BIG EVENT LATEST...

BRITISH youth bosses staged their first Under-16 Training Day last week - and it is reported to have been a huge success.The event took place at Buxton Speedway's Hi-Edge Raceway and in attendance were a group of young guns who will this season form part of the newly-named British Youth Championship.

Former World Champion Gary Havelock was on hand to offer his support to the stars of tomorrow, along with Swindon skipper Simon Stead and Under-21 manager Neil Vatcher. Fellow youth boss Phil Morris unfortunately couldn't attend due to a family bereavement.Riders were already arriving as early at 8.30am for the 10am start, where Vatcher then presented them with their 2011 British Youth Championship race jackets, all emblazoned with their own names and numbers.

In total 25 riders took to the Buxton track, which was made up of four riding 500cc machines, seven on 250cc, three with 160cc and eleven aboard their 125cc bikes, and the day proved to be hugely beneficial to all those who attended.

Vatcher commented: "I let the riders go out in pairs and both Gary and Simon went either side of the track to watch and give advice. Both riders gave guidance to one pupil each and some great improvement during the course of the day was made by all of them."In all, the pupils had about 6-8 goes each, and everyone commented afterwards that Gary and Simon's advice had helped them enormously. The day was a big success with everyone working hard and giving up their time."Richard Moss kept the track in good condition during the day, grading and watering when requested. Our thanks also go to Richard and Jayne Moss, their helpers at Buxton, Gary and Simon for attending and of course the 25 lads and their parents for all turning up and making it an enjoyable day."Next stop is the first round of the British Youth Championship which is being staged at Newport on Sunday May 15.*THE race for places in the British Final gets underway this month with semi-finals being staged at Scunthorpe (May 13) and Sheffield (May 19).Wolverhampton is the venue for this season's Final, with Great Britain captain Chris Harris going for three titles in a row and four in succession.The top seven riders from each of the semi-finals will qualify automatically for the Final, with organisers then able to seed two more riders to the Monmore Green showpiece.

SUPER7EVEN SERIES SPEEDWAY GB EVENTSBRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: TAI WOFFINDENELITE LEAGUE PAIRS: POOLEBRITISH FINAL: Wolverhampton, June 6PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, June 24PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Leicester, August 7 PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, September 25 ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Swindon, October 15

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST...

BELLE VUE boss Jim Lynch revealed that the Aces' Bank Holiday Monday match-winner Ricky Kling had wanted to end his meeting after three poor rides against Birmingham - before making changes and then being involved in three crucial 5-1s.Lynch said: "Ricky asked to be taken out of the meeting after his third ride. I told him he couldn't do that and to go out again and show some grit, because we needed him if we were to save the match."It worked because he had a win and two second places behind his team-mate as we staged a fantastic recovery against a makeshift Birmingham side that battled magnificently. But Ricky won it for us with those three rides."

BIRMINGHAM star Daniel King is hoping his injury absence will be a relatively brief one, after being ruled out following a crash in Poland last week.King said: "It was starting to get me down to be honest because I had three different opinions and all I wanted to do was get to the bottom of it."I'm still uncomfortable, battered and bruised, but I'm thinking another couple of weeks and I can be back racing again, which is great news for me."

COVENTRY boss Alun Rossiter expects a terrific contest when his side look to protect their 100 per cent home record in a local derby clash with Wolverhampton on Friday.Rossiter said: "We know Friday is going to be a big one, and hopefully we will have another good crowd as the way the fixtures have worked out means that this will be Wolverhampton's only official Elite League visit of the season."I know they're still using rider-replacement for Tai Woffinden but there's no reason why they won't get plenty of points from that, especially with how Ty Proctor goes at Coventry, so we'll be ready for a tough match."

EASTBOURNE have confirmed that Bjarne Pedersen's absence from their defeat at Peterborough on Thursday was because he was back home having treatment on his back.Manager Trevor Geer said: "Bjarne has the paperwork from where he was on Thursday. He was being treated back in Denmark."He was getting his back looked at. He has been suffering a bit since last Friday, but he's feeling okay now."

KING'S LYNN boss Rob Lyon believes the strong form being displayed by the Stars at the Norfolk Arena will be key to their success throughout the season.Lyon said: "I'm not getting carried away at all and I'm also not getting worried about the run of away matches that we have coming up."I've always said our home form is crucial, and if we can be strong here and pick up the majority of points with the odd few away from home, then I'd imagine we will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season."

