27.04.07

Isle of Wight v Rye House

The Islanders face the Rockets at Smallbrook Stadium on Tuesday evening for the return fixture of their Premier Trophy clash. It all ended 55 - 39 to the Islanders but Rye House went home with the bonus point.

Chris had a better night than the previous tuesday and showed signs of what he was achieving last year. Chris ended with 6+1 from five rides but was unlucky not to end with double figures.

In Heat 2 Bargh made a Good start off the inside along with Chris and Luke Bowen, Bargh rode straight to the outside hitting his team mate in the process who then collided with Bowen causing them both to fall.

Bowen Stayed down injured for a while on track before being taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs. It was later found out he just suffered bruising.

In the re-run of heat 2 Chris and Bargh made the start and Chris sat behind him team riding for the 5-1.

In Heat 4 Chris made a good start and ran Robson wide but not wide enough and the experienced Rocket managed to sneak around the outside to clinch the win with Chris coming second.

In Heat 8 Chris made another great start and ran out to the fence with team mate Gathercole cutting back putting the Islanders on a 5-1 however Gathercole fell on the 3rd turn and with Chris on the outside it meant him locking up and suddenly straightening the bike to avoid the fallen rider. Chris hit Gathercole but managed to stay on. But the loss of speed allowed Boxall to get through up the inside meaning Chris having to settle for second.

In Heat 12 Chris made a great start and was leading around the first bend until he span and fell. It seems the track had been very over watered in the interval and was shiny and slipper causing Chris to fall.

After getting the bike back to the pits Chris and his dad had to change footrests as the fall had snapped the bolt holding it on. They rushed to fix it and was told he would be in heat 14 to replace Bargh. The sorted the bike and Chris went out. He made a good start but tangled with Tommy Allen going into the 1st turn and found himself in no-mans land mid track allowing Burchatt to go up the inside and team mate stojanowski around the outside. Chris spent the whole race chasing Burchatt down and it was clear he was faster but just couldn't get by.

It turns out after cleaning the bike that the frame was infact bent from his fall, this wouldn't have help Chris much in his heat 14 race.

Isle of Wight = 55

1: Chris Holder:..............3-3-3-3-3 = 15
2: Cory Gathercole:........1-2*-0-1- = 4+1
3: Jason Bunyan:...........3-3-3-3-1 = 12
4: Krystof Stojanowski:...2*-1-2*-2 = 7+2
5: Glen Phillips:..............1*-3-2-1 = 7+1
6: Andrew Bargh:...........3-0-0- = 3
7: Chris Johnson:........... 2*-2-2-ex-0 = 6+1


Rye House = 39

1: Chris Neath:.......0-0-0 = 0
2: Steve Boxall:......2-2-6-3-0 = 13
3: Tai Woffinden:....0-1*-0-1* = 2+2
4: Tommy Allen:......1-2-2-3 = 8
5: Stuart Robson:....3-1-0-2-2-2 = 10
6: Barry Burchatt:....1-0-0-1-1-2-1 = 6
7: Luke Bowen:.......DNS- Withdrawn and gone to hospital.

19.04.07

Gallery updated with 2007 pics!!

The gallery has been updated with pictures we have just received of Chris during the season so far. You will be able to seen his Winter practice pictures as well as ones from his photo shoot and also from the Isle of Wight's Press and Practice day.

Click Here to go to the Gallery page!

Isle of Wight v Newport

The Isle of Wight Islanders had the Newport Wasps visiting on Tuesday night for the return leg of the Premier Trophy fixture. The Islanders comfortably won the meeting with the scores 62-31 meaning the islanders took the bonus point.

Chris had an up and down night after winning his first heat in style ahead of former Islander Nick Simmons. However in his next heat Chris had clutch problems causing a bad start and ran a last.

Chris frantically changed his cutch plates for his next heat and made a good start but in a hard 1st bend Chris Schramm managed to get around the outside meaning chris had to settle for a paid second.

In Chris' last ride he was off gate four and missed the start completely and spent the whole race chasing, taking every line possible to try and overtake the opposition. In the end there was no way past and finished in last place.

