MAJOR EVENTS LATEST…THREE of Great Britain’s Speedway World Cup silver medallists will do battle in the Premier League Riders’ Championship at Sheffield on Sunday, September 11.Craig Cook, Danny King and Robert Lambert will all be fighting to win the prestigious trophy just weeks after helping Team GB to their best World Cup performance in over a decade.With Australian team members Sam Masters and Josh Grajczonek also in action, there will be five World Cup finalists vying for success at Owlerton.Sheffield co-promoter Damien Bates is delighted to once again be hosting the showpiece meeting, which is one of the most popular on the domestic calendar.Said Bates: “Sheffield has become the home of the PLRC, and we’ve been fortunate to carry that on after taking over the club a few years ago. “When you look at the line-up, every rider is top class and they all go well around Sheffield as well.“I don’t think there is much home advantage for our boys given the standard of riders and the way they’ve performed around Owlerton in the past.“We’ve seen some brilliant action in the PLRC in recent years, and looking at this year’s line-up I’m sure it’ll be no different.” Each of the 13 Premier League clubs will be represented by their top available rider based on current declarations.Sheffield, Glasgow and Newcastle will all have two representatives after Jason Garrity, Richard Lawson and Steve Worrall qualified as the next three highest-averaged riders. Hometown hero Simon Stead will be back to try to regain the trophy he won in dramatic fashion in 2014 having missed out on the chance to defend his title due to injury last year.But reigning Champion Ulrich Ostergaard misses out on qualification, with Cook the sole representative for Peterborough.

PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP LINE-UP: Craig Cook (Peterborough), Edward Kennett (Rye House), Josh Grajczonek (Somerset), Simon Stead (Sheffield), Danny King (Ipswich), Sam Masters (Edinburgh), Aaron Summers (Glasgow), Robert Lambert (Newcastle), Ricky Wells (Workington), Josh Auty (Scunthorpe), Kevin Doolan (Berwick), David Bellego (Redcar), Jack Holder (Plymouth), Richard Lawson (Glasgow), Jason Garrity (Sheffield), Steve Worrall (Newcastle). 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: RYE HOUSENATIONAL 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 star Craig Cook insists the Aces will keep firmly focused on the target of going one step further than last year in the Elite League title race.Cook said: “We just need to keep doing our thing. To be honest I try not to look at what’s going on with other clubs in the table because there’s absolutely no guarantees between now and the play-offs.“We just need to stay focused on the job at hand and maintain our good spirits. I think that’s the key to our success at the minute and as long as we stick to our game plan, the sky’s the limit for us.”COVENTRY star Josh Bates is looking to kick on from his impressive display in the Bees’ last outing when he defeated Grand Prix star Jason Doyle in Heat 15 of the win over Swindon.Bates said: “I’ve had a few down meetings lately but that’s boosted my confidence loads, and the reception from the crowd after Heat 15 was great as well.“It just proves that when I do concentrate and put my mind to it, I can ride a bike, but sometimes I don’t have good confidence in myself. Speedway is about confidence and starting, and keeping cool! The main thing is you can’t get yourself too irate.”KING’S LYNN boss Rob Lyon admitted his side were always likely to come up short in their clashes with Poole last week, especially with No.1 Niels-Kristian Iversen unavailable.Lyon said: “If you go into a meeting against anyone with what is realistically half a team it's going to be an uphill struggle but when it's against the reigning Champions it just makes the task even tougher."While it's been a disheartening few days in many respects, we will never throw in the towel and we are desperate to restore a bit of pride between now and the end of the season."LAKESIDE coach Kelvin Tatum admits the Hammers are moving into a vital phase of the season as they prepare for home and away matches with Coventry this weekend.Tatum said: “It would be a great achievement for us to make the play-offs and that's our target. We want a big crowd at the Raceway on Saturday, it should be a great night and hopefully we will see lots of families there."Coventry are a tough side to beat but we'll be going for it and we know we must win our home meetings.”LEICESTER skipper Nicolai Klindt says the Lions are determined to battle on for the remainder of the season with their home form having shown a marked improvement of late.Klindt told Speedway Star: “We’ve known since about halfway through the season that we weren’t going to make the play-offs, but we’re still doing our best as a team.“It’s about people showing they deserve a team place next year s well, so there is still plenty for us to ride for and plenty of reasons we want to do well.”POOLE manager Neil Middleditch has stressed the importance of an injury-free run over the closing weeks of the season as the Pirates attempt to make it four successive Elite League titles.Middleditch told the Bournemouth Echo: “We've had injuries in the past that have potentially cost us a title. This is the time of year you want to wrap them all up in cotton wool and keep them to one side so they can only race for Poole but, unfortunately, that's not something we can do. "They all have livings to earn and that's what they do. You just hope they come through their Swedish and Polish commitments so they can ride for us.”SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter admits he has been considering his options ahead of two key away matches this week, with the Robins looking to keep their play-off hopes alive.Rossiter said: “To sign a new rider I would have to bring in a big hitter and also a lesser rider, I’d have to make two changes, so it’s not a simple process.“We need to take a long, hard look at ourselves before we get back in action.”WOLVERHAMPTON are counting down to the return of World Champion Tai Woffinden, who makes his return to the club against Lakeside on Monday, August 22.Boss Peter Adams said: “We are entering a crucial phase of the season now and the boys will need to be ready for it next week."It will be busy, but we will be relishing the challenge, hopefully starting with three points against Lakeside and a solid team display."

