WEYMOUTH rider Anders Rowe claimed the Championship Best pairs in Poole as Oxford took victory at Wimborne Road, with the Poole Pirates pair of Richard Lawson and Zach Cook edged out in the semifinals by Berwick.
The Pirates pair made their way into the semifinals in second place after an impressive qualifying effort from Oxford.
But a thrilling semifinal against the Bandits saw Nick Morris and Peter Kildemand team ride brilliantly to firstly pass Lawson and then keep him at bay for a 5-4 behind Cook and to knock Poole out.
Oxford and Berwick went head-to-head in the final, with the Cheetahs pair of Sam Masters and Rowe continuing their superb night with an impressive ride to claim a 6-3 victory and return to Sandy Lane with the trophy.
Scunthorpe’s Josh Pickering took victory in the first heat from the gate, after he managed to impressively stay on his bike as it reared up onto the back straight of the opening lap.
Teammate Luke Harrison earned third behind Berwick’s Kildemand for an opening 6-3 victory for the Scorpions.
Workington’s Drew Kemp gated into the lead in heat two, but under significant pressure from the Glasgow pair of Leon Flint and Chris Harris.
While Flint was close to making a move around the outside stuck on the second lap, he held them off but the Tigers took the heat, 5-4.
Defending champions Redcar got their meeting off to a slow start as the Oxford pair of Rowe and Masters gated brilliantly and took a maximum heat win, with Masters passing his teammate around the outside across the line of lap one.
Home favourites Lawson and Cook took victory in heat four.
Lawson squeezed into the lead up the inside onto the back straight, as Cook’s progress was checked as he ran out of room on the outside, but he finished third behind Edinburgh’s Dan Thompson for a 6-3 to the hosts.
Plymouth’s Danny King flew out of the gate in heat five, as teammate Ben Barker took the inside line in the opening bends to take third behind Pickering, and there they stayed for a Gladiators 6-3.
Heat six saw Flint gate for the lead ahead of Kildemand with Harris in third for a Glasgow 6-3.
Jason Edwards gated well to take the lead in heat seven, before an excellent move from Charles Wright up the inside saw him take second before he went on to pass his teammate for a maximum heat victory over Workington.
Rowe took the flag for Oxford in heat eight, ahead of Thompson and Masters for a 6-3 that saw the Cheetahs set the early pace, moving to 13 points from two races.
The Pirates pair of Cook and Lawson got out the start quickly in heat nine ahead of King and Barker to take a comfortable 7-2 and to join Oxford on 13 points.
Pickering won his second race of the night in the tenth but the Glasgow pair of Harris and Flint were able to take second and third for the heat victory, 5-4.
It was tight out of the start in heat 11 but the Edinburgh pair of Thomson and Thompson edged ahead in the opening lap, as Wright ran slightly wide and did well to stay upright.
Wright set about chasing down the Monarchs pair and dived up the inside heading into the final bends and made it stick to pass Thompson, but he just couldn’t squeeze past Thomson on the run to the line, and Edinburgh won the heat 6-3.
Morris took victory in heat 12 for Berwick as Kildemand had to work hard to keep Plymouth’s King behind him for a maximum heat win for the Bandits.
Oxford continued their strong meeting as Masters gated for the lead in heat 13, with Rowe coming up the inside of Troy Batchelor for second as the Cheetahs earned another 7-2 win.
Pickering started well ahead of the home pair of Lawson and Cook and went to victory but the Pirates kept second and third to win the heat 5-4, as Scunthorpe ended their four rides on 17, Poole on 18 after three.
Kildemand, Morris and Thompson were three wide into the first bend as they all gated well, but the Edinburgh rider slipped to third behind the Berwick pair, who were able to cement their spots in front for a second consecutive maximum win for the Bandits.
Berwick finished their four rides with a good 20-point haul, before Oxford booked their spot in the final four in heat 16.
Masters got out in front as Flint swept around the outside to slot in between the two Cheetahs, and the Tigers rider couldn’t find a way past Masters as Oxford moved onto 26 points from their four rides with a 6-3.
The Workington pair of Batchelor and Kemp looked to take second and third in heat 17 but a good move from Barker to dart up the inside onto the back straight saw him move in behind teammate King for a Plymouth maximum.
Wright gated for the lead in the final qualifying heat ahead of the Pirates pair of Cook and Lawson, as he was able to hold both off Poole riders.
But they were under no pressure from behind to ensure Pirates went into the semifinals as second-highest scorers in the qualifiers with 23 points.
That set up a semifinal against Berwick, with Oxford to meet Glasgow in the other semifinal.
The Oxford duo looked on good form and Masters started quickly but Harris got himself into second place and backed Rowe into Flint.
The Tigers rider sought a way past to progress, but Rowe was stubborn and held position to secure a 6-3 to book Oxford’s spot in the final.
Berwick had grown into the meeting after falling short in their first two races of the night, and some superb team riding saw the Bandits upset the home pair to reach the final.
Cook gated for the lead with Lawson fighting for second with Morris, and he was piling on the pressure to try to confirm their place in the final.
But Morris held up the Rocketman and brought Kildemand well into it, and he managed to get past Lawson in the penultimate lap and he held off the Pirate despite Lawson’s best efforts on the run to the line along the fence to see Berwick into the final, 5-4.
Masters and Rowe started quickly for Oxford in the final but Kildemand swept around the outside to take second.
The Berwick rider sought to do as his teammate did in the semifinal and back Rowe into Morris, but the Cheetah held firm and Oxford completed a 6-3 heat victory to claim the title.
Sam Masters and Anders Rowe – Oxford - 26
Richard Lawson and Zach Cook – Poole - 23
Peter Kildemand and Nick Morris – Berwick - 20
Chris Harris and Leon Flint – Glasgow – 19
Josh Pickering and Luke Harrison – Scunthorpe - 17
Danny King and Ben Barker – Plymouth - 17
Charles Wright and Jason Edwards – Redcar - 16
Dan Thompson and Kye Thomson – Edinburgh - 14
Troy Batchelor and Drew Kemp – Workington - 10
Semifinal one: Oxford 6-3 Glasgow
Semifinal two: Poole 4-5 Berwick
Final: Oxford 6-3 Berwick
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