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DEAN BARKER FAREWELL (TESTIMONIAL MEETING) |
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Mon 16 Mar 2009
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| Posted by
Jenni |
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1st : Hans Andersen, 2nd Davey Watt, 3rd Scott Nicholls
Report and Artical Thanks to Eastbourne Speedway
SUNDAY 15th MARCH 2009
Denmark’s Hans Andersen gave a brief insight of what Speedway’s Elite League will be missing in 2009 as he powered to a five ride victory in Eastbourne Legend, Dean Barker’s farewell testimonial meeting at Arlington stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The sun and a mild spring afternoon greeted a substantial crowd who turned out in their numbers to pay tribute to a man whose Eastbourne career spanned some 23 years and who during which time he piled up multiple points, representing his country along way and proved an integral part in his beloved Eagles picking up many of the major honours that the domestic sport had to bestow.
The most poignant moment of an enjoyable and emotional afternoon preceded the interval stage as Man of the Moment Barker completed four final laps of the Arlington circuit and he still cut a dash, completing the course in a highly creditable 60 seconds dead.
Earlier on, the business end of proceedings saw Eagles comeback man David Norris make it a winning start to greet the new dawning of his Eastbourne career as he outpaced Poole Grand Prix star Bjarne Pedersen in heat one.
Andersen took command of race two as he headed former Eagle, and recent Pirates acquisition Joe Screen to the chequered flag before Lewis Bridger became the second home grown star of the afternoon to taste victory, storming home in the third.
Returning number one for the Sussex outfit Davey Watt posted a wholly impressive victory over the previous incumbent in the role Scott Nicholls in heat 4 to make in three wins out of four for the local side.
However, Andersen was on hand in the fifth and his second race victory, this witnessing the first defeat for Norris, saw him start to establish control of the meeting. Nicholls put his own marker down riding home triumphant in heat six but this preceded defeats for Bridger (by Adam Shields) in race seven and then Watt in heat eight, the Australian being reduced to third place by Poole duo Screen and Pedersen.
Incidentally Screen, who has been the subject of some harsh scrutiny on the various speedway forums in the run up to the campaign, following his winter move from Belle Vue to the Dorset side, turned in as lively a show at the Sussex circuit as he has in recent times, indeed had it not been for engine problems blighting him as he led heat 14, he could, quite deservedly finished among the afternoon’s front runners.
With Bridger and Watt having had their colours lowered, this saw Andersen as the only rider unbeaten after two rides.
Bridger hit the winning groove in a rerun ninth race, his triumph over Watt also seeing Norris bring up the rear, but Andersen made it three wins out of three in the next to keep a firm grip on proceedings.
Nicholls kept tabs on the leaders with a further win in heat 11 and Pedersen did likewise, leading the ever improving Cameron Woodward for the full course in the race heading into the interval.
The English Grand Prix star, another absentee from Elite League circles in 2009, continued with a certain sense of style, with another win in race thirteen to take his personal tally to 11-points from four rides.
Woodward took full advantage of Screen’s motor misfortune taking the win in the next and events then took a further turn as Watt entered the winner’s enclosure once more following heat 15, this time with a mighty impressive victory over the flying Andersen to his credit.
This result saw great rivals Nicholls and Andersen share pole position on 11-points apiece. Pedersen also kept his name on the leader board moving his score to double figures (10-points) as he led throughout in the sixteenth.
Screen and Norris played out one of the races of the afternoon in the next, the former Eastbourne captain just holding on for the 3-points from the recent Sussex returnee but by now all eyes were fixed upon the final race on the programme, one that would see not only Andersen and Nicholls go head to head, but just for good measure would also feature Pedersen and Bridger, each rider just 1-point adrift of the pair on 10-points.
Watt’s victory in heat 18 had momentarily catapulted him into the lead on 12-points, but once the tapes arose for the second time, Nicholls having pre-empted the start of the first running of the final race, Andersen scorched into a lead that he wasn’t about to relinquish and one that ultimately established him as the winner of the Dean Barker Farewell meeting.
Bridger’s second place, ahead of Nicholls saw both men finish on the round dozen, but this result effectively played into Watt’s hands, a check on the earlier scores saw him, like Nicholls, successful in three rides, the runner up spot went the way of the Eagle by virtue of the fact that Watt had triumphed over Nicholls when the pair had met.
So ended a fitting tribute to Dean Barker, one of the most loyal and finest riders ever to sport an Eagles body colour. The afternoon also witnessed more nostalgia in the form of Eastbourne legends Gordon Kennett and Paul Woods playing out a series of match races, the result going the way of the former by a 3-0 margin. However, the occasion was all about enjoyment and that was there in abundance as Dean Barker bade a fond farewell to the club and the sport that he graced to such great affect for more than two decades.
Results :
1st Hans Andersen 14(5), 2nd Davey Watt 12(5), 3rd Scott Nicholls 12(5), 4th Lewis Bridger 12(5), 5th Joe Screen 10(5), 6th Bjarne Pedersen 10(5), 7th Cameron Woodward 9(5), 8th David Norris 8(5), 9th Joonas Kylmakorpi (replacing Edward Kennett) 7(5), 10th Daniel King 6(5), 11th Simon Gustafsson 5(5), 12th Adam Shields 4(3), 13th Oliver Allen 3(4), 14th= Lukas Dryml 3(5), 14th= Shane Parker 3(5), 16th Ricky Kling 2(5).
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