www.bostonbuzz.co.uk
The prime platform for Boston and District sports news
Spotlight
on the Boston Barracudas
SPEEDWAY
Latest
news from the Boston Barracudas Team sponsor: Staffsmart UK |
Follow
the Boston Barracudas: News 2008
|
||
Results 2008
|
|
|
Archives:
|
|
|
Reports 2007
|
News 2007
|
Results 2007
|
Reports 2006
|
News 2006 & Pre-season 06
|
Results 2006
|
Reports 2005
|
News 2005
|
Results 2005
|
Tables 2000-2007
|
Speedway Home Page
|
|
Return to Boston
Buzz HOME PAGE
|
||
News and reports round-up for 2008
|
||
See Result 2008 section (above) for latest match action
details and fixtures in grid format
|
||
Sunday
November 9th, 2008
|
||
|
Club era closes with presentation
event The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas completed their year of
speedway with their end of season presentation evening held at the Hubberts
Bridge Community Hall. A good crowd turned up to see the final night of its
kind for the Boston club as they have now called time on their existence. The club presented various awards during the evening;
the rider of the year award going to joint winners Joe Haines and Simon
Lambert. Both riders have had fantastic a season in the Conference League and
couldn’t have done any more for the Barracudas. The “Croft Marsh Flyer of the
Year” went to Darren Mallett and Mick Lowe received the mechanic of the year
title. “The riders of the year were both deserved; Joe and
Simon have been fantastic all season for us and I think you just have to look
at the Speedway Star to see just how good they both were this season. It was
also good to see Darren winning something; recently at home he has been
superb and if he can maintain that on different tracks next season he will
certainly be back in the Premier League which is where he wants to be. Mick
Lowe was well chuffed with his award, I remember Adam coming in last season
and he was the quiet one! Well that was then but I think the last couple of
years he has improved massively and I hope he gets the chance to continue
that. Adam has loads of heart and deserves a decent chance in the sport.” The team did everything they could to fight until the
end to try and get some more silverware but it just wasn’t to be. Still, to
reach three finals (Trophy, KOC and League play-off) is no mean feat even
though defeats followed in all three. The Cudas did retain their Conference
League Pairs Trophy although it is a shame that they won’t be at the tapes in
2009 to defend the title again. With no hope of finding a suitable site in
the Boston area the decision to close the club was the only viable one to make
even though it was probably one of the toughest decisions the officials
involved have had to make and not one taken lightly. Club captain Simon Lambert commented: “I was pleased to collect the joint rider of the year award along with Joe Haines. As Joe was unable to attend the evening Rhys Naylor collected the trophy on his behalf. All the riders collected their mementoes and a few of the ‘old’ Boston Speedway riders attended. I was proud and privileged to accept the ‘Rider of the Era’ award from Kevin Moore. Kevin kindly donated this trophy to cover the nine years of Boston Speedway. I started as the club mascot and progressed to be the team captain - I was the only rider to have been with the club from starting in 1999 to ending in 2008.” |
||
Sunday
November 2nd, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas era concludes with narrow defeat The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas have raced their
final fixture with a one point defeat to Weymouth in the second leg of the
Conference League play-offs with a 45 point defeat over the two-legged final. The original staging date of the meeting’s second leg
was washed out due to overnight rain in the King’s Lynn area and both clubs
got together quickly to re-arrange the fixture for Wednesday. The match was
always going to be an emotional one as it was to be the Cudas final outing as
the gates close for the final time since their resurrection at the end of the
1990s. The Wildcats came to town with a huge lead and the
overall result was never in doubt although the big question was “could Boston
win their final meeting?” The answer became clear as the night went on that
it probably wasn’t to be. Reserve Chris Widman had to pull out of the match
after a heat four crash and Adam Lowe joined him on the sidelines after
coming to grief in heat eight. The Cudas battled hard but it wasn’t to be
despite a 5-1 in the final race when Simon Lambert and Darren Mallett
combined to take maximum spoils. Captain Simon Lambert was coming back from a broken
wrist and did a great job. He said: “What a way to round off the end of an
era for the Boston Barracudas. I finished off with a 15-point haul from
six rides against Weymouth on Wednesday night and was effectively the last
person to win a race for Boston Speedway. It is sad that it has come to
an end but I fully understand the reasons why. It was a night full of mixed emotions
both for the promotion side, the riders but most of all for all the hard core
of regular fans that turned up to each match. Unfortunately this was not
enough to run the club, but thank you very much for being so loyal to
Boston Speedway. I began my speedway career as mascot to the then Skegness
Braves, Norfolk Braves and then the Boston Barracudas some nine years
ago at the age of 10. Then I progressed to the reserve berth and then into
the main team ending up as No. 1 and captain so I feel sad it has had to come
to an end.” The club held a successful end of season party and
presentation evening on Saturday night where all who attended had a great
night. Co-promoter and team manager Dale Allitt said of the final meeting:
“Everyone was up for it and really wanted the win. We knew the tie was over
as a contest but really wanted to go out on a high with a victory but it just
wasn’t to be. The lads did great and to lose two riders to injury and still
only go down by a point was an achievement in itself. I am proud of all the
team, they stuck together well and whilst we are all disappointed they put on
a good show under very difficult circumstances.” As for the season as a whole, Dale continued: “The last couple of weeks have probably been the toughest I have ever had. The dream of a championship season certainly looked on once we had reached the play offs. We had two fantastic matches against Redcar and scraped through by the smallest of margins but we were there. Soon after that, things started to go wrong with fixture clashes and injuries. These are all part of speedway but it was terrible to see the season finish like it did when it had promised so much more. I would like to thank everyone for their support over this season and I’m sure I will bump into some of you around the speedway tracks.” |
||
Monday
October 27th, 2008
|
||
|
Sad end as Cudas take prepare for emotional finale The speedway season that promised so much and
looked like it could deliver big things for Boston Barracudas fizzled out in an
end-of-campaign disaster. The Cudas, who had already been defeated in the
final of the Conference Trophy by Plymouth, had achieved a major feat in that
they also reached the final of the KO Cup and the Conference League title
play-offs. But it wasn’t to be as injury and rider unavailability cost the
club dear. On Friday night the team travelled to Plymouth
for the second leg of the KO Cup final having eked out an 11-point lead in
the first leg at the Norfolk Arena. However, the meeting had to go ahead without
both Simon Lambert (wrist injury), Joe Haines (riding for Workington) and
Oliver Rayson (unable to make the trip) and this in truth was the telling
factor in the overall defeat. Boston lost the match 59-33 (98-83 on
aggregate) but did put in a spirited performance although they never looked
likely on the night to challenge for the trophy. With Plymouth winning the two finals it was left
to Boston to travel to Weymouth on Saturday for the first leg of the play off
final. Captain Simon Lambert had been to sports physio Brian Simpson for some
work on his wrist and declared himself available for this match, which was a
great boost for the team although club legend Rob Hollingworth was standing
by in case his services were required. Boston again included 15-year-old Rhys
Naylor who made his debut the previous night at Plymouth and although he
failed to score on that occasion from his three rides he was far from
disgraced racing at the number two position. The meeting didn’t go to plan for the Barracudas
as they suffered a heavy 44- point defeat in a night to forget. The visitors
recorded only two race wins during the whole meeting with Simon Lambert
winning heat three and Adam Allott heat five. At that point the deficit was
only 10 points but the deluge from Weymouth followed with seven maximum 5-1s
and three 4-2s in the remaining 10 heats, in fact Boston provided the last
placed rider in all of the 15 evening heats. The return leg was due to take place the following evening at the Norfolk Arena but overnight rain put an abrupt halt to that meeting with a restaging day of Wednesday (October 29) start time 7.30pm for the completion of the competition. This will be Boston’s last ever meeting in what is sure to be an emotional night for everyone involved with the club. |
||
Monday
October 20th, 2008
|
||
|
Last heat drama as Cudas make slender-margin progress Last week saw the ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas squeeze
into the Conference League play-off final by the narrowest of margins against
a determined Redcar Cubs septet. Boston had already won the away leg by three
points after a final heat 5-1 and just needed to hold that lead to reach the
final although, while no one at the club was counting their chickens, it
turned out to be no easy fixture. There was nothing to choose between the two teams
at the Norfolk Arena and after heat 10 of the match, the scores were still
level which would have been sufficient for Boston to progress. However, a 4-2
in heat eleven and a 5-1 in heat 12 put the visitors into a commanding six
point lead on the night and a three point lead on aggregate. The ‘Cudas
pulled back two points in the next only for Redcar to replay the compliment
in heat 14 leaving Boston facing the distinct possibility of going out at the
semi final stage, especially considering the Cubs would have unbeaten Aaron
Summers in the heat 15 showdown. It was all to play for in the final heat as
disaster struck for Summers as he shed a chain at the start line and the
rest, as they say, is history as Joe Haines and Simon Lambert raced away from
Adam McKinna for their required 5-1 and a one point aggregate victory, 92-91.
Boston team manager Dale Allitt said: “What a
relief. We knew they would give us a really tough match as they have on
previous visits here and with the prize of a place in the final at stake this
match was going to be even harder. The overall contest was real tense and we
obviously feel for Jason (Pipe) and his side but we are delighted to reach
the final and will be doing our very best to win the title.” Boston now go on to meet Weymouth in the
two-legged title decider final. Last Saturday saw the Conference League 4TT take
place at Stoke where Boston travelled with a team of Adam Allott, Darren
Rolph, Darren Mallett and Adam Lowe with both Joe (Haines) and Simon
(Lambert) involved in Premier League commitments. The quartet managed a total
seven points from their eight races and unfortunately finished bottom of
their qualifying group as Redcar and Sittingbourne progressed through to the
final. The meeting was eventually won by Weymouth after the event was cut
short by two races due to the curfew at Stoke. The day after and it was another final for Boston
to contest, this time the KO Cup final against Plymouth. The Devils had already
defeated the Barracudas in the final of the Conference Trophy and so it was a
chance to gain some revenge for that defeat. Boston had to go into this
meeting without Captain Simon Lambert after he suffered a horrific fall the
previous night racing for King’s Lynn. Simon said: “I had a
corker of a crash at KL in heat 14 when the bike back flipped and bounced
into the air and hit the metal stock car fence, bounced back on the track and
went on to take out three fence panels. I ended up with a cut face and
suspected broken scaphoid. I badly bruised my arm, elbow, hips but the
main problem is my hand. After getting home from the hospital at 2.30
am in the morning I am still none the wiser whether it is broken or
not. “There was too much swelling to make
an accurate assessment so I have to go back to the hospital for another
X-ray. I am gutted not to be riding for Boston against Plymouth in the cup
final first leg and with all the important matches coming up it couldn’t have
come at a worse time. I hate being a spectator and not being able to
join in. I will have to see what they say at the hospital.” The home leg was won by Boston and they take an
11-point lead to the St Boniface Arena on Friday for the second leg although
it could have been a whole lot worse as the home side only held a one-point
advantage after heat 12. Maximums in heats 13 and 14 and a 4-2 in heat 15
rescued the match and it’s all to play for now on Friday. Hero of the night had to be Darren Mallett who
produced his best display of the season with a paid 17-point haul and he was
well backed by Joe Haines (paid 16) and Adam Allott (11). Darren said after
the meeting: “I just had it in my head that I had to get out of the start,
get in front and win races. It was always going to be hard without Simon but
I had a great night and certainly one of my best in a Boston race jacket. It
was good we at least pulled out a lead to take to Plymouth for the second
leg.” Boston now travel to Plymouth for the second leg
of the KOC final on Friday October 24 before moving on the next day to
Weymouth for the first leg of the Conference title play-off final. The next
day sees the second leg at the Norfolk Arena on Sunday October 26 with a
7.00pm start time – all meetings not to be missed in one of the most
successful periods for the Barracudas. Co-promoter Stephen Lambert said: “As the founder
member involved in resurrecting the Cudas in 1999 I can say this is probably
the end of an era for the club and the meeting on Sunday will probably be
their last. “With a lack of crowds and the difficulty in
finding suitable land in the Boston area it has made it very difficult to
continue. We are hoping for a large crowd for the season finale on the 26th
in what is sure to be an exciting and emotional evening of speedway for
everyone involved and by everyone I mean the management, the riders, the
officials, the sponsors and the supporters.” And finally a reminder that Boston will hold
their end of season presentation evening on Saturday November 1 with a start
time of 7.30pm. This special night to which all of the Boston riders have
been invited will take place at Hubberts Bridge Community Hall with a ticket
price of £10; this will include a buffet supper. There will be a bar at the
event and the music will be provided by Calypso Disco. For tickets and any
other information please ring Stephen Lambert during office hours on 01775 750100. |
||
Monday
October 13th, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas still in with hope of double glory feat With Darcy Ward back in Australia and Jamie Smith
not fit to race again this season, Boston Barracudas have moved to sign a
rider for the remainder of the season. After several phone calls and lots of
hard work to find available riders, Luke Priest has agreed to sign for the
Cudas for the rest of the campaign and should make his debut in one of the up
and coming fixtures in the next week or so. The 23-year-old Sheffield asset
has been riding more recently in the Premier League for Mildenhall this
season and should be a great rider who can settle in well to a Boston squad
that is chasing honours in October. Last Friday saw a superb performance from Boston
on their visit to Scunthorpe in the KO Cup semi-final where they had a
21-point lead to defend in order to reach the final. The Saints started the
meeting picking up heat advantages and had forged an eight-point lead after a
5-1 from reserves Adam Wrathall and Gary Irving in heat eight. Boston team
manager Dale Allitt, with his finger always on the pulse, brought in Simon
Lambert for a tactical substitute ride off 15 metres in heat nine and he
promptly delivered an 8-1 with recent signing Adam Allott to close the gap to
a single point on the night. With Boston heat advantages in the next two
races, the tie was over as a contest but the big question was could Boston
end Scunthorpe’s long standing home record. The home side collected a maximum
5-1 in heat 14 to go into the final race with a one point lead – although the
Cudas would line up with the unbeaten paring of Joe Haines and Simon Lambert.
