Next Friday (June 1st) the tapes go up at the Oak Tree Arena as Somerset Speedway welcomes the 1000cc Sidecar Speedway teams to the second round of the ACU British Sidecar Speedway Championships. If the opening round in Leicester is anything to go by then speedway fans are in for a real treat.
A large crowd witnessed sixteen adrenalin-fuelled, heart-pounding qualifying heats. This was followed by a controversial semi-final and an incident-packed final which ended in victory for Paul Whitelam and passenger Alan Elliott.
A delighted Whitelam/Elliott only dropped one point and ended the night on 14 points. Mick Cave/Bradley Steer are only three points in arrears. The reigning British Champions Mark Cossar/Carl Blyth had a night to forget. Machine problems hampered the pair throughout the evening. Especially in the final in which the mechanical gremlins struck on lap three whilst they were leading. They still took a rostrum spot as the other finalists Rod Winterburn/Billy Winterburn came to a stop on the previous corner. So Cossar/Blyth are one of four crews in the chasing pack on 9pts, a sign of how close this series is likely to be, every point battled for in every race, every crew wants to be in with a shout at the Grand Final which takes place in Belle Vue in October.
Also, on 9 points are Mick Stace who has Carl Pugh on the back this time after a great start to his campaign partnered with Roddy Stirling. Will Often/Josh Russell could have improved on their 9-point haul had they not have controversially been excluded from the semi-final after over-locking on one bend which in the eyes of the referee caused the two following crews to come together to cause a stoppage. So they will be hungry for a place in the big race this time round.
The Winterburns are the fourth crew to share third place going into Somerset. But they are the only crew missing from the main event this round and their slot is being taken by Jack Penfold/Kizz Ivy who looked really quick in the reserve demonstration laps at Leicester. It will be interesting to see how quick they are when they go up against the best in the country.
If you thought the first round was competitive, this should be ultra-competitive as many crews were coming to terms with new machinery and new passengers. Now with the cobwebs completely blown away the pace will be upped throughout the field.
The 500cc sidecars are once again taking a supporting role at Somerset. Once again things are likely to be close between the four crews who sometimes became a little too close at Leicester. The same crews line up apart from the winners Chris Hay/Karl Hocaniuk who went under James Hogg/Scott Goodwin in the last bend take the chequered flag and the overall win. Hogg/Goodwin ended their night removing both themselves and the bike from the air-fence. The Welsh crews of Barrie Bennett/Eifion Hughes and Shaun Hughes/Louis Bennett both tasted the shale on the night, bruised and battered but still they come back for more.
The rider draw for Somerset - Round 2
1.Matt Fumarola / Gaz Williams
2.Neville Penfold / Kev Jones
3.George Penfold / Ryan Barker
4.Rob Wilson / Terry Saunters
5.Kevin Lapham / James Laurie
6.Paul Whitelam/ Alan Elliott
7.Mick Cave / Bradley Steer
8.Joe Mogg / Jake Cutler
9.Jack Penfold / Kizz Ivy
10.Philip Wynn/ Adam Cowper-Smith
11.Will Offen / Josh Little
12.Mark Cossar/Carl Blyth
13.Tom Cossar/ Wayne Rickards
14.Will Penfold / Ricky Pay
15.Simon Beaney / Gareth Bemister
16.Mick Stace/ Carl Pugh
Res: Dave Buckley & Paul Jesper
The action at the Oak Tree Arena starts at 7pm and it’s only £10 to get in with under 16’s Free. Don’t miss what is sure to be yet another great evening with the sidecars.
For more info go to
www.sidecarspeedway.co.uk