(SPEEDWAY 1)
JUSTIN Sedgmen made a triumphant return to Edinburgh with victory in the Harrison’s Scottish Open on Friday.
The former Monarchs star lined up for the Final against another ex-Edinburgh man, Rory Schlein, along with current home men Ricky Wells and Erik Riss.
Schlein, Wells and Sedgmen had all scored 12 points from the qualifying races, with Riss proceeding from the semi-final after scoring ten.
Sedgmen then took the victory in his first Armadale meeting since 2015, with Wells and Riss completing the rostrum finishers.
Sedgmen said: “It’s awesome to be here and awesome to win here. I actually won the Jack Young Cup at Gillman Speedway in Adelaide during the summer so to add the Jack Young Memorial Trophy as well is pretty cool.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
THE opening SGB Premiership fixtures of 2017 take place on Saturday with meetings at Rye House and Leicester.
The Rockets, who are top-flight newcomers this season, host reigning champions Wolverhampton at Hoddesdon – and boss Peter Schroeck says it’s the perfect fixture with which to launch a new era for the club.
Schroeck said: “You can’t ask for more than the established giants against the new kids on the block, can you?
“It’s the perfect platform for us to start our Premiership story with – and the perfect one for us to make a name for ourselves with if we can achieve the right result.
“Wolves have brought back the bulk of their championship side from 2016, and we respect them for sure, but it’s up to us to show that this year is this year.
“When you think of how far we’ve come in the last two seasons, everyone associated with the club should be proud of what we have achieved as part of Team BMR and how we are taking things forward. There’s a real buzz around the place.”
Meanwhile Leicester host Swindon in a fresh start at Beaumont Park with a new-look Lions teams and management, and alterations also having been made for the circuit.
Two of the home side are missing due to Championship commitments, with former Lions Nicolai Klindt and Lasse Bjerre booked to replace Danny King and Josh Auty.
Leicester boss Jim Lynch said: “The Swindon riders have a good record at Leicester and for us there is no home track advantage at the moment following the alterations to bends one and two so to start with a win will be just the tonic we need.
“There has been a tremendous amount of work that has gone on in such a short space of time and everyone is looking forward to seeing competitive racing for the first time on the re-shaped circuit.
“We face being without two key riders which is not ideal to begin the season but it is partly due to the late start in the process of team building that has positioned us in this situation.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
GLASGOW newcomer Dan Bewley is all set for his debut after a seven-month injury lay-off.
Bewley has made the switch from Scottish rivals Edinburgh and lines up for the Tigers in their SGB Championship opener against Scunthorpe at Ashfield, having sat out the end of the 2016 campaign due to concussion and then a broken collarbone.
Bewley said: “Ever since I crashed I've kept pretty busy, apart from when I broke my collarbone.
“I went back on the bike a week after I crashed and I felt comfortable then, but it was best to have a bit of time off, because nobody really knew how serious it could be.
“I'm ready - there's nothing physically wrong and I feel fit and ready to go. I think I'm ready with my machinery too but we'll see on Saturday. You can be happy when trying it out but racing is different.”
Berwick face a major task to retain their interest in the KO Cup as they host Ipswich with a 30-point deficit from the first leg at Foxhall.
The Bandits call up Richard Hall to guest at reserve for concussion victim Dany Gappmaier, whilst Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins has called on his side to do a professional job as they look to make early progress to the semi-finals.
Berwick co-promoter Scott Courtney said: “We all know what Richard can do at Shielfield Park, as in the past we've all seen it so we're hoping to see the guy rekindle his Borders' best on Saturday.”
Hawkins said: “It’s about being professional, not falling asleep. I’ve been part of Witches sides that have fallen asleep and been knocked out unexpectedly. It’s about going there and doing our jobs and if we can get to 30 points we can start to relax.
“In my first meeting back for Ipswich a few years ago, we were at Workington and we had won big at home but then got knocked out, so we won’t be getting complacent at all.”
Meanwhile Workington and Newcastle are also in Cup action over the weekend as they contest a first-round tie, starting at Derwent Park on Saturday.
The meetings also double-up as the annual Ian Thomas Shield, which is traditionally raced for in the opening weeks of the season.
And the Cup-tie features two members of Great Britain’s World Cup silver medal-winning side of 2016 going head-to-head as Comets’ No.1 Craig Cook faces Diamonds star Robert Lambert.
Workington owner Laura Morgan said: “It will be fantastic to finally get back into team action this weekend and with two really exciting matches against Newcastle in prospect.
“Last weekend saw an excellent opening meeting with some very entertaining racing and a good-sized crowd in attendance, and we hope that all the fans will return this weekend to support the Comets against the Diamonds
“It is always exciting at this stage of the year to see how the team performs as a unit but they all showed plenty of promise last Saturday and hopefully any niggling mechanical issues that occurred last weekend have been addressed; as in what promises to be two hard-fought encounters they can very easily make the difference between winning and losing on aggregate!”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
BELLE Vue finally get racing on Saturday after a turbulent winter with the Peter Craven Memorial Trophy launching the campaign at the National Speedway Stadium.
The Aces are under new management with team boss Mark Lemon taking charge as Director of Speedway, and a strong 16-rider field is in place to honour the club legend known as the ‘Wizard of Balance’.
Belle Vue regulars Kenneth Bjerre, Max Fricke and Justin Sedgmen will all be looking to make a strong start to their home seasons, with former Aces No.1 Matej Zagar one of the star visiting attractions.
Lemon said: “The Peter Craven Memorial has always been a fantastic meeting that has attracted some top quality line-ups, and has been well acknowledged down the years since his passing in 1963.
