(SPEEDWAY 1)

JOSH Bates will miss the World Under-21 Team Cup semi-final this weekend after failing a fitness test on a collarbone/shoulder injury.Bates will be unable to race for Great Britain in Denmark after his crash at Sheffield last Thursday, with his place going to Birmingham’s Jack Smith.GB boss Neil Vatcher said: “I have been worried about Josh all week as I know he has been struggling, but he is so brave and passionate to ride for his country he wanted to wait as long as possible to see if he could make a recovery in time for Saturday. The kid was desperate to be there.“Josh went to see a specialist late on Wednesday, and as I understand it he was advised not to ride this weekend or would face doing further damage.“Obviously I am devastated to now lose Josh from the team, as I am not the only one who rates the kid highly, but in life sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. “As I said to Josh, he must be sensible as he not only has a big season ahead of him but also a massive future, and it’s pointless putting that on the line if he was to come back too early.“With just over 24 hours before the riders set off to Denmark I had the task of finding a replacement for Josh and thankfully Jack, along with the help and assistance of his father Andy, has agreed to step in to the team at very short notice, for which I am very grateful.“Of course I am shattered now to have lost both Josh and Adam (Ellis), and I feel we now go into this weekend with a different approach. In sport anything is possible if you believe, and we will now go into the event as underdogs, but if all our boys can ride to the very best of their ability there’s no reason why we can’t throw up some surprises.“I would also publicly like to thank Tracey Cossar from the ACU for all her help this week arranging all the paperwork for both Zach Wajktnecht and Jack Smith so they are able to ride for GB - even though Tracey is meant to be on a week’s holiday!”(SPEEDWAY 2)

LEWIS Bridger was in brilliant form to inspire Elite League leaders Lakeside to a 53-37 win over play-off rivals Wolverhampton on Wednesday.The result preserved the Hammers' proud unbeaten home record and keeps them top of the table as Bridger notched a staggering 17+1 from seven outings with star man Andreas Jonsson carding 13+1.Wolves only trailed by four points with five heats to go but then dropped out of contention for a league point, Joonas Kylmakorpi top-scoring with nine.Bridger said: “I know I will only be at reserve for a short space of time but I'm delighted with that performance. I really enjoyed it and I love this track, it's great.“I've beaten some top riders tonight and that pleases me, so when I go back into the main body of the team. I feel confident I can keep it going.”Wolves boss Peter Adams said: “I think it was a fair result and I have no complaints about it. We were hanging onto their coat tails for a while but they're a great side around their home track, their record speaks for itself.“When they start to feel a bit of pressure they tend to react and they certainly did that. We could find an answer and I've no excuses. We were beaten by the better side.”Meanwhile Poole completed two wins in three days over Swindon with a 50-40 victory at Wimborne Road.The Robins were made to rue a slow start in Dorset as they conceded a trio of 5-1's in the opening three races, with home riders praising the circuit after it received criticism in their recent home defeat by Belle Vue.Chris Holder led the way for the Pirates with 12+1 whilst Jason Doyle reeled off four straight wins for the Robins after Heat 1 to finish on 13.Poole captain Hans Andersen said: “There is more to come from me I feel. I was on a new engine tonight which I am preparing for this track, and whilst I am not quite there I know that I can deliver more.”Swindon manager Alun Rossiter said: “I'm really disappointed in the end because a poor start has cost us and we should have left here with something.“Jason was brilliant at No.1 as always and I'm happy with the reserves as well. Our middle order know they are much better than what they scored tonight and we need them to start packing the points in again.”In the Travel Plus National League, Birmingham edged out Eastbourne 47-43 in the clash of last season’s top two teams.The Brummies held the lead throughout as stand-in skipper Darryl Ritchings top-scored with 12, whilst guest Matt Williamson collected 13+1 for the Eagles and joined with Jake Knight for a last-heat 5-1 to salvage a league point.Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “It was a hard-fought match exactly as I was anticipating, and it was a big body-blow to the team when Danny Ayres phoned up unwell.“But again, every single one of the riders chipped in at valuable times. They showed their mettle and went out and won races, or more importantly on several occasions they didn’t finish last. It was a strategy which paid off as the meeting panned out as I thought it would.”Eastbourne chairman Martin Dugard said: “We did our best and we had a couple of decisions which we thought went against us. “It was an entertaining meeting and close all the way through. We pushed them hard. Everyone on both teams rode very well and it was a good advert for speedway.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

