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JULY NEWS 2008
CRUSADERS CRUSHED
By Adam Summers, Dorset Echo ~ Monday 21st July 2008
ANDREW Bargh is a more than adequate replacement for the departing Lee Herne according to Weymouth Doonan Wildcats' manager Jem Dicken. The Premier League rider, who turns out for the Isle of Wight Islanders, stepped in for the Australian at Sittingbourne yesterday and top scored with 13 points as the Wildcats moved to third in the Conference table with a comprehensive 60-31 victory.
Dicken said: "Lee is in Denmark with the Australian World Cup side. As for his proposed move to Birmingham, I am not entirely sure what is happening at the moment. If he does indeed end up going then Andrew will step in until Jon Armstrong returns. Jon is hoping to be back in the middle of August but I do not see it myself. Andrew is more than adequate in the meantime and I am very happy to put him in the side. He was one we were after in the winter but he ended up deciding that he only wanted to do Premier League. However, he did also say that he would help us out and that he is exactly what he is doing now."
The Wildcats absolutely blitzed the Crusaders in Kent. Jay Herne (11+1) grabbed a paid maximum from his four races while Karl Mason (10+1), Luke Priest (9+2), Tim Webster (7+1), Brendan Johnson (6+2) and Kyle Newman (5+1) all chipped in with superb scores of their own.
Dicken added: "We started off slowly and it just built up in was a great performance by all the boys. They all scored well and we dominated the meeting pretty much throughout. That result has now taken us up to third in the table with three or four meetings still in hand so it is looking good. We are definitely on course for a play-off place and we will just have to see what happens after that."
Jerran Hart was absent for Sittingbourne due to injuries he sustained in a horrific coming together with Scunthorpe's Byron Bekker in the NatWest Bronze Individual Meeting at Weymouth the previous night. Both men were catapulted into the fence and had to leave the Wessex Stadium in ambulances. Dicken said: "Byron has broken his collarbone while Jerran has suffered muscle damage in his legs. Apparently his muscle has come away from the bone but other than that both riders are fine which is good news because it could have been a lot worse."
EX-CAT BROWN DENIES HERNE THE BRONZE HELMET
By Adam Summers, orset Echo ~ Monday 21st July 2008
WEYMOUTH Doonan Wildcat Jay Herne finished runner-up in the NatWest Bronze Helmet Individual Meeting at the Wessex Stadium. The Aussie won three out of his four races in the heats where he top scored with 11 points to progress straight through to the final. There he came up against Plymouth Devil and former Wildcat Tom Brown who squeezed him out on the second bend before defending his lead for three laps to take victory.
The Radipole Lane outfit's chairman Phil Bartlett said: "Jay was a bit unlucky really. He lifted a little going into the first turn and got a bit untidy. That allowed Tom to get in front of him going into the second bend where he was then pushed out wide and way off his line. By the time Jay got it back Tom had opened up quite a big lead that was longer than a 15-metre penalty. However, Jay then started to reel him in and by the third lap he had close the gap right up to the extent where I thought he might get him on the line but unfortunately it was not to be."
Heat two saw Sittingbourne's Jerran Hart clip the back wheel of Scunthorpe's Byron Bekker causing both riders to hit the safety fence. Paramedics immediately tended to the two men who ended up withdrawing from the meeting and going straight to hospital Bartlett added: "The crash was horrendous. Jerran was just too over-exuberant and he lifted a bit and went straight into the back of Byron who could do nothing. They both hit the fence very hard and in the end the meeting was held up for an hour while paramedics saw to the riders and track staff made repairs."
Herne was impressive throughout the meeting with wins in heats four, eight and 11 but perhaps his loss to Brown in the fifth race of the night was a sign of things to come. The Wildcat looked on course for victory but on the final lap Brown produced a stunning overtaking manoeuvre to strike a psychological blow that clearly stood him in good stead for the rest of the night. As for Weymouth's other representative in the meeting, Karl Mason, he won heat seven, but was beaten to the last semi-final place by Rye House's Gary Cottham. Plymouth's Paul Starke and former Wildcat and Rye House rider Terry Day were the other two men in the race-off to meet Herne in the final but it was Brown that went on to ultimately prevail.
Bartlett said: "Karl just missed out to Gary Cottham. Gary tends to blow hot and cold, and when he raced Karl he unfortunately looked like a superstar. Both of them ended up with the same points but Gary went through courtesy of a second place in heat 13 where Karl finished third. Overall I was happy with how both our riders performed, it was just a shame that Jay did not win it but full credit to Tom who was superb."
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