Welland season finale, tonight!!!

The regular race season wraps up, tonight, with the season finale. The dirt track practice runs at 4.30 and the rained off finals at 6 pm. The season finale gos at 7pm with a regular race night of juniors, quads, flat track and speedway on the programme. The forecast is perfect and the night should provide another packed set of stands following the highest numbers seen at the track, this year, for the speedway national last week. Racing was cancelled at Paris last night following the rains during the week. With the track under water it was obvious racing could not even be considered. This however should provide the oppotunity for the track to settle after recent grading was carried out and should provide an exellent racing surface for next Fridays event.



Dont forget tonights race will be show on TV Cogeco, tommorrow at 12 noon, 9 pm and again on Wednesday at 9 pm.

Southern cruisers welcomed to W.C.M.C Sat 30th July

This Saturday July 30th, at Welland County Motorcycle Club, Andy Harris and TV Cogeco will be helping us to raise money for the family's of Bill Mckiernon and Ellen a passenger on his bike Bill is the first officer of the Peel chapter # 373 of Southern Cruisers And Ellen is a member of that chapter. This night should be one for the SCRC history books, a night of great racing with an interview on TV about our great club. There will be signed Tee-shirts being raffled off and did I mention the great races. For those of you that have never been, WCMC hosts some real good racing for the whole family . The track has good viewing from the stands and a refreshment stand to make your evening complete. Also, on Tuesday August 2nd, Arizonas, Clares Cycle and Andy Harris will again be helping to raise money for us to donate to to the family's of Bill & Ellen. You may wonder why all this attention and help. For the full story come out to the Races, Arizonas or ride with me when we present the money we have raised to the family's of this tragic motorcycle accident and you will understand that pay back and giving is so much better than receiving. Details of when we will be riding up there will come later
P.S. If your asking how Bill & Ellen are They are both doing better now a week has went by but each of them lost a leg in this tragic event and will need time and a lot of help from all friends & family in this GREAT club Southern Cruisers (this letter taken from www.southerncruisers.com)
Mike Riddick first

Quebec rules!!

On a picture perfect night for speedway racing at Welland, 28 riders from Canada and the US, all stood side by side whilst being introduced to huge crowd. All asking the same question inside, will I do it?This night of the 'Canadian Speedway National Championship' was poised to be a superb display of close and exciting racing. With a large US contingent the atmosphere was electric in the pits and all the riders worked so hard on and off the track adjusting their bikes, riding styles etc...The track was "Len Dillon" perfect! A great job by Len provided a smooth and really fast track for these riders to display their wares. Many riders last night had some great personal highlights despite not winning the night! Mark Priebe rode his first Welland meeting and did very well, "Big" John Perry and Phil Small rode to higher levels than ever experienced at Welland and provided some great close racing! The lap times were very fast and the rear tires were being smoked on this very smooth surface by every rider,Rob Dixon had a great start to the night, winning his first heat and finishing second in his next 2, but unfortunately for him while chasing hard in his rear tire lost grip forcing him outside the racing line and this caused him to finish below his own goal for the night. Some close racing which mainly involved our Canadian boys was witnessed by the large crowd, Drew Kehoe had a superb battle with Phil Small behind the leaders, with Phil holding a tight smooth line that Drew had no choice to sit and wait for his opportunity to go around Phil on the last lap, It was great to see!"Jumping" Jeff Orosz was flying this night and the crowd favorite was always on top of his game with some great passing. John Kehoe pushed his bike to the limit every lap and looked smooth and controlled throughout the night. Aaron Hesmer and John Kehoe had a cracking race with both dueling side by side for 4 laps, with Aaron eventually winning this one on the last bend, they bumped and bounced off each other throughout the race and the crowd was cheering so loud it was hard to hear Wes Pierce over the P.A. system! Great racing and great respectful riding by both guys!The semi final races were run to provide a five man final, but due to the close points race that we had all night, a final postional place run-off was needed to place 2 riders in the final. 3 riders came to the tapes "Jumping" Jeff Orosz, Jeremy Parsons and Adam Mittl. Here's where the fun started! The tapes were touched by Jeff without a doubt, he moved back to the penalty line, but the referee also claimed that Jeremy Parsons did as well, so he had to move back with Jeff under much protest, with Jeremy claiming that Jeff had jumped! (rolling starts are something that we often see, but good referees catch it and penalise the riders)The race began with Adam on the front start line and away they went, Jeff and Jeremy raced and caught Adam on the first corner and then they all went toe to toe, until Jeff powered by to take the lead, this he held to win his final place! Great racing! After the racing, Jeremy rode to the start line and questioned the referee's decision and upon a frustrated departure sprayed the referee and his assistant with dirt which caused a huge roar from the crowd! The final race of the night was ready to go, the one to crown the new 2005 Champion, Aaron Hesmer, John Kehoe, Nick Fafard, Jeff Orosz, and Adam Mittl all lined up at the tapes in preparation, the tapes lifted and Aaron Hesmer flew out and took a good lead until the amazingly fast Nick Fafard, the nights points leader, flew past him coming into turn 3, he kept his bike flat out and flew around Aaron to grab the lead, absolutely amazing power and skill! Waving to the crowd as he completed every lap ahead of Aaron, John, Jeff and Adam, Nick just did what he came to do, WIN! Congratulations to the New Canadian Champion NICK FAFARD for a night of pure magical speedway racing!It was indeed a real pleasure to witness all the riders give 110% last night, the crowd left feeling that they had seen a night of one of the best speedway meetings in Canada, and we thank each and everyone of the riders for their spirit in keeping Canadian Speedway alive!!! Superb job, Congratulations everyone and especially congratulations to the "Flying Frenchman" NICK FAFARD!!!!

