The Buxton Hitmen made it back-to-back home wins in the Conference League after defeating the Redcar Cubs 52-40 on Sunday.
The Cubs posed quite a threat to the home side as it contained three former Buxton riders, Scott James, Gary Beaton and Benji Compton. To add to this, the Hitmen were also without their Number One, John Branney. James was out in the opening race and made the start on Buxton’s Jack Roberts but James’s team-mate Steven Jones fell on the first turn and the referee allowed all four riders to go in the re-run. This time Roberts got the better start and held an advantage but he locked up too much on the second turn of lap three to let James close right in. Roberts sorted himself out quickly enough to keep hold of the lead and with Paul Burnett heading Jones for third, the Hitmen had a 4-2 points advantage.
The following race saw the Cubs pair of Beaton and Michael Mitchell collide on the first turn with Mitchell falling. Isherwood was impeded by this but referee Margaret Vardy chose to let the race continue despite the Buxton rider almost coming to a stop. Mitchell picked himself up but when he crashed on the next lap, the race was stopped and had to be re-run with three riders following Mitchell’s exclusion. Isherwood went around Beaton on the opening turns of the restaging and this race also ended as a 4-2 to Buxton. The home pair of Ben Taylor and Lewis Dallaway hit the front in Heat 3 with Kiwi racer Jade Mudgway picking up third place on his first visit to Buxton as the Hitmen opened up an eight point lead with just three races gone.
Roberts came out on top in the next race as he got the better of Compton on the first turn but Isherwood got blocked out and had to settle for third place, although he kept Compton worried by his presence he never quite got on terms to challenge for second. The ten-point lead meant that Redcar could use a double-points tactical ride and James was given the task in Heat 5. As it was, Taylor was too quick for him and James spent the opening part of the race fending off the attentions of Dallaway. The Buxton skipper then fell on the third turn of lap three and Jones had to lay his bike down to avoid running into him. Dallaway was excluded and the Cubs gained a 5-3 race advantage but still trailed by eight.
Isherwood took the rider replacement ride in Heat 6 and Compton had no answer to the young Hitman as he stormed to his second win of the afternoon and with Burnett coming home ahead of Mitchell, the lead was back into double figures. Heat 7 saw James make the most of starting inside Roberts to move the Buxton rider wide on the first turn and Roberts tried every line on the track to get passed his former colleague. He tried inside and out but could quite find enough drive to get ahead and following four laps of all out effort, James took the win ahead of Roberts with Mudgway getting third for the Cubs. Isherwood rode a brave first turn to get out in front from a tight bunch in Heat 8 but Burnett got squeezed out as the race points were shared to leave the Hitmen 29-21 ahead at the halfway point in the meeting.
There was excitement aplenty in Heat 9 as Taylor was blocked out on the opening turns to lie third behind the Redcar pair of Beaton and Compton. He passed Compton as they exited the fourth turn of lap two before repeating the feat as he went under Beaton one lap later to move into the lead and go on to take the chequered flag. After a few minutes rest he returned to the track in the following race and scorched his way to the fastest time of the afternoon, 54.7 secs for the four laps, as he headed home Compton and Mudgway by a mile. Heat 11 saw Roberts and James clash again, this time the Buxton rider was on the inside of his opponent and he ran James wide on the second turn to block his challenge and take the lead. Jones passed Buxton reserve Scott Whittington on the second turn of the second lap after the home rider ran too wide and the race points ended as a 3-3 for the fourth successive race to lave Buxton still eight points clear with four races to go.
The Hitmen took a big step towards victory as Isherwood led from start to finish but behind him Taylor passed Mudgway as the riders entered the third turn on the second lap to give Buxton maximum points and a 43-31 advantage. Compton and James kept the Cubs hopes alive by shutting Roberts out at the start of Heat 13 for a 5-1 to the visitors but they didn’t use a tactical substitute in Heat 14 and while Mudgway won the race, Dallaway and Isherwood came home in the minor points-scoring positions to give the home side victory on the day. All that was left was for Taylor to complete his unbeaten afternoon which he did as he followed Roberts home with James picking up third place after Compton retired.
SCORERS
Buxton – J Branney r/r, P Burnett 2, B Taylor 16+2, L Dallaway 4+1, J Roberts 15, S Whittington 1, G Isherwood 14+1.
Redcar – S James 14+1, S Jones 3+3, A Summers r/r, J Mudgway 7+1, B Compton 10+1, M Mitchell 0, G Beaton 6.
This Sunday (24th) the Hitmen are at home again as they face the Plymouth Devils. The meeting starts at 3pm and it will be interesting to see how the young Hitmen fair against the Devils vastly experienced pair of Seemond Stephens and Mark Simmonds. Usually meetings with Plymouth are close affairs and nothing suggests that this one won’t differ from the norm. If you want an afternoon entertainment then get along to Hi-Edge this Sunday. Further details can be found at www.hitmen2000.co.uk – Buxton’s official website.
