(SPEEDWAY 1)
SWINDON and Poole fought out a 45-45 draw at the Abbey Stadium in the SGB Premiership on Easter Sunday.
The Robins’ early eight-point lead was eradicated by the Pirates, who took the advantage in Heat 12 as they went 38-34 up.
Hans Andersen won Heat 13 for the visitors but successive 4-2s brought the Robins back level with Nick Morris winning the final race as Andersen kept Jason Doyle at bay.
Doyle scored 11+1 for the home side with David Bellego on 11 and Morris 10+1, whilst Andersen collected 13 against his old club for the Pirates.
Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “I think a draw was probably fair but it’s mixed emotions because we really could have won it, and it’s a bit frustrating that we didn’t although I couldn’t fault the commitment from the guys.
“We knew Poole would come back strongly, especially with Nicolai (Klindt) down at reserve, but there was some good character from our boys, with Nick stepping up to the plate again, and David Bellego was outstanding.”
Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “When you have got a rider who is as hungry and
determined as Hans then you can never give up hope. Unfortunately we didn't provide enough consistent back up to him and therefore we made things difficult for ourselves.
“The way we started you would have thought we were going to get turned over, but Hans was the inspiration and he showed today how serious he is about bringing success to the club.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
MILDENHALL raced to a 55-35 victory over Kent to complete a ten-point aggregate win in the Easter Chase.
The Fen Tigers gave a strong display at West Row with Danny Halsey leading the way on 13 points, whilst Jon Armstrong collected 11+3 and reserve Jordan Jenkins 10+2. Ben Hopwood top-scored with ten for the Kings.
Mildenhall boss Robert Henry said: “Everybody in the team contributed today which is what we want, they all can take credit from the meeting and I saw so much promise and potential in our lads.
“Our heat-leaders all looked on their game and the boys at the bottom were excellent.
“Sam (Woods), Luke (Ruddick) and Danno (Verge) all have something to build on after an afternoon where they all showed real spirit and no little skill, they all pleased me and the overall team spirit was right. Jordan again defied his inexperience with some intelligent team riding with Danny and Jon.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
JACK Holder produced a brilliant performance to lead Peterborough to East Anglian derby success on Easter Monday.
The Panthers number one capped a superb 14-point display with victory in a vital final race at the East of England Showground as his side defeated Ipswich 46-44.
Holder zoomed back past Witches man Rory Schlein in a closing thriller to an engrossing SGB Championship clash as Peterborough collected the 3-3 that preserved their two-point cushion.
Holder’s scoring was backed up by skipper Ulrich Ostergaard, racing through the pain barrier to collect ten, whilst Bradley Wilson-Dean and guest Lasse Bjerre were both paid for eleven.
Cameron Heeps (11), Rory Schlein (11) and Danny King (10+1) all hit double figures for the Witches who collected a consolation league point.
Holder said: “I knew I had to get the win in the final race and it’s great to have got the job done.
“The track was a bit more slick than usual, but we managed to deal with it and get the win we needed.
“It was brilliant to put on a show in front of such a big crowd.”
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “I’m disappointed we lost, we came here to win but we’ve got a consolation point and it was our best away performance of the season so far.
“I think the boys showed great fight and spirit and gave us everything we asked for. Going forward if we carry on like this and giving that sort of effort we have to be looking at a win on Thursday at Redcar instead.
“That’s two good meetings in a row for Cam, he was brilliant and looked awesome and that is how good he can be. We all know how talented he is so hopefully his confidence is up now.”
Meanwhile there was also a thriller at the Eddie Wright Raceway as Redcar edged a 46-44 away win at Scunthorpe.
The lead changed hands five times during the meeting with a late trading of 5-1s concluding in a close finish to Heat 15, in which Ben Barker pipped Michael Palm Toft to the line for second place behind team-mate Jason Garrity for a crucial maximum advantage.
Garrity was unbeaten after a first-race retirement as he scored 12, with Charles Wright on 10 and Barker 9+3, whilst Lewis Kerr top-scored for the Scorpions with 10.
Scunthorpe boss Dave Peet said: “It was one of those meetings which just got away from us.
“Lewis Kerr had a really good meeting, but he had a problem with his primary chain in Heat 15. When he came back into the pits, three rungs were solid. And I think everyone can see our problems at reserve, since Fritz Wallner was injured.
“We did have some bad luck. I don’t want for it to sound like a list of excuses, though, because Redcar came here to do a job and they did it, while we weren’t quite good enough.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
CRADLEY boss Will Pottinger insists there is no reason to hit the panic button despite their 46-43 loss at home to Mildenhall on Monday.
The Heathens came off second best in an incident-filled encounter in their first Monmore Green outing of the season, with the Fen Tigers inspired by guest Dan Bewley’s 15-point maximum at No.1.
Former Heathens star Jon Armstrong was also pivotal in the away side’s win as he collected 11+1, but it was Bewley who won the decisive final race ahead of Cradley’s top scorers Tom Perry (10+1) and Danny Ayres (8+1).
