THE BUSIEST day of the British Speedway season is almost upon us – with no fewer than 12 matches taking place on Good Friday.

Traditionally a time for bumper crowds across the sport, the start of the holiday period offers opportunities for supporters – and riders! – to take in multiple meetings, with action at all three levels.All eight Elite League clubs are in action on Good Friday along with the continuation of the League Cup programme, a Scottish derby and the beginning of official business in the City Gearboxes National League.*RACING gets underway on the South coast at 11am with defending Elite League champions Poole taking on Swindon in the first of two clashes between the teams on the same day.Josh Grajczonek makes his return for the Pirates having agreed a short-term deal to replace the injured Davey Watt, although he is unavailable for the return fixture at the Abbey Stadium in the evening, with Rory Schlein booked to cover.Swindon are at full-strength in the morning, whilst the evening fixture sees them bring in James Wright to stand-in for brother Charles – and their 2014 team member Nathan Greaves guests for Paul Starke for the Pirates.Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “We have not had the best fortune so far this year taking three knocks already but on the plus side we have seen some really good performances from Dak (Dakota North), Kacper (Gomolski) and Paul as our three new boys have quickly settled in."We have recalled Josh to cover for Davey and I know that he will be keen to shine again for us and Swindon will, like King's Lynn did, provide us with a good barometer to measure ourselves against.”Robins boss Alun Rossiter said: “It’s a busy day with racing home and away, and I can understand there will have been some mixed feelings about starting with these fixtures because of the general view that Poole set the bar and appear to be favourites again. “It’s a good thing to go up against Poole right away, and it will give us an immediate pointer as to where we’re at. I’m confident in our position, I’m happy with what I’ve seen so far – it may take a bit of time to reach our full potential, but it won’t be too long.”*BELLE VUE open their season at midday with the traditional Kirkmanshulme Lane Good Friday clash with Wolverhampton.The Aces hand debuts to Max Fricke and Steve Worrall whilst Simon Stead is back with the club for the first time since 2006. Wolves have called up Carl Wilkinson to guest for the unavailable Lewis Blackbird at reserve.Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “The fact that Wolverhampton have had more matches than we have doesn’t put them at an advantage, after all they’ve already had an early injury scare with Tobiasz Musielak. But at the same time, we know this is a team that always goes well around our track.“It’s not going to be an easy meeting, but I’m confident the management has assembled a good team for me to work with and I believe they’re more than capable of rising to the challenge.”Wolves youngster Josh Bates will be racing in the middle event of three meetings in just over 24 hours, as he also lines up for his Premier League club Sheffield on Thursday and Friday evenings.He said: “It’s busy but it’s challenging and it’s something I enjoy. I just love riding my bike and I want to do well for both my clubs.”*LAKESIDE are hoping to turn the tables on King’s Lynn when the sides meet at Purfleet in a 1pm start.The Hammers were beaten 58-34 by the Stars in their away fixture earlier this week, and promoter Jon Cook is calling for a rapid response.Steve Boxall replaces the unavailable Ashley Birks for the Hammers, whilst the Stars bring in Kevin Doolan for the injured Nicklas Porsing although Lewis Kerr is fit to take his place.Cook said: “Good Friday is a real season highlight and we have a red hot team visiting, which means we need to be at our best to take the win and make amends for a generally inept performance on Tuesday night in Norfolk.”*COVENTRY and Leicester meet for the second time this season after the Lions took the early honours on aggregate in the East Midlands Bowl.But the Bees have won both of their home matches so far and boss Gary Havelock hopes their strength in depth continues to serve them well.The home side hope to be at full strength, as they await confirmation over Stuart Robson’s fitness, whilst Max Fricke guests for the injured Mikkel Michelsen for the Lions, with Rory Schlein due to stand in on Saturday when the sides meet again at Leicester.Havelock said: “Leicester are bringing in some good guests this weekend and these are going to be two tough meetings.“Hopefully we’re going to start off on the right foot by winning at home, and if we do that it should give us the confidence to go up there on Saturday and put on a good show.”Lions boss Norrie Allan said: “I am looking for a great deal of improvement from the team on Friday after a below par show at Lakeside the previous week because we owe our fans a big performance. “We just did not get going at all during the first seven races and whilst we scored better in the latter period the damage had already been done.”