Adam’s first full year a full time Eagle proved to be a great one, both for him and for the Eagles of Eastbourne. After a bit of a shaky start, he went on to prove that he is a rider that is capable of beating anyone – and he certainly did!

APRIL
The first half of April did not provide any clue to Adam’s potential for the rest of the season. But on April 17, he scored his first maximum, against Coventry, with five wins from five rides! At the end of April he had scored 47 points from 29 heats – an average of 1.62 points per heat and a “starting” CMA of 7.29 (2003 – 1.77: CMA 7.70).

MAY
Adam had nine matches in May for the Eagles, scoring 14 from six, 12 from five and 10+1 from five. At the end of the May he had scored 84 points from 42 heats – an average of 2.00 points per heat and a CMA of 7.27 (2003 – 1.89: CMA 7.00).

JUNE
June saw Adam’s shift from Number 5 to Number 4 – a change that gave us the chance to see what he could do, without having the added pressure of being a heat leader. During his seven rides for Eastbourne that month, he scored 8+2 at Arena on the 16th, and on the 19th at Arlington, he not only scored 15+2 from 6 heats, he also achieved one of the two goals he had set himself at the beginning of the season – he beat Mark Loram in Heat 15! At the end of the month he had scored 64 points from 30 heats – an average of 2.13 per heat and a CMA of 7.81 (2003 1.61: CMA 7.41).

JULY
This proved to be one of Adam’s best months. He had seven matches and reached paid double figured in six of them. On the 24th at Arlington, he achieved the second of the goals he had set himself – twice! – he won Heat 5, with Jason Crump coming in second place and got a 5-1 in Heat 15 with Nicki Pedersen, forcing Jason into third place! He also ended up joint top scorer, with a paid 14 points, with Nicki. At the end of July he had scored 85 points from 35 heats – an average of 2.43 per heat and a CMA of 8.17 (2003 1.91: CMA 7.44).

AUGUST
His performances in his seven Elite matches proved to be almost as good as July. From his 33 heats he scored 76 points, including a paid maximum against Swindon, when he scored 14+4 from 6 rides plus a paid 11 from 4 heats on two other occasions. He also represented Australia in the World Cup and scored 8 from 5 heats, which helped them qualify for the semi-final. At the end of the month his average was 2.30 per heat, but his CMA increased to his season’s highest of 8.39 (2003 1.68: CMA 7.43).

SEPTEMBER
In the final month there were only 4 Elite matches, with Adam reaching double figures in three of them, including 13 from 5 heats at Poole. The highlight of the month for Adam was winning the Super 2s Best Pairs, when he partnered Adam Pietraszko. They were the only pair to score two 5-1s and the only pair to score in every one of their 6 heats. Their 23+5 was the best of the day, earning them the £1,000 top prize. At the end of the month he had scored 40 points from 19 heats – an average of 2.11 per heat and a final CMA of 8.35 (2003 1.75: CMA 7.29).

OCTOBER
IIpswich - Oct 28: Adam wins the 16-Lap Event, beating Chris Louis, Sam Ermolenko and Scott Nicholls, to receive the £1,000 prize. Rye House – Oct 30: Adam came third in the Ace of Herts Championship. Reading – Oct 31: Adam wins the Euphony Classic, collecting £2,000 for his effort. There’s nothing like finishing the season on a high – and Adam certainly did that!

ADAM ABROAD
His first season in Europe was with Vargarna, Sweden. He rode in 15 matches, 80 heats and scored a paid 123 points, which gave him an average of 1.54 points per heat.

SUMMING UP
Over the 2004 season, Adam’s CMA rose from 7.27 to 8.35. He also increased his winning times at four of the Elite League tracks: Poole by 2.0 sec; Peterborough by 0.9 sec: Oxford by 0.8 sec and Coventry by 0.6 sec. His winning time at Arena (which was his first win there as an Elite League rider) of 58.00 sec was only 0.6 sec outside their track record! His fastest heat win of the season was at Peterborough where he clocked a speed of 49.55 mph (Note: The track record speed at Arlington is 44.67 mph).