(SPEEDWAY 1)
THE draw has been made for the British Final at Belle Vue on Monday June 11.
Aces star Craig Cook defends the title he won for the first time last year, and there are three other former winners in the line-up – Scott Nicholls, Chris Harris and Danny King.
Ashley Morris, who finished ninth in the semi-final at Leicester, has received a call-up to the meeting as Ben Barker is ruled out due to injury.
DRAW: 1 Richard Lawson; 2 Danny King; 3 Rory Schlein; 4 Dan Bewley; 5 Josh Auty; 6 Lewis Kerr; 7 Robert Lambert; 8 Kyle Howarth; 9 Ashley Morris; 10 Chris Harris; 11 Adam Ellis; 12 Scott Nicholls; 13 Craig Cook; 14 Richie Worrall; 15 Edward Kennett; 16 Jason Garrity. Reserves: 17 Jack Smith; 18 Kyle Bickley.
(SPEEDWAY 2)
LAKESIDE are the new Championship leaders after their 56-32 home win over Workington.
It was another convincing display from the Hammers from start to finish as they leapfrogged rivals Peterborough into top spot.
Richard Lawson top-scored with 14 points from five rides whilst Nick Morris (12+1) and Kyle Newman (10+1) also added double-figures. Reserve Mason Campton scored 10 for the Comets.
Hammers team boss Will Pottinger said: “It was another impressive win from the team and again there were plenty of positives to take from the meeting.
“All the boys rode well but it was particularly great to see Kyle Newman score and ride the way he did.
“It’s pleasing to be in the position we’re in right now but we know there’s still a long way to go.
“But making the most of our home track advantage is something we want to do all season long and we’ve looked really good at the Raceway so far with all the boys getting dialled in.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
GLASGOW duo Paul Starke and Chris Harris both scored maximums as the Tigers returned to winning ways against Scunthorpe.
Starke collected 12+3 from five outings whilst Harris notched a four-ride 12-point full house in the 54-36 victory.
The Scorpions weren’t helped by the withdrawal of Jason Garrity who aggravated an arm injury in a Heat 4 fall. Guest Aaron Summers (12+1) and Josh Auty (10+1) scored double figures.
Harris said: “I was pleased just to get a good meeting under my belt and I'll take that into tomorrow at Workington.
"Scunthorpe have good riders - they're racers like myself - so I knew for four laps I was going to have to be on my A game.
"I had a new engine tonight, it worked really well. I've still to learn a bit with it but the more I ride it, the more I'll learn with it.”
Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “It was a challenging night, not only for the boys, but also for team manager Dave Peet, who had a task on his hands once we were using both rider replacement and injury rider replacement.
“I can’t complain with the way any of the boys rode, while Aaron Summers came in and did a good job as a guest. But there was simply too much against us.
“With a full seven-man squad, it may well have been a different story, while the weather helped create a challenging track, and we suffered a succession of falls early on.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
SHEFFIELD are safely through to the next round of the Knockout Cup after a comfortable 94-68 aggregate victory over Redcar.
Tigers were already in control of the tie following Thursday’s 44-28 home victory over the Bears.
But they recovered from a slow start on Friday to also wrap up a 50-40 triumph at the Media Prima Arena.
Charles Wright dropped just one point from five rides to score 14 against his old club, whilst another ex-Bear Lasse Bjerre added 10. Jordan Stewart scored 11+1 for the hosts with guest Michael Palm Toft and Jonas B Andersen both scoring 11.
Sheffield boss Simon Stead said: “The boys have worked well as a team over the two meetings and we never felt too uncomfortable.
“I was pleased we got the win at their place though because it’s something we can take the positives from going forward.
“We were disappointed and frustrated to get off to the start we did, but we managed to turn it around pretty quickly and like I say it was nice to get another win under our belts.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
PLYMOUTH edged a 46-44 National League win over Belle Vue courtesy of a 4-2 in the final race.
Adam Roynon got the better of Colts guest Danyon Hume with Henry Atkins in the vital third place after Joe Lawlor had fallen.
Roynon racked up 17 points from six rides for the Devils with reserve Richard Andrews collecting 11. Hume (11+1) and Lawlor (10+1) were top scorers for the Colts, who took one league point from the encounter.
(SPEEDWAY 6)
BERWICK hand a 2018 debut to recent signing Theo Pijper when they host Newcastle in the Championship at Shielfield Park tonight (Saturday).
Pijper lines up at No.7 for the Bandits, who are at full strength having lost at home to the Diamonds earlier in the season.
Newcastle bring in Nico Covatti to guest for the injured Stuart Robson, whilst rider-replacement operates for the absent Lewis Rose.
