In the past it has not been possible for the Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels to say that they were staging a ‘Top of the Table’ clash, but that is exactly what they did, with the visit of the ‘Anderson’s Quality Butchers’ Berwick Bandits to the Oak Tree Arena on Friday.
Following last week’s impressive home victory the pair stood first and second in the Premier League table, with the Rebels sitting proudly above everyone else.
The Bandits arrived with their experienced Czech pair of Adrian Rymel and Michal Makovsky in brilliant form, they had been ably backed up by Norbert Magosi and Tero Aarnio, but were depleted with the absence of their new signing Scott ‘Scud’ Smith, and the ‘injured’, and recently replaced Benny Johansson. Smith is still on the injured list following last weekends horrific crash, with former Rebel, Paul Fry, and Johansson was also out for medical reasons, despite riding in Sweden in the week. Newport Wasps skipper Tony Atkin has been signed to replace Johansson, but not in time to be included in this meeting. Berwick used Rider Replacement to cover the Swede’s absence, and drafted in the Rebels № 8, Jay Herne in place of Smith.
The Rebels have made a good start to the season, and have been in stunning form for the last few weeks, so it was no surprise when they got off to a flying start again in the opening heats. Jason Doyle and Jordan Frampton have recorded three 5-1’s from their last four home meetings, and made it five in six when Doyle out-gated Adrian Rymel to lead off the line. Frampton came storming through, and cut inside the 2006 Czech Champion, as they ran down the home straight at the end of the opening lap. That was the end of the race as a contest, with the Rebels pair pulling clear to take all the available points.
Part of the Rebels strength this season is the reserve pairings, with such a balanced team, any two from five will ride at reserve this season, so the partnership will always be a strong one, and it shows in the results. The current pair of Simon Walker and Brent Werner have racked up the points in the last few meetings, and did it again here. Werner was quickly alongside Jay Herne. Herne was not at his straightest off the start line, and blocked Walker in the process, causing him to drop to the back. Herne led until Werner took a neat inside pass on the fourth bend; Walker used the same spot to power round the outside of Adam McKinna to take third. Werner and Herne battled it out and swapped place over the next lap and a half until Werner got the upper hand on lap three. Walker had been steadily closing on the pair with a powerful outside run on the fence, and came storming through, passing Herne off the second turn of lap three, and finally pulling to the front on the last two bends of the race to take a stunning last to first victory.
Since his introduction in to the Rebels line up, Matthias Kröger is another who has been building a successful pairing with race partner, Emil Kramer. Kröger has been a revelation for the Rebels, with his flying starts, and expert riding of the inside line. He was fast away again, and led from Michal Makovsky, and Emil Kramer. Makovsky came to challenge on the second turn, with Kramer building a head of steam on the outside. Kröger just moved of the inside enough to hinder Makovsky’s run, and allow Kramer to power around the outside. From that point on the Rebels were in complete control, and pulled well clear to win easily, and take a third 5-1 on the spin.
Since being signed to the Bandits, young Finn Tero Aarnio has been laying down some good score, and has found himself I the main body of the team at Number 5. Heat 4 was the first look he has had at the Oak Tree circuit, and he gave a good account of himself, behind Stephan Katt. Katt and Brent Werner made a good start to lead on the opening bend, with Katt taking up the running on the next. Aarnio was close up, and moved passed Werner on the home straight at the end of the lap. Werner kept on the gas, and harried the former Finnish U21’s champion all the way. The experienced Californian tried every line in an attempt to regain his place, and put in a powerful run off the final bend, which only just fail to bring him reward.
The Rebels had powered themselves to a 15-point lead, just had they had at the same point last week, but were soon to suffer an unexpected reverse, which served as a reminder that they still needed to be at the top of their game to continue the good run they are enjoying. It came at the hands of Norbert Magosi in Heat 5, after he had just led on the opening turn, following a fairly level break. Emil Kramer was winding it up around the outside, and drew alongside Magosi as they entered the back straight. Magosi showed no mercy as he unceremoniously slammed the door shut in Kramer’s face, and almost put him straight in to the safety fence. In the melee, Adrian Rymel took the opportunity to ghost through to the lead, and pulled out a gap. Kramer recovered his composure, and set off after the Hungarian, and unfortunately for Kramer, caught him at exactly the same spot. Magosi just repeated the move from the previous lap, forcing Kramer to shut off or visit the fence. Undaunted Kramer renewed his challenge, and as they on to the home straight at the end of lap three, he had once more pulled alongside Magosi, and unbelievably made a third visit to view the fence from close quarters. Kramer, to his credit, just kept his head down, and the power on, and came with a big run off the final bend of the race, but Magosi just had enough in hand to retain second place. It was one of the most persistent pieces of hard, bordering on foul, riding seen at the Oak Tree Arena for some time, and Kramer was clearly not pleased. It would be surprising if he didn’t make his feelings felt after the riders had returned to the pits.
