(SPEEDWAY 1 - FRIDAY REVIEW)
PETERBOROUGH stunned Premier League title rivals Edinburgh with a dramatic 45-44 away win at Armadale on Friday.The Panthers racked up their seventh away win of the season, and their fifth in the league, having made the perfect choice of guest in Ricky Wells who top-scored with 15+1.Wells and Robert Lambert packed the minor places in a last-heat decider behind Monarchs top man Craig Cook, who scored 15, but crucially ahead of his team-mate Kevin Wolbert.Peterborough co-promoter Ged Rathbone said: “We’ve had some terrific results on the road, but this is probably the pick of the bunch. To go to a tough place like Edinburgh with two of our most influential riders out injured and win is brilliant.“I cannot praise the guys enough. They all contributed to a great result on another memorable night for Peterborough Speedway.”Edinburgh manager Alex Harkess said: “I was very disappointed with our performance, too many were below par. I’m not complaining about the result but we are capable of doing much better – perhaps we’ve had too many easy matches here recently and got complacent.”Somerset recovered from their double defeat at the hands of Plymouth by seeing off Redcar 55-38 at the Oaktree Arena to move back into the top four.The Rebels were only five points ahead after Heat 12 thanks to an 8-1 for the Bears, but the home side stretched clear with 5-1s in each of the last three races as Brady Kurtz struck a 15-point maximum.Somerset boss Garry May said: “Whilst Brady was untouchable all night, this was a good all-round team performance, which made the win even more pleasing, as was seeing Ollie (Greenwood) record his first race win for Somerset since joining the club last month.“Even when Redcar scored that 8-1 in Heat 12 to get themselves back to within five points of us, I just knew with the riders we had coming out over those final three heats that we would be to strong for them, and so it proved, so all-in-all it was an excellent night's work by the boys.”Plymouth kept up their push for a play-off place with a 54-39 win over close rivals Ipswich at the St Boniface Arena.The result moves the Devils to within five points of the Witches, and they still have three matches in hand.A consistent team performance from the home side was led by reserve Todd Kurtz with 11+1, whilst Danny King dominated for the Witches with 16.Plymouth co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “Because of the league position of the two teams it was a big meeting for both sides. After the last two weekends with victories over Edinburgh and Somerset we are now in a position as serious play-off contenders.“Ipswich came here looking for at least a point, and this result could be crucial come the end of the season.”Meanwhile Scunthorpe gained ground on Newcastle with a 54-38 win over the Diamonds at the Eddie Wright Raceway.Dutchman Theo Pijper piled up 15+2 for the Scorpions, who are now only three points adrift of Redcar and Newcastle as they seek to avoid the wooden spoon.In the City Gearboxes National League, King’s Lynn dedicated their impressive 57-36 win over title-chasing Eastbourne to Lewis Kerr following his serious crash last weekend.Kerr started his career with the Young Stars and his former team put in a powerful display at the Adrian Flux Arena led by teenager Ryan Kinsley (13) and Tom Stokes (12).King’s Lynn boss Dale Allitt said: “That win was for Lewi. The guys rode really well and we deserved our victory. “I was pleased with how they attacked the track early on and gave us a good foundation to build on.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 - SATURDAY PREVIEW)
EDINBURGH commence a Southern tour with a Premier League trip to Rye House on Saturday.The Monarchs were knocked off top spot with Glasgow’s win at Redcar earlier this week and missed the chance to regain ground when they lost at home to Peterborough on Friday.The home side operate rider replacement for Nikolaj B Jakobsen, who is a reserve for the Danish Grand Prix, but manager John Sampford believes his side can overcome that issue.He said: “We’ve also got to deal with an absence - although everyone in the team will be able to take a replacement ride for Nikolaj - but everyone is totally fired up at the moment. “There was a really positive atmosphere in the pits during last Saturday’s win over Newcastle, and we will go into this one focused and with the right attitude. We’ve already proven the potential of this team when things click, and we are absolutely determined to do it again on Saturday.”Edinburgh boss John Campbell said: “We will be without Erik Riss as he rides in the European Under 21 team championship in Sweden. That competition is not recognised by the BSPA so we can only use a National League guest in his place. “That’s a blow to us for sure but he will be back for Peterborough on Sunday.”Meanwhile fourth-placed Somerset visit Workington, who are eighth in the table but boast a 100 per cent home record in the league at Derwent Park this season.In the City Gearboxes National League, Stoke and Coventry meet at Loomer Road with both sides still eyeing a place in the Gold Cup for the top four finishers.Potters boss Malcolm Vasey feels his side are improving as the campaign goes on, whilst the Storm give a debut to new signing Mark Baseby ahead of a double-header at Brandon on Sunday afternoon.Vasey said: “We are gaining confidence with every meeting and we believe we have a chance of making the top four. We’ve never dropped our heads and will be looking to continue on from where we left off with Kent and gain all three points. “We are fully aware that Coventry will be one of the clubs competing with us for the final Gold Cup place and realise the importance of getting the points in the bag not only on Saturday, but on Sunday also.”Coventry boss Laurence Rogers said: “It’s an important weekend for us, it’s the weekend to start the ball rolling and make sure that the Gold Cup is a realistic aim.“We’ve already achieved 12 points away from Brandon, which is a fantastic achievement, and we aim to get more at Stoke on Saturday.”
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY AUGUST 8:PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Edinburgh 7pm, Workington v Somerset 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Coventry 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 9:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Redcar 3pm, Newcastle v Workington 6.30, Peterborough v Edinburgh 5pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v King’s Lynn 2pm, Coventry v Stoke (follows previous fixture), Eastbourne v Buxton 3.30, Rye House v Mildenhall 3pm
MONDAY AUGUST 10:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Lakeside 7.30, Wolverhampton v Swindon 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Buxton 6.30
TUESDAY AUGUST 11:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Belle Vue 7.30FAST GOLDEN HAMMER: Cradley 7.30
