Coventry Bees started their season with a 49-41 defeat to Birmingham Brummies
For the first Elite League meeting of the season, the Bees who named the following team of Krzysztof Kasprzak, Aaron Summers, Grzegorz Zengota, Adam Roynon, Scott Nicholls, Michal Szczepaniak and his brother Mateusz Szczepaniak took on a Birmingham Brummies team which included former Bees riders Chris Harris, Josh Auty and Ben Barker.
The opening heat at chilly Brandon saw a 3-3 but heat two belonged to the visitors who had Covatti and Smolinski take a 5-1.
Danny King took the win in heat three for a 4-2 win for Birmingham before the Bees came back with Mateusz Szczepaniak winning heat four and with Scott Nicholls coming in second, the Bees had a 5-1 to reduced the arrears.
Heat five produced a 3-3 but in heat six, the Bees drew level when KasprzaK and Summers rode to a 4-2 to make it 18-18.
Nicholls and Michal Szczepaniak took a 4-2 in heat seven to put the Bees in front but it was not to last as the Brummies rode to an easy 5-1 in heat eight.
Adam Roynon had his bike pack up in heat nine which Birmingham won 4-2 to lead by four, which was extended to six points with another 4-2 to the visitors in the next heat.
Heats eleven, twelve and thirteen were 3-3's before Heat fourteen saw a first lap crash with Adam Roynon going down only to be hit by Josh Auty.
This was a serious crash and Roynon was on the track being treated for a good while by medical staff whose vehicles included two police cars, one ambulance car and the ambulance on the Brandon track.
Picture: https://twitter.com/mattyevansCCFC/status/317760768634388480/photo/1
Roynon was finally put into an ambulance and was taken to hospital and a decision was made for the meeting to continue, despite many in the crowd thinking it should have been abandoned.
In the re-run without the excluded Roynon, Birmingham won the heat 4-2 and in the final heat finished in a 3-3 as Birmingham won 49-41.
Thanks to http://speedwayupdates.proboards.com and Matty Evans for their help in this report.