Ipswich Whirlwinds 91.
Leon Mower 22+1 (6), Pierce Bacon 22+1 (6 ), Ben Harvey 19+2 (6) , Mark Debman 16+1 (6), Phil Clarke 12 (6) .
Great Blakenham 75 .
Lewis Osborne 21+1 (6), Will Jennings 17 (6), Vlad Simons 13+3 (6), Gavin Whitehouse 13 (6), Terry Ashford 11+1 (6) .
Referee . Dave Hill .
Ipswich Whirlwinds wrappped up the South East Division one title last night with a comprehensive win over neighbours great Blakenham with two matches to spare ,and with them both being at home they will want to go through the rest of the season unbeaten .
The home team had to make several changes due to injuries to key riders Lewis Roberts, Jamie Chittock and Lauren Jacobs ,so there was a first start for veteran rider Mark Debman and a chance for Phil Clarke to get another match under his belt. Both riders didn’t disappoint in an entertaining match. Great Blakenham also fielded just five riders with star rider Adam Peck unable to ride , they of course could call elite league rider Lewis Osborne to weigh in with a heavy score. Credit must go to Lewis this season supporting his team mates, at times it must be frustrating for the Horspath star , his attitude has been first class all season .
Young Vlad Simons also gets a mention with a outstanding display from this new comer and will only improve and get better in time with the more he races.
The match took a little time to get going with the scores being tight due to both sides fielding only five riders and it wasn’t to heat five that the home team got some daylight when Debman and Harvey carved out a 7-3 heat win and this seemed to set the tone for the next three heats as the home started to crank up the pressure with wins in heats 6,7 and 8 to open up a fourteen point lead .
Great Blakenham had their first success in heat eleven when when Osborne was able to shepherd Ashford home for a 7-3. The Ipswich club were able to pick up heat wins in heats 12,14,15,and 18, to round off another solid team performance ,while there were success in heats 13 and 17 for the away team .
On a slightly different subject i would love one day to see a mini league where the four region winners go head to head for a Champion of Champions to be held over a weekend perhaps in a round robin format , with the teams only using there regional squads ,for example this year would see Birmingham,Stockport,Newport and Ipswich , interested in what others think about this idea .