The boy done good . . .
WELL done Adrian Rymel on a very creditable third place in the Premier League Riders' Championship at Sheffield on Sunday.
The Bandits' captain was left feeling a little deflated after picking up the bronze medal behind eventual meeting winner Tai Woffinden and runner-up Jason Doyle as he felt he might have done better.
But the Czech World Cup rider, who has enjoyed a most successful season, has nothing to reproach himself about.
He has given of his best in every meeting he has raced in this year, whether it be in Britain or on the continent.
For Berwick he has led by example, he has been a credit to the club and himself and I for one would love to see him back in the black and gold next summer.
On a personal note with regards to the PLRC I would also like to blow my own trumpet here.
As the Berwick correspondent for the 'Speedway Star' magazine, I was asked to predict the top three in the traditional end-of-season event.
And guess what? Of all the Premier League pundits I was the only one to come up with the correct one-two-three.
Just a pity I didn't have any money on it!!!
Published Date:
24/09/2008
Modified Date:
24/09/2008
Deserving David . . .
IN these modern times when sports men and women the world over seem to be driven by money, isn't it refreshing to hear of one local man who has turned his back on fame and fortune to remain loyal to his home-town club.
Yes, take a bow David Meldrum.
'Victor' as he is known in speedway circles, has now hung up his kevlars and is currently living in America following his recent marriage.
But he is coming 'back home' next month for a testimonial meeting in his honour . . . and boy does he deserve it.
For in all but one season of his 13 year career he rode for his home-town Bandits.
He was never a superstar, just an honest reliable rider, who rode for the love of the sport.
Shielfield was always his favourite track - on his day he was capable of beating the best there - and it is fitting that the stadium should be the venue for his big night.
So, if you have nothing better to do that evening, (Saturday, October 18) why not pop along and help pay tribute to a rider who is thoroughly deserving of your support.
Published Date:
15/09/2008
Modified Date:
15/09/2008
Way to go Gino!
WELL done Gino!
What else can we say?
At the start of the season Guglielmo Franchetti came to Britain as a relatively unknown Italian.
He didn't last very long in Berwick's colours until he broke his collarbone at Edinburgh. He went home, but when he returned he broke his collarbone again . . . at Edinburgh.
This time it looked like his season was over.
But here we are just a few months later and suddenly the Bandits' Italian Stallion is hot property.
He has been banging in some big scores of late - he picked up his first ever maximum for the club and also achieved an incredible paid 17 at Workington.
And to cap it all this week came the news that he had been handed a 'wild card' entry into the Italian GP at Lonigo later this month, when he will come up against some of the top names in the sport in the world championship series event.
It's been a major transformation in Gino's furtunes - now we look forward to watching his exploits on Sky TV.
Published Date:
09/09/2008
Modified Date:
09/09/2008
Tero the hero . . .
BERWICK favourite Tero Aarnio rode through the pain barrier at the weekend - but at a cost.
The Finn, who sustained a groin injury at Edinburgh eight days previous, climbed back into the saddle for the clash with table-topping Somerset at Shielfield on Saturday.
But after days of physio he was clearly not fit. He could hardly walk, he had to be lifted onto his bike for racing and at the end of the evening he left the stadium on crutches.
All the more remarkable then that he won his first two races and finished the evening with a very creditable 11 paid 12.
Tero has been a big hit with the Berwick fans in this his first season of British racing, and Saturday showed how dedicated to the Bandits' cause he actually is.
But some times you really do have to question speedway riders' wisdom. I mean, who else would put themselves through something like that?
Published Date:
01/09/2008
Modified Date:
01/09/2008
It's a funny old game!!!
WHO could ever have imagined that Berwick supporters would have had to endure such a roller-coaster week following their beloved Bandits?
First of all Norbert magosi quit the club and returned to his native Hungary, leaving the club with only six riders. The club cited 'personal reasons,' but it is believed the main reason behind his decision was the fact that he could not afford to make racing pay in this country.
Not surprisingly the Bandits were well beaten 59-33 at Edinburgh on Friday - a track where they never seem to do all that well.
