Stoke 52 Somerset 37

 STOKE Easy Rider Potters gained their second home Premier League victory on the bounce as they took all three points as they defeated the Somerset Rebels 52-37 at Loomer Road on Saturday night.

 Their was little to choose between the teams in the early part of the meeting as the lead changed hands no less than seven times in the opening ten heats with a single point separating the teams up to this point.

 The Potters went in front with maximum points from Taylor Poole and Lee Smart over former Potter James Holder to put the Potters in front 8-4 after two heats.

 Heat three did not go as planned for the Potters as Adam Roynon made a superb start before veteran  Shane Parker went round Roynon coming off the second turn to take the lead Roynon pushing Parker all the way until the final turn of lap three as Roynon came to grief allowing Ritchie Hawkins through to take second place Roynon attempted to get up and off the track but was not quick enough leaving the referee no alternative but to disqualify Roynon as the primary cause of the stoppage and with Ricky Wells having already retired due to an engine failure the Rebels gained a 5-0 heat advantage to give then a 9-8 lead.

 The two sides exchanged 4-2 heat advantages in the next three races as the Potters gained the advantage in heat six with guest Jason Lyons gaining the better of Cory Gathercole in a tremendous race for the chequered flag with Poole taking third as Stoke nudge ahead with a 18-17 lead after six heats. 

Somerset took the lead in heat nine with maximum points from James Holder and Gathercole over Roynon after Ricky Wells had been disqualified at the first time of asking to give the Rebels a three point lead as Stoke trail 25-28.

 Stoke then took the meeting by the scruff of the neck as they gained three successive 5-1 heat advantages with reserve Poole and Smart bringing the house down in heat twelve with some awesome racing by the youngsters. Hawkins took an early lead with Smart and Poole all over the Rebels rider before Smart went around him on the third lap and Poole then somehow managed to squeeze passed Hawkins off the final turn to give the Easy Rider Potters a 40-31 lead with just three heats remaining.

Heat thirteen saw Lubos Tomicek make a good start but Hynek Stichauer having his best meeting in Stoke colours went around Tomicek and Lyons went under him off the final turn of lap one to hit the front, veteran Lyons attempted to team ride Stichauer home but the impressive Gathercole went for the high line and managed to overhaul Lyons to split the Potters pairing who had to settle for a 4-2 heat win.

 Shane Parker came out as a tactical ride in heat fourteen for Somerset but Smart made no mistake as he had a tapes to flag win with Poole driving up the inside of Holder before the Australian came to grief allowing his partner Parker to take third as the Potters secure all three points as they lead 49-34 going into the final heat. 

Gathercole took victory in the final heat as he drives around the safety fence to get the better of Jason Lyons at the end of the first lap with Stichauer holding Hawkins at bay and give the Potters a 52-37 victory.

 Potters skipper Jason Bunyan said “It was a slow start for us but we came good in the middle quarter of the meeting and having strong reserves like we have in Taylor and Lee who go out and beat good riders and win you meetings and that is what happened tonight. Adam was struggling to get dialled in tonight, and Ricky was struggling and we were able to cover for them tonight with Lee and Taylor who has a good back ground team around him and has the likes of World Champion Jason Crump running around in the pits helping him out it really does show that things are coming together here.”

  Team manager Malcolm Vasey said “It is the best performance since I’ve joined the club but once again we had riders riding extremely well but yet again the whole team was not firing although I do think it will come, we do have to give Adam Roynon a little time to settle as he is coming back after a long lay off due to serious injury and I know he had a few outings for Workington but his confidence is shattered with what happened there and Ricky was a bit unlucky and we had to take him out of his last ride to secure all three points. I was delighted with the response from the team tonight even the two lads that were struggling as they all accepted things and just got on with the job and it was a really good team performance. Hynek produced his best performance of the season for us Taylor and Lee were out of this World and Jason Lyons put in another gutsy performance and he just gives us that extra confidence which I’m sure Jason Bunyan will do when he returns which could be as early as next week and a decision will be taken on him in the middle of the week. The crowd were sensational and it’s the loudest I’ve heard them since I’ve been here. We struggled early on and it was nip and tuck and we got a 5-1 in heat ten and with a few changes here and there ended up with a comfortable win but we not being complacent and thinking everything is rosey in the garden because Taylor will move up into the team shortly and someone else will go down to reserve and it may help them, but we will be monitoring things very closely and keeping an eye on things and react accordingly when required to do so.” 

 Stoke 52: Lee Smart 14-2, Taylor Poole 13+3, Hynek Stichauer 12+2, Jason Lyons 10+1, Ricky Wells 2, Adam Roynon 1, Klaus Jakobsen (Rider Replacement)

Somerset 37 Cory Gathercole 14+1, Ritchie Hawkins 9+1, Shane Parker 5+1, Lubos Tomicek 5, James Holder 4, Mark Baseby 0 Kyle Howarth (No.8) 0, Sam Masters (Rider Replacement)