Last Updated on Friday 30th May 2003.
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Saturday 3rd May 2003.
NARROW FIRST LEG LEAD.
Pirates raced to a 48-42 win over local rivals Aisha's Motor in a spectacular first leg KOC tie at Craigburn Park tonight and are 'reasonably happy' with the score.
However, Pirates know they are in for a battle royal in the return leg next week. Pirates held an 8 point lead at one stage before the Motor fought back to level things with 2 races left but Pirates 'stars' managed to take a 4-2 thanks to the Jamie's (Jackson and McNab) in heat 14 before a superb racing manoeuvre by World Champ Jan Kirsten allowed the Dane to join Pirate returnee Deon Standish at the front to take a 5-1.
Kevin Tantrum, Pirates team manager, said, 'A superb advert for speedway. We were all over them up till heat 10 but they fought back brilliantly. But we managed to stretch away again and take a narrow 6 point lead to the Arena next Saturday and, all things considered, I'm reasonably happy with the outcome.'
'Will it be enough? Well, that's a tough question. The league match at the Motor Arena, in late March, ended 48-42 to the Motor but we were struggling badly at that point and they are making team changes this week. It's always a bit of a chance whether the new rider clicks right away or takes a few meetings to settle. And with the man of the match tonight, Robert Sledz, moving from number 2 to heat leader it raises more questions about how quickly they new line up can settle in to their new positions.'
'As for us, Jan and Stan were quite superb in heat 15 and Jacko and Rickard rode well considering Jacko still isn't 100% and the Rocket was returning from a 3 week injury lay off. Martin looks to have done badly but he actually beat the riders a number 2 should except in his first ride when the flying Sledz pipped him. Both the reserves were excellent too. Macca handled the step up to SL reserve (from Div 1 number 2) with aplomb and Seth is just a revelation. The team should stay as is for next week but we will need everyone performing at their best to defend this lead. This tie could go all the way to a run off!!!!!'
Monday 5th May 2003.
WORLD U21's AND TRANSFERS.
It was good news on 3 fronts for Pirates in yesterday's World Under 21 Quarter Finals as Jan Kirsten, Jamie Jackson and Jamie McNab all negotiated their way to the semi finals, to be held on the 18th of this month, at Aisha's Motor and Houston.
Both current champion Jan Kirsten and Jamie Jackson travelled to Prague where they eased their way onto the podium in second and third place. Winner was Carl Cash of Yeovil which was a bit of a surprise but a 15 point maximum ensured his place. JK finished with 14, only losing to Cash while Jacko was on 13 only losing to the Cash and JK. Bith are hoping to be drawn at Craigburn Park for the semi but even if it goes against them, the Motor Arena is only and hour away.
Meanwhile, Pirates reserve Jamie McNab travelled to Bournemouth. The field may not have been as strong as the other Quarter Finals but he fought his way through with two wins in his last 2 rides to clinch the last qualifying berth. Macca had 2 points from his first 3 rides but his never say die attitude was rewarded with a convincing heat 20 win to see him through.
On the transfer front Pirates have signed 21 year old Aussie Lee Rough from the unattached list for £32,000...and immediately loaned him out. Roughie has had a turbulent time in the last 2 seasons. He started at Alwalton in Division 1 in 2001, signed from WWLS Sydney Sharks early in the season for £27,500, where he raced to a 6.11 average. He was then sold back to Sydney for £25,000 at the end of season.
In 2002 he was again sold by the Sharks, to Ipswich for £30,000, in mid June but the Spitfires only used him as an SL reserve 7 times before releasing him at end of season.
This time round he has been acquired by Pirates and to give him some regular racing he has been loaned to Wombourne Warriors in Division 1 initially for a monnth. Coming the other way is 24 year old Pole Kryzstof Razychka who will be part of the squad system being used to rest Jacko.
Team manager Kevin Tantrum explained, 'I felt it was better for Roughie to have regular racing and he wouldn't have got that here as we will be using a mini squad system which will see 2 of Jacko, Martin and Kryzstof filling the second string berths. He will slot into Warriors team at second string and things will be monitored.'
'Martin hasn't been firing on all cylinders and may be given the opportunity to have some time to get things sorted out. This would give Kryzstof a chance to shine in the SL. He has ridden his entire career at Wombourne in Division 1 and maybe he needs a break to see how he does with stiffer competition. Either way, it benefits both clubs are Warriors either get Kryzstof back on a reduced average or they get a revitalised rider. Meanwhile, we get a race fit asset back from Wombourne who could slot in at second string.'
