Chattin leads Stags to victory

Saturday, July 8th, 2017
CARMARTHEN DRAGONS 16 SCUNTHORPE STAGS 20 (at STOKE)
(Midland Development League)

MAXIMUM MAN CHATTIN LEADS STAGS TO VICTORY

THREE brilliant wins by James Chattin saw the Stags take a hard-earned win against a determined Carmarthen Dragons side, with only one race result separating them at the end.

Stags No.1, Chris Bambury, struggled all night with a sick motor which eventually caused him to fall in the last race so it was a perfect time for James to find his gating gloves. He shot from the tapes in each of his three races and was never headed, but he also had to ride to his very best to hold off strong challenges from Kean Dicken in Heat 1 and Sam Wright in Heat 4.

By contrast Luke Whitehead completely missed the start in his first two races. However, he again showed the tremendous form he is currently enjoying to hustle through to second place each time, and his 3-lap battle with Sam Wright in Heat 2 for the lead was the highlight of a very exciting match. When Luke finally made a great gate in Heat 6 it was for nothing when his partner Chris hit the deck and the race was stopped. But Luke, with the added pressure of needing at least a second place to secure the Stags win, made another super start in the re-run and lead from tapes to flag.

Sheldon Davies, on his first ever visit to the Stoke track, provided excellent support with 3+2, finishing with a paid win in his last race.

It takes two good teams to produce such a good match and Carmarthen battled to the very end. The scores were fairly even throughout, a 5-1 to the Stags in Heat 5 providing the winning margin. Both Kean Dicken (7) and Sam Wright (6+1) were very tough to beat, while Danny Wright and Connor Fletcher chipped in with valuable points and played their part in a thoroughly enjoyable meeting.

Carmarthen Dragons 16
1) Kean Dicken – 2,3,2, = 7
2) Danny Wright – 0,1,1, = 2
3) Sam Wright – 3,2,1′, = 6+1
4) Connor Fletcher – 0,1′,0, = 1+1

Scunthorpe Stags 20
1) Chris Bambury – 1,0,0, = 1
2) James Chattin – 3,3,3, = 9 (MAX)
3) Luke Whitehead – 2,2,3, = 7
4) Sheldon Davies – 1′,0,2′, =3+2

Ht1. Chattin, Dicken, Bambury, D Wright. 2-4 (2-4)
Ht2. S Wright, Whitehead, Davies, Fletcher. 3-3 (5-7)
Ht3. Dicken, Whitehead, D Wright, Davies. 4-2 (9-9) 70.8
Ht4. Chattin, S Wright, Fletcher, Bambury. 3-3 (12-12) 73.1
Ht5. Chattin, Davies, D Wright, Fletcher. 1-5 (13-17)
Ht6. Whitehead, Dicken, S Wright, Bambury (F,Ex). 3-3 (14-18)