(SPEEDWAY 1)

HOME favourite Kyle Howarth led the qualifiers from the second British semi-final at Sheffield on Thursday.
Howarth, in a rich vein of form for both the Tigers and Wolverhampton this season, collected 12 points to breeze into next month’s Final ahead of fellow rostrum finishers Scott Nicholls and Craig Cook.
Chris Harris, Josh Auty and Lewis Kerr were the other automatic qualifiers while Lewis Bridger and Stuart Robson came through a run-off for the final two places after Carl Wilkinson was excluded following a nasty crash on bend four.
Rye House captain Edward Kennett and British Under-21 Champion Josh Bates were amongst the riders who missed the cut.
Howarth said: “There was a lot of pressure on me tonight because I was on my home track. There was a lot of expectation too, but to be honest I'd tried to ignore all of that.
“All I was focused on was making sure I qualified. In the end it worked out even more perfectly because my performance was good enough to earn the win on the night so of course I'm pleased.
“It was a very tough field, so I've definitely had to work for it but I'm really happy. It's another marker I've thrown down now and while I've got plenty of meetings between now and then, I can't wait to get to that British Final and show what I can do!”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

GLASGOW took over at the top of the SGB Championship table courtesy of an away point from their trip to Ipswich.
The Witches won 48-42 but the Tigers secured some reward from the meeting courtesy of a last-heat 5-1 from Aaron Summers and Richie Worrall.
Guest James Shanes proved a perfect replacement on the night for the hosts, as he scored 10+1 standing in for the injured Danyon Hume, whilst Summers (10), Worrall (10+1) and Richard Lawson (12) were all in double figures for the visitors.
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “It was always going to be a tough night with three riders making their debut at home and against a very good team.
“They got a 5-1 in Heat 15 which makes it feel a little bit like a loss and we don’t want to be giving teams who are play-off contenders a point off of us, so that was really disappointing.
“I think Justin (Sedgmen) took a couple of rides to get his head around it but he rode his last race perfectly. Kyle (Newman) made a mistake in his last ride but they have both learnt a lot tonight and I’m sure they will improve and do really well for us.”
Glasgow boss Stewart Dickson said: “The bottom line is that they had a guest in James Shanes who won them the match, as far as I'm concerned. Fair play to them for picking a guest to do the job.
“We knew it would be a tall order to win there again. They're obviously stronger with Rory Schlein and Justin Sedgmen, who got stronger as the night went on.
"They're decent, and they're going to be a tough nut to crack. To lose by six and get a point is good - but at the same time, if we've got to race them over two legs, it gives us some optimism that we could take them.
Meanwhile Redcar added another home victory although their 49-43 win over Berwick also enable the Bandits to collect their first league point of the season.
And the meeting went down to a last heat decider where a 5-1 to the visitors would have forced a draw, only for Charles Wright to take the flag for the hosts with Nick Morris’s second place getting the bottom club off the mark.
Wright won four races on his way to a 13-point score whilst team-mate Jason Garrity was withdrawn after three rides due to flu. The Bandits had three riders – Nick Morris (12), guest Steve Worrall (11) and captain Kevin Doolan (10) – in double figures.
Berwick boss Gary Havelock said: “That was more like the performance we know the guys are capable of in most cases, and Redcar are a tough old side it has to be said so to keep close to them, and only lose out by six points is good going.
“Things are starting to come together now. It sets us up now to go and put points on the board, which I think is not too far off now, and then we're aiming for as high a league place as we can.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

ZACH Wajtknecht’s late heroics enabled Swindon to start their National Trophy campaign with a 47-43 win at the Isle of Wight.
The Warriors had threatened to pull back an eight point deficit to draw the meeting when Ben Wilson and Nathan Greaves looked set to repeat a Heat 13 5-1 over Wajtknecht in the deciding race.
But Wajtknecht overhauled both of his opponents in the closing stages of the race, also inflicting the only defeat of the meeting on Greaves, to give the Rockets three points in the mini-group.
Swindon captain Darryl Ritchings said: “It was a great result. We told ourselves from the off we just wanted to get a win and we all dug deep to make it happen.
"It's a good start, so we'll just move on from this and hopefully have a successful year in the National Trophy.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