LAKESIDE boss Jon Cook has confirmed that the paying attendance for the recent Good Friday fixture against Eastbourne was the biggest since he and owner Stuart Douglas took over the club in 2011.Cook said: "We beat our previous best for a league match by 400 or so, and I'm absolutely over the moon with the figures."Because of the weather, the track was slick and dusty, but hopefully many of those who came along will have been sufficiently impressed with the quality of racing and will be returning soon."

PETERBOROUGH reserve Norbert Kosciuch played a starring role in the Panthers' comeback win over Eastbourne, celebrating his 27th birthday with a bumper 11 (paid 12) haul in an impressive display.Kosciuch said: "I was very, very happy tonight. It is just my third meeting with the new silencers and I have to get used to them, but I am getting used to the track here."The Showground is a very fantastic track and I like it a lot. I have been very happy for the start of the season and it is good for the team because we are winning. I just have to do the same at the away tracks now!"

POOLE promoter Matt Ford is refusing to take anything for granted ahead of the Pirates' home clash with Lakeside this week.Ford said: "Protecting our home record is always uppermost in our game plan. However, I was interested to hear the recent thoughts of Poole Town FC manager Tom Killick who claimed that 'teams tended to up their game" when playing against his successful Dolphins side."I can empathise with Tom on that as it is a similar thing with the Pirates and that means there can be no room for complacency both within the team and on the terraces."

SWINDON star Scott Nicholls produced a brilliant Heat 15 victory over Eastbourne's Bjarne Pedersen to lift the Robins off the bottom of the Elite League table with all three points against the Eagles.Nicholls said: "It's a really pleasing result and just shows that we have a good team here at Swindon. It's been a tough time for the club in the early stages of the season but you only have to look at last season and the nightmare start Coventry made and yet ended up as champions."It's all about getting into the top four and having beaten Poole and now Eastbourne in successive home meetings we have to have belief that we can get into the play-offs. The team spirit is excellent."

WOLVERHAMPTON promoter Chris Van Straaten says the club are hopeful of seeing GB star Tai Woffinden back from a broken collarbone in the near future, having secured home wins over Belle Vue and Lakeside in his absence.Van Straaten said: "Tai is having a short break in the sun to get some rays on his collarbone, hopefully we will see him back in the saddle in the not too distant future."Our aim is to keep picking points up at every opportunity to keep our tally ticking over with the aim of reaching the top four by the end of August."

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST...

BERWICK racked up their biggest win of the season so far with a 59-34 result over newcomers Plymouth at Shielfield Park, to the pleasure of boss Ian Rae.Rae said: "This was a good solid performance by the lads, of whom Charlie (Gjedde), Kozza (Smith), Pepe (Franc) and Lee (Complin) only dropped two points each and Jade (Mudgway) at reserve only dropped three from his six races."

EDINBURGH star Craig Cook scored a brilliant 16 points in the Monarchs' narrow defeat at Scunthorpe, and admitted his frustration at the team missing out 46-44.Cook said: "I was pleased with my score, but I just wish we could have got the extra points. We were so close."

GLASGOW promoter Alan Dick watched his side hit an impressive 62 points against Plymouth on Sunday - and said he felt the result had been coming over the early weeks of the season.Dick said: "I suspected before the meeting that we could record a very big win and that is the way it turned out. It was important for some of the lads to have a good one and there is no doubt that Michal (Rajkowski), James (Grieves) and Theo (Pijper) produced their best of the season so far."

IPSWICH star Morten Risager suffered severe damage to a finger in the Witches' defeat at Rye House on Bank Holiday Monday.Risager was leading Heat 7 but hit the fence on the fourth bend, and the club are now awaiting news on the extent of the injury.

LEICESTER are hopeful of bringing in a new signing to replace Russian racer Ilya Bondarenko, who is set to miss four to six weeks with a shoulder injury.Promoter David Hemsley said: "We're in negotiations with another rider now, so hopefully that will come to fruition during the course of the week because it's not ideal to be using rider replacement when we need the other six to be on top form."

NEWCASTLE boss George English lavished praise on Stuart Robson, who scored a full maximum in the Diamonds' dramatic comeback victory over Sheffield.English said: "Stuart was simply inspirational in his encouragement and was totally instrumental in our eventual success, not only scoring point on track but motivating our lads in the pits."

NEWPORT co-promoter Steve Mallett has admitted that the Wasps are looking to enter the transfer market after a run of home defeats at the start of the season.Mallett said: "I am seriously unhappy and still actively looking to change. But we are finding it difficult to find suitable replacements and hope the fans bear with us. I don't think they expected this crop of riders to perform as they are, bearing in mind their finish last year."

