(SPEEDWAY 1)
PLYMOUTH were crowned Premier League Fours Champions in a spectacular conclusion to the sport’s first Festival Weekend at Peterborough.Three teams went into the final race with a chance of winning the event, with the Devils and Workington level on points and the hosts also in contention.Plymouth’s Brady Kurtz pulled off a stunning last-to-first move on the first lap to delight the Devils fans, who had earlier witnessed Jack Holder win a remarkable Heat 13 which underlined the quality of racing throughout the weekend.The Comets finished one point adrift in second place with Peterborough third and Berwick fourth.Plymouth skipper Kyle Newman said: “No-one really expected us to get through the semi-final never mind beat three big track teams in the final. We have a team full of guys who love big tracks, it just so happens that we race on the smallest home track in the league.“I'm delighted for the club and the fans. It's been a tough period with financial insecurities, but days like today make you forget about the hard times and hopefully this will ignite the interest in speedway in Plymouth.“The people of Plymouth have a winning team to support with young hungry riders who have the potential to go on and achieve so much in the sport. We now need the fans to come out and support them and the club, who have worked so hard to bring this calibre of rider to the club.”Workington boss Tony Jackson said: “Obviously it’s heart-breaking to get so close but that’s the way it goes sometimes. “You always look back and think where a point or two slipped away here and there but we aren’t the first side to miss out on winning something by a single point and we won’t be the last!“I can’t praise all five of our riders enough for the commitment they showed over the weekend; I couldn’t have asked for more. But, congratulations to Plymouth and also to everyone involved in staging the whole event, which produced two really fantastic days of speedway with some tremendous racing from start to finish.”Meanwhile the earlier Individual meeting was won by Scunthorpe’s Ryan Douglas, who defeated Steve Worrall and Ben Barker in a re-run Final – after Richie Worrall had been disqualified for a clash with, ironically, his twin brother!Douglas said: “I’m chuffed to win the meeting, because it was a strong field, with a lot of good riders in the line-up.“I made the gate in the final, but rode the wrong line and I ended up getting swamped. But a rider fell off and the race was stopped.“In the re-run, I made the start again, and I’d learnt from my previous mistake and make sure I stayed on the right line. I just rode that for four laps without making a mistake, and that was enough. I’m stoked.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
PETERBOROUGH promoter Ged Rathbone declared ‘speedway is the winner’ following a spectacular weekend of Premier League Fours racing.A packed programme of 73 races across two days at the East of England Showground came down to a three-way, last-heat decider for trophy glory with Plymouth emerging as victors ahead of Workington and the hosts.Rathbone said: “I’m very glad I made the suggestion of giving the Fours a big shake-up. Supporters are a huge part of this sport and they have turned out in force.“The weekend has been a fantastic success and we’ve also learned a lot to make sure it continues to get bigger and better year-by-year.“We’ve had proved we are capable of putting on a top show and we'll look forward to hopefully being able to do the same again in the future.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
MILDENHALL gave their hopes of reaching the Travel Plus National League play-offs a boost with a 53-37 win at Buxton on Sunday.It was the Fen Tigers’ first away win for nearly a season and half, and it was a day where they dominated the heat wins with Connor Mountain (12) and Dan Halsey (11+1) heading up a strong all-round display.Home boss Jason Pipe was far from happy with the Hitmen display, with guest Jack Parkinson-Blackburn collecting 10+1 as they still await their first home win.Mildenhall manager Kevin Jolly said: “This has been coming for a while and with a little fortune the margin of victory could have been considerably more - that said, I am not complaining as every rider gave his all today and made an important contribution to the victory. “The three heat-leaders all rode superbly and Colesy (Connor Coles) should have got more for his efforts, but the bottom three really gave the top lads the important backing required to win away. “Speedway is a confidence sport and you saw today a difference in those three that they can now build on for the remainder of the season.”Pipe said: “Quite honestly this is the first time I’ve felt genuinely embarrassed this season. One or two riders have performed well below their best and they know it. “I want people to know I’ve been working hard in the background and already have ideas on which direction I can take.”(SPEEDWAY 4)
CRADLEY skipper Max Clegg is keen to see them continue their excellent form as they host Buxton at Monmore Green on Monday. The Heathens have won their last four competitive meetings and have put in some impressive performances.Their winning run started with a last-gasp 46-42 win over Buxton in the Knockout Cup on home shale in June – and Clegg admits that meeting served as a wake-up call.He said: “Everyone was a bit shocked it was such a close meeting, but we've improved since then and I think we are a better team now.“We got the win last time which was the most important thing, and now we want to do the same in the league to get three more points.“We can't take anything for granted as we saw last time, but I'd like to think we won't make such hard work of it this time.” Cradley will welcome Ben Basford into their side at reserve, whilst rider replacement operates for James Purchase at No.2 and Layne Cupitt lines up as No.8. Meanwhile, Buxton have drafted in former Heathens ace Ellis Perks as a guest in the No.3 spot.”At Central Park, fourth-placed Kent are looking to bounce back from two successive defeats when they host Stoke.The Kings have been edged out by Birmingham and Eastbourne recently but did pick up a point from their trip to Arlington on Saturday.The Potters have an excellent record at the venue with wins in each of the last three seasons, but will make a change at reserve after Chris Hay crashed out on Saturday.Kent manager Chris Hunt said: “In the past three seasons Stoke have very much been our bogey team and have picked up some good results, often unexpectedly, around Central Park. So we really do have to be on our game for this one.”Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “We have a good record around Kent and have come away with victories in our last three outings there. “Ben (Wilson), Tony (Atkin), Ben (Hopwood) and Danny (Phillips) all go well around there normally, and we will be looking for at least a point from the meeting.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
BUXTON have parted company with David Speight following their heavy home defeat against Mildenhall on Sunday.The decision has been taken by mutual consent with the Hitmen set to track youngster William O’Keefe in Monday’s trip to Cradley.Manager Jason Pipe said: “It’s been hard but David is not enjoying his racing and we are in an unfortunate position where we cannot carry him. “He has helped us out by coming back and hopefully as he has now ridden the required number of matches his average will drop so that he is in a position to join another club if he fits and he wishes. We wish him well and thank him for his efforts at Buxton.”
(FIXTURES)
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
