SCORPIONS STORM TO THE TOP!
SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 62 BERWICK BANDITS 28 (Cab Direct Championship)
A BRILLIANT 18-point full maximum from No 1 Kyle Howarth spearheaded an emphatic 62-28 victory for the Ellis Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions over Berwick Bandits at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday).
The victory, allied with an aggregate bonus point, takes Scorpions to the top of the Cab Direct Championship standings.
Scorpions competed the double over Bandits, after a hard-fought 46-44 victory at Shielfield Park last Saturday. Both teams lost riders to injury in that clash and Scorpions used rider replacement for collarbone victim Michael Palm Toft last night, which scored 7+1.
Last night was a much more one-sided affair, although there was still plenty of good racing on display, much of it featuring the Scunthorpe riders battling against 2023 Scorpion Drew Kemp, with Howarth’s biggest challenge to his full house coming in Heat 10, when he battled past Kemp.
Jake Allen was also close to picking up a maximum. He dropped his only points to a Berwick when he couldn’t quite find a route back past Bandits’ No 1 Lewis Kerr in a Heat 13 battle.
Berwick suffered a big blow when Rory Schlein crashed out of the meeting in Heat 6. He lost control on the opening bend, tangled with Allen and ended up taking a hefty crash in the air fence on the second bend. The Australian suffered reported shoulder, collarbone and rib injuries which will rule him out of the 2024 Attis Insurance Sports Division British Final at the National Speedway Stadium at Belle Vue, Manchester this evening (Saturday, 7.30pm), where Howarth, Connor Mountain and Simon Lambert will represent Scunthorpe, with a place at the British Grand Prix at Cardiff in August up for grabs.
Even before Schlein’s withdrawal, Bandits were up against it, as Scorpions flew into a 21-9 lead after five races. In the end, Scorpions were one point short of their 63-27 Cab Direct Knockout Cup victory over Bandits at the EWR last month.
Scunthorpe team manager David Howe said: “It was a strong performance from the boys tonight and a good result for us.
“Berwick were already a bit wounded going into the meeting and I join everyone in wishing Rory Schlein a speedy recovery from his injuries.
“We put in an all-around team performance, although I would highlight another good night for young Luke Harrison, who scored paid nine and just gets better and better every week.
“As for Kyle Howarth, he was fantastic tonight. He took a bit of stick from a few of our fans earlier in the season, simply because he’s not Ryan Douglas, but no-one is. Kyle is Kyle, he’s a terrific rider and tonight he showed that he is the class act that we know he is, and he did everything we asked of him and more.”
SCUNTHORPE 62: Kyle Howarth 18, Jake Allen 14+2, Simon Lambert 10+1, Connor Mountain 8+2, Luke Harrison 7+2, Nathan Ablitt 5+1, Michael Palm Toft r/r,
BERWICK 28: Lewis Kerr 9, Drew Kemp 8+2, Dan Gilkes 3, Paul Starke 3, Danyon Hume 2, Rory Schlein 2, Freddy Hodder 1.
* ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL Scunthorpe Scorpions entertain Oxford Cheetahs at the Eddie Wright Raceway next Friday (June 14) at 7.30pm, where they will be aiming to overcome a 34-55 deficit to bag another aggregate bonus point.
PHOTO by Ian Rispin
