(SPEEDWAY 1)

GREAT Britain boss Alun Rossiter has high hopes for the country’s riders competing in this weekend’s Grand Prix qualifiers.Rossiter will be present at Berwick on Saturday as Chris Harris and Craig Cook look to advance to the next stage, before heading out to Germany with Danny King and Richie Worrall who compete at Abensberg on Monday.Rossiter said: “I’d like to think Chris and Craig should go through at Berwick, I know Cookie went well there last time and Bomber goes well round Berwick as well, but it’s quite a tough meeting with some good riders in it.“German tracks are generally pretty flat, and Danny and Richie will have to have their gating boots on. But it will do them the world of good to be out there doing that sort of meeting.“It’s important for me to keep tabs on the boys, especially with the World Cup coming up. I want to see how they get on in this kind of competition and we’ll see how they cope with the pressure, because it’s a different level from what most of them are doing at the moment.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

GREAT Britain’s Young Lions head to Germany this weekend for the semi-final of the World Under-21 Team Cup at Teterow.Kyle Howarth, Robert Lambert, Jason Garrity and Adam Ellis represent GB in Saturday’s event, which sees them go up against Germany, the Czech Republic and Australia.Co-boss Neil Vatcher said: “We are not making any predictions, but we are delighted that the four selected riders are all travelling to Germany, and with all four riding in the Elite League we believe this is the strongest team Great Britain has had for a number of years.“With only the winners of the semi-final being guaranteed a place in the Final in Denmark on August 23 it is sure to be a very tough evening.“We have also been very lucky this season in having some great sponsors and support for the British team, for which we are very grateful.“Wessex Marine and ATPI Management services have kindly sponsored the team for their Racesuits, Mitas Tyres have supplied tyres for all the British riders, and also we have had continued support from the BSPA.”

(SPEEDWAY 3 – THURSDAY REVIEW)

KING’S Lynn broke a 30-year club record for wins in succession with their 60-32 victory over Birmingham on Thursday.The runaway Elite League leaders were always in control against a weakened Brummies side, with Nicklas Porsing collecting his first maximum in British Speedway.The Dane reeled off five race wins to lead the scorechart on 15 points with captain Rory Schlein adding 12+2, whilst Danny King led the visitors’ resistance with 13.Stars promoter Keith Chapman said: “A fantastic effort from the team, great all round performance. To go 11 meetings unbeaten is an amazing achievement. Congratulations must go to Nicklas, he was very quick and deserved his maximum.”Swindon overcame Leicester 48-40 in an eventful clash at Blunsdon marred by the withdrawal of three riders after crashes.Robins man Dakota North was ruled out with knee damage after coming to grief in Heat 4, and in the re-run of the same race Lions reserve Max Clegg tangled with home rider Nathan Greaves, with neither taking any further part – whilst Swindon No.1 Peter Kildemand emerged unscathed from a heavy fall in Heat 13.Steve Worrall took extra rides and piled up 14+2 for the Robins, with Troy Batchelor and Simon Gustafsson securing maximum points in Heat 15 with a 3-3 behind Lions’ top man Jason Doyle (13).Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “Troy really did a captain’s job and was reminiscent of Leigh Adams with the way he was shepherding home riders in some races.“Simon was outstanding as well, and fair play to Nicolai (Klindt) who came in and did a good job for us. It was a great win in the circumstances and we are pleased to get all three points.”An extraordinary meeting at Foxhall in the Premier League Knockout Cup saw Ipswich demolish holders Somerset 65-25 in their first leg tie – leaving both managers with wildly contrasting emotions.Richie Worrall (14), Gino Manzares (11+3), Rohan Tungate (10+2) and Morten Risager (10) were all in double-figures for the home side, with Nick Morris taking the Rebels’ sole race win in Heat 15.Witches boss Chris Louis said: “That points difference should be enough to see us through; we did lose by the same margin down at their place in the League Cup but I believe we have progressed since then.”Angry Somerset manager Garry May said: “I am absolutely disgusted with our riders and their performance. This was the worst showing I’ve ever seen by a Somerset team in all my time here as team manager, and I can assure you that I will not put up with another non-performance such as this again this season.“We’ve already beaten Ipswich by 40 points at the Oaktree Arena this season, so it’s not impossible, but we’ve certainly left ourselves a monumental mountain to climb if we are going to make it through to the semi-finals.”Meanwhile Sheffield returned to action at Owlerton with a bang by picking up their first Premier League win of the season.The home side defeated Glasgow 52-41 with skipper Simon Stead racing to a flawless five-ride maximum, although they have a concern over reserve Josh Bates who is still in back pain following a crash last weekend.Sheffield boss Joe Screen said: “It was a good result considering the lads haven’t ridden for so long. Simon was terrific and his maximum shows the other riders what they can achieve.“Leigh (Lanham) was back in good form and Ty (Proctor) got himself sorted in Heat 13 after having a few problems. Taylor (Poole) still had bike trouble that we need to get sorted, but I’m pleased with the win.”(SPEEDWAY 4 – FRIDAY PREVIEW)

