Nick and Peter point way to bonus

Oxford Cheetahs  53

R.E.D Bandits, powered by STS      38

Berwick held on to claim their first aggregate bonus point of the season but there were anxious moments before it was secured.

Indeed the 16 point cushion they took to the Midlands looked as if it was not going to be enough until Nick Morris and Peter Kildemand packed in behind Sam Masters to share heat 15 and ensure one point made its way back north.

Berwick failed to reach 40 points again, missing the middle order scoring of Jordan Jenkins. His three rider-replacement rides yielded just three points from as many rides, the other used as a heat seven tactical substitution, while Oxford claimed eight points from the R/R rides of GP Challenge-bound Anders Rowe.

The tone for what was to be an incident-packed evening was set in the first running of heat one, Kildemand hitting the deck and then with most expecting the Dane and Sam Masters to battle it out in the rerun, Jye Etheridge produced a great start and was gone, Berwick’s top pairing getting yet another opening heat advantage on away shale.

Reid Battye’s first outing at Cowley lasted just five bends, his dive inside Darryl Ritchings earning the Aussie an exclusion. In the rerun former Bandit Dayle Wood gated again, Ritchings rounding Jack Smith who slid off on the last bend but had the presence of mind to get off the deck and push his bike home for a point.

Mitch McDiarmid powered past the fast-gating Victor Palovaara in three, Edward Kennett’s third place extending Oxford’s lead before Nick Morris used his track knowledge – having guested three times for the Cheetahs this season – to keep the fast-charging Luke Killeen behind him in a tight finish, Ritchings getting the better of Battye for a shared heat.

Kildemand and Etheridge performed a perfect back straight pincer movement on Kennett in heat five but the Bandits’ skipper then found himself relegated to the back only for McDiarmid to lose his steel shoe and thunder into the airbags as the riders started lap three.

It was virtually an action replay in the rerun but Kennett went wider and blocked Kildemand and then wide again to swoop around Etheridge.

Morris and Masters had a monumental battle from tapes to flag in six with the Berwick man looking to have blocked his countryman’s every move only for the Cheetah to scrape the airbags and power for the line. Many in the stadium had Morris marked down as race winner but the only man whose opinion matters, referee Mick Bates, disagreed and gave it to Masters – whether he checked transponders or not remains a mystery.

Killeen’s third place opened up a six point gap and Bandits team manager Stewart Dickson acted immediately throwing Kildemand into what would have been a rider replacement ride for Jenkins. But it was a limited success as McDiarmid gated and left the Berwick pairing in his wake.

Etheridge had to work hard to find a way past Ritchings in eight, following Killeen home, Battye hitting the deck again on the last bend as he pushed hard for a point.

Morris was sharp away again in nine, clamping down McDiarmid to end his challenge while Smith did well to hold off Kennett to give Berwick their second heat advantage of the night.

Which was immediately cancelled out in the next race as Palovaara missed the gate entirely. Masters won comfortably but Battye proved once again that he is a quick learner, grabbing a fine second place.

With Masters taking the rider-replacement ride in 11 a shared heat was probably the best Berwick could hope for but Oxford put another two points between the teams in 12 as the impressive Ritchings added another vital point, keeping Smith at the rear.

That left them ten points up on the night and Bandits fans were beginning to fear that the aggregate point was under threat.

Morris and Kildemand packed in behind Masters to share heat 13, Kennett falling at the back and they looked to be well placed in the penultimate heat but it got a little too tight Etheridge and Battye chasing the same piece of shale and the Berwick reserve drifted into McDiarmid and they both hit the airbags hard.

Battye was excluded from the rerun and suddenly from being set for a 5-1 the visitors were on wrong end of one as McDiarmid picked himself off the deck to partner Wood to the flag, Etheridge unable to split the pairing.

Which made for a nerve jangling heat 15 with Oxford within two points of denying the Bandits their first aggregate point of the season.

The four riders for the showdown picked themselves but with the home side having the choice of gates Morris and Kildemand had it all to do.

Masters ran his own race but behind him the Bandits’ pairing were hindering each other allowing McDiarmid through. Kildemand was not going to stand for that and took advantage as the teenager went wide, the pair clattering into each other but staying upright down the straight.

A fall would have given referee Bates a decision to make and there weren’t too many in the Friday night crowd confident in which way he would have ruled.

In the end it was moot as Berwick held on to claim the bonus with just two points to spare.

Cheetahs: Sam Masters 17, Luke Killeen 7, Edward Kennett 7, Mitch McDiarmid 11, R/R Anders Rowe, Dayle Wood 4+2, Darryl Ritchings 6+1

Bandits: Peter Kildemand 9+2, Jye Etheridge 8+2, Victor Palovaara 5+1, R/R Jordan Jenkins, Nick Morris 12, Jack Smith 2, Reid Battye 2