But worse was to follow with Tero Aarnio ending the night in hospital and on crutches after sustaining a groin injury in a spill.
And with Michal Makovsky making the headlines in the local Scottish press for all the wrong reasons - he was involved in a pits bust-up with Aaron Summers - the week was going from bad to worse.
But the Borderers recovered superbly.
First of all they beat title-chasing Workington at Shielfield on Saturday, with Adrian Rymel chalking up yet another maximum, and then on Monday, across at Derwent Park, they completed a remarkable double with a quite unbelieveable 51-42 win over the Comets, which rekindled their own play-off hopes.
As Peter Waite said afterwards: "Who would have believed such a turn-around in a club's furtunes in such a short space of time. One minute we are struggling to track a team, the next we are beating a championship-chasing side home and away which keeps us in the play-off picture."
As the old footballing adage goes: 'It's a funny old game.'
Published Date:
26/08/2008
Modified Date:
26/08/2008
From strength to strength
ADRIAN Rymel is enjoying life in the fast lane, so much in fact that his ten point average for the season is currently the best achieved by any Berwick rider in the past 16 years.
Richard Knight was the last Bandit to finish the season on a double-figure mark in 1992 - and he had finished eighth in the world final just two seasons previous.
Adrian,if he can maintain his form, will go into the Riders' Championship at Swindon in September as one of the favourites . . . and Berwick have not had a winner in that meeting since Steve McDermott way back in 1983.
It's great to see, because Adrian really is one of the nice guys of speedway - he always has time for a word with the fans, poses for photographs and is genuinely grateful for any help he receives.
But let's hope that his success does not come back to haunt him, for there have been many a rider in the past whose previous success has cost them a team place the following year.
As a Berwick fan I would love to see Adrian back at Shielfield in 2009, but if there is no change in the team make-up at the AGM in November, will Peter Waite want to use almost quarter of his allocation on one rider?
It's a debate for a future date . . . in the meantime Berwick fans, just enjoy what you have got!
Published Date:
17/08/2008
Modified Date:
17/08/2008
Not a great advert
BERWICK romped to their biggest win for many a season when they thrashed Mildenhall 72-18 at Shielfield on Saturday.
It was a bumper pay-night for the Bandits with four of their six riders - Michal Makovsky, Adrian Rymel, Scott Smith and Guglielmo Franchetti - all going unbeaten by an opponent.
Indeed, Berwick might even have achieved a 75-15 whitewash had it not been for what looked like a needless attempt at a pass by Paul Clews in heat one, which earned him an exclusion, or a loss of power for Tero Aarnio which enabled former Bandit Sebastian Truminski through for a second place.
This was a meeting which will have boosted the confidence of some riders, particularly Franchetti, who prior to saturday had never won a race in Berwick colours.
But in truth this was not a great advert for the sport.
Speedway is all about entertainment. Fans pay good money and expect to be entertained. On Saturday all they got was a one-sided meeting which did little to get the supporters excited.
Published Date:
11/08/2008
Modified Date:
11/08/2008
What a week!
WHAT a week it's been for the Bandits. First of all they get a great away win at Birmingham, then they only just manage to scrape a home draw against title-chasing Edinburgh.
The win at Birmingham - who have now lost four home league meetings - was not totally unexpected, even if it did come as a surprise to some.
But take a bow Adrian Rymel and Paul Clews.
They scored a superb paid 31 between them. Clews at reserve netted paid 16, a tremendous score in anyone's book.
But all the plaudits go to Rymel who notched up a 15-point away maximum . . . and there haven't been many of them over the past few years from Berwick riders.
The stats still need to be checked, but some believe the last rider to achieve it might have been Richard Knight . . . and that was 16 years ago in 1992.
However long ago it is, well done Adrian. You have certainly grown in stature as a rider this year. You have added over two points to your starting average, and have proved home and away that you have developed into the number one rider Berwick fans have been crying out for for some time.
Published Date:
06/08/2008
Modified Date:
06/08/2008