Kemp comes out on top again!
Round 8 – Sat.Feb 18th 2006. Ruup Arena, Lexington, Kentucky - by Graham Reeve
Tonight, the second one at the Ruup Arena, Lexington may have ended with Anthony “British Bulldog” Barlow being crowned AMA / XiiR Champion of 2006, but instead it ended with a couple of awful crashes with Paramedics taking to the ice on three occasions in a little more than 10 minutes and Barlow failing to score sufficient points to ensure no-one could pass him in the final points table.
Heat 1 opened with Barlow in determined mood as he sped from the sometimes unlucky gate 4, but not quick enough to make the first turn in front of Ronny Kemp, although he was to stay clear of both Scott Courtney and James Mann.
David “Victor” Meldrum got back to winning ways when he outshone Gary Phelps, Darren Pearson and “Gentleman” Jim Terchilla to gain 3 points and improve his chances of going direct to the Main Final.
Pearson, riding with a lot more confidence tonight, following his late start to the series led the much improved Preston Dorfmeyer for a while before being overtaken and having to settle for 2nd place.
Although Barlow won heat 4 and by doing so gained enough points in the process to make the Main Final direct, it was all action behind him as Meldrum and Pearson had a battle royal although Pearson attempting to pass Meldrum on the last lap overcooked it and ended up in an untidy heap on the ice, which meant the best he could hope for was a back row start in the Last Chance.
Ronny Kemp made it two wins from two heats to keep up the pressure on Barlow in Heat 5, while Courtney finished the qualifying heats with a win over James Mann who was not having the best of the racing tonight.
The first run of the Last Chance was halted when Dorfmeyer came to grief while in 4th place and in the re-run Courtney took the win from Gary Phelps and James Mann, all three of whom went through to the 6-man, 6-lap Main Final to join Kemp, Barlow and Meldrum.
A 4th place for Anthony Barlow to take the Championship outright was the target as the Riders lined up for the Main, but the race came to an abrupt halt as the Riders entered the back straight, because Courtney clipped Kemp’s back wheel in a tight first turn, which resulted in him crashing heavily into the fence and needing treatment on the ice from the Medics. Bike damage for both Courtney and Meldrum and an injury to Ronny Kemp delayed the re-run of the Main.
When it eventually happened the re-run saw all 6 of the original starters taking their place, although Kemp and Courtney were in a lot of pain.
All was proceeding comfortably with Kemp leading Barlow (content to stay in 2nd place to ensure the Championship), with Courtney in 3rd when Barlow hit concrete, shed a chain and stopped almost immediately when exiting the last turn of the last lap. Courtney could not avoid him and once again went down very hard and hit the fence boards for the 2nd time in 15 minutes with some force, causing considerable damage to the front wheel and forks.
Although he refused a stretcher ride back to the Pits he felt really sore a little later on, although nothing seems to be broken, but Ronny Kemp (awarded the win by referee Graham Reeve), wasn’t quite as fortunate as he feared a broken or fractured bone in his shoulder and planned a hospital visit as soon as he got home the next day.
Courtney was advanced to 2nd place by Barlow’s exclusion which consequently put him into 3rd position on the Series Leader board.Round 9 is at Rockford, Illinois on Wednesday 22nd February when Barlow is hoping to score the 3 points he still needs to be absolutely sure of the Championship.
Qualifying Heats:
1. Kemp, Barlow, Courtney, Mann
2. Meldrum, Phelps, Pearson, Terchilla
3. Dorfmeyer, Pearson, Hathaway, Terchilla
4. Barlow, Meldrum, Hathaway, Pearson (fx)
5. Kemp, Phelps, Hathaway, Terchilla
6. Courtney, Mann, Dorfmeyer, Hathaway
Last Chance: Courtney, Phelps, Mann, Pearson, Hathaway, Dorfmeyer (r)
Main: Kemp, Courtney, Meldrum, Mann, Phelps, Barlow (x)
Series Leaders : Barlow 104, Kemp 74, Courtney 65, Mann 62, Phelps 50, Meldrum 44
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Tonight, the second one at the Ruup Arena, Lexington may have ended with Anthony “British Bulldog” Barlow being crowned AMA / XiiR Champion of 2006, but instead it ended with a couple of awful crashes with Paramedics taking to the ice on three occasions in a little more than 10 minutes and Barlow failing to score sufficient points to ensure no-one could pass him in the final points table.
