(SPEEDWAY 1)
BELLE Vue roared into the semi-finals of the Premiership KO Cup with a 57-33 home win over Poole on Friday.
The Aces quickly overturned the narrow two-point deficit from the first leg and took control with a run of three early 5-1s, two of which came from the Kenneth Bjerre/Justin Sedgmen combination.
Skipper Craig Cook scored a 15-point maximum with in-form Bjerre adding 13+1, whilst Pirates captain Hans Andersen top-scored for his side on eight.
Cook said: “It took me all season to get a maximum last year! So to put in a performance like that in the first home meeting feels great. What we’ve achieved over the last few days is fantastic.
“We’ve made such a great start to the campaign. The team has just gelled phenomenally well and we’ve hit the ground running. But while we’re over the moon with that, we can’t be complacent.
“It’s still very early in the year. We’ve a long way to go to the business end of things but if we can keep building on the progress we’ve made already then I think we’re in for an excellent season.”
Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “It is a competition that we have enjoyed success in
previously and so we were keen to defend it again now it is back in the calendar, but in truth we came up against a very good side and the damage was really done on Wednesday.
“The lads fought well but the early rally by the Aces effectively killed us off early on. But we must not dwell on this defeat as we are back in action tomorrow (Saturday) with another tough looking trip to Leicester.”
Meanwhile Somerset established an eight-point lead from the first leg of their tie with Leicester, as the Lions worked hard to remain in touch.
Two maximum advantages from Danny King and Kim Nilsson in Heats 13 and 15 resulted in a 49-41 outcome as the Rebels were restricted after taking their advantage above ten points.
Reserve Jake Allen top-scored for the home side with 11+1 whilst King (12+2) and Nilsson (11+1) were both in strong form for the Lions, for whom guest Lasse Bjerre took no further part after a clash with Allen in Heat 7.
Somerset boss Garry May said: “It was good to start with a win in our first home meeting of the season. Although Leicester put up a tough fight, as we knew they would, the Somerset boys were determined to get that win.
“The eight point lead we have from tonight gives us something to defend when we go to Leicester for next week’s second leg, but in saying that, rather than look to defend that lead, we will be going to Leicester with the aim of winning the match.”
Leicester manager Jim Lynch said: “We have to thank the two lads. They suffered a bit in the middle but we had a chat and knew nothing less than 5-1s in heats 13 and 15 would be good enough.
“Now, we go back home eight points down and all things considered that is as good as a victory. We did not have a lot of luck. It was hard for the reserves and not their kind of race track. They really struggled despite trying ever so hard.
“Josh (Bates) picked up a few points but losing Lasse was a bitter blow because he ended up sitting out two of the rides we felt he could have got some joy from.”
In the SGB Championship, Edinburgh made a winning start to their home campaign with a 54-36 victory over Scunthorpe at Armadale.
Ricky Wells scored a paid maximum on his Monarchs debut whilst captain Sam Masters dropped his only points when he was relegated to third place by Lewis Kerr in Heat 15.
Kerr top-scored for the visitors with 10+1 but reserve Fritz Wallner was ruled out with a suspected broken wrist after a crash in Heat 2.
Edinburgh boss Alex Harkess said: “It was a solid enough start with just a couple of the side needing to pick things up.
“Ricky Wells was right into the groove, and Josh Pickering is certainly going to be a crowd-pleaser. And Mark Riss is a trump card at reserve no doubt about that.”
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We think Fritz has broken his wrist. Josh Auty took a heavy fall as well (in Heat 13), but I think he’ll be OK.
“We’re also hoping that Ryan (Douglas) will be back for the home match against Glasgow on Sunday.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
SWINDON have been dealt an early injury setback with the news that Adam Ellis has suffered a broken scaphoid.
Ellis endured a nightmare home debut for the Robins at the Abbey Stadium on Thursday, when he failed to score in the narrow defeat by Belle Vue and picked up the injury in his second crash of the night.
Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “Adam went to hospital after the meeting and normally it takes a while to get the X-ray results, but this time it was clear straightaway that there was a crack.
“Unfortunately after the first crash when he flipped it, he went out on a bent frame for his final ride, and that’s when he came off again and suffered the injury.
“Potentially that means he could be looking at over a month out, but we’ll be working with him to hopefully get him back as soon as possible.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
PLYMOUTH have completed their line-up with the signing of 21-year-old former moto-crosser Rob Parker.
The Midlander joins the Devon side on loan from Birmingham, where he was part of the squad in 2015, and he also had a spell with Mildenhall last year before having to take time out due to pneumonia.
Devils boss Laurence Rogers said: “Rob was at a training session I ran at Peterborough recently and he looked sharp and fast so we had a brief chat about the possibility of him coming to us.
“He and his father though were a bit worried about the travel involved but I have discussed this with them at length a few times. Finally, after some persistence from us, he has agreed to become a Devil.
“Initially we are going to see how the travel works out for them but we think it will prove to be okay and we will have him all season.”
(FIXTURES)
SUNDAY APRIL 9:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Berwick 6.30, Scunthorpe v Glasgow 5.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP 1st leg: Peterborough v Redcar 5pm
FEN FOURS: Mildenhall 3pm
PRIDE OF THE POTTERIES: Stoke 3pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1 (500cc/250cc): Peterborough (follows KOC fixture)
MONDAY APRIL 10:
CHALLENGE: Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30
TUESDAY APRIL 11:
BRITISH UNDER-21 SEMI-FINAL: Peterborough 7.30
Results Saturday April 8, 2017
SGB PREMIERSHIP
Leicester 34 – Kim Nilsson 11
Poole 56 – Brady Kurtz 12
Premiership points: Leicester 0 Poole 4
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP Q/F 1st leg
Rye House 41 – Scott Nicholls 12
Swindon 49 – Nick Morris 14+1
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Berwick 42 – Lewis Bridger 11
Edinburgh 48 – Ricky Wells 14
Championship points: Berwick 0 Edinburgh 3
Glasgow 51 – Richie Worrall 11
Newcastle 42 – Steve Worrall 17
Championship points: Glasgow 3 Newcastle 0
Workington 54 – Craig Cook 14+1
Sheffield 37 – Josh Grajczonek 11
Championship points: Workington 3 Sheffield 0
Results Friday April 7, 2017
SGB PREMIERSHIP KO CUP, 2nd leg
Belle Vue 57 (Craig Cook 15)
Poole 33 (Hans Andersen 8)
Belle Vue win 101-79 on aggregate
SGB PREMIERSHIP KO CUP, 1st leg
Somerset 49 (Jake Allen 11+2)
Leicester 41 (Danny King 12+2)
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Edinburgh 54 (Ricky Wells 13+2)
Scunthorpe 36 (Lewis Kerr 10+1)
SGB Championship points: Edinburgh 3 Scunthorpe 0
