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5 STAR BRANFORD GIVES RAIDERS LEAD
Saturday September 19, 2015
A storming 15 point maximum from Rob Branford helped the Restart Raiders establish a 47-42 advantage to take to Eastbourne from the first leg of the clubs’ Gold Cup Semi-Final at Rye House.
The 2013 British U-21 Champion was in unstoppable form as he reeled off five straight wins to lead the Raiders home, with his key support coming from Kyle Hughes – who dropped just one point - and Luke Priest. There were also race wins for Luke Chessell and George Hunter.
21 year old Branford said afterwards, “I’m really happy with tonight. You know that when you race Eastbourne you’re always in for a big evening. I’ve been racing a fair amount, and that certainly helped me, but you can’t ask for more than 15 points.â€
Of tomorrow afternoon’s second leg: “It’s always tough going to Eastbourne. Last time we were there (in the City Gearboxes National League), we really struggled in the first half, before we pulled back some points, and they are a good team with a home track advantage – but it’s also a good track for me and I hope I can get the points to give us a good shot.
“The Raiders have been a great team to race for this year, and there has been a superb team spirit. We all love riding, so to get into the Gold Cup gives us more meetings. Hopefully we can earn two more.â€
Finally, regarding the forthcoming NLRC at Rye House (Sept 26th): “I’m really pumped up for it. Every meeting I go to I want to win every race, and I will treat it as just another meeting. I rode a different bike tonight, and I was really pleased with it, so I may use it for the NLRC. It would be great to win something for the Raiders this year.â€
Branford may have finished by talking about the future, but in the immediate past he had played a full part in a match that was just as good as the previous two thrillers at Rye House between these sides this season.
The drama began as early as Heat 1 – won appropriately by Branford – as visiting No.1 Bradley Wilson-Dean was excluded after locking up on the fourth bend and leaving the oncoming Alfie Bowtell unable to take evasive action.
A 4-2 from the re-run was followed by a similar score from a Heat 3 that was taken by Luke Priest, as Luke Chessell buzzed all around Marc Owen’s rear wheel before sneaking past his rival for third spot right on the line.
That put the Raiders 11-7 ahead, only for the Eagles to hit back in the next race – and then take the lead after a scintillating Heat 5 that saw Chessell pushing Wilson-Dean at the front of the pack only for George Wood to somehow find a way past him for second spot off the final bend to clinch a visiting 5-1.
Wood also featured heavily in an absorbing Heat 8, producing a dramatic last bend swoop past Bowtell to claim the victory.
With Eastbourne now leading 31-29, the visitors will point to Heat 11 as pivotal from their perspective. That was the race that cost them the services of Wilson-Dean, who lifted coming out of the second bend, caught the safety fence, and was thrown over the top of his bike some ten metres down the former greyhound circuit that surrounds the track. Amazingly, the rider escaped a frightening moment with no more than broken fingers, but could play no further part in the proceedings.
Kyle Hughes led home George Wood for a 3-2 in the re-run – Sam Woods had earlier been excluded after falling under heavy pressure from Wilson-Dean – and then produced maximum points, via Branford and Hughes in Heats 13 and 15, to ensure the Raiders a 5 point winning margin.
The two teams meet again at Arlington tomorrow, with Ben Morley already named as guest cover for Wilson-Dean. Regardless of the outcome, they will also meet again in a fortnight’s time in the National Trophy Final, with the Raiders hosting the first leg on Saturday, October 3rd, and the Eagles the second the next day.
We can’t wait!
Rye House scorers:
Robert Branford 15 (5 rides, maximum) , Kyle Hughes 12+2 (5), Luke Priest 7+1 (4), Luke Chessell 6 (4), Alfie Bowtell 4 (4), George Hunter 3 (4), Sam Woods 0 (4)
Eastbourne scorers:
Ben Hopwood 10 (5 rides), Georgie Wood 9+1 (4), Daniel Spiller 8 (4), Richard Andrews 6+1 (5), Marc Owen 5+2 (5), Bradley Wilson-Dean 3 (3), Kelsey Dugard 1+1 (4)
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