BIG EVENT LATEST...HOSTS Somerset will face holders Birmingham in their group of the PremierLeague Pairs on Friday, July 9 (7.30).And although the riders taking part have yet to be confirmed by the clubsthere is every chance the Rebels will pin their hopes on Cory Gathercole andthe vastly experienced Shane Parker at the showpiece event.Somerset and Birmingham are joined by Newcastle, King's Lynn and Redcar inGroup 1 with Rye House, Edinburgh, Scunthorpe, Sheffield and Glasgow inGroup 2.British Speedway chairman Alex Harkess said: "When you look down the fieldthis is a very attractive meeting and I'm certain the fans will be servedwith a treat."Birmingham are the holders and they have lots of experience in Jason Lyonsand when the final selections are made it will be interesting to see if youcan pick a winner with any confidence."Looking down the riders who are in contention people will no doubt feelNewcastle and King's Lynn look strong - but all the potential pairings arepowerful."And we're delighted to have this meeting at Somerset which has a welldeserved reputation as one of the most exciting tracks in the country.Hopefully there will be a big crowd with nice warm weather and it will be aperfect way for fans to start the Grand Prix weekend."Clubs can pick two from their top three riders and the final field isexpected to be revealed a week before the event.GROUP 1: NEWCASTLE: Kenni Larsen, Rene Bach, Mark Lemon. KING'S LYNN: KevinDoolan, Tomas Topinka, Kozza Smith. BIRMINGHAM: Jason Lyons, RichardSweetman, Steve Johnston. SOMERSET: Cory Gathercole, Shane Parker, SamMasters. REDCAR: Gary Havelock, Ben Wilson, Emiliano Sanchez.GROUP 2: RYE HOUSE: Linus Sundstrom, Jordan Frampton, Stefan Ekberg.EDINBURGH: Ryan Fisher, Kevin Wolbert, Andrew Tully. SCUNTHORPE: MagnusKarlsson, David Howe, Carl Wilkinson. SHEFFIELD: Ricky Ashworth, Josh Auty,Richard Hall. GLASGOW: Travis McGowan, Josh Grajczonek, Lee Dicken.ELITE LEAGUE LATEST

BELLE VUE collected a maximum haul of six points from their home fixturesagainst Ipswich and Eastbourne - but manager Chris Morton says away resultswill now be crucial.The Aces moved back into the top four on Monday with their win overEastbourne, but they now face trips to Ipswich and play-off rivalsPeterborough.Morton said: "It was a real team performance and I was pleased with the waywe turned the match our way in the later races. The win put us back into aplay-off place but we must improve our away results if we are to staythere."COVENTRY return to action on Friday after a near-month break, with two homematches in four days against Ipswich and Swindon, and then away trips nextweek to Poole and Eastbourne.Bees co-boss Alun Rossiter said: "It's been frustrating to be withoutmatches after we had some good results before the break. We've won our lastthree and now we need to pick up where we left off."We need to make sure of maximum points from our home matches but I alsofeel we're more than capable of going away and gaining plenty more."EASTBOURNE co-promoter Mike Bellerby insists that the club remain fiercelyambitious to climb the Elite League table during a busy programme offixtures over the next month.Bellerby said: "It is imperative that we start to pile up the Elite Leaguepoints in these fixtures, not merely to ensure that we stay ahead of theIpswich Witches in the lower reaches of the table. A sustained run offavourable results could yet see us as upwardly mobile and heading towardsthe section's top four."We are also aware that changes are being called for, however make nomistake, we are constantly examining our options and we shall leave no stoneunturned in making this operation, and ultimately the survival of Eastbournespeedway, as successful as we can, both for ourselves and our loyalsupporters."IPSWICH skipper Daniel King is adamant that the Witches will start to climbthe Elite League table over the second half of the season.He told the Evening Star: "I can only see better times ahead for us,especially now we have added Ales Dryml. The management have made thatchange and there may be more to come."It's frustrating for all of us in the team that we don't win more and I'mjust staggered as to why we don't. When I look at our side on paper, I can'tunderstand why we have won so few meetings."LAKESIDE promoter Jon Cook is wary of the threat posed by his former clubEastbourne who visit Purfleet on Friday for the first meeting at theArena-Essex Raceway for three weeks.Cook said: "We aren't concerned about our lack of match fitness as all theboys, with the exception of Paul Hurry, have been racing regularly elsewhereduring our break, and Paul needed the extra weeks to recover fully from hishand injury."But I am extremely wary of the fact that Eastbourne were our last visitorson the 4th June and finished the match strongly. It means we will carrylittle home track advantage into the meeting and will have to be on topform. It could, therefore, be a somewhat unexpected cracker of a match forthe fans."PETERBOROUGH'S new signing Norbert Kosciuch will fly into the UK on Fridaymorning for his debut against Belle Vue that night, determined to make animpression in British speedway.Director of Speedway Peter Oakes said: "Norbi is determined to puteverything into racing here and he appears to be as well organised asKrzysztof Buczkowski when he came over at the beginning of the season."Because of his own racing schedule - he has a meeting in Poland onWednesday and Czecho on Thursday - he can't bring the bikes over himself butpart of the contract was that he must have his own machinery. We have sent avan and two drivers across to Poland to pick up everything from his house sothere should be no worries on that score."POOLE star Chris Holder is fighting to be fit for the Pirates' home clashwith Coventry next Wednesday - but he admits the arm injury sustained in theGrand Prix at Torun last weekend could have been so much worse.Holder said: "They tell me nothing is broken. I can move the arm and I amnot afraid to move it but it is very sore indeed. "They (the Polish medics) are telling me it is muscle damage. It looks asthough it will be a couple of weeks though before I can ride again but I ampleased its not a bone break."SWINDON breathed new life into their season with a sensational comeback towin at Ipswich, fighting back from twelve points down to snatch a 47-46victory.Manager Ronnie Russell told the Swindon Advertiser: "We had a very bad startand had to rely on an early tactical ride. I know people were wondering whyI gave the ride to Mads (Korneliussen) but I looked at the Ipswich pairingsand they looked like the only ones that were really vulnerable. "Mads played a massive part tonight. I gave him Heat 15 as well when peoplewere wondering if I should have gone for Simon Stead or Zengota, but Madswas on such a high after heat 14 that I gave him the ride and he didn't letme down." WOLVERHAMPTON No.1 Fredrik Lindgren helped to secure a last-heat 3-3 atEastbourne which confirmed a vital away win for the reigning champions.Lindgren said: "After we lost at Ipswich we needed a good result and we gotit. It was a good effort from the whole team and we were put under pressure.

