Friday 4 June 2004
WEYMOUTH HAVEN WILDCATS 48
TEAM ARTDEANS SWINDON SPROCKETS 47
WEYMOUTH
| David Mason | 0 | 1* | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 8(1) |
| Daniel Giffard | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2* | 0 | - | - | 12(1) |
| Jason Prynne | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | 9 |
| Wayne Barrett | 2 | 2* | 2* | 0 | - | - | - | 6(2) |
| Chris Courage | R | X | 2 | 1* | - | - | - | 3(1) |
| Carl Warwick | R | 1 | 1* | 2 | - | - | - | 4(1) |
| Jack Gledhill | X | 3 | 2* | 1 | - | - | - | 6(1) |
SWINDON
| Malcolm Holloway | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 13 |
| Jordan Frampton | T | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 1 |
| Chris Johnson | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 9 |
| Danny Warwick | 1 | 2* | 0 | 6 | - | - | - | 9(1) |
| Mark Thompson | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| James Purchase | 2* | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 2(1) |
| Nathan Irwin | 1 | 3 | 1* | 0 | 1 | - | - | 6(1) |
| Ht 1: (Re-Run) Holloway, Giffard, Irwin, Mason, Frampton (ex, tapes), 55.7 | (2-4) |
| Ht 2: (Re-Run) Irwin, Purchase, Gledhill (ex, foul riding), C. Warwick (ex, not under power), 59.2 | (2-9) |
| Ht 3: Johnson, Barrett, D. Warwick, Prynne, 56.9 | (4-13) |
| Ht 4: Gledhill, Thompson, Irwin, Courage (ret), 55.8 | (7-16) |
| Ht 5: Prynne, Barrett, Holloway, Frampton, 57.5 | (12-17) |
| Ht 6: Thompson, Giffard, Mason, Purchase, 57.7 | (15-20) |
| Ht 7: (Re-Run) Johnson, D. Warwick, C. Warwick (f,rem), Courage (f,ex), 58.6 | (16-25) |
| Ht 8: (Re-Run) Giffard (TR), Gledhill, Frampton, Irwin, 59.3 | (24-26) |
| Ht 9: (Re-Run) Prynne, Barrett, Thompson (15 met), Purchase, 58.6 | (29-27) |
| Ht 10: Mason, Giffard, Johnson, D. Warwick, 57.2 | (34-28) |
| Ht 11: Holloway, Courage, D. Warwick, Frampton, 57.3 | (37-31) |
| Ht 12: Prynne, Johnson, Gledhill, Purchase, 58.0 | (41-33) |
| Ht 13: Holloway, Mason, Courage, Thompson (TR), 56.4 | (44-36) |
| Ht 14: D. Warwick (TR), C. Warwick, Irwin, Barrett, 58.3 | (46-43) |
| Ht 15: (Nominated) Holloway (g), Mason (r), Thompson (y), Giffard (b), 56.7 | (48-47) |
Programme changes:-
Ht 1: Irwin replaced Frampton in the re-run
Ht 8: TR Giffard (Double points)
Ht 13: TR Thompson
Ht 14: TR D. Warwick (Double points)
Swindon, with new signing Mark Thompson on board, won the toss at the start of the meeting and chose gates one and three. They also won the toss in heat fifteen and opted for gates two and four.
Jordan Frampton was excluded for touching the tapes in heat one and replaced by Nathan Irwin. Evergreen Malcolm Holloway sprinted to victory from Daniel Giffard at the sceond attempt, while Irwin defeated David Mason to put Swindon ahead. The start of heat two was delayed slightly, allowing time for Irwin to receive medical assistance to a cut on his right hand. James Purchase then fell after being hit by former Sprocket Jack Gledhill, who was subsequently excluded from the re-run. However, Carl Warwick wasn’t under power at the time of the stoppage and so was also excluded. Both team managers agreed that the race should be awarded, but the referee, Mick Bates, insisted on a re-run. This duly saw the two Swindon riders complete the four laps unchallenged for a 5-0 advantage.
Chris Johnson won heat three from the gate, and with Jason Prynne going wide, it allowed Danny Warwick through for a 4-2. The first 5-1 of the evening occurred in heat five, with the Weymouth duo of Prynne and Wayne Barrett being very much the stronger pairing. Heat six saw Thompson make the gate and remain in the lead throughout, despite being chased hard by Giffard.
Chris Courage fell due to a sticking throttle and was excluded from the re-run of heat seven, this allowing the Team Artdeans Sprockets to obtain a 5-1, with Carl Warwick falling on lap two, but remounting to claim third place. Heat eight was a tad controversial, with Giffard taking a tactical ride, but not using the correct black and white helmet colour. Gledhill was originally excluded and was told to go from a 15 metre handicap by the Clerk of the Course. This was communicated to Swindon boss Martin Satchell, who advised Frampton and Irwin of the change round in gate positions. It was then made aware that Gledhill hadn’t in fact been excluded and that the referee was allowing all four riders to compete from the gate; stating that Irwin had not been positioned correctly in his starting grid! Despite a heated discussion between Satch and the meeting official regarding the incorrect helmet colour, the points were still awarded as they had finished on track, with Weymouth scoring an 8-1.
Thompson was excluded for rolling at the start of heat nine, but opted to take the 15 metre handicap in the re-run. He understandably struggled to catch the Weymouth pairing, but rode well to gain the odd-point. Johnson was chased hard by Gledhill in heat twelve, but grittily managed to hold on to second place behind Prynne. Heat thirteen was unfortunate inasmuch as Thompson, who had taken a tactical ride, was unable to pass either of the home riders and had to settle for last place. Skipper Holloway, however, led from the start to keep the deficit at eight-points. Danny Warwick then rode a superb heat fourteen as a tactical ride, being chased constantly by his brother, Carl. Meanwhile, Barrett went wide on the second lap, allowing Irwin through for Swindon to gain a 7-2 advantage. That set-up a last-heat decider, which initially saw both Holloway and Thompson gate ahead. Unfortunately, Swindon’s new acquisition was unable to hold off Mason and Swindon were only able to record a 4-2 race win, giving a final loss of only one-point.