Heat 1 opened with Barlow in determined mood as he sped from the sometimes unlucky gate 4, but not quick enough to make the first turn in front of Ronny Kemp, although he was to stay clear of both Scott Courtney and James Mann.
David “Victor” Meldrum got back to winning ways when he outshone Gary Phelps, Darren Pearson and “Gentleman” Jim Terchilla to gain 3 points and improve his chances of going direct to the Main Final.
Pearson, riding with a lot more confidence tonight, following his late start to the series led the much improved Preston Dorfmeyer for a while before being overtaken and having to settle for 2nd place.
Although Barlow won heat 4 and by doing so gained enough points in the process to make the Main Final direct, it was all action behind him as Meldrum and Pearson had a battle royal although Pearson attempting to pass Meldrum on the last lap overcooked it and ended up in an untidy heap on the ice, which meant the best he could hope for was a back row start in the Last Chance.
Ronny Kemp made it two wins from two heats to keep up the pressure on Barlow in Heat 5, while Courtney finished the qualifying heats with a win over James Mann who was not having the best of the racing tonight.
The first run of the Last Chance was halted when Dorfmeyer came to grief while in 4th place and in the re-run Courtney took the win from Gary Phelps and James Mann, all three of whom went through to the 6-man, 6-lap Main Final to join Kemp, Barlow and Meldrum.
A 4th place for Anthony Barlow to take the Championship outright was the target as the Riders lined up for the Main, but the race came to an abrupt halt as the Riders entered the back straight, because Courtney clipped Kemp’s back wheel in a tight first turn, which resulted in him crashing heavily into the fence and needing treatment on the ice from the Medics. Bike damage for both Courtney and Meldrum and an injury to Ronny Kemp delayed the re-run of the Main.
When it eventually happened the re-run saw all 6 of the original starters taking their place, although Kemp and Courtney were in a lot of pain.
All was proceeding comfortably with Kemp leading Barlow (content to stay in 2nd place to ensure the Championship), with Courtney in 3rd when Barlow hit concrete, shed a chain and stopped almost immediately when exiting the last turn of the last lap. Courtney could not avoid him and once again went down very hard and hit the fence boards for the 2nd time in 15 minutes with some force, causing considerable damage to the front wheel and forks.
Although he refused a stretcher ride back to the Pits he felt really sore a little later on, although nothing seems to be broken, but Ronny Kemp (awarded the win by referee Graham Reeve), wasn’t quite as fortunate as he feared a broken or fractured bone in his shoulder and planned a hospital visit as soon as he got home the next day.
Courtney was advanced to 2nd place by Barlow’s exclusion which consequently put him into 3rd position on the Series Leader board.Round 9 is at Rockford, Illinois on Wednesday 22nd February when Barlow is hoping to score the 3 points he still needs to be absolutely sure of the Championship.
Qualifying Heats:
1. Kemp, Barlow, Courtney, Mann
2. Meldrum, Phelps, Pearson, Terchilla
3. Dorfmeyer, Pearson, Hathaway, Terchilla
4. Barlow, Meldrum, Hathaway, Pearson (fx)
5. Kemp, Phelps, Hathaway, Terchilla
6. Courtney, Mann, Dorfmeyer, Hathaway
Last Chance: Courtney, Phelps, Mann, Pearson, Hathaway, Dorfmeyer (r)
Main: Kemp, Courtney, Meldrum, Mann, Phelps, Barlow (x)
Series Leaders : Barlow 104, Kemp 74, Courtney 65, Mann 62, Phelps 50, Meldrum 44
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posted by Andy at 7:57 AM
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