30 September 2011
Posted in
Birmingham Brummies
Whilst some top flight riders were winding down from regular racing in this country in September, as the teams competing in the Sky Sports Elite League play-offs were made known, Danny King still saw plenty of action in the UK for the Birmingham Brummies.
He gained an outing in the Phil Morris Farewell meeting at Perry Barr on 1st September and scored 8 paid ten for a GB select side as they overcame a World All-Stars septet contacting none other than former world champion Jason Crump. A good crowd turned out for the retired Welsh racer Morris and Ben Barker won the Grand Final to make it an enjoyable evening for the Brummies faithful.
Danny then faced his final three Sky Sports Elite League meetings of the season within seven days and they were all away from home too; at Lakeside, Wolverhampton and King’s Lynn. All three were difficult meetings but were also an indication of how far the Brummies had come on as the season progressed as the worst defeat in this triage of meetings was by nine points and a consolation match point won at Monmore Green into the bargain.
The Silkolene powered King raced to seven plus one points at the Arena-Essex Raceway as Birmingham went down by 51-42 with Danny’s best races coming in heat 10 as he beat Lee Richardson and Peter Ljung, and in heat 12 where he teamed up for a maximum 5-1 with Aaron Summers which narrowed the margin at that point to 5 points at 40-35.The Hammers regained their composure to go on and claim all three points on offer however but it was a gallant fight by the Brummies.
On the following Monday evening (5th) Danny and his Birmingham team travelled to take on local rivals Wolverhampton Wolves at Monmore Green. It’s a venue that has been kind to Danny over the years with two superb British Final performances in recent times and also his British Under-18 championship success in 2004 but often his league visits there were not up to those high standards he had set himself. That all changed on this occasion as Danny roared to a 12 point score as the Brummies went down narrowly by 48-45. The highlight for Danny came in heat twelve when he scored a double win six point score to go with his three second places on the night. Considering it was a wet night and the track was extremely greasy as rain fell throughout, this was a decent performance from both Danny and the Brummies.
On the Wednesday (7th), Danny had the relatively local journey across to the Norfolk Arena; the home of King’s Lynn as Birmingham took on the play-off bound Stars in front of the Sky Sports television cameras. A bonus piece of exposure for Danny’s sponsors as he enjoyed another good night with nine paid ten points as the Brummies impressed the nation by keeping a strong home King’s Lynn side to a seven point win on the night by 50-43. Danny linked up for 5-1 and 4-2 heats wins with Ben Barker in heats three and seven before he took the spoils himself with a race win in heat 12. In that one he linked up with Ulrich Ostergaard for a 4-2 over Olly Allen to keep the score extremely tight at 39-36 to the Stars. King’s Lynn went on to win the meeting but Danny and his Birmingham boys did themselves and the clubs proud in front of the millions watching on television.
With the Elite League season finally wrapped up for the Brummies and a 9th placed finish in the first season in the top division since 1983, their attentions turned to the Midland Cup and two more battles with local rivals Coventry Bees with local pride at stake and a trophy of course! At Perry Barr on the Thursday evening (22nd September) Brummies won 46-44 in an extremely tight affair against a Coventry side bolstered by the use of Olly Allen (King’s Lynn), Cameron Woodward (Eastbourne) and Chris Harris (Belle Vue) as guests. In fact Birmingham used Tai Woffinden from Wolverhampton in both meetings to replace the suspended Krzysztof Kasprzak at number one. Danny had a mixed meeting scoring just six paid seven points with his solitary win coming in heat 12 when he beat Josh Auty and Ryan Fisher in a shared 3-3 race.
It was going to take an extraordinary performance at Brandon on the Friday for the Brummies to snatch the Midland Cup but they very nearly did it before eventually going down 49-41 on the night and 93-87 overall on aggregate. Danny had a far better night at Brandon than at Perry Barr and scorched to an impressive nine paid 12 points which included three second place paid wins in his five rides. He linked up for two 5-1’s with Ben Barker in heats three and seven before the most impressive one in heat 12; where Danny illustrated superb team riding skills that you don’t often see these days in speedway to shepherd Australian guest Aaron Summers home for a 5-1 over Piotr Pawlicki and Ryan Fisher to keep the score tight at 38-34. Coventry held on however and Birmingham may have lost the trophy but finished their season with their heads held high.
