Sheffield 'Star' Tigers Match Reports 1999


Sunday 17th October, Young Shield Final - 2nd leg

NEWPORT 49 (82)                             SHEFFIELD 41 (98)
Craig Watson      2  3  3  3  3        14   Sean Wilson       tx 3  ef 2            5   
Andrew Appleton   1' 0  1  1            3+1 Paul Lee          3  0  3  2  2        10 
Phil Morris(g)    0  1' 1  ef           2+1 André Compton     1' 2  0  1            4+1 
Bjorn Gustafsson  3  2  3  3  0        11   Simon Stead       2  1' 2  1            6+1 
Anders Henriksson 2  3  3  0            8   Brent Werner(g)   3  1' 2  3  1' 1'    11+3       
Bobby Eldridge    2' 0  1               3+1 Adam Allott       1  2  2' 0            5+1
Chris Neath       3  1' 0  2  2'        8+2 Simon Cartwright  0  0  0  0            0 

 1. 60.11 ( 3-3 ) Lee, Watson, Appleton, Cartwright, Wilson(x tps) 
 2. 62.45 ( 8-4 ) Neath, Eldridge, Allott, Cartwright 
 3. 61.63 (11-7 ) Gustafsson, Stead, Compton, Morris
 4. 62.00 (14-10) Werner, Henriksson, Neath, Cartwright 
 5. 63.11 (17-13) Wilson, Gustafsson, Morris, Lee
 6. 62.04 (20-16) Watson, Allott, Werner, Appleton
 7. 61.64 (23-19) Henriksson, Compton, Stead, Eldridge 
 8. 62.61 (24-24) Lee, Allott(res), Appleton, Neath
 9. 61.67 (28-26) Gustaffson, Werner, Morris, Allott
10. 61.73 (32-28) Watson, Stead, Appleton, Compton(f/rem)
11. 61.06 (36-30) Henriksson, Lee, Eldridge(f/rem), Wilson(ef)
12. 62.27 (38-34) Werner(t/s), Neath, Compton, Morris(ef)
13. 59.87 (41-37) Watson, Wilson, Werner, Henriksson
14. 62.68 (46-38) Gustafsson, Neath, Stead, Cartwright
15. 60.58 (49-41) Watson, Lee, Werner, Gustafsson

1. Sean straight into the tapes, what a start! Paul traps 2nd time and not even Craig Watson can get past. Simon makes a mistake on lap 3 letting Andrew into 3rd place.

2. The Wasps gate and are away. Adam looks tidy, but Simon is all over the track.

3. Bjorn traps, Simon drives past Phil out of turn 2 and André builds slowly up to a rare outside pass on turn 2 on the last lap.

4. Brent takes a comfortable win after a determined first bend.

5. Sean rounds Phil out of turn 2 and capitalizes on a ragged 4th turn by Bjorn to take the lead.

6. Adam leads from the start although Craig wastes no time in passing him on turn 3. Brent falls in behind Adam and pushes him home for a share of the points.

7. Anders from the tapes.

8. After an impressive heat 6 young Adam replaces Simon. He and Paul Lee are first to show and the Wasps pair never look like catching them.

9. Bjorn wins, from Brent poised for the slightest mistake.

10. Craig leads from André while Simon passes Andrew on turn 2. An impetuous André tries everything to pass Craig and ends up on his arse after trying too hard on the last lap! Silly given that the title was not yet won at this stage.

11. Sean's nightmare deepens as his bike grinds to a halt on the first lap. Bobby falls as Sean slows, but remounts for the point.

12. Brent takes the lead from Chris at the end of lap 2 to give the title to the Tigers, while Phil's bike expires at the back.

13. Craig wins in style, but Sean and Brent share the points.

14. Bjorn and Chris win from the Simons but the match is already over.

15. Craig is again a comfortable winner, but Paul and Brent easily contain Bjorn.

Craig kept the home fans happy with some easy looking wins and Bjorn only dropped one point before the nominated heat. Chris Neath good value from the reserve berth but guest Phil Morris must have been a major disappointment. The Wasps needed a massive win to take the title but couldn't even contemplate that with only the 2 heat leaders, especially when Andrew Appleton's home form also seemed to have deserted him.

