MAJOR EVENTS LATEST…
PLYMOUTH boss Lee Trigger was delighted for all at the club to celebrate success in the Premier League Fours last month.The Devils came out on top in the weekend spectacular at Peterborough, which featured all 13 PL teams in a spectacular new venture for British Speedway.Trigger’s side edged out Workington and the hosts in a dramatic Final, and he says it is remarkable turnaround for the West Country club who looked set to face closure earlier in the season.He said: “It was a fantastic achievement for the club and reward for the riders after all the bad luck we have had this year.“It was nip and tuck all the way through and, bearing in mind the problems we have experienced, I had my thumbs crossed during the final race until Brady Kurtz crossed the finishing line in first place.“That is the first major silverware we have achieved with the Devils. Our best performance in the Premier League before that was to reach the play-offs last season. Now we have a trophy to show for our efforts and that will always be in the record books. “Hopefully, it will prove to be a timely boost and the confidence will take us through the rest of the season, meaning people will want to come and support us.”The next Major Event will again see all 13 PL clubs represented, this time in the Premier League Riders’ Championship at Sheffield on Sunday September 11.And a date has now been set for the Elite League Riders’ Championship, which is to take place at Coventry.The Brandon venue will host the event on Saturday October 8, which means a one-off return to the Bees’ historical pre-2004 race-night, with all eight top flight clubs to be represented. *EIGHT National League clubs go for one of the top third-tier trophies at Coventry on Sunday August 14.The National League Fours takes place at Brandon with Birmingham defending the title they won last season.The Brummies have been drawn in Group B along with the hosts, Belle Vue and Eastbourne. Group A is made up of Mildenhall, King’s Lynn, Kent and Cradley.Each group is run over an eight-heat programme with the top two teams progressing to the eight-heat Final.Admission is £15 for all over-16s with under-16s free, and the meeting starts at 2.30pm. BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAJOR EVENTS 2016BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: JOSH BATESBRITISH FINAL: DANNY KINGPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: SOMERSETPREMIER LEAGUE FOURS WEEKEND: PLYMOUTHPREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, September 11ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Coventry, October 8
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
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE boss Mark Lemon is keen for his side to pick up where they left off before the World Cup break when they go back into action this week.Lemon said: “To be honest, I’ve not been paying too close attention to what other teams are doing as my job is to ensure we win on Wednesday, but Wolves being rained off (on Monday) means we have a great opportunity.“Just because we’re at the top of the table doesn’t guarantee we’re going to carry on winning, but this is a chance for us to extend the two-point cushion we already have over second place.”COVENTRY hope to have Jason Garrity back in their team this weekend after over a month on the sidelines with an arm injury.Manager Gary Havelock said: “Jason is hoping to have a practice on either Monday or Tuesday, with a view to possibly riding at Sheffield on Thursday and then for us against Leicester at the weekend.“We’ve missed him, although to be fair to Ben (Barker), he’s done a good job overall since he came in. He was really unlucky at home to Belle Vue, and although he had a bad night at Poole that wasn’t just him, it was more than half of the team.”KING’S LYNN’S Kai Huckenbeck has pledged to keep working his way through a tough learning experience in British Speedway after finding the going tricky in recent weeks.Huckenbeck said: “I know I have to learn a lot, and I do my best to learn as quickly as possible. It’s difficult going to new tracks I haven’t seen before, but I always try hard to score as many points as possible. “I started the season pretty well, the first five or six meetings went well but then things have gone badly recently. I don’t know why, things just haven’t been working, but I’ve been trying my best and I’ll keep fighting.”LAKESIDE star Kim Nilsson says the Hammers have recovered well from their home defeat to Poole last month as they continue to chase a top-four finish.Nilsson said: “We had a meeting against Poole where we struggled, and I don’t really know what happened that night.“It was a warning that we needed to keep focused, and I think that may have been a good thing in showing us that we can’t take anything for granted.”LEICESTER boss Norrie Allan says his side should be looking forward to this weekend’s local derbies against Coventry with a fierce rivalry between the clubs.Allan said: “I’m looking forward to those two matches, I think it’s good when you can get them on two nights running when it’s a local derby, and they are good fixtures for the fans of both clubs.“I’ve got to book some guests but hopefully we’ll be able to get the right people in and we’d like to take some more points off Coventry!”POOLE will race at home twice in two nights with Leicester now at Wimborne Road on Thursday – 24 hours after Wolverhampton – following a postponement due to rain on Monday.Promoter Matt Ford said: “On Wednesday night during our meeting against Wolverhampton we will be announcing details of a special offer for Thursday's meeting. “We recognise that this is short notice but we do need to be able to fulfil the fixture and we have to look at every possibility. Thursday met the bill and with the co-operation of the Leicester club we are able to make a hasty re-arrangement.”SWINDON will welcome Darcy Ward back to the Abbey Stadium on Thursday, with the Australian intending to visit his other recent Elite League club Poole 24 hours earlier.Robins boss Alun Rossiter said: “It will be great to see Darcy on Thursday, and we’ll be able to have a chat with him during the meeting and catch up on how he’s getting on. He received a huge amount of support from the Swindon fans and I know he wants to thank them for that.“We all know what he did for us last year when he came into the team, he turned us around and helped make us into title contenders before he had that awful injury, so I’m sure everyone will be really pleased to see him and Liz back at the Abbey.”WOLVERHAMPTON star Sam Masters is looking to set down a marker when league leaders Belle Vue visit Monmore Green on Monday.Masters said: “At the start of the season, Belle Vue looked like one of the stand out teams and I always said they’d be one of our biggest challengers for the league. I think we need to get off to a good start and show them we mean business early on.“We’re having a really good season as a team and with Joonas (Kylmakorpi) coming back from injury now too, I think that’s only going to make us even stronger.”
