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Last Updated: Nov 28th, 2010 - 10:22:29 |
In racing terms it may not have been the best meeting ever seen at the Oak Tree Arena, but as with any battle with the ‘Old Enemy’ it had some tension, a bit of spice, and a couple of controversial decisions.
For two teams vying for a place in the Young Shield, the final outcome was always going to be important, no matter which way it went.
For the Somerset ‘Dickies’ Rebels the tension came early in the affair, with the Newport Wasps conceding a 5-1 in the first heat, and then hitting straight back and putting the Rebels under pressure, with two 5-1’s of their own. As for the spice, read heat, and the person supplying it was Cory Gathercole, who after a couple of weeks of under par performances, blasted back to form with a blindingly fast opening ride, followed up by three more virtually flawless wins.
Not only has Gathercole had a hard time of it recently, he has also lost his Number One race jacket in the last round of averages. In Heat 1 he put all that behind him with a blazing start alongside Christian Hefenbrock, the recipient of Gathercole’s Number One spot. The pair shut out the Wasps top two of Leigh Lanham and Craig Watson. Watson got in a brief challenge to Hefenbrock’s second place on the opening lap, but the German beat him off easily, and sat on Gathercole’s tail as the pair pulled well clear over the final laps. Gathercole took the win, with a very fast 56.41, to post the fastest time of the season. That was only the appetiser, as he went on to record three more sub 57-second times on the night, a feat is thought to be unparalleled at the Highbridge circuit.
After suffering the maximum loss in the opener, the Wasps struck back immediately as Alex Davies and Todd Kurtz led all the way to level the scores after Heat 2. Kyle Howarth, and Simon Lambert, who was in as a guest for the injured James Holder, closed down Todd Kurtz at the end of the lap, but they couldn’t dislodge Kurtz from second. Lambert kept Kurtz under extreme pressure for the rest of the race, but Howarth slowed at the start of the second lap, and soon retired.
The Wasps had all the answers in Heat 3 too, when Kim Nilsson and Kyle Legault, won almost unchallenged from the gate. Sam Masters did put up some early resistance, but never looked like getting in a blow, as the Wasps pair showed the Rebels a clean pair of heels from lap 3 onwards.
Shane Parker may very well be in the latter stages of his career, but he showed, once again, that he still has what it takes, with a stunning win in Heat 4. Blasting from the gate he led every yard of the way to record his own 56-second winning time, with a very nippy 56.93. Simon Lambert got the better of Todd Kurtz to briefly put the Rebels on a 5-1, until the Wasps latest recruit, Robin Aspegren, came blowing around the outside to demote Lambert to third place as they exited Bend 3. Aspegren showed some good moves in his pursuit of Parker, but he never got close enough to deliver anything like a telling challenge.
The next three heats all went to the Rebels by 4-2 margins, as they steadily recovered from the two Wasp maximums. Sam Masters started the ball rolling, with a fine win from the gate. At one stage it looked like the Rebels would level the 5-1 count, as Ritchie Hawkins trapped out in second. The Wasps had other ideas, as first Leigh Lanham, with a wide run around the second bend, and then Craig Watson, two laps later passed Hawkins. Watson and Hawkins were locked in a race long battle, with the Somerset man eventually prevailing, as he re-passed Watson on the final lap of the race.
Heat 6 saw the second chapter of the Cory Gathercole 56-second show, as he came with a great outside run to round the quick starting pair of Hefenbrock and Aspegren on the opening turn. Aspegren eased his way into second place around the next two bends, and set off in the vain chase of a fast disappearing Gathercole, who won in 56.81. Alex Davies tried to put Hefenbrock under pressure with some big charges around the outside, but his effort was to be his eventual undoing on lap 3, as he fell when attempting a pass. He did get to his feet and continue, but eventually retired on the final lap.
Now for those controversial decisions, or to be more precise, one of them. Shane Parker broke level with Kyle Legault and Kim Nilsson, but it was the young Canadian who emerged in front at the exit of turn two. Parker found himself behind Nilsson, until he too took the Swede on the back straight. Parker set of after Legault, and it looked a vain chase for a long time. Then out of nowhere he conjured up a huge blast around the final bend, and closed on Legault with every turn of the wheel. He got closer and closer as they neared the flag, before they flashed over the line with just half a wheel separating them. There cannot have been too many people in the stadium, who had a clear view of the line, who didn’t complete their scorecard with Parker as the winner, but the one person who mattered did not see it that way, as the Referee Mick Bates, gave the win to Legault. It was a decision which prompted a visit to the referee’s box from Shane Parker after the meeting and one that levelled the scores at 21-21.
From that point on the Rebels took control of the match, starting with a 5-1 in the very next heat. After an initial tapes failure, Cory Gathercole needed no second asking as he blazed a trail off the line to pass Todd Kurtz before the first turn. Simon Lambert followed him through, and any challenge that might come from Craig Watson, evaporated when the Newport stalwart made an error and suddenly slowed out of the final bend of the lap. From that point on he struggled round until he retired, cutting a dejected figure, on the fourth lap.
