BIG EVENT LATEST...
JASON Lyons is relishing the prospect of returning to Somerset for the defence of Birmingham's Premier League Pairs title.Lyons, the vastly experienced Australian, will race in the showpiece event at the Oak Tree Arena on Friday, July 9 - the night before the British Grand Prix at Cardiff.The meeting is sure to attract a bumper crowd as fans take advantage of a bumper weekend of action - and Birmingham are sure to enjoy plenty of support.Lyons won the crown with popular Pole Tomasz Piszcz last summer - but he will have a different partner this year as Piszcz left the Perry Barr club before the end of last season."It was a very special night for me, for Tomasz and for the club in general, I know how much it meant to us all to win a national title," said Lyons."It's something we are all very proud of and on a personal note I dedicated the win to my Dad as it was the anniversary of his passing away the year before. I kept it to myself on the night but after we won I wanted to go public with it."It's a very good meeting, the format makes it exciting with the different points system to normal. It means who have to look for your partner and do some team riding and I'd like to think that's where my experience comes in."But Lyons will be hoping to avoid a repeat of his last visit to Somerset when he crashed out of the Premier League meeting with the Rebels on June 11 after a clash with Lubos Tomicek.He said: "It was a nasty smash and people tell me it could have been so much worse. I just hope everything runs smoothly in the Pairs and we can go forward and win it again!"The full line-up for this latest event in the Super 7even series will be known in the near future and will be announced via the British Speedway website and in Speedway Star magazine.
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST
BELLE VUE manager Chris Morton is calling on his side to find more consistency as they continue their bid for a play-off place.Morton said: "There is no need to panic but we have reached the point where we need to deliver everything we can to move back up the table."We have had a few weeks where we haven't quite got it together as far as the play-off scenario is concerned and we must make progress now to make sure the chance of a top four finish doesn't slip away."COVENTRY co-boss Alun Rossiter is hoping the Bees' mid-season break in fixtures does not dent the positive momentum they have built up in their most recent fixtures.Rossiter said: "What we need to make sure is that when we get going again on June 25, we carry on where we left off. We had a great win away at Ipswich but we do need to make sure we collect maximum points, especially at home. "The changes we made have had a positive effect on everyone, obviously Krzysztof (Kasprzak) has been the star man in terms of points but the crowd seem to have taken to what we've done all-round."EASTBOURNE manager Trevor Geer is calling on his side to eliminate the slow starts to meetings which have left them playing catch-up on too many occasions.Geer told the Brighton Argus: "I don't know what to put the slow starts down to. Maybe it's the fact they have not been getting enough meetings."We arranged a practice for them in the hope that would help. We keep on getting off to slow starts and we can't afford to do that."IPSWICH star Scott Nicholls is backing recent signing Ales Dryml to make a positive impression in the Witches' middle-order.Nicholls told Speedway Star: "There's no doubt we needed a change and Ales can help to lift us off the foot of the Elite League table. He has done well at small tracks like Oxford and Wolverhampton, and I'm confident he'll adapt to riding regularly at Foxhall Stadium."LAKESIDE boss Jon Cook was delighted with the performance of Hammers reserve Stuart Robson in the British Final, as he made it through to the meeting semi-final.Cook said: "Stuart's performance in the British Final, where he got to the Semi Final stage, is a further indication of just how important he will be for us in the reserve berth over the second half of the season, which re-starts at our Arena-Essex Raceway on Friday 25th June against Eastbourne in a meeting that will now be a League fixture and not the Cup match, which will now take place later in the year."PETERBOROUGH were left relatively satisfied with the outcome of the first leg of their Knockout Cup tie against Swindon, going down by eight points at Blunsdon.The Panthers held the scores level at 33-33 before conceding two 5-1s, but Kenneth Bjerre kept up his terrific form with four wins out of five.Manager Trevor Swales said: "I was really confident we could get a win, but once again we suffered two vital 5-1s which ended our chances. But given our past form at Blunsdon we have to be relatively happy to have only eight points to pull back."POOLE star Jason Doyle says he is unconcerned about his recent drop to reserve - pointing out the all-round strength of the Elite League leaders.Doyle told Speedway Star: "The main thing is the team is going very good. If I was in another team, I wouldn't be at reserve."Everything is going well for everyone in the team, and hopefully we can keep going like this."SWINDON boss Ronnie Russell was delighted with the efforts of his team in overcoming a much-changed Peterborough outfit 49-41 in the first leg of their KO Cup tie.Russell said: "I think the boys deserve to be applauded and I've given each one of them a pat on the back. "They have done themselves proud, they have done the fans proud and they have done me proud." WOLVERHAMPTON boss Peter Adams is predicting a wide-open race for the Elite League play-offs in the second half of the season.Adams said: "Our immediate target is to stay unbeaten at home and then pick up a couple of away wins here and there. That should be enough for us to reach the top four and then anything can happen. "I think six clubs are chasing three play-off places at this stage and there will be some interesting twists and turns over the second half of the season."
