Sheffield Speedway Match Reports 2007

A packed stadium and a great atmosphere. The start was delayed due to Rye fans being stuck in traffic but the Tigers got off to a great start with Ben and Ricky team riding to a 5-1 ahead of the hard pressing Stefan Ekberg. Adam Roynon scorched to the front in heat 2 with Tigers guest Jordan Frampton chasing hard, but James Cockle dropped a point when fell on the third turn. Paul gated ahead of Tai Woffinden in heat 3 but André rounded them both and then looked back for his team mate. Tai soon brushed past Paul and nearly caught André napping as well. Tommy Allen looked for a way past Paul but looked barely in control at this speed. Steve Boxall got a flyer in heat 4, Joel battled past Adam out of turn two. Adam grabbed a handful of throttle and swooped around Joel on the pits turn to follow his team mate home for a 1-5. André trapped ahead in heat 5 but Paul was passed by Stefan on the second turn and looked seriously down on power. Good close match with the scores level.

Ben and Ricky exploded from the tapes in heat 6 and rode together with Ricky spending so much time looking over his shoulder he could have ricked his neck. Tommy Allen took a heavy tumble on the third turn in heat 7 but Tai won the restart easily ahead of Joel. Chris Neath trapped to lead heat 8 but Ben blasted around the field to lead by the back straight. Jordan resisted stern pressure from Adam who almost got past on the last lap until he had to take evasive action as the fence loomed large. André rounded the field to lead heat 9 from Steve Boxall. Adam passed Paul on the inside of the pits turn but then seconds later Steve ground to a halt. Luke Bowen took Tommy's place in heat 10, which was won by Ricky with Tai closing in on Ben in second place but never quite managing to mount a challenge. The Tigers have eked out a 12 point lead, but are carrying too many passengers.

Stefan donned the black & white for heat 11 and trapped ahead but Joel had other ideas and passed him on the inside exiting turn 2. They were three abreast on turn three as Chris Neath got in on the action but it was Stefan who led exiting turn four. Joel and Chris then had a great scrap with Joel pulling a couple of bike lengths clear on the last lap. Tai blasted around the field to lead heat 12 from André with Jordan holding on from Adam in third place. André looked set to squeeze past Tai on the back straight but lost a lot of ground as the door was slammed in his face and he never managed to get back into contention. Jordan and Adam had their own race with Adam making the decisive move on the pits turn on the third lap. Tai did two victory laps to rub it in, but then fell off in front of the packed first turn! Ricky sped away from Stefan to lead heat 13 but all attention was on Joel and Steve fighting for third place. Steve passed Joel on the pits turn on the second lap but Joel never gives up and he regained the place on the second bend on the last lap. The Tigers needed a big win in heat 14 but Paul's clutch was slipping and he almost touched the tapes which went up as he was moving backwards! Jordan led briefly but Adam blasted around him on the back straight and Paul's engine was so slow all he could do was follow Tommy as the Rockets pulled two points back. Stefan went into the tapes at the start of heat 15 earning himself a 15 metre handicap. André ran out the comfortable winner with Ricky easily outpacing Tai and Stefan's engine blowing as he chased the field.

An excellent display by our three heat leaders, but I still think Ben should have been wearing the no.5 race jacket. Joel looked down on power but it didn't stop him trying and he has become a firm favourite with the fans. Paul suffered a mysterious loss of power which he couldn't track down but he now thinks could have been electrical. He was disconsolate in the bar after the meeting. You could see how hard Jordan Frampton was trying and his efforts were very well appreciated. Let's hope James can make amends on Saturday.

 The Rockets certainly gave us a match. Stefan had his moments including a 6 point tactical win. Chris Neath has had much worse Owlerton displays. Tai was enjoying himself and was over the moon about beating André. Tommy Allen can't cope with our track. Luke was gifted his point. Adam carried on from where he left off in the Top Gun meeting which he won here back in July and was certainly the Rockets 'man of the match'.

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