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Post by Genghis on May 17, 2008 10:01:32 GMT
Wednesday, August 3, 2005 STOKE 50 OXFORD 43 (Conference League)
This meeting was overshadowed by the dreadful accident to young Oxford star Ben Barker, who suffered a multiple fracture to his left thigh and leg, after crashing in the first attempt to stage Heat 8.
Prior to Barker's accident, Oxford had looked capable of ending Stoke's 100% home league record, despite the absence of Craig Branney (riding in the PL for Hull). However, Barker's absence proved costly in the latter stages, and the Academy slipped to only their second defeat in eight away league matches.
Heat 1 saw Barrie Evans win from Chris Mills, while Ben Barker took third, coming under Gary Flint on the fourth bend of lap 1, as Flint fell and remounted (3-3).
Sam Martin & Kyle Hughes gated in Heat 2, but Gareth Isherwood pushed under Hughes on the fourth bend, and moments later Kriss Irving shot under both of them to move from fourth to second. Hughes was left a frustrated last - and tried to hit back, but to no avail (6-6).
Jack Hargreaves won Heat 3, despite pressure from Jamie Courtney, while Justin Elkins finished third ahead of John Branney (10-8). Chris Mills won a processional Heat 4 from Luke Priest, with Irving in third ahead of Hughes (13-11).
The difference between the two sides remained at two points, as Elkins won Heat 5 from Courtney and Barker (16-14), while Heat 6 was also shared, with Martin passing Flint early on to take third. Mills finished second behind Evans, but suffered a puncture following the race (19-17).
Courtney nudged the tapes in Heat 7 and was reinstated off a 15m handicap. However, he blasted around Isherwood as soon as the second turn, and then started to close in on second-placed Priest. However, Priest then stepped up a gear, and went around Branney on the back straight of lap 3 to win the race (22-20).
Oxford were hopeful of gaining a 5-1 from Heat 8, but it ended in disaster. After an even break, Ben Barker received a hefty shove from Kriss Irving entering the first bend, and took a crunching fall into the Stoke safety fence. It was immediately obvious that it was a "big one". After receiving treatment on the track for around 15-20 minutes, Barker was whisked off to hospital, where the extent of his injuries were discovered.
Irving was perhaps fortunate to be allowed into the re-run of Heat 8, the referee having decided on first bend bunching, while Martin came in to replace the injured Barker. Flint gated, while Irving went around Hughes on the second bend, to join Flint in front. Hughes pressed Flint in the latter stages, but was unable to get by, as the Spitfires took a 5-1 (27-21). Heat 9 was halted due to an unsatisfactory start, then in the re-run, Elkins & Hargreaves gated, with Mills getting around Hargreaves on the second bend to prevent a 5-1 (31-23). Evans & Flint hit the front in Heat 10, but Courtney went around Flint on lap 1, then Branney came under Flint with a lap to go to share the race (34-26). Branney gated in Heat 11, but Priest went around him on the back straight of lap 3, while Hughes took third (37-29).
Courtney produced a great second bend to carve between Elkins and Irving to win Heat 12, and with the gap between the teams still remaining at eight (40-32), Courtney was then thrust in Heat 13 off the 15m mark as a tactical substitute. It proved too much of a handicap against Stoke's top riders (although it was worth a gamble!), while a superb battle was emerging up front between Evans and Mills. Evans moved inside Mills on the back straight of lap 2, but Mills kept it screwed on and flew back around Evans at the completion of the lap. Evans continued to chase, moved under Mills again on the back straight of the final lap, and this time held on for the win (44-34).
Branney was nominated as a TR in Heat 14, and held off Hargreaves to win the race. However, with Hughes in last place, the Spitfires clinched the meeting (47-40). Evans won the final race ahead of Mills, while Courtney chopped inside Elkins on the fourth bend to take third, with Elkins shutting off and dropping well back (50-43).
So an unhappy night for the Academy, with everyone's thoughts with Ben Barker at the conclusion of the meeting.
