Only seven riders were on hand for this meeting and with only two from D2, John Bennett and Chris Houtby, they were included in D1 for the night.

In the end this worked out better than they could have expected as engine problems sidelined Jeff Orosz in the Consi race which meant that Houtby made it to the final and both finished in the prize money! It was quite a night for Houtby considering that he was unable to get his bike to run in either of the last two meetings at Welland. Considering that he had only ridden in a single heat there before tonight he adapted well to the track and showed a surprising turn of speed in the final.

Star of the night was John Kehoe. He clicked into top form this week and was unbeaten on the night including an exciting come from behind win over Legault. He had an edge on his opponents all evening and his experience showed in the final when he twice led from the gate only to have the race red flagged when riders fell behind him. Unfazed by this he simply went out and did it again at the third attempt to get the win.

Heat 1. Orosz was first from the tapes and won comfortably with the riders well spread out behind him.

Heat 2. Four laps of exciting action! Legault from the outside gate tried to move across to the inside at turn one but found Kehoe already there and had to give way. For the rest of the race Legault pressed hard on the inside line but Kehoe made no mistakes and there was less than a length between them as they crossed the line.

Heat 3. A comfortable win for Dixon, his first of the year.

Heat 4. Another classic battle between Kehoe and Legault. This time it was Legault who got the early lead and Kehoe who had to chase. He used the outside line and made it work so that they were shoulder to shoulder as they crossed the line at the end of the second lap. Around turns one and two Kehoe edged ahead and took the win. Behind them Hesmer took third while Orosz most unusually finished at the back.

Consi. Hesmer grabbed the early lead and opened this up to several lengths. Orosz was beginning to close the gap when he suddenly lost power on the third lap. This allowed Houtby to finish second and earn a place in the final.

FINAL It took three attempts and long delays for bike inspections and work on the track to remove/cover oil before it was completed. Kehoe chose the inside gate and Legault took gate two but it was Dixon from the outside gate who grabbed the lead going into turn one. Kehoe drove around him to take the lead coming out of turn two and Legault took over second going into turn three but Kehoe was well clear when Dixon slid off going into turn one on the second lap. Behind him Hesmer neatly laid his bike down and slid into Dixon will Houtby went wide to avoid them and finished in the hay bales. After a short delay they restarted with Dixon on the penalty line and again Kehoe used his inside position to get the lead only for Hesmer to come off hard at turn three and slide out to the fence. This brought about a long delay while work was carried out to clear oil from the track on the back straight as it seemed that this might have been a factor in Hesmer coming off. The bikes were then inspected by the referee at the pits gate to see if one of them was losing oil. Nothing was found and they were inspected again while they were under power as they came to the line for the restart.

Again nothing was found so the race got underway again with both Dixon and Hesmer off the penalty line. This time Legault actually got off the line first but Kehoe powered past him before they reached the first turn and took the win. Behind them a surprisingly fast Houtby held on to third place until he went wide at the end of the second lap which allowed Hesmer and Dixon to take third and fourth places respectively.

Only seven riders were on hand for this meeting and with only three from D2, and four from Division 1.

The rider turnout for this night was:


Divison 1. Aaron Hesmer, John Kehoe, Rob Dixon and Jeff Orosz

Divison 2. Chris Houtby, John Bennett and Tim Murray

Chris Houtby won for the second night in a row after taking the final at Paris on Friday night, he successfully won every race on Saturday night at Welland. Jeff Orosz had more success on Saturday night after failing to make the D1 final at Paris on Friday and come trough to win the D1 night.

The big event of the night for speedway fans happened before any speedway racing took place. Crowd favorite Jeff Orosz, taking part in a flat-track class, went down just after the start in what looked to be to a fairly innocuous spill. Sadly this proved not to be the case. He was on the track for quite a while getting assistance from St John Ambulance staff before he got up and limped off. He took no further part in the meeting and there were rumors hat he might have suffered a broken rib. The reality is worse! A catscan has revealed that he suffered a compressed, fractured vertebrae and his racing is over for this season. The doctor has ordered him to take a week off work and not to get back on a bike for 6-8 weeks.

This is sad news indeed for Jeff as he has been in great form this year and, but for this accident, would have started as one of the favorites to win this year's National championship at Welland in two weeks time. No matter how exciting the racing is at the Nationals it would be even better if Jeff were there.

With the flat-track nationals being run next Saturday this was the the last chance for riders to get their set-ups right for the Nationals. No rider came out of this week's meeting as a clear favorite to take the title. John Kehoe, Kyle Legault and Aaron Hesmer all had their moments on the night but none of them were able to consistently beat the others.

In D2 Chris Houtby reeled off another three comfortable wins and is clearly much faster than the other D2 riders on Welland's pacy circuit.

Heat 1. Houtby drove around Bennett on the first lap for a comfortable win.

Heat 2. Hesmer reared off the line and Dixon grabbed lead. He showed a good turn of speed and held his advantage until dropping it at turn three on the second lap. Hesmer promptly put his bike down but slid into Dixon who went back to the penalty line for the restart. Gauthier was first from the line but first Hesmer, then Dixon caught and passed him.

Heat 3. Legault beat Kehoe from the gate and had the lead when his engine quit before the end of the first lap.