Welland update!

With a beautiful clear sky today and only the slightest chance of rain the stage is set for what could well be one of the best Canadian speedway nationals of recent years. With the highest attendance of the season so far expected, around 1500 people will pack the stands to watch around 25 speedway riders compete for the Canadian number one plate. High on the "most likley to," list Jumpin' Jeff Orosz, solidified his reputation by taking the Paris main last night. On a track, rideable but not too raceable he showed his class and ability to overcome a flat rear tire in one heat race to look untroubled in his, final, win. Joe Heye was second and worth every penny of admission with some stamina and chain problems being his biggest enemies. Aarron Hesmer on borrowed bikes all night was an "also ran," saving his best equipment for the national, tonight. Forth, and a very creditable final place was Steve Glasgow, preparing to make his Welland debut, tonight. D two was , as usual, a great battle between Doug Beaumont and Corrine Franic with Corrine falling in the final to hand a main win to Doug on a plate. Congratulations to all the riders who competed on a very difficult, to say the least, track. Good luck to all the riders tonight!!!!

Kyle back into things at Sheffield.

SHEFFIELD PIRTEK TIGERS brushed aside reigning Premier League champions Hull 56-39 at Owlerton to go third in the table. Every team member chipped in with valuable contributions and both Sean Wilson and Andre Compton were denied maximums be mechanical failures. Tigers needed to win by more than five points to claim the aggregate bonus point and they were always favourites to achieve their goal. But with just four races remaining Hull were within two-points on aggregate with Tigers 39-32 on the night - mainly thanks to Wilson and Compton's costly retirements. The Owlerton side made no mistake towards the end and Ricky Ashworth and Kyle Legault put them further ahead with a 4-2 in Heat 12 before Wilson and Compton - who went from third to first in spectacular style - put theb points beyond doubt with a Heat 13 maximum.Wilson and Compton had the last word in Heat 15 to give the scoreline a more emphatic appearance - but after their ill fortune earlier perhaps it was justified. TIGERS: Ricky Ashworth 12+1, Sean Wilson 11+1, Andre Compton 11+1, Kyle Legault 9+1, Paul Cooper 7+2, Ben Wilson 6+2. HULL: Emil Kramer 13, Paul Thorp 13, Robbie Kessler 8, Emiliano Sanchez 2+2, Simone Terenzani 2, Danny Norton 1.

Tigers go down at Hull.

