(SPEEDWAY 1)

LEICESTER pulled off a shock 48-42 win at Belle Vue to hand the title-chasing Aces a serious blow to their chances of finishing top of the SGB Premiership.
It was the Lions’ first victory on the road in well over a year and the result gives them a genuine chance of avoiding the wooden spoon and the promotion/relegation race-off.
The battle of the Bjerre brothers was won by Leicester’s Lasse as he won his final four rides to finish with a bumper 15+1 total, with skipper Danny King adding 12+2.
Rohan Tungate piled up 16 for the Aces but the hosts struggled to fully cover for the absences of Max Fricke and Dan Bewley as they suffered a third home defeat of the season.
Leicester boss Jim Lynch said: “It was a close match and one we did well to carry the fight in because we have really struggled while trying to put together performances during the second half of the season.
“All season we have had the same problem, getting our noses in front before tailing off in (heats) 13 or 14. This time we maintained it and there were some big performances in there.
“Lasse and Danny were incredible and Josh (Bates) was his usual self, weighing in with points when we needed them the most. I am very pleased and I felt it was just reward because we deserved to beat them last time.”
Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “Failing to win at home is hard to stomach. At this stage of the year, a lot of riders and indeed a lot of clubs are starting to feel fatigued after such a long season.
“In fairness however, Leicester were very strong and they dominated. They performed in a similar manner the last time they were here so really their strength doesn’t come as a surprise to us.
“We got beaten by a better team, it’s as simple as that. We can’t let our heads drop after one bad result. We must learn from it and learn quick, because there’s nowhere to hide in the play-offs.”
Meanwhile Rye House edged nearer to fourth-placed Poole by taking a league point from a 48-42 defeat at Somerset.
The Rockets are four points behind the Pirates ahead of their huge Hoddesdon clash on Monday having taken advantage of some Rebels gremlins at the Oaktree Arena.
The hosts overcame the concession of 5-1s in Heats 1 and 3 and went ahead in Heat 9, but a pair of breakdowns for Richard Lawson helped keep the visitors in touch.
Lewis Kerr got the better of Krzysztof Kasprzak in Heat 14 to secure Somerset’s win, before Kasprzak won the finale to keep the margin at six points.
Charles Wright scored 13 for the Rebels with Kerr on 12+1, whilst Kasprzak collected 12 for the Rockets.
Somerset boss Garry May said: “We wanted that win tonight especially so after our disappointing results of late. They made it tough for us early on but I honestly felt we deserved to win by more.
“Poor Richard had no luck tonight. Had he not suffered mechanically then we would have won by a much greater margin, but a win is a win and now we need to move on to Leicester tomorrow and see if we can gain another one.”
Rye House manager Peter Schroeck said: “This could be the most important point we have picked up all season. The 5-1 from Bomber (Chris Harris) and Ben (Barker) in Heat 1 really set us up for the match.
“It was vital that we made a good start to the meeting – and we got it through that race. That result, and the other 5-1 from KK and Ricky (Wells) kept us going for quite a while, and helped keep all the boys pumped up.
“All the boys fully believe that we can do it (reach the Play-Offs), which is the key thing. We’re still on the mission, and the mission is very much alive.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

LAKESIDE maintained their unblemished home record with a 44-33 win over Mildenhall in a National League meeting cut short after 13 races.
Heavy traffic around the Thurrock area saw the start delayed by 45 minutes to allow supporters extra time to get to the Arena-Essex Raceway.
And a crash for Fen Tigers youngster Drew Kemp, who thankfully walked away, in Heat 14 resulted in extensive fence damage with the meeting being abandoned as a result.
The victory moves the Hammers back to third place in the table, level on points with both Eastbourne and Birmingham, whilst the Fen Tigers missed out on the chance to gain ground on the top four – but still have matches in hand.
Alfie Bowtell scored a paid maximum (10+2) for the home side with guests Steve Boxall and Tom Bacon both chipping in with 10+1, whilst Jon Armstrong was Mildenhall’s top scorer with eight.
Bowtell said: “It was a shame we started a bit late and a shame that the meeting was cut short, but overall it was a good win for the team.
"Me, Paul (Hurry) and the two guests really pulled our weight tonight and that was important. To score a paid max against Mildenhall was really pleasing for me - now we move on to the next one.
“It was an important win tonight with how close it is in the table, but now we need to go and get something from our away meeting at Plymouth next Friday.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

