SPEEDWAY News and Fixtures

(SPEEDWAY 1)

GLASGOW overcame Newcastle 49-40 in a scintillating Premier League clash at Ashfield on Sunday.Three home riders bounced back from crashes during the meeting and eventually denied the Diamonds any league points, with Richard Lawson top-scoring on 13+1 whilst Aaron Summers added 10+1 and Richie Worrall 10.Steve Worrall collected 12+1 for the Diamonds with Lewis Rose on ten, but they were unable to salvage any reward for their efforts in Heat 15.Summers said: “Newcastle are a strong team around here and they came out fighting.“We had a team talk after a few heats and tried to make the track a little bit easier for some of our boys. I told the boys they had to be harder and certain other little things, and it seemed to help. It changed us around a bit and we got the win.”Newcastle boss George English said: “Again we have put up a fine challenge to be proud of, filled with dramatic and determined racing in what was a brilliant match, showing what a capable side we are.“But the biggest disappointment is that we didn't manage to get any league points, which after the effort we put in is a hard thing to bear.”In the Travel Plus National League, Mildenhall ran up a 61-29 home win over Coventry – who saw two riders crash out of the meeting to add to their injury woes.The Storm lost skipper Martin Knuckey with a compound leg fracture in a Heat 7 accident, whilst reserve Jamie Halder broke his arm three races later.Dan Halsey swept to a 15-point maximum for the Fen Tigers with Jon Armstrong adding 13+1. Dan Greenwood scored 12 for the Storm.Mildenhall promoter Kevin Jolly said: “I have felt for a while that we have been riding at 20% below our capabilities but today we stepped up a gear, there is though more to come I feel and we must no rest on our laurels.“I would like to send my and the club best wishes to Martin Knuckey and Jamie Halder and congratulate Coventry for not giving up on the meeting although the circumstances made things difficult for them.”Coventry boss Laurence Rogers said: “I don’t know how many black cats we’ve run over, but it must be a lot – we came here with six riders and went home with four.“Our next meeting isn’t until June 10, so I’ve got ten days to try and patch up the side before that.”In the Knockout Cup, Buxton and Cradley shared the spoils 44-44 from their first leg tie, as the Heathens fought back from eight points down.Max Clegg reeled off a faultless 18-point maximum and collected vital 5-1s with Ashley Morris in Heats 13 and 15 to remove the deficit. Ryan Blacklock scored 11 for the Hitmen, but Steve Jones was withdrawn after one ride with further knee trouble.Buxton boss Jason Pipe said: “‘It was important not to lose today after the way we have started the season at home and the King’s Lynn result in mid-week. “It would have been nice to take an advantage but we were handicapped by the loss of Stevie Jones and it looks like it might be a season ending injury. Ideally as a team manager you would like to go out there and just conjure up a 4-5-point average man as a replacement but there just aren’t those riders around.”Cradley boss Will Pottinger said: “We managed to stay pretty close throughout, and I was always confident that with Ash and Max in Heats 13 and 15 we’d finish the meeting strongly.“We’re happy with the draw, it puts us in a great position ahead of the second leg at Monmore Green in a couple of weeks where we’ll be looking to get the job done and reach the next round.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

