Gems fail to sparkle in losing twice
JUNIOR SPEEDWAY
NEWCASTLE Gems endured a tough baptism to their 2017 season, going down to consecutive defeats to Glasgow (27-7) and Berwick (25-11) respectively.
Josh Embleton was the star of the show for The Gems against Glasgow, picking up six points with three second places in his three rides.
He did struggle with his starts but made up the ground with excellent riding.
His partner Dean Douglas rode steadily in his first Gems meeting, having never ridden at Glasgow before.
He improved with each outing, although not enough to pick up any points in what was a valuable learning curve.
In the younger class, Archie Freeman fell while in second place in his first race but managed to keep the bike going and bravely got back on to secure a point.
He then had to pull out after damaging his hamstring.
Jack Wright, riding with Freeman, made a brilliant gate in his opening ride which saw him first into bend one before shedding a chain.
Wright’s pit crew could not repair the chain in time for his next two rides and he had to pull out of the meeting, depriving him of any chance of points.
Berwick’s visit was the first home meeting of 2017 for the Gems but the problems from the previous night were still in evidence even before the first race.
Wright had further engine gremlins which ruled him out the meeting before it had even started.
Josh Embleton and Douglas faced quality opposition in the Berwick duo but Embleton put in another strong showing - winning his first race before pushing hard for second place in his next.
In his last ride he was out-gated by the Berwick duo and could not find a way past.
Douglas, on his home debut, found the going tough but pushed more every lap until finding a bit more grip than he wanted in his last ride and falling off.
Freeman was well up for the fight - never more so than in taking his first heat win at home by coming from the back in fine style. In his other two rides he was out-gated by the Berwick pairing and took two third places.