Stead takes win!

Thursday, October 20, 2005 By Nigel Pearson. FORMER Sheffield star Simon Stead was a happy man after taking victory in a dramatic Northern Classic, the final meeting of the season at Owlerton. Stead, now of Elite League Belle Vue, struggled to find his best form in the qualifying races and was three points behind top man Andre Compton going into the latter stages with Compton clocking up a full 15-point maximum.The Final was high drama as Compton came to grief on the back straight and landed awkwardly, and was excluded from the race so finished fourth overall despite his earlier maximum performance.His Tigers colleague Sean Wilson also hit trouble in the re-run as he shed a chain and landed on his shoulder, but as the crowd held their breath he managed to walk away with only his pride hurt.That left two survivors to battle it out for the title, and Stead, who had previously won the semi-final, made his third successive start off gate three to pull clear of Magnus Karlsson, who tried his best to close the gap but could find no answer to the superior speed of the Great Britain International.Stead said: "It was a high quality field in the Final and I'm absolutely delighted to come back to a place I love and win a meeting like this."I couldn't believe it when I made three good starts in the Final, that's more than I've made all year!"The fact that the meeting went ahead at all was an achievement in itself after heavy downpours two hours before the start, but thankfully the track held up well and there was a sprinkling of good racing.RESULT: 1. Simon Stead, 2. Magnus Karlsson, 3. Sean Wilson, 4. Andre Compton.SCORERS: Andre Compton 15, Sean Wilson 13, Simon Stead 12, Magnus Karlsson 11, Mark Lemon 9, Ben Wilson 9, Robbie Kessler 9, Adam Skornicki 6, Richard Hall 6, Scott Smith 6, Sam Ermolenko 5, Kyle Legault 5, Rusty Harrison 4, Adrian Rymel 4, Luke Priest (res) 3, James Birkinshaw 2, Ricky Ashworth 1, Benji Compton (res) 1.

Tigers loose but Kyle does well!!

SHEFFIELD Pirtek Tigers crashed out of the Young Shield as they were unable to defend their 23-point first leg lead at Hoddesdon. Rye House therefore remain on course for a clean sweep of Premier League honours and will now face King's Lynn in both the Cup and Shield Finals. Tigers were quite simply blown away in the early stages of Saturday's contest on one of their bogey tracks, with only Sean Wilson and Kyle Legault beating any of the Rye House riders during the first nine races. Wilson split Chris Neath and Edward Kennett in Heat 1 whilst Legault overcame Tommy Allen in Heat 4 - but Rye House scored five points in each of the other seven races, which also included Sheffield's two tactical rides, Wilson and Andre Compton only able to double up their third places. Wilson became Tigers' first race winner in Heat 11, and added further successes in Heats 13 and 15 - but by then the Rockets had got the job done as they hit 60-plus points against Sheffield for the third time this season having already knocked them out of the Premier Trophy. RYE HOUSE: Brent Werner 13+2, Chris Neath 12+1, Edward Kennett 11, Daniel King 10+2, Steve Boxall 8+3, Tommy Allen 8+2, r/r for Stuart Robson. TIGERS: Sean Wilson 13, Kyle Legault 6, Andre Compton 5+1, Richard Hall 4, Ben Wilson 1, Ricky Ashworth 1, David McAllan 0.

Great night for Kyle!!

SHEFFIELD PIRTEK TIGERS take a 59-36 lead into the second leg of their Young Shield semi-final at Rye House on Saturday - but it could have been more. They rode well in the Owlerton leg on Thursday night, but mechanical failures for Richard Hall and Andre Compton and a crash involving Hall robbed the home side of valuable points. Whether the 23-point lead is enough is open to debate as Tigers have lost on their last two visits to Hertfordshire by bigger margins. Skipper Sean Wilson was at his best as he was unbeaten by a Rockets rider in his 13+2 score and he received good support from Ricky Ashworth and impressive reserve Kyle Legault who both scored 12+1. After six races Tigers were cruising at 29-7 but Edward Kennett, a reserve at the Millennium Stadium this summer during the British Grand Prix, was nominated for double points for Rye House in heat 8 and he responded with a fine win ahead of his colleague Tommy Allen for a crucial 8-1 win and when Andre Compton failed to move off the start with a mechanical failure in heat 11, Daniel King teamed up with Kennett for a 5-1 to bring Rye House closer at 42-27.Rye House did a damage limitation job. Now Tigers need to do exactly the same on one of their bogey tracks on Saturday. TIGERS: Sean Wilson 13+2, Ricky Ashworth 12+1, Kyle Legault 12+1, Andre Compton 9, Ben Wilson 7+2, Richard Hall 4+2, David McAllan 2.RYE HOUSE: Edward Kennett 9+1, Daniel King 9+1, Tommy Allen 7+1, Chris Neath 6, Steve Boxall 2+1, Luke Bowen 2, Brent Werner 1+1.

Action park final points 2005.