"We rode hard to get into a good position and then they came back at us realhard. We managed to hold on in the last race and it must have been a goodmeeting for the fans to watch."

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST...

BERWICK star Lee Complin is desperate to see a change of fortunes after aninjury-hit first half of the season when the Bandits return to ShielfieldPark action on Saturday.Complin said: "As everyone knows I have had a lot of injury problems thisyear. First of all there was my broken arm, then the bone in my foot.Hopefully all that is behind me now, and for me the season really does startnow."BIRMINGHAM boss Graham Drury is calling for a big effort from his side tooverturn their 13-point first leg deficit in Wednesday's Premier Trophysemi-final against Rye House.Drury said: "We're definitely back in the tie from where we were early on onSunday, it's right on a cliff-edge and all the lads are very confident thatwe can pull those points back. If we ride to our potential, that will see usthrough."EDINBURGH star Andrew Tully reeled off four unbeaten rides in the Monarchs'win over Redcar, only to come to grief in the last race - one of severalhome riders to fall during the meeting.Tully said: "It would have been nice to finish with a maximum, but I wasgoing a bit haywire in the final heat and fell off. I sort of knew I wasgoing to hit the fence."GLASGOW'S powerful top two of Travis McGowan and Joe Screen both scored fullmaximums in the Tigers' 53-40 win over Stoke on Sunday.It was Screen's second full house of the weekend as he had also beenunbeaten in the nine-point defeat at Loomer Road one night earlier.KING'S LYNN manager Rob Lyon says the standard of the Premier League isimproving year-on-year, and he believes several teams are in contention forthe title.Lyon told edp24.co.uk :"I think four or five clubs will realistically bechallenging, but that is good in the sense it keeps the standard up of theleague and keeps it competitive. What I have noticed more and more is thatclubs have become so much more professional."NEWCASTLE boss George English is confident of progress in both the PremierTrophy and Knockout Cup in a busy schedule of vital fixtures.He said: "Whenever we are able to track our full seven-man team, I amconfident of a good result, and, as Kenni and Rene have no commitmentsabroad to prevent them riding in any of the upcoming matches, you can betwe've got our eyes on a place in the next stage of both competitions."NEWPORT skipper Craig Watson has praised fellow countryman Alex Davies, whohas moved up into the Wasps' top five in his first season of British racing.Watson told the South Wales Argus: "Full praise to 17-year-old Alex. He ishaving to take tougher rides because of his elevation to the top five in theriding order and he has really stepped up to the plate."REDCAR promoter Brian Havelock is backing his revised team including recentsignings James Grieves and Charles Wright to build up a first-leg lead fromThursday's Cup-tie against Newcastle.Havelock said: "Any fixture against our Tyneside rivals is something to lookforward to and the fact that this is a Knock Out Cup match adds an extradimension. I am sure that James and Charles are capable of making a bigdifference to the Bears' scorechart and it is important that we build areasonable lead to take to Newcastle for the second leg on Sunday evening."RYE HOUSE boss John Sampford is hoping that a 13-point first leg lead overBirmingham will be enough to take the Rockets into the Premier Trophy Final- but he knows the tie is still well-poised.Sampford said: "I would have liked more points in the bag to go to Perry Barwith, but we've got what we've got and we have to make do with it. We seemedto stall when they threw in the Tactical rides."SCUNTHORPE star Viktor Bergstrom is expected to be out until mid-July aftercrashing during his comeback meeting at Workington and suffering a brokenfinger.Bergstrom said: "I hurt my finger and hit my head pretty bad because I don'tremember much from it. Also my leg is still not very good, which could be aproblem if I have another crash. It might be if I have one more crash Imight not be able to ride any more."SHEFFIELD star Richard Hall says the Tigers' current run of five straightPremier League wins has brought the feel-good factor back to Owlerton.Hall said: "It was a tough start to the season and it's going great for usnow, I always enjoy riding at Sheffield and the track is brilliant for us atthe moment. We were riding hard early on but the track was suitable tovisiting riders as well as ourselves. Now we seem to have the home advantageback and we are making the most of it."SOMERSET are seeking revenge for a recent home defeat by Birmingham when thesides meet in the Knockout Cup this week.Manager Steve Bishop said: "It was a great feeling when the team won the KOCup back in 2008, and we would dearly love to repeat that success again thisyear. However, as Birmingham proved here a couple of weeks ago, they are atough nut to crack, but hopefully with the changes we have made to our lineup since then, plus we will have Cory [Gathercole] in the side this timearound, I really think that we could go to Perry Barr for the second legwith a good lead behind us."STOKE manager Malcolm Vasey was far from downhearted with the Potters'13-point defeat at Glasgow, coming a day after an impressive home victoryover the Tigers.Vasey said: "We battled really hard and I was pleased with our performance.We were just five points down going into the last three heats but we justcouldn't handle Joe Screen and Travis McGowan. We also paid the penalty fornot scoring enough points against their middle order but all in all it was abattling display by us and I'm not too disappointed."WORKINGTON boss Ian Thomas was left bemused by his side's display in the56-36 defeat at Scunthorpe - just 24 hours after defeating the Scorpions bythe same scoreline at Derwent Park!Thomas told getnoticed24.co.uk : "I thought we had the measure of them,especially after the way we had dealt with them on Saturday and I waslooking for a victory and certainly, at the very least, a bonus point. Butfrom that point we just went backwards. They started gating and we just felloff the pace."

