PIC OF THE WEEK...
Glasgow kept up their hunt for the Championship play-offs with a 51-38 win against high-flying Lakeside at Ashfield on Friday.
Picture: TAYLOR LANNING
HERE'S soundbytes and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.
PREMIERSHIP SOUNDBYTES…
BELLE VUE
“The boys put in a phenomenal performance to not only extend the lead but to ensure there were no consolation points going astray. We vowed to bounce back after Poole and we certainly have.”
Aces star Craig Cook was part of a strong all-round effort to defeat reigning champions Swindon 55-35 at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday.
NEXT HOME: Somerset, Mon July 16 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Wolverhampton, Mon July 23 (7.30)
KING’S LYNN
“The vast majority of the fans understood the situation and the lengths the management went to considering the situation. We all wanted the meeting on but you can’t do anything about the incidents that happened. We just need to re-group and stick together as a club.”
Stars man Ty Proctor reflected on a tough night for the club with their home fixture against Leicester abandoned after both Lewis Kerr and Kasper Andersen were hurt in separate crashes.
NEXT HOME: Poole, Mon July 23 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Leicester, Mon July 16 (7.30)
LEICESTER
“No disrespect to Poole, they shouldn’t have won, but it’s always a bit easier when you have a reserve scoring you 18 points and it’s never easy for our reserves going up against someone like Nicolai when he’s scoring so many points compared to ours.”
Lions captain Hans Andersen admitted his side had no real answer to the scoring power at reserve of Nicolai Klindt as they slipped to defeat against Poole on Monday.
NEXT HOME: King’s Lynn, Mon July 16 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Poole, Wed July 25 (7.30)
POOLE
“Nicolai was outstanding, just superb. When you have a reserve in form like he is currently, it makes such a huge difference to the team. When I brought him back to replace Stefan Nielsen because of injury, I hoped this was the kind of performance we’d see from him and now I want him to stay in this kind of form.”
Pirates promoter Matt Ford hails recent signing Nicolai Klindt after the Dane racked up paid-18 in the 47-43 win at Leicester on Monday.
NEXT HOME: Leicester, Wed July 25 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: King’s Lynn. Mon July 23 (7.30)
SOMERSET
“It was another good team performance tonight, much like we had at Poole. Perhaps we were fortunate to meet them on a night they were missing Howarth and Heeps, but you still have to do score the points to win and my boys did that well.”
Garry May’s side continue to build impressive momentum, having ended Wolves’ unbeaten home league record with a 49-41 win at Monmore Green on Monday.
NEXT HOME: Championship Pairs, Fri July 20 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, Mon July 16 (7.30)
SWINDON
“We have a good team and this is just a blip. We do need to pick up more points away from home, we all know that. It was excellent racing all night but we just got caught out on some of the first turns and they are good round this track.”
Robins boss Alun Rossiter refuses to press the panic button after suffering their heaviest defeat of the season at Belle Vue on Monday.
NEXT HOME: Somerset, Thur July 19 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Wolverhampton, Mon July 16 (7.30)
WOLVERHAMPTON
“We’ve looked pretty fragile in our last few home meetings to be honest. Yes we’ve missed Kyle (Howarth) badly but providing he comes through Sheffield’s match on Friday okay, he’ll be back in the side for when Swindon come to us next Monday. But as we’ve shown in the past few seasons, we won’t tolerate anything other than getting to the play-offs and that’s still the position.”
Wolves boss Peter Adams reflects on a shock home defeat to Somerset and re-affirms the club’s determination to reach the Premiership play-offs.
NEXT HOME: Swindon, Mon July 16 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, Wed July 25 (7.30)
CHAMPIONSHIP SOUNDBYTES…
BERWICK
“We need to get our heads together after making such a decent start in the league, topping the table for a while and sitting in fourth place for so long, we cannot afford to start losing ground now.”
Bandits boss Scott Courtney says his side need to re-focus on the second half of the season after slipping to defeat at home to Workington last weekend.
NEXT HOME: Scunthorpe, Sat July 14 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Glasgow, Fri July 27 (7.30)
EDINBURGH
“Ricky (Wells) and Erik (Riss) have been amazing all season and we haven't backed them up, then tonight the rest of us do OK and they are off it a little, that's speedway I guess though and we will go again at Redcar on Thursday.”
Top scorer Josh Pickering reflects on the Monarchs’ defeat at Scunthorpe… the third time in five Championship away matches (and fourth overall this season) that they have been beaten 53-37 on the road!