“This year we had our own challenges to face in anticipation of opening our season with this great evening of racing, the first and foremost being to get ourselves and the business up and running.
“But it’s the same with every club when they return to the tapes in the wake of winter. I believe it to be a top quality field that will greet the fans on Saturday and we genuinely can’t wait to get racing.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
INJURED Kyle Newman has been boosted by the news that he could be back in the saddle in the space of four to six weeks.
Scans have revealed the Poole and Ipswich star does not require surgery on his shoulder after a crash in last Friday’s Darcy Ward Invitational at Wimborne Road.
Newman said: “I'm over the moon with the scan results, it's put my mind at rest. It's been a worrying time but now we can put a plan together to get back to full fitness.
“I have a few small tears but nothing major. The main cause for the swelling is that muscles are catching on my shoulder blade which prevents some movements.
“The main thing is that I don't need surgery, we don't know how long the
recovery period would have been for that but now we have a time scale. I can’t wait to get back on a bike and kick-start my season.”
(SPEEDWAY 6)
FORMER World Longtrack Champion Joonas Kylmakorpi has announced his retirement from the sport.
Kylmakorpi enjoyed a successful British Speedway career spanning over 15 years, most extensively with Eastbourne and Lakeside, and he won the Elite League title with Coventry in 2005 and was also a member of Wolverhampton’s victorious squad last year.
His decision to call it a day comes after a serious crash during the winter in which he broke his femur and pelvis, which required two operations and turned out to be career-ending.
Kylmakorpi said: “I am proud of my achievements and feel I fulfilled my goals. I am the first rider in the history of Longtrack racing to win four consecutive World Champion titles.
“I raced all over the world, collected seven World Championship medals, and participated in Speedway Grand Prix rounds and top speedway leagues.
“I never only dreamed of winning, I worked for it. Over the years I learned to deal with pain and I am confident to say that even if my head is motivated, my body says no.
“I want to thank my family, friends, fans, sponsors and everyone who helped me during my racing career.”
KING'S LYNN WIN PREMIERSHIP PAIRS
BO
BSPA Press Office
Reply|
Fri 31/03, 21:09
jane@racecar.co.uk
PRESS BULLETIN FROM THE
BRITISH SPEEDWAY PROMOTERS' ASSOCIATION PRESS OFFICE
Telephone: 0700 349 6748 - E-mail: pressoffice@speedwaygb.co
Date: Friday March 31, 2017
KING'S LYNN claimed the first Major Event honours of the 2017 series as Chris Holder and Rob Lambert were crowned SGB Premiership Pairs Champions.
The duo went unbeaten during the group stages before holding their nerve against Wolverhampton in the Grand Final.
A combination of fast gating and brave swoops around the outside earned a well deserved victory on the night, much to the delight of the pairing.
Said Holder: "It's a great way for me to get my season going as well as my spot with King's Lynn I guess.
"It was a tough meeting but Rob was on a mission and we worked good as a team."
Meanwhile Lambert said: "I've been with the Stars for a few years now and we've never won anything so this means a lot to me especially.
"How we've started is definitely how we intend to go so hopefully this is going to be a big year for us."
In front of a bumper crowd at Somerset's Oaktree Arena, King's Lynn romped through Group B as they secured three 7-2 heat maximums. They were joined in the semi-finals by Rye House pairing Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris who finished four points ahead of Leicester.
After being the only duo in their section to avoid last places, Wolverhampton's Freddie Lindgren and Jacob Thorssell scored 17 to top Group A.
And despite falling behind early doors to hosts Somerset, Swindon pairing Jason Doyle and Nick Morris fought back to squeeze the Robins through to the next round.
Despite Doyle becoming the first man on the night to defeat Holder and Lambert, Swindon left the competition in the penultimate round after Nick Morris finished in last place.
Wolverhampton made a quick getaway in their semi-final and secured a fairly comfortable 7-2 over Rye House to book their place in the final.
King's Lynn's Holder and Lambert got the better of their Wolverhampton counterparts away from the tapes and when Lindgren's bike packed up on the third lap, victory was confirmed for the Norfolk outfit.
SGB PREMIERSHIP PAIRS, at Somerset
1. King’s Lynn (Chris Holder and Robert Lambert) 2. Wolverhampton (Jacob Thorsell and Freddie Lindgren)
Group A
Wolverhampton 17 – Freddie Lindgren 10 Jacob Thorssell 7 Swindon 14 – Jason Doyle 10 Nick Morris 4 Somerset 12 – Rohan Tungate 6 Patrick Hougaard 6 Belle Vue 11 – Craig Cook 7 Max Fricke 4
Group B
King’s Lynn 21 – Chris Holder 11 Robert Lambert 10 Rye House 15 – Scott Nicholls 10 Chris Harris 5 Leicester 11 – Kim Nilsson 7 Danny King 4 Poole 7 – Brady Kurtz 4 Jack Holder 3
(FIXTURES)
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
MONDAY APRIL 3:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Wolverhampton v Leicester 7.30
WEDNESDAY APRIL 5:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Somerset 7.30
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP 1st leg: Poole v Belle Vue 7.30
WEST MIDLANDS TROPHY: Birmingham v Cradley 7.30
Results :Friday March 31, 2017;
SGB PREMIERSHIP PAIRS, at Somerset
1. King’s Lynn (Chris Holder and Robert Lambert)
2. Wolverhampton (Jacob Thorsell and Freddie Lindgren)
HARRISONS SCOTTISH OPEN, at Edinburgh
1. Justin Sedgmen (Belle Vue)
2. Ricky Wells (Edinburgh)
3. Erik Riss (Edinburgh / Leicester)
4. Rory Schlein (Ipswich)
