(SPEEDWAY 1)RICHIE Worrall says he will be riding in the memory of former team-mate Lee Richardson when he represents Great Britain U21s on Sunday.Worrall lines up at Lakeside in the World U21 Team Cup semi-final, having spent the early part of his Hammers career under the guidance of captain Richardson.Worrall said: “Riding alongside him was an honour and I looked up to him – he was my hero. Lee took me under his wing, showed me the ropes and the tricks of the trade. “Speedway has lost a huge asset and all I can do now is follow in his footsteps and achieve everything possible in memory of him. The fans loved him, as did the riders. He was a great man and I’m riding in Lee’s memory during the World Team Cup.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
POOLE equalled their 57-year-old record for ten victories at the start of the season despite a brave effort by depleted Peterborough at Wimborne Road.The Pirates pulled away in the second half of the meeting for a 50-39 win with their top three riders all scoring double figures – but Peterborough, without both Michael Jepsen Jensen and Olly Allen, gained some consolation when Linus Sundstrom defeated Chris Holder and Darcy Ward in Heat 15.Panthers boss Jan Staechmann said: “We came here with a depleted team and we hung in there until halfway through, but we just ran out of steam with a few blips along the way.“If not everyone is firing when you have rider-replacement it’s always an uphill struggle, certainly when you come to a place like Poole. That’s not an excuse, it’s a fact, but we battled and tried hard and hopefully entertained the crowd.”Poole move on to Birmingham on Thursday with Peterborough travelling to Swindon; whilst elsewhere on Wednesday King’s Lynn made a powerful return to home action with a 58-35 win over Wolverhampton.
(SPEEDWAY 3)
BELLE Vue team boss Jim Lynch is ready to ring the changes on the side which has lost the first seven Elite League fixtures of the season.Lynch was devastated after the Aces went down after building a winning position against Eastbourne at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday.He said: “I have been looking at the contributions of all members of the team and it would be safe to say at this point, without naming any names, that more than one rider needs to be looking over his shoulder.“Our next home fixture, after Monday’s match with Swindon, isn’t until June 11 when we face Wolverhampton and that may be enough time for (Rory) Schlein to recover from his broken foot.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
MILDENHALL have been boosted by skipper Lewis Blackbird declaring himself fit to face Rye House on Sunday.Blackbird has been out since dislocating his shoulder in a crash at King’s Lynn three weeks ago, and initial diagnosis was that his time out of action would be six weeks.But he said: “When I went to see the physio at the end of last week, even he admitted he was surprised that I had a full range of movement again. But I can honestly say the shoulder is feeling good and I've got some practice sessions at various tracks lined up before Sunday so that I'm ready to go. “It's been tough being on the sidelines and, proud as I am of the way the boys have dug deep to take maximum points from our first two meetings, I want to be a leader on the track not just in the pits.”
(FIXTURES)
THURSDAY MAY 24:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Poole 7.30, Swindon v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Rye House 7.45PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Ipswich v Somerset 7.30, Redcar v Newcastle 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 25:PREMIER LEAGUE: Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Edinburgh v Rye House 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 26:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Leicester v Somerset 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Rye House v Edinburgh 7pmLEAGUE CUP: Workington v Newcastle 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Buxton 7.30
SUNDAY MAY 27:WORLD UNDER-21 TEAM CUP SEMI-FINAL: Lakeside 4pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Glasgow v Plymouth 4pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Stoke 3pm, Mildenhall v Rye House 4.30, Scunthorpe v King’s Lynn 3pm, Scunthorpe v Dudley (follows previous fixture).
