East London Cycle Speedway Club

Division 1

East London 91

Hethersett   88

 

On a beautiful autumnal Sunday East London played host to Hethersett (Norfolk) in their final two South East division fixtures.

A very close match ensued for the division 1 team when the Zielinski brothers opened the scoring with a 6-4. The next 2 heats were drawn with Jarvis and Stevens both winning their opening rides. A.Zielinski and Hughes raced to a 6-4 but Hethersett hit back with a 6-4 of their own. Jarvis and Ridgwell increased the Londoners lead, but a 6-3 and a 6-4 to the visitors brought the interval score to 50-49 which meant a 1 point lead to East London. Ridgwell and Jarvis kept the pressure on with a 6-4. East London started to build a lead again as Hughes and Ridgwell combined for yet another 6-4 Hethersett hit back and with the home team holding a narrow 3 point lead heat 18 was crucial, Jarvis made one of his lighting gates to take the chequered flag and gain   East London a win by the narrowest of margins. Alex Zielinski was top scorer for the home team with good backing from all the team. Jarvis and Stevens both scoring well.

 

East London scores:

Alex Zielinski19, Stephen Jarvis 17, Les Stevens 14, Michael Zielinski 11+2,

Nicky Gunkel 10+1, Lee Ridgwell 10, George Hughes7, Kevin Smith 3.

 

Division 2

East London  74    

Hethersett   85

 

Hethersett the reigning division 2 champions proved to strong for East London on Sunday. East London had to wait to heat 6 when Michael Zielinksi  was their first  heat winner. With 2 6-4’s and 7-3 the visitors built up a steady lead and at the interval led by 11 points 45-34. With a 7-3 to both teams the rest all drawn heats the visitors maintained their 11 point lead to run winners 74-85. The highlights of the meeting was the continuing improvement of Michael Zielinski and Thomas Medyka both putting  in some entertaining races. Harvie, Hughes Smith and Stephens all played their part but could not match a very solid Hethersett performance.  

 

 

 East London scores:

 Michael Zielinski 20, Steve Harvie 16+1, Thomas Medyka 12+2 George Hughes 12+1, Kevin Smith 10 Nicky Stephens 7+1.

 

Division 1

East London                85

Great Blakenham         94       

 

           

 

In a closely fought and entertaining match East London were host’s to Great Blakenham in a South East division 1 and 2 match on Sunday. With the visitors missing a couple of the top riders East London started things off well with a fine 7-3 from the brothers Zielinski. Two 5-5 from Jarvis and Ridgwell and Stevens and Gunkel. A 6-4 from A.Zielinsli and Hughes extended their lead but the vistors hit back with a 6-4 of their own 2 5-5 followed then the  visitors hit hard with a 7-3 to bring the interval to 45-45. With all to  race for,  the 2nd half started  with a fine win from Stevens but Blakenham put the pressure on with a 7-3 East London hit back with a 6-4 but a gate exclusion cost the home team dear with  a 7-2, followed by a further 7-3 the visitors increased their lead. East London finished in style when Jarvis and Stevens completed the match with a well worked 7-3 a little too late.

In a highly competitive match  all  home riders contributed maximum effort to what was a very spirited performance with Stevens A.Zielinsli and Jarvis showing up well.  

 

 

East London Scorers:

Les Stevens 16+1, Alex Zielinski 15+2, Stephen Jarvis 15, Michael Zielinski 12,  Nicky Gunkel 10+3, Lee Ridgwell 10+2, George Hughes 4, Kevin Smith 2 and Steve Harvie 1.

 

 

Division 2

 

East London            59+30 =  89

Great Blakenham                     101

 

East London started the division 2 match with a 30 lead due to the inclusion of divison 1 riders but they had no answer to the fire power of the visitors. From heat 1 Blakenham raced hard and East London struggled to match them . The visitors  lead at the interval 49-31 a lead of 18 points. Which they increased in the 2^nd half to run out easily winners on the day. Only Micheal Zielinki seemed to be the only home rider to have any stamina to compete with the visitors:

 

East London Scorers:

Michael Zielinski13, Lee Ridgwell 10, Stephen Jarvis 8+1, Steve Harvie 8, George Hughes7, Kevin Smith 6 and Dave Hughes 4.

