(SPEEDWAY 1)
ROBERT Lambert has spoken of his delight at receiving a World Cup call-up.The 17 year-old sensation’s rapid rise continued as he made the final cut for Great Britain to race in Event Two on his home Elite League track King’s Lynn on June 8.Lambert, who also rides for Premier League high-flyers Peterborough, joins former world champion Tai Woffinden, Grand Prix ace Chris Harris and Danny King in the line-up to face Australia, America and Latvia.Lambert said: “It was an honour just to be named in the provisional squad so to make the final team is another big step for me.“I feel ready for the challenge but I’m not going to put myself under any pressure. I will soak up the atmosphere and get everything I can out of the experience.“I’m sure people will expect me to do well as I’m riding at one of my home tracks and hopefully I can help us reach the final.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
KING’S Lynn’s Kenneth Bjerre has been ruled out of the Elite League clash with Poole at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday.Bjerre missed the Stars’ away meeting at Coventry on Bank Holiday Monday with a hand injury, but was hopeful of returning to face the Pirates. However, after visiting the doctor, Bjerre has been told that will not be able to race.With fellow heat-leader Rory Schlein on the long-term injury list, the Stars bring in Sam Masters as a guest against a full-strength Pirates who took over in second place in the table with their win over Leicester on Wednesday. Lewis Kerr does return at reserve for the home side.King’s Lynn boss Rob Lyon said: “Kenneth has been to his doctor and the news is not good. He has burns to his hand as well as bruising and swelling. He had hoped to return to the side, but he needs to let that hand heal.“Injuries are part and parcel of our sport, we all are aware of that and we have had more than our fair share of them in recent years. They are never easy to deal with or cover for, but we must stay positive and move forward and look to continue protecting our unbeaten home record against Poole.”In the Premier League, Redcar host Ipswich with the Bears back to their full line-up as Jan Graversen returns from injury.Manager Jitendra Duffill said: “There is no obvious weak link in the Ipswich team so the result will boil down to who is the best team on the night. Again we need to see a contribution throughout the team with everybody riding to the best of their ability. “Rafal (Konopka) and Ben (Morley) have both shown steady improvement at home so far this season and I'm looking forward to watching both of them progress further, their contribution will again be vital during this meeting.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
COVENTRY No.1 Hans Andersen faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering a broken finger in Tuesday’s Elite League match at Swindon.The Danish star fell heavily in a first-bend incident in Heat 13 and although he was able to walk away, he has suffered the injury to the tip of his left ring finger.Bees boss Gary Havelock said: “I’ve seen pictures of the X-rays, which don’t look pleasant, and all we can do is wish Hans all the best and hope he’ll be back with us soon. “That was very much the attitude of the team after seeing their No.1 get hurt and they showed real spirit again to still get us a point at Swindon after that crash and Jason’s (Garrity) disqualification in Heat 14.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
PETER Kildemand will ride in one final meeting for Swindon in 2015 in the trip to Wolverhampton on Monday. The popular Dane has only figured in two meetings for the Robins since signing as a temporary replacement earlier this month but will be in action at Monmore with Adrian Miedzinski due to return after the World Cup break.Robins manager Alun Rossiter said: “Peter has had a tough time with his knee injury and he doesn't want to overload his schedule. We've persuaded him to help us for one final meeting this year and then we will revert to our original team declaration.“Our next meeting after Monday isn't for a few more weeks so hopefully that will give Adrian a bit more time to recover and we hope he'll be back for the Belle Vue meeting on the 18th.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
KENT have confirmed crowd-pleaser James Shanes has become a full asset of the club after an impressive start to his Central Park career.Kings co-promoter Len Silver has completed a deal with the promotion of Shanes’s former club Plymouth for the talented teenager who is also an accomplished grass and longtrack rider.Shanes said: “I am very happy at Kent and so far I think it has been a good move in my career. To be fully contracted to such an ambitious club can only be good for me and for the Kings’ fans. “I’d like especially to thank Len Silver for all his help. He encouraged me to race League Speedway this year when I was considering sticking just to Grass and Long Track and his advice every week is just invaluable.”
