(SPEEDWAY 1)

CHRIS Holder enjoyed a successful return to Poole as King’s Lynn underlined their power on the road with a 49-44 win at Wimborne Road on Wednesday.
Holder contributed 13 points from five rides on his old home track at the head of a solid team effort for a fourth SGB Premiership victory on the road this season.
But for the Pirates it was a third defeat on their own circuit as they were limited to just five race wins, skipper Hans Andersen top-scoring on 14+1 including a six-pointer on a tactical ride after the Stars had opened up an early ten-point advantage.
Holder said: “To win anywhere is good but to come back to Poole is pretty special for me.
“I spent nine years here and it is a place I know inside out. Coming here with King’s Lynn is a lot different – you’re on the other side of the pits and in different changing rooms – it feels weird because you’re surrounded by the same faces you’ve known for years.
“It was about us getting the win, though, and the boys relied on my experience around there. I told them everything I knew but it was them that did the job, it was a team effort and it worked out perfectly.”
Andersen said: “(Brady Kurtz is) a difficult rider to replace as he has been so pivotal to us this season, knocking in big scores as a regular occurrence and we needed that tonight.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

IPSWICH took over at the top of the SGB Championship with a 52-38 win over play-off hopefuls Sheffield at Owlerton.
The Witches prevented the Tigers from taking a league point despite the visitors generally being within range before fading in the closing stages.
The home side extended their lead in the final four races thanks to a 5-1 from Danny King and Rory Schlein in Heat 13, and Cameron Heeps’s win in Heat 14 ended the Tigers’ hopes.
King bounced back from his crash at Newcastle last weekend with 13 points whilst Schlein scored 12+2 and Heeps added 10+1.
Kyle Howarth won four of his five rides to score 12 for the Tigers, but recent signing Nathan Stoneman crashed out in his third outing and has suffered a spiral fracture on his tibula at the back of the ankle, plus ligament damage.
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “We were not at our full potential and the interval came at a good time for us really. We stepped it up a gear after that but you have to remember Sheffield are a very good team and it is never going to be easy. We showed our strength in the end.
“I don’t think anyone had a perfect night but everyone has pulled off important rides when they needed to and every rider stepped up a gear after the interval. Nobody was perfect but they all did a good job.”
Sheffield manager Simon Stead said: “We’re really disappointed. As a team we weren’t good enough tonight, and with the exception of a couple riders we didn’t ride as well as we should have.
“Our situation at reserve is frustration, and it’s obviously an area we need to look to improve in if we’re to win tough away meetings like this.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

CRADLEY advanced to third place in the National League with a hard-fought 48-41 win over Plymouth at Perry Barr.
The visitors led 25-23 after eight races but the match turned on a dramatic Heathens 5-0 in Heat 9 when both Devils failed to finish.
The home side then eked out their advantage to the seven-point mark, meaning the visitors took nothing from the meeting.
Skipper Tom Perry collected 13 points for the Heathens with Dan Greenwood adding 10+2, whilst Adam Roynon carded 11 for the Devils despite mechanical failure in that fateful ninth race.
Perry said: “All of us really wanted it tonight. It was a tough meeting last week, to come here and lose by so many against Birmingham wasn’t good, but we’re definitely on our way now.
“We went for a chat after we went behind, we got our heads together and we said ‘if we want to make the play-offs, we have to sort it out’ and we did.
“The team scored well tonight and Conor (Dwyer) got two good wins which was important, and it also made sure they didn’t get a point.”
Plymouth boss Laurence Rogers said: “We were very unlucky not to get anything at all. The boys battled hard and had no luck at all. It just wasn’t our night.
“Steve (Boxall) is clearly not fully fit with his back and we lost points through that. The lads were disappointed at not pulling off a win when we had done the hard work to get into the lead.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