For Danny meanwhile, there may still be racing opportunities in the UK this season that could see him possibly turn out at events like King’s Lynn (Pride of the East) and Rye House (Ace of Herts) if invites come his way. Danny’s UK season may have been a disappointment to him at times but the last two months on different engine set-ups were more like the Danny King of old and Birmingham or any other club looking at him for the 2012 season will get a rider worth so much more than the average he has finished 2011 on.
Thursday 1st September 7.45pm Phil Morris Farewell Birmingham
GB Select 51 Ben Barker 10+1, Lewis Bridger 10+1, Lee Richardson 8+2, DANNY 8+2 (1*,2*,3,2), James Wright 8, Chris Neath 5+1 and Craig Cook 2+1
World All-Stars 39 Jason Crump 15 (maximum), Ty Proctor 11, Claus Vissing 5, Sam Simota 3+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 2+1, David Bellego 2 and Richard Sweetman 1+1
Grand Final: Barker, Bridger, Crump, Richardson.
Friday 2nd September 8pm Sky Sports Elite League
Lakeside 51 Lee Richardson 13, Peter Ljung 9+2, Ty Proctor (G) 6+2, Piotr Swiderski R/R, Jonas Davidsson 11, Kim Nilsson 7+1 and Robert Mear 5+1
Birmingham 42 Davey Watt (G) 10+1, Ales Dryml 0, DANNY 7+1 (0,2,3,2*,0), Ulrich Ostergaard 1, Daniel Nermark 11, Aaron Summers (G) 10 and Claus Vissing 3+1
Monday 5th September 7.30pm Sky Sports Elite League
Wolverhampton 48 Freddie Lindgren 9+1, Ty Proctor 6, Ricky Wells 3+1, Tai Woffinden 15 (maximum), Peter Karlsson 8, Ludvig Lindgren 7 and Joe Haines 0
Birmingham 45 Scott Nicholls (G) 10+2, Ales Dryml 5, DANNY 12 (2,2,2,6), Ben Barker 2, Daniel Nermark 9+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 2+2 and Claus Vissing 5+3
Wednesday 7th September 7.30pm Sky Sports Elite League – Live on Sky Sports
King’s Lynn 50 Kenneth Bjerre 15 (maximum), Lasse Bjerre 7+1, Olly Allen 6+1, Mads Korneliussen 8+1, Niels Kristian Iversen 9+1, Filip Sitera 5+2 and Kozza Smith 0
Birmingham 43 Scott Nicholls (G) 12+1, Ales Dryml 1, DANNY 9+1 (2*,1,1,3,2), Ben Barker 8, Daniel Nermark 1, Ulrich Ostergaard 8+1 and Claus Vissing 4
Thursday 22nd September 7.45pm Midland Cup 1st leg
Birmingham 46 Tai Woffinden (G) 10, Ulrich Ostergaard 2+1, DANNY 6+1 (1,1*,1,3), Ben Barker 9+1, Daniel Nermark 10+2, James Wright 4+1 and Claus Vissing 5
Coventry 44 Emil Sayfutdinov R/R, Olly Allen (G) 7, Ryan Fisher 5+2, Cameron Woodward (G) 7, Chris Harris (G) 14, Josh Auty 7+2 and Nick Morris 3
Friday 23rd September 8pm Midland Cup 2nd leg
Coventry 49 (93) Rory Schlein 13+2, Nick Morris 10+2, Ryan Fisher 7, Przemyslaw Pawlicki 2+1, Edward Kennett R/R, Josh Auty 11 and Piotr Pawlicki 6+2
Birmingham 41 (87) Tai Woffinden (G) 4, Ulrich Ostergaard 2, DANNY 9+3 (2*,2*,1,2*,2), Ben Barker 6, Daniel Nermark 7+1, Aaron Summers (G) 11 and Claus Vissing 2