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IPSWICH have released Lewis Kerr and have quickly moved to sign Great Britain international Ben Barker.The Witches have endured a disappointing start to the campaign, but swooped for the 28-year-old after he was dropped by Glasgow earlier this week. Barker last rode for the Sussex side in 2013 and returns to Foxhall subject to BSPA approval on a 7.70 average.Team Manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “I’m very sad to see Lewis go. You know what you’re going to get with Ben - 100% commitment every race. “Having raced against him I would much prefer to have him on my side than against me. As well as his points I believe his enthusiasm will be a good addition to our side of the pits.”Barker added: “I was made aware that I was going to be dropped by Glasgow. I was looking around and I loved my time when I was previously at Ipswich and I thought why not give it a bash and give Chris (Louis) a call. I rang him and he rang me back and said yeah we want to do something."
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BERWICK pulled off a spectacular 52-39 away triumph at Scunthorpe in the Premier League on Friday.The Bandits restricted the home side to just three heat winners throughout the meeting, with ex-Scorpion Thomas Jorgensen outstanding on 14 points.Guest Dimitri Berge added ten points for the visitors, whilst Ryan Douglas top-scored for Scunthorpe on 11.Berwick boss Scott Courtney said: “This was a determined and hard ridden match by the guys tonight and they all deserved the win which again we dedicate to our injured number one, Seb Alden. “Everyone played their part and all but Romano took a win, but our new lad was hard done by with his exclusion which should have given him a well deserved paid win, but that's speedway as it can be harsh at times. “Nevertheless it was a superb and solid win, bigger than any of us had dared for, which we are thrilled to have got."Meanwhile Somerset completed a hard-fought 47-43 win over Redcar with the Bears taking a point from the meeting.Josh Grajczonek took the vital victory in Heat 15 and dropped just one point from five rides as the home side overcame the absence of Jake Allen and Zach Wajtknecht due to World Under-21 duty.Rebels boss Garry May said: “First and foremost we collected all 3 points, but credit to Redcar who made us fight all the way before we finally secured the win in heat 15.“Going into the match without Jake (Allen) and Zach (Wajtknecht) meant that we were somewhat vulnerable, especially if any of the boys had an off-night, or we suffered any misfortune, such as Rohan (Tungate) having bike problems on the final bend in heat 11 when in a clear lead.“Sometimes it takes a tight match like this to give you a bit of a wake-up call, and I am sure that we will learn lessons from tonight’s match which will stand us in good stead as we go through the season, but and the end of the day, even though we were not quite at our best, we still got the maximum 3 league points.”Edinburgh No.1 Sam Masters took the honours in Ryan Fisher’s Testimonial meeting at Armadale.Masters headed Ludvig Lindgren, Matej Kus and Ricky Wells in the Final having led the qualifying scores on 14 points. American returnees Billy Janniro and Charles Ermolenko scored six and five points respectively.Fisher said after the meeting: ““I really enjoyed it, it was an awesome night and I’m grateful to all the sponsors and all the guys who came and rode. They all wanted to be here.”
