Thursday June 17th 1999 ... Elite League
COVENTRY 47 PETERBOROUGH 44
BEES: PANTHERS:
G.Hancock 1 3 2 1' 7(1) M.Loram 2'2 3 3 2 3 15(1)
St.Robson 0 2'N 2(1) N.Sadler 3 0 1 4
B.Andersen 2 3 3 2'1' 11(2) R.Sullivan 3 3 3 1 3 0 13
A.Jonsson 1'1 2'2 6(2) M.Jirout 0 1 0 1
B.Hamill 2 2 1'2 2 9(1) S.Tesar 3 1 F 0 4
S.Tacey 3 0 2 1'2 3 0 11(1) D.Howe E 0 X 0
Sc.Robson 1 0 0 1 J.Andersen 2 1 3 1 0 7
Referee - G.Flint
Weather - Dry, warm
Bees Rider of the Night - Brian Andersen
Bees Most Exciting Rider - Andreas JonssonHEAT DETAILS:
Ht 1:Sadler, Loram, Hancock, St.Robson, 62.5 1-5 1-5
Ht 2:Tacey, J.Andersen, Sc.Robson, Howe(ef), 63.5 4-2 5-7
Ht 3:Sullivan, B.Andersen, Jonsson, Jirout, 61.9 3-3 8-10
Ht 4:Tesar, Hamill(from 15m), J.Andersen, Sc.Robson, 62.5 2-4 10-14
Ht 5:B.Andersen, Loram, Jonsson, Sadler, 62.2 4-2 14-16
Ht 6:Hancock, St.Robson, Tesar, Howe, 62.9 5-1 19-17
Ht 7:Sullivan, Hamill, Jirout, Tacey, 62.1 2-4 21-21
Ht 8:J.Andersen, Tacey, Sadler, Sc.Robson, St.Robson(f,ns), 63.8 2-4 23-25
Ht 9:B.Andersen, Jonsson, J.Andersen, Tesar(f), 64.4 5-1 28-26
Ht10:Sullivan, Hancock, Tacey, Jirout, 62.5 3-3 31-29
Ht11:Loram, Tacey, Hamill, J.Andersen, 61.6 3-3 34-32
Ht12:Tacey, B.Andersen, Sullivan, Howe(f,exc), 63.4 5-1 39-33
Ht13:Loram, Hamill, Hancock, Tesar, 61.9 3-3 42-36
Ht14:Sullivan, Jonsson, Loram (g/d), Tacey, 63.4 2-5 44-41
Ht15:Loram, Hamill, B.Andersen, Sullivan, 93.5 3-3 47-44
HOW DID BEES, HAVING provided only five heat-winners all evening, manage to emerge victorious from this tension-filled encounter? To be fair, that was probably a question on the lips of the Peterborough management as well, because it has to be said that their team simply failed to perform at the crucial stages of the match, when an away win was there for the taking.
That's not taking anything away from Coventry, who came out of a night when just about everything went against them, including the loss of Stuart Robson, with two more vital league points. When you consider that just sixteen points were scored between Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock, much of the credit for this win has to go to skipper Brian Andersen, who rode with loads of determination, and free-scoring Shaun Tacey, still in pain from his arm burns received on Saturday. Andreas Jonsson, too, played a key role, especially when successfully defending a last-gasp Golden Double that could have had catastrophic effects for Coventry.
Panthers were missing No.1 Jason Crump with a broken collarbone, but they were able to bring in the man of the moment, Mark Loram, to replace him, and how delighted Sky TV must have been to hear news of that replacement! Loram didn't disappoint, showing why he is rightly regarded as the World's most exciting rider, and if he and Coventry track specialist Ryan Sullivan had had a little more support other than a useful seven from former Bee Jan Andersen, the result would surely have been different.
With the track quite obviously overwatered, Hancock spun like mad at the start of Heat 1, and with Stuart Robson also missing the gate, the two Bees men found themselves filled in at the first corner and Loram and Nigel Sadler raced away to an emphatic 5-1 to set the warning bells ringing. Bees battled back in Heat 2 with a convincing win for Tacey, who really is making the reserves race his own at the moment, and a useful point for Scott Robson who rounded the desperately disappointing David Howe on the top bend.
