(SPEEDWAY 1)

SGB Premiership leaders Swindon are six points clear at the top of the table after a 53-37 win at Somerset on Friday.
The Robins romped to a 12th successive victory as they close in on play-off qualification, pulling clear in the closing stages of the meeting.
A six-point Swindon lead was cut to two by the Rebels in Heat 10, but the final three races saw the Robins record two 5-1s and a 4-2.
Skipper Jason Doyle was unbeaten from four rides (11+1) on his old home track, whilst David Bellego (12), Tobiasz Musielak (11+2) and Adam Ellis (11) all kept up their fine form.
Lewis Kerr scored 9+2 for the Rebels with Charles Wright on 9+1 as their top-four hopes took a further hit following the draw with Leicester on Monday.
Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “It was an accomplished performance, we set the tone in heat one and it all went very well. Everybody chipped in and did their jobs.
“Tobiasz did really well. He has been our missing link since coming in but the whole team is firing at the moment and that is so pleasing to see.”
Somerset’s Patrick Hougaard said: “We knew that this was going to be a tough match, and Swindon showed just why they are top of the table.
“Although we tried our best, you have to be honest and say that Swindon were the better side on the night and fully deserved their win.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

BELLE Vue extended their National League lead to four points with a 55-35 win against Birmingham at the National Speedway Stadium.
The Colts made it nine wins out of nine at home with a comfortable success in which they failed to concede a race advantage – whilst the Brummies suffered a total of seven retirements.
Dan Bewley racked up 17 points for the hosts, beaten only by Jack Parkinson-Blackburn in Heat 1, whilst Jack Smith added 13 against his old club. Tom Bacon returned from injury with 12 for the visitors.
Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “We knew it was always going to be one huge task because nobody has got anywhere near Belle Vue at their place all season.
“But what made it frustrating for us was the amount of times machinery let the lads down. You can be the best rider in the world, but if the bike isn't set-up right or if there's an issue that you're unable to rectify you've got no chance.
“So a few of the boys who aren't guesting elsewhere need to spend a bit of time in the workshop and make sure everything is spot on for when we go to Buxton (on Sunday).”
Meanwhile Plymouth edged out Kent 47-43 at the St Boniface Arena to continue their climb towards mid-table.
The Devils made it six points in two nights following their win at the Isle of Wight to see off the play-off chasing Kings with Adam Roynon leading the way on 13 points.
The visitors did still give their top-four hopes a boost by securing a league point from the meeting as guest Ben Morley defeated Roynon and Steve Boxall in Heat 15, with the home duo ensuring victory with a 3-3. Morley and Ben Hopwood both scored 11 points for the Kings.

(SPEEDWAY 3)

BELLE Vue will look to close the gap on SGB Premiership leaders Swindon when they visit bottom club Leicester tonight (Saturday, 8pm).
Both sides are forced into changes due to injuries and meetings elsewhere, but the Lions do welcome back Kim Nilsson and Lasse Bjerre after recent spells on the sidelines.
The hosts have booked Sheffield duo Kyle Howarth and Todd Kurtz to guest for skipper Danny King and reserve Kyle Newman (SGBC commitments) respectively, with rider-replacement still in operation for Pawel Przedpelski.
Belle Vue are without Craig Cook, who competes in the GP Challenge at Togliatti, whilst Max Fricke and Rohan Tungate remain on the sidelines. Scott Nicholls and Paul Starke make guest appearances, with r/r covering Cook’s absence.
Leicester boss Jim Lynch said: “In the past three matches we have managed to keep the promise I made to the Leicester supporters to give them something to shout about.
“We won at home and managed to get two points on the road. Now it’s all about beating Belle Vue, I want us to stay unbeaten at home for the rest of the season.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