Tuesday 6th May 2003.
BUCKS GET RESULT.
Houston Bucks have jumped from 4th place in their group to second after a fabulous 22-19 win at London X-Types last night.
Undoubted star of the show was Seth Latimer who notched 3 straight wins before finishing second in heat 7. Karl Sweeney rode well making his seasonal debut for the Bucks to pick up 6+1 from 4. Dean Hart was disappointing with 1 from 3 although he seemed to be having mechanical trouble all night and Nik Mills won heat 3 on his way to 4 points from 3 rides.
'All in all a satisfactory result.' said team manager Kevin Tantrum. 'We're pleased to be on 4 points at the halfway stage as we have been away from home twice so far. We now face a difficult trip to Aisha's where it will be difficult to get anything. However, YDL is more about development than trophies so we are pleased to see Seth continue his progress. Nik and Karl looked good too and were very competitive. Dean had a night to forget but, hopefully, he'll use this experience to be stronger in the future.'
Elsewhere, Jan Kirsten finished 3rd in the St. Mungo Cup in Glasgow with 11 points. The winner was Evesham's Per Erlingmark on 13 while home rider Goran Pamic had 12. But it could have been different for JK as he missed the start at heat 8 and couldn't find a way through to pick up any points in that heat. However, after his recent head injury it's good to see JK back to near his best as he collects his second podium place in 2 days.
Saturday 10th May 2003.
PIRATES CRUISE THROUGH.
Houston Pirates looked to have their season back on track after a fantastic 51-39 victory at Aisha's Motor to claim a second round berth in the Knock Out Cup.
A fabulous team performance saw Pirates win 10 races with none of the top 5 scoring less than paid 9. Indeed Jamie Jackson was the lowest scorer with 7+2 but that was after a poor start in heat 1 when he trailed in last followed by 2 paid wins and a race win!!!!
Both reserves did well too with World Under 21 semi finalist Jamie McNab notching 4 and Seth Latimer picking up 3+1. Jan Kirsten top scored with 11 from 5 and was ably supported by Rickard Reiner (10 from 5), Deon Standish (9 from 4) and Martin Andersson (7+3 from 4).
The wet/rough conditions seemed to backfire on the home riders but Pirates, who had no idea how the surface would be, turned up ready to race whereas the home riders seemed to be defeated before a wheel turned as they were unhappy with the condition of their home track. Motor promoter Pete Leckie defended his track selection as a calculated gamble as Pirates had been stuffed by more than the Motor when the sides had visited Boston earlier in the season. However, one factor not taken into consideration was that Jan Kirsten was suffering the after effects of his tumble at Evesham and Jamie Jackson was desperately in need of some rest as he wasn't back to full fitness following his double leg break last season. Add to that Martin Andersson having a nightmare with his machinery and Harry Moxon missing due to being 'unavailable' and it's easy to see why Pirates lost so heavily.
The match itself saw Pirates race to a 20-10 lead by heat 5. 5 shared heats left the Motor requiring 4 5-1's and a 4-2 to go through but JK and Jacko slammed home a 5-1 to finish the tie and put Pirates 40-26 up on the night. A 4-2 in heat 12 sealed the victory.
Team manager Kevin Tantrum said, 'Whatever the track conditions, we rode them. It was the same for all 14 guys out there and we slaughtered them. It really looks like we are back in the groove now and the only thing stopping us being at full strength is that Jacko is not quite fully fit yet.'
'We had worried that our season may have been wrecked before it started with Rickard's injury and Jacko's slow fight to regain 100% fitness but I really think we could have turned the corner now. The only thing that can stop us is injury problems.'
Sunday 11th May 2003.
JACKSON HURT.
Houston Pirates season has again been rocked by injury after an horrific heat 3 accident at the British Final at London which sees Jamie Jackson out with severe leg injuries.
Pirates young star, the second Houston rider to crash out of the World Championships via injury this season (Rickard Reiner being the other), is out for 8 weeks after he picked up grip while diving under Weymouth's Jason Nix. Jacko, obviously, is also out of next week's World Under 21 semi finals.
The unfortunate Wild One was also hurt in the incident and will be out for 4 weeks with a broken collarbone. Jacko has unreservedly apologised to Nix, the Weymouth promotion and the Weymouth fans for hurting their number one and is said to be devastated at being injured again when so near to full fitness.
