Thursday 23 September 2004
TEAM ARTDEANS SWINDON SPROCKETS 55
WEYMOUTH HAVEN WILDCATS 39
Conference League
Swindon won 102-87 on aggregate
| Malcolm Holloway | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | 11 |
| Danny Warwick | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | 5 |
| Trevor Harding | 3 | 2* | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 14(1) |
| Mark Thompson | R | 3 | R | 3 | - | - | - | 6 |
| Simon Walker | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1* | - | - | - | 9(1) |
| Daniel Harding | 0 | 0 | 1* | 1 | - | - | - | 2(1) |
| Nathan Irwin | 3 | 2* | 2* | 1 | 0 | - | - | 8(2) |
WEYMOUTH
| David Mason | 2 | 1 | 3 | R | - | - | - | 6 |
| Billy Legg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 0 |
| Daniel Giffard | 2 | 4 | 1* | 2 | - | - | - | 9(1) |
| Wayne Barrett | 1* | 1* | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 10(2) |
| Chris Courage | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | M | - | - | 8 |
| Jack Gledhill | 2 | R | 1* | 0 | 1* | - | - | 4(2) |
| Chris Ferguson | 1* | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 2(1) |
| Ht 1: (Re-Run) Holloway, Mason, Warwick, Legg, 70.58 | (4-2) |
| Ht 2: Irwin, Gledhill, Ferguson, D. Harding, 71.65 | (7-5) |
| Ht 3: T. Harding, Giffard, Barrett, Thompson (f, rem, ret), 70.87 | (10-8) |
| Ht 4: Walker, Irwin, Courage, Ferguson, 71.18 | (15-9) |
| Ht 5: Thompson, T. Harding, Mason, Legg, 72.36 | (20-10) |
| Ht 6: Holloway, Courage, Warwick, Gledhill (ret), 71.71 | (24-12) |
| Ht 7: Walker, Giffard (TR), Barrett, D. Harding, 71.67 | (27-17) |
| Ht 8: Warwick, Irwin, Ferguson, Legg, 72.59 | (32-18) |
| Ht 9: T. Harding, Courage, Gledhill, Thompson (ret), 70.74 | (35-21) |
| Ht 10: Holloway, Barrett (TR), Giffard, Warwick, 71.15 | (38-26) |
| Ht 11: Mason, Walker, D. Harding, Legg, 71.96 | (41-29) |
| Ht 12: T. Harding, Giffard, Irwin, Gledhill, 70.52 | (45-31) |
| Ht 13: Courage, Holloway, Walker, Mason (ret), 71.24 | (48-34) |
| Ht 14: Thompson, Barrett, D. Harding, Ferguson, 72.89 | (52-36) |
| Ht 15: (Nominated; Re-Run) T. Harding (r), Barrett (g), Gledhill (y), Irwin (b), Courage (y; ex, 2 mins), 71.74 | (55-39) |
Programme changes:-
Ht 10: TR Barrett (Double points)
Ht 15: Gledhill replaced Courage
With the unlucky Chris Johnson in attendance, the Team Artdeans Sprockets gave a sparkling display to overwhelm first-time visitors Weymouth and collect all three points on offer. Trevor Harding weighed in with a well-crafted paid maximum and it certainly is a shame that the Aussie hasn’t been available for many more of Swindon’s meetings due a combination of his other racing commitments and the rules regarding averages. Meanwhile, Malcolm Holloway, Simon Walker and Nathan Irwin also produced sterling performances, while Mark Thompson bravely returned despite considerable discomfort from the wrist he broke at Glasgow on 25 July.
Following an unsatisfactory start, the re-run of heat one saw Wellie take charge of proceedings from the gate to defeat David Mason, while Danny Warwick gleaned a point despite running wide and almost clipping the air safety barrier on the pits bend of lap three. The reserves’ race resulted in a big win for Irwin; the 21-year-old flying from the outside gate to defeat former Sprocket Jack Gledhill and his colleague Chris Ferguson.
Trevor Harding netted his first victory in heat three, but with Tommo coming down on the second bend, Daniel Giffard and Wayne Barrett easily gained a share of the points for the Wildcats. Walker made one of his jet-propelled getaways to lead the fourth heat, while Irwin tailed Chris Courage, before driving outside as they entered the second lap to join his partner for a super ‘fiver’. That was immediately followed by another full-house, as Trevor Harding brilliantly shepherded Thompson for the duration, with Mason unable to find a way through the team riding duo.
Holloway had to call on all his experience to prevail in heat six after being moved alarmingly off-line by Courage on the second corner. The veteran determinedly held his nerve to find the smallest of gaps right by the fence, before notching his second success. Behind the leaders, Span, the team man supreme, again cleaned-up the odd-point, as Swindon extended their lead to 24-12. Walker swept away to limit the damage of Giffard’s double-pointer in heat seven, even having time to do a little showboating, when looking over his shoulder into the pits as he rounded the final corner.
Warwick made a dream start from the outside gate in heat eight, and with Irwin quickly slotting in behind, there was never any doubting they would register a third 5-1 for the Team Artdeans Sprockets. Trevor Harding happily continued on his way in the next race, easily beating the visiting pair of Courage and Gledhill. Weymouth gave Barrett the black and white helmet cover in heat ten, but Holloway negated the tactical move with a sweet success all the way from the tapes. Behind, an unsavoury finish saw Giffard dramatically slow approaching the line in order to allow Barrett through, but this very nearly caused a nasty pile-up, with the chasing Warwick having to shut-off abruptly to avoid running into the back of his opponent.
Following a shared race, Trevor Harding took command of heat twelve, while Irwin repelled the pressing Wildcats duo of Giffard and Gledhill. The Weymouth number three wouldn’t be denied though and wore down Irwin, eventually driving inside on the third bend of the final lap to deny the popular homester a paid maximum. Courage took victory in heat thirteen, although he had to work for it, with Wellie trying inside and outside for the duration. The evergreen Swindon skipper did manage to get level on the home straight at the start of lap two, but Courage had the faster outside line and used it to good effect to repel Holloway’s efforts.
Tommo went through the pain barrier to take his fourth ride in the penultimate heat and after making a good start, he grimly held on to beat the threatening Barrett. With Irwin having previously lost out on a paid maximum, team manager Martin Satchell elected to further his experience by giving him the nod to ride alongside Trevor Harding in the last heat. The race was to take some considerable time to complete, with an initial delay resulting in a two-minute exclusion for Courage, whose machine developed a major problem close to the start line. Harding’s clutch cable then snapped, although he escaped a similar fate to Courage, since he was able to jump on board his younger brother’s steed. When the race did get underway, referee Ronnie Allan spotted something amiss and called all-four competitors back for a re-start. Finally, Harding was able to complete his unbeaten tally, while Barrett and reserve replacement Gledhill held off the challenging Irwin to split the points.