STOKE Easy Rider Potters take a nine point lead into the second leg of their Young Shield quarter final after gaining a 52-43 lead over the Somerset Rebels at Loomer Road on Saturday night.

 Somerset skipper Steve Johnston took victory in heat one as he stormed to victory over Tom P Madsen and Jason Bunyan as he equalled the Loomer Road track record of 60.5 set by Ty Proctor back in August.

 The Potters took the lead with an emphatic maximum heat win from Klaus Jakobsen and skipper Lee Complin over Simon Walker and Jari Makinen to give Stoke an early 11-7 lead.

 Somerset’s responded in the next race as Cory Gathercole and Mark Baseby gained a 4-2 heat advantage over Jesper Kristiansen and the out of sorts Robert Ksiezak to reduce the deficit to two points with the score 13-11 in favour of the Potters.

 Stoke returned the compliment in the rerun heat six. Cory Gathercole was disqualified by referee Dave Watters and he fell in front of Jason Bunyan leaving the Potters rider with no where to go. In the rerun Bunyan managed to overhaul Justin Sedgmen to take victory with Madsen third as Stoke opened up a four point lead after six races.

The Potters then struck with two maximum race advantages firstly Madsen and Kristiansen over Sedgmen and then Jakobsen and Complin over Gathercole to extend the Potters lead to twelve points as Stoke lead 33-21 after nine heats.

 Rebels manager Steve Bishop uses Cory Gathercole as a tactical ride in heat ten, but Easy Rider Potters number one Bunyan takes the chequered flag getting the better of Gathercole and with Madsen third the Rebels make no in roads into the Potters lead.

Bishop throws his second tactical ride of the night in and it pays dividends as Rebels skipper Steve Johnston gains a maximum six points Kristiansen managing to do a damage limitation job for the Potters as he passes Sedgmen to take second place and split the Somerset pairing, the Rebels taking a 7-2 race advantage to reduce the Potters lead to seven points after eleven heats.

 Stoke hit back immediately as they gained a 5-1 advantage from Danes Jakobsen and Kristiansen as the latter again got the better of Sedgmen as the Potters extend their lead back up to eleven points with the score 44-33. 

The Rebels were not finished though and Cory Gathercole takes victory over Jason Bunyan who makes a superb pass to take second place over the previously unbeaten Steve Johnston to give Somerset a 4-2 heat win, the Potters though had secured victory on the night with two heats remaining.

 The Potters took a comfortable 5-1 race win in heat fourteen as Lee Complin and Jesper Kristiansen were untroubled by Sedgmen and Mark Baseby as Stoke opened up a thirteen point lead, the Rebels though were not going to give up though and Gathercole and Johnston teamed up for maximum points in the final race over Complin and Bunyan to reduce Stoke’s lead to nine points with the Potters running out victors on the night with a 52-43 win to leave the tie finely balanced.

 Tom P Madsen said “It was a good win for us but we had hoped to take a bigger lead into the second leg, but it is still possible for us to take victory over the two legs. “It’s now up to us to go down to Somerset and do a job, it’s up to all of us to score well and keep things tight. “Hopefully we will not have to use the tactical rides but it is there to use to our advantage as Somerset have used it tonight and got back into the meeting.  “We want to extend our season and it’s now up to us to make sure the season continues for us as a team and we intend to do that by getting a result for ourselves next Friday.”

 Stoke 52: Jesper Kristiansen 12+3, Lee Complin 10+2, Klaus Jakobsen 10+1, Jason Bunyan 9+1, Tom P Madsen 7, Craig Branney 3+1, Robert Ksiezak 1+1

Somerset 43: Steve Johnston 18+1, Cory Gathercole 14, Justin Sedgmen 9, Mark Baseby 1, Simon Walker 1, Jari Makinen 0, Emil Kramer (Rider Replacement)

 Meanwhile Stoke Easy Rider Potters number one Jason Bunyan takes his place in the Premier League Riders Championship at Sheffield’s Owlerton circuit on Sunday afternoon. (5pm). 

Bunyan lines up against the top rider from each club with each rider facing each other once in five qualifying heats. The top two riders from the qualifying races will go straight into the final with the next four riders racing off in a semi final with the first two riders then going through to the final.