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All the news from the Crusaders from Season 8 .......

Weeks 39 & 40
The season has been a record breaking one in all ways. The Crusaders took the title by a massive six points and that was from our sister club Springfield, Tibthorpe were a further nine points behind. Add to that the easy victory over Isham in the KOC and what a week it's been. The season also saw the Crusaders win the 4TT and the European Cup - a feat done for the first time and a record that will take some beating.

Weeks 37 & 38
A massive crowd of 21,440 turned up for the British GP at Diamond Park this week. The club put on a stunning show and should be granted the event next season due to their superior stadium facilities. Home asset John Collins took the title in front of the bumper crowd. The Crusaders took another step towards the league title and now only a freak set of results could the title slip away, and then it would only go to our sister club Springfield. The first leg of the KOC final took place at Isham with Coventry coming away with a six point lead. Hopefully we can add that trophy to the long list this season.

Weeks 35 & 36
A great week for the Crusaders in terms of silverware. The team won the 4TT for the first time in their history although the club have always been pretty successful in reaching the final. The win was by just one point over Walsall but was a win never the less. More success in winning the European Cup with a fourteen point aggregate win over Stuttgart in the final. On a lower note, the Junior squad lost the title they had won the previous four seasons by just one point to Cardiff. The Welsh side had been there or thereabouts all season and deserve their title success - we will be back next year. The league saw a narrow two point defeat away at Welling with a very poor show from the reserves but a home win over Dulwich keeps them five points ahead of our other club Springfield. Next week sees the club host the biggest meeting of the year in Britain - the British GP. A capacity crowd is expected with ticket sales going very well indeed.

Weeks 33 & 34
Another week goes by and another defeat on the road for the Crusaders, this time at Stafford. The ten point defeat came after a good twelve point home win over sister club Springfield which leaves the title race still open. Coventry now have a seven point lead over Springfield and an eight point lead over Tibthorpe. Success in the KOC semi final against Leamington which saw another ten point victory and a place in the final against arch rivals Isham. It was yet a very busy week again with an away trip into Europe to face Stuttgart. A draw in that match again means the final of the European Cup is finely balanced with the home leg to come next week. Sandwiched in between all these matches was a four point victory over Newcastle in a challenge fixture. Gary Curtis failed in the GP again, this time scoring just six points which is very disappointing considering the form he is in for the Crusaders. Next week we welcome back Ovano Kollyerski into the side who will also take his place in the GP series after missing the opening two rounds. It's no peace for the wicked next week with the 4TT final, two more league matches and the second leg of the European Cup final. 

Weeks 31 & 32
As the race for the title heats up, Coventry look to have slipped up. A ten point defeat at Peckleton meant losing the bonus point by the most slender of margins but there was a good home win over Welling. An away win at Pitsea in a challenge fixture was followed by an away win in the first leg of the KOC semi final, this time at Leamington. The junior side picked up two more wins as they chase their fifth title in five years but Cardiff look very strong as they chase the young Crusaders. Gary Curtis had a nightmare start to his GP challenge scoring just five points whilst Ovano Kollyerski remains on the sidelines with his shoulder injury - forcing him to miss the second GP, the second leg of the cup semi final and the first (away) leg of the European Cup final. Karel Drabek will again take the Pole's place.

Weeks 29 & 30
Another busy period for the Crusaders. The league results were of an average standard - the home win was clearly expected against a very poor Westcliff side but the team were disappointed to lose at Tibthorpe despite the inclusion of star reserve Andy Newman - who failed on the night scoring just paid two from three rides. The second leg of the European Cup went in our favour with a massive twenty two point victory over Super Six leaders Roma - star of the show Andy Newman with 10+1. The 4TT in it's new format provided yet another four fixtures for Coventry but the team managed to top the group and reach the final - the home leg being raced in front of 13,081 fans. On the individual front it was success for Gary Curtis who made it through to his third GP series in a row with third place in the play off meeting at Cardiff but it is heartbreak for Ovano Kollyerski who will miss the first two GP's with a shoulder injury. This also rules him out of both legs of the KOC semi final against Leamington in the coming weeks. For the away leg we have booked Karel Drabek to deputise. 