KING’S Lynn will look to get back to winning ways on home shale as they take on Wolverhampton at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday.The Stars are without a win in their last five Elite League outings but claimed an encouraging consolation point from Monmore Green on MondayLewis Rose moves up into the main body of the Lynn team with Carl Wilkinson and Simon Lambert racing at reserve in the absence of Kai Huckenbeck, whilst Wolves bring in Lewis Bridger and Lewis Kerr due to overseas commitments for Jacob Thorssell and Mikkel Bech.Stars boss Rob Lyon said: “We picked up an excellent point at Monmore Green, but we now have to look to win our home meeting against them.“We want to turn the tables on them and get the three league points, and then slowly but surely we can creep back up the league table.”Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten said: “It’s not ideal but the boys are going there looking to get something from the meeting.“There will be extra pressure on the shoulders of Freddie Lindgren, Sam Masters and Joonas Kylmakorpi but I’m sure they can handle that.”Meanwhile Swindon look to return to winning ways after double defeat to Poole as they host Leicester at the Abbey Stadium.The Lions have named Richard Lawson as their guest at No.1 with Patrick Hougaard preparing for the Danish Final, whilst Brady Kurtz lines up at reserve due to the absence of Szymon Wozniak.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “The Leicester meeting gives us a good chance to bounce back at home. As always, we have to respect our visitors as I’m sure they’ll be trying to cause a surprise result so we’ll have to be ready for them.“It’s a busy spell for us, and with us also visiting Beaumont Park on Saturday we want to boost our confidence and get another three points.”Leicester boss Norrie Allan said: “The new match averages came into effect on Monday and if Szymon had been here his figures would have placed him at reserve. This means that we can dispense with the rider replacement facility and instead employ a guest for him under the rules. “With Patrick also missing I believe we have two very good deputies and there is an added bonus that Paul Starke is back after his family’s sad loss.”In the Premier League, Sheffield take on Workington with rider-replacement in operation for collarbone/shoulder injury victim Josh Bates.The Comets are without their three Danish riders – Kenneth Hansen ruled out by a minor shoulder injury with Claus Vissing and Rasmus Jensen on national Final duty – and have called up Ryan Douglas and Michael Palm Toft as guests.Sheffield skipper Simon Stead said: “It wasn’t a good performance at their place on Saturday, but we just have to put it down to one of those nights and look to put it behind us.“We’ve had a good start to our Premier League season, so the main thing is that we make sure to bounce back at home on Thursday.”Workington manager Tony Jackson said: “Naturally we hope Kenneth is soon fit enough to ride again as we certainly need him back in the team.“But we would like to thank Ryan Douglas for readily agreeing to guest for us. On his last visit to Owlerton four weeks ago with Scunthorpe he scored 13 points so we told him that a similar return on Thursday night would suit us fine!”In the League Cup, Redcar stage the decisive Northern group fixture with visitors Newcastle requiring an away win to overhaul Workington at the top of the standings.As the fixture is re-arranged, Lasse Bjerre and Simon Nielsen are missing for the home side, and will be replaced by ex-Bears Ulrich Ostergaard and Robert Branford. The Diamonds, meanwhile, are without four of their regulars and have called up Richie Worrall, Stuart Robson and Coty Garcia to guest.Meanwhile the Isle of Wight host a side representing Weymouth at the Smallbrook Stadium, with ex-Islander Ben Hopwood leading the visiting Wildcats.

(SPEEDWAY 4)

RENE Bach is set to return to British Speedway with Glasgow next week.Former Newcastle and Workington rider Rene Bach has agreed to join the Tigers, subject to clearance from his Federation, with Ben Barker making way in the side following Sunday’s home clash with Plymouth.Glasgow boss Stewart Dickson said: “The travelling was getting Ben down and it wasn't working, so we came to an amicable agreement. He never quite hit the heights that I expected of him - whether that be because of the travelling or bike issues, I don't know.“I just don't think that it worked for either of us and it's one of these things. I'll never question his effort - he did his best for us.“With the inclusion of Rene Bach, this is a statement of intent. We don't want to settle for second-best. We know we have no divine right to win everything but we'll do all we can to make us challengers.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

PETERBOROUGH have drafted in Czech Republic prospect Zdenek Holub to race at reserve for the Showground side.Holub was recently released by the Panthers’ Premier League rivals Scunthorpe as part of their team re-vamp, and he now replaces Tom Stokes in the line-up.Promoter Ged Rathbone said: “Zdenek is someone who has been on our radar for a while and we're delighted to have done a deal with him.“He has delivered some excellent performances on the continent and showed plenty of flashes of his ability while settling into British Speedway.“Tom has had a little taste of what Premier League racing is all about. We will continue to work closely with him and guide him wherever possible in his development.”

(FIXTURES)

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

FRIDAY JUNE 3:PREMIER LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Berwick 7.30, Somerset v Redcar 7.30RYAN FISHER TESTIMONIAL: Edinburgh 7.30

SATURDAY JUNE 4:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Lakeside 7.30, Leicester v Swindon 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Redcar 7.30, Rye House v Berwick 7pm, Workington v Plymouth 7pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Buxton 7.30

SUNDAY JUNE 5:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Plymouth 3pm TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Buxton 3.30