COVENTRY Storm had to be content with runners-up position as Cradley successfully defended the National League Fours at Brandon on Sunday.
The frustration for the City Gearboxes Storm was the fact that they had beaten the Heathens by a clear five points in the semi-finals.
But their Black Country rivals edged out Kent to take the second qualifying place and then raised their game for the final eight races, three of their riders going unbeaten at that stage of the event.
The meeting was delayed by an hour to allow for remedial track work on the third bend, and thankfully some practice laps from Storm skipper James Sarjeant resulted in the green light being given for the meeting to start – which turned out to be absolutely the correct decision.
There were still several incidents, largely as a result of riders giving it the maximum, and the Storm’s Stefan Nielsen needed to carry out major repairs after being the victim of a first-bend tangle with Cradley’s Nathan Greaves in Heat 1.
Two teams were reduced in number as King’s Lynn’s Scott Campos broke his collarbone as he clipped the fence on the exit of turn two, whilst Kent’s Aaron Baseby suffered shoulder damage in a high-speed second bend fall.
Nielsen was unbeaten in the semi-final and solid scores throughout the team saw the Storm sail into the Final, making sure with one race to spare - whilst Cradley needed their captain Paul Starke to finish ahead of Kent’s Simon Lambert in Heat 8 to go through.
The second semi-final proved close between three teams, and a fall for Stoke’s Rob Shuttleworth in Heat 8 provided an escape for King’s Lynn, who went through with Mildenhall after the trio had gone into the last race covered by just one point.
The Storm led the Final after two races as Cradley’s Tom Perry fell when leading Heat 2, but mechanical trouble for Nielsen in the next race followed by a fall for Dan Greenwood in Heat 4, albeit he did salvage third place as King’s Lynn’s Tom Stokes also came to grief, allowed the Heathens to build a lead.
Nathan Greaves secured victory for Cradley with a fast start from the outside to win Heat 6, but second place was still up for grabs between three teams with one race to go.
Sarjeant was left at the back from the start but moved past Stokes for third on the run to the finish line, which ensured a level score with Mildenhall for second overall, setting up a run-off.
In the event, Sarjeant’s race against Josh Bates proved to be a brief one as the Fen Tigers youngster ploughed into the fence on turn two, meaning Sarjeant was awarded race victory and the Storm second place overall.
Manager Laurence Rogers said: “We warmed our bikes up at 2.30pm and we were ready to race, but unfortunately some of the other teams weren’t.
“The track was spongy but all credit to the track staff for pulling it back, it rode superbly and one of the visiting riders came up to me and said it was perfect
“Stefan rode through the pain barrier all afternoon because that was a nasty knock he took when he got clouted into the fence in his first race
“Cradley will be very high after winning, and well done to them. But we want to bounce back on Wednesday in the play-off Final, and we can’t wait for that one.â€
SEMI-FINAL 1: COVENTRY 18: Stefan Nielsen 6, James Sarjeant 5, Dan Greenwood 4, Luke Priest 3 CRADLEY 13: Paul Starke 5, Nathan Greaves 4, Max Clegg 3, Tom Perry 1 KENT 12: Ben Morley 5, Simon Lambert 3, Danny Ayres 3, Aaron Baseby 1 BUXTON 5: Tony Atkin 2, Ryan Blacklock 2, Tom Woolley 1, Adam Extance 0
SEMI-FINAL 2: MILDENHALL 15: Josh Bates 6, Brendan Johnson 5, Jack Kingston 4, Sean Phillips 0 KING’S LYNN 15: James Cockle 5, Tom Stokes 5, Marc Owen 5, Scott Campos 0, Ryan Terry-Daley 0 STOKE 12: Jon Armstrong 6, Ben Hopwood 3, Rob Shuttleworth 2, Chris Widman 1 DEVON 4: Richard Andrews 2, Luke Chessell 1, James Shanes 1, Tyler Govier 0
FINAL: CRADLEY 18: Paul Starke 6, Max Clegg 6, Nathan Greaves 6, Tom Perry 0 COVENTRY 11: James Sarjeant 4, Stefan Nielsen 3, Dan Greenwood 2, Luke Priest 2 MILDENHALL 11: Josh Bates 4, Jack Kingston 3, Brendan Johnson 3, Sean Phillips 1 KING’S LYNN 8: James Cockle 4, Marc Owen 2, Ryan Terry-Daley 2, Tom Stokes 0
