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Last Updated: Nov 28th, 2010 - 10:22:29 |
The Buxton Hitmen overcame a stiff test from the Newport Hornets as they defeated the Welsh side 50-38 in their National Trophy meeting on Sunday to stay on top of the Trophy table.
The contest was eagerly awaited as the two teams have been possibly the best in the Nation League in 2010 and Newport were looking for revenge after losing both home and away to the Hitmen in the league. Buxton had moved to the top of the Trophy table with an away win at Weymouth on Friday night while the Hornets had won at Plymouth to keep up their Trophy chase.
The opening race saw Craig Cook come out on top for Buxton as he defeated the Newport duo of Luke Priest and Todd Kurtz but they held off Jason Garrity for a share of the points. The Hornets’ Jamie White-Williams had all sorts of trouble at the start of Heat 2. His bike packed up on him as he came around to the start and he only just beat the two minutes time allowance as skipper Tony Atkin rushed a bike out to him. White-Williams then crashed through the start tapes and was penalised 15 metres for the offence. When the race did get underway, Garrity and team-mate Lewis Dallaway hit the front and took maximum points to give the home side a four-point lead.
Tim Webster hit the front in Heat 3 with partner Atkin right behind him but Webster made a mistake on the third turn an ran wide, causing Atkin to take avoiding action, and Hitman Rob Branford passed inside the pair to take the lead. The Newport riders regained their line and held of Jon Bethell as they shared the points. Buxton extended their lead in the following race as Adam Allott swept from the outside gate position to lead with Garrity squeezing between Priest and Tom Young on the first turn. Young locked up and pulled onto the centre green with a foot injury. The 5-1 put Buxton 16-8 in front and Young hobbled off to the pits and subsequently withdrew from the meeting.
Kurtz led Heat 5 from the start with Bethell and Branford hot on his heels. Priest put a hard move on Branford as they hit the first turn of lap two but the Buxton youngster didn’t take too kindly to it and passed the Newport man back as they came off the fourth turn as again the points were shared 3-3. The Hornets made the gate in Heat 6 and Webster led from White-Williams. Cook moved into second by the end of the first lap and as Dallaway looked to challenge, White-Williams’s afternoon carried on downwards as his bike slowed and he cruised round slowly for the last two laps.
Newport proved that they were going to be tough to shake off as again they gated and Webster won his second race on the trot with partner Atkin holding off Allott to close the gap to four points. Heat 8 saw an upturn in fortune for White-Williams as he shot from the start and led all of the way with Garrity and Allott following him home in another shared race. The next race saw Bethell fall on the third turn and he was excluded from the re-run. This time White-Williams led from Kurtz with Branford pushing hard in third until White-Williams slid off on the third lap. The 3-2 to Newport left Buxton leading 28-25 and the Hornets were well in the meeting.
Atkin led Heat 10 from Cook and Branford but things were just about to change as Cook ran wide on the second turn of lap two to drop to the back and when Branford ran wide on the last turn of lap three, Webster took the gift to move through to join his partner as the Hornets took a 5-1 to lead 30-29. This stung the home side into action as Allott forceful hit the front in the next race and Garrity pushed Kurtz all of the way for second and the 4-2 edged the Hitmen back into a slender one-point lead. The kick up the backside was evident as Bethell led Heat 12 and Webster blocked Garrity’s run around the outside on the second turn. The Hitman didn’t take too kindly to the move and roared under Webster as they exited the fourth turn and the 5-2 put Buxton 38-33 in front with three races to go.
Heat 13 contains the top riders and proved to be a big race in more than one way. Allott and Cook flew from the gate and the Hornets never saw where they went as Kurtz fell on the fourth turn while in third and remounted at the back. This maximum gave the home side a virtually unassailable lead and the win was confirmed in the penultimate race as Atkin won from Branford with White-Williams falling again. Buxton took all three meeting points as first Cook and then Garrity passed Atkin on the opening lap of Heat 15 to round off with a 5-1 and the Hitmen were home after a scare, 50-38 and they stay top of the National Trophy table.
Buxton – C Cook 10+1, N Morris r/r, J Bethell 5, R Branford 9+1, A Allott 11+1, L Dallaway 3+2, J Garrity 12+3.
Newport – T Kurtz 9+1, L Priest 3, T Webster 11+1, T Atkin 11+2, K Newman r/r, J White-Williams 3, T Young 1.
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