Fresh from their record home league victory, the Buxton Hitmen face a much sterner test this Sunday when they entertain the Redcar Cubs in the Conference League and they will be hoping that their good form continues as they seek revenge for an early season defeat at the hands of the Cubs.
The Hitmen were beaten 32-56 at Redcar back in April but Buxton were rather race-rusty on that occasion as several riders hadn’t seen any racing at that point. Another factor was the absence of top man John Branney who has started his Buxton career in a good points-scoring vein. It is quite evident that he is a quality rider at Conference League level by the way he dominates races and this comes from the experience he has gained by riding a the next level in British speedway with Workington. He certainly makes a big difference to the Buxton team when he is available and against a strong Redcar team that includes two Hitmen from last year, Scott James and Aaron Summers, he will need to be at his best.
One rider who won’t be racing at Hi-Edge on Sunday is Jack Roberts. The strong showing that Roberts made in the British Under 21 Final earned him a place in the European Under 19 Championship and he will be in Slovenia at the weekend as he experiences racing overseas for the first time. After the meeting with Rye House he said, “I’m really excited about the trip. All I can do is to go over there and do my best, I don’t know what to expect really.” The 17-year-old from Stockport received some money from a collection at the last home meeting to go towards his expenses as travelling halfway across Europe is costly for him and his family.
While the territory may be strange for Roberts, one thing that isn’t in doubt is the youngster’s current form. In his last two meetings, away at Sittingbourne and at home to Rye House, the only race where he wasn’t first or second behind a team mate was when he shed a chain in his first race at Sittingbourne and he was leading that race at the time. Since then he has gone ten races for the Hitmen without being beaten by an opponent so he travels to the former Yugoslav republic in good spirits.
In his absence, the rest of the Buxton team will have to step up to the plate and carry on where they left off against what was a poor Rye House team. The Cobras normally put on a good show but they had no answer to the Hitmen last time out. In what turned out to be a new record winning margin for a league meeting, five of the Buxton team were unbeaten by an opponent with Paul Burnett and Gareth Isherwood adding their names to the top three of Roberts, John Branney and Ben Taylor. For Isherwood it was something of a milestone as it was his first maximum score in Conference League racing. Having started the season on the sidelines following Stoke’s decision not to run, he has grasped the opportunity to race for Buxton and with plenty of hard work he is reaping the rewards. He will be back on track this Sunday as the Cubs come to Buxton with the meeting starting at 3pm. As usual, more information can be found at www.hitmen2000.co.uk – Buxton’s official website.
