74MERCURY June 13, 2008e-mail: sportsdesk@hertsessexnews.co.ukRye House Rockets speedway reports round-up and pictures Tai8217s the
pride of
Young
LionsRYEHouse Rockets teenage
sensation Tai Woffinden
added another feather to
his cap by leading out
Great Britain8217s Under-21
team at Pardubice in the
Czech Republic on
Saturday.
However his three race
wins and 14 point haul
were not enough to save the
Young Lions from World
Cup elimination.
Great Britain finished third
in their semi-final, just five
points behind round win-
ners Sweden and two shy of
the host nation in the race
for second spot.
The injury absence of
Adam Roynon, who broke
his leg during Rockets
Knockout Cup fixture
against Birmingham
proved a real blow to the
Young Lions chances.
Lewis Bridger picked up
nine points, William
Lawson seven, Ben Barker
six while Simon Lambert
failed to score.Rye House gears up
for biggest-ever meetRYEHOUSE speedway will be hoping
for a record crowd as the track stages its
biggest-ever meeting, the FIM World
Junior (Under-21) Championship semi-
final on Sunday.And Great Britain fans will be hoping
home track knowledge will give 17-year-
old Rocket Tai Woffinden, who currently
holds the British under-21, under-18 and
Conference League Riders Championship
titles, an extra edge as he faces the most
important competition ofhis short career.
At stake is a place in the World Final to
be staged at Pardubice in the Czech
Republic on September 7.
Woffinden must finish in the top eight to
qualify, a tough ask in a high quality field.
The meeting favourite is 20-year-old
Chris Holder. The Aussie, who rides for
Poole Pirates in the Elite League, was
runner-up in last year8217s event and will
be determined to make it gold before
passing the age limit.Also set to feature prominently on
Sunday are Troy Batchelor and Morten
Risager. Both are also Elite League stars,
with Batchelor a key man for title-chasing
Swindon and determined to make up for
the broken collarbone that ruled him out
oflast year8217s semi-final, while
Peterborough8217s Risager is a former
European U-19 Bronze medallist.
While Woffinden stands just five rides
away from a potential World Final, so too
do two other Brits. Edinburgh8217s William
Lawson finished just one point away from
a run-offat this stage last year and is a for-
mer British Under-18 champion.
So, too, is Lewis Bridger ofEastbourne,
who was 10th in the final last year. A fur-
ther Brit, Josh Auty, is waiting in the
wings as one ofthe two meeting reserves.
Eastbourne8217s 18 year old Simon
Gustafsson, meanwhile, is already a four
point rider in his first season ofBritish
top-flight racing.
He will be joined by two other highly
rated Swedes in Linus Ekl246fand Ludvig
Lindgren, who is the younger brother of
Grand Prix star Freddie.
All three played key parts in their coun-
try8217s European Under-19 Team win last
month, while a fourth Swede, Kim Nilsson,
also cannot be ruled out ofSunday8217s equa-
tion. Now 18, he made his Swedish Elite
League debut at just 16, and is the son of
former international rider Tommy.
There are three Poles in Sunday8217s field.
Robert Kasprzak is the younger brother of
2005 World U-21 Champion Krzysztof, and
won the Norden round with 14 points to
make his own title intentions clear, while
Mateusz Sczepaniak collected an Under-21
World Cup gold medal in 2007, the same
year that Grzegorz Zengota finished sec-
ond in the Polish Silver Helmet event.
Completing Sunday8217s line-up are
German Under-21 champion Tobias
Busch, compatriot Max Dilger and
American Under-21 winner Ricky Wells,
who also won Asia8217s first ever officially
sanctioned meeting by taking the
Malaysian International Speedway Cup in
Kula Lumpur last year.
The meeting starts at 2pm, with gates
opening at 11.30am.
Tickets are available on the door priced
at 16315 for adults, seniors 16312, while chil-
dren are free.