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…

BERWICK team manager Scott Courtney admits his side are still feeling the absence of Sebastian Alden.The comments came after the Bandits went down 50-40 at home to Peterborough on Saturday – meaning it is 18 years since they beat the Panthers home or away.Swedish star Alden broke his neck in a crash at Sheffield in May.Said Courtney: “We have never recovered from the loss of Sebastian to injury, as how do you replace a guy like that?“We have problems, and they are problems we must solve as soon as possible as the season's end is closing in."EDINBURGH skipper Sam Masters believes his team are improving all the time – and insists they’ll be bang on form should they reach the end of season play-offs.The Monarchs face a fixture backlog and suffered their seventh home race off of the season last Friday. But Masters believes having meetings in quick succession will do his side the world of good.Masters told Speedway Star: “If we can get a run of home meetings together then that’ll definitely be a big bonus for us and help us get some momentum.“We have a pretty young team and we’re improving all the time, so by the time the play-offs come we should be better than ever.”GLASGOW reserve Danny Ayres has spoken about his passion for the club following their 50-39 home win over Ipswich.Ayres made his comeback to the Tigers line-up on Sunday – just two and a half weeks after breaking his wrist!Said Ayres: “Say we make it to the end and go all the way – I want to be involved in the whole year so that I can stand and legitimately say that I helped this team. “Every one of these riders helps this team, and I want to be a part of it. I love every one of them, I love the fans, I love the club – I’m in love with the place and I don’t want it to stop.”IPSWICH Director of Speedway Chris Louis says his side will take no notice of Workington’s away form when they host the Comets at Foxhall on Thursday.Workington have won just one away meeting in 2016 but Louis says nothing can be taken for granted in what is turning out to be an unpredictable Premier League campaign.Said Louis: "You can't bank on anything; we can't assume that we'll win because Workington's away form hasn't been very good. “At some point they’ll win but we have to make sure that it doesn't happen on our patch because we can't afford to drop any points home or away.”NEWCASTLE team manager George English insists his team are more than worthy of an end of season play-off place based on recent performances and resultsThe Diamonds closed to within just two points of the top six with a 54-36 over Sheffield on Sunday – but have six vital meetings in hand over their rivals.Said English: “Sheffield, especially Josh Bates and Kyle Howarth were far better value for their money, although with that determination we have at the moment, we took another deserved win to push for those top six places in the league.”PETERBOROUGH boss Carl Johnson reckons his side’s 50-40 win at Berwick on Saturday was another big step towards securing a top six Premier League finish.Said Johnson: “We’re not there yet by any means, but this is certainly a big step in the right direction.“It was an excellent all-round performance in all honesty with the other guys also chipping in with valuable points to help us pick up a result that gives our play-off hopes a huge boost.”PLYMOUTH team manager Lee Trigger believes new No. 1 Steve Boxall could be the key man against his parent club Rye House on Friday.The Devils will be looking for a much needed win as they aim to break out of the league’s bottom two positions.Said Trigger: “Steve struggled with his equipment against Glasgow, but he tried a different machine after the meeting and will hope to do a job on his parent club.“Rye House have a side packed with track specialists at the St Boniface Arena.”REDCAR ace Hugh Skidmore is backing fellow Australian Jye Etheridge to make an impact on the Bears fortunes between now and the end of the season.Etheridge has joined the club to replace Simon Nielsen who has opted to sit out the remainder of the campaign through injury.Skidmore told Speedway Star: “All the boy will get behind him and give him the benefit of our knowledge, give him a few tips about the track so I reckon he should be good.”RYE HOUSE team boss Peter Schroeck remains upbeat – despite falling to an eighth straight defeat at the weekend.The Rockets put up much more of a fight, but narrowly missed out 46-44 against high flying Glasgow.Said Schroeck: “It is just gutting to lose by that margin; it couldn’t have been any closer.“It was another brilliant speedway meeting, and to run the potential champions that close it just shows you what the League is all about.“We are doing something right here, we’ve just got to click all together.”SCUNTHORPE want to get back to winning ways when they host Workington on Sunday.The Scorpions are without a victory for five weeks – something promoter Rob Godfrey is keen to change as soon as possible.“We’ve been very close in our last couple of home meetings, but we’ve just missed out on both occasions,” said Godfrey.“We need to make sure we close out the meeting on Sunday, and come out with a victory; I feel that’s the least that our efforts of recent weeks deserve.”SHEFFIELD team boss Marc Bates has warned his side performances most improve if they are to reach the end of season play-offs.The Tigers slipped to another disappointing 54-36 defeat at Newcastle on Sunday – meaning they have won just one of their last eight meetings.Bates said: “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.“Josh (Bates) rode really well, Kyle (Howarth) tried extremely hard and Nathan (Greaves) did his job by beating his opposite number - apart from that we just weren’t good enough again.”SOMERSET team manager Garry May has challenged his side to pick up a victory of seven points or more on Wednesday – to ensure they send Edinburgh home empty handed.The Rebels lost their first league meeting of the season at Sheffield last Thursday but bounced back in style by beating the Tigers 53-38 the following night.May is now keen to build on their stunning home record.Said May: “Edinburgh are having another good season, and have consistently picked up points on their travels, but the Somerset boys are also riding extremely well.“It’s one I feel we have the ability to not only win but in doing so, to also deny Edinburgh any league points from the match.”WORKINGTON manager Tony Jackson says his side need to start picking up points on the road if they are to boost their hopes of a play-off spot.Said Jackson: “Right now there appears to be eight or nine clubs realistically competing for the six play-off places and we are only too aware that we need to pick up more points on the road if we are to be one of the top-six. “At present it is very reminiscent of last season where we showed great home form but could not turn that into points on the road.”

TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…

BELLE VUE co-promoter George Carswell was delighted to emerge with a consolation point after their 46-43 defeat at Kent on Monday.Said Carswell: “To be honest we’re over the moon to have come away with a point. We thought that we were in for a tough night, which it was, but we really did not expect to get anything out of it.“Already two men down, the lads really pulled together and did what they’ve done all year. They pulled together, they helped each other out and they managed to get a few breaks to boot.“We moved up to fifth overall on Monday night and with the bulk of our remaining matches being at home we can reasonably expect to get a decent haul out of those, with the form of the team so far.”BIRMINGHAM claimed local bragging rights with a brilliant 48-41 win over Cradley at Monmore Green.“It’s an excellent result,” said team manager Graham Drury. “Full credit to Cradley, because I thought it was an excellent speedway meeting between two very good teams.“The make-up of each team is different, Cradley are very top heavy whereas we are trying to build with more strength all the way through the team.“On a superb race track in front of a very good crowd, with both Cradley and Birmingham fans giving their teams superb support, it was great to come out on top.“It’s the first time Cradley have been beaten at home this season, and it’s the same as when we went to Kent and won there.“We’ve reached the play-offs now I would have thought, and it was certainly a very pleasing performance.” BUXTON will be led by the National League’s youngest team manager when they head to Birmingham on Wednesday.Josh Moss, 16, will take charge in the absence of regular team manager Jason Pipe – and he believes the Hitmen can put up a fight against the National League front-runners. Moss said: “I'm looking forward to working with our boys in a different role at Birmingham because I feel I get along with them all well and have a good relationship which will help to create a good atmosphere in our camp.“I feel that we will put up a good showing, even against the high-flying Brummies. My aim is for both me and the lads to enjoy the night, enjoy our racing and stay safe. “I know our lads aren't favourites but I can promise they will all by trying 110% to come away with something from the meeting.” COVENTRY Storm boss Laurence Rogers believes they are capable of coming out on top as they head to King’s Lynn on Wednesday.Rogers said: “If our three heat-leaders can do what they did at Birmingham and the others can provide a few more points, it’s a meeting we can win.“We’ve won every time at King’s Lynn so far, which is nice at one of my old tracks, and hopefully we can keep that up.”CRADLEY slipped to their first home defeat of the season as they went down 48-41 against local rivals Birmingham at Monmore Green.Team boss Will Pottinger said: “The heat-leaders got 35 points between them, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to win so ultimately it’s very disappointing.“We knew it was going to be a very hard meeting against a good Birmingham team, but hopefully we learn the lessons from tonight and take it into the rest of the season.“There are enough points left to play for in order to get into the play-offs, so although this result is a blow it isn’t the end of the world.”EASTBOURNE are still unsure when second-string Gary Cottham will be fit to return from the broken collarbone he suffered back in May.Chairman Martin Dugard told Speedway Star: “Gary had an operation which didn’t go very well. He’s no better now than he was on the night he broke it.“He is very concerned and we are very concerned for him. We are ready to go when he is ready. We are trying to speed things along. There is no one out there as a replacement at the moment.” ISLE OF WIGHT boss Neil Vatcher is in confident mood heading into a hectic spell of three fixtures in three days.The Warriors will host Rye House at Smallbrook on Thursday (7.30) before heading to Buxton on Sunday and taking on Birmingham at home next Tuesday. “It’s a big week coming up and it’s one we’re really looking forward to,” said Vatcher.“We feel that we can get another good win over the new National League Fours Champions Rye House – we want to build on that Buxton performance and to have back-to-back victories at home would be really good for the team.“We also believe we can get our first away win of the season at Buxton on Sunday and then it should be a great occasion for everyone involved to welcome the reigning league Champions and current leaders Birmingham next Tuesday as well.” KENT manager Chris Hunt admits he has been hugely frustrated by their recent injury crisis.Hunt told Speedway Star: “I’ve never known a spell like this where we are being hit by blow after blow.