SPEEDWAY LIVE: Swindon Robins - Elite League champions 2012 (From Swindon Advertiser)

12:50am

Robins captain Hans Andersen's reaction to tonight's win.

HANS ANDERSEN

“We won the league, and it is an amazing feeling,” he said.

“I won it in 2006, but this is even better, it is awesome. The whole team has been amazing and we deserve this.”

12:48am

Alun Rossiter has enjoyed an emotional evening at Wimborne Road.

ALUN ROSSITER

“As a team I hope we are all going down in history now, and it is an amazing feeling,” he said.

“We have finally done it and I am just so proud, and it is as sweet as I thought it would be.

“I thought it was amazing to win with Coventry in 2010, but this is even more amazing now because I have won it with my hometown club.”

12:24am

Peter Kildemand has continually stolen the show this season, and was proud to do so again on a glorious evening.

PETER KILDEMAND

“To win this title in my first year with Swindon is awesome, it is amazing,” he said.

“There are no words for it, we deserved, and we did it.”

12:21am

12:18am

Troy Batchelor dragged himself off his sick bed having struggled with bronchitis to weigh-in with eight points, and was proud of everything his side achieved.

TROY BATCHELOR

“We have all been awesome, and we all deserve this,” he said.

“There were some good times and some hard times, but now we are having amazing times.

“I am really not feeling well at all, but I wouldn’t have missed this for the world and now we are celebrating.”

12:17am

Alun Rossiter is now a two-time Elite League champion

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11:59pm

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Maybe you should, you might enjoy it!!

11:51pm

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11:49pm

What a 12 months it has been for sport in the town, League Two champions, and now Elite League champions.

11:43pm

Nick Morris has had to cope with seeing his good friend Darcy Ward hospitalised in the last few days, but can now also boast an Elite League title next time they see each other. 

NICK MORRIS

“It is awesome, we didn’t know what was going to happen until tonight, but all the boys dug deep.

“I hope Darcy was watching, because I know how it feels to win the Elite League just like him."

11:28pm

Seb Alden may only have stepped in and ridden five times for the Robins this season, but it didn’t make success taste any less sweet.

SEB ALDEN

“Five meetings isn’t very many, but we have won every meeting I have raced in and that is great.
“We deserve this and the boys all deserve it, they have been amazing all year.”

9:40pm

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9:15pm

The celebrations have already started. Swindon boss Alun Rossiter can't contain himself on the mic and screams "Champions". Lovely stuff.

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7:47pm

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7:35pm

Swindon won the toss and chose gates one and three in heat one.

7:25pm

Riders being introduced to the crowd here. We're minutes away...

7:24pm

Both sets of riders out on parade, nearly time!

7:22pm

Robins boss Alun Rossiter won the Elite League title in 2010 with Coventry, and wants to make history with his hometown club after a 45 year wait.

“This is a totally different meeting with different circumstances to when I won it with Coventry, but being in the same scenario again I think I am a bit older and a bit wiser, and I need to make sure I do the right thing by all of the riders,” he said.

“It would mean an awful lot to win it with Swindon, of course it would, because everyone goes on about the 45-year wait hanging over us.

“But it isn’t like that, although it would mean an awful lot to me and all of the riders to go on and win.

“These guys would go down in history if we can win it, but we have to do it now and it is no good just talking about it.”

Although the Pirates rallied to reduce the Robins’ lead to only seven points, Rossiter believes their opponents’ lack of lower-order strength will once again rear its head this evening.

“We have no problems with the seven points at all, and I still think we are in the driving seat,” he said.

“The last time we rode at Poole we only lost by eight and they had Pawlicki who scored 10, and the rider replacement got them three points in the first leg.

“We are going to Poole to win the meeting, and if you don’t think you can win you may as well stay at home.

“That is not just me being big, that is a fact.

“If we can get a sniff and get in front early on then I think we can put them under a lot of pressure.”

7:20pm

7:20pm

Dane Peter Kildemand is not sure if his side's seven point lead is enough.

“I don’t know if it is enough, but we worked hard and we have to keep our heads high,” he said.

“They used their tactical rides well against us so we need to do the same if we get the chance to use ours in the second leg.

“I don’t think the score really shows quite what really happened in the meeting, and we need to make sure we do well at Poole.”

7:17pm

Swede Seb Alden has taken Jason Doyle's place for the final, and is happy to be involved.

