(SPEEDWAY 1)

BELLE VUE raced to the top of the SGB Premiership table with an impressive 50-40 win at King’s Lynn on Wednesday.
Captain Craig Cook reeled off five perfect wins for a 15-point maximum at the Adrian Flux Arena, and Steve Worrall added 10+1 as the Aces took all four points from the meeting.
Troy Batchelor picked up 10+1 for the Stars, but they managed just five race wins on their own circuit - and had no complaints over the outcome.
Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon said: “We needed a result in Heat 15 to ensure we won by at least seven. We wanted the maximum four league points on the night and that’s exactly what we got.
“Craig Cook had just the perfect evening. The pressure was on in that last race but he went out there, no concerns and delivered the heat advantage we needed with Max Fricke. I’m delighted!
“The Stars put up a tough fight but again, our guys proved the better of the two sides and it was fantastic to see Steve Worrall and Justin Sedgmen bounce back and have such a good meeting.”
Stars boss Dale Allitt said: “At the end of the day we weren’t good enough tonight. Belle Vue were just the better team on the night, so we can’t have any complaints.
“There are things we need to improve on and ways we need to get better, and we’ll be working hard to do that.
“Everyone is hurting as you’d expect after a home defeat, but we just have to regroup and pick ourselves back up for the next meeting.”
Birmingham made it two out of two in the Travel Plus National League with a 54-36 win over Plymouth at Perry Barr.
The Brummies beat the Devils by the same scoreline which saw them defeat King's Lynn Young Stars on the road a week ago.
Teenage ace Jack Parkinson-Blackburn (16+1) dropped just one point in six rides and ended the maximum hopes of Steve Boxall in the final race after the Devils’ No.1 had won his first four outings.
Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “I couldn't ask for much more from the team; that was another really professional performance from a young bunch of lads.
“We always wanted to follow up the win at King's Lynn in style and it was an excellent way to get our home campaign up and running.
“Plymouth were in the mix for the first few races, but once we settled down our strengths shone through and the lads kicked on well.”
Meanwhile Poole defeated Coventry 52-38 at Wimborne Road in the visitors’ latest challenge match.
Brady Kurtz and Hans Andersen both scored 13 for the Pirates, with Kurtz unbeaten until missing out to Chris Harris in Heat 15. Lasse Bjerre won two races and top-scored for the visitors on 8+1.
Coventry were managed by Alun Rossiter, who enjoyed title success with the club in a dramatic Final at Wimborne Road in 2010.
Rossiter said: “I really enjoyed it - obviously there wasn’t a lot of pressure on, but it was nice to be asked to come back, at the place where we had one of the best nights in the club’s history.
“It’s devastating to not have Coventry in the league this year. It’s a massive club, and with the football not doing well and the speedway gone, it’s so disappointing.
“Hopefully something can be done to lift the spirits up there and get the track situation sorted out for next year. I know a lot of effort is being put in to keep the name alive, and it would be a travesty if it was lost.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