The Boston pair didn’t disappoint and took the match winning 5-1 (48-45) and
ended the run of 48 home victories for Scunthorpe, a run extending back to
the beginning of the 2006 campaign. Full credit must go to the whole side but
Lambert (20+1 maximum) and Haines (15 maximum) were a class above and the
‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas will now face Plymouth in the final of the cup. Boston have to negotiate the home leg of the
Conference play-offs semi-final against the Redcar Cubs at the Norfolk Arena
on Tuesday where Boston hold a three-point advantage from their 48-45 away
win at Redcar at the end of September. If the Cudas are successful and
progress to the final they will travel to Plymouth for the KOC final on
Friday October 24 and will visit Weymouth on Saturday October 25 for the
first leg of the Conference play-offs final after the Wildcats saw off the
challenge of the Plymouth Devils with relative ease over the two legs. The
home leg of the final of the Conference play-offs will then be scheduled for
the following evening, Sunday October 26 in what is sure to be a fantastic
night for all involved. The home leg of the KO Cup final will be held at
7.00pm on Sunday October 19 at the Norfolk Arena. Boston team manager Dale Allitt said: “These are
really exciting times for the club. It has been a really busy spell and
people don’t often see what goes on behind the scenes but I can honestly say
that I have spent little time away from a phone of late whether it be
checking availability of riders, trying to sign new riders, booking fixtures
or keeping tabs on everything that is going on in the speedway world. All the
riders are really busy and with two of our top riders still heavily involved
in Premier League commitments it doesn’t make things any easier I can tell
you. That said it is great to be busy at this time of year and I’m confident
other promoters would love to be in this position instead of me if they had
the chance.” In other news Boston will hold their end of season presentation evening on Saturday November 1 with a start time of 7.30pm. This special night to which all of the Boston riders have been invited will take place at Hubberts Bridge Community Hall with a ticket price of £10; this will include a buffet supper. There will be a bar at the event and the music will be provided by Calypso Disco. For tickets and any other information please ring Stephen Lambert during office hours on (01775) 750100. |
||
Monday
October 6th, 2008
|
||
|
Darcy signs off with a
spectacular flourish With Sunday’s Boston “Staffsmart” Barracudas
meeting with Redcar on Sunday being postponed early due to a waterlogged
track it confirmed that young star in the making Darcy Ward had ridden his last
match for the Conference League club as he heads back to his native
Australia. Darcy will of course be back on these shores next
season after signing a contract with King’s Lynn but what a way to finish
this stint in the UK. Recently he finished third after a run off in the
Conference League Riders Championship; a result that could have been even
better but for a fall in his fourth ride and he put in a magnificent show in
King’s Lynn’s Pride of the East individual where he raced and beat some Elite
League racers. Last Thursday he rode at Sheffield in their Top
Guns meeting; he won his first four rides in times that blew the opposition
away and then fell in his fifth qualifying ride. In the semi final he was
pushed out on the first bend but chased hard and collected second place on
the line to take his place in the grand final, a race he won by passing the
rest of the field at the end of the first lap to take the meeting victory. On Friday evening he travelled to Somerset for
the Junior Open; yet again he raced to victory in very quick times on his way
to a fifteen point maximum. He then followed this meeting with a short track
event at King’s Lynn. With speedway fixtures allowing, Darcy was joined in
the meeting by Barracudas team mate Simon Lambert, both riders rode well to
qualify for the semi finals before the meeting was abandoned due. Boston team
manager Dale Allitt said “Darcy has been a revelation this season and I’m
sure he has a very bright future in the sport. It’s a shame he is going home now
but I can’t wait to see him in action in the UK next season.” With the Play Off semi final against Redcar
falling foul to the weather, Boston riders Simon Lambert, Darren Mallett and
Mark Thompson all took part on Sunday in the David Nix Memorial Trophy at
Scunthorpe. Thompson suffered a tough afternoon and scored just two points
but on the other hand Simon Lambert was seeded to the final after scoring 11
out of 12 from his qualifying heats and Darren Mallett made it to the semi
final scoring eight points from his qualifiers but went out at that stage
coming third in the race off. In the final Simon briefly held the lead but
was passed by the eventual winner Paul Cooper but a good afternoon’s work to
collect second place on the rostrum. Simon said after the meeting: “I had a good day
today, the final was a very good race and I led Paul Cooper for a while but
he came on the outside and went past me. This is one meeting I am
desperate to win as David was a very good friend of the family and would often
come round to see us and talk about his grasstrack and speedway racing.
My dad sponsored his speedway racing and followed his progress till that
tragic day at King’s Lynn when he died doing the sport he truly loved.” Boston’s next home fixture will be the second leg
of the play off semi final against Redcar however a date is yet to be
confirmed for the fixture whilst the next away match is the visit to
Scunthorpe for the second leg of the cup match on Friday October 10. In other news Boston will hold their End of Season Presentation Evening on Saturday November 1 with a start time of 7.30pm. This special night to which all of the Boston riders have been invited will take place at Hubberts Bridge Community Hall with a ticket price of £10; this will include a buffet supper. There will be a bar at the event and the music will be provided by Calypso Disco. For tickets and any other information please ring Stephen Lambert during office hours on 01775 750100. |
||
Monday
September 29th, 2008
|
||
|
Positive results as Cudas chase
silverware double The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas travelled to
Redcar last Thursday for the first leg of the Conference League play-off
semi-final with a game plan to keep the meeting as close as possible for the
return leg at the Norfolk Arena on Sunday October 5. And it all worked
perfectly as the end result was a 48-45 success for the Cudas. Even before a wheel was turned the Boston team
could have been labelled the walking wounded from their recent league trip to
Rye House. Captain Simon Lambert was still suffering arm and rib injuries
while Darren Rolph still had a painful wrist and to compound matters further
reserve Oliver Rayson had to pull out on the day of the meeting with a flu
virus and after trying for several riders to race as a replacement team
manager Dale Allitt managed to secure the services of another grade one rider
in Gary Irving from Scunthorpe. The meeting started well for the Barracudas with
a 5-1 from Joe Haines and rider replacement Darcy Ward in a quick time but
the Cubs soon pegged that back with a maximum of their own in the very next
heat. Young Australian Ward took the win in his next race (heat four) and
managed to set a new Conference League track record of 54.9 seconds as he
raced clear of Lawson and Summers. The meeting remained close until the home
side opened up an eight-point lead after heat nine; cue Darcy Ward. Darcy was
brought into heat ten as a tactical substitute from fifteen metres back and
it took him less than two laps to storm to the front and collect the six
points for the race win but with Lambert at the back the gap only closed to
five points. The Barracudas continued to battle and looked to
be heading for a 5-1 maximum in heat thirteen until Darcy’s bike seized on
the last corner turning the result into a 3-3. Boston switched their reserves
in heat fourteen with Gary Irving, having won heat twelve, coming in for a
pointless Adam Lowe and duly won the race with a great pass on Benji Compton.
The home side still led by a single point going into the last race but with
the on fire pairing of Joe Haines and Darcy Ward representing the ‘Cudas
anything could have happened and they collected a 5-1 to take the meeting by
three points on the night. Team manager Dale Allitt said: It was a tremendous
meeting for the fans and I am delighted to come away with the win considering
our injury problems. Joe was magnificent and Darcy was just out of this world
and without his bike trouble in heat thirteen would have scored a record paid
23 points but paid 20 isn’t too bad! We need to stick to the task in hand now
and finish the job at home, we know what a powerful side they are and will
not be taking the return match lightly.” Rye House was the place to be on Saturday as the
stars of the Conference League took part in this years’ Riders Championship.
Darcy Ward had a great evening which could have been so much better had it
not been for a fall in his fourth ride but with wins in his other four rides
he forced a run off for third place overall; he won the run off against Dan
Halsey and Jay Herne to claim the podium position and was racing much quicker
times than the rest of the field and certainly deserved more. Simon Lambert
on the other hand was still suffering the effects of his recent falls and
finished the meeting with four points. Sunday saw Boston take on Scunthorpe in the first
leg of the KO Cup semi-final where they were looking for a sizeable lead to
take to the away leg. In the end, the Cudas won 56-35. The meeting looked to
be quite tight up to heat five with the Barracudas holding just a five point
lead but the home side pulled away well in the second half of the meeting and
had Joe Haines, Simon Lambert and Darcy Ward in fantastic form all night and
all three finished the meeting unbeaten by a visiting rider. Boston will take
a 21- point lead to Scunthorpe and co-promoter Mick Smith said after the
meeting: “The lads battled away well. Some of them are still suffering from
knocks but to have three riders unbeaten is special and all the riders
chipped in at vital times and I hope we have enough of a lead to take us into
another final this season.” With the news that Jamie Smith will not race
again this season due to injury, Boston have confirmed the signing of King’s
Lynn asset Adam Allott. Adam (25) has been racing short track this season and
has been practising will come into the side on Sunday. Boston’s next home fixture will be the second leg of the play off semi final against Redcar and will be held on Sunday October 5 with a 7.00pm start time while the next away match is the visit to Scunthorpe for the second leg of the cup match on Friday October 10. |
||
Monday
September 22nd, 2008
|
||
|
Crucial spell for Cudas in glory quest The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas are about to embark
on one of their most exciting periods since their involvement in the
Conference League set up began. On Thursday evening (September 25) the Cudas will
make the long trip to the South Tees Motorsports
Park where they will take on the Redcar Cubs in the first leg of the league
play-offs semi-final. Boston have had some good results up there this year
with a draw in the KO Cup fixture back in June and just a two-point defeat in
the League when they visited earlier in the month. It will be vital to pick
up another good result as Redcar have also been dangerous at the Norfolk
Arena where they raced to a draw in the League encounter back in August.
