SCORPIONS THROUGH TO BSN SEMI-FINALS

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 49 WORKINGTON COMETS 41  (BSN Series – Northern Group)

ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL Scunthorpe Scorpions completed their matches in the Northern Group of the BSN Series with a 49-41 victory over Workington Comets at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday).

Comets won the aggregate bonus point by 97-83, to finish top of the group on eight points, while Scorpions finished just behind on seven points, with double victory with Redcar allied with the home win over Comets.

Both teams have qualified for the semi-finals of the BSN Series – Workington as group winners and Scunthorpe as the best runners-up across the three groups.

Scunthorpe dominated the early action to jump into a 23-13 lead after six races. But Jake Allen lost a chain while winning Heat 7 and that seemed to affect the forward momentum of Scorpions and the aggregate bonus point never looked on after that.

Michael Palm Toft only dropped points in Heat 5 and top scored for Scorpions with 11+1.

It was a solid team performance by Scorpions, with every team member scoring at last five points.

There was some terrific racing on show, no more so than in Heat 10, when Scunthorpe No 1 Kyle Howarth stormed from third to first. The finish was so tight, that referee Mick Bates referred to the transponder times, before declaring Howarth the winner over Workington’s Finnish star Antti Vuolas.

Luke Harrison scored a fine paid eight for Scunthorpe, including a tapes-to-flag victory in Heat 12. While the 16-year-old has won races at Championship level before, both a guest for Redcar last season and more recently for Scorpions at Workington, this represented his first win at the Eddie Wright Raceway in Scorpions’ colours.

Harrison said: “The difference tonight was that I was starting that much better. In my final race, I got out in some clear air and was able to run my own race, instead of having to try to pass people. Once that happened, I showed what I could do and won the race.

“I’ve been practicing whenever I can and the main thing I’ve been concentrating on was my starts. That’s the biggest difference when you step up into this league – the rest of the riders are more experienced and can get the bike out of the start better than I can.

“I’ve now shown that I get can to the first corner with them and I now stand a better chance of scoring points and winning races.

“It’s a team sport and the biggest thing was that we won tonight and we’re going further in this competition. The most important thing to the fans is whether the team is winning and losing, and it is nice to contribute.

“The team spirit is good. When I was having problems getting out of the gate, Jake and Simon and the rest of the lads and also David as the manager were all on hand with advice.

“I’ve been riding around this track since I’ve been young, so I’ve probably done more laps around here than most people. I know the place like the back of my hand. But it does help having advice from the rest of the team of how the track can change in a match – as opposed to a practice session – and how to go with set-ups during a meeting.

“I want to ride as much as possible. I love riding my bike – but I don’t love cleaning it!

“I’m really enjoying riding for my local club at Scunthorpe. I’ve grown up watching speedway here. The earliest I can remember is watching it around four years old. A lot of the fans know me and it’s nice they don’t see as another rider, but in a personal aspect as well. My thanks to my sponsors and especially to my family, for driving me up and down the country so that I can ride my bike.”

SCUNTHORPE 49: Michael Palm Toft 11+1, Simon Lambert 8, Kyle Howarth 7, Luke Harrison 6+2, Jake Allen 6, Connor Mountain 6, Nathan Ablitt 5.

WORKINGTON 41: Craig Cook 10, Tate Zischke 9+1, Troy Batchelor 7+2, Claus Vissing 6+1, Antti Vuolas 6, Sam McGurk 3, Luke Killeen 0.

* ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL Scunthorpe Scorpions are next in action at the Eddie Wright Raceway next Friday (May 17), when they face Berwick Bandits in the second leg of a Cab Direct Knockout Cup quarter-final. Scorpions need to overturn a 36-54 deficit from the first leg to reach the semi-finals of the competition they won so memorably last season.

PHOTO: Luke Harrison traps ahead in Heat 12 (pic: Ian Rispin)