Monday 7 June 2004
TEAM ARTDEANS SWINDON SPROCKETS 46
Conference League
Mildenhall won 106-82 on aggregate
| Malcolm Holloway | 2* | 3 | 1* | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 12(2) |
| Simon Walker | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1* | 1 | - | - | 10(1) |
| Mark Thompson | 2 | 1* | 1 | 2 | 2 | F | - | 8(1) |
| Danny Warwick | 1* | 2 | 1* | 2* | 0 | - | - | 6(3) |
| Steve Braidford R/R | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Jamie Courtney | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 7 |
| Nathan Irwin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1* | - | - | - | 3(1) |
| Jordan Frampton (No.8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
MILDENHALL
| Billy Legg | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Jason King R/R | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ritchie Hawkins | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | - | 21 |
| Tony Dart | R | 2* | R | 1 | 3 | - | - | 6(1) |
| Jon Armstrong | 1* | 3 | R | 3 | 2 | 2* | - | 11(2) |
| Darren Smith | 0 | R | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Lee Smart | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2* | 9(1) |
| Ht 1: Walker, Holloway, Smart, Legg, 70.19 | (5-1) |
| Ht 2: Courtney, Smart, Irwin, Smith, 71.03 | (9-3) |
| Ht 3: (Re-Run) Hawkins, Thompson, Warwick, Dart (f, rem, ret), 68.02 (CL Track Record) | (12-6) |
| Ht 4: Holloway, Smart, Armstrong, Irwin, 70.20 | (15-9) |
| Ht 5: Hawkins, Warwick, Thompson, Legg, 68.70 | (18-12) |
| Ht 6: Armstrong, Walker, Holloway, Smith (ret), 69.74 | (21-15) |
| Ht 7: Hawkins, Dart, Thompson, Courtney, 69.63 | (22-20) |
| Ht 8: Walker, Smart, Irwin, Armstrong (ret), 70.43 | (26-22) |
| Ht 9: Armstrong, Thompson, Warwick, Smith, 71.48 | (29-25) |
| Ht 10: Hawkins, Holloway, Walker, Dart (ret), 69.51 | (32-28) |
| Ht 11: Courtney, Warwick, Dart, Smart, 72.16 | (37-29) |
| Ht 12: Hawkins (TR), Thompson, Irwin, Smart, 70.36 | (40-35) |
| Ht 13: Holloway, Armstrong, Walker, Legg, 70.75 | (44-37) |
| Ht 14: Dart, Smart, Courtney, Warwick, 71.68 | (45-42) |
| Ht 15: (Nominated) Hawkins (g), Armstrong (y), Holloway (r; f,rem), Thompson (fell), 71.26 | (46-47) |
Programme changes:-
Ht 1: R/R Smart
Ht 4: R/R Holloway
Ht 5: R/R Hawkins
Ht 7: R/R Thompson
Ht 8: R/R Armstrong
Ht 11: R/R Warwick; Smart replaced Legg; R/R Dart
Ht 12: TR Hawkins (Double points); Smart replaced Smith
Ht 13: R/R Walker
Second-half:
| Race 1: (Re-Run) Jordan Frampton (r), Shane Hooper (b), Mark Simpkins (y), 76.61 (3 Riders Only) |
| Race 2: (Demo) Kyle Hughes, 75.61 |
| Race 3: Jordan Frampton (r), Shane Hooper (b), Mark Simpkins (y), 77.27 (3 Riders Only) |
| Race 4: (Demo) Kyle Hughes, 74.83 |
This was a classic David versus Goliath clash, as the Team Artdeans Sprockets faced a Mildenhall side who had only previously lost one league match, ironically the day before when Boston visited their West Row home and surprisingly stole away with the league points. The Fen Tigers arrived without the services of regular number one Paul Lee, due to a transport problem, and a move to track locally based Gary Phelps was vetoed by referee Mick Posselwhite. This subsequently meant the Fen Tigers used young Billy Legg, a protégé of Malcolm Holloway, at the head of their side.
Simon Walker and Wellie gave Swindon a flying start in the opener; there never being any doubt they would record maximum points from the moment they left the gate in unison, with Lee Smart trailing. The homesters increased their lead in heat two, when Jamie Courtney impressively took victory from Smart, while Nathan Irwin swooped outside Darren Smith entering the back straight on lap two, having made up a tremendous amount of ground after lifting badly at the start.
The third race had to be re-run after Tony Dart had tumbled on the first turn, with a full complement of riders called back to the line. New signing Mark Thompson got away well at the second attempt, with fellow Sprocket Warwick closely following behind. Former Swindon rider Ritchie Hawkins used all his Blunsdon knowledge to force his way under the two home men on the pits bend, prior to storming away to win in a new Conference League track record time of 68.02 seconds. That was the start of four successive shared races, which left the Team Artdeans Sprockets holding a 21-15 lead after six heats.
Mildenhall then got right back into contention, when Hawkins and Dart romped to a 5-1, with Tommo unable to do anything bar chase their shadows. Swindon’s response was a 4-2, with Walker collecting the win from Smart, while Irwin grabbed third place after shaping to round Armstrong on the pits bend of lap two, before beautifully cutting back and driving past his opponent on the home straight.
The next two races were evenly split, before Courtney and Warwick linked together for an eleventh heat ‘fiver’. The race was a thriller though, as never more than a few yards separated all the competitors, with the home duo having to pull out all the stops to hold off Messrs Dart and Smart. That put the Swindon 37-29 to the good and the Fen Tigers reacted as expected by nominating Hawkins for a tactical ride. Tommo produced a monumental effort to repel the thrusts of the top visitor, but Hawkins proved just too good and surged through on the inside of the pits bend on lap three, thereby netting 6-points. Still, with Thompson and Irwin in the minor positions, at least an 8-1 reverse had been avoided.
Heat thirteen featured a bizarre ending, when, after leading for much of the race, the diminutive Armstrong dramatically slowed on the final turn, leaving the pressing Holloway to claim the win. Meanwhile, Walker also encountered a problem on the last corner, and it was amazing to witness both him and Armstrong crawling across the line for the remaining points, with the Fen Tiger just getting second position.
With the Team Artdeans Sprockets leading 44-37, it looked as if a major upset was on the cards, but in a dramatic finish, it wasn’t to be. Although Courtney got the drop in the penultimate heat, he was passed in turn by both Dart and Smart within the first two laps, with the visitors’ resultant 5-1 reducing Swindon’s lead to 45-42. Then, with high-tension in the air, Hawkins and Armstrong took an early lead in the decider, with Holloway mixing it at every opportunity. The reactions of the crowd told the story as they cheered when he edged past Armstrong for second place, only for the ‘Pocket Rocket’ to reclaim the position. This went on for three laps and something just had to give in the end. Unfortunately, from a Swindon point of view, it was Wellie who fell on the first turn of lap four, with the Fen Tigers’ gleefully dashing on to post a match-winning 5-1. It was a case of so near, yet so far for the Blunsdon boys, but what a fabulous meeting the crowd had been treated to.