(SPEEDWAY 1)
STAR winter signing Chris Holder has revealed how he almost joined King’s Lynn a decade ago.
Holder finally gets to take his place in the Stars side this year after making the winter switch from Poole – with his official debut coming when he teams up with Robert Lambert in Friday’s SGB Premiership Pairs at Somerset.
Holder said: “I’m really excited about the whole thing. With the Poole thing not working out, it’s good to get an opportunity to keep racing in England.
“King’s Lynn is a place where I’ve done pretty well before, and I came quite close to signing for them in the Premier League in 2007.
“It’s a bit delayed but it’s nice to finally get a chance to race there, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
“King’s Lynn have been there or thereabouts the last few years, but they’ve always had a lot of injuries so hopefully we can have some more luck this year.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
LOCAL youngster James Shanes enjoyed a dream home debut for Poole as the Pirates retained the Elite Shield with a 58-32 win over Wolverhampton.
Shanes raced to a stunning paid maximum at reserve to help his side overturn a ten-point first leg deficit in a dominant display at Wimborne Road.
With Shanes scoring 9+3 from four rides and fellow reserve Nicolai Klindt continuing his blistering start to the season with 15+1 from seven, the Pirates confirmed the silverware in Heat 12 and skipper Hans Andersen went on to notch a 12-point total.
For the visitors, Fredrik Lindgren collected 9+1, including two of their three race wins, but they were unable to defend their advantage gained at Monmore Green 48 hours earlier.
Shanes said: “I can't begin to describe how I feel right now. For me it's a dream come true to ride for Poole, and to score a maximum on my first appearance as well just can’t be for real.
“It is a massive boost for me, although it is going to be hard to keep that up. I was trying out a new engine and it worked superbly for me.”
Lindgren said: “It was a difficult meeting, and Poole were just a better team on the night, it’s as simple as that.
“We worked hard and did well to get the win on Monday, but Poole started well and once they started getting a few 5-1s we just fell to pieces a bit.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted and it was a tough night, but it’s been good to get a couple of meetings done and we’ll focus on the first league meeting at Rye House now.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
CRADLEY made a commanding start to their 2017 season with a comprehensive 61-29 win over King's Lynn Young Stars at Perry Barr.
And after two years away with local rivals Birmingham, it was a dream return for Heathens skipper Tom Perry who romped to a 15-point maximum – backed up by fellow heat-leaders Danny Ayres with 11+3 and Dan Greenwood on 10+1.
Scott Campos notched nine for the visitors in a tough opening to their Travel Plus National League campaign.
Said Perry: “It's great to be back with Cradley and I obviously couldn't have asked for a better start!
“To get my own season up and running like that is ideal and hopefully I can put in performances similar to that all season.
“Tonight wasn't just about me though, everyone rode well and everyone did their job and more. We know we'll have tougher meetings this year but there were definitely plenty of encouraging signs from all of the team.”
King’s Lynn captain Danny Phillips said: “It was a frustrating night for us all really and we just couldn't match Cradley. It's a tough one to take but we all have to learn from it.
“We know we can all do better than what we have done tonight so we have to work hard now before our next meeting at home to Birmingham on April 12.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
EDINBURGH and Belle Vue are building up to big Individual meetings with which to open their 2017 campaigns this weekend.
The Monarchs stage the Harrison’s Scottish Open at Armadale on Friday with former club stars Rory Schlein and Justin Sedgmen amongst the contenders and all seven home riders in action.
Edinburgh co-promoter John Campbell said: “I think there are lots of riders who can do very very well. We have lots of track experts and that is what we were looking for.
“Justin Sedgmen has been pressing to come back and ride for us since he left us, I think he will be keen to show us what we have been missing, and at Armadale he is more than capable of doing that.
“For me though, Sam Masters as reigning champ is the man to beat.”
Meanwhile Belle Vue launch the season with the Peter Craven Memorial at the National Speedway Stadium on Saturday.
Aces boss Mark Lemon believes the field is wide-open with the meeting also seeing the returns of 2016 team members Matej Zagar and Joe Jacobs alongside two of their new signings for this year, Kenneth Bjerre and Sedgmen.
Lemon said: “Matej has said many a time that this is his favourite track. He’s looking forward to coming back and I’m sure that like us, the fans can’t wait to welcome him back and to see him race here one more time.
“The rest of the field is equally impressive in my eyes. There’s a real blend of talent and abilities. For example, we have the World U-21 Champion Max Fricke and former GP rider Troy Batchelor.
“There’s so many top quality guys in this field, all of whom are capable of raising that prestigious trophy. There’s no doubt it’s going to be an exciting and competitive event.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
MULTI British Champions Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris are aiming to give Rye House early success in the SGB Premiership Pairs on Friday.
Nicholls and Harris have been recruited by the Rockets on their elevation to the top flight, and they team up against seven rival pairings at Somerset in the first Major Event of the 2017 season.
Rye House boss Peter Schroeck said: “I spoke to Scott and Bomber about the Pairs when we were all involved in Peter Karlsson’s Farewell meeting last week, and they are both really up for it.
“It is very much on Scott’s radar, and Bomber reminded me that he has already won the title twice (in 2008 and 2010, with Coventry) so he’s targeting a hat-trick.
“We are the new boys in town, but we are absolutely determined to make a name for ourselves. We are very much aiming to get on the rostrum, so that we start as we mean to go on.”