Isle of Wight = 62

1. Chris Holder 3,3,3,2*,2* = 13+2 Paid Maximum
2 Glen Phillips 2*,2*,2,2* =8+3
3 Cory Gathercole 1*,2*,2*,2 = 7+3
4 Krystof Stojanowski 2,3,3,2* = 10+1
5 Jason Bunyan 3,3,3,3,3 = 15 Maximum
6 Andrew Bargh 1,0,1,3 = 5
7 Chris Johnson 3,0,1*,0 = 4+1


Newport = 31

1. Michal Rajkowski 0,0,0,1 = 1
2. Chris Schramm 1,2,1,3,2,0 = 9
3. Tom Hedley 3,2,1,0,6!,1 = 13
4. Tony Atkin 0,0,1*,1,1 = 3+1
5. R/R
6. Nick Simmons 2,1*,1,0,1,0 = 5+1
7. Karl Mason 0,0,0 = 0

17.04.07

Mildenhall v Isle of Wight.

The Mildenhall Fen Tigers played host to the Isle of Wight Wight link Islanders on Sunday at West Row. It was a close battle throughout the meeting which showed some great races with lots of overtaking on the well prepared track. The score ended 47-45 after going down to a last heat decider.

Chris had an excellent day overcoming his knee injury and the disappointment of missing out on the U21 final by scoring 8+2 from 5 rides.

Chris didn't have the start he wanted by coming third in heat 2. It was always going to be hard off gate four but Chris lifted to much and even struggled to get the front wheel down for the corner. This allowed the two tigers to ride on for the 5-1 heat advantage.

Heat 4 saw a good battle involving Chris and Shaun Tacey which lasted 3 laps. They were side by side all round the track in the close battle until Chris tried to run Tacey wide going into turn one and made him lock up slightly allowing Tacey to sneak past.

Chris came out for heat 8 with partner Glen Phillips and Tigers duo of Shaun Tacey and Mark Thompson. Chris and Glen made the start and rode good racing lines and were never going to be troubled by the Mildenhall pair.

Chris was sent out in heat 12 to replace the Ii slanders reserve Andrew Bargh. He made a good start and was very close with Kyle Legault in the first turn to the extent Chris had his front wheel over the white line. He tried chasing Legault after that but had to settle for second place with team mate Gathercole in third.

In Heat 14 Chris was out and made a good start only for team mate Stojanowski to drift wide getting in the way of Chris and allowing Mark Thompson to drive underneath the pair. Chris kept it tight in turn three but coming out of the turn Jason King found some drive round the outside and was heading past Chris. Going into the first turn all four riders were close together when Mark Thompson locked up and high sided his bike. He was very lucky as King was heading around the outside and Chris managed to turn hard to lock his bike up to avoid the fallen rider.

In the re-run Chris and team mate Stojanowski made the start and kept good lines to stop Jason King from overtaking giving the Isle of Wight another 5-1 to give the match a last heat decider.

The Isle of Wight needed a heat advantage to win the meeting. Chris Holder and Krzysztof Stojanowski went out. Chris Holder made the start and was leading but was passed by Madsen only for Chris to re-pass him moments later. From then on the Mildenhall pairing team rode blocking Stojanowski from getting past clinching the win for the tigers.

Mildenhall Fen Tigers = 47

1. Tom P Madsen - 1', 3, 3, 2, 2 = 11+1
2. Shaun Tacey - 2, 2, 1, 1, 2' = 8+1
3. Kyle Legault - 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 1' = 15+1
4. Jason King - 1, 2', 2, 2', 1 = 8+2
5. Mario Jirout R/R - ST, JK, KL, NG
6. Ben Barker - 2', 0, 0 = 2+1
7. Mark Thompson - 3, 0, 0, 0, F = 3
8. Nicki Glanz - 0 = 0

Isle of Wight Islanders = 46

1. Chris Holder - 3, 1, 3, 3, 3 = 13
2. Glen Phillips - 0, 0, 3, 1 = 4
3. Cory Gathercole - 0, 1, 0, 1' = 2+1
4. Krzysztof Stojanowski - 2, 6^, 1, 3, 0 = 12
5. Jason Bunyan - 3, 2, 1, 1 = 7
6. Andrew Bargh - 0, 0, 0 = 0
7. Chris Johnson - 1, 1, 2', 2, 2' = 8+2

14.04.07

U21 Qualifier at Weymouth

Chris took part in the U21 qualifier at Weymouth on Friday 13th. After making a good start to the meeting Chris had to withdraw from the meeting with a knee injury after a four man crash in the 1st turn.

