(SPEEDWAY 1)
GREAT Britain’s Robert Lambert won the inaugural European Under-19 Speedway Cup in the Czech Republic on Saturday.
King’s Lynn and Newcastle star Lambert raced to a maximum from his qualifying heats before taking the Final ahead of Filip Hjelmland, Bartosz Smektala and Michael Hartel.
Meanwhile fellow British rider Nathan Greaves was unfortunate to miss out on qualification, scoring seven points despite suffering a fall in Heat 16 on a tricky Divisov track.
Lambert said: “The track was really bumpy and I twisted my leg twice while riding. I'm back in a lot of pain with that - my leg has never hurt like that while racing.
“However, I am really happy about winning the title and thank you to all for the support and congratulations.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
LEICESTER defeated Rye House 46-44 in a dramatic SGB Premiership clash at Beaumont Park on Saturday.
The Rockets were going for two away wins in 48 hours to boost their play-off chase after hitting 60 points at Poole, but fell just short in the East Midlands and had to be content with just one league point.
Leicester recorded 5-1s in each of the first two races but the visitors hit back with a string of wins and had moved in front by Heat 10.
But the lead then swung between the two sides with Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris recording what appeared a key maximum for Rye in Heat 13 only for Josh Bates and Michael Palm Toft to respond in the next and put the Lions into the last race 43-41 ahead.
With Nicholls and Harris on track again, the Rockets’ hopes were high – but Harris was disqualified after a fourth-bend clash with Bates, enabling the Lions to record the 3-3 they required in the re-run.
Bates piled up 13+2 from seven rides for the hosts with Danny King adding 11+1, whilst Nicholls dropped just one point from six outings, finishing on 15+2 whilst Stuart Robson added 11+1.
Lions boss Jim Lynch said: “We just battled from the first heat to last, and it’s one of the best team efforts I’ve ever been involved in as a manager.
“Every single rider contributed, which is what you want when you have a makeshift team like that, and I couldn’t be happier with the result.
“When we went behind in Heat 13 it was a real blow, but what a talent Josh Bates is – and the only bit of real luck we got was in Heat 15, although Chris did take Josh off.”
Rockets manager Peter Schroeck said: “It was a tough decision to go against us. We didn’t feel that Bomber had done anything wrong; he simply rode his own line, but it would seem he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“But we should also be realistic about things. A few weeks ago, we would have been very pleased to get a point here – and if you had offered us five points beforehand from our two matches this week, we would have taken them.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
GLASGOW secured Scottish derby success with a 53-39 win over Edinburgh at Ashfield on Saturday.
The victory moves the Tigers above the Monarchs in the SGB Championship table, with Glasgow trailing leaders Sheffield by six points but with two matches in hand.
The home side lost reserve Jack Smith due to a dislocated elbow in a Heat 2 spill, but their heat-leaders were in dominant form with Richard Lawson (14), Aaron Summers (11+2) and Richie Worrall (10) all in double figures.
The Monarchs remained in touch but were limited to just four heat wins, Ricky Wells top-scoring on 11 with reserve Josh Pickering adding 10+2.
Tigers boss Stewart Dickson said: “I'm pretty pleased, and it's always good to beat your biggest rivals.
“There were some wayward predictions that we were going to win by 20-odd points, but I never saw that, I always thought 12 or 14 was what it was going to be.
“For me it was about the manner of the win. The track was pretty grippy and fast - there wasn't that much passing because it was quick but there were some excellent races.”
Edinburgh manager Alex Harkess said: “We never gave up and we started picking up some wins towards the end. It was very much a ‘from the start’ type of meeting and intermittently we did start, but not consistently enough to challenge.
“It’s time for Josh to progress and he is showing signs of doing that, and that is pleasing. We need him to score points and you can see his whole outlook has taken a step up and that is good, very good.”
Workington bounced back from a six-point deficit after just four heats to defeat Redcar 48-42 at Derwent Park in a match that Comets team manager Tony Jackson had described as a ‘must-win’ fixture beforehand.
Craig Cook smashed the track record in Heat 1 by a massive 0.7 seconds on his way to a 14-point haul with Ty Proctor adding 12+1, whilst Ben Barker (11) and Jonas B Andersen (10) both scored double figures for the Bears, with Barker’s Heat 15 win over Cook securing the visitors a league point.
Jackson said: “We continue to make life difficult for ourselves by giving teams an early advantage.
“Thankfully it all came good in the end but we cannot keep doing that and hope to maintain any hope of a top four finish or we will get caught out again.
“It wasn’t until Heat 10 when we finally got our noses in front and from then on we were able to maintain our lead, but full credit to Redcar for their part in what proved to be a very entertaining meeting while our top five all came good when it mattered.”
Berwick were 47-46 winners over Peterborough in a dramatic Shielfield Park clash which was resolved with a 4-2 in Heat 15.
The Panthers fought back from a ten-point deficit with an 8-1 from Jack Holder and Simon Lambert in Heat 9, and the visitors went in front with maximum points in Heat 14 when home skipper Kevin Doolan crashed due to a stuck throttle.
But Bandits No.1 Nick Morris took the lead in the decider whilst David Howe crucially split Ulrich Ostergaard and Holder for the third place the hosts required.
They had seen guest reserve Jack Parkinson-Blackburn crash out in Heat 12, suffering upper back pain, whilst Panthers skipper Ostergaard battled on despite being involved in two spills.
Morris scored 13+1 with Howe adding 10+1 for the home side, whilst Holder (13) and Ostergaard (12+1) were top-scorers for the visitors.
