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Post by Administrator on Aug 19, 2012 0:25:58 GMT
Raiders’ Team For Fours Championship The Rye House Raiders – or rather four of the side – will be at Stoke next Sunday (August 26th) for what will be the third attempt to stage the National League Fours Championship following two previous wash-outs. The team have been drawn in the same semi-final group as the Isle of Wight, the host club Potters and defending champions Dudley. The Raiders’ quartet will be: Jason Garrity, Ben Morley, James Sarjeant – who finished third in Tuesday’s WPA Healthcare Trophy event on the Isle of Wight – and Luke Chessell.
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Post by Administrator on Aug 22, 2012 18:39:59 GMT
A new date has been found for Rye House Raiders’ National League trip to King’s Lynn, which was postponed in order to accommodate the King’s Lynn-Belle Vue Elite League match which is now taking place at the venue tonight. The Raiders will visit the Norfolk Arena on Wednesday, October 10th. It could well be that original Raiders No.1 and captain David Mason will have returned to the team by then. The former League Riders Champion has been ruled out of action since a horrifying crash against Mildenhall back on June 4th. A practice session several weeks ago unfortunately highlighted a previously undiagnosed right knee ligament injury. Mason is now wearing a knee brace, but is aiming for a potential return in mid-September.
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Post by Administrator on Aug 24, 2012 15:21:55 GMT
Friday, August 24, 2012:: :::: Raiders Update The Raiders will be contending with the absence of their regular No.1 when they take to the track early next week. The Raiders will also be without their No.1 for Tuesday night’s visit to National League pace-setters Dudley, with Jason Garrity ruled out with a nasty hand injury suffered when guesting himself for Mildenhall against the Heathens on Sunday. Given the limited scope of an eight team league and the restricted options provided by the eight day rule and available guest riders, the Raiders have opted to run Rider-Replacement at No.1 for their trip to Monmore Green.
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Post by Administrator on Aug 26, 2012 22:22:47 GMT
Brave Raiders Go Down Fighting in Fours National League Four Team Championship (Stoke; Sunday, August 26th 2012) 1st Mildenhall 2nd Buxton 3rd Dudley Without the services of their sidelined No.1 Jason Garrity, the Rye House Raiders were always going to struggle to make a major impression in this year’s Four Team Championship, being drawn as they were in a Semi-Final group that also contained host club Stoke and powerhouses Dudley. But although they failed to make the cut for the Grand Final, they did so by a respectable four points and finished ahead of the Isle of Wight by an identical margin. Team manager John Sampford was upbeat afterwards. “Had Jason Garrity been available we may have qualified, but it was still a creditable performance. Ben Morley was unlucky in getting pipped for victory by Adam Roynon on the very last bend of Heat 1, while James Sarjeant gained a good second place from the back in his second ride. Luke Chessell also did well to rebound with two points after an earlier fall, while young Connor Coles – despite unsurprisingly being outgated – was on the pace for the remainder of his races”. The meeting – which was delayed at the start for half an hour to enable remedial work on the track following an overnight downpour – was won by Mildenhall, with Buxton second and defending champions Dudley third. Semi-Final No.1: Dudley 21 (Adam Roynon 6, Ashley Morris 6, Darryl Ritchings 5, Byron Bekker 4_ Stoke 13 (Ashley Birks 5, James Cockle 5, Tony Atkin 2, Liam Carr 1) Rye House 9 (Ben Morley 4, James Sarjeant 3, Luke Chessell 2, Connor Coles 0) Isle of Wight 5 (Paul Starke 2, Danny Stoneman 2, Ross Walter 1, Ben Hopwood 0) Semi-Final 2: Mildenhall 23 (Lewis Blackbird 6, Stefan Nielsen 6, Joe Jacobs 6, Danny Halsey 5) Buxton 12 (Charles Wright 5, Adam McKinna 4, Dean Felton 2, Luke Priest 1) King’s Lynn 6 (Lewis Kerr 3, Jake Knight 2, Tom Stokes 1, Brendan Johnson 0) Scunthorpe 5 (Oliver Greenwood 3, Dan Phillips 2, Tommy Fenwick 0, Tom Young 0) Grand Final: Mildenhall 17 (Stefan Nielsen 6, Joe Jacobs 6, Danny Halsey 3, Lewis Blackbird 2) Buxton 13 (Luke Priest 4, Charles Wright 4, Dean Felton 3, Adam McKinna 2) Dudley 10 (Ashley Morris 5, Adam Roynon 2, Darryl Ritchings 2, Byron Bekker 1) Stoke 7 (Ashley Birks 3, James Cockle 2, Tony Atkin 1, Liam Carr 1)
