(SPEEDWAY 1)

WOLVERHAMPTON have drafted in former British Champion Danny King for their SGB Premiership clash with Swindon at the Abbey tonight (Thursday).
King comes in as a guest for Kyle Howarth, who is riding for Sheffield, whilst Paul Starke also dons gold and black in the place of injury victim Mark Riss.
Wolves are hoping to take advantage of Swindon’s injury problems as they bid to close back in on league leaders Belle Vue, who have overhauled them at the summit after a spectacular run of away results.
The Robins are without No.1 Jason Doyle due to his foot injury, with Troy Batchelor stepping in to guest, and they also have major doubts over Nick Morris (concussion).
Wolves boss Peter Adams said: “It’s a very key match for us at Swindon, and we need to be coming back from there with a result if we’re serious about wanting to finish top of this league at the end of the season.
“Swindon look like they’ll be missing Jason Doyle and Nick Morris, who are two key riders for them, so it’s a good time to be going there and we’ll want to take advantage.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

SHEFFIELD star Lasse Bjerre has stressed the importance of this week’s clashes with top-four rivals Redcar – starting tonight (Thursday) at Owlerton.
Bjerre’s former club moved above the Tigers and into the SGB Championship top four with their big away win at Berwick last weekend
That result puts the Bears one point ahead of the Yorkshire side, albeit having ridden three matches more, ahead of back-to-back meetings between the clubs this week.
The Tigers have drafted in Kent racer Nathan Stoneman to guest in place of Jack Parkinson-Blackburn at reserve while ex-Sheffield man Jason Garrity is missing for the visitors and will be replaced tonight by Stuart Robson.
Bjerre said: “I’m just treating this one as though it’s any other meeting. I’ve just got to give it my absolute best and do my job for the team.
“It’s a pretty big meeting because of how close we are in the table together but with how we have been racing at home this season we should be able to get another win.
“We know we’ll have to work hard to get it but we really do have a lot of belief this season. The team get on so well and I think we’ve still got a lot more to come yet.”
Redcar boss Jitendra Duffill said: “I see this as one of our biggest challenges to date and it will be a big test for us. Having said that, we come into this fixture with a lot of confidence.
“After a convincing win at home last week over league leaders Edinburgh, nobody should faze us.
“The victory away at Berwick on Saturday was another great result for us as we must keep picking up points away from home to claim a play off spot.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

PLYMOUTH have the advantage ahead of tonight’s (Thursday) KO Cup clash with Birmingham at the St Boniface Arena – after a shock win at Perry Barr last night.
The Devils triumphed 47-43 in the first leg to inflict the Brummies’ first home defeat in a competitive fixture since October 2015.
Big guns Adam Roynon (14) and Steve Boxall (11+1) were in strong form with Boxall winning his first three rides before losing out to Liam Carr (12) in Heat 13 – whilst Roynon’s unbeaten run was only ended when Carr got the better of both in the last race.
It means the Devils take a four point lead into their home fixture, in which the Brummies will be without recent signing David Mason due to a prior commitment, with rider-replacement in operation.
William O’Keefe continues to guest for the injured Rob Parker at reserve for the hosts, whilst Kean Dicken gets an outing for the Brummies in place of Kyle Roberts.
Plymouth boss Laurence Rogers said: “This was a top-class performance from the Devils. To come to the reigning league champions and come away with a win is not something many sides will do.
“We have a four-point cushion now for the second leg, and the boys know they have one foot in the semi-finals and have to keep it tight on Thursday night.
“Having reached the National Trophy Final we are now aiming for a Cup Final spot. No-one could have predicted that at the start of the season and Mark (Phillips) and I are very proud of the lads.”
Birmingham manager Graham Drury said: “Nobody can take anything away from Plymouth tonight; they were the better side and they deserved the win.
“Adam Roynon and Steve Boxall were superb and they received good back-up from other members of their team so fair play to them.
“Of course we're not happy with losing this first leg - but I guess it's the old adage where it's only half time. We have to go to Plymouth in a positive frame of mind, attack the meeting and give it our best go.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

REDCAR have confirmed Jason Garrity faces up to a month on the sidelines with a broken scaphoid.
Garrity has ridden through the pain barrier in recent weeks but has not appeared for either the Bears or his Premiership club Leicester since missing his final ride in the British Final last Monday.
Redcar boss Jitendra Duffill said: “Jason will be missing for three to four weeks as his injury has been confirmed as a broken scaphoid.
“Finding guests to replace him is proving to be very difficult and there are few riders of equal ability available to cover his absence. I am doing everything I can to find the best guests that I can.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

STEFAN Nielsen has suffered a major blow in his recovery from a broken collarbone.
Nielsen, who had just picked up a berth in the SGB Championship with Scunthorpe, has been out since crashing at Ipswich in his second outing for the Scorpions, and has now been told he requires a further operation.
Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “Stefan went for a check-up and they told him that the bones had not knitted together. Sadly, I think his season may well be over. We wish him well – his season never had a chance to get going, so I feel for the lad.
“It’s a big blow for us, because we knew his scoring potential. Everyone could see that in his first appearance for us – he left Nick Morris in his wake and that’s no mean feat around the Eddie Wright Raceway.
“He is a very good rider and I wanted to build a relationship with him, but I hope we will still be his first choice for next year.”
The Scorpions have extended their arrangement with Tero Aarnio, who was initially brought in as a short-term replacement, into a permanent deal for the remainder of the season.

(SPEEDWAY 6)

CRADLEY have agreed a deal to sign Shelby Rutherford from Buxton
Rutherford will replace Ryan Burton, who has a serious collarbone injury, and is set to make his debut at Stoke on Sunday before facing his former club at Monmore on Monday – with the Hitmen set to introduce former Coventry Storm youngster Jamie Halder to their side as Rutherford’s replacement.
Cradley boss Will Pottinger said: “I was alerted to the fact that Buxton were looking at changing their side and Shelby was becoming available so I would like to thank them for their co-operation.
“He will be at reserve alongside Conor Dwyer so hopefully that gives us a bit of strength in that position and we can keep picking up points to strengthen our play-off push.
“It’s a shame for Ryan because he has made such good progress this season but we couldn’t afford to sit around, keep using unattached riders, and wait for him to come back.
“Hopefully Ryan can give us a problem later in the season by declaring himself fit – it would certainly give us competition for places.”

(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY JUNE 29:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield v Redcar 7.30
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Plymouth v Birmingham 7.15

FRIDAY JUNE 30:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar v Sheffield 7.30
CALEDONIAN RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 1:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Sheffield 7pm
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Eastbourne v Kent 7.30
WORLD CUP EVENT 1: King’s Lynn 7pm

Results  Wednesday June 28, 2017

SGB PREMIERSHIP
Belle Vue v King’s Lynn - OFF

NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg
Birmingham 43 (Liam Carr 12)
Plymouth 47 (Adam Roynon 14)