NEXT HOME: Ipswich, Fri July 13 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Redcar, Thur July 12 (7.30)
GLASGOW
“The track was a lot better this week - there was a lot more dirt on it. I prefer it like that and it showed in my riding. I came up after Sheffield two weeks ago and did a few laps just to start enjoying riding Glasgow again. I think that helped me out a bit and I took it into today.”
Tigers reserve James Sarjeant piled up an impressive 12+1 in the 51-38 win over play-off rivals Lakeside at Ashfield last Friday.
NEXT HOME: Berwick, Fri July 27 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Scunthorpe, Sun July 22 (3pm)
IPSWICH
“Danyon (Hume) is back but Danny (King) is seeing another specialist this week so hopefully by the end of the week we will have something positive on that. Cam (Heeps) has to have a mandatory nine days off for his concussion so we have shifted the team around which isn’t ideal but rider replacement works better at two.”
Witches promoter Chris Louis gives the latest injury bulletin ahead of the home clash with Workington on Thursday.
NEXT HOME: Workington, Thur July 12 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh, Fri July 13 (7.30)
LAKESIDE
“It will be good to get another home meeting in after a slightly longer enforced break due to England's progression in the football World Cup. The Peterborough and Glasgow away meetings were never going to be easy but now we have to show our character by getting back to winning ways in front of our own supporters on Friday.”
Hammers promoter Jon Cook is backing his team to recover from two defeats on the road when they return to the Arena-Essex Raceway this week.
NEXT HOME: Sheffield, Fri July 13 (8pm)
NEXT AWAY: Sheffield, Thur July 26 (7.30)
NEWCASTLE
“Workington are a team never to under-estimate as they are trouble even when they're down on power as they proved tonight. Well done to them, but it means we have a real battle in the second leg later in the summer when we are well and truly the underdogs.”
Diamonds boss George English admits his side face an uphill task to make progress in the KO Cup after a first-leg defeat at Brough Park last weekend.
NEXT HOME: Workington, Sun Aug 12 (6.30)
NEXT AWAY: Glasgow, Fri Aug 3 (7.30)
PETERBOROUGH
“We’ve given this a great deal of thought, and whilst again we apologise for running on the same day as the World Cup Final, it’s simply unavoidable. We just can’t take the date out, but by moving the double-header into August it does mean that supporters should have time to watch the football and the speedway should England reach the Final as we all hope they do.”
Panthers promoter Ged Rathbone explains the decision to switch a planned double-header to August 5, and run just one meeting against Sheffield in the Championship on Sunday.
NEXT HOME: Scunthorpe, Fri July 13 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Berwick, Sat Aug 18 (7pm)
REDCAR
The Bears overcame Scunthorpe 52-38 at the Media Prima Arena last Thursday and are now preparing to face Edinburgh in their next Championship fixture.
NEXT HOME: Edinburgh, Thur July 12 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Ipswich, Thur July 19 (7.30)
SCUNTHORPE
“It always seems a bit of a banana skin fixture when Edinburgh come here, because they always seem to pull something out of the bag, so it was a good team performance from us – we always looked like winning the meeting.”
Scorpions boss Dave Peet was pleased to see his side overcome their injury problems to record a comfortable home win over the Monarchs on Sunday.
NEXT HOME: Glasgow, Sun July 22 (3pm)
NEXT AWAY: Peterborough, Fri July 13 (7.30)
SHEFFIELD
“After the crash I had, it took me a little while to get used to how deep it is. It knocked me back a bit and I stopped riding the outside so much. I found the right line again tonight and I cannot thank Henning (Loof) enough for getting me back to where I wanted to be.”
Tigers reserve James Shanes praised his mechanic after collecting a best-yet 11+3 in the Championship win over Ipswich at Owlerton last Thursday.
NEXT HOME: Top Gun Individual, Thur July 19 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Lakeside, Fri July 13 (8pm)
WORKINGTON
“Given all the circumstances, that was a terrific result and must surely rank up there with some of the greatest performances the club has ever produced. I am certain that only the most optimistic of people would have expected such a result beforehand but that, like our other performances over the weekend, illustrates the potential of this side.”
Comets boss Tony Jackson saw his depleted side complete a dream weekend of three wins in three days by taking a 50-40 victory at Newcastle in the first leg of their KO Cup tie.
