Kyle undergoes surgery

On Monday, in Workington hospital, Kyle underwent foot surgery to stabilize his right talus , a bone in his right foot.(See bones of the foot link) The operation, to insert two screws into the bone, went very well and his family expect him to be in hospital until at least the weekend. It is expected that he will be off the foot for approx 8 weeks at which time he should be able to bear full weight on it. Physio will start this week and it is felt that he may ride again in about 2 to 3 months time. This means he will, unfortunatly, miss the world under 21 qualifier in June. Kyle is, naturally, down at the moment as he was getting into things very well over in England and becomming a definate crowd pleaser. More news as soon as it is available.

Tigers lose (thanks Guy) at Workington

TIGERS remain without an away win in the Premier Trophy despite making a sensational start in an extraordinary meeting at Derwent Park.It is highly unusual to see a meeting which includes both teams using the tactical ride facility - but that is exactly what happened here.5-1s for the Tigers in Heats 2 and 3 stunned the home crowd - and probably the Sheffield fans too, who have been more accustomed to disastrous openings on the road this season.When Sean Wilson won Heat 5 backed up by third place for Ben Wilson, Tigers had moved into a ten-point lead, which led to the Comets nominating Sean Wilson for double-points in Heat 6.The move worked as Workington took an 8-1 over Andre Compton, and it was followed by two 5-1s and two 4-2s in the next four heats as Tigers suddely found themselves nine points down.Richard Hall's tactical ride was unsuccessful in Heat 12 as the home side took a 5-2, and a further heat advantage in the next race secured victory in the meeting.Sheffield kept on fighting, knowing that there will be a bonus point at stake when the teams meet again at Owlerton on Thursday, and an improved Ricky Ashworth took a double-points win in Heat 14. The ending of that race, though, was marred by a fall for Canadian youngster Kyle Legault after the chequered flag, the Tigers reserve being taken away for treatment.(SHEFFIELD are sweating on the fitness of the talented young reserve rider, after the crash . Early suggestions are that he may have broken a bone in his foot and that surgery may be needed to correct the damage.) Then Stonehewer and team-mate Shaun Tacey took maximum points over Sean Wilson and Ashworth in the last race to open the Comets' lead up to 13 points by the end.WORKINGTON: Carl Stonehewer 17, Shaun Tacey 12+1, Kauko Nieminen 8, Tony Atkin 7+1, Kevin Little 6+3, Scott Robson 5+1, Jonathan Bethell 0.SHEFFIELD: Ricky Ashworth 13, Sean Wilson 9, Richard Hall 5+2, Kyle Legault 5+1, Ben Wilson 4, Andre Compton 3+1, Paul Cooper 3. Next action Wed 7.30 gmt (2.30 et) at Hull

Kyle impresses all!!