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Post by Administrator on Aug 27, 2012 20:38:03 GMT
Bring ‘Em On: Ipswich (PL) and The Isle of Wight (NL) (Saturday, September 1st @ 6pm) There is double header action at Rye House on Saturday, beginning at the earlier than usual time of 6pm. First on the agenda is the East Anglian Premier League derby between the Silver Ski Rockets and arch rivals Ipswich. Fifteen heats of Premier League racing will be followed by fifteen more in the National League as the Raiders aim for revenge against an Isle of Wight team that has already ended their interest in the Knock-Out Cup. Led into town by “The Dreaded One” Danny Warwick – who has previously made a Premier League impact with Berwick and Somerset – there is a strong Rye House feel to the Islanders’ line-up. Paul Starke, who won the individual WPA Healthcare Trophy meeting that was recently staged at Smallbrook, was a 2010 Rocket until a broken collarbone suddenly curtailed his season. While injury has removed Gary Cottham and Marc Owen from the Islanders’ equation since April’s Cup visit, and Kyle Hughes has now called a halt to his racing involvement, further Rye House connections via 2004 Raider Mark Baseby and Ben Hopwood, who endured an up-and-down campaign with last year’s Hackney Hawks before being offered a place back on the Island due to an injury to another ex-Rye man, Rob Smith. Please remember that standard Premier League admission prices will apply – there is no additional entry charge for the second fixture – although the match programme will be priced at £3 to help compensate for the extra costs involved in running thirty heats.
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Post by Administrator on Aug 28, 2012 21:17:46 GMT
Raiders Hammered at Dudley Dudley 55 Rye House 16 (abandoned at Heat 12 – result stands) (National League; Tuesday, August 28th 2012) With or without injured No.1 Jason Garrity, who is nursing ligament damage to his right hand, it was always asking much of the Raiders to keep pace with their hosts, who have totally dominated this season’s National League alongside fellow front-runners Mildenhall. The Heathens had lost just once in competitive fixtures this term – needless to say to the Fen Tigers – and already racked up five scores of 60 or more, including a 61-29 romp AWAY at the Isle of Wight. Unsurprisingly, then, the Raiders quickly became their latest victims, falling to their heaviest defeat of the year as only the rain prevented the powerhouse Heathens from sailing past the 60 mark once again. 18 year old Connor Coles, making his League debut, provided the only bright spark for Rye with a battling display that included a second place from the back in Heat 8. Rye House scorers: Jason Garrity R/R Luke Chessell 0 (4 rides) Ben Morley 7 (5 rides, inc 1 as a TR) Shane Hazelden 2+1 (4) James Sarjeant 4 (4) Brad Tokley 0 (2) Connor Coles 3 (4) Dudley scorers: Adam Roynon 9 (3 rides, maximum) Darryl Ritchings 9+3 (4 rides, maximum) Byron Bekker 11+1 (4 rides, maximum) Dan Greenwood 5+1 (3) Ashley Morris 8+1 (3 rides, maximum) Tom Perry 8+1 (3 rides, maximum) James White-Williams 5+1 (4) Match Points: Dudley 3 Rye House 0
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Post by Administrator on Sept 2, 2012 7:46:27 GMT
Raiders Battle Back For Victory Rye House 50 Isle of Wight 40 (National League; Saturday, September 1st 2012) The Raiders came from behind in the closing stages to storm to victory in the second half of Saturday night’s double header at Rye House. It was the side’s third League victory of the season, leapfrogging them above Buxton into sixth place in the table. The Raiders owed much to a faultless maximum from guest Stefan Nielsen (who was substituting for injured No.1 Jason Garrity and was unbeaten when last visiting at this level with regular club Mildenhall), and Ben Morley, who bounced back from his disappointing Premier League match earlier on in the evening to come within a broken chain of joining Nielsen in the unbeaten stakes. There was also an excellent home debut from Connor Coles, who pushed to paid 7 as three other colleagues also managed at least one paid race win. The Raiders trailed just once – at 34-32 – after conceding a 5-1 due to James Sarjeant’s last bend exclusion for bringing down Danny Warwick – but quickly raised the bar with three successive maximums of their own to clinch the overall victory with a heat to spare. Nielsen completed his five ride maximum in the final race, with Morley so unlucky not to join him after falling while leading the last lap. Team