NEXT HOME: To be confirmed
NEXT AWAY: Ipswich, Thur July 12 (7.30)
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUNDBYTES…
BELLE VUE COLTS
The Colts have switched their home fixture against Stoke to avoid a clash with England’s World Cup semi-final, and will now take on the Potters at the National Speedway Stadium this Friday.
NEXT HOME: Stoke, Fri July 13 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Kent, Mon Aug 13 (6.30)
BIRMINGHAM
“It was an absolutely amazing performance and all of the boys were on it - we didn’t have a weak link. Full credit to our two guest reserves, in particular Sheldon Davies who came into the team at short notice and winning his first ever National League race will be a moment he’ll remember forever.”
Brummies boss Laurence Rogers praised his side after they kept their National Trophy hopes alive with a big win at Buxton on Sunday.
NEXT HOME: Mildenhall, Wed July 18 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Kent (EC), Mon July 23 (6.30)
BUXTON
“James struggled early on and got caught out by the track a couple of times, but as the meeting went on he gained in confidence and showed what he can do. But after three months off the bike completely it was always going to be a hard afternoon for him, and he battled on and showed that there is a lot more to come in future meetings for us.”
Hitmen boss Josh Moss defended new signing James Cockle after a tough debut against Birmingham at Hi-Edge on Sunday.
NEXT HOME: Plymouth, Sun July 29 (3pm)
NEXT AWAY: Isle of Wight, Thur July 26 (7pm)
COVENTRY
“I feel confident and it’s a combination of things. Racing in the higher league definitely helps, and it’s nice to get a hatful of points in the National League. That’s what I’m aiming to do in every meeting. I want to be the top No.1 in the league, so every maximum helps with that!”
Bees’ No.1 Connor Mountain recorded another 15-point maximum in the recent win over Belle Vue – and says that is his target in every NL fixture!
NEXT HOME: Mildenhall, Sun July 29 (3pm)
NEXT AWAY: Mildenhall, Sat July 28 (7.30)
EASTBOURNE
“We have a bit of a break now. We are all going to freshen up and sort our engines out. I think we still have improvement to come.”
Eagles captain Mark Baseby says the time before this Saturday’s big clash with Mildenhall will be well spent by the riders.
NEXT HOME: Mildenhall, Sat July 14 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Kent, Mon July 30 (6.30)
ISLE OF WIGHT
“You could see a couple of our guys weren’t 100 per cent and considering the buffeting they’ve taken recently I’m not surprised. Nevertheless I am proud of the way they kept at it and I cannot fault their commitment.”
Promoter Barry Bishop gave his side credit despite suffering a second successive home defeat, this time at the hands of Kent last Thursday.
NEXT HOME: Cobra’s Mahal Garage Best Pairs, Thur July 19 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Plymouth, Thur July 12 (7pm)
KENT
“As a deeply involved Speedway enthusiast, I am very sorry to see the club closed, just as I would be unhappy to see ANY club close. It makes me even more determined (if that is possible!) to see us all succeed with the business aspects of our club at Central Park.”
Kings promoter Len Silver says he is saddened by the exit from the Premiership of Rye House, having introduced full league racing to Hoddesdon in 1974 and then re-opened the club in 2000.
NEXT HOME: Stoke, Mon July 16 (6.30)
NEXT AWAY: Stoke (KOC), Sat July 14 (7pm)
MILDENHALL
“With the issues before the meeting this could have turned out to be a difficult evening for us, but the lads stepped up yet again and put on a fine show. Ryan (Kinsley) put in another captain’s performance and now deservedly moves to number one, Drew (Kemp) keeps pulling out wonder rides and both the Dannys (Ayres and Halsey) scored excellent points.”
Promoter Kevin Jolly saw the Fen Tigers march on with a 58-32 win over Plymouth despite the injury absences of Josh Bailey and Sam Bebee.
NEXT HOME: Coventry, Sat July 28 (7.30)
NEXT AWAY: Eastbourne, Sat July 14 (7.30)
PLYMOUTH
“The ride of the night was from young Richard Andrews who nearly beat rising star Drew Kemp. Not many riders can get near him at home; however, Richard so very nearly beat him!”
Devils promoter Mark Phillips accepted his side were always likely to face a tough test when they went down at Mildenhall last Saturday.
NEXT HOME: Isle of Wight, Thur July 12 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Buxton, Sun July 29 (3pm)
STOKE
The Potters are set to return to action this weekend with a trip to Belle Vue on Friday and then their first home match in nearly a month when Kent visit in the KO Cup on Saturday.
