Following on from a narrow away defeat at Bury in their first match of the season, Coventry took on Elite League champions Horspath (Oxford) in the side’s first meeting against each other in over five years.
Coventry were without club talisman Myke Grimes as well as the experienced Dave Frith and ‘boy wonder’ Kyle Roberts, who is still sidelined following a crash on his Speedway motorcycle earlier in the year which resulted in a broken arm.
The Devlins Newsagents side called upon Mark Winwood to guest in place of the absent Roberts whilst seasonal signing Jim Bailey also featured. Aussie Bobby McMillan & Matt Lawrence lined up too as did youngsters Mason Phillips, Charlie Barnett & Josh Marsh who completed the line up.
Mason Phillips & Bobby McMillan got Coventry off to the perfect start in heat 1 as they picked up an early 7-3. Veteran racer Joe McLaughlin rolled back the years in heat 5, combining well with McMillan, as Coventry extended their lead to 8 points.
Both sides were evenly matched for the remainder of the first half as Coventry led by 8 points. Matt Lawrence rode a superb line in heat 12 to pick up his first win of the afternoon whilst Charlie Barnett picked up his first senior team victory of his career with an impressive ride in heat 17.
The win for Coventry was wrapped up by heat 16, though, as man of the match Mason Phillips picked up his third win of the afternoon. Coventry eventually won the meeting 99-80.
Meanwhile in the combination match, Coventry endured yet more success as they narrowly defeated Horspath 67-63. Coventry’s juniors have progressed leaps & bounds as they raced into the new season – most notably girl racer Sammie Marsh who returned with 13+2.
Ollie Morris and Bailie Phillips also chipped in with good scores whilst skipper Josh Marsh team rode superbly to ensure a Coventry win.
This Sunday they face a stiff task at East Park in their first Midland League fixture of the season. Tapes up at 2pm with updates available on the official Coventry Cycle Speedway Twitter account (@CoventryCSC).
Coventry first team (probable): 1 Mason Phillips 2 Myke Grimes 3 Bobby McMillan 4 Dan Drewett 5 Tom Sensical 6 Matt Lawrence 7 Kelvin Williams 8 Joe McLaughlin
Coventry second team (probable): 1 Shaun Reynolds 2 Jake Slatter 3 Charlie Barnett 4 Ollie Morris 5 Josh Marsh 6 Matt Hambidge
Coventry Midland Junior League team (probable): 1 Baillie Phillips 2 Sam Slatter 3 Liam Jones 4 Spencer Sawbridge 5 Jack Reynolds 6 Sammie Marsh.
For more information on Coventry Cycle Speedway, including how to get involved, you can visit www.coventrycsc.com or follow the club on Twitter using @CoventryCSC.