Berwick boss Gary Havelock said: “It might only have been a one-point win, but what a win that was! Another great night at Berwick Speedway where Saturdays are never boring.
“The guys really dug in deep tonight with all of them having great, great moments which gave the crowd some massive moments to cheer on.”
Panthers manager Carl Johnson said: “I felt Berwick wanted it more than us in the early races and the lead they built up reflected that.
“But we made full use of a tactical ride to claw our way back into the meeting and we could have nicked the win, but it wasn’t to be in heat 15. Berwick had the choice of gates and that was a big advantage for them.
“Ulrich was in a lot of pain after the first crash and could easily have pulled out of the rest of the meeting. But we saw his passion and determination to help the club again as he soldiered on through four more rides.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
MILDENHALL were left to rue a Heat 15 engine failure as their unbeaten home record was ended by Kent at West Row on Saturday.
The Kings triumphed 46-43 with the Fen Tigers having looked set to pull off another famous comeback until Dan Halsey ground to a halt in the decider.
The visitors led by seven points with three races to go, but Halsey and Connor Mountain teamed up for a 5-1 in Heat 13, and Luke Ruddick won a shared penultimate race.
Mountain and Halsey put themselves in maximum position once again in Heat 15 but Halsey hit trouble entering the third lap allowing Jack Thomas and Ben Hopwood to follow Mountain home for a match-winning 3-3.
Mountain scored 13+1 for the hosts with Halsey (12) unbeaten until the final race, whilst Hopwood piled up 15+1 for the Kings and Thomas added 10.
Fen Tigers chief Kevin Jolly said: “The home record has gone and there is no point mulling over tonight, we need to move forward, regroup and put in a strong performance on Wednesday at Birmingham.
“This week has been one to forget and we seem to have hit a bit of a brick wall, but we can come back from this and continue our push for the play-offs.
“A number of riders were not at the races tonight with five of our side mustering just 18 points between them. Connor and Danny were both excellent again and with a little luck for Danny in (heat) fifteen we would have again claimed an unexpected victory.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
RECENT Scunthorpe signing Jake Allen has been ruled out of today’s (Sunday) SGB Championship clash with play-off chasing Ipswich at the Eddie Wright Raceway.
Allen broke two small bones in his wrist in a crash at Somerset on Wednesday, with the Scorpions set to operate rider-replacement in his absence.
Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We’ve had a lot of misfortune this season, and Jake’s injury is the latest chapter of that. He’d done such a good job for us so far, scoring paid nine at Workington and then top-scoring for Scorpions in the Fours at Peterborough.
“However, we must be positive, and look to the fact that his rides can be taken by Josh Auty, Ryan Douglas and our reserves, and they all had good meetings in our victory at Workington last week.
“It’s going to be tough because Ipswich are a good side who are very much on course to claim one of the four play-off spots. But the boys are very upbeat after the win at Workington, which was our best result of the season.”
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “Scunthorpe have not had the best of seasons but they always give us a really tough match.
“It will be another tough one on Sunday, our first meeting up there this season was a classic and we just managed to sneak the win. I will take the same again on Sunday.
“Their team has changed since our first visit there and they will be on a high after having that brilliant away win last weekend. A win would really strengthen our position in the play-offs and we are looking to get it.”
Meanwhile Peterborough complete their Northern tour with a trip to Newcastle, after their narrow defeat at Berwick on Saturday.
The Panthers welcome back Chris Harris, who was on SGB Premiership duty with Rye House, but are yet to confirm replacements for Jack Holder – racing in Poland – and reserve Tom Bacon who is out with shoulder damage.
(SPEEDWAY 6)
STOKE boss Malcolm Vasey is calling on his side to step things up in today’s (Sunday) National League local derby at Buxton.
The Potters travel to Hi-Edge with several ex-Hitmen in their ranks, including recent signing Lee Dicken and skipper Tony Atkin.
A Buxton win could see them move level on points with both Stoke and the Isle of Wight in the battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
Vasey said: “We are going to Buxton in good spirits and we have got a decent record around Hi-Edge Raceway, and are obviously travelling there looking for a win.
“But we will not be taking them lightly and we will be giving them the respect they deserve. They have certainly strengthened up since we won there earlier in the season and have a formidable pairing in Matt (Williamson) and Max (Clegg).
“We will need to put in a solid performance to make sure we come away with something. We have been riding well but just falling short in some meetings, and we need to rectify this on Sunday.”
(FIXTURES)
SUNDAY AUGUST 13:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Peterborough 6.30, Scunthorpe v Ipswich 5.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Stoke 3pm
MONDAY AUGUST 14:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Somerset v Leicester 7.30, Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Lakeside 6.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Leicester 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30, Rye House v Belle Vue 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Mildenhall 7.30
Results Saturday August 12, 2017
SGB PREMIERSHIP
Leicester 46 – Josh Bates 13+2
Rye House 44 – Scott Nicholls 15+2
Premiership points: Leicester 3 Rye House 1
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP
Berwick 47 – Nick Morris 13+1
Peterborough 46 – Jack Holder 13
Championship points: Berwick 3 Peterborough 1
Glasgow 53 – Richard Lawson 14
Edinburgh 39 – Ricky Wells 11
Championship points: Glasgow 3 Edinburgh 0
Workington 48 – Craig Cook 14
Redcar 42 – Ben Barker 11
Championship points: Workington 3 Redcar 1
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE
Mildenhall 43 – Connor Mountain 13+1
Kent 46 – Ben Hopwood 15+1
National League points: Mildenhall 0 Kent 3
