REPORT: Cheetahs topple high-flying Scunthorpe Scorpions in cracking meeting at the Oxford BetGoodwin Stadium

SD TIMMO CAR SALES Oxford Cheetahs extended their unbeaten home run to five meetings with a 51-39 victory in the Cab Direct Championship over the Scunthorpe Scorpions at the Oxford BetGoodwin Stadium last night (Wednesday).

The result knocked Scunthorpe off the top of the table. Poole – who also won last night – are now on top of the Cab Direct Championship, with Scunthorpe on the same number of points, but with inferior race points difference.

Oxford did not get off to the best starts – despite a 5-1 from reserves Dayle Wood and Darryl Ritchings in Heat 2 – and Scunthorpe led 17-13 after five races.

But Cheetahs then banged in a devastating run of four 5-1s in five races to take control in the meeting.

That commenced with a 5-1 from Sam Masters and Luke Killeen in Heat 6, after Killeen flew around the outside on the opening lap, before Anders Rowe and Ritchings put Cheetahs ahead with a further maximum from Heat 7.

In Heat 9, Edward Kennett flew around early race-leader Luke Harrison after a lap and then Mitch McDiarmid moved inside Harrison at the start of the second lap. Heat 10 saw Killeen and Masters at it again, and the 5-1 shifted the scoreline to 36-24.

But Scorpions hit back with a 4-2 in Heat 11, and then Scunthorpe skipper Josh Pickering came into Heat 12 as a tactical substitute and joined new signing Jacob Hook for a 5-1 as the gap came down to six points.

Heat 13 looked set to finish as a 3-3, but race-leader Pickering – looking to win his fifth successive outing – blew his engine in a big plume of smoke, and Rowe and Masters sealed the meeting for Cheetahs with a 5-1.

There was still the aggregate bonus point at stake, and McDiarmid flew around Michael Palm Toft to win Heat 14, as Cheetahs took a 4-2 and moved to within two points of Scorpions on aggregate, following Scorpions’ 52-38 win in North Lincolnshire on July 10.

In Heat 15, Masters and McDiarmid held a 4-2 that would have forced a Super Heat for the aggregate point, but Pickering swooped brilliantly inside Masters on the third bend of the third lap to win the race and seal the point for Scorpions.

It was a fair outcome, since it was Pickering’s engine failure in Heat 13 that opened the door of possibility of the aggregate point to Cheetahs. Pickering has often been one of the best visiting riders to Cowley – ever since speedway returned to the city of Oxford in 2022 – and he was again box office with only his blown engine preventing an 18-point maximum.

For Cheetahs, skipper Masters as always led from the front and top-scored with 11+2, while Rowe only dropped one point on 11, with McDiarmid (9+2) and Killeen (8+1) also scoring heavily. But it was a team performance, with every Cheetah picking up a win or paid win.

Anders Rowe said: “It was another confidence boasting meeting for me tonight and long may it continue. I have been riding well recently. I’ve got some good things happening with engines, and had plenty of meetings recently, because bike time always helps.

“I missed the gate in my third race, but you can’t win them all, and it was nice to pick up 11 points out of 12.

“Scunthorpe are a really good team – who are riding high in the league table – and it was awesome for us to beat them by as much as we did. All the boys chipped in and we all scored points.

“I enjoy riding for Oxford. It’s always tricker for me when I’m not going so well myself. But now that I’ve got engines which are working any my confidence is building, it’s fun. There were a lot of supporters in here tonight and thank you to them for getting behind us.”

The next meeting at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium is next Wednesday (August 12) at 7.30pm, when the SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs take on Workington Comets in further Cab Direct Championship action in Cheetahs’ final schedule home meeting of the season. Tickets are on sale on the Oxford Speedway website at: https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs 51: Sam Masters 11+2, Luke Killeen 8+1, Edward Kennett 3, Mitch McDiarmid 9+2, Anders Rowe 11, Dayle Wood 4, Darryl Ritchings 5+2.

Scunthorpe Scorpions 39: Josh Pickering 15, Connor Mountain 4+1, Jacob Hook 5+2, Michael Palm Toft 6, Luke Harrison 4+1, Ryan Ingram 0, Nathan Ablitt 5.

PHOTO: Sam Masters and Anders Rowe celebrate after clinching victory for Cheetahs last night (pic: Steve Edmunds)