SPITFIRES 50: Barrie Evans 15 (5) (FULL MAX), Gary Flint 2+1 (4), Justin Elkins 9 (5), Jack Hargreaves 6 (4), Luke Priest 9 (4), Gareth Isherwood 1+1 (3), Kriss Irving 8+3 (5).
ACADEMY 43: R/R for Craig Branney, Ben Barker 2+2 (2), Jamie Courtney 11+2 (7) (incl. 0-point T/S ride from 15m), John Branney 11+1 (5) (incl. 6-point tactical ride), Chris Mills 13 (6), Sam Martin 4+1 (5), Kyle Hughes 2+1 (5).
1: Evans, Mills (R/R), Barker, Flint (fell, remounted), 64.2 (3-3). 2: Martin, Irving, Isherwood, Hughes, 65.6 (6-6). 3: Hargreaves, Courtney, Elkins, Branney, 65.2 (10-8). 4: Mills, Priest, Irving, Hughes, 65.1 (13-11). 5: Elkins, Courtney (R/R), Barker, Hargreaves, 64.8 (16-14). 6: Evans, Mills, Martin, Flint, 64.8 (19-17). 7: (Re-run) Priest, Branney, Courtney (penalised 15m for touching tapes), Isherwood, 65.8 (22-20). 8: (Re-run) Irving, Flint, Hughes, Martin, Barker (fell, unable to contest re-run), 67.2 (27-21). 9: (Re-run) Elkins, Mills, Hargreaves, Martin, 65.1 (31-23). 10: Evans, Courtney, Branney, Flint, 64.9 (34-26). 11: Priest, Branney (R/R), Hughes, Isherwood, 65.6 (37-29). 12: Courtney, Elkins, Irving, Martin, 64.9 (40-32). 13: Evans, Mills, Priest, Courtney (T/S from 15m), 65.0 (44-34). 14: Branney (TR), Hargreaves, Irving, Hughes, 65.4 (47-40). 15: Evans, Mills, Courtney, Elkins, 65.2 (50-43).
REPORT: ROB PEASLEY
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Post by Genghis on May 17, 2008 10:02:16 GMT
Thursday, August 4 CONFERENCE LEAGUE OXFORD 58 RYE HOUSE 35 REPORT: ROBERT PEASLEY
OXFORD 58 J. Robertson 3 2 3 3 11 J. Newitt 1 0 0 1 J. Courtney 3 3 3 3 3 15 J. Branney 2* 0 1 2* 5+2 C. Branney 3 3 2 2* 2* 12+2 S. Martin 3 0 1 0 3 7 K. Hughes R 2* 3 2* 7+2 Team manager: Bryn Williams
RYE HOUSE 35 B. Powell X 1* 2 1 0 4+1 Rider replacement - Steve Boxall K. White 0 1 1* 0 2+1 B. Burchatt 1 2 X 3 L. Bowen 2 3 4^ 3 1 1 14 D. Halsey 2 1 0 1 0 4 G. Cottham 2 1* 1* R 2 2^ 0 8+2 Team manager: John Sampford Referee: Barbara Horley
HEAT DETAILS SCORE 1 (re-run) Robertson, Cottham, Newitt, Powell (f.exc), 62.7 (4-2) 2 Martin, Halsey, Cottham, Hughes (ret), 64.1 (7-5) 3 Courtney, J. Branney, Burchatt, White, 63.2 (12-6) 4 C. Branney, Bowen, Cottham, Martin, 63.0 (15-9) 5 Courtney, Burchatt, Powell, J. Branney, 62.4 (18-12) 6 Bowen, Robertson, Halsey, Newitt, 62.3 (20-16) 7 (re-run) C. Branney, Hughes, White, Burchatt (f.exc), 63.1 (25-17) 8 Hughes, Powell, Martin, Cottham (ret), 63.2 (29-19) 9 Courtney, Bowen^, J. Branney, Halsey, 62.1 (33-23) 10 Robertson, Cottham, White, Newitt, 63.2 (36-26) 11 Bowen, C. Branney, Powell, Martin, 62.5 (38-30) 12 Courtney, Hughes, Halsey, White, 62.9 (43-31) 13 Robertson, C. Branney, Bowen, Powell, 62.6 (48-32) 14 Martin, J. Branney, Cottham^, Halsey, 63.1 (53-34) 15 Courtney, C. Branney, Bowen, Cottham, 63.2 (58-35)
WITH Chris Mills riding for Premier League Somerset and Ben Barker on the injured list after suffering a multiple fracture to his left thigh and leg in a crash at Stoke the previous night, Oxford introduced squad members Jamie Robertson and Jason Newitt into their side.