Pirates season has already been badly hampered by injury as Jacko struggled to get fit during the first 6 matches, so much so that his average plummeted from 9.73 to 6.30, a drop of almost 3 and a half points. Rickard Reiner also missed 2 matches after picking up a bruised back in the Continental Quarter Final.
George Seymour, Pirates promoter, was spotted in the London car park checking for black cat fur on his car and muttering, 'I must have run over dozens of the buggers.'
This latest injury brings the total of Pirates hurt riders since September 7th last year to 6. Of the 25 matches raced between then and now Pirates have tracked a fully fit first choice 1 to 7 in one match (3rd October). A first choice 1 to 7 took to the track the next week too but Deon Standish failed to complete the meeting after breaking his leg.
The seemingly unending list is:
Paul Augustine injured on 7th September (Hand injury), returned on 30th September. Deon Standish injured on 11th October (Broken leg), returned on 25th November. Jamie McNab injured on 20th November (Damaged neck muscle), returned on 16th December. Jamie Jackson injured on 6th December (Broken Legs), returned at start of season but was still injury affected until he was hurt again. Rickard Reiner injured on 6th April (Bruised Back), returned on 28th April. Jamie Jackson injured on 11th May (Broken Leg), due to return on 7th July at the earliest.
So less than 24 hours after an emphatic KO Cup win at Aisha's, where it appeared Pirates were back in the groove, team manager Kevin Tantrum is left ruing his words from the Motor Arena. He said, 'I didn't think we would be facing up to yet another major injury so soon or I wouldn't have said what I did last night. But, then again, you never know when injury will strike.'
'I'm gutted. It just looks like the injuries never end at this club. Still, looking on the bright...well, less gloomy side. At least we know exactly where Jacko's fitness is now. Hopefully when he returns he will be fully fit instead of us trying to judge just exactly how fit he is. In the meantime, Kryzstof Razychka will come into the side.'
Wednesday 14th May 2003.
UNDER 21 LINE UP.
The line up's for this Sunday's World Under 21 semi finals at Houston and Aisha's have been revealed and it sees one Pirate on the road East and another staying at home.
Jan Kirsten, current World Under 21 champion, makes the trip to the Motor Arena where he scored 11 from 5 last week during Pirates 51-39 win over the home side while Jamie McNab gets home advantage albeit that he is the lowest averaged rider in the field.
The line up for the Houston semi final, which starts at 12 pm to allow fans to get to Aisha's for a 5pm start, is (in riding order)
Favourites to make the top 8 and qualify for the final are Capirossi, Sneider, Olsen, Cash, De Veer, Molnar, Karasinski and Lincoln Blair son of ex-Pirate Lyndon (Lionel) Blair.
Saturday 17th May 2003.
HAWKS HAMMERED.
Pirates lifted themselves out of the SL relegation zone for the first time this season with a convincing 54-36 win over fellow promotees Huntingdon Hawks last night. But the real highlight was Deon Standish's first ever maximum for the club in his 86th appearance. Not only that, the paid win in heat 15 took him to 800 points for the club, in all matches, and he becomes the first man to ever do that.
Stan apart, the rest of the team performed excellently. Jan Kirsten dropped a solitary point in heat 1 to Leigh Langley while Rickard Reiner weighed in with 9+1 from 4. A heatleader total of 36 which was the basis of the win. Seth Latimer continued his remarkable run with 5+2 from 4 while Jamie McNab showed more progress with a mature 6 from 4. Martin Andersson had 4+1 from 4 which included a heat win while new boy Kryzstof Razychka scored 3+1. Not a superb total but in there were defeats for both Langley and Robert Kelen.
But the real star of the show was Stan the man who was on fire at Tayside during his loan spell earlier in the season. Since returning he has posted figures of 32+3 from 14 rides over 3 matches for a CMA of exactly 10. Stan had intended to ride Div 1 all season as his business committments looked likely to take up a lot of time but he was finding he had Magic Mercedes Repairs running smoothly and that he was in top form.
When Pirates asked if he was willing to be recalled he jumped at the chance and with a 13+2 paid maximum last night he could best be described as 'elated'. He said, 'I love this club and it was frustrating to know I was in good form, able to help out but was stuck at Tayside. I don't meant that in a bad way, Davi Morris has a great set up there and I wish them the best in their promotion hunt but I knew I could help Pirates and now I'm just delighted to have got my first ever maximum.'
