CL Pairs Championship

[Genghis]

Sunday, July 22, 2007
CONFERENCE LEAGUE PAIRS CHAMPIONSHIP
At Normanby Road, Scunthorpe

The Oxford Cheetahs finished gallant runners-up in the 2007 Conference League Pairs Championship behind deserving winners Boston Barracudas, after an entertaining afternoon's speedway in the Lincolnshire sunshine.

The Cheetahs were represented by Jordan Frampton and Lee Smethills. The Oxford pair dropped only one point in their four qualifying races to top Group Two by a massive nine points, but were then defeated 7-2 by the Barracudas pair of Paul Cooper and Simon Lambert in the final, with Frampton shedding a chain while in second place.

With the 4-3-2-0 scoring system in operation to encourage team riding, Smethills and Frampton's afternoon commenced with a comfortable 7-2 over the Buxton pair of Jack Roberts and Jonathan Bethell in Heat 2.

Oxford's next outing in Heat 6 was much tougher. While Smethills was leading out front, Frampton & Stoke's Barrie Evans engaged in a battle for second place, with the two riders exchanging places three times, before Evans fell on the final bend in a last-ditch attempt to blast around the Cheetah.

Another 7-2 in Heat 12, this time over Plymouth's Jamie Westacott and Ben Hopwood, virtually guaranteed top spot in Group Two and left the Cheetahs only needing to provide a finisher against Sittingbourne in Heat 18 to qualify for the final. Frampton won that race to complete a paid maximum in the qualifiers, and although Smethills was passed for second place by the impressive Danny Warwick, the resultant 6-3 was more than enough.

The Cheetahs didn't have long to find out who they would meet in the final - as Heat 19 would decide the outcome of Group One, with Boston, Weymouth and hosts Scunthorpe all still in with a shout. The Barracudas took a 6-3 over Weymouth to clinch a hard-fought group.

Boston won the toss for gates for the final and chose the favourable 2 & 4 positions. And it was the Barracudas pair of Paul Cooper & Simon Lambert who stole a march on the Cheetahs from the tapes. Frampton raced around Lambert into second place, and at one stage, looked set to go after Cooper. But Frampton was aware of the importance in trying to help Smethills into third place, so on the third bend of lap 3, Frampton moved towards the inside of the track in an attempt to pin Lambert to the line. However, his movement dislodged his chain, and forced him out of the race. At that moment, with Frampton's retirement, Oxford's hopes had gone and after the formality of the final lap, the triumphant Boston pair crossed the line in first and second place.

But it had been a terrific effort from the Oxford pair, and completed a fine weekend for the Cheetahs, after the hard-fought draw at Weymouth on Friday.


GROUP ONE:

BOSTON 25:
Paul Cooper 3* 4 2* 4 (13+2)
Simon Lambert 4 3* 3 2 (12+1)

SCUNTHORPE 23:
Andrew Tully 2 2 0 4 (8)
Tai Woffinden 4 4 4 3* (15+1)

WEYMOUTH 19:
Jay Herne 2 0 3* 0 (5+1)
Lee Smart 4 3 4 3 (14)

RYE HOUSE 10:
Karlis Ezergailis 0 0 3 0 (3)
Robert Mear 3 2 FX 2 (7)

CLEVELAND 9:
Greg Blair FX N N N (0)
Mark Burrows MX 3 4 2 (9)

HEAT DETAILS:
1: (Re-run) Lambert (B), Cooper (B), Burrows (C) (excluded, two minutes), Blair (C) (fell, excluded), 60.32.
3: Woffinden (S), Mear (R), Tully (S), Ezergailis (R), 60.78.
5: Smart (W), Burrows (C), Herne (W), three riders only, 59.46.
7: Cooper (B), Lambert (B), Mear (R), Ezergailis (R), 60.27.
9: Woffinden (S), Smart (W), Tully (S), Herne (W), 58.09.
11: (Re-run) Burrows (C), Ezergailis (R), Mear (R) (fell, excluded), three riders only, 61.51.
13: Woffinden (S), Lambert (B), Cooper (B), Tully (S), 58.95.
15: Smart (W), Herne (W), Mear (R), Ezergailis (R), 59.69.
17: Tully (S), Woffinden (S), Burrows (C) (fell, remounted), three riders only, 60.93.
19: Cooper (B), Smart (W), Lambert (B), Herne (W), 60.36.


GROUP TWO:

OXFORD 27
Jordan Frampton 3* 3* 4 4 (14+2)
Lee Smethills 4 4 3* 2 (13+1)

BUXTON 18
Jonathan Bethell 0 4 0 4 (8)
Jack Roberts 2 3* 3 2 (10+1)

STOKE 17
Sam Dore 2 2 2 N (6)
Barrie Evans F 4 4 3 (11)

SITTINGBOURNE 16
Dean Felton 0 0 2 R (2)
Danny Warwick 4 3 4 3 (14)

PLYMOUTH 12
Ben Hopwood 2* 2 0 0 (4+1)
Jamie Westacott 3 0 2 3 (8)

HEAT DETAILS:
2: Smethills (O), Frampton (O), Roberts (B), Bethell (B), 60.56.
4: Warwick (S), Westacott (P), Hopwood (P), Felton (S), 62.67.
6: Smethills (O), Frampton (O), Dore (ST), Evans (ST) (fell), 60.23.
8: Bethell (B), Roberts (B), Hopwood (P), Westacott (P), 61.40.
10: Evans (ST), Warwick (S), Dore (ST), Felton (S), 60.34.
12: Frampton (O), Smethills (O), Westacott (P), Hopwood (P), 60.53.
14: Warwick (S), Roberts (B), Felton (S), Bethell (B), 60.45.
16: (Re-run) Evans (ST), Westcott (P), Dore (ST), Hopwood (P), 60.70.
18: Frampton (O), Warwick (S), Smethills (O), Felton (S) (ret), 60.73.
20: Bethell (B), Evans (ST), Roberts (B), three riders only, 60.81.


CONSOLATION FINAL:
Scunthorpe beat Buxton 7-2
21: Woffinden (S), Tully (S), Bethell (B), Roberts (B), 60.17

GRAND FINAL:
Boston beat Oxford 7-2
22: Cooper (B), Lambert (B), Smethills (O), Frampton (O) (ret), 60.15


FINAL POSITIONS:
1st Boston
2nd Oxford
3rd Scunthorpe
4th Buxton


All the best
Rob

[schumi]

Rob, I hope you know it's much appreciated that you post these results. Well done to Oxford on their second placed finish, and a shame a mechanical failure spoiled it for the lads in the end.

[Genghis]

schumi said:

Rob, I hope you know it's much appreciated that you post these results. Well done to Oxford on their second placed finish, and a shame a mechanical failure spoiled it for the lads in the end.

Schumi,

The Oxford pair still had a bit of work to do, as Smethills still had to get past Lambert, although he would have had Frampton's help.

Boston had come through the harder group and were there worthy winners.

All the best
Rob