Centurions end with a victory

The Plymouth SWTR Centurions closed their 2022 season with a 50 points to 40 home victory over the Armadale Devils last night.

The meeting produced some of the best NDL Racing seen at the venue in many years, with plenty of exciting racing and passing on a smooth track which had plenty of dirt out wide and which played to the strengths of some of the riders who were able to showcase their talents.

The home side were superbly led by recent recruit Adam Roynon with 15 points from 6 sides and he was given outstanding support by Richard Andrews who thrived in the track conditions he loves,  to score a season best 13 points from 6 rides showing some glimpses of his outstanding form of 2018 and 2019 in the process. 

The duo were ably supported by other recruits who arrived during the season in Rhys Naylor (7 points) and David Abrahams (6 points) both having returned to the Sport after considerable absences and showing improvement with each meeting. Adam Extance chipped in with 5 points and Ben Trigger with 4 points, to give the Home team a welcome win and a glimpse of what might have been after an injury and rider unavailability affected season at NDL level.

The Armadale Devils were superbly led by short term Westcolour Gladiators recruit Lee Complin who scored an outstanding 5 ride 15 point maximum, mostly earned from the back with some outstanding fence scraping rides that thrilled the home crowd. The Devils experienced pair of Danny Phillips (11 points) and Tom Wooley (7 points) provided good support too.

The quality of the racing on the excellently prepared track was a reminder of all that is good about racing at NDL level. The season started with the SWTR Gladiators confidently tipped for a strong season but the massive loss of No 1 Dan Gilkes in May,  robbed both them and the Westcolour Gladiators of an outstanding young rider in excellent form. 

This allied to the unexpected loss of Henry Atkins, who was confidently expected to have his best season at NDL level at the same time early in the season, but who withheld his services and sought opportunity elsewhere, was a hammer blow from which the SWTR Gladiators never really recovered. The fact that Atkins has rediscovered much of his undoubted form and enthusiasm at Oxford merely adds frustration that such high hopes were banished so early in the season.

The more experienced Richard Andrews and Adam Extance took time to find their full race fitness and form in their first full NDL seasons in 4 years and both Connor King and Eli Meadows suffered from loss of confidence and form in a struggling side and were released mid season. The progress of Naylor and Abrahams has added a lot of positivity on and off the track and is one of the more positive aspects of the season.  

Local prospect Ben Trigger has may be not quite made the progress that some expected, but a significant mid-season injury limited his track time and opportunities,  and he has shown enough glimpses of his form at home and away to suggest that with full fitness and a fuller schedule of matches he can continue to make significant progress in the sport. 

Ben Phillips came in too and did a sterling job for a while and both Ben Morley and Alfie Bowtell, from the Westcolour Gladiators Championship Team were big points scorers and gave outstanding efforts when called upon to replace the injured Gilkes as guest riders.

With the Sports AGM set for later in the Autumn and some significant changes likely to both the Premiership and Championship Leagues in terms of participating clubs, it remains to be seen what format the NDL will take in 2023 although the rumoured arrival of the newly built Northside (Workington) track is a very welcome development. 

Plymouth Speedway will therefore be considering all options at the time of the AGM but would like to thank everyone (Riders / Mechanics / Parents / Officials / Track Staff and Helpers) for their support of the SWTR Centurions and particularly South West Tyre Recycling for their outstanding financial backing and of course you wonderful Plymouth Speedway Supporters – THANK YOU.

A reminder that the final scheduled meeting of the 2022 season; the remaining Championship League Fixture against the Glasgow Tigers is scheduled for next Tuesday 11th October at 7.00pm . 

Plymouth Centurions = 50

1. R/R for Dan Gilkes (RN – 2, AR – 3, RA – 2, BT – 0) = 7

2. Ben Trigger – 0, 1, 2, 1’, 0 = 4+1

3. Rhys Naylor – 2, 1, 1’, 1, 2 = 7+1

4. Richard Andrews – 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 0 = 13

5. Adam Roynon – 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2 = 15

6. Adam Extance – 2’, 1, 0, 2’ = 5+2

7. David Abraham – 3, 1, 1’, 1’ = 6+2

Armadale Devils = 40

1. Lee Complin – 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 = 15 FULL MAXIMUM

2. Elliot Kelly – 1, 0, 3, 1, 0 = 5

3. Danny Phillips – 2, 2, 3, 3, 1 = 11

4. R/R for Josh Embleton (KW – 0, JL – 0, KW – 0, EK – 0) = 0

5. Tom Woolley – 2, 2, 2, 1 = 7

6. Kai Ward (G) – 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1 = 2

7. James Laker (G) – 0, 0, 0, 0 = 0

Heat Results

Heat 01: Complin, Naylor, Kelly, Trigger 2-4, 52.19

Heat 02: Abraham, Extance, Ward, Laker 5-1, 7-5, 55.97

Heat 03: Andrews, Phillips, Naylor, Ward 4-2, 11-7, 53.25

Heat 04: Roynon, Woolley, Abraham, Laker 4-2, 15-9, 52.94

Heat 05: Complin, Andrews, Naylor, Kelly 3-3, 18-12, 52.90

Heat 06: Roynon, Woolley, Trigger, Ward 4-2, 22-14, 53.22

Heat 07: Roynon, Phillips, Extance, Laker 4-2, 26-16, 52.81

Heat 08: Kelly, Trigger, Abraham, Ward 3-3, 29-19, 53.69

Heat 09: Andrews, Woolley, Naylor, Laker 4-2, 33-21, 53.47

Heat 10: Phillips, Andrews, Trigger, Ward 3-3, 36-24, 53.15

Heat 11: Complin, Roynon, Kelly, Extance 2-4, 38-28, 52.69

Heat 12: Philips, Naylor, Abraham, Ward 3-3, 41-31, 53.69

Heat 13: Complin, Roynon, Woolley, Trigger 2-4, 43-35, 52.74

Heat 14: Andrews, Extance, Ward, Kelly 5-1, 48-36, 54.31

Heat 15: Complin, Roynon, Phillips, Andrews 2-4, 50-40, 52.47

Courtesy of Speedway Updates

Image Credit: Daniel Westlake