Sheffield Speedway Match Reports 2006

Chris Holder is pitched straight into the action as rider replacement for the injured Neil Collins in heat 1. Ricky and Ben make super starts and although Chris keeps snapping at Ben's heels for the whole four laps it is Ben who finishes second. Joel Parsons hits the front in heat 2 (see photo) with Paul Cooper in close attendance. Paul finds drive on the inside of turn four and takes the lead on the second lap while Benji can't quite follow suit. Carl Wilkinson leads heat 3 but loses control on the third bend with Emiliano quickly laying his bike down to avoid him. Potty leads the restart with Kyle (see photo} comfortably ahead of Tony Atkin, until Kyle gets out of shape on the last lap and Tony just fails to catch him at the finish line. André shows first in heat 4 with Joel ahead of Benji and Chris Holder. Chris makes his move on the third turn and passes Benji on the third lap (see photo) but falls seconds later. Emiliano traps again in heat 5 and Kyle passes both Chris Schramm and Carl Wilkinson around the inside of turns three and four. Kyle is ahead entering turn one but Chris Schramm attempts to lean on him and falls collecting his team mate and modifying the fence. The referee must have been feeding his guide dog at the time and excludes Kyle!

Ricky makes it look easy again in heat 6, but Ben really has his work cut out staying ahead of Chris Holder again. André is off and away to lead heat 7 but Carl Wilkinson moves Paul very wide on turn one and Paul never manages to make up the lost ground. Ben and Benji both get the drop on usually quick starting Joel in heat 8 and Benji rides a tidy line to follow his partner home. Kyle wins heat 9 but Chris Holder gets the better of Emiliano diving through into second place on the second bend, second lap. Ricky maintained his unbeaten status winning heat 10, but Ben surrendered his losing out to Carl Wilkinson on the first lap.

André was untroubled winning heat 11 and it looked as though Cooperman was going to make it another 5-1 until Tony Atkin caught him napping with a fence scraping blast around the final turn. Tim Stone eventually woke up and put Carl on a tactical in heat 12 which came up trumps as he headed Emiliano home for a six point win, the Wasps first winner of the night. André made heat 13 look easy while Ricky and Chris Holder entertained us by trading places in the early stages before Ricky managed to extend a slight lead. Tony Atkin was given the black and white in heat 14 but this time Cooperman rode a wider line as he followed Kyle home and Tony lost ground on the third lap as he went even wider on the first turn and had to take avoiding action as the fence loomed large! Ricky and André completed their maximums in the nominated heat ahead of Chris Holder with a dispirited Carl Wilkinson tailed off at the back.

A poor crowd reflecting the paltry opposition minus their big guns, and the big win is what they expected, but the racing was much better than the scoreline suggests. Chris Holder only managed one second place in six starts but he was always in the thick of the action and Carl Wilkinson's performance made a mockery of his average. The Wasps visit Edinburgh next and will have André guesting for Craig Watson in their first round KO Cup tie with the Monarchs.

Return to Sheffield Speedway fixtures and results
Return to Sheffield Speedway homepage