SHEFFIELD'S run of away defeats continued at Craven Park last night in a meeting that had just about everything.The drama started in heat three as Ricky Ashworth and Craig Branney tangled, leaving Richard Hall with nowhere to go.Hall (wrist) and Branney (shoulder) played no further part and both sides were forced to use their reserves extensively for the rest of the night.With eight heats gone, the Tigers found themselves 29-19 down and that ten-point deficit became 12 as the Vikings stretched out to 37-25 after 10.But an 8-1 from inspirational skipper Sean Wilson and namesake Ben in heat 11 ensured that the meeting would go all the way down to the wire.The last-heat decider, with the Tigers 46-43 down, ended up as an anti-climax though after Andre Compton was twice excluded under the two-minute rule.That gave the Vikings both Premier League points but the Tigers will be more than confident of collecting the bonus in what promises to be a fiery return fixture at Owlerton tonight.HULL: Paul Thorp 12+1, Simone Terenzani 11+2, Emil Kramer 11, Robbie Kessler 6+1, Danny Norton 5+1, Emiliano Sanchez 5+2, Craig Branney 0.TIGERS: Sean Wilson 17, Andre Compton 9, Paul Cooper 8, Ricky Ashworth 6, Ben Wilson 4+1, Kyle Legault 1+1, Richard Hall 0.

Paris action heats up!

With the remnants of Hurricane Dennis passing through the Paris area on Thursday night, it nearly put a damper (literally) on last night's racing . Upon arrival at the track mid-morning, "Tiger" Tom and Alex were greeted with a real mess, large sitting puddles were on all corners and the back straight had some serious problems also. "Tiger" spent 2 hours removing water and attempting to clear this rain soaked mess. Mid afternoon the rest of the CSRA crew arrived and frantically assisted Tom's work and removed even more water. The 40 degree heat was working to draw the water but sometimes too much! Joe Hesmer, Duncan Luke, Phil Small and Alex worked to grade the track, shovel dry material in and make a bad thing into a good racing surface. Even with some late watering, the track held up and wasn't too dusty all night.The night was opened slightly late due to some late arrivals, but the smaller than usual rider turnout gave the crowd a really good show.The racing was once again superb, with some great battles that went on throughout the night. Corrine Franic and Doug Beaumont once again went head to head, and every race proved to be a crowd pleaser, great battling with Corrine taking the successful checkered flag in the Div 2 final! Division 3 saw a smooth Michael Small use the smooth and grippy outside line to power around a fast and confident looking Graham Wale and Peter Fornal. Graham all night had reflexes of a lion, he beat everyone out of the gate every heat and even in the final. Great to see that the veteran can still show the young ones that clutch control and reaction does make a difference! Michael raised the flag once again in the final to continue his lead in the CSRA point race! Division 1 saw an unfortunate retirement during the night. The "Hitman" Gary Hesmer was trying so hard in his first 2 heats that he broke his frame and was reduced to watching the racing from the pits. Gary is having the worst possible luck this year with his bike, let's hope that he can get the thing working well for him and so the crowd can enjoy his great style! The Div 1 racing was superb, "Jumping" Jeff Orosz is looking hotter at Paris every visit, he is finding his line and putting on an excellent show. Joe Heye once again spent the night battling out his plan and had a real piece of bad luck when leading a race, he hit a wet spot on turn 3 and locked up, stopping dead in his tracks, amazing to see his control! John Perry also had some lightening starts and did a great job in keeping the "Flying" French Man Nick Fafard behind him in one heat until he became victim to the inside wet spots! John went down twice this night, but being the sportsman he is, got up and made the race complete.The Final was a great highlight, with #12 Aaron Hesmer looking to stretch his points lead. Out of the gate he flew ahead of Jeff Orosz, Nick Fafard and Joe Heye, and this he held to take the well deserved checkered flag. The race, behind him was intense with the action being fast and furious, with Jeff, Joe and Nick all battling it out, they did a great job to add to the show! Thank guys!

No speedway at Welland, tonight.

With no speedway at the Niagara motorcycle raceway, tonight, all eyes look toward next Saturday. The Welland county motorcycle club hosts the annual Canadian speedway nationals on the 23rd July 2005 at 7-00pm. Gates open for sign in at 1pm and practice is at 5-30pm. Already confirmed are last years , main, winner Jeremy parsons. Joining him is former Paris winner Flyin' Brian Hollenbeck, Alex Heath and newcommer Katalin Davis. Local favourites will of course be spearheaded by club member Jumpin' Jeff Orosz, John "Kinky Pinky" Kehoe, Aarron(unbeatable) Hesmer, Joe (chains and tires my speciality) Heye and Nick (cant keep my front wheel down or a tire on my back) Fafard. While track favourite and past 2 times winner Kyle Legault enjoys a great return to racing in England, there will be at least 6 riders very capable of taking home the gold. My selection? in no particular order for the final is :- Jeff Orosz. Canada. (so long as the machinary holds out), John Kehoe. Canada. (tons of track knowledge and skill) Aarron Hesmer. Canada. (on a huge roll at the moment and last weeks final winner courtesy of Tim Murray) Brian Hollenbeck . U.S.A (Young, well equipped and talented) Nick (Wheelie king) Fafard. Canada.( fast, has the ability but....) and of course Jeremy (needs no intro) Parsons.U.S.A While these are my top six "most likely too" list, we all know what can happen on the night. It is my plan to, as on last years show, interview these 6 riders during the night on camera. Last year I called 4 out of 5. Lets see what happens next weekend!! Free camping in the camp site at the Welland co. motorcycle club as usual. more updates as the week continues. U.S.A riders check the peace bridge link to see the traffic conditions at the Buffalo crossing into Canada, 30 mins from the Welland track. Good luck and safe racing to all!!