In Chris' first ride he made a great start on gate 2 and lead the eventual winner Ben Barker throughout the race in a close fought battle.

In Chris' second ride he missed the start off of gate 1 and started to chase down Barry Burchatt. Chris took the wide line round turns 1 and 2 on the 3rd lap drove round the outside of Burchatt down the back straight. How ever going into turn 3 Chris seemed to have too much speed and drifted wide allowing Burchatt to sneak up the inside again and claim the win.

In Chris' third ride he was off gate 4. He made a good start and came across the riders going into the turn when the out of control Baseby rode straight through Chris whilst tangling with the other riders causing a four man pile up. Chris went down heavily in the fall and damaged his knee. He was down on the track for quite a while before hobbling back to the pits.

Chris went out in the re-run and made a better start this time. On lap two Chris went into turn one and Baseby went straight across the turn nearly collecting Chris on the way. Chris then settled for second place and seemed to slow during the rest of the race.

After the race Chris was looked at my the Ambulance at the track and had to withdraw due to pain in his right knee.

1. Mark BASEBY: 3 2 3 2 3 = 13
2. Lee STRUDWICK: R 1 1 3 1 = 6
3. Joe REYNOLDS: 1 1 0 0 0 = 2
4. Daniel HALSEY: 2 3 2 2 2 = 11
5. Lee SMART: 3 1 3 3 3 = 13
6. Aaron BASEBY: 2 0 1 1 1 = 5
7. Barry BURCHATT: 0 3 3 F 3 = 9
8. No rider
9. Ben BARKER: 2 3 3 3 2 = 13
10. Lewis DALLAWAY: R 2 0 2 2 = 6
11. Chris JOHNSON: 3 2 2 Withdrawn from meeting
12. Sam HURST: F 2 2 R 3 = 7
13. Ben HOPWOOD: 1 0 1 2 2 = 6
14. Robert MEAR: 3 3 2 3 1 = 12
15: Luke GOODY: X 0 0 0 1 = 1
16: Adam FILMER 2 1 0 1 XT = 4

Semi final (top 2 go through to the final)
Heat 21: Mear, M Baseby, Burchatt, Halsey 55.0

Final
Heat 22: Barker, Smart, M Baseby, Mear 53.9

12.04.07

Isle of Wight v Somerset

Tuesday evening saw the return fixture between the Islanders and the rebels at Smallbrook Stadium. The meeting ended 47-43 with Somerset taking home the bonus point. The islanders were without Heat leader Cory Gathercole for most of the meeting as he was involved in a nasty crash in the 1st turn of heat 3. He was excluded in a poor decision from the referee which should have put all four riders back in the re-run. Cory withdrew from the meeting after injuring his shoulder and banging his head.

Chris had a positive night scoring 5+1 from 5 rides although suffering bike problems in his last two heats.

In heat 2 the Somerset pairing made the gate but Chris took the wide line and passed Frampton coming out of bend two. He chased Danny Warwick closely for the whole race until Chris cut back on the last turn to drive underneath Warwick and clinch the win.

In Heat 4 Chris lifted from the gate and tangled with Danny Warwick going into the 1st turn. Chris came off best in the tussle and came out of turn two in third. Chris chased Richie Hawkins for the rest of the race but couldn't find a way to get passed the Somerset rider.

In Chris' third ride he didn't make the best of starts and was trailing at the back until he and team partner Glen Phillips raced past Danny Warwick to claim 3-3 heat draw.

After being in heat 8 Chris was sent back out in heat 9 to replace the injured Gathercole. Chris made an ok start and was chasing down Hawkins for second place when Chris' engine stopped mid turn causing his front wheel to wash away from under him and slide into the fence.

Chris and Mechanic Richard frantically tried to fix the bike changing ignition systems, carburetors and spark plugs to rectify the problem. They managed to get the bike running ok with the carb off his spare bike and got ready for his next heat just before the two minutes came on for heat 12.

Chris missed the start completely in this heat and trailed at the back. His bike didn't seem to be quick and wasn't making up any ground. Speaking to Chris after the meeting he said "We changed the ignition system, spark plug and carburetor to try and fix the bike. I went out in my last heat using my old carb. It made me spin out of the start and throughout the race meaning i had no speed. I thought the engine had blown when i stopped but luckily it hadn't. After looking at the bike in the garage we think the problem was with my carburetor."

