ROBINS 53 LAKESIDE 37: Lampart a new gem for Robins (From Swindon Advertiser)

ROBINS 53 LAKESIDE 37: Lampart a new gem for Robins

6:00am Friday 6th July 2012 in Speedway By Ned Payne

TROY Batchelor scorched to a blistering paid maximum but it was debutant reserve Dawid Lampart that stole the show in Swindon’s 53-37 win over visiting Lakeside last night.

The Pole, signed as a replacement for the released Robin Aspegren, was in superb form as he racked up a haul of 11 paid 12 from reserve.

Lampart’s display, coupled with Batchelor’s 13 paid 15 and a number of other strong performances, helped Swindon close the gap on Elite League leaders Poole to three points with their sixth home win out of six.

And former Eastbourne man Lampart was in modest mood when questioned by the Advertiser about his display.

“I didn’t think anything about how it would go, I just thought ‘make starts and have a good time’,” he said.

“I have a new Polish engine and I think it’s OK on this track. I like this track because my home track in Poland is also very big, and I like speed.

“My score was OK but more importantly we had a good result.”

Any other night, Batchelor would have taken all the plaudits as his paid maximum was as much about thrilling passes as making fast starts.

The Aussie lowered the colours of Lakeside star Karlsson early on and never looked back, with his two other wins being dominant and his two second places being excellent examples of team riding.

That display means Batchelor has now scored 41 points in his last three Elite League meetings, a total that seemed completely out of reach when he struggled severely earlier in the year.

The Swindon man said: “The last couple of weeks I’ve come on leaps and bounds from the start of the season, and it’s nice to be winning races.

“I’ve found my feet again and found something that works, and hopefully that can snowball into me becoming the rider I was last year.”

Meanwhile, Robins boss Alun Rossiter defended Lampart’s fellow debutant reserve Lasse Bjerre, after he scored just two paid three at Blunsdon.

Rossiter had selected Bjerre in place of his fellow doubling-up rider Nick Morris, who was left with no race action last night.

“I took a bit of a risk dropping Nick and putting Lasse in, but I had to give Lasse the chance to get the gist of the track,” said Rossiter.

“He will come good, I’ve got no worries about that and what a start for young Dawid. He looked very smooth and was enjoying it.

“I’m more pleased that Troy is back to the rider he was. He’s not only making gates but coming from the back and he’s got that old swagger about him.”

Elsewhere, Swindon’s Simon Stead is unsure whether he will ride in the British semi-final at Rye House tomorrow.

The Yorkshireman had originally been scheduled to ride at Sheffield last night, but he was excused as that meeting fell on the same night as the Robins’ clash with Lakeside – although the Sheffield meeting was rained off anyway.

But when approached by the Advertiser, Stead was unclear if he was in the line-up to race tomorrow.