Smith that will warm the hearts of

King's Lynn fans and leave the Aussie selectors red-faced after they

shoved him down to fourth reserve for the upcoming Australian

Championship – a disgusting decision.

James Holder (11 points) was a deserving fourth finalist but never

looked like getting the better of the top three.

Surprising non-finalists were the Herne brothers (Lee on 10 points

and Jay on 9) and the highly-rated Richard Sweetman (10) who fell in

one heat and cost himself all chance.

The Herne brothers were always in the thick of the action but were

simply outpaced by the top-end riders.

A really good performance came from 16-year-old state title debutant

Sam Masters who is fresh out of junior speedway and scored a very

impressive nine points.

Credit must also go to his fellow teenager Hugh Skidmore who made a

successful comeback from a badly broken leg to score six points.

Skidmore is not available for Britain this year (2008) but he and

Masters are riders for clubs to note in 2009. Skidmore should be

particularly interesting to promoters as he will have EEC partiality.

His grandmother and mother are Dutch and he has recently been granted

a Dutch passport.

The NSW title was held on a fine night under starry skies at Gosford

on the central coast before a healthy Boxing Night attendance.

Boxing Night is always the big puller for promoters in New South

Wales in particular. If the weather holds and you can't draw a bigger-

than-average crowd on this night then you are never going to pull a

crowd.

The meeting was promoted by the Speedway Riders' Association of NSW.

NSW CHAMPIONSHIP

Heat points: Chris Holder 15, Jason Doyle 14, Kozza Smith 12, James

Holder 11, Lee Herne 10, Richard Sweetman 10, Jay Herne 9, Sam

Masters 9, Hugh Skidmore 6, Tim Heffernan 6, Ty Platt 6, Ricky

Wallace 5, James Bevan 3, John Gurney 2, Michael Dyer 2, Lyndon

Kinsela 0.

Final: 1. Chris Holder 2. Kozza Smith 3. Jason Doyle 4. James Holder.

 

 

 

Via http://sports.groups.yahoo.com

[Trackman]

Points in riding order

 

1) Jason Doyle 14

 

2) Tim Heffernan 6

 

3) James Bevan 3

 

4) Lee Herne 10

 

5) Richard Sweetman 10

 

6) John Gurney 2

 

7) James Holder 11

 

8) Chris Holder 15

 

9) Ty Platt 6

 

10) Lyndon Kinsella 0

 

11) Michael Dyer 2

 

12) Sam Masters 9

 

13) Jay Herne 9

 

14) Ricky Wallace 5

 

15) Hugh Skidmoore 6

 

16) Kozza Smith 12

 

Heat Details

 

1) Doyle, L Herne, Heffernan, Bevan 61.36

 

2) C Holder, Sweetman, J Holder, Gurney 61.26

 

3) Masters, Platt, Dyer, Kinsella 62.00

 

4) Smith, J Herne, Skidmore, Wallace 62.12

 

5) Doyle, Sweetman, J Herne, Platt (ef) 62.03

 

6) Wallace, Heffernan, Gurney, Kinsella 65.12

 

7) J Holder, Bevan, Skidmore, Dyer 62.02

 

8) C Holder, Smith, L Herne, Masters 61.28

 

9) Doyle, Smith, Dyer, Gurney 62.12

 

10) Masters, Skidmore, Heffernan, Sweetman (fell exc) 63.20

 

11) C Holder, Platt, Wallace, Bevan 62.02

 

12) J Holder, L Herne, J Herne, Kinsella 61.90

 

13) Doyle, J Holder, Masters, Wallace 63.44

 

14) C Holder, J Herne, Heffernan, Dyer (fell) 61.91

 

15) Sweetman, Smith, Bevan, Kinsella 62.17

 

16) L Herne, Platt, Skidmore, Gurney 62.57

 

17) C Holder, Doyle, Skidmore, Kinsella 62.02

 

18) Smith, J Holder, Heffernan, Platt (ef) 62.15

 

19) J Herne, Masters, Gurney, Bevan (ef) 62.63

 

20) Sweetman, L Herne, Wallace, Dyer 63.15

 

Final line-up

 

Doyle (Gate 1), C Holder (2), J Holder (3), Smith (4)

 

Result

 

C Holder, Smith, Doyle, J Holder 61.66

 

Thanks to Glen Russell via http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/aus_speedway_bikes/