*IN the League Cup, the action gets underway at 1.45pm with Ipswich facing Peterborough at Foxhall – and the teams then meet again at the Showground in the evening.Both sides require guests to cover injuries and unavailability, with the Witches bringing in Luke Bowen for Stefan Nielsen in the afternoon, and Kevin Doolan for Danny King in the evening, whilst skipper Ritchie Hawkins will make a late decision on his fitness.The Panthers have called up Jason Garrity to replace Robert Lambert in the afternoon, with Lambert returning for the later fixture – although namesake Simon then misses out in the evening.*REDCAR and Sheffield meet for the second time in 24-hours, with the Bears looking for success on their home circuit after losing out to Workington last week in the A66 Trophy.Manager Jitendra Duffill said: “My priority this week is to win our home fixture. One defeat at home will surely end our League Cup campaign. Sheffield will be very fierce competition and I feel this will be a big challenge for us. “Josh Bates could be a headache as he has scored well at the Media Prima Arena in the past and we will need a contribution from everybody to win this meeting. We need one or two people to really step it up and score above their average and I'm keen to see our riders rise to the occasion.”*SOMERSET open their home League Cup campaign with the visit of Plymouth in the first West Country derby of the season.A full-strength Rebels team will see Charles Wright return after missing out at Rye House last weekend, whilst the Devils have named Rusty Harrison, Simon Nielsen and Matt Bates as guest replacements for Kyle Newman, Ashley Morris and Sam Chapman.Somerset promoter Debbie Hancock said: “There is always something special about a local derby, and this one with Plymouth is no different, especially with there being vital League Cup points being at stake.“On top of that, Friday night will be Jack Holder’s debut racing in the UK, and if reports of the clashes between him and our own Brady Kurtz in Australia are anything to go by, then the fans could be in for a real treat as they watch these two up and coming youngsters go head-to-head for the first time in British Speedway.”*EDINBURGH are looking to pull back a six-point deficit in the second leg of the Spring Trophy as rivals Glasgow visit Armadale.Monarchs skipper Craig Cook is happy with his team for their Premier League defence, which will include Erik Riss who is fit to resume after his crash in the first leg.Cook said: “It’s a team I’m looking forward to being involved with and being captain is just the icing on the cake. I’m really looking forward to the season because I think we will have some more silverware.”Glasgow have recruited Kenneth Hansen and ex-Monarch Steve Worrall to cover for absent heat-leaders Richard Lawson and Nick Morris, whilst Ellis Perks replaces James Sarjeant.Tigers star Kozza Smith said: “We'll hopefully at least run them close and put a bit of pressure on them, so that they're worried when we come back with our full side. “I'll hopefully get a bagful of points myself. Edinburgh's not a track I've mastered yet, but I'm hoping I can. I don't like to be defeated. I'll keep trying and trying until I get it.”*THE first fixture in the City Gearboxes National League takes place at Perry Barr as Birmingham host Stoke for the first time since 2010 when the clubs were both in the Premier League.The Brummies took confidence from their ‘away’ win over Cradley in last week’s Travel Plus Challenge, and they face a Potters team who will be racing for the first time this season.Birmingham skipper Tom Perry said: “We’re not going to be complacent at all – we need to treat the meeting as though they’ve had just as much track time as us and we know that all seven of us need to be on top of our game to give us the best chance of getting off to a winning start.“They’ve got a team of riders who’ve all got previous National League experience and that could be a big bonus for them over the course of the season.”Stoke captain Jon Armstrong said: “I’m looking forward to the season and cannot wait to get going against Birmingham. Everyone in the team is eager to get the campaign underway and I feel once we get a few meetings under our belts we could surprise a few people, as many people seem to have underestimated us.”*EASTBOURNE stage their first meeting of the new era at Arlington, with Kent providing the opposition in the National Trophy.The Eagles have suffered a pre-meeting blow with No.1 David Mason ruled out due to flu, and they have called up Dan Greenwood to guest.Chairman Martin Dugard said: “Kent at home is a perfect start for us. A local derby on Good Friday has long been the tradition at Eastbourne and it is fantastic to renew rivalries with a team from Kent, remembering the huge battles we had with Canterbury in the old second division.“We expect Kent will give us a tough battle but we will start the season on a winning note and set a marker for the other clubs in the league.”

(GOOD FRIDAY FIXTURE SUMMARY – BY START-TIME)

ELITE LEAGUEPoole v Swindon 11amBelle Vue v Wolverhampton 12pmLakeside v King’s Lynn 1pmCoventry v Leicester 7.30pmSwindon v Poole 7.30pm

LEAGUE CUPIpswich v Peterborough 1.45pmPeterborough v Ipswich 7.30pmRedcar v Sheffield 7.30pmSomerset v Plymouth 7.30pm

CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUEBirmingham v Stoke 8pm

NATIONAL TROPHYEastbourne v Kent 7.30pm

SPRING TROPHY 2nd legEdinburgh v Glasgow 7.30pm