(SPEEDWAY 1)

POOLE gained some relief after their recent run of home defeats with a 48-45 win over Wolverhampton at Wimborne Road.
The Pirates withstood a Wolves comeback from ten points down mid-meeting as the visitors narrowed the gap to a single point with two races to go.
But after Jacob Thorssell had been disqualified from Heat 14, Edward Kennett and Paul Starke eased the Pirates’ nerves in the re-run, leaving Thorssell and Fredrik Lindgren to secure a league point for Wolves in the finale.
Brady Kurtz top-scored for the hosts with 10, whilst Thorssell (15) and Lindgren (10+1) were both in double figures for the visitors.
Poole captain Hans Andersen said: “It was nice to get a win under our belts at last. It wasn't easy but Wolves are a good side and we had to work for it.
“James (Shanes) was really doing a great job for us tonight and getting the rewards that he deserves. He made a number of good passes and picked up valuable points.”
Wolverhampton team boss Peter Adams said: Said Adams: “We’re obviously missing our two absentees, and it’s difficult using rider replacement for a rider of Sam’s quality, particularly when Freddie (Lindgren) can’t take a ride.
“We gave a good account of ourselves after a slow start, and although we’re disappointed to lose we’re thankful to get a point.
“When the team is back to full strength then our performances will improve, and in the meantime we’ll keep working hard to keep the points ticking over.”
Rye House overcame Belle Vue 48-44 in a see-saw encounter at Hoddesdon with both sides holding the advantage in the early stages.
The Rockets swept into a 35-24 lead thanks to a 5-0 in Heat 10 when both Adam Ellis and Steve Worrall were disqualified for the Aces, but Craig Cook then won a tactical ride.
The hosts clinched victory in Heat 14 but the visitors were not to be denied a league point as Cook and Kenneth Bjerre secured a 5-1 in the last race.
Home debutant Krzysztof Kasprzak scored 12+2 for the Rockets with Scott Nicholls on 11, whilst Cook piled up a massive 19+1 haul for the Aces.
Rye House boss Peter Schroeck said: “It was a must-win situation for us, and the bottom line is that we got the three points we needed.
“Yes, it felt a little frustrating afterwards to let Belle Vue sneak away with a match point right at the end, but it doesn’t really affect our own situation in the table.
“The key thing is that we got the win over a side that a lot of folk have considered to be favourites for the title, and we’ve also gained a bit of revenge for the last time they were here.”
Belle Vue team boss Mark Lemon said: “Both sides were so competitive and in some respects I feel that Rye House had a little more luck than perhaps we got, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
“Adam Ellis did a superb job for us in place of Rohan Tungate and it was just so unfortunate that he threw a chain while on a 5-1 with Steve Worrall which caused the latter to come down hard.
“Even despite things like that though I was confident in our boys to bounce back. The first half of the meeting was crazy with the lead constantly to-ing and fro-ing between both sides.
“You don't know what team you’re going to get when you face Rye House but we certainly got the feisty one on Wednesday; the one which is proving itself to be true Play-Off contenders.”
Meanwhile King’s Lynn overcame a six-point deficit to defeat bottom club Leicester 50-40 at the Adrian Flux Arena.
Robert Lambert struck a 15-point maximum for the Stars, with Tomas H Jonasson adding 11+3 as the hosts turned the meeting around and prevented the Lions from scoring league points.
Guest Cameron Heeps notched 10+2 for the visitors, who were unable to build on their draw at Somerset on Monday.
Stars reserve Josh Auty (8+1) said: “The main thing was the team winning and for me to play a part was really pleasing.
“Hopefully, these two wins can be the springboard for me and the team to push on now. This was a massive victory, a loss would have pretty much ended our hopes of the top four.
“We still have a slight chance and while that is there, it is something to go out and fight for. It was great for the supporters too, hopefully they went home happy and we can all look to kick on from here.”
Leicester boss Jim Lynch said: “Their secret weapon was Josh Auty. He seemed to gain a new lease of life following the track grading.
“It was a good meeting with plenty to excite the crowd and I have nothing against King’s Lynn enjoying a good result after the run they have had of late, even if we didn’t want it to be at our expense.
“Getting off the bottom of the league is unlikely because we don’t have enough meetings left to play with but there are no sad faces. It was a great advert for speedway and we were beaten by a better side on the night.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