Rye House were themselves without Steve Boxall and Harland Cook, and were pushing Oxford close, until the Academy slammed in four maximum heat advantages in the final four races to put themselves in pole position for the bonus point when the two teams clash at Hoddesdon on September 4. An eventful Heat 1 saw Newitt fall and remount, while race-leader Ben Powell spun around on the third lap, causing both himself and the hotly-pursuing Robertson to take a tumble. In the re-run, Oxford took a 4-2 to take a lead they did not surrender for the rest of the match.
Kyle Hughes suffered an engine failure while leading Heat 2, but Sam Martin limited the damage by coming through to pass Daniel Halsey to win the race.
The Raiders suffered a body blow when Barry Burchatt reared and fell coming out of the start in Heat 7. Burchatt played no further part in the evening's proceedings, while Craig Branney and Hughes (now onboard his No.2 bike) took a 5-1 from the re-run.
A further heat advantage for the Academy in Heat 8 led to Luke Bowen taking a tactical ride in Heat 9, but Bowen was beaten from the tapes by Jamie Courtney and John Branney, although he passed Branney on lap 3 to take second.
Heat 11 saw Bowen hold off Craig Branney in a tight finish to win the race, with Powell pipping Martin in a similar close call for third.
That 4-2 to Rye House reduced the gap to 8 points, but it was all Oxford thereafter, with Martin completing a season's best performance with a charge from last to first in Heat 14, while Courtney secured his full maximum by winning the final race.
During the interval between this and the following Oxford v Scunthorpe match, a collection for the injured Barker raised £371.65.
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Post by Genghis on May 17, 2008 10:03:06 GMT
Thursday, August 4 CONFERENCE LEAGUE OXFORD 50 SCUNTHORPE 30 Meeting abandoned after 13 heats - result stands Aggregate: Oxford 99 Scunthorpe 74 REPORT: ROBERT PEASLEY
OXFORD 50 J. Robertson 2 3 3 2* 10+1 J. Newitt 1* 0 1 2+1 J. Courtney 1* 2* 3 3 9+2 J. Branney 2 3 2* 7+1 C. Branney 3 3 3 3 12 S. Martin 2* 0 X R 2+1 K. Hughes 3 0 3 2* 8+1 Team manager: Bryn Williams
SCUNTHORPE 30 W. Carter 3 3 1 4+ 1* 12+1 B. Compton R R 1* 2 3+1 Rider replacement - Danny Norton B. Bekker 0 1* X^ 1 2+1 R. Dennis 2 2 2 F 6 G. Hayes 1 1* 1 0 0 3+1 A. Johnson R 1* 2 1 4+1 Team manager: Kenny Smith Referee: Barbara Horley
HEAT DETAILS SCORE 1 Carter, Robertson, Newitt, Compton (f.rem, ret), 62.2 (3-3) 2 Hughes, Martin, Hayes, Johnson (ret), 63.2 (8-4) 3 Carter, J. Branney, Courtney, Bekker, 62.2 (11-7) 4 C. Branney, Dennis, Johnson, Hughes, 62.6 (14-10) 5 J. Branney, Courtney, Carter, Compton (ret), 63.0 (19-11) 6 Robertson, Dennis, Hayes, Newitt, 63.2 (22-14) 7 C. Branney, Dennis, Bekker, Martin, 62.9 (25-17) 8 (re-run) Hughes, Carter+, Compton, Martin (f.exc), 62.5 (28-22) 9 Courtney, J. Branney, Hayes, Dennis (f), 62.6 (33-23) 10 (awarded) Robertson, Johnson, Newitt, Bekker^ (f.exc), no time (37-25) 11 C. Branney, Compton, Carter, Martin (ret), 62.6 (40-28) 12 (re-run) Courtney, Hughes, Bekker, Hayes, 62.7 (45-29) 13 C. Branney, Robertson, Johnson, Hayes, 63.4 (50-30)
OXFORD leapt to the top of the Conference League, after an easier-than-expected win over in-form Scunthorpe.