The Tigers demonstrated why they are the League Champions with a good all-round team performance on what has been a real bogey track for them in the past. Sean had a nightmare afternoon only finishing 2 races, and along with a struggling André our top heat leaders didn't even scrape double figures between them. Brent Werner proved to be an inspired choice of guest and the way he followed young Adam home in heat 6 must have been a massive confidence builder, and obviously encouraged Adam to an even better start in heat 8 and a maximum heat win with fellow teenager Paul. Paul followed up his Elite League heroics for Kings Lynn at Coventry the night before to inflict the only defeat of the night on Craig Watson, and Simon Stead was worth much more than his score reflects. Simon(C) has scored an incredible number of points from the reserve berth this year but was all at sea on the tricky Queensway Meadows track, while Adam Allott made some super starts and looked so much more comfortable on the tight turns. What a meeting to chose for your best display of the season!

All in all a superb end to a superb 'Triple Title' winning season.

Thursday 14th October, Young Shield Final 1st leg

SHEFFIELD 57                                NEWPORT 33
Sean Wilson (C)   3  3  3  3  3        15   Craig Watson      2  2  2  3  0  ef    9   
Paul Lee          ef 1  3  1            5   Andrew Appleton   1' 0  0              1+1 
André Compton     3  1  3  2            9   Scott Swain(g)    2  2  2  1  3  1    11 
Simon Stead       1  3  2' 3            9+1 Bjorn Gustafsson  0  1' 0  1'          2+2 
Alan Mogridge(g)  3  3  2  2' 2'       12+2 Anders Henriksson 1  2  1  1  2        7     
Adam Allott       0  0  0               0   Bobby Eldridge    1' 0  0              1+1   
Simon Cartwright  3  2' 1  1' 0         7+2 Chris Neath       2  0  x2             2

 1. 62.7 ( 3-3 ) Wilson, Watson, Appleton, Lee(ef) 
 2. 63.8 ( 6-6 ) Cartwright, Neath, Eldridge, Allott 
 3. 62.5 (10-8 ) Compton, Swain, Stead, Gustafsson
 4. 64.4 (15-9 ) Mogridge, Cartwright, Henriksson, Neath 
 5. 63.1 (19-11) Stead, Watson, Compton, Appleton
 6. 63.1 (23-13) Wilson, Henriksson, Lee, Eldridge(fell rem)
 7. 63.8 (26-16) Mogridge, Swain, Gustafsson, Allott 
 8. 62.7 (30-18) Lee, Watson(t/s), Cartwright, Appleton
 9. 61.9 (35-19) Compton, Stead, Henriksson, Eldridge
10. 62.9 (39-21) Wilson, Swain, Lee, Gustafsson
11. 63.6 (41-25) Watson, Mogridge, Swain(t/s), Allott
12. 64.4 (44-28) Swain, Compton, Cartwright, Neath(res x 2mins)
13. 63.4 (49-29) Wilson, Mogridge, Henriksson, Watson
14. 64.0 (52-32) Stead, Henriksson(t/s), Gustafsson, Cartwright(res)
15. 63.5 (57-33) Wilson, Mogridge, Swain, Watson(ef)

1. Sean traps and Paul powers around Craig out of turn 2. Craig dives under him into turn 3 and as Paul gets comprehensively filled in he obviously loses some electrical lead and rolls to a halt. Up front Sean is looking very smooth.

2. Simon blasts around the field out of gate 4 to lead, Adam recovers from a timid 1st bend to chase, but ultimately fail to pass a rather wild and hairy looking Bobby.

3. André traps, Simon up to third as Bjorn takes the 3rd bend very warily but he cannot find a way past Scott.

4. Moggo shows he hasn't forgotten his way around Owlerton as he joins Simon in a convincing maximum heat win.

5. Simon squeezes past Craig out of turn 2, Craig comes strongly under him on turn 1 on the next lap only for Simon to squeeze around him out of turn 2 yet again. Simon then dictates the race from in front and it is André's turn to have a crack, but Craig is riding high and wide and André just cannot make an inside line count. Brilliant speedway!

