SPEEDWAY POSTPONEMENT - SATURDAY JULY 15:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Workington v Peterborough - OFF
(SPEEDWAY 1)
SWINDON completed a stunning week’s work against SGB Premiership leaders Belle Vue win a 49-35 win in Manchester on Friday.
The result completed back-to-back victories for the Robins against the Aces, both achieved without injured captain Jason Doyle.
Just as in Thursday’s home match, Swindon conceded a 5-1 in Heat 1 but hit back strongly with Bradley Wilson-Dean their hero on this occasion as he raced to a paid maximum (11+1) from four rides.
With Nick Morris (9+1) and guest Troy Batchelor (9) leading strong support from the remainder of the team, the Aces were left stunned with Dan Bewley top-scoring on eight.
The match was curtailed with one race remaining due to rain, but by that stage the Robins already had four league points in the bag.
Manager Alun Rossiter said: “I’m so happy with the will and determination being shown by a young side. It’s been such a good week, we talk and everybody listens, and they’re also reacting when the track changes.
“Seven points from two meetings isn’t bad at all, and we’ve beaten one of the best teams in the league on their own patch here.
“Bradley had a brand-new engine which he’d used for one meeting and it blew up, and he only got it back today – and it was a case of ‘welcome to the team, Bradley, we’ve been waiting for this for a long time!’”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
SHEFFIELD landed a major blow in the race for the SGB Championship play-offs with a 50-40 win at Peterborough on Friday.
It was the Tigers’ second win of the season at the East of England Arena, and once again they enjoyed a crucial contribution from guest reserve James Shanes who piled up 10+3.
With Josh Grajczonek dropping just one point on his way to 14 and Lasse Bjerre adding 10 against his old club, the Tigers had enough firepower to move back into the top four despite the withdrawal of Josh Bates after two rides following his crash at Owlerton on Thursday.
Chris Harris top-scored with 12+1 for the hosts, whose own play-off hopes were dented by the result.
Sheffield boss Simon Stead said: “It's never a place you come to and expect it to be easy and they did make us ride hard for our points.
“We got our noses in front from the off which helped us massively, we stayed there and we made sure we kept them out of tactical territory.
“The one big difference tonight was the fact we had a contribution from reserve. James Shanes came in and was superb and his points were the stand-out difference in the end.”
Peterborough team boss Carl Johnson said: "We went into with high hopes of three points to get the second half of the season off to a good start, but we come away with nothing.
"We were heavily beaten and deservedly so as we were outperformed by a very strong Sheffield team.
"We kept things a lot tighter in the first half of the meeting than when Sheffield won here last month, but we weren't making good enough starts to gain the advantages we needed.
"It's very tough to play catch-up against a side of that calibre and this is another blip that we didn't want.
"Now it is up to us to put it right and kick on again."
Meanwhile Edinburgh regained top spot in the table with a 49-41 win over Newcastle at Armadale.
The Diamonds performed better than on their previous visit but were frustrated in their efforts to take a league point despite only trailing by four with three races to go.
Sam Masters scored 13+1 for the hosts, dropping his only point to Robert Lambert in Heat 1, whilst Erik Riss scored 11 from four rides before crashing out of Heat 15.
Ludvig Lindgren was top-scorer for the Diamonds on 10+2, but Lewis Rose suffered a possible collarbone injury in a Heat 12 spill.
Edinburgh boss Alex Harkness said: "Josh (Pickering), who was pointless at the time, rode such a good race in heat 11 against Robert Lambert that I said to him - 'This is your chance.' The Newcastle riders made the gate in heat 12 but a brilliant first corner by Josh took him to the front and that turned the match. It was unfortunate that Lewis Rose then crashed and we send our best wishes to him, but it was that move which changed the match."
Newcastle boss George English said: “The lads had just the right attitude tonight and got stuck into the Monarchs from the off, but misfortune such as Robert's cut-out problems, the Heat 12 crash and delays didn't help our cause in a match that was well within our capability to win.
“But at least it proves we are a side still capable of taking away results in a season that has been akin to a famine on the road – it’s just that lady luck didn't play her part tonight.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
BEN Morley struck a stunning 18 point maximum as Lakeside beat Buxton 51-38 at the Arena-Essex Raceway on Friday.
The Hammers picked up where they left off after a lengthy lay-off to maintain their perfect home record, with Morley reeling off six straight wins.
The home side were also encouraged by some of their lower-order displays with Connor Locke scoring 8+1 and Nick Laurence 7+1, whilst Matt Williamson collected 13 for the Hitmen.
Lakeside boss Kelvin Tatum said: “It wasn't always easy for us because some of our big hitters weren't quite at their best tonight. But it was a fantastic performance from Ben, backed up superbly by Connor and Nick.
“We were delighted to keep the home record going and it was a good way to shake off the rust after a bit of a break.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
POOLE have moved to bring Finnish international Timo Lahti back to British Speedway.
Lahti joins the Pirates as a replacement for Nicolai Klindt who has taken the decision to sit out the remainder of the season after a run of injuries.
The 24-year-old last rode in the UK in 2014 after four seasons with Eastbourne.
Poole boss Matt Ford said: "Nicolai had a discussion with his partner and they came to the conclusion that it would be better for him to try and recover properly rather than to risk further damage - a decision that I certainly can concur with.
