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PETERBOROUGH promoter Ged Rathbone says everything is place for this weekend’s Premier League Fours weekend spectacular.All thirteen PL clubs are competing in the two-day event which features three semi-finals on Saturday and an Individual event for team members of non-Finalists and the Final itself on Sunday.The Panthers have called in extra assistance to ensure the Showground circuit will be in prime condition throughout the weekend, with BSPA Chairman Keith Chapman also involved in the preparation work.And there are a host of additional attractions across the weekend, including full evening entertainment available on Saturday.Rathbone said: “We’ve got stacks of activities going on off-track in addition to the feast of racing on it, and I am proud for Peterborough Speedway to be staging an event of this magnitude.“The goal was to create a festival for speedway – our very own Glastonbury if you like, minus all the mud of course! – and hopefully that is what we now have.“I’m looking forward to welcoming fans from far and wide. Hopefully there will be a great turnout featuring everyone from Glasgow and Edinburgh in the north to Plymouth in the south.“And I’m also optimistic that the new Fours format will appeal to fans of Elite League and National League clubs as well. This really is an event for all speedway supporters where they can have a weekend away at a very reasonable cost.”SEMI-FINAL 1: GLASGOW: Richard Lawson, Aaron Summers, Richie Worrall, Fernando Garcia.WORKINGTON: Ricky Wells, Claus Vissing, Kenneth Hansen, Rasmus Jensen.SOMERSET: Josh Grajczonek, Rohan Tungate, Charles Wright, Paul Starke.SCUNTHORPE: Josh Auty, Ryan Douglas, Michael Palm Toft, Carl Wilkinson.SEMI-FINAL 2:SHEFFIELD: Simon Stead, Kyle Howarth, Dimitri Berge, Jason Garrity.NEWCASTLE: Steve Worrall, Robert Lambert, Victor Palovaara, Lewis Rose.PLYMOUTH: Brady Kurtz, Todd Kurtz, Kyle Newman, Jack Holder.REDCAR: David Bellego, Hugh Skidmore, Lasse Bjerre, Jonas B Andersen.SEMI-FINAL 3:EDINBURGH: Sam Masters, Kevin Wolbert, Ryan Fisher, Erik Riss.IPSWICH: Danny King, Nico Covatti, Ben Barker, Morten Risager.RYE HOUSE: Leigh Lanham, Cameron Heeps, Stuart Robson, Edward Kennett.BERWICK: Kevin Doolan, Thomas Jorgensen, Theo Pijper, Matthew Wethers.FINAL: Three semi-final winners + Peterborough.PETERBOROUGH: Craig Cook, Nikolaj B Jakobsen, Ulrich Ostergaard, Tom Perry.Tickets are priced at £20 per day for adults, or £30 for a two-day pass. Rates for children aged 12-16 are £7.50 and £10 respectively. Children under the age of 12 gain free entry. Tickets can be bought through http://www.speedwaygb.co/plfours .BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAJOR EVENTS 2016BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: JOSH BATESBRITISH FINAL: DANNY KINGPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: SOMERSETPREMIER LEAGUE FOURS WEEKEND: Peterborough, July 23/24PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, September 11ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Coventry, Date TBC

NATIONAL LEAGUE MAJOR EVENTS 2016NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Coventry, August 14NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: King’s Lynn, August 27NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester, September 17

BRITISH SPEEDWAY FIM EVENTS 2016:WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER: FREDRIK LINDGRENWORLD UNDER-21 QUALIFIER: DIMITRI BERGEWORLD UNDER-21 FINAL Round 1: KRYSTIAN PIESZCZEK

