HANS UP FOR THE ACES

Poole Castle Cover Pirates resume their Sky Sports Elite league assault on Wednesday night (June 2nd) after a week's break as they host the second visit of the season of Belle Vue. The Pirates have already claimed two victories over Belle Vue this season but Poole boss Matt Ford recognises that nothing can be taken for granted as they begin their schedule of home "B" fixtures.
Ford said "As a team we did exceptionally well with the first round of matches here at Wimborne Road, I think we had an average of just over 60 points from them but to be honest that won't count for much as we move into the second half of the season. We need to focus on each meeting as it comes and deal with the challenges that will undoubtedly present themselves. This will be our third encounter against Belle Vue this season and we have yet to see either Peter Karlsson or Hans Andersson produce the sort of form that they are renowned for. Between them they have only won just three heats and their enforced withdrawal from the away fixture was largely influential in the final result. Belle Vue have plenty to ride for on Wednesday and the one thing about our success so far is that it makes us the team everyone wants to beat. So the message to the lads is to remain focussed on the task in hand, ride for every point and give the Poole fans plenty to enthuse over. From the fans all we can ask for is for them to continue to get behind the team in much the same way as they have done all season."
The Aces last visit to Wimborne Road, on May 3rd saw Poole win 59-36 but that 36 point return by the visitors proved to be the second highest visiting score this season. Former Poole rider Hans Andersen scored just 9 points (including a double point race win) from 5 rides on that occasion, his worse score of the season and considerably lower than the scores he was regular producing for the Pirates last season, and so a return to form for the Dane will boost the Aces chances of pushing Poole all the way.
The Castle Cover Pirates will undergo a reshuffle following the introduction of their June Green Sheet averages. That sees Jason Doyle drop to reserve, despite putting over 25% on his starting average, something that hasn't been lost on Ford. "Jason has been riding very well for us and I am so proud to see him doing so as I have considerable faith and belief in him. Putting over a point on his average doesn't really surprise me that much, but there are few occasions when a rider has done that but still finds himself dropping to a reserve berth. That illustrates perfectly our strength in depth."
Doyle will share a reserve berth with Leon Madsen who likewise has bolstered his starting average considerably, his June 6.22 making something of a mockery of the assessed 4 point figure that he came into the side on. Madsen, who missed the last Poole fixture will undoubtedly be given a rousing reception following his success in the first round of the Danish Championships that has earned him a Grand Prix wild card this weekend in Copenhagen.
Wednesday's Teams (from) Updated 1st June 2010
POOLE - C.Holder (8.91), D.Watt (8.30), B.Pedersen (8.12), A.Mroczka (7.23), D.Ward (6.37), L.Madsen (6.22), J.Doyle (5.51)
BELLE VUE - H.Andersen (9.15), P.Karlsson (8.66), J.Wright (5.94), P.Hougaard (5.66), R/R for T.Kroner (4.97), L.Lanham (3.58), C.Watson (g) (3.10)

Artur's Young Poles Stroll Through in Czech

The U21 Polish side had a comfortable passage through to the finals of the U21 Speedway World Team Cup with Artur Mroczka scoring 13 points (4 wins and a third) towards their winning total of 65
It was Polish domination throughout in Plzen, Czech Republic as they didn't drop a point from the first 8 heats. Their first defeat came at the hands of Australian Darcy Ward who beat Patryk Dudek. The Australians finished second overall with 46 points, Ward top scoring for them with 15 points.
Poland will now contest the finals on September 4th at Rye House whilst Australia will have to wait until the second sem-final on 10th July before they know whether they have qualified as best runners-up