Pottinger said: “We’re very disappointed, but it was just one of those nights where we had a bit of misfortune and it cost us in the end.
“A few of the lads were struggling and they beat us out the traps, but we’ve got to look to bounce back against Eastbourne away then Lakeside at home.
“We’ve got a few matches at the start of May, so hopefully we can get back on track then. It’s a long, long season ahead of us so we’re not going to press the panic button yet.”
Meanwhile Lakeside co-promoter Jon Cook heaped praise on his side after their 46-43 Tunnel Trophy win at Kent.
Zach Wajtknecht (12) and Ben Morley (10+2) continued to lead from the front for the Hammers with former Kings rider Jamie Couzins scoring an important 6+3 at reserve.
Luke Bowen’s 15-point maximum was not enough for the Kings on their home circuit in the first-leg tie.
Cook said: “It was lovely to get an away win so early in the season, and it was a great effort from the team.
“It was a real team effort from the six riders, and it'll hopefully be a feature of the season that Ben and Zach can get the job done in the big heats at the end.
“Alfie Bowtell in particular has been impressive and a bit of an unsung hero in our first three fixtures, but I think we’ve got off to a really positive start.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
WOLVERHAMPTON skipper Fredrik Lindgren says his side need to give it their all when they host Belle Vue at Monmore Green tonight (Tuesday).
The Aces took victory when the sides met in Manchester on Good Friday, with Wolves now hoping to gain revenge and maintain their unbeaten start at home in the process.
Said Lindgren: “We were disappointed with our overall performance at Belle Vue but we have to learn from it and move on.
“We need everyone right from one to seven to fire on the same night because Belle Vue are tough opposition.
“They always run us close when they come to Monmore so it should be a fantastic meeting for the fans.”
Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon said: “This campaign has got off to such a magical start for us. Of course the league isn’t won in April but this team is just so good. They rode brilliantly last week and they deserved every point.
“We knew that the Wolves would put up a tough fight. It’s easy to say that what they did to us in last year’s Grand Final is just history, but there always that satisfaction of getting one over them.
“Now I want us to go down to Monmore and finish the job. I anticipate another challenging night though. Wolves have yet to be defeated at home and they’ve some real track experts in their side.”
(SPEEDWAY 6)
THE Isle of Wight are building up to a big night at Smallbrook on Thursday with free admission to all.
The Warriors take on Weymouth in a special meeting staged in memory of long-serving speedway administrator Bryn Williams, who passed away over the winter.
Isle of Wight promoter Barry Bishop said: “Bryn was a speedway legend having held nearly ever post imaginable at one time or another.
“I felt that we must pay tribute to him and recognise the huge amount of time he devoted to the sport, not only here on the Island, but at other tracks where he had an involvement.
“Making this a free event will, I hope, draw many new faces to Smallbrook.”
(FIXTURES)
TUESDAY APRIL 18:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30
WEDNESDAY APRIL 19:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Plymouth 7.30
CHALLENGE: Poole v Coventry 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 20:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar v Ipswich 7.30, Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30
BRYN WILLIAMS MEMORIAL TROPHY: Isle of Wight v Weymouth 7pm
FRIDAY APRIL 21:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30, Somerset v Swindon 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Plymouth v Eastbourne 7.15
TUNNEL TROPHY 2nd leg: Lakeside v Kent 8pm
Results Sunday April 16, 2017
SGB PREMIERSHIP
Swindon 45 – Jason Doyle 11+1
Poole 45 – Hans Andersen 13
Premiership points: Swindon 1 Poole 2
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Glasgow v Berwick - OFF
Newcastle v Sheffield – OFF
Scunthorpe v Redcar – OFF
Now Mon April 17, 5.30pm
EASTER CHASE 2nd leg
Mildenhall 55 – Dan Halsey 13
Kent 35 – Ben Hopwood 10
Mildenhall win 94-84 on aggregate.
YOUTH CHALLENGE
Scunthorpe Stags v Halifax Dukes – Off
Results Monday April 17, 2017;
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Peterborough 46 (Jack Holder 14)
Ipswich 44 (Cameron Heeps 11, Rory Schlein 11)
SGB Championship points: Peterborough 3 Ipswich 1
Scunthorpe 44 (Lewis Kerr 10)
Redcar 46 (Jason Garrity 12)
SGB Championship points: Scunthorpe 0 Redcar 3
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONA LEAGUE
Cradley 43 (Tom Perry 10+1)
Mildenhall 46 (Dan Bewley 15)
National League points: Cradley 0 Mildenhall 3
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP 150/125, at Peterborough
1. Sam Mcgurk
2. Mickie Simpson
3. Bailey Fellows
4. Luke Harrison
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Peterborough 46 (Jack Holder 14)
Ipswich 44 (Cameron Heeps 11, Rory Schlein 11)
SGB Championship points: Peterborough 3 Ipswich 1
TUNNEL TROPHY, 1st leg
Kent 43 (Luke Bowen 15)
Lakeside 46 (Zach Wajtknecht 12)