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK team manager Scott Courtney reckons there were plenty of positives to take from their 56-34 defeat at Somerset on Friday, just two days after they were thrashed 58-31 at home to Glasgow.Said Courtney: “We may not have won but we rediscovered our fight and spirit again and that counts for an awful lot.“Somerset are favourites for the title this season and for us to hold them as well as we did for so long until they turned the screws in the latter heats which made the score look worse than reality was, is pretty creditable and a something to be proud of."EDINBURGH boss John Campbell described his side’s 54-30 Knockout Cup defeat at Glasgow as one of the worst performances he’s seen for years.Said Campbell: “We don’t have any excuses; it was a shocking performance and I can’t remember the last time we were so bad!“The Glasgow fans will certainly believe they can’t lose however, it’s not over until it’s over!GLASGOW reserve Nike Lunna admits he feels boosted by his performance during the 54-30 Knockout cup victory over rivals Edinburgh.The Finn scored 16 points from reserve on his return to racing at home for the Tigers.Said Lunna: “It was so awesome I can’t even put it into words!“Everything came together; maybe I’ve got better confidence from being at No. 6 but I know I can beat the best guys!”IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins believes a win at Sheffield on Thursday would seriously boost their play-off hopes.Said Hawkins: “There are teams below us with a lot of meetings in hand so we need to get points on the board, especially away from home."We've been doing a lot better and we're in the best form we've been in all season and we've got to look to get a win.” NEWCASTLE team manager George English admitted the scoreline didn’t reflect the entertainment during his side’s 58-35 home win over Redcar.Said English: “It was a great performance from out lads again over the Bears who haven't had a look in at our place this season.“But I have to congratulate Redcar for giving us some excellent racing within; you wouldn't expect good racing with a score like that, but there certainly was!"PETERBOROUGH assistant Carl Johnson insists there’s room for improvement from his side – despite picking up four points away from home in two meetings.The Panthers pulled off a fine 48-45 win at Sheffield on Thursday and followed it up with a consolation league point against a Workington side who are unbeaten on home shale in 2016.Said Johnson: “There are fine margins between winning a meeting and coming up just short, and the fact we had to carry a couple of riders was probably the difference.“That’s not something we can afford to do at this stage of the season and we’re constantly looking at ways we can potentially strengthen the team.”PLYMOUTH have signed Steve Boxall to replace Brady Kurtz who has quit the club to allow him to focus on other commitments.Boxall will make his debut this Friday, subject to BSPA approval, against Berwick, a side Devils team manager Lee Trigger believes could push Plymouth all the way.He said: “They have some good riders who perform well on our track; (Kevin) Doolan scored a maximum last time he was here and (Thomas) Jorgensen is a former track record holder at the Arena.“Berwick are fighting for a place in the play-offs and we cannot take anything for granted.”REDCAR boss Jitendra Duffill has challenged his side to finish the season strongly following their shock 48-44 home win over high flying Glasgow last Thursday.Ahead of this Thursday’s clash against Berwick, Duffill said: “We go into this fixture with a lot of confidence after beating Glasgow and we know the opposition will not come any stronger than them. “That result will not have gone unnoticed and it should stop teams coming here and expecting and easy ride.” RYE HOUSE slipped to their fifth defeat in six meetings as they went down 47-45 at home to Somerset on Sunday.Rockets team manager Peter Schroeck said: “Losing a really close match does not leave a good feeling; In many ways, it is far worse than losing by fifteen or twenty.“We need to get our home form going to get back on top of things, but we still have time to do that this season.” SCUNTHORPE will have to wait until Sunday for their next Premier League meeting after their scheduled meeting at Somerset was rained off.The Scorpions host the current league leaders at the Eddie Wright Raceway as they look to secure their first victory since July 12.SHEFFIELD co-boss Marc Bates says his side need to get their season back on track against Ipswich on Thursday after going four meetings without a win.Bates told the Sheffield Star: “We haven’t become a bad team overnight, when we’re firing as a unit we can be hard to beat, we didn’t get to the top of the league by fluke.“We just have to get together on Thursday and try and put a good win on the board to get our season going again.”SOMERSET team manager Garry May says his team are desperate to extend their 17 meeting unbeaten run and pull further clear at the top of the Premier League when they host Peterborough on Friday.Said May: “We seem to be a bit of a bogey side for the Panthers, and they will be looking to finally get one over us.