 

Colchester       70+15  85

East London                83

 

 

East London travelled to Colchester to in a South East division 2 match on Sunday  with only 5  riders and  key riders missing. The inclusion of a division  1 rider meant East London gave away a 15 point handicap, On the plus side East London had Steve Jarvis back from injury for his first match of the season. East London started with a

5-5 from Hughes and Smith followed a 7-3 from Jarvis and Stephens. Nick Gunkel was the lone rider in the next heat,  2 6-4’s from Jarvis and Stephens and 2 5-5 from Smith and Hughes another lone ride from Gunkel brought  the half time score 42-30 12 point lead but still down overall.

East London raced hard in the 2^nd half with 2’s  7-3 from Stephens and Jarvis and Jarvis and Gunkel were not enough to pull back the deficit they  finally went down by 2 points.  Gunkle and Jarvis rode unbeaten by an opponent and were ably backed by Hughes, Stephens and Smith.

 

 

 

 

East London Scores:

Nicky Gunkel 23+1 ,Stephen Jarvis 22+2, George Hughes 17+1, Nicky Stephens 13 and Kevin Smith 10+3.

6th and 7th September 2008

In difficult condition Les Stevens qualified for the British veteran’s final on Saturday at Horspath scoring 5 points from 3 rides but had to pull out due to a recurring injury.

 

On Sunday at Colchester in the South East Grand Prix East Steve Harvie was the only East London representative where he raced to 2^nd place in the Veterans final and now holds a 16 point lead:

 

For current leader board see: http://www.btinternet.com/~SomershamCSC/SEGP2008.html

 

 

East London   90       

Ipswich          85

Division  1

 

East London retuned to Canning town rec with 2  South East  division fixtures on Sunday. The match started well for the home team when Stevens and Ridgwell  raced to 1^st and 2^nd in the opening heat for a 7-3 followed by G.Hughes and A.Zielinski 1^st and 3^rd for a 6-4. Heat 3 Harvie and Gunkle finished 2^nd and 3^rd in a closley fought 5-5. East London increased their lead in heat 4 with a fine 7-3 from D.Hughes and Ridgwell  with Stevens and an in form Smith put the pressure on even  more in the following heat with yet another 7-3 followed by a 6-4 and a reversal 6-4   East London went into the interval with a 12 point lead. Ipswich started their fight back in heat 10 with a 6-4 , 3 more drawn heats followed with Zielinski the only home team heat winner. The last 6 heats proved fruitful for the visitors as the increased their pressure with with 2 6-4 and supplying all the last 6 heat winners. East London just clung on for a 5 point win their first home division 1 win of the season.

Les Stevens rode exceptionally well for his 16 tally ably backed as always by Zielinski, Ridgwell , Gunkle,  Harvie and George Hughes carrying a niggling injury .

 

East London Scorers:

 

Lest Stevens 16+2, Alex Zieliski16, Nicky Gunkle 12+2, Steve Harvie 12+1, Lee Ridgwell 12, George Hughes 10+1, Dave Hughes5 Kevin Smith4 and Thomaz Mendyka 3

East London   90       

Ipswich           85

 

 East London   64+15= 79    

Ipswich                       95

Division  2

 

The East London division 2 team were up against a very young and fit Ipswich team on Sunday even with a 15 point advantage for the use of a division 1 rider struggled to get on terms. The 1^st 3 heats 3 were 7-3’s to Ipswich before Harvie and Smith managed a good 7-3 to help stem the tide but as the rain got heavier so did the  legs of the home team. Ridgwell and Stephens rode a good 5-5 but Ipswich continued their onslaught with 2 6-4’s to lead at the interval 48-32 a lead of 16 points. East London started with 2 5-5 after the interval before Ipswich  continued with their winning ways with 2 6-4’s and 3 7-3’s to run out clear winners. On a brighter note Nicky Stephens and Thomaz Mendyka showed some promise on their home debuts

 

East London Scores:

Lee Ridgwell 14 , Steve Harvie 14 George Hughes 13+1, Kevin Smith 9+2 Nicky Stephen 9+2 and Thomaz Mendyka 5

 

Hethersett                        102   

East London                    72

 

 

With holiday and work commitments East London were without 4 regular team riders for their South East Division 1 and 2 fixture at  Hetherset (Norwich) .