Isle of Wight = 47

1. Chris Holder 2,2*,3,2,3 = 12+1
2. Glen Phillips 1*,3,2,1 = 7+1
3. Cory Gathercole 0,0 = 0
4. Krysztof Stojanowski 1,2,3,3 = 9
5. Jason Bunyan 3,3,2,1*,0 = 9+1
6. Andrew Bargh 0,1,1*,1,2* = 5+2
7. Chris Johnson 3,1,1*,0,0 = 5+1


Somerset = 43

1. Magnus Zetterstrom 3,3,3,3,2 = 14
2. Simon Walker 0,1,3,0 = 4
3. Emil Kramer 2*,2,2,3,1* = 10+2
4. Tomas Suchanek 3,0,0,1 = 4
5. Richie Hawkins 2,1,2,0 = 5
6. Jordan Frampton 1*,0,1*,2* = 4+3
7. Danny Warwick 2,0,0,0 = 2

10.04.07

Rye House v Isle of Wight

The top two teams in the Southern Trophy group went up against each other at Hoddeston on Saturday night. Rye House are always very strong at home and showed that winning 56-37. It wasn't the best meeting for Chris even though he actually rode better than on some previous visits. He didn't quite make the start in heat 2 and had to settle for a 3rd place.

In his next heat he made a good start but had problems with the bike which was stopping it from turning properly causing Chris to trailed behind in last.

Problems sorted for the next one and Chris made a good start and was in 3rd for most of the race with Luke bowen challenging all the time. Chris made one mistake on the pits turn and locked up slightly which gave enough room for Bowen to sneak through.

In the last heat Chris made another good start and tried the run round the outside. Heading into turn three their was three riders abreast. Chris was caught on the outside and was squeezed out. He kept challenging thou and was trying hard to pass Adam Roynon when he caught a lump in the track entering turn 1 which span his bike round causing him to slide off. The scores from the meeting are as follows;

Rye House Rockets = 56

1. Chris Neath......3-3-3-0-1* = 10+1
2. Luke Bowen.....1-1-1-1 = 4
3. Steve Boxall.....1-2-3-2* = 8+1
4. Tommy Allen.....3-0-1-3 =7
5. Stuart Robson..1-3-2-3-2 = 11
6. Adam Roynon...2*-1-1*-1 = 6+2
7. Tai Woffinden...3-3-3-3 = 12 Points Maximum.

Isle of Wight Islanders = 37

1. Chris Holder.............1*-3-6-1*-3 = 14+2
2. Glen Phillips..............2-1-2-0- = 5
3. Cory Gathercole........0-0-0-1- = 1
4. Krzysztof Stojanowski.....2-2-2-2 = 8
5. Jason Bunyan...........2-2-2-2-0 = 8
6. Andrew Bargh...........0-0-0-0 = 0
7. Chris Johnson...........1-0-0-fell = 1

Somerset v Isle of Wight

Good Friday saw the Isle of wight team travel down to Somerset for their Premier Trophy clash. The rebels started strongly opening with three 5-1 heats in a row. However the islanders did fight back and the scored ended 52-42. Chris didn't have the best of nights after being wiped out by Jordan Frampton on the 1st turn in heat 2. The referee ordered all four back and Chris didn't quite make a good enough start to get across and ended up 3rd.

In Chris' second ride he had problems with his clutch not working properly and ran a last. For his next heat he changed clutch plates and they seemed to be too jumpy when he did a practice start. After adjusting it he went to the start line. He didn't make the start in this one and ran another last. Speaking to him after he said " The clutch jumped too much in the practice start so i adjusted it but that was probably the wrong thing to do looking back now, but i have learnt from that". The scores from the meeting are as follows;

Somerset Rebels = 52

1. Magnus Zetterstrom---3, 3, 3, 3, 3 = 15 FULL MAX
2. Simon Walker----------2*, 1, 3, 1 = 7+1
3. Emil Kramer------------3, 1, 2, 3, 2 = 11
4. Tomas Suchanek------1, 0, 0, 0 = 1
5. Richie Hawkins--------3, 3, 1*, 0 = 7+1
6. Jordan Frampton------3, 0, 2, 2 = 7
7. Danny Warwick-------2*, 1, 1, f = 4+1


