SGB PREMIERSHIP SOUNDBYTES…
BELLE VUE – “I believe we have the strongest top five in the league and if anyone says otherwise, I would like to hear their reasons.” Craig Cook reckons the Aces have the best Britain has to offer. Read more in this week’s Speedway Star.
NEXT HOME: Poole, Premiership, Fri June 9 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Somerset, Premiership, Fri June 2 (7.30)
KING’S LYNN – “It is not the best of things to be doing with your time but you have to, you only get out what you put in.” Lewis Rose on his fitness regime. Check out King’s Lynn’s programme on Wednesday for the full interview.
NEXT HOME: Swindon, Premiership, Weds May 31 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Wolverhampton, Knockout Cup, Mon June 5 (7.30)
LEICESTER - “To make too much of these things would be finding excuses, though. Rye House rode really well and deserved their victory.” Team boss Jim Lynch dished out credit where it was due after Monday’s home defeat at Beaumont Park.
NEXT HOME: Poole, Premiership, Sat June 3 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Wolverhampton, Premiership, Mon June 12 (7.30)
POOLE – "Provided Krzysztof has proven he is fully fit after 28 days, we will look to reinstate him to the team.” Promoter Matt Ford insists the signing of Grzegorz Zengota in place of injured number one Krzysztof Kasprzak is a temporary move.
NEXT HOME: Wolverhampton, Premiership, Weds June 7 (7.30).
NEXT AWAY: Leicester, Premiership, Sat June 3 (7.30)
RYE HOUSE – “The circuit was in a right state when we got here but I have to say the track staff did a great job. It doesn’t matter about the track now, though, this one is in the book.”
Team boss Peter Schroeck celebrates the Rockets recording their first away win in the Premiership despite a soggy surface at Leicester on Monday.
NEXT HOME: Belle Vue, Premiership, Weds June 14 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: King’s Lynn, Premiership, Weds June 7 (7.30)
SOMERSET - “You never want to see riders hurt or underperforming in order to gain a team place but that’s the sport we’re in.” Richard Lawson was pleased to receive a call from the Rebels and quickly fired in 15 in the home win over Rye House.
NEXT HOME: Belle Vue, Premiership, Fri June 2 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Leicester, Premiership, Sat June 10 (7.30)
SWINDON - “We have to eradicate our middle-order frailties and once we do that, I think we can go on a bit of a run and put this up-and-down start behind us.” Boss Alun Rossiter has faith in his Robins banishing their home blues.
NEXT HOME: Rye House, Premiership, Thurs June 15 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: King’s Lynn, Premiership, Weds May 31 (7.30)
WOLVERHAMPTON – “It will keep him out for a week but with complete rest, he thinks he should be fit for the cup tie at home to King’s Lynn on Monday.” Boss Peter Adams is hopeful Freddie Lindgren’s injury will be short-lived. Read more in this week’s Speedway Star.
NEXT HOME: King’s Lynn, Knockout Cup, Mon June 5 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Poole, Premiership, Weds June 7 (7.30)
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP SOUNDBYTES…
BERWICK – “His only point was a gift. If he's not right or got engine problems, he needs to phone us well in advance so we can help and advise. It's just not good enough.” Gary Havelock was not happy after Dany Gappmaier scored one point in Saturday’s 50-34 home beating by Redcar.
NEXT HOME: Workington, Championship, Sat June 3 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Peterborough, Championship, Sun June 11 (7pm)
EDINBURGH - “It was one of our easier meetings.” Sam Masters after the Monarchs had brushed aside Peterborough 60-30 to pull clear at the top of the Championship.
NEXT HOME: Sheffield, Championship, Fri June 2 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Sheffield, Knockout Cup, Thurs June 1 (7.30)
GLASGOW – "It's a point on the road everywhere and we have been to Edinburgh, Ipswich and Sheffield – a lot of people's tips for the top four.” Tigers have taken something from all 10 meetings in the league in 2017.
