A defeat at Swindon was followed by a win at Brandon against Peterborough, which although quite convincing, proved costly on the rider front. A depleted side then held high-flying Ipswich to a draw in a Bank Holiday Monday match, which due to TV requirements started in the late afternoon and provided quite a headache for the Brandon management.


Swindon 51, Bees 39.
Elite League 'B'

Simon Stead had not as feared, broken his thumb in his Monday night crash, so he took his place in the line-up, leaving Bees at full strength for the match at Blunsden.
Heat one saw Leigh Adams defeat fellow GP contender Hans Andersen. Olly Allen took third place to keep things level.
Bees reserves looked like repeating the dose in heat two, but an under powered Robbie Kessler could only hold out Richard Sweetman for half a lap.
Bees were again quick from the tapes in heat three but both Chris Harris and Billy Janniro were overtaken by their respective opponents, which saw a possible 4-2 reversed.
Simon Stead won a rerun heat four before Andersen and Allen outpaced Mads Korneliussen in heat five after the home rider had got a flier at the first attempt to run.
Swindon hit back with successive 4-2's, the second of which saw both Harris and Janniro miss out in a two-in-one race.
At this stage Bees were still hanging in, keeping their opponents to a four-point lead.
Allen won a shared heat eight before the Robins provided the next three race winners with Bees taking the minor places.
Harris took heat twelve to leave Bees still four adrift with three to race.
Andersen led heat thirteen but Adams dished out some hard treatment on the final lap to take the lead. Troy Batchelor took third to put the home side in a match winning position.
It was all over in heat fourteen. Jurica Pavlic led the race with Filip Sitera in second. Unfortunately Sitera made a mistake on the last turn, letting Travis McGowan through for a home maximum.
Batchelor won heat fifteen with Andersen getting revenge over Adams in second place. The final result was 51-39 which probably flattered the home side as Bees were in with a chance with three races left, but as happened so many times this season, ran out of steam in the final stages.
Most of the team performed well, apart from Janniro, who could have been expected to produce more than one point and Kessler, who looks well off the pace.

Bees' scorers: Andersen 11, Harris 9, Allen 7(3), Sitera 4(1), Janniro 1(1), Kessler 0.

Bees 59, Peterborough 36.
Elite League 'B'

There was always a danger of a slight mismatch in this fixture. Peterborough was without both Ryan Sullivan and Karol Zabik. Rider-replacement was operated for Zabik, but with no facility available for Sullivan, they were forced to bring in a Premier League rider. It was planned to be Kyle Legault, but he was injured so King's Lynn reserve Kozza Smith took the number one spot. Ben Barker came in for Bees as Sitera was away on World Championship duty.
Andersen and Allen are fast becoming a formidable pairing and they easily took heat one. Smith took third place after Lukas Dryml had fallen.
Claus Vissing led heat two but Barker chased and got his man at the end of lap three. Kessler, in his new team race suit, looked more competitive and rode a good race to hold out Henning Bager for third place.
Harris won heat three from Vissing with Janniro taking third place.
The visitors made the start to heat four but Stead was into second place coming out of turn two. Barker gradually wore down Vissing, who was taking his third ride on the trot, and snatched third place on the last turn.
Harris and Janniro took an easy maximum in heat five with Dryml again falling.
Andersen and Allen took their second maximum in heat six to put Bees ahead by 26-16.
Disaster struck Bees in the next. Stead was slightly ahead coming out of turn two, but his engine blew, causing him to slow down dramatically. The Peterborough pair managed to avoid him but Kessler was left with nowhere to go and in what was probably the worst accident this year, crashed into the back of his partner. After treatment the riders walked off, but it was the end of their night's racing. Both were taken to hospital, Stead with a broken collarbone and Kessler with arm and hand injuries. With Stead excluded, Barker came into the rerun as Bee's only rider. Kenneth Bjerre had already been given a tactical double ride and he teamed up with Bager to take an 8-1 heat result after an attempt to pass by Barker almost ended with the Bees reserve coming to grief.
The withdrawal of the two riders left Barker a busy man and he was out again in heat eight. Another good effort saw him take third place from Vissing. Allen was an easy winner so with seven races left Bees were still comfortable at 31-20.
Harris won heat nine with Daniel King taking second after a good race with Janniro.
Another easy 5-1 in heat ten saw Allen complete his first paid maximum in Bees colours.
With Bees only able to field one rider in heat eleven the visitors opted to give King a tactical substitute ride, starting fifteen metres back. He only had to finish to double his points. There was no catching Barker but with King taking second, the visitors had pulled two back.
Bees again only fielded one rider in heat twelve but Harris had no trouble in beating Bjerre to the flag.
A good turn two saw Barker get second place and follow Andersen home for another 5-1.
King won heat fourteen before a final heat maximum saw Bees easily home by 59-36.
Although the Panthers were not the strongest of opposition they put up a fight and the meeting was never dull.
The visitors never had anyone to trouble Andersen, Allen or Harris, who all finished unbeaten. Ben Barker was also magnificent with paid fifteen from seven rides.

