(SPEEDWAY 1)

COVENTRY got the better of Poole with a 47-43 win at Brandon in a nip-and-tuck contest between two of the Elite League’s biggest rivals.Both teams were four points ahead at one stage and the Pirates led with three heats to go before the Bees levelled the scores.A 5-1 to the home side from top-scorers Krzysztof Kasprzak (13+1) and Danny King (10+3) secured their victory, with Poole reserve Bjarne Pedersen collecting 13+1 from seven rides as the visitors claimed a league point.Coventry boss Gary Havelock said: “I’m delighted with that, the boys rode great, and for Josh Bates to score eight points at No.4, beating Chris Holder and Hans Andersen in one race, was sensational.“Then with the boys at the end, it reminded me of last year with Danny in the semi-final against Poole when he came off gate four twice in a row, and it was brilliant from Krzysztof as well with the 5-1 to wrap it up. “The pass he did on Chris Holder earlier was vintage, and it also shows he’s on the right track with his mind especially after the problem he’d had before Heat 1.”Poole boss Matt Ford said: "We had the chances to put the meeting to bed but didn’t take them. “Unfortunately for us Hans (Andersen) had a nightmare of a meeting. I suppose it had to come at some point of the season as he has been going so well but we didn't really have the back up to cover. “I have to say however that young Ellis Perks did an excellent job for us. He worked hard for his points and they were vital ones too. There was a real chance that he might have driven away tonight with nothing to show for his appearance for us, but he really got stuck in and so full credit to him."Leaders Wolverhampton suffered a 55-37 defeat at Lakeside as the Hammers returned to form after their defeat to Poole a fortnight ago.Swedish star Kim Nilsson struck a faultless six-ride paid maximum (17+1) whilst Andreas Jonsson went unbeaten from four rides (11+1) whilst Edward Kennett and Lewis Bridger both recorded double figures.Youngster Max Clegg was the top-scorer for Wolves with 7+3 on a night the Monmore men missed the services of the injured Joonas Kylmakorpi and unavailable Sam Masters.Lakeside co-promoter Jon Cook said: “All the plaudits go to Kim Nilsson for a truly immaculate paid maximum, although AJ, Edward and Lewis were absolutely superb as well.“We’re just delighted with the team effort and the way the lads showed fantastic spirit to bounce back from that defeat against Poole last time out.”Clegg said: “It was close at one stage in the middle of the meeting, but they pulled away towards the end and it was a shame we couldn’t get a point.“I’m extremely happy with my own performance. Things have been tough for me recently but I rode well and I think I showed what I’m capable of, so hopefully I can build on that now and have some more good meetings.”Meanwhile Belle Vue have moved second despite being taken down to the wire by bottom club Leicester at the National Speedway Stadium.Matej Zagar and Craig Cook secured a last-race 5-1 over Patrick Hougaard and Szymon Wozniak after the Lions had threatened a major upset, with the visitors collecting a league point for their efforts.Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon said: “As I’ve said before, you must expect the unexpected in the Elite League and Leicester turned up tonight with the unexpected in tow. They threw everything at us, even the kitchen sink!“A couple of the boys had mechanical dramas which was frustrating but as a unit we pulled together and maintained a solid performance which in the end got us the three points.”Leicester manager Norrie Allan said: “l am absolutely delighted with our performance tonight. We were close until the final stages at King's Lynn the night before but this time we did not fall away. “We worked extremely hard and each and everyone of my team found inner strength at times during the meeting to deliver some exceptional rides, and whilst we did not win we took home a consolation bonus match point which I think was against the odds.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

SOMERSET maintained their unbeaten Premier League record despite being given a major scare by Newcastle at the Oaktree Arena.The Diamonds held a four-point lead at the halfway stage before the Rebels turned things in their favour, with the visitors doing enough for a league point.Reserve Jake Allen carded 10+2 for the hosts with Charles Wright on 10+1 and Josh Grajczonek 10, whilst Robert Lambert picked up 12 for the Diamonds and Matej Kus won his first three rides on his way to 10.Somerset team manager Garry May said: “We knew that Newcastle would be a tough nut to crack, and they made us work hard for our win.”Newcastle boss George English said: “If that score had been offered to us before the night started, with Somerset so dominant this season, it’s fair to say we would have taken that.“But we rode a superb match and scored some good points that probably made Somerset sit up and take notice, so - good performance, only disappointing that we proved we could have won this tonight.”Meanwhile Peterborough returned to winning ways with a 50-40 triumph over Berwick at the East of England Showground.The result moves the Panthers up to second place in the table, with skipper Ulrich Ostergaard winning four races on his way to 13 points and guest Simon Stead adding 11+1. Theo Pijper (12) and Thomas Jorgensen (10+1) led the way for the Bandits.Peterborough captain Ulrich Ostergaard said: Ostergaard said: “We all knew we had to do better than we did on Tuesday and in the two KO Cup meetings recently.“We had a good teamtalk before the meeting and the team spirit was really good all night.“We’ve kept ourselves in the mix at the top of the table and now we need to make sure we build on this.”Berwick boss Scott Courtney added: “This was certainly a decent improvement on last night at Ipswich, and I think were were capable of sneaking one league point, but sadly Peterborough eased away too far in the latter part of the match.“We held them pretty much to account over the first 11 heats so there's lots of positives to take from this, if not a league point.”(SPEEDWAY 3)