Double Dane Delight

Poole's Danish Duo of Leon Madsen and Bjarne Pedersen both had good reasons to celebrate yesterday. Young Leon Madsen who despite increasing his starting average will stay at reserve in June for the Pirates, has been named as the wild card entry for FIM Danish Grand Prix in Parken, Copenhagen on June 5th.
Madsen claimed a dramatic victory in the first round of the Danish Championships at Esbjerg on Friday with a 14 point haul, the same as present world championship leader Kenneth Bjerre. Only Bjerre beat Madsen in the heats but the Pirate gained sweet revenge in the final with a superb victory.
Madsen, 21, was understandably elated with the result , admitting "I am overjoyed with this result and the chance to ride at Parken is a dream. But I will go there to do my best and show what I can do against the world's very best riders"
His Poole team mate Bjarne Pedersen finished in joint 5th place with 9 points. Those points will be carried forward to the second round of the championship at Holsted on August 6th whilst both riders have also secured qualification for the world championships (2011) which will be held on the weekend of June 12th.
Scorers from Esbjerg
Leon Madsen 14; Kenneth Bjerre; Nicolai Klindt 11; Hans Andersen 10;
Kenneth Larsen 9; Nicki Pedersen 9; Bjarne Pedersen 9; Patrick Hougaard
Mads Korrneliussen 6; Morten Risager 6; Peter Kildermand 5; Claus Vissing 5;
Michael Jepsen Jensen 5; Ulrich Ostergaard 4; Rene Bach 3; Lasse Bjerre 1.

The Best Over 50's

They have the backing of the best team that specialises in providing insurance cover for the Over 50's and now the Poole Castle Cover Pirates have joined the "Over 50's" themselves - well as far as the team's average is concerned.
Rated by many as the best all-round team possibly in the history of the club the class of 2010, which has an average age of 24, have topped the 50 point marker as a combined team now that their revised averages have been calculated. The Castle Cover Pirates will ride their first meeting off their new averages on Wednesday June 2nd, as they become effective from June 1st, based on all Elite league matches ridden up to and including May 23rd.
Under speedway rules the team had to be put together to a maximum of 40.50 at the start of the season, so surpassing the 50 point level (50.65) is testimony to just how the Pirates have all been riding this season. Club owner Matt Ford said "It is a staggering achievement to have increased our averages by such an amount. I always felt confident that this team had the capability of raising their averages but the magnitude of it and the speed in which they have done so has, I admit, surprised me."
The biggest improver on his starting average is the exciting young Polish rider Artur Mroczka. Still only 20 years of age, and therefore a long way off of being able to benefit from Castle Cover's specialised services, Mroczka has made a mockery of his assessed 4 point average. It now stands at 7.23 which would in many teams make him a heat leader but with Chris Holder (8.91), Davey Watt (8.30) and Bjarne Pedersen (8.12) all having outscored the "King" in the course of the Pirates first 14 matches, Mroczka won't quite yet be able to add that accolade to his CV.
"Artur has done tremendously well and he has been quickly adopted by the Poole fans as their favourite it seems. But when you look at the statistics and see that all 7 riders have increased their start of season figures it just goes to show that we do have something to treasure here at Poole this season" said Ford.
.Club sponsors Castle Cover are as delighted with the team's rapid progress as Ford is himself and Managing Director Andrew Marchington is cherishing the thought of settling up on the incentive scheme that was negotiated at the start of the season. "We will be more than happy to pay out the extra sponsorship if it sees the Pirates crown champions this year. I can't praise Matt and his management team highly enough with their efforts in selecting a team of seven that have proven they can all ride above their averages. Everyone is helping each other and that is the magic and beauty of this team. We have seen individual greats in the past, I think of Antonio Lindback's incredible debut a few seasons ago, but to see a full team riding so well is something really great. They boys have done a fabulous effort, especially in taking the pressure off of young Darcy Ward. Remember his first ride in his first meeting? The nerves were there for all to see but the lad has been really lifted by this great team and look at him now, he is doing a sterling job along with all his team-mates and that is great for the fans, the community and all involved with this very special club."
Poole Castle Cover Pirates Green Sheet Averages (effective from 1st June 2010)
Chris Holder 8.91 (from 8.76) Davey Watt 8.30 (from 6.94) Bjarne Pedersen 8.12 (from 7.76) Artur Mroczka 7.23 (from 4.00) Darcy Ward 6.37 (from 4.56) Leon Madsen 6.22 (from 4.00) Jason Doyle 5.51 (from 4.28)
Number 8 Gary Havelock retains his 3.72 average due to insufficient qualifying matches ridden