In the Championship Shield, Workington host Glasgow with top spot in the Border group up for grabs.
An away win would confirm the Comets as group winners, whilst a Glasgow victory would render them uncatchable unless the visitors take a point.
(SPEEDWAY 7)
EASTBOURNE face a modest two-point deficit as they host Coventry in the second leg of their National League KO Cup tie at Arlington tonight (Saturday).
The holders show a revised riding order with Georgie Wood elevated to No.1 and Jason Edwards taking his place in the main body of the side under new averages.
The Eagles operate rider-replacement for the injured Charley Powell, whilst Jamie Bursill stands in for Ryan MacDonald for the Bees.
Eastbourne boss Connor Dugard said: “Obviously, it is going to be harder for us without Charley. He has been in good form this season and we will miss him.
“However, I think our first leg performance still give us a great chance to go through.
“I expect we will make the semis but it will be harder without Charley and we cannot afford any slip-ups or further injuries during Saturday’s meeting.”
Coventry manager Martyn Macdonald said: “Eastbourne is going to be difficult of course, but we’ll be going down there to give it our best shot.
“Connor (Mountain) is guesting at Lakeside on Friday so hopefully that will get him ready for another tight circuit on Saturday, and he went well there earlier in the season in the Under-21s.”
Meanwhile Stoke welcome back Rob Shuttleworth for their first leg tie against Kent at Loomer Road.
The Potters include Josh Embleton at reserve with William O’Keefe ruled out, whilst Ben Hopwood guests for the Kings in place of Jack Thomas who is on Championship duty, and Nick Laurence replaces the injured Jacob Clouting at reserve.
Stoke boss Adam Isherwood said: “Kent are a very good side and we will need to hit the ground running on Saturday.
“They always seem to go well around here and we will give them the respect they deserve, but we do not fear them and will be looking to hit them hard early on and then look to maintain that and take a lead into the second leg on Monday.”
(SPEEDWAY 8)
RYE House is the staging venue for the second round of the British Youth Championships today (Satuday, 3pm).
There are 41 races scheduled across four categories, with first-round winners Leon Flint and Nathan Ablitt looking to enhance their positions in the 500cc and 250cc classes.
Rockets co-promoter Steve Jenson said: “Neil Vatcher is doing a terrific job to keep the conveyor belt of new British talent going, and we are proud to support the programme by once again staging a round.
“With adult admission pegged at just £5 and children going free, the meeting offers great value for money for 41 races, and we hope to see as many of you here on Saturday to get behind the Young Lions.”
(SPEEDWAY 9)
BIRMINGHAM have confirmed Jack Parkinson-Blackburn suffered a dislocated shoulder in a crash whilst guesting for Redcar on Thursday.
Parkinson-Blackburn collided with team-mate for the night Ben Barker in Heat 13 at Sheffield when the Bears man locked up in front of him, and both riders were taken to hospital.
Brummies boss Laurence Rogers said: “The good news is that x-rays have confirmed there were no breaks anywhere. The bad news is that his shoulder wouldn’t pop back in, and was out for about three hours.
“He lost a sense of feeling in his hand and fingers and the problem has been made worse by the fact that it’s the same shoulder he dislocated last season. So it’s not straightforward at all.
“He needs to go back to the fracture clinic and they need to assess if he’s sustained any muscle damage, but he also took a hefty bang to his ankle as well so that’s something else we’re waiting on.”
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY JUNE 2:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Newcastle 7pm
CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Workington v Glasgow 7pm
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Eastbourne v Coventry 7.30, 1st round 1st leg: Stoke v Kent 7pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House 3pm
SUNDAY JUNE 3:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Berwick 6.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Belle Vue 5pm, Coventry v Kent 3pm
NATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Isle of Wight 3pm
MONDAY JUNE 4:
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Kent v Stoke 6.30
NATIONAL TROPHY: Cradley v Buxton 7.30
TUESDAY JUNE 5:
SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS: Belle Vue 7pm
Results Friday June 1, 2018;
CHAMPIONSHIP
Glasgow 54 (Paul Starke 12+3)
Scunthorpe 36 (Aaron Summers 12+2)
Championship points: Glasgow 3 Scunthorpe 0
Lakeside 56 (Richard Lawson 14)
Workington 32 (Mason Campton 10)
Championship points: Lakeside 3 Workington 0
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP, 2nd leg
Redcar 40 (Jordan Stewart 11+1)
Sheffield 50 (Charles Wright 14)
Sheffield win 94-68 on aggregate
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE
Plymouth 46 (Adam Roynon 17)
Belle Vue 44 (Danyon Hume 11+1)
National League points: Plymouth 3 Belle Vue 1
