(SPEEDWAY 1)
THE only remaining unbeaten home record in the SGB Premiership is over after Poole collected a 48-44 win at Wolverhampton on Monday.
The Pirates fought back from a ten-point deficit to overhaul a Wolves side who were hampered by the loss of Kyle Howarth in a horror crash in Heat 6.
Howarth was sent flying into the safety fence on the home straight after clipping the back wheel of Hans Andersen, and suffered concussion - although early indications suggest he remarkably avoided any broken bones. He is now set for nine days on the sidelines.
The Pirates also lost reserve James Shanes with a hand injury after a Heat 2 crash, but colleague Paul Starke piled up a crucial 10+4 from six rides as the visitors hit back.
Starke and Richie Worrall put them four points up with one heat to go, with Andersen and Worrall then keeping Fredrik Lindgren at bay for a 3-3 in the decider.
Jacob Thorssell top-scored with 11 for Wolves, who missed the chance to go top of the table, whilst Andersen (12) and Worrall (10+2) joined Starke in double figures for the visitors.
Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “Hans once again was an excellent leader and Richie certainly looked good too. You couldn't fault Timo's (Lahti) debut, Paul's heavy schedule and Jack (Holder) was steady.
“Unfortunately Krzysztof (Kasprzak) was again off the pace and it is a great concern that he is not producing the goods like he should be doing.
“Perhaps we were a little fortunate that we met Wolves when they were not at their best but let's take nothing away from the performance overall.”
Lindgren said: “We don’t come here to lose, so we’re disappointed. We got hit pretty hard when Kyle Howarth had a big crash, but we should be able to bounce back from that as a team.
“Unfortunately we didn’t manage to do that today. We try to stay focused after something like that happens and I think all the guys did, but a few things caught us out.
“Not having Kyle in his last two rides was tough as well because he’s been one of our main players this season, and we just didn’t quite do enough in the end.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
SWINDON snatched a dramatic 46-45 win at Leicester thanks to a last-lap move from recent signing Tobiasz Musielak.
The Robins trailed by eleven points with four heats to go but collected three 5-1s in the closing stages against their injury-hit hosts.
Already without Josh Bates due to a shoulder injury, the Lions lost Kyle Newman (arm injury) in a Heat 1 spill, but worse followed when newcomer Pawel Przedpelski piled into the fourth-bend fence in Heat 9 and was withdrawn with concerns over his ankle.
The Robins were not without their own problems as Adam Ellis withdrew with a shoulder injury whilst the first running of Heat 15 saw home man Kim Nilsson disqualified after tangling with Swindon guest Troy Batchelor, who was unable to take his place in the re-run.
But captain Nick Morris came in to partner Musielak, and Morris got the better of sole Lions rider Danny King on the second lap before Musielak stunned the home side by coming through with half a lap to go – and King’s efforts to respond ended as he clipped the fence on the final turn.
Musielak racked up 15+1 for the Robins with Morris on 10+1 and Batchelor 10, whilst Lions reserves Lasse Bjerre (14+2) and Erik Riss (14) both took seven rides to collect bumper hauls.
Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “In speedway you make your luck, the luck was on our side and we got away with it. We still got the three points, which is important.
“I went on TV and was a bit negative because Bradley (Wilson-Dean) had just lost an easy third place and I was a bit peeved about that – but it just shows you can never write this team off.
“Tobias went into the ambulance with Przedpelski, and for him to come back like that having seen his countryman hurt was really impressive. He was outstanding all night, and I couldn’t believe that last-minute dive on Danny King!”
Leicester manager Jim Lynch said: “We knew as soon as Kyle had dropped out in his first ride that we were going to be in trouble, and then it’s a jigsaw puzzle.
“Then we just seemed to get decisions that went against us, and I think the word ‘unlucky’ really doesn’t get there for us with what’s happened. I don’t think we had a decision go our way, and we deserved the win.
“The reserves showed exactly what they can do, and it’s great to have that strength. As far as I’m concerned we did our jobs and it was a great meeting, but we really wanted those three points to get back on track.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
WORKINGTON skipper Craig Cook scored a 15-point maximum as the Comets notched a 47-43 win at Newcastle in the SGB Championship.
The visitors edged in front with a 4-2 in Heat 12 and after two shared heats they took that advantage into the decider.
And the match was decided in their favour when Diamonds man Steve Worrall fell when attempting a third-bend pass on Cook, with Workington’s Ty Proctor out in front.
Cook duly won the re-run to complete his full house, backed up by Proctor’s ten point score and a useful 6+1 contribution from reserve guest Danny Ayres.