Co-promoter Stephen Lambert said: “This is an important fixture in the clubs
calendar and we will be doing everything we can to win but if not keep the
scores very tight for the return leg at home. We are entering the business
end of the season and we definitely want to add to the Pairs Trophy that we
already hold. It was disappointing to lose to Plymouth in the Conference
Trophy final and so we don’t want to feel like that again.” On Saturday (September 27) club
captain Simon Lambert and young hot-shot Darcy Ward will represent the club
at Rye House in the Conference League Riders Championship before another huge
meeting at the Norfolk Arena on Sunday evening with the visit of Scunthorpe
for the first leg of the Knockout Cup semi final tie. It is hoped this
meeting will attract a big crowd to see Boston race in a semi final of
another competition; close rivals Scunthorpe will be looking for a
competitive score line to take back to the Eddie Wright Raceway for the
second leg. The away leg on Friday October 3 has now been postponed with a
prospective re-staging date being the following Friday. Boston team manager Dale
Allitt said: “This isn’t ideal for either club. Whoever gets to the final
whether it is us or Scunthorpe, it will leave a very limited time to get a
two-legged final into the schedule with dates running out all the time. For
us it could be even harder as we could still be involved in the play-offs but
it would be a great problem to have as being in finals of competitions is
always good for everyone involved with the club from the management, the
riders and the fans.” Last Sunday saw the Barracudas travel
to Rye House for their final league fixture of the regular season. A win
would have seen the Barracudas finish top of the pile but it wasn’t to be as
the meeting took its toll and Boston finished the match with just five
riders, one of them also carrying an injury. The final score of 40-52 was in
no small way down to a superb 18 point haul from young Joe Haines who was
extremely impressive; the previous evening he was guesting for Coventry in
the Elite League and did himself no harm with a score of paid three. Heat
eight did the damage for the visitors, in the first running Darren Rolph fell
and hurt his wrist and in the re-run Simon Lambert on a black and white from
15 metres lost control on the third lap and fell awkwardly causing him to
pull out of the meeting with rib and arm injuries. Darren Rolph did complete
the meeting but a fall by Darren Mallett in heat 10 caused his afternoon to
come to an early end also. Dale Allitt said after the match: “We tried hard
today but we will have to settle for second in the league which is an
achievement. The team battled hard today but a special mention must go to
Joe, it’s a shame he cannot take part in the CLRC as I’m sure he would have
been one of the favourites although I’m confident Simon (injury permitting) and
Darcy will put up a great show for the fans.” Boston’s next home fixture will be the first leg of the KO Cup semi final against Scunthorpe and will be held on Sunday September 28 with a 7.00pm start time whilst the next away match after the visit to Redcar is the yet to be confirmed visit to Scunthorpe for the second leg of the cup match with a likely date of Friday October 10. |
||
Tuesday
September 16th, 2008
|
||
|
Decisive victory cements play-off position With Friday’s Conference League match against
Weymouth washed out early doors, both clubs got together and rescheduled the
match for the Monday evening while at the same time praying for some better
weather. This was the second Cudas match in a row to be called off and the
match that eventually took place on Monday was at the third attempt after
rain intervened in early August as well. Boston wanted a win to secure their play-off
hopes and a win was exactly what they got. The Cudas started the meeting like
a whirlwind with five 5-1s and a 4-2 in the first six heats of action to open
up an impressive twenty two point lead. The Wildcats attempted to hit back in
heat seven with Lee Smart taking the tactical ride but he couldn’t overhaul
the lightning quick Darcy Ward and had to settle for a share of the heat as
Adam Lowe kept former Boston rider Matt Wright at the back. Another drawn heat in race eight was followed by
another blow from the home side with five heat advantages in the next five
heats to extend their lead to thirty six points and totally knock the
stuffing out of their opponents. Heat 14 ironically saw Weymouth’s only heat
victory of the night and it came from the previously pointless Matt Wright
who just managed to keep a challenging Darren Mallett behind him. The last
saw an engine problem on the line stop a sure fire maximum for Joe Haines
although Simon Lambert did complete his paid full house with another
impressive win. Young Darcy Ward seems to go from strength to strength with a
twelve point maximum and the rest of the team weighed in with at least paid
seven points. Boston co-promoter Mick Smith commented after the
meeting: “The boys were fantastic tonight, very focussed on the job and it
just shows what they can do when they are hungry for it. This performance
should throw out a warning to the other play off teams that we mean business
and want the league title this season.” In other news, young Boston reserve Oliver Rayson
has received a wonderful boost by being awarded a new bike. The Speedway Star
Fantasy League had an added bonus in this year’s competition where whichever
manager was top of the pile on September 1 could choose an up and coming
British rider from the Conference League to be awarded a new bike courtesy of
sponsors Draper Tools. Ipswich fan David Woods was in that position and chose
Olli to be the lucky rider. Olli was delighted and said: “It’s a fantastic
bonus and will help loads. Speedway is a really expensive sport and things
like this don’t come around too often. I would like to thank David for
selecting me and also Draper Tools for putting up such a great prize.” Boston’s next home fixture will be the first leg of the KOC semi final against Scunthorpe and will be held on Sunday September 28 with a 7.00pm start time whilst the ‘Cudas next away match is scheduled for Sunday September 21 with a trip to Rye House for a league match. The Barracudas have also announced dates for their play off semi finals against Redcar. The first leg will take place at Redcar on Thursday September 25 and the return home fixture will be at the Norfolk Arena on Sunday October 5. |
||
Sunday
September 7th, 2008
|
||
|
Close encounter goes against
Cudas Last Thursday the ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas
travelled the long distance to the South Tees Motorsports Park with high hopes of an away victory
in the Conference League. But that was snatched from them in a meeting that
went to a last heat decider when Redcar ultimately scraped a 46-44 success. The
Cubs are currently catching up on some of their meetings and Boston provided
their second team of opposition on the night after they had already defeated
Rye House 56-37. Boston were operating rider replacement for Mark
Thompson at number two and started the meeting well with a 4-2 in heat one
but that was short lived as Redcar took a 5-1 in the next. Heat five saw
Boston’s big guns Joe Haines (on his 17th birthday) and Simon
Lambert collect a 5-1 to put their side back into the lead, a lead they still
held going into heat 14 in fact. Drama struck the Cudas in heat eight as
captain Simon Lambert came in for his rider replacement ride only to fall and
injure his hand; Simon did finish the meeting but had dislocated knuckles and
a broken finger which as a result meant he wasn’t able to race in a vital
heat 15. Heat 14 saw Darren Mallett pick up his only point
of the night in a Cubs 5-1 that saw the hosts go into the final race with a
two point advantage; a shared heat in that final race left Boston with a two
point defeat and a long ride home wondering what might have been. Team
manager Dale Allitt said after the meeting: “It’s disappointing to get so
close and to be leading for as much of the match as we did. Our matches
against Redcar recently have certainly been exciting and it all looks positive
for a cracking end to the season. I’m sure if we end up going back to Redcar
in the play offs we are capable of doing better but I am really frustrated
that we were a three-man team tonight and some riders need to up their game.
There are riders in our squad that are back to fitness now and who are keen
to be involved and they might just get the chance. I am really pleased with
the way Darcy is riding at the moment; I had a word with him before tonight’s
meeting reminding him that each race is four laps and that he has the ability
to beat anyone on his day. It was good to see him then overtake people on the
last lap during the meeting and not try to do it all on the first lap!” Saturday night saw the club hold a successful
race night at Hubbert’s Bridge Community Hall
with everyone having a fun evening. The event raised approximately £700 for
the club, which is always welcome in today’s economic climate. Boston’s scheduled KO Cup semi final with
Scunthorpe on Sunday was postponed in the morning due to heavy rain causing a
waterlogged track. No new date has yet been agreed by the two clubs involved. In other news, Boston have announced that Darcy
Ward will join captain Simon Lambert as Boston’s representatives in the
Conference League Riders Championship to be held at Rye House later in the
month. Dale Allitt commented: “Darcy has been a revelation since joining the
club a few weeks ago and I’m sure he’ll be up for the challenge of such a big
meeting and I wish both of our riders the best of luck and hope one of them
can bring home some more silverware.” Boston’s next home fixture will be their final
home league fixture (excluding play offs) against Weymouth who have been in
fine form of late and are also challenging for a play off slot; the meeting
will take place at the Norfolk Arena on Friday September 12 with a 7.30pm
start time. The second half for this meeting will feature the “Men in Black”
racing the older bikes so should be a full evening of exciting racing. The
‘Cudas next away match is scheduled for Sunday September 21 with a trip to
Rye House for a league match. |
||
Monday
September 1st, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas fall just short in fightback bid The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas had a huge task to pull
back a 35-point first leg deficit if they were to lift the Conference Trophy
on Sunday but sadly it wasn’t to be. Despite a fantastic effort the ‘Cudas
simply ran out of heats in which to pull back the points needed but let’s not
forget what a good win it was on the night by sixty points to thirty one. Joe Haines, who celebrates his 17th birthday this week
was in inspired form and scorched to a full maximum while Simon Lambert
collected a paid maximum after a great tussle with Mark Simmons in heat fifteen
to follow Joe home for a 5-1. Boston had gone about their business in a
professional way picking up vital points at vital times and had pulled back
16 points after heat eight with some bad luck affecting each side. Darren
Rolph lost points in heat one when he packed up while Seemond Stephens fell
in heat four and Tom Brown did the same when taking a tactical substitute
ride in heat eight. Two more heat advantages in heats nine and ten, a 4-4
drawn heat eleven with Mark Simmonds on a tactical ride and a 4-2 in heat
twelve left Boston needing three 5-1’s in the last three heats to snatch the
aggregate victory. The possibility was ended when Darcy Ward fell in the next
heat as he chased Mark Simmonds for third place and meant the Devils were the
Conference Trophy winners. Boston team manager Dale Allitt said: “We gave it
our all and it just wasn’t to be. It was a good win tonight but maybe we left
ourselves just a little too much to do from the first leg. We are even more
determined now to win some more silverware to add to our Pairs title and we
have an important KOC semi final coming up against Scunthorpe not to mention
that we are still in a good position in the league as we strive for a play
off place.” In other news, Boston have announced their two riders
for the Conference League Riders Championship due to be staged on Saturday
September 27 at Rye House. Captain Simon Lambert and long serving Darren
Mallett will line up wearing the Barracuda race jacket when hopefully both
riders will have a realistic shot of winning the title. Boston also has a fun packed evening with a difference
planned for Saturday September 6; a horse racing event. The event takes place
at Hubberts Bridge Community Hall (near Boston) with the first race starting
at 7.30pm. During the night there is a fully licensed bar and all the ‘Cudas
riders have been invited to attend. Tickets cost £8 (which includes a buffet)
and these can be obtained from Stephanie Lambert and Andy Scotney or by
ringing Stephen Lambert on 01775 750100 (office hours) or a mobile number
07771 928470. This will be great fun for all the family so supporters are
encouraged to get their tickets as soon as possible. Boston’s next home fixture will be the KOC semi final first leg clash with local rivals Scunthorpe on Sunday September 7 while their next away match is scheduled for Thursday 4th September with a trip to Redcar. |
||
Monday
August 25th, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas seek heroic fightback triumph The Boston
‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas go into the Conference Trophy Final second leg on
Sunday against the Plymouth Devils hoping to make up a 35-point deficit from
the first leg in June to lift the silverware to add to the Pairs Championship
won earlier in the campaign. The recent meeting between the two sides at the
Norfolk Arena ended in a huge win for Boston and management, riders and fans
alike will be hoping for more of the same; co-promoter Mick Smith said: “This
is another important match for the club and it would be superb to land
another trophy. We are hoping for a big crowd with everyone getting behind
the riders, things like this can make a difference and can contribute extra
points to the cause in spirit.” The
Cudas took on Redcar last Friday and after some very big home wins, this
looked to be a tough match on paper. And that is exactly how it turned out.
The Cubs travelled to the Norfolk Arena with James Cockle in their side
having recently been given permission to talk to other clubs following the arrival
of Darcy Ward into the Boston ranks. This, of course, made Redcar even
stronger and that was evident as Cockle picked up a useful nine points on the
night. The meeting itself finished as a 46-46 draw and wasn’t without plenty
of ups and downs. Boston started the meeting well and took control with 5-1s
in heats five and six to open up an eight point lead although in the next the
impressive Darcy Ward found himself excluded by the referee for bringing down
former team-mate Cockle after picking up some unwanted drive. Boston then
managed to extend their lead with another 5-1 in heat 10 from Simon Lambert
and the impressive Darren Mallett. Redcar
soon hit back in the next with Scott James wearing the black and white helmet
just taking the win from Darcy Ward to close the gap by five points. The
Cubs’ reserves took an unexpected 4-2 in the penultimate race although the
balance still looked in Boston’s favour going into the last heat leading by
four points and tracking the unbeaten Lambert and Mallett (paid 10 from his
four rides). Soon into the heat Darren Mallett packed up when a chain snapped
as he was challenging for third place but all was not lost as Simon held the
lead at the front. That wasn’t the end of the story though as a wire snapped
inside Simon’s cut-off causing him to grind to a halt and gifting Redcar with
the 5-1 they needed for the draw. This, of course, after Simon pushed home
for the point. Simon was understandably disappointed after the race and said:
“I am gutted; this is a rare failure but what a time for it to happen. We had
the points in the bag and for both me and Darren to pack up in the same race
is unbelievable. It’s a point dropped for sure but we will have to get on
with the job in hand and keep moving forward, we have important meetings
coming up and we need to remain focused for them.” Boston
hope to welcome back Oliver Rayson into their team for the clash with
Plymouth on Sunday. Ollie was attacked near his home recently and suffered
terrible facial injuries but is desperate to be fit for the match and said:
“I really want to get back into the team. I have missed a few meetings but I
am determined to line up against the Devils as the club attempt to lift the
trophy.” Following the visit of Plymouth on Sunday (August 31), Boston’s next home fixture after that will be the KO Cup semi final first leg clash with local rivals Scunthorpe on Sunday September 7 while their next away match is scheduled for Sunday September 21 with a trip to Rye House. |
||
Monday
August 18th, 2008
|
||
|
Tough league clash is facing high-flying Cudas The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas face a stiff test
from the Redcar Cubs on Friday as they entertain the northern club in a
Conference League fixture at 7.30pm. It’s a match that will see the Cudas
striving hard to maintain their push for title honours. The clubs have already faced each other three times this
season — a challenge fixture back in April and the two Knockout Cup fixtures
in June. Both of these clashes saw competitive meetings with Boston just
having the edge at the Norfolk Arena by eight points and then forcing a draw
on the road; this coming fixture should be no different. Table-topping Boston
welcome back Simon Lambert and Joe Haines who both missed the club’s last
fixture at Weymouth and also young reserve Oliver Rayson returns after misses
the last few matches due to his dad recently moving house. Team manager Dale
Allitt said “It’s good to see Olly back in the side but I would like to thank
Chris Widman for his effort during the few matches he rode for us. He picked
up some pretty impressive scores and I am confident he will race in a Boston
race jacket again before the end of this season.” Redcar will bring a new looking side to the Norfolk
Arena with very powerful reserves in the shape of Gary Beaton, who rode at
number three in the previous encounters and rising star Richard Lawson who
recently notched paid seventeen points at Sittingbourne. Co-promoter Stephen
Lambert said of Redcar: “They have a very useful looking side and we must be
on our guard. Yes we have racked up 60 points or more in our last four home
meetings but the Cubs look very dangerous and it will be a tough meeting.
