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Post by Genghis on May 17, 2008 11:04:56 GMT
Reserved for CL Bronze Helmet - October 2 - at Mildenhall
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Post by Genghis on May 17, 2008 11:05:43 GMT
Thursday, October 6 CONFERENCE LEAGUE OXFORD 51 WEYMOUTH 45 Aggregate: Oxford 95 Weymouth 90 REPORT: ROBERT PEASLEY
OXFORD 51 C. Mills 2 2* 3 0 F 7+1 J. Newitt 0 0 1 1 2 J. Courtney 3 3 3 2 3 14 Rider replacement - Ben Barker C. Branney 3 3 2* 3 2 13+1 S. Martin 3 0 1 1 1 6 K. Hughes 2* 1 3 3 F 9+1 M. Andrews X 0 Team manager: Bryn Williams
WEYMOUTH 45 D. Giffard 3 1 4^ 1 9 J. Clement 1 0 0 0 1 T. Brown 1* 2 4^ 3 2* 12+2 D. Mason 2 1* 1* 2 6+2 L. Bridger 2 R 4+ 1∆ 3 3 13 S. Waldron 1 2 0 1 4 J. Frampton - - - - DNR Team manager: Brian White Referee: Mick Posselwhite
HEAT DETAILS SCORE 1 (re-run) Giffard, Mills, Clement, Newitt, 60.89 (equals CL track record) (2-4) 2 Martin, Hughes, Waldron, three riders only, 62.6 (7-5) 3 Courtney, Mason, Brown, Newitt, 61.7 (10-8) 4 Branney, Bridger, Hughes, three riders only, 63.2 (14-10) 5 Courtney, Mills, Giffard, Clement, 63.1 (19-11) 6 Mills, Waldron, Newitt, Bridger (ret), 62.3 (23-13) 7 Branney, Brown, Mason, Martin, 63.4 (26-16) 8 Hughes, Bridger+, Martin, Clement, 63.0 (30-20) 9 (re-run) Courtney, Branney, Bridger∆, Waldron, 63.4 (35-21) 10 Hughes, Brown^, Mason, Mills, 62.8 (38-26) 11 Branney, Giffard^, Martin, Clement, 62.6 (42-30) 12 Brown, Courtney, Waldron, Hughes (f), 64.0 (44-34) 13 Bridger, Branney, Giffard, Mills (f), 62.2 (46-38) 14 Courtney, Mason, Martin, three riders only, 63.6 (50-40) 15 (awarded) Bridger, Brown, Newitt, Andrews (f.exc), no time (51-45)
OXFORD moved to within spitting distance of winning the 2005 Conference League, after ending the championship hopes of Weymouth.
But it was at a cost, with 16-year-old Academy star Kyle Hughes crashing out with a broken collarbone in Heat 12.
The Wildcats went into this meeting with a blank space at No. 7, after they failed to replace Jordan Frampton. The use of the Sittingbourne regular had been blocked twenty-four hours in advance of this fixture.
Weymouth's Dan Giffard tested out the Oxford air fence on the opening turn of Heat 1. Giffard was generously allowed back in the re-run by referee Mick Posselwhite, which he won in a time equalling Andy Smith's two-and-a-half year-old Conference League track record, as the Wildcats took first blood.
However, both Sam Martin and Hughes roared past Shane Waldron to take a 5-1 from Heat 2, as the Academy took a lead they would not surrender.
Jamie Courtney made a blistering start from the outside gate in Heat 3 to defeat David Mason and Tom Brown, then Weymouth's wonderkid Lewis Bridger passed Hughes to split the Academy pair in Heat 4.
Courtney and Chris Mills took a comfortable 5-1 over Giffard in Heat 5, and Oxford then extended their lead to 10 points, when race-leader Bridger locked up under pressure from Mills in Heat 6 and lost power, allowing the Academy to take a 4-2.
Weymouth attempted to hit back by introducing Bridger off 15metres as a tactical substitute in Heat 8, and with James Clement outgating the Oxford pair and Bridger closing in, it looked good for the Wildcats.
But Martin held back Bridger until the third lap, at which point Hughes forced his way under Clement to take the lead. Clement then allowed team-mate Bridger into second place, but Hughes had too much of a lead to be caught, while Martin edged inside Clement on the final bend to snatch third, as the race ended as a 4-4.
Bridger nudged the tapes in Heat 9, and starting from 15 metres behind for the second successive race, he could only watch as Courtney and Craig Branney took Oxford into a 14-point lead.
Hughes was, again, the hero in Heat 10. Coming in for a reserve ride, Hughes gated and kept tactical rider Brown at bay, while Mason kept third, despite pressure from Mills.
Wildcats boss Brian White used up his final tactical option in Heat 11, but Branney defeated Giffard, while Martin passed Clement at the conculsion of the third lap to take third.
The Academy appeared to be on a match-winning 5-1 in Heat 12, however Brown produced a great ride to storm past both Hughes and Courtney. Coming off the final bend, Hughes lost a primary chain and smacked into the fence, just yards from the finish.
Hughes sustained concussion and a broken collarbone, and was ruled out of the following meeting against Newport.
Bridger came alive in Heat 13, winning after a terrific burst around the outside on the opening bends, while Mills lost third after an opening lap tumble.
With Weymouth only allowed one rider in Heat 14, Oxford were effectively already home, but a 4-2 from Courtney and Martin made mathematically sure of all three league points.
