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Workington Comets v Berwick Bandits
Premier League, 28 August 2006
Derwent Park, Workington
| 1 | Garry Stead | 2* | 2* | 2* | 1 | . | . | . | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | Alan Mogridge | 3 | 3 | R | 3 | 0 | . | . | 9 | 0 |
| 3 | Tomasz Piszcz | 1* | 1 | 1 | 3 | . | . | . | 6 | 1 |
| 4 | Rusty Harrison | 2 | R | 3 | 2 | . | . | . | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | James Wright | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | . | . | 12 | 0 |
| 6(g) | Carl Belfield | 1* | F | 0 | . | . | . | . | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Aidan Collins | 2 | 1* | 3 | 2* | 0 | . | . | 8 | 2 |
| 1 | Jacek Rempala | 0 | 2* | 2 | 2 | 2 | . | . | 8 | 1 |
| 2 | Andreas Bergstrom | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1* | 1* | . | . | 7 | 2 |
| 4 | Stanislaw Burza | R | 3 | 0 | 1 | . | . | . | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Michal Makovsky | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1* | . | . | 7 | 1 |
| 6 | Danny Warwick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | . | . | . | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Craig Branney | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2* | 2 | 1 | 6^ | 17 | 1 |
* = BP. ^ = TR . ! = TS (15m Handicap). # = TR (Points Not Doubled). & = TS (Points Not Doubled, 15m Handicap).
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Workington again had Carl Belfield at number 6 in place of the injured Lee Derbyshire while Berwick used R/R at number 3 for the injured James Birkinshaw. The wet track made conditions difficult for the riders and it took Workington a long time to overcome Berwick. The score was tied at 24-24 after eight races but, despite consistently shooting themselves in the foot, the Comets eventually pulled clear for all three points after their fine win at Berwick on Saturday night. It was an excellent night for Craig Branney who chalked up a paid 18 point return. Alan Mogridge and Gary Stead opened with a 5-1 from Bergstrom and things looked tickety-boo for the Comets. Craig Branney started his high-scoring evening by winning the reserves race for a shared heat then he also won heat 3. Rusty Harrison and Tomas Piszcz looked to be heading for a 5-1 but Branney burst past the pair of them to get the verdict on the line and another shared heat as Burza had retired after going off 15 metres for breaking the tapes. James Wright looked to have heat 4 in the bag until he suffered engine trouble on the last lap which allowed Michal Makovsky to slip through for the win. Wright finished second though and the race was shared with the score after four races reading 14-10. There was a real shock for the home side when Berwick levelled the score with a 1-5 in heat 5. Rusty Harrison shed a chain on the second lap while Tomasz Piszcz hit the fence on the third lap leaving Bergstrom and Rempala to head home for a maximum. The Comets hit back quickly with a 5-1 in heat 6 from Alan Mogridge and Garry Stead but the Bandits wouldn’t lie down and levelled again in heat 7. Burza and Branney were leading James Wright when Carl Belfield took a dive over the fourth bend fence causing the race to be stopped and awarded. Workington looked to be heading for yet another 5-1 in heat 8 until Alan Mogridge suffered an engine failure. This left Aidan Collins to head home Branney and Bergstrom to take the score after eight races to 24-24. The Berwick pair made the gate in heat 9 but the early leader, Warwick, slipped to the back as did Makovsky but Makovsky recovered his second place by passing Tomasz Piszcz. Rusty Harrison won the race so the result was a 4-2 to Workington who now led by two points. They increased their lead to six points when Mogridge and Stead added a 5-1 ahead of Branney (R/R) and Burza in heat 10. James Wright won heat 12 from Rempala and Bergstrom for a shared heat then in heat 12 it was all over when the Comets added another 5-1 from Piszcz and Collins which put them 41-31 ahead with three races to go. Although ten points in arrears, Berwick declined to use a TR in heat 13. James Wright won the race from Jacek Rempala while Garry Stead took third for a 4-2. Finally, but too late to have any bearing on the result, Craig Branney took a TR in heat 14. He won it too holding off a late challenge by Rusty Harrison although Stanislaw Burza helped by holding up Harrison while Branney scuttled off. This gave Berwick a 2-7 heat advantage and they looked as if they might win the last race too when Jacek Rempala headed James Wright going into the last bend with Michal Makovsky third. Wright rode round Rempala on the last bend to pull off an excellent win and the heat was shared. Match Report by Merlin |