Houston Pirates - December 2003 News Archive

Pirates went down to a 47-43 defeat at Bournemouth today but it was amid scenes of celebration for the Pirate faithful who had made the trip. Results elsewhere had ensured Pirates couldn't be relegated and the fans took great delight at ribbing the Division 1 bound Broncos by dishing out Yo-Yo biscuits and chanting 'Down with the Slackers, You're going down with the Slackers.'

The match itself was fairly tight although a potential 5-1 in heat 6, which saw Ally Borland gate with Jan Kirsten, resulted in a 1-5 when Borland lost it almost bringing Kirsten down. The resulting 4 point swing was the difference in the end.

Jan Kirsten yet again defended his Golden Helmet this time beating Emil Tillstrom in the match race.

Team manager Kevin Tantrum said, 'Well done to Broncos, they deserved the win even though we pushed them hard.'

'Another great display by JK with solid support from Rickard Reiner. It was a good night for them both as JK's heat 11 win took him over 500 points for the club and The Rocket equaled the record number of appearances. Mark Villegas and Jamie Harrison did well but Magnus Karlsson wasn't as effective as he normally is. Shane Slavko was solid at reserve and Ally showed us he has the talent but not the control yet.'

'As it is, we've achieved our aim of retaining SL status. A lot of people were tipping us for the title before the season started but we knew it'd be tough. We've learned a lot this year and we will aim to be top half next season. We are already looking at our options and have a fairy clear idea of how the team will be made up and who will be made available.'

'We will notify the riders of this after the last league match and they will be able to put themselves in the shop window in January.'

Pirates completed the league campaign with a solid 50-40 victory over Division 1 bound Ipswich Spitfires last night. The result means Pirates finish in a very respectable 6th place in the SL table after languishing around 10th for most of the campaign.

Most notable performance of the evening was from Jamie Harrison as he raced to a 10 point haul in his first 4 races before, unsurprisingly, trailing last in heat 15 behind Jan Kirsten, Antonin Pavel and Rune Oscarssen. His two earlier defeats came at the wheels of Pavel although he claimed the scalps of Oscarssen, Markus Dreissler and Brandon Majors. Jan Kirsten took another 14 point haul with Pavel the man denying him his maximum with a win in heat 11 but Kirsten got his revenge by defeating the Czech ace in the Golden Helmet match race to end the campaign as the holder after 6 defences of the trophy.

The margin of victory could have been greater but for off nights for both Magnus Karlsson (4+2) and Rickard Reiner (6+1), who broke the all time appearance record of Deon Standish, but Mark Villegas (7+2) and Karl Sweeney (2+1 from 3) aided the cause with respectable scores.

Most unfortunate though was Lee Rough who, despite an excellent 7 point showing, finds his final average at 4.96 which means his permit will be automatically revoked. One less ride or one more point would have seen him over the 5.00 barrier but since no appeals are allowed by HQ means it is the end of the road for Lee Rough in SL.

Team manager Kevin Tantrum said, 'It was a fine way to end the league campaign.'

'We seemed to struggle for most of it yet we are going to finish 6th. Jamie Jackson's injuries have been a big factor in the season. He came back at the start as a shadow of the rider we all know he is and twice after that he got injured just when he was starting to show his real form. The real problem was that we never effectively replaced him in the side and that cost us points.'

'I'm not saying we would have won the title but we might have finished a bit closer to the top of the pile had the team included a fit Jacko all season.'

'Our team building plans can now be looked at seriously and we have a few line ups in mind but all are dependant on Jan Kirsten. If he stays, which is what the promoter is aiming for, then we are looking at a few scenarios which see JK, Rickard Reiner and Magnus Karlsson stay with Jamie Harrison and either Ally Borland or Karl Sweeney.'

'We have the option, now that we know the final stats, of running with Seth Latimer at reserve with Junior at number 2 leaving about 7 and a half for a number 4. Initial planning means that Mark Villegas and Shane Slavko are available for full transfers. However, everything is up in the air at the moment until we get agreement from JK that he is staying at Craigburn Park.'

'Meanwhile, we are looking at various other riders although we haven't actually made very many approaches as yet.'

Pirates called a Christmas Eve Press Conference tonight to give their fans an early Christmas present or two.

The first Christmas present sees a reduction in gate prices from the start of January with seating tickets reduced from Ł10 and Ł6.50 to Ł8.00 for adults and Ł5.00 for concessions while standing tickets are reduced from Ł8.00 and Ł5.00 to Ł6.00 for adults and Ł3.50 for concessions.

The second and third Christmas presents are the news of two signings for the 2004 season.

Team manager Kevin Tantrum said, 'We have agreed a deal to bring Karl Howell in on loan from Peterborough. It's a conditional deal, he will join if the limit is 47, if it isn't he'll be going elsewhere.'

'And now onto our third present and, as is traditional, we've left the best till last.'

'We are absolutely delighted to announce the signing of Mark Parmar. He will come in as second heatleader, on a 9.06 average, pushing Magnus Karlsson down to second string. Mark averaged 9.38 in 10 matches with Walsall in SL this season and that convinced us that we wanted him in our side.'

'The deal which sees Mark join on a full transfer involves Mark Villegas, Shane Slavko plus Ł150,000 going to Witham. I'd like to thank Paul at Witham, he was a pleasure to deal with, a true gentleman and I think that the criticism he received from another promoter earlier this month was unwarranted.'

'We've also agreed a deal which places Seth Latimer on loan at a club. We can't reveal where yet as that club has asked us to keep it quiet for now. Jamie Jackson is going out on loan and a club has been contacted. That club has had first shout on Jacko for months and now that we know they are a Division 1 club it's up to them if they take him. Jacko has said he'd be happy to go there or anywhere else in Div 1 for that matter.'

'We've still to tie up a few of the riders for next season but our proposed line up is Jan Kirsten, Mark Parmar, Rickard Reiner, Magnus Karlsson, Jamie Harrison, Karl Howell and Karl Sweeney.'