NEXT HOME: Kent (KOC), Sat July 14 (7pm)
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, Fri July 13 (7.30)
MAJOR EVENTS LATEST…
SOMERSET promoter Debbie Hancock is planning a special occasion when the Rebels stage the Championship Pairs on Friday July 20.
The traditional pre-Cardiff Major Event fell victim to the weather last season and was eventually re-staged at Sheffield, but Hancock says this year’s meeting will be bigger and better than ever.
She said: “Last season was a massive disappointment to us with the event being rained off on the day.
“But we will be hoping for our current heat-wave to run through this month and make this year's event a very special one indeed.
“As well as attracting fans from the competing Championship teams for what will certainly be a challenging meeting, we also hope to whet the appetite of many others and will have a support event of a Mountain Bike Trials Show, with two separate 25 minute sessions being staged on the centre green here at the Oaktree.
“This is something new for us and it should be hugely entertaining - and besides this, I can confirm that once again we will have on-site a face painting artist to decorate the faces for the kids during the evening, as we know that is very popular.
“We are keeping prices at the same level set for last season - £20 adults, £15 concessions, £5 kids (aged 5-15) and free admission for under 5's, and the turnstiles will be opening at 5pm.
“Highbridge is a perfect 'stopping point' en-route to Cardiff and we will be hoping to have a bumper crowd enjoying the perfect warm-up to the British GP.”
Ten Championship teams will compete in the event and have been split into two groups for the qualifying stages.
Defending champions Sheffield have been drawn in the same group as Redcar, who they defeated in last year’s Final.
The top two teams from each group will compete in the semi-finals, with the winners of those two races contesting the decider.
GROUP 1: Lakeside, Scunthorpe, Edinburgh, Peterborough, Berwick.
GROUP 2: Sheffield, Ipswich, Glasgow, Redcar, Workington.
BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAJOR EVENTS 2018
PREMIERSHIP RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: JASON DOYLE
BRITISH FINAL: ROBERT LAMBERT
CHAMPIONSHIP FOURS: PETERBOROUGH
CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS: Somerset, July 20
CHAMPIONSHIP RIDERS’ INDIVIDUAL: Sheffield, September 2
PREMIERSHIP PAIRS: TBC
OTHER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DATES
BRITISH UNDER-21 SEMI-FINALS: ZACH WAJTKNECHT; JACK THOMAS
BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: ROBERT LAMBERT
BRITISH UNDER-19 FINAL: DAN BEWLEY
BRITISH SEMI-FINALS: JASON GARRITY; RICHARD LAWSON
NATIONAL LEAGUE EVENTS
NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: TBC
NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester, September 23
FIXTURE PICTURE…
TUESDAY JULY 10:
VMA HANDICAP ROUND 1: Isle of Wight 7pm
THURSDAY JULY 12:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich v Workington 7.30, Redcar v Edinburgh 7.30
NATIONAL LEAGUE: Plymouth v Isle of Wight 7pm
FRIDAY JULY 13:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30, Lakeside v Sheffield 8pm, Peterborough v Scunthorpe 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Stoke 7.30
SATURDAY JULY 14:
FIM WORLD UNDER-21 TEAM CUP SEMI-FINAL: Glasgow 7pm
CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Mildenhall 7.30
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Stoke v Kent 7pm
SUNDAY JULY 15: CHAMPIONSHIP: Peterborough v Sheffield 5pm
MONDAY JULY 16:
PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Somerset 7.30, Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30, Wolverhampton v Swindon 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Stoke 6.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 18:
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Mildenhall 7.30
THURSDAY JULY 19:
PREMIERSHIP: Swindon v Somerset 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich v Redcar 7.30
TOP GUN INDIVIDUAL: Sheffield 7.30
COBRA’S MAHAL GARAGE BEST PAIRS: Isle of Wight 7pm
FRIDAY JULY 20:
CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS: Somerset 7pm
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Plymouth v Kent/Stoke 7.15
SATURDAY JULY 21:
BRITISH GRAND PRIX: Cardiff 5pm
SUNDAY JULY 22:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe v Glasgow 3pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP (500cc/250cc): Scunthorpe (follows Champ fixture)
MONDAY JULY 23:
PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Poole 7.30, Swindon v Leicester 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30 EASTER CUP 2nd leg: Kent v Birmingham 6.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 25:
PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.30, King’s Lynn v Swindon 7.30, Poole v Leicester 7.30