Final results for the Action Park Speedway Track Championship are as follows: 1. Jeremy Parsons 163 points. 2. Adam Mittle 134. 3. Brian Hollenbeck 117. 4. Chris Strong 87. 5. Tom Burge 86. 6. Tom Sephton 81. 7. Mike Buman 79. 8. Casey Dunholt 76. 9. Jerry Harmon 63. 10. Jessie Diem 60. 11. Chip Lengle 58. 12. Merle Craven 42. 13. Katlyn Davis 40. 14. Russ Cornell 36. 15. Kendall Brookes Jr. 35. 16. Cam Rafferty 34. 17. Shawn McConnell 29. 18. Andy Crawford 28. 19. Lee Bailey 25. 20. George Lazor 21. 21. Dee Holden 20. 22. Alex Heath 20. 23. Tuff McBride 18. 24. Arron Hessmer 16. 25. Gary Hicks 15. 26. Josh Carr 13. 27. Marc Gauthier 12. 28. Craig Estelle 12. 29. Keith Hawkins 11. 30. Cole Farwell 10. 31. Tony Hicks 9. 32. Gene Bonsignore 8. 33. Henry Hanzo 5. 34. Joe Nickel 4. 35. Mark Filebrown 2. 36. Sean Engle 1. 37. Alex Mann 1. Points accumulated from heat races and weighted points for Main finishes. Ties broken by number of events raced. The first 3 in the points standings made every race, the next 8 places might have been very different if races hadn't been missed. Brookes cinched the "most improved rider" for 2005, missed 3 races, Young Jessie Diem would have easily made the top 5 but missed 3 races. Tom Sephton "handed" the championship to Parsons when he retired from Speedway after 3 races at Action Park. Defeated once in the second half of the season by Adam Mittl, Jeremy beat Californian Sean McConnell fair and square to win the U.S. Open round, and the track championship. Dave Richards

Tigers need big lead from home event!!

SHEFFIELD PIRTEK TIGERS are two matches away from reaching a major national final - starting at Owlerton on Thursday (7.45pm) 2.45 et . They face the new Premier League champions Rye House in the first leg of the Jack Young Shield semi-final, a play-off competition which featured the top eight finishers in the Premier League and there is no doubt Sheffield will need a bumper first leg lead from Thursday to take into the return at Rye House on Saturday (7pm) 2pm et. Co-boss Neil Machin said: "Our two tracks are like one extreme to the other. We have a big, fast and wide open track and yet Rye House have a very tight circuit."Therefore, we both have home track specialists in our team although perhaps that's unfair on Rye House because they are the new league champions and they've won at several places this season."Rockets boss John Sampford has issued a rally cry to his side who are without the services of influential top man Stuart Robson. He said: "We surprised the speedway world by winning at Exeter, another of our bogey tracks, and there's no reason to believe that we can't do enough in the first leg to place ourselves with an excellent chance of going through to the Final."Rye House will use the rider replacement facility to cover for the absence of Robson, with every other team member available to cover his four programmed rides. Tigers, meanwhile, hand David McAllan another chance to impress in place of the injured Paul Cooper. TIGERS: Sean Wilson, Ben Wilson, Ricky Ashworth, Richard Hall, Andre Compton, David McAllan, Kyle Legault. RYE HOUSE: Stuart Robson R/R, Edward Kennett, Brent Werner, Daniel King, Chris Neath, Steve Boxall, Tommy Allen.

Tigers loose at Workington

SHEFFIELD PIRTEK TIGERS ended their Premier League fixtures, on Sunday, with a disappointing 55-40 defeat at Workington. Only Sean Wilson (13+1), Richard Hall (8) and Kyle Legault (7) really scored the points expected of them but Tigers did enough to claim the aggregate bonus point. Rain delayed the meeting after heat 8 when Sheffield found themselves 34-14 down with the aggregate win looking doubtful despite their 23-point first leg lead. But Sean Wilson and Andre Compton were both used as tactical rides and between them scored 10-points - Wilson with a win and Compton second in heats 11 and 9 respectively. Tigers will now head into their Young Shield play-off semi-final against new Premier League champions Rye House after finishing third in the standings. WORKINGTON: Tomasz Piszcz 15+1, Magnus Zetterstrom 14, Shaun Tacey 13, James Wright 7+3, Kauko Nieminen 4+1, Scott James 2+1, Scott Robson R/R. TIGERS: Sean Wilson 13+1, Richard Hall 8, Kyle Legault 7, Andre Compton 6, Ricky Ashworth 4+1, Ben Wilson 2+1, David McAllan 0.