BELLE Vue open up a busy Bank Holiday Monday with a midday Elite League clash against Coventry at the National Speedway Stadium.The Aces are seeking revenge from a 43-46 defeat at Brandon on Friday, with the Bees bringing in Ashley Morris to guest for the injured Josh Bates.Belle Vue reserve Steve Worrall said: “It was disappointing to finish second best on Friday after we started so well but there’s nothing we can do about that now, we’ve just got to regroup.“I’m sure the Bees will be glad to have their top man (Krzysztof) Kasprzak back but I think we’ve proved we’re more than a match for clubs like Coventry and naturally we want to win in front of our home crowd.”Coventry boss Gary Havelock said: “Belle Vue have had one more meeting on that track than we have. They’ve probably been practising, but it’s as new for them as it will be for us.“It’s going to be difficult again missing Josh, but we go there full of confidence after Friday. We go into every meeting believing first and foremost that we can get something out of it.”At 4pm, Swindon take on reigning champions Poole as they aim to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches. Both teams are at full strength and Pirates promoter Matt Ford has called on his team to improve on recent displays as they chase their first away win in the league this season.Robins boss Alun Rossiter said: “This is definitely going to be another very tough meeting; I take no notice of the fact that Poole might not appear to be as dominant as people expected them to be at this stage."We’ve just got to keep believing in ourselves and battling on and as I’ve always said I’ve got faith in this team.”Ford said: “We haven't been at our best of late and our home defeat against Belle Vue last Monday, in front of Sky TV cameras hurt a great deal. “I have never been the best of losers but defeats hurt even more when it is down to disappointing performances. I felt somewhat let down against Belle Vue.“I believe in these riders and I believe we are still very much in the hunt for the play-offs but now is the time to up the ante and see the Pirate passion that we have become renowned for.”Monday’s televised fixture features in-form Wolverhampton taking on King’s Lynn at Monmore Green with a normal 7.30pm start.Wolves open a run of four matches in seven days as they look to maintain their perfect home record against a Stars side seeking their first win in four.Home star Sam Masters said: “When you are riding well it’s good to be busy, so we just want to keep our momentum going. “We’ve got some big meetings coming up for Wolves and we want to continue our good form, so we just have to take each meeting at a time and focus on getting three points against King’s Lynn on Monday.”King’s Lynn boss Rob Lyon said: “The Elite League this year has been very topsy-turvy with teams winning away and then losing at home and anyone can beat anyone.“We've got a solid team and we are going to Wolverhampton with a positive mindset of coming away with a result - and in some people's eyes, that would be something of a surprise.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

PETERBOROUGH are the busiest team on Bank Holiday Monday as they face two Premier League matches – starting at Scunthorpe at 2pm.The Panthers then return to the Showground to face Ipswich at 8pm, but are forced into changes due to injuries and unavailability.Kenneth Hansen and Kevin Doolan guest at Scunthorpe for Craig Cook and the injured Nikolaj B Jakobsen, with rider-replacement in operation for Tom Perry. Cook returns for the home match but Tom Stokes misses both due to illness and is replaced by Luke Chessell.Panthers promoter Ged Rathbone said: “There is no doubt in my mind that this is the most important day of the season so far.“Two good results, and a big haul of points, could take us to the top of the table and give us the foundations on which we can build a strong play-off challenge.“It is also going to be a hugely tough day for both the riders and their equipment, but we need to kick on after letting a lot of points slip earlier in the season.”Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey is keen to start making progress in the league with Andreas Lyager set to make his first appearance of the season after recovering from a virus.Godfrey said: “It's two very different sides from our League Cup clash with Peterborough in early April, and we're after a very different result as well.“We want to get the three league points on board and start climbing the table.”Meanwhile Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins hopes a recent League Cup trip to Peterborough – where they lost narrowly – stands his side in good stead for a rapid Showground return.He said: “(Last) Sunday was a good competitive practice for us. The track conditions may be different next time out as well as their line-up but I have confidence in my team's ability in any conditions and against any line-up they can put out.“I expect to see the same determination and further improvement on Monday. Hopefully Danny and Sarge (James Sarjeant) will come through their meeting at Belle Vue unscathed and they will be well warmed up and ready to fire for us.”Rye House will operate rider replacement for concussion victim Leigh Lanham in their home clash with Redcar at 2pm.Meanwhile, Raiders regular Robert Branford steps in at reserve as Peter Karger is ruled out with a wrist injury suffered in last week’s win over Edinburgh.Rockets boss Peter Schroeck said: “We’ll take it like every other match, as a must-win, and hit them as hard as we can from the start.“We currently expect Peter to be out for a fortnight in total, although I am monitoring the situation with him. In the meantime, Rob will be keen to impress, and he gets on really well with Ben (Morley) in the Raiders, so they should work well together as a pair.”At 7.30pm, Newcastle host Glasgow in a quick-fire return from Sunday’s entertaining clash at Ashfield, which the Tigers won by nine points.Diamonds boss George English is keen for revenge and wants to see a more complete team performance than was on show in Scotland.He said: “Glasgow hit us hard when it mattered during the last third of the match, but otherwise we held out own well with Lewis Rose again continuing his good run of late and Steve Worrall too did a fine job. “Vital points were lost elsewhere and in tonight's return match the ones responsible know they have to plaster up the gaps and repay the compliment to Glasgow in no uncertain style.”Glasgow skipper Aaron Summers said: “Newcastle are good at their place but they will be missing their No 1 (Robert Lambert) and Lewis Rose as well, so that could help us out a bit.“The boys will all be fighting for it and trying to get the points.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