Sullivan picked up his first win in Heat 3, although Bees will be a little frustrated that he was allowed to plot a clear path around the outside, with Jonsson seemingly caught between looking for Brian Andersen, who he may have expected to be coming up to join him, and quickly moving out to block Sullivan. Whatever, the Australian raced round the outside to maintain Panthers' lead, despite a last place for Mario Jirout.
There was a little controversy at the start of Heat 4 as Hamill was quite clearly moving before the start. Whether he actually touched the tapes or not was difficult to tell from my angle, but with Hamill left trailing and Scott Robson tumbling on the first bend, Panthers were clearly annoyed when the red flags came out to stop the race. In reality, the referee had put the red lights on beforehand, but they hadn't been visible in the sunlight. Hamill was excluded, and subsequently re-instated as Bees elected for him to start from a 15-yard penalty - and, as it turned out, this was a crucial decision, as it freed up an extra ride for Tacey in the later stages. Hamill roared round the first corner, and Scott Robson sensibly stayed well clear of him! Hamill then dived inside Jan Andersen, but couldn't quite catch Sam Tesar, all of which gave Peterborough a 4-2 - not ideal, but not as bad as it might have been.
Then Bees really began to click into gear, as Brian Andersen sneaked inside Loram coming off the second bend in Heat 5. The Axeman had made some changes to his bike after Heat 3, and they certainly worked, although as he admitted afterwards he was given a terribly difficult ride, both by his set-up and also by Loram's presence, as the guest did everything but pass the Coventry skipper. Time after time Andersen would pick up drive on the bends, but just recover in time to retain the lead - it was a really intense race, and the riders were rightly applauded afterwards. Meanwhile, Jonsson, some way back in third place, ensured that Bees had trimmed the gap back to two points.
And the two-point swing was the other way after Heat 6, with Hancock and Stuart Robson reversing their Heat 1 1-5, both making flying starts and controlling the first corner challenge of Sam Tesar, who then gradually faded out of the picture. Not that the Coventry lead lasted long, with Sullivan getting the better of Hamill in Heat 7 and Tacey running a last to Jirout.
The match appeared to turn against Coventry in Heat 8, which featured an horrific first-bend pile-up. Bees had brought Tacey into the race to replace Scott Robson, but it was brother Stuart along with Sadler and Jan Andersen who were hitting the first bend at roughly the same time. Sadler lost control on the inside and speared into Robson, sending the two smashing into the fence. As is usual in these circumstances, the rider at fault was able to walk away uninjured, and Robson was taken very slowly from the track with the medics fearing a neck injury. Luckily, it turned out to be "just" concussion, and although Robbo is unlikely to ride against Oxford on Saturday, there appears to be no lasting damage.
So for the second match running, Scott Robson found himself back in a race which he had been substituted out of, but things looked very bleak for the Bees when Tacey made a poor gate allowing the Panthers into the lead. Tacey moved up into a challenging position, only to be left absolutely no room by Sadler on outside of the back straight. Tacey shut off to avoid an accident, but by now Sadler was weaving so much that he probably didn't know where he was himself, and Tacey picked his way through on the inside for a vital second place - not enough, though, to stop Peterborough from taking the lead.
Jan Andersen's success in that race saw him introduced into Heat 9 for Howe, and it was one of those races that speedway throws up from time to time, in which just about everything happens all at once. It was a disastrous start, with Tesar and Jan Andersen clearly getting the jump, but Tesar over-slid coming out of turn 2 and rotated out of the race. Even so, the reserve substitution looked to be paying off as Andersen led Jonsson up the back straight, until he got into a dreadful mess coming off turn 4, and almost ran off the track on the inside in recovering. That allowed Jonsson to swoop round the outside, but the Swede carried far too much speed into turn 1, lifted, and performed an amazing wall-of death around the boards to somehow continue. As he recovered, Brian Andersen suddenly shot inside his brother, who had also gone a little wide on the second bend, and just as we were digesting all of this, Jonsson clawed back an enormous amount of ground in no time at all and followed his captain home for a dramatic 5-1 that put Bees back in front at the interval stage.
The next couple of heats were rather like the calm after - and before - the storm, as the Peterborough heat-leaders continued their dominating form. First it was Sullivan outpacing Hancock, with Tacey (replacing Stuart Robson) doing enough to hold back Jirout on this occasion. Then Loram out-trapped Hamill in Heat 11, but again Tacey was there doing his job, and the Bees combined to shut out Jan Andersen, who had replaced Sadler.