No Sorrow For Zorro

Magnus 'Zorro' Zetterstrom's dream start to his GP career took a further step forward as he reached the grand final at the Marketta Stadium, Prague in round three of the series. Claiming a semi-final spot with nine points from his five programmed rides Zetterstrom then duly went on to beat former Pirate Hans Andersen in a re-started first semi-final after Zetterstrom's fellow countryman Andreas Jonsson had been controversially excluded. Jonsson, top scorer in the heats was brushed by Poland's Tomasz Gollob as the veteran attempted to drive under Jonsson to split the Swedes, but the Polish referee ruled that the stoppage was caused by Jonsson falling taking no account of the contact made.
Zetterstrom had no answer to Gollob in either the re-run of the final, where the Pole claimed his second ever Prague success. Former world champion Nicki Pedersen, after suffering a tapes exclusion in his fourth ride eventually finished second in the final with Jaroslaw Hampel third, denying Zetterstrom a rostrum place.
Poole's Chris Holder again narrowly missed the cut for the semi-finals, the make up of his 7 points not being as favourable as reigning world champion Jason Crump's. But Crump failed to make the most of his semi final appearance running a last place.
The meeting was marred by a broken arm sustained by Russian sensation Emil Sajfutdinov who clipped the rear wheel of Britain's Chris Harris in heat 15 and followed his bike into the air fence. Early medical reports indicate that he has broken his upper left arm.
Scores from Prague:
T.Gollob 8+3+6 =17(1,1,3,3,0,3,3); J.Hampel 11+3+2=16 (2,2,3,3,1,3,1); N.Pedersen 8+2+4=14 (0,3,2,Tx,3,2,2); M.Zetterstrom 9+2+0=11 (2,1,2,2,2,2,0)
A.Jonsson 13+0=13 (3,2,3,2,3,Fx); K.Bjerre 11+1=12 (3,0,3,3,2,1); H.Andersen 8+1 (2,2,2,1,1,1); J.Crump 7+0=7 (0,1,F,3,3,0)
R.Holta 7 (0,2,0,2,3); F.Lindgren 7 (3,0,2,2,Tx); C.Holder 7 (0,3,1,1,2); G.Hancock 7 (1,3,1,1,1); E.Sajfutdinov 5 (2,3,0,Fx,NS); T.Woffinden 5 (3,1,1,0,0); C.Harris 4 (1,R,0,1,2); M.Kus (wild card) 3 (1,0,1,0,1); Reserves: L.Tomicek 0 (0,Fx); Z.Simota 0 (0)
Championship Standings:
K.Bjerre (42); J.Hampel (40); T.Gollob (39); J.Crump (33); N.Pedersen (31); A.Jonsson (30); E.Sajfutdinov (27); C.Holder (26); G.Hancock (25); H.Andersen (24); M.Zetterstrom (24); R.Holta (23); F.Lindgren (19); C.Harris (18); T.Woffinden (10)

PIRATES' STAR LAUNCHES SHIP

POOLE Castle Cover Pirates speedway star Bjarne Pedersen helped to launch a very special pirate ship at Talbot Heath Junior School in Bournemouth today.
The Schools Pre-Prep Department officially opened their brand new pirate ship - part of the school's new adventure playground directive - and invited the Pirates' Danish international former World Cup winner to cut the ribbon.
The playground has just finished completion and provides the younger children aged 3-7 with a state-of-the-art exciting and colourful play area. It is the newest addition to the school's large woodland campus in the centre of Bournemouth and it is designed to fit in with the highly popular pirate theme. The centrepiece is the large ship complete with cabin, mast, deck and even a "plank" to walk! It is surrounded by other exciting features including a climbing wall, a clatter bridge and a tunnel.
Pedersen - who has led Poole's speedway team to the top of the Elite League table this year and is a regular on Sky Sports - used a special cutlass loaned to him by Head of Junior School, Karen Leahy to cut the ribbon and launch the "ship", and then went on to unveil a plaque bearing the name of the craft "the Jolly Talbot". He was surrounded by potential crewmembers too as staff and pupils dressed up for the occasion in colourful pirate costumes.
A delighted Mrs Leahy, said "This is an exciting day for us all and we have waited a long time for it, I am just so grateful to Bjarne for giving up time in the middle of his hectic week of international racing to come along and meet the Children."
"We promised them a real pirate and so it was fantastic to have Bjarne, one of Poole Pirates all-time top riders, to perform the ceremony".
It was a refreshing change for the Pirates' star who was impressed by the children and particularly the amount of effort they put into their costumes. "This is a great facility and a really great setting. What a lovely environment for the children, they are very lucky." he said.
After spending time at the school Pedersen was off to prepare for the Pirates league visit to Swindon tonight (7.30pm)