NEXT HOME: Berwick, Championship, Sun June 4 (6pm)
NEXT AWAY: Redcar, Championship, Thurs June 1 (7.30)
IPSWICH - “Sometimes you have an off night and as long as we don’t have too many more, I don’t see it being a problem.” Danny King insisted there was no need to push the panic button despite a 54-38 loss at Workington. Read more in this week’s Speedway Star.
NEXT HOME: Newcastle, Championship, Thurs June 1 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh, Championship, Fri June 16 (7.30)
NEWCASTLE – "We had a deep-seated feeling this was not going to be a run in the park which it proved not to be.” Boss George English was not shocked to see Scunthorpe leave Byker with a point on Sunday.
NEXT HOME: Sheffield, Championship, Sun June 4 (6.30)
NEXT AWAY: Ipswich, Championship, Thurs June 1 (7.30)
PETERBOROUGH – "We could not be more excited about pulling off the signing of Chris and we can't wait to see him racing for Peterborough again.” Boss Carl Johnson welcomes ex-Grand Prix star Chris Harris to his Panthers team.
NEXT HOME: Berwick, Championship, Sun June 11 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Scunthorpe, Knockout Cup, Sun June 4 (5.30)
REDCAR - “When I join a team, I want to dedicate everything to them.” Danny Ayres is confident he can deliver for the Bears alongside his commitments at Leicester and Cradley.
NEXT HOME: Glasgow, Championship, Thurs June 1 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh, Championship, Fri June 9 (7pm)
SCUNTHORPE – “I’m finding it hard to take in at the moment because I love Josh to bits.” Promoter Rob Godfrey is still struggling to comprehend Scorpions favourite Josh Auty’s decision to quit speedway.
NEXT HOME: Peterborough, Knockout Cup, Sun June 4 (5.30)
NEXT AWAY: Sheffield, Championship, Thurs June 15 (7.30)
SHEFFIELD – "When the pressure was on in those big heats, he came up with the goods.” Boss Simon Stead lauds Josh Grajczonek for his five-ride paid maximum in Thursday’s 46-44 win over Glasgow at Owlerton.
NEXT HOME: Edinburgh, Knockout Cup, Thurs June 1 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh, Championship. Fri June 2 (7.30)
WORKINGTON – “To be honest, maybe we should have won by a slightly bigger margin.” Hard-to-please boss Tony Jackson after the 54-38 beating of Ipswich on Saturday.
NEXT HOME: Glasgow, Championship, Sat June 10 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Berwick, Championship, Sat June 3 (7pm)
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUNDBYTES…
BELLE VUE COLTS - “We’re delighted to come away from Mildenhall with a point. That would’ve been the case in any circumstances given how strong they are at home, but Sunday’s performance was exceptional.” Colts manager Graham Goodwin after their injury-hit side claimed a hard-fought consolation point at Mildenhall on Sunday.
NEXT HOME: Buxton, National League, Wed May 31 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Isle of Wight, National League, Tues June 6 (7.15)
BIRMINGHAM – “While our heat-leaders were magnificent, I think we do have to pay special praise to Layne (Cupitt), Macauley (Leek) and Kyle (Roberts).” Team boss Graham Drury felt their lower order made all the difference in an impressive 55-35 win over revamped Buxton last week.
NEXT HOME: Eastbourne, National League, Wed June 7 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Kent, National League, Mon June 12 (6.30)
BUXTON – “I'm very proud of every one of my riders today. They all put in top notch performances and we thoroughly deserved that win.” Hitmen chief Jason Pipe was in jubilant mood after their revamped side broke the 60-point barrier against the Isle of Wight on Sunday.
NEXT HOME: Mildenhall, National League, Sun June 11 (3pm)
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, National League, Wed May 31 (7.30)
CRADLEY – “We’re slightly disappointed because we were hanging in there, but we went eight points down at the wrong time and couldn’t get it back.” Team manager Will Pottinger was frustrated to see the Heathens fall agonisingly short of a consolation point at Lakeside.