In what should of been a tightly fought match soon petered out with Hethersett being much fitter and stronger in depth.  East London only has 2 riders you were any match for the home side premiership boys Lee Ridgwell and Alex Zeilinski who scored a well earned 19 points only beaten once by in form Jazz Abbott . They had good support from  veteran les Stevens who was sporting a brand new frame

On a much brighter note former Newham rider Nicky Stephens  made a welcome return to the saddle after a 25 year break

 

East London Scorers:

Alex Zielinski 18+1, Les Stevens 13, Lee Ridgwell 11, Steve Harvie 10, Dave Hughes 7+2, Kevin Smith 7 and Nicky Stephens 6

 

Hethersett     76+15         91    

East London                    84 

 

With the penalty point system East London were forced to give away 15 points  for the use of regular 1^st  team riders . It would a difficult task for East London with this  deficit to pull back but this seemed to spur the Londoners on.  Things started well with race wins and 2  7-3’s and a 6-4 they  built up a small lead 44-36 at the interval. East London kept up the pressure in the 2^nd half to win the match by 8 points only to lose overall by 7. A good all round performance in difficult conditions as the weather started to turn, racing into a very strong head wind sapping riders strength.

 Lee Ridgwell and les Stevens scored well for London with the rest of the team  Kevin Smith , Dave Hughes Steve Harvie and Nick Stephens  giving 100 % support.

 

East London Scorers:

Lee Ridgwell  19+4 ,Steve Harvie 19+1 , Les Stevens 18, Dave Hughes 12, Kevin Smith 8+3 and Nicky Stephens 8+1

East London hosted the 4th round of the South East Grand prix with East London riders holding good positions in the Senior and veterans event.

 

In the U 13  event East London had new signing Luke Fussell compete in his first  ever event. Son of former Newham rider Kevin Somers, Luke had a steady start against a more experienced line up but did well for his 6 points.

 

 

The senior event was good for London with Nick Gunkle and Les Stevens scoring well. Nick was unbeaten until his last race scoring 15 and losing out to Les who scored 14. In the “A” final Nick was hoping for a win from his grid 1 but after a fine race trailed in 3^rd behind yellow jersey leader Gary Brown with Les Stevens 2^nd

 

In the veterans event East London had 3 competitors current leader Steve Harvie, George and Dave Hughes. In the main meeting Steve scored 11 beating the other vets. George scored 10 and had a good meeting on his new bike with the paint work still intact. Dave rode well for his 8 points just losing out to the younger competitors.  The “A” Final was good for London with Steve on grid 1 and George on grid 3 things were looking for Steve to keep his unbeaten score going but George did a great overtaking manoeuvre to pass Steve who  had to settle for 2^nd.      

 

Leaders after 4 events.

 

Senior:

1^st      Gary Brown Som     93

2^nd     Les Stevens   EL      63     

3^rd      Nicky Gunkel EL      58

 

Veterans:     

1^st      Steve Harvie EL      70                        

5^th      George  Hughes EL 25

6^th      Dave Hughes EL      14     

 

South East Division 1

 

 

East London                            85                   

Kesgrave (Ipswich)                 92

 

A close match ensued when East London entertained Kesgrave on Sunday with the home team down on numbers and the visitors at full strength. The match started well for London when A.Zielinksi Gunkle and Stevens won their opening races. First blood to Kesgrave when they opened a 2 point lead in heat 5, with 2 more drawn heats.  Then disaster struck for London in heat 8 when Gunkle fell a feat he repeated again in heat 11. A further 7-3 for Kesgrave in heat 9 meant they held the lead 50-39 an 11 lead at the interval. After the interval East London started well with a 7-3 from Stevens and A. Zielinski with Kesgrave replying in heat 12 with a 7-3 and a 6-4 in heat 13. Gunkle and M. Zielinski combined well for a maximum heat win and D. Hughes and Stevens finishing the meeting with a 7-3. Kesgrave rode well for their points with Alex Zielinski being unbeaten by an opponent , Les Stevens scoring 19 his best tally for a while, Mike Zielinski rode well for his 12 points, George Hughes pushed hard and Gunkle should have scored more had  he stayed on his bike

 

 

East London scores:

 

Alex Zielinski 19+1, Les Stevens 19,  Nick Gunkle 13+1  Mike Zielinski 12 ,George Hughes 10+1 , Dave Hughes 7+1 Kevin Smith 5.

