13 June 2011
Posted in
Birmingham Brummies
It was a speedy exit from the KO Cup for the Birmingham Brummies as they were narrowly beaten at Perry Barr in a rain affected Thursday night meeting, 36-41, before being on the receiving end of a Lakeside hammering as the homesters ran out 63-29 victors on the Friday night for a huge 104-65 aggregate victory.
For Danny it was once again a roller coaster ride of mixed emotions with a decent performance in the home meeting where he notched nine points (3,2,4) for the Brummies followed by another poor night at the Arena-Essex Raceway with 3 points (1,1,1,e/f). The home tally included a win in heat three as he combined with Claus Vissing for a 4-2 over the Ljung/Nieminen partnership, that coming after Hammers had stormed into a 10-2 lead. Danny then notched two second places, the second as a nominated double points ride in heat nine, Brummies were that far out of contention. That 5-3 advantage still left them ten points in arrears however. The relentless rain was the main winner though, just as Birmingham has narrowed the deficit to six points on the night.
If that was not bad enough for Birmingham, it got far worse on the Friday night as Lakeside destroyed the Brummies for the second time in Essex this season, this time by a 63-29 scoreline. Danny rode hard and gave 100% for very little reward, and he certainly doesn’t appear to have enough speed in his engines right now. He was awarded another tactical ride in heat 14, which raised a few eyebrows. Danny tore from the gate into a first bend lead to justify team manager Graham Drury’s selection choice but just as he stormed down the back straight his engine blew to pieces, a very expensive and disappointing way to end his evening.
It’s now back to the drawing board and more effort in the workshop ahead of Monday’s trip to the East of England Showground at Peterborough. Hopefully better days and a slice of luck are around the corner for Danny and his Brummies team. Tapes up 7.30pm.
1st Leg
Birmingham 36 Krzysztof Kasprzak 2+2, Ulrich Ostergaard 12, Joe Screen R/R, Danny King 9 (3,2,4), Daniel Nermark 7+2, James Wright 3 and Claus Vissing 3+1
Lakeside 41 Lee Richardson 12 (maximum), Adam Shields R/R, Kauko Nieminen 3+2, Peter Ljung 8, Piotr Swiderski 10, Robert Mear 2+1 and Stuart Robson 5+1
2nd Leg
Lakeside 63 (104) Lee Richardson 18 (maximum), Adam Shields R/R, Kauko Nieminen 7+1, Peter Ljung 7, Piotr Swiderski 14+4 (maximum), Robert Mear 6+1 and Stuart Robson 11+4 (maximum)
Birmingham 29 (65) Krzysztof Kasprzak 3, Joe Screen R/R, Ulrich Ostergaard 11, Danny King 3+1, Daniel Nermark 2, James Wright 5 and Claus Vissing 5