Their reserves look especially strong but I think Adam (Lowe) and Olly
(Rayson) can match them on our track; let’s hope Joe and Simon can also keep
up their impressive performances to date.” Young Aussie Darcy Ward will line up at number four as
he continues his fantastic run of form virtually wherever he races and seems
to go from strength to strength. Some of his race times are not far off Elite
League standard times that shows what a great future he should have ahead of
him. Last Thursday he rode in an U16 three-team tournament at Ipswich for
Poole; not only did he race to a 15-point maximum and help Poole to the
victory on the night but most of his race winning times were some two seconds
quicker than those of his opponents. Boston were well represented in the
meeting with Oliver Rayson scoring twelve points from his five rides and
mascot Jack Butler scoring seven points from his seven rides towards a Rye
House total of ten points. Towards the end of the evening there was a
Champion of the Evening section; Rayson won the Ipswich heat, Ward won the
Poole heat and Butler was seeded direct to the final. In that race Ward won
with Rayson third and Butler fourth giving Boston three of the top four on
the night. One new fixture date has been confirmed and that is for
the Conference League trip to Redcar, this will now take place on Thursday
September 4, however the club are still waiting for news of when they will
travel to Scunthorpe for the away leg of the Knock out Cup semi final. Boston’s next home fixture will be the visit of Redcar
on Friday August 22 with a 7.30pm start. Their next away match is currently
scheduled for Sunday September 21 with a trip to Rye House. Teams for Boston versus Redcar: Boston: 1 Simon Lambert, 2 Darren Mallett, 3 Darren
Rolph, 4 Darcy Ward, 5 Joe Haines, Redcar: 1 Scott James, 2 Steven Jones, 3 Benji Compton,
4 Jade Mudgway, 5 TBA, 6 Gary Beaton, 7 Richard Lawson. |
||
Monday
August 11th, 2008
|
||
|
Riders busy despite lack of
Cudas action Despite the fact Boston have had no meeting this week
their squad of riders have been busy racing all over the country at various
different levels. Since his arrival, Darcy Ward has been getting in
as much practice on these shores that is humanly possible and has certainly
clocked up the miles since his arrival from Australia. Last week saw him race
at Wolverhampton on Monday, the Isle of Wight on Tuesday, Poole on Wednesday
and Swindon on Thursday. He looked impressive at all the venues and is
certainly a talking point for many fans on the terraces at the moment, not to
mention on internet forums. His performances for Boston have been special in
their own right and he averages over nine points a meeting from his three
outings to date for the ’Cudas, two of those being away from the Norfolk
Arena. James Cockle has recently re-signed to ride in
the Premier League again, this time in the Midlands for Birmingham where
Barracudas team-mate Adam Lowe lines up in their Academy League team. Joe
Haines made a rare Elite League appearance last Friday for Coventry in their
match with Eastbourne. The 16-year-old deputised for Andreas Messing and
probably scored as much as the Swede would have done at Brandon going on
recent performances; heat two saw him last from the start but he soon
overhauled Tomas Suchanek and set about chasing
James Brundle. He chased hard on the inside and the outside before making a
great pass around the Eagle at the start of the final lap to get a paid win
behind Ben Barker. Although he didn’t score from his other two rides in the
meeting he was in the mix and kept Lewis Bridger very honest in heat eleven
for the whole race. The Conference League fixture against
Weymouth, washed out the Sunday before last, now been re-arranged for 7.30pm
on Friday September 12. Another big fixture coming up at the end of the month
is the Conference Trophy Final second leg against the Plymouth Devils. The
‘Cudas recently took a 64-30 victory over the Devils in a home league match
and the opposition were quick to point out that had that been the Trophy
final match they would have won by just a point on aggregate. Boston team
manager Dale Allitt responded: “What Plymouth didn’t take into account is
that we didn’t have our top two riders in heat 15 and if that had been the
case with Simon (Lambert) involved, it is very likely we would have scored a
5-1 and not a 4-2, thus giving us victory on aggregate by one point!” Boston’s next home fixture will be the visit of Redcar on Friday August 22 with a 7.30pm start. Their next away match is currently scheduled for Sunday September 21 with a trip to Rye House |
||
Monday
August 4th, 2008
|
||
|
Home triumph helps to bolster play-offs challenge Boston’s weekend could have gone some way to securing
their play off hopes for the 2008 season. It was always going to be a tough
weekend with three matches in as many days against some of the toughest teams
in the division. Friday saw a huge victory (64-30) over a Plymouth side
that frankly looked lost on the Norfolk Arena circuit. Boston surged into an
early lead with five 5-1s and two 4-2s in the first seven races to hit the
devils where it hurts. The opposition managed just one heat advantage all
evening thanks to a 5-3 in heat eight with Kyle Hughes on a tactical ride.
Simon Lambert and Joe Haines remained unbeaten for their fourth consecutive
home Conference League fixture as Joe also remains undefeated by an opponent
all season around the Norfolk Arena. Team manager Dale Allitt commented “This
was another great result and it showed the Devils just what the ’Cudas are
capable of. All seven riders were on their game for this match and with two
of the squad making their home debuts it was even more special. Chris Widman
has been an excellent replacement for Oliver Rayson and again hit paid six
tonight while Darcy Ward was fantastic around the circuit with paid eleven
from his four rides; the result augers well for the Conference Trophy final
second leg which has now been arranged for the end of the month.” On Saturday the Barracudas rode at Weymouth for another
league fixture, this time they travelled without Simon Lambert and Joe Haines
in what was always going to be an uphill task. Boston hung in well and were
still only six points down after eight heats but a 1-5 in heat nine increased
the deficit and it looked difficult from there on in. The final score
resulted in a 15-point defeat (54-39), although the visitors remained top of
the pile in the table. Co-promoter Mick Smith said: “The lads battled really
hard and I was proud of them all, Darcy was excellent value for his 15
points. You cannot win them all, but we did what we could on the night.” Sunday was due to see the return fixture with Weymouth
travelling to the Norfolk Arena. However after a fine day the weather turned
sour and torrential rain hit the area late afternoon causing a postponement
around 4.30pm with the track in no condition for racing. The weather did
clear up late in the afternoon but the damage was too severe to rescue the
meeting. Team manager Dale Allitt said: “It’s a shame but these things happen
in speedway and this is the British summer we are talking about!” In other news everyone at Boston Speedway would like to
pass on their best wishes to Jamie Smith and hope he has a speedy recovery
from the broken shoulder he sustained in a track crash in the Reading versus
Glasgow Premier League match. Boston’s next fixture will be the home visit of Redcar on Friday August 22 with a 7.30pm start. The club have also arranged the second leg of the Conference Trophy final against Plymouth; this fixture will take place at the Norfolk Arena on Sunday August 31 when the Barracudas will have to pull back a 35-point deficit after the first leg held in June. |
||
Monday
July 28th, 2008
|
||
|
Crucial weekend of action awaits Cudas The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas are about to
embark on a vital weekend of speedway with three matches in as many days with
arguably two of the toughest Conference League sides due to visit the Norfolk
Arena circuit. On Friday the ‘Cudas entertain the Plymouth Devils and are in
a very determined mood to avenge their twenty eight point mauling at the St
Boniface Arena back in May. A win is a must for this fixture as Boston
continue to look for that play-off spot at the end of the season. Sandwiched in between the two home league matches
is of course the away trip to Weymouth on the Saturday. The Wildcats
currently occupy fourth spot in the table, the last play off berth and so
this is going to be a tough trip for Boston. Just 24 hours later it is the
return fixture at the Norfolk Arena to end the busy schedule and it is fair
to say that after these three matches the league positioning could be much
clearer. Team manager Dale Allitt said: “This is a vital weekend for all
concerned with Boston Speedway. We must concentrate on the task in hand and
look at each match as it comes, Plymouth and Weymouth both have strong
line-ups and I am sure that all three matches will be very exciting for the
fans if not a bit nerve wracking at times. We would like maximum points from
the weekend although I know that is a tough ask but we need to go into all
the fixtures with confidence and then see what happens.” Last Sunday Darcy Ward made his Conference League
debut for the ‘Cudas in their 42-47 win at Buxton. He scored seven points in
what can only be described as a pretty good debut after running a last in his
first outing on the Buxton circuit after falling. Darcy also had to come from
the back in heat ten after touching the tapes at the first attempt; in the
re-run he passed Paul Burnett on the third lap to snatch second place. Also
making his Boston debut was reserve Chris Widman. He replaced Oliver Rayson
who was unavailable for the weekend as he was moving house. Chris battled
hard all meeting and came away with a very creditable paid five return
including a paid win in heat two. Simon Lambert continued his fine Boston form with
another full 15-point maximum while James Cockle yet again was unbeaten by an
opponent in the three races he completed and fell in the other two!
Co-promoter Stephen Lambert said of the result: “This is a great away win for
us. It is important at this stage of the season to pick up victories away,
especially as they carry three league points. We got off to a good start in
the reserves race and never looked back from then. Both the new lads showed
up well and should be good assets for the rest of the campaign as we strive
to win the league; it’s a good feeling to be top of the pile at the moment.” After the busy weekend ahead, Boston’s next
fixture will be the away trip to Redcar on Thursday August 21 while their
next action at the Norfolk Arena will be Sunday August 31, once more against
the Cubs from Redcar. |
||
Monday
July 21st, 2008
|
||
|
Creditable third spot reward for
Mallett Darren Mallett secured a very creditable third
place in the Bronze Helmet meeting held at Weymouth last Saturday. The Boston
second string ran a last in his first race after leading the heat for some
time but he then bounced back in fine style to win his next outing in heat
three. In a strange meeting format Darren then found himself back out in heat
four where he finished behind home rider Jay Herne and then in heat nine he
again finished in second place which was good enough to see him into the semi
final race. Darren lined up in the green helmet and again was leading but
failed to take the chequered flag first after tussles with eventual meeting
winner Tom Brown but third overall was not a bad night as Darren explained:
“I was happy with my performance. It was tough to race three heats out of the
first four and then not to ride again until heat nine. But that’s the
formula. It would have been great to win the meeting again but overall it was
a good experience.” The ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas, meanwhile, were
again in action at the Norfolk Arena last Sunday taking on a Buxton side
missing Jack Roberts. The match resulted in another huge home victory 63-29,
the third consecutive home Conference League fixture where they have topped
the 60-point barrier. The meeting started well for the Barracudas except for
a nasty fall for Darren Mallett in heat three when he hit the safety fence
very hard hurting his foot although he was able to continue racing. Reserve
Oliver Rayson blew his bike prior to the start of heat four and had to rely
on borrowed machinery for the rest of the evening. The home side had built up a considerable twenty
four point lead after heat eight at which time John Branney tried to pull
some of the deficit back with a black and white tactical ride in heat nine
but he was defeated by an impressive looking James Cockle in that one
resulting in a 4-4 shared heat. Boston continued to pile up the points and
Buxton’s only heat advantage came in heat fourteen when Mallett’s throttle
cable snapped at the start of the race giving the away side a 5-1. Simon Lambert has now had 27 unbeaten races in a
row at the Norfolk Arena for Boston and King’s Lynn and he commented: “I have
a perfect set-up for Lynn at the moment. I am really enjoying my racing and
everything is coming together well. The Boston side is flying at the moment
and I am really proud to be captain of the side, we are looking to reach the
play offs and will take one step at a time.” Also unbeaten by an opponent for Boston at the
Norfolk Arena is Joe Haines. He added: “King’s Lynn is a great racing circuit
and I just love racing there, hopefully I can go the whole season without
dropping a point there!” Boston team manager Dale Allitt summed up the
result: “We are looking very strong at the moment and it’s good to see the
riders getting on so well in the pits, the team spirit is fantastic. We have
an important away fixture on Sunday at Buxton where we need to pick up the
three points for an away win.” Boston travel to Buxton on Sunday July 27 for the return Conference League match while their next outing at the Norfolk Arena is Friday August 1 at 7.00pm when they entertain Plymouth in the League. This is sure to be a fiery encounter as the Barracudas look to set the record straight against the Devils after a heavy away loss against the same opponents earlier in the season. |
||
Monday
July 14th, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas turn on league points
power The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas took a step
closer to the Conference League play-offs with a comfortable win over local
rivals the Scunthorpe Saints 60-33. The expected debut for new signing Darcy Ward had
to be put on hold as some of the formalities had yet to be completed, he did
however do two sets of demonstration laps after the official close of the
meeting and raced to a time that was only bettered three times in the League
fixture. Team manager Dale Allitt explained: “Some paperwork problems meant
that Darcy couldn’t take part in the official fixture on Sunday but he was
able to have a spin around the Norfolk Arena before making his debut in the
near future and boy did he look good.” The League fixture again saw Boston in fine form
on home shale and knocked up 60 points for the second meeting in a row with
very impressive displays again from Simon Lambert, Joe Haines and Darren
Rolph as all three collected their second home maximums in as many matches.
