Scorpions show fighting spirit after double injury blow

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 53 NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS 37 (TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KNOCKOUT CUP, first round, first leg)

FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, have given themselves every chance of reaching the quarter-finals of the Travel Plus Tours Knockout Cup, after recording a 53-37 victory over the Newcastle Diamonds at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday).

Scunthorpe’s win was all-the-more creditable, since they lost both Ryan Douglas and Alex Davies to injury in the closing stages.

Douglas suffered concussion from a Heat 12 incident, from which team-mate Nike Lunna gained an exclusion. Meanwhile, Davies picked up a bruised & swollen thumb after Newcastle’s Lewis Kerr brought him down at the first attempt to stage Heat 13.

At that point, with two riders hurt and only an 8-point lead, things did not look particularly rosy for the Scorpions. But reserve Ben Wilson came into the re-run of Heat 13 in place of Davies, and thanks to some excellent team riding from guest Ben Barker, the Scorpions took a 5-1 over the previously unbeaten Ludvig Lindgren.

Wilson and the ever-reliable Carl Wilkinson then took a 5-1 in Heat 14 to further extend Scunthorpe’s advantage, and a final race 3-3 confirmed that the Scorpions will have a 16-point lead to take to Brough Park for the second leg on June 28.

The Scorpions had earlier stormed into a 13-5 lead after three heats, with Newcastle’s Christian Henry crashing out of proceedings in Heat 3. But with Lindgren, Kerr and Steve Worrall winning eight races between them for the Diamonds, the scoreline didn’t show any subsequent significant shift until the late two 5-1s for the Scorpions.

Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “I’m very pleased with the way we stuck at it in this meeting. In the last few home meetings, we’ve fallen away in the last few races; but this was the opposite.

“When we lost both Dougie (Ryan Douglas) and Alex (Davies), we could have caved in. But instead we took two 5-1s which could prove vital over the course of this cup tie.

“Ben Barker was the complete package as a guest rider – scoring the points, helping his team-mates out on track (Ben Wilson in Heat 13) and being a positive force in the pits.

“It makes such a difference having a reserve in the shape of Ben Wilson, who can go out there and rack up the points. Nike Lunna also rode well and his points didn’t reflect his efforts – he’s becoming faster out of the gate.

“Carl Wilkinson has been one of our success stories this year, and he typically put in 100% in this meeting, and was rewarded by his points tally. Theo Pijper wasn’t his usual sharp self from the tapes, but still battled away for points.

“It was an excellent all-around team performance reflected by the fact we didn’t have a single ‘0’ in our scorechart; our only non-scores in races were from falls.

“We’ve got a 16-point lead to take to Newcastle for the second leg on June 28. The Diamonds are very good around their own track, but we’ll go there in a positive frame of mind, with the objective of qualifying for the next round.”

FLUIDAIR POWER SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS SUPPORTED BY HENDERSON INSURANCE 53
1. Ben Barker (Guest) 3 2 3 3 2 (13)
2. Theo Pijper 1 1* 2 1 (5+1)
3. Ryan Douglas 3 2 FX FN (5)
4. Carl Wilkinson 2*1* 2 2* 1* (8+4)
5. Alex Davies 2 3 2 FN (7)
6. Ben Wilson 3 1 1* 2 2* 3 (12+2)
7. Nike Lunna 1 1* 1* FX (3+2)

NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS 37
1. Lewis Kerr 2 3 3 FX 0 (8)
2. R/R for Anton Rosen
3. Steve Worrall TX 2 3 2 3 (10)
4. Christian Henry F (0)
5. Ludvig Lindgren 3 3 3 1 3 (13)
6. Simon Nielsen 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 (3)
7. Lewis Rose 0 2 0 F 0 0 1 (3)

1: Barker, Kerr, Pijper, Rose, 57.44 (4-2) (4-2).
2: Wilson, Rose, Lunna, Nielsen, 59.13 (4-2) (8-4).
3: (Re-run) Douglas, Wilkinson, Nielsen, Henry (fell), Worrall (excluded, tape touching), 58.94 (5-1) (13-5).
4: Lindgren, Davies, Lunna, Nielsen, 58.62 (3-3) (16-8).
5: Kerr, Davies, Wilkinson, Rose, 57.68 (3-3) (19-11).
6: (Re-run) Lindgren, Barker, Pijper, Nielsen, 57.75 (3-3) (22-14).
7: Davies, Worrall, Wilson, Rose (fell), 57.88 (4-2) (26-16).
8: Worrall, Pijper, Lunna, Rose, 58.25 (3-3) (29-19).
9: (Re-run) Lindgren, Wilkinson, Nielsen, Douglas (fell, excluded), 57.81 (2-4) (31-23).
10: Barker, Worrall, Pijper, Rose, 58.13 (4-2) (35-25).
11: Kerr, Davies, Wilson (three riders only), 58.06 (3-3) (38-28).
12: (Re-run) Worrall, Wilson, Nielsen, Lunna (fell, excluded), Douglas (fell, unable to contest re-run), 58.50 (2-4) (40-32).
13: (Re-run) Barker, Wilson, Lindgren, Kerr (fell, excluded), Davies (fell, unable to contest re-run), 58.75 (5-1) (45-33).
14: Wilson, Wilkinson, Rose, Nielsen, 59.02 (5-1) (50-34).
15: Lindgren, Barker, Wilkinson, Kerr, 58.63 (3-3) (53-37).

* FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, are next in action at Glasgow on Sunday (3pm). Ben Barker is again due to guest for the injured Josh Auty. Ryan Douglas is also ruled out, while Alex Davies is unlikely to race, so the Scorpions will use rider replacement (for either Douglas or Davies), plus a further guest.