Good night for Kyle!!

SHEFFIELD PIRTEK TIGERS needed a tense last race thriller to claim maximum points from Exeter on Thursday night. Going into Heat 15 the Owlerton men needed a 4-2 to force a run-off for the aggregate bonus point - but they made no mistake. Skipper Sean Wilson made a superb return from injury with 12+1 from five outings and he played his part in the last race success alongside Andre Compton. Richard Hall was also back in the saddle after six weeks out and came good in his last ride to keep Sheffield's hopes alive of the bonus. The meeting provided some exciting racing from both sides with the Devon outfit clear favourites for the aggregate success after their 17-point win at the County Ground earlier this season. Ricky Ashworth was unbeaten in his four rides and passed Ray Morton with a breathtaking move in Heat 3. Sheffield will be looking for another big turnout and a similar performance when they face Yorkshire rivals Hull at Owlerton next Thursday. SHEFFIELD: Andre Compton 12+2, Sean Wilson 12+1, Ricky Ashworth 12, Kyle Legault 7+2, Richard Hall 6+1, Ben Wilson 6+1, Paul Cooper 1.EXETER: Mark Lemon 12+1, Lee Smethills 7+1, Ray Morton 7, Ben Barker 5+1, Pavel Ondrasik 4+1, Seemond Stephens 2+1, Antonin Svab 0.

Action Park results

The rains finally gave up, we got the track dried out and groomed for a 7:20 PM start. A Sincere thanks to all who worked on the event AND ALL the riders that supported the show. I know the weather radar looked pretty bleak in the afternoon, but to those who persevered, I salute you... DaveRichards DIVISION I:A MAIN Tom Sephton Tom Burge Casey Donholt Jeremy Parsons B MAIN Adam Mitl Brian Hollenbeck Jery Harmon Merle Craven C MAIN Chip Lengle Chris Strong Russ Cornell Mike Buman Division II:Corey Brooks Andy Crawford Dee Holden Pee Wee: Zachary Ostrander Roger Roberts Spencer Parararo

Tigers win at home!

SHEFFIELD PIRTEK TIGERS needed a last gasp maximum to retain their proud unbeaten home record in their 50-45 win over Isle of Wight Islanders.Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth did the business in Heat 15 - but the reason they were forced into a high pressure situation was the previous race.Isle of Wight's Ulrich Ostergaard, so impressive throughout the meeting, was nominated for double points through a tactical ride in Heat 14 but was trailing Tigers reserve Ben Wilson.Then Wilson lifted and hit the fence coming out of the fourth turn and Ostergaard was able to win the race. His partner, Steen Jensen, bagged second spot and with Ricky Ashworth ruled out with mechanical problems the Islanders bagged a gift 8-0.That made the score 45-44 in Sheffield's favour to set up a tense finish. The atmosphere was made even more intense as there was a delay before the last race because of running repairs to the damaged fence.In truth, the final scoreline was a fair reflection of the match. Craig Boyce, Ostergaard and Jensen did the bulk of the Islanders scoring in contrast to Sheffield who had everyone in the points.TIGERS: Andre Compton 13, Ricky Ashworth 12+2, Robbie Kessler 8+1, Ben Wilson 8+1, Paul Cooper 6+3, Kyle Legault 3+1.ISLE OF WIGHT: Ulrich Ostergaard 15, Craig Boyce 14, Steen Jensen 8+2, Jason Doyle 4, Glen Phillips 2, Krister Marsh 1+1, Tomas Suchanek 1.