6. Sean dives inside Anders on the 3rd turn to take the lead. Paul winds it on around the 4th bend on lap 2 but nearly collects the fence.

7. After a brilliant 4 lap ding-dong scrap Moggo scrapes around Scott on the very last bend and gets the verdict right on the line. Wow!

8. Paul flys from the start, around tactical substitute Craig Watson on the 2nd bend and never looks like being caught.

9. André traps and powers away oblivious to Simon who is fighting off spirited attempts from Anders.

10. Paul leaves it until lap 3 before rounding Bjorn, Sean is way ahead of Scott.

11. After a sluggish start Moggo moves up to second by improbably sticking to the white line around the first 2 turns. He tries a death or glory swoop on the 4th turn to round Craig but has to settle for 2 points. Tactical substitute Scott only succeeds in beating young Adam.

12. André gives second best to fast starting, wide riding Scott.

13. Craig's bike fails on the line and he jumps onto Bjorn's machine. Sean traps, Anders takes Moggo very wide on turn 1 but Moggo scythes through from the back for another 5-1.

14. Steady makes no mistake from the gate but SimonC cannot make it past Bjorn.

15. Sean and Moggo streak from the gate as Craig's race ends in a shower of sparks (chain?).

Sheffield looked so much more like the League Champions than they have for the last few weeks, and Alan Mogridge was an inspirational guest and very much appreciated by the home fans.

It was heat 11 before the Wasps managed their first heat winner, and they now have a real mountain to climb in the second leg. Craig was desperately unlucky to have mechanical problems in his last 2 rides and this could ultimately decide which way the silverware goes. Scott rode well to top score for the Wasps but there was no backup, while Sheffield pulled well together as a team. Nice touch was Moggo getting the bumps after his last heat 5-1 with Sean. Will he get the nod for Queensway Meadows, or will the management look for a track specialist?

Scud was in attendance, still not fully fit, and frustrated at not being able to join in the fun.

Swindon programme Sunday 10th October, YS Semi-final 2nd leg

SWINDON 51  (87)                         SHEFFIELD 39  (93)
Glenn Cunningham 3  3  3  3  3      15   Sean Wilson      2  3  2'          7+1
Steve Bishop     0  1  0             1   Paul Lee         1' 0  3  3  0  0  7+1
Neil Collins     1' 2  2  3  1       9+1 André Compton    3  3  2  2  fx   10
Oliver Allen     2  1' 1' 3          7+2 Simon Stead      0  1  0  2        3
Steve Masters    3  2  2  1          8   Alan Mogridge    2  2  3  2  2    11
Seemond Stephens 2' 0  1' 1          4+2 Andy Moore       0  0  0           0
Krister Marsh    3  1  1  1  1       7   Simon Cartwright 1  0  0  0        1

 1 67.68 [ 3-3 ] Cunningham, Wilson, Lee, Bishop 
 2 68.56 [ 8-4 ] Marsh, Stephens,Cartwright, Moore     
 3 68.15 [11-7 ] Compton, Allen, Collins, Stead
 4 68.17 [15-9 ] Masters, Mogridge, Marsh, Cartwright
 5 68.52 [18-12] Wilson, Collins, Allen, Lee
 6 67.67 [22-14] Cunningham, Mogridge, Bishop, Moore
 7 68.36 [24-18] Compton, Masters, Stead, Stephens
 8 68.68 [25-23] Lee, Wilson(t/s), Marsh, Bishop
 9 67.81 [28-26] Mogridge, Collins, Allen, Moore
10 67.27 [32-28] Cunningham, Compton, Marsh, Stead 
11 67.89 [35-31] Lee, Masters, Stephens, Cartwright(res)
12 68.02 [39-33] Collins, Compton, Marsh, Cartwright(res)
13 67.43 [43-35] Cunningham, Mogridge, Masters, Lee(t/s)
14 69.55 [47-37] Allen, Stead, Stephens, Compton(t/s,fx)
15 68.18 [51-39] Cunningham, Mogridge, Collins, Lee

The walking wounded just held on to the advantage gained in the home leg but always looked to be fighting a rear-guard action. Sean received pain killing injections before the start for the injury to his leg sustained at Workington on Saturday night, when his chain broke and tore through his boot. Simon Stead was back in the saddle following his horrific looking spill at Owlerton on Thursday but didn't look 100%. Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, André was hit by Oliver Allen in heat 14, was excluded when he was patently not to blame, but more seriously hurt his leg.