SOMERSET bid to build on their shock Bank Holiday win at Belle Vue when they host Wolverhampton at the Oaktree Arena tonight (Friday).
The Rebels have lost their last two SGB Premiership outings at home but face a Wolves side who are forced into changes.
The reigning champions make the trip with with skipper Fredrik Lindgren riding in Poland whilst Sam Masters (SGBC commitment) and Mark Riss (GP qualifier) are both also absent.
Club bosses have booked teenage hotshot Robert Lambert, Richie Worrall and Ellis Perks to step in as guests.
Wolves star Rory Schlein said: “It’s part and parcel of speedway these days that you’ll always be without someone at some point.
“I think most of us enjoy riding at Somerset, so we’ve just got to try and keep it close because if you do that you force them to make mistakes.
“Hopefully we can come away with something, and I know everyone will be giving their best to try and make it happen.”
In the SGB Championship, Edinburgh are waiting on the fitness of Jake Pickering who has two broken fingers and tendon damage after a crash at Glasgow last Saturday.
Dany Gappmaier deputises for Riss due to his GP qualifier, whilst Monarchs legend Craig Cook misses his return to Armadale for the same reason, with Steve Worrall stepping in for the visitors.
Comets owner Laura Morgan said: “Unfortunately it is just one of those things that we have to go to Edinburgh without Craig as, having spent five seasons as a Monarch, he will certainly know his way around there, and I am sure he would have proved a big attraction to the Monarchs supporters too.
“However, we are very grateful that a former Monarchs team-mate of Craig’s, Steve Worrall, accepted our guest booking and with his track knowledge and his past record around there he will be a very good guest for us.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

LAKESIDE open their home Travel Plus National League campaign with a clash against fast-starters Belle Vue Colts tonight (Friday).
The Hammers picked up a point at Cradley on Monday whilst the Colts have won both of their opening two fixtures, including a big home victory over Mildenhall last week.
The visitors bring in Ben Hopwood to guest for Rob Shuttleworth (SGBC commitment).
Lakeside boss Kelvin Tatum said: “We hope we can make our home advantage count on Friday - but it won’t be easy!
“Belle Vue have got off to a flyer this season and with the likes of Dan Bewley, Jack Smith, Lee Payne, Kyle Bickley and co they’ve got one of the strongest teams in the league.
“This could well be one of the meetings of the season at the Raceway and the fans should be in for a thrilling night of speedway!”
Bickley said: “Lakeside’s team look pretty tough and although they haven't started as strongly as we have I’m sure they will put up a good fight so we will need to make sure we bring our best game.
“Me and Andy Mellish have been practicing at Northside since our last meeting against Mildenhall. It’s quite a small track and I think those extra laps will help at Lakeside, which is also quite small.
“Having said that, everyone in our team is capable of getting around the smaller circuits as quick as they get around Belle Vue so there’s no reason we can’t go there and come away with a win.”
Meanwhile Plymouth trio Steve Boxall, Benji Compton and Rob Parker have all been declared fit after recent injuries to face Cradley at the St Boniface Arena.
All three have been receiving daily treatment and will take their place for the Devils as they bid for a first league win.
The visitors, meanwhile, bring in Ben Wilson to guest for regular skipper Tom Perry who is unavailable.
Plymouth boss Laurence Rogers said: “Naturally with my past connections with the club it is one meeting I am looking forward to.
“They will undoubtedly be bringing a fair number of fans with them and I know from experience they are vociferous so it will a great atmosphere as our Plymouth fans are renowned for being loud in their support of their side.
“It looks like our injured trio are all OK so we go into the clash with a full side in what I predict with a humdinger of a meeting as Cradley possess a strong septet.”
Cradley manager Will Pottinger said: “If we can make some good starts at a track like Plymouth then we give ourselves half a chance of getting something out of the meeting.
“Steve Boxall has been flying for them early on in the season but these are the sorts of places we need to be going to and aiming to leave with something to show for our efforts.
“To have serious ambitions of qualifying for the play-offs at the end of the season, you have to pick up points away from home so this is going to be a big few weeks for us.”

(FIXTURES)

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

SATURDAY MAY 6:
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Birmingham 7pm
NATIONAL TROPHY: Eastbourne v Mildenhall 7.30
IVOR BROWN TROPHY: Leicester v Cradley 7.30

SUNDAY MAY 7:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Peterborough v Edinburgh 7pm
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Belle Vue 3pm, Mildenhall v King’s Lynn 3pm

Results Thursday May 4, 2017

BRITISH SEMI-FINAL, Sheffield
1 Kyle Howarth (Wolverhampton/Sheffield) 12
2 Scott Nicholls (Rye House) 11
3 Craig Cook (Belle Vue/Workington) 10
4 Chris Harris (Rye House) 10
5 Josh Auty (Scunthorpe) 10
6 Lewis Kerr (Poole/Scunthorpe) 10
7 Lewis Bridger (Berwick) 9 - after run-off
8 Stuart Robson (Rye House) 9
Top eight qualify for British Final.

SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Ipswich 48 (James Shanes 10+1)
Glasgow 42 (Richard Lawson 12)
SGB Championship points: Ipswich 3 Glasgow 1

Redcar 49 (Charles Wright 13+1)
Berwick 43 (Nick Morris 12)
SGB Championship: Redcar 3 Berwick 1

NATIONAL TROPHY
Isle of Wight 43 (Nathan Greaves 13+1)
Swindon 47 (Zach Wajtknecht 12)
National Trophy points: Isle of Wight 0 Swindon 3