BIRMINGHAM got a pivotal week up and running with an impressive 51-39 home success over Mildenhall.
With four more meetings to come in the space of the next week, the Brummies gained a big confidence boost with a comfortable win over one of their play-off chasing rivals.
Liam Carr top-scored with 14+1 for the hosts, who moved back into the top four, whilst guest Richard Hall collected a 12-point maximum and reserve Taylor Hampshire chipped in with 11.
Connor Mountain was the only race winner for the Fen Tigers, taking the flag in Heats 11, 13 and 15 on his way to a 13-point total.
Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “We were dominant before the break, where we won all ten of the races prior to the interval, but once the track dried out it played into their hands a bit more.
“But all in all it was another solid team performance, we stopped them from getting anything out of the meeting and we're delighted to start a huge week off with a win.
“A special mention for our guest Richard Hall. It's no secret that I have tried signing him for Birmingham previously and he showed exactly why tonight. He's a reliable big hitter at this level, especially when you can slot him in on a six-point average.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

SWINDON will aim to pick up where they left off as they host Somerset at the Abbey tonight (Thursday).
Eleven successive victories propelled the Robins to the top of the SGB Premiership table, and they now face home and away matches against the Rebels, who themselves are chasing a top four slot.
Richard Hall guests for the injured Zach Wajtknecht at reserve, whilst Somerset bring in Kevin Doolan, Edward Kennett and Paul Starke to guest for Cameron Heeps, Richard Lawson (SGBC commitments) and Jake Allen (injured).
Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “We’ve got another busy spell coming up now, and we’ll be aiming to pick up where we left off to keep our winning run going.
“We take on Somerset twice in the space of two days, and I’m sure they’ll be two of our tougher tests.
“We’re obviously targeting three points at home, we’re more than capable of achieving that, and then I’d like to think we can win at their place tomorrow night as well.”
Rebels manager Garry May said: “Swindon are very much the league’s form team - and, of course, it doesn’t help our cause that we will be missing riders for both matches.
“But when we made our team changes earlier in the season, we knew that this situation would occur every now and then, plus Jake’s injury hasn’t helped, but hopefully he will only be out for a relatively short period of time as it is not a major break to his wrist.
“Rather than dwell on things, we will go into both matches against Swindon in a positive frame of mind. Although we dropped a couple of points at home to Leicester on Monday, we must put that behind us as we look to pick up further league points to keep us in the mix for a possible place in those play-offs.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

SGB Championship leaders Sheffield are preparing for a huge spell as they host two home meetings in the space of four days.
The Tigers host Newcastle at Owlerton on tonight (Thursday) before welcoming Edinburgh to Yorkshire for a rare Sunday meeting.
Co-promoter Damien Bates said: “It’s a busy few days with two home meetings, but it’s an exciting time at Sheffield at the moment with the run we’ve been on.
“We know it can be expensive for fans with two home meetings in such a short space of time, but we’ve done what we can to try and make it a bit more affordable.
“We’ve gone top of the table but we know we need to work hard to stay there and to keep this form going into the play-offs, so the boys need the support more than ever.”
Second-placed Ipswich face Workington at Foxhall as they look to build on their win at Scunthorpe last weekend.
Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins says his side learnt from a recent home defeat to Edinburgh when they got the better of Glasgow last time out on their own circuit, and he is keen for them to keep building momentum.
He said: “We need to keep going at home really. We have been shown recently that if we slack off we will get punished, and Workington have riders that go well at our place. We need to make sure we are on our game.
“The Edinburgh defeat helped against Glasgow because we came back and put in a really good performance. I think time will tell a bit more on that, but the performance was there at Scunthorpe too and everyone’s confidence is high.
“A few teams have a mental block with Ipswich at the moment, but when you look at the Workington team with Cookie (Craig Cook), a former track record holder at Foxhall and Sarj (James Sarjeant) at reserve, they could potentially give us a really close match.”
Meanwhile Glasgow are third as they head to Redcar – the scene of one of the most talked-about results from their previous visit earlier in the season.
The Tigers collected four points following an SCB investigation which concluded the meeting should be awarded due to exceptional circumstances even though Heat 10 had not been completed.
Glasgow boss Stewart Dickson said: “There's no doubt that Redcar will be up for it because of previous circumstances. They were, probably up until last Thursday, genuine top four challengers.
“It's not over for them yet - I'm sure if they can get another away win or two they have a chance - but we can only concentrate on ourselves.
"We've got to go there looking for points. One is probably not enough, and the same goes for Newcastle on Sunday. We have to be targeting points in those two meetings, there's no doubt about that, because Sheffield have stolen a march on us and we're playing a bit of catch-up.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

