(SPEEDWAY 1 – FRIDAY REVIEW)

COVENTRY extended their lead at the top of the Elite League table to ten points with a last-gasp 47-42 away win at Lakeside on Friday.The Bees trailed by four points with two heats to go but collected a 5-0 in Heat 14 after Mikkel Bech crashed out and then team-mate Richard Lawson stopped whilst leading the re-run.Danny King, who scored 13, then combined with captain Chris Harris for a 5-1 over Edward Kennett and guest Freddie Lindgren in the decisive Heat 15 as the visitors secured their fourth away win of the season.Harris said: “We had a bit of luck for the first time this year in Heat 14 when Richard stopped, and that 5-0 got us back into it. “Then I made one of my lightning starts, missed it, and watched the other three go into the first corner, and when Eddie moved Danny out I thought the corner had opened up and I could pick where I wanted to go. “I made a good cutback and tried to stop Eddie’s run, Danny was just ahead of him so I wanted to hopefully make Eddie slow down, Danny got round the outside and the rest was history really, we went and got the 5-1! We’re pleased with the win, and now we move on to the next one.”Peterborough continued their flawless start to the Premier League season with a third successive victory, this time away at Plymouth.The Panthers eased to a 52-40 triumph at the St Boniface Arena to go a point clear at the top of the standings, despite losing youngster Robert Lambert to illness on the day of the meeting.Skipper Ulrich Ostergaard piled up 14+1 for the visitors with guest Ben Barker (12+1) and Lewis Blackbird (11+1) also in double-figures, whilst Kyle Newman scored 9+2 for the home side.Panthers boss Carl Johnson said: “It might be early days, but it is a good feeling to be top of the table. It was another terrific all-round team performance to continue what has been an excellent start to the league.“Ben did a terrific job as a guest. His performance on the track and his attitude off it were both very impressive. Ulrich scored a stack of points and Lewis produced a couple of the best rides I’ve ever seen him have to win his last two races.”Plymouth manager Lee Trigger said: “It was a poor show and we let the supporters down again. We did not make the starts and did not perform as a team.“It means we will be playing catch up in the Premier League. We will have to have a good look at ourselves because we cannot afford to go on losing at home.”Somerset ran up a hefty 63-29 win over previous leaders Sheffield at the Oaktree Arena to complete a quickfire double over the Tigers.Brady Kurtz, Paul Starke and guest Kyle Howarth all scored paid maximums as the Rebels finished with four straight 5-1s, whilst Sheffield guests Nick Morris and Anders Mellgren both walked away from a nasty crash in Heat 13.Somerset boss Garry May said: “It was an excellent all-round team performance and a good way to get our home league campaign underway against what was a strong looking Sheffield side.“I think we are now seeing the benefit of the new lads in the team getting to grips with the Oaktree Arena, and although it is early days yet, we certainly have our eyes on those end of season play-offs.”Champions Edinburgh raced to a 53-39 win over Scunthorpe despite skipper Craig Cook taking no further part after a crash in his third ride.Sam Masters and Kevin Wolbert both collected 15-point maximums for the Monarchs, who overcame the Heat 11 setback where Cook shed a chain and went heavily over the handlebars.Monarchs boss Alex Harkess said: “We were always comfortable and our heat leaders dominated the match. I was pleased that Max Clegg had some good rides.”Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We walk away from Edinburgh with our heads held up high. We made a meeting out of it. There are a lot of teams that we will leave Armadale with far less points than we achieved.“When I look at their team and look at ours, and how both sets of riders go at the Eddie Wright Raceway, I’m convinced we can beat them around our place on Bank Holiday Monday.”In the City Gearboxes National League, King’s Lynn were 56-37 winners over Buxton at the Adrian Flux Arena with No.1 James Cockle leading the way with a four-ride full maximum whilst Tom Stokes added 11. Ryan Blacklock (12+2) and Tony Atkin (11+1) dominated the scoring for the Hitmen.Buxton boss Jason Pipe said: “We scored more points than we did (here) last season! King’s Lynn are really good at home and you have to be really fit to ride here. I was particularly chuffed with Ryan – he’s pulled his arms out tonight! He was well supported by Tony.“We’ve had to cover for Paul (Bowen) and Cameron (Hoskins) tonight and the guys who replaced them are not quite ready yet, but we’ve given them a chance and you’ve seen how well they performed in the MDL match once they got ‘dialed-in’ to the track.”