Tigers at Workington, Sat 8th Oct

TIGERS round off their Premier League programme with a tricky trip to Workington on Saturday (tapes up at 7pm gmt, 2pm et), already safe in the knowledge that they have secured third place and they should get something out of the visit to Cumbria, with the aggregate bonus point at least looking comfortable as they hold a 23-point lead from when the sides met at Owlerton earlier in the summer.Tigers go into the meeting in a confident mood after their home victory over King's Lynn on Thursday night, which ensured a top three finish behind new Champions Rye House and runners-up Berwick. Workington have called on the services of Somerset's popular Swede Magnus Zetterstrom as a guest replacement for injured skipper Carl Stonehewer, and Scott James deputises for John Branney at reserve. Tigers, meanwhile, have once again called on shock British Final qualifier David McAllan as a replacement for knee injury victim Paul Cooper for the Derwent Park visit. TIGERS: Sean Wilson, Ben Wilson, Ricky Ashworth, Richard Hall, Andre Compton, David McAllan, Kyle Legault. WORKINGTON: Magnus Zetterstrom, Scott Robson R/R, Shaun Tacey, Kauko Nieminen, James Wright, Scott James, Tomasz Piszcz.

Good win at home

JUBILANT Sheffield Pirtek Tigers clinched third place in the Premier League with a 56-40 win over King's Lynn at Owlerton on Thursday. The Stars are now a point behind Sheffield but cannot catch them as they will not fulfill their final fixture at Hull because of the sad closure of the East Yorkshire club and whilst victory on the night was never in doubt, the aggregate bonus was taken to a last race decider with dependable Tigers duo Andre Compton and Sean Wilson nominated to do the honours.Compton passed the impressive Tomas Topinka in breathtaking style and Wilson got the better of Doolan in a gutsy move to see the home side home by a three-point margin. It was fitting that Compton should win the decisive heat 15 as he completed a maximum (14+1) on a night when he started the meeting on top of Sheffield's averages for the first time in his career. TIGERS: Andre Compton 14+1, Sean Wilson 12, Ricky Ashworth 10+1, Ben Wilson 8+3, Kyle Legault 8, Richard Hall 4, Benji Compton 0. KING'S LYNN: Tomas Topinka 14, Kevin Doolan 10+1, Oliver Allen 5, Jan Jaros 5, Troy Batchelor 4, Darren Mallett 1+1, Ashley Jones 1+1

Kings Lynn at Sheffield, Thursday night!

SHEFFIELD PIRTEK TIGERS know nothing less than maximum points will do from their Premier League clash with King's Lynn at Owlerton on Thursday. Both sides have high hopes of a top three finish behind champions Rye House and runners-up Berwick and Sheffield need to win by more than 13-points to claim the aggregate bonus point tonight. King's Lynn have riders who are more than capable of doing well on the pacy Owlerton bowl with Czech Republic international Tomas Topinka and talented British youngster Oliver Allen spearheading their challenge and Pirtek Tigers chief Neil Machin is predicting a last heat decider for the aggregate bonus point. He said: "I believe the 13-point lead King's Lynn have from our trip there will give them great hope of the bonus point."However, I feel it will go all the way to the last heat and that should provide an exciting end to the meeting."Benji Compton has been recalled to the side after recovering from injury and he deputises for long-term injury victim Paul Cooper. TIGERS: Sean Wilson, Ben Wilson, Ricky Ashworth, Richard Hall, Andre Compton, Benji Compton, Kyle Legault. KING'S LYNN: Oliver Allen, Ashley Jones, Troy Batchelor, Kevin Doolan, Tomas Topinka, Darren Mallett, Jan Jaros

Tigers go through!

SHEFFIELD PIRTEK TIGERS will meet newly crowned league champions Rye House in the Young Shield semi-finals after 54-38 defeat in Edinburgh - but they won 95-91 on aggregate.Andre Compton won the crucial Heat 15 when Edinburgh needed a maximum 5-1 to go through.A comfortable passage looked to be on the cards as the first five heats were shared and the 20-point first leg lead looked to be safe but a 14 -4 swing mid meeting in favour of the Scots gave them hope.Although Compton won heat nine he was not being used as a tactical which meant that the gap stayed at 10 points.And when the first tactical ride was used it failed as Sean Wilson, unbeaten up until then, had to play second fiddle to Matthew Wethers and Rusty Harrison and the resultant 5-2 left the Tigers on the brink of elimination.However the real drama unfolded in heat 14 as Sheffield almost let it slip. Richard Hall was nominated as a tactical substitute, which was in contravention of the rules, and was forced to go from the gate, thereby negating any opportunity of a double pointer and in the first running Hall wiped out both Wethers and Kyle Legault (Freddy says Kyle is ok but has bent both bikes badly) and was very fortunate to be allowed back into the re-run. Wethers was only able to continue after lengthy treatment and a fired up Monarchs pairing raced to a 5-1 to set up a last heat decider.Tigers knew the task in hand and Compton sped from the gate and despite Wilson being passed by Harrison for second, Tigers were relieved to go through. EDINBURGH: Matthew Wethers 14+2, Rusty Harrison 14+2, Theo Pijper 12, Daniel Nermark 8+1, William Lawson 5+2, Robert Ksiezak 1+1. TIGERS: Sean Wilson 12, Andre Compton 11+1, Ricky Ashworth 6+1, David McAllan (guest) 5, Richard Hall 2, Kyle Legault 2, Ben Wilson 0.