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST...
BERWICK became the first victims of the revised Glasgow side, as they were unable to complete a full recovery from a nightmare start to their home clash with the Tigers.Co-owner John Anderson said: "We cannot get away from the obvious disappointment as we really wanted this win with Glasgow looking so strong now, as they proved to be, but on the positive side the match itself was a thrilling event with some of the best racing and passing we've seen since we took over last year. It was an exceptional show."BIRMINGHAM boss Graham Drury has stressed the club's unbeaten record in Premier Trophy qualifying counts for nothing ahead of the upcoming semi-final against Rye House.Drury said: "I made a lot about the fact that we went through our Premier Trophy group without dropping a point but that will count for nothing on Sunday. We have to go there with the right attitude and hope we can keep the scores close, as close as they were in the Premier League meeting."EDINBURGH took all three points from a competitive encounter with Workington, which was enough to maintain their position at the top of the Premier League table.Promoter Alex Harkess said: "It was an interesting match and we had to work very hard. Full marks to Workington for giving us such a good match, they have a decent side."GLASGOW co-promoter Alan Dick says the signing of Joe Screen can make a big difference to the Tigers, both on and off the track.Dick said: "He is sure to be a great influence on the younger lads. I know that Nick Morris for example will be looking to learn a lot from him and Jamie Courtney is another who could pick up some valuable tips from him, so I see his signing as being a winner all round."KING'S LYNN reserve Casper Wortmann says he is enjoying his season with the Stars as he finds the best form of his British career so far.Wortmann told edp24.co.uk:"The team spirit here is really good. They have some great people around and the other boys make you feel so welcome. I like riding the Norfolk Arena. It is different to a lot of other tracks but after a couple of laps I think you can adjust."NEWCASTLE finally ended Rye House's perfect start to the Premier League campaign with a comfortable win over the Rockets at Brough Park - 24 hours after going down by ten points at Hoddesdon.Manager George English said: "To win this match was a fine achievement as it's Rye House's first League defeat in nine matches which is something to be really proud of and as for Mark Lemon's superb 18 point, six ride maximum- absolutely excellent!"NEWPORT stage a rare Friday evening meeting this week against fellow regular-Sunday track Glasgow. The tapes go up at 7pm for the Premier League encounter.REPORTS in the North-East indicate that REDCAR have signed former Glasgow star James Grieves as a replacement for Henning Bager.Boss Brian Havelock added in an interview to gazettelive.co.uk :"There is the possibility of another signing. I'll give out more details when I'm in a position to."RYE HOUSE skipper Chris Neath says Sunday's double-header at Hoddesdon, including the Premier Trophy semi-final first leg, is one of the most important meetings of the season, Neath said: "We've got a big double header coming up next weekend against Somerset in the League and Birmingham in the Trophy. Both those teams have performed well at Rye House already this season, so they'll be two tough matches. All the boys are confident again, though, so we'll do the best thatwe can to get the right results." SCUNTHORPE'S Swedish star Viktor Bergstrom is back in the UK and aiming to prove his fitness after nearly two months out, ahead of the weekend trip to Workington.Promoter Rob Godfrey said: "We're going to do everything we can to get Viktor ready for the weekend. He is going to be doing lap after lap to try to get himself back up to speed."SHEFFIELD star Josh Auty says he will have recovered from injury and illness in time for the Tigers' clash with Workington - and their former skipper Andre Compton - on Thursday.Auty said: "It's been a good break for me because I've been feeling terrible over the last few days, but I will be ready for Workington on Thursday. I feel like I'm getting better every day and there is a possibility I could get a meeting in Poland over the weekend which would be good because that's something I want to do."SOMERSET promoter