The Scorpions, expected to give Oxford strong resistance, were missing Danny Norton owing to work commitments, and were dealt a massive blow when Richie Dennis sustained a broken collarbone after taking a tumble while chasing Jamie Courtney and John Branney in Heat 9.
Courtney and John Branney proved some spectacular action in their opening two rides. Firstly, they both picked off Byron Bekker in Heat 3 to ensure a share of the spoils after Wayne Carter and Bekker had got the better of a tight first bend.
In Heat 5, Benji Compton got out in front, but John Branney flew past in a daring outside move entering the first turn of lap 3. Before Compton had a chance to recover, Courtney forced his way inside on the back straight, to join Branney for a well-earned 5-1.
Scorpions manager Kenny Smith introduced Carter off a 15m handicap in Heat 8. Firstly, Sam Martin fell trying to go around Compton and was excluded. In the re-run, Kyle Hughes (leading at the time of the stoppage) shot out from the tapes and Carter had no chance of catching the flying Oxford youngster.
Scunthorpe's challenge then fell apart as the unfortunate Dennis came a cropper in Heat 9 and then tactical ride Bekker threw away a second place by falling on the final bend of Heat 10.
Oxford clinched all three league points with a 5-1 from Courtney and Hughes in Heat 12, while Carter missed Heat 13 with mechanical gremlins as the Academy posted a further maximum.
It had been drizzling since Heat 8, and when the rain started to harden prior to Heat 14, the riders were called back into the pits. After a brief track inspection, referee Barbara Horley, who had handled both meetings in an exemplary fashion, called a halt to proceedings.
Craig Branney finished with an immaculate 12-point maximum, while Robertson, Courtney and John Branney all dropped only one point apiece to an opposing rider.
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Post by Genghis on May 17, 2008 10:03:59 GMT
Sunday, August 7, 2005 NEWPORT 67 OXFORD 26 (Conference League)
Oxford's hectic schedule of 5 meetings in 8 days came to a controversial end at Newport's Queensway Meadows. The Silver Machine Academy were already heavily depleted heading into this match, with Ben Barker and James Humby both on the injured list and Craig Branney, Jamie Courtney and Jamie Robertson all in Premier League action. With resources stretched to the limit, Russell Barnett was borrowed from Newport so that Oxford could track a six-man team plus rider replacement.
Newport took the lead with a 4-2 from a processional Heat 1, while Sam Martin had to hop on Jason Newitt's bike for Heat 2, after problems with his own machine. Kyle Hughes gated for Oxford, but Sam Hurst came under him on the fourth bend of lap 2. With Hughes trying hard to get back on terms with Hurst, he hit a slick patch halfway around the third and fourth turn of lap 3, which spun him around. He came down, and unfortunately the closely following Billy Legg was unable to completely avoid him, clipping him on the way past. It soon became apparent that the problem was Hughes's foot, but eventually he got up to hobble back to the pits with the help of Legg.
The race was awarded as a 5-1 to Newport, and a further nine points from the following two races put the Mavericks into an early 18-6 lead.
Chris Mills was nominated as a TR in Heat 5, but was beaten out of the start by Danny Warwick. Mills went for the outside blast on the second bend, but hit a grippy patch, and the front of his machine was sent skyward. He crashed into the unforgiving Queensway Meadows safety fence with a mighty wallop. The ambulance was almost straight onto the track, and it didn't look good for Millsy. Amazingly, though, Millsy was able to walk away from the accident, although his hand had taken a knock, and he was forced to withdraw from the meeting.
Around this point, Hughes also withdrew from the meeting and Oxford were reduced to just four riders, including just two of their regular line-up, John Branney and Sam Martin.
