PL
Pairs Preview
Posted 23/06/05
One of the most evenly balanced pairs tournaments
in years will provide the entertainment for people at Ashfield tomorrow
and its anyone's guess who will win.
With many Ashfield specialists on display throughout the
teams there should be some good racing and predicting who will win
would be a fools game.
The group draw has perhaps been as kind as it could have
been for Glasgow - they have been drawn in Group B alongside Hull,
Somerset, Kings Lynn and Workington. Group A is potentially more difficult
being made up of Exeter, Sheffield, Rye House, Edinburgh and Newcastle.
Group A
Edinburgh - Rusty Harrison
and Ross Brady, both ex-Tigers, will represent the Monarchs. Rusty's
form has been tremendous most of the season although he has struggled
the last few meetings to maintain his high standards. Ross has been
scoring very well of late and seems to have got over his early season
problems. He has come in to replace Theo Pijper who has grass track
commitments. Both Ross and Rusty ride Ashfield well and will have
a large travelling support shouting them on.
Exeter - The Falcons will
be represented by Mark Lemon and Seemond Stephens. In all his meetings
for Exeter this season Mark Lemon has only failed to be paid for
a double points score once - when he got 9 at Reading - quite an
impressive record. Partner Seemond Stephens however has been in
erratic form and tends to struggle on the smaller tracks. He scored
3 points on his visit to Ashfield last month, only beating one opposition
rider - Wethers - in the process.
Newcastle - Naturally James
Grieves will be a major threat to everyone, he knows Ashfield better
than many of the current Glasgow riders and is definitely an expert
on the track. Although he had a bad night at Somerset on Friday,
he has also been in top form most of the season. His partner is
Josef Franc and although Pepe does not stand out as a top rider
in many people's eyes he does ride Ashfield well and Newcastle are
many people's tips as outsiders for the title.
Rye House - The Rockets have
been labelled Champions Elect since before a wheel was turned. They
will be represented by Stuart Robson, who has been on electric form,
and Chris Neath. Robson has been very busy guesting for other clubs
as well as riding for Rye - one third of his appearances this year
have been as a guest. Although he has not ridden this Ashfield track
his form shows he is more than capable of adapting quickly. Partner
Neath did not seem so keen on it last year but has improved significantly
this season and will be looking to put the ghost of last years performance
behind him.
Sheffield - The bad news for
the Tigers is that they are without the influential Sean Wilson
and Ricky Ashworth will take his place. The youngster has shown
this season just how hot a prospect he is for the future of speedway
and in all honesty a fully fit Ashworth will probably serve Sheffield
better this time round than a recovering Wilson. The man we all
love to hate, Andre Compton, will partner him. He had a poor meeting
by his standards last time at Ashfield but is more than capable
of mixing it amongst the best as his controversial PLRC victory
showed.
Group B
Glasgow - No introduction
needed! Shane is making his comeback a remarkable 16 days after
breaking his collarbone and a lot will depend on how his injury
stands up to the racing. There is no doubt that on his day Shane
is almost unbeatable round Ashfield and although as always he will
give 100% his collarbone must surely be a worry. Another worry is
partner George Stancl's bikes which have recently taken on a habit
of failing again. As long as they play fair, George is one of the
few riders who are every bit as good as Shane on the track.
Hull - Originally they were
to be represented by Garry Stead and Emiliano Sanchez but sadly
both fell victim to high speed crashes at Craven Park on Wednesday
night and we wish them a speedy recovery. As a result, Hull will
now have Paul Thorp and Emil Kramer taking to the track. Thorpy
is a typical experienced 'old pro' and will not be easy pickings
for anyone. On the whole he has recently been in good form and will
be keen to go better than the one race win in the Knockout Cup meeting
at the end of last month. Emil Kramer had a poor show in the same
meeting and may well be a weak link on the day.
Kings Lynn - When the teams
for the pairs were announced, Kings Lynn were named as the highest
averaged pair with a combined average of 18.97. Tomas Topinka has
been in excellent form for Kings Lynn this season, home and away.
He is partnered by Oliver Allen, a rider who has had his fair share
of bad luck this season. He was out for four weeks with a collar
bone injury and last week lost a couple of engines and his van when
it caught fire on him on the motorway. His home form of late has
been good but smaller tracks do tend to cause him a few problems.
Somerset - Glenn Cunningham
will not be representing Somerset in the pairs for the first time
since he joined them as he was third highest average for a short
time at the cut off date. Instead veteran Paul Fry will take his
place. Always reliable without being outstanding, Fryer will be
hoping for a better finish to his meeting than the last time he
visited Ashfield when a high speed crash into firstly Shane Parker
and then the fence after the Rebel locked up saw him withdraw from
the meeting. Partner Magnus Zetterstrom will be visiting Ashfield
for the first time, this being his first season dropping down to
Premier League. If form is anything to go by, he has been enjoying
the new experience and will be tough to beat once he gets to grips
with the track.
Workington - Carl Stonehewer
is one of the most exciting riders round Ashfield and after a week
out due to a head injury received at Armadale he is expected to
ride for Workington this evening and take his place in the pairs
tomorrow. He is very much an Ashfield specialist and produces entertaining
racing on the track. Partner James Wright is also well known at
Glasgow and scored very well there recently. Overall they are a
potent pairing and will no doubt have a large vocal travelling support
with them.
The field is a very competitive one with good quality and
many of the riders would consider Ashfield as one of their best tracks.
Forecasting the victors would be very difficult but the one prediction
you can make is that with the quality of the riders on show the fans
and speedway in general should be the winners.
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