Jubilee Edition - ENHANCED

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It all began with the Club Pairs some nine months ago and this week it was completed in the KO Cup, Willenhall Wolves racing to an unprecedented—and unlikely to be repeated—six competition victories in a single season. Bruce Kelly (18) and Tim Dixon (11+2) saw them cross the finishing line in style, a 5-1 in heat 13 of the second leg of the final from the countries leading pairing earning the club their second KO Cup success, Bracklesham Rhinos the latest side to find them just too hot to handle. After this year you’d think Alan Fellows might have achieved all his ambitions for the club, but no, he’s still hungry for more, a first successful defence of the league title just one of the goals he’s gunning for in SL17. Second division Bracklesham made a real fight of it in the early stages of the return, going into the meeting Tim Ward had said his side had nothing to lose and they certainly rode like it, Dan Panu (7+4) especially boarding on the reckless when he made two death-defying passes to secure 5-1’s for the home side in heats three and five. At that point the Rhinos were right back in contention having wiped off all their deficit from the first leg, but the tide turned as the Wolves tactical substitutes kicked in, Dixon and Ron Sands (9+1) earning second places in 5-1’s when in as replacements, while Kelly’s extra ride in heat eight earned the side another three points, that one of six wins for the England international on the night. This was Willenhall’s 14th competition win in just seven years and it’s hard to see their prolific run coming to an end next season given the talent at their disposal.

Bracklesham Rhinos quickly put behind them their KO Cup disappointment by securing promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt when earning a final day draw at Peak Dean Plunderers, Houston the one’s denied by the Rhinos two point haul but it so easily could have been the hosts who had earlier won 43-47 at Linlithgow. The three points gained at the now relegated Lions proved crucial in the final reckoning, Thomas Aranyos (13) winning a heat 15 5-1 with Michael Buxton (14+1) to seal the Plunderers place back in division one. Houston’s 28 point success at home to Bradford counted for nothing as they slipped from third to fourth in the final week as the Rhinos moved up a spot with what was their fourth draw on the road this year, the points secured when Tomas Lysacek (13) and Dan Panu (13+1) crossed the line in second and third respectively in the final heat at Peak Dean

If losing Swanage wasn’t bad enough, division one will be without another of it’s ‘big names’ next year, Wakefield Athletic losing out in a tense relegation battle after suffering a fourth home defeat of the campaign on the final day of the season. Barnet Bandits were the ones to deny the Andy Machin side, Kevin Flindt Berg (13) playing a crucial role on the night, his racing to a win in heat 14 before clinching victory for the visitors with a second in the last. Any point from the meeting at all would have saved the Athletic with Brighton Sharks—who had started the week in the relegation zone—having dropped two points to Willenhall (45-45) at home. They though went on to pick up two themselves on the final day when earning their second draw of the week at Swanage, 5-1’s in heats 14 and 15 at Days Park keeping them in the top flight at the expense of Wakefield. Desford boss Rob Smith will be counting his blessings that his side wasn’t sucked into the bottom three, they having lost their final home fixture 43-47 against West Ham Dockers, the three points for the out-going champions all but securing third in the table and another season of European Cup racing.

Willenhall may have had settle for just the six trophies, but Alan Fellows made it seven for the year when leading England to World Cup final success over the Czech Republic, his club number one Bruce Kelly (12) dominant in the 51-39 victory at Milton Keynes, although it was left to another Wolf to secure the win in heat 12, reserve Ron Sands (9) taking England clear with his third race success of the night.

A third GP success of the series saw Tomas Cernoch (12) become only the second European League rider to be crowned World Champion in 11 years, the Czech star finishing a clear seven points ahead of Pori’s Kimo Savolainen in the final standings. Having won the British GP last week Tim Dixon missed out on a quick-fire double when losing out to Cernoch in a race-off for the top podium spot on the night, however his 12 point haul did lift him up to third overall and see him finished as the top Brit in the series by a point from Bruce Kelly.

All three promotion places in division three were up for grabs going into the final two rounds of league racing, but it was those who started the week in the top three which in the end finished there, with Stepps Serpents heading the trio and therefore crowned the division’s champions. Stepps home win over Tresco proved enough to secure their place back in division two and like them Cradley Storm bounced back to the higher standard at the first time of asking, a final day 50-40 win over Coseley completing the formalities. Nottingham Jazz however had finished fourth in the division the last two season’s, they were saved from that fate one again though when beating the new champions Stepps 50-40 at home in their last meeting.

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