(SPEEDWAY 1 – MONDAY PREVIEW)
WOLVERHAMPTON stage the British Final at Monmore Green on Monday – with World Champion Tai Woffinden going for back-to-back titles.The Wolves skipper, who has won the last two GPs, will come up against seven-times British Champion Scott Nicholls and treble winner Chris Harris, with a host of other riders also looking to compete for the national title and a Wild Card place at the British GP.BSPA Chairman Alex Harkess said: “Chris Van Straaten and his staff always ensure a smooth, professional running of the meeting and I’m sure tonight will be no different.“Sky have been showing some highlights from previous British Finals recently, and they have just served as a reminder of what it means to the riders. I’m hoping for a great night of racing, a great atmosphere and a great night of weather!”With King’s Lynn and Newcastle rider Lewis Kerr ruled out of the meeting due to a broken collarbone, Somerset’s Charles Wright has received a late call-up.Meanwhile Kent host Devon in the National League at Central Park with the home side at full strength as Simon Lambert and Ben Morley return from their bronze-medal finish in the Pairs at Mildenhall on Sunday.Morley takes over as No.1 for the first time for the Kings, whilst the Demons include Brendan Johnson as a guest for Tim Webster.(SPEEDWAY 2)
STOKE were victorious in the National League Pairs at Mildenhall as Ben Wilson and Jon Armstrong edged out the home duo by a single point in the Final.The Potters qualified with a maximum 21 points in their group but the Fen Tigers took the advantage with a 6-3 from Joe Jacobs and Dan Halsey when the pairs met in the Final.However, Stoke regained the lead with a 7-2 over Kent in Heat 5, and although Mildenhall required a 6-3 over Buxton in the last race to take the title Halsey was unable to split the team-riding Hitmen duo of Liam Carr and Tony Atkin.The Potters’ 17-point total was therefore enough for victory, with Mildenhall second on 16 with Kent duo Simon Lambert and Ben Morley completing the top three on 12 and Buxton scoring nine.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “I was so proud of those lads. We endured the agony of, Heat 3 our only glitch, and then the final ecstasy after the last race of the day - but what a great meeting. “Jon’s remarkable back straight overtake in the Group stage between the Buxton pair must go down as the pass of the season. Ben was also outstanding, dominating most of his starts and so assured in his racing.”Mildenhall chairman Kevin Jolly said: “I’m desperately disappointed for our lads who gave their all, but it wasn’t to be, and we have to accept second place for a second year running. “Congratulations though to the Stoke pairing who just about deserved the victory I feel, they were strong all afternoon, gated well and showed the art of team riding which was to be expected with Jon in the team.”
(SPEEDWAY 3 – SUNDAY REVIEW)
NEWCASTLE got the better of Somerset 54-38 in an incident-strewn Premier League clash which saw three riders withdrawn from the meeting.Home star Lewis Kerr suffered a broken collarbone in Heat 9, an injury which rules him out of the British Final, and by that stage the Rebels had already lost skipper Olly Allen with a dislocated shoulder. Allen’s team-mate Pontus Aspgren then crashed out in Heat 10, suffering concussion and a minor hand injury.Diamonds No.1 Danny King continued his strong from with 13+1, backed up by Ludvig Lindgren on 12, whilst Charles Wright top-scored for the Rebels on 11.Newcastle boss George English said: “This was, as expected, a hard-fought match with a good deal of tough physical speedway for the fans to enjoy, but the determination shown was what took us to the win on the night, and fair to say a bigger win than even the optimistic amongst us would have dared hope for.“Newcastle are back to battle hard now – full of confidence and eager for success, it’s just a shame that Lewis was eventually diagnosed with a broken collarbone which is a blow to us, but another challenge we will overcome and keep this good run running on.”Somerset manager Garry May said: “It was one of those nights when everything seemed to conspire against us. To lose a rider of Olly’s abilities as early as Heat 4 is bad enough, but to then also have Pontus force to withdraw as well later in the meeting was just too much for us to contend with.“At this stage of things it is too early to say how long, if at all, either of the two boys will be out for, I’ll probably have a clearer picture in the next 24 hours or so of how they are both feeling in relation to Friday’s match against Glasgow and then again at Plymouth on Saturday evening.”Glasgow made Knockout Cup progress with a six-point aggregate win over Rye House in a tie which went down to the final race of the second leg.The Rockets could have levelled the scores with a 5-1 in Heat 15 but a b ack-to-form Kevin Wolbert raced to his third win of the meeting for the Tigers with Rusty Harrison third to complete a 53-37 win and book a quarter-final tie with Newcastle.Wolbert said: “The team is getting better and better now. Of course we can win the Cup - if you start off that bad, something good must be coming on the end.“I scored some good points - over ten - and we tried hard. The boys have made a good job of the track the last two meetings, and that is what we need, a grippy track.”Rye House manager John Sampford said: “The reason why we lost on aggregate is very clear – we had no facility for Mathieu Tresarrieu. National League guests are unfortunately no replacement at all.“I couldn’t ask any more from Ben Morley (on Saturday) than to score five from the No.2 position, but the prospects for a National League man coming here as an away rider in that same No.2 position are pretty low.”(FIXTURES)
MONDAY JUNE 16:BRITISH FINAL: Wolverhampton 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Devon 6.30
TUESDAY JUNE 17:LEAGUE CUP S/F 1st leg: Peterborough v Workington 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Stoke 7.30
WEDNESDAY JUNE 18:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30, Poole v Leicester 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 19:LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.45
FRIDAY JUNE 20:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Poole 7.30, Lakeside v King’s Lynn 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Rye House 7.30, Scunthorpe v Ipswich 7.30, Somerset v Glasgow 7.30