Glenn Cunningham rode unbeaten and to be honest untroubled by the Tigers. Steve Bishop had a quiet night only beating Andy Moore (who was well out of his depth). Neil Collins featured in some good races including passing Simon Stead in heat 3. Oliver Allen was steady, but in heat 14 was chasing leader Simon Stead and looking to switch back inside him out of turn 2 when he ran into André. Excluding André was a diabolical decision, and of course in the rerun Simon didn't make as good a start. Steve Masters plugged away for his 8 points without setting the track alight. Seemond made a few tasty starts but Krister looked the better of the 2 home reserves.

Sean was obviously suffering and withdrew from the meeting after heat 8 with the Tigers only 2 points behind, and 16 ahead on aggregate. Lets hope he can recover fitness for Thursdays potential final leg. Paul had convincing wins in heats 8 and 11, but found heats 13 and 15 a little too hot to handle. André was solid although perhaps just a little hesitant on the second bend, lets hope his swollen leg recovers for Thursday. Simon rode better than his score suggests, in heat 3 he was challenging Oliver Allen for 2nd place before he was surprised by Neil Collins at the end of lap 3. Alan Mogridge was a brick with some forcefull riding which will surely get him further bookings for the final legs. Andy and Simon were all at sea and never looked like troubling the home riders.

After the first leg of the other semi-final Newport lead Exeter by 10 points with the second leg at the County Ground tonight.

Saturday 9th October, Challenge

WORKINGTON 56  (87)                      SHEFFIELD 34  (93)
Carl Stonehewer  2  3  3  2'  3     13+1 Sean Wilson      3  3  3  x        9
Peter Scully     0  1  0             1   Paul Lee         1  0  2' 2  2  0  7+1
Peter Karlsson   2  2  1' 3          8+1 André Compton    3  0  3  1  2  1 10
Grant MacDonald  1' 1' 2  3          7+2 Simon Stead      rider replacement   
Brent Werner     3  3  3  3  2'     14+1 Rene Aas(g)      0  0  2  0  1     3
Geoff Powell     1  2' 1  1          5+1 Adam Allott      0  0  0  1' 0     1+1
Darren Groves    3  2' 1  2' 0       8+2 Simon Cartwright 1  0  0  0        1

 1 68.7 [ 2-4 ] Wilson, Stonehewer, Lee, Scully 
 2 72.9 [ 6-6 ] Groves, Cartwright, Powell, Allott     
 3 71.6 [ 9-9 ] Compton, Karlsson, McDonald, Aas
 4 72.2 [14-10] Werner, Groves, Compton, Aas
 5 71.1 [17-13] Wilson, Karlsson, McDonald, Lee
 6 71.8 [21-15] Stonehewer, Aas, Scully, Allott
 7 71.7 [26-16] Werner, Powell, Cartwight, Compton (f/rem)
 8 72.2 [27-21] Wilson(t/s), Lee, Groves, Scully
 9 72.2 [30-24] Compton, McDonald, Karlsson, Aas
10 72.1 [35-25] Stonehewer, Groves, Compton, Allott (Cartwright ex-tps) 
11 awd  [39-27] Werner, Lee, Powell, Wilson (fell-ex)
12 72.1 [42-30] Karlsson, Compton, Allott, Groves
13 72.0 [47-31] Werner, Stonehewer, Aas, Allott(res)
14 72.0 [51-33] McDonald, Lee, Powell, Cartwright
15 70.7 [56-34] Stonehewer, Werner, Compton, Lee

The Comets raced to their biggest win of the season against the Premier League Champions who were missing both Simon Stead and Scott Smith from the outset, and further more lost skipper Sean Wilson when his chain snapped in heat 11 which sliced straight through his boot and injured his foot.