manager John Sampford was delighted for his charges. “This was a really good result for the team, in a match that we really needed to win. Stefan Nielsen was a superb guest – and led from the front, while Ben was really unfortunate to shed a chain in his final race. “Hats off as well to Connor Coles, who was a little bit tentative to start with, but quickly got used to the track and used it to his advantage. It was a very good home debut, and I’m really pleased for him.” Rye House scorers: Stefan Nielsen (guest) 14+1 (5 rides, maximum) Luke Chessell 4+1 (4) Ben Morley 12 (5) Shane Hazelden 6+1 (4) James Sarjeant 8 (4) Danno Verge 1 (3) Connor Coles 5+2 (5) Isle of Wight scorers: Danny Warwick 6+1 (4 rides) Ben Hopwood 8+2 (5) Aaron Baseby 6+1 (4) Steven Jones 2 (3) Mark Baseby 3+1 (4) Danny Stoneman 3+1 (3) Paul Starke 12+1 (7) Match Points: Rye House 3 Isle of Wight 0
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Post by Administrator on Sept 4, 2012 9:46:57 GMT
NLRC Line-Up Announced The 16 qualifiers for this season’s National League Riders Championship, to be staged at Rye House on Saturday, September 29th (7pm start), have been named. 2011 Champion Jason Garrity – also the British U-19 titlist last year – is programmed to defend his crown, with fellow Raider Ben Morley joining him in the field. Garrity is currently out with ligament damage to his right hand, but could yet return to the saddle as early as this weekend, while Morley will be determined to build on a strong year with the Raiders – and occasional spots in the Rockets’ Premier League team – after finishing third in last season’s British U-19 event. The pair can expect tough competition from the likes of former Rocket and 2006 winner Adam Roynon, who is currently sidelined with a vertebrae injury but planning a track return ahead of The Big Night. The Heathens are also represented by World U-21 Semi-Finalist Tom Perry and former British U-15 Champion Ashley Morris, while the Mildenhall Fen Tigers can boast three riders in the named field themselves. They are exciting League No.1 and doubling-up Ipswich Witch Cameron Heeps (hopefully back from his broken wrist), Joe Jacobs and Stefan Nielsen – who has powered to two maximums in Hertfordshire already this season. The full list of qualifiers is as follows: Buxton: Charles Wright and Adam Mckinna Dudley: Adam Roynon, Tom Perry and Ashley Morris Isle of Wight: Danny Warwick and Ben Hopwood King’s Lynn: Lewis Kerr Mildenhall: Cameron Heeps, Stefan Nielsen and Joe Jacobs Rye House: Jason Garrity, Ben Morley Scunthorpe: Gary Irving Stoke: Ashley Birks, Ben Reade Meeting reserves: Tom Stokes (King’s Lynn) and Connor Coles (Rye House)
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Post by Administrator on Sept 5, 2012 10:37:00 GMT
British U-19 Championship Draw No less than four Rye House riders have been named in today’s draw for the British U-19 Championship, which will be staged at Sheffield on September 13th. Currently sidelined with hand ligament and nerve damage, Jason Garrity will be hoping to be fit in time to defend the title he captured last season, and will be joined in the field by Ben Morley and James Sarjeant – who placed 3rd and 4th in the event, respectively, a year ago – plus third generation rider Connor Coles, who has already made great strides since his recent Raiders debut. The full draw is: Danny Phillips (Scunthorpe), Connor Coles (Rye House), Ben Morley (Rye House), Tom Stokes (King’s Lynn), Dan Greenwood (Dudley), Joe Jacobs (Mildenhall), Oliver Greenwood (Scunthorpe), Stefan Nielsen (Mildenhall), Darryl Ritchings (Dudley), James Sarjeant (Rye House), Jason Garrity (Rye House), Adam Ellis (Isle of Wight), Liam Carr (Stoke), Ashley Morris (Dudley/Workington), Tom Perry (Dudley/Somerset), Max Clegg (Scunthorpe). Reserves: Michael Neale (Buxton), Conor Dwyer (unattached). Morley to Challenge For Bronze Helmet Rye House Raider Ben Morley has been confirmed as the next challenger for the Bronze Helmet match-race championship, and will meet holder Ashley Birks for the title when the Stoke Potters visit Hoddesdon on Saturday, September 22nd. Birks took over the Helmet’s defence following the broken leg suffered by team-mate Ritchie Worrall, and has so far rebuffed challenges from Tom Perry (Dudley), Cameron Heeps (Mildenhall) and Charles Wright (Buxton). In addition to this match-race and the National League clash between the Raiders and Stoke, the planned double header meeting will kick off with the Premier League clash between the Silver Ski Rockets and Edinburgh at 6pm, making it a bumper night of racing.