Artur and Darcy Go Head to Head

Poole Castle Cover Pirates have been drawn in the same semi-final round of the World U21 championship, both having to make the trip to Landshut, Germany on June 26th. Joining the two Pirates will be locally based rider Kyle Newman who qualified as reserve for this round. The other semifinal takes place at Krsko, Slovenia on the same day
Complete Draw:
Krsko - A.Laguta (RU); P.Pawlicki (PL); M.Bogdanovs (LV); S.Musielak (PL); S.Gustafsson (SE); M.Dilger (DE); A.Lokataev (UR); K.Katajisto (FI); J.Pavlic (HR); M.Kus (CZ); K.Nilsson (SE); M.Duh (SI); P.Dudek (PL); V.Tarasenko (RU); J.Sedgemen (AU); P.Hougaard (DK); Reserves S.Nielsen (DK) and J.Holub (CZ)
Landshut - J.Haines (GB); A.Mroczka (PL); S.Kielbasa (PL); M.Vaculik (SL); D.Andersson (SE); F.Facher (DE); V.Giruckis (LV); K.Tuckanov (UR); A.Rosen (SE); S.Pyszny (PL); D.Ward (AU); M.Janowksi; A.Kudryashov (RU); K.Wolbert (DE); L.Sundstrom (SE); R.Bach (DK) Reserves E.Pudel (DE) and K.Newman (GB)
The two Pirates will be part of the Poole side that ride at Swindon tonight (Thursday 20th, 7.30pm) as the Pirates look to maintain their good early season form. Leon Madsen (ill) again misses the meeting his place being covered by Craig Watson
Teams from
Swindon - L.Adams (10.00); S.Stead (6.79); M.Korneliussen (6.30); M.Risager (5.26); G.Zengota (5.00); C.Gathercole (3.85); J.Sedgemen
Poole - C.Holder (8.76); B.Pedersen (7.76); D.Watt - captain (6.94); D.Ward (4.56); J.Doyle (4.38); A.Mroczka (4.00); C.Watson

Pirates Rocked by Madsen Blow

Leon Madsen has been ruled out of this week's back to back Poole fixtures against Eastbourne (Wednesday) and Swindon (Thursday) having been struck by a viral infection. Madsen who gallantly rode at Belle Vue on Monday despite feeling sick has seen a deterioation in his condition and has been forced to rest.
Rider of the Night at Poole last Wednesday and the Pirate of the Meeting at Lakeside on Friday, Madsen will be missed in the Pirates line-up. For the visit of Eastbourne to Wimborne Road the Pirates will be using Gary Havelock as a replacement, but due to Havvy's commitments for Redcar he is unable to deputise for Poole's trip to Swindon. Craig Watson has been drafted in to cover.
Wednesday's action at Wimborne Road (7.30pm) brings with it the mouth-watering prospect of pitching two outstanding potentials against each other. Poole fans have already been convinced that club owner Matt Ford has unearthed a bristling talent in Artur Mroczka. The Pole has been banging in some great scores this season and with his exciting style and total lack of fear has already been titled The King, by the Poole faithful.
And whilst he will pull on the number 7 race jacket for tomorrow's Sky Sports Elite League clash he will be going head to head with another of Ford's earmarked talents. Ricky Kling was bought by the club during the winter in an exchange arrangement with Lakeside Hammers involving Daniel Davidsson. But the timing for the deal was such that the Pirates were unable to accommodate young Kling for 2010 and with Eastbourne keen to add strength to their lower order the Swede was loaned to the Sussex side.
"I am gutted for Leon as he is feeling very low and we all hope that he recovers quickly from the virus, but there is plenty to look forward to, especially the tantalising prospect of Ricky against Artur"
said Ford. "They are both very much blossoming talents in my view and it would be nice to think that perhaps at some point they might even be Poole team-mates. I am sure that Eastbourne's visit will produce another feast of speedway as previous encounters between our sides have proven. Poole fans are in a fortunate position of seeing some special racers this year, there hasn't been one single weak link in the side this year and if they continue to be focussed then there is no reason why that shouldn't continue"
The Pirates extended their lead to 10 points at the top of the table with an away win on Monday night when opponents Belle Vue were reduced to just three fit riders, and are still unbeaten at home this season. Monday saw the main bulk of the Poole side achieve their new Green Sheet averages although the new figures do not apply for a period of 7 days.
Wednesday teams (from)
Poole - C.Holder (8.76); B.Pedersen (7.76); D.Watt - captain (6.94); D.Ward (4.56); J.Doyle (4.38); A.Mroczka (4.00); G.Havelock (3.56)
Eastbourne - M.Zagar (9.15); S.Gustafsson (6.18); J.Kylmakoorpi (6.02); L.Dryml (5.70); C.Woodward - captain (5.33); R.Kling (4.31); D.Lampart (4.00)
Thursday teams (from)
Swindon - L.Adams (10.00); S.Stead (6.79); M.Korneliussen (6.30); M.Risager (5.26); G.Zengota (5.00); C.Gathercole (3.85); J.Sedgemen
Poole - C.Holder (8.76); B.Pedersen (7.76); D.Watt - captain (6.94); D.Ward (4.56); J.Doyle (4.38); A.Mroczka (4.00); C.Watson - Team Manager - Neil Middleditch

