(SPEEDWAY 1)
POOLE and Somerset open the Good Friday fixture programme with an SGB Premiership clash at Wimborne Road at 11am.
The two sides are set for a busy day as they then head for the return fixture at the Oaktree Arena at 7.30pm.
The Pirates, who opened their league campaign with a thumping win at Leicester last weekend, have called up British Champion Danny King to guest for No.1 Krzysztof Kasprzak, who is away in Poland, in both meetings.
The Rebels are at full strength and are seeking their first league points of the season after losing out at King’s Lynn in their opener.
Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “With a new club to do league battle against and a local one to us then hopefully we can attract a good crowd for Friday.
“It looks to be a good meeting and I know for sure that Garry (May) will be hoping to push us all the way. We have seen even in these early weeks that there are no easy meetings but we will be keen to follow up our away win at Leicester and put more points on the board over the course of the weekend.”
Somerset promoter Debbie Hancock said: “We would love to see the Oaktree Arena packed out for what will be a real ‘glamour’ meeting for the club.
“I am sure that a good number of Poole fans will be looking to make the relatively short journey up to support their team, just as I know that there are many Somerset fans planning to travel down to Poole for the morning fixture between the two sides.
“Now that the boys have a few matches under their belts, I am sure that we are more than capable of picking up some league points from these two matches.”
Meanwhile Belle Vue host Wolverhampton at 1pm in a repeat of last season’s top-flight Grand Final.
The Aces, who were beaten on that occasion, have made a terrific start to their 2017 campaign by winning at Swindon and putting Poole out of the KO Cup.
Skipper Craig Cook said: “We’ve already made a great start to the season but there’s a long way to go yet, and if we want to make the play-offs this year everyone needs to pitch in and build on our early success.
“Wolverhampton are no slouches around our track. We learned that first hand in the 2016 Grand Final. They’ve got some powerful riders who I’m sure will prove tough customers on Friday.
“But having said that, we’ve shown how strong we are as a unit. We’re equally capable around our home circuit and I believe we’re more than capable of continuing the good form we’re currently in.”
Wolves star Kyle Howarth said: “I don’t see why we can’t do well against Belle Vue, we’re a strong side and I think we can be a match for anyone.
“Hopefully we can all get some good scores individually, get a positive result at their place and then make sure we win at home next week.
“They’ve got a strong side and they’ve started well, but we aren’t afraid of anyone and we’ll just give it our all like we do every meeting.”
The other evening fixture is at the Adrian Flux Arena, where King’s Lynn host Rye House in the Rockets’ first away match of the league campaign (7.30pm).
The Stars won their opener against Somerset but boss Dale Allitt is expecting a tough test from the Premiership’s other new boys.
Allitt said: “Not only do they have a team full of experience but they also have a team full of riders who always seem to go well here at the Adrian Flux Arena!
“Chris Harris, Scotty Nicholls, Davey Watt have all been there and done it and on his last few visits, Edward Kennett has been extremely good value for money too.
“But what I’m trying to get through to our riders this year is to focus on themselves. Yes it’s good to know what your opponents are going to bring to the table, but ultimately if you concentrate on your own thing then you should never really fear anyone.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
BERWICK boss Gary Havelock says his team will be out to cause an upset when they visit Edinburgh in the SGB Championship on Good Friday (7.30pm).
The Bandits have endured a tough start to the campign but did notch a shock win at Aramdale in the season-opening meeting at the venue last year.
They will, however, be without reserve Ryan Blacklock who has discovered he fractured two vertebrae in a crash at Ipswich last month.
Havelock said: “We could do OK at Edinburgh as that track is right up Lewis’s (Bridger) street. It's tight and technical and Lewis knows how to ride those tracks well.
“Claus (Vissing) rode for them in 2013 too so will know Armadale well, and Kev (Doolan) should be OK up there too. You never know, after last weekend they might under-estimate us and treat it as a walk in the park - well, we won't, we'll be up for a fight.
“We know gating has been our problem so far this year, for Lewis too, and even in our league, if you give too much away at the starts it can be too much to make up even for the likes of our number one, it makes it tough going.
“I don't know why, but poor gating has spread through the team like the plague and we need to work on that as a top priority.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
BIRMINGHAM are aiming for a quickfire double over King’s Lynn when the sides meet at Perry Barr on Good Friday (7.30pm).
The Brummies launched their National League defence with a 54-36 win in Norfolk on Wednesday and now host the return fixture.