Darren Rolph said after the match: “I am really pleased with the way things
are going at the moment. My scores are coming good and I really happy that
the work I am putting in is being rewarded.” Captain Simon Lambert added:
“The team is riding really well at the moment and it’s always nice to score
big points although it’s a shame the bonus point is no more. On a personal
front I am delighted with my form and hope the great run continues.” The Barracudas were solid throughout the team
again as James Cockle was unbeaten when he finished a race and Darren Mallet
put in a superb performance to score eleven from his four rides. Reserve
Oliver Rayson scored paid seven and just shows how well he is coming on this
season with a home average of 6.60. His partner at reserve Adam Lowe however
had a night to forget; Adam was on for a 5-1 in heat two until he hit the
fence and fell and then in heat fourteen a seized engine caused him to fall
and dame his bike. Co-promoter Mick Smith said of the victory: “It’s always
nice to win by so many; it was good to see Malcolm back although I’m sure he
would have hoped for a better result for the Saints. They came up against a
team on real form at the moment and with Joe Haines remaining unbeaten this
season around the Norfolk Arena it is hoped that will remain the case for
quite some time.” The second half event saw a Boston Select lose
out by four points to a Southern track Riders select side. Several team
changes were made to the programmed riders for various reasons, one of those
being Wayne Dunworth who had to go off to hospital with his wife who took ill
during the main meeting. She was feeling a whole lot better the following day
and all at Boston Speedway send their best wishes and hope she is feeling tip
top again soon. Rolling back the years on track for Boston was 52-year-old
Rob Hollingworth who looked like he had never been away with a faultless
nine-point maximum including a fantastic effort from the back in heat six
including a pass on Darren Rolph who had completed a paid maximum in the
Conference League fixture just minutes earlier. Boston have their next match scheduled on Sunday
July 20 at 7.00pm when they take on Buxton in a Conference League fixture. |
||
Monday
July 7th, 2008
|
||
|
Ex-Cudas boss poised to lead
match rivals The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas will this Sunday
take on old rivals the Scunthorpe Saints in Conference League action. At the
helm of the Saints is former Cudas team manager Malcolm Vasey (now at the
Saints’ helm) to add extra interest to the tie in which the Barracudas are
confident of victory, a feat they achieved in the Conference League last
season. Team manager Dale Allitt said: “We have three
matches in as many weeks coming up in the league with Buxton home and away in
the next fortnight. These three matches will have a big say in where we finish
in the league table and it goes without saying that we are obviously looking
to win all three.” The fixture against the Saints will be followed
by a one-off special attraction that should get all Boston fans excited.
There will be a special match between an ex-Boston Select and a Southern
Track Select side. Riding for Boston will be Barracuda’s legend Rob
Hollingworth; 52 year old Rob still rode a few meetings for the ‘Cudas not so
long ago and will really enjoy being back in the Barracuda race jacket. Next
in the line up will be a rider still active in the sport today and only the
other week was stand in team manager for Boston and that is of course Wayne
Dunworth and he will be joined in the team by Michael Holding. Making up the
quartet will be a rider that all Boston fans will want to see race again, a
rider who held the track record at the New Hammond Beck Road circuit for
quite some time Steve Lomas. Steve has been involved with sand racing for the
last few years in which he has won most categories and fans will remember his
daring exploits around his former home track in the 1980’s. Team manager
Allitt added “This really is a must see for all Boston fans. Not only should
they be served up a fantastic match against Scunthorpe but they will have the
opportunity to see some of the real ‘Cudas legends in a Boston race jacket
for probably the last time and I hope lots of supporters will turn up to see
the challenge fixture.” In other news one of Boston’s ever presents this season
Darren Mallett has been chosen to represent the Barracudas at the Bronze
Helmet meeting due to be held on July 19th at Weymouth. Darren has
been a previous holder of this title and is raring to have a go and get it
back. Mallett, who rode for Birmingham in the Premier League last Friday and
joint top scored for the Brummies said “I feel my form is getting better and
better and I am looking forward to what is a big meeting for me and I hope to
do the club proud. I am still very much looking to get back into the Premier
League and hopefully doing well in this meeting will get me some more guest
bookings which I am well set up to do.” Following the match this Sunday with Scunthorpe
Boston have their next match scheduled for a week on Sunday on July 20 at
7.00pm when they take on Buxton in a Conference League fixture. |
||
Monday
June 30th, 2008
|
||
|
Wayne oversees decisive victory The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas returned to
Conference League action last Sunday with a home fixture against the
Sittingbourne Crusaders with manager Dale Allitt asking for a professional
performance against a team yet to win in the league this season. After an accident with his son’s speedway bike on
Friday, Allitt was unable to attend the fixture and Wayne Dunworth took
control of the side. Wayne said: “Dale called me up and asked if I would take
the reins and naturally I said that I can’t do any more than help. It’s also
good to be a speedway celebrity off the track as well as on it!” The meeting was delayed by 30 minutes due to the
position of the sun whilst the track wasn’t in the best of shape due to a
heavy downpour at 5.30pm. The weather in the area had been good all day and
very warm so the track preparation took plenty of watering and this had just
taken place when the weather turned sour. The Barracudas made a great start to the meeting
courtesy of a 5-1 from Cockle and Rolph in heat one with the reserves taking a
4-2 in the next, Oliver Rayson with the win after passing Aaron Baseby. Darren Mallett and Nathan Irwin fell in separate
incidents in heat three; both riders were fine but at the conclusion of the
re-run Buster Chapman made the only decision he could which was to remove the
top dressing to try and improve track conditions. After the short delay
racing got back under way with Dean Felton and Darren Mallett trying out
conditions as some of the riders were unhappy with the state of the track.
With this testing completed successfully, Boston took another 5-1 with
Lambert and Rayson taking the chequered flag quickly followed by the same
again in heat six from Mallett and Joe Haines to give the Cudas a 25-9 lead. Simon Lambert had looked quick in his first ride
and in winning heat seven he was just outside the current Conference League
track record with a time of 60.1. The Cudas continued to pile on the pressure
with a 5-1 in heat eight from Darren Rolph and the very impressive Rayson and
a 4-2 from Haines and Mallet in heat nine before Simon did break the track
record in heat eleven posting a time of 59.7. Boston finished the meeting on
a high with three 5-1s in the last three races to take the score line to
62-25 in their favour. Lambert, Haines and Rolph all collected paid maximums
whilst Cockle and Rayson were unbeaten by an opponent when they were not
excluded from their races. Co-promoter Stephen Lambert said: “There were
lots of falls tonight although the track didn’t ride too badly after the work
was carried out. The team again rode well as a unit with everyone picking up
at least a paid win and without wanting to single anyone out Oliver Rayson
had his best night in a Boston race jacket and Simon did a great job to break
the track record at Conference League level.” Boston have no fixture this week, their next match is scheduled for a week on Sunday, July 13 at 7.00pm when they take on Scunthorpe in what is sure to be an excellent contest by two teams very keen on making the end of season play-offs. |
||
Monday
June 23rd, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas set sights on home match rewards Sunday this week sees the Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas
back in Conference League action at the Norfolk Arena for the return match
against Sittingbourne. At the beginning of the month the Cudas won by a
convincing 20-point margin at Sittingbourne. However, team manager Dale
Allitt is not taking the match lightly as he explained: “We are taking
nothing for granted. Yes, we won well in the away fixture but speedway can be
a funny sport and I will be looking for a completely professional performance
from the team on Sunday. I believe we have a side good enough to win the
fixture and will be going all out for that result. We haven’t ridden a match
for a couple of weeks, but the lads have been busy elsewhere.” Three of the Boston riders were riding in the Ashley
Jones Memorial Trophy meeting last week when a Young Lions side took on a
Young Roos select. Simon Lambert (7+1), Darren Mallet (2+1) and Darren Rolph
(2) all rode for the Young Lions at the King’s Lynn circuit. Adam Lowe rode
last week at Birmingham and Coventry in the Academy League recording good
scores in both meetings while his reserve partner Oliver Rayson has been
riding various second half meetings as well as on the grass track circuit. Of
the other riders, James Cockle and Joe Haines have both been keeping busy in
the Premier League so all the team should be raring to go when Sunday comes
around. The meeting gives Boston the opportunity of another two
league points in their quest to reach the play-offs at the end of the season,
a top four place being the requirement. Boston will have Joe Haines back for
this match and he will ride at number three in the side. Sittingbourne will be boosted by the availability of
Jerran Hart who was missing from his home leg of this fixture. He has recent
knowledge of the King’s Lynn track as he also lined up for the Young Lions
and scored six points in the memorial meeting. The match against Boston will
give him a chance to renew his Premier League speedway rivalry with the likes
of Simon and Joe. The club are also waiting the completion of the Knockout
Cup semi-final draw before being able to announce more fixture dates; one of
Rye House, Scunthorpe or Plymouth/Weymouth (yet to complete their second leg)
awaits Boston in the next round of the competition. Following this Sunday’s match with Sittingbourne, Boston’s next fixture is two weeks later on Sunday July 13 at 7pm when they entertain rivals Scunthorpe for a Conference League match, a fixture that will also see the return of a very familiar face in the guise of ex-Boston promoter Malcolm Vasey who is now part of the Scunthorpe hierarchy. |
||
Monday
June 16th, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas book place in Cup semi-finals The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas took an eight-point
lead to the South Tees Motorsports Park for the second leg of their
Conference League KO Cup match against Redcar. It was always going to be
tight for Boston however they came away with a superb 45-45 draw on the day
and an aggregate victory of 96-88 to book their place in the semi-final
stages. The Redcar Cubs took the lead in heat two as they took
advantage of a fall from Adam Lowe whilst he sat in second place. Boston hit
back immediately in the next race with a 5-1 of their own from Simon Lambert
and James Cockle to take the lead in the match by two points; the unfortunate
Jade Mudgway blew an engine on the start line of that race ending his racing
for the day. Both teams exchanged a heat advantage in the next few
races together with some 3-3’s, one of which saw a great pass by Darren Rolph
on Steven Jones and Scott James. The Barracudas extended their lead on the
day to four points in heat nine with Darren Rolph and Oliver Rayson gaining a
4-2 advantage over Cubs’ Gary Beaton. The next heat advantage went the home
sides’ way in heat thirteen as Scott James and the impressive Aaron Summers
took a 5-1 to level things on the night meaning that two 5-1’s in the last
two races were required to tie the overall score. With Simon Lambert due to come out in heat fourteen this
was always going to be a tough ask and so it proved as Simon duly obliged
with his fourth win of the meeting and with returning reserve Adam Lowe in
third the tie was going to the Barracudas as they went into the nominated
race two points in front. James Cockle joined Simon in heat fifteen and
although Simon led the race until the last lap (again as in heat seven) he
was passed by Summers on the outside and he raced away for another win, a rider
on top form and looks near enough unbeatable on his home circuit. The job was done and Boston go into the hat for the semi
final draw due to take place this week. It was another solid team display
from the ‘Cudas; James Cockle suffered set up problems during the meeting and
Adam Lowe was coming back from injury and to force a draw was an exceptional
performance as co promoter Mick Smith commented “We are absolutely delighted
to get through to the next round today. Many people had written us off after
the first leg saying that eight points wasn’t enough but we were never behind
after heat two. All the riders knew what job they had to do and it was a
great team effort considering we were also missing Matt Wright.” The last word went to team manager Dale Allitt who again
couldn’t hide his delight at the team’s progression into the next round “I am
really proud of all the lads. They came here today knowing what to do and did
it with professionalism. It’s great to progress in any competition and we are
now in the Knock out Cup semi final, another bonus in our quest for more
silverware to add to the Conference Pairs trophy we won a few weeks ago.” Boston are currently still awaiting dates for the home
leg of the Conference Trophy final against Plymouth and Dale concluded “We
are more than confident we can pull back the 35 points at home. We have a
great bunch of lads and when we are at full strength and ride on a decent
race track anything is possible.” Boston’s next fixture is on Sunday June 29 at 7.00pm when they play hosts to Sittingbourne for a Conference League match. The away leg of this fixture saw a 20-point win for the Barracudas. |
||
Monday
June 9th, 2008
|
||
|
Track night woe as Cudas suffer heavy loss The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas endured a torrid time
at Plymouth last Friday as they went down 28-63 in the first leg of the
Conference Trophy final. On a track that has been described as dangerous on
some Internet forums, the Barracudas just couldn’t get any consistency on the
surface and came away with five riders nursing injuries after their night’s
work. Boston found themselves 15-3 down after just three heats although it
was heat six when the Cudas suffered their first injury blow. In form reserve
Adam Lowe hit a rut, came down heavily and suffered leg injuries that caused
him to withdraw from the rest of the meeting. Heat seven saw another injury
worry as Darren Mallett hit the deck and suffered an injury to his right leg
but battled on through the pain barrier to collect two points from his
remaining rides. Two other Boston riders also left the St Boniface Arena
in a painful way. James Cockle had a very sore shoulder and young reserve
Oliver Rayson sustained a back injury. Team manager Dale Allitt said: “I must
say that our lads never got down all night and tried hard at all times. As
for the second leg, we can do better. We know what we must do so keep the
faith; it is far from over yet.” For the Conference League KO Cup fixture on Sunday, new
signing Scott Campos replaced the injured Adam Lowe and Jamie Smith replaced
Matt Wright as the Boston side had a different feel to it from two nights
previously. The meeting was quite significant for a couple of reasons — the
Barracudas had to put the memory of Friday night behind them and also it was
imperative to build up a substantial lead to take to Redcar for the second
leg. As has been the case at home the Barracudas started well
and had scorched into a 14-point lead by heat seven when the Redcar team
manager Jason Pipe started to look at his tactical options. The flying Aaron
Summers came into heat eight from 15 metres back and managed a second place
but couldn’t catch Darren Rolph for the six points. And three races later
Scott James again achieved second place while on a tactical ride from the
tapes. The fixture ended better for the Cubs as they took heat
advantages in heats 13 and 15 to finish the tie just eight points behind.