 

East London reached the Semi Final of the British Veteran's Club Championship at Hull last week and gave a good account of themselves coming 3^rd in there semi final. The event was won by a strong Wednesfield team.

 

Filton 53 (Ian Lawrence 16, Paul Gibbs 11, Dave Palfreyman 11, Mike Burgess 10, Tony Birch 5)

 

Sandwell 45 (Ivan Darby 15, Phil Hemming 12, Tony Bowen 10, Mick Evans 5, Pete Dalley 3)

 

East London 34 (Les Stevens 11, George Hughes 9, Steve Harvie 8, Kevin Smith 6)

Sheffield 28 (Martin Gamble 12, Rob Mawhood 7, Dave Robinson 5, Ian Kirkpatrick 4)

 

                              Kevin Smith,                      Steve Harvie, Les Stevens and George Hughes.

 

Kesgrave 88

East London 91

 

 

East London travelled to Suffolk on Sunday in a division 1 fixture with only 7 riders due to working and other racing commitments. The match started well for the home team with Harvie sandwiched in between them allowing them a 6-4.  Alex Zielinski started his first of his winning ways being unbeaten by an opponent.  With 3 drawn  5-5 heats East London hit with 2 6-4 heat wins from A.Zielinksi – Hughes and Stevens and M.Zielinksi. Followed by 2  5-5’s and a further 6-4 from A.Zielinksi and Gunkel and a good 5-5 from Smith and Hughes they held a 3 point lead at the interval 51-48.  Kesgrave hit back with a 6-4 as Stevens found the going tough. Hughes and A.Zielinksi combined together well in the next heat for a well earned 7-3. A 6-4 to the home team next a fine 7-3 from A.Zielinksi and Gunkle, East London now held a 6 point lead which was crucial at this time as kesgrave hit back with a 7-3. Going into the last heat the visitors held a slender lead forcing a 5-5 and winning their first away fixture of the season. A very good and spirited team effort with everyone giving 100% with Alex Zielinski , Nicky Gunkel and Les Stevens the leading lights.

 

East London scores:

 

A.Zielinksi 19+1 (max), N.Gunkel 15+2, L.Stevens 15, M.Zielinzli 12+1, S.Harvie 12, D.Hughes 11+1 and K.Smith 7

 

General manager Kevin Smith has beenn approached by a former East London rider for the possibility of returning to the sport. Watch this space.

 

 

 

 

Smith and Hughes in action from Kesgrave.

 

 

Division 1.

Ipswich           103

East London   72

 

East London resumed the South East league season with a Div 1 & 2 fixture away at Ipswich on Sunday. Things did not start to well for the Londoners as Ipswich raced to  2 maximum 7-3 heat wins before M. Zielinski and L.Ridgwell  got a 5-5 to stop the home team running away with the meeting. London held the next race with some good racing from D.Hughes and N.Gunkle, followed by a 7-2 from Harvie and Stevens helped by exclusion, only to suffer a 7-2 in the next race when A.Zielinski excluded. Three more 7-3’s to Ipswich a followed by a 5-5 Ipswich led at half time 52-36 a 16 point lead.   Ipswich pilled on the pressure in the 2 nd half with 2 more maximum heat wins and a 6-4 with Alex Zielinksi Steve Harvie and Lee Ridgwell the only one to offer any resistance with Ipswich final winning by 32 points.

 

East London Score:

Lee Ridgwell 11, Les Stevens 11+1 , Alex Zielinski 11 Nick Gunkle 9+2, Steve Harvie 9+1 (3rides) Dave Hughes 7+1 (3 rides), George Hughes 7, Michael Zielinski 6+2

Kevin Smith 1 (1 ride)

 

Division 2

 

Ipswich           74

East London   86

 

A convincing win in the division 2 fixture against a very youthful and but less experienced Ipswich team.  Three  7-3’s set the visitors up well with Michael Zielinski and Lee Ridgwell combining well for 2 of the maximum heat wins and  Steve Harvie and Dave Hughes getting the other to  Give East London a 6 point lead at the interval.