The Rebels answer was to bang in two 5-1’s in the next couple of heats. Jason Doyle made the best of a level break to lead Heat 6 at the second bend. Jordan Frampton was last away, but spotted a gap as the Berwick Pair parted on the second turn, and shot through to grab third from Tero Aarnio, and then power down the back straight and cut inside Jay Herne on the next bend. Herne was showing some sparkling form, and was trying so hard to regain his place; he just overcooked it, and lost control as they entered the fourth bend, leaving Frampton to pull clear. Frampton joined Doyle in the lead, and nipped through off the final bends of the race to take the win.
Heat 7 took two attempts to run, after Michal Makovsky was excluded in the original running. Adam McKinna had made a good start, but was swamped by Stephan Katt, and Simon Walker on the first bend. As the riders approached the final bend of the lap, Makovsky nipped inside the Rebels pair, but picked up some unexpected grip at the same time. His front wheel rose in to air, as he was dragged towards the fence. Unfortunately Katt had appeared back on his outside, and Makovsky collected him, forcing him hard against the fence.
It was purely accidental, and had no malice attached to it, but the end result was that Katt end up in a heap against the first bend air fence. Margaret Vardy took a long time to put on the red lights, and the riders were well down the back straight before she did. With most people expecting the worse and Katt to be excluded, it was actually Makovsky she banished as the primary cause of the stoppage. Whilst not disagreeing with the decision, it was a strange one to make in view of the length of time she had allowed the race to continue, and the question has to be asked why the lights were not put on straight away if Makovsky was deemed at fault? In the re-run the Rebels pair were never in danger, with Simon Walker taking the win from Katt.
Heat 8 went also the Rebels way, with a 4-2 advantage. A level break saw Brent Werner lead on the opening bend from Jay Herne, who had replaced Adam McKinna. Jordan Frampton was soon on the scene, and went by Herne on the second bend, before pulling to the front with an inside pass on Werner at the next. Jay Herne set off after Werner, and was soon on his tail, trying inside and out to find a way by. Werner seemed to have him covered as he ran out on the dirt line, until the final lap, when he dropped to the inside to cover Herne’s final run. Unfortunately didn’t come down far enough, and left himself in no-mans land, just short of the best drive on the inside line. Herne was quick to take advantage, as he anchored himself on the grippy inside line, and nipped through to pip Werner on the run to the line. It was a fine piece of riding by the young Australian, and bodes well for his future with the Rebels.
For Emil Kramer and Matthias Kröger, it was normal service resumed in Heat 9, as Kröger led off the tapes, and Kramer came flying round the boards to grab the lead running to the next. From there they just pulled away, leaving Tero Aarnio, and Jay Herne floundering in their wake.
Heat 10 was one of the strangest and slowest seen at the Highbridge circuit for some time, and probably years to come. It started normally enough, with Jason Doyle making a flying start to lead off the tapes. As they approached the second turn, Doyle dropped it, and ended up in the fence. As the remaining riders sped down the back straight they suddenly slowed to a crawl, but the red lights remained unlit. Amid frantic waving from the centre green, and the pit gate, the riders, now well spread out, realised the race had not been stopped and set off again. Doyle had regained his feet, and rejoined the race. In the confusion, Adrian Rymel had been left well in the lead and made his way to an unchallenged win, with Jordan Frampton talking second from Norbert Magosi. After the race, the three riders all agreed they had seen a red light on the back straight and assumed the race had been stopped, but it turned out it had come from something in the crowd, and not from the referee. The race was finally won in 66.83, probably the slowest good weather time ever recorded in a Premier League race at the Arena.