PIRTEK TIGERS 58 NEWCASTLE 38Thursday, April 21, 2005By Nigel Pearson at OwlertonCLASSY Canadian kid Kyle Legault took the shine off Newcastle Diamonds as Sheffield claimed all three Premier Trophy points.Legault, in his debut British season, warmed the hearts of every Sheffield fan with a high scoring performance and youthful enthusiasm.But this impressive display wasn't just about Legault. Every Tigers team member chipped in with some valuable points and skipper Sean Wilson was unbeaten by a Newcastle rider.The margin of victory would no doubt have been more had Andre Compton not been excluded for falling in Heat 11 when chasing Diamonds guest Robbie Kessler.Compton retired from Heat 13, again when chasing Kessler, leaving his final points total of just 5+1 well short of his normal contribution.Newcastle boss George English tried to keep the match alive with some intelligent tactical moves. On both occasions, when nominating Kessler and Josef Franc for double points, they delivered the goods with a maximum six-point return.But Sheffield were never in any danger of surrendering their lead and keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the Premier Trophy semi-finals.TIGERS: Sean Wilson 14+1, Richard Hall 10+1, Kyle Legault 9+1, Ben Wilson 8, Ricky Ashworth 7+1, Andre Compton 5+1, Paul Cooper 5.NEWCASTLE: Robbie Kessler 15, Josef Franc 9, Jamie Robertson 6, James Grieves 4+1, Ritchie Dennis 2+1, Claus Kristensen 2, Christian Henry 0.
1st Leg Score: Newcastle = 48 Sheffield = 41Sheffield Tigers = 581. Sean Wilson -3 -3 -2' -3 -3 = 14+12. Ben Wilson -1 -1 -3 -3 = 83. Richard Hall -3 -1' -2' -3 -1 = 10+24. Ricky Ashworth -2' -2 -3 -EF = 7+15. Andre Compton -2' -3 -Fx -EF = 5+16. Paul Cooper -0 -1 -2 -2 = 57. Kyle Legault -3 -3 -1 -2' = 9+1Newcastle Diamonds = 381. Robbie Kessler (G) -2 -6^-3 -2 -2 = 152. Christian Henry -0 -0 -0 -TEx = 03. Claus Kristensen -1 -0 -0 -1 = 24. Josef Franc -0 -2 -1 -6^-0 = 95. James Grieves -1 -2 -EF -1' = 4+16. Richie Dennis -1' -0 -1 -0 = 2+17. Jamie Robertson -2 -0 -2 -1 -1 = 6Heat ResultsHeat 01: S.Wilson,Kessler,B.Wilson,Henry (62.4) 4-2Heat 02: Legault,Robertson,Dennis,Cooper (63.0) 3-3 7-5Heat 03: Hall,Ashworth,Kristensen,Franc (62.9) 5-1 12-6Heat 04: Legault,Compton,Grieves,Robertson (63.3) 5-1 17-7Heat 05: Kessler(TR),Ashworth,Hall,Henry (62.6) 3-6 20-13Heat 06: S.Wilson,Grieves,B.Wilson,Dennis (61.7) 4-2 24-15Heat 07: Compton,Franc,Cooper,Kristensen (62.0) 4-2 28-17Heat 08: B.Wilson,Robertson,Legault,Henry (62.5) 4-2 32-19Heat 09: Ashworth,Hall,Dennis,Grieves(EF) (63.6) 5-1 37-20Heat 10: B.Wilson,S.Wilson,Franc,Kristensen (62.0) 5-1 42-21Heat 11: (Re-Run) Kessler,Cooper,Robertson(Res),Compton(FEx),Henry(TEx) (63.9) 2-4 44-25Heat 12: Hall,Legault,Kristensen,Dennis (63.8) 5-1 49-26Heat 13: S.Wilson,Kessler,Grieves,Compton(EF) (62.5) 3-3 52-29Heat 14: Franc(TR),Cooper,Robertson,Ashworth(EF) (64.1) 2-7 54-36Heat 15: S.Wilson,Kessler,Hall,Franc (63.0) 4-2 58-38 Comments: Sheffield Win toss & take 1&3Heat 01: Kessler looking good on track, Ben Wilson chased him for all 4 laps.Heat 02: Great ride by Legault, looked like he'd been riding the track for years!. Cooper never gave up at the backHeat 03: Hall looked fast in this race & he was miles in front of the others.Heat 04: Sheffield riders just out gated, the Newcastle riders & they were no where near them. Easy 5-1 for Legault & ComptonHeat 05: Kessler takes Tac RideHeat 05:Kessler had no trouble winning the heatHeat 06: Grieves just managed to hold on to 2nd place, After B.Wilson tried to dive underneath himHeat 07: Good battle for 3rd place, Cooper came from the back & held his nerveHeat 08: Brilliant ride by Legault. He was last at one point. He over took Henry & then nearly pipped Robertson for 2nd on the line.Heat 09: Hall over took Grieves, Who was in 2nd. Just has Hall passed him Grieves engine stopped. Good pass by Hall Heat 10: Great pass by B.Wilson on Franc who was leading, Then S.Wilson drove underneath Franc to join his team mate. At the frontHeat 11: Henry goes threw the tapes. Robertson takes reserve ride. Compton Fell in the Re-Run & was ExcludedHeat 12: Legault did well to shake off Kristensen & follow Hall's lead. Good race from Hall aswellHeat 14: Franc takes Tac Rideheat 14: Coper battled all the way but couldn't find a way past FrancHeat 15: Brilliant race by Hall. He tried everything to pass Kessler, High & Low, But couldn't pass him, While S.Wilson was miles ahead in front.Next action Saturday, April 23, 2005 19:00 gmt(2pm, et) Workington v Sheffield (Premier Trophy)

