EASTBOURNE 47 COVENTRY 44
EASTBOURNE: COVENTRY:
M.Dugard E 2 2'2' 6(2) G.Hancock 3 3 3 0 2 2 13
J.Larsen 2 1'3 3 0 9(1) A.Jonsson Rider Replacement
S.Danno 0 0 1 1 2 B.Andersen 1'1 0 X 2(1)
D.Barker 3 2 0 2 7 St.Robson 1 2 F 1 4
D.Norris 2 2'2 3 3 12(1) B.Hamill 0 3 3 1 3 1' 11(1)
R.Povazhny 2 3 1'3 0 9(1) Sc.Robson 0 F 1'0 1(1)
B.Collyer 1'1'F 2(2) S.Tacey 3 3 1 2 2'2 13(1)
A THRILLING SKY TV MEETING, but Bees ended up just on the losing side despite another dramatic Golden Double in the penultimate heat. In the end, the more solid team won the day, with particular credit going to David Norris who twice outpaced Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock in the closing stages, whilst for Bees there was no way that flying reserve Shaun Tacey deserved to be on the losing side.
Martin Dugard is very difficult to beat round Arlington, but he does suffer more than his share of engine failures, and Bees got a dream start when he moved only a few yards from his inside gate in Heat 1 before his chain snapped. Hancock had just got the drop in any case, so Bees opened up with a 4-2, Larsen overtaking Stuart Robson on the first lap just when it looked like a maximum heat win could be on the cards.
Tacey served notice of his good night to come with a convincing win in Heat 2, and for a time Scott Robson managed to move into third place, only to lose out again to Brent Collyer on the next lap. Russian Roman Povazhny was a comfortable second, but never really challenged Tacey.
Heat 3 saw the first of a number of peculiar decisions from referee Mick Bates, who declined to stop the heat despite Brian Andersen going virtually out of control into Turn 1 and forcing Stefan Danno to shut off. That allowed a clear run for race-winner Barker and Stuart Robson as the other two sorted themselves out, with Andersen hanging on for third place to maintain Bees' lead - but surely a re-run with all four would have been a fairer decision.
If the form-book had been upset with the GP riders coming in at the back of Heat 3, that was nothing compared to the shock of Heat 4 when Hamill got an horrendously bad gate and never even looked like passing Collyer! Just as surprising, in many ways, was that Tacey had got another great start and headed home the thursting Norris, a ride that looked even more impressive as the night wore on.
So Bees were still two points up, but that doubled to four in Heat 5, which was another straightforward win for Hancock. He beat Barker, but there was more tough treatment for Danno on the first bend, this time fair, with Tacey again heavily involved. For a time it looked like he could come through into second place, but he just lifted coming out of Turn 2 and that let Barker through. Even so, Tacey's third place ahead of Barker, was more than adequate at the time for Bees.
Hamill changed machinery for Heat 6 and looked a totally different rider, speeding to a win over Dugard, but it was the referee's turn to now enrage the Coventry fans as Josh Larsen got into all kinds of difficulty on Turn 2, leaving Scott Robson with nowhere to go but down. The race wasn't stopped and fortunately Robson left the track quickly with Hamill in the lead. Then Coventry's advantage was wiped out - Stuart Robson took the tumble this time, also losing it on Turn 2, and Andersen was convincingly beaten by the Povanzhy/Norris combination.
Bees had a stroke of good fortune in Heat 8, a race which was easily won by Larsen. Tacey was again competitive and finished second, but Collyer spun out of third place trying too hard to catch Tacey, and that gifted Scott Robson, a former Eagle, his only point of the night.
Tacey was again to the fore in Heat 9, his fifth ride of the night, this time linking up with Hamill for an excellent Bees 5-1 over Danno and Barker. The Eastbourne riders laid siege to Tacey's rear wheel throughout the race, with Hamill generally not team-riding, and Tacey defended his position brilliantly. Bees were four points clear again, but Heat 10 always had a rather ominious look about it, and so it proved. It shouldn't have been an Eastbourne 5-1 after the start when Dugard over-cooked things and almost hit the fence in recovering, but as he chased the Bees pairing down the back straight they seemed to get in each other's way and Dugard slipped inside Andersen. From then on he was always likely to get to Stuart Robson, especially as Larsen was controlling things at the front, and this he did on lap 3 despite Robson's efforts to re-pass him. Five heats to go, scores level again.
No change to the situation in Heat 11 with Hancock fending off a strong challenge from Norris who almost got inside him on the last lap, after the American had gone round the boards on the first lap to take the lead, and Povazhny beating Scott Robson. Povazhny and Tacey both replaced their reserve colleagues for Heat 12, and the referee was again in the action. Danno had more first turn nightmares and as the Russian rounded Tacey coming off the second bend, Andersen was left with no choice but to try to go hard on the inside of Danno. He achieved this part of the pass, but unfortunately Tacey was right where he wanted to turn, and he had no choice but to bail out. Andersen had to be excluded, because he had caused the stoppage, although in reality the cause was the extreme tightness of the Eastbourne track. Colin Pratt was furious that the race was stopped instantly, when he felt that Andersen could have re-mounted and benefitted from a possible retirement ahead, but the decision looked fair as both Tacey and Danno had suffered in the maybem. There were problems for Bees in the re-start with both Eastbourne riders getting past Tacey, but the rather unimpressive Danno made a dreadful error on the second lap, and Tacey, who'd kept the pressure on throughout, made it into second place to at least prevent the 5-1.
Eagles were now two points clear, and they landed a big 5-1 in Heat 13. Hancock seemed to have gated, but Norris and Dugard went either side of him coming out of the second bend - thereafter, Coventry's Americans made a furious but fruitless chase, and we were left to digest the fact that Bees were six points down with two heats to go...and that could mean only one thing!
Hamill and Hancock came out again for Heat 14 as tactical substitutes, with Hancock taking the ride as a Golden Double. This, it must be said, was somewhat unfortunate for Tacey, whose performance fully merited a seventh ride, but you can't argue with Colin Pratt's tactics on this occasion. The first part of the plan worked well, with Hamill making the gate, and although Hancock was slightly slow away he rounded Povazhny on the second lap. Thereafter it was a game of cat and mouse, with Hamill trying to win the race as slowly as possible to bring Hancock into play, and it very nearly worked on the last lap with Hancock ducking outside and then inside on the last bend to try to get through. Hamill saw he wasn't quite going to make it, and quickly made sure that he won the race, because Barker was close to sneaking round the outside. The 5-2 left Bees 41-44 down, and Hamill and Hancock needed a last-race 5-1.
Eastbourne couldn't nominate Dugard due mainly to his first heat engine failure, and so there was definite hope for Coventry, but both riders made poor gates whereas Norris got an absolute flyer. As the Bees men sorted themselves out and swept either side of Larsen on the first lap, Norris was building a lead, and although Hancock made a brief challenge on the first couple of laps, the Eastbourne rider then gradually extended his lead and raced away to a win that was, not surprisingly, very popular with the home fans!
So another League defeat for Bees, their third in succession, and they really can't afford too many more if they're going to challenge this season. At least the bonus point should be well within range, but at the end of the day they again suffered from the loss of Andreas Jonsson, with rider replacement only scoring three, and Andersen's nightmare evening obviously didn't help. Overall, Eastbourne probably just about deserved the win, with Norris producing one of the best performances of his career and Povazhny and Larsen both turning in useful performances. For Coventry, whilst the Americans were always in the action, high praise for Tacey, again showing what a good reserve he is - and why he shouldn't be a reserve!