BIG EVENT LATEST... CHRIS Harris has praised Scott Nicholls for his impressive run of form in the early stages of the season. Harris, the Coventry skipper, is desperate to retain his British title at Wolverhampton on June 14 - subject to him qualifying from his semi at King's Lynn. But he expects a titanic tussle with rival Nicholls who has regularly hit double figures for Ipswich. Said Harris: "Scotty is on fire and it's great to see because there is no doubt he's a very talented rider. "Everyone knows he had a tough time last season but he's riding well and fair play to him, he's done better than me so far! "The British title is a great honour to have on your CV and Scotty will want it back from me. I have to qualify and then focus on the final but it's a positive thing for the sport to have Scotty on form. "Lee Richardson has a point to prove and Tai Woffinden is hurting after his semi-final so we have British riders all with something to aim for and it could be good for our World Cup campaign in July. "For my part I've struggled this season but I think we're getting to the bottom of what has gone wrong and I'm confident I can get back to my best. "I had a good meeting in Sweden last week and beat a lot of the other GP riders so I have to use that as a big plus going forward. "The British Final will be tough at Wolverhampton and I'm desperate to be there and retain my title - but guys like Scotty and Lee will want it just as much as me! "Hopefully my season starts now and it's onwards and upwards!" ELITE LEAGUE LATEST... BELLE VUE skipper Hans Andersen roared to his first maximum for the Aces against his parent club with a 15-point return in the 51-41 win over Peterborough. Team boss Chris Morton said: "Hans is a class act and he was very determined to get his first maximum. It was tough for him because of the hand injury he suffered in the Swedish Grand Prix on Saturday.  "Leigh Lanham also did well as the arm injury he suffered a fortnight ago was giving him a lot of trouble but he still took five rides and scored in them all." COVENTRY boss Alun Rossiter enjoyed a winning return to his former club as the Bees reversed their early-season form with a shock 48-42 win at Swindon. Rossiter said: "I don't really know what happened, I didn't put any extra effort into this meeting or wind the riders up any more than before, but they responded magnificently. "It was a great team effort, we dug deep and it was great to see. I'm not gloating, I'm not going to rub it in with coming back to Swindon but it was a special night for us." EASTBOURNE legend David Norris will officially bring down the curtain on his career when he stages his Farewell meeting at Arlington on Saturday. A bumper crowd is expected to turn out to pay tribute to Norris with an all-star line-up taking part including Scott Nicholls, Leigh Adams and Hans Andersen. The action will take place over 20 qualifying heats and a Final for the top four with the winner being crowned the "Last King of Arlington." IPSWICH boss Pete Simmons was delighted with the Witches' performance in snatching a point from Lakeside on Friday - after a heavy challenge-match defeat at Purfleet earlier in the season. Simmons told the East Anglian Daily Times: "If I had been offered a point before the meeting started I would have bitten your hand off.  "It was one of our best efforts for many a season at Lakeside and only (Daniel) Davidsson at reserve denied us a possible unexpected victory." LAKESIDE have parted company with No.1 rider Krzysztof Kasprzak and replaced him with Lee Richardson, thus reversing one of the most high-profile team-building moves of the winter. Hammers promoter Jon Cook said: "In truth, the year hasn't felt right to me or Stuart (Douglas) ever since Press and Practice Day when Lee quietly packed his stuff away as the photos were being taken of the 2010 squad.  "When you make a mistake it's best to put it right when you can, and without going into great detail, we all could have handled that situation in the winter a bit differently with the benefit of hindsight." PETERBOROUGH manager Trevor Swales admitted that a 51-41 defeat at Belle Vue, coupled with last Thursday's loss at Swindon, leaves the season so far falling short of expectations - and he has not ruled out changes. Swales said: "It doesn't take a genius to work out that five away defeats in a row is nowhere near good enough and the management are talking this morning. "We need to establish how we can rectify the current situation and I am sure people will appreciate that won't happen overnight, but we are doing our utmost to bring about a change in fortune as quickly as possible." POOLE have won their opening six home matches this season and are looking to make it seven on Wednesday when Ipswich provide the opposition at Wimborne Road. Witches' No.1 Scott Nicholls was one of Poole promoter Matt Ford's first signings when he took over the club, and the Pirates will be chasing the double over the Suffolk side having won at Foxhall earlier in the season. SWINDON manager Ronnie Russell was left looking for answers after the Robins suffered a surprise home defeat at the hands of bottom club Coventry. Russell told the Swindon Advertiser: "I can't have these sorts of results, it's not good enough. I can't have a situation where riders aren't giving me what I need.  "I'll be talking to them and they need to be singing a wonderful song for me that it was one mistake, that things didn't work but they will next time. If they can convince me of that then I won't have to make changes, but if they can't convince me then I will be having a look at what's available to me." WOLVERHAMPTON star Ty Proctor is optimistic that the reigning champions can continue their positive run of results when they travel to Peterborough on Friday. Proctor said: "I'm looking forward to that one. It's a big track but they have riders out injured so we have to go there with a positive attitude and if we can pick up at least a point it would be great for us.  "We just need to keep picking up points as the weeks go by and we'll be fine. Woffy (Tai Woffinden) hasn't been at his best in the early stages of the season but he's starting to look a lot better now and if we all continue to improve then we will be a major force." PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST... BERWICK are safely through to the Knockout Cup quarter finals after successfully defending a 20-point first leg lead at Newport on Sunday. A Bandits spokesman said: "We rode well and deserved our aggregate victory with five of our six riders on show today picking up at least one paid win, with the Czechs and Anders (Andersen) hitting hard when we needed it giving us a good nine-point victory on aggregate. The next round could throw up another tantalising meeting with Workington, and we all know how much fun that could be!" BIRMINGHAM youngster Justin Sedgmen is set for a busy week as he faces two fixtures for his club and then a trip to Croatia for his qualifying round of the World Under-21 Championship. Sedgmen said: "I have to think about one meeting at a time. A lot of it is down to mental preparation and although I'm only 18 I'm really trying to think above my age and be mature and sensible in my attitude." EDINBURGH have lodged a pre-planning application to build a new stadium on a 14-acre site at South Couston, Bathgate, just one mile north-east of their current Armadale home. Chairman Alex Harkess said: "We believe that we have located a site that will have no impact, either with noise, or the main problem we have at the moment, parking. We will be entirely self contained within our site with parking facilities well in excess of our current state. We hope to secure full planning consent by later this year to allow us to begin construction before the end of 2010. We are targeting staging the first meeting at the new site in April 2011." GLASGOW made a terrific fightback to grab a draw and two Premier League points from their away match at Redcar, after conceding two 5-1s in the first two races and being 17-7 down after four. The Tigers actually took the lead with three heats to go and led by four going into the decider, only to suffer a 5-1 reverse at the hands of Gary Havelock and Tomas Suchanek in one of the best races seen at Redcar, and so had to settle for a 46-46 outcome. KING'S LYNN promoter Keith Chapman says the line-up for Wednesday's British semi-final is the best for any meeting in recent years at the Norfolk Arena, and feels the meeting should start with a bang as Lee Richardson, Chris Harris, Simon Stead and Lewis Bridger clash in Heat 1. Chapman said: "If the draw hadn't been made in front of the public then I don't think anybody would have believed it was done legitimately. To get a race of that pedigree for the very first heat really should set the meeting on fire, and I guess the whole thing will also give us a taster of what we have to look forward to for the Speedway World Cup in July." NEWCASTLE put in a powerful performance against Scunthorpe to take control of their Knockout Cup tie - but manager George English is refusing to take the Diamonds' 28-point advantage as confirmation of their progression. English said: "This should by all accounts put us in an excellent state to go through to the quarter finals against the Redcar Bears but we will not be going in over-confident. We will be going to Scunthorpe full of determination." NEWPORT were beaten in the Knockout Cup over two legs by Berwick, and were left to rue the non-appearance of Kim Nilsson and Anders Mellgren in the first leg at Shielfield Park after breaking down en-route. Speaking on the club's official website, promoter Steve Mallett said: "I am sorry to any fans who made the journey to see the full team in action, only to turn up and find out that our two Swedes were not there. They were gutted not to be there, and so were we. Had they been there, the result would almost certainly have been very different." REDCAR are searching for a new rider after Maks Gregoric was left on the sidelines with a broken femur following a crash at Workington on Saturday. Promoter Brian Havelock said: "Maks had a successful operation on Sunday but he is likely to miss the rest of the season, plus we can only operate the rider replacement facility for a limited period. So we are now seeking to sign a new rider and some names are already under consideration. At least Jan Graversen and Ben Wilson are back in the fold after their recent crashes and that is good news." RYE HOUSE have a 12-point deficit to pull back against Edinburgh if they are to move into the Knockout Cup quarter-finals and exact revenge over the Monarchs for last year's semi-final defeat. The Rockets worked hard to limit the damage at Armadale with Linus Sundstrom hitting double-figures again, but a new date is yet to be arranged for the second leg after Saturday's rain-off at Hoddesdon. SCUNTHORPE insist they still have a chance of overturning