Sunday 4 July 2004

FESTIVAL OF SPEED

(Staged at Sittingbourne)

Semi-Final 1

WIMBLEDON 24, WEYMOUTH 19, COVENTRY 11

WIMBLEDON (Team 2)

WEYMOUTH (Team 1)

COVENTRY (Team 3)

Programme changes:-

Ht 8: Dallaway replaced Martin

Reserves races:-

Semi-Final 2

SWINDON 24, ARMADALE 16, SITTINGBOURNE 14

SWINDON (Team 3)

ARMADALE (Team 2)

SITTINGBOURNE (Team 1)

Programme changes:-

None!

Reserves races:-

Final

WIMBLEDON 21, WEYMOUTH 20, SWINDON 13

WIMBLEDON (Team 1)

WEYMOUTH (Team 3)

SWINDON (Team 2)

Programme changes:-

None!

Reserves races:-

This Festival of Speed provided a real feast of speedway for those present and despite intermittent rainfall, all thirty-three heats of the scheduled programme were completed in just three-and-a-half hours!

The first semi-final was won by a powerful Wimbledon outfit and as things turned out, also making it through to the final were Weymouth by virtue of being the highest scoring runners-up.

The second group section got underway with Sittingbourne representative Edward Kennett romping to victory at the second attempt after Armadale’s Keith Maben had fallen on the third turn of the initial lap. The Team Artdeans Sprockets entered the fray in heat two and another re-run was required when home man James Theobald tumbled in a tight first turn. With no exclusions, the re-start saw Dean Garrod gate ahead, but first Danny Warwick (on the outside) and then Steve Braidford (on the inside) bustled past on the back straight on their way to an emphatic 5-1.

Chris Johnson headed heat three from the tapes, only for the flying Blair Scott to blast around the outside exiting the pits bend. The Scotsman was untroubled thereafter on his way to victory, but at least Swindon shared the points through Johno and the ever-tidy Nathan Irwin. The fourth race resulted in a fine success for Gary Beaton, as Armadale gained a 4-2 over the homesters to move into a marginal lead:- Armadale 9, Swindon 8, Sittingbourne 7.

Kennett zoomed to another fine win in heat five, leaving Warwick and Braidford to settle for a comfortable share of the points from a distant Chris Geer. Crucially, the Team Artdeans Sprockets then collected a 5-1, with Johno an all-the-way winner from the gate. Meanwhile, Irwin determinedly forced his way under Beaton entering the back straight of the opening lap to join his team-mate on Swindon’s second ‘fiver’.

Heat seven saw Kennett complete a stylish three-ride full-house and capping a marvellous display, the teenager shattered the Sittingbourne track record, lopping half-a-second off David Howe’s previous best in clocking 58.4 seconds. Behind, Scott and Andrew Tully filled the minor scoring positions to leave the scores at Swindon 16, Sittingbourne 13, Armadale 13.

The super Johnson/Irwin pairing combined to repeat their earlier 5-1 in heat eight after Garrod had over-cooked the second bend. That put Swindon in an unassailable lead and a place in the final was guaranteed. Concluding the group stage, Scott and Tully shot from the traps, but the latter fell on the third turn of lap three, with the closely following Braidford having to lay his machine down to avoid a nasty coming together. Referee Chris Gay correctly awarded the second and third places to Braidford and Warwick respectively, but Swindon’s talented number one was unfortunately ruled out of the final due to the damage caused to his steed in the incident. Sadly, this effectively ended any outside chance the Team Artdeans Sprockets had of causing an upset in the final.

Covering for the absence of Braidford, Swindon promoted Jordan Frampton into the team, the Poole-born lad having suitably impressed when winning the second reserves’ race of the afternoon. The opening heat of the final was comfortably taken by Wayne Broadhurst from Johnson, while Clement got the better of Irwin to give Wimbledon an early advantage. Conference League Riders’ Champion Barrie Evans sped from the start to give the Dons another win in heat two. Meanwhile, David ‘Magic Man’ Mason picked up Weymouth’s first points in second spot ahead of Matthew Wright.

Chris Courage held off a strong first bend challenge from Warwick to emerge victorious from heat three, while Frampton mopped up the odd-point after tight riding Aussie Chris Ferguson had closely inspected the 251-metre circuit on the third bend of lap two. A fast start brought Evans a second win in heat four, with Johnson in second place ahead of partner Irwin, who showed great tenacity in beating Clement for the remaining point.

Mason and Weymouth colleague Daniel Giffard looked set for a 5-1 in the next race, but Broadhurst used all his experience to split the duo with a daring outside manoeuvre in mid-race. That left the scores standing at Wimbledon 13, Weymouth 9, Swindon 8, and the Dons were looking good for the title. Johno led heat six into the first corner, but it was Courage who took control on a fast outside line entering the back straight. Behind, Ferguson dived inside Irwin off the second bend of lap two to effectively end any lingering Swindon hopes on the day.

The seventh heat provided some cracking racing, with Broadhurst leading from Warwick up front. Meanwhile, Frampton and Clement raced neck-and-neck, trading places before the Wimbledon rider drove inside entering the first bend of lap three. The Don clipped Frampton’s footrest as he went past, causing the Sprocket to fall, with Clement subsequently also tumbling after losing control. The meeting official deemed the Swindon man at fault and although the decision seemed harsh, the contact was after all made on the blind side of his vantage point in race control. Broadhurst duly swept to victory from Warwick in the re-run, and with Clement filling third spot, the scores stood at Wimbledon 17, Weymouth 13, Swindon 12.

With the rain coming down more heavily, Courage fell on a busy first corner and was surprisingly excluded from heat eight. At the second attempt, Evans dashed away to complete his maximum ahead of Ferguson, with Wright’s third place giving overall victory to the Dons. Wrapping up a fine afternoon’s entertainment, Mason and Giffard swept to a maximum, leaving Weymouth frustratingly close to Wimbledon at just a point adrift in the final analysis. 

MEETING REPORT BY ROBERT BAMFORD