The Rebels added a 4-2 in Heat 9, followed by three shared heats to hold a six point lead with three heats to go. Ritchie Hawkins had been having a quiet night, but weighed in a win to take Heat 9. Led from the tapes by the exciting Robin Aspegren, he took up the running before they had reached the turn. The downside for the Rebels was Sam Masters getting squeezed out before he could get in a blow. Hawkins though was leading Aspegren a merry dance, with the Swede pulling out all the stops in an effort to close down the Rebels man. Any lingering chance he had of overhauling the determined Hawkins ended when he made a mistake at the second bend of lap 2. Although he closed the gap a little at the end, Hawkins rode a great race, and had his measure all the way.
Heat 10 saw Cory Gathercole complete his 4 ride maximum, with a fourth return under the 57-second mark. Following a level break he entered the turn alongside Kim Nilsson, but it was Gathercole’s supreme pace that held sway as he powered around the outside of the second turn to lead on his own. Nilsson kept up the pressure for all four laps, but apart from a bit of a moment when he picked up some unexpected grip on the final turns, Gathercole coolly despatched the rampant Swede. Kyle Legault took the minor place.
Shane Parker added a second win to his tally, taking Heat 11 with a jet propelled start from the inside gate. He was blindingly fast out of the gate, but still had a tight battle to the turn with the Wasps pairing of Lanham and Watson. Once he had dominated the pair on the first turn he pulled clear to win easily. Kyle Howarth rode a great race for no reward, as he put Craig Watson under pressure for virtually the whole race, until he got a big lift that ended his challenge on the final lap.
Kim Nilsson added his second win of the night when he fought off the early challenge of Ritchie Hawkins in Heat 12. Once in front he was untroubled, which is more than can be said for his race partner, Alex Davies. Davies was piling on the pressure for second place, when he went for a big run around the boards on the opening turn of Lap 2, and lost the bike from under him. As the race progressed he was able to clear the track in time to allow the battle to continue with the Rebels filling the places to share the points.
Heat 13 was to prove the decisive heat as far as the Rebels were concerned, as they hammered home another 5-1 to pull 10-points clear. The maximum men were Shane Parker and Christian Hefenbrock, who powered clear from the second bend to take the win. Parker came from the back in the start to blast around the whole field in the opening two turns. Hefenbrock helped out by clamping Leigh Lanham to the kerb in the first turn, allowing Parker a trouble free run. Robin Aspegren emerged as the only challenger to the Rebels maximum, but after chasing Hefenbrock hard for three laps, he lost any slight chance he had when locking up on the opener in Lap 4.
With the Rebels 10-points to the good, enter controversial decision number two. Whether it was a conscious decision, or just an oversight, Kevin Browns failure to use a tactical ride in Heat 14 ultimately cost the Wasps any chance they had of taking points from this encounter, and with Young Shield qualification at stake, it may turn out to be a woeful one. As the tapes rose the Wasps faithful must have had their collective heads in their hands, as Kyle Legault took a good lead over the Rebels pair of Masters and Lambert. He continued to lead, and a 3-3 looked on the cards, to give the Wasps an outside chance of a lifeline for one point, with one heat to go. Then disaster struck, and Legault made a huge mistake at the end of the second lap, and almost collided with the safety fence. That mistake was all it took for Masters and Lambert to shoot through, and turn the 3-3 into a 5-1, and wrap up the match, and all the points for the home side.
The result of Heat 15 was now academic, with all the points firmly locked away in the Oak Tree Arena safe. For the record, it went to the visitors, and to make matters worse for the hapless Brown, they took the maximum tally from the heat. In the event, Kim Nilsson and Robin Aspegren blasted off the line to lead all the way from Sam Masters and Shane Parker.
Under different circumstances that result would have been costly for the Rebels, but who knows, maybe the writing was on the wall from the very first heat, when Cory Gathercole scorched back to form with the fastest time of the season, in a preamble to what was to be an astonishing performance when you consider his recent woes.
Somerset Rebels = 50
1. Christian Hefenbrock - 2*, 1, 0, 2* = 5+2
2. Cory Gathercole - 3, 3, 3, 3 = 12
3. Richie Hawkins - 0, 1, 3, 2 = 6
4. Sam Masters - 1, 3, 1, 3, 1 = 9
5. Shane Parker - 3, 2, 3, 3, 0 = 11
6. Kyle Howarth - R, 0, 0 = 0
7. Simon Lambert (G) - 1, 1, 2*, 1*, 2* = 7+3
Newport Wasps = 40
1. Leigh Lanham - 0, 2, 2, 0 = 4
2. Craig Watson - 1, 0, 0, 1* = 2+1
3. Kim Nilsson - 3, 1, 2, 3, 3 = 12
4. Kyle Legault - 2*, 3, 1*, 1 = 7+2
5. Robin Aspegren - 2, 2, 2, 1, 2* = 9+1
6. Alex Davies - 3, R, 0, F = 3
7. Todd Kurtz - 2*, 0, 1, 0 = 3+1
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