Swindon Robins 51 Belle Vue 40: Race report as the Robins find form

Two defeats for the Robins last week at the hands of the Leicester Lions and Wolverhampton Wolves, saw the Swindon outfit come into their latest meeting with a point to prove and beating last years grand finalists was certainly a way to answer all the critics. 

 

Perfect racing conditions with a slick, quick and well-prepared track meant that the Swindon Robins could have no excuses for poor racing on the night and a 5-1 heat win in race one thanks to Jason Doyle and Justin Sedgmen, was the perfect way to get things going.

 

A 5-1 in heat one and another in heat two thanks to some smart riding from reserves Rohan Tungate and Stefan Nielsen, saw the Swindon Robins take an early advantage over their Manchester rivals and come the first interval after heat four, the Robins had a well-deserved and surprising lead of 10 points with a score of 17-7. 

 

After dropping down into the number six-reserve birth for the Robins due to the great start to the season from Charles Wright, many expected Rohan Tungate to struggle with confidence. However any doubt whatsoever was quickly eliminated as the Aussie duo of Tungate and Sedgmen rode to the Robins third 5-1 heat maximum of the night. 

 

With the Robins riders starting to run away with the meeting after five heats, Belle Vue Aces manager Mark Lemon had no choice but to use his tactical ride in heat six, giving the chequered helmet to talented British rider Craig Cook, accompanied by teammate Matej Zagar up against the Robins’ Charles Wright and Josh Grajczonek.

 

A quick gate start from the Aces pair had Swindon fans worrying, but a fantastic and powerful overtake from Grajczonek around the outside of Cook on turn one saw the Manchester club pair split in half managing to only muster a 5-2 heat advantage and failing to reduce the points gap significantly as the Robins still led by 11 points with a score of 24-13.

 

A difficult night for the Manchester club made even more difficult by the outstanding performances from the Wiltshire club riders, and one man’s fantastic riding in particular led the charge from the start, Jason Doyle.

 

Three dominating wins out of his first three races saw the home team captain come into heat thirteen knowing that a win would secure his teams second victory of the 2016 Elite League season.

 

And, another quick start followed by some fast and experienced racing saw him do just that, as the Swindon Robins won the heat with a 4-2 advantage courtesy of Doyle and fan favourite Nick Morris. 

 

Victory secured, the Belle Vue Aces could only settle for consolation victories in heats fourteen and fifteen and a final winning score on the night of 51-40.

 

A great victory for the Robins see’s them leapfrog the Coventry Bees to sixth place in the table on six points and, with the Lakeside Hammers still to race on Friday evening, further victories will hopefully follow. 

 

 

 

SWINDON: 51: Jason Doyle 14, Justin Sedgmen 9+1, Rohan Tungate 9+1, Josh Grajczonek 9, Nick Morris 7, Stefan Nielsen 2+1, Charles Wright 1

 

BELLE VUE: 40: Steve Worrall 10+2, Matej Zagar 10, Scott Nicholls 8, Max Fricke 6, Craig Cook 4, Joe Jacobs 2+2, Richie Worrall r/r