KING’S Lynn boss Dale Allitt expects a strong fightback from Poole when the sides meet at the Adrian Flux Arena in another vital SGB Premiership clash tonight (Thursday).
The Stars were impressive 49-44 winners in Dorset on Wednesday and welcome back Simon Lambert to their reserve berths after injury – but Allitt is warning of a Pirates backlash.
The visitors will operate rider-replacement for Nicolai Klindt, who has been forced to give best to a knee injury which limited him to just one point in the home match.
Allitt said: “We have to see this as half-time. I am always a big believer that every meeting is different and when we have a defeat, we always feel it is more about how you respond to it. I am sure Poole will feel the same.
“By no means will it be easy, Poole are more than capable of coming to us and doing what we did at their place.
“We have probably been better away than we have at home. I am sure it will be a good meeting and with us getting up to third with a hard-fought win, we have to look to extend our gap.”
Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “Nicolai was determined to try and ride himself through the pain barrier, which was a brave thing to attempt, but he is at risk of making the extent of the problem even greater by continuing to battle on whilst so evidently unfit and in so much discomfort.
“We pulled him out of his final programmed ride as everyone could see he was struggling beyond the call of duty.
“We will now have to monitor the situation and look again at our options, but for the meeting at King's Lynn we will operate rider replacement for him.”
Meanwhile new signing Tobiasz Musielak makes his debut for Swindon as the Robins host league leaders Belle Vue at the Abbey Stadium.
The Aces were 46-44 winners on their previous visit in the early stages of the season and track a full-strength side as they look to extend their impressive away record.
Robins boss Alun Rossiter said: “We’re hoping Tobiasz will give us a little bit of extra strength and he can help us with a win over Belle Vue on his debut.
“It was an impressive win for us in our last meeting against Wolverhampton, and it just goes to show anything is possible.
“We have a different team this week but we’ll hopefully see the same fighting spirit and the same result.”
Aces star Steve Worrall said: “Over the last two seasons, we’ve developed quite a good track record around Swindon. We’ve had one really good win there this year and with our away form I believe we can do it again.
“On a personal level, it’s a track I really like racing. I had a brilliant season there in 2014 so I’m really looking forward to Thursday’s meeting. But it’s not going to be easy against their revamped side.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

REDCAR and Sheffield are both at home in the SGB Championship tonight (Thursday) as they continue their battle for fourth place.
The Bears currently hold a two-point advantage but have ridden two more matches and slipped to a damaging defeat to fellow challengers Peterborough at the Media Prima Arena last week.
Tonight the Teesside club face Scunthorpe, although they will be without Charles Wright who is ruled out with concussion after his crash in the Panthers match.
Boss Jitendra Duffill said: “I really feel for Charles as he has simply found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time too many times this year.
“Using rider-replacement means that everybody has to step up and we cannot afford to under-estimate Scunthorpe.
“Even though they have struggled on the whole in 2017, they have some very capable riders amongst their ranks and will be keen to make up for the points we have taken at their place this year.”
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We took a very welcome victory over Newcastle at the Eddie Wright Raceway last Friday, with Ryan Douglas, Tero Aarnio and Josh Bailey all having their best meetings of the season, and of course we’d like to keep that momentum going at Redcar.
“The Bears are in contention for a play-off spot, but are having an up-and-down season. We’ve experienced how well they can ride away from home, but they’ve also shown just a slight vulnerability in front of their own supporters.”
Meanwhile Sheffield have been left looking for two new reserves ahead of their clash with bottom club Berwick at Owlerton.
Recent signing Nathan Stoneman suffered a broken tibula at Ipswich on Thursday, and Rob Branford looks set to be ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Mitchell Davey and Layne Cupitt guest against the Bandits, who bring in Richard Lawson to replace Nick Morris (SGBP duty).
Sheffield boss Simon Stead said: “It’s never ideal relying on guests and hopefully the club will be successful in bringing a couple of riders in.
“We wish the injured lads all the very best and hope all our fans come along tonight and get right behind the team.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

FORMER Isle of Wight boss Neil Vatcher will take on his wife Jackie as his GB Young Lions Select side face the Warriors at Smallbrook tonight (Thursday).
The home side have Ben Wilson back in the side after his crash at Kent last week, whilst Adam Portwood makes his debut appearance.
The visitors are led by Jack Parkinson-Blackburn and also include Woodhull twins Luke and Ben.
Jackie Vatcher said: “I’m not sure speedway has ever seen a managerial match-up like this before so if it is a first I want my boys to be the ones making history.
“Neil has an enviable choice of riders to pick from and he knows their form inside out, however the Warriors are a tight-knit bunch and I’m sure they will want to win it not only for me but also for our faithful supporters.”

(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY JULY 13:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Poole 7.30, Swindon v Belle Vue 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30, Sheffield v Berwick 7.30
CHALLENGE: Isle of Wight v GB Young Lions Select 7pm

FRIDAY JULY 14:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Newcastle 7.30, Peterborough v Sheffield 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Lakeside v Buxton 8pm

SATURDAY JULY 15:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Rye House v Wolverhampton 7pm
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Workington v Peterborough 7pm
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Buxton 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 6: Redcar 2pm

SUNDAY JULY 16:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Berwick 3pm, Peterborough v Redcar 5pm
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Birmingham 3pm

Results Wednesday July 12, 2017

SGB PREMIERSHIP
Poole 44 (Hans Andersen 14+1)
King’s Lynn 49 (Chris Holder 13)
SGB Premiership points: Poole 0 King’s Lynn 3

SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Ipswich 52 (Danny King 13)
Sheffield 38 (Kyle Howarth 12)
SGB Championship points: Ipswich 3 Sheffield 0

TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cradley 48 (Tom Perry 13)
Plymouth 41 (Adam Roynon 11)
National League points: Cradley 3 Plymouth 0