(SPEEDWAY 1 - SUNDAY REVIEW)
PETERBOROUGH defeated Redcar 51-41 at the Showground to move to within two points of the top of the Premier League table.The Panthers saw a 12-point cushion reduced to just four before teen talent Robert Lambert and skipper Ulrich Ostergaard claimed a couple of crucial heat advantages late on.Lambert collected a dozen points whilst Ostergaard marked his first appearance at No.1 with paid-13, and newcomer Emil Grondal scored paid-six.Panthers boss Carl Johnson said: “Redcar might be struggling at the bottom of the table, but this was never going to be an easy meeting as they have riders who are very capable at the Showground.“The crowd deserved a good performance and they got one apart from two-or-three races when we struggled to get out of the start and let Redcar back into the meeting. But we got back on top in the final few races and ensured we picked up the result we needed in what is our only home meeting of the month as things stand.”In the National Trophy Mildenhall and Eastbourne drew 44-44 at West Row, as the Eagles moved to within two points of Rye House at the top of the group.Both sides had a rider withdrawn from the meeting as Luke Ruddick (leg) crashed out for the Fen Tigers and Richard Andrews (thumb) came to grief in the early stages.The Eagles’ Bradley Wilson-Dean completed a 15-point maximum in Heat 15 as he got the better of home duo Dan Halsey and Connor Mountain.
(SPEEDWAY 2 - MONDAY PREVIEW)
BELLE Vue can boost their top four position in the Elite League on Monday - as a home win over Lakeside will take them six points clear of the chasing pack.But Aces chief Chris Morton is urging his side to treat the Hammers with respect, with the visitors having recruited Davey Watt and Paul Starke to replace injured duo Kim Nilsson and Ashley Birks.Morton said: “Historically, Lakeside have always performed well at Belle Vue due to its similarity with Arena Essex and so on that basis their position in the league table becomes rather insignificant.“Things have really been picking up for them lately and as a result there’s a fresh element of confidence about them, so we shouldn’t be taking anything they present us with for granted.“We’ve had some very entertaining matches recently but from a management point of view, we can’t afford to continue to leave things until the last minute and take our matches down to the wire.”Meanwhile Wolverhampton will be at full strength for their Midlands derby against Leicester at Monmore Green.Reserve Lewis Blackbird crashed at Swindon on Thursday but came through his Premier League match for Peterborough yesterday - whilst skipper Peter Karlsson was involved in a road accident on his way back from Blunsdon which saw his van written off, but he thankfully emerged unscathed.Karlsson said: “It was really nasty, but luckily nobody was hurt and we could climb out the van which was a miracle really given the state the van was in.“It’s very important we get back to winning ways on Monday, and there is no better place for us to do it than Monmore Green. We’ve been going through a tough time and confidence is low, but hopefully we can pick ourselves up on Monday to come away with a win to get our season going again.”The Lions bring in Robert Lambert and Charles Wright to replace injured duo Grzegorz Walasek and Josh Auty respectively.Manager Norrie Allan said: “Our form at home has picked up with three straight wins but there is still work to do on our travels. “The Wolves team are pretty sharp on their track and rarely lose there but they are just three match points ahead of us in the table and if we are to improve our position then it is a venue where we have to win.”In the City Gearboxes National League, Coventry give a debut to Jamie Halder at reserve as they travel to Kent for their seventh away match of the season - having yet to race a league fixture at home!Halder will be joined by guest George Hunter as Conor Dwyer is ruled out with rib damage, whilst rider replacement is in operation for shoulder injury victim Luke Crang.Storm boss Laurence Rogers said: “We’re working with both Jamie and Callum (Walker) to give them both a chance. They are two good 16-year-old kids, so I want to give them both as much of an opportunity as I can.“Being without two riders is a blow but we’ve been to Kent once so most of the boys have had experience of riding there, and hopefully we can put that to good use on Monday.”
(FIXTURES)
MONDAY JULY 6:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Lakeside Off, Wolverhampton v Leicester OFFCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Coventry 6.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 8:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Peterborough 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Stoke 7.30, King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30
THURSDAY JULY 9:PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Rye House 7.30, Redcar v Somerset 7.30, Sheffield v Berwick 7.30
FRIDAY JULY 10:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 7.30, Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30, Scunthorpe v Peterborough 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Somerset v Plymouth 7.30