NEXT HOME: Kent, National League, Mon June 19 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Stoke, National League, Sun July 2 (7pm)
EASTBOURNE – “They all did a job this afternoon. Kent is not an easy track to come to and the team did really well.” Connor Dugard was delighted to see the Eagles get their Knockout Cup defence off to a perfect start with a 48-42 win in their first leg clash at Kent.
NEXT HOME: Kent, Knockout Cup, Sat June 3 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Birmingham, National League, Wed June 7 (7.30)
ISLE OF WIGHT – “It was a frustrating day. It would’ve been a tough meeting anyway, Buxton have strengthened up recently, but I’d like to think I could’ve helped make things a bit closer as I’ve gone well around Buxton recently.” Warriors’ skipper James Cockle after traffic problems caused him to miss their away loss at Buxton. Read more in this week’s Speedway Star.
NEXT HOME: Plymouth, National Trophy, Thurs June 1 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, National League, Fri June 16 (7.30)
KENT – A 15-point maximum from star man Luke Bowen was not enough to prevent the Kings from slipping to a 48-42 defeat in the first leg of their Knockout Cup tie with Eastbourne on home shale.
NEXT HOME: Mildenhall, National Trophy, Mon June 5 (6.30)
NEXT AWAY: Eastbourne, Knockout Cup, Sat June 3 (7.30)
LAKESIDE - “We’ve had a great weekend on track with wins against Stoke and Cradley and beating a couple of our play-off rivals for Connor completes an excellent few days for the Hammers.” Hammers’ co-boss Jon Cook after they capped off a hectic weekend by securing the signing of Connor Locke.
NEXT HOME: Kent, National League, Fri June 9 (8pm)
NEXT AWAY: Birmingham, National League, Wed June 21 (7.30)
MILDENHALL – “Today was a hard fought win make no mistake, and I thought the lads stuck to their task really well.” Promoter Kevin Jolly praised the tenacity of his side after they saw off Belle Vue to maintain their perfect home record at West Row on Sunday.
NEXT HOME: Plymouth, National League, Sun June 4 (3pm)
NEXT AWAY: Kent, National Trophy, Mon June 5 (6.30)
PLYMOUTH – “It just wasn’t our night. We knew how strong they’d be at home but we never really got going despite non-stop work in the pits.” Devils’ boss Laurence Rogers insists their heavy defeat at Eastbourne wasn’t through a lack of effort.
NEXT HOME: National League Select, Challenge, Fri June 2 (7.15)
NEXT AWAY: Isle of Wight, National Trophy, Thurs June 1 (7.30)
STOKE – “I have had to assess what is right for me at this moment in time. The love has gone and my priorities have changed and I feel that it is the right thing to do for me and for the club.” Outgoing Potters’ rider David Speight opened up about his decision to quit the sport.
NEXT HOME: Buxton, Knockout Cup, Sat June 3 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Plymouth, National League, Fri June 9 (7.15)
MAJOR EVENTS LATEST…
THE countdown is on to the 2017 British Final at Belle Vue on Monday June 19.
The National Speedway Stadium stages the prestigious national title showdown for a second successive season after Danny King’s dramatic victory in 2016.
King defied tough conditions to emerge on top last year, and his win also led to the Leicester and Ipswich skipper making an impressive Wild Card appearance in the British Grand Prix and playing an important role in Great Britain’s silver-medal winning World Cup performance.
But the competition will be fierce once again with home man Craig Cook looking to take the step up and finally become British Champion.
Cook has been runner-up in each of the past three seasons, whilst another Aces star Steve Worrall will look to reach the podium for the first time after his impressive fourth-place last year.
With Worrall’s brother Richie trying to impress SGB Premiership clubs, Newcastle semi-final winner Rory Schlein making his debut in the event and multiple champions Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris desperate for further success, British Speedway Chairman Keith Chapman is predicting an open battle for the title.
