Devils Suffer Heavy Defeat

REPORT Sunday 6th June 2021, 9:28pm

by Graham Muncie

The Stellar Devils went down to their heaviest defeat of the season at Newcastle's Brough Park on Sunday on the end of a 55-33 defeat that was a test of endurance for both man and machine

Team manager Alan Budzynski saying after 'You can't blame the track as it is the same for all the riders but some were struggling more than others. I thought when Lewis (Millar) and Gregor (Millar) went into a 5-1 in heat 2 oh we could be into something here but the track caught them out a little with their inexperience, you even saw it catching out people like Nathan (Greaves) in heat 15.

'We just need to mark this down for experience and move into the next one'

The Devils made a slow start and with home number 1 Max Clegg making up for a subpar showing in the earlier Diamonds vs Monarchs match with an unbeaten performance they were always up against it.

Heat 2 was a disappointing one for the visitors with home star reserve Archie Freeman off 15 meters for missing the 2 minute allowance the Millar brothers hit the front, Freeman made reasonably short work in getting back in front but the biggest disappointment was the last bend where tentative riding from the Devils pair allowed Luke Muff to come through and pip them on the line.

Gregor Millar would make up for this in heat 4 heading Muff for a point with teammate Tom Woolley at the front it was a Devils 4-2 and the deficit was only 4

This would prove to be the only heat advantage on the evening for Budzynski's men as the home septet turned the screw a run of 5 heat advantages in a row ending the match as a contest with only pride left at stake.

Nathan Greaves stemmed the tide in heat 11 and Danny Phillips backed this up with a heat win in the next race, their partners unable to back them up though.

George Rothery had a night to forget with 4 falls in his 4 rides the worst of which being his first ride when he reared violently coming out the second bend. The young Cumbrian doing well to get off the back off the bike before it hammered into the fence.

The last bit of intrigue would be if Devils number 1 Nathan Greaves could stop Clegg from going through the card in the final race. Greaves made the best start only for the race to be stopped when Clegg's partner Ryan Terry-Daley came a cropper. Greaves doing brilliantly to pass Clegg in the second running only to hit some grip coming out the second bend on the penultimate lap and hitting the deck the other riders doing well to thankfully miss the stricken Devil.

This ending all but summing up how the night had went for the Armadale youngsters.

Full Result Details