The Rockets have been drawn in Group B alongside Poole, Leicester and King’s Lynn, whilst Group A is made up of Belle Vue, Wolverhampton, hosts Somerset and Swindon.
(SPEEDWAY 6)
IPSWICH have put one foot into the SGB Championship KO Cup semi-finals thanks to a dominant 60-30 win over Berwick at Foxhall.
The Witches took charge of the first-leg tie to run up a 30-point victory, headlined by unbeaten shows from Rory Schlein (15) and Danny King (13+2), limiting the Bandits to a solitary race win provided by Liam Carr in Heat 8.
Claus Vissing top-scored for the visitors on 7+1 but they face a major recovery mission in Saturday’s second leg – although Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins is taking nothing for granted.
Hawkins said: “We’re still going to have to do a job on Saturday and we will have to keep our wits about us.
“It’s a bigger lead than we expected but I was aware we could do that to teams. We threw a few points away with machinery troubles too but I’m really happy all in all.
“Connor (Mountain) did really well to score from every ride from a tough number six position, but everyone rode well and all seven men have had a good night.”
Berwick co-promoter Scott Courtney said: “That was hard going as Ipswich are a class act and deserved their win, but it would have been nice to hold it closer for the second leg.
“We have left ourselves a bit of a mountain to climb at the weekend, but if the guys get their heads back into the groove, and we know at Shielfield exactly what they can do, then we're not out of the Cup yet.”
(SPEEDWAY 7)
SHEFFIELD co-promoter Damien Bates hailed their free admission offer as a great success after seeing his side edge a 47-43 win over Somerset.
Skipper Kyle Howarth pulled off a tremendous heat 15 win to seal victory for the Owlerton outfit, whilst No.1 Josh Grajczonek helped them take an early lead by going unbeaten in his first three rides.
Grajczonek was lining up for his SGB Championship club against the team he will represent in the Premiership, and in his absence from the Rebels side it was new signing Patrick Hougaard who top-scored with 12+1. Howarth led the way for the Tigers with 11.
Bates said: “The crowd was fantastic. We drew in 3,000 people and I never expected that many, so the response was superb.
“The atmosphere was electric and the racing was great, so if that doesn’t entice people back then I don’t know what more we can do.
“Heat eight was fantastic, with Josh (Bates) battling with Paul Starke, Todd Kurtz and Robert Branford were superb in heat 14 and there were some really close battles.
“I know Somerset didn’t have their full team out because of us using Josh Grajczonek, but they were battling hard and wanted that win.”
Meanwhile new Redcar No.1 Jason Garrity raced to a 15-point maximum to take the Julie Lewis Memorial Trophy on opening night at the Media Prima Arena.
Garrity finished three points clear of second-placed Ulrich Ostergaard, whilst Ty Proctor defeated Tero Aarnio in a run-off for third after both scored eleven.
(SPEEDWAY 8)
EDINBURGH launch the 21st season of racing at Armadale with the Harrison’s Scottish Open Championship on Friday.
The Open was first run in 1928 and can count five World Champions – including current champion Greg Hancock – amongst its previous winners.
Defending Open title holder and Monarchs No.1 Sam Masters faces competition from a host of SGB Championship stars, including three-time winner Rory Schlein who has started the season in fine form for Ipswich.
Edinburgh chairman Alex Harkess said: “It’s as good a line-up as we have had for quite a long time. There’s half a dozen people in there capable of winning, and even then there’s a few more capable of coming close.
“I think it’s an excellent line-up with a lot of riders of equal level which should give us a good event.
“I was down at Harrison’s last Saturday afternoon and they were talking about it, they are excited to be involved again. They’ve enjoyed every time they’ve come. If we can get similar weather to last weekend we will all be delighted.”
(SPEEDWAY 9)
EASTBOURNE boss Connor Dugard has set his side a Treble target for the 2017 season.
The Eagles, who will be unveiled to the public at Arlington on Sunday afternoon, have a fine record of success in knockout competitions over the last two years – but have missed out on the league title itself, finishing as runners-up to Birmingham on both occasions.
Dugard said: “I expect our team to go one better and bring home the league trophy, as well as winning the KO Cup for a third year in a row and regaining the National Trophy, which we won in 2015 but did not take part in last year.
“We hope the fans will again get behind the Eagles again this year and roar us on to success.”
(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY MARCH 31:
SGB PREMIERSHIP PAIRS: Somerset 7.30
HARRISON’S SCOTTISH OPEN: Edinburgh 7.15
SATURDAY APRIL 1:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Leicester v Swindon 7.30, Rye House v Wolverhampton 7pm
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Scunthorpe 7pm
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP 2nd leg: Berwick v Ipswich 7pm, 1st leg: Workington v Newcastle 7pm
PETER CRAVEN MEMORIAL: Belle Vue 7.30
SUNDAY APRIL 2:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe v Peterborough 5.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP 2nd leg: Newcastle v Workington 6.30
Results Thursday March 30, 2017;
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP, 1st leg
Ipswich 60 (Rory Schlein 15)
Berwick 30 (Kevin Doolan 7)
INTER LEAGUE CHALLENGE
Sheffield 47 (Kyle Howarth 11)
Somerset 43 (Patrick Hougaard 12+1)
Julie Lewis Memorial, at Redcar
1. Jason Garrity (Redcar) 15
2. Ulrich Ostergaard (Peterborough) 12
3. Ty Proctor (Workington) 11 After run off
4. Tero Aarnio (Unattached) 11
