GREAT Britain win FIM Team Longtrack World Championship

GREAT Britain won the FIM Team Longtrack World Championship at Muhldorf, Germany on Sunday June 28.They finished on 42 points, just one ahead of the hosts and Finland in a close-fought contest with France a further point back on 40.The format saw each nation race five times, meeting their opposing nations once with three riders appearing for each nation in each race.Berwick star Richard Hall top-scored for GB on 20 points despite a second-ride retirement, whilst Glen Phillips (14) and Andrew Appleton (8) supplied support with Kent youngster James Shanes the unused fourth member of the team.Hall said: “2015 World Team Champions. Couldn't have gone any better and maxed out apart from an engine blow up, but everything else went as it should. “We can't believe we are bringing the medal and the Don Godden trophy home. We are all so happy with a gold medal!”

*JOE Thompson became British 125cc Champion at Peterborough after late heartbreak for Harry McGurk, who led almost all the way in the Final before hitting the fence. Thompson and McGurk has both been unbeaten in their qualifying races, with Thompson joined by brother Dan and Leon Flint in the top three places.The British Youth Championship at 500cc and 250cc levels continues at Rye House on Sunday July 26, with the final two rounds at Northside (August 30) and Redcar (September 5).

*THE 2015 Major Events calendar continues with the Premier League Fours at Peterborough on Sunday August 2.Following the Pairs at Somerset, which took its traditional slot the evening before the British Grand Prix, eight Premier League clubs will contest the meeting at the Showground which always attracts a large crowd.The Fours was last year won by Somerset, who delivered a dominant display in the Final to finish six points ahead of Workington, with Scunthorpe in third place.Qualifying teams for the event will be announced shortly, with line-ups to be made up of five riders (including a reserve) for each club.

BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAJOR EVENTS 2015:ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: JASON DOYLEBRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: KYLE HOWARTHBRITISH FINAL: TAI WOFFINDENPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, Friday July 3PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Peterborough, Sunday August 2PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, Sunday September 6

NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Coventry, Sunday June 14NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: King’s Lynn, Saturday September 5NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, Saturday September 26

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…

BELLE VUE recovered from a disastrous opening to pull off a 49-44 home win over Poole to maintain a healthy position within the Elite League’s play-off zone.Manager Mark Lemon said: “Being forced into tactical territory is something no club want to be faced with, especially on home turf, so when we found ourselves in that position in Heat 7 there was a little bit of concern.“That's not the time to start hitting the panic button though. We had a problem that needed to be dealt with and the boys knew the only way to solve it was to go out there and do their job. In the circumstances I felt Matej (Zagar) was the best man for the task, even though he himself wasn't feeling too confident, but luckily for him he went out there with Scott (Nicholls) and performed exceptionally.”COVENTRY recorded their sixth away win of the season with a 50-40 success at Wolverhampton on Monday - despite conceding two 5-1s in the opening two races!Boss Gary Havelock said: “As I’ve said in the past, it’s times like this when you come to a specialist track and you’re eight points down, that team spirit really comes into play. To come back from that and hit them the way we did to win by ten was nothing short of sensational.“Hans (Andersen) was back to form, and for the last four or five meetings I think I’ve used up all of my superlatives on Bomber (Chris Harris), because he’s not only riding as well as I’ve ever seen, he’s also the best captain in the league.”KING’S LYNN newcomer Vaclav Milik made a dream debut with a score of 10+3 in the Stars’ emphatic 63-29 win over Lakeside at the Adrian Flux Arena.Promoter Keith Chapman said: “It was a good all-round team performance. Each of our riders gave maximum effort tonight and that showed on the track, I want to see that (on Wednesday) when Poole come here.“New singing Vaclav Milik was very impressive tonight, he gated well and was unlucky not to score a maximum. I am very pleased with him.”LAKESIDE’S returning reserve Ashley Birks is keen to make up for lost time after missing several Hammers matches earlier in the season.Birks told Speedway Star: “Although I’ve been away for a while, I still consider that my job is to come here to what is still my home track and beat the opposition reserves and pick up points to help the team win.“That was their choice to invite me back, and as I felt then that the time was right for me, I agreed to return.”LEICESTER boss Norrie Allan feels his side are gradually returning to full strength, although a weekend injury to Grzegorz Walasek will delay their hopes of tracking a complete one-to-seven.Allan said: “We are gradually getting back to some semblance of normality following the addition of Sam Masters and now the arrival of Piotr Swiderski. I am optimistic that we may soon see Josh Auty back on his bike and Simon Lambert has returned following injuries sustained whilst riding for Peterborough at Newcastle. “So barring any further mishaps we can begin to look forward to tracking a full team of contracted riders soon, which can you believe it is a situation that hasn’t happened yet all season.”POOLE star Chris Holder is delighted to be back to form after his injury problems of recent years and a tough start to the current campaign.Holder told Speedway Star: “It was tough for a while, but it was just about getting into the swing of stuff.“After the injuries I’ve had in recent times, my confidence was pretty low and things played on my mind when the track was a bit average. That isn’t easy to get over. But the bikes are going well and that makes me feel better.”SWINDON manager Alun Rossiter has pledged to take ‘bold decisions’ in a bid to maintain the Robins’ play-off chances following a 38-52 defeat at Leicester in which Polish rider Adrian Miedzinski failed to score.Rossiter said: “Adrian came to me after the meeting and said he has a problem riding in England. He cannot handle it at this stage after his bad injury early in the season, so it looks like we're without him."Now it's time for big decisions. Bold decisions. We have to do something to keep our season alive, so we will see what happens.“I'm aware of all the speculation linking us with Darcy Ward, but there's nothing to add from me because there's nothing in place. People keep asking the question about Darcy, but with him or any other signing unless there is anything in place I cannot comment.”WOLVERHAMPTON boss Peter Adams admits club bosses have plenty to consider after suffering their second home defeat of the campaign with a 40-50 loss to Coventry on Monday.Adams said: “The team showed a lot of fight, particularly in the first two thirds of the meeting, but Coventry are terrific team and it just wasn’t quite enough in the end.  It’s not any consolation, but they’ve been winning everywhere else this season as well so it’s hardly surprising. “We are thinking about what we need to be doing from here, so we’ll dust ourselves down from this and see where we go in the next week.”

