Kart Raceway Cobra Danny Halsey came within a run-off of a place on the rostrum in the 2008 CLRC at Rye House on Saturday night.

The British U-21 Finalist finished last in his opening ride – more about which later – before reeling off four straight wins to force a three-way tie for third place. That extra heat was taken by 16 year old Aussie sensation Darcy Ward, who headed home Halsey and Weymouth’s Jay Herne to ensure his own place in the top three.

It was, in fairness, no more than Ward deserved. He had raised eyebrows with his Conference League performance at Rye House just six days earlier, and raised his game even more for this showpiece event. Perhaps most memorable was the opening race, which saw the Aussie rear out of the gate, only to pick off each of his three opponents over the next four laps. Halsey held second place briefly in that race, only to fall to the rear of the field by the close. Little did we know it but with Benji Compton and Byron Bekker also involved in the race, Heat 1 was to parade the eventual top four finishers of the night.

Ward repeated his fourth-to-last feat in Heat 6 against Gareth Isherwood, Rob Smith and Simon Lambert, and a third win kept him clear at the top of the score-chart. Only a fall in his next outing while holding second place prevented an even higher finish.

Ward’s Heat 14 mishap opened the door for Redcar’s Benji Compton, who rode unbeaten after Heat 1 to clinch the Championship. His older brother Andre won the Premier League Riders event in 2004, so the 22 year old’s success balanced matters out for family bragging rights. Scunthorpe’s Byron Bekker finished second overall after also going through the card after his third place in Heat 1.

It proved a solid night overall for Kart Raceway Cobra Rob Smith, who recovered from demolishing the third bend safety fence when trying to pass race leader Ben Taylor in his opener. He posted 7 points from his remaining four rides to finish 7th.

With Tom Brown suffering a right leg injury in Heat 10, and Richard Lawson, Aaron Baseby and Kyle Hughes all missing rides due to bike problems, meeting reserve Gary Cottham was kept busy, and contributed 5 points to finish 11th.

Scorers and placings (all from 5 rides unless stated):
1.  Benji Compton   14
2.  Byron Bekker   13
3.  Darcy Ward   13 (after run-off)
4.  Danny Halsey   12
5.  Jay Herne    12
6.  Ben Taylor     9
7.  Rob Smith     7
9.  Kyle Hughes    6 (4)
10. Dean Felton    6
11. Gary Cottham (res)  5 (4)
12. Simon Lambert  4
13. Harland Cook (res) 3 (4)
14. Tom Brown  3 (3)
15. Scott Richardson  2
16. Richard Lawson  2 (2)
17. Aaron Baseby  1 (4)
18. Kyle Newman  1       

The Things They Said

Saturday’s 1-2-3 had the following to say as they stood on the podium at the CLRC:

Benji Compton
“I really enjoyed it, and everything went right on the night. I still can’t believe that I’ve won it, but it’s a really good feeling. I’d like to thank Jason Pipe (Cubs team manager) and everyone at Redcar for sticking by me and giving me another chance.”

Byron Bekker
“It’s been terrific tonight. My first ever speedway meeting in Britain was here at Rye House, and I think I took just about every single board out because I had two or three big falls! To come back a few years later and do this is amazing. I would like to thank my club Scunthorpe and everybody that’s helped me along the way.”

Darcy Ward
“I had a bad fourth ride because I was trying so hard; I should have realised I just needed second in that one to stay on the pace. Hopefully, next time I can go even better!”