BIG EVENT LATEST...SOMERSET has been confirmed as the venue for the 2012 Premier League Pairs – and the meeting will again take place the night before the British Grand Prix at Cardiff.August 24 is the date for supporters to put into their diaries for one of the most popular events of the season, which was won this year by the Glasgow duo of Joe Screen and James Grieves.Organisers have moved quickly to announce the date with the GP shifting into August from its’ more usual June staging at the Millennium Stadium.That move has been made because of the venue being required for usage in the Olympics, but supporters will be pleased to learn that what has become an integral part of the speedway calendar will remain, with the Pairs at the Oak Tree Arena on the Friday night beforehand.SpeedwayGB Events co-ordinator David Hoggart said: “We wanted to make an early announcement on this meeting because we are aware that this is a Bank Holiday weekend and supporters will want to make their plans early.“This will enable everyone who needs to book accommodation to hopefully do so in time for what is obviously going to be a busy few days.“We’re naturally delighted to take the event back to Somerset again. It’s one of the most enjoyable meetings of the season and we look forward to another successful staging next year. There’s always a good, holiday atmosphere and I’m sure that will be the case again.”Somerset promoter Debbie Hancock is looking forward to the meeting taking place at the venue for the sixth year in succession – and she’s already hoping it will be sixth time lucky for the Rebels!She said: “We’ve come close on quite a few occasions but we still haven’t managed to win the meeting and I suppose that goes to show we have a track which everyone enjoys riding.“We thoroughly enjoy staging this event and obviously our location means there’s always a big crowd who enjoy starting the weekend with the Pairs before going to the Grand Prix the next day.“With it being a Bank Holiday weekend anyway next year I would think there will probably be even more people hoping to come down here, and I know the hotels and B&Bs will get booked up so it’s good to get the date officially confirmed so that everyone can start making their plans.”There have been different winners of the Premier League Pairs in each of the five stagings at Somerset. The Isle of Wight took victory in 2007, and they were followed by Workington, Birmingham, Sheffield and Glasgow in subsequent years.SUPER7EVEN SERIES SPEEDWAY GB EVENTSBRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: TAI WOFFINDENELITE LEAGUE PAIRS: POOLEBRITISH FINAL: SCOTT NICHOLLSPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: GLASGOWPREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Date TBCPREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, September 25ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Swindon, October 15ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…BELLE VUE boss Jim Lynch has explained the reasoning behind the Aces’ release of doubling-up rider Kozza Smith, who has returned to parent club King’s Lynn.Lynch said: “I had a call from Kozza saying he would like the chance of extra Elite League bookings and his double-up chances for us were being extremely limited because of the excellent form of Craig (Cook).“It was a fair request because we could only offer him one match, and I understand he may have as many as seven or eight at King’s Lynn. We didn’t want to keep him on the sidelines as long as we could get a suitable replacement for the Coventry match, and Morten (Risager) agreed to do it.”BIRMINGHAM boss Graham Drury has given his backing to enigmatic No.1 Krzysztof Kasprzak, who secured a point for the in-form Brummies at Poole with a terrific Heat 15 win last Wednesday.Drury said: “KK was something special at Poole. He’s been the subject of plenty of criticism this season and nobody has criticised him more than me, so it’s only fair that he gets credit when it’s due.“He went out in Heat 15 knowing we had a chance of a league point and he beat both Chris Holder and Darcy Ward. Not many people do that around Poole and it was an awesome display.”COVENTRY star Kenni Larsen top-scored with paid-15 in the Bees’ shock home defeat by Belle Vue and then called on his side to bounce back next week in a bid to re-ignite their play-off chances.Larsen said: “Losing at home is a big blow at this time of the season and everyone has to pick themselves up from it. Belle Vue are a good team but we needed to beat them – I can’t pick people up myself, but I’m sure they can do it for next week.“To top-score was good and it always helps your confidence. I’ve had a few bad meetings lately and on Wednesday I blew two of my engines up in Denmark, which were my two best ones, so I needed a bit of luck!”EASTBOURNE bosses believe No.1 Bjarne Pedersen’s qualification for next year’s Grand Prix series will help spur the team on as they look to confirm a place in the play-offs.Co-promoter Mike Bellerby said: “Bjarne’s success is fantastic news and we send him our congratulations. We will make sure we give him a special welcome before the start of Sunday’s meeting against Swindon.“He has been a real inspiration this year as our No1 rider and helps give everyone great confidence. Bjarne has proved to be a great team man and I believe the Lifestyle Eagles can now press on and challenge for league and cup honours.”LAKESIDE have announced the return of Jonas Davidsson in time for their home clash with Birmingham on Friday as they seek to set a 46-point target for the other clubs chasing a place in the play-offs.Hammers boss Jon Cook said: “We will then have to sit back and see if we can be caught but we did ourselves a huge favour, race points wise, with the win by 40 points over Peterborough on Friday and with our four own riders showing great form we are confident we can hold our own against anyone once we return to full strength.“We are all delighted to have JD back with us and his keenness to get over here and start racing is great news for us.”KING’S LYNN manager Rob Lyon has set his side a six-point target from their three remaining fixtures in order to make sure of a place in the play-offs.Lyon said: “We’ve got a bit of a break before Peterborough – by that time we will be fully aware of our play-off situation.