Brummies grab win

Ben Barker: Top form for Brummies

Birmingham boss Phil Morris breathed a sigh of relief after seeing his side edge past a depleted Coventry side 49-41 at Perry Barr on Thursday.

It took a last race 5-1 from Ben Barker and Bjarne Pedersen to notch all three points after a gutsy display by their local rivals.

Barker, who is reserve for next week's British Grand Prix at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, top scored for the Selco Brummies with 12+2 and Pedersen notched 12+1.

And skipper Danny King, who is still not totally fit after his horror crash in the British Final almost three weeks ago, rode well for his 9+1.

Entering the final two heats, Selco Brummies held a slender two-point advantage - but in-form Barker instigated a 4-2 in the penultimate race of the night before combining with Pedersen when it mattered most.

But Sebastian Ulamek was not at his best before being forced to withdraw after a heat 11 spill which left him battered and bruised.

Said Morris: "We shouldn't have struggled like we did tonight and we are very disappointed with that.

"Obviously we are pleased with the result, we got the three-points in the end which means we can almost forget about it now but we can't afford to do that against full strength teams."