(SPEEDWAY 1)
POOLE will bring Thomas H Jonasson into their side next week - with the Swedish star set to make his debut at Belle Vue on Monday.Jonasson became a Pirates asset recently and replaces Renat Gafurov, who made his final appearance in the 48-42 win over Birmingham on Wednesday which saw the Brummies become the third visiting side to take a point from Wimborne Road.Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “I think you can see from tonight’s performance that we are finding things a little tough outside of our top three, and I am determined not to get caught out like we did last season by not making the changes that were needed.“Renat sat down with me a week or so ago and said that he didn’t want to be the reason why Poole could lose out on the title this season, and if someone else could be fitted in that could do a better job than him he would be willing to stand down.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
STOKE returned to the top of the National League table with an impressive 49-41 win at King’s Lynn – a result which also dents the Young Stars’ play-off hopes.Norfolk Arena specialist Simon Lambert led the Potters with 16 (paid 17) and he was joined in double-figure by James Sarjeant (13+1) and skipper Tony Atkin (10+3).Manager Malcolm Vasey said: “It was a tremendous performance by all the team, they rode magnificently tonight. To take all four points here against a good King’s Lynn team I’m sure has sent a message out to everyone in the National League that Stoke are here and we want to win the league title. “We have gone three points clear at the top of the table from second-placed Mildenhall and we have matches in hand over them.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
MILDENHALL’S sensational youngster Cameron Heeps has been ruled out for up to a month after it was confirmed he suffered a broken wrist at the Isle of Wight on Tuesday.The fifteen-year-old, who had won his opening six races, fell as he challenged the home pair of Nick Simmons and Danny Warwick. Co-promoter Michael Lee said: “It was a racing accident, pure and simple. Cam high-sided and fell heavily on his wrist. He's been to see a specialist today, and will visit another one tomorrow which will give us a much better idea on how bad a break it is. “Like the rest of us, Cam is gutted about what's happened. One thing is certain, we will not try and rush him back. He is still only a young lad, with a fantastic future ahead of him, and we will do nothing that will jeopardise that.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
THREE of speedway’s currently inactive club names will be on track at Plymouth on Friday taking part in a Memorial meeting for Tony Sanford, who was killed at Exeter 30 years ago.Teams representing Exeter, Weymouth and Trelawny will complete alongside a Plymouth quartet in a meeting put together by current Newport rider Matt Bates who has several links with the clubs.He said: “I'm racing for my home town team (Exeter), at my old club, against my other old clubs. I was mascot for Exeter and sometimes for the Trelawny Pit Bulls, I also rode second halves at Trelawny.“Getting the Exeter name back has been very close to my heart and something that started out as an idea on my laptop. Even though I never managed to complete a season at Weymouth it's still very close to my heart as well.”(SPEEDWAY 5)
GLASGOW co-promoter Stewart Dickson says his side are going into a pivotal weekend in their bid to take the Premier League title.The Tigers travel to Leicester on Saturday and then face a home clash on Sunday with fellow challengers Workington, who are nine points behind but with two matches in hand.Dickson said: “I think the pressure is more on them than it is on us but if we can gain two wins over the weekend then I think we will have overcome a massive hurdle and almost be able to start thinking about winning things. “One thing I am really hoping for is massive backing from our support. This is one meeting where I hope we can gather all existing fans, all floating fans, and perhaps a few lapsed fans, who have been a little frustrated with our showings in recent years.”
(SPEEDWAY 6)
BERWICK boss Ian Rae is calling for an improvement in his side’s gating ahead of their local derby clash with Newcastle on Saturday.The Bandits were beaten at home by Ipswich last week but will be at full strength as Sebastian Alden rides through the pain barrier following a crash in Poland on Monday.Rae said: “The plain fact is that in just about every race (last week) the visitors got away like scalded cats and even when we could catch and pass some of the Witches, it wasn’t enough – however good it made the racing!“This is our big local derby and we’ve made it clear to our riders that they’ll make things a lot easier for themselves if they can get away from the starting-gate ahead of, or at least on level terms with, the Newcastle riders.”
(SPEEDWAY 7)
NEWPORT promoter Steve Mallett believes the Wasps can make ground in the Premier League table in this weekend’s local derbies against Somerset.The South Wales side are within range of several clubs with their matches in hand, and they meet Somerset at the Oak Tree Arena on Friday and then back at their Queensway Meadows base on Saturday.Mallett said: “There is something of a special edge to matches between us and it should make for a couple of great nights of action. We are hoping for a big crowd for our home meeting on Saturday.“Team strengthening has produced a very strong team here and now we are looking towards speedway fans from far and wide to come to Newport on Saturday night and cheer us on.”
(FIXTURES) FRIDAY AUGUST 19:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Belle Vue 8pm, Lakeside v Peterborough 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30, Scunthorpe v Plymouth 7.30, Somerset v Newport 7.30 FOUR-TEAM TOURNAMENT: Plymouth 7.30
SATURDAY AUGUST 20:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Newcastle 7pm, Leicester v Glasgow 7.30, Newport v Somerset 7pm, Rye House v Scunthorpe 7pm, Workington v Plymouth 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 21:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Workington 4pm NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Scunthorpe 4.30
MONDAY AUGUST 22:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Peterborough 7.30
TUESDAY AUGUST 23:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Stoke 7.30, Isle of Wight v Newport 7.30
