(SPEEDWAY 1)
RYE House were crowned National League Fours champions in a tense last-heat decider at Coventry on Sunday.The Raiders, who were late entrants to the competition after Kent had pulled out due to injuries, were level on points with Eastbourne, with Belle Vue just one point further back, going into the final race.But Ben Morley completed an unbeaten performance on the day by heading home the Colts’ Matt Williamson, whilst the Eagles’ hopes ended with mechanical failure at the start for Adam Ellis.Rye House boss Peter Schroeck said: “This is absolutely fantastic for all the boys and the club as a whole. “Firstly, Ben, Rob (Branford) and Luke (Priest) really deserve this because they are the guys who have held the Raiders together this year. They could have gone anywhere in the country if they wanted to go glory hunting, but they stuck with us – and this is their reward.“And Sam (Woods) fully played his part in this success too. He did exactly what we asked him to do, with no last places. You can’t ask for more than that.“We plan to parade the Fours trophy on Saturday at our home match against Coventry (2pm start), and we hope as many Rye House fans as possible can be there to join in the celebration.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
BELLE Vue co-promoter George Carswell has defended Rob Shuttleworth after the Colts rider was excluded from the National League Fours on Sunday.Shuttleworth was involved in an altercation with Eastbourne’s Ellis Perks after the two had tangled in Heat 1 of the Final, and referee Dave Robinson ruled he should take no further part in the event.Carswell said: “I can’t comment on some of the decisions made because we have to respect them. The only thing I will say is that they were made from a unique perspective that nobody else seemed to share.“The crash between Ellis Perks and Rob Shuttleworth was only one such example. Rob ran across to help pull Ellis out from under the fence and that for some reason descended into a fist fight.“We felt it was very harsh that only Rob was excluded from the meeting given that tempers were frayed on both sides, as well as a third party instigating a separate incident in the crowd yet neither of those two riders were questioned or spoken to.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
GLASGOW head the Premier League table on points difference after a 50-39 win over Ipswich at Ashfield on Sunday.Finnish flyer Nike Lunna was again the hero for the Tigers as they completed their third victory in three days to edge ahead of Somerset in the table, albeit the Rebels have four matches in hand.Lunna pulled off a stunning pass on the Witches’ Morten Risager in Heat 14 to join Richie Worrall for a 5-1, with a further maximum for the home side from Worrall and Aaron Summers in the last race ensuring the visitors left pointless.Worrall scored 15 points for the home side with Summers on 11+1 and Lunna 9+4, whilst former Tigers rider Ben Barker carded 10 for the Witches.Lunna said: “It's been so busy recently - with a lot of travelling and a lot of meetings. I'm not tired really, my body is just a bit sore after (Saturday’s) crash. But I can ride so it's no problem."The team is coming together now - everyone is a good team player and everyone is riding well. If someone is not, then the other guys are doing even better, that's how the team works."Ipswich director of speedway Chris Louis said: “Every point is so vital so it is very disappointing to come away with nothing. I thought it was a good effort at Workington but then some of the lads didn't prepare themselves very well for today and they let themselves down and the team down. “Had we have been better prepared, I think we had a good chance of picking up points especially as Rene Bach was missing for them and Danny Ayres was not 100 per cent fit."“Glasgow were not at their best, we were given an opportunity that we didn't take, that is how I see today. I was disappointed in the fashion that we didn't take it too.”Newcastle moved to within two points of Ipswich – with six matches in hand – thanks to a 54-36 win over Sheffield at Brough Park.Steve Worrall scored a paid maximum for the Diamonds (13+2) with Ludvig Lindgren and Lewis Rose both adding 10+1 in a comfortable home victory, with Josh Bates providing two of the Tigers’ three race wins with 13 points in total.Newcastle boss George English said: “Sheffield, especially Josh Bates and Kyle Howarth, were far better value for money tonight, although with the determination we have at the moment, we took another deserved win to push for those top six places in the league.”Sheffield co-boss Marc Bates said: “Josh rode really well, Kyle tried extremely hard and Nathan (Greaves) did his job by beating his opposite number. Apart from that we just weren’t good enough again.“We expect more than six points from our No.1, and I know Steady (Simon Stead) will be as disappointed as we are with that score.“Obviously it was a blow to be without Jason (Garrity), but we should still have done much better than that and if we keep riding like this we won’t be getting in the play-offs.”
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CRADLEY will put their proud unbeaten home record on the line when they host local rivals Birmingham in the Travel Plus National League on Monday.The Heathens have not lost a meeting at Monmore Green since August 2011 – but team boss Will Pottinger knows they will need to be at their best to overcome the table-topping Brummies.The home side continue to operate rider-replacement for James Purchase, whilst the Brummies bring in Liam Carr at No.1 to guest for Zach Wajtknecht.Pottinger said: “It’s going to be a very tight meeting where I’m sure every point will be vital. We’ll be treating it like any other meeting, we’ll take one race at a time and hopefully come out on top after 15 heats.“Birmingham are a very strong team, they’ve been having a great season so it’s going to be a tough meeting without a doubt.“We’ll need contributions from everybody and we’ll need to be at our best, but we have a good record at Monmore and we’re certainly capable of keeping that going.”Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “All local derbies are great occasions, and I’m sure this will be no different.“There’s no doubt Cradley would swap their league position for ours, and they need the points a lot more than we do as they look to make the play-offs.“We’re expecting a very hard-fought match where every point will be vital. These are two very good teams, racing on a good speedway track so I’m sure the fans will be in for a feast of speedway.”Meanwhile Kent are boosted by the return of Danny Ayres for their home clash with Belle Vue, whilst Jack Thomas is also able to ride despite heavy bruising.The Kings have booked Ben Morley and Mark Baseby to guest for injured duo Luke Bowen and David Mason, with rider-replacement in operation for Luke Clifton.The Colts are without Rob Shuttleworth due to work commitments whilst Niall Strudwick guests for the injured David Holt at reserve.Belle Vue’s Tom Woolley said: “Kent are are obviously up there as one of the league’s toughest teams and we don’t expect anything less than a challenging meeting, despite the fact they’ve had quite a few injuries.“Even with a guest for David and rider-replacement for Rob, we still believe we’ve got the strength as a unit to come away from this meeting with at least a point if not more.”
(FIXTURES)
MONDAY AUGUST 15:TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Birmingham 7.30, Kent v Belle Vue 6.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Isle of Wight 7.30, Birmingham v Buxton 7.30, King’s Lynn v Coventry 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 18:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Swindon 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Workington 7.30, Redcar v Newcastle 7.30, Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Rye House 7pm
FRIDAY AUGUST 19:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30, Coventry v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Somerset 7.30, Plymouth v Rye House 7.15