Newcastle in action at Owlerton

SHEFFIELD Pirtek Tigers will be up against a familar face when they take on Newcastle in Premier Trophy action at Owlerton on Thursday (7.45pm gmt, 2.45 et).Former Sheffield man Robbie Kessler has been booked as a guest replacement for injured Diamonds skipper Phil Morris and his battles with Sheffield's top riders will be eagerly awaited.Sheffield need to win the meeting by more than seven-points to claim the aggregate bonus point which would keep alive their hopes of qualification for the semi-finals.Czech Republic duo Josef Franc and Lubos Tomicek are both expected to do well on the big Owlerton bowl for Newcastle and Christian Henry has had good meetings at Sheffield in the past.Machin said: "Newcastle are an unknown quantity to a large extent because of all the new signings they have made."Reg Wilson, our team manager, will be stressing to our boys that they must not take anything for granted despite the fact that we are favourites."TIGERS: Sean Wilson, Ben Wilson, Richard Hall, Ricky Ashworth, Andre Compton, Paul Cooper, Kyle Legault.NEWCASTLE: Robbie Kessler, Christian Henry, Claus Kristensen, Josef Franc, James Grieves, Lubos Tomicek, Jamie Robertson.

Incident packed action in Scotland!!

EDINBURGH 60 SHEFFIELD 34 Friday, April 15, 2005
TIGERS' Northern tour got off to the worst possible start with a heavy defeat at Armadale, with the bonus point also being lost.Once again, Sheffield were put out of contention in the early stages as they conceded too many points in the opening races, but on this occasion they were unable to limit the damage - and were racing without Richard Hall, who was taken ill on the journey North, although he was present in the pits.There were plenty of incidents, many of them involving the Tigers reserves who recorded a string of falls and exclusions although Kyle Legault did win Heat 2 after Paul Cooper had been thrown out for bringing down Robert Ksiezak.After six heats Tigers were seven points down but then conceded two consecutive 5-1s as Edinburgh took control, although a tactical ride win for Sean Wilson in Heat 11 kept them in with a chance of the bonus point.But it was the home side who finished strongest with heat advantages in the last four races. Edinburgh took 5-1s in Heats 12 and 13 - the former race seeing Legault tangle with team-mate Ricky Ashworth - and the remaining question concerned whether the home side would go through the 60-point barrier. They achieved that feat when Nermark overtook Wilson for third place in the last heat behind Theo Pijper, who dropped just one point all evening.EDINBURGH: Theo Pijper 14, Ross Brady 11, Rusty Harrison 9, Cameron Woodward 8+1, Daniel Nermark 7+3, Robert Ksiezak 7+2, William Lawson 4+2.SHEFFIELD: Andre Compton 12, Sean Wilson 9, Ricky Ashworth 5, Kyle Legault 5, Ben Wilson 3, Paul Cooper 0, rider replacement for Richard Hall.
Next action tonight at Workington . 7.00 pm gmt(2.00pm et) See team individual scores in "comments."

Tigers loose to the weather!

Todays home event against Berwick Bandits was rained out. Next race is away to the Edinburgh Monarchs, 15th April19.30 gmt(2.30 et)

Sheffield loose at Glasgow but win on agg.

Glasgow 52 SHEFFIELD 43 Sunday, April 10, 2005
Sheffield overcame an early scare to comfortably secure the aggregate bonus point from Sunday afternoon's trip to Ashfield - but the long-awaited away win still eludes them.Just as in their first meeting of the season at Berwick, the Owlerton men made the most disastrous start imaginable, conceding 5-1s in each of the first four races to leave victory on the day almost out of the question.But in a match where big guns Sean Wilson and Andre Compton failed to hit their usual heights, it was youngsters Richard Hall and Ben Wilson who came to the fore as they pegged the progress of the home side.The Wilsons combined for a 5-1 over Paul Bentley and Sheffield asset James Birkinshaw in Heat 5, and Ben Wilson took a tactical ride second place from Heat 8 with the Glasgow lead being trimmed to ten points in the next race when Paul Cooper passed Birkinshaw for third spot.And when Hall won his tactical ride and Cooper again took a good third place after a battle, this time with Leverington in Heat 12, Sheffield had dragged themselves to within five points of the hosts - although Glasgow's supremacy in the heat leader department always made them strong favourites.George Stancl and Shane Parker duly took a 5-1 over Sean Wilson and Compton in Heat 13 to halt the Sheffield revival, and the teams then traded 4-2s in the last two races.Stancl completed a full maximum by winning Heat 15, but the impressive Hall denied Parker a full house by relegating the Australian to third place.GLASGOW: George Stancl 15, Shane Parker 12+1, Trent Leverington 8+1, Paul Bentley 5+1, James Birkinshaw 5, James Cockle 4+1, Matthew Wethers 3+1.SHEFFIELD: Richard Hall 12+1, Ben Wilson 9, Ricky Ashworth 6+1, Andre Compton 6+1, Sean Wilson 4+2, Paul Cooper 4, Kyle Legault 2.
Next action is Thursday, April 14, 2005 19:45 gmt (2.45 et) Sheffield V Berwick (Premier Trophy)

Best meeting for Kyle, so far.