Only André Compton with two wins took the fight to the Comets and he had a terrific scrap with Peter Karlsson in heat 3, but also fell and remounted in heat 7. With conditions deteriorating as the rain continued he was involved in a heat 12 incident which saw Darren Groves fall although Will Hunter took no action.

Brent Werner rode to a magnificent paid maximum, and Carl Stonehewer was only beaten by Sean Wilson in the first heat, which was the only race of the night to finish in under 70 seconds.

Thursday 7th October, YS Semi-final 1st leg

SHEFFIELD 54                                SWINDON 36
Sean Wilson (C)   ef 3  3  2'           8+1 Glen Cunningham  2  3  1  3  1  2    13   
Paul Lee          3  3  1  3  2' 1     13+1 Steve Bishop     1' 0  1              2+1 
André Compton     3  1' 3  r  3  3     13+1 Neil Collins     1  2  1  3  2' ef    9+1 
Simon Stead       2' 2  3  fx           7+1 Oliver Allen     0  1' 0  3           4+1 
Scott Smith       rider replacement   (11)  Steve Masters    ef 2  2  1  ef       5     
Adam Allott       2' 0  0  0            2+1 Seemond Stephens 1  0  1'             2+1   
Simon Cartwright  3  2' 1  2  2  1     11+1 Krister Marsh    0  1  0              1

 1. 62.5 ( 3-3 ) Lee, Cunningham, Bishop, Wilson(ef) 
 2. 64.1 ( 8-4 ) Cartwright, Allott, Stephens, Marsh 
 3. 63.1 (13-5 ) Compton, Stead, Collins, Allen
 4. 63.2 (18-6 ) Lee(r/r), Cartwright, Marsh, Masters(ef) 
 5. 63.2 (21-9 ) Cunningham, Stead, Compton, Bishop
 6. 63.8 (25-11) Wilson, Masters, Lee, Stephens
 7. 63.7 (28-14) Stead(r/r), Collins, Allen, Allott 
 8. 63.0 (32-16) Lee, Cunningham(t/s), Cartwright, Marsh
 9. 62.8 (35-19) Compton, Masters, Stephens, Stead(f/x)
10. 62.6 (40-20) Wilson, Lee, Collins, Allen
11. 63.1 (42-24) Cunningham, Cartwright(r/r), Bishop, Allott
12. 63.8 (44-28) Collins, Cartwright, Masters(t/s), Compton(r)
13. 62.8 (49-29) Compton(r/r), Wilson, Cunningham, Masters(ef)
14. 64.1 (50-34) Allen, Collins(t/s), Cartwright(res), Allott
15. 63.0 (54-36) Compton, Cunningham, Lee, Collins(ef)

1. Sean ushers Paul through into the lead on the 3rd turn and tucks in behind to team ride. Disaster strikes when his coil lead comes off!

2. Adam traps well, Simon passes him out of turn 2, and the Swindon reserves (described as the strongest in the league) take too long weighing up the track to trouble Adam. Simon survives a scary moment very wide on turn 2/lap 2, but just hangs on to his lead, and Seemond comes within a hairsbreadth of demolishing the fence on the last bend but somehow survives! Wouldn't want to clean the inside of his leathers!

3. Oliver Allen is first to show, but André blasts around and Simon scythes under him out of turn 2, and Neil passes him on turn 4. Fist to last in 1 lap.

4. Simon traps, but Steve goes aound him exiting turn 2, just as Paul goes around him on the same bend. Simon is gifted a point when Steve pulls up.

5. Glen uses the outside to his advantage to take the lead from Simon while André tries everything to get into contention. Indeed he tries too much and just avoids the 4th turn fence before settling for 3rd.

6. Seemond demonstrates his starting prowess, but Sean round him out of turn 2. Seemond rides high and wide with Steve on his tail and Paul buzzing around behind looking for a gap. Steve eventually pulls clear and leaves Paul a way past Seemond on the inside, but try as he might Paul cannot pip Steve.