After a track inspection and some grading, referee Peter Clarke decreed that the meeting should continue, although from that point the remaining Oxford lads were mostly concentrating in staying in one piece. Team manager Bryn Williams juggled his limited resources, but was forced to go into two races with only one rider (with Jason Newitt suffering an engine failure in one of these, as Oxford conceded a 5-0).
As a result, only a further two races are of interest. Heat 9 saw Sam Martin pass Matthew Tutton to take second place, the first pass since Heat 2.
And Heat 14 saw John Branney win his TR ride, while Martin took a lap to get his bike firing, but then took third after Tutton also ran into machinery problems. This 7-2 was Oxford's only heat advantage.
The following day both Mills and Hughes had their injuries checked out at hospital, and the news wasn't good. Mills had a broken bone in his hand, although he vowed he would be back sooner than the doctors suggested lay-off time of four weeks, and indeed Millsy was back in action for Somerset 12 days after his accident at Newport!
Hughes wasn't so lucky. X-rays revealed he had broken a toe and also a bone in the top of his foot. His foot was placed in a plaster cast, therefore ruling Kyle out for around a month.
The Newport track, the cause of both accidents, was reported by Academy team manager Bryn Williams.
MAVERICKS 67: Karl Mason 13+2 (5) (PAID MAX), Jamie Westacott 8 (4), Danny Warwick 11+1 (PAID MAX), Matthew Tutton 4+1 (4), Karlis Ezergailis 11+1 (4) (PAID MAX), Billy Legg 7+2 (4), Sam Hurst 13+2 (PAID MAX).
ACADEMY 26: Chris Mills 2 (2) (incl. 0-point tactical ride), Jason Newitt 3 (7) (incl. 2-point T/S ride from 15m), Russell Barnett 0 (5), John Branney 14 (6) (incl. 6-point tactical ride), R/R for Craig Branney, Sam Martin 7 (7), Kyle Hughes 0 (1). 1: Mason, Mills, Westacott, Newitt, 65.09 (4-2). 2: Hurst, Legg, Martin, Hughes (fell, excluded), awarded - no time (9-3). 3: Warwick, Branney, Tutton, Barnett, 65.63 (13-5). 4: Hurst, Ezergailis, Branney (R/R), Martin, 64.84 (18-6). 5: (Re-run) Warwick, Tutton, Newitt, Mills (TR) (fell, excluded), 66.81 (23-7). 6: Westacott, Mason, Martin, Barnett (R/R), 65.65 (28-8). 7: Ezergailis, Branney, Legg, Barnett, 65.12 (32-10). 8: Westacott, Hurst, Martin, Newitt, 66.12 (37-11). 9: Warwick, Martin, Tutton, Newitt (R/R), 67.99 (41-13). 10: Mason, Branney, Westacott, Barnett, 64.35 (45-15). 11: Ezergailis, Legg, Newitt (ret), three riders only, 65.03 (50-15). 12: Hurst, Warwick, Martin, Barnett, 64.82 (55-16). 13: Ezergailis, Mason, Newitt (T/S from 15m), three riders only, 65.03 (60-18). 14: Branney (TR), Legg, Martin, Tutton, 64.73 (62-25). 15: Mason, Hurst, Branney, Newitt, 64.13 (67-26).
REPORT: ROB PEASLEY
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Post by Genghis on May 17, 2008 10:07:46 GMT
Sunday, August 28, 2005 MILDENHALL 54 OXFORD 40 (Conference League KO Cup, quarter-final, 1st leg)
A patched-up Oxford side did an excellent job in restricting Mildenhall to a 14-point lead at West Row - to keep the Knockout Cup quarter-final tie between the two sides very much alive.
Already without Chris Mills, Ben Barker and Kyle Hughes, the Academy were hit by a further blow when Jamie Courtney withdrew 24 hours before the meeting with a shoulder injury, sustained in a Lions v World Select challenge at Wimbledon.
Scott Courtney (the elder brother of Jamie) and Marc Andrews made their Oxford debuts, while Jason Newitt cut short his holiday to be at West Row.
