Determined Scorpions shake off Brummies
SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 51 BIRMINGHAM BRUMMIES 39 (Cab Direct Championship)
ATTIS INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions reclaimed third spot in the Cab Direct Championship table with a 51-39 victory over the Birmingham Brummies at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday), to keep on course for the play-offs.
With an inspired choice of guest in Richard Lawson – in for the suspended Nick Morris – Brummies proved a handful in the opening stages and led 19-17 after six heats.
Scorpions moved ahead a 5-1 from Nathan Ablitt and Jake Allen in Heat 7, with Allen again displaying his team-riding talents in helping to peg back Troy Batchelor and Paul Starke to ensure the 5-1.
The scores remained close until skipper Simon Lambert and Connor Mountain took a 5-1 from Heat 12 which moved Scorpions eight points clear at 40-32.
A thrilling Heat 13 saw Lawson fend off the joint challenge of Douglas and Jake Allen, before Lawson came into Heat 14 as a tactical substitute. A brilliant surge by Scorpions’ guest Zach Cook took him from last to first, past Lawson, while Mountain battled past Starke for third place, as Scorpions took a match-winning 4-2 to record their fifth win over Brummies in 2023.
A terrific heat 15 saw Douglas get the better of Lawson while Allen beat Justin Sedgmen in a battle for third place, as a further 4-2 left Scorpions with a handy 12-point advantage in terms of the aggregate bonus point when the two sides meet again at Perry Barr on August 23.
Douglas top-scored for Scorpions with 13, while Allen (9+2), Mountain (9+1) and Lambert (9) also scored well. Cook was again a decent guest and scored 5+2, while Ablitt – who also joined Mountain for a 5-1 in Heat 2 – collected 6+1, his best-ever score at Championship level. Drew Kemp put in plenty of effort, with finished his night with no points, after a fall and a tapes exclusion.
Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “The scores were close for most of the evening, but the lads did the job and pulled away at the end of the meeting.
“Birmingham picked their guest wisely in Richard Lawson, who probably scored quite a bit more than Nick Morris would have done.
“Drew experienced another night of being in the wrong place at the wrong time – he can’t buy any luck at the moment. It’s not through lack of effort, while speedway is a confidence game and I’m sure Drew’s move down to reserve in August is going to see him knocking up the points in the same way as Connor Mountain – one good meeting and Drew will be fine.
“We always set up this team to have one strong reserve, but by the end of the season, we’re going to have two, because Nathan is improving week-by-week. He had a great meeting tonight, scoring 6+1, but it could have been even higher. He still occasionally places himself in the wrong place, but that’s simply down to experience and he’s gaining that all the time.
“Tonight proved you cannot underestimate anyone in this league – we didn’t, but we still had to fight hard. But I feel good about this team, because we’re winning meetings despite the feeling there’s more to come, because we aren’t firing on all cylinders yet. Also, we’ve been missing Michael Palm Toft now for the best part of two months, although Zack Cook again did a decent job as a guest tonight.
“Once Michael is back and fit and we’ve got all the boys going at the same time, I feel that we will be a team that everyone will fear. We’re still in both the league and cup and this can still be a big season for Scunthorpe Speedway.”
SCUNTHORPE 51: Ryan Douglas 13, Jake Allen 9+1, Connor Mountain 9+1, Simon Lambert 9, Nathan Ablitt 6+1, Zach Cook 5+2, Drew Kemp 0.
BIRMINGHAM 39: Richard Lawson 14+1, Justin Sedgmen 8, Alfie Bowtell 6, Paul Starke 4+1, Troy Batchelor 4, Sam Hagon 2+1, Stefan Nielsen 1.
* ATTIS INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions in action at league leaders Oxford on Wednesday (August 2), before hosting Berwick Bandits at the Eddie Wright Raceway next Friday (August 4, 7.30pm).