7. Simon a comfortable winner as rider replacement for Scott.

8. Paul flys from the start and denies Glen the outside line.

9. Simon and André lead after a tough first bend. Simon gets it wrong on the first bend of lap 2, tries to ride his way out of trouble around the boards but plunges hard into the 2nd bend fence and is thrown over the handlebars in a ferocious looking smash. He tries to get to his feet but collapses on the track obviously in pain. A lengthy delay ensues while the pit crew repair the fence and Simon takes an ambulance ride.

11. Glen traps from Simon, Steve lifts out of turn 2 but is able to control it, but Adam shuts off as Steve crosses the track in front of him and after that cannot get back into contention.

12. André loses his footrest on the first turn, Simon rounds Neil, but Neil hasn't forgotten the best way around Owlerton and makes his move on the inside of turn 1/lap 3 to regain the lead.

13. André and Sean blast away to extend the lead back to 20 points.

14. Simon Stead is back in the pits, but battered and bruised and unable to take his ride so his namesake steps in to replace him. Oliver traps again, tactical substitute Neil slips in behind him and keeps Simon at bay for 4 laps.

15. Sean is not eligible following his heat 1 breakdown, André speeds to the front but Glen blasts around Paul out of turn 2.

Swindon were a 2 man team and were lucky to go down by a mere 18 points. A couple of mechanical problems told against an even bigger win for the Tigers, but Steve Masters and Neil Collins also suffered from the gremlins. Rider replacement for Scott was obviously the best choice scoring a weighty 11 points, and the man of the match had to be Paul Lee who had his most impressive home display of the season. The Swindon result will depend very much on whether Simon Stead recovers from his horrific looking heat 9 crash. The Tigers won the league, and got to the Young Shield play offs without recourse to a single guest rider, but surely that will have to change now...

Tuesday 5th October, PL

ISLE OF WIGHT 42  (76)                    SHEFFIELD 48 (104)
Scott Swain    3  3  3  2  0      11   Sean Wilson      2  2' 3  3  3    13+1
Danny Bird     1  2' 3  0          6+1 Paul Lee         0  3  2  1        6
Phil Morris    2  1  3  2  1       9   André Compton    1  2  2  3        8
Wayne Carter   0  0  1  0          1   Simon Stead      3  1' 1' 1' 2'    8+4
Phillipe Berge 1  0  2  x          3   Scott Smith      2  ef 2           4
Tommy Palmer   2  3  0 3           8   Adam Allott      0  1  0  1        2
Gary Phelps    1' 3  0  0          4+1 Simon Cartwright 3  0  1' 1  2     7+1

 1 70.5 [ 4-2 ] Swain, Wilson, Bird, Lee 
 2 71.4 [ 7-5 ] Cartwright, Palmer, Phelps, Allott     
 3 71.0 [ 9-9 ] Stead, Morris, Compton, Carter
 4 72.0 [13-11] Phelps, Smith, Berge, Cartwright
 5 72.1 [14-16] Lee, Wilson, Morris, Carter
 6 71.6 [19-17] Swain, Bird, Allott, Smith(ef)
 7 72.2 [22-20] Palmer, Compton, Stead, Berge
 8 71.7 [25-23] Bird, Lee, Cartwright, Phelps
 9 72.4 [29-25] Morris, Smith, Carter, Allott
10 71.3 [32-28] Swain, Compton, Stead, Bird 
11 72.7 [34-32] Wilson, Berge, Lee, Palmer
12 awd  [36-36] Compton, Morris, Allott, Phelps
13 70.5 [38-40] Wilson, Swain, Cartwright, Berge(exc), Smith(dnr)
14 72.4 [41-43] Palmer, Cartwright, Stead, Carter
15   .  [42-48] Wilson, Stead, Morris, Swain

To win by 23 points was in anybodys mind an uphill task, however the Islanders put up a spirited effort, but in the end there was just too ground to make up.

A pre start fire in the pits with Wayne Carter's bike catching fire, fortunately no major damage, the only other major incident came in Heat 13 with Berge and Smith coming to grief with a nasty looking spill on the 3rd bend, both riders taken to Hospital for X-rays to their left wrists.