Chapman said: “It's my opinion that several riders in the line-up are capable of winning the meeting.
“You've got the home favourites like Steve Worrall and Craig Cook but you can never rule out the reigning champion Danny King.
“I guess there's several factors to motivate the riders - the national title itself, World Cup places on the line and of course the wildcard slot at Cardiff.
“Belle Vue as a National Stadium should have this meeting, we're pleased to be going back there and it's great for the club to have the Final.
“I'm certain they'll do a good job staging the meeting. Some of the racing I've seen there, both in person and on clips via the BSPA media channels has been amazing.
“I'd urge everyone to get along to the meeting - but of course if they cannot travel it is the first broadcast by BT Sport as British Speedway returns to the TV screens.”
BRITISH FINAL QUALIFIERS: Rory Schlein (Wolverhampton/Ipswich), Richie Worrall (Glasgow), Lewis Rose (Newcastle/King’s Lynn), Danny King (Leicester/Ipswich), Jason Garrity (Leicester/Redcar), Steve Worrall (Belle Vue/Newcastle), Paul Starke (Peterborough), Richard Lawson (Somerset/Glasgow), Kyle Howarth (Wolverhampton/Sheffield), Scott Nicholls (Rye House), Craig Cook (Belle Vue/Workington), Chris Harris (Rye House/Peterborough), Josh Auty (Scunthorpe), Lewis Kerr (Somerset/Scunthorpe), Lewis Bridger (Berwick), Stuart Robson (Rye House).
BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAJOR EVENTS 2017
SGBP PAIRS: KING’S LYNN
BRITISH FINAL: Belle Vue, June 19
SGBC PAIRS: Somerset, July 21
SGBC FOURS: Peterborough, August 6
SGBP RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Belle Vue, September 16
SGBC RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow, September 24
OTHER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DATES
BRITISH UNDER-21 SEMI-FINAL: JAMES SHANES
BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: ROBERT LAMBERT
BRITISH UNDER-19 FINAL: Plymouth, July 6
BRITISH SEMI-FINALS: RORY SCHLEIN; KYLE HOWARTH
NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester, September 24
FIXTURE PICTURE…
WEDNESDAY MAY 31:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Swindon 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Buxton 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 1:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich v Newcastle 7.30, Redcar v Glasgow 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP 2nd leg: Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.30
NATIONAL TROPHY: Isle of Wight v Plymouth 7pm
FRIDAY JUNE 2:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Somerset v Belle Vue 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30
CHALLENGE: Plymouth v National League Select 7.15
SATURDAY JUNE 3:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Leicester v Poole 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Workington 7pm
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Eastbourne v Kent 7.30, Stoke v Buxton 7pm
SUNDAY JUNE 4:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Berwick 6pm, Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP 1st leg: Scunthorpe v Peterborough 5.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Plymouth 3pm
MONDAY JUNE 5:
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn 7.30
NATIONAL TROPHY: Kent v Mildenhall 6.30
TUESDAY JUNE 6:
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Belle Vue 7pm
WEDNESDAY JUNE 7:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30, King’s Lynn v Rye House 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 8:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich v Edinburgh 7.30, Redcar v Peterborough 7.30, Sheffield v Newcastle 7.30
FRIDAY JUNE 9:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Lakeside v Kent 8pm, Plymouth v Stoke 7.15
SATURDAY JUNE 10:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Leicester v Somerset 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Newcastle 7pm, Workington v Glasgow 7pm
SUNDAY JUNE 11:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Workington 3pm, Peterborough v Berwick 7pm, Scunthorpe v Sheffield 5.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Mildenhall 3pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 4: Rye House 3pm
MONDAY JUNE 12:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Wolverhampton v Leicester 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Birmingham 6.30
TUESDAY JUNE 13:
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Birmingham 7pm
WEDNESDAY JUNE 14:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Rye House v Belle Vue 7.30
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton 7.30
