Scunthorpe Speedway

03.08.12: Scorpions dig deep for vital victory

SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 49 WORKINGTON COMETS 40 (PREMIER LEAGUE)

THE EDDIE WRIGHT RACEWAY produced yet another speedway match of the highest quality last night and after a last heat decider it was the Scunthorpe Scorpions who maintained their unbeaten home record with a 49-40 victory over one of their biggest rivals at the top of the Premier League table, the Workington Comets.

However, victory was anything but easy for the home side. The new reserve pairing of Gary Irving and Michael Palm Toft conceded a 5-1 in heat 2 and both struggled in their second races. When Thomas Jørgensen crashed out of the meeting, whilst chasing Adam Roynon in heat 6, it looked an uphill task for the Scorpions as Irving and Toft were going to have to take six more rides between them.

Thankfully the pair got things going in their third ride to record an important 5-1 before Nick Morris recorded his third heat win with Ashley Birks in third place in heat 9. It opened up a six-point lead for the Scorpions but former rider, Tero Aarnio, produced his best ride of the night to combine with Rene Bach for a 5-1 in heat 10 before three drawn races left the Scorpions two points clear with two races to go.

But for a sticking throttle David Howe (pictured above) would have doubled that lead in heat 13 but Ashley Birks made no mistake in heat 14 and combined with Gary Irving for a 4-2 before the meeting’s two top scorers, Josh Auty and Nick Morris, secured victory. For three laps it looked like Workington’s Adam Roynon would hold off Morris to claim a consolation league point for the Comets but his bike ground to a halt on the last lap and for once the Scorpions’ luck seemed to have changed.

Post-match quotes:

Richard Hollingsworth (Scorpions’ Team Manager) –

As usual there is so much that can be said about the meeting. There were so many incidents both sides can probably point to a variety of bad luck. Of course we had some fortune in heat 15 but there was still a chance that Nick would have passed Roynon.

It was great to see David back in the team and winning a race. His throttle stuck open in heat 13 which lost him a point and us a vital heat advantage but he did well. Of course we weren’t a seven man team for long. Six races to be exact. Thomas clattered the home straight fence and flew over his handlebars. He hurt his foot, shoulder and back and although x-rays have failed to show up a break in his foot he is in a lot of pain. Hopefully he will be back for next week but his absence from the second half of the meeting didn’t do us any favours.

I also thought Gary was unlucky to be excluded in heat 7. It beggars belief when Workington asked for extra time because Rene Bach’s exhaust was out of shape. It was tantamount to a confession that he’d knocked Gary off.

On a very positive note Josh (Auty) and Nick (Morris) were pretty impressive. Nick dropped just one point for the second week running whilst Josh came back strong with big wins in heats 13 and 15. The rest of the team were solid and I’m looking forward to next Friday. We have another high-flying team, Leicester, visiting. Their league position may be a little false because they only have three home meetings left but they are still very strong candidates for a top six finish and the return of Magnus Karlsson is always eagerly anticipated.

Full scorers:

Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions 48 – David Howe 4(4), Thomas Jørgensen 3 (2), Nick Morris 13+1 (5), Ashley Birks 6+1 (4), Josh Auty 13 (5), Gary Irving 4+2 (5), Michael Palm Toft 6+1 (5).

Workington Comets 40 – Richard Lawson 7 (4), Kenny Ingalls 3+1 (4), Rene Bach 7+1 (4), Tero Aarnio 7+1 (4), Adam Roynon 8+1 (5), Ashley Morris 4+1 (4), Stefan Nielsen 4+1 (4).

1: Jørgensen, Ingalls, Howe, Lawson, 57.47 (4-2)
2: A.Morris, Nielsen, Toft, Irving, 60.32 (1-5) (5-7)
3: N.Morris, Birks, Aarnio, Bach, 58.81 (5-1) (10-8)

Nick Morris and Ashley Birks celebrate a 5-1 in heat 3

4: Roynon, Auty, Nielsen, Toft, 59.62 (2-4) (12-12)
5: N.Morris, Lawson, Ingalls, Birks, 59.34 (3-3) (15-15)
6: Howe, Roynon, A.Morris, Jørgensen (fell, excluded), no time –race awarded (3-3) (18-18)
7: (re-run) Auty, Aarnio, Bach, Irving (fell, excluded), 59.35 (3-3) (21-21)
8: Toft, Irving, Nielsen, Ingalls, 60.53 (5-1) (26-22)
9: N.Morris, Roynon, Birks, A.Morris, 59.81 (4-2) (30-24)
10: Bach, Aarnio, Toft, Howe, 58.97 (1-5) (31-29)
11: Lawson, Auty, Irving, Ingalls, 59.34 (3-3) (34-32)
12: Bach, N.Morris, Toft, A.Morris, 59.37 (3-3) (37-35)
13: Auty, Lawson, Roynon, Howe (engine failure), 59.47 (3-3) (40-38)
14: Birks, Aarnio, Irving, Nielsen, 59.65 (4-2) (44-40)
15: Auty, Morris, Roynon (engine failure), Bach, (fell), 59.22 (5-0) (49-40)

Nick Morris (red) and Ashley Birks (blue) lead Tero Aarnio in Heat 3