“But by the same token, the Somerset lads are determined to add another notch in the ‘win column’ when it comes to matches against them, so it should be a cracking encounter.”WORKINGTON boss Tony Jackson has described his side’s spell of eight meetings in three weeks as a season defining period for the Comets.They face back-to-back meetings this weekend against two in-form sides Newcastle and Glasgow.Said Jackson: “The next three weeks or so will make or break our play-off aspirations, starting this weekend with two tough matches against genuine title contenders.“We defeated Newcastle at Derwent Park earlier in the season in the League Cup group stages, but if anything they are a stronger unit this time around and we will certainly have to be on top of our game on Saturday if we are to come out on top in what promises to be a terrific meeting.”
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE Colts saw their play-off hopes dealt a blow with a 55-35 defeat against King’s Lynn Young Stars at the Adrian Flux Arena last Wednesday. Co-promoter George Carswell said: “Track conditions were more difficult than usual due to the fact they’d had quite a bit of morning rain, so it did take us a couple of races to get dialled in.“Obviously a few of the guys did struggle but it was a tough night and we can’t fault any of the guys for their efforts. They put into the meeting what they could and that’s all we could ask them to do.“Of course we’d have liked to have got a point but we realised even before the meeting that it would be a tough ask, and even though we did come away empty handed we’re not down about it.”BIRMINGHAM boss Graham Drury was full of praise for his side after their 54-36 victory at Rye House on Sunday.“The whole situation was far from ideal,” said Drury. “We were left hanging around and waiting and when we did get on track, conditions overall were tricky and poor.“I'm not a fan of double headers, especially when you're a part of the second meeting, but despite all of that, the lads got their heads down, cracked on with things and what another remarkable team performance it was.“We once again highlighted our strength in depth and it's another impressive victory which moves us further clear at the top.”BUXTON promoter Jayne Moss has revealed their difficulties in solving their injury crisis.Moss told Speedway Star: “Jason (Pipe) has been working hard behind the scenes to try and find riders to bring in but there are so few about at the moment.“We cannot meet the financial demands of some riders, although we can understand where they are coming from.“Hopefully our supporters will stick with us through these hard times and rest assured we are trying very hard to get seven regular riders out on track, but we will not bankrupt the club in the process.” COVENTRY Storm are set to welcome Jamie Halder back into their team after two months out with a fractured arm when they visit Buxton on Sunday.Manager Laurence Rogers said: “Jamie’s been back on a bike at Scunthorpe and also mountain biking and his arm is now much stronger.“It’s not been an easy situation – if he’d gone up into the team we could have had R/R for him and at least got something from it, but as it is now there aren’t many three-pointers out there to find replacements.”CRADLEY are gearing up for the biggest F.A.S.T Golden Hammer of the modern era at Monmore Green next Tuesday (7.30).Heathens director Nigel Pearson said: “We’ve seen some brilliant Golden Hammer meetings over the last few years, and we’ve raised the bar this year to bring in a host of Cradley favourites.“We’ve got the best line-up we’ve had, so the interest is at the highest level we’ve seen in the modern era.” EASTBOURNE star Adam Ellis was delighted to lead them to a 52-38 win over Mildenhall at Arlington on Sunday.“The whole team were riding good,” said Ellis. “The track was a lot slicker to what we are used to.“It was also dusty, which made it a bit hard to ride. Luckily all the boys scored points.“When it so slick, it is not easy with the bikes they are these days. They just spin around on you. It is just one of those things. You have to make the start.”ISLE OF WIGHT suffered a comprehensive 59-31 away defeat at Kent on Monday.The Warriors currently lie eighth in the National League table and will return to action when they host Cradley at Smallbrook on Thursday (7.30). KENT skipper Luke Bowen is fully focused on ensuring the high-flying Kings secure their place in the National League play-offs.Bowen told Speedway Star: “I’m confident we’ll be there at the end of the season, don’t you worry about that.“Our aim is to get as many points as we can here and target a couple of away wins.” KING’S LYNN boss Dale Allitt was delighted to see the Young Stars give their play-off hopes a major boost with a convincing 55-35 win over Belle Vue last Wednesday.Said Allitt: “Belle Vue are another one of our rivals in the race to make the play-offs, and we beat them fairly comfortably in the end which was brilliant.