SPEEDWAY POSTPONEMENT - FRIDAY JUNE 30:
CALEDONIAN RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP, Edinburgh - OFF
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Redcar v Sheffield - OFF
(SPEEDWAY 1)
SWINDON held on to defeat Wolverhampton 46-45 in a tense SGB Premiership encounter at the Abbey Stadium.
The Robins, missing their regular top two of Jason Doyle and Nick Morris due to injury, raced into a ten-point lead only to be reeled in during the later stages of the meeting.
When Bradley Wilson-Dean was disqualified from Heat 14, Wolves’ Jacob Thorssell headed up a 4-2 to narrow the gap to just three points.
But although Thorssell (12+1) won the final race, Swindon guest Troy Batchelor (11) secured second place to hand his old club the narrowest of victories.
Robins boss Alun Rossiter said: “I’m shocked to be honest, I never saw that coming with the team that Wolverhampton put out, and all I can say is full credit to our six boys.
“Everyone did their bit, Troy did a brilliant job and also a word for Zach (Wajtknecht) who has been fantastic. He’s getting more and more confidence every week, he’s getting more aggressive and I’m really pleased with him.”
Wolves boss Peter Adams said: “We traditionally struggle at Swindon because for whatever reason, it just takes us way too long into the meeting to get the set-up sorted out.
“We comfortably dominated the meeting from heat ten onwards, but by that point Swindon had already pounced on us right from the start and had evidently given themselves just enough breathing space.
“I'm not going to single any out, but there were two or three race results that we were particularly disappointed with tonight.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
PLYMOUTH progressed to the National League KO Cup semi-finals with a 49-41 win over Birmingham at the St Boniface Arena.
The Devils had done much of their hard work by taking a four point advantage from the away leg 24 hours earlier but were pushed hard by the Brummies in the return before securing their progression in Heat 14.
Adam Roynon notched a 14-point haul for the home side with youngster Henry Atkins adding 11+1 and sharing in a last-race 5-1 – whilst Jack Parkinson-Blackburn totalled 12 for the Brummies with Tom Bacon and Taylor Hampshire both on 10.
Plymouth manager Laurence Rogers said: “Over the two legs all the lads were magnificent and fully deserved their semi-final slot.
“We were written off by the pundits pre-season but here we are now in the Trophy Final and now the KO Cup semi-final.
“It was a team effort and in that I include our mechanics and backroom staff. This club is going places and we hope the recent results will bring the fans back to the SBA in large numbers for the rest of the season.”
Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “There was a lot of disappointment after a below-par performance at home last night, but I think we did ourselves proud tonight.
“With four heats to go there was a real belief that we could pull it off, and I know Plymouth knew they had a fight on their hands.
“Unfortunately we fell just short, and we’re obviously disappointed to be out of the Cup, but we can take plenty of positive from tonight.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
REDCAR and Sheffield meet tonight (Friday) in an important battle of SGB Championship play-off contenders.
The Bears hold a place in the top four although the Tigers have matches in hand, with their planned meeting at Owlerton on Thursday being postponed due to rain.
Rory Schlein makes a guest appearance for the home side with Jason Garrity ruled out, whilst Sheffield bring in Nathan Stoneman at reserve.
Redcar boss Jitendra Duffill said: “It’s very pleasing for me to be getting contributions from everybody and we certainly look to have a lot of strength in depth.
“We will need more of the same as we must look to send Sheffield home empty handed on Friday. I’m sure that this is going to be a thrilling match and could go all the way to the wire.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
EDINBURGH turn the spotlight on the stars of the future with the Caledonian Riders’ Championship at Armdale tonight (Friday).
Home stars Max Clegg and Mitchell Davey head the line-up with Glasgow’s former Monarchs rider Dan Bewley also taking his place in a 12-man field with other local youngsters looking to impress National League clubs.
Event organiser Scott Frame said: “There is a bigger picture than this meeting. The long-term goal for the club is to have these type of meetings on a regular basis.
“As a club I think we are aware we need to do more to promote youth, but that's not easy because of time constraints on a race night.
“Some of the second half guys at Edinburgh struggle to get places in the National League purely down to location. This meeting is a perfect opportunity for the likes of Dale Lamb, Kev Whelan and to a lesser extent Ryan MacDonald to prove that they can race at National League level.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
NATHAN Stoneman has agreed to join Sheffield with immediate effect as a replacement for Jack Parkinson-Blackburn who has given up his team spot.
Stoneman rides as a guest replacement against Redcar tonight but will officially become a full team member for Saturday’s trip to Glasgow.
Sheffield co-owner Damien Bates said: “We knew we had to make a move because we only had a facility to bring in guest riders for so long.
“It’s a shame and very disappointing about Jack because we have invested a lot of time and money into him to make him an asset of the club.
“But we have to move on and respect his decision to focus on the National League to try and rebuild his confidence.
“We welcome Nathan to the club, he’s an ambitious lad who wants to give it a go at this level and fair play to him for that.
“When we spoke to him about doing it he didn’t need long to make his mind up and he will give it his very best.
“His attitude is very positive and that’s what we want in our pits, he deserves to succeed and we will do whatever we can to help make that happen.”
(SPEEDWAY 6)
PLYMOUTH have moved to sign youngster William O’Keefe after Rob Parker announced he is quitting the sport.
O’Keefe has made several recent guest appearances for the Devils following Parker’s absence due to concussion sustained in a crash at Lakeside – his fourth such injury in two years.
Plymouth boss Laurence Rogers said: “I have known William and his family since he started riding on 125’s when he was 11. I have seen him ride at various tracks and he has attended the training schools I have run at Peterborough.
“He has made good progress this year and when Rob was injured I looked at the unattached riders available and went for William.
“The lads have all taken to him and have been helping him out. It is good to have a 1-7 again and I am sure he will continue his progress under the wing of the lads in our team.
“I know this has not been an easy decision for Rob or his family but Mark (Phillips) and I fully take in what he has said. The Parker family will always be very welcome at the St Boniface Arena.”
(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY JUNE 30:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar v Sheffield 7.30 off
CALEDONIAN RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh 7.30 off
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
SUNDAY JULY 2:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Berwick 6.30, Peterborough v Ipswich 5pm, Scunthorpe v Redcar 5.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Eastbourne 3pm, Stoke v Cradley 6pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe (follows SGBC fixture)
MONDAY JULY 3:
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Buxton 7.30, Kent v Isle of Wight 6.30
Results Thursday June 29, 2017;
SGB PREMIERSHIP
Swindon 46 (Troy Batchelor 11)
Wolverhampton 45 (Jacob Thorssell 12+1)
Premiership points: Swindon 3 Wolverhampton 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP QUARTER-FINAL, 2nd leg
Plymouth 49 (Adam Roynon 14)
Birmingham 41 (Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 12)
Plymouth win 96-84 on aggregate