(SPEEDWAY 6)
GREAT Britain will have four representatives in this weekend’s World Under-21 semi-finals.British Under-21 Champion Kyle Howarth competes in Round 1 in Pardubice Czech Republic on Friday, with Stefan Nielsen, Ashley Morris and Josh Bates all competing on Saturday - Nielsen and Morris in Terranzano, Italy whilst Bates makes the long trek to Zarnovica, Slovakia with places in the three-round Final at stake.GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “All four boys have been getting ready for these events since being confirmed after the British Under-21 Final in April, and are all chomping at the bit with the chance to qualify for the prestige of riding in not one but three World Finals.“Kyle is in top form at the moment as we all witnessed on Sky Sports on Tuesday night, not only competing but beating seasoned internationals, and he would rate as Britain's best hope of making the latter stages of this competition.“The other three boys, it would be fair to say are all underdogs, but not to being taken lightly as Josh only missed out of qualification last year after falling when leading his first ride when on the last lap. If he had completed that race he would have competed in the latter stages the tournament.“We all know about the British sprit and when up against it, all four boys can be spoilers on their day, and if their day is this weekend there’s no reason why we can’t have more than one representative in this year’s World Finals.“Our thanks to the BSPA and SCB for their support in this event and also to Poole co-promoter Gordon Pairman for supplying each of the riders three tyres to use in their Semi Finals.”
(SPEEDWAY 7 - THURSDAY REVIEW)
INJURY-HIT King’s Lynn raced to a 48-45 Elite League win over top-three rivals Poole - and immediately dedicated their victory to stricken skipper Rory Schlein.The Australian remains in hospital in Poland with back injuries and his side were also missing fellow heat-leader Kenneth Bjerre, but the remaining Stars and guest Sam Masters dug in to defeat the Pirates.In fact, the Stars were 12 points ahead after Heat 7 before the visitors fought back strongly to force a last-heat decider - but home duo Robert Lambert and Niels-Kristian Iversen held off Poole skipper Maciej Janowski to secure the win.Lambert scored 11+2 for King’s Lynn whilst former World Champion Chris Holder was again in-form for the Pirates with 17.Stars boss Rob Lyon said: “We did it for the captain tonight and it was a great performance, I am proud of the whole team. “Everybody was important and did what they had to do. That was needed. When it is a meeting like that and its backs to the wall, our supporters responded in a great way and that is superb to see.“Fair play to Poole, they came hard at us after the interval and we felt that would happen at some point. We hung on in the end, but we deserved it.”Meanwhile Ipswich edged to a 46-44 win at Redcar in the Premier League thanks to a 14-point haul from Danny King and 10+3 from Nico Covatti - but boss Phil Hilton admitted he was expecting a little more.Hilton said: “We knew it wasn't going to be a walkover but we do make things hard for ourselves. We should be coming to tracks like this and take four league points without too much trouble. “We will face a much tougher test against Edinburgh next week and we need some of the inconsistencies sorted out before then. The track was very slick and it was difficult to pass but Danny and Nico coped well and their scores reflect this. Ritchie (Hawkins) also chipped in with that vital Heat 14 win when it mattered.”(SPEEDWAY 8 - FRIDAY PREVIEW)
BELLE Vue boss Mark Lemon insists he is still targeting an away win at Lakeside on Friday - despite being forced into several team changes.The Aces will have four guests on show for the Elite League clash at Purfleet due to World Under-21 and Premier League duty - and bring in three ex-Hammers in Peter Karlsson, Stuart Robson and Ben Morley, with Aaron Summers completing the quartet of stand-ins.Lemon said: “I’ll be looking to our core trio of Scott (Nicholls), Matej (�agar) and Karlsson to lead by example and deliver the goods for us, and hopefully the rest of the boys can chip in to finish the job.“If we only take a point it’ll be better than nothing, but really I want these guys to have the confidence as a unit to bring back a more substantial haul.