SPEEDWAY 1)
BERWICK have been cleared to stage a round of the Grand Prix qualifying series on June 16 after a successful stadium inspection.The Bandits were visited by FIM, ACU and BSPA officials last week following installation of their new Polyfoam safety barrier, with a three-year licence granted to stage FIM events.Club director George Hepburn said: “Mr Bergstrom inspected all aspects, not just the track as you can imagine and there were many other matters to oversee including, safety fence, jury room, referee box, medical/dope control room, changing rooms, pits and the like.“He was highly impressed with Shielfield and fair enough, there are about five or six minor matters to be resolved but nothing that will lose us any sleep! It is onwards and upwards now to 16th June. A lot of hard work lies ahead to get that meeting spot on, but we look forward to it with relish.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
TAI Woffinden is officially back to his best… that’s the view of Wolverhampton boss Peter Adams!Woffinden enjoyed a 17-point haul as Wolves got the better of Birmingham 51-39 in a hard fought Midland League clash at Monmore on Monday, dropping his only point to rival skipper Danny King in the last race.Adams said: “I believe there is a group of British riders like Danny King and Ben Barker of Birmingham who are under-rated.“I include Woffinden in that and he is the pick of the bunch, he is back to his best form, it’s great to see.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
POOLE will include Polish rider Mateusz Szczepaniak in the side for their challenge match with Belle Vue on Wednesday.Szczepaniak was signed by the Pirates during last season but was ruled out through injury almost immediately. Poole have re-shuffled their team for the fixture against the Aces with skipper Chris Holder in New Zealand for this weekend’s Grand Prix.Promoter Matt Ford said: “We have decided to bring in Mateusz for this one to give him the chance for some valuable track experience. We all saw last year that his track time was cruelly cut short through injury but he is keen to show our fans what he is capable of. “As well as bringing in Matty we will also be fielding both our doubling up riders, in agreement with Belle Vue so it will be good to see Ludvig (Lindgren) in Poole colours for the first time. We have named Ludvig, Matty and Todd (Kurtz) in the side with a view to sharing the reserves rides amongst the three of them.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)REDCAR have signed Carl Wilkinson on loan from Scunthorpe to replace injury victim Gary Havelock.Wilkinson was left without a club at the start of the season but now comes in for the 1992 World Champion, and ironically he will make his debut against his parent club on Thursday.Bears boss Brian Havelock said: “Wilko has an encouraging scoring record for both Newport and Scunthorpe at the Motorpark since 2006. He is a real battler and I know that the Bears fans will appreciate that. He has big boots to fill and supporters must appreciate that and get behind him. “In the absence of Gary the team captaincy will be taken over by Aaron Summers who has been in fine form so far this season and will no doubt lead by example on track.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
STOKE have named Dan Berwick as their sixth signing for the forthcoming National League campaign.Berwick guested for the Potters at Lakeside last season and has also been involved in the amateur racing scene, following previous league experience for Sittingbourne, Isle of Wight and Plymouth.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “I think Dan is a very determined rider who is intent on doing well and looking to score points for the club. He suffered a nasty injury a few years back which hampered his progression in the sport and has put that behind him and I feel he is a tidy addition to the team. “I'd like to thank Mike Bowden at Plymouth for his help in concluding this deal so swiftly. He has been a great help in this deal and also in concluding Ben's (Reade) deal earlier in the year.”
(FIXTURES)
WEDNESDAY MARCH 28:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Eastbourne 7.30CHALLENGE: Poole v Belle Vue 7.30
THURSDAY MARCH 29:LEAGUE CUP: Ipswich v Somerset 7.30, Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30, Sheffield v Workington 7.45MIDLAND LEAGUE: Birmingham v Coventry 7.30
FRIDAY MARCH 30:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmLEAGUE CUP: Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30, Somerset v Ipswich 7.30MIDLAND LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 8pmSPRING TROPHY 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30CHALLENGE: Plymouth v Weymouth Select 7.30
