Scorpions battle on, after bad injury for Ryan Douglas
SHEFFIELD TIGERS 53 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 40 (PREMIER LEAGUE)
FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, came out of the 40-53 defeat at local rivals Sheffield Tigers last night (Thursday) with great credit – battling all the way, despite a season-ending crash for Australian Ryan Douglas.
21-year-old Douglas – already in the wars earlier this season – crashed out in a first bend bunching incident in Heat 6, and suffered a broken left leg and suspected dislocated hip.
After that, the latest in a cruel list of injury blows for Scunthorpe this season, the Scorpions could have been forgiven for rolling over and throwing in the towel, especially when they slipped to 14 points behind after Heat 7.
But instead they fought back into the meeting with an 8-1 from tactical ride Alex Davies and flying guest reserve Tero Aarnio in Heat 8, followed by a 5-1 in Heat 9 from reserves Aarnio & Nike Lunna. Suddenly Scunthorpe were just 3 points behind and right back in contention.
However, the absence of Douglas from Heats 13 & 15 told, and the Scorpions could not stop the top Sheffield pair of Brady Kurtz & Jason Garrity from taking 5-1s from those races.
Aarnio, a Scunthorpe asset, finished as top scorer for the Scorpions with 13+2, while Davies contributed 13.
19-year-old Czech Republic rider Zdenek Holub did not score on his debut for the Scorpions, but showed plenty of potential, including briefly leading Heat 13.
Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “It’s a real sickener for Ryan and the end of his season. We can only wish him a speedy and trouble-free recovery. The lad has had so much bad luck this season with injuries, it’s unreal.
“I’m proud how we kept on battling after that, and got ourselves right back into the match with an 8-1 and a 5-1 in successive races. We certainly didn’t disgrace ourselves. I can’t fault any of our riders for effort.
“Tero Aarnio was a fantastic guest, while Alex Davies put in one of his best performances of the season for us.
“As for the new lad, Zdenek Holub, he improved as the night went on. I was impressed how he kept on battling, despite a heavy fall in his third ride, and he led Heat 13 from the start. Once he gets properly dialled into British tracks, I think he will be a force to be reckoned with.”
SHEFFIELD TIGERS 53
1. Brady Kurtz (Guest) 3 3 3 2* 2* (13+2)
2. Paco Castagna 1 2* 1 0 (4+1)
3. David Bellego 2* 1* 1 3 (7+2)
4. Nicolai Klindt 3 2 0 1* (6+1)
5. Jason Garrity 3 2* 3 3 3 (14+1)
6. Josh Bates 2 3 1 0 2 (8)
7. Arthur Sissis FX 1 0 (1)
FLUIDAIR POWER SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS SUPPORTED BY HENDERSON INSURANCE 40
1. Zdenek Holub 0 0 FX 0 (0)
2. Alex Davies 2 3 6# 2 0 (13)
3. Theo Pijper 1 1 2 2 1 (7)
4. Carl Wilkinson 0 0 1* (1+1)
5. Ryan Douglas 2 FN (2)
6. Tero Aarnio (Guest) 3 1 2* 3 1* 3 (13+2)
7. Nike Lunna 1 0 0 2* 1 R (4+1)
# = tactical ride
1: Kurtz, Davies, Castagna, Holub, 60.5 (4-2) (4-2).
2: (Re-run twice): Aarnio, Bates, Lunna, Sissis (fell, excluded), 61.6 (2-4) (6-6).
3: Klindt, Bellego, Pijper, Wilkinson, 61.1 (5-1) (11-7).
4: Garrity, Douglas, Sissis, Lunna, 60.9 (4-2) (15-9).
5: Davies, Klindt, Bellego, Holub, 61.5 (3-3) (18-12).
6: (Re-run): Kurtz, Castagna, Aarnio, Lunna, Douglas (fell, unable to contest re-run), 60.8 (5-1) (23-13).
7: Bates, Garrity, Pijper, Wilkinson, 60.8 (5-1) (28-14)
8: DAVIES (TR), Aarnio, Castagna, Sissis, 62.6 (1-8) (29-22).
9: Aarnio, Lunna, Bellego, Klindt, 62.1 (1-5) (30-27).
10: Kurtz, Pijper, Wilkinson, Castagna, 62.1 (3-3) (33-30).
11: Garrity, Davies, Bates, Holub (fell, excluded), awarded – no time (4-2) (37-32).
12: Bellego, Pijper, Aarnio, Bates, 61.9 (3-3) (40-35).
13: Garrity, Kurtz, Lunna, Holub, 62.6 (5-1) (45-36).
14: Aarnio, Bates, Klindt, Lunna (ret), 63.1 (3-3) (48-39).
15: Garrity, Kurtz, Pijper, Davies, 61.6 (5-1) (53-40).
* Sheffield’s Josh Bates will guest for the injured Ben Wilson at Eddie Wright Raceway tonight (Friday, 7.30pm), as the FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions entertain the Newcastle Diamonds in further Premier League action. Rider replacement will operate for Ryan Douglas. A reminder that all accompanied children under the age of 16 go free!