Then the meeting really started to boil up in Heat 12 as Tacey (now replacing Scott Robson, and in for his third ride on the trot) rode a marvellous first corner to destroy Sullivan's outside line, leaving the Australian trailing way at the back for the first time of the night. Howe briefly threatened up the back straight, but Andersen and Tacey went either side of him to be clearly in front going into the corner. Howe dropped his bike in turn 3, and then disgracefully, and deliberately, stayed on the track to get the race stopped, despite the efforts of a marshal to remove him. The referee stopped the race as the riders entered turn 2 of lap 2, and despite there being a provision in the rules to allow races to be awarded in situations such as this, it never seems to happen when Coventry will be affected. Howe's actions were absolutely scandalous, and it was a disgrace that Peterborough were allowed another chance in the race ... which made it all the sweeter when the second start produced almost an exact carbon copy of the first, Tacey flying from the traps to account for Sullivan, and Andersen joining him from the inside. Coventry, somehow, were six points up, but the match was far from over with the possibility of tactical substitute(s) on the horizon.
It wouldn't happen in Heat 13, which merely defined the course which Heat 14 was to take. In the circumstances, Panthers probably weren't at all unhappy with the split outcome, which resulted from a Grand Prix-style first bend, Loram emerging ahead of Coventry's Americans, who were powerless to overhaul him, but more than good enough for Tesar.
That left the Panthers management with a dilemma: six points down, and clearly Loram and Sullivan would ride in both Heats 14 and 15, as double tactical substitutes in Heat 14. The question was whether to start them both from the gate in Heat 14, and go for two 5-1s to win, bearing in mind that they would be facing the fast-gating Andersen in Heat 15, or to go for the Golden Double in the more than reasonable assumption that Loram, with the speed that he had been carrying (seemingly in hand, despite his sub-62.0 times) would be able to catch and pass Jonsson and Tacey from the handicap to join Sullivan at the front. In the end, they took this course of action, and everyone knew this was to be a crucial race. An 8-1 would put Panthers in front going into Heat 15, and leave Bees with a terribly difficult task. Sullivan duly gated, and immediately the race slowed up as the leader tried to get his team-mate into the race. Jonsson, however, rode a very sensible race to keep the pressure on as much as possible, and that meant that Sullivan had to spend at least most of the time looking forwards. Loram, meanwhile, was being quite effectively delayed by Tacey, and after diving inside at the start of the second lap, he had to repeat the manoevre on the next bend after Tacey switched back inside him. All of which left even Loram too far behind Jonsson, who was making a valiant effort to become a hero and pass Sullivan. But the most important thing was that he kept going where he was, and the resultant 5-2 to Peterborough was surely a result Bees would have settled for before the race. Tacey may have failed to score from it, but he certainly did a job, and his job throughout the night was excellent, underlining again the usefulness of a high-scoring reserve.
After all that, it would still be a last-heat decider, with Loram and Sullivan requiring a 5-1 to clinch the match, which was roughly where they would have been had they got a 5-1 in Heat 14 with both starting from the gate. The only difference was that Bees could afford a 2-4, and still win rather than draw. Sky TV have certainly made a habit of dramatic finishes to their live matches, and for once the 6-lap final lived up to its billing. Bees' nerves were eased when Sullivan completely missed the gate from the outside, and Loram didn't make a great start either and found himself squeezed between Andersen and Hamill, who Bees had nominated ahead of Hancock, in what had been quite a close choice. Loram somehow went between them up the back straight, but Hamill still found the speed to take the lead. There was then the most stunning duel between two of the World's top riders, which was resolved in Loram's favour when Hamill overslid on lap four. From then on, it was all about survival, and Hamill and Andersen kept ahead of Sullivan to record the 3-3 that was enough for Bees to win the match.
So a highly exciting finish to another Sky match, and Bees make it two wins out of two, although they may find the bonus point tricky after the closeness of this match. But with such a short League campaign this season, home wins are paramount, as is getting off to a good start, which they have certainly done. Now to the Cup match against Oxford on Saturday, and if ever a team were due a hammering by Coventry, it has to be the Cheetahs!