Stoney Retains Title
Ashfield Classic, Posted 11/10/04

The weather held out for the final speedway meeting of the season at Ashfield with the crowd being treated to a last gasp win by current holder Carl Stonehewer.

There were two late, if not entirely unexpected, call offs. Simon Stead still has not recovered from the bad crash he had in the PLRC and David McAllan came in to replace him. In addition, Tom P Madsen had to withdraw through illness and was replaced by William Lawson.

The only disappointment was that no Tiger featured in the Final especially given the form of Stancl and Bentley throughout the meeting, both of whom looked to be in strong contention until a horrendous looking crash in heat 17 left Stancl having to withdraw from the meeting and Bentley very definitely struggling from the after effects and his main bike looking pretty much a write off.

The meeting started tamely with the first three heats being more or less from the gate. Shane Parker had machine problems which resulted in a last place in heat 3 which was to be followed by a 2 min exclusion when his bike cut out on the way to the tapes in heat 5. It effectively ended any challenge from the popular Aussie before it started.

Heat 4 was always going to be interesting with Stancl and Schlein up against each other and the Czech showed his defeat of the Aussie last week was not a fluke by repeating the feat in a fine race despite Schlein trying everything he could.

With Parker out of heat 5 Schlein had no real challenge from the subdued Olsen, McAllan and reserve Beaton. Bentley clearly signalled his intentions with a comfortable win in heat 6 and was followed by a win by Stancl in heat 7 despite being third out of the gate.

The other rider standing out at this stage was Josh Larsen and it was no surprise that he won heat 8 at a canter. McAllan was riding above himself in the meeting and held off Rusty Harrison in heat 9 for nearly three laps before Harrison managed to sweep round the outside of him on the third bend to claim the win.

First bend bunching saw Stonehewer take a tumble at the start of heat 10 and moan plenty about it but it did not stop him from getting the better of Stancl from the gate then holding off the Glasgow man for all four laps despite George trying everything he could to catch him.

Shane Parker showed just what he is capable of in heat 11 despite a poor gate. He trailed in third for the first lap before executing a fine outside pass on Karlsson on bend 4 followed by a superb inside pass on Franc on the second bend of the next lap.

Unfortunately Bentley was to suffer a shed chain in heat 12 and was thrown off his bike on the third bend. The re-run saw Larsen comprehensively beat Schlein after a good gate. The action in heat 13 was for the lesser places with McAllan and Doolan riding side by side for three laps before McAllan forced Doolan into the error that gave him third place.

Surprisingly Schlein finished last in heat 14, unable to get past third placed Lemon. Bentley just managed to hold on to win heat 15 by half a wheel from Harrison who seemed to buck and rear his way through the heat barely in control.

Heat 16 was a gem with Stancl and Larsen racing full out within inches of each other and giving each other room to race. Larsen had the edge from the gate but Stancl finally triumphed thanks to a superb outside pass on the 4th bend of the third lap. Both riders deserve full credit however for their part in good 'hard but fair' racing.

Unfortunately heat 17 was to see the crash that effectively ended the hopes of two Tigers. Karlsson off gate two moved out to find the dirt and collected both Tigers in doing so. It was a terrible looking crash, which left both down on the track for a substantial amount of time. Bentley was up first and hobbled unaided back to the pits. George was finally helped, half carried, back to the pits by his team manager mechanic after declining a trip in the ambulance but it was obvious he was in considerable pain and that his day was over. To add salt to the wounds the referee astoundingly declared Stancl to be the cause of the accident and exclude him from the re-run!

Bentley came out on Shane's bike for the rerun but was obviously struggling and trailed in third.

Shane Parker won heat 18 but in what looked almost like team riding Stonehewer allowed Harrison through on the back straight of the first lap thus ensuring he would qualify for the semi-final. Schlein had the easiest win of the night in heat 19 against Beaton and Lawson after Kevin Doolan's engine blew on the first lap and this was followed by a surprise win for Lemon in heat 20 against the previously impressive looking Larsen.

With Karlsson and Larsen seeded straight through to the final, it was left to Bentley, Stonehewer, Schlein and Harrison to contest the semi final. It was a somewhat disappointing race with Bentley still clearly suffering trailing in last and Stonehewer and Schlein claiming the first two places to claim their place in the final.

Larsen gated in the final but Stonehewer tracked him all the way before finally passing on the outside of the final bend to take victory on the line.

It seems ironic that Stonehewer, who had not exactly shone in the earlier heats, should retain his title but that's the way these meetings are structured. Well done to him for producing the good at exactly the right time and retaining the title.

Larsen was a welcome addition to the field and challenged hard, albeit mostly from the gate, but you have to feel for Stancl and Bentley and the way their respective challenges ended. Both showed just why many Glasgow fans would like to see them back in Tigers race jackets in 2005.

The scorecard and heat details can be found here.

Pictures from this meeting, courtesy of Lioness, can be found here