“They are more than capable of doing that and at least three of our guests are former Lakeside riders so I’m relying on their prior track knowledge to shine through on the night.”In the Premier League, leaders Somerset face Newcastle at the Oaktree Arena, with ex-Rebel Alex Davies booked to guest for Brady Kurtz who is away at his World Under-21 semi-final. The Diamonds have drafted in Nico Covatti, who has scored well at the venue this season, to guest with Steve Worrall (EL duty) and Anton Rosen (injury) missing out.Manager Garry May said: “Whilst losing Brady from Friday’s match is a blow, in Alex (Davies) we have an excellent guest replacement, and he showed when at Somerset with Scunthorpe last Friday that he hasn’t forgotten his way around the Oaktree Arena following his year out from British Speedway in 2014.“Alex was, and still is, a firm favourite with Somerset fans, so I would like to think that they will turn out in force for Friday’s match to see him in Somerset colours once again, whilst cheering on the team as they look to maintain their place at the top of the Premier League table.”Newcastle boss George English said: “Somerset will be very tough on Friday but we expect to haveLewis Kerr and Simon Nielsen which will be a boost, so we will give it our all and see what happens.”Peterborough are only behind Somerset on race points difference ahead of their home clash with Berwick at the Showground.The Panthers have drafted in Lasse Bjerre to guest at number one while they operate the rider replacement facility to cover the absence of injured Lewis Blackbird. The Bandits, meanwhile, call up Ryan Fisher and Jan Graversen to guest with Hynek Stichauer and Claus Vissing on the sidelines.In-form Panthers reserve Simon Lambert, who scored 15+1 against Plymouth on Monday, said: “I’m really enjoying my racing at Peterborough. It’s also great to be riding on my doorstep as it means a lot of my family and friends can get along to support.“Hopefully my good form can continue against Berwick who have started the league season well themselves. But we are proud of our unbeaten record in the league and want to keep it going for as long as we can.”Meanwhile Workington have been hit by injuries to Danish duo Kenneth Hansen and Nicki Barrett as they head to unbeaten Edinburgh.Hansen suffered thigh and rib damage in a crash on Monday whilst Barrett has a possible trapped nerve - and Kyle Howarth also misses the Armadale match due to his World Under-21 semi-final.Theo Pijper and Liam Carr stand in for the Comets, whose owner Laura Morgan said: “Sometimes you just wonder if our luck is ever going to change.“Kenneth felt a fair bit better (on Thursday) and decided to try and race in Sweden, but he soon found out that he was not really up to it. Meanwhile Nicki has been struggling with pain in his shoulder since crashing at Berwick a few weeks ago and has not been able to ride freely. But that has got worse this week and he is currently seeing the doctor back in Denmark.”In the City Gearboxes National League, two teams in the top four meet at Brandon as Coventry face Mildenhall.The Storm are racing their first home fixture after picking up nine points from four matches on the road, but they have never beaten the Fen Tigers on their own circuit.Boss Laurence Rogers said: “This should be a really good meeting against a side just above us in the league table, we need to take three points against them and I think we can do it.“The league itself is very competitive this year and the racing has been good everywhere we’ve gone. I know the coachload of supporters we took to Rye House on Saturday really enjoyed themselves, and now with this being our first home league match hopefully everyone will start getting into it.”(SPEEDWAY 9)
SHEFFELD have confirmed David Bellego will return to their line-up in June.Bellego was involved in the crash at Rye House which also saw Simon Stead ruled out for the Tigers, with Jason Garrity joining as injury cover.With Ty Proctor now out of the club’s plans for 2015 due to visa issues, Bellego will now return in place of the Australian rider.A Tigers club statement said: “Sheffield Speedway are aware of approaches from other clubs to David Bellego at a time when he was earmarked to return to Owlerton once fit.”
(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY MAY 29:ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Workington 7.30, Peterborough v Berwick 7.30, Somerset v Newcastle 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Mildenhall OFF
SATURDAY MAY 30:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Wolverhampton 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Redcar 7.30, Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.15CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Rye House 7pm
SUNDAY MAY 31:PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Berwick 5pmLEAGUE CUP: Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Cradley 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Eastbourne v Birmingham 3.30