Both sides continue to operate rider replacement for Chris Hay and Lewis Whitmore respectively, whilst the Young Stars bring in Luke Priest to cover for Josh Bailey who is on SGB Championship duty.
Brummies boss Graham Drury said: “Obviously we can’t afford to be complacent, but if we can hit 54 points away from home, you’d hope we could build on that on our own track.
“Having said that, King’s Lynn are capable of so much more and if they can get out in front then I think we’ll see some entertaining racing.
“Bank Holiday fixtures are traditionally well attended at Perry Barr and we’d love to see another big crowd on Friday too.”
Young Stars skipper Danny Phillips said: “We know it's going to be another tough meeting but we've just got to give it our best. Birmingham look solid all the way through again this year and all we can do is make sure we give it 100 per cent.
"If we can cut out the silly little errors and stay competitive then we're a lot better team than we have been in our first few meetings.”
A new era gets underway at Plymouth as the new promotion of Mark Phillips and Laurence Rogers stage their first meeting, a National Trophy clash with the Isle of Wight (7.15pm).
Steve Boxall returns as the Devils’ No.1 and the side also includes two more of their former riders in Lee Smart and captain Richard Andrews.
Old rivals Lakeside and Eastbourne renew acquaintances but this time at National League level, as they meet for the Lee Richardson Memorial Trophy.
Both sides are keen to lay down a marker for the campaign ahead, with the Hammers staging the first of two matches in one day at 1pm. The action then switches to Arlington at 7.30pm.
Richardson rode for both clubs with distinction during his superb racing career before his tragic death in Poland in 2012.
Lakeside manager Kelvin Tatum said: “We’ve been looking forward to this weekend for some time. It’s a great way to kick-off the season, against the old enemy, and it’s looking like being a fantastic day.
“We don’t have any real idea of where we stand at the moment, so we should come out of Friday with a better idea of how we stack up in the scheme of things.”
Eastbourne boss Connor Dugard said: “We have made it clear what the targets are and we want to get off to the best possible start by putting one over our old rivals.
“This used to be the traditional Easter fixture for both clubs and it is great to have back on the calendar. Our boys are ready and can’t wait to start racing.”
The season also gets underway at Central Park as Kent host Mildenhall in the first leg of the Easter Chase (6.30pm).
Nathan Stoneman and Ben Hopwood are amongst the home debutants as they face their former club, whilst the Fen Tigers also have two ex-Kings in Danno Verge and Sam Woods.
Mildenhall promoter Kevin Jolly said: “Make no mistake, although a challenge in name we are going all out for victory as we will in every meeting.
“I am pleased we have the two fixtures with Kent to really dial our lads into the season before the big one on Monday at Cradley.”
(GOOD FRIDAY FIXTURES)
FRIDAY APRIL 14:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 1pm, King’s Lynn v Rye House 7.30, Poole v Somerset 11am, Somerset v Poole 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v King’s Lynn 7.30
NATIONAL TROPHY: Plymouth v Isle of Wight 7.15
EASTER CHASE 1st leg: Kent v Mildenhall 6.30
LEE RICHARDSON MEMORIAL TROPHY: Lakeside v Eastbourne 1pm, Eastbourne v Lakeside 7.30
SATURDAY APRIL 15:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Rye House v King’s Lynn 7pm
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP 2nd leg: Leicester v Somerset 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Ipswich v Peterborough 7.30, Workington v Scunthorpe 7pm
SUNDAY APRIL 16:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Swindon v Poole 5pm
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Berwick 3pm, Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30, Scunthorpe v Redcar 3pm
EASTER CHASE 2nd leg: Mildenhall v Kent 3pm
YOUTH CHALLENGE: Scunthorpe Stags v Halifax Dukes (follows SGBC fixture)
Results Thursday April 13, 2017;
PREMIERSHIP KO Cup, 2nd leg
Swindon 51 (Nick Morris 16+1)
Rye House 39 (Scott Nicholls 9)
Swindon win 100-80 on aggregate
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Sheffield 57 (Mark Riss 14+1)
Ipswich 33 (Nico Covatti 11)
SGB Championship points: Sheffield 3 Ipswich 0
CHAMPIONSHIP KO Cup, 2nd leg
Redcar 44 (Ben Barker 13+1)
Peterborough 46 (Ulrich Ostergaard 11)
Peterborough win 95-83 on aggregate
VINCE MAPLEY MEMORIAL, at the Isle of Wight
1. Stefan Nielsen (Unattached)
2. Rob Shuttleworth (Workington / Belle Vue)
3. Joe Jacobs (Unattached)
4. Ben Wilson (Isle of Wight)