Ludvig Lindgren (12), Robert Lambert (11+1) and Worrall (10) were all in double-figures for the Diamonds, who operated rider-replacement for the injured Lewis Rose.
Comets boss Tony Jackson said: “Following the disappointing circumstances at the end of our Knockout Cup match at Brough Park three weeks ago that was a much better all round team performance tonight, with four of the team winning at least one race.
“Although we fell behind in the first half of the match we were confident that we could claw it back as long as we didn’t let Newcastle get too far away from us.
“Craig was absolutely magnificent as he raced to a full five-ride maximum while he received solid support throughout the team, including Danny who came into the side for the night and gave everything for the cause. It was Danny’s 5-1 with Mason Campton in Heat 8 that proved to be the turning point in the match as it reduced our deficit to just two points and gave everyone belief that we could go on and get a result.
“We may still have a lot of fixtures to race but if we can keep picking up points along the way there’s no reason whatsoever why we can’t be challenging for a play-off place as we get into the business end of the season.”
Newcastle boss George English said: “With Craig Cook in such blistering form and us a man down I guess we were always up against it and congratulations to them for taking a good victory.
“But we now bring in former skipper and Brough Park expert into our side, Stuart Robson, for another stint with us in place of the injured Lewis Rose which could turn the second half of the season round.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
KENT eliminated Eastbourne from the National Trophy with a 51-39 win over the Eagles at Central Park.
The Arlington side only have one match remaining in the group and are unable to catch leaders Mildenhall; whilst the Kings still have a chance of topping the table.
Ben Morley again proved an effective guest for the hosts with 16+1 from six rides, dropping his only point to Eagles’ top man Jake Knight (13) in Heat 13.
Stand-in skipper Jack Thomas also impressed for the home side with 14, and Anders Rowe collected 9+2 at reserve.
(SPEEDWAY 5)
SWINDON have agreed terms with Wolverhampton to make the signing of Polish racer Tobiasz Musielak permanent.
Musielak has impressed in his first three meetings with the club, playing a major role in gaining 10 Premiership points to bolster their play-off hopes.
Club co-owner Terry Russell said: “When we spoke to Chris Van Straaten at Wolverhampton to sign Tobiasz we agreed to take him on a full transfer.
“Tobiasz has settled into the club very nicely, he's enjoying racing for us and to score points like he has immediately is excellent. He's the missing link we've been looking for.”
(SPEEDWAY 6)
KING’S Lynn star Chris Holder has been hit by a Speedway Control Bureau ban following last Thursday’s controversial clash with Poole.
Holder has been charged with breaching rules SR 3.2.7 and SR 3.2.10 including withdrawing (or threatening to withdraw) from a meeting on the official fixture list, and must now sit out for 28 days.
Stars promoter Keith Chapman said: “It’s been a horrible few days for the club and I won’t make any excuse for it.
“I will personally ensure the scenes of last Thursday will never, ever be repeated at King’s Lynn Speedway and I urge all our supporters to turn out on Wednesday to show what this club means to them.
“Personally I have also suffered since Thursday, it has been stressful and has weighed heavy on my shoulders. I sincerely apologise to fans, clearly the Poole boys had no issue with the track.”
(FIXTURES)
WEDNESDAY JULY 19:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Rye House 7.30, Poole v Swindon 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Cradley 7.30, Birmingham v Stoke 7.30
THURSDAY JULY 20:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Swindon v Rye House 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich v Newcastle 7.30, Redcar v Peterborough 7.30, Sheffield v Workington 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Plymouth v Belle Vue 7.15
COBRA’S GARAGE MAHAL BEST PAIRS: Isle of Wight 7pm
FRIDAY JULY 21:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS: Somerset 7pm
Results Monday July 17, 2017
SGB PREMIERSHIP
Leicester 45 (Lasse Bjerre 14+2)
Swindon 46 (Tobiasz Musielak 15+1)
SGB Premiership points: Leicester 0 Swindon 3
Wolverhampton 44 (Jacob Thorssell 11)
Poole 48 (Hans Andersen 12)
SGB Premiership points: Wolverhampton 0 Poole 3
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Newcastle 43 (Ludvig Lindgren 12)
Workington 47 (Craig Cook 15)
SGB Championship points: Newcastle 0 Workington 3
NATIONAL TROPHY
Kent 51 (Ben Morley 16+1)
Eastbourne 39 (Jake Knight 13)
National Trophy points: Kent 3 Eastbourne 0