Weeks 27 & 28
This week was full of vital matches, none more so than the away league match at Isham. As they're our nearest challengers, on form reserve Andy Newman was brought into the line up and his score of paid seven from three rides was just enough to give the Crusaders a six point victory. The home match against Kettering was just a formality (57-33) but there were two other important matches. The second leg of the KOC third round took place at Stafford where the Crusaders took the victory by two points giving them a 97-83 aggregate victory and a place in the semi finals. The other important fixture was the away leg of the European Cup semi final. The Crusaders managed a draw at Roma and now have to hold on to that tie when the teams meet at Diamond Park next time around. On the World Championship front it was disappointment for Gary Curtis in the Overseas Final at Welling where he failed to qualify for the GP series scoring nine points and finishing sixth. This does however give him another bite at the 'Big Apple' in the Play Off fixture at Cardiff next week. The draw for the revamped 4TT took place and Coventry will race with Stafford, Springfield and Newcastle. An addition was made to the squad this week with Scott Eyre joining the club from the unattached list. Hopefully he will race a few matches at reserve for the club.

Weeks 25 & 26
It was a home win in the league over Peckleton and then a narrow defeat at Dulwich which keeps the Crusaders eleven points clear of Isham. The team thrashed Norwood at home in a challenge match before taking on Stafford in a much more serious KOC match. Coventry came out on top by twelve points so the match is now evenly poised for the away leg at Stafford next time around. Andy Newman showed what a class act he is with a fifteen point maximum in the Epto Ratings Junior Challenge Individual at Beverley. He beat home stars Paul Sanders and Scott Jones to the title. Ovano Kollyerski safely made it through to the GP series with second place in the Continental Final in Roma. Eleven points claimed the silver medal and a return to the money spinning series.  

Weeks 23 & 24
A six point defeat at Springfield was followed by a home win over Stafford to keep the Crusaders top of the pile in division one. The second leg of the European Cup was just a formality as Coventry won this time by sixteen points and will go through to the semi final stage where they will meet Roma. On the transfer front, long time junior Tom O'Loughlin has this week been sold to Boston for £45,000 on a five and a half point average. We wish him well in the future and hope he can gain a regular team place in the Mavericks line up.

Weeks 21 & 22
Another busy week for the team who completed the fantastic feat of winning points from every other team on their travels - eight wins and one draw. This weeks away win was at the very poor Westcliff side but this was put to one side as a second home defeat took place against Tibthorpe. This is now the half way point of the season and the Crusaders are top by eleven points over Isham. Coventry entered the first round of the European Cup this week and took a twenty eight point win away at Super Six side Ostrava. The second leg of the KOC also took place and Coventry easily made it through to the next round with a twelve point win over Beverley Hellcats. The Diamond Park Open also took place at Diamond Park and again it was Ovano Kollyerski who took the spoils on his home circuit with a fifteen point maximum. Gary Curtis again managed third place with ten points. The World Under 21 Final was held at Springfield this week and Paul Reynolds picked up the bronze medal after tying on fourteen points with Steve Kirkwood and Lenny Sloan.  

Weeks 19 & 20
Two more victories in the league take Coventry twelve points clear of Springfield. The away victory cam at Kettering with a score line of 55-35. Reserve Andy Newman, promoted from the junior squad, top scored with paid fourteen. The second round of the KOC saw Coventry travel to Beverley for the first leg and the boys came away with a twelve point win - the star of the show again was Andy Newman. Ovano Kollyerski took a booking to ride in the Powerplant Special at Springfield and achieved a podium finish with eleven points getting him third place.

Weeks 17 & 18
Yet more joy on the road in the league with a two point victory at Welling. Two more points in the bag at home with a twelve point win over Dulwich and the lead at the top of the table was now at ten points. A four point win at home in the Divisional Cup wasn't enough to stop sister club Springfield reaching the final but the match did bring in more revenue through the turnstiles. The boys were showing signs of tiredness with a heavy defeat at Newcastle in a challenge match arranged at short notice. Gary Curtis started his World Championship with the Pacific Final in Richmond, USA. Gary came third with eleven points after a run off with former Crusader Tim Pearson.  