“We all know speedway can be a cruel sport, but this is taking it all to a new limit.” KING’S LYNN Young Stars will hand a National League debut to Taylor Hampshire when they host Coventry at the Adrian Flux Arena on Wednesday (7.30).Hampshire comes in as a guest for Shane Hazelden after the reserve suffered a badly broken leg at Kent last week. Team boss Dale Allitt said: “We’re bringing in Taylor Hampshire who has done a bit of MDL for us and has been connected with Mildenhall as well.“He’s just turned 15 and was very impressive here last Thursday, and he’s keen for a chance in the National League which is what it has always been about here. “After tonight we’ll see where the averages lie, but depending on the options we may well continue what we’re doing with Taylor.”MILDENHALL claimed a hard-fought 51-39 win over Stoke at West Row on Saturday.Team manager Robert Henry commented: “Although we probably made things a little more difficult than we should have tonight, Stoke kept us honest and in the end a twelve point victory was well earned.“Danny Halsey was superb as he has been recently both home and away, when he rides like this there are few that can get near him here. “I was pleased for Sam (Bebee) who bounced back from a couple of difficult meetings to show the potential we know he has, and Alfie (Bowtell) put in a couple of excellent rides when we needed them.“Connor Coles, after a rather impetuous performance in his first ride was also excellent and produced some fine passes.” RYE HOUSE claimed a dramatic win in the National League Fours at Coventry on Sunday.The Raiders emerged victorious having accepted a late call-up to the event – and team boss Peter Schroeck was delighted with their success.Said Schroeck: “This is absolutely fantastic for all the boys and the club as a whole. Firstly, Ben (Morley), 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 had a little bit of luck in the Final when one of the Belle Vue riders was disqualified from the meeting, but we simply got on with the business, kept plugging away and did the job.”STOKE suffered a late collapse as they went down 51-39 at Mildenhall on Saturday.Boss Malcolm Vasey said: “I don’t feel the final result tells the full story of the meeting, certainly we were very much in touch all evening and to go down by 12 points is harsh in the end.“Credit to Dan Halsey because an 18-point maximum is a fine achievement at any level but I do think our performance merited at least a league point, and it’s a shame we missed out.“We have some big home matches still to come and I hope we can take the positives from this meeting to finish as high as possible in the league table.”

FIXTURE PICTURE…

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

SATURDAY AUGUST 20:ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Coventry 7.45, Leicester v Poole 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Somerset 7pm, Workington v Redcar 7pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Coventry 2pm, Stoke v Mildenhall 7pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 7: Eastbourne 6pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 21:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Somerset 3pm, Newcastle v Peterborough 6.30, Scunthorpe v Workington 6.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Isle of Wight 3pm, Mildenhall v Cradley 3.30

MONDAY AUGUST 22:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Lakeside 7.30THE LAURELS: Kent 6.30

TUESDAY AUGUST 23:TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Birmingham 7pm

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 7.30, Poole v Leicester 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 25:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Scunthorpe 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 26:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Newcastle 7.30, Somerset v Plymouth 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Kent 7.30, Coventry v Mildenhall 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 27:PREMIER LEAGUE: Plymouth v Somerset 7.15NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: King’s Lynn 7pmBORDER TROPHY 2nd leg: Berwick v Workington 7pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 8: Redcar

SUNDAY AUGUST 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Edinburgh 6.30, Workington v Berwick 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Birmingham 3pm

MONDAY AUGUST 29:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 12pm, Wolverhampton v Swindon 6.30, Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn (follows previous fixture)PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Redcar 7pm, Rye House v Berwick 3pm, Scunthorpe v Newcastle 3pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Eastbourne 3pm, Rye House v Buxton 5pmMIDLAND DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe 4.30