British Speedway Official Website: RYE HOUSE: ROCKETS NAME 2011 TEAM

RYE HOUSE: ROCKETS NAME 2011 TEAM

Monday November 22, 2010

The dust is still settling on the British Speedway Promoters’ Association’s annual conference , but the Silver Ski Rockets have made an application for the seven riders who will carry their colours when the new season launches in March. Subject to formal approval, the new squad has both a familiar look and a distinctly British flavour, with Jordan Frampton, Chris Neath, Luke Bowen and Ben Morley all returning from the 2010 team. They will be joined by Steve Boxall - last a Rocket in 2007 - plus 2004 British U-21 Champion Ritchie Hawkins and exciting Australian newcomer Tyson Nelson.

Here is the lowdown on each rider.

With Linus Sundstrom departing for Elite League pastures, Jordan Frampton will take on the starting No.1 mantle for his second season at Hoddesdon. The first saw him add over a point to his starting C.M.A and weigh in with over 350 race points, statistics that would have been higher but for the knee injury that saw him sidelined for seven weeks. The 25 year old also reached both the British and Premier League Riders Finals.

Chris Neath will start his eight season at Rye House with both the Hoddesdon track record and the objective of building on his tremendous conclusion to 2010. The Rockets’ captain closed out the campaign with no less than four straight home maximums – five in six matches – and solid scores on the road, to finish slightly up on 2009’s average. Points-scoring aside, his role in the pits cannot be over-emphasized.

Luke Bowen will be aiming for an injury-free run after losing his 2010 campaign to a broken arm suffered on June 23rd. The Harlow Flyer has far better memories of the previous year, when a near seven point average netted a second straight “Mr Rocket” Rider of the Year award.

Ben Morley – only just 17 next March – captured this year’s “Mr Cobra” Rider of the Year plaudit…. and also turned more than a few heads with his tail-end appearances for the Rockets which saw him contribute points in all five of his Young Shield matches. Leigh Lanham, Craig Watson and Andre Compton can all personally attest to his potential after being headed home by the 2009 British U-18 Finalist.

Steve Boxall will return to his original stamping ground after a three year absence. The Boxmeister captured the Conference League Riders Championship as a 2005 Raider, also marching on to the World U-21 Semi-Finals, was voted the Rockets’ Rider of the Year in 2006 and was an important cog in Rye’s 2007 Premier League Championship machine. Subsequent seasons have been far less rewarding, with 2008 spent on the sidelines and 2009 floating between Newcastle and Poole, while a 2010 run with Somerset ended abruptly with Boxall’s decision to concentrate on his off-track career. Now once again feeling fresh and revitalised, the 23 year old will be mounted on new equipment tuned by former World Champion Michael Lee. He will also arrive on a handy C.M.A. (excluding bonus points) of 6.88.

Ritchie Hawkins joins the Rockets on loan from Somerset. The 26 year old shook off his previous injury problems in 2010 by contributing a 6.50 full average and nearly 300 points to the Rebels’ cause. (Excluding bonus points, his all-important C.M.A. is 5.86…. over a point up on 2009’s 4.52.) Crowned the 2004 British U-21 Champion when the event was staged at Rye House in 2004, he has also ridden for Workington, Berwick, Sheffield and Scunthorpe amongst others.

The final spot in the roster has been allocated to Tyson Nelson – henceforth to be known simply as “Nelson” - who will start at reserve alongside Ben Morley with an assessed 5 point average. The 17 year old from Gosford in New South Wales was “the Cobra who never was” in 2010, his single appearance – and mammoth 18 paid points – at Scunthorpe being wiped off the charts after he was deemed to be ineligible.

Now mentored by former World Finalist and World Cup winner Mitch Shirra, Nelson has been riding motorcycles since the age of four. Last year, he won the NSW 500cc Long-Track title, while this year has seen him finish 4th in the Australian U-21 Championship at Mildura, earning him a spot in the World Championship Qualifiers.

2011 Team (C.M.A.s in brackets):
Jordan Frampton (7.91), Chris Neath (7.04), Steve Boxall (6.88), Ritchie Hawkins (5.86), Luke Bowen (5.27), Nelson (5.00), Ben Morley (3.00)

British Speedway AGM: Key Points

The Silver Ski Rockets will compete in an expanded Premier League, also facing two new teams – one an immediate local derby rival - in the 2011 competition.

This was the exciting news emanating from the British Speedway Promoters Association’s AGM this last weekend.

A three tier structure will remain in place for 2011, operating as the Elite, Premier and National Leagues.

The Elite League will now include Birmingham, with the Perry Barr outfit having exchanged League membership with Ipswich. Elite League numbers are not finalised, however, with fixture planning consequently deferred.

The Premier League will once again consist of 14 members. Although losing Birmingham to the Elite League, the competition will welcome new additions Ipswich and Leicester, as the sport returns to the Midlands city for after a 28 year absence. The Lions will replace Stoke, who have applied to join the National League on financial grounds at that league’s AGM in December.

The Premier League Championship programme will follow a new, expanded format, with each team racing 19 home and 19 away fixtures. All teams will meet each other once home and once away, with the League then splitting into two groups using a pre-set formula based on their relative standings at the cut-off point of ten home/ten away matches to determine the remaining twelve fixtures for each side. NB The groups will not be split top half/bottom half or North/South, but will ensure all sides a full season-long programme of meaningful fixtures without the danger of an early or abrupt end to their campaigns. A further promoters’ meeting in December will finalise the closing play-off format and determination of the Championship.

Consequent of the new expanded League programme, the Premier Trophy and Young Shield competitions have been dropped for 2011.

The Silver Ski Rockets have been drawn against holders Newcastle in the first round of the Knock-Out Cup. The two sides will meet at Brough Park in the first leg on Easter Sunday (April 25th), with the deciding leg set for Hoddesdon the following afternoon, on Easter Monday.

The full draw for the first round of the competition is:

Scunthorpe v Ipswich, Sheffield v Edinburgh, Redcar v Workington, Somerset v Kings Lynn, Rye House v Newcastle, Leicester v Glasgow.

1st Round byes: Berwick and Newport.

The League will continue with the third year of its three year plan for teambuilding, with a 42.50 team building limit.

In general news, the 2010 Management Committee will remain en-bloc, with Rob Godfrey (Scunthorpe) replacing Graham Drury (now part of Birmingham’s Elite League challenge) as the Premier League reserve member.

Share This: