COVENTRY: EASTBOURNE:
G.Hancock 2 3 1'2'3 11(2) D.Norris 3 1 3 1 0 8
A.Jonsson 1'2'3 2 8(2) R.Povazhny 0 0 1'2' 3(2)
B.Andersen 1 2'3 3 2' 11(2) M.Dugard 2'3 3 2 2'1 13(2)
St.Robson E 3 2'1 6(1) M.Lemon 3 0 0 3 6
B.Hamill 3 1'1 3 8(1) J.Larsen 2 1 1 0 4
S.Tacey 3 2 R 0 0 5 D.Barker 2 F 2 1' 5(1)
Sc.Robson E 0 0 0 B.Collyer 1'1'0 2(2)
HEAT DETAILS
Ht 1:Norris, Hancock, Jonsson, Povazhny, 62.1 3-3 3-3
Ht 2:Tacey, Barker, Collyer(f,rem), Sc.Robson(ef), 62.4 3-3 6-6
Ht 3:Lemon, Dugard, Andersen, St.Robson(ef), 63.2 1-5 7-11
Ht 4:Hamill, Larsen, Collyer, Sc.Robson, 61.9 3-3 10-14
Ht 5:St.Robson, Andersen, Norris, Povazhny, 61.4 5-1 15-15
Ht 6:Hancock, Jonsson, Larsen, Barker(f), 62.6 5-1 20-16
Ht 7:Dugard, Tacey, Hamill, Lemon, 61.8 3-3 23-19
Ht 8:Jonsson, Barker, Povazhny, Tacey(ret), 61.8 3-3 26-22
Ht 9:Andersen, St.Robson, Larsen, Collyer, 62.5 5-1 31-23
Ht10:Dugard, Jonsson, Hancock, Lemon, 62.5 3-3 34-26
Ht11:Norris, Povazhny, Hamill, Tacey, 63.2 1-5 35-31
Ht12:Andersen, Dugard, Barker, Sc.Robson, 63.0 3-3 38-34
Ht13:Hamill, Hancock, Norris, Larsen, 63.2 5-1 43-35
Ht14:Lemon, Dugard, St.Robson, Tacey, 63.6 1-5 44-40
Ht15:Hancock, Andersen, Dugard, Norris, 94.5 5-1 49-41
BEES MAY FEEL THAT THEY threw away the chance of a bonus point here, but the encouraging thing is that despite having only six riders, and suffering numerous mistakes and problems, they still managed to come out on top in a fixtue that turned out to be somewhat closer than expected.
Eastbourne's record at Coventry is hardly encouraging - they haven't won here since 1993, and have only won twice since returning to the top division in 1991, but it's rarely a walkover either, and this isn't the first time that they've hung in there to claim the bonus point. It will be frustrating if this extra point makes all the difference, but at the moment there's no reason to suppose it will, especially as Eagles can hardly be considered opponents for qualification.
A generally entertaining meeting begun with Dave Norris making his customary good start to a Brandon match, outpacing even Greg Hancock and Andreas Jonsson, who overcame a poor gate to slip inside Russian Roman Povazhny, who improved notably as the meeting went on. Hancock chased hard throughout the race, but his lunge for the line didn't quite take him past the Eastbourne man. Bees then threw away the first of many points in Heat 2 - with Tacey riding a good race to beat Barker at the front, Scott Robson suffered mechanical problems, and was consequently off the track when Brent Collyer took his inevitable fall on the last bend, and was able to remount for third place.
There was a shock in Heat 3 as Stuart Robson ground to a halt on the first bend, and Brian Andersen looked totally uncompetitive, with, it turned out, clutch problems. Whatever, it allowed Mark Lemon and Martin Dugard an easy 5-1, and Eagles were clearly going to maintain their lead in Heat 4. Billy Hamill took his first Brandon win of the season, with a well-judged inside pass of Josh Larsen on the second lap, but again Scott Robson was way off the pace, and Collyer stayed on for third.