“I have not been there for a couple of years but the last time I was there I quite liked it,” he said.

“Jason was a great rider for Poole but I just want to score as many points as I can in his place and I know seven points are going to be enough for us.

“Sometimes you think about it too much and it can cause you some problems, I was not happy with crashing in heat 14 on Monday but that is the way it is, so I want to do well at Poole.”

7:16pm

Alun Rossiter believes Darcy Ward's absence could encourage the remaining Pirates even more tonight.

DARCY WARD

“It could actually encourage them even more to try and do it for Darcy, so we need to be wary of that.

“Sometimes things like this have a bit of reverse psychology, so it will still be just as tough as when Darcy was there, and that is the attitude we will have.”

7:14pm

A notable absentee this evening is Jason Doyle, after the Australian broke a bone in his neck riding in the Premier League Riders' Championship.

THe former Poole rider felt forgotten as the Pirates won the Elite League title last year, but Robins boss Alun Rossiter has insisted that will not be the case this time.

JASON DOYLE AND ALUN ROSSITER

“Jason has been an absolutely vital part of our team this year, and when we do our track walks we have a little saying each time, and for the final it has been ‘Doyley,’ and it will be the same tonight,” he said.

“He will not be forgotten by us, and hopefully he will be down at the meeting to watch because the boys would love to have him there.

“Jason has enjoyed himself at Swindon which is great, and he has really enjoyed the track and the club.”

“He will be gutted not to be there because he wanted to ride every meeting, and every time we had a rain-off and he was unavailable for the rearranged meeting he got really annoyed.

“That is the sort of guy he was.

“He even got upset with me at the start of the season when I said it was good to have two doubling up riders to keep him on his toes.

“He said to me ‘are you going to drop me then?’ after he scored 12 points, and that is how passionate he is.”

7:09pm

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7:06pm

Parade has be pushed forward to 7.20pm here, with a prompt start at 7.30pm. Looking to push on this evening to beat the weather.

7:05pm

7:04pm

Under the weather Aussie Troy Batchelor has promised a better display this evening after only scoring five in the first leg.

TROY BATCHELOR

“I crashed a couple of times and maybe threw away a few points, but I am just happy to not be out of the meeting after my crash in the first race,” he said.

“Overall I have been going well and I feel I had some good speed, but I made some big mistakes and maybe I made a few mistakes.

“Speedway is hard and you can’t always promise 10 points every meeting, but I will be back.

“I want to show why I am here and why we are talked about as we are.

“I have scored well all year, and it would be terrible to let everyone down in the play-offs.

“One of their top three could easily suffer a crash in their first ride just like I did, and if that does happen then it will hurt them a lot more than it hurt us.”

6:58pm

The Pirates have a tractor out and doing a bit of a plough job on the start line. The rest of the track looks very slippy by comparison. An enormous amount of sawdust has just been lobbed on bend three in an effort to make it more grippy. It looks like it's on another couple of corners as well.

6:54pm

Teenager Nick Morris is aiming to complete the rare treble of winning the National League, Premier League, and Elite League in successive years this evening.

“It would be awesome to get the third title, but it was just good to get the National League and the Premier League in my first two years,” he said.

“I am in the Premier League finals again with Scunthorpe which is great, but I never expected to be able to win the Elite League.

“In my first year I was just riding and having fun, but I was scoring pretty well and things have gone well since and I have moved up.

“It is awesome to be involved with two teams at this stage of the season and I would love nothing more than to win the finals for both teams.”

6:50pm

6:49pm

Sky Sports' Nigel Pearson just referred to us Adver reporters as 'the Deadly Duo'. Not entirely sure how to take that. Journalism's Turbo Twins?

6:45pm

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6:44pm

ADVER SPEEDWAY WRITER ANDY WARREN

This Elite League final has so far been anything but straightforward.

With both the Robins and the Pirates seemingly detined to meet in the final all season long, the scene was set for a battle which could have gone down in British speedway history, but the weather has sadly intervened.

One rain-off got things going at Blunsdon, but when we eventually got going last Monday the racing was as spectacular as anyone could have wished for. The Robins led by 18 at one stage, but successive tactical victories from Darcy Ward and Chris Holder dragged the Pirates back into it, cutting the Swindon lead to only seven going into the second leg.

