REPORT: Nicholls crash mars Cup Final
DEPLETED Monarch Oxford Cheetahs were handed a further blow at Oxford Stadium last night (Thursday) when Scott Nicholls crashed out of the first leg of the Cab Direct Knockout Cup Final in his opening race with a dislocated shoulder. Without their influential skipper, Cheetahs were no match for visitors Poole Pirates, who have one hand on the Cup, after a 57-33 victory.
The accident happened on the first bend of Heat 4. The scores stood at 9-9 entering the race, after an impressive 5-1 from Cameron Heeps and recent regular guest Dan Gilkes over the Cook brothers, Zach and Ben, in Heat 3.
Nicholls picked up unexpected drive entering the first bend and ploughed into Poole’s Tom Brennan, resulting in a horrifying crash which demolished a whole section of air fence. Brennan was soon to his feet, but Nicholls’ shoulder had popped out of joint and he was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital.
Cheetahs were already below strength entering the meeting, using three guest riders, and missing such stalwarts as Jordan Jenkins, Jody Scott and in-form reserve Luke Killeen. The loss of Nicholls on top of that was simply too much.
After great work by the Oxford track staff to fix the fence, Pirates took the lead with a 5-1 in the re-run of Heat 4 and the scoreline stood at 31-17 after eight races.
It was a night when nothing went right for Cheetahs, commencing in Heat 1, when Sam Masters and Ashton Boughen flew out of the start, only for Boughen to later pull out of the race with an engine failure. Masters concluded his evening with two punctures in Heats 13 and 15.
Cheetahs went into the meeting with an unbeaten home run of 28 meetings, which stretched back to April 2023, but were a wounded beast last night and it was impossible to prevent Pirates racking up a large victory.
Cameron Heeps top scored for Cheetahs with 11+1, while he and wife Stephanie are expecting their first child next Monday.
The Australian said: “I had a decent night. I made the odd mistake here and there, but overall I had a good night. But I’m gutted for the team and I hope that Scott is okay. It’s not quite over yet, because there is 15 races still to be held, but we have made it hard for ourselves.
“Losing Scott was a big blow. He does fire up the whole team. He knows how to turn it on and when to turn it on, so to lose him in his first ride is just gutting.
“I’ve had a good year personally. We’ve also had a good year as a team, reaching a couple of finals, and I’ve had a great time with these lads.
“The baby is due Monday. I’m hoping he arrives in the next couple of days, so it doesn’t interfere with the meeting at Poole next Wednesday! But it’s up to him when he arrives. It’s going to be full on over the winter but I’m looking forward to the new challenge of becoming a dad.”
Pirates will be firm favourites to complete the treble when the two sides met in Dorset for the second leg next Wednesday (October 23). Cheetahs have not won the Cup outright for 39 years and now it looks like they will have to wait at least one more year before they can win the competition.
Last night was the 34th and final home meeting of the season at Cowley, after a highly enjoyable year when Oxford Speedway entered all three British leagues – something they will repeat in 2025.
Monarch Oxford Cheetahs 33: Sam Masters 8, Ashton Boughen 2+1, Cameron Heeps 11+1, Dan Gilkes 6+2, Scott Nicholls 0, Jack Smith 5, Connor Coles 1.
Poole Pirates 57: Richard Lawson 14, Sam Hagon 1+1, Ben Cook 7, Zach Cook 7+2, Tom Brennan 11+2, Tobias Thomson 11+1, Vinnie Foord 6+3.
PHOTO: Cameron Heeps leads Tobias Thomsen and Connor Coles in Heat 12 (pic: Steve Edmunds)