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…

BERWICK extended their unbeaten run to three meetings with an impressive 57-35 victory over Scottish rivals Glasgow.It was a solid, all-round team performance from the Bandits with five of their six riders bagging paid double-figures.Team Manager John Anderson said: “I don’t know anyone who would have bet money on us scoring anything like that against what is a very good side, but credit to our lads who rode out a hard race to get exactly what was deserved.”EDINBURGH moved joint-top of the Premier League table after picking up a consolation point at Redcar before thrashing Plymouth 64-28 at home on Friday.The Monarchs sit level on points with Somerset, but currently occupy top-spot with a +4 points difference over the Rebels.Club Director Alex Harkess told the Edinburgh Evening News: “It was one of those where Plymouth arrived without a full team and we were under no real pressure but it was good to get back to winning ways after missing out at Redcar.”GLASGOW are looking to bounce back from their heaviest defeat of the season so far by securing a healthy first-leg cup lead against Sheffield tonight.The Tigers went down 57-35 at Berwick on Saturday on a night to forget for the Ashfield men.Glasgow host their Sheffield Tiger rivals in the League Cup this evening and will be looking to replicate a similar performance to their 13-point league win over the Owlerton outfit last month.IPSWICH will hand a debut to new reserve Ashley Morris against his former club Plymouth this Thursday.The Witches moved to sign the 21-year-old to replace Ritchie Hawkins who had been struggling since picking up an injury earlier in the season.Promoter Chris Louis said: “The couple of times I have seen him (Morris) this year I have been very impressed and his Elite League experience with King’s Lynn will stand him well.”NEWCASTLE picked up their biggest win of the season with a 63-26 victory over Scunthorpe in the Knockout Cup.Nine, 5-1 maximum heat advantages helped the Diamonds overturn a 16-point deficit to go through to the next round of the competition.Team Manager George English said: “The team rode very well and they used their heads and skill to ensure that we continued the night as we started it and didn’t allow Scunthorpe back in.”PETERBOROUGH have signed Swedish star Jacob Thorssell to boost their Premier League chances.Promoter Ged Rathbone said: “We felt we had to react after a couple of home defeats in recent days and this deal highlights our ambitions.“Jacob is a very highly-rated rider with plenty of top-level experience both in this country and in his homeland; he is a proven performer who expects to do very well in the Premier League.”PLYMOUTH will be looking to build on their outstanding 47-43 win at Peterborough when they travel to Ipswich on Thursday.An away win for the Devils would see them leapfrog their opponents and put them back in contention for Premier League play-off place.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “It has not been a happy hunting ground for us in the past but we have to go up there and get on with it.” REDCAR battled their way to a stunning 47-43 home win against reigning champions Edinburgh to end a run of eight straight defeats.Team boss Jitendra Duffill told the Gazette: “All the boys dug really deep all night; we’ve got to build on that because it was certainly a step in the right direction.“I know we wouldn’t have been fancied to win the meeting but it just shows what one signing can do – it completely changed the side around.”RYE HOUSE are still awaiting further news on the recurrence of the shoulder injury which is keeping Steve Boxall on the sidelines.Co-Promoter Len Silver said: “With a six to eight week waiting list to have this (MRI Scan) carried out via the NHS, a group of supporters kindly clubbed together so that he could have it done privately and of course much more quickly.“Steve is still suffering some pain from the injury but is hopeful that the news will be good for him to return pretty quickly.”SCUNTHORPE have been boosted by the news that two of their key riders could return to action over the next few weeks.Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “Ryan (Douglas) could possibly be back for our trip to Redcar on Thursday evening; the final decision will be up to him.“Josh (Auty) is targeting his comeback for the home clash against the Panthers so fingers crossed, we will be tracking seven of our own riders on that night for the first time in what seems an age.”SHEFFIELD are confident of giving themselves every chance of reaching the League Cup Final when they head to Glasgow tonight.Tigers Co-Promoter Damien Bates said: “We’re confident with the good form we’ve been showing we can go there and give a good account of ourselves. “We’ll be aiming to keep it close and give us a chance of going through on aggregate when they come back to Sheffield.”SOMERSET have snapped up Oliver Greenwood after being released by Peterborough and he will now come into their line-up to replace Benji Compton.Team Manager Garry May said: “It just hasn’t happened for Benji since he joined us and it had put more pressure on our other reserve Paul Starke.“Ollie was in my original 1-7 but working hours meant he could not take his place – this is now longer an issue so I jumped at the chance to sign Ollie.”WORKINGTON, who have won the Premier League Pairs six times, will be looking to maintain their good record at Somerset on Friday.Comets Team Manager Tony Jackson said: “This is the first time that either Kyle Howarth or Ricky Wells have represented us in this competition, but hopefully they can continue our recent record of at least reaching the semi-finals.“If you can avoid last places then you have every chance of getting out of the group after which anything can happen!”

CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…

BIRMINGHAM are flying high at the top of the National League table after two superb wins in the past week.They edged a 49-40 triumph in their away meeting against co-tenants Cradley on Wednesday before battling past Stoke three days later – and in-form skipper Tom Perry was delighted with a tremendous week.Said Perry: "It was a really important win for us against Cradley and to see what it meant to the fans again was great. They pushed us all the way but we stuck at it and got the job done, and it could be a massive result come the end of the year. “It was another impressive performance from the boys at Stoke and we're so happy to get another win. The whole team battled really well and we're so full of confidence right now.“Gaining that extra league point in the last race for a second match running could be crucial and now we have to carry this form on at home to Mildenhall on Wednesday.”BUXTON have allowed Ben Hopwood to join Eastbourne following his return from injury. The Hitmen redeclared their side to hand a return to Liam Carr when Hopwood suffered a broken wrist.With Carr enjoying an excellent run they reluctantly released Hopwood, who was snapped up by the Eagles as a replacement for injury victim David Mason on Monday. Buxton Chairman Jayne Moss told the Speedway Star: “We have had a chat with Ben and his father and have agreed to release him and let other clubs know he is available. “It’s never a nice decision to make and Ben has done nothing wrong, it is just down to circumstances. “Liam (Carr) has come back in after injury and has been scoring well and the team has been winning. If we could have brought Ben back alongside Liam we would have done, but the averages don’t permit us to do that so we have mutually agreed to release Ben.”COVENTRY have agreed dates for their remaining home National League fixtures this season.They will stage a double-header on Sunday August 9, starting at 2pm, where originally-scheduled opponents King’s Lynn will be followed by Stoke.The Kent match on Friday August 28 will now start at 7pm and will be followed by a clash with Mildenhall, whilst on Friday, September 11 the action will also get underway at 7pm, with Buxton to be followed by Rye House.Storm remain well placed in the National League thanks to their impressive away from, and their first home encounter comes on Friday July 17 when current leaders Birmingham provide the opposition.CRADLEY boss Will Pottinger has called on his side to battle through their difficult spell after they suffered their second successive National League defeat. The Heathens were beaten 49-40 against local rivals Birmingham on Wednesday, and despite being hugely disappointed Pottinger is keen to see his injury-hit side bounce back as they prepare to host Stoke next Wednesday.Said Pottinger: “We are immensely disappointed with the result against Birmingham – we weren’t far away again, we were just a point or three behind the whole meeting until the 5-1 in heat 14 killed us.“There was no comeback from that, and it was really disappointing to lose out at the end after working so hard to keep in the meeting.“We seem to be going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment, with one injury or one mechanical problem after another. It’s unfortunate but we just have to keep working hard and try to get through it.”EASTBOURNE have handed Marc Owen the captaincy of the side after skipper David Mason suffered a broken right leg at Kent on Monday.With Mason expected to be sidelined for eight weeks, the Eagles have handed the role to the popular Owen whilst Ben Hopwood has also been snapped up as a replacement. And Club Director Connor Dugard said: “Marc has shown that he is a team man and is the most experienced rider, in our team, in British speedway. “He is the best candidate for job having ridden in this league for more than five years. Last year, he also captained the Lakeside junior team.”KENT saw their disappointing run of form continue with a 42-28 defeat at home to high-flying Eastbourne on Monday.Another impressive performance from the popular James Shanes was not enough to see them avoid a comprehensive loss against the Eagles at Central Park. The Kings have now suffered six consecutive defeats in what has been a difficult spell leaving them ninth in the National League table. They will return to action as they host Coventry next Monday looking to get their season back on track. KING’S LYNN boss Dale Allitt is backing Young Stars reserve Ryan Kinsley to go on to big things after receiving a mid-season boost.Kinsley has received a new engine thanks to sponsorship from Tile Giant – and Allitt believes the popular lower order man can go on to big things within the sport.He said: “I am grateful to Title Giant for their support of Ryan this season. I know that he is very appreciative of the sponsorship and is looking forward to scoring more points.