Isle Of Wight Islanders = 42

1. Chris Holder---------------0, 3, 6^, 2, 1 = 12
2. Glen Phillips---------------1, 2*, 2, ex. = 5+1
3. Cory Gathercole-----------2, 1*, 2, 2, 0 = 7+1
4. Krzysztof Stojanowski-----0, 2, 0, 3 = 5
5. Jason Bunyan-------------2, 2, 3, 1*, 2! = 10+1
6. Andrew Bargh-------------0, 0, 1, 1* = 2+1
7. Chris Johnson-------------1, 0, 0 = 1

04.04.07

Isle of Wight v Mildenhall

The Isle of Wight Islanders raced to victory yesterday over the Mildenhall Fen Tigers beating them 62-30. The Islanders were solid throughout and rode well on the tricky track. There were a few thrills and spills during the evening with Johno and Stoj coming to grief in their rides.

Chris had a really good 1st home meeting, picking up 7+2 from four rides. This including a fall while 3rd in his second race.

Chris made a great gate in heat 2 coming from gate 3 and cutting across to the white line with partner Andrew Bargh following behind.

In Chris' next heat he made a good start but Tom P Madsen managed to get across going in the 1st turn. Chris tried all race to find a way past and was very close on a few occasions. Going into the last turn Chris went wide and straightened before locking up on the greasy surface causing him to fall. This was an unlucky fall but shows the effort and determination to pass the opposing riders.

In heat 8 Chris and Glen both made the start and raced clear with no trouble mounted upon them gaining another 5-1 for the islanders.

Chris and Cory Gathercole came out in heat 12 against a determined Legault. The islanders pairing made the gate but were chased hard by Legault. Kyle tried to pass Johno but he kept his nerve and blocked everything thrown at him to secure another 5-1. The meeting scores were;

Isle of Wight = 62

1. Chris Holder - 3,2*,3,3,2* = 13+2
2. Glen Philips - 2*,3,3,1 = 9+1
3. Cory Gathercole - 3,1*,3,3 = 10+1
4. Krzysztof Stojanowski - 0,2,0,3 = 5
5. Jason Bunyan - 3,3,3,1,3 = 13
6. Andrew Bargh - 2*,0,1,2* = 5+2
7. Chris Johnson - 3,0,2*,2* = 7+2

Mildenhall Fen Tigers = 30

1. Mario Jirout - 0,3,4!,0 = 7
2. Shaun Tacey - 1,0,1,0 = 2
3. Kyle Legault - 2,1*,2,1,1 = 7+1
4. Jamie Smith - 1*,2,0,1 = 4+1
5. Tom P Madsen - 2,1,2,2,0 = 7
6. Jason King - 1,0,1*,0 = 2+1
7. Mark Thompson - 0,1*,0,0 = 1+1

02.04.07

Newport v Isle of Wight

Chris and the Isle of Wight kicked off the season at Newport on Sunday. Against a team who have ridden a few matches already it was always going to be a hard meeting but the Islanders were strong and won their first match of the campaign with the score ending 41 - 48. Chris had a good first meeting considering. Having made a great start of gate four in heat two the referee put the red lights on and ordered a re-start. In the re-run Chris made a good gate again but wasn't good enough to get over Nick Simmons who rode Chris out wide into the wet slush while the others tucked in around the curb.

Chris's next heat was a great advert for speedway as Chris made a good start and was lying in second with team mate Jason Bunyan in last. Bunyan went round Phil Morris then swooped round Chris and nearly claimed a Victory over Nick Simmons on the line.

Heat 8 came along and Chris made a pretty good gate and lent on Nick Simmons on the inside and looked to be heading for the lead when Chris Schramm got some good drive round bend two and swooped past Chris. Chris stayed second this race with team partner Glen Phillips in third.

For Chris' last ride the Isle of Wight made a reserve switch. In this heat there was a tight first turn and Chris got squeezed out by Tom Hedley on the inside and the race positions stayed as they were from the gate with Chris coming last.

Paid 4 points was not an excellent day on paper but there were many positives to take from the meeting including beating Newport's top man Phil Morris.

Next up we have the Isle of Wight v Mildenhall at Smallbrook Stadium.

Website Designed & Sponsored by

Hosting Sponsored by John & Christine