CHRIS HOLDER

Rain last Wednesday forced the decider to be pushed back to Friday, and with track covers firmly in place at Wimborne Road, it looked as if we were going to reach a conclusion. But the decision to remove them early in the day saw the meeting called off again, and nobody could have predicted what followed.

An incident outside a pub in the quiet village of Sturminster Marshall has robbed the final of one of world speedway's brightest stars, and following a bit of a merry-go-round today he will be replaced by Chris Harris.

DARCY WARD

Thankfully it appears Ward is going to be okay as he left hospital earlier this afternoon, but the whole incident cast a shadow over the on-track action, and the Australian will be sorely missed.

At one stage this afternoon it looked as if the title was all-but Swindon's after original gueat Niels-Kristian Iveren was grounded in Poland, but rain at Belle Vue has ensured Harris was available to answer the Pirates' SOS call.

NIELS KRISTIAN IVERSEN

Although it has been a long time coming we are still set for a classic meeting tonight, and weather permitting of course, we should know the destination of the Elite League title in just a few hours' time.

6:34pm

6:33pm

Finally found somewhere to sit and get plugged in at Wimborne Road. The press box was out of the question, apparently, so we're holed up in the restaurant. Swindon have had a walk of the track and now it's Poole's turn. Looks greasy from here and a gater's paradise, in all honesty.

6:09pm

6:04pm

Troy Batchelor is here having suffered with bronchitis over the weekend, and Alun Rossiter is confident his man will give his best.

ILL: Troy Batchelor

“I saw him when he got back to Swindon on Friday night and he looked absolutely awful, and he has had bronchitis and a cold and all sorts of things, and he was very rough.

“It is probably for the best that the meeting was called off on Friday because it gives him that little bit longer to get himself ready.

“Hopefully a few extra days will do him the world of good, and he will be ready to go at Poole.”

5:39pm

ADVER SPEEDWAY WRITER ANDY WARREN: Just pulling into Wimborne Road, and there are plenty of people about already. Gates open at 6pm.

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5:30pm

World champion Chris Holder warmed up for this evening in the perfect manner by winning the Elite League Riders' Championship at Blunsdon on Saturday night, but suffered a foot injury riding in Poland yesterday.

The Australian is fine to race, and is just looking forward to getting out on the track for the second leg.

CHRIS HOLDER

"The track was good in the ELRC and I felt good all night, and when your stuff is working it is really good because it was good title to win,” he said.

“It has been a great season and I can’t complain with how it has all gone, and all I want to do is cap it off with the Elite League title on Monday night.

“It has been very frustrating trying to get it going because of all the rain-offs we have had, but no-one can help that.

“When we get it on it will be a really good night, and it is easy to keep motivated because it is such a big meeting for us.”

5:24pm

ADVER SPEEDWAY WRITER ANDY WARREN: Just driving into Poole now, and there is light drizzle in the air, but really not heavy. Not seen the track yet, but we should be on.

5:22pm

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5:16pm

GET INVOLVED

Get involved in Speedway Live by leaving your comments in the box below, or by using #swindonrobins on twitter. The best will be printed here throughout the night.

What are your predictions for tonight?

How important is the loss of Darcy Ward?

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5:14pm

The most important thing on everyone's mind is the health of young star Ward, and Robins boss Alun Rossiter was deeply saddened to hear of the attack on the new Grand Prix rider.

ALUN ROSSITER

“With Nick living with me I see quite a bit of Darcy because they are good friends, and we are all very upset about it,” he said.

“At the end of the day, first and foremost, it is about making sure he is okay.

“As much as I want to win the title, it is so sad the poor kid has ended up in hospital because that is not right at all.

“It is not for me to give out information about what has gone on, but I just hope he gets well soon because he is such a massive talent and a nice lad.

“Someone’s health is more important than speedway at the end of the day, but we have all come this far and as horrible as it may sound, the show must go on.”

5:10pm

Good evening and welcome to Speedway Live, for comprehensive coverage of this evening's Elite League title decider between Swindon Robins and Poole Pirates.

The Robins lead by seven going into the meeting, which has been marred by the absence of Aussie star Darcy Ward following an incident outside a pub in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Ward has now left hospital having been treated for head injuries, and will be replaced by guest Chris Harris after original deputy Niels-Kristian Iversen was grounded in Poland earlier today.