SOUTHAMPTON Cycle Speedway Club sit proudly at the top of the British South West League table following their narrow 93-87 victory over early season pacesetters Swindon.
World Individual Champion Steve Harris top-scored for Swindon with 22 points, but the Saints twice lowered his colours with veteran Colin Wheeler and Ian Lovland beating the world number 1.
Saints scorers: Shaun Woodhouse 15+3, Gavin Wheeler 15+1, James Merrick 15, Nathan Harris 13+2, Ian Lovland 12+1, Colin Wheeler 10+1, Pete Robinson 9+1, Barry Janaway 4.
In the second team match that followed, the young Saints notched only their second win of the season with a 95-68 scoreline after being awarded 34 bonus points because Swindon used four first team riders.
The best individual performance came from captain Damon Hurst who led by example with 18 points out of a possible 20.
Other scorers were: Michael Preece 10, Shaun Drew 9+1, Natalie Symonds 7+1, Steve Symonds 7, Andy Fagg 5+1, Paul Janaway 3+1, Matthew Symonds 2.
Saints rider Nathan Harris dropped just one point from five rides in their convincing 104-72 success at Oxford.
Other scorers were: Colin Wheeler 16, Shaun Woodhouse 16, James Merrick 14+4, Gavin Wheeler 12+3, Pete Robinson 11+1, Ian Woodhouse 10+1, Ian Lovland 8+1.
Southampton's junior riders have been busy in the past fortnight in the South-West Junior League Grand Prix series and the National Grand Prix.
Paul Janaway finished third in the A final of the Under-11s, while Natalie Symonds also took third berth in the Under-13 A final. Her brother Steve grabbed the bronze position in the C final and Damon Hurst was second in the Under-16 C final.
In the National Grand Prix at Oxford, Southampton's top three youngsters earned their places in the final by finishing in the top six of their age groups in the South-West region qualifying rounds.
In the Under-11s, Paul Janaway forced his way through on the last bend to win the B final by the width of a tyre, while Tom Reeves and Natalie Symonds were third in the Under-13 B and C finals respectively.
Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article