AS Swindon roared to another Elite League win last night, Troy Batchelor pulled out all the stops so he could impress one special person in the Abbey Stadium crowd.
But rather than wanting boss Alun Rossiter or promoters Terry Russell and Gary Patchett to note his return to form, the Aussie had his girlfriend on his mind.
Batchelor scored 12 points, including two victories over Grand Prix rider Hans Andersen, and admitted after that he was under pressure from his better half to put on a good show.
“I had my girlfriend coming to watch me tonight, so I had to turn it on a bit,” he joked.
“It gives me a bit of a boost to have her watching and I had to perform with her here – she likes that.
“It was a good win and in the end we won by a fair few points, which is great because they’ve got a good side.
“We all chipped in and scored our points, and that’s what we need to do if we’re going to win matches.”
The youngster has struggled to regain his early season form since suffering a fractured elbow back in June, and his cause wasn’t helped by a recent bout of food poisoning which saw him lose half a stone.
But any questions over whether he could recapture that spark were well and truly answered last night as the Robins turned on the style in front of a large home crowd.
It took Coventry four heats to get their first win on the board, as Simon Stead squeezed in between Jurica Pavlic and Batchelor on the opening bend to take a lead which he would never surrender.
But despite the best efforts of Chris Harris and Andersen, who chipped in with nine and 11 points respectively, the Bees were always second best and it was just a case of when, rather than if, Swindon would put them to the sword.
Heat seven saw the first of three stunning rides from Batchelor. The young Aussie was in a constant battle with Chris Harris for the full four laps, and as the lead threatened to change hands throughout, Batchelor produced a huge surge down the home straight to pip Harris on the line.
Having seen off one Grand Prix rider he then edged past Andersen to claim another big scalp in heat 11 as the Robins began to turn the screw.
With just four points between the sides going into the final three heats Swindon knew they needed something special, and their captain didn’t disappoint.
Having gated heat 13 in third place, Adams roared past teammate Batchelor and closed in on Andersen. And after several attempts to get past him he finally drove the Dane wide on the second bend of the final lap to set up a 4-2 win.
Pavlic and Travis McGowan then recorded a 5-1, before Batchelor closed proceedings with another win over Andersen and the fastest ride of the night.
“It was awesome – we had a great night,” revealed Batchelor.
“It’s good to be back, I’m feeling nice and strong again and those 10 days off have given me a bit of a break and I feel fresh again.
“I’m ready to fight again – I’ve got the fight back, I’m having some fun and want to finish the season well.
“We really want to finish in the top two, but to do that we’ll have to win all the rest of our matches.
It’ll be tough, but you never know.”
Article from the Swindon Advertiser: www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk
