Oxford Silver Machine 53,

Reading Racers 37

(agg Oxford 103, Reading 77)

AUSSIE ace Travis McGowan took over the mantle of Todd Wiltshire to notch up a superb paid 15-point maximum as the Silver Machine easily accounted for Premier League rivals Reading in the British League Cup last night.

Wiltshire, who scored a 15-pointer in the first leg at Reading on Monday, was away on GP duty, but he wasn't missed as McGowan delivered the goods.

Seb Ulamek only just missed out on a full house while Andy Smith can be happy with his seven, but the bonus performance of the night was the paid seven from Conference League rider Ricki Scarboro.

Reading's Andrew Appleton showed how much he has improved with a solid 12 points in his first meeting since quitting Oxford last year.

"There was a lively first heat as Smith was making his home debut and hoping for a good start, and Appleton was keen to impress. The honours went to the fast-gating Appleton.

Racers improved on that good start after Oxford's Darren Andrews performed a spectacular loop-the-loop off the start to gift the Racers a 5-1 advantage.

The Silver Machine kicked in with a heat winner when Ulamek, finally managed to overcome Garry Stead and Jonas Davidsson. The Racers' duo held a 5-1, before the Pole screamed through the pair to restore normality.

McGowan looked super sharp in his first ride before Smith and Jan Staechmann slammed in an easy 5-1.

The Australian made it two wins on the trot with the fastest time of the night in heat seven.

This was followed by maximum points from Staechmann and Scarboro to see the Silver Machine 28-20 ahead, before another malfunction of the tapes led to an early interval.

The fault could not be fixed, so the rest of the meeting was started with a green light.

This didn't faze either Ulamek, despite Appleton coming in as a tactical sub, or Staechmann, who left Stead for dead in heat ten to increase the Silver Machine's lead to ten points

McGowan got the better of Parsons and Appleton in a tight second-bend as he romped away to his third successive victory

The Racers tried a second tactical sub in heat 12, with Scott Smith coming in for Shane Colvin, but Kolenko won his first

race of the night.

McGowan made it four wins on the trot in heat 13 and victory and the bonus point were secure.

But there was a shock in store for the unbeaten Ulamek in the penultimate heat as Davidsson never looked in trouble.

The Silver Machine launched their big guns in the final heat and Ulamek and McGowan ruled the roost - as they had for most of the evening.

Oxford: McGowan 14+1, Ulamek 14, Staechmann 9+2, Smith 7, Scarboro 5+2, Kolenko 4, Andrews 0. 53 pts.

Reading: Appleton 12, Stead 7, Smith 6, Davidsson 5, Colvin 4, Parsons 3, Clews 0. 37 pts. HEAT DETAILS

Heat 1: Appleton, A Smith, Staechmann, Clews. 59.1secs.

Heat 2: Colvin, Scarboro, Parsons, Andrews (f). 60.8.

Heat 3: Ulamek, Stead, Davidsson, Kolenko. 60.4.

Heat 4: McGowan, S Smith, Parsons, Scarboro. 59.4.

Heat 5: Ulamek, Appleton, Kolenko, Clews. 59.4.

Heat 6: A Smith, Staechmann, S Smith, Colvin. 60.3.

Heat 7: McGowan, Stead, Davidsson, Andrews. 58.9.

Heat 8: Staechmann, Scarboro, Colvin, Clews. 59.6.

Heat 9: Ulamek, Appleton, S Smith, Kolenko. 59.4.

Heat 10: Steachmann, Stead, Smith, Davidsson. 59.9.

Heat 11: McGowan, Appleton, Parsons, Andrews. 59.7.

Heat 12: Kolenko, S Smith, Stead, Scarboro (f). 61.1.

Heat 13: McGowan, Appleton, A Smith, S Smith (f/rmtd). 59.6.

Heat 14: Davidsson, Ulamek, Scarboro, Colvin. 60.4.

Heat 15: Ulamek, McGowan, Appleton, Stead.