2005 – A steady year for Adam
Adam only had 6 matches in May, scoring 57 from his 28 rides, which included 4 double figures. A good day for Adam was gaining 11+1 points at home against Swindon, where he beat both Leigh Adams and Lee Richardson. His best effort in the month was 12+1 from 5 at Arena. At the month end his average had increased to 2.04 points per heat. His CMA was 6.93 (2004 – .27: 2003 – 7.00). JUNE June was not one of Adam’s better months. He scored 36 points from 24 rides. Of the five fixtures, Adam reached double figures only once, 10+1 from 6 at Ipswich. In that match, Adam started by following in team-mate Davey Watt for a 5-1, and then followed with a great win over Pepy Protasiewicz. During this month, he came second in the Welsh Open. His average for the month was 1.50 points per heat. His CMA was 6.52 (2004 – 7.81; 2003 – 7.41). JULY There were 7 fixtures this month and Adam showed that after a relatively lean period, he could bounce back. He scored 66 points from his 37 heats. His best score was 16 from 6 – winning 4, at home to Swindon. At the end of July his average was 1.78 points per heat. His CMA was 6.90 (2004 – 8.17; 2003 – 7.44). AUGUST August was a disaster for Adam. He had broken his collar bone in Sweden and it was not known at the time how long it would be before he returned to the track. As a result of the accident, Adam only had one meeting in the month (before the accident) – and what a match it was! Adam scored 11+2 from his 5 heats which helped clinch the Eagles Play-off spot in the Elite League. At the nd of the month his average was 2.60 per heat. His CMA was 6.90 (2004 – 8.39; 2003 – 7.43). SEPTEMBER Adam returns after a rapid recovery to appear in all 9 matches and scores 104 points from 51 rides – proving that he was riding as good as ever again! Although the Eagles were narrowly beaten, Adam was the only rider to beat Scott Nicholls on September 3. On September 5, he beat both Hamill and Hancock at Oxford. He scored 13 points from 5 heats at Poole. 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 This month saw the semi-finals of the Craven Shield – an apt name one might say – which proved to be one of the closest contests in the three-team event. In the 4 heats in each match, Adam scored 7+1, 8 and 5, which helped the Eagles reach the Final. In the Final, Adam scored 10, 11 and 8. Although the Eagles won 2 of the 3 matches, Oxford scraped a win by just one point! So the Eagles did not win any medals this season, but they did give the other Elite league clubs a good run for their money! ADAM ABROAD His second season with Vargarna in Sweden showed an improvement in his overseas average. He rode in 14 matches, 73 heats and scored a paid 130 points, which gave him an average of 1.78 points per heat (2004 – 80 heats, 123 points: 1.54 average). SUMMING UP 2005 wasn’t Adam’s best season, although when he returned after his injury, he showed his true form by producing some of his best speedway. His CMA, however, did not reflect his overall performance: His start figure was 6.55 rose to 7.01 by the end of the season. This showed that his “magic” on the track was getting back to what we are used to seeing. Adam was one of only 14 riders to win heats at every Elite League track (Davey Watt was the only other Eagle to do so). In the process he increased his fastest times at 6 of the tracks. His overall performance in the League for the year was: 31 matches, 150 heats, 241+22 points = 1.75 points per heat. |
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Adam - the secret bits |
