Night of records as Lions win one-sided derby clash
AFTER a disappointing week that saw Leicester win only one out of three Championship fixtures, the team bounced back to top form on Saturday to win a one-sided Midlands derby match against Birmingham by 63 points to 27 at home, writes Alan Jones.
It was a night of records at the Paul Chapman and Sons Arena as the result equalled their all-time best, set just five weeks ago against Newcastle.
With Hans Andersen, Kyle Howarth and Nick Morris each completing the match unbeaten by a visiting rider, they became the first trio of Lions to achieve such a feat in 45 years.
During the course of the meeting, Morris recorded the fastest ever winning time since Josh Bates set a new track record two years ago.
Dan Thompson was rewarded for a fine performance by his first appearance in the nominated final race of the night to become the youngest rider to represent Leicester in such an important heat.
The margin of Leicester’s win though disguised the quality of the racing with Dan and his brother Joe
Thompson in the midst of the action. Their knowledge of the track paid dividends for the teenage twins as they used it to their advantage to gain speed to overtake their opponents on several occasions.
Meanwhile, the best race of the evening occurred in heat 13 and it all happened behind race leader Hans
Andersen. The Dane was several bike lengths ahead by the end of the first lap and his team partner Ryan Douglas was trading places with Erik Riss for second spot.
While both riders were preoccupied in their struggle to break free of one another, the Birmingham skipper Chris Harris saw an opportunity and passed both in one manoeuvre.
It was a breath-taking move by Harris but Douglas recovered his composure and moved out to a wider line to overtake the Birmingham rider as the pair hurtled towards the finish line.
The final result moved the Watling JCB Lions into fourth position in the Championship table ahead of next Saturday’s hugely important fixture against second-placed Edinburgh.
SCORERS
Leicester 63: Nick Morris 14+1, Hans Andersen 11+1, Kyle Howarth 10+2, Dan Thompson 10+1, Ryan Douglas 9+1, Joe Thompson 7+3 and Zaine Kennedy 2.
Birmingham 27: Chris Harris 11, Erik Riss 5, Paco Castagna 4, Jason Edwards 4, James Shanes 3, Valentin Grobauer 0 and Ashley Morris 0.