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Post by Administrator on Sept 5, 2012 18:14:32 GMT
Scunthorpe v Rye House, National League, Friday, September 7, 2012. Team manager John Sampford is also exploring his National League guest options as the Raiders – with Garrity positioned at No.1 – are also at Scunthorpe on Friday in the second half of what will be a double header meeting.
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Post by Administrator on Sept 6, 2012 9:04:44 GMT
Garrity Ruled Out of U-19 Championship Following further investigation of his hand injury yesterday (Wednesday), Jason Garrity has been ruled out of defending his U-19 crown at Sheffield next Thursday (Sep 13th). He has suffered nerve and tissue damage which is proving to be far more serious than was at first diagnosed. "I am devastated at not being able to defend my title because I was very confident that it was to be mine again. I am sure that I have progressed as a rider this season and I am very impatient to get back on my bike to prove it, but good luck to all the other guys, they're lucky not to have me to contend with !” said Garrity, managing a final smile, this morning. Ben Morley will once again deputise at reserve for Garrity for the Silver Ski Rockets’ away match at Scunthorpe tomorrow night (Friday) and home meeting against Redcar on Saturday. With the Raiders also in action at Scunthorpe tomorrow against the Saints, and Garrity pitched at No.1 for that fixture, John Sampford has called on Mildenhall’s Lewis Blackbird – a National League Pairs and Fours winner already this season – to cover that spot.
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Post by Administrator on Sept 8, 2012 6:54:08 GMT
Raiders squeezed out in last heat decider
Scunthorpe 47 Rye House 44 (National League; Friday, September 7th 2012) The Saints ultimately made it a Scunthorpe one-two – and also propelled themselves into a play-off position in the National League table – but only after a pulsating battle that saw the Raiders collect their first away match point of the season – and come within a thrilling last race of completing a ten point recovery for victory. In many ways, however, the race that the fixture hinged on was Heat 11…. which was also easily the most controversial. The Raiders were on a 5-1 via guest Lewis Blackbird and Connor Coles when Gary Irving fell on the last bend of the third lap, causing the action to be halted. Many expected the result to be awarded, only for the decision of a re-run to be announced. The Raiders’ misfortune didn’t end there, though. Blackbird and Cole once again put themselves into a maximum position only for the latter’s bike to fail to go the distance, as a 5-1 dissipated into a 3-2. It was to make all the difference between a narrow defeat and an away draw. That it would come to a single key moment had seemed unlikely earlier in the night. Blackbird had got Rye off to a positive start with a victory in Heat 1, although by the time James Sarjeant added a second win in Heat 6 – with Connor Coles briefly holding second spot before Lewis Kerr got past – the Raiders had fallen 10 behind and the 4-2 made it 23-15. They were far from finished, however. Ben Morley came within a lap of heading home Gary Irving in the next race before Luke Chessell and Coles brought the Raiders to within 6 points with a 4-2 in Heat 8. The Saints quickly responded with an identical finish of their own before Morley and Chessell maxed out in Heat 10 to close the gap to 33-29. The controversial Heat 11 left the score at 35-32, while it took a last lap pass from Tom Young to prevent Morley taking Heat 12, before a 5-1 from Blackbird and Sarjeant made it a one point match at 40-39. Thus it stayed in Heat 14, setting up a last race decider of Blackbird and Sarjeant against Max Clegg and the unbeaten Young. And what a decider it proved to be, as Sarjeant came from third to second – and so nearly snatched victory over Young on the line, and Clegg crept past Blackbird for third right at the chequered flag in what was a blanket finish. The Saints’ 4-2 ensured them overall victory, but they certainly knew they’d been in a war. Team manager John Sampford was rightly proud of his team afterwards. “Every one of them rode their hearts out. At the moment, it feels less that we lost the match than that it was taken away from us in Heat 11. I can’t fault any of them though; they put so much effort in and a match point was the very least we deserved.” Rye House scorers: Lewis Blackbird (guest) 13 (5 rides, inc 4 as a TR) Shane Hazelden R/R Ben Morley 6+1 (4) Luke Chessell 10+1 (5) James Sarjeant 11+1 (5) Danno Verge 1 (4) Connor Coles 3+1 (7) Scunthorpe scorers: Lewis Kerr (guest) 4 (4 rides) Tommy Fenwick 2+1 (4) Tom Young 15 (5 rides, maximum) Max Clegg 8+1 (5) Gary Irving 6 (3) Danny Phillips 4+1 (4) Oliver Greenwood 8 (5) Match Points: Scunthorpe 2 Rye House 1
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Post by Administrator on Sept 9, 2012 7:56:49 GMT
Bring ‘Em On: Scunthorpe (National League; Saturday, September 15th @ 7pm) The Raiders take centre stage at Rye House next Saturday (September 15th) for their penultimate home National League match of the season as they entertain Scunthorpe. The Saints certainly enjoyed their day in the sun in 2011, when they captured the League championship as part of a joint venture with Sheffield, famously winning a last race play-off decider against Mildenhall. This year’s team could yet be rewarded with a repeat trip to the play-offs. An away win at Buxton – coupled with last Sunday’s crucial 50-43 victory over Stoke and last night’s squeaker over the Raiders – could well offset not unexpected home defeats against Dudley and Mildenhall and lift them above the Isle of Wight to join the Heathens, Fen Tigers and, almost certainly, the Potters in the Semi-Finals. The Raiders, meanwhile, will be gunning for revenge after last night’s final race defeat as they bid to cement their current 6th place in the table ahead of Buxton and King’s Lynn, and also build towards their home finale against Stoke in a fortnight’s time. They will also be hoping that Jason Garrity will make a return to lead them in the No.1 position.