Boston so-promoter Stephen Lambert commented after the match: “We would have
liked a few more points on the board but we will go up to Redcar with
determination to make it through to the next round. The match was good to
watch and the lads responded well after what happened on Friday, they put in
a lot of effort in what was a solid team performance.” Boston’s next fixture is on Saturday June 14 at 3pm when
they travel to Redcar for the second leg of the KO Cup tie. Their next home
fixture is a Conference League match against Sittingbourne on Sunday June 29
at 7pm. |
||
Monday
June 2nd, 2008
|
||
|
Pairs triumph for Cockle and Lambert James Cockle replaced Jamie Smith in Boston Barracudas’
Conference League Pairs line up and teamed up with part of last year’s
winning combination Simon Lambert for the Weymouth held event on Saturday
night. The Boston pair were drawn in Group B along with
Plymouth, Rye House and Scunthorpe. They started the defence of their title
in heat two and things looked good with Simon in first until his bike ground
to a halt. James did, however, salvage something from the heat when he took
the chequered flag for four points. Heat eight again saw Cockle take the win and with Simon
third Boston took a 6-3 advantage over Scunthorpe. Both teams were equal on
10 points at this stage, one behind group leaders Plymouth. In the previous
heat, former Boston rider Jon Armstrong suffered leg injuries in a crash with
Jay Herne and Jerran Hart. This saw him dispatched off to the local
hospital.
The first running of the semi-final saw the Boston
pairing in a one-two position but then Dean Felton fell, causing a re-run
with all four riders. The Boston pair were not to be denied in the re-run as
they kept their concentration and won through to the final with another 7-2
heat advantage where their opposition would be Redcar. The final also had to be run twice. The first attempt
saw Cockle, Lambert and Scott James all fall. So a re-start was ordered. The
Redcar pair then shot from the tapes but it wasn’t long before Cockle got
past Scott James on lap two and then Simon did the same on the next lap.
Aaron Summers won the race but it was Boston who were celebrating when the
chequered flag waved as second and third was enough to retain their crown. After the meeting Simon Lambert said: “What a wicked
night. It was an expensive night for me personally blowing my engine in my
first race and I feel a bit second hand after the fall in the final. But it’s
fantastic to retain the title. It was our plan to avoid any last places in
the meeting and although we got one thanks to my engine failure, the rest of
the evening went very much to plan. We had a great team and the final race
was something special, it was good to team ride with James and what a
result.” Team manager Dale Allitt was over the moon with the result and said:
“What a night; I am delighted for the boys here tonight and for the Club. It
is an honour to be able to keep the trophy and my congratulations go to Simon
and James who were excellent.” Sunday saw the Barracudas travel to Sittingbourne for
another away Conference League fixture. The match turned out to be an easy
20-point victory for Boston with Simon Lambert again leading the way with an
18-point maximum and he was well backed by the rest of the side especially
Matt Wright who probably had his best night of the season. This win was the
first away victory for any side in this year’s Conference League set-up. The next scheduled fixture for Boston is a return trip to
Plymouth for the first leg of the Conference Trophy final on Friday. The
league encounter ended in a heavy defeat for the Cudas but everyone at the
club is confident that things will be different this time. Co-promoter
Stephen Lambert said: “Our boys have seen the track once this season and that
should put us in a better position than we were for the League fixture. We
will, of course, be giving it our all and after the weekend we have just had
the confidence among the team couldn’t be better.” |
||
Monday
May 26th, 2008
|
||
|
League rewards and Trophy progress Boston took advantage of a spare Wednesday at the Norfolk
Arena to re-arrange their previously rained off Conference League match
against Rye House. The Cudas were able to track their first choice side as
they attempted to pick up their first points of the league campaign, Rye
House operated rider replacement for the injured Danny Betson, tracked
Richard Franklin at reserve and also had a 2007 Barracuda in their side in
the shape of Rob Smith. Boston started the meeting like a train with two 5-1s to
open up an impressive eight point early lead. Heat two saw young reserve
Oliver Rayson pick up his first chequered flag in the Conference League.
Things started to go wrong in heat three: Jamie Smith and Matt Wright both
made good traps but Jamie couldn’t turn his bike on the second bend and as he
fell, he unfortunately collided with both his partner and Andrew Aldridge.
All three riders were down for sometime and all were to pull out of the match
during the evening. Matt Wright sustained back and hip injuries which ruled
him out straight away, Aldridge took part in the re-run but that was to be
his last race of the meeting also. Smith continued to race but a broken down
pipe and then a broken clutch denied him any points from the match. Boston’s in-form reserve Adam Lowe took the win in the
re-run of heat three to continue his side’s good start to the match. Boston
opened a 12-point lead after heat eight. Rye House then collected an 8-1 in
heat nine from tactical ride via Daniel Halsey and impressive scoring reserve
Garry Cottham. This, however, was a short-lived fightback as the Cudas again
took control of the match with four heat advantages to take a win by 54-39. Team manager Dale Allitt commented: “If you had said to
me before the match that Matt (Wright) and Jamie (Smith) would fail to score
and Boston would still win I wouldn’t have believed you. I have to give full
credit to the rest of the team who performed brilliantly. Simon and Joe were
just fantastic. Darren was very unlucky not to get a maximum as he suffered
carburettor problems in heat six and what can I say about the reserves? Paid
21 from Adam and Olli was breathtaking to watch and I am really pleased for
them both.” Sunday saw Boston travel to Buxton to try to defend a
26- point lead to reach the final of the Conference Trophy. Boston had to do
without Simon Lambert and Jamie Smith who were due to be on Premier League
duty, although both found their meetings called off due to the poor weather. The Cudas had plenty in hand on the day and although they
lost the fixture by 10 points, they progressed to the final where they will
meet Plymouth who saw off the challenge from Weymouth. Darren Rolph top
scored for Boston with paid 12, his best return of the season. Dale Allitt
concluded: “It has been a good week. We came here to defend a lead and that is
exactly what we did. I am proud of all the riders and this now gives us an
extra fixture and of course a shot at another piece of silverware.” |
||
Monday
May 19th, 2008
|
||
|
Trophy final place is up for
grabs The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas are gearing up
for their Conference Trophy semi final second leg tie at Buxton on Sunday.
They travel to the Hi-Edge Raceway with a 26-point lead from their home leg
in which both teams suffered injury scares on the night. Boston again find themselves travelling with a
depleted team, this time missing Simon Lambert (riding for King’s Lynn at
Birmingham) and Jamie Smith (riding for Reading at Mildenhall) although with
squad riders Darren Rolph and James Cockle the ‘Cudas hope to have enough in
the bag to reach the final. Team manager Dale Allitt said: “We did a lot of
hard work in the first leg to build up a 26 point lead and we are going to
Buxton with an open mind but really the job is to defend that lead and reach
the final against Plymouth or Weymouth. I think we have an excellent chance
to go through and add a couple of extra fixtures to our programme. However, I
am not counting any chickens as anything can happen on a given day in
speedway so we will take it heat by heat.” The Barracudas will have a slightly different
riding order for the away trip with James Cockle racing in the number one
race jacket with Simon missing and Joe Haines will take the number five
position for this match. The full riding order will be: 1 James Cockle, 2
Darren Rolph, 3 Matt Wright, 4 Darren Mallett, 5 Joe Haines, 6 Adam Lowe, 7
Oliver Rayson. Boston also have a home match against Rye House
on Wednesday in a re-arranged Conference League fixture. The Barracudas will
be at full strength for that match as young reserve Oliver Rayson is fit to
take his place despite a hospital visit following falls in the Buxton match.
He came through a practise session at King’s Lynn unscathed while he also
looked quick around the Norfolk Arena circuit last Wednesday. Preparations are also in place for the Conference
League Pairs meeting due to take place at Weymouth on Saturday May 31. Simon
Lambert and Jamie Smith have been chosen by the Boston management to defend
the crown they won in 2007, then won by Simon and Paul Cooper. Allitt said:
“Simon is the current joint holder of the trophy and it would be great for
him to win it again this year with Jamie and I think the pairing we have are
very strong and have a great chance on the day to defend the title.” The draw for the competition has been made and
Boston find themselves in group two along with Plymouth, Rye House and
Scunthorpe. Co-promoter Mick Smith said: “It certainly looks like the tougher
of the two groups but in Simon and Jamie we have one of the best pairings and
I am confident we will be fully committed for this prestigious competition.” |
||
Monday
May 12th, 2008
|
||
|
Little to show from long haul
trek The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas returned from
the long trip to Plymouth with very little to show for their efforts. The
60-32 Conference League scoreline didn’t show the efforts put in by the six
riders present but that is the result now etched in the records for future
reference. The Barracudas travelled with a depleted side for
the fixture due to other rider commitments on the night and this added to a
night of various problems and the story becomes clear. Darren Rolph picked up
a second in heat one and was then leading his next race (heat five) when a
chain snapped and left him at the back. The rest of the meeting saw him
suffer with other mechanical gremlins severely hampering his scoring power
although there was enough on show to demonstrate the ability he has still got
in his arsenal. Captain Matt Wright and Darren Mallett both picked up paid
six points although neither was happy with their performances and both of
them would be looking to put the meeting firmly behind them on their long
journeys home. Simon Lambert weighed in with 15 points including
a double point second place in heat eleven when he took his rider replacement
ride. Other than that ride he picked up three race wins and kept the score a
little more respectable on the night. Adam Lowe put in another very
creditable performance and his score of paid five could have been higher
except for the fact he suffered from arm pump which restricted his number of
rides in the meeting. Oliver Rayson suffered out of the start for most of the
meeting but again it was pleasing to see him on the pace once he got going so
more positive signs on view there. The Barracudas only had a couple of days before
they were back on home shale for the Conference Trophy semi-final match
against Buxton, a match they needed to pick up a healthy lead to take to the
Hi-Edge Raceway on Sunday May 25 for the second leg. Darren Rolph took the place of the scheduled
Jamie Smith who still wasn’t feeling 100 percent following a track crash just
over a week ago and the home side started the meeting like the proverbial train
and led by fifteen points after just six races. Lambert and Mallett got them
off to a good start with a 4-2 in heat one and although Adam Lowe and Oliver
Rayson collected a 5-0 in heat two youngster Rayson needed medical treatment
after he hit the bike of fallen Gareth Isherwood. Joe Haines, back in the
Cudas line up, scorched to wins in heats three and five to help the score
along before the Lambert/Mallett partnership fired in another 4-2. The Buxton fight back began in the next race as
Ben Taylor on a tactical ride and Adam McKinna flew from the tapes in heat
seven to pull back points with an 8-1 advantage. The Buxton management then
brought John Branney into heat eight as a tactical substitute to replace
Lewis Dallaway and he finished second after passing Rayson on the second lap. Simon Lambert and Joe Haines went on to complete
their maximums in a match Boston finally ran out winners by a 26-point margin
and Adam Lowe collected a season’s best 13 in a match full of incidents.
