(SPEEDWAY 1)
BRITISH Champion Tai Woffinden kicks off the defence of his title in Wednesday’s second semi-final at King’s Lynn.It will be the World Championship leader’s first competitive appearance in the UK this season after he elected to sit out Elite League racing in 2015.Woffinden said: “I’m looking forward to riding at King’s Lynn again, it’s a great track and my first priority is to finish in the top seven without any problems.“Winning the British title is high on my agenda once again this year, it means a lot and I know how much it means to people winning it.“It’s been tough for me to arrange things to get to King’s Lynn for a one-off meeting because I don’t have bikes in England, but I’ll be there and I will be giving it my very best.“I’m looking forward to riding in front of the British fans once again and I won’t be taking anything for granted. There will be no complacency on my part.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 – MONDAY REVIEW)
KING’S Lynn consolidated their second position in the Elite League table with a 50-40 win at Wolverhampton on Monday – inflicting the Monmore club’s first home defeat of the season.The Stars made an inspired guest booking at reserve in Steve Worrall after Lewis Kerr pulled out having aggravated a hip injury, Worrall scoring 14 points including four race wins.Wolves called up Chris Harris to guest for Freddie Lindgren on the day of the meeting after his planned appearance for Poole at Belle Vue was rained-off, and he top-scored for the home side on 9+1, but the Stars took all four league points.The meeting was subject to a half-hour delay after heavy rain at start-time, and Wolves skipper Peter Karlsson admitted the changing conditions had been a factor in the home defeat.He said: “The track conditions caught us out really. We’ve had a really nice run at home, but the rain we had really levelled the playing field big time and probably benefitted the away team more than us unfortunately.“Fair play to King’s Lynn, they rode very well and deserved the win but I’m sure with normal conditions we would have done much better.”Elsewhere, Kent defeated Wimbledon 57-35 in the John Cearns Cup challenge at Central Park with Danny Ayres top-scoring for the home side on 13 points. Darryl Ritchings was the top Dons rider on 12.
(SPEEDWAY 3)
LEWIS Bridger is back in the Elite League after agreeing a deal to join Leicester.Bridger, who rode for Lakeside last season but looked set to take a year out of the sport, replaces Mikkel Michelsen who has quit the Lions, and the GB man will make his debut at Swindon on Thursday.Manager Norrie Allan said: “On his day, Lewis is one of the most talented British riders and we have worked out a deal to make it possible for him to race in the Elite League again. “As Lewis is starting the season two months after everyone else we offered him practice facilities at Leicester which he has taken up in order for him to get himself back into the swing of racing again.“Mikkel contacted me to say that he doesn’t have the will or motivation for British Speedway anymore and didn’t want to waste the club’s time. “I must stress that like Bjarne (Pedersen), it was nothing to do with how Mikkel was being treated at Leicester. Far from it as we have kept our promises to each and every one one of our riders and could not be fairer in the way we treat the team.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
STEFAN Farnaby has joined Mildenhall after being released from National League rivals Coventry.Farnaby fills a vacant reserve position for the Fen Tigers whilst the Storm have moved for 15-year-old prospect Jamie Halder.Mildenhall promoter Kevin Jolly said: “It has been a long and difficult process to find a seventh rider, there simply aren't that many three-pointers available at present. We have settled on Stefan and will look to work with him to get his career going forward.“We don’t expect miracles from him, but feel with the support and guidance we can give him he is more than capable of picking up some valuable points for us at the bottom of the order.”Coventry boss Laurence Rogers said: “I’ve watched Jamie with great interest coming through the 125cc class and up to 500cc, we’ve used him in the Midland Development League and I went to Scunthorpe for the British Youth Championship specifically to watch him.“He’s only been riding at 500cc level this year but I was very impressed with him, we had a long talk and the outcome is that he’s now a Storm rider. He’s definitely a talent, and I know there have been other clubs after him.”(FIXTURES)
WEDNESDAY MAY 20:BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: King’s Lynn 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 21:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Leicester 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Ipswich v Berwick 7.30; 1st leg: Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 22:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Scunthorpe 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Plymouth v Ipswich 7.15