LEICESTER’S bid to finish 2017 with a flourish is set to be boosted by the return of Kyle Newman when Somerset visit Beaumont Park tonight (Saturday).
Team boss Jim Lynch confirmed Newman had signalled his intent to ride through the pain barrier as the Lions track six of their regulars against the Rebels, being minus just the injured Pawel Przedpelski.
Fresh from a shock 48-42 win at title-chasing Belle Vue, that team news is a big boost according to Lynch who will fill the No.4 slot with rider replacement.
“I spoke to Kyle on Friday afternoon and he was confident of being back,” he said. “Apart from the rider replacement for Pawel we are at full strength and I have said so many times how important that is to us.
“It would be nice to finish on a high. We have two tough away trips to come but if we can get wins in our two home matches, who knows what might happen?
“The Belle Vue result makes me more confident about the match against Somerset because if we can turn in that sort of display, we have nothing to fear against anyone.”
There are two changes for the Rebels with Michael Palm Toft and Adam Ellis standing in for Richard Lawson (Championship commitments) and Jake Allen (injured).
Boss Garry May said: “While we have lost both our previous matches at Leicester this season by six points, the first saw us progress through on aggregate to the semi-finals of the KO Cup, while we picked up a league point from the other meeting.
“So the same again would be the minimum requirement from Saturday’s match there, but having been so close to winning on both those occasions, perhaps it will be a case of ‘third time lucky.’”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

GLASGOW skipper Aaron Summers believes a win over Newcastle tonight (Saturday) can set his side up for the remainder of the SGB Championship campaign.
The Tigers face the Diamonds at the Ashfield Stadium, knowing three points will keep them within touching distance of Sheffield and Ipswich above them – despite a recent run of four away defeats.
Summers said: “Our recent run of form isn't a bad thing, it's just the way it goes and the way the fixtures have lined up. I'm sure that we'll still be a force in the playoffs - we've just had a bit of a rough run in the last few weeks.
"It would set things up nicely for Sheffield next week if we got a good win. We can't think of any team in the league being an easy one to face, they'll be keen to beat us as much as anyone else - but I think the boys will fire themselves up again and we'll be OK.
“We haven't had a run at home for a while, so I think it'll help us getting a win on the cards and that'll set us up nicely for Thursday.”
Glasgow have called in Edinburgh's Josh Pickering to guest in place of No.2 Dan Bewley, who is on European U21 duty, as is Newcastle top man Robert Lambert – who is replaced by Redcar's Ben Barker.
Meanwhile Berwick face Workington at Shielfield Park – with the Bandits having held on for a narrow win in the Comets’ previous visit.
The hosts will be keen to secure a repeat of that 48-44 victory, with the Comets chasing a third away win of the season to move up from their current eighth place.

(SPEEDWAY 5)

EASTBOURNE host Kent tonight (Saturday) in the meeting which will determine the line-up for the National Trophy Final.
With Plymouth having already qualified from Group 2, the visitors need to avoid defeat at Arlington in order to overhaul Mildenhall at the top of the table.
The Eagles cannot qualify but hand a debut to new signing Josh Bailey, with Drew Kemp guesting at reserve.
Boss Connor Dugard said: “It’s a strange situation for us to be in, but the only thing we can do is what we always do, snd that’s go all out to win.”
The Kings are without Ben Hopwood, who is on SGB Championship duty with Newcastle, and bring in Richard Hall to guest, with Dan Greenwood making his first appearance in an official fixture since joining the club earlier this month.

(SPEEDWAY 6)

LEICESTER have confirmed a new date to host homeless Coventry in the East Midlands Bowl.
The Lions will face a side made up of riders with strong Bees connections on Sunday September 17 (2pm), prior to their staging of the final round of the British Youth Championship on the same day.
Leicester co-promoter Dave Darcy said: “We were disappointed to shelve this match twice; first of all in May and again in July but have always had it in our minds to find a new date.
“It just meant that we needed to ensure that we had no Premiership rain-offs but as we have been very lucky with the weather at Leicester we can now see our way clear to commit to this new date.
“There is something in the content for everyone. Another opportunity for our fans to cheer on the Lions, and a return to the track of a Coventry team which hopefully will keep the name in the forefront of the media’s minds, and to round off the afternoon a chance to watch some of the most talented youngsters of the future go through their paces.”

(FIXTURES)

SATURDAY AUGUST 26:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Leicester v Somerset 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Workington 7pm, Glasgow v Newcastle 7pm
NATIONAL TROPHY: Eastbourne v Kent 7.30

SUNDAY AUGUST 27:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30, Workington v Berwick 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Stoke 3pm

MONDAY AUGUST 28:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Poole v Belle Vue 11am, Rye House v Poole 7.30, Swindon v Leicester 4pm, Swindon v Somerset (follows previous fixture), Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 6pm
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe v Newcastle 3pm, Scunthorpe v Workington (follows previous fixture)
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Belle Vue (follows Wolves fixture), Kent v Eastbourne 3pm

TUESDAY AUGUST 29:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Rye House v King’s Lynn 7.30

Results :Friday August 25,2017;

SGB PREMIERSHIP

Belle Vue 42 (Rohan Tungate 16)
Leicester 48 (Lasse Bjerre 15+1)
SGB Premiership points: Belle Vue 0 Leicester 3

Somerset 48 (Charles Wright 13)
Rye House 42 (Krzysztof Kasprzak 12)
SGB Premiership points: Somerset 3 Rye House 1

TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE

TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE

Lakeside 44 (Alfie Bowtell 10+2)
Mildenhall 33 (Jon Armstrong 8)
National League points: Lakeside 3 Mildenhall 0
Abandoned after 13 heats due to safety fence damage – Result STANDS