SuperMac to SuperMak
MICHAL Makovslky reached another milestone at the weekend when he topped 3000 points for Berwick.
What a great achievement that is, especially as he is a foreign rider (from the Czech Republic) who has only ever raced for one British club . . . his beloved Bandits.
Roll on next season when he will receive a deserved testimonial, for it has already been confirmed by the club that 'The Bohemien Bandit' as he has been christened, will be returning to the Borde4rs for his tenth successive season in the black and gold.
SuperMak is only the second Berwick rider in history to reach the 3000 mark - the only other rider to do it was the great Steve McDermott (SuperMac), who went on to score a club record total of 3203 points during his ten year association with the club.
Makovsky is definitely on his way to surpassing that total - it may be this year, it may be next - but pass it he will, and when he does he deserves every recognition.
One nice touch, suggested by someone on a speedway website forum, would be to have McDermott present at Shielfield when Makovsky finally becomes the highest scoring Bandit of all time . . . now, that really would be something.
Published Date:
23/06/2009
Modified Date:
23/06/2009
Roller-coaster weekend
WHO said speedway was predictable?
Well, if they had been following events over the course of last weekend they would have certainly been left eating their words.
On Saturday the Bandits were humbled (humiliated some might say) when they were thumped 24-57 at home by high-fling King's Lynn in the KO Cup - a knockout blow indeed.
But less than 24 hours later the team, still without the injured Tero Aarnio, wnd with Gino Franchetti away riding in Italy, stormed to a totally unexpected and surprise 48-42 win at Glasgow.
Where is the reason bahind that? Well, you might ask.
. . . but I have a sneaking suspicion that no one would be able to give you an answer!!!
Published Date:
23/06/2009
Modified Date:
23/06/2009
Willie improve?
WILL the real William Lawson please stand up??
That's the question Berwick fans have been asking for weeks now, after the Edinburgh asset, often referred to as 'Scotland's number one,' has struggled to find any consistency so far this season.
Whilst some fans have been calling for his head, the Bandoits' management have stuck by him, hoping that his form starts to show some sort of improvement.
And according to manager Dave Peet, it looks like he might have found an answer to his problems.
For Peet said this week: "William has discovered that his engines have not been tuned properly for the Berwick track.
"The rest of his set-up is okay, but he tested Michal Makovsky's bike after a meeting recently and had to accept that his engines weren't being tuned correctly for Shielfield.
"He has now sent an engine away to have it tuned to the same spec as Michal, so hopefully we should see some signs of improvement shortly."
Published Date:
02/06/2009
Modified Date:
02/06/2009
Bad break for Tero
WHAT terrible bad luck . . .
Tero Aarnio,after an indifferent start to the season, was just starting to get his act together when he suddenly finds himself ruled out of action for the best part of a month with a hand injury.
The Flying Finn broke a bone in his throttle hand a fortnight ago and had been riding through the pain barrier.
He won his first two races at Newport on Sunday, but he fell in his third and was forced to withdraw.
He flew home this week to have a cast fitted, but by the time he is fit enough to return to the saddle the chances are the averages will have changed again, he will be back up into the main body of the team, and Bandits will have missed out on having a potential match-winner at reserve.
Published Date:
02/06/2009
Modified Date:
02/06/2009
In the balance
BERWICK'S cup hopes are hanging in the balance after two heavy defeats on the road this week.
The Bandits went down 58-32 at King's Lynn in their Ko Cup quarter-final first leg tie at Saddlebow Road on Wednesday, and only an eternal optimist would expect them to overturn the 26-point deficit when the teams meet in the return at Shielfield in June.
Then on Thursday, Berwick went down 62-33 at Sheffield in their penultimate Premier Trophy group match.
In effect, this means the Borderers must now win their final fixture - the -re-arranged home meeting against Sheffield - by ten clear points if they are to overhaul Workington and claim the second qualifying place behind Edinburgh.
This is 'doable,' but in truth the Bandits will have to perform a lot better than when the teams met at Shielfield in the original staging last Saturday - the visitors holding a 34-32 advantage when racing was abandoned after a crash in heat 11 meant the 9.30pm curfew time had expired.
Published Date:
22/05/2009
Modified Date:
22/05/2009
The quickest Bandit . . .
JOSEF 'Pepe' Franc is officially the fastest Bandit ever around Shielfield.
On Wednesday, during Berwick's 50-39 home victory over Stoke in the first leg of their KO Cup tie, the little Czech flew around the track in a time of 64.8 seconds, making him the third fastest rider ever around the Border circuit.
Sean Wilson (ex-Sheffield) is still the quickest ever, having held the track record of 64.2 for almost ten years now.
But clearly the improved surface this season is providing riders with a perfect stage on which to show their skills, for this year already the second and third fastest times ever have been set.
Second fastest is Glasgow's Shane Parker, who clocked 66.4 just a fortnight ago.
Published Date:
07/05/2009
Modified Date:
07/05/2009
Will it be enough?
AN 11-point lead in their first round KO Cup tie against Stoke . . . but will it be enough for the Bandits?
Only time will tell - the return leg is at Loomer Road on Saturday - but manager Dave Peet has gone on record to say that he was looking for more.
And Berwick might have had more, had it not been for the form of William Lawson and Danny Warwick.
Lawson, who apart from the two meetings against Newcastle in the Premier Trophy, has failed to find the consistency everyone hoped he would have, only scored three points from his four races, and two last places in his first two outings did little to endear him to the growing number of supporters who are starting to lose patience with his performances.
Warwick, who looked well off the pace, only scored one point in the 50-39 win, and in all honesty, Berwick were probably expecting a lot more.
Published Date:
07/05/2009
Modified Date:
07/05/2009
Sparkling show against Diamonds
WELL, what can we say about Sunday's performance at Newcastle?
Berwick travelled to Tyneside with high hopes of an away victory in the Premier Trophy, but never in their wildest dreams imagined a win of such magnitude.
For the 39-51 scoreline only told half the story.
In all, the Bandits produced 13 of the 15 race winners - when was the last time that ever happened away from home?
Willie Lawson, putting his early season poor form behind him, bounced back with a superb 15-point maximum - five races, five starts, five wins.
But Josef Franc also went well, and with Michal Makovsky still showing some of the best form of his career, Berwick now seem well placed in the heat-leader department, at least, to carry the fight to some of the opposition sides.
This week will be a test for them, however. They are at Edinburgh on Friday - never a happy hunting ground for the Bandits (although Lawson will be making his first racing return to Armadale after his winter switch to Shielfield).
Then, on Saturday and Sunday, it's home and away against Glasgow.
Published Date:
21/04/2009
Modified Date:
21/04/2009