Report by Sharon Grundy

Thursday 30th September, PL

SHEFFIELD 56                                ISLE OF WIGHT 34
Sean Wilson (C)   3  2' 3  2  2'       12+2 Scott Swain     2  2  ef 1' 3  1     9+1   
Paul Lee          1  3  3  ef           7   Danny Bird      f  2  2  2           6  
André Compton     3  3  3  3  3        15   Phillipe Berge  1  1' 2  2  2  0     8+1 
Simon Stead       2' 0  2' 3            7+2 Wayne Carter    0  1' 1' x2          2+2 
Scott Smith       2' 3  3  0            8+1 Phil Morris (g) ef x2 0  1           1     
Adam Allott       0  0  0               0   Tommy Palmer    2  1  1  1' 1'       6+2   
Simon Cartwright  3  3  1  0  0         7   Gary Phelps     1' 1  0              2+1

 1. 63.0 ( 4-2 ) Wilson, Swain, Lee, Bird(f) 
 2. 64.5 ( 7-5 ) Cartwright, Palmer, Phelps, Allott 
 3. 62.1 (12-6 ) Compton, Stead, Berge, Carter
 4. 64.4 (17-7 ) Cartwright, Smith, Phelps, Morris(ef) 
 5. 62.0 (20-10) Compton, Swain, Berge(t/s), Stead
 6. 62.9 (25-11) Lee, Wilson, Palmer, Phelps, Morris(x/2mins)
 7. 63.5 (28-14) Smith, Berge, Carter, Allott 
 8. 63.2 (32-16) Lee, Bird, Cartwright, Swain(t/s)(ef)
 9. 64.6 (37-17) Compton, Stead, Palmer, Morris
10. 64.0 (40-20) Wilson, Berge, Carter, Lee
11. 64.2 (43-23) Smith, Bird, Swain, Cartwright(res)
12. 64.1 (46-26) Compton, Berge, Palmer, Cartwright
13. 63.7 (48-30) Swain, Wilson, Morris, Smith(fell/rem)
14. 64.4 (51-33) Stead, Bird(t/s), Palmer, Allott, Carter(x/2mins)
15. 63.9 (56-34) Compton, Wilson, Swain, Berge

1. Danny drops it on the outside of turn 3 gifting Paul a point.

2. Adam is too far adrift to make amends for a cautious first turn.

3. André and Simon blast into a commanding lead and leave Phillipe no chances.

4. Phil tries an inside dive on turn 3 and makes contact with Scud as his engine cuts. Simon takes the lead in the confusion and Scud is able to follow him home.

5. George Major makes a very early tactical substitution but André traps again. Simon can't find a way around the Islanders, or enough drive on the inside.

6. Despite being granted extra time Phil exceeds the time allowance. Paul leads after a very determined first bend.

8. Scott in as another tac/sub has the race sewn up until his bike expires at the start of the last lap.

9. André traps and Simon rounds Phil to join him at the front. Tommy also passes Phil but makes no impression on the Tigers.

11. Scud off gate 1 looks for the dirt on the first turn and takes the field wide, unfortunately this means Simon has to shut off, after which he cannot catch Scott mounted on Tommy's bike.

13. Scott traps from gate 1 and Scud is right on his heels as they enter turn 3 but runs out of track and has to bale out. Scott powers away high and wide and even Sean has no answer.

14. Simon dives under Danny on the second lap to take the lead, but Tommy leaves it until the end of lap 3 before he drives around Adam.

15. André and Sean both speed from the tapes to extend the Tigers lead to a comfortable 22 points.

The Islanders were always going to struggle against the League Champions and sorely missed Neville Tatum's usual hatfull of points. Guest Phil Morris had a poxy night but Scott Swain bounced back from an engine failure to claim the visitors only heat win. With Phillipe also in subdued form you got the impression the Islanders were already beaten.