Debbie Hancock has underlined the importance of Friday's home clash with Berwick after the Rebels were beaten at home last week.Hancock said: "Whilst last Friday's defeat to Birmingham was an obvious disappointment, as ever the crowd were treated to some excellent racing.What we must do now is to bounce back from that defeat, and we aim to take out our disappointment on the Bandits in this Friday's match."STOKE skipper Jason Bunyan has been forced to again postpone his comeback from injury - although better news for the Potters is the return of Taylor Poole this week.Bunyan said: "I'm feeling a lot better than I was but I'm not quite right at the moment and it will be a couple of more weeks before I'm ready to ride in league action. It was good to be able to get onto the bike and ride but I'm not quite there and I think a realistic target for me to return is likely to be the home meeting against Newcastle early in July."WORKINGTON boss Ian Thomas was pleased with the opening performance of new signing Kenny Ingalls in the 51-39 defeat at Edinburgh.Thomas told getnoticedonline.co.uk :"Five paid seven from his first three rides in the Premier League is a good start for him at one of the trickiest tracks in the League. They are not top of the League for nothing."
NATIONAL LEAGUE action continues and you can find all relevant news, reports and other information in the NL section on www.speedwaygb.com
FIXTURE PICTURE...
TUESDAY JUNE 15:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Newport 7.30
WEDNESDAY JUNE 16:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Ipswich 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Stoke 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: King's Lynn v Bournemouth 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 17:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Wolverhampton 7.45, Ipswich v Swindon 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Workington 7.45
FRIDAY JUNE 18:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30, Newport v Glasgow 7pm, Somerset v Berwick 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Plymouth v Weymouth 7.30
SATURDAY JUNE 19:PREMIER LEAGUE: Stoke v Glasgow 7.30, Workington v Scunthorpe 7pm BRITISH U15 CHAMPIONSHIP: Weymouth 7.15
SUNDAY JUNE 20:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Stoke 4pm, Rye House v Somerset 2pm, Scunthorpe v Workington 5pm PREMIER TROPHY SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Newcastle v King's Lynn 6.30, Rye House v Birmingham (follows PL fixture) NATIONAL LEAGUE: Newport v Mildenhall 2.30, Scunthorpe v Weymouth (follows PL fixture) NATIONAL TROPHY: Buxton v Plymouth 3pm
MONDAY JUNE 21:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Eastbourne 7.30
TUESDAY JUNE 22:PREMIER TROPHY SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: King's Lynn v Newcastle 7.30
WEDNESDAY JUNE 23:PREMIER TROPHY SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Birmingham v Rye House 8pm NATIONAL LEAGUE: Bournemouth v Buxton 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 24:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Eastbourne 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Glasgow 7.45 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Redcar v Newcastle 7.30
FRIDAY JUNE 25:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Ipswich 8pm, Lakeside v Eastbourne 8pm, Peterborough v Belle Vue 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Somerset v Birmingham 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Plymouth v Rye House 7.30, Scunthorpe v Bournemouth 7.30, Weymouth v Dudley 7.15
SATURDAY JUNE 26:NATONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Buxton 7pm (or Sun 2pm)
SUNDAY JUNE 27:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Newcastle v Redcar 6.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: King's Lynn v Isle of Wight 7pm, Mildenhall v Bournemouth 5pm, Newport v Plymouth 2.30
MONDAY JUNE 28:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 7.30, Peterborough v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30
TUESDAY JUNE 29:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v King's Lynn (at Wolverhampton) 7.30, Isle of Wight v Scunthorpe 7.30
WEDNESDAY JUNE 30:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.30, Poole v Coventry 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Birmingham v Somerset 7.30