Oliver Rayson was withdrawn from the meeting as a result of clipping Danny
Hodgson’s bike in heat eight after the Buxton rider had fallen; let’s hope he
makes a speedy recovery. Boston’s next meeting is the Conference Trophy
second leg a week on Sunday. |
||
Monday
May 5th, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas poised for league match long haul The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas return to track
action on Friday (May 9) when they face the long haul to the St Boniface
Arena, Plymouth, for a League fixture due to get under way at 7.30pm. The Barracudas will travel with a depleted side though
with Joe Haines riding for parent club Workington at Scunthorpe and also
Jamie Smith who rides for Reading at Edinburgh. It is hoped that this year’s
fixture will have better luck on the weather front as last year one of the
Barracudas, Darren Mallett, didn’t even make the fixture as he was stuck in
floods en route and Adam Lowe took 24 hours to get home after the meeting! The Plymouth meeting will see the first appearance of
the season for squad rider Darren Rolph who is eager to get on track again
after a spell away from the sport. Co-promoter Mick Smith said: “Even though
we are not at full strength for this match I know the riders will be giving
it 100% on track. With three points now available for away wins it is vital
that we pick up a couple of victories on the road and hopefully this can be
the first after we came close at Scunthorpe.” Boston will line up as follows: 1 Mark Thompson (rider
replacement), 2 Darren Rolph, 3 Matt Wright, 4 Simon Lambert, 5 Darren
Mallett, 6 Adam Lowe, 7 Oliver Rayson. Sunday sees the Barracudas back on home shale for the
first leg of the Premier Trophy semi-final against the Buxton Hitmen. Team
manager Dale Allitt has the luxury of a full squad to choose from for this
fixture and he said: “With having several riders also racing in the Premier
League it was always going to mean that we were missing riders for certain
meetings but that is why it is important to have good squad riders like we do
have. However I am delighted that we can track our first choice team for this
meeting as it will be vital to build up a good lead at home before we visit
Buxton in two weeks time for the second leg.” Boston’s line up for this meeting will be: 1 Simon
Lambert, 2 Darren Mallett, 3 Matt Wright, 4 Joe Haines, 5 Jamie Smith, 6 Adam
Lowe, 7 Oliver Rayson. Fans are reminded that this fixture will begin at the
new later start time of 7.00pm, which will be the case for all the Boston
home meetings for the 2008 season. Also, a date for Boston fans’ diaries as
the Plymouth home league fixture has been arranged for Friday August 1
meaning that the team will race three meetings in three days with two
fixtures against Weymouth the same weekend. |
||
Monday
April 28th, 2008
|
||
|
Riders keep busy despite lack
of Cudas’ team action As we move into May, the Boston Barracudas remain
very quiet on action as a team, the same cannot be said of their riders
individually though. Many of the squad are also racing for Premier League
teams to fill their racing calendars, which gives them plenty of track time.
Captain Matt Wright rode for Mildenhall at Redcar last Thursday in the
Premier League Knock out Cup. Mildenhall unfortunately lost the meeting but
Matt won heat two and then picked up another point in heat eight to come away
with a very creditable four points. Matt said: “It’s always good to get extra
racing in and the Mildenhall ride was exactly that.” That wasn’t the end of
his week’s action as on Friday he travelled the long distance to Weymouth to
ride for Newport in a challenge fixture, this time being joined by Boston
team-mate Darren Mallett. The Barracudas pair lined up at numbers three and
four but they didn’t have the greatest of success while riding together as they
conceded a 4-2 and two 5-1s. It was a different story when they rode without
each other, Matt won heat 12 and Darren won heat 14! The British Under 21 final was also
taking place on Friday night in Essex at the Lakeside track, a meeting which
involved Joe Haines. He was one of eight riders making their debut in the
final, Joe being the youngest competitor on the evening at just 16 years old.
The little youngster from Bolton certainly didn’t let that fact stand in his
way as he scored an impressive nine points from his five rides to finish in
seventh place overall. He didn’t get off to the greatest of starts as he
finished last in heat three although the riders that beat him (Lewis
Bridger, Adam Roynon and William Lawson) all finished high up in the final standings.
This result didn’t deter him either as he then went on to secure nine points
from his last four rides including exceptional wins in heats five and 18, not
bad for someone making their first appearance in the final. Saturday’s Premier Trophy clash at Mildenhall
(versus King’s Lynn) again involved two Boston riders. Matt Wright completed
a busy few days, this time guesting for Mildenhall at reserve while Simon
Lambert was racing for King’s Lynn at the number two position after his
impressive start to the campaign. Matt’s contribution of seven points to the
Tigers score was a strong reason for their two point victory and it was also
a good night for Simon picking up paid five from his new riding position. He
said: “I was really pleased with my score. It is obviously harder riding in
the top five but its progress and I want to keep going at that level. It was
a great boost to my morale getting a paid win with Tomas in heat one and now
I want to stay in that position for the rest of the season.” The Barracudas next fixture is away at Plymouth on Friday May 9.
|
||
Monday
April 21st, 2008
|
||
|
Rain wrecks plans for home league opener The ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas had to postpone their first
home Conference League fixture of the season last Sunday against Rye House
due to a waterlogged track. The early decision was made at 12.30pm as the
track was already in a poor state and with more rain forecast in the area
there was no time to repair the damage done by the weather. Even at this early stage of the season Boston have a
fixture backlog with a home tie against Plymouth to restage and now the Rye
House match also. Talks are ongoing with the clubs concerned and the Norfolk
Arena to find suitable replacement race nights and hopefully a decision can
be reached in the next couple of weeks to pencil in some dates. Despite the rain off, several of the Barracudas squad
have been keeping themselves busy on track. Simon Lambert hit a Premier
League career best score of paid nine at Rye House in King’s Lynn’s recent
Premier Trophy visit. Joe Haines has started to hit some form for parent club
Workington, he hit paid nine from four rides at home to Glasgow last Saturday
and this should give him the confidence he needs for Friday at Lakeside as he
lines up in the final of the British U21 Championship. Jamie Smith, meanwhile, has been in action for Reading
and Friday sees another two of the squad in action. Darren Mallett and Matt
Wright face the long trip to Weymouth to ride for Newport in a challenge
fixture. Team manager Dale Allitt said: “We were all very
disappointed to call off last Sunday’s meeting against Rye House but its good
to see that at least five of the squad have been keeping active and match
fit. Oliver Rayson has competed in some grass track meetings although his
reserve partner Adam Lowe has had cancellations at Birmingham due to weather
issues. These activities augur well for our next competitive match, an away
trip to Plymouth on Friday 9th May in the League. We don’t currently have a
re-staging date for the fixture with Rye House but hopefully we can announce
a date shortly. Our next home fixture will now be the Conference Trophy
meeting first leg on Sunday 11th May where we face Buxton.” At the request of fans, Boston has been looking at the start times for their home meetings on Sunday’s at the Norfolk Arena. After deliberating over various options, the club have decided to move the start time by 30 minutes and home matches will now start at 7pm. The decision has been made for several reasons as Dale Allitt explains “We hope the new start time is a good compromise; the Norfolk Arena holds several different events at the stadium including training days and Southern Track Riders meetings and by moving the start time a little this gives us more time to work on the track and should also help any fans wishing to travel from Mildenhall to watch the meeting after their own fixture has finished and the meetings wont finish much later than they would have done originally.” |
||
Tuesday
April 8th, 2008
|
||
|
Haines makes impact in championship event Boston “Staffsmart” Barracudas held a successful qualifying round of the British U21 Championship last week at the Norfolk Arena. It was an honour for the club to host such an event and a good night was had by all. There were 16 riders competing in the meeting and all were chasing one of the top three spots to gain progression to the next round. The Barracudas had four riders racing in the meeting and it’s fair to say they had differing fortunes on the night. On top of the rostrum at the end of the night’s racing was Joe Haines. He had tied on 14 points in the qualifying heats with Andrew Tully and as such was seeded straight to the final which he won as he was in the lead when the race was stopped as Tully and Charles Wright had fallen. He was joined on the winners’ podium by Sean Stoddart and Charles Wright. Simon Lambert, meanwhile, had a frustrating and expensive night. He won his first race and was then leading heat seven when bike problems forced him to stop. He changed bikes for the rest of the meeting but he just couldn’t do enough to qualify. Simon explained: “I had a great win in my first ride and then in my second ride I blew an engine big time. I changed to my second bike which was slow compared to the number one bike. I missed out on the semi final by one point but I will have a go for it next year.” The two Barracuda reserves were the club’s other representatives in the meeting. Adam Lowe continued where he left off at Scunthorpe and battled very hard for seven points on the night which was a good achievement while Oliver Rayson continued his steep learning curve and picked up two points from the number one race jacket despite still feeling under the weather. Meanwhile, tonight (Wednesday), the “Staffsmart” Barracudas begin their home fixtures with a challenge match against the Redcar Cubs. The Barracudas will be at full strength. Full team line ups are: Boston, 1 Simon Lambert, 2 Darren Mallett, 3 Matt Wright, 4 Joe Haines, 5 Jamie Smith, 6 Adam Lowe, 7 Oliver Rayson; Redcar, 1 Scott James, 2 Martin Emerson, 3 Jade Mudgway, 4 Gary Beaton, 5 Aaron Summers, 6 David Wallinger, 7 Guy Kendrew. |
||
Monday
March 31st, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas swoop for another squad recruit The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas have added another
rider to their 2008 line up. Twenty-five-year-old Darren Rolph has joined the
club after spending a few seasons away from competitive speedway. Darren hasn’t been idling during this time as he has
been racing grass track and has also took part in a few practice sessions at
King’s Lynn. He began riding speedway at the end of 2001 at Sittingbourne
although prior to this he raced on the grass track scene and won the Eastern
Centre Championship in his first year. A King’s Lynn asset, Darren is no stranger to the Boston
operation. He rode 11 matches for them in 2003 and achieved over
five-and-a-half points a meeting. The following season he again lined up for
the club for the full campaign and averaged around eight points per match.
Following the 2004 season and despite offers of team places Darren decided to
take a break from the sport and hadn’t been tempted back since — until now,
that is. Boston team manager Dale Allitt said: “I am delighted to
have Darren on board at last. I tried really hard to sign him last season but
to no avail although it is great to have his signature now, better late than
never. He has a great racing style and the fans will get right behind him
when he races for us. He has real potential still and at only 25 years old
plenty of time to achieve good success.” Next Wednesday sees the Barracudas take to the track at
the Norfolk Arena for a challenge fixture against Redcar which is sure to be
an exciting meeting for the fans and a good opportunity for the riders to get
more track time on their home circuit. Joe Haines will make his Boston debut.
