Big guns shoot down Gladiators

R.E.D Bandits, powered by STS      49

Plymouth Gladiators     41

Peter Kildemand and Nick Morris delivered the goods as Berwick maintained their 100 per cent home record.

They combined to post a huge 5-1 over the previously unbeaten Danny King and veteran Scott Nicholls in heat 13 and then repeated it in a thrilling heat 15 to make sure Plymouth headed south with only the aggregate bonus point to show for their efforts.

Eight heat wins for the visitors – three apiece for King and Ben Barker, one for Nicholls and Daniel Klima – meant that the home side took until heat 10 to get their noses in front, skipper Jye Etheridge and Kildemand inflicting the only loss of the night on Barker.

But the visitors, featuring three track rookies, proved difficult to dislodge and Berwick had reason to be grateful to Reid Battye and a strong finish to the night by Etheridge.

He was unusually off the pace as King and Joe Thompson began the night with a 4-2, Battye and Jack Smith untouchable from gate to flag in heat two sparking a spell where the sides traded 5-1s and the lead.

Klima and Barker had little trouble accounting for Victor Palovaara and Jordan Jenkins, Morris took Nicholls wide on turn two in four not only ending the veteran’s threat but opening up the inside line for Battye to join him at the front before Berwick’s 3/4 pairing conceded another maximum, this time to King and Thompson.

Heat six ended the run but to say it was a shared heat does little justice to one of the best bits of action of this – and many other – seasons. Two former GP riders rolled back the years as Nicholls and Kildemand went hammer and tongs at each other, banging bars at full speed. Initially it seemed that the Dane had won the drag race from the fourth bend to the chequered flag – indeed it was announced so – but a check of the transponders by referee Paul Carrington gave Nicholls the nod, by two-thousandths of a second.

Plymouth extended their lead to four points as Barker roared inside Morris down the back straight, using a corridor of grip which two Bandits riders in the pits spotted.

Etheridge was first as he roared past Thompson and then Battye produced an almost carbon copy move to account for Azne Grmek as Berwick halved the deficit.

A team meeting called by Stewart Dickson saw the boss demanding a strong finish from his team and Palovaara was the first to respond as he beat Nicholls – warned for moving at the first attempt – Jenkins’ third place levelling the scores again.

Kildemand made a shocking start in ten but then produced a sublime cutback off the second bend to join Etheridge for a 5-1.

But any hope that the home side was about to sail off into the distance were abruptly ended by back-to-back 4-2 which levelled it all again.

And it could have been worse as the fast-starting visitors were in 5-1 positions in both heats. Morris hauled in Thompson but couldn’t catch King in 11 and then Battye took three laps to get past his team-mate before passing Grmek and din’t have time to haul in Klima.

More drama in heat 13 saw Morris rush back to the pits with the clock ticking down. Whatever the problem was he rode through it as he arrived at tapes with seconds to spare and then produced a jet-propelled start to join Kildemand for the 5-1 which settled both nerves among the fans and proved that King was beatable.

A shared heat 14 saw Barker win his third race of the night and it was a huge surprise that team manager Garry May opted for Nicholls with Plymouth needing a 5-1 to draw.

It looked an even worse decision when the seven-time British champion rolled into the tapes and was excluded.

Bur Morris still wasn’t happy with his set-up and, under the two minutes warning, a posse of mechanics and Etheridge managed to swap his back wheel, the Australian again arriving at tapes with seconds to spare.

Kildemand hit the front with his best gate of the night but behind him King and Morris were having a monumental battle which ended with the Australian dive-bombing the Gladiators’ number one going into turn three with as clean a pass as you’ll see.

A thrilling end to an exciting evening’s racing.

Bandits: Peter Kildemand 12+1, Jye Etheridge 7+1, Victor Palovaara 3, Jordan Jenkins 5, Nick Morris 11+2, Jack Smith 2+1, Reid Battye 9+2

Gladiators: Danny King 11, Jack Thompson 6+1, Daniel Klima 6+1, Ben Barker 10, Scott Nicholls 7+1, Azne Grmek 3, Ben Whalley 0

Pictures: Keith Hamblin