COVENTRY: WOLVERHAMPTON:
G.Hancock 2'3 0 2' 7(2) M.Karlsson E E 1 1 0 2
St.Robson 3 3 2'1 2 2 13(1) L.Richardson 1 1 1 3 0 6
B.Andersen 1 2'0 2 2 7(1) J.Jorgensen 2 0 3 1 3 9
A.Jonsson Rider Replacement G.Stancl Rider Replacement
B.Hamill 3 2'3 3 1' 12(2) P.Karlsson 2 0 2'2 1 3 10(1)
S.Tacey 3 3 3 3 2'N 14(1) R.Juul 2 0 1 1'3 0 7(1)
Sc.Robson 1 0 R 0 1' 2(1) C.Taylor 0 1'0 1(1)
THE EXIDE BEES MARCH on with this thoroughly convincing victory, which must have been doubly sweet following the ludicrous comments attributed to the Wolves promotion earlier in the week. Colin Pratt quite clearly had his team well wound-up for the match, especially as, in a most un-Coventry-like fashion, Bees raced away in the early stages during a downpour.
In a night of many positives, it was great to see Stuart Robson and Shaun Tacey playing very prominent roles in the success. Robson produced another display full of dash, and Tacey was absolutely flying from the gate. This more than made up for a patchy display from skipper Brian Andersen, who was clearly not at ease with the slightly unusual surface. Unfortunately, Tacey was destined not to make it to the end of the match as, with a 21-point paid maximum looking a distinct possibility, he received burns to his arm during a first bend brush with, ironically, Andersen.
The Wolves cause wasn't aided by Mikael Karlsson enduring a meeting from hell, and he must be delighted to see the back of Wolves' Craven Shield matches against Coventry. He didn't get past the first bend of Heat 1 as he threw a chain, and with guest Lee Richardson getting it all wrong going into the corner, Robson and Greg Hancock were well away for an opening maximum.
Tacey, always likely to be a key figure in the match due to the rider replacement situation, indicated that he was on the pace with an easy win in Heat 2, and although Scott Robson was at the back in the early stages, he at least kept going this time, which meant that when Craig Taylor took his inevitable fall (first bend of lap two) the Bees man was able to profit.
With the rain beginning to intensify, ex-Bee John Jorgensen made a flying start to Heat 3 only to overslide coming out of the second bend and allow Stuart Robson an easy route through on the inside. Andersen, too, dived inside Jorgensen going into turn 3, but overshot the corner and JJ was back into second place. Heat 4 was re-started, with both Hamill and Peter Karlsson trying to prompt each other into the tapes, but when it got going it was an easy win for the Bees man, charging round the outside and then picking the right line round the by now greasy track to ensure that Bees lead stayed at eight points, with Taylor's seemingly eternal quest for a point ending with a glorious success over Scott Robson.
Mikael Karlsson, unbelievably, shed another chain at the start of Heat 5, and so it was virtually a repeat performance of Heat 1 with Richardson crowded out on the first bend, and Tacey in particular making a quick escape. Richardson chased Andersen hard, but never really looked like getting through, so it was a Bees 5-1, although the time of 67.5 indicated how difficult things were becoming, even though the track was showing no signs of cutting up as in the fateful meeting against Oxford.
And any Wolverhampton thoughts that the track was by now becoming merely rideable rather than raceable were dispelled by Stuart Robson, who produced the ride of the season in Heat 6. Hancock gated and raced to a straightforward win, but Robson was left at the start. He found an excellent line around the outside, however, and scorched round a very sluggish Peter Karlsson at the start of lap two, and then gave chase to Richard Juul. Going into the last bend, he looked to be just too far behind, but he turned on the power and pinched the second place on the line, with those connected with Wolves quite clearly disgusted that he'd been able to do it.
Richardson had clearly been watching this, because after being outgated by Hamill and Tacey in Heat 7, he made straight for the outside, and when Hamill got boxed behind his team-mate, Richardson roared past him into second place. However, he then inexplicably switched to the inside, when a continuation of his outside line could have taken him into the lead, and that gave the initiative back to Hamill who powered his way back into second place. The third consecutive 5-1 put Bees 31-11 up, and an anhilation looked on the cards, especially as the rain had by now stopped, and the track could clearly only get better.
Wolves stemmed the flow in Heat 8 with a 5-1 assisted by a tactical substitute, Richardson getting it right from the start to link up with Peter Karlsson ahead of the Robsons, Stuart making another bold attempt on the first lap before dropping back. Bees then lost a potential 5-1 of their own in Heat 9 - again, it was Tacey all the way from the gate, but Andersen was passed on the inside by Peter Karlsson on the fourth bend, and was seemingly put off by this, because Juul also slotted inside him on the next bend, with Andersen giving vain chase.
In Heat 10 we had the unusual situation of a team bringing in a tactical substitute who hadn't previously scored a point, and Mikael Karlsson's nightmare looked like continuing as he attempted to give everyone a mighty shove on the first bend. Everyone, however, negotiated the bend safely with Karlsson locking up to a virtual standstill. Referee Lawrence, however, seemed to take pity on the Wolves man and called all four back for the re-run. Jorgensen completely upset the formbook by gating from the outside, and Hancock was squeezed between the Wolves men and found himself at the back. Robson made a strong challenge to Jorgensen, trying to dive through on the inside on turn four, but JJ knew where he was and came back round the inside. The strength of the challenge, however, could be measured by the fact that the winning time was more than a second quicker than anything else so far. Karlsson hung on ahead of Hancock to open his account for the evening.
Hamill went even quicker in Heat 11, but that race was more notable for a super defensive ride by Tacey, who was only just given enough room by Hamill at the start, but managed to put himself in the right place for the whole race to see off Mikael Karlsson and Richardson. He was rewarded by a ride in place of Scott Robson in Heat 12, but now probably wishes he hadn't taken it. Bees gated, but Andersen was lifting as he approached the first corner, and clearly wasn't in full control. He touched Tacey in the corner, and it turned out that Tacey's arm was rubbing on Andersen's rear wheel, at which point Tacey baled out. That was the end of his racing for the evening, which was a real pity, but the main thing is that he gets properly recovered for some big upcoming fixtures. Andersen was perhaps slightly fortunate to be allowed back in the re-run, as it was he who had moved into Tacey's piece of track, but he was again beaten by Juul who came neatly inside him coming out of the second bend. There was also a more encouraging ride by Scott Robson, who wasn't at all far behind Jorgensen.
Heat 13 brought out the Grand Prix riders, and yet again Team H & H had the upper hand over the Karlssons, with a perfect display of how to ride as a pairing. The match was petering out now, with Bees easy winners, but there was still a satisfying win for Jorgensen to come, as he beat Andersen in Heat 14, and Scott Robson picked up a deserved point ahead of Taylor in the same race. The final heat could have produced Hamill's first home maximum of the season, but Peter Karlsson rather spoilt things by gating, and again the 6-lap finale wasn't much of a race, Hamill and Stuart Robson happy to share the points ahead of Juul, surprisingly preferred to Jorgensen for the heat.
It's five wins on the trot for Bees now, and nine in eleven, and it's a highly encouraging run of form which, if it continues, could result in honours at the end of the season. At the moment Bees seem to have strength virtually everywhere, with top men who can beat anyone, exciting middle-order talent and a high-scoring reserve. Peterborough on Thursday will be a test, but there's no reason why they can't be overcome.