WITH three matches raced and three wins on the board, the Buildbase Bees are now uncatchable in the Midland League and can reflect on continued encouraging signs in 2012.
The real business starts on Good Friday and with that in mind it was good to receive a test from Wolverhampton because the opening two matches against Birmingham will surely not be typical of the campaign ahead – including in future meetings against the Brummies!
With Tai Woffinden looking every inch the outstanding talent that he is, Wolves had a race-winner who could live with the Coventry big guns, although it was very much a case of strength in depth – an attribute which had been questioned pre-season – that kept the Bees well clear in the match.
Aaron Summers continues to look every inch a steal on a 4.49 average as he picked up a second home double-figure score, and there was also the expected strong return to Brandon for Kenni Larsen, as well as two more race wins for Adam Royon.
Rider replacement hardly helped either side, Bees scoring five points from Chris Harris’s rides and Wolves three from Freddie Lindgren’s, and the prospect of those two joining in with the battles staged between Woffinden and Scott Nicholls in meetings later on this season is an appetising one.
As was the case in the Birmingham matches, Bees were into scoring mood straight from the off, although it was Swedish youngster Pontus Aspgren who led the first lap of Heat 1 before Summers shot through on the inside, Apsgren doing well to hold Edward Kennett at bay to split the Coventry pairing.
But there was another reserves’ race 5-1 on the way from Roynon and Henning Bager as Ricky Wells found himself initially baulked by team-mate Lukasz Sowka, and that put Bees 9-3 up and into a lead they would defend throughout.
Larsen announced his home return with a similar move to Summers, driving hard inside Nicolai Klindt to win Heat 3 as Kennett took an unusual-looking fall on the second bend, before Woffinden got Wolves on the board with a win over Nicholls after a crowded first lap in which Nicholls and Bager were hemmed in behind Wells, Nicholls eventually coming through off turn four.
Larsen shot from the start in Heat 5 and cleverly read Klindt’s move from the outside, and with the Wolves man’s run blocked it offered the chance for Kennett to come through on the inside and set up another Coventry 5-1, with Klindt subsequently coming to a halt midway through the race.
Woffinden made it two on the trot in a shared Heat 6, and the next race resulted in another 3-3 with Nicholls in full control but Klindt under some pressure from Roynon before the Bees reserve went too wide off the second bend.
Fast-starting Summers dominated Heat 8, having the power to move clear of Wells and Aspgren after coming briefly under threat on turn two, and Bees edged their lead up to ten points in Heat 9 when Kennett became the first man to beat Woffinden in what was a good three-way battle also involving Larsen.
Wolves boss Peter Adams elected to use the tactical ride straight away in a strong Heat 10, and although Klindt did manage to hold Nicholls at bay it wasn’t exactly what they wanted – because that battle was for second place behind the inspired Summers, who made it three wins out four and limited Wolves to a 4-4.
It also wiped out further tactical options, which was probably a little frustrating for the visitors as Woffinden rode a stormer in Heat 11 to still win despite a strong Nicholls inside move into turn three on the first lap. Nicholls was ahead at that stage but Woffinden kept momentum and hit back around the outside, with Aspgren holding third place to cut the gap back to eight.
Wolves then received an unexpected bonus in Heat 12 as with Larsen way out-front and Bager having gone to the back after getting out of shape, Larsen suddenly slid into the fence on turn two to enable Klindt and Sowka to go through for 5-1. Larsen, thankfully with no damage done, cleared the track but there was a little pressure on now with the scores at 39-35.
Heat 13 always looked like a competitive one and so it proved as Nicholls and Woffinden contested the first two turns, Nicholls getting ahead as Woffinden lifted slightly out of turn two. At that stage Summers looked like he could make it through as well but Woffinden again used the outside to go into second place and Bees had to be content with a 4-2.
The match was duly sealed in Heat 14, and just as last week Roynon book-ended his meetings with wins in Heats 2 and 14, leaping away from gate 2 and Kennett making it past Ty Proctor around the outside in the early stages to give Bees their third 5-1 of the night.
There was a final response from Wolves with Woffinden and Klindt, their best two riders on the night, gaining a consolation maximum in the last despite Nicholls’ efforts to split them.
But with, once again, a healthy majority of race wins and some eye-catching scoring right down the order, Coventry’s bright start to 2012 continues and there is now one match to go until the business of collecting Elite League points begins for real.
BUILDBASE BEES 49 Chris Harris Rider Replacement Aaron Summers 3 1* 3 3 1 = 11+1 Kenni Larsen 3 3 2 1 F = 9 Edward Kennett 1 R 2* 3 2* 0 = 8+2 Scott Nicholls 2 3 1 2 3 1 = 12 Adam Roynon 3 0 R 3 = 6 Henning Bager 2* 0 0 1 = 3+1