LEICESTER are set to return to full strength for their home clash with play-off chasing King’s Lynn on Saturday.The Lions lost at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday and at Belle Vue last night but did gain a point from their trip to Manchester – whilst the Stars are going for their third win in six days.Leicester team manager Norrie Allan said: “Back-to-back wins against Coventry and Wolverhampton at home recently has lifted some of the pressure off the team. Okay it’s not championship form by any means but after so many last heat deciders going against us it was a nice change for Heat 15 to go our way, not once but twice in the Midlands derbies.“Our aim is to round off our home programme with another three wins starting tonight against King’s Lynn. It will be by no means easy as the Stars ride our place pretty well but we have more belief in our ability than ever before and our change of fortune has coincided with the arrival of Ludvig and Aaron moving to the less demanding role at number 2 in the side.”King’s Lynn boss Rob Lyon added: “Leicester may be bottom of the table but they’re a completely different outfit around their own circuit.“They proved that when we went there earlier in the season and since then they’ve gone on to pick up some impressive results against the top teams at home.“We’re certainly going to have to earn our points but we’ve got some good momentum going at the moment and we always knew this was going to be an important week.”In the Premier League, Workington return to home action for the first time in five weeks when they host Rye House, who begin a two-day Northern tour.The Comets go into the fixture at full-strength while the Rockets have one injury concern, which sees guest rider Robert Branford replacing broken wrist victim Peter Karger at reserve, whilst Edward Kennett is expected to be fit.Workington boss Tony Jackson said: “The riders are also desperate to get racing again as, obviously, when they are not racing they are not earning, but apart from that they ideally need to race two or three times per week in order to remain race-sharp. “But, while some race for other clubs and in other countries, which also helps them keep race-fit; even that has been affected as several recent Danish fixtures have been postponed due to the wet weather causing further frustration for our Danish trio of Claus Vissing, Kenneth Hansen and Rasmus Jensen.”Rye House boss Peter Schroeck said: “Peter’s wrist is likely to be in a cast for another four weeks, but more positively Rob is in a real purple patch, as he showed not just at Ipswich but with his maximum for the Raiders at Kent on Monday.“I appreciate that Workington and Glasgow are about as tough as it gets away from home, but most of the guys have ridden at both tracks enough times, so there shouldn’t be any real surprises there. It’s as much about everyone keeping their heads straight and their confidence up.”In the Travel Plus National League, Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey is hoping his side will come back after their fortnight’s break ready to fire against rivals Cradley.The sides meet at Loomer Road with the Heathens chasing top spot in the table, and they will operate rider-replacement for James Purchase with Bradley Andrews now back in their one-to-seven.Vasey said: “It’s going to be an extremely tough meeting for us, but I do believe that if we can ride like we did against Buxton a few weeks back we are a match for any team and we will be looking to get one over the Heathens. “It’s been quite a while since we have beaten them and I’m hoping we see the tide turn this season for us against them.”Cradley boss Will Pottinger said: “We've built up some good momentum in recent weeks and we're on a very pleasing run of form right now. We want to keep that going at Stoke but it's certainly not going to be easy. “They've strengthened up in the last month or two and they've got some good riders. However, if all our lads can continue how they have been doing then we should be in with a good chance of coming away with something.”(SPEEDWAY 4)

BERWICK stage a 27-race schedule on Saturday with admission just £10 for the Stars of Tomorrow incorporating the British 125cc Championship.The meeting has secured sponsorship from Minibike Champs, and the field for the 500cc event includes the likes of Danny Ayres, Dan Bewley, Connor Coles and Liam Carr – whilst eight youngsters will compete for their national 125cc title.Bandits boss Scott Courtney said: “My brother Jamie owns the highly-successful Minibike brand. They run several series of minibike events, and he's brought the brand on board as our meeting sponsors.“In addition, what started off as ‘a few extra 125cc exhibition races’ has blossomed into the British Championship Final for this classification!”

(FIXTURES)

SATURDAY JULY 16:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Workington v Rye House 7pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Cradley 7pmSTARS OF TOMORROW + BRITISH 125cc FINAL: Berwick 6.45

SUNDAY JULY 17:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Rye House 3pm, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 6.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Belle Vue 3pm, Mildenhall v Isle of Wight 3.30

MONDAY JULY 18:ELITE LEAGUE: Wolverhampton v Swindon 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Birmingham 6.30