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Post by Genghis on May 17, 2008 11:06:48 GMT
Thursday, October 6 CONFERENCE LEAGUE OXFORD 54 NEWPORT 39 Aggregate: Oxford 80 Newport 106 REPORT: ROBERT PEASLEY
OXFORD 54 C. Mills 3 3 3 2* 2* 13+2 K. Hughes - - - - DNR J. Courtney 3 2* 1∆ 3 9+1 S. Courtney 2* 3 X 3 8+1 C. Branney 3 3 3 3 3 15 S. Martin 3 1 1 1 0 2* 8+1 M. Andrews 1 0 F 1 Team manager: Bryn Williams
NEWPORT 39 K. Ezergailis 2 X 2 0 4 Rider replacement - Karl Mason D. Warwick 1 2 1* 2 6+1 J. Westacott 1* R 0 2 R 3+1 L. Dicken 2 2 6^ 3 1 14 B. Legg 2 1 1* 2* 1* 0 7+3 S. Hurst F 1* 2* 0 1 1 5+2 Team manager: Peter Towersey Referee: Mick Posselwhite
HEAT DETAILS SCORE 1 Mills, Ezergailis, Westacott, three riders only, 62.2 (3-3) 2 Martin, Legg, Andrews, Hurst (f), 63.9 (7-5) 3 J. Courtney, S. Courtney, Warwick, Westacott (ret), 63.7 (12-6) 4 Branney, Dicken, Hurst, Andrews, 63.2 (15-9) 5 (awarded) S. Courtney, J. Courtney, Legg, Ezergailis (f.exc), no time (20-10) 6 Mills, Dicken, Legg, three riders only, 62.9 (23-13) 7 Branney, Warwick, Martin, Westacott, 63.7 (27-15) 8 Dicken^, Hurst, Martin, Andrews (f), 64.4 (28-23) 9 (re-run) Dicken, Legg, J. Courtney∆, S. Courtney (f.exc), 63.5 (29-28) 10 Mills, Westacott, Warwick, three riders only, 63.4 (32-31) 11 Branney, Ezergailis, Martin, Hurst, 63.8 (36-33) 12 J. Courtney, Warwick, Legg, Martin, 64.9 (39-36) 13 Branney, Mills, Dicken, Ezergailis, 63.2 (44-37) 14 S. Courtney, Martin, Hurst, Westacott (ret), 64.6 (49-38) 15 Branney, Mills, Hurst, Legg, 63.9 (54-39)
A PATCHED-UP Oxford side - minus the injured Ben Barker, John Branney and Kyle Hughes - clinched the Conference League title, but not before the Newport Mavericks had given them a mighty scare.
Team bosses Bryn Williams and Nigel Wagstaff missed Heat 15 of the preceding Weymouth match, locked in the Oxford Speedway office, to discuss how to cover for the absence of Hughes. In a reshuffle, Scott Courtney was introduced at the expense of the rider replacement facility, Marc Andrews was brought in at No. 7, while the injured Hughes was named at No. 2. It meant Oxford had to go into three races with just one rider, but the addition of the elder Courtney brother took some of the pressure off the rest of the side.
The Academy took the lead, after Sam Martin won his fifth successive Heat 2, with Andrews picking up third after a final lap fall for Sam Hurst.
Scott Courtney moved past Danny Warwick in determined fashion to join brother Jamie for a 5-1 in Heat 3, and a further 5-1 from this pair in Heat 5 moved Oxford into an early 10-point lead.
Sole Oxford representative Chris Mills passed Lee Dicken to win Heat 6, and the Academy moved further ahead in Heat 7, after Martin got inside Jamie Westacott on the fourth bend of lap 3, to take third.
However, the Mavericks then staged a mid-match revival that sent Oxford hearts into a flutter.
Dicken and Hurst took an 8-1 from Heat 8, then Heat 9 proved to be a nightmare for the Courtney brothers. Firstly, a snapped clutch cable sent Jamie Courtney careering through the tapes and onto his backside in a nasty-looking fall.
Courtney junior took his place in the re-run off a 15-metre handicap, in which brother Scott was crowded out on the second bend by Dicken and Billy Legg and fell, gaining a controversial exclusion from referee Mick Posselwhite.
At the third time of asking, the Newport pair led all the way, and the Mavericks had closed the gap to a solitary point.
Mills steadied the Oxford ship, by jetting around Westacott to win Heat 10, then Oxford took a 4-2 from Heat 11, with Martin yet again passing a rider on the inside on the fourth bend - this time Hurst.
Jamie Courtney won Heat 12, before a 5-1 from Craig Branney and Mills in Heat 13 left Oxford on the brink, and needing one second place from the final two races to clinch the championship.
Heat 14 saw Scott Courtney and Martin jet from the tapes, and when Westacott pulled onto the centre green before the completion of the first lap, Oxford were home-and-dry. On their return to the pit gate, Courtney and Martin were mobbed by their team-mates and the celebrations began in earnest.
Branney and Mills came out to the raptures of the crowd for Heat 15, and both overhauled early race-leader Hurst to complete maximums - a fitting way for these two riders to say goodbye in their final season of Conference League racing.
Peter Morrish, the Conference League co-ordinator, then presented the trophy to Academy captain Craig Branney to cap a superb season for the Oxford youngsters, who became the first Oxford team for 16 years to clinch a league championship in front of their home crowd.
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