"I assured Nicolai that the door remains open for him to ride in Poole colours again because I have been impressed with his attitude and I can honestly say it has been an absolute pleasure to deal with him.
"It would be foolhardy to think that we could have covered rider-replacement for him and so I made contact again with Timo - whom I had spoken to previously - and I am glad to say that he agreed to return to the UK.
“In 2014 he attained a 5.45 average with Eastbourne and I feel that he will be able to slot into the side and offer us a bit more depth than the rider-replacement would have done."
(SPEEDWAY 5)
RYE House are targeting a repeat of their opening SGB Premiership fixture when they host Wolverhampton at Hoddesdon tonight (Saturday).
The Rockets got their campaign off to a flying start with a 51-41 win over the top-flight champions back on April 1, but several team changes have taken place since then.
Ben Barker makes his home debut but fellow recent recruit Justin Sedgmen is ruled out with concussion; whilst for the visitors Ellis Perks, recently axed by Rye, guests for the injured Mark Riss.
Rye House boss Peter Schroeck said: “This year is all about making the play-offs. We’ve got 14 matches to get our points together and get stuck in. There is no reason we can’t do it.
“We’ve given ourselves a real chance with the changes we’ve made. Without reflecting badly on Eddie (Kennett) and Ellis, it’s all about looking forwards now. The balance of the side is now built on consistency, and we aim to deliver on that over the next 14 matches - starting on Saturday.”
Wolves star Jacob Thorssell said: “I had a bad meeting at Rye House last time, because it was the first time I’d been to the track. I’m really keen to go back and have a good one on Saturday.
“We’re going to have to fight hard. They’re all fast at their place so it’s going to be tough, but we should have learnt from our first trip there and we’ll be aiming to get an away win.”
(SPEEDWAY 6)
GLASGOW star Tom Perry is targeting a bumper haul of points in this weekend’s back-to-back clashes with his former club Berwick.
Perry saw out the 2016 campaign at Shielfield Park after being axed by Peterborough, and now heads back tonight (Saturday) as part of a Tigers team who can move to the top of the table with two wins, with the return at Ashfield on Sunday afternoon.
Perry said: “I'm loving it at the moment. Things are going really well. I had a good meeting for Cradley in the National League on Wednesday and I like riding at Berwick - so I'm excited.
“I always seem to have a good meeting at Berwick and it's one of those racer’s tracks where you can stick it in the dirt and hang on, which I'm looking forward to.
“I have a look now and again at the table but there's no real need to look at the moment. There's still a long way to go until the end of the season so we just have to keep doing what we're doing and banging in the points.”
Berwick boss Gary Havelock said: “When Glasgow come to our place I think we have the power to put one over them, after all we ran them close last time they were at Berwick, so why not go that one better!”
Meanwhile Workington bid to bounce back from last week’s home defeat when they host Peterborough at Derwent Park.
The Comets have skipper Craig Cook back in their side after his absence last week due to World Cup duty, when they lost out to Sheffield.
That result and others this week leave the Comets 17 points behind fourth-placed Redcar – but they do have multiple matches in hand on the teams they are chasing, whilst the Panthers are also on the rebound after losing at home to Sheffield on Friday.
(SPEEDWAY 7)
EASTBOURNE host Buxton tonight (Saturday) in a top-versus-bottom National League clash – and Eagles boss Connor Dugard expects a competitive encounter.
Despite the visitors’ results this season, they do track one of the strongest top-twos in the league, with Max Clegg and Adam Roynon leading the challenge to the home side – Roynon making a guest appearance for the unavailable Matt Williamson.
Dugard said: “Adam Roynon is obviously a very good rider but everyone can be beaten and our boys will be aiming to do just that.
“Roynon and Clegg make Buxton very attractive opponents. We are looking forward to an excellent night’s racing and three more league points.”
Buxton boss Jason Pipe said: “I’d like to think we can go and give them a good run for their money on the day. There's no reason this can't happen.
“It just depends on what happens on the day and whose side the luck’s on, and how quickly our riders adapt to the tricky, but well-prepared track.”
Meanwhile Redcar host the latest round of the British Youth Championship at 2pm with admission just £1 for over 50 heats of racing across the three categories.
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY JULY 15:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Rye House v Wolverhampton 7pm
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Workington v Peterborough OFF
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
MONDAY JULY 17:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Leicester v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Poole 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Workington 7.30
NATIONAL TROPHY: Kent v Eastbourne 6.30
Results Friday July 14, 2017;
SGB PREMIERSHIP
Belle Vue 35 (Dan Bewley 8)
Swindon 49 (Bradley Wilson-Dean 11+1)
Abandoned after 14 heats due to rain – Result STANDS
Premiership points: Belle Vue 0 Swindon 4
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Edinburgh 49 (Sam Masters 13+1)
Newcastle 41 (Ludvig Lindgren 10+2)
Championship points: Edinburgh 3 Newcastle 0
Peterborough 40 (Chris Harris 12+1)
Sheffield 50 (Josh Grajczonek 14)
Championship points: Peterborough 0 Sheffield 4
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE
Lakeside 51 (Ben Morley 18)
Buxton 36 (Matt Williamson 13)
National League points: Lakeside 3 Buxton 00