The pairings of Kevin Smith and George Hughes, Lee Ridgwell and Michael Zielinski along with George Hughes and Michael Zielinski raced to 3 7-3’s giving East London a 12 point win.  Michael Zielinski improving all the time giving his best performance to date.

 

East London Scores:

 Micheal Zielinski 19+2 Lee Ridgwell 15+1, George Hughes 13+3 Steve Harvie 13+1.Dave Hughes 10, Kevin Smith 10, Dave Crawley 4.  

East London  72       

Norwich          106

 

East London first home match of the South East league season started in defeat to current league leaders Norwich on Sunday. East London started brightly with  Alex Zielinski winning the opening heat followed by 2 drawn heats with Ridgwell and Stevens and Gunkle and M.Zielinksi packing into 2^nd and 3^rd positions. First blood for Norwich in heat 4  with D.Hughes 2^nd and a gallant race for G.Hughes just piped on the line for 3^rd place. Norwich increased their lead with 4 7-3’s and a 6-4 to hold a 17 point lead at half time 36-53. Try as they might East London had no answer to a very powerful Norwich team that increased their lead by 17 points to run out winners by 34 points. On a brighter note there was some good races for Alex and his brother  Michael Zielinski along with Lee Ridgwell. A bad tumble cost George Hughes  points and was ably  replaced by K.Smith in his last ride.

 

East London Scores:

Alex Zielinski 18 Lee Ridgwell 14+1, Mick Zielinski 10+2 ,  Nick Gunkle 10+1, Les Stevens 8, Kevin Smith 5, Dave Hughes 4 George Hughes 3.

 

Pictures by Bran Barnett See Photo Gallery:

 

After a long cold wet winter East London riders finally put tyre to track on Sunday, with riders involved in the SE GP at Somersham  and premier racing with the following results.

Alex Zielinski and Lee Ridgwell were in action for Gt.Blakenham in a premier match at Poole:

Poole 103 ( Tom Reed 18, Aaron Lowey 16, Tom Colling 15,Chris Roberts 14, Gavin Wheeler 13,Karol Wodarczyk 11, Ben Donohue 10, Dave Murphy 6)

Great Blakenham 73 ( Adam Peck 15, Will Page 11, Josh Brook 11,Chris Osborne 10, Alex Zielinski 9, Lee Ridgwell 7, Leon Mower 6, Daniel Osborne 4

 

Latest News

 

Pending the league chairman's approval, East London have now secured the services of Colchester’s star rider Jon Jo Slaughter for their SE 2008 division 1 campaign.

East London's General Manager Kevin Smith said " Jon Jo will bring much needed support to the elder team members and is a good acquisition for the coming season”.  Tem manager Martin Jarvis had put in a lot of hard work to capture Jon Jo for this years racing, as there were a host of other teams trying hard for his signature.

 

East London are looking forward to the start of the season  with the top 2 under 16 regional and Essex stars in  Steve and Jon Jo along with U19 Regional Champ Lee Ridgwell . East London now have the beginnings of good young solid squad so competition for team places will be very tough.

 

 

There was a article in Time Out  6^th February 2008: That read:

 

Oddball C is for cycle speedway

 

Cycle speedway began in tandem with the motorised version during the 1920’s but really made its mark on the rubble strewn bomb sites of London. Here, on rough oval tracks around 60meters in length, kids would ride battered old bikes with no brakes or gears-four to a heat, four laps to a race, anticlockwise from a standing start. In 1950, there was 20clubs in Walthamstow alone while a crowd of 10,000 watched the first ever international between England and Holland at Earls Court. Barely 40 circuits now remain, and the only presence in the capital is at Canning Town Rec. Where the East London club keeps this grand old sport alive.

 

Complete with an accompanying picture the main picture  on page 1 with Steve on the floor.

 

 

 

We are hoping to have a Division 2 star rider racing for East London on secondary licence for our Division 1 team.

 

Premier League there are rumours that 2 of the Division team will be racing for Gt.Blakenham and  Norwich in the premier league this year.