The Owlerton men will now start the return leg in Scotland as clear favourites to claim the aggregate bonus point after their convincing win, Thursday night.Wilson, still in the early stages of a gutsy return from a serious neck injury, was rarely troubled in his five outings and he received solid support from all his colleagues.Sheffield asset James Birkinshaw was top man for the visitors - both in terms of points and entertainment value.Birkinshaw, on loan to Glasgow for the season, scraped the fence and narrowly avoided more than the one crash he suffered in Heat 15 as he thrilled the Owlerton crowd with the type of performance which made him so popular in his home city.But Glasgow, as a team, were poor opposition. From the moment Wilson teamed up with Ben Wilson for a 5-1 over ex-Tiger George Stancl in the first race there was only ever going to be one outcome.Stancl was nominated for double points as early as Heat 5 and he claimed a second place - but only after Richard Hall had been hit by mechanical gremlins when in a maximum position with colleague Ricky Ashworth.Birkinshaw was used as a tactical substitution in Heat 8 off a 15-metre handicap and he swept past Kyle Legault but ran out of time to catch Ben Wilson.It was a case of damage limitation for a sorry Glasgow side who saw Shane Parker claim a maximum six-points as their tactical ride in Heat 9.Skipper Wilson went on to secure his maximum with a breathtaking pass on Parker in Heat 15 down the back straight. Parker edged out Andre Compton to inflict the only defeat of the night on the reigning Premier League Riders' Champion.TIGERS: Sean Wilson 15, Andre Compton 12+1, Ricky Ashworth 11, Ben Wilson 7+1, Kyle Legault 6+3,(4 rides) Paul Cooper 6+1, Richard Hall 4+1.GLASGOW: James Birkinshaw 13, Shane Parker 12, George Stancl 7, Matthew Wethers 2+2, Trent Leverington 2, Mark Thompson 0, Paul Bentley 0. Next race is at Glasgow, Sunday 10th , 3 pm gmt(11 am et) Read Kyles thoughts and comments on this meeting in "comments." Take the Glasgow live radio link for the latest news on the away match, after the meeting at 12 and 1 pm et.

Clash of the Tigers!!

SHEFFIELD Tigers know victory is vital in their Premier Trophy showdown with Glasgow at Owlerton on Thursday at 7.45pm(2.45 et) Skipper Sean Wilson said. "I think the team is top class this season. It's full of enthusiasm from top to bottom and I believe this will take us to the top of the table. It's really great to be back on track and particularly at Sheffield."Glasgow include former Sheffield duo George Stancl and James Birkinshaw and in Paul Bentley and Shane Parker they have riders who have scored well at Owlerton in the past.It has the potential of a tricky test for Sheffield - but anything less than a victory will be unacceptable in their bid for Premier Trophy semi-final qualification.TIGERS: Sean Wilson, Ben Wilson, Richard Hall, Ricky Ashworth, Andre Compton, Paul Cooper, Kyle Legault. GLASGOW: George Stancl, Matthew Wethers, James Birkinshaw, Paul Bentley, Shane Parker, Mark Thompson, Trent Leverington. Race result and details when available.

Kyle Legault in practice action at Kings lynn, trying to get his set up and carb right. Note the race suit!! Is he becomming a brit? no! His suit was clean and ready for the home event vs Glasgow, this Thursday. He's seen here riding with his team and house mate Richard Hall.
Next action Thursday, 7th April vs Glasgow at home. start time is 7.45 gmt. (2.45 e.t)

Speedway trainning school in Ontario.

On the 14th May, 2005. I will hold a trainning school for speedway riders. This will be held at the Paris track, Silver street from 11.oo am until 4 pm. Track time will be from 12 noon until 4. Any one wishing to take advantage of this should contact me as there will be a limit of 10 riders. My aim is to find another "kyle Legault" but i also encourage established d 2 and 3 riders to enroll. cost will be 75.oo canadian with all your own equipment and 125.oo with out. The track time will be video taped and tapes will be available soon after the school. The following day will be a regular practice day and school riders will be encouraged to stay and continue with what they have learned from the previous day being put in to effect with the help of d 1 and other accomplished riders available.
(Pictured is Kyle Legault in action at Sheffield.)