Heat 4. Bennett went around Perry for the early lead but Houtby went past them both on the back straight and that was that.

Heat 5. Kehoe went to the penalty line for touching the tapes. He chased Hesmer hard for second but was unable to catch him.

Heat 6. Riders were well spread out at the end with the only pass happening when Bennett overtook Perry for second behind Houtby.

FINAL. Hesmer and Legault bumped on their way to the first turn. Hesmer got there first but Kehoe used the outside line to take over the lead before the lend of the first lap. Legault then moved to second as he drove around Hesmer coming out of turn two (lap 2) bur he was unable  to close on Kehoe who took a comfortable win.

Twenty years after they staged the first one in 1984, the Welland club had the usual packed house for their annual Speedway Nationals. With four of last year's top six finishers missing this time around the overall quality of theCanadians in the field was down from last year. Fortunately this was also the secondround of the 2004 Blendzall sponsored ECSS and this attracted a number of top Americans riders to add spice to the program. When it was all over the fans went home happy relishing both both the memory of a fantastic final race that alone was worth the price of admission and a hugely popular result as localyoungster Kyle Legault held off a strong American challenge to retain his title.
For the second year in a row, by the time the riders came out for the final race, the title was going to go to either Legault or American Craig Estelle. Last year they were tied on points but this year Legault had a single point advantage. However this meant little, as any tie in the final standings would be broken bythe result of the last race. Legault chose the outside gate, Estelle the inside one and it was Legault who had the advantage as they reached the first turn and Estelle was left with a lot of work to do as Parsons found the drive to get around him to take second as they emerged from turn two. With the crowd cheering Legault on to the title Parsons turned it into a race to be remembered. He was close coming out of turn four and with Legault having the inside line covered, spent the rest of the race trying to find the extra drive to get around him, not an east thing to do at Welland. As they crossed the line at the end of lap two he was only a length behind and another powerful burst around turn four cut this even more as they started the final lap. It looked as if Legault would hold on for the win but having come close twice Parsons got it just right at the third attempt and found that little bit of extra drive to get around his rival and scorch over the line for a narrow win. An absolutely fabulous race to end the night and one which earned him a well deserved checkered flag ride to receive the crowd's applause before Legault then took his as the meeting winner.
Behind them, almost unnoticed by the crowd, John Kehoe picked off Estelle for third place but fourth was still enough for the latter to take second overallone point ahead of Parsons. Kehoe finished two points further back with young Brian Hollenbeck in fifth place for his best result yet in Canada.
The track was a little too tacky in the earlier heats and took rather longer than usual to come around. This caused some problems for the D2 riders taking part and the racing in some of the earlier heats suffered as a result. Action in the first round went pretty much to form apart from veteran 'Hot Dog' Fred Legault who rode for the first time this season and showed that he can still race with the best when he parlayed a good start to a win ahead of Hollenbeck and a subdued Aaron Hesmer.

The first meeting of the top riders came at the end of the second round and (Kyle) Legault showed he was ready to defend his title with a comfortable win. Behind him Estelle took second and Kehoe overtook Parsons for the vital third place that kept him in the top scorers race for round three. American Alex Heath, on his first visit to Welland, endeared himself to the fans in the next round. A spirited full throttle ride had him comfortably ahead on the final lap only to lose his chain between turns three and four. He coasted as far as he could then jumped off to try to push it home only to be passed by the other riders no more than twenty yards from the tapes. He got a good hand from the crowd for his effort. Parsons kept his hopes alive with a 1-2 finish with Aaron Hesmer before the top scorers were back on the track. Another win for Legault saw him open up a three point lead over both Kehoe who came second and third placed Estelle.

Heath, Dixon and Hollenbeck notched wins in round four before the fast guys hit the track again. This time it was the Americans in control with Parsons getting the win from Estelle while behind them Legault dove inside Kehoe on the third lap to take third place. This proved to be a very important point as it kept him one point ahead and eventually allowed him his choice of starting position in the final race.

There were no surprises in the semis, just good fast action with Estelle and Parsons entertaining the crowd by going shoulder to shoulder down the front straight before the former pulled ahead for the win. As it turned out the extra point earned here proved to be the margin that separated them for second place at the end of the night. Then came the final to bring the curtain down. Apart from top four, two riders at the opposite ends of their career caught the eye. Young Brian Hollenbeck rode impressively throughout the meeting and fully earned his fifth place finish. It was also a gutsy effort. He had a hard spill midway through the night when he looped at the start.

Although he finished last in the restart of that race he did not let it affect him and came back to win his next heat. He is definitely one to watch for in the future. At the other end of the spectrum is the 'Hot Dog" himself, Fred Legault, who came out of retirement to ride when needed because of injuries to several riders. He showed he hasn't forgotten the fast way around the Welland track and rode well all night to the delight of his many fans. A pillion ride on son Kyle's victory lap was the icing on the cake for an enjoyable night for him. Another rider to catch the eye was Alex Heath. Were it not for two mechanical failures he would have doubled his score. He is a character as he proved when he won his final race and then did his cool down lap at full throttle and waved to the referee as he zoomed bye. Let's hope he comes back next year to entertain us.