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BELLE VUE co-promoter David Gordon has praised the crowd turn-out for the Aces’ win over Leicester with the meeting initially put into doubt due to persistent drizzle.Gordon said: “Firstly, our thanks must go to the track staff for all of their help in getting Friday’s meeting on. Conditions were challenging, yet despite everything they produced a practically perfect circuit.“It’s testament to the design of this track that the meeting survived the weather. Had this happened next door, we have no doubt that racing would have had to be postponed as a result of the rain.“We also extend our thanks to the many supporters who turned out to see what was a great night of racing. Their patience was fantastic so thank you all for your continuing support of the club.”COVENTRY’S up-and-down season continued on a high note with a 47-43 win over champions Poole with Danny King and Krzysztof Kasprzak the heroes in Heat 15.Boss Gary Havelock said: “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.”KING’S LYNN made it two wins in a week by defeating Leicester 54-38 at the Adrian Flux Arena three days after their away victory at Coventry.Stars boss Rob Lyon said: “Confidence really is starting to build within the side now and it was another really pleasing performance from the boys.“We finished the meeting really strongly and there were plenty of positives to take out of the meeting. Picking up a win on the back of Monday's victory at Coventry means we're in a bit of form now.”LAKESIDE hit back from their home setback against Poole with a 55-37 victory over leaders Wolverhampton – headlined by a six-ride paid maximum from Swedish star Kim Nilsson.Co-promoter Jon Cook said: “It was a fantastic performance from the team, and a great way to recover from the home defeat“All the plaudits go to Kim for a truly immaculate paid maximum, although AJ (Andreas Jonsson), Edward (Kennett) and Lewis Bridger 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.”LEICESTER picked up a worthy point from their trip to the National Speedway Stadium by taking Belle Vue down to a last-heat decider.Boss Norrie Allan said: “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 every one 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.”POOLE promoter Matt Ford felt the Pirates should have taken more than a single league point from Coventry last Friday after going down in a last-heat decider.Ford said: “We let Coventry off the hook on Friday a couple of times and that was a bit disappointing. “It felt to me that we dropped two points rather than gaining one. Our encounters against Coventry always seem to have an extra edge about them for some reason and we know only too well that they have a side that is capable of running us to the limit.”SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter pulled no punches after the Robins suffered their worst night of the season with a 30-62 hammering at league leaders Wolverhampton.Rossiter said: “I thought we’d have some ups and downs, but I didn’t ever think we’d be that bad and only have one race winner all night.“We just got caught on the same corner in nearly every heat – we’d go too wide and they’d say thank you very much. I stated before the meeting and during the meeting not to move off the inside in that first corner, but they made the same mistake all night.”WOLVERHAMPTON underlined their title credentials with a 62-30 demolition of Swindon with five riders in double figures and Peter Karlsson scoring a paid maximum.Skipper Fredrik Lindgren said: “We were really pumped up for a tough meeting, especially with (Joonas) Kylmakorpi missing and dropping down in the averages meaning not everyone could take his rider replacement rides.“We were really up for it and we managed to perform very well. We didn’t expect to win by such a big margin, but everyone rode well especially the reserves who did a very good job for us.”

