READING Racers had been adapting well to life in British Speedway's second tier (The Premier League) after dropping down in leagues at the end of the 1996 season. The Racers had finished rock bottom of the amalgamated ‘one big league' in '96, but won the Premier League at the first attempt in 1997 and despite being runner-up in 1998, they did win the KO Cup Final against Peterborough to finish with two pieces of silverware in as many seasons.
Reading started the 1999 season with an under strength team following the failure to sign a suitable third heat-leader to go with Dave Mullett and Petri Kokko. Amongst the riders who turned down the Racers were Jason Bunyan (signed for Ipswich) and Vesa Ylinen (couldn't agree terms). Phil Morris was returning after an injury hit 1998, but it was disappointing to have to use him at third heat-leader and thus not taking full advantage of his low starting average. Paul Clews remained as a second-string and the signing of Justin Elkins was made at Press & Practice Day with no other riders available. For the Racers to have a good season it was reliant on Elkins solving his bike problems and youngsters Mark Norris and Shane Colvin impressing.
After failing to qualify from their Premier Trophy group, the Premier League campaign began with an away tour of Workington and Glasgow. At new club Workington, a hard fought draw was achieved in consistent rain. The scoring was headed by a great display from Norris 9 (paid 10) and Elkins 9 (paid 11). Racers went one better at Glasgow the following afternoon with a six-point win.
Paul Clews top scored with a brilliant paid 16 from reserve having had a disappointing start to the season. The following evening Reading won a hard-fought home match 49-44 against Newcastle. A 15-point maximum from Kokko and 10 (paid 11) from Mullett and Clews secure the win.
The following week Reading make progress in the KO Cup after winning both legs of their 1st round tie against Glasgow, however the win was achieved at a price because of an arm injury to Norris. With Norris about to drop back to reserve, Jarno Kosonen was signed as his replacement before the new averages came into effect on June 1st. Kosonen then disappointed on his debut at Exeter with 1 (paid 2) in a 20-point defeat, although he did score 8 (paid 9) later in the day in the return match 50-40 win at Smallmead against the Falcons.
In June, Kosonen replaced the in-form Clews at reserve and Reading won again at home to Glasgow (53-38). However this match marked the start of Justin Elkins continuous engine problems.
The tour of Edinburgh, Berwick & Newcastle followed which saw injuries and controversy. Kosonen hurt his wrist in a fall in his first ride at Edinburgh, was forced to withdraw from the rest of the meeting and the Racers went down to a 49-40 defeat. After continuous rain the following day, Reading rode on a very heavy Berwick track which saw Kokko crash in his fourth ride after three previews race wins. Following the Kokko crash, the Reading team were on the verge of withdrawing from the meeting, but the referee called the meeting off. Berwick were not happy at this and forced the referee into reversing the decision after Reading had left the stadium. The last three races were awarded 5-0 to Berwick temporarily leaving the score as a 54-33 defeat. However, this result was later to be correctly amended to 39-33 as the referee had no authority to reverse his decision. Not surprisingly, a depleted Reading side were easily beaten at Newcastle (54-36) on the Sunday evening.
Reading then went into a tough home match against title contenders Sheffield with Colin White guesting for Kokko. The Racers were holding a narrow two-point lead when Dave Mullett suffered a horrific crash. Mullett had a coming together with Sheffield's Andre Compton, which saw the Reading rider hit the safety fence at high speed and was catapulted through the air and landed on the hare rail, the other side of the greyhound track.
Everyone at Reading feared the worse and it took about 45 minutes to get him into the ambulance. Mullett's injuries of a broken ankle and femur were worsened by blood clotting that left him on the critical list for a couple of days. Mullett's injuries not surprisingly took the heart out of the Reading team and they suffered a nine-point defeat to the Tigers.
Sweden's Per Wester was eventually brought in as a replacement and had an impressive debut scoring 8 (4 rides) in a 4TT meeting at Smallmead. The following week saw the return of Sheffield in a KO Cup tie and a superb performance by Wester (13 from 5 rides) helped earn Reading a two-point victory against the odds. Elkins again suffered mechanical problems failing to complete in all three of his rides and was sacked by the club at the end of the meeting. Reading went out of the Cup in a 20-point 2nd leg defeat, but it looked as if they had unearthed a star in Wester.
The Racers suffered two home defeats to Isle of Wight and Stoke in July followed by a heavy loss at local rivals Swindon at the beginning of August, although Wester was again in great form scoring 15. Kosonen returned to replace Elkins in a battling performance at Arena Essex, but another home defeat was suffered against local rivals Swindon. Further home and away defeats against Newport on August Bank Holiday brought with it further injuries. Wester crashed out in the home defeat after winning his first two rides and suffered an injured ankle (thankfully not broken as first feared). Morris was injured in the return at Newport when Reading were only six points down.
With time running out to finish league matches, Reading's run of defeats continued with two home defeats in two days against a strengthened Berwick and Workington. However in the Berwick match, Captain for the day Morris did secure his first ever senior maximum (14 paid 15) and Wester scored 14. Reading then lost at Stoke and after a further home defeat to Arena Essex, the season did end with a victory over third placed Edinburgh after a run of league defeats that dated back to the start of June. Reading finished bottom of the of the 13-team table with just 13 points. To add to their sadness Tim Sugar stood down as team manager due to work commitments. Reading's most successful team manager would be sadly missed.
It was a season that Reading will want to forget in a hurry. They collected the wooden spoon for the second time in their history and the season saw a trail of injuries to key performers. Things could only get better in 2000 - or could they?
