COVENTRY’S late fight-back proved in vain as title-chasing Swindon added another away win to their collection in a hard-fought match at Brandon.
The Buildbase Bees had their opportunities but again displayed plenty of inconsistency with mechanical problems and falls proving crucial to the night’s final outcome.
Swindon were the more solid-scoring outfit with their reserves failing to record a single last place, and their win was confirmed with a 5-1 from Troy Batchelor and Hans Andersen in Heat 15 when Bees skipper Chris Harris seized an engine on the start-line.
It was the second time in the meeting that Harris had suffered mechanical problems, as he was all set for a match-levelling 5-1 with Aaron Summers in Heat 6 only to coast to crawling-pace at the start of the last lap with the Robins gratefully accepting a 3-3.
Alun Rossiter’s side extended their advantage to eight points when Edward Kennett, who had started the meeting with five points out of six, crashed in Heat 9 and Peter Kildemand got the better of Kenni Larsen in a fierce first-lap tussle.
Bees battled back into contention with a 4-2 in Heat 10 and then a stunning result in Heat 11 as new signing Josef Franc made the gate, and Scott Nicholls rounded both Andersen and Lasse Bjerre on turn four and masterfully kept the Swindon skipper behind him for a 5-1.
Franc then came into Heat 12 and won it, with Bees levelling the scores in Heat 13 with another super effort from Nicholls, who switched inside Andersen on the back straight to lead as Harris retrieved third place from Kildemand.
At 39-39 and having come back from eight-down, the momentum appeared to be with the Bees – but a fast start from Batchelor from the inside in Heat 14 put the Robins back on top as reserve Dawid Lampart collected third place.
Bees therefore needed a 5-1 from the last race to snatch victory, or a 4-2 to draw, but it was all over before the tapes went up as Harris moved nowhere, with Nicholls forcefully shut out by Andersen on the back straight as the Robins moved clear.
However Nicholls and Summers were clearly Bees’ best performers throughout the night, with the two good rides from Franc bringing them back into contention – but they urgently need the whole team firing throughout meetings.
Nicholls said: “It’s disappointing that I couldn’t do more in the last race, but it’s the same story at the moment – I don’t really know what’s going wrong, because everyone is putting all the effort in.
“Josef had a couple of brilliant rides later on which maybe is something that bodes well for the future, but time’s running out fast if we want to turn the season around.
“We know Swindon are very strong but we’ve got a team capable of beating anyone anywhere. We have to reflect on tonight and see if we can make it better next time out.â€
BUILDBASE BEES 42: Scott Nicholls 12, Aaron Summers 8+1, Josef Franc 6+1, Chris Harris 6, Kenni Larsen 5, Edward Kennett 5, Mathias Thornblom 0.
SWINDON 48: Hans Andersen 11+1, Troy Batchelor 9, Dawid Lampart 7+1, Sebastian Alden 6+2, Peter Kildemand 6+1, Simon Stead 6+1, Lasse Bjerre 3.
BUILDBASE BEES 42 Chris Harris 2 R 3 1 R = 6 Aaron Summers 1* 3 3 1 = 8+1 Edward Kennett 3 2 X 0 = 5 Kenni Larsen 1 0 2 2 = 5 Scott Nicholls 3 2 3 3 1 = 12 Josef Franc 1 0 2* 3 0 = 6+1 Mathias Thornblom 0 0 0 = 0
