Stoke 51 Newport 39

 STOKE Easy Rider Potters continued their impressive home form as they dispatched the Newport Wasps 51-39 in an entertaining Premier League match at Loomer Road on Saturday night.

 The Potters did not have it all their own way though as the Wasps took the lead in the early stages of the meeting as Newport took a 4-2 heat advantage in heat one as both Wasps riders make the gate, home number one Jason  Bunyan manages to get past his partner Jesper Kristiansen after two laps before overhauling former Potter Paul Fry coming off the final turn to split the Newport pairing as former Stoke skipper Mark Lemon takes the chequered flag for a comfortable win. 

Newport extended their lead in heat two when new boy Lee Smart falls and Tom P Madsen suffers a reoccurrence of his shoulder injury as he coasts round for the four laps to take third place allowing James Holder and Shelby Rutherford to take maximum points in heat two giving the Wasps a 9-3 lead.

 The Easy Rider Potters strike back in heat three as Klaus Jakobsen makes a lightening start but Potters skipper Lee Complin is clamped on the inside by veteran American Brent Werner, Complin manages to get onto the outside line to blast around the outside of the Wasps pairing to second place before overhauling his partner Jakobsen to take victory as Stoke gain a maximum 5-1 heat win to bring themselves back to within two points of the Wasps as Newport remain in front with the scores at 8-10.

 Stoke’s Lee Smart is back in the wars in heat four as he is controversially excluded by referee Chris Durno. Phil Morris makes the start with Morris blocking Newport’s Jordan Frampton who seemed to get out of shape Smart dives up the inside of Wasps rider Holder and Frampton to take second place but going into the third turn Frampton seemed to turn left on the Potter and then went down and into the safety fence with Smart being excluded as the primary cause of the stoppage to the displeasure of the home crowd and Smart himself.

Smart said “Jordan was out of control going down the back straight and hit my bike twice going down the back straight after he was blocked by Phil. “I had no where to go in the third turn and he tried to turn left on me and lost it and went down it was not my fault and I’m not happy with the decision.”

In the rerun Frampton made a good start as the Wasps took a 4-2 heat win to extend their lead back up to four points to lead 10-14.

 Stoke move back to within two points of the Wasps as they gain a 4-2 advantage in heat six with both Bunyan and Kristiansen making good starts only for Kristiansen to drift wide allowing Frampton to ease up the inside to split the Potters pairing.

 The Potters took the lead for the first time on the night in heat ten as Jason Bunyan takes victory, Newport’s Chris Kerr battled bravely on the first lap with Bunyan before he dramatically picked up drive which caused him to fall narrowly missing the Potters number one allowing Kristiansen to take second place and a maximum 5-1 heat victory to give Stoke a 31-29 lead with five heats remaining.

 The Potters did not look back from this point as they gained two successive 4-2 heat wins first up was Phil Morris as he defeated Wasps skipper Lemon with Lee Smart grabbing third place and then Klaus Jakobsen and Smart disposing of James Holder and Brent Werner to give the Potters a six point lead.

 Complin and Smart continue to pile of the pressure in heat fourteen, Complin and Wasp Kerr fighting hard down the back straight to gain the lead the Potters skipper eventually coming out on top with Smart grabbing third place to give Stoke an eight point lead with just one race to go and needing just a drawn heat to take all three points.

 The Newport pairing of Lemon and Frampton make superb starts but Complin blasts around the boards followed by his partner Bunyan as the home crowd roar with approval as the Potters secure a maximum 5-1 heat win and gain all three points as Stoke gain a 51-39 victory to move the Potters back into third place in the Premier League table. 

After the meeting Potters debutant Lee Smart said “I’m pleased I finally got some points on the board after my first two races. “I was determined to do well and had set myself a target which I would have reached had things gone my way, but it’s history now although I’m still disappointed with my exclusion in heat four. “I’m happy to be here at Stoke and aim to give it my best shot I want to be successful and show what I can do.”

 Team boos John Woolridge said “Things were looking a little bit awkward for us early on but we kept on battling and we got the result in the end. “We always knew this would be a difficult match as they have riders who go well around here namely Mark (Lemon) and Paul (Fry) and they also have Jordan Frampton who has Elite League experience this season. “The main thing is we have the three points and it keeps us at the right end of the table, we hit them hard in the last few heats and stopped them being able to throw a tactical ride at us in last few heats also.” 

The result means the Potters are unbeaten in their last seven fixtures with six wins and one draw over those meetings.

 Stoke 51: Lee Complin 14, Jason Bunyan 12+1, Phil Morris 7-2, Klaus Jakobsen 6+2, Jesper Kristiansen 6+1, Lee Smart 5, Tom P Madsen 1

 Newport 39: Mark Lemon 10, Jordan Frampton 9, James Holder 8+1, Chris Kerr 6, Paul Fry 4-1, Shelby Rutherford 2+1, Brent Werner 0