Saturday8217s official practice session
between 1 and 3pm is is open to the public
at 1635 for adults, with children once again
admitted free. MAXPOWER:Daniel Halsey (3) on his way to a maximum against Plymouth at Hoddesdon on Saturday and
right
Gary Cottham celebrates victory in the opening heat
Photos: KBDLZG7P-01Daniel8217s maximum not enoughA FAULTLESSfive ride maximum
from Daniel Halsey wasn8217t quite
enough to save the Kart Raceway
Cobras from their first home
defeat of the season on Saturday
night.
Although the Cobras provided
five different race winners their
only real scoring consistency
came from Halsey.
They were also hampered by the
loss of Richard Franklin with a
suspected fractured left wrist
after the 15-year-old clipped Paul
Starke8217s rear wheel in Heat 2 and
was sent flying to the track.
Franklin's unfortunate injury left
fellow reserve Daniel Greenwood
8211 who became eligible for
Conference racing on his 15th
birthday the week before 8211 to face
a very busy night on his
competitive team debut.
However, the British Under-15
champion more than did his bit,
working his way to seven points 8211
which included a first race win,
from seven starts.
Plymouth proved too strong, with
Tom Brown the pick of their riders
for sheer excitement, and Nicki
Glanz, Ben Hopwood and Paul
Starke going about their business
in an effective manner.
The Devils prevailed despite their
captain Seemond Stephens
suffering a nightmare and the
loss of Kyle Hughes with
suspected concussion.
The Cobras led briefly following
an opening race 4-2, with Gary
Cottham clocking the second
fastest Conference time at Rye
House this season at 58.1
seconds.
But they then slipped behind,
trailing 14-10 by Heat 4. The
hosts looked to have levelled the
score in Heat 6, only for Tom
Brown to slip past Cottham on
the third lap to take the win.
A 5-1 from the visitors8217 Ben
Hopwood and Nicki Glanz against
Terry Day took the score to 24-18
in Plymouth8217s favour after Heat 7,
and the Cobras8217 deficit looked set
to widen when Cottham was
excluded for bringing himself and
Hughes down in the next race.
Greenwood had other ideas,
however, heading home Paul
Starke and Jamie Pickard in the
re-run.
Halsey held off a determined
Brown for his third victory in Heat
9, as the Cobras pulled the
progressive score back to 29-25,
only to let slip in Heat 10, as
Nicki Glanz came through against
both Danny Betson and Cottham
to join Hopwood for a Plymouth
5-1.
Terry Day drove hard under
Seemond Stephens to win Heat
11 as Rye pulled back to within
six points.
Halsey8217s next victory brought the
Cobras even closer, at 38-34, but
Brown produced a remarkable
display of track guile and sheer
bravery to overhaul both Betson
and Day to take Heat 13, and a
drawn result in the next race
effectively clinched the match for
Plymouth with a heat to spare.
Rye House scorers: D Betson
5+1 (4); G Cottham 5 (5); D
Halsey 15 (5); A Aldridge 5 (4); Ty
Day 5 (4); D Greenwood 7 (7); R
Franklin 0 (1)Rye House .................... 42
Plymouth ...................... 47(Conference League)By ANDREWFRANCZAK
Sports editorFALLGUY: Richard Franklin hits the dirt duringCobras meet against
Plymouth, left, and is helped back to the pits nursing a broken wristONSONG:Young Lions
skipper Tai WoffindenPhoto: KBDLZG7P-01Photo: KBDLZG7P-01RYEHouse Rockets have
been drawn in what looks
like 8216the group ofdeath8217 in
the latest Super 7even event,
the Premier League Best
Pairs Championship, which
will take place at Somerset
on June 27.The Rockets are in Group 1,
alongside duos from Reading,
Sheffield, Birmingham and
Edinburgh.
Group 2, meanwhile, will
comprise pairs from
Workington, Newcastle,
Redcar, championship hold-
ers the Isle ofWight and host
club Somerset.
The top two finishers from
each round-robin group will
progress to the semi-finals,
with the two winners from
that then racing head-to-head
in the grand final.Tough draw
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