THE Isle of Wight have been rocked by an injury to No.1 Ben Wilson ahead of tonight’s (Thursday) National League clash with Plymouth.
Wilson has suffered an accident at home which has left him with trapped nerves in his neck and little movement of the head.
Belle Vue young gun Kyle Bickley has been booked to guest, whilst Kean Dicken stands in for the unavailable William O’Keefe at reserve for the Devils.
Warriors co-promoter Barry Bishop said: “We have already seen what Plymouth can do here this season and recent changes to their line-up will make this another stiff test.
“We are still intent of improving our league position and this week gives us another opportunity to put points on the table. A seven man Warriors team can achieve this and we will be doing our utmost to secure a victory.”
Devils boss Laurence Rogers said: “The lads have hit some good form and have already shown they can ride at the Isle of Wight so we are looking to maintain our unbeaten record there.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

KENT have announced plans to bring in Dan Greenwood as a replacement for broken leg victim Nathan Stoneman.
Greenwood has himself been on the sidelines in recent weeks, and during that time his former club Cradley have moved to bring in Richard Hall to take his place.
Kings boss Chris Hunt said: “I am sure that Dan will fit into the Kings like a hand in a glove.
“He is very keen to be with us and it means that we will no longer have the risky rider-replacement scheme in operation. Our play-off hopes have now taken a turn for the better.”
The Kings have also confirmed talented 15-year-old Anders Rowe has pledged his long-term future to the club.
Co-promoter Len Silver said “It is a delight to have young Anders in our ranks. I have been involved in his progress since a very young age and at no time has he ever disappointed me.
“His wish to remain with us in the future is highly significant for me personally and certainly for the club.”

(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY AUGUST 17:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Swindon v Somerset 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich v Workington 7.30, Redcar v Glasgow 7.30, Sheffield v Newcastle 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Plymouth 7pm

FRIDAY AUGUST 18:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Somerset v Swindon 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Birmingham 7.30, Plymouth v Kent 7.15

SATURDAY AUGUST 19:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Leicester v Belle Vue 8pm
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm, Workington v Ipswich 7pm
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP REPLAY 2nd leg: Stoke v Mildenhall 7pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 7: Glasgow 7pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 20:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Glasgow 6.30, Sheffield v Edinburgh 3pm, Scunthorpe v Peterborough 5.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Birmingham 3pm, Mildenhall v Lakeside 3pm

Results Wednesday August 16, 2017

SGB PREMIERSHIP
King’s Lynn 50 (Robert Lambert 15)
Leicester 40 (Cameron Heeps 10+2)
SGB Premiership points: King’s Lynn 3 Leicester 0

Poole 48 (Brady Kurtz 10)
Wolverhampton 45 (Jacob Thorssell 15)
SGB Premiership points: Poole 3 Wolverhampton 1

Rye House 48 (Krzysztof Kasprzak 12+2)
Belle Vue 44 (Craig Cook 19+1)
SGB Premiership points: Rye House 3 Belle Vue 1

TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE
Birmingham 51 (Liam Carr 14+1)
Mildenhall 39 (Connor Mountain 13)
National League points: Birmingham 3 Mildenhall 0