Bees pulled it back with a most impressive 5-1 in Heat 5, Andersen and Stuart Robson going away from Norris and Povazhny, and they banged in another maximum in an excellent Heat 6, as first Hancock passed Barker, and then Jonsson dived inside on the last bend. The Bees man was clearly through before Barker overdid the corner and fell, and that had turned a four point deficit into a four point lead.
Dugard made an electric start to win Heat 7, Tacey and Hamill content to share the points, and Bees then gave Tacey an extra ride in Heat 8 with the definite prospect of a 5-1. Jonsson, indeed, stormed away to an unchallenged win, but Tacey, having gated second, got caught in mid-track on the second bend, and Povazhny and Barker passed him either side. Tacey was always challenging, but in the end made a mess of the first bend of the last lap, and didn't take the finish.
An excellent Heat 9 gave Bees clear breathing space, as Andersen led a furious battle for second place between Stuart Robson and Larsen. The Bees man didn't have much room, because Andersen was unintentionally in his ideal spot, but Robson rode a tremendous race to get back inside Larsen and secure the 5-1 that put Bees eight up. And for a moment it looked like being two successive 5-1s again in Heat 10, as Jonsson and Hancock made good starts and looked set to beat Dugard. But Dugard fooled Jonsson with a switch to the inside, and as the Swede looked outside, Dugard sailed past on his left, with Hancock, trapped on the outside, powerless to do anything about it.
So that was 34-26 at the interval, but Heat 11 provided a real shock with Hamill left trailing behind Norris and the lively Povazhny, who rode a mature race to block Hamill on the fourth bend and was then never really challenged. Eastbourne were well and truly back in the match, and they could have levelled in Heat 12 until Brian Andersen came up with the type of ride that he put in regularly pre-injury. Squeezed out at the start, he swept round Barker on the fourth bend, and then chased Dugard, who perhaps thought that Barker was still alongside him. Andersen continued his outside charge, and powered his way to the front, seeing off a fierce Dugard challenge on the last lap.
Heat 13 was a classic Exide 5-1, with Hamill and Hancock streaking from the tapes like lightning, and there was no way Norris or Larsen were going to get near them. At 43-35, Bees still harboured hopes of getting to 51 points, and at least a run-off for the bonus point, but that was lost in a thrilling Heat 14, in which Eagles made things rather harder by bringing in Dugard as a tactical substitute.
Dugard and Lemon gated, but Stuart Robson fought out a sensational battle with Dugard, passing him, being re-passed, and passing him again going into the last lap. That put him right on Lemon's tail, and it was certainly worth a try around the outside. Unfortunately, Dugard again showed his race-craft by coming through hard on the inside, and moved back into second place. Robson cut back again, and may just have snatched second place but for lifting on the run-in. Tacey was never far away either, and it really was one of the best races of the season. Robson had been put in an awkward position - the 5-1 to Eagles set up a last-heat decider, but had Stuart got the win, a 5-1 to Bees in Heat 15 would have earnt them a run-off for the bonus point. In the end, he's a racer, and no-one should knock him for trying to pass Lemon. Bees, in any case, had pretty good insurance in their line-up for Heat 15.
Dugard just got the drop, but Norris had crucially missed it, and Bees were second and third going into the first bend, which would have been enough. However, Hancock and Andersen both went past Dugard in the first two laps, and then pulled away for Bees' fifth 5-1 of the night, leaving them just a couple of points short of the bonus.
A good, solid performance, then, with Andersen's return to form over the last couple of matches especially encouraging. The only real disappointment was being outscored at reserve, but I'm sure Colin Pratt will be monitoring this situation. Credit also to Eastbourne for giving it a go - Norris, especially, will be pleased to have beaten Hamill and Hancock on their home track, the Russian improved as the night went on, and Larsen deserved more than four points. One statistical quirk - no 4-2s for either side in the match, so that meant 15 bonus points to be spread around. Bees, though, extended their unbeaten run to four matches, but that will be sorely tested at Kings Lynn on Wednesday.