Heat 11 saw the Bandits throw in a tactical ride, when Kevin Bunney sent out Adrian Rymel in the ‘Black and White’. For most observers it was probably six heats too late, and had it been done at Heat 5, where most expected it, it would have paid big dividends, but as it was the Rebels nullified it by taking the heat win. Rymel made a good start alongside Stephan Katt to lead at the first bend, and looking like he would do the business, until Simon Walker just powered round the outside of the pair on the second turn, and pulled out a lead. Rymel kept up to his work, and steadily closed down on Si-Co, until he was in a challenging position on the back straight of Lap 3. Walker held the challenge, before shrugging it off, and pulling away again to take a great win, and foil the tactical ride.
That result assured the Rebels of the tie, and the Bandits chance of salvaging anything from the meeting was gone. Heat 12 was shared, with another quick Emil Kramer win from the gate. The Bandits filled the minor places from Brent Werner, who retired late in the race.
Heat 13 gave Jason Doyle his second win of the night as he came from behind a charging Adrian Rymel to grab the lead on the inside of the fourth bend of the opening lap. Stephan Katt had also challenged Rymel earlier, but could make the move stick, and had to be content with a third place to give the Rebels a 4-2 advantage. Adrian Rymel never gave up the chase on Doyle, but could never get back on terms.
The Rebels were still in with a chance of putting 60-points on the board for the fourth week running, but a dropped primary drive, for Matthias Kröger, with the Rebels on a 5-1, put paid to that in Heat 14. Simon Walker had made his best start of the night to lead, and Kröger had come to join him on the back straight when he suddenly slowed as he lost drive. The problem was the primary drive on his machine, which unlike most bikes uses a belt drive, and not a chain to deliver the primary drive. It was the first time, since his second ever ride as a Rebel, that Matthias Kröger had failed to score points in a race, which shows the measure of the shrewdness Mike Golding exercised when signing the experienced German. Walker took the race with ease, and in doing so recorded his first ever full maximum for the Rebels.
The nominated heat saw Jordan Frampton rewarded for a great nights work as he lined up along side Jason Doyle. It was consolation for the young Poole based rider, after having a potential maximum spoiled by the ‘Red Light’ affair. In opposition the Bandits relied on their two top men in Rymel, and Makovsky. It was Rymel, who had been terrific all night, who took the win, when he found the drive on the outside to shoot passed the fasts starting Jason Doyle on the second bend. Once in front he pulled away to take an easy three points in front of the Rebels pair, to take a share of the points.
The final score of 58-34 may have looked as though the Rebels had an easy time of it, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Despite the score the meeting provided some fantastic racing, with plenty of passing, and a fair amount of talking points. The Bandits had clearly come to race, but they were unfortunate in coming up against a Rebels side that is in fantastic form at the moment, and one that is making people sit up and take notice. This form is a far cry from the opinions of those pundits who predicted that the Rebels would struggle in this years running of the Premier League. Their revised opinions seem to be being drowned out by the sound of much munching of Humble Pie.
The Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels gave another all round team performance, the highlights of which were Simon Walkers superb full maximum, and Jordan Frampton’s fantastic riding, culminating in his thoroughly deserved Heat 15 appearance. This weekend the Rebels embark on two away matches, with the hope that they will return with more points to add to their growing Premier League total. The league table makes great reading, with the Rebels firmly at the top, long may it continue.
Somerset Rebels - 58
1. Jason Doyle - 3, 2*, flrmtd, 3, 2 = 10+1
2. Jordan Frampton - 2*, 3, 3, 2, 1* = 11+2
3. Emil Kramer - 3, 1, 3, 3 = 10
4. Matthias Kröger - 2*, 0, 2*, ef = 4+2
5. Stephan Katt - 3, 2*, 1, 1 = 7+1
6. Simon Walker - 3, 3, 3, 3 = 12
7. Brent Werner - 2*, 1, 1, ret = 4+1
Berwick Bandits - 34
1. Adrian Rymel - 1, 3, 4^, 2, 3 = 13
2. Norbert Magosi - 0, 2*, 0, 3, 0 = 5+1
3. Michal Makovsky - 1, exl, 1, 1*, 0 = 3+1
4. Benny Johansson (Rider Replacement)
5. Tero Aarnio - 2, 1, 1, 0, 2 = 6
6. Jay Herne (G) - 1, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2 = 5
7. Adam McKinna - 0, 0, 1, 1* = 2+1
