COVENTRY 45 BELLE VUE 45
COVENTRY: BELLE VUE:
G.Hancock 1 2 3 E 6 R.Correy 2'1 3 1' 7(2)
A.Jonsson Rider Replacement A.Smith 3 R 2'2'3 R 10(2)
B.Andersen 1'2'1 2 3 1 10(2) J.Nilsen 3 1 2 2 8
St.Robson 0 2 3 0 0 5 K.Laukkanen Rider Replacement
B.Hamill 2 3 1 3 3 12 J.Lyons 3 3 3 3 2 2 16
Sc.Robson 2'2'R 4(2) K.Doolan 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
S.Tacey 3 1'1'0 0 1 2 8(2) J.Hawkes 1 0 1'1 3(1)
HEAT DETAILS:
Ht 1:Smith, Correy, Hancock, St.Robson, 61.4 1-5 1-5
Ht 2:Tacey, Sc.Robson, Hawkes, Doolan, 63.3 5-1 6-6
Ht 3:Nilsen, St.Robson, Andersen, Hawkes, 62.3 3-3 9-9
Ht 4:Lyons, Hamill, Tacey, Doolan, 60.7 3-3 12-12
Ht 5:St.Robson, Andersen, Correy(f,rem), Smith(f,ret), 62.7 5-1 17-13
Ht 6:Lyons, Hancock, Tacey, Doolan, 60.2 3-3 20-16
Ht 7:Hamill, Sc.Robson, Nilsen, Doolan, 61.7 5-1 25-17
Ht 8:Lyons, Smith, Andersen, Tacey, 61.2 1-5 26-22
Ht 9:Lyons, Andersen, Doolan, St.Robson, 61.1 2-4 28-26
Ht10:Hancock, Nilsen, Hawkes, Sc.Robson(f,ret), 62.0 3-3 31-29
Ht11:Correy, Smith, Hamill, Tacey, 62.3 1-5 32-34
Ht12:Andersen, Nilsen, Tacey, Doolan, 62.6 4-2 36-36
Ht13:Hamill, Lyons, Correy, Hancock(ef), 61.9 3-3 39-39
Ht14:Smith, Tacey, Hawkes, St.Robson(f,rem), 63.3 2-4 41-43
Ht15:Hamill, Lyons, Andersen, Smith(ret), 91.9 4-2 45-45
HONOURS EVEN AT THE END of a most peculiar meeting, which ebbed and flowed its way to a last heat decider without ever being absolutely thrilling, but one which both sides will feel they should have won. Bees, especially, will rue things going against them in the later stages, when they became the latest victims of the ludicrous rule which prevents team managers from having a free choice of their top riders in Heat 15*.
Rider replacement for the missing riders turned out to be a complete disaster for both teams, with Coventry scoring just two from Andreas Jonsson's rides, and Belle Vue four from Kaj Laukkanen's. Track conditions, meanwhile, were in total contrast to last week's, with dry, dusty and slick being replaced by heavily-watered and dusty. Interestingly, it was last week's which probably produced the better racing!
The in-form Andy Smith jetted away to win Heat 1 with his team mate Ronnie Correy in close attendance ahead of an unusually sluggish Greg Hancock, who tried to get round the outside on the first lap but was then gradually dropped away. Bees, however, pulled it back in Heat 2 with a not unexpected 5-1 over two riders who had never ridden the track before, with Tacey winning easily and Scott Robson doing comfortably enough to beat Jason Hawkes and Kevin Doolan, who both definitely improved as the night went on, but whose performances did leave you wondering why the apparently impoverished (in January) Belle Vue promotion decided to fly two youngsters half-way round the world to fill their reserve places rather than investing in some young British talent.
Jimmy Nilsen's win in Heat 3 was totally expected, although Stuart Robson made him work hard for it, and that gave an indication of the fact that Nilsen wouldn't be anywhere near top form. The returning Brian Andersen eased himself back in gently with an easy third ahead of Hawkes. But Heat 4 produced a warning with Jason Lyons winning by a mile from Billy Hamill in 60.7, and that meant that the Belle Vue top four were all unbeaten from their opening races.
That changed spectacularly in Heat 5, a race which appeared to favour the Aces. But as Andersen and Stuart Robson gated, the challenge behind them disappeared in bizarre fashion, as first Smith fell on turn 3 trying to get through on the inside, and then on the next lap Correy's attempt to go round the outside of Andersen also left him eating shale! With Andersen coasting home for second place, that left riders dotted around virtually every part of the track, but the Coventry 5-1 put them four points clear.