COVENTRY manager Gary Havelock is expecting a tough local derby as Wolverhampton visit Brandon on Friday – with just one point separating the sides in the Elite League table.Both clubs are just outside the play-off places and Havelock says the Bees need to take advantage of the matches they have in hand at home.He said: “We are behind on our home meetings and some of our home performances so have been frustrating, so we need to get a consistent run going.“We have to keep in touch with the top four and that means taking points from our home matches. League titles aren’t won in May and June, it’s about having momentum going into September and October, but we have to make sure we’re in that top four.”Wolves skipper Tai Woffinden said: “We are looking forward to Coventry, they're a good side this season and we know we will have to be at our best as a team to get something from the meeting.“We've dropped some silly points at home and we can't afford to drop any more, but we also need to pick up some points away if we are to get into the top four and a play-off place.”Lakeside return to action after a mini-break in their schedule, with the second-placed Hammers hosting Belle Vue in their first Purfleet outing since their only home defeat of the campaign against King’s Lynn.The home side have moved all three heat-leaders to new riding positions with Davey Watt taking over at No.1.Co-promoter Jon Cook said: “With the Poole home match falling victim to the weather we've had long enough to stew on where points are being dropped on a race by race basis and we are going to run with these new pairings for our next couple of meetings and see how we go. “Defeat at home, whatever the circumstances, is always tough to take but in the scheme of things King’s Lynn are already a shoe-in for the play-offs so we need to put that meeting behind us and start afresh with victory this Friday.”In the Premier League, Somerset have booked Stuart Robson to guest for the unavailable Nick Morris in their weekend clashes with Rye House, which begin at the Oaktree Arena on Friday – with the Rebels keen to bounce back immediately from their disastrous KO Cup defeat at Ipswich.Boss Garry May said: “It’s in their own hands now to restore some pride in the team as well as themselves in our two matches against Rye House, before next Friday’s second leg of the KO Cup tie.”Rye House manager John Sampford said: “Somerset’s record at home speaks for itself, but we will go there in a positive frame of mind to score as many points as we can. It’s all about the riders performing to their potential, and Peterborough and Plymouth have already shown that it is possible to take something away from a trip there. It can be done.”In the KO Cup, Plymouth are just two points behind from the first leg as they host Peterborough at the St Boniface Arena. James Shanes stands in at reserve, whilst the Panthers call in Dan Halsey and Ben Hopwood for the injured Oliver Greenwood and unavailable Joe Jacobs, with rider-replacement in operation for Ryan Fisher.Devils promoter Ashley Taylor said: “We have done the hard work in the away leg at Peterborough, but we can’t afford to sit back. Peterborough took only a three-point lead from their home leg in the last round against Scunthorpe but still won through on aggregate. So the message is clear that there is still a job to be done.”Peterborough operations manager Neil Watson said: “We do already boast a victory at Plymouth this season in a League Cup meeting, but it would be unwise to read too much into that as we will track a very different team on this occasion.“We will of course approach the meeting with a positive outlook and hope to reach our second semi-final of the season.”The first leg of the League Cup semi-final takes place between Edinburgh and Sheffield at Armadale, and Monarchs skipper Derek Sneddon is looking for another strong home performance.He said: “We’re looking for the biggest lead we can get out of Sheffield because you can never be sure about what might happen down there.”Both sides operate rider-replacement with Max Fricke and Ty Proctor missing, whilst Monarchs reserve Aaron Fox is on the sidelines after re-opening his leg wound.Sheffield boss Joe Screen said: “Edinburgh have clearly put a really good side together and a lot of teams have got thumped up there. We need to make sure we don’t disgrace ourselves.”(FIXTURES)

FRIDAY JUNE 6:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 7.30, Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Rye House 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Plymouth v Peterborough 7.15LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30

SATURDAY JUNE 7:WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING ROUND: Berwick 7pmELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Belle Vue 7.30, Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Somerset 7pm

SUNDAY JUNE 8:PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Berwick 6.30JAMES GRIEVES TRIBUTE: Glasgow 3pm