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BRITISH Speedway breaks new ground over the weekend with the Premier League Fours to be staged over two days at Peterborough.Twelve PL clubs will be in action on Saturday in three semi-finals starting at 4pm, with the winners of each semi joining the hosts in tomorrow’s Final at 4pm.Each of the clubs who are knocked out today will also be represented in an Individual meeting at midday on Sunday, with numerous other attractions in place at the Showground.Peterborough co-promoter Ged Rathbone said: “We felt it was time for a makeover and a lot of time and hard work has gone into making an idea, which I first mooted at the BSPA annual meeting back in November, a reality.“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.“It is the first of its kind in Britain and I am confident it will prove to be a huge success.”Advance tickets are no longer available for the event but supporters can pay on the day with adult admission prices set at £20 per day, or £30 for a two day pass.

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GREAT Britain’s team for the World Cup Final at Belle Vue on Saturday July 30 has been confirmed.World Champion and captain Tai Woffinden will be joined in the quartet at the National Speedway Stadium by Danny King, Robert Lambert and Craig Cook as GB go for their first medal in the competition since 2006.Adam Ellis has received the nod for the compulsory Under-21 reserve berth, whilst boss Alun Rossiter has put Steve Worrall on stand-by in case of any problems over the next week.Rossiter said: “For the first time in quite a few years the team hasn’t picked itself, there have been some tough decisions but I’m confident that I’ve come to the right conclusions.“I’m sure there will be a few people who will have had other ideas, but that’s the same for any manager in any job. Everybody has a different opinion, and I’m fine with that.“One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was telling Chris Harris that he hasn’t made the Great Britain side this year.“I know what it means to him to put that suit on, and I know how he can rise to the occasion, but this time I just feel by his high standards it’s not been his best season.“The door is certainly not shut on Chris, it’s not the end for him, and knowing Chris like I do I’m sure he’ll respond to this in a positive way.“When I spoke to him he was very good about it, and that’s been the case for all of the other members of the squad.“It was the same with Scott Nicholls, who had put himself back in the frame last winter. I spoke to him at Swindon on Thursday, and he fully understood the decision that I’d come to.“All in all I’m really pleased with the attitude of the riders, because it’s been the hardest decision to make this year, which really is a pleasant thing.“The team has ended up being the top three from the British Final, along with Tai of course, although there was far more to the decision than just the result of that meeting.“Danny’s win on that night was superb but he also showed he can mix it in a top field with his display in the British Grand Prix.“Robert is the future, and when he was called upon last year it didn’t faze him at all. I thought he had an outstanding World Cup debut, everyone was talking about him, and having got to know him a lot more over the last twelve months I’ve seen him improve and become far more grown-up.“I’ve gone with Craig as he rides Belle Vue week-in week-out, and he’s just got the nod over Stevie Worrall, mainly because of the fact that Craig is riding more in a heat-leader role.“When it comes to the crunch I just feel Craig edges it, but I do feel for Steve because he’s come on in massive leaps and bounds, and I have put him on stand-by for the meeting.“It was also a close call between Adam Ellis and Josh Bates for the reserve place, and I just felt Adam had a little more big-meeting experience and he’s also just had a good week so he’s got the nod over Josh.“Josh can feel disappointed as well, which I totally understand, but there’s only one position I can fill there. Adam has edged it this time but Josh is definitely another rider for our future.“I’m comfortable with my decisions and we’re all looking forward to the Final. The atmosphere when we’ve raced at home at King’s Lynn over the last few years has been fantastic, and now we’re looking for exactly the same at Belle Vue because it can really inspire the boys.”(SPEEDWAY 3)

BERWICK have announced the signing of Polish rider Dawid Stachyra to take the place of long-term injury victim Sebastian Alden.Stachyra first raced for Ipswich in the Elite League in 2009 with his most recent time in the top flight being with Poole, and he will now make his Premier League debut for the Bandits against Glasgow on Wednesday subject to BSPA approval.A Berwick statement said: “The paperwork, and red tape, involved in bringing a Pole to Britain is quite frightening.“Scott's (Courtney) enthusiasm for the task has only been matched by the dedication of co-promoter Dennis McCleary in carefully building our case to gain Dawid's release from the Polish club Wlókniarz Czestochowa, and also by the PZM - this being required before he can be granted an ACU licence, all of which has to be in place before we can re-declare our 1-7 to the BSPA.”

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BELLE Vue head into the World Cup break on top of the Elite League table thanks to two away wins in two nights.The Aces followed up their victory at Swindon on Thursday by winning 48-42 in a tense encounter at Coventry 24 hours later.Both sides led at times in a meeting which threw up plenty of talking points, but a 5-1 from Scott Nicholls and Max Fricke in Heat 14 secured the win for the visitors.Coventry reserve Kacper Woryna top-scored with 11+1 despite a heavy crash with Nicholls in Heat 11, whilst Matej Zagar led a solid Aces scorechart on 10+1.Belle Vue star Craig Cook said: “We could have had that extra point had certain things not happened but obviously it’s fantastic to come away having got the victory. It’s been a while since we’ve won here.“The important thing is we got the three points in the bag, and to boot we’re top of the table which is an excellent position to be in with the Speedway World Cup break just around the corner.”Coventry captain Chris Harris said: “It’s disappointing, and it was one of those nights for us. We were all up and down, and I had a terrible night.“If you’re not scoring points for the team you’re not earning money, and I suppose it rubs off on the rest of the team when the captain is having a bad night. KK (Krzysztof Kasprzak) had bike problems as well, Danny (King) had an okay night and it’s just frustrating all-round.”Meanwhile Lakeside gave their play-off hopes a major boost with a hard-fought 51-39 win over top four rivals Swindon at the Arena-Essex Raceway.The Vortex Hammers put in another strong home display to claim a potentially vital three points to strengthen their grip on fourth spot.Skipper Andreas Jonsson led the way for the Hammers with 12+1, backed up by Edward Kennett on 11+2, whilst Robins captain Jason Doyle and guest reserve Stuart Robson both scored 12 for the visitors.Lakeside coach Kelvin Tatum said: “It was a little bit dicey at one stage when they got within six, and we probably should have been more in control at that point in truth.“Swindon put up a decent fight, but we got the job done and got the three points which was the main thing.“We also stopped them getting anything which could prove very important at the end of the season, so it was a job well done for us in the end.”Swindon manager Alun Rossiter said: “We were already going there depleted, and rider replacement didn’t really work for us unfortunately.“It was a shame we couldn’t get a point, but looking at the positives, Nick (Morris) was back to his old self and Doyley was also superb. Full credit to Stuart Robson as well, he was a great guest for us down at reserve.”(SPEEDWAY 5)

