COVENTRY Storm are set to go into the National League play-offs second in the table after picking up four points on the road on Sunday.
The City Gearboxes Storm were involved in last-heat deciders at both Buxton and Stoke, taking three points for a 46-43 win at the Hi-Edge Raceway, and one for a narrow 44-45 defeat at Loomer Road.
The Buxton meeting was fraught with incidents, with track conditions playing their part and several riders suffering crashes.
The Storm gained a 5-0 in Heat 2 when both home reserves fell, but Luke Priest and James Sarjeant suffered early disqualifications themselves and the home side edged 18-17 ahead with the inexperienced Adam Extance outstanding.
The lead then changed hands on several occasions with Extance and veteran Tony Atkin leading the home team superbly, but Priest’s win over Atkin in Heat 10 put the Storm 30-29 in front.
The Hitmen gained a 5-1 in Heat 12 but it came at a huge cost as Extance was involved in a heavy crash when Priest tried to move inside both Buxton riders. The Coventry man was disqualified with the race awarded in the Hitmen’s favour, but Extance was taken to hospital for x-rays after being knocked unconscious for a time.
A 4-2 from Oliver Greenwood and Sarjeant in Heat 13 narrowed the gap to a single point after Ryan Blacklock had triggered a collision of the home riders, and the crucial turning point came with a 5-1 from Dan Greenwood and Martin Knuckey in Heat 14.
That put the Storm three points to the good and meant the Greenwoods could afford to follow Atkin home in Heat 15 for a 3-3 and win the meeting by three points.
Manager Laurence Rogers said: "The track was atrocious, and I don’t really know how the heck we got through 15 races.
“You’ve got to feel for Adam Extance, it was a horrible crash for him and we wish him all the best, he’s a lovely lad.
“We were able to pull away towards the end of the meeting, Dan Greenwood really came into his own and it was nice to get the points when we needed them.â€
BUXTON 43: Tony Atkin 15, Adam Extance 14+1, Tom Woolley 5+1, Paul Bowen 4+1, Stefan Farnaby 3+1, Ryan Blacklock 2, Liam Carr r/r. COVENTRY 46: Dan Greenwood 11+2, Oliver Greenwood 11, Ryan Terry-Daley 7+1, Martin Knuckey 7+1, Luke Priest 6, James Sarjeant 4, Stefan Nielsen r/r.
BUXTON 43 Liam Carr Rider Replacement Tony Atkin 2 3 3 2 2 3 = 15 Adam Extance 3 3 2* 3 3 = 14+1 Tom Woolley 1* 1 1 1 1 0 = 5+1 Ryan Blacklock X X R 2 X = 2 Stefan Farnaby X 1 1 1* 0 = 3+1 Paul Bowen X 2 M 2* = 4+1
CITY GEARBOXES STORM 46 Oliver Greenwood 3 X 3 3 2 = 11 Stefan Nielsen Rider Replacement Luke Priest 0 X 3 3 X = 6 Dan Greenwood 2 2 2* 1 3 1* = 11+2 James Sarjeant 3 X R 1 = 4 Ryan Terry-Daley 2* 1 2 2 0 = 7+1 Martin Knuckey 3 1 R 1 2* = 7+1
With the Buxton meeting having been heavily delayed, that meant a later start than the planned 7pm opening at Loomer Road, although the road trip didn’t affect the Storm too much as they opened up with a 5-1.
However, the home side were out to impress after a defeat to King’s Lynn at the same venue 24 hours earlier and they were 20-16 up after six races despite two wins from Storm skipper James Sarjeant, who had taken a heavy knock at Buxton in the afternoon.
The match was levelled with a 5-1 from Dan Greenwood and Martin Knuckey in Heat 8 as the Storm reserve passed Chris Widman, but the Potters hit back with maximum points in the next as Sarjeant’s winning run came to an end.
There was drama in Heat 11 as Oliver Greenwood lost his footrest after a clash with home rider Rob Shuttleworth, meaning his team-mate Ben Hopwood still took second place despite starting from a 15-metre handicap.
The Storm then appeared to be taking control with successive 4-2s in the next two races to go one point ahead, but Stoke turned things back in their favour when Lee Payne made it four unbeaten rides in Heat 14 with Knuckey falling on the first lap.
It was 42-41 with one heat to go and the Potters lost Jon Armstrong when he fell in the initial staging of the decider – but Payne proved to be their hero in the re-run as he got the better of Oliver Greenwood and Sarjeant for a narrow one-point victory.
Storm still took a point to move onto 35 in the National League table, and they will be joined in the play-offs by leaders Cradley, Mildenhall and either Kent or King’s Lynn.
Rogers said: "It was another tremendous effort after a long day and there was a great team spirit again.
"I’ve got to thank all of the mechanics, it was fantastic to see everyone helping everyone else.
“We’re in the play-offs now and it would be tremendous to have both Coventry teams there, so we want all the fans behind us and hopefully coming to all of the play-off meetings."
STOKE 45: Lee Payne 14+1, Ben Hopwood 7+1, Jon Armstrong 7, Rob Shuttleworth 5+1, Luke Chessell 5, Adam Kirby 4+1, Chris Widman 3+1. COVENTRY 44: James Sarjeant 14+1, Dan Greenwood 10, Luke Priest 8+2, Oliver Greenwood 8, Martin Knuckey 4+1, Ryan Terry-Daley 0, Stefan Nielsen r/r.
STOKE 45 Luke Chessell 0 2 3 0 = 5 Chris Widman 1 1* 1 0 = 3+1 Jon Armstrong 1 1 3 2 X = 7 Lee Payne 3 3 2* 3 3 = 14+1 Ben Hopwood 1* 2 2 2 = 7+1 Rob Shuttleworth 3 1* X 1 = 5+1 Adam Kirby 2* 2 0 0 = 4+1
CITY GEARBOXES STORM 44 Oliver Greenwood 3 2 X 1 2 = 8 Stefan Nielsen Rider Replacement Luke Priest 2* 2 0 1* 3 = 8+2 Dan Greenwood 0 3 3 2 2 = 10 James Sarjeant 3 3 1 3 3 1* = 14+1 Ryan Terry-Daley R 0 0 0 = 0 Martin Knuckey 1 0 2* 1 F = 4+1