IPSWICH have the chance to consolidate second place in the SGB Championship table when they visit Workington tonight (Saturday).
The Witches defeated the Comets at Foxhall less than 48 hours ago, and a fifth away win of the season would give them at least a 13-point gap on Redcar, the team immediately outside the play-off places.
The hosts will again be without Craig Cook, who is in Russia for the GP Challenge, with former Comet Josh Grajczonek coming in to guest.
Workington boss Tony Jackson said: “Obviously being without Craig is a blow; and we all wish him all the best tonight for what is clearly the biggest meeting of his career so far, but we have an excellent guest replacement in Josh, who showed recently when here with Sheffield that he still knows the best way around Derwent Park.
“The Witches are clearly having a very good season and at the moment they are looking well placed to take one of the play-off places, while mathematically we can still make a late push for a play-off place because of the amount of fixtures that we still have to race.
“However, as we said last week, and we will say every week from now on, as well as having to pick up points on the road we cannot afford to have any more slip-ups at home and so from now on every home meeting is a must-win fixture.”
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “We go everywhere with the boys wanting to win races and we want to put on a better display than we did earlier this season, and if we get a victory that is great.
“We don’t need to be piling the pressure on the boys. If you think back to last season, we were piling pressure on the boys every meeting just to get into the play-offs. Last season, every meeting was a pressure meeting from month to month and we got through the quarters and by the end we had probably peaked.
“At the moment, it is nice to not have that pressure on the boys and they can relax a bit before we get to the pressure meetings.”
Meanwhile the bottom two meet as Berwick host Scunthorpe at Shielfield Park.
The Scorpions won 48-42 on their previous visit to the Border venue and were also successful in a recent away trip to Workington, but slipped up at home to Ipswich last week.
Jake Allen remains on the sidelines for the visitors’ weekend schedule, with rider-replacement in operation.
Scunthorpe star Michael Palm Toft said: “We’re capable of winning both meetings, both at Berwick, and at home to Peterborough.
“It’s just a case of us all clicking at the same time. When we do that, there’s no reason why we can’t win against anyone.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

STOKE face the major challenge of a 24-point deficit when they host Mildenhall in the second leg of their KO Cup replay at Loomer Road tonight (Saturday).
The Fen Tigers were 57-33 winners at West Row earlier this month, giving the Potters a tough test on their home circuit.
Ex-Stoke rider Liam Carr guests at No.1 for the Fen Tigers as Connor Mountain is on SGBC duty for Ipswich, whilst Joe Alcock stands in for Sam Woods at reserve.
Potters skipper Tony Atkin said: “In speedway if Mildenhall can win by 24-points at home then we can win at home by the same margin.
“The pressure isn’t on us as nobody expects us to pull back the points but that is when Stoke sometimes respond, and let’s get a big crowd in and see what happens. Our first target is to win, and then we attempt to win by 24.”
Mildenhall co-boss Phil Kirk took some encouragement from their display in defeat at Birmingham on Wednesday, and said: “The spirit within the group remains really strong and we go again Saturday evening as we look to secure our place in the semi final of the KO Cup.”
Meanwhile Glasgow stage the seventh round of the British Youth Championship – and both titles could be decided.
Drew Kemp is likely to be crowned 500cc champion with chief rival Daniel Gilkes absent from the event; whilst Leon Flint needs to finish fifth on the night to successfully defend the 250cc title.

(FIXTURES)

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

MONDAY AUGUST 21:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Somerset 7.30, Poole v Leicester 7.30, Swindon v King’s Lynn 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Birmingham 7.30
JOHN CEARNS CUP: Kent v Wimbledon 6.30

TUESDAY AUGUST 22:
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Belle Vue 7pm

Results Friday August 18, 2017

SGB PREMIERSHIP

Somerset 37 (Lewis Kerr 9+2)
Swindon 53 (David Bellego 12)
Premiership points: Somerset 0 Swindon 4

SGB CHAMPIONSHIP

Edinburgh
Ipswich

TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE

Belle Vue 55 (Dan Bewley 17)
Birmingham 35 (Tom Bacon 12)
National League points: Belle Vue 3 Birmingham 0

Plymouth 47 (Adam Roynon 13)
Kent 43 (Ben Morley 11, Ben Hopwood 11)
National League points: Plymouth 3 Kent 1