WORKINGTON COMETS 2010
 SPONSORED BY THE THOMAS ARMSTRONG GROUP
                    AND NEW TEAM PARTNERS
             PRESS RELEASE No 10 – March 19th
 
 
WORKINGTON Comets made a superb start to the new speedway season with an emphatic 49-40 win at Redcarlast night in their opening challenge match.
 
The Comets will be odds-on favourites now to go on and complete the aggregate victory after Saturday’s opening match at DerwentParkin the second leg – start time 6-30pm.
 
What was especially pleasing for the Comets was that new signings Chris Schramm and Peter Kildemand were the top scorers with ten points apiece as the Bears were comprehensively snared on their own track.
 
Delighted team manager Ian Thomas said: “It was a terrific start to a new season. I know we have a few question marks over the team this year but some of them were answered at Redcar.
 
“In actual fact we could have won more handsomely than the score suggests. In the last heat we were on a 5-1 when Emilio Sanchez fell and the race had to be re-run without him and Gary Havelock beat our pair.
 
“But that’s just a minor complaint because the lads rode really well and all of them except John Branney got a race win. That’s got to be good for their confidence and that’s what these first three meetings are about.
 
“We deliberately wanted to give the lads plenty of track time with two challenge matches and an anniversary meeting before the opening Premier Trophy match.”
 
If Schramm and Kildemand were the main scorers for the Comets, reserve Craig Cook was not far behind with a nine-point haul which included two victories.
 
Unfortunately, the only rider not to get in on the act and contribute to the win was Cook’s fellow reserve John Branney who failed to score from his three outings.
 
Andre Compton only finished with six points but that should have been more as he was leading heat eleven when his chain came off and he missed out on any points.
 
“When you look at the bad luck for Andre and what happened in the last we could have been even more impressive winners, but I’ll settle for a nine point advantage going into a home leg,” said Thomas.
 
Kildemand collected his first win in British speedway; Adam Roynon had a landmark first victory after his horrific accident before the start of last season while both Schramm and Cook had two wins apiece.
 
There was a lot to feel satisfied with on the opening performance and a home win to accompany it will set-up the Comets for the real competitive stuff in the Premier Trophy.
 
Workington skipper Andre Compton is the only former winner of the Keyline Scottish Open in the field for the latest renewal of the individual event at Edinburgh’s Armadale Stadium tonight.
Sixteen Premier and Elite stars will be bidding to become the latest holders of the longest-running individual tournament in the sport.
Seven home men and nine visitors compete for the cash and the Jack Young Memorial Trophy, with just Comptonhaving won the event way back in 2001, in the field. Home stars Ryan Fisher and Kevin Wolbert will be amongst the favourites but there are plenty of genuine contenders for the title including former Workington riders Kevin Doolan and James Wright.
Tonight’s meeting is actually the restaging of the 2009 Scottish Open, which was rained off in July and could not be fitted in to the schedule thereafter, due mainly to the team’s success
 
RedcarBears 40
1. Gary Havelock: 3,3,2,2,3 = 13
2. Tomas Suchanek: 0,0,0 = 0
3. Ben Wilson: f,0,1,1 = 2
4. Emiliano Sanchez: 3,2,2,2,Ex = 9
5. Maks Gregoric: 2,Ex,0,f = 2
6. Stuart Swales: 1,1,3,1 = 6
7. Jan Graversen: 2,3,3,0,0 = 8
Workington Comets 49
1. Andre Compton: 2,1,0,3 = 6
2. Richard Lawson: 1,3,1,2 = 7
3. Chris Schramm: 1,3,3,2,1 = 10
4. Peter Kildemand: 2,2,1,3,2 = 10
5. Adam Roynon: 1,2,3,1 = 7
6. Craig Cook: 3,1,2,3,0 = 9
7. John Branney: 0,0,0 = 0