Oxford boss Schroeck "proud" after Pairs glory

OXFORD team boss Peter Schroeck was close to tears and admitted he was “proud” of their Championship Pairs success. 

The Cheetahs outgunned Berwick 6-3 in a pulsating final at Wimborne Road on Wednesday night. 

Sam Masters won the race and Anders Rowe supplied the vital third place after being passed by Peter Kildemand.

It was an emotional victory for Schroeck after a tough season for the club on and off the track. 

Fighting back the tears, he said: “I’m very proud. It’s been well stated that we’ve had a tough season. 

“This is for everybody who believed in us. It’s a small token for what we’ve been through. We’ve got to come back stronger as a team next year.” 

Masters was typically immaculate all night, scoring 14 points in the qualifying races before two blistering starts and ultra-smooth wins in the semi and final. 

He added: “We didn’t feel any pressure coming into it. Obviously Poole were the favourites being on their own track and those two boys are going awesome. 

“This is for Oxford speedway. We’ve had a tough run this year on and off the track. This is for the fans.

“It’s just nice finally to get a gold and give them something. Thank you very much for the support.”

Rowe was also excellent with 12 points in the qualifiers before the vital thirds to deliver the victory. 

He said: “I’ve been here twice with Oxford this year and really struggled. We came here today with not a lot of pressure on us. Just went out and had some fun and raced our bikes and got the job done.”

The meeting came alive in the semis. Oxford got past Glasgow 6-3 with Rowe holding on to split Chris Harris and Leon Flint. 

The best race of the night was the second semi. Zach Cook went clear but Morris got past Richard Lawson and then slowed down the Poole No.1 to enable his team mate Peter Kildemand to get by. The last two laps were a particularly hectic scrap to see the favourites Poole take a shock exit. 

Josh Pickering was the top scorer on the night with 15 for Scunthorpe while Charles Wright was his usual swashbuckling self and the most entertaining. 

Qualifying heats (Top four all qualified for semi-finals):
Oxford 26 – Sam Masters 14, Anders Rowe 12
Poole 23 – Richard Lawson 12, Zach Cook 11
Berwick 20 – Peter Kildemand 13, Nick Morris 7
Glasgow 19 – Leon Flint 12 Chris Harris 7 

Plymouth 17 – Danny King 12, Ben Barker 5
Scunthorpe 17 – Josh Pickering 15, Luke Harrison 2
Redcar 16 – Charles Wright 13, Jason Edwards 3
Edinburgh 14 – Dan Thompson 10, Kye Thomson 4
Workington 10 – Troy Batchelor 6, Drew Kemp 4

Semi-final 1: Sam Masters, Chris Harris, Anders Rowe, Leon Flint, Oxford win heat 6-3.

Semi-final 2: Zach Cook, Nick Morris, Peter Kildemand, Richard Lawson, Berwick win heat 4-5.

FINAL: Sam Masters, Peter Kildemand, Anders Rowe, Nick Morris, Oxford win heat 6-3

Image by Taylor Lanning.