The full team in riding order will be: 1 Simon Lambert, 2 Darren Mallett, 3
Matt Wright, 4 Joe Haines, 5 Jamie Smith, 6 Adam Lowe, 7 Oliver Rayson. The fixture starts at 7.30pm. |
||
Tuesday
March 25th, 2008
|
||
|
Season’s action gets under
way Scunthorpe 46, Boston 43 (Conference League) Monday (March 24) saw the Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas
begin their 2008 Conference League campaign at the Eddie Wright Raceway
against Scunthorpe in what can only be described as a bitterly cold day, the
match ending in a slender 46-43 defeat for the Cudas. All the Boston riders had been racing in some
capacity recently — captain Matt Wright, Darren Mallet and Oliver Rayson have
been practising hard while reserve Adam Lowe took to the track at the
Birmingham press and practice day. Simon Lambert and Jamie Smith have also
been involved in meetings for their parent clubs, which augured well for the
away trip despite the fact that the club hasn’t held their official press and
practice session yet as this is due to take place next Tuesday (April 1). The match was full of incidents and differing
weather conditions and in the end the home side sneaked a 46-43 victory. The
Barracudas fell behind to a Scunthorpe 5-1 in heat three and then the match
swung both ways before Boston got a 5-1 of their own from Matt Wright and
Simon Lambert to equal the scores after heat ten. Heat 13 was the pivotal
race as both the visiting riders were trying really hard in tough conditions
to get some points back when they both fell and were excluded. The winning
race time in the re-run was some 10 seconds slower than Jamie Smith’s victory
in heat six showing how tricky the conditions were at that point. Team manager Dale Allitt said: “This was clearly
a match that held differing emotions for both teams with Malcolm (Vasey)
leading the Saints for the first time against the Barracudas. I thought the
team did really well to keep fighting back and we had a really great team
spirit in the camp. I am disappointed with result but I saw enough today to
say that after our press and practice session next Tuesday we will be a force
to be reckoned with and I don’t think many teams will go to Scunthorpe and
win this season so the result doesn’t put us at too much of a disadvantage at
this stage of the campaign.” Of the riders, Dale commented: “Simon (Lambert) was
outstanding and Jamie (Smith) showed just what a class act he is. His fall in
heat 13 caused by the blizzard conditions ruled him out of racing in heat 15
as he had a lump on his leg the size of a tennis ball but he will be OK. Matt
Wright laid his Scunthorpe ghost to bed as he raced to two wins on the day
and Darren Mallett’s points total doesn’t do him justice for the effort he
put in. Despite the fact that Mark Thompson hadn’t seen any competitive
action for six months due to an injury sustained last season he progressed as
the day went on which is another positive to draw from the meeting. Adam Lowe
put in a good performance from reserve and teamed up with Simon for an
important 5-1 in heat 14 while Oliver Rayson scored his first points for
Boston in heat two.” Boston scorers: Mark Thompson 3+2; Darren Mallett
5; Matthew Wright 7; Simon Lambert 12+1; Jamie Smith 8; Adam Lowe 7+1; Oliver
Rayson 1+1. Next for Boston is their official press and practice day on Tuesday before a home challenge fixture against Redcar on Wednesday, April 9 with a start time of 7.30pm. |
||
Sunday
March 16th, 2008
|
||
|
Lambert gearing up for a busy
campaign As the 2008 speedway campaign approaches, media sources
caught up with Simon Lambert as he prepares for another season in the blue,
white and red of the Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas. The 19-year-old embarks
on another term with Boston and will also be riding full-time for King’s Lynn
in the Premier League. Simon said: “My preparation for the new 2008 season is
going well and I have a new Jawa bike ready to ride. My engines have all been
tuned and I have had several practices in the last couple of weeks which have
generally gone well.” Simon rode in an Amateur Open meeting at Scunthorpe and finished
third overall. He raced to five wins and a second place to get into the final
although, unfortunately, he missed the gate totally in that race to finish
third. He has a very busy calendar for 2008 and with that comes lots of
opportunity. Simon has set a few goals for the season. He said: “My aim for
the 2008 season is to finish as one of the top three riders in the Conference
League and to progress as far up the ladder as I can and to get in the
British Under-21s team. I hope to score plenty of points for Boston and
King’s Lynn all over the country.” It goes without saying that he wants plenty of success
and also to remain free from injury. Good preparation is the key to achieving that success
and Simon has certainly been working hard in that area and commented: “I have
been working hard on my fitness with regular visits to the gym and the
swimming pool. I have also purchased some good new equipment this year and
have secured the services of good mechanics in Tony Louth and Wayne Dunworth
to help me. I have a good strong family backing and cannot forget to mention
a good manager (my dad). my mum and dad are 100 percent behind me and I
really couldn’t do what I do without their help and support. “I am now a year older, stronger, wiser and have got over
my injuries. I am looking forward to a rewarding and enjoyable season. I have
attained some new sponsors this year and I can’t thank my sponsors enough for
all the support and faith that they have in me. I can’t name them all as
there are too many but they are all listed on my website. I really could not
have the good equipment that I have without their help.” With riding full time in the Premier and Conference
Leagues, Simon will be a very busy racer in 2008. He said: “We travel
thousands of miles each year to different tracks. I tried my best last year
to gain a full time place in the PL after guesting for 11 different teams –
for and against King’s Lynn! I was very proud at the end of last season to be
asked to ride in the Elite League for Belle Vue against Peterborough and I
was very pleased with the paid six points I scored in the meeting. I have got
the opportunity to ride a full season in the Premier League for King’s Lynn
and I hope to have a good season and keep my team place. My aim in the Premier
League is to try and get into the main part of the team at some point during
the season. Simon had a good practice with the King’s Lynn team – all went to plan and he tried the different set-ups on the bike. Simon concluded by saying: “I realise 2008 is going to be a big year for me but I am well ready for the season to start and hope I can continue where I left off last year – on a roll and on a high. You can all follow my results and fixtures for the forthcoming season on my website at the www.simonlambertracing.co.uk address.” |
||
Sunday
March 9th, 2008
|
||
|
Snags hit riders at Cudas’ practice session Thursday February 28 saw some of the Boston ‘Staffsmart’
Barracudas put through their paces at King’s Lynn in a closed-doors practice session.
Joe Haines, Simon Lambert and Adam Lowe were all trying out equipment in
preparation for the new season, which is now just three weeks away. The day
didn’t go entirely according to plan for the riders, though, with various
problems on the track. Haines lost a primary chain that ended his day
prematurely while Lambert also had problems with his best engine. Reserve
Lowe had a disaster of a day, blowing both his engines, which just brings
home how expensive the sport can be. If anyone would like to help any of the
Boston riders before the start of the season, however small, then please
contact co-promoter Dale Allitt on 07970 666936 or email him at dale@bostonspeedway.net.
Afterwards, Lowe said: “This just reminds you how
expensive speedway is. I am preparing hard for the new season and this is a
set back. It is an expensive sport for any rider but for a reserve in the
Conference League it is doubly hard. The blow-ups leave me really struggling
to be ready for the start of the season in just three weeks’ time. It will
take over £1,000 to get the engines rebuilt and any help would be greatly
appreciated. I can be contacted through the club’s www.bostonspeedway.net
website or through any of the promoters at the club. This is a really big
year for me and it is a huge disappointment so close to the get go.” The day did conclude successfully for the promoters,
though, with a positive fans forum held at the Waggoner’s Rest where
approximately 70 fans turned up. Matt Wright, Simon Lambert and Adam Lowe
were in attendance along with the three promoters and all took questions from
the floor during an enjoyable evening. The full team line up was announced
and this was well received by the attendees. Stephen Lambert said: “I was very happy to be welcomed
back to the club as co-chairman. It was a very pleasing turnout and I
would like to thank the owner of the Waggoner’s Rest, Keith Reams, for his
hospitality. It looks like I am going to have a good relationship with
Mick and Dale and things are really looking up.” Further track action took place for some of the 2008 Barracudas at the Eddie Wright Raceway at Scunthorpe on Saturday March 1. Matt Wright, Simon Lambert and assistant team manager Wayne Dunworth all took part in the amateur open meeting. On a cold day it turned out to be a successful one for the Cudas’ contingent with two riders reaching the A-final. Lambert finished third overall with Wright just behind him in fourth place. Dunworth finished further down the order but had a solid day on track overall. Boston’s first fixture of the Conference League campaign takes place at Scunthorpe on March 24. |
||
Saturday
March 1st, 2008
|
||
|
Cudas seeking final squad recruit The Boston ‘Staffsmart’ Barracudas’ search for their
final squad member continued this week. Team manager Dale Allitt said: “We
are continuing to look for the final grade two squad rider. This is an
important decision, just as important as all the previous signings and so we
won’t be rushed into filling the last spot. There are several possibilities
and we will look over all options before deciding on the rider.” Meanwhile, the Cudas can also confirm that they have
stepped in to replace Sittingbourne in the Conference Trophy after negotiations
with league co-ordinator Peter Morrish. Boston have had confirmation of their
semi-final ties where they will face the Buxton Hitmen over two legs starting
with the first match at the Norfolk Arena on Sunday May with the return leg
at Buxton on Sunday May 25. Turning to the Conference League KO Cup, Boston have
been drawn against the Redcar Cubs in the competition for the second
successive season. The first leg is due to take place at the Norfolk Arena on
Sunday June 8 while the second leg is to be raced at Redcar on Saturday June
14. The club have also announced details of their opening
fixture for the coming season. This will be a challenge fixture against the
Redcar Cubs on Friday April 11 at 7.30pm. Team manager Allitt said: “I would
like to thank promoter Glyn Taylor and team manager Jason Pipe for their help
in arranging this fixture. It should give the boys of both teams a great run
out and I am pleased with the outcome from the discussions.” |
||
Tuesday
February 19th, 2008
|
||
|
Forum chance for Cudas’ fans The Boston Staffsmart Barracudas have announced details of
a fans forum to be held this month. The get together will be held at the
Wagoners’ Rest in Algarkirk, Boston (at the Texaco roundabout A17) on
Thursday February 28, starting at 7.30pm. This will be a great opportunity
for speedway fans to question the promoters on any subject they wish: views
for the coming season, plans for a possible new site back in Boston etc. Also
in attendance will be some of the riders due to line up at the tapes in April
for the new campaign and for those present to hear what their aspirations are
for themselves and the Barracudas in 2008. The forum is also an important time for the club as the
promoters look to the public to assist during meetings this season. Anyone
wishing to be involved in the track staff side of things should also attend,
anything from track rakers to flag marshals are required to run meetings
during the Conference League campaign. The Cudas have also announced their press and practice
day for Tuesday April 1 from 1.pm to 5.pm. Members of the public are invited
to come along and see this year’s team continue to blow away the winter
cobwebs at the official pre-season practice; this is free of charge and a
great time to see the riders on track. The session is to be held the day
before Boston hosts their British U21 qualifying round and so riders like Joe
Haines and Simon Lambert will have plenty of track time to prepare for this
important race meeting. Team manager Dale Allitt said: “It gives us and the
fans an opportunity to put the 2008 Barracudas through their paces. I am also
hopeful that we may be able to find another grade 2 rider for our squad for
this season and with that in mind I have invited several riders that fit the
bill and also a couple of grade three and four riders who could also fit in
at reserve if required. I am very happy with our team and the way we have
managed to build it and with the likes of Mark (Thompson) and James (Cockle)
who can replace any member of our top five if need be. We have tried to cover
every eventuality.” The first match of the new season will take place at the
Norfolk Arena on Friday April 11 at 7.30pm. This will consist of a challenge
fixture between the Boston Barracudas and a team yet to be named, further
details will be available in the next couple of weeks. |
||
Tuesday
January 8th, 2008
|
||
|
Changes at helm as Vasey departs Boston Barracudas and their long-serving team manager
Malcolm Vasey have parted company after a week-long series of discussions
that have led to changes at the top level in the club’s promotion. The
situation has been brought about primarily by a need to increase the
Barracudas’ strength within the promotion with personnel based within the
Boston/Spalding areas in order to maximise their local knowledge and contacts
to improve the levels of local sponsorship so essential in keeping the club
afloat. The whole matter has been sorted out very amicably and there is considerable
sadness for all parties. Co-club promoter Dale Allitt said: “Malcolm has served
this Club very well for eight seasons and we will miss him. He has been
snapped up by Scunthorpe where he will manage their Conference League team,
which speaks volumes for how he is seen throughout the sport particularly at
Conference level. He is leaving with our very best wishes after eight seasons
during which time he has created the proud record of never missing one single
fixture and how many people could say that? When the Club seemed to be at the
point of closure last winter, Malcolm was instrumental in ensuring that the
possibility of continuing was kept open and with a new promotion we had our
best year for a long time on track. He will be a hard act to follow and
during the next few days we will finalise the arrangements to complete
rebuilding the promotion and then make a further announcement when that has
happened. All I can say is that Scunthorpe have acquired a very good manager
for their Conference side and we wish them and Malcolm Vasey every success in
the future.” Vasey said: “It’s always sad when you feel the time is
right to move on but eight years is a long time and Boston now need to focus
more strongly than ever in getting back into the Borough. That is a job for
people with local knowledge and influence and from more than 100 miles away
it is not practical for me to provide what I feel is needed now. There have
been many great times and a million memories and I will still be watching the
Barracudas at every opportunity but it is time for a change and I wish all at
Boston, sponsors, promoters, riders, supporters, and the tireless staff many
of whom are now personal friends, every success in the future. I am looking forward to my new challenge.”
|
||
|
|
||