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Post by Administrator on Sept 12, 2012 9:05:54 GMT
Raiders at Stoke This Sunday As the cut-off date for the National League play-offs looms ever larger, the Raiders have agreed a short-notice visit to Stoke this coming Sunday (September 15th @ 3pm). While the Potters will be aiming to use the match to clinch a top four spot, the Raiders themselves can still theoretically make the cut, but need to claim maximum points against Scunthorpe on Saturday and then again at Loomer Road to give themselves a shot.
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Post by Administrator on Sept 13, 2012 21:54:42 GMT
Sarjeant Finishes 5th in U-19 Championship British U-19 Championship (Sheffield; Thursday, September 13th 2012) 1st Stefan Nielsen 2nd Ashley Morris 3rd Joe Jacobs Rye House Raider James Sarjeant was unlucky not to at least match 2011’s fourth place result when he finished fifth in this year’s British U-19 Championship at Sheffield. Sarjeant racked up three race wins in his five programmed outings – and was close to securing a fourth only to miss out to Ashley Morris in a titanic Heat 6 battle – and finished on 12 points. That left him tied with three other riders for the second automatic Grand Final place, with Sarjeant losing out to Tom Perry on count-back as his Somerset/Dudley rival had claimed four victories (and in fairness would have been unbeaten but for machinery problems in his final ride). The 18 year old therefore had to settle for a Semi-Final slot, but was unable to make inroads in that extra heat into Stefan Nielsen and Joe Jacobs, who moved on to the Grand Final. A year on from finishing third in this event, fellow Rye House representative Ben Morley missed the cut for the Semi-Final by a single point and had to settle for seventh place overall. New Raiders recruit Conner Coles also did himself proud, scoring in four of his five outings to finish with a more than respectable 5 points and eleventh place. The title was won by exciting prospect Stefan Nielsen – a maximum man in two National League visits to Rye House this season – who headed home former U-15 Champion Ashley Morris, Joe Jacobs and Tom Perry in the Grand Final. All four will also be part of the field that competes for the National League Riders Championship at Rye on September 29th. The meeting was marred by an arm injury to Conor Dwyer who was taken to hospital after a third lap fall in his opening race. Scorers from main 20 heat programme (all 5 rides unless stated): Ashley Morris 14, Tom Perry 12 (both straight to Grand Final), James Sarjeant 12, Joe Jacobs 12, Stefan Nielsen 12, Dan Greenwood 10 (qualify for Semi-Final), Ben Morley 9, Darryl Ritchings 8, Tom Stokes 7, Oliver Greenwood 6, Connor Coles 5, Max Clegg 4, Liam Carr 4, Danny Phillips 2, Michael Neale 1, Tom Woolley (res) 1 (2), Conor Dwyer 0 (1), Adam Kirby (res) 0 (2) Semi-Final (first two to Grand Final): Stefan Nielsen, Joe Jacobs, James Sarjeant, Dan Greenwood (fell) Grand Final: Stefan Nielsen, Ashley Morris, Joe Jacobs, Tom Perry Sarjeant will head north to join the Silver Ski Rockets tomorrow night for their final away match of the regular season. Together with Morley and Coles, he will then feature in the Raiders’ home National League match against Scunthorpe on Saturday. It is an intriguing must-win situation for both sides: the Raiders must claim maximum points to keep their faint play-off hopes alive while the Saints need victory themselves to maintain their current advantage for a spot over the Isle of Wight, with Wednesday’s cut-off date fast approaching.
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