COVENTRY captain Chris Harris crashed out as the Buildbase Bees went down to a 12-point defeat at local rivals Wolverhampton.
Harris came to grief heavily in Heat 11, his fourth of six scheduled rides, when he lost control going into the third bend with his bike also clipping race leader Tai Woffinden who fell as a result, and the Bees skipper was ruled out with concussion.
With Bees also missing second heat-leader Scott Nicholls due to a shoulder injury, Harris’s accident left them short on firepower and unable to continue their challenge for at least a league point from the meeting, as they trailed by just four points on the night at that stage.
But there was a hugely impressive performance from Kenni Larsen, who ran a third place in Heat 3 after Edward Kennett had been disqualified for causing a second-bend melee, and then dropped just one point from his next five rides, defeating both of the Wolves big guns Woffinden and Freddie Lindgren.
Aaron Summers worked hard in the No.2 position, scoring in every ride, but there was no doubt Bees also missed the in-form Adam Roynon, who was required by his Premier League club Workington for their fixture at Rye House.
Kennett followed up his first ride disqualification by passing Ty Proctor for second place in Heat 6, but then he fell in the next race after losing his footrest against the back-straight fence when he was trying to round Woffinden for he lead.
Harris had won his second and third outings to leave the scores at 15-15 before Wolves took three successive 4-2s, but Larsen’s impressive Heat 10 win over Lindgren with Kennett also involved in a three-way battle meant Bees remained very much in touch at 28-32 down.
But Harris’s crash changed all that, with Wolves taking advantage of Bees’ lack of options to add two 4-2s and then a 5-1 in Heat 13 to secure the victory.
Larsen won the last two races to complete a super personal display, expertly holding Woffinden at bay in Heat 15 – but with their top two riders on the injury list and more Premier League clashes to contend with on Thursday, Bees boss Blayne Scroggins has a job on his hands to put a revised team together for the trip to Birmingham.
Scroggins said: “I can’t be too disappointed overall because we were in contention for a long time and it’s just a shame that we’ve lost another rider for seven days with concussion.
“We were close, but once we lost Chris it was over, especially with Scott also being out and with not having Adam on a day when the Premier League aren’t normally racing.
“Kenni did very well and he seems to love it around here, and Aaron looks like he’s back – he struggled a bit last time he came here, and he’s still feeling rough with a head cold, but I was really pleased that he came in and beat his opposite number.â€
WOLVERHAMPTON 51: Tai Woffinden 13, Freddie Lindgren 10+1, Nicolai Klindt 8+2, Ricky Wells 7+2, Pontus Aspgren 7, Ty Proctor 4, Jacob Thorssell 2.
BUILDBASE BEES 39: Kenni Larsen 15, Aaron Summers 8, Chris Harris 7+1, Edward Kennett 5, Michal Szczepaniak 2+1, Kevin Doolan 2, Scott Nicholls r/r.
