COVENTRY’S new-look National League team were beaten 52-37 by a powerful Birmingham outfit in Wednesday’s Challenge match opener at Perry Barr.
The Brummies dominated the race wins in a meeting which could easily have fallen victim to the weather, but a late Bees fightback provided plenty of encouragement for the season ahead.
New No.1 Connor Mountain won three heats on his way to a 12-point haul, and there was also a major positive with the form of Jamie Halder at reserve, as the teenager clocked up paid-12 from a six-ride schedule.
Elsewhere there were a number of first-night problems with captain Jon Armstrong suffering mechanical trouble whilst Luke Ruddick, Danny Phillips and Luke Harris were amongst the riders to come to grief.
Ruddick was withdrawn as a precaution after a Heat 1 spill with a wrist injury, but is expected to be fit for Friday’s trip to Belle Vue.
Conditions early on were tricky after heavy rain pre-meeting, with the home track staff having worked wonders to get the track into a raceable condition.
Even so, Brummies No.1 Tom Bacon crashed heavily in Heat 1, fortunately without injury, as the Bees took an early lead.
Home skipper Mitchell Davey was in a class of his own as he romped to four clear wins, and was involved in three successive 4-2s to put the hosts ahead, with Heat 4 seeing Danyon Hume go from a 15-metre handicap to race victory after Phillips fell under his inside challenge.
The match went away from the Bees in Heats 6 and 7 with Bacon and Layne Cupitt racing to a 5-1 in the former, whilst the latter saw neither Coventry rider finish as Harris hit the fence on turn four and Armstrong ground to a halt.
The final six races of the meeting featured three 5-1s for either side, with Mountain and Halder carding a maximum in Heat 11 after Hume fell when challenging for the lead on the second lap.
Halder calmly held his former Coventry Storm team-mate Callum Walker at bay to partner Harris to a Heat 14 5-1, and Mountain and Phillips added further consolation in Heat 15 after home reserve Leon Flint hit bike trouble off the start.
Mountain said: “It was a very wet meeting so it’s a bit hard to judge how things are going to pan out, but it’s good to get the first one out of the way.
“It was a Challenge match on a really wet track, but fair play to the track guys for getting it on, and it didn’t turn out too badly in the end.
“I have some things to work on, and I was breaking in an engine I’d got over the winter so there were different things to try and twelve points wasn’t bad.
“I’m glad be here racing for Coventry, it’s a good team and I think after getting the first one out of the way hopefully we can push on.â€
CHALLENGE BIRMINGHAM 52: Mitchell Davey 12, Layne Cupitt 10+2, Danyon Hume 10, Tom Bacon 8+1, Leon Flint 6+1, Callum Walker 4, Arran Butcher 2+1. COVENTRY 37: Connor Mountain 12, Jamie Halder 10+2, Danny Phillips 5+1, Ryan MacDonald 3+2, Jon Armstrong 3, Luke Harris 3, Luke Ruddick 1.