'I went through a stage last year of winning my first 4 before losing heat 15 but I've conquered that now, here's hoping it's the first of many.'
Team manager Kelvin Tantrum was pleased. 'This is a great win. Hawks are no mugs but we destroyed them and without Jacko. Razy did a great job at 2 and will take a couple of matches to settle but Stan is just awesome. He was a key rider last year and I was keen to get him back when I saw how the averages were working out. He really loves the area, the fans and the club and I have never seen a rider happier to score a maximum.'
Sunday 18th May 2003.
WORLD UNDER 21 NEWS.
It was a fabulous day for Pirates in the World Under 21 semi finals today as Jan Kirsten won through to defend the title he has already won twice and a record crowd attended Craigburn Park to see the other semi final.
Unfortunately, it wasn't all glory as young Jamie McNab finished 14th in the Houston semi to crash out although he later said, 'It was a great experience, I want more of the same and to do that I'll need to improve. Today has shown me what I need to do.'
JK won through to the final in convincing style taking second place at Aisha's Motor behind Leigh Langley, with 11 points. He said, 'Sure, I didn't win the meeting but todays objective was qualification. I achieved that after 4 rides and was testing my new engine in my last ride. I could have won the race and forced a run off to win the meeting but it was not needed, there was no advantage to be gained. I now look forward to the final where I aim to make it a hat trick but the competition will be fierce so I assume nothing and go out to ride at the best of my ability.'
At Craigburn Park a crowd of 5,525 broke the previous record of 5,306, only set in March for the Scottish Open, to see an exciting semi final which wasn't without a shock or two. Danny Capirossi of Aisha's Motor crashed out when he was easily expected to qualify citing the slick conditions as his downfall. The same fate became Lincoln Blair as he was defeated by Jamie McNab in heat 18 and missed qualification by a single point.
Going through were Carl Cash, Jonathan Phillips, Jensen Sneider, Mark Olsen and Olli Nimi. But the laurels went to Michal Molnar of Prague who won the meeting with an imperious 14 points. He was seen in deep conversation with Kelvin Tantrum, Pirates team manager, after the meeting although no details of that conversation have become public knowledge. Runner up was Kidlington star Andrej Karasinski with Seaton's Roy De Veer snatching third from Nimi after a run off.
Pirates promoter George Seymour spoke to the press after the meeting saying, 'It was an exciting semi final today and I was delighted with the turn out. Molnar and Nimi are guys who would do a superb job in the UK and I know Michal has a desire to ride in the SL one day.'
'However, I was concerned to hear that Aisha's fans thought I had prepared the track slick to deprive Capirossi of a fair chance. I have 2 things to say to these allegations. First, it is the league who prepare tracks for big events, not the individual club. Yes, our facilities are used and we benefit financially but we have no say in track preparation. Secondly, if Capirossi was as good as the Motor fans think he is he wouldn't need to worry about track conditions. He is a quality rider but he needs to learn to ride all conditions if he wants to be considered one of the greats.'
Friday 23rd May 2003.
COMFORTABLE HOME WIN.
Pirates raced to a comfortable 10 point win against Wisbech Warriors tonight but it wasn't until the last 4 races that they pulled away to top the 50 mark at home for the second week running.
The undoubted star of the show was 19 year old Seth Latimer, a £7,500 buy from Witham just before New Year, who notched a career high 7+3 from 4 rides which included a paid win over Warriors top scorer Jesper Kroger.
However, an all round team performance was the real reason for the victory as Pirates packed the minor places in the first half of the meeting before switching into top gear in the second half. Things started badly for Pirates with a 4-2 for the visitors which was matched by Pirates in heat 2. A pair of 3-3's were notched before the middle order pairing of Rickard Reiner and Martin Andersson slammed home a 5-1 over Josh Oxley and the lacklustre Sorensen.
Warriors replied with a 5-1 of their own in the next as Jan Kirsten shed a chain trying to go round Kroger on the last bend and the score was 18 apiece. Deon Standish took heat 7 and Oxley, not unexpectedly, took heat 8 and it was still all square but Pirates heatleaders then fired into top gear winning the next 5 races. Heats 9, 10 and 11 were 3-3's but the Rocket and Slatty fired home a 5-1 in heat 12 and JK and Stan repeated the feat in Heat 13 to make it 43-35.
Kroger came in for Paul Clarke and won heat 14 but Martin and Macca managed to secure the 3-3 before JK streaked from the tapes to win the final race, with Stan in third, to make the result 50-40 to the Pirates.
