Howe’s that? Scorpions hit sixty against Rye House

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 60 RYE HOUSE ROCKETS 35 (PREMIER LEAGUE)

DAVID HOWE registered a six-ride paid maximum, as the FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions reached 60 points for the first time this season, with a healthy 60-35 home win against the Rye House Rockets at the Eddie Wright Raceway yesterday evening (Friday).

The resultant three Premier League points move the Scorpions onto 28 league points, the same number as Ipswich Witches. Although Ipswich are still technically in second place on race points difference, the Scorpions have two matches in hand on their Suffolk rivals.

With Josh Auty in hospital after having his appendix removed, the Scorpions used rider replacement in his absence, and the facility scored 9 paid 10.

Scunthorpe scored six 5-1s on the night, and Scorpions’ all-time leading point-scorer Howe (14+4) was involved in five of those. The only race featuring Howe that didn’t end up as a 5-1 to Scunthorpe was Heat 10, when Nicolai Klindt was left on the starting tapes after shedding a chain.

Ryan Douglas (16) and Thomas Jorgensen (14+2) also contributed heavily for the Scorpions, while both Ashley Birks (8) and Nicolai Klindt (6+2) were only prevented double figure returns by machinery problems. Matt Williamson (2) rode with great heart, and twice beat his opposing number, Marc Owen.

The Scorpions soon took control of the meeting, building a 19-5 lead after just four races. Rye House gained five extra points from their tactical rides (with Ryan Douglas preventing tactical ride Jason Garrity taking a win in Heat 7 by passing him), but further 5-1s from Scunthorpe in Heats 6 & 8 took the score-line to 35-18.

The win was never in doubt, and all three points were safely tucked away after a 4-2 from Jorgensen and Birks in Heat 12.

The remaining issue was whether Howe could go through the meeting unbeaten by an opponent. He achieved this, by fending off the attentions of fellow former British Grand Prix wildcard Edward Kennett for second place in Heat 15.

It was Howe’s second maximum of the season, but was achieved from six rides, whereas his previous maximum was gained from four rides. Howe, whose 2012 and 2013 seasons were blighted by injury, is now looking much more like the rider who topped the Scunthorpe averages for three successive seasons between 2009 and 2011.

Speaking after the meeting, Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “We put in a really good team performance against the Rockets.

“The whole team deserve credit. Matt Williamson may have only scored two points, but he put in an awful lot of effort to score those two.

“David (Howe) had some new engines a few weeks ago. He’s been working out the best way to set them up, and tonight it all clicked for him.

“He was gating, he was fast; he was the David Howe of old and it was a delight to see.

“Ryan Douglas had gone slightly off the boil in recent weeks, but tonight he was back to his best. He had to earn a number of his points the hard way. Meanwhile, Thomas Jorgensen was flying yet again, it is a bonus having such a good rider at reserve.

“We scored sixty, but for bike problems for Ash (Birks) and Nicolai (Klindt) it could have been even more. In Heat 9, Ash’s clutch lever came out and he missed the two minutes, then in the next race, Nicolai’s chain came off at the start.

“In our last 3 or 4 home meetings, we have been very dominant. If we kept on scoring every home point without picking up away points, it’s likely we would scrape into the play-offs.

“But I want to see us picking up both points and wins away from home as well, and showing consistency in our those matches. Our home form is excellent and I want to see us carry that into our away meetings as well.”

FLUIDAIR POWER SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 60
1. Nicolai Klindt 3 2* R 1* (6+2)
2. David Howe 2* 2* 3 2* 3 2* (14+4)
3. Ashley Birks 3 1* MX 1 3 (8+1)
4. Josh Auty R/R
5. Ryan Douglas 3 3 2 3 2 3 (16)
6. Matt Williamson 1 0 F 1 (2)
7. Thomas Jorgensen 3 2* 2 3 1* 3 (14+2)

RYE HOUSE ROCKETS 35
1. Edward Kennett 1 6# 1* 3 1 (12+1)
2. Luke Bowen 0 0 1 2 (3)
3. Mathieu Tresarrieu 0 1* 1* 2 (4+2)
4. Jason Garrity 1 4# 2 2 0 (9)
5. Steve Boxall 1 1 0 0 (2)
6. Jason Bunyan 2 0 3 0 (5)
7. Marc Owen (Guest) 0 0 0 0 (0)

# = tactical ride

1: Klindt, Howe, Kennett, Bowen, 56.40 (5-1) (5-1).
2: Jorgensen, Bunyan, Williamson, Owen, 56.79 (4-2) (9-3).
3: Birks, Howe, Garrity, Tresarrieu, 57.62 (5-1) (14-4).
4: Douglas, Jorgensen, Boxall, Owen, 57.62 (5-1) (19-5).
5: KENNETT (TR), Jorgensen, Birks, Bowen, 56.87 (3-6) (22-11).
6: Howe, Klindt, Boxall, Bunyan, 58.37 (5-1) (27-12).
7: Douglas, GARRITY (TR), Tresarrieu, Williamson, 58.75 (3-5) (30-17).
8: Jorgensen, Howe, Bowen, Owen, 58.19 (5-1) (35-18).
9: Bunyan, Douglas, Jorgensen, Boxall, Birks (excluded, two minutes), 58.17 (3-3) (38-21).
10: Howe, Garrity, Tresarrieu, Klindt (ret), 58.56 (3-3) (41-24).
11: Douglas, Bowen, Kennett, Williamson (fell), 58.27 (3-3) (44-27).
12: Jorgensen, Tresarrieu, Birks, Bunyan, 58.06 (4-2) (48-29).
13: Kennett, Douglas, Klindt, Boxall, 58.53 (3-3) (51-32).
14: Birks, Garrity, Williamson, Owen, 58.71 (4-2) (55-34).
15: Douglas, Howe, Kennett, Garrity, 57.75 (5-1) (60-35).

PHOTO: David Howe leads Edward Kennett in Heat 1.