STOKE Easy Rider Potters gained all three points on offer as the defeated the Scunthorpe Scorpions in the Premier League at Loomer Road on Saturday night.

The Potters who had lost both Claus Vissing and Hynek Stichauer the previous night at Scunthorpe gained a siege like mentality as they dug in and opened up a fourteen point lead by the halfway stage of an entertaining meeting which saw some superb riding from both sides.

 The Easy Rider Potters went into an 8-4 lead after the opening two heats as two Scunthorpe riders touched the tapes in the opening two races Magnus Karlsson being the first and being replaced by Jerran Hart but it was Ricky Wells who took the victory as he managed to drive under Tero Aarnio on the second lap with Lubos Tomicek coming from behind to take third place from Hart. Steve Worrall went off fifteen metres after e demolished the tapes in heat two, Jan Graversen taking the victory after diving up the inside of Hart on the third lap with Lee Smart third.

 Stoke extended their lead in heat four as they gained maximum points with guest Josef Franc and Smart taking an easy win over Steve Worrall after Carl Wilkinson had been excluded at the first time of asking leaving the Potters 16-8 up after four heats. 

The Potters continued to dominate and in heat six extended their lead as Wells goes around everyone coming off bend two of the first lap to take victory with Tomicek diving up the inside of Jerran Hart down the back straight for a Stoke 4-2.

 David Howe was introduced as a tactical ride in heat seven and was leading the race when he seemed to shed a chain allowing Franc to take a comfortable victory but Graversen was made to work hard for second place as Viktor Bergstrom and Graversen swapped places several times before Graversen got the better of the Scorpion for a 5-1 heat win for the Potters as they lead 28-14 at the halfway stage.

 Scunthorpe fell further behind in heat nine as Franc and Taylor Poole combined for maximum points over Hart and Wilkinson to extend their lead to eighteen points.

 The Scorpions had a mini revival in the next three races with two 4-2 heat advantages and a 7-2 race win. David Howe and Bergstrom gained a 4-2 in heat ten over Lubos Tomicek before Magnus Karlsson came out as a tactical ride in heat eleven as the Swedish rider was pushed all the way by Potters reserve Jan Graversen who just failed to find a way past with Aarnio keeping Franc at the back and they followed this up with another 4-2 as Bergstrom took victory from Lee Smart with Worrall just managing to hold off Graversen who started off fifteen metres having touched the tapes, but it was the Potters still leading after heat twelve by 42 points to 33.

 The Easy Rider Potters sealed the points in heat fourteen as Poole swept around the outside of turns one and two to lead and take a comfortable victory Graversen driving up the inside of former England international David Howe to take second place as Graversen rode the perfect race blocking Howe’s every move for a Stoke 5-1 to gain all three points for the Potters.

 Taylor Poole saved the best until last though in heat fifteen as the Australian youngster went out wide in the first two turns of heat fifteen to lead by nearly half a straight as he took a comfortable victory over Howe with Ricky Wells just failing to catch Magnus Karlsson for a 53-40 victory for the Potters.

 Jan Graversen was pleased to score his best points haul in a Potters race jacket said “It was nice we were able to pull off a victory after losing both Claus and Hynek on Friday night it was a tough meeting for us, but we kept plugging away and we got our just rewards. I am enjoying it here at Stoke and I’m gaining more confidence with every ride. We have a good team spirit here and we all get on with each other and I believe we can gain an away win soon and who knows with a few good starts that may come tomorrow at Newport.

 Potters boss Malcolm Vasey was obviously a delighted man after putting one over his former club saying “It was an excellent performance tonight by everyone in the team and I feel the team is starting to gel together despite the serious setbacks we seem to keep getting. The last week has been disastrous for us losing riders to injuries and despite all that we’ve really torn apart a very good Scunthorpe side here tonight. Whilst it was comfortable despite them trying to get back into the meeting we just stamped our authority on the meeting. Ricky Wells is in a rich vein of form and is now starting to finish first and second on a regular basis, he is riding with aggression and he is now doing well with his starts and I have to say I’m really pleased with him. Jan Graversen came into the team on a low average and has dropped to reserve and he and Lee Smart must be one of the best reserve partnerships in the Premier League and they are riding superbly. Lubos Tomicek touched the tapes in heat thirteen and I had the confidence in putting Lee into that important heat and he came up with a superb second place for us. Taylor Poole was sensational riding on the outside on a part of the track other riders were saying it was impossible to ride and he took an easy couple of wins over David Howe who is a very good and capable rider in the league. After the lows of losing two riders to injury on Friday night, tonight is a real high for us and I’m really pleased for all the team they really have showed some character tonight and I’d also like to thank the fans for getting behind us because they have also been absolutely brilliant tonight.”

 Stoke 53: Jan Graversen 11+2, Taylor Poole 10+3, Josef Franc 10+1, Ricky Wells 10, Lee Smart 8+2, Lubos Tomicek 4, Hynek Stichauer (Rider Replacement)

 Scunthorpe 40: Magnus Karlsson 10+1, David Howe 9, Tero Aarnio 6, Viktor Bergstrom 5, Carl Wilkinson 5, Jerran Hart 3, Steve Worrall 2