If all goes well on Tuesday the Tigers will be facing either Swindon or Newcastle in the semi-finals. Thursday 23rd September, Royal Bank of Scotland Challenge


SHEFFIELD 59                           WORKINGTON 31
Sean Wilson      3  3  r  3        9   Carl Stonehewer 2  1  3  2  1       9
Paul Lee         ef 1  3  2        6   Peter Scully    1' 0  0  1'         2+2
André Compton    3  3  3  2' 2'   13+2 Grant McDonald  0  0  0             0
Simon Stead      2' 2' 1  ef       5+2 Peter Karlsson  1  3  1  1  3  1   10 
Scott Smith      3  2  3  2' 3    13+1 Brent Werner    2  2  2  2  0  0    8
Adam Allott      2' 1' r           3+2 Geoff Powell    ef 0  0             0
Simon Cartwright 3  1  1  3  2    10   Darren Groves   1  0  1             2

 1. 61.7 ( 3-3 ) Wilson, Stonehewer, Scully, Lee(ef) 
 2. 64.8 ( 8-4 ) Cartwright, Allott, Groves, Powell(ef) 
 3. 61.9 (13-5 ) Compton, Stead, Karlsson, McDonald
 4. 63.1 (17-7 ) Smith, Werner, Cartwright, Groves 
 5. 62.0 (22-8 ) Compton, Stead, Stonehewer, Scully
 6. 62.7 (26-10) Wilson, Werner, Lee, Powell
 7. 63.4 (29-13) Karlsson, Smith, Allott, McDonald 
 8. 63.3 (33-15) Lee, Werner(t/s), Cartwright, Scully
 9. 64.0 (37-17) Compton, Werner, Stead, Powell
10. 67.6 (39-21) Stonehewer, Lee, Karlsson, Wilson(r)
11. 66.3 (42-24) Smith, Stonehewer, Scully, Allott(r)
12. 65.9 (47-25) Cartwright, Compton, Karlsson(t/s), McDonald
13. 64.8 (52-26) Wilson, Smith, Stonehewer, Werner
14. 65.1 (54-30) Karlsson, Cartwright, Groves, Stead(ef)
15. 64.2 (59-31) Smith, Compton, Karlsson, Werner

Highlights;

1. Sean scorches from the gate and leaves Stoney way adrift. Paul sheds a chain before the first bend.

2. Simon leads out of turn 2 from young Adam who resists strong pressure from Darren Groves before claiming second.

3. André and Simon fly from the start and leave Peter trailing, and Grant all at sea.

4. Scud rounds Brent out of turn 2, but Simon cannot squeeze past to join him.

5. André traps but all attention is on young Simon who scrapes the boards for 2 laps before making the sweetest of 3rd bend dives to pass Stoney on lap 3. Has Simon been watching old Peter Carr videos?

7. Peter rounds Scud out of turn 2 and denies Scud the outside line. Scud gives his all in a 3rd bend dive on the last lap and contact is made, but Peter shrugs it off to claim the Comet's first heat win. At the back young Adam easily sees off Grant, easily the worst visiting heat leader seen all year.

8. Paul powers around Brent out of turn 2 and easily holds him at bay, while slow starting Simon rounds Peter on lap 2.

9. André and Simon speed into the lead as the rain comes down, but Brent finds the narrowest of gaps between Simon and the fence on turn 4 to move into second. Simon tries to repeat the manoeuvre on the next lap but contacts the fence and he is very lucky to stay on board.

10. As Sean's pulls up, Stoney goes around Paul to lead down the back straight. Peter tries to follow through but Paul does enough to hold second place.

11. Scud traps on Stoney and takes the perfect line.

12. Peter traps, but Simon blasts around him out of turn 2, and André squeezes between Peter and the fence to follow past one lap later.

13. Sean is back on song and Scud gleefully slips inside Stoney to join him at the front.

14. Young Simon blasts around Peter out of 2, and Supermouse goes around Darren on turn 3. Simon is looking very strong until his machine gives way just as he enters turn 3 on the third lap.

15. With the result assured you might think the Tigers would take it easy, but Scud blasts around Peter out of turn 2, and André waits until lap 3 before he can find a big enough gap to exploit. A brilliant last heat despite the absence of both Sean and Stoney!

A bland end-of-season challenge was brightened by some excellent racing as the Tigers endeavour to keep themselves match fit for the visit of the Islanders in the first round of the Young Shield next week.


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