(SPEEDWAY 1)
RORY Schlein defeated Richie Worrall in a run-off to win the first British Semi-Final at Newcastle on Sunday.
Both riders comfortably progressed to the Final at Belle Vue next month after scoring 13 points, and they were joined on the rostrum by home star Lewis Rose who scored 11.
Reigning champion Danny King and Jason Garrity are also safely through to the national showpiece after also scoring 11, with the final three qualifying places taken by Paul Starke (10), Steve Worrall (10) and Richard Lawson (9), the latter defeating Ben Barker in a run-off.
But there was frustration for British Under-21 Champion Robert Lambert, as a motorway breakdown en route meant he was unable to appear, so his hopes of a unique national title double have been dashed.
(SPEEDWAY 2)
SCUNTHORPE climbed to fifth in the SGB Championship table with a 56-34 win over bottom club Berwick at the Eddie Wright Raceway.
Stefan Nielsen made a successful debut for the Scorpions with 10+2, including a spectacular effort to win Heat 11 over Bandits’ No.1 Nick Morris after the visitors had closed the gap to six points.
The home side then finished strongly with Michael Palm Toft leading the way on 13 points whilst Ryan Douglas added 11+1. Morris and Kevin Doolan both scored nine for Berwick.
Palm Toft said: “We can only be happy with that. There was a strong wind during the meeting, and therefore the track was a bit slicker than we expected. But we could all ride it, so it didn’t affect us.
“Stefan Nielsen made a big difference to us. It’s good having someone in there at reserve who can score a lot of points.
“We’d missed having that strong reserve. Occasionally someone is going to have an off-day, and you need a good reserve who can pick up the points when that happens. You need a balanced side and I think we know have that.”
Berwick boss Gary Havelock said: “We had a good grip on this match until the latter heats and the guys were showing great spirit.
“When they confirmed the score at the end of the meeting it was ‘no way!’ couldn't believe it, but when you're down more and more sand gets kicked in your face and that's what happened.
“Lewis (Bridger) was involved in an incident with Douglas on the back straight and Lewis was excluded, then Nick had his cut-out come out when he was leading Heat 13 and he said that has never happened to him before! So bad luck multiplies at times like this.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
STOKE took control of their National League tie with Buxton thanks to a 54-35 away win at Hi-Edge on Sunday.
Reserve David Wallinger marked his return to his club of last season with a paid maximum from four rides (11+1) whilst skipper Tony Atkin top-scored on 11+2 from five rides.
Matt Williamson scored 14 for the Hitmen, who raced without Ellis Perks due to illness whilst Lee Dicken crashed out in his third ride.
Potters star Luke Priest said: “It was a good victory here, especially after last week against Belle Vue when we feel we should have won, but we took heart from that and came out with a lot of confidence from it and I think that showed today.
“Everyone had some good races and we have come out with a big win, which is good for us for the second leg in June.
“The reserves scored well and that helps everyone out, they are just as important as the top five because if they score well the team will normally be doing well. Mitchell (Davey) had a few unlucky races and I felt I was harshly excluded, so the win might have been by more.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
BELLE Vue bid to consolidate their SGB Premiership leadership on a busy Bank Holiday of racing today (Monday).
The Aces top the table by three points and are first into action with a home clash against bottom club Somerset (midday) with all eight teams racing today.
Boss Mark Lemon said: “It was a very stern test for us in our last match against the Leicester Lions. We had a few troubles in the pits which the boys overcame brilliantly to deliver a solid six-point victory in the end.
“We’re obviously trying to avoid a ‘banana-skin moment,’ so to speak. The Rebels haven’t been travelling that well but they’re still a very capable team on paper and are not to be underestimated.”
Second-placed Poole take on Swindon at Wimborne Road (6pm) with the two sides having shared an exciting draw at Blunsdon over Easter.
The Robins include Adam Ellis, who enjoyed a fine season with the Pirates in 2016 before making the move to the Wiltshire club over the winter.
Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “We came away with a draw on Easter Sunday when at their place but needed an excellent ride from Hans (Andersen) in heat 15 to avoid defeat, after we had battled our way back into that meeting.
“Hopefully we can put ourselves in a more controlling position on Monday, but to do that we will need to be firing throughout the team.”
Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “We had a great win at Somerset last time out, and I can't see why we can't aim for the same again on Monday.
“We always know it's going to be tough going down to Poole, at their home track, and we'll need everyone firing. But we should be going there with a lot of confidence and we'll be going there looking to win for sure.”
Rye House are bidding for a fourth straight home win in the league when they host Leicester at Hoddesdon (2pm).
The Rockets have defeated Wolverhampton, Poole and King’s Lynn on their own circuit so far, whilst the Lions travel with Lasse Bjerre making his seasonal debut after it was confirmed he was rejoining the club last week.