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BERWICK team manager Scott Courtney said he was encouraged by his side's performance despite going down 50-40 at Peterborough last week.The defeat was a fourth straight loss on the road for the Bandits.Said Courtney: "It was certainly a decent improvement and I think were were capable of sneaking one league point."Sadly Peterborough eased away too far in the latter part of the match, a match we held them pretty much to account over the first 11 heats so there's lost of positives to take from this if not a league point."EDINBURGH clinched a final race 5-0 to snatch a 45-44 win away at Scunthorpe last Sunday.Monarchs boss John Campbell told the Edinburgh Evening News: “It was a fantastic speedway meeting with some great racing. We kept plugging away and were a bit fortuitous in that final heat, but it would have been wrong had we left with nothing.”GLASGOW star Rene Bach expects the Tigers to improve once again following their 54-36 home win over Rye House last weekend.Said Bach: "There are no real easy meetings this year – and I think that we are still missing Nike Lunna, who we need to be back for us.“Coty Garcia is in the main body of the team now, so once we have a full team back we should be stronger; more meetings should make us better.”IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins has called on his side to build on last week's 58-34 home win over Berwick.Said Hawkins: "It was a pleasing result and I'm very pleased to get a dominant win because that is what we needed."I don't think we can get carried away because we've had good meetings this season and not built on them but we need to get in the winning habit now."NEWCASTLE manager George English said he was blown away by his side's 62-28 Knockout Cup first leg win over Sheffield.Said English: "We wanted a decent win, but in all honesty we were hoping for nearer a 20-point lead let alone the 34-point lead these lads managed which was exceptional tonight. "The determination is high and we look forward to Thursday's second leg." PETERBOROUGH skipper Ulrich Ostergaard says his team need to find a run of consistency following their 50-40 win over Berwick. Said Ostergaard: "We all knew we had to do better than we did on Tuesday and in the two KO Cup meetings recently."We’ve kept ourselves in the mix at the top of the table and now we need to make sure we build on this.”PLYMOUTH are being backed to have a positive weekend at the Premier League Fours - by former winner Olly Allen.He said: "They've got a really handy quartet and the three Aussies (Brady Kurtz, Todd Kurtz and Jack Holder) usually love racing at the Showground. A lot depends on how (Kyle) Newman comes back from his recent injury but being a solid side in arguably the weakest group gives them a really good chance of getting through to the Final where it's then there for the taking!"REDCAR stage their annual Julie Lewis Memorial meeting on Thursday.The Bears then head to Plymouth on Friday before competing in the Premier League Fours tournament at the weekend.RYE HOUSE manager Peter Schroeck remained upbeat despite suffering a fourth straight defeat on their travels at Glasgow (54-36).He said: "Although we ultimately did only marginally better points-wise than at Workington (55-35), we’ve scored a lot more at Ashfield than some of the other teams that have been here, and we’ll take that as a positive to build on going forward.”SCUNTHORPE have lodged an appeal over Edinburgh's use of Mitchell Davey in last weekend's Premier League clash.The Australian scored 4+2 as the Scorpions suffered a narrow 45-44 defeat.Promoter Rob Godfrey said: "First things first, Dan Bewley should have been at Scunthorpe; there is nothing in the rules that allows him to ride for a National League club over a Premier League one. "There is no facility to cover that, so the only way that a team can go after that is to book a National League guest and Mitchell Davey doesn’t fulfil the criteria."SHEFFIELD co-promoter Peter Mole admits his side have a huge mountain to climb in the Knockout Cup following their 62-28 first leg defeat at Newcastle.Mole told the Sheffield Star: "It didn’t go to plan for us, and it’s difficult to say if we were poor or Newcastle were very good.""We know we’ll need something special to get through, but it’s not over yet and we’ll be out to try and get a big win in the second leg.”SOMERSET boss Garry May has told his side to be wary of their opponents when they host Workington on Friday.Said May: "Workington kept it close for the first half of the 52-38 Knockout Cup match earlier this year before we finally got into our stride and ended up fairly comfortable winners."But I am sure that the Comets learnt from that meeting and will be keen to put those learnings into good effect.”WORKINGTON team manager Tony Jackson believes his side are contenders for this weekend's Premier League Fours at Peterborough.Said Jackson: "It promises to be a cracking weekend for everyone, and it is a competition in which we have a good record."We've won it five times to date, and the first of those was actually at Peterborough back in 2001, so it would be good to do so there once again, but there will be no easy races for anybody there this weekend!”

TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…

BELLE VUE raced to an impressive 53-37 away win against patched-up Buxton on Sunday.Co-promoter George Carswell said: “Buxton is not the easiest track to ride, and we thought with Tom Bacon guesting, who scored 12 against us at Birmingham, that things would be more difficult.“They aren’t having much luck with their riders at the moment and that’s something we had to capitalise on, which the boys did and their reward was to come away with all four league points.” BIRMINGHAM extended their lead at the top of the National League with an impressive 43-41 win at Kent.Team manager Graham Drury said: “I'm beginning to run out of words to describe how proud I am of this team. When the chips are down, these lads pull together and battle for every single point.“It was another stunning performance from each and every single rider and tonight's win really does sum up our title credentials.“We opened up a ten point lead after just three races and while Kent came back at us, we dug deep and got the result we were after.“To win at Kent twice in the space of a few weeks is a remarkable effort and this is a great way to start a busy week with two meetings against Stoke coming up.”BUXTON have announced the signing of Lee Dicken to join the club from next weekend.Dicken said: “‘I’m only making a comeback because its Buxton, it’s a great little club and if I can help then I’ve told Jason (Pipe) I will. “I’ve had a spin around and the bikes are ready, plus I have the back up of (son) Kean’s which are probably better than mine!”COVENTRY Storm saw their match at Birmingham abandoned after eight heats at Perry Barr last Wednesday – but they have quickly arranged a return date.It was a frustrating night for all involved which means the Storm, who were trailing 28-20 at the time of the stoppage, will have to return on Wednesday, August 10. Team boss Laurence Rogers said: “Unfortunately the elements were against us. We did feel after the first lot of rain came through that the track wouldn’t take much more, and although we only needed another couple of races to get a result, it could probably have been called off earlier.“It wasn’t a bad effort by the boys at all, to be only four points down after a really good 5-1 in Heat 7 where Mitch Davey showed after one race to weigh a track up, he flies - so he’s been a good acquisition to our team.”CRADLEY star Ashley Morris already has his eyes on victory in the showpiece F.A.S.T Golden Hammer on Tuesday, August 9 (7.30).Said Morris: “Every year I’ve looked like I’ve had a good chance, but I always seem to ride like an idiot and mess it up!“I’d love to have things come together this year and win it, but it’s always tough because anything can happen on the night.“It’s a tough line-up, but I’ve been riding well and I’d like to think I can be up there and in with a chance.“I’m not putting any pressure on myself, it’ll be an exciting meeting and I’ll just have some fun and see how it goes.”EASTBOURNE skipper Jake Knight insists they have what it takes to win the National League title – but he knows they must remain focused on simply reaching the play-offs.Knight told Speedway Star: “I think we are fairly confident we will get top four, but you can’t take anything for granted.“We are having a bit of an unlucky season with injuries and it isn’t making things easy. As long as we get into the top four, it doesn’t matter what position we finish.“I have every faith we will win the league if we get in the play-offs.” ISLE OF WIGHT suffered a heavy 62-28 defeat at Mildenhall on Sunday.It was a tough night for the Warriors, who are currently lying eighth in the National League table.They will now return to action at Smallbrook on Thursday as they host Coventry (7.30). KENT missed the chance to move into the National League top two as they slipped to a 43-41 defeat against league leaders Birmingham at Central Park.The Kings narrowly missed out in a fierce encounter but remain well-placed in fourth in the standings.They will be back in action at Eastbourne on Saturday before hosting Stoke next Monday (6.30). KING’S LYNN boss Dale Allitt is encouraged by what he has seen from his Young Stars side so far this season.Allitt said: “We’ve got a good bunch of kids at the Young Stars this year. It’s all about development for us in the National League, it always has been and that will always continue to be our ethos.“Hopefully some of the youngsters we’ve got this year can keep developing and be in a position to make that step up at some stage in the future.” MILDENHALL returned to action in style with an eye-catching 62-28 win over the Isle of Wight at West Row on Sunday.Promoter Kevin Jolly said: “It was great to be back on track at home today and the lads responded in style. If they can ride like this regularly we can surely beat anyone anywhere, from one to seven they were excellent. “The track produced some superb racing I felt and although the victory was 34 points there was some close racing for the fans to enjoy with some excellent moves from our lads.“We need to take this form into the Buxton meeting next Sunday where we will be gunning for all four points and on this form I wouldn’t back against us. “We have a septet riding really well and a crop of exciting youngsters looking for their chance to break into the team, things really could not be more positive for us!”RYE HOUSE skipper Luke Priest believes the Raiders demonstrated their character as they slipped to a 45-39 defeat against high-flying Kent in their last outing.Priest told Speedway Star: “At one stage it looked as if we might get more than a point. We certainly gave it our all and I think we thoroughly deserved the away point.“To go there and do that was a real character performance and if someone had offered us a point at the start of the meeting, I would have been more than happy.” STOKE reserve David Morgan has retired from the sport – with the Potters moving quickly to sign Chris Hay as his replacement.Promoter Dave Tattum said: “Once we received the call from David informing us he had retired from the sport we moved swiftly for Chris, and I’m extremely pleased to have acquired his services. “He has been making people sit up with his scores in the MDL and we had no hesitation in speaking to him. We obviously wish David well and thank him for his efforts for us in the short time he was with us.”

FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY JULY 20:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Swindon 7.30, Poole v Coventry 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Stoke 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 21:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Belle Vue 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Sheffield v Newcastle 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Coventry 7pmJULIE LEWIS MEMORIAL: Redcar 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 22:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Belle Vue 7.30, Lakeside v Swindon 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30, Plymouth v Redcar 7.15, Somerset v Workington 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: King’s Lynn v Eastbourne 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 23: PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS WEEKEND: Peterborough 4pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Kent 7.30, Stoke v Birmingham 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 24:PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS WEEKEND: Peterborough 12pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Mildenhall 3pm

MONDAY JULY 25:TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Buxton 7.30, Kent v Stoke 6.30

TUESDAY JULY 26:TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Kent 7pm

WEDNESDAY JULY 27:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Glasgow 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Mildenhall 7.30, King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Plymouth 7.30, Redcar v Glasgow 7.30, Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30SOLENT TROPHY 2nd leg: Isle of Wight v Exeter 7pm

FRIDAY JULY 29:WORLD CUP RACE-OFF: Belle Vue 7pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30, Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.15, Somerset v Berwick 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 30:WORLD CUP FINAL: Belle Vue 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 31:PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Redcar 6.30, Rye House v Somerset 4pm, Workington v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Glasgow v Edinburgh 3pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Mildenhall 3.30, Rye House v Birmingham (follows PL fixture)BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 5: Leicester 3pm

MONDAY AUGUST 1:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Leicester 7.30, Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Isle of Wight 6.30

TUESDAY AUGUST 2:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Scunthorpe 7.30