(SPEEDWAY 2 – SATURDAY PREVIEW)

BERWICK and Workington meet twice this weekend to round off the group fixtures in the Border section of the League Cup.Edinburgh currently top the standings on 13 points, a total which could be matched by Workington if they take maximum points available – although the Comets would also need to overcome a points difference deficit of 62 to go above the Monarchs.However, second place in the group could also be enough to reach the semi-finals and Glasgow have also finished on 13, but with a current points difference advantage of 37 over Workington.Saturday’s fixture takes place at Shielfield Park with Hynek Stichauer making his rain-delayed debut for the Bandits, whilst the Comets bring in Steve Worrall to guest for Ricky Wells (GP qualifier) and operate rider-replacement for the injured Rusty Harrison.In the National League, Rye House face a “challenging weekend” according to boss Andrew Silver, starting with Saturday’s home fixture against Kent.Silver said: “Kent are a team my father is heavily involved with and the fixture will no doubt drag up mixed emotions for me. “They say speedway is family entertainment - never has this been more the case for me. Let’s hope it stays a sporting one!”Meanwhile Stoke host Birmingham at Loomer Road in a rapid return from Wednesday’s encounter which the Brummies won 51-39.However, they will be without high-scoring reserve Zach Wajtknecht due to a foreign commitment, with No.8 Robert Parker stepping into the team.Stoke skipper Jon Armstrong said: “We are getting better with each ride that we get. This is only our fourth meeting of the season and second match in the league while some of the Birmingham lads have ridden a lot more than us, but we are all getting sharper with every race. “I’m looking forward to getting back to Loomer Road where we can attack the track and hopefully get an early lead and maintain that throughout the meeting. We had some great support on Wednesday night and we want to repay our supporters with a victory on Saturday.”Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “Zach won't be riding because unfortunately he's involved in a longtrack meeting in Germany that he can't get out of.“Missing the big points he's been scoring for the team will be a huge blow, but it's down to the rest of the team to go out there and give it their all to give us the chance of coming away from Stoke with some points.”(SPEEDWAY 3)

INJURED Sheffield hero Simon Stead admits he has been through some dark days over the last fortnight. The Tigers side are using guest riders for Stead after his crash at Rye House a fortnight ago where he suffered a broken upper arm and femur. He’s back home after his release from the Northern General Hospital earlier this week and says he’s feeling comfortable. “It’s been tough, I won’t pretend,” said Stead. “The journey from Cambridge to Sheffield in the ambulance was a nightmare, they took me off pain control two hours before the trip and it was horrendous. “Now I’m back home and I’m a lot more comfortable. I’ve never been so relieved to have a shower in my own house, I feel fresher and a lot brighter mentally. “There have been days when I have literally been out of it because of the morphine, but now I feel happier in my own surroundings. “I also want to thank everyone who has sent get well messages, it’s kept me going on some days knowing how many people care about you. “This has been a prime example of where Speedway is a pretty special sport when a rider gets hurt and I want to thank everyone for that.” Stead is refusing to talk in-depth about whether he will make a track return after this latest injury setback.“I can’t comment on that really, I’m not in any rush to make that decision anyway,” he said. “I have to focus on getting myself right. I’m in good hands, the specialist who is taking care of me is Simon Royston, he understands what I do and thankfully the operations on the arm and leg have been a success.”

(FIXTURES)

SATURDAY MAY 2:LEAGUE CUP: Berwick v Workington 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Kent 7pm, Stoke v Birmingham 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 3:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Rye House 3pmTRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30LEAGUE CUP: Workington v Berwick 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Cradley 3pm, Eastbourne v Stoke 3.30, Mildenhall v Coventry 3.30

MONDAY MAY 4:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Lakeside 7.30, Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30, Wolverhampton v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Sheffield 1.45, Rye House v Somerset 2pm, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 3pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Kent v Mildenhall 3pm, Rye House v Eastbourne (follows PL fixture)CHALLENGE: Scunthorpe Stags v Halifax Dukes (follows PL fixture)