REACTION: “It was a good night all-around from the team, and it’s happy days.”

MONARCH Oxford Cheetahs thrust to the top of the league with a no-nonsense 55-35 victory over the Birmingham Brummies at Oxford Stadium last night (Wednesday) which maintained their 100% record from three Cab Direct Championship fixtures.

Oxford went into the evening needing to beat Birmingham by 17 points or more to move to the top of the league… and won by 20 points. Cheetahs also picked up an aggregate bonus point by 109-71 last night, to advance onto seven points after three meetings – the same as Poole. Cheetahs have a race points difference of +52, while Pirates are on +48, and that’s enough to leave the Oxfordshire team into top spot.

As team manager Peter Schroeck said last night, whether a team is top or not at this point in the season is not vital, but it’s a nice place to be.

There was just one mis-step last night – but fortunately it was one that was quickly resolved.

Promoter Jamie Courtney, who is also Oxford track curator, was doing exactly the right thing and put down several amounts of water during the day. Otherwise, the supporters end up covered in dust. But, for whatever reason, despite the temperature still remaining high, the last lot of water didn’t dry out as expected.

As a result, the track was less than perfect for Heat 1, where Cameron Heeps and Sam Masters took a runaway 5-1 for Cheetahs far ahead of Nick Morris and Alfie Bowtell.

Around 20 minutes of work then took place, to remove the wet surface, after which Courtney took the time to apologise to the supporters over the centre green mic. The track rode very well for the remaining 14 races, while it avoided turning into a complete dustbowl by the end – which was the entire point of the heavy watering in the first place.

The only two re-runs came in Heat 2, and were not caused by the track, but the eagerness of Brummies’ reserves to impress new team boss Stewart Dickson. At the first attempt, Henry Atkins was sandwiched on the first bend, left with nowhere to go, and came down, prompting a re-run with all four. At the second attempt, Joe Thompson shoved the other three riders wide on the second bend, with the result that his team-mate James Pearson and Ryan Kinsley ran out of room on the outside and crashed down. With Thompson excluded, Atkins won the second re-run, as Cheetahs took a 4-2.

Oxford were quickly in command. Lewis Kerr and Jordan Jenkins took a further 5-1 in Heat 3, as Cheetahs moved 14-4 ahead.

Brummies then improved a little and four of the next six races were shared, while Cheetahs took a couple of 4-2s in Heats 5 and 7. Justin Sedgmen again showed his liking of the Sandy Lane circuit, including squeezing between Sam Masters and the back straight fence to come through and win Heat 6. Heat 8 was a cracking race, with Kinsley leading from the tapes, quickly being overtaken by Bowtell, while Heeps won an early battle for third place with Pearson. The latter stages of the race saw Kinsley then fending off Pearson to hold onto third place and ensure the 3-3.

A 5-1 from Heeps and Masters in Heat 10 left Cheetahs 39-21 ahead going into the interval. Heeps led from the start, while Masters flew around Drew Kemp on the second turn. With Kemp still in close attention, Masters rode a clever ride to ensure there was no way through and made sure of the maximum heat win.

Victory was in the bag after a 4-2 to Scott Nicholls and Atkins in Heat 11, with Atkins threatening to pass Brummies’ No 1 Morris a couple of times.

Birmingham placed Sedgmen into Heat 12 as a tactical substitute, and Kerr slipped wide on the second bend, allowing the Birmingham pair in front. But Kerr is a battler and he threw himself around Dan Thompson on the second lap, before closing in on Sedgmen, as Brummies took a 4-2.

Morris had a disappointing evening, but he came to life in Heat 13. He burst inside Nicholls and Masters on the opening lap, including putting one-and-a-half wheels over the white line as he forced a route under Masters on the third bend. It’s completely legal, and Morris went on to win the race, while third-placed Nicholls dropped his only point to the opposition during another classy performance from the Oxford skipper.

Jenkins and Atkins concluded their fifth successive meeting – be it for Chargers or Cheetahs – with a 5-1 as a pair. In Heat 14, Atkins trapped while Jenkins quickly forced a route past the Birmingham pair into second place. The pair then team rode to perfection, with Jenkins on the inside and Atkins on the outside.

With top spot in the league clinched by the 5-1 in Heat 14, the final race saw both Kerr and Heeps given a well-earned extra outing. Morris shot out the around on the second bend to move to the front, as Brummies concluded the night with a 4-2.

Kerr top-scored for Cheetahs on 12 points, while Oxford had another five riders who were paid for eight points or more in another very impressive team display.

Cameron Heeps was awarded Rider Of The Night for his 9+1 display, and he said: ”It was a good night all-around from the team, and it’s happy days.

“The track was a little tricky to start with, with a bit too much water, but what else can you do? On a day like this, it makes sense to get in as much water as possible into the track, but for whatever reason, it didn’t dry out in time. I had a decent race in the first one, but it was a bit funny track to ride, but it got sorted out and it was a good track to ride after that.

“It was solid performance from the team, while I had a good night. I took a couple of 5-1s with Sam. He’s a class rider, and it’s great to be riding with your mates.

“It’s early days, but it’s still nice to be top of the league and hopefully, come the end of the season, we can still be in this spot.

“It’s a great bunch of lads here. We’re all about just enjoying ourselves, because we know from enjoyment and having fun comes points, because everyone is doing a job they love doing. That’s the point that Pete and Jamie keep making. Between Pete and Jamie, the other six riders and myself, that’s what we’re doing and it’s working.”

Monarch Oxford Cheetahs 55: Sam Masters 8+2, Cameron Heeps 9+1, Lewis Kerr 12, Jordan Jenkins 6+3, Scott Nicholls 10+1, Henry Atkins 8, Ryan Kinsley 2+1.

Birmingham Brummies 35: Nick Morris 9, Alfie Bowtell 5, Dan Thompson 3, Drew Kemp (guest) 3, Justin Sedgmen 12, Joe Thompson 0, James Pearson 3+1.

PHOTO: First bend in Heat 14. Henry Atkins and Jordan Jenkins came through for the 5-1 (pic: STEVE EDMUNDS)