NATIONAL LEAGUE action continues and you can find all relevant news, reportsand other information in the NL section on www.speedwaygb.com

FIXTURE PICTURE...

TUESDAY JUNE 22:PREMIER TROPHY SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: King's Lynn v Newcastle 7.30WEDNESDAY JUNE 23:PREMIER TROPHY SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Birmingham v Rye House 8pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Bournemouth v Buxton 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 24:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Glasgow 7.45PREMIER 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 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Somerset v Birmingham 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Plymouth v Rye House 7.30, Scunthorpe v Bournemouth 7.30,Weymouth v Dudley 7.15

SATURDAY JUNE 26:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Berwick v Workington 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Buxton 7pm (or Sun 2pm)

SUNDAY JUNE 27:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v King's Lynn 4pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Newcastle v Redcar 6.30, Workington v Berwick7pm NATIONAL LEAGUE: King's Lynn v Isle of Wight 7pm, Mildenhall v Bournemouth5pm, Newport v Plymouth 2.30

MONDAY JUNE 28:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 7.30, Peterborough v Lakeside7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30

TUESDAY JUNE 29:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v King's Lynn (at Wolverhampton) 7.30, Isle of Wightv Scunthorpe 7.30

WEDNESDAY JUNE 30:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.30, Poole v Coventry7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Birmingham v Somerset 7.30, King's Lynn vEdinburgh 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 1:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Coventry 7.45, Swindon v Ipswich 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Rye House 7.45

FRIDAY JULY 2:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Newport 7.30, Somerset v Newcastle 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Weymouth v Scunthorpe 7.15

SATURDAY JULY 3:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Newport 7pm, Rye House v Edinburgh 7pm, Stoke vNewcastle 7.30, Workington v Birmingham 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 4:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Sheffield 4pm, Newcastle v Workington 6.30,Newport v Edinburgh 2pm, Scunthorpe v Rye House 5pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v King's Lynn 3pm, Mildenhall v Isle of Wight 5pm,Scunthorpe v Rye House (follows PL fixture).

MONDAY JULY 5:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Lakeside 7.30, Eastbourne vPeterborough 7.30, Wolverhampton v Ipswich 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 7:PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Redcar 7.30, Kings Lynn v Scunthorpe 7.30