DOYLE CROWNED PREMIERSHIP RIDERS CHAMPION
WORLD champion Jason Doyle roared to victory in the Premiership Riders’ Championship at Poole with a comfortable triumph in the final.
The 2015 Elite League riders’ champion finished in the top two in each of his races and topped the qualifying bill alongside Troy Batchelor on 13 points.
Batchelor opted for gate one but despite a tight start, there was no stopping Somerset Rebels star Doyle who triumphed with ease ahead of his compatriot in second, Hans Andersen in third and home hero Brady Kurtz fourth.
In the semi-final, Kurtz flew out of the traps from the favoured inside gate with Andersen comfortable in second despite having jumped the start at the first attempt.
Kurtz had dominated the early qualifying heats, winning his opening three but Doyle and Batchelor built form and ultimately proved too hot to handle.
THE QUALIFYING HEATS
Chris Harris got off to a flying start, stretching his lead over Batchelor throughout the opening race.
Doyle went close to recovering from a slow start, overtaking Ty Proctor before making do with second behind Sam Masters who made a clean getaway.
Nick Morris roared to victory out of the traps in heat three, seeing off the early challenge of Charles Wright while Josh Grajczonek got by Kyle Newman at the back.
The fourth race was another from the gate as home favourite Kurtz jetted away from gate one.
Harris stole a march at the start of the fifth to make it two wins from two while Niels-Kristian Iversen retired when last to stay on zero.
Heat six provided the closest battle of the night up to that point with Jacob Thorssell working overtime to hold off Morris before extending his lead late in the day.
Kurtz held on to a bouncing bike around the first corner to leave his rivals eating dust and win by a quarter of a lap in heat seven.
Doyle produced another fightback, this time to win, by passing Andersen around the outside of turn two to seal a comfortable chequered flag.
Masters emerged ahead from a tight start to win the ninth with Max Fricke and then Newman relegating Harris from second to the rear.
Charles Wright and Kurtz battled handlebar to handlebar for a lap before the Pirates ace claimed a hard-fought third straight success.
Doyle was caught in a third engaging battle, this time with compatriot Batchelor who had to work hard to maintain the edge he had gained in the second turn. Thorssell’s attack on Doyle around the boards proved futile.
Morris suffered an awkward-looking fall in the 12th and was excluded with Andersen gating again at the second attempt, putting himself back in contention for the semi-final despite close attention from Iversen during lap two.
Scott Nicholls retired after completing three heats, leaving three riders to contest heat 13 which saw Wright edged out by Thorssell after a nip-and-tuck start.
Doyle then got the better of rapid-starter Adam Ellis who was overtaken by a rejuvenated Iversen on lap two.
Proctor hit the fence on bend one under pressure from Morris at the back with Batchelor claiming an easy three points from the gate.
Kurtz found it tricky from the outside gate but blasted around Poole team-mate Grajczonek to file in behind comfortable winner Andersen.
Heat 17 was feisty battle at front and back but Doyle stamped his authority on proceedings by just about seeing off Harris’s last-ditch push from out wide to book a place in the final. Morris gained what proved to be a futile point having been swarmed by backmarker Kurtz throughout.
Fricke bagged an unorthodox victory in his final programmed ride, bouncing back from a terrible start to cruise between Grajczonek and Ellis only to get out of shape on turn four and slip to second. Undeterred, the Australian found some extra speed to get around Ellis once more by the end of lap two and made no mistake from there.
Batchelor was untouchable in heat 19 to join Doyle on 13 with Iversen’s impressive fourth-to-second showing not enough for a slot in the top six.
It all went on behind Proctor in heat 20 as Andersen passed Thorssell after a lap with the Swede then losing out to a tenacious Newman at the back.
QUALIFYING SCORES: Troy Batchelor 13, Jason Doyle 13, Brady Kurtz 11, Hans Andersen 10, Chris Harris 9, Jacob Thorssell 9, Max Fricke 9, Ty Proctor 7, Nick Morris 7, Charles Wright 7, Sam Masters 6, Niels-Kristian Iversen 6, Adam Ellis 5, Josh Grajczonek 4, Kyle Newman 3, Scott Nicholls 1.
SEMI-FINAL: Kurtz, Andersen, Thorssell, Harris.
GRAND FINAL: Doyle, Batchelor, Andersen, Kurtz.
(SPEEDWAY 1)
JASON Doyle hopes his Premiership Riders’ Championship triumph can make racing fun again after a tough start to 2018.
The world champion was in dominant form, racking up four wins and two second spots in six races to claim the bragging rights over compatriot Troy Batchelor at Wimborne Road, Poole.
Somerset’s star turn fought back to take second in his opener behind Sam Masters despite kicking off in the graveyard gate four and then passed Hans Andersen to take his first chequered flag.
Doyle pushed winner Batchelor all the way in heat 11 but the 14th was comfortable and win number three followed in the 17th despite a plucky last-ditch surge from Chris Harris.
Doyle and Batchelor made the final with a two-point cushion over closest rival Brady Kurtz and gate positions proved pivotal in the quest for the crown.