a 59-31 first leg deficit in their Knockout Cup clash with Newcastle - having suffered injury problems to both of their top two riders at Brough Park. Promoter Rob Godfrey said: "We'll certainly give it a go. You never know what will happen and I certainly feel we have a chance if we all fire. We had so much bad luck it is beyond belief. Not only did our top two get injured but Tero's (Aarnio) frame broke and of course due to the delayed sailing of his own machinery he was the one rider who didn't have a spare bike. He rode three heats on David Howe's bike but it was far from ideal." SHEFFIELD co-promoter David Hoggart has backed the Tigers' riders to get it right this season - although he has hinted that the remainder of this month could prove to be a defining period. Hoggart said: "We're not ignoring the fact that we've been below par this season and will review it again at the end of the month. In the meantime we continue to work together to get things right and to put our season back on the right track." SOMERSET are still awaiting the results of further tests that have been undertaken on Tommy Allen's injured knee, with no confirmation yet as to whether Allen will be fit to resume on Friday against Sheffield. The Rebels will definitely go into their weekend fixtures without Aussie youngster Sam Masters, who is taking part in a World Under-21 qualifier in Gdansk, and Somerset will use the rider-replacement facility. STOKE have released Michal Rajkowski and replaced him with Adam Roynon, who started the season at Premier League rivals Workington. Promoter Dave Tattum said: "I'm delighted that Adam has joined us. He is a rider who I believe can score some big points for us and he is looking forward to the challenge here at Stoke. Unfortunately it has not worked out for either Michal or ourselves and we will do our best to get him fixed up elsewhere and wish him well for the future." WORKINGTON boss Ian Thomas was satisfied with the Comets' efforts from three matches over the weekend, which included a home win over Redcar and a point gained from a narrow defeat at Stoke. Thomas told the News & Star: "From our point of view it was good to get four points out of the weekend because it is always going to be tough, given the amount of travelling the boys have to do which is all testing on man and machinery." NATIONAL LEAGUE action continues and you can find all relevant news, reports and other information in the NL section on speedwaygb.com FIXTURE PICTURE... WEDNESDAY MAY 12: BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: King's Lynn 7.30 SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Ipswich 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Edinburgh 7.30  THURSDAY MAY 13: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Lakeside 7.30  PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Rye House 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Sheffield v Birmingham 7.45  FRIDAY MAY 14: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Ipswich 8pm, Lakeside v Poole 8pm, Peterborough v Wolverhampton 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v King's Lynn 7.30, Somerset v Sheffield 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Plymouth v Newport 7.30 CHALLENGE: Weymouth v Somerset Giants 7.15  SATURDAY MAY 15: PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v King's Lynn 7pm, Rye House v Sheffield 7pm, Stoke v Somerset 7.30, Workington v Newport 7pm DAVID NORRIS FAREWELL: Eastbourne 7.30 SUNDAY MAY 16: PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Newport 4pm, Newcastle v Redcar 6.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Isle of Wight 3pm, King's Lynn v Weymouth 7.30, Mildenhall v Rye House 5pm, Newport v Scunthorpe 2.30  MONDAY MAY 17: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Peterborough 7.30  TUESDAY MAY 18: NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v King's Lynn 7.30  WEDNESDAY MAY 19: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Eastbourne 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Scunthorpe 7.30, King's Lynn v Berwick 7.30 THURSDAY MAY 20: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 7.30, Ipswich v Eastbourne 7.30, Peterborough v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Poole 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Somerset 7.30, Sheffield v Berwick 7.45  FRIDAY MAY 21: PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Newcastle 7.30, Scunthorpe v Birmingham 7.30, Somerset v Redcar 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.30, Weymouth v Rye House 7.15 SATURDAY MAY 22: PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm, Rye House v Redcar 7pm PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Workington v Stoke 7pm BRITISH U15 CHAMPIONSHIP: Newport 2.30  SUNDAY MAY 23: PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v King's Lynn 4pm, Newcastle v Rye House 6.30, Newport v Birmingham 2.30 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Stoke v Workington 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Bournemouth 3pm, Mildenhall v Plymouth 5pm MONDAY MAY 24: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30, Lakeside v Wolverhampton 7.30  TUESDAY MAY 25: NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Bournemouth (at Wolverhampton) 7.30 WEDNESDAY MAY 26: PREMIER LEAGUE: King's Lynn v Stoke 7.30 PREMIER TROPHY: Birmingham v Redcar 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Bournemouth v Isle of Wight 7.30