Stoke 42 Birmingham 51  

Birmingham win 105-78 on aggregate

 Stoke Easy Rider Potters suffered their second defeat on the bounce as they went down to 51-42 defeat against Birmingham in the second leg of the M6 trophy as the Brummies took a 105-78 aggregate over the Potters at Loomer road on Sunday afternoon to take the silverware.

 The Potters lacked race winners as they provided just five wins during the meeting with Hynek Stichauer gaining two and skipper Jason Bunyan providing three victories in the latter part of the meeting. 

 The opening two heats resulted in two race wins for the Brummies with veteran Steve Johnston and then reserve Justin Sedgmen taking victories in quick times as Birmingham kept the scores level on the afternoon at six points each. 

The Potters went behind in heat three at the second time of asking as Michal Rajkowski seemed to lock up on the second lap causing the Polish rider to fall resulting in Rajkowski being excluded by referee Chris Durno. In the rerun Chris Kerr made the gate with Stichauer holding second before Brummies rider Richard Sweetman managed to overhaul the lone Potter to give Birmingham a 7-11 lead after three heats.

 In heat five Stoke riders Rajkowski and Stichauer made a superb start but  Brummies number one Steve Johnston managed to squeeze up the inside of Rajkowski to take second place but Stichauer had enough in the tank to keep the veteran Aussie at bay to give Stoke their first race winner of the afternoon as the Potters gained a 4-2 heat advantage to reduce the deficit to just two points on the afternoon. 

Bunyan and Jakobsen gate well in heat six but wily veteran Jason Lyons passed Jakobsen before the end of the first lap with Birmingham reserve Sedgmen passing the Dane to take third on the third lap to keep the Brummies in front by two on the afternoon.

 The West Midlands outfit extended their lead in heat seven as Sweetman and Kerr combine for their second maximum heat win of the afternoon to open up a six point lead as Stoke trail 24-18.

 Brummies boss Graham Drury brings in Justin Sedgmen as a reserve ride in heat eight replacing Jake Anderson. The move duly paid off as Sedgmen took a comfortable victory from Klaus Jakobsen with Taylor Poole keeping Aaron Summers at bay for third place for a drawn heat as the Brummies lead 21-27 after eights heats on the afternoon and 81-57 on aggregate.

 The Potters gained a 4-2 heat advantage in heat nine as Hynek Stichauer managed to hold off a determined challenge from Brummies skipper Lyons after Lyons had passed Michal Rajkowski to take second place on the first lap as Stoke reduced the deficit to four points after nine races.

 Chris Kerr exceeded the two minutes time allowance in heat number ten and was replaced by Justin Sedgmen.  Sedgmen again proved to be the ace in the pack for Birmingham as he came from third to first on the opening lap as he eased Potters skipper Bunyan wide before diving up the inside down the home straight to take a victory for a drawn heat as the Brummies maintain their four point lead on the afternoon.

 Stoke team boss Malcolm Vasey brings in Taylor Poole as a reserve ride in heat eleven replacing James Holder. Poole comes to grief at the first time of asking as referee Durno calls an unsatisfactory start with all four riders returning for the rerun. Birmingham secured the M6 trophy in heat eleven as the Brummies gained a 4-2 heat advantage as Steve Johnston took a comfortable victory from Ricky Wells who passed Aaron Summers on the second lap to take second place as Birmingham extended their lead on the afternoon to six points as they lead 36-30.

 Birmingham continued to dominate proceedings as Kerr took a comfortable victory in heat twelve with Sedgmen gaining the better of Stichauer after the pair swapped places several times before Sedgmen gained the better of the Potters rider to take maximum points for the Brummies as they go ten points up to lead 41-31.

 Potters boss Vasey nominates skipper Jason Bunyan as a tactical ride in heat thirteen as Stoke aim to claw their way back into the meeting in the closing stages. The move paid dividends as the Potters skipper stalked Brummies number one Johnston the Potters number cutting back down the home straight to take the lead at the end of the third lap with Wells holding off Lyons for third place and a Potters 7-2 heat advantage but the Potters still trail by five with the score 38-43 in favour of the Brummies.

Birmingham’s response was immediate as Justin Sedgmen and Richard Sweetman gained maximum points over Michal Rajkowski and Taylor Poole to secure victory on the afternoon and complete an early season double over the Potters.

 Jason Bunyan came from third to first in the final heat as he first went around Johnston and then picked off Kerr going into the final lap to take victory from the Brummies pairing.

 Stoke team manager Malcolm Vasey said “It’s disappointing not to win but we are a very young side and five of the riders were making their home debuts and supporters have to understand that we were up against a very experienced Birmingham side who are led by two very experienced international riders in Steve Johnston and Jason Lyons, but we can’t hide behind that we have to do better we all know that and I’m sure that we will. We open our Premier Trophy campaign on Friday at Scunthorpe and we will be looking at the rider order as I feel there are a few improvements that we can make that will perhaps help us.”

Stoke 42: Jason Bunyan 14+2, Hynek Stichauer 8, Klaus Jakobsen 6, Ricky Wells 5+1, Taylor Poole 5+1, Michal Rajkowski 3, James Holder 1+1

 Birmingham 51: Justin Sedgmen 15+2, Steve Johnston 11+1, Chris Kerr 10+1, Richard Sweetman 7+2, Jason Lyons 7, Aaron Summers 1, Jake Anderson 0