“We’ll need six points from our remaining home and away fixtures, so that can be done in our two home meetings if we get two three-point wins. It won’t be easy, but we can do it.”PETERBOROUGH are sweating on the fitness of No.1 rider Nicki Pedersen after his crash in the last race of the 51-38 defeat at Wolverhampton on Monday.Team boss Trevor Swales said: “He will definitely be sore in the morning. We are hoping it’s just a dead leg but we won’t know for sure until tomorrow (Tuesday).“Obviously we hope he’s fit enough for Wednesday’s trip to top of the table Poole and the return against Wolves on Thursday but it’s too early to know one way or another.”POOLE promoter Matt Ford has praised Russian rider Renat Gafurov after the decision was taken that he would stand down in favour of Thomas H Jonasson – who made an impressive debut in the Pirates’ away win at Belle Vue on Monday.Ford said: “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.“I think that this is a terrific attitude to adopt and I am really grateful for everything he has done for us since joining the club. He has been staying with me and I have really got to know him and he is a great guy, but he can see the big picture, as indeed we all can and I wish him all the best for the future.”SWINDON have re-arranged their home clash with Coventry for next Thursday, September 1, after last week’s postponement, with the Robins keen to see Russian sensation Emil Sayfutdinov in action at Blunsdon.Co-owner Terry Russell said: “Despite having had a poor season with our league position and results, we want to show to our supporters that we are in the Elite League for the right reasons – and that is giving them the chance to see one of the world’s brightest young talents in Emil Sayfutudinov.“Emil has been a massive drawcard around the league since he signed for them a couple of months ago, and our fans will have been missing out on something if we'd just gone ahead with the match (last) week.”WOLVERHAMPTON No.1 Freddie Lindgren will continue to ride through the pain barrier following his big crash earlier in the month – although his Monmore comeback in Monday’s win over Peterborough saw him involved in more incidents.Lindgren said: “I’m not going to stop riding, I’m going to race against the pain and try to forget about it because that’s my instinct when I put the crash helmet and goggles on.“I must admit I didn’t need to be crashing like I did tonight, but I just feel battered and bruised and it will take a few weeks longer before I am back to total fitness.”PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…BERWICK enjoyed a spectacular return to form with a 54-40 win over local rivals Newcastle, highlighted by Sebastian Alden breaking the track record.Manager Ian Rae said: “This was almost as good a match as the Glasgow thriller a few weeks ago, but from a result point of view it was a superlative meeting for Berwick with all the Bandits trying their hearts out against excellent opposition. As for Seb Alden shattering the two-year-old track record, well, when we signed him we knew we had a good one, but he’s excelled our expectations several-fold.”EDINBURGH’S new signing Byron Bekker says he is well set-up to make the most of his opportunity to get back into Premier League racing with the Monarchs.Bekker said: “I’ve got some good sponsors this year, some really nice guys from Birmingham and my equipment is as good as what it has ever been.”GLASGOW skipper Joe Screen had urged his side to maintain their focus over the coming weeks as the Tigers move closer to the Premier League title.Screen said: “We have taken ourselves into a position now where we can start to sense a league title and with two interesting away clashes coming up this week, then we could just about tie things up in the next couple of weeks. However, we cannot allow any complacency to set in and our aim is to carry on with the way we are going at the moment and the rest should take care of itself.”IPSWICH manger Pete Simmons is confident that skipper Kevin Doolan is in line for a strong finish to the season after a bad batch earlier in the campaign.Simmons said: “Kevin has looked a different rider over the last few meetings now mounted on a Chris Louis-prepared engine. He was unlucky at Newcastle to be disqualified in one heat as he certainly would have hit double figures, and I’m sure we will all see a big improvement in him.”LEICESTER are set to name two new signings in time for the weekend’s matches against Newport after releasing reserves John Oliver and Charles Wright after the home defeat by Glasgow last Saturday.Manager Jason Attwood said: “As I’ve said so many times since taking over as manager, we just need those extra couple of points that could turn the draws or narrow defeats into wins. We’ve been getting to 43-45 points, we just need to get up to 46 or 47.”NEWCASTLE boss George English admitted his side had run into a fired-up Berwick side at the wrong time when they were beaten 54-40 at Shielfield Park on Saturday, with Claes Nedermark missing the meeting due to injury.English said: “This wasn’t the best time to tackle Berwick, as they had a team determined to make up for the previous week’s failing, and they also had a side dialled perfectly to the grippy surface, as shown with their number one taking a track record. There’ll be more than a whiff of revenge in the air when the Bandits come back to Brough Park for the return.”NEWPORT promoter Steve Mallett has hit back at criticism of the Queensway Meadows track – in the wake of several impressive results for the Wasps recently.Mallett said: “It's ironic that people are having a pop at our track now that they are all losing here, yet no-one said a thing about it when we lost our first five meetings of this season. It is not the track which is responsible for visiting sides losing, it's the fact we have strengthened to a standard whereby it's our team which is the problem for them.”PLYMOUTH promoter Mike Bowden has delayed announcing his side for this week’s fixtures as he is hoping to make changes due to injuries to Hynek Stichauer and Kyle Hughes.Bowden said: “I will be looking for us to show some improvement on last month’s home match with Ipswich. They only beat us by four points in what proved to be a good meeting. I am sure we will have another