Super Scorpions hit sixty!

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 60 BERWICK BANDITS 30 (CHAMPIONSHIP)

LED by brilliant No 1 Ryan Douglas, Attis Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions moved into the play-off places, after clocking up their biggest win of the season with a 60-30 victory over Berwick Bandits at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday).

Scorpions were tracking seven of their own riders for the first time since June, with Jake Allen returning from a wrist injury, while Douglas recovered from the latest knock to his shoulder.

Scunthorpe were in no mood to take prisoners and, as a contest, it was over at the halfway point, with Scorpions 34-14 ahead, after taking five maximums in the opening eight heats. Douglas and skipper Simon Lambert got Scorpions off to the perfect start with a 5-1 over Bandits’ superstar No 1 Chris Harris in Heat 1.

There was still some terrific racing on display, none more so than in Heat 10. Bandits’ Jye Etheridge blitzed around both Simon Lambert and Douglas on the opening lap, but Douglas refused to throw in the towel and eventually snatched the verdict from Etheridge in breathtaking fashion, after one final charge around the outside coming off the final bend to take chequered flag.

Harris was involved in some great battles with Scorpions’ top guns in the closing stages. Flying Finn Tero Aarnio charged inside him early in Heat 11 and then resisted all attempts by the Englishman to hit back. Meanwhile, Douglas overtook Harris in both Heat 13 and 15, to complete his paid maximum – achieved on his spare bike!

But this was not a one-man show: it was a Scunthorpe side firing on all seven cylinders.

Aarnio won four out of his five races, and thankfully both he and Etheridge were OK after a frightening spill in the initial attempt to hold Heat 15, after the Australian lost control and reared on the opening bend.

Lambert was involved in three 5-1s and only dropped points in Heat 10, while James Wright completed a 10-point return when he held off a charging Etheridge in Heat 12.

Anders Rowe had a very impressive home debut for Scorpions with paid nine, while Allen looked highly competitive in his first meeting for two months and would have scored more than 5+2 but for a fall while second in Heat 5. Meanwhile, Adam Roynon battled away in typical fashion to a paid five return, which included defeating young hot shots Leon Flint and Jonas Knudsen.

Speaking post-meeting, maximum man Ryan Douglas said: “It’s a great win for us. Berwick usually do well around here, and to get a big win is always nice.

“I was a bit worried before the meeting, because the engine I normally use around here wasn’t sounding too good and I had to ride my spare bike. But I still had some decent speed.

“I had some good battles out there. I hope the fans enjoyed it, with lots of passing and close racing. It’s nice to be involved in races like that and even better to come out on top in them.

“I’d say my shoulder is back to 80%, which is enough for me to race without it affecting me. When I rode at Wolverhampton on the Monday after crashing in Poland on the Saturday, it was a bit of a struggle. I battled through that meeting, but I knew I needed time off after it. I’m now all good again to race.

“We had the whole team firing today and that’s important. We need everyone going, because we need to win our away matches next weekend and we’re not going to do that with just one or two of us scoring points.

“We had a big confidence booster today. We were close at Redcar last time, and this time we’re aiming to grab the victory that we need there. Berwick is a hard place to go, but we beat them well tonight, so we’ll go into that meeting with some confidence.”

SCUNTHORPE 60: Ryan Douglas 13+2, Tero Aarnio 13, James Wright 10, Simon Lambert 8+2, Anders Rowe 8+1, Jake Allen 5+2, Adam Roynon 3+2.
BERWICK 30: Chris Harris 12, Jye Etheridge 7, Jonas Knudsen 4, Theo Pijper 3+1, Leon Flint 3, Ricky Wells 1, Luke Crang 0.

* ATTIS INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions are twice in action away next weekend, with crucial meetings at Redcar on Friday and Berwick on Saturday, which will determine whether they qualify for Championship play-offs in their battle with Redcar for sixth place. Several scenarios are possible, although if Scorpions win both meetings, they will qualify. The next home meeting at the Eddie Wright Raceway is in the KO Cup to Leicester on Friday, September 2nd.

REPORT by Rob Peasley.
PHOTO by Ian Rispin.