From gate two, Doyle roared into Batchelor’s preferred path and didn’t look back to rediscover his Midas touch.
“To get back on the top step and enjoy my racing again is a nice way to start the year, especially after a tough couple of weeks,” said Doyle.
“I am trying to have fun but that hasn’t been the case, I have been putting too much pressure on myself to be the world champion and score as many points as possible.
“We had to rethink our strategy and focus on enjoying things.
“Maybe when you ride for yourself there is only one person to disappoint. When you ride in the league and don’t score well you can make the team lose.
“It was very pleasing to have a good meeting in Sweden last night (Tuesday), get the monkey off my back and start scoring well.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
BIRMINGHAM's 37-34 Knockout Cup First Leg victory over Mildenhall was marred by injuries to skipper Mitchell Davey and two Fen Tigers riders.
The 28-year-old came off in Heat 5 and was struck by two bikes at high speed causing a lengthy delay, after which Davey was taken to hospital for scans.
Mildenhall’s Sam Bebee was withdrawn with wrist injuries in the same incident, whilst Fen Tigers captain Jordan Jenkins crashed in Heat 12 with the meeting abandoned as he required further treatment.
Birmingham boss Laurence Rogers said: “Mitchell took a couple of hefty whacks and there was some serious concern from the medical team.
“There were a few things they needed to get checked out but didn't want to say too much until a number of scans and tests had been run at the hospital.
“Both teams deserve so much credit because we asked them what they wanted to do and they were more than happy to carry on.
“So credit to them for that but also for producing some real good, close racing in the other heats.
“The result tonight was irrelevant and I'm sure supporters will understand where I'm coming from when we consider the circumstances.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
SHEFFIELD host the first British Semi-Final at Owlerton tonight (Thursday) with eight places on offer for next month’s Final.
Kyle Howarth and Charles Wright represent the home club, and the line-up also includes defending British Champion Craig Cook and recent double Under-21 winner Robert Lambert.
Sheffield co-promoter Peter Mole said: “When I look down the line-ups for the semi-finals I am filled with a great sense of optimism for the future of British Speedway.
“Forget all the doom and gloom merchants, just look at our line-up – how can you not get excited about the riders on display?
“GP star Craig Cook, international regulars Rory Schlein and Robert Lambert, Championship heat-leader Jason Garrity along with our own Kyle and Charles, and up-and-coming youngsters surely destined for the very top in our sport.
“Any one of those riders can win a race, although some will obviously be more consistent than others. It will make a fantastic evening of speedway racing, with no quarter being asked or given.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
ISLE of Wight promoter Barry Bishop has declared tonight’s (Thursday) National League clash with Coventry as “must-win.”
The Warriors were beaten heavily at home by Mildenhall last week and now take on a Bees side who gained their own impressive away win at Buxton last time out.
The hosts still have an injury doubt over Ben Hopwood, who missed the trip to Eastbourne last Saturday with knuckle damage, and they will operate rider-replacement if he is ruled out.
Bishop said: “This is our second league meeting and for the management it is a must win meeting. We have to keep pushing to put ourselves in the best position we can and everyone is expected to perform.
“Coventry have assembled a very handy outfit this year and have done well so far, so we should be under no illusion that they will not look at our recent form and expect to win. The Warriors know what they have to do and can do, now it’s time to do it.”
Coventry manager Martyn Macdonald said: “It was a really good day for us on Sunday so now we move on to the Isle of Wight and hopefully it will be the same again.
“We’ll be getting on the ferry full of hope and team spirit, and I do have to say the atmosphere in the side is very good. It’s bonding into a really good team.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
REDCAR host the annual Julie Lewis Memorial meeting at the Media Prima Arena tonight (Thursday).
The Bears pay tribute to the popular club administrator with a meeting including several current and former Redcar riders, and some new faces to the Teesside venue.
Former Bears Kevin Doolan, Aaron Summers, Jacob Bukhave and Rafal Konopka are included, with Ty Proctor and Thomas Jorgensen added to the 16-man field.
Promoter Kevin Keay said: “Thursday’s line up contains some interesting names and some real racers so it should provide a cracking meeting.”
(FIXTURES)
THURSDAY MAY 10:
BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: Sheffield 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Coventry 7pm
JULIE LEWIS MEMORIAL: Redcar 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 11:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Peterborough v Workington 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30
HARRISONS SCOTTISH OPEN: Edinburgh 7.15
SATURDAY MAY 12:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Ipswich 7pm
NATIONAL TROPHY: Stoke v Cradley 7pm, Eastbourne v Kent 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar 2pm
SUNDAY MAY 13:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Peterborough v Edinburgh 5pm
CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Glasgow v Workington 4pm
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Buxton 3pm
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: Coventry v Eastbourne 3pm
Results Wednesday May 9, 2018
PREMIERSHIP RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP, Poole
1 Jason Doyle (Somerset)
2 Troy Batchelor (Swindon)
3 Hans Andersen (Leicester)
4 Brady Kurtz (Poole)
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F, 1st leg
Birmingham 37 (Leon Flint 12+1)
Mildenhall 34 (Drew Kemp 9)