SHEFFIELD will be looking to extend their unbeaten start at Owlerton when they host Peterborough tonight (Thursday).
The Tigers opened 2017 with an impressive challenge win over top flight Somerset, and have followed that up with two outstanding SGB Championship results against Berwick and Ipswich – but boss Simon Stead is expecting a tough challenge
Home duo Josh Bates and Rob Branford return for the Tigers after missing last Thursday’s win over Ipswich, whilst the Panthers welcome back Paul Starke after a shoulder injury forced him out of their home clash with the Witches on Monday. They will operate rider replacement for Kenneth Hansen, who is due back early next month.
Stead said: “Peterborough have got a strong looking team and I’m not expecting it to be plain sailing at all.
“In this year’s Championship there are no easy fixtures – but I’d say Peterborough is going to be one of the tougher ones. Having said that, we thought that about Ipswich last week and we ran out comfortable winners in the end.
“We just want to keep the ball rolling and hopefully the lads can just continue where they left off last week and keep our run going.”
Panthers captain Ulrich Ostergaard said: “We’ve got a very good record at Sheffield and hopefully we can keep that going tonight.
“I’m pretty confident that the track will suit most of our boys and we’ll definitely go with the aim of picking up a win.
“If we can’t manage that, then we want to be able to come away with a point to keep our good start to the season going.”
Meanwhile Redcar host Ipswich at the Media Prima Arena buoyed by a last-heat success at Scunthorpe on Easter Monday.
The Bears did suffer defeat at home in the KO Cup last week and boss Jitendra Duffill knows the importance of a strong record on their own circuit.
Duffill said: “This is a big test for us and a meeting that we must win as it's our first league meeting at home.
“I'm very pleased to have Ellis (Perks) back at No.7 as he has started the season in great form and his points contribution can be the difference between winning and losing.”
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “We’ve got back-to-back meetings with Redcar now and they look a decent side. We go there in good spirits, there is massive improvement in us and if we ride like we did at Peterborough then we can get a result there.
“They’ve got an exciting line-up with Ben (Barker) and Jason (Garrity) leading the way, and you can look at their team and know you’re going to get a good hard meeting.
“We will have to be on top of our game, this league is very strong and every meeting we need to be there fighting but we are looking to win at home and away this season.”
The Isle of Wight stage a celebration of the life of much-respected speedway administrator Bryn Williams with free admission to all for the Challenge match against Weymouth at Smallbrook.
The Warriors have secured local and national sponsorship for the event and any surplus funds will be donated to the Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund.
Promoter Barry Bishop said: “It is an honour and privilege to be able to stage this event, and in doing so I am especially delighted to be able to welcome Bryn’s daughter Carys and her husband as our Guests of Honour.
“The Warriors are big on community, inclusiveness and fun and I will be going out of my way to ensure that everyone has a great time and will want to return.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

WOLVERHAMPTON have released Polish racer Adam Skornicki – and hope to announce his replacement over the weekend.
Skornicki, who returned to the sport after a two-year absence this season, has found life tough and failed to score in Tuesday’s tense SGB Premiership win over Belle Vue.
Promoter Chris Van Straaten said: “We’re sorry it hasn’t worked out for Adam, he’s a popular figure around the club but these things happen.
“We were aware of his two years out of the sport and initially I was looking at getting him into a Championship side, but as our team came together there as a team place which his average fitted nicely.
“He’s arrived on a prototype engine which we didn’t know about when we signed him and that’s just not worked out and I didn’t want the fans to start getting on his back, so we have made this decision.
“We will now try and get him fixed up in the Championship, he’s looking to put himself in the shop window at tracks and hopefully he won’t be out of action too long.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

PETERBOROUGH star Kenneth Hansen is set to return early next month after medical tests.
Hansen has undergone blood tests and a scan in his homeland, which have revealed an infection that will be treated in the coming days.
Manager Carl Johnson said: “We're relieved to learn that Kenneth's health issues are nothing too serious.
“It's been a worrying time for him and his family, but we hope to have him back for our next home meeting.
“Kenneth is very appreciative of the fact we didn't rush out and bring in a short-term replacement for him. While running rider replacement has probably hurt us a little bit, we felt that was the right thing to do.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

SCUNTHORPE have received notification that key reserve Fritz Wallner is likely to be sidelined for around another six weeks.
Wallner crashed out in a Heat 2 incident at Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago, sustaining broken bones in his hand.
Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We weren’t sure how long Fritz was due to be out for, but now we have a better idea. He’d received different diagnoses, so it was a bit unclear.
“But he’s now seen the specialist and is due to have surgery on his hand today (Thursday), and then has to wear a plaster for six weeks. After that, he should be ready for action again.”

(FIXTURES)

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

SATURDAY APRIL 22:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Rye House v Poole 7pm
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm, Ipswich v Redcar 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP 2nd leg: Workington v Newcastle 7pm
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Belle Vue 7pm

SUNDAY APRIL 23:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Ipswich 6.30, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 5.30, Glasgow v Workington 5pm
NATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Eastbourne 3pm

Results Wednesday April 19, 2017

SGB PREMIERSHIP
King’s Lynn 40 (Troy Batchelor 10+1)
Belle Vue 50 (Craig Cook 15)
SGB Premiership points: King’s Lynn 0 Belle Vue 4

TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE
Birmingham 54 (Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 16+1)
Plymouth 36 (Steve Boxall 14)
National League points: Birmingham 3 Plymouth 0

CHALLENGE
Poole 52 (Brady Kurtz 13/Hans Andersen 13)