Heat 1 saw the Mildenhall pair of Andrew Bargh and Jon Armstrong take the lead, with Armstrong tucking in behind his team-mate. However, Bargh went too wide on the back straight of lap 2, clipping the fence and falling. Both Armstrong and Scott Courtney moved to the inside to avoid him, getting in a tangle, with Courtney coming down as a result. The race stopped the race with Bargh's exclusion, and with both teams concerned over the state of the track - a stock car had been held the previous night - the circuit was then regraded. Meanwhile, Jason Newitt needed treatment after one of the rear tyres of the riders in front of him had picked up a bolt left by the stock cars and shot it at his hand! After a delay, with particular work taking place on the second bend and several bits of metal being picked off the track, the re-run took place, and Armstrong led all the way in a shared opener (3-3).
What Oxford certainly didn't need was any further injuries, but sadly that's what happened in Heat 2. Sam Martin looped violently at the start, and landed awkwardly. He was checked over for quite a while on the track, and with a hospital trip looking on the cards, an early interval was called. However, after further examination in the medical room, it was found that Sam had not broken any bones, although he still had to pull out of the meeting feeling very "second-hand" with a number of bumps and bruises. So the match recommenced earlier than expected, although at this point, an hour had already passed since the start of the meeting! The re-run saw a 5-1 to Trevor Heath & James Purchase over Marc Andrews, with both Purchase & Andrews both having "moments" on a track which had yet to settle down (8-4).
The Fen Tigers looked to be on for a second successive 5-1 in Heat 3 as Mark Thompson & James Horton hit the front, but Courtney got under Horton on the third bend of lap 2, and then Horton fell on lap 3 trying to repass Courtney, allowing John Branney into third (11-7).
Heath was the surprise early leader in Heat 4, but Craig Branney soon overhauled him to win from Lee Smart, with Heath third ahead of Andrews (14-10).
Mildenhall extended their lead with a 5-1 in Heat 5, with Courtney unable to capitalise on the mistakes made by second-placed Horton (19-11), then Craig Branney held off the challenge from Armstrong in the closing stages of a shared Heat 6 (22-14).
Craig Branney was back out in Heat 7, despite a protest from Mildenhall team manager Mick Horton over his eligibility for a R/R ride. (In the Conference League, "old" R/R rules apply, i.e. it can only be used for the three heat-leaders BUT everyone can take a ride, it's not just limited to one rider above in the averages). Craig Branney gated, then clamped Smart to the inside, to allow brother John to join him for a 5-1 (23-19).
Bargh & Heath took an easy 5-1 over Newitt & Andrews in Heat 8 (28-20), and with Oxford eight points behind, Courtney was brought into Heat 9 as a tactical substitute off the 15m marker, although at first, there was some confusion as to whether such a ride was permitted in the KO Cup - although a glance at the rulebook showed that while tactical subs are not allowed in the Premier League KO Cup, they are allowed in the CL KOC Cup. Craig Branney led the race from start to finish, and although Courtney chased hard, he failed to make up the ground on third-placed Thompson (31-23).
John Branney led early on in Heat 10, but Armstrong soon took charge to win the race in a 4-2 to the Fen Tigers (35-25). Heat 11 also finished as a 4-2 to Mildenhall, with Smart winning from Courtney and Purchase (39-27).
Oxford team manager Bryn Williams then nominated John Branney as a TR in Heat 12. This prompted another protest from Mick Horton, as Branney was taking a R/R ride, but the move was perfectly legal and Branney was allowed to line-up wearing the black & white helmet colour. Thompson headed home Branney and the race finished as a 4-4 (43-31).
Craig Branney was then nominated as a TR in Heat 13, but Armstrong beat him from the start, and Branney had to settle for second place. Meanwhile, Smart went around Courtney on the back straight of lap 2, to take third, and the race finished as another 4-4 (47-35).
Heat 14 saw John Branney gate, and withstand early pressure from Horton to win the race - as Oxford kept the gap at 12 points (50-38).