RYE House face Eastbourne in the Travel Plus National League in the second half of a double header at Hoddesdon on Monday.The sides meet following the Rye House/Redcar Premier League match, with teenage sensation Dan Bewley making a guest appearance for the Eagles as Adam Ellis is unavailable.The visitors also operate rider-replacement for Gary Cottham after he broke his collarbone on Saturday.Eagles chairman Martin Dugard said: “It has to be rider-replacement, because you can only have a guest for a missing No.1. “We are a little bit hands tied there but we go to Rye looking to add to our points tally and get properly on the tails of the league leaders.”Raiders boss Peter Schroeck said: “The Eagles are going to be another tough cookie. “But their No.1 Adam Ellis is due to be missing because of an Elite League commitment, so we’ll just get stuck in with the aim of our heat leaders doing their job for us and the rest of the boys adding their bit.”Meanwhile Kent will look to maintain their impressive start to the season when they host Mildenhall at 3pm.The Kings operate rider-replacement for Danny Ayres, who is on Premier League duty, whilst Luke Ruddick returns from injury for the Fen Tigers.Mildenhall promoter Kevin Jolly said: “This will be a big test for sure, but with Luke coming through the MDL fixture (yesterday) unscathed and ready to return to the team, we will be finally back to full strength and are up for the challenge.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

THE second round of the Mitas British Youth Championship series is completed at Scunthorpe on Monday following the earlier Premier League meeting.250cc and 125cc categories are on show at the Eddie Wright Raceway with five riders contesting the former category and 19 in the latter.GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “Even though in the 250cc class there are just five riders, they are all of a similar standard so each of the five qualifying heats to try and make the all-important final will be just as enthralling.“The winner and runner-up from round 1 at Glasgow last month, Leon Flint and Jason Edwards respectively, will be keen to put some big points on the board to try and get ahead of the chasing pack in this early stage of the eight round series.“As well as the 250cc class, there will be 19 races of 125cc races as well with 19 riders competing in this support class for the British Championship.“There are a number of new riders making their debuts in this year’s Championship on Monday, so that could throw up some surprises.“The youngest member of the 125cc class, Luke Harrison, who is only eight years old, will be racing at his local track after making an impressive debut at round 1, but in all fairness it will be a surprise if the Thompson Twins Dan and Joe, along with Jordan Palin - who all competed in the World 125cc Gold Trophy in Torun Poland earlier this month - miss out on a rostrum place.“This round comes too early for the unlucky Harry McGurk who broke his arm at Glasgow, but Harry is hoping to be back on his bike for Round 3 at Kings Lynn in only two weeks’ time.”

(FIXTURES)

MONDAY MAY 30:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Coventry 12pm, Swindon v Poole 4pm, Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Glasgow 7.30, Rye House v Redcar 2pm, Scunthorpe v Peterborough 2pm, Peterborough v Ipswich 8pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Mildenhall 3pm, Rye House v Eastbourne (follows PL fixture)BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 3 (250cc and 125cc): Scunthorpe 3.30

WEDNESDAY JUNE 1:ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Wolverhampton 7.30, Poole v Swindon 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 2:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton 7.30, Swindon v Leicester 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Workington 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Redcar v Newcastle 7.30CHALLENGE: Isle of Wight v Weymouth 7pm


Related Motorsport Articles

84,989 articles