OXFORD Gresham Cheetahs No.1 Australian ace Jason Crump, returned to the Oxford line up at Wolverhampton last night, just 72 hours after his horrific crash where it was thought he had broken his collar bone, writes LEON HILL.

However, he was clearly not 100 per cent, and in the end the Cheetahs once again found the going too hot to handle and lost by 20 points, with the final score reading Wolverhampton 55, Oxford 35.

Things started well enough, with Crump gating ahead in heat one, and Wolves Mikael Karlsson planted firmly at the back of the pack, Karlsson soon showed the way home, however, and breathtakingly moved from last to first to give the Wolves a 4-2 heat advantage.

That was the way it stayed for the next five heats, with the home team ramming in four 4-2 heat wins, and a 5-1 for good measure, until heat seven when Oxford grabbed their first level heat, however with another two Wolves heat advantages following, it left the Cheetahs trailing by 20 points at the interval stage.

After the interval though, something seemed to have happened to the Cheetahs, who suddenly started gating well and producing some phenomenal speedway to grab a 5-1 and two 4-2 heat advantages, which left the hope of a drawn match after heat 12.

Heat 11 had seen a four lap battle between Jason Crump and Mark Loram with most of the crowd believing that Mark had just done enough, but when Jason was announced the winner the Oxford fans erupted and looked forward to heat 13 where the two would meet again. Heat 13 was another mouth watering heat, with Jason gating like a bullet only to be passed by Loram at the end of the first lap.

Mikael Karlsson then pursued the Aussie, and another cliff hanger left the crowd gasping, with Jason once again hanging on for that vital second place. However, it was all over by that point and it was about keeping it close for the bonus point.

When Steve Johnston suffered mechanical gremlins in the last heat, it left Loram and Ermolenko the perfect opportunity to finish the night as it had begun for the Wolves, and a 5-1 to keep the home fans happy.

It was a good night for Crump, Johnston and Hurry who all scored pretty well, however, it was another disappointing night for ex-Wolves rider Jan Staechmann who only managed one point. Wolverhampton: Karlsson 10, Jenson R/R, Ermolenko 17+1, Loram 15+2, Grieves 4, Stancl 9. 55.

Oxford: Crump 10+1, Staechmann 1, Johnston 12+1, Hurry 9, Schofield 3, Hare 0. 35.

Heat Details Heat 1: Karlsson, Crump, Grieves, Staechmann 58.65. Heat 2: Stancl, Schofield, Grieves, Hare 59.58. Heat 3: Karlsson, Ermolenko, Johnston, Hurry 58.28. Heat 4: Loram, Hurry, Stancl, Hare 58.96. Heat 5: Ermolenko, Crump, Grieves, Staechmann 58.29. Heat 6: Karlsson, Hurry, Stancl, Schofield 57.46. Heat 7: . Loram, Johnston, Crump, Grieves 57.78.

Heat 8: Ermolenko, Johnston, Stancl, Staechmann 58.33. Heat 9: Ermolenko, Loram, Hurry, Schofield 57.75. Heat 10: Hurry, Johnston, Stancl, Karlsson 58.89. Heat 11: Crump, Loram, Staechmann, Grieves 58.49. Heat 12: Johnston, Stancl, Schofield, Ermolenko 58.51. Heat 13: Loram, Crump, Karlsson, Hurry 58.22. Heat 14: Ermolenko, Johnston, Grieves, Hare 58.15. Heat 15: Ermolenko, Loram, Hurry, Johnston (ef) 58.28.

Following the Elite League match, the Gresham Cheetah Cubs had their first official British Development League fixture, and won in fine style thanks to Andrew Appleton who sailed to an immaculate 15 point maximum. It was a very entertaining meeting, and also contained several pile ups on the first bend, one which has sadly left Jason Newitt with a suspected broken thumb.

The Cheetahs Cubs were also without Gary Phelps who was given the opportunity of riding for the Isle of Wight Premier League team. The final result was Wolverhampton Wolfcubs 14, Oxford Gresham Cheetahs Cubs 22.

Wolfcubs: Blackwell R/R, Cambridge 0, Neath 9, McDonald 5+1. 14.

Cheetah Cubs: Fawdrey 3+1, Couling 4, Appleton 15, Newitt 0.

Heat details

Heat 1: Neath, Couling, Fawdrey, Cambridge (f ex) 65.38. Heat 2: Appleton, Neath, McDonald, Newitt (f ex) 62.19. Heat 3: Appleton, Neath, Couling, Cambridge 63.72. Heat 4: Appleton, McDonald, Fawdrey, Cambridge 63.22. Heat 5: Appleton, Neath, Fawdrey, Cambridge 63.60. Heat 6: Appleton, McDonald, Couling, Neath 64.27.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.