Oxford won the toss for gate positions for Heat 15, and placed John Branney off gate 1 and Craig Branney off gate 3, with Armstrong starting between them, and Thompson from the outside. Armstrong got the best of a tight first bend, but Craig Branney swooped around him on the back straight to take the lead. John Branney almost came under third-placed Thompson after a lap, while Armstrong continued to chase Craig Branney up front. Branney left just a small hole on his outside on the back straight of the final lap, but it was all Armstrong needed, and he came through in a terrific move to win the race (54-40).
So a battling performance by the Academy, with the Branney brothers scoring a fantastic 30 points between them, aided by Scott Courtney - who did very well, considering that this was his first competitive match for a number of months.
FEN TIGERS 54: Jon Armstrong 14 (5), Andrew Bargh 5+1 (4), Mark Thompson 11+1 (5), James Horton 6+1 (4), Lee Smart 7 (4), James Purchase 4+2 (4), Trevor Heath 7+2 (4).
ACADEMY 40: Scott Courtney 7 (6) (incl. 0-point T/S ride from 15m), Jason Newitt 2+1 (5), R/R for Jamie Courtney, John Branney 12+2 (6) (incl. 4-point tactical ride), Craig Branney 18 (6) (incl. 4-point tactical ride), Sam Martin 0 (1), Marc Andrews 1 (6).
1: (Re-run) Armstrong, Courtney, Newitt, Bargh (fell, excluded), 51.62 (3-3). 2: (Re-run) Heath, Purchase, Andrews, Martin (fell, excluded), 54.19 (8-4). 3: Thompson, Courtney (R/R), J. Branney, Horton (fell, remounted), 51.81 (11-7). 4: C. Branney, Smart, Heath, Andrews, 53.25 (14-10). 5: Thompson, Horton, Courtney, Newitt, 52.06 (19-11). 6: C. Branney, Armstrong, Bargh, Andrews, 52.56 (22-14). 7: C. Branney (R/R), J. Branney, Smart, Purchase, 54.06 (23-19). 8: Bargh, Heath, Newitt, Andrews, 53.87 (28-20). 9: C. Branney, Horton, Thompson, Courtney (T/S from 15m), 58.19 (31-23). 10: Armstrong, J. Branney, Bargh, Newitt (R/R), 52.37 (35-25). 11: Smart, Courtney, Purchase, Newitt, 53.31 (39-27). 12: Thompson, J. Branney (TR - R/R), Heath, Andrews, 52.87 (43-31). 13: Armstrong, C. Branney (TR), Smart, Courtney, 53.25 (47-35). 14: J. Branney, Horton, Purchase, Andrews, 54.05 (50-38). 15: Armstrong, C. Branney, Thompson, J. Branney, 53.40 (54-40).
REPORT: ROB PEASLEY
KYLE HUGHES will captain homeless Oxford Cheetahs in their challenge match at Weymouth tonight (7.15pm).
Hughes, 19, first rode for the Oxford in 2005, helping the club to the Conference League championship.
In the absence of any action at Cowley this season, he has rode for Sheffield in the Premier League and Plymouth in the Conference League.
Boss Nick Andrews said: “Kyle has been handed the captaincy as a reward for his recent 17-point haul for the Cheetahs at Reading against Wimbledon, and also for his efforts for the club over the last few years.”
It’s an unusual looking TFSuccess.com Cheetahs side that takes to the track at the Wessex Stadium this evening, with the team Andrews was planning to field decimated by unavailability and injury.
Andrews explained: “Jamie Courtney has a private engagement, while Sam Martin has now returned to Australia. “Both Andrew Bargh and Brendan Johnson will ride for Weymouth, since it is their regular club, and my son Marc suffered a broken hand at Plymouth last Friday. “However, I’ve put together a team which hopefully can give the Wildcats a run for their money.”
Weymouth Wildcats: A Bargh, K Mason, L Smart, M Wright, J Herne, B Johnson, K Newman. Oxford Cheetahs: D Felton, R Andrews, L Priest, T Day, K Hughes, H Cook, M Bates.
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