Speedway: Cheetahs stung by the Bees

The agony continued for the JT/Fox Oxford Cheetahs on Saturday with a second defeat in 24 hours as their quest for the Sky Sports Elite League title suffered another setback.

It means Cheetahs are now two points behind leaders Poole, but they have three matches in hand, which should prove decisive.

Saturday's meeting was tit-for-tat over the first three heats, with all of them being drawn, even though it was an Oxford man who took the chequered flag on each occasion.

Even more heart-breaking was the fact that a clearly unfit Lukas Dryml fell on the third turn of the first lap in heat three when holding a comfortable second place behind teammate Todd Wiltshire.

Oxford did eventually get ahead in heat four and then extended the lead in heat five with a superb maximum, courtesy of Brian Andersen and Ales Dryml ahead of Lee Richardson. Two shared heats followed which included another awkward fall for Lukas Dryml who received the boos of some of the Coventry fans for staying down on the track to get a re-run.

He was actually stuck under his machine and was clearly trying to kick it free, which he did just as the red lights were put on.

Greg Hancock came into heat eight as a tactical substitute and Davey Watt joined him to use up his third ride. It gave the Bees the maximum heat win expected.

Disaster then struck in heat ten when Wiltshire's clutch arm broke, sending him through the tapes. Steve Johnston came in to replace him, but the Bees were on a roll and a second maximum put them two points up at the interval.

The death knell for Oxford was sounded in heat 11 when Andersen suffered an engine failure while in a good position, handing a maximum to the Bees. Suddenly Cheetahs had gone from six points up to six points down.

Wiltshire and Leigh Adams came in to heat 12 as a double tactical substitute and duly picked up maximum points to give the Cheetahs a lifeline.

However, Coventry pulled out a four-point lead again after heat 13, which meant it was maximum points or nothing for Cheetahs in the next.

It looked as though Wiltshire and Johnston had it in the bag, but the Bees were in no mood to play and both ther riders managed to pass Johnston.

Ryan Sullivan, in as a guest, killed off Oxford's hopes in the final heat which was shared to set it up nicely for the return at Cowley this Friday, when only a win and the bonus point will do. Coventry: Hancock 8+3, Jonsson 9+1, Richardson 5+1, Robson 5+1, Sullivan 13, Janniro 5+4, Lee 2. 47 pts.

Oxford: Andersen 6, A Dryml 3+1, L Dryml 0, Wiltshire 14, Adams 14+2, Watt 1, Johnston 5. 43 pts.

HEAT DETAILS

Heat 1: Andersen, Hancock, Jonsson, A Dryml. 61.1 secs.

Heat 2: Johnston, Lee, Janniro, Watt. 62.3.

Heat 3: Wiltshire, Richardson, Robson, L Dryml (f). 62.3.

Heat 4: Adams, Sullivan, Johnston, Lee. 61.1.

Heat 5: Andersen, A Dryml, Richardson, Robson. 61.4.

Heat 6: Adams, Hancock, Jonsson, Watt. 60.5.

Heat 7: Wiltshire, Sullivan, Janniro, L Dryml (f). 61.3.

Heat 8: Jonsson, Hancock, Watt, A Dryml. 61.7.

Heat 9: Adams, Robson, Richardson, Johnston (ef). 63.8.

Heat 10: Jonsson, Hancock, Johnston, L Dryml (ef). 60.9.

Heat 11: Sullivan, Janniro, A Dryml, Andersen (ef). 62.7.

Heat 12: Wiltshire, Adams, Richardson, Lee. 62.1.

Heat 13: Sullivan, Adams, Hancock, Wiltshire. 61.4.

Heat 14: Wiltshire, Robson, Janniro, Johnston. 63.0.

Heat 15: Sullivan, Wiltshire, Adams, Hancock. 62.6.