Rye House boss Peter Schroeck said: “We’ll be back to full strength on Monday, with Branny (Rob Branford) back from his bruised shoulder, and Edward (Kennett) absolutely determined to prove a point.
“Leicester may not have a really big hitter in their side, but they are quite solid all the way through, with a lot of guys who can do some damage. We are not going to under-estimate them, but we will go in with the same objective as before: to hit them from the very beginning.”
Lions captain Danny King said: “You can never write off any team with the know-how Rye House have at their disposal. They can all go quickly and know their way around there, it is a team that can win anywhere and with Ricky Wells coming in, they are solid from one to seven.
“That said, we have a few guys who like the small, slick tracks so maybe that will go in our favour. Both teams will like racing there and it has the makings of a very good match.”
Wolverhampton skipper Fredrik Lindgren is keen to keep the home momentum going when his side take on King’s Lynn at Monmore (6pm).
Wolves have brought forward their regular start-time as they host a double-header with the Cradley/Lakeside National League match immediately following.
Lindgren said: “It’s been really good at home so far for the whole of the team. We’ve won all five of our home meetings and our new-look side showed what we’re now capable of against Rye House last week.
“We just need to race how we did then and a win over King’s Lynn would keep us right up there and would keep our run going.”
Stars boss Dale Allitt said: “We will be going there full of confidence after Somerset but staying realistic at the same time. It is hard to get points on the road wherever you go.
“It would not have been a disaster to get a couple of points from Somerset and Wolves but all team managers are greedy and now we have the win from Friday, we want more and will be taking anything we can get.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
CRADLEY boss Will Pottinger has issued a rallying cry to his side ahead of their Bank Holiday clash with Lakeside tonight (Monday, approx. 7.45pm).
The Heathens will take on the Hammers immediately after Wolverhampton’s SGB Premiership encounter with King’s Lynn, which gets underway at 6pm
Pottinger’s side got their season off to a bright start but have suffered two straight defeats including a disappointing loss to Mildenhall at Monmore Green a fortnight ago.
Meanwhile the visitors are racing their first league match, and bring in ex-Heathens rider Nathan Greaves to replace Zach Wajtknecht (SGBP commitment).
Pottinger said: “It’s been a tough couple of weeks for us, but we showed at the start of the season what we’re capable of and we just need to iron out a few issues.
“It’s important for us to get back to winning ways against Lakeside, and we’ll hopefully improve upon our first meeting at Monmore Green a couple of weeks ago.
“Lakeside have some very capable riders so we’re expecting another tough meeting, but we’ll just go about our business and to bounce back from the last two meetings.”
Lakeside captain Ben Morley said: “We have done a fair bit on smaller tracks, at places like Eastbourne and at home, so the preparation has been ideal. Hopefully, we can dial in straight away.
“If we can keep performing like we have in the past few meetings, there is every reason to think we can come away with a win.”
Elsewhere in the National League, Kent open their official campaign by taking on Buxton at Central Park (3pm).
The Kings have been boosted by the news that Nathan Stoneman and Alex Spooner have been declared fit after recent crashes.
But the Hitmen are suffering from an assortment of injury and illness concerns, and bring in James Cockle to guest for their unavailable No.1 Matt Williamson.
(FIXTURES)
MONDAY MAY 1:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Somerset 12pm, Poole v Swindon 6pm, Rye House v Leicester 2pm, Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn 6pm
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Stoke OFF, Cradley v Lakeside (follows Wolves meeting), Kent v Buxton 3pm
WEDNESDAY MAY 3:
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Eastbourne 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 4:
BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: Sheffield 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich v Glasgow 7.30, Redcar v Berwick 7.30
NATIONAL TROPHY: Isle of Wight v Swindon 7pm
FRIDAY MAY 5:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Somerset v Wolverhampton 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Workington 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pm, Plymouth v Cradley 7.15
Results Sunday April 30, 2017
BRITISH SEMI-FINAL, Newcastle
1 Rory Schlein (Wolverhampton/Ipswich) 13 (after run-off)
2 Richie Worrall (Glasgow) 13
3 Lewis Rose (King’s Lynn/Newcastle) 11
4 Danny King (Leicester/Ipswich) 11
5 Jason Garrity (Redcar) 11
6= Steve Worrall (Belle Vue/Newcastle) 10
6= Paul Starke (Somerset/Peterborough) 10
8 Richard Lawson (Glasgow) 9 (after run-off with Ben Barker)
Top eight qualify for British Final.
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Scunthorpe 56 – Michael Palm Toft 13
Berwick 34 – Nick Morris 9/Kevin Doolan 9
Championship points: Scunthorpe 3 Berwick 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg
Buxton 35 – Matt Williamson 14
Stoke 54 – Tony Atkin 11+2
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2 (125cc/150cc), Scunthorpe
1 Sam McGurk
2 Archie Freeman
3 Luke Harrison
4 Corban Pavitt
