REACTION: “It’s a really good result for us to get a win at Plymouth.”

SKIPPER Scott Nicholls was delighted after Monarch Oxford Cheetahs took their opening victory of the season with a hard-fought and excellent 48-42 triumph in the BSN Series (Southern) at the Plymouth Coliseum last night (Tuesday).

The win was sealed with a 5-1 for Cheetahs from Nicholls and No 1 Sam Masters in Heat 15, the only maximum heat win for either side all night. Although arguably it was the 4-2 from Jordan Jenkins and Henry Atkins in Heat 14 was the key result of the evening in South Devon.

The result was the first time that the senior Oxford Cheetahs side has won away at Plymouth and keeps Cheetahs’ hopes alive in the BSN Series, as they can still grab the best runners-up spot to book a place in the semi-finals.

There was totally unforecast drizzle throughout most of the meeting and the precipitation started to get a little harder at one point around halfway through. The riders from both sides coped extremely well as conditions became more challenging – Plymouth only had a couple of fallers, while Cheetahs didn’t have any at all.

There were a number of stoppages, but these were largely down to riders moving at the starts, with several members of both teams picking up warnings, as no-one wanted to be left trailing around the tight confines of the smallest track in the Cab Direct Championship in the damp conditions.

Having said that, the meeting contained some excellent racing, such as when Cameron Heeps fought his way through from third to first in Heat 8, only for Dan Gilkes to come back through to win the race. Another keen contest occurred in Heat 11, when Masters eventually won a battle with Richie Worrall, after Worrall made a late mistake that the Australian pounced upon.

Cheetahs took the lead from a 4-2 from Atkins and Luke Killeen in Heat 2, after Atkins won a tussle for first place with Jake Turner. Gladiators levelled the scores, but two 4-2s, from Masters and Heeps in Heat 5 and from Lewis Kerr and Atkins in Heat 6, moved Cheetahs 20-16 in front.

Three 4-2 in four races left Plymouth 31-29 ahead, but Cheetahs were not beaten and it was deadlocked at 39-39 after 13 races.

Heat 14 saw Ben Barker and Jake Turner hit the first bend in front for Plymouth. But Turner had moved at the start, and crucially it was his second offence, and he gained a 15-metre penalty for the re-run. Second time around, Barker led, but Jenkins was near and pressured Barker into an error on the second bend of the third lap, and Jenkins roared through the gap on the inside. Meanwhile, Turner chased third-placed Atkins, but fell at the end of the third lap, prompting the race to be awarded as a 4-2 to Cheetahs.

With Oxford two in front, Masters and Nicholls made no mistakes in Heat 15. After a tight first bend, they headed the charge out of the second bend and then settled down for a match-winning 5-1.

All three of Cheetahs’ heat-leader trio scored well: Nicholls (13), Masters (12+2) and Kerr (8). But crucially they received support from the rest of the side. Local Devon rider Atkins was right in the mix and scored six points on his return to his old track, Heeps was in the middle of the action and collected five, Jenkins recovered from three pointless outings for that priceless victory in Heat 14 and Killeen picked up a third place in Heat 2.

Speaking post-meeting, Cheetahs’ skipper Scott Nicholls said: “It was a team performance. Everyone chipped in and did their bit.

“Plymouth can be a tough place to come to – it’s a small track and they have home track specialists within the Plymouth team and they’ve got a strong side in any case, so it’s a really good result for us to get a win here.

“It was an important result for us, to stay in this competition. We lost out to Poole home and away, so we’re now fighting to finish second in the group, and the win tonight still gives us a chance to progress.

“We kept it close and it was level going into the last two races. The 4-2 that Jordan and Henry got in Heat 14 was key and it took a bit off pressure of me and Sam in the final race and we closed the deal. We didn’t have the favoured gates in that last race, but we managed to get out noses in front on the back straight, and from there on, it was just about riding a sensible race.

“Jordan showed a lot of character to win Heat 14. He was having a tough night, but there’s a saying you’ve only as good as your last race. Ben Barker is one of the best riders around him, but Jordan outfoxed him and pressured him into a mistake.

.“The track was tricky mid-meeting when it was raining. It’s a tough track to pass people and it becomes trickier when it becomes a bit greasy. But everyone soldiered on and we got the job done – for example, Cam rode with a lot of determination, but the whole side dug in and won points.

“It’s great to get our first win of the season under our belts. It’s great for the confidence of the boys and helps us gel further as a team.

“We’d love to win a meeting at home in front of our own fans, and we’ve got that chance against Swindon. It’s not a meeting where points count towards the season, so we can just enjoy it, get some more track time under our belts and get fully dialled into Oxford. Of course, we’d still want to win it and that’s what we’ll try to do.”

Plymouth Gladiators 42: Kyle Howarth 10, Dan Gilkes 4, Paul Starke 5+1, Ben Barker 7+1, Richie Worrall 10+1, Jake Turner 5+1, Ben Trigger 1.

Monarch Oxford Cheetahs 48: Sam Masters 12+2, Cameron Heeps 5, Scott Nicholls 13, Jordan Jenkins 3, Lewis Kerr 8, Henry Atkins 6, Luke Killeen 1.