Stoke 49 Berwick 41

 STOKE Easy Rider Potters left it late as they took all three points against a determined Berwick Bandits side in the Premier League at Loomer road on Sunday night.

 The result takes the Potters into second place in the league but they were pushed all the way by the Bandits who took the lead in heat one as Michal Makovsky and William Lawson gained an impressive 5-1 maximum heat win over Jason Bunyan and Lee Smart who was in as the rider replacement ride for the injured Jesper Kristiansen.

The Potters struck back with a fortunate 4-2 from the electric starting Klaus Jakobsen and skipper Lee Complin, Complin had been at the back but the Bandits Josef Franc suffered an engine failure on the run in to the line while in second place allowing his partner Paul Clews to split the Potters pairing but giving Complin third place also to level the score at nine point each.

 The Easy Rider Potters took the lead in heat five as Jakobsen took a comfortable victory, behind him though Lawson and Complin exchanged second place several times before Lawson just edged out the Potters ride to take second in a superb race, to give the Potters a 4-2 heat advantage.

The Potters extended their lead to six points in heat six at the second time of asking after Guglielmo Franchetti brought down Tom P Madsen with Franchetti being disqualified by referee Jim Lawrence. In the rerun Greg Blair made a superb start before Stoke number one Bunyan forced his way through at the end of lap one with his partner Madsen passing Blair the following lap to take maximum points and give the Potters a 21-15 lead.

 Berwick immediately hit back with maximum points in heat seven as Franc and former Potters skipper Paul Clews seemed to quick for Phil Morris and Smart to bring the Bandits back to within two points of the Potters at the halfway stage. The scores were level after heat eight as Lawson again showed his liking for the Loomer Road circuit as he took victory from Madsen with Berwick’s Tero Aarnio holding out Jakobsen to give the Bandits a 4-2 heat win levelling the scores up at 24 points each.

 The Potters were back in front in heat nine as Jakobsen made the start with his partner Complin blasting around the fence to take second place off turn two for a comfortable 5-1 over Franchetti to give Stoke a 29-25 lead.

 The Bandits were not done though and came back at the Potters in heat twelve as Clews gained a comfortable victory for the Bandits but Madsen managed to drive hard up the inside of Aarnio take split the Bandits pairing to limit the damage for the Potters and stop the Bandits pairing taking a maximum heat win to keep Stoke in front by two points at 37-35 with just three heats remaining. 

Stoke gained a 4-2 heat win in heat thirteen as Phil Morris took the flag narrowly from Franchetti. Franchetti had missed the start but manage to pass Bunyan after stalking him for a couple of laps, then he mounted a challenge on Morris but Morris shut the door firmly but fairly on Franchetti coming off the final turn with the Bandits Italian rider having words with Morris as they went back to the pits and the Potters open up a four point lead again.

 Stoke went eight points up in heat fourteen as Lee Complin and Tom P Madsen storm to a comfortable 5-1 and with one race to go the Potters lead 46-38 needing three points or more to take all three league points and send the Bandits home with nothing.

 At the first time of asking all four riders started evenly and hit the first turn together with Phil Morris coming down and referee Jim Lawrence ordering a restart with all four riders.

In the restart Lawson again flew from the gate and was away Bunyan and Morris holding Clews at bay to take second and third for a drawn heat to give the Potters a 49-41 victory.

 Phil Morris said “It was a hard fought victory against a determined Berwick side and it was good to gain all three points. “The lads pulled together well and credit to Berwick we know we’ve been in a tough meeting. “We’ve only dropped one point in the league here this season and it’s important we keep the momentum up and then hopefully we can nick a few points on our travels.”

 Tom P Madsen said “I’m delighted we’ve got maximum points tonight. “I felt I should have had more points and that I could have done better in a couple of heats but I’m still not fully fit and I am continuing to have treatment on my injured shoulder so I guess a paid fifteen points is not to bad. “The main thing though is that the team keeps winning and that we keep picking up three points at home and hopefully the confidence from the home performances will stand us in good stead for the away matches coming up.” 

Stoke 49: Tom P Madsen 12+3, Phil Morris 11+1, Jason Bunyan 9, Klaus Jakobsen 9, Lee Complin 7+1, Lee Smart 1, Jesper Kristiansen (Rider Replacement) 

Berwick 41: William Lawson 12+1, Paul Clews 10+1, Tero Aarnio 6+1, Guglielmo Franchetti 5, Michal Makovsky 4+1, Josef Franc 3, Greg Blair 1