REPORT: Fantastic double victory for BetGoodwin Oxford Spires, with new signing Craig Cook in inspirational form
BETGOODWIN Oxford Spires kick-started their season with an excellent double victory in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership over the Birmingham Brummies yesterday (Bank Holiday Monday). Spires registered their opening victory of the season with a 49-41 win over Brummies at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium yesterday afternoon and even better was to follow in the evening, with a 47-43 away victory at Birmingham.
Spires also picked up an aggregate bonus point, and the five points collected see them leap the table up two places in the table to fifth place.
New signing Craig Cook – making his seasonal debut for Spires – was in excellent form. He scored 7+1 in the afternoon, including the match-winning ride with victory in Heat 14, and then notched a brilliant 15-point-maximum at Birmingham.
It was Cook’s 101st maximum in the top two tiers of British Speedway – and his first at Premiership level since 2021.
A startling statistic is that Oxford have a 100 per cent away record in league matches at Birmingham. The two sides barely rode each other until the resurrection of Oxford Speedway at the beginning of 2022, and since then, Oxford have won all five away league matches at Perry Barr.
In the afternoon, Spires took control at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium after two early 5-1s and led 13-5 after three races and Spires still led by eight points after Heat 8.
Birmingham were far from beaten and introduced Tobiasz Musielak as a tactical substitute in Heat 9 and he joined Michael Jepsen Jensen for a 5-1.
But Spires’ skipper Maciej Janowski fired right around the outside on the opening lap of Heat 10 and joined Erik Riss for a 5-1 that restored Oxford’s eight-point lead. It was the second maximum heat advantage of the afternoon for the pairing, which had previously got Oxford off to a great start with a 5-1 in Heat 1.
Rohan Tungate – showing much better form – and Charles Wright won the next two races, before Janowski held off severe pressure from Jepsen Jensen and Musielak to win the battle of the big guns in Heat 13.
With Spires still eight points in front, Cook popped out of the gate in Heat 14. Peter Kildemand – who had taken a 5-1 with Wright in Heat 3 – took a tumble with fighting for third with Jason Edwards, but quickly cleared the track to allow Cook to secure Spires’ win on the afternoon.
Both Janowski and Riss – who combined to keep Musielak at the back in a shared Heat 15 – ended the meeting as Spires’ top scores on 11+2. A number of other Spires also scored well, namely, Wright (9), Tungate (8) and Cook (7+1).
Erik Riss – who also rode in the German Grand Prix over the weekend and scored four points – said: “Birmingham have had problems of their own, and this was a must-win meeting for us and we’ve done the job.
“I’m pleased my form around Oxford – I’ve got it figured out. I know what to do when the track is slick and I know what to do when the track is grippy. I’m happy how I’m going around Oxford, I just need to be more consistent away from home. I’m always working hard at it and I want to be scoring good points everywhere.
“It was nice to have formed a strong opening pairing with Maciej today. It takes pressure away from the team when we started off with a 5-1 in Heat 1 – it was important we got in front and controlled the meeting. It was a strong team performance and we want to continue it at Birmingham this evening.”
In the evening meeting at Birmingham’s Perry Barr, Spires showed real resilience, since Brummies took the lead at 18-12, despite a fine 5-1 from reserves Cook and Luke Killeen in Heat 2.
Cook put in a superlative display of fast starts. In Heat 6, when the other riders were close to him, he simply powered clear ahead the outside on the opening lap and pulled away, defeating Brummies’ No 1 Musielak in the process.
A 5-1 for Cook and Tungate in Heat 9 – with the previously unbeaten Keynan Rew trailing in last – levelled the scores at 27-27. The middle pairing of Kildemand and Wright were rock solid with three 3-3s – filling the minor positions in each of their races together – and both defeated Musielak in Heat 10.
Janowski and Riss moved Spires in front for the first time with a 5-1 in Heat 11, inflicting the first defeat on Jepsen Jensen in the process.
Cook took his fourth win in Heat 12, while Wright came through for third, as Spires moved six points ahead with a 4-2.
Janowski won his second Heat 13 of the day in excellent style, while Brummies played their last throw of the dice in Heat 14, with Musielak coming in as a tactical substitute. But was there no denying Cook, who shot away from the unfavourable outside gate to complete his 15-point-maximum, as he and Kildemand took a match-winning 4-2.
A delighted Cook celebrated in front of the large contingent of Oxford fans on the first bend. Sponsored by Chalfont Coaches, Birmingham had offered discounted coach and admission for travelling supporters and the Oxford supporters made themselves heard during the meeting.
Brummies took a consolation 5-1 in Heat 15, with Kildemand suffering a puncture, but it was Spires who finished the day in a much happier frame of mind, after their double victory.
Maximum man Craig Cook said: “I’ve had a spell of riding six meetings in five days and it couldn’t have finished any better for me than to pick up a 15-point-maximum here tonight at Birmingham.
“I made a change to the bike prior to Heat 14 in my final ride at Oxford this afternoon and it paid off. I changed something I’d been using all season and carried on with that tonight and it’s made a massive difference. I’m making progress, but there’s still work to be done.
“I was making some fast starts tonight. It’s years of experience of doing it – I am quite technically minded and I can work on the jetting, the ignition, how I release the clutch, so it’s all working how I want it to.
“I’m feeling very positive – I’ve got good people around me. I also work with Jamie (the Oxford promoter) at Berwick and there’s no stress in Jamie’s teams. It’s good to be in his teams, because when I have got stress around me, it rubs off on me. It’s a positive atmosphere and I like being part of it. I’ve now got a mid-week break and the chance to take the bikes back to the workshop and do a little testing.
“I’ve enjoyed my first couple of meetings with Oxford. We’re making progress and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.
“It wasn’t just about me by any means. Everyone has upped their game and that’s why we won both meetings today – it’s a team effort to win a speedway meeting. A few of the guys have been struggling but it’s not for the lack of trying. I know every other guy in this side of the pits wants it as much as me. Speedway is not easy, if it was easy, everyone would do it.
“All the guys are working overtime to move things forward. They’re working tirelessly and if we continue moving in the right direction, I can’t see any reason why we can’t finish in the top four and qualify for the play-offs.”
The next meeting at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium see the Spires entertain reigning champions Belle Vue Aces in more ROWE Motor Oil Premiership action on Thursday, May 15 at 7.30pm. Tickets will be on sale in due course at: https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/
BetGoodwin Oxford Spires 49: Maciej Janowski 11+2, Erik Riss 11+2, Charles Wright 9, Peter Kildemand 2+1, Rohan Tungate 8, Craig Cook 7+1, Luke Killeen 1.
Birmingham Brummies 41: Tobiasz Musielak 9+2, Paco Castagna 2, Jonas Jeppsen 3+1, Keynan Rew 6, Michael Jepsen Jensen 13, Danyon Hume 4+2, Jason Edwards 4+2.
Birmingham Brummies 43: Tobiasz Musielak 11+1, Paco Castagna 7+1, Jonas Jeppsen 2, Keynan Rew 6, Michael Jepsen Jensen 10+2, Danyon Hume 0, Jason Edwards 7+1.
BetGoodwin Oxford Spires 47: Maciej Janowski 7, Erik Riss 8+1, Charles Wright 4+3, Peter Kildemand 7, Rohan Tungate 3+1, Craig Cook 15 (full maximum), Luke Killeen 3+1.
PHOTO: Craig Cook winning his first ride of the season for Spires – ahead of Danyon Hume and Jason Edwards in Heat 2 at Oxford (pic: Les Aubrey)