BIRMINGHAM completed the double over the Buildbase Bees at Perry Barr on Wednesday – with flying reserve Martin Smolinski again the key man against his old club.
The German, who racked up paid-20 at Brandon on Good Friday, scored a five-ride paid maximum back on his home circuit as the Brummies eased to maximum points from the meeting.
Bees, who could provide only three of the fifteen race wins, were left to rue a catastrophic mid-match spell when they were outscored 27-11 between Heats 6 and 11 – which all but explains the margin between the sides.
It had been a largely positive opening, with Krzysztof Kasprzak getting the better of Chris Harris to win Heat 1, and Michal Szczepaniak riding well to take victory in Heat 4, whilst Birmingham’s 5-1 one race earlier came after a race stoppage when Mateusz Szczepaniak fell just as Bees themselves held a maximum advantage.
But 4-2s in Heats 6 and 7 edged the Brummies clear, and Bees went ten-down when Jason Doyle and Nico Covatti shot either side of Michal Szczepaniak in Heat 8 – a feat repeated by Doyle and Harris against Mateusz Szczepaniak two races later.
Bees saw both tactical rides negated, first when Scott Nicholls missed out to Danny King in Heat 9, and then when Kasprzak had no answer to Smolinski and Ben Barker two races later.
It was then about damage limitation and the final four races were shared overall with Grzegorz Zengota putting in an impressive ride to hold King at bay to win Heat 12.
But there was no stopping Smolinski, whose speed on the inside was remarkable as he proved again in Heat 15 by switching back inside Kasprzak off turn four just when Coventry’s No.1 looked set to deny him his full house.
Bees boss Gary Havelock said: “It was very disappointing. We didn’t really perform to the level that I feel we can, but it’s almost unbelievable how Smolinski has gone from a five-point reserve to almost GP quality over the space of a winter!
“It’s early days and we’re not going to hit the panic button after only our second competitive meeting, but I think after Friday (against Belle Vue) and a busy week next week we should be able to gauge a little better where we stand.â€
BIRMINGHAM 55: Martin Smolinski 14+1, Danny King 12, Chris Harris 7+1, Jason Doyle 7, Ben Barker 7, Nico Covatti 5+1, Josh Auty 3+1.
BUILDBASE BEES 37: Krzysztof Kasprzak 10, Scott Nicholls 8+1, Grzegorz Zengota 6, Michal Szczepaniak 6, Joe Screen 3, Aaron Summers 2+1, Mateusz Szczepanak 2+1.
BIRMINGHAM 55 Chris Harris 2 3 2* 0 = 7+1 Jason Doyle R 1 3 3 = 7 Danny King 3 3 3 2 1 = 12 Josh Auty 2* 0 1 0 = 3+1 Ben Barker 0 1 3 3 = 7 Martin Smolinski 3 3 2* 3 3 = 14+1 Nico Covatti 1 2 2* 0 = 5+1
