Scorpions climb off bottom, after beating local rivals

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 49 SHEFFIELD TIGERS 41 (PREMIER LEAGUE)

FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, defied both the weather and high-flying local rivals Sheffield Tigers to move off the bottom of the Premier League table, with a 49-41 victory over the Tigers at the Eddie Wright Raceway yesterday afternoon (Bank Holiday Monday).

With the weather not quite shaping out as forecasters had predicted, with additional un-forecasted rain, promoter Rob Godfrey and his track staff put in a magnificent effort to allow the racing to take place, with Heat 1 coming to the tapes at around 3.30pm after remedial work.

The meeting at Scunthorpe was the only meeting in the UK to survive the Bank Holiday rain; a measure of what the track staff achieved. And not only did they save the Premier League meeting, but also the following Midland Development League Riders’ Championship, as all scheduled 38 races in the double header took place.

The Scorpions took charge from the off, and led 16-8 after four races and 29-19 after nine races. Sheffield closed the scoreline to 38-34, but successive 5-1s in Heat 13 (Leigh Lanham & Zdenek Holub) and Heat 14 (Carl Wilkinson & Alex Davies) made sure of the victory and ensured the Tigers went home with nothing.

The racing really got going into the latter stages of the meeting, which was a testament to the riders of both sides, as well as the job done by track staff.

Every Scunthorpe rider finished with at least one win or paid win, in a strong all-round performance.

Skipper Theo Pijper (pictured) led the way with 11 points from 4 rides, dropping just a single point to David Bellego in Heat 10, while new signing Lanham (10+1) and Davies (8+2) were also paid for double figures.

Scorpions’ team manager Dave Peet said: “Full credit to Rob Godfrey and the track staff for their work on getting the track into a raceable condition after the rain. We have the best track team in the country, and they showed that by getting this meeting on.

“Our track can take a lot of water, and it was fine once we got a few races out of the way.

“The whole team chipped in today. We got off to a strong start, which would have been even stronger but for a bit of bad luck for Nike Lunna. We had an easy 5-1 in Heat 2, when he went through a puddle, and it affected his electrics and he dropped to fourth.

“We set off in a positive mood, but Sheffield threatened to come back into it after taking a 5-1 in Heat 12.

“But our new signing Leigh Lanham showed what a class act he is by winning Heat 13, and with Zdenek Holub following him home, we took a vital 5-1. Carl Wilkinson’s specialty is Heat 14, and he and Alex Davies then took the 5-1 that clinched the points for us.”

The result takes Scunthorpe above Redcar in the Premier League table on race points difference. Friday’s (September 4) clash between the two sides at the Eddie Wright Raceway will be crucial in the battle to avoid bottom place.

Peet added: “It’s nice to move off the bottom; to be honest, I don’t feel we’ve deserved to be down there, but we’ve had a lot of back luck this year. The team spirit & determination of this side is not one that deserves to finish bottom.

“But we’re not going to get giddy. We have a job to do in the crucial meeting against Redcar on Friday, to consolidate our position.”

FLUIDAIR POWER SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS SUPPORTED BY HENDERSON INSURANCE 49
1. Zdenek Holub 1 0 1* 2*0 (4+2)
2. Theo Pijper 3 3 3 2 (11)
3. Andreas Lyager 3 2 0 0 (5)
4. Carl Wilkinson 1 1* 2 3 (7+1)
5. Leigh Lanham 3 2 1* 3 1 (10+1)
6. Alex Davies 3 1* 2 2* (8+2)
7. Nike Lunna 0 2* 1 1 (4+1)

SHEFFIELD TIGERS 41
1. Jason Garrity 2 3 3 1 3 (12)
2. Robin Aspegren 0 FX 2 0 (2)
3. David Bellego 2 0 3 3 2* (10+1)
4. Nicolai Klindt R 3 R R (3)
5. Andre Compton 1 2 3 0 (6)
6. Paco Castagna 1* 1* 1 2* (5+3)
7. Josh Bates 2 R 0 1 (3)

1: Pijper, Garrity, Holub, Aspegren, 61.63 (4-2).
2: Davies, Bates, Castagna, Lunna, 63.50 (3-3) (7-5).
3: Lyager, Bellego, Wilkinson, Klindt (ret), 63.82 (4-2) (11-7).
4: Lanham, Lunna, Compton, Bates (ret), 66.50 (5-1) (16-8).
5: (Re-run) Garrity, Lyager, Wilkinson, Aspegren (fell, excluded), 63.80 (3-3) (19-11).
6: Pijper, Compton, Castagna, Holub, 65.18 (3-3) (22-14).
7: Klindt, Lanham, Davies, Bellego, 63.25 (3-3) (25-17).
8: Pijper, Aspegren, Lunna, Bates, 63.75 (4-2) (29-19).
9: Compton, Wilkinson, Castagna, Lyager, 64.38 (2-4) (31-23).
10: Bellego, Pijper, Holub, Klindt (ret), 63.94 (3-3) (34-26).
11: Garrity, Davies, Lanham, Aspegren, 62.69 (3-3) (37-29).
12: Bellego, Castagna, Lunna, Lyager, 63.81 (1-5) (38-34).
13: Lanham, Holub, Garrity, Compton, 63.06 (5-1) (43-35).
14: Wilkinson, Davies, Bates, Klindt (ret), 62.44 (5-1) (48-36).
15: Garrity, Bellego, Lanham, Holub, 61.37 (1-5) (49-41).

* Jack Parkinson-Blackburn was a deserving winner of the Midland Development League Riders’ Championship that formed the second half of the double header at the Eddie Wright Raceway. Just to show what a fantastic job the track staff did yesterday, some times in the second half were less than 60 seconds.

PHOTO: Scorpions’ skipper Theo Pijper leading Heat 6 (photo: Alex Summerfield).