Stan top scored with 12 from 5 while JK and Rickard both recorded 10+1 (from 5 rides and 4 rides respectively). Slatty's magnificent 7+3 was next in the chart with Martin weighing in with a very handy 6+1. Kryzstof Razychka again picked up useful points but only totalled 3 from 4 while Macca had a poor night by his own recent standards with only 2+1.
Team manager Kevin Tantrum said, 'It was a very solid performance. We could have brought Slatty in for heats 10 and 14 but we felt Razy and Macca needed the races.'
'We are very pleased with the points and our subsequent move clear of the relegation zone but we have to remember we have a couple of away matches coming up. The first is at Cumbernauld next Friday. We think we can go close there and will be giving it our best shot. Our 3 heat leaders seem to be right on form just now as does Slatty. It could be very tight and should be an absolute cracker.'
Wednesday 28th May 2003.
PREPARATION WORK.
All 7 Pirates due to take part in the big derby at Cumbernauld's Broadwood Stadium this Friday took to the track at Craigburn Park today tp prepare for the match.
A number of track conditions were set during the day allowing the riders the chance to tinker with set up's and get things ready for any eventuality.
Kevin Tatum explained, 'We are unsure what track set up Tigers will use but the size and shape is fairly similar to ours so this could prove to be a valuable excercise.'
'Jan and Stan looked excellent throughout today and only Razy was a bit slow. We feel well equiped to push Tigers all the way but are realistic about our chances. We go there to win but keeping ourselves in with a shout of the bonus point could well be seen as a good result at the end of the day.'
'With this being the last match before the change of averages we are looking at our options for next month. The only question surrounds the number 2 race jacket. If we can fit him in Lee Rough will be coming back from Wombourne. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we'd rather have a team of our own assets. Secondly, with all the upheaval at Wombourne in the last few days Roughie can't be guaranteed a place there. However, we will keep Razy if, and only if, Roughie can't fit back in the team.'
Friday 30th May 2003.
SUPERB AWAY WIN.
Pirates are celebrating tonight after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat at Cumbernauld's Broadwood Stadium. A fabulous fight back saw Pirates take two 5-1's in the last 2 heats to stun their hosts and take the points in an enthralling 46-44 win.
Pirates had been 8 points down after 7 races but never gave up the fight. An early lead for Pirates was pegged back with a 5-1 in heat 3 for the Tigers. A 4-2 extended their lead in the next before another maximum advantage in heat 6 made it 25-17 to the Cumbernauld side. At that point Tigers looked to be strolling as a succesful tactical substitute ride by Kirsten in heat 8 was nullified by Rickard Reiner missing the gate in heat 9 and the 8 point lead remained.
Reiner redeemed himself in heat 10 as Martin Andersson took third to make it 36-30. Three shared heats followed including Kirsten's only defeat of the night, by McMillan, in heat 13. At that stage it was 42-36 and Pirates were in dire straits. However, team manager Kelvin Tatum pulled off a master stroke in heat 14 when bringing in Deon Standish as he and Andersson reduced the 6 point defecit to only 2 with a superb 5-1 over the impressive Kim Pedersen.
That left star of the show Kirsten and Standish against McMillan and, strangely, Egil Sundsgot wo had only scored 6+2 from 4 compared to Pedersen's 9 from 4. Standish shot from the gate but Kirsten showed his class with a spectacular move to take McMillan wide before blasting past Sundsgot to take a match winning position. Standish and Kirsten then produced a heat of excellent team riding to ensure the win and send the Pirates fans into raptures.
An overjoyed Kevin Tantrum said, 'This is a superb result, what a comeback. We were almost dead and buried after heat 9 but the team were excellent.'
'JK's 17 from 6 was the highlight and he was ably supported by Rickard and Stan with 9 from 5 and 9+2 from 6. Martin was brilliant at number 4 and his 4+2 was crucial. And Seth was outstanding again with 4+1 from only 3 starts. Macca could only manage 2 but was on the pace all night and Razy could only manage a single point, in heat 1, but it proved vital at the end.'
'We are delighted with this result and it keeps the strange sequence of scores in this fixture going. The sides have met 3 times now and we've yet to see a home win!'
'As for the team for June. Razy returns to Wombourne and Lee Rough slots in at 2. He has 5 weeks to prove he's worthy of the number 2 race jacket.'