SOMERSET moved level on points with Glasgow at the top of the Premier League after an extraordinary match against Workington on Friday.The Rebels have five matches in hand on the leaders but found themselves 10-20 down at the Oaktree Arena, forcing them to use the tactical ride facility – but they then romped clear in the second half of the meeting to win 55-38.Rohan Tungate (15-point maximum) and Josh Grajczonek (14+3) were in the big points for the Rebels, whilst Ricky Wells scored 10 for the Comets.Somerset boss Garry May said: “Workington hit us hard from the off and we were definitely on the back foot for those first five heats.“But the boys made a few changes to things, and after that there was only ever one team in it as ‘normal service was resumed’ as we totally dominated the rest of the meeting.”“As it turned out, whilst the tactical ride was the start of the turnaround, the additional points scored had no bearing on the final outcome.”Edinburgh completed the double over Scunthorpe with a comeback 49-40 win in another weather-hit encounter at Armadale.The Monarchs conceded a 5-0 in the opening race and trailed by seven points after Heat 8, before finishing the meeting strongly with three 5-1s in the last three races.Kevin Wolbert dropped just one point for the home side with 13+1 whilst Michael Palm Toft starred at reserve for the Scorpions with 14+1.Edinburgh boss John Campbell said: “It was a very tough match on a track affected by the weather, but although we were behind I felt if we kept it close enough we could win it over the last three heats.”Scorpions boss Dave Peet said: “Had things gone a little differently, we could definitely have got at least a point, if not more, from this meeting.“There were a number of very close finishes which went against us – those down in the pits had to correct their programme more than once.“We’ve proved over the last few weeks that we can now go anywhere and be competitive. There will be a lot of teams who won’t score 40 points at Edinburgh this season.”Meanwhile Plymouth gained their first win for five weeks with a 48-42 victory over Redcar at the St Boniface Arena.Brady Kurtz led the way for the Devils with 14 points from his five rides, being beaten only by David Bellego (13+1) in his second outing, with the Bears doing enough to take a league point.Plymouth boss Lee Trigger said: “It was good to get back to winning ways and Kyle Newman did a superb captain’s job on his return to the side.“I was also pleased with the way Ellis Perks stepped up to the plate in the absence of his fellow reserve Stefan Nielsen. Full marks also to Tyler Govier, who came in at the last minute and did not disgrace himself.”

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BIRMIGHAM bid to extend their lead in the Travel Plus National League table when they visit Stoke on Saturday.Graham Drury’s side eased past the Potters in a 56-34 win at Perry Barr on Wednesday but the Brummies boss is expecting a much closer contest at Loomer Road on Saturday.The visitors are at full strength whilst the home side bring in Rob Shuttleworth to guest for Danny Phillips who is racing in the Premier League Fours.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “We are determined to make a fight of it and will be obviously going out to try and win the meeting, but we were given a masterclass by Birmingham on Wednesday night, there is no doubting that, and we will be pushed all the way by them at Loomer Road.Drury said: “At home in particular, Stoke have picked up a bit of form in recent weeks and they’re going to be hard to beat around their own circuit.“They will be fired up and determined to get revenge on Saturday so it’s important that we set the tone from the start of the meeting.“As long as we come away with at least one league point then we’re still heading in the right direction; but our lads want to get another win under their belts which would see us create a nice bit of breathing space at the top of the table.”Meanwhile the teams in third and fourth places meet at Arlington as Eastbourne take on Kent.The Eagles have re-built since suffering a disastrous double Good Friday challenge match defeat against the Kings which left them with injured riders, and both sides are now strongly challenging for the play-offs.The Eagles will continue to use rider replacement for the injured Gary Cottham with Tom Brennan back in the reserve berth, whilst the Kings are looking to bounce back from losing at home to Birmingham on Monday as they go into a period of three matches in four days.Boss Connor Dugard said: “Of course, we always want to beat Kent and have local bragging rights. The results on Good Friday were a real shock but in reality they were no more than practice matches. It is what we do in the league that counts.“Kent lost their first league match earlier this week and it will do our season the world of good if we can prevent them from taking away a point, or more, on Saturday night.”Kent manager Chris Hunt said: “Hopefully a busy programme will be good for us so we can’t dwell on what happened last Monday. “It’s a difficult trip to Eastbourne for sure but we are determined to get our campaign back on track after the couple of recent setbacks.”(FIXTURES)

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