Weeks 15 & 16
A home win over Springfield and then another victory away from home at Stafford keeps the Crusaders top of the pile and they now have an eight point lead over nearest rivals Isham. A busy week now as the trip to Springfield in the semi final of the Division One Cup ends with an eight point defeat but the tie nicely balanced with the home leg to come. The challenge match at home was used to find out which rider would get the number seven race jacket for the next few matches. Both Tom O'Loughlin and Matthew Sharpe would be getting higher averages so most of the junior side was given a chance. The match was lost 25-64 but gave the management a good look at many riders. There was also a two point defeat in a challenge fixture at Norwood.

Weeks 13 & 14
Two more wins in the league and the Crusaders are now four points clear of Isham in second. The away victory was a surprise one at Peckleton by eight points which means the team are still unbeaten on their travels. A ten point victory at Diamond Park was enough to see the team into the next round of the KOC at the expense of the Boston Mavericks. Ovano Kollyerski won his Continental Semi Final at Gyor, Hungary with a fifteen point maximum. It is only what he deserves as his league form for the club has been outstanding.

Weeks 11 & 12
The Crusaders hit the top of Division One with a 60-30 hammering of Westcliff and then they won again on the road, this time by six points at Tibthorpe. The KOC started it's journey this week and in the away leg Coventry managed a slender two point defeat at Boston and the team is confident of pulling that back at home but with John Collins in their line up, who knows ....

Weeks 9 & 10
The group stages of the Divisional Cup ended this week with an easy home win over Peckleton and a twelve point loss at Isham. Coventry win their group and will now face the runners up from group A - none other than sister club Springfield!

Weeks7 & 8
A great time in the league for Coventry with a 46-44 away win at highly fancied Isham Imperials. Paul Reynolds scored his season best of 9+1 in the meeting which pulls the Crusaders level on points with Isham at the top of the table. There was also a big home win over Kettering in the league and that was followed by another mauling of Sheffield in a challenge match. Boston however managed to get the better of the Crusaders on their home track - a win by two points. 

Weeks 5 & 6
The Divisional Cup returns to the domestic calendar and the team manage two wins to sit at the top of group B and look good for progress to be made. A 51-39 win over Tibthorpe was followed by a two point win at Westcliff. The club also hosted a 'Crusaders Past and Present' individual meeting this week with Ovano collecting first place with thirteen points and Gary Curtis picking up third with twelve points. Paul Reynolds raced in the World U21 semi final at Beverley and qualified in second place with thirteen points after a run off with Steve Kirkwood.

Weeks 3 & 4
First home league defeat of the season to Peckleton is offset by an eight point victory on the road at Dulwich - Kollyerski and Curtis the stars of the show. Two big challenge match victories also at home to Boston and away at Sheffield.

Weeks 1 & 2
Second place in the league table after a draw away at Springfield and a home win over Stafford. Disaster in the first round of the Pairs as the Crusaders crash out with just seventeen points at Leamington, two off qualification. Ovano Kollyerski did the business with thirteen but Pete Jeffery could only add four of his own. Pete's journey in the World Championship also came to an end as he scored just five points in his British semi final at Stafford. He will miss the British Final for the first time in his career.

Pre Season
Pete Jeffery returns from his season loan at Westcliff last season to lead the Crusaders into season eight. Juniors Alex Nelson and Paul Bentley were purchased from sister club Springfield as they will not be running a junior team this season. Out go John Collins on loan to Boston and Oliver Corne who is loaned to Pitsea. Pre season challenge matches resulted in four wins (Chiseldon and Pitsea) and two losses (Beverley). The club have been awarded the British GP after Endon withdrew from the league a few weeks earlier. The Crusaders also announce that long time sponsors 'Worldwide TV' will continue their links with the 'Super' club and have ploughed another £40,000 into the money fund - very much appreciated.