“We think he will become a great rider for us in the future and can follow in the footsteps of the talent we have seen progress through the ranks and into the Elite League in recent seasons.”MILDENHALL promoter Kevin Jolly was delighted to see their 40th Anniversary Palmer Trophy celebration finally go ahead at the second attempt.The meeting, which was abandoned at the start of the year, narrowly avoided heavy rain as Joe Jacobs returned to take victory at West Row on Sunday.And Fen Tigers’ promoter Jolly was pleased with an enjoyable afternoon: “The weather looked at one point like it would beat us but the determination of everyone saw the meeting go ahead. I would like to thank everyone for their patience whilst we repaired the problems to the track. “The riders gave their all today and provided some fine entertainment for the crowd. A three rider run off was just about the perfect ending I felt.” RYE HOUSE star Luke Priest is delighted to be back in the saddle after his injury lay-off. Priest saw his season get off to a hugely frustrating start as he suffered a broken arm against Birmingham in April – but he is desperate to make up for lost time after returning to action.Priest told the Speedway Star: “It has been a tough start as I only did a couple of meetings before I got injured at Birmingham, but thankfully I’m back now and hopefully I can pick up where I left off.“It’s very frustrating sitting watching the lads on the sidelines. I kept an eye on the team and followed how they were getting on and, to my favour, there were quite a few rain-offs so I didn’t miss as many meetings as I could have.“Hopefully I can stay injury free for the rest of the season now and get back to riding well and scoring plenty of points.” STOKE skipper Jon Armstrong admitted his side were disappointed to suffer a narrow home defeat at the hands of high-flying Birmingham on Saturday.However, he has called on the Potters to bounce back when they host King’s Lynn at Loomer Road on Sunday.Said Armstrong: “It’s obviously a disappointing result but we all did our best against a very good Birmingham side who are not top of the table for nothing. “We will now dust ourselves down and prepare for our next meeting against King’s Lynn next Sunday, July 5th.”

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY JUNE 30:LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Glasgow v Sheffield 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 1: ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Poole 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Mildenhall 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 2:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Plymouth 7.30, Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 3:PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset 7pm

SATURDAY JULY 4:BRITISH GRAND PRIX: Cardiff 5pm

SUNDAY JULY 5:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Redcar 5pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v King’s Lynn 3pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Eastbourne 3.30

MONDAY JULY 6:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Lakeside 7.30, Wolverhampton v Leicester 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Coventry 6.30

TUESDAY JULY 7:TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Glasgow v Scunthorpe 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 8:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Peterborough 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Stoke 7.30, King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 9:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Leicester 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Rye House 7.30, Redcar v Somerset 7.30, Sheffield v Berwick 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 10:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 7.30, Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30, Scunthorpe v Peterborough 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Somerset v Plymouth 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 11:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Swindon 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Ipswich 7pm, Workington v Newcastle 7pmTRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Plymouth v Somerset 7.15CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Buxton 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 12:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Workington 3pm, Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30, TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Rye House v Berwick 5pm NATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Kent 3.30

MONDAY JULY 13:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30THE LAURELS: Kent 6.30


Related Motorsport Articles

84,520 articles