Bees' scorers: Harris 14(1), Andersen, Barker 13(2), Allen 10(2), Janniro 6(1), Stead 2, Kessler 1.

Bees 45, Ipswich 45.
Elite League 'B'

With both Stead and Kessler injured, Bees faced a massive logistical problem to turn out a competitive side for this Bank Holiday fixture. TV scheduling had led to a 4.30pm start and with Ben Barker riding for Stoke at an afternoon meeting at Rye House, it needed some quick moving if he was to make the Brandon match. Barker's last ride at Rye House finished at 3.20pm, leaving him just 70 minutes to make the journey down the M1 in time for his first race. Promoter Allan Trump was the man entrusted with the journey.
Bees operated rider-replacement for Stead and number eight Josh Auty took the ride in heat one. Unfortunately in his eagerness he went through the tapes and was replaced by Sitera. Andersen won the race after taking the lead on the back straight.
The action now centred on the pits as Barker had arrived and was hurredly preparing to go out in heat two. Although he reached the tapes in time, he was on a strange machine and was left at the tapes. Sitera led but was eventually overhauled by both Ipswich reserves to put the visitors in the lead.
They went further ahead in the next when Jarek Hampel and Robert Miskowiak outgated Harris and Janniro. Harris made a gallant effort to pass but it was to no avail and the visitors now led by eight.
Olly Allen, who had dropped down the riding order made the start in heat four and Sitera held the opposition back on the first turn. Allen was clear and Sitera then held out for a valuable second place.
Harris made the start in heat five but could not hold Swiderski and with Tobias Kroner taking third, the visitors again led by six.
Andersen gated in heat six and Sitera took his chance to go into second place coming out of turn two. He again held out to feature in Bees second 5-1 of the afternoon.
Bees were fortunate to share the points in heat seven after Miskowiak suffered machine problems on the last lap when in a 5-1 position with Hampel.
Allen won a shared heat eight before Bees finally drew level with a heat nine 4-2. A repeat in the pre-interval race saw Bees go ahead for the first time.
Ipswich made the start to heat eleven but both Allen and Barker went by Swiderski for a share of the points.
Hampel took heat twelve and with Steve Johnston getting the better of Sitera, the scores were back level.
Andersen was left to fight it out on his own in the next after Allen dropped a chain going into the first turn.
Janniro now needed to win heat fourteen. Mounted on Harris' machine he gave of his best but could not catch Miskowiak and with Chris Schramm taking third the visitors went into the final heat with a two-point advantage.
A tough first turn saw Andersen forced out wide. Harris went into the lead and all eyes were now on Andersen. He forced his way past Swiderski but just failed to catch Hampel on the line. The 4-2 was good enough to give Bees a share of the match points.
Without Stead, Bees were always going to be up against it. The Barker situation was not ideal, but the two points he gained were enough to avoid another home defeat. Janniro at the moment appears a bit of a worry, as he seems unable to produce his early season form.

Bees' scorers: Andersen 13, Harris 11, Allen 10, Sitera 5(2), Janniro 4, Barker 2(2),

Bees now have a week to regroup, as there is no match on Friday due to the Latvian GP taking place on Saturday. The next match is on Monday when they visit Belle Vue in an Elite League 'B' fixture. There is a chance that Stead will be fit to face his old team. If he is not, the new averages that come into force in September mean that Bees will have stronger coverage if they still have to use rider-replacement. It is also hoped Kessler will be fit as he showed much improved form prior to the accident.

There will be a coach running to the Elite League match at Eastbourne on Saturday, September 20. The cost will be £18 and £14 concessions. The coach will leave the stadium at 2pm and bookings can be made by telephoning (01788) 562132.

Alan Goodman.