“They were slightly weakened by Lee Payne not riding, but everyone rode really well to make sure we got the result. “Josh (Bailey) got a 15 point maximum and was fantastic, but they all chipped in with important points. It was nice to see Lewis Whitmore get paid seven and Shane Hazelden get back in the points.”MILDENHALL have made two further team changes with the introduction of 15-year-old pair Jordan Jenkins and Sam Bebee.The teenage duo will come in for Chris Widman and Luke Ruddick at reserve, whilst Kyle Hughes was also snapped up as a replacement for the injured Connor Mountain last week. Promoter Kevin Jolly said: “This has been hard for me as it is never easy releasing riders and with Luke and Chris both being good lads it is even harder, but I have to do what I feel is best for Mildenhall Speedway and other clubs were starting to circle around our youngsters so I decided to act quickly.“Jordan and Sam are the first fruits from our second half racing programme and entry into the MDL, and hopefully more will follow. “How many meetings each will ride this season will depend on a number of different things but I am sure our supporters will get fully behind both lads”.RYE HOUSE boss Peter Schroeck admitted they were simply beaten by a better side as top of the table Birmingham ran out 54-36 winners at Hoddesdon on Sunday.“We knew it was going to be really tough, but those early 5-1s really did sink us,” Schroeck said. “Double headers can work either for or against you, and on this occasion it was the latter. Ben (Morley) and Rob (Branford) threw everything at it in the Somerset match, and you could tell that they were not quite as sharp against Birmingham because of the number of rides they were having.“But Matt (Saul) picked up a few points, so it wasn’t all bad tonight. Just very tough in a match against really strong opposition where you really need everything to be going your way in order to be in with a shout.”STOKE hosted former World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty for a training day at Loomer Road last week.The Potters had no meeting last week, but the legendary rider arrived with his motocross bike to put in some flat-track laps.Promoter Dave Tatum said: “Carl just turned up and wanted to ride his flat track bike and have some fun. He said that he’d enjoyed himself here and that the track was in good shape and that he may well return in the near future when circumstances allow.”
FIXTURE PICTURE…
TUESDAY AUGUST 2:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Scunthorpe 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 3:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Lakeside 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v King’s Lynn 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 4:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Leicester 7.30, Swindon v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Berwick 7.30, Sheffield v Ipswich 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Cradley 7pm
FRIDAY AUGUST 5:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Leicester 7.30, Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Rye House 7.30, Plymouth v Berwick 7.15, Somerset v Peterborough 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Isle of Wight 7.30
SATURDAY AUGUST 6:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Coventry 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Workington v Newcastle 7pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd round 1st leg: Berwick v Rye House 7pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Eastbourne 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Belle Vue v Birmingham 7.30
SUNDAY AUGUST 7:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Workington 3pm, Newcastle v Rye House 6.30, Peterborough v Edinburgh 5pm, Scunthorpe v Somerset 6.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Coventry 3pm, Mildenhall v Kent 3.30
MONDAY AUGUST 8:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v King’s Lynn 6.30
TUESDAY AUGUST 9:FAST GOLDEN HAMMER: Cradley 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v King’s Lynn 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Coventry 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 11:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Scunthorpe 7.30, Redcar v Workington 7.30, Sheffield v Somerset 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Buxton 7pm
FRIDAY AUGUST 12:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Peterborough 7.30, Plymouth v Glasgow 7.15, Somerset v Sheffield 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Rye House 7.30
SATURDAY AUGUST 13:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Peterborough 7pm, Rye House v Glasgow 7pm, Workington v Ipswich 7pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Stoke 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 14:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Ipswich 3pm, Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Coventry 2.30BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 6: Belle Vue 1pm
MONDAY AUGUST 15:TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Birmingham 7.30, Kent v Belle Vue 6.30
