MAGIC SECOND IN ELRC

Poole's stand-in captain Maciej Janowski, finished runners-up in the Elite League Riders' Championship at King's Lynn on Thursday to give himself a confident fillip ahead of the Pirates' first playoff meeting on Monday night at the same venue, King's Lynn.

Swindon's Troy Batchelor, who like Janowski had to negotiate the semifinal repercharge was crowned champion, the two late qualifiers for the final heading home Jason Doyle and Matej Zagar in a final that could well feature as a Grand Prix heat in 2015.

Janowski's Pirate team mate Vaclav Milik scored 8 points in the heats which included an enthralling win over the night's top two, Batchelor and Janowski, in heat 16.

Although three riders levelled on 12 points after the heats, Zagar with four wins to his name and Doyle with a head-to-head victory over Batchelor in heat 4, both took the direct route to the final, leaving Batchelor, Janowski (10), Bjarne Pedersen (11) and Hans Andersen (9) to contest the last chance saloon semi-final.

Danny King, who will ride for the Pirates on Monday in the first leg of the semi-finals aggregated 7 points

1. Troy Batchelor  12(+3)+3; 2. Maciej Janowski  10(+2)+2; 3. Jason Doyle  12+1; 4. Matej Zagar  12+0; 5. Bjarne Pedersen  11(+1); 6. Hans Andersen  9(+0); 7. Chris Harris  9; 8. Vaclav Milik  8; 9. Rory Schlein  8; 10. Daniel King  7; 11. Dakota North  6; 12. Jacob Thorssell  5; 13. Richard Lawson  4; 14. Robert Lambert  3; 15. Peter Kildemand  3; 16. James Cockle  1; 17. Scott Campos  0; 18. Davey Watt  0

Heat details

1. Zagar, Pedersen, Janowski, Watt
2. Andersen, Harris, Lawson, Milik
3. Schlein, Kildemand, Thorssell, North
4. Doyle, Batchelor, King, Lambert
5. Pedersen, Harris, Doyle, Kildemand
6. King, Milik, North, Watt (rtd)
7. Batchelor, Schlein, Lawson, Cockle, [Zagar exc 2min]
8. Janowski, Andersen, Thorssell, Lambert
9. Pedersen, Milik, Schlein, Lambert
10. Batchelor, Thorssell, Harris, Watt (rtd)
11. Zagar, Andersen, Kildemand, King
12. Doyle, Janowski, North, Lawson
13. King, Pedersen, Thorssell, Lawson
14. Doyle, Andersen, Schlein, Campos
15. Zagar, North, Harris, Lambert
16. Milik, Janowski, Batchelor, Kildemand (rtd)
17. Batchelor, North, Pedersen, Andersen
18. Lambert, Lawson, Cockle, Campos
19. Zagar, Doyle, Milik, Thorssell
20. Harris, Janowski, Schlein, King
21. Batchelor, Janowski, Pedersen, Andersen
22. Batchelor, Janowski, Doyle, Zagar

Picture: PHIL HILTON