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BELLE Vue are chasing a second home win inside a week as they continue to play catch-up on the Elite League leaders.The Aces host the current pace-setters Lakeside at the National Speedway Stadium with Chris Morton assuming team management duties as regular boss Mark Lemon is away at the World Under-21 Team Cup semi-final.That event also means the home side must use rider-replacement for Max Fricke, whilst the Hammers use the same facility for Rye House asset Edward Kennett.Morton said: “I’m sure a lot of the fans will remember fondly their Saturday nights at Belle Vue. It will bring back good memories for me, having spent nearly every one of my summer weekends at Hyde Road.“Obviously with Mark away in Holsted, I have my work cut out to follow up the precedent he set on Monday with such a great result, but as a team the riders are fired up.”Hammers skipper Andreas Jonsson said: “We go to Belle Vue in a confident mood after Wednesday's win over Wolverhampton."All the boys rode well and we are having a good season so far but we know we have to do a bit better away from home. I'm looking forward to going to Belle Vue and the new stadium, everyone is saying how good it is.”Meanwhile Leicester go for a surprise double over Swindon when the teams meet at Beaumont Park – 48 hours after the Lions were successful at the Abbey Stadium.Boss Norrie Allan is hoping his side can finally put a second win of the season at home on the board after defeating the Robins in April, and has booked Ludvig Lindgren to step in for the absent Szymon Wozniak at reserve.Allan said: “I will be looking for the boys to repeat the same spirit and will to win again against Swindon. “Our home form has been a cause for concern. With a little luck we could have won three of our last four matches at Beaumont Park. We have come fantastically close against some very good sides and whilst last-heat deciders are great entertainment for the fans we need to convert those near misses.”Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “Losing at home again on Thursday was tough to take and that makes our away meeting at Leicester even more important than it already was. Some of the middle-order boys really seem to be struggling of late but we need to get them back in the points.“It’s tight towards the top this year and although we currently sit in the play-off places, we really need to get something at Leicester.”
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IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins is urging his side to show their true potential when they host Redcar at Foxhall on Saturday.Hawkins admits strong words were spoken in the wake of Monday’s defeat at Peterborough, and now they are looking to kick-start their campaign with Ryan Douglas coming in to guest for Lewis Kerr.Hawkins said: “We've spoken about Monday and everyone knows it's not good enough. As a team we need to put that to one side and focus on Saturday and we need to put in a big performance for all the fans. I know we are expected to win but everyone has to put in a performance as well.“We know we are favourites with Redcar in a bad run of form but we know it's going to be a tough meeting still, and with Ryan in hopefully he will go well as he has gone well at Ipswich before.”Rye House are set to welcome Leigh Lanham back after concussion when they take on Berwick at Hoddesdon.The Rockets, though, will be without Peter Karger who faces up to three weeks out with a broken bone in his hand, and rider-replacement is in operation with Kasper Lykke dropping to reserve.Boss Peter Schroeck said: “Kasper is moving in the right direction again, but the rolling averages for June actually take him down to 4.95, which will give us a not-so-secret weapon at reserve.“While things are looking positive for Leigh, the news on Peter is less so. Kasper’s presence at reserve will help to compensate, and as far as Saturday goes, we will just get stuck in as we always do and give 100 per cent.”Meanwhile Workington host Plymouth with Claus Vissing and Rasmus Jensen set to return after Danish Final duty, whilst the Comets hope Kenneth Hansen is fit to ride after a shoulder injury.The Devils are forced into several changes with Ben Barker and Matej Kus guesting for Brady Kurtz and Jack Holder due to the World Under-21 Team Cup, whilst Carl Wilkinson guests for the unavailable Stefan Nielsen at reserve.In the Travel Plus National League, Eastbourne are looking to consolidate second place when they host Buxton at Arlington.Dan Greenwood and Mark Baseby are drafted in to replace Adam Ellis (injured) and Ellis Perks (unavailable) for the home side.Meanwhile Hitmen boss Jason Pipe feels his team are capable of taking something from the meeting with Danny Ayres guesting at No.1 for Oliver Greenwood for the first of two matches in two days as they also visit Mildenhall on Sunday.Eastbourne boss Connor Dugard said: “We have had a dreadful run of injuries this year but we are still on course. We are now up to second place in the National League table. “I am targeting a convincing win against Buxton to keep this week’s momentum going.”Pipe said: “Having been a guest team manager for the Eagles twice this week, I've had chance to see their riders first hand and I really do believe, with the team they are lining up on Saturday, that we can get something out of this meeting, if only a point, especially if we can score more points at reserve than them.“I'm setting a target of a minimum of two points to bring back home with us from these two meetings. Anything less than an extra two points on that league table come Sunday tea-time would be very, very disappointing.”(FIXTURES)
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
MONDAY JUNE 6:ELITE LEAGUE: Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Kent v Isle of Wight 6.30
TUESDAY JUNE 7:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Isle of Wight v Kent 7pm