Ward Faces Race against Time and Ash

Darcy Ward is moving heaven and earth to try and get back to the UK in time to take his place in the Poole side that meet Belle Vue in Manchester (7.30pm) tonight
Immediately after finishing second in the delayed World U21 qualifying round, Ward headed off for Budapest airport where he had secured a booking on an early morning Wizz air flight to Luton. Unfortunately, on arrival at the airport the flight was pulled, as a consequence of the volcanic ash problems.
Hurriedly, he has made arrangements to divert to alternative airports but the flight situation and time constraints have been weighed heavily against him. Poole boss Matt Ford, currently out of the country himself said "Darcy is putting a big effort in to try and get a flight sorted. He is so keen to ride over here. I have been checking with people back in Poole who have been scouring the maps and timetables to try and determine all the options. Last night we were able to provide Darcy with two alternatives, one was from Bratislava, the other from Budapest. Due to where they were at the time they opted for the Budapest flight, which would have given more driving time back in England but as luck would have it that flight was cancelled first thing this morning. I would also like to thank Gareth Parry for all his efforts in trying to find something suitable for Darcy. I can assure everyone that there has been an awful lot of 'phone calls and text messages exchanged in a bid to resolve this situation."
Chris Holder and Dave Watt both arrived back in the UK and Jason Doyle is also on British soil. Bjarne Pedersen, who could after tonight become the 4th all-time points scorer for the Pirates, was due to fly into Stansted and was 'hopeful' that he would have a trouble free trip back, whilst Artur Mroczka and Leon Madsen are also on their way back to the UK.
The table-topping Pirates will be trying to avoid their 700th all-time away league defeat when they face the Belle Vue Aces in this televised fixture

Doyle 4th in Norris Farwell

Jason Doyle finished 4th in the David Norris Farewell meeting at Eastbourne on Saturday night. He inched Edward Kennett out of the final on countback, courtesy of two wins in his final two programmed rides but he had to take back seat as Lewis Bridger, Scott Nicholls and Hans Andersen battled out the rostrum places, eventually finishing in that order.
Elsewhere, Artur Mroczka successfully progressed to the semi-final stages of the World U21 championship with a 14 point haul in Gdansk, a track where he has enjoyed good results consistently and will host one of the three rounds of the overall final. Before that though Mroczka will need to qualify from his semi-final where he will be drawn either at Krsko (Slovenia) or Landshut (Germany) on 26th June.
His Poole team-mate Darcy Ward has endured a frustrating weekend. Heavy rain in Gorican caused the postponement of the round until today (Sunday 16th) but continual bad weather has now put the start time back to late afternoon, with provisions also in place for a further restaging date of 9am Monday.
Gdansk RESULT: 14 Artur Mroczka; 13 Artiom Laguta; 12 Wadim Tarasienko; 11 Joe Haines; 10 Kalle Katajisto; 9+3 Anton Rosen; 9+2 Eric Pudel; 8 Adrian Szewczykowski; 7 Sam Masters; 5 Kyle Hughes; 4 Tyson Nelson; 4 Damian Sperz; 4 Marcel Szymko; 3 Siergiej Borysenko; 3 Vaclav Milik; 1 Michal Dudek; 0 Andriej Kobrin; 0 Emil Pulczy
Dski;