exciting clash on Friday, but I will be expecting to see us come out on top this time.”REDCAR manager Jitendra Duffill was in no mood for excuses after the Bears had crashed to a 61-33 defeat at Edinburgh last Friday.Duffill said: “The conditions were tricky because it never stopped raining all night, and credit to all the riders for battling on, but Edinburgh were more up for it. They looked as if they wanted it. There was massive effort from Jason Lyons and Aaron Summers, and Robert Branford also battled well, but that’s all I can really say about our performance.”RYE HOUSE are delighted to announce that the National League Riders' Championship, due to be staged at 7pm on Saturday September 3, will this year be sponsored by Paradise Wildlife Park, the home of the White Lions and the Speedway Museum which hasrecently been doubled in size to accommodate the additional displays now available. Owner of the Park, Pete Sampson, himself an ex-Rye House rider and long term friend of the sport said: “I am delighted to add our contribution to this very important meeting which brings together the cream of the third tier of racing and the place where all the new young Brits learn their trade. As a great British patriot I look forward to seeing the progress made by these youngsters and I call on the Speedway fans from every corner to support the event.”SCUNTHORPE boss Richard Hollingsworth says recent signing Michael Palm Toft will benefit from a spell at reserve as his new average now becomes effective.Hollingsworth said: “I could afford the luxury of giving every rider five rides (against Plymouth). Michael will benefit from them as he tries and works out set-ups for his new home track. He’s not used to tracks like Scunthorpe but he is learning and will also benefit from dropping to reserve.”SHEFFIELD manager Eric Boocock admits there will be no room for error during a gruelling forthcoming schedule for the Tigers as they look to keep pressure on leaders Glasgow.Boocock said: “We are going to need some points from our away meetings and we simply cannot afford to slip up at home. We have to win all our home meetings by more than six in order to claim 12 league points from them and see what we can pick up away from home.”SOMERSET expect to have a full-strength team on track for their home match against Scunthorpe on Friday, with German international Christian Hefenbrock having treatment on an arm injury.Manager Steve Bishop said: “Having dropped home points over the past few weeks, it is imperative that we get all three points against Scunthorpe this week. I know that we had a big win against the Scorpions earlier in the season, but that will count for nothing when the tapes go up on Friday night as both teams have made changes to their line up since then, so it will be just like starting from scratch once again.”WORKINGTON promoter Keith Denham has threatened to make multiple changes in time for the trip to Berwick on Saturday – after a heavy 60-33 defeat at title rivals Glasgow.Denham said: “For three heat leaders to score just four points between them is just terrible and I'm not going to stand for it. The fans have been demanding action and it's time to do that. I am looking at making the changes over the next few days.”

FIXTURE PICTURE…WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Peterborough 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30THURSDAY AUGUST 25:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Wolverhampton 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Rye House 7.30, Redcar v Glasgow 7.30, Sheffield v Plymouth 7.45CHALLENGE: Birmingham Bulls v Stoke 7.30FRIDAY AUGUST 26:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Birmingham 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Plymouth v Ipswich 7.30, Somerset v Scunthorpe 7.30SATURDAY AUGUST 27:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Workington 7pm, Newport v Leicester 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Hackney v Mildenhall (at Rye House) 7pm, Stoke v Newport 7.30SUNDAY AUGUST 28:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Swindon 3.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Edinburgh 4pm, Leicester v Newport 7pm, Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Sheffield 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: Mildenhall v Isle of Wight 4.30MONDAY AUGUST 29:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Peterborough 7.30, Peterborough v Coventry 11am, Wolverhampton v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Newcastle 2pm, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 3pm, Workington v Berwick 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Newport v King’s Lynn 6pm, Scunthorpe v Mildenhall (follows PL fixture)TUESDAY AUGUST 30:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Buxton 7.30WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Peterborough 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Hackney 8pmDAVEY WATT TESTIMONIAL: Poole 7.30THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v King’s Lynn 7.30, Swindon v Coventry 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Newport 7.30, Sheffield v Ipswich 7.45NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Dudley 7.30PHIL MORRIS TESTIMONIAL: Birmingham 7.30FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 2:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Eastbourne 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30, Plymouth v Rye House 7.30, Somerset v Leicester 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Buxton 7.30SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Wolverhampton 7pm, Eastbourne v Coventry (follows previous fixture)PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Plymouth 7pm, Workington v Ipswich 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House 7pmSUNDAY SEPTEMBER 4:PREMIER LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Somerset 6pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Newport 4.30MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Belle Vue 7.30, Wolverhampton v Birmingham 7.30TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 6:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v King’s Lynn 7.30, Isle of Wight v Sheffield 7.30WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 8pm