Stags snatch victory in dramatic climax

SCUNTHORPE STAGS 45 HALIFAX DUKES 43 (NATIONAL LEAGUE CHALLENGE)

SCUNTHORPE STAGS picked up an exciting 45-43 win over the Halifax Dukes in the second half of the double-header at the Eddie Wright Raceway yesterday afternoon (Bank Holiday Monday), despite being seven points behind with two races to go.

It looked over when David Speight was first away in Heat 14, but both Rob Shuttleworth and 16-year-old Jamie Halder picked him off to keep the meeting alive.

In a dramatic final race, the Scunthorpe pair of Lee Payne and Adam Extance got out in front, with Adam Kirby falling on the second lap, just as Wayne Carter moved into the second place that would have secured victory for the Dukes.

In the re-run, Carter moved inside Payne to take the lead, only for Payne to fly back around him at the completion of two laps. With Carter snapping at Payne’s heels, his bike slowed and stopped at the end of the third lap, gifting the Stags a match-winning 5-0.

The luck probably even itself out, since in Heat 5, Rob Shuttleworth had been keeping Carter at bay, when he suffered an engine failure while leading on lap 3, changing a 3-3 to a 5-0 to the Dukes, since Ryan Blacklock had already been excluded from the race.

In order to keep enough moisture in the track for the latter stagings, the meeting was heavily watered in the interval between the Scorpions and Stags meetings, and conditions were therefore challenging for the first few heats of this encounter.

44-year-old Carter showed his experience in passing Payne, and then shepherding home Paul Burnett in Heat 1, as the Dukes took the lead right from the off.

That lead varied from two points to seven points, as the two sides proved to be well-matched. Many riders had their moments, for example 19-year-old Robert Parker headed home the far more experienced Burnett in Heat 8.

Max Clegg, who started riding speedway at the age of 10 on the Scunthorpe mini-track under the guidance of Carter and is now the No 1 for NL Cradley Heath, was in imperious form with four rides and four wins.

The last of Clegg’s wins came in an enthralling Heat 13. While Clegg led all the way, Carter made the inside work to move past Extance into second place on the fourth bend of the second lap. But Payne shot around Carter on the final lap, to restrict the Dukes to a 4-2 and give the Stags a faint hope heading into the last two races… a faint hope that turned to victory after the dramatic finale.

Stags’ team manager Richard Hollingsworth said: “First and foremost, this meeting was all about rider development. For those riders in the National League, it gave them valuable extra track time, while it gave some of the youngsters not yet with a league place a chance to mix it with the NL boys.

“It was a solid team performance for the Stags’ riders. Lee (Payne), Rob (Shuttleworth) Adam (Extance) and Ryan (Blacklock) got the chance to ride against the likes of Wayne Carter and Paul Burnett. We knew we were unlikely to beat Max Clegg, so it was all about avoiding last places and therefore keeping in the meeting.

“The youngsters, Robert (Parker), Jamie (Halder) and Luke (Whitehead), all picked up points, and that kept us in it as much as anything else.”

Did Hollingsworth feel sympathy for Wayne Carter? “No!” he joked, before adding: “Of course, I feel some sympathy with Wayne, because he blew his bike up, while in the second place in Heat 15 which would have won the meeting for Halifax. Wayne does so much for this club as our training officer.

“It was a real privilege for the lads to get a chance to take on Wayne Carter, a Scunthorpe Scorpions legend, in a meeting around here.”

SCUNTHORPE STAGS 45
1. Lee Payne 1 2 3 2 3 (11)
2. Robert Parker 0 1* 3 0 (4+1)
3. Ryan Blacklock 0 FX 2 2 (4)
4. Rob Shuttleworth 3 X 1* 3 (7+1)
5. Adam Extance 2 3 2 0 2* (9+1)
6. Jamie Halder 3 1 0 2* (6+1)
7. Luke Whitehead 1 1* 1 1* (4+2)

HALIFAX DUKES 43
1. Wayne Carter 2* 3 3 1 R (9+1)
2. Paul Burnett 3 2* 2 1 (8+1)
3. Adam Kirby 2 2 2 3 FX (9)
4. David Speight 1* 0 1* 1 (3+2)
5. Max Clegg 3 3 3 3 (12)
6. Sam Darroch F FX 0 F (0)
7. Bradley Seal 2 FX FX R (2)

1: Burnett, Carter, Payne, Parker, 65.56 (1-5) (1-5).
2: Halder, Seal, Whitehead, Darroch (fell), 65.06 (4-2) (5-7).
3: Shuttleworth, Kirby, Speight, Blacklock, 64.31 (3-3) (8-10).
4: Clegg, Extance, Whitehead, Seal (fell, excluded), awarded – no time (3-3) (11-13).
5: (Re-run) Carter, Burnett, Shuttleworth (excluded, cause of stoppage), Blacklock (fell, excluded), awarded – no time (0-5) (11-18).
6: Clegg, Payne, Parker, Darroch (fell, excluded), awarded – no time (3-3) (14-21).
7: Extance, Kirby, Halder, Speight, 61.13 (4-2) (18-23).
8: Parker, Burnett, Whitehead, Seal (fell, excluded), awarded – no time (4-2) (22-25).
9: Clegg, Shuttleworth, Blacklock, Darroch (fell, remounted), 59.56 (3-3) (25-28).
10: Payne, Kirby, Speight, Parker, 59.87 (3-3) (28-31).
11: Carter, Extance, Burnett, Halder, 60.19 (2-4) (30-35).
12: Kirby, Blacklock, Whitehead, Darroch (fell), 61.06 (3-3) (33-38).
13: Clegg, Payne, Carter, Extance, 60.13 (2-4) (35-42).
14: Shuttleworth, Halder, Speight, Seal (ret), 60.81 (5-1) (40-43).
15: (Re-run) Payne, Extance, Carter (ret), Kirby (fell, excluded), 60.50 (5-0) (45-43).

PHOTO: Wayne Carter leads the original staging of Heat 5.