Lyons came within a tenth of a second of the track record with a dominant win over Hancock in Heat 6 with a time of 60.2, before Bees took an even more unexpected 5-1 in Heat 7 as Nilsen showed absolutely no interest in even attempting to pass Scott Robson, who rode an excellently controlled race to follow Hamill home. It wasn't quite the sensation of Walsh beating Rickardsson last season, but it probably wasn't far off. That left the Aces able to bring in a tactical substitute, and with the pace of Lyons it was perhaps a little surprising that he wasn't brought into Heat 8 as a Golden Double. It was rider replacement Andersen away first, but all the old questions about his lack of fitness were raised as first Lyons dived through on the inside, and then Smith made the most of an inviting gap up the inside on lap 2 to take second place. Belle Vue 5-1, 26-22.
Heat 9 looked like it could go totally wrong, and it turned out to be the first of three instances of a Belle Vue reserve being gifted a point. Andersen made the best start but lifted going into Turn 1 and that was all Lyons needed to take another straightforward win. But Stuart Robson also made an error on the first bend, and that sent Doolan moving through into second place. Andersen got round the outside of him finally at the start of lap 3, but Robson was too far behind to get back in the race, and Belle Vue had taken a 4-2 that they couldn't really have hoped for - and they picked up another gift in Heat 10 as, although Hancock defeated Nilsen for his first win of the night, Scott Robson fell on the first bend when third place ahead of Hawkes would have been there for the taking.
That turned out to be Scott's last ride of the night, and it really did seem a little unfair that Tacey was given four more rides than him despite not riding greatly better. Both had the beating, under normal circumstances, of the Aces reserves, and over-riding Tacey again in the later stages was asking for something to go wrong, especially with all the talk of tyre wear in the last few weeks.
The build-up to Heat 11 produced something staggering. Correy hadn't ridden since Heat 5, and there'd been an interval after Heat 10, yet with the clock ticking down there came the amazing announcement that the two-minute warning was cancelled to allow Correy to change his wheel!!! What, exactly, is the two-minute warning for? Are certain riders exempt? Was there not more than one bike in the Belle Vue pits that Correy could have ridden if needed? Who is in control of the meeting?
After all that, it was probably inevitable that the race would go in Belle Vue's favour, and indeed it did with Smith and Hamill appearing to tangle off the start line and Smith coming off better. Hamill did everything to split the team-riding Aces, but just at the moment when he had an outside line, Smith lifted fortuitously and Hamill had to change his line of attack. Smith won the race to the line, and Belle Vue had turned two-point deficit into two-point lead.
Andersen put his injury problems to the back of his mind with a determined sweep in Heat 12 which caught Nilsen totally asleep and took the Dane round the outside on the last bend for a crucial win, and with Tacey picking up third place ahead of Doolan, Bees were back level again. Still, however, they had to beat the flying Lyons - and that's just what they did in Heat 13, although it could have been so much better. Hancock and Hamill made the start, with Hamill shoving Lyons wide to set up the prospect of a Bees 5-1. But as the Americans got together on the third bend, Hancock's engine seized and Aces were gifted a 3-3, which also had the effect of meaning that Hancock couldn't ride in Heat 15.
That put the pressure on Stuart Robson and Tacey to do something spectacular against Smith in Heat 14, and again it looked good in the early stages as Robson got the run round the outside and Tacey bustled his way through on the inside. But Smith then couldn't believe his luck as the Coventry challenge fell apart in front of him, with Tacey moving off the line on turn 4 taking Smith into second place, and Robson disastrously falling on entry to turn 1 of lap 2 giving Smith the lead, and perhaps more significantly, Hawkes third place.
So Belle Vue went into Heat 15 two points to the good, and the line-ups had to be Hamill and Andersen against Smith and Lyons. It was slightly surprising that Lyons elected to take gate 4, the same position from which he had been taken wide by Hamill in Heat 13, and we had a repeat performance as Hamill moved into the lead, with his move on Lyons allowing Andersen briefly into second. Just as the Bees fans were beginning to wonder if it would be possible to keep Lyons in third place for six laps, the Aussie swooped round the outside and then cut back across quickly at the start of lap two, touching Andersen as he went past. It was definitely the best chance he had of mounting an attack, but he was already too far behind Hamill to challenge for the win, and interest moved to Smith's pursuit of Andersen, which ended with a lurid spin on the third bend, allowing Andersen to coast home for the point which at least guaranteed Bees a draw, with Hamill leading from the front ahead of Lyons.
It was another highly competitive meeting, and indication again that a team with two riders bang on form can take things right to the wire with limited support. Nilsen and Correy were both well off top form but produced enough points to keep things close, and in the end the key moments were Hancock's unfortunate engine failure and Robson's fall, along with Coventry's inability to get on terms with Lyons for much of the meeting. Both sides missed their absent rides badly, but I suspect Aces will be the happier to come away with a point.