Holder Makes Semis as Zorro Shines in Wet

Chris Holder reached his first ever Grand Prix semi-final at a rain-sodden Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg on a night when Poole asset Magnus Zetterstrom stunned the speedway world by being the meeting leader at the half-way stage.
Zorro made light of the heavy conditions in his first three rides but fell away in his last two programmed rides which were off the difficult gate 2 that had proved so difficult to score from.
Both Zorro and Holder had the comfort of early knowledge of making the last 8 unlike the more familiar contenders of Jason Crump, Nicki Pedersen and Hans Andersen. Only Pedersen was able to join them in the end but the title went to his compatriot Kenneth Bjerre who put together 4 very impressive winning rides.
The first semi-final saw a clash of the three eldest competitors in the meeting - Hancock, Gollob and Zetterstrom against young starlet Sajfutdinov and whilst Zetterstrom gated ressonably well Gollob had the track craft to go by him.
In the second semi-final Holder couldn't quite match the speed of Bjerre and Jonsson, the Swede having at one time looked to be well out of the meeting, but Holder did beat Nicki Pedersen, the former world champion falling, to give himself the extra point that places him in overall 6th place in the series
Scorers:
K.Bjerre 11+3+6=20 (1,3,3,2,2,3,3); T.Gollob 9+3+4=16 (1,2,3,1,2,3,2); G.Hancock 12+2+0=14 (3,1,2,3,3,2,0); A.Jonsson 8+2+2=12 (3,0,0,3,2,2,1); C.Holder 10+1=11 (3,2,1,2,2,1); M.Zetterstrom 8+1=9 (2,3,3,0,0,1); E.Sajfutdinov 8+0=8 (0,3,2,0,3,0); N.Pedersen 8+0=8 (0,2,3,2,1,F) ; J.Crump 7 (1,0,0,3,3); H.Andersen 7 (3,1,0,3,x); R.Holta 6 (2,3,0,1,0); A.Lindback 6 (1,1,1,0,3); J.Hampel 6 (0,2,2,2,0); C.Harris 6 (2,0,2,1,1); T.Woffinden 4 (0,1,1,1,1); F.Lindgren 4 (2,0,1,0,1)

Series standings: K.Bjerre (30); J.Crump (26); J.Hampel (24); E.Sajfutdinov (22); T.Gollob (22); C.Holder (19); G.Hancock (18); N.Pedersen (17); R.Holta (16); A.Jonsson (16); H.Andersen (15); C.Harris (14); M.Zetterstrom (13); F.Lindgren (12); T.Woffinden (5); Wild cards: J.Kolodziej 12; A.Lindback (6)

Walasek and Others Wanted

Poole chief Matt Ford has told www.poolespeedway.net that no fewer than three different Elite league clubs have made approaches to him for permission to talk to Pirates' asset Grzegorz Walasek
"I have been busy recently taking calls from other promoters who find themselves in a positon to be able to consider team changes as they look to strengthen up and Grzegorz has been a popular target. I am always ready to help out other clubs with my assets both for the good of the sport and for the riders themselves. If I can't give them a team place simply due to the averages that should not prevent them from riding over here."
"I like Grzegorz a great deal and really do hope that sometime in the future we may be in position to bring him back to Poole but at the moment that is not an option, but if I can help him out with another club then I will be delighted to do so."
Ford continued: "As well as enquiries for Grzegorz I have also been asked for permissions for others to speak to Antonio Lindback and Adrian Gomolski. Personally speaking I would love to see all three riders back racing in Britain"
"It would be wrong for me to disclose details of those clubs that have been in touch, but I just hope that doors may open for all three of these riders."
Gomolski rode briefly for the Pirates at the end of the 2007 season whilst Lindback and Walasek were both last seen in Poole colours back in 2006

Older News