(SPEEDWAY 1)
SHEFFIELD boss Eric Boocock believes this Sunday’s Premier League Riders’ Championship could be the finest staging of the event for years.Boocock says Owlerton is still the best track for the showpiece event, although he accepts home duo Shane Parker and Ricky Ashworth will fancy their chances.Boocock said: “Shane and Ricky will have more pressure on their shoulders because they will be expected to do well, and that can often work against a rider.“There are so many riders who can win it and they’ll be doing battle on what I still think is the fairest track in British speedway. We’ll have a great crowd and a great stadium, and there’s every chance it will be the best PLRC for years.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
BELLE Vue star Rory Schlein and fellow countryman Troy Batchelor have put a controversial incident in last week’s Cup-tie between the Aces and Peterborough behind them.Batchelor was disqualified from Heat 15 when Schlein hit the fence and missed the second leg of the tie as a result – but fortunately there were no broken bones and he has now resumed racing.Schlein said: “Luckily I had only suffered slight damage inside my shoulder and to the collarbone and it responded to physiotherapy over the weekend.“Troy texted me at midnight after I’d gone to hospital to see how I was and he called again the next day to check if everything was okay. There was no malice in what happened, it was a case of hard racing in a very important heat but it’s all behind us now.”(SPEEDWAY 3)
CARL Wilkinson will return to the Scunthorpe team for the remainder of the season after Tero Aarnio was ruled out by injury.Aarnio aggravated whiplash injuries over the weekend so the Scorpions have moved to recall Wilkinson, who himself lost his place due to a broken leg earlier in the campaign.Manager Richard Hollingsworth said: “I’m sorry to lose Tero because he is a great guy to have in the team and I feel for him. His season has been filled with bad luck and this just tops it off.“However, we have a ready-made replacement in Carl. He is another rider that is one of the family here at Scunthorpe and it was disappointing to not be able to reintroduce him into the team as soon as he recovered from his broken leg.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
BERWICK have confirmed that all prize money from Saturday’s challenge fixture against a representative Edinburgh team will be put towards their new safety barrier.The visitors will be led by their former No.1 Ryan Fisher, who now races full-time in the Elite League, with the riders giving their racing wages to the Berwick fence fund.Bandits director John Anderson said: “It is a good and very important cause. I’d go as far as to say that without public support on Saturday night, our financial planning for next season would be all aback.“The riders have voted to race for nothing, the promotion have made the commitment to buy a fence – now it has to be the turn of the public, both from this area and further afield, to turn up on Saturday and show that they too believe in what we are doing, in our efforts to make the racing here next year every bit as exciting – and a good bit safer, too!”
(FIXTURES)
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22:PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Berwick 7.30, Redcar v Leicester 7.30 MIDLAND CUP 1st leg: Birmingham v Coventry 7.30 BOB KILBY MEMORIAL: Swindon 7.30
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Somerset 7.30, Scunthorpe v Newport 7.30 MIDLAND CUP 2nd leg: Coventry v Birmingham 8pm
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24:PREMIER LEAGUE: Leicester v Redcar 7.30, Newport v Scunthorpe 7pm, Rye House v Sheffield 7pm, Workington v Ipswich 7pm NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Newport 7.30 FENCE FUND CHALLENGE TROPHY: Berwick v Edinburgh’s Tartan Army 7pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 25:PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield 5pm NATIONAL LEAGUE: Newport v Scunthorpe OFF NATIONAL LEAGE KO CUP FINAL 1st leg: Mildenhall v Stoke 4.30 BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 6: Stoke 1pm
