REACTION: “Those are sort of races we love and are good fun and that’s why we do it.”

A MOMENT of magic from skipper Scott Nicholls and maximum man Sam Masters transformed the meeting at Oxford Stadium last night (Wednesday), as league leaders Monarch Oxford Cheetahs took three late 5-1s to register a 53-37 victory over a battling Berwick Bandits side.

The victory makes it eight wins out of eight for Cheetahs in the Cab Direct Championship and extends their lead at the top of the table to nine points.

There was only four points between the two sides with three races to go. In Heat 13, Berwick’s Rory Schlein led from the tapes, while team-mate Thomas Jorgensen also looked handily placed on the opening bends. Nicholls fought around Jorgensen on the second bend, and Schlein then came under increasing pressure from both sides – with Masters probing on the inside and Nicholls threatening on the outside.

On the second bend of the third lap, it happened – as both Oxford riders made their move simultaneously, and within a flash a 3-3 became to a 5-1 to Cheetahs. To give credit to Schlein, he didn’t give up and was right with Masters to the chequered flag, but Cheetahs held on for the maximum heat win.

Cheetahs then clinched all three points on offer, when Jordan Jenkins bustled under Leon Flint on the second lap of Heat 14 to join Cameron Heeps for a match-winning 5-1.

Masters and Lewis Kerr led all the way in Heat 15, as Cheetahs ended up with a score that slightly flattered them, since Berwick had been right in the contest for the opening 12 races.

Cheetahs went into the meeting six points clear at the top, while Berwick were eighth out of nine teams in the table. But every side in the Championship can be dangerous, and Bandits took the lead with a 5-1 in Heat 2 after Heeps was forced out of the race with a problem with his spark plug.

Oxford quickly levelled through a 5-1 from Kerr and Jenkins in Heat 3, and the same pair took Cheetahs into the lead with a 4-2 in Heat 5, as Jenkins overhauled Jye Etheridge for third place early in the race.

Henry Atkins – making his first appearance at Cowley since his elevation from reserve – fought inside Jacob Hook for third in Heat 6, as Cheetahs took another 4-2.

Nicholls hugged the inside to move from third to first on the opening bends of Heat 7, while Atkins passed Connor Coles on the opening lap of Heat 8, to join race-winner Heeps for the third 4-2 to Cheetahs in four races.

Bandits’ team manager Scott Courtney – the brother of Oxford promoter Jamie Courtney – hit straight back by introducing Schlein into Heat 9 as a tactical substitute. Schlein rounded both Jenkins and Kerr on the opening lap to join Jorgensen for a 5-1 and Bandits were only two behind.

Masters won Heat 10, while Atkins was involved in a battle with both Bandits and just held onto third place in a very close finish with Jonas Knudsen.

Cheetahs trapped on a 5-1 in Heat 11. Nicholls team rode with Heeps, but Schein spotted a gap and moved inside Nicholls on the second lap, and then roared around fellow Australian Heeps a lap later, as he took a fine race win, as Cheetahs had to settle for a 3-3.

Kerr won a shared Heat 12, to keep the gap at four points, while Ryan Kinsley chased Hook all the way home for third place in this race.

Masters top scored for Cheetahs with a 14+1 paid maximum, while fellow heat-leaders Kerr (12+1) and Nicholls (9+1), plus reserve Heeps (9+1), were also paid for double figures.

But this was another team effort from Cheetahs – with Jenkins involved in two key 5-1s during the night, and Atkins beating an opponent in three out of four races. Kinsley was on the pace and gave his all, and it surely won’t be long before he’s rewarded with higher points tallies.

Maximum man Sam Masters – also who also awarded Rider Of the Night – said: “It was another good team performance. It’s been like that every meeting lately and I’m proud of all the boys. Lewi, Scotty and myself are expected to do big things, but it’s the other guys who are really backing us up and that’s making the difference.

“You can never write off another team in this league. We’d won at Berwick, so you’d think we’d give them a spanking here, but it wasn’t like that at all. All it takes is one or two of their riders to be really on their game and it really changes the whole aspect. But we got the job done and we’re happy with that.

“It was a really good race in Heat 13. I had two really experienced riders in front of me in Rory Schlein and Scott Nicholls. Scotty threw Schleiny a few dummies on the outside, and it gave me a gap and I moved through at the same time that Scott made his move on the outside. Those are sort of races we love and are good fun and that’s why we do it.

“Every meeting for Oxford is enjoyable. Pete (team manager Peter Schroeck) is good with us all and the group chats are always a good laugh.

“I’ve been in successful teams before, including those who have won the league, and for some reason when you’re in a team like that, where everyone gets along and the team is going well, you can score points a little bit easier. It’s a mental thing – if you’re having fun with the guys around you, you’re having fun on the track as well. We’ve got a really good team spirit and we’re just enjoying going out there.”

Monarch Oxford Cheetahs 53: Sam Masters 14+1, Henry Atkins 3, Lewis Kerr 12+1, Jordan Jenkins 5+2, Scott Nicholls 9+1, Cameron Heeps 9+1, Ryan Kinsley 1.

Berwick Bandits 37: Rory Schlein 11+1, Jye Etheridge 3+1, Joans Knudsen 4, Leon Flint 5+1, Thomas Jorgensen 8, Jacob Hook 3+2, Connor Coles 3.

PHOTO: Sam Masters and Scott Nicholls go either side of Rory Schlein in Heat 13 (PIC: STEVE EDMUNDS)