PLYMOUTH promoter Mike Bowden was pleased with the entertainment on show in the Devils' first match at Premier League level, if not the final result as Sheffield edged a thriller 45-44.Bowden said: "We suffered because it was our first Premier League match while Sheffield had already completed eight league matches. So it was not surprising that they had a little more about them, but I was very pleased with the standard of racing and I am sure we will have many more exciting matches to thrill the supporters throughout the season."

REDCAR will showcase several of the country's rising stars when they take a break from Premier League action to stage the Stars of Tomorrow individual event on Thursday.Club captain Gary Havelock said: "'There has been concern about the performances of the Great Britain team at world level in recent years but this meeting will demonstrate that the sport's third tier - the National League - is doing its job in giving real race opportunities to British youngsters."

RYE HOUSE suffered two injury blows in their eventful Monday clashes with Ipswich, gaining four points across the home and away matches but losing two riders by the completion of the action.Luke Bowen came to grief in the afternoon fixture at Foxhall and sustained a broken L1 vertebra, whilst Jason Doyle's crash in Heat 13 of the return match saw the Australian suffer a badly dislocated shoulder, and caused the meeting to be abandoned two races early.

SCUNTHORPE boss Richard Hollingsworth admitted that any kind of win would do for him after his side edged past a strong Edinburgh challenge 46-44 at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Monday.Hollingsworth said: "Edinburgh really are a formidable side on our track so if I had been offered a narrow win before the start of the meeting I'd have probably taken it."

SHEFFIELD co-promoter David Hoggart said his side had dug deep in order to secure an away win at Premier League newcomers Plymouth, in the first meeting at that level to be staged at the venue.Hoggart said: "We had a number of fallers and incidents on what is a very tight track, Josh (Auty) had a very nasty crash and several of the boys produced some very brave rides to get us the points, so credit to them all. It was a great atmosphere and we got the result we wanted."

SOMERSET promoter Debbie Hancock believes her side can continue with their table-topping form despite a re-shuffle brought about by new averages, which will see free-scoring reserve Dakota North moving into the top five.She said: "Obviously things now change with Dakota moving up into the main body of the team, but hopefully the momentum we have built up in getting us to where we are at this stage of the season will continue as we head into May and beyond."

WORKINGTON promoter Keith Denham was pleased to take maximum points from the Comets' weekend clashes with Newport - although he has concerns at reserve with Charles Wright crashing out and Kenny Ingalls only just back from injury himself.Denham said: "We have had two good results over the weekend and it is great that we got the seven points. Gary (Irving) was again impressive when he came in for Charles and he always seems to step up to the mark. In terms of the results it was another good night but I am not sure what we are going to do with the reserves next weekend."

FIXTURE PICTURE...

WEDNESDAY MAY 4:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King's Lynn v Eastbourne 7.30, Poole v Lakeside 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 5:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v King's Lynn 7.30 STARS OF TOMORROW: Redcar 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 6:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 8pm, Lakeside v Poole 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30, Plymouth v Redcar 7.30, Somerset v Newport 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 7:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v King's Lynn 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Rye House 7pm, Leicester v Redcar 7.30, Newport v Scunthorpe 7pm, Workington v Edinburgh 7pm NATIONAL LEAGUE: Hackney v King's Lynn (at Rye House) 7pm NATIONAL LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP 2nd leg: Stoke v Buxton 7.30

SUNDAY MAY 8:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Rye House 4pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Belle Vue 4.30

MONDAY MAY 9:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Coventry 7.30, Wolverhampton v Peterborough 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Mildenhall 7.30

TUESDAY MAY 10:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Isle of Wight v Newport 7.30

WEDNESDAY MAY 11:NATIONAL LEAGUE: King's Lynn v Buxton 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 12:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Coventry 7.30, Peterborough v Poole 7.30, Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30 PREMEIR LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Ipswich v Scunthorpe 7.30, Redcar v Workington 7.30, Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.45

FRIDAY MAY 13:BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: Scunthorpe 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30; 1st leg: Somerset v Plymouth 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 14:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Plymouth v Somerset 7.30, Workington v Redcar 7pm; 1st leg: Leicester v Glasgow 7.30, Rye House v Newcastle 7pm NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Newport v Isle of Wight 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 15:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Glasgow v Leicester 4pm, Newcastle v Rye House 6.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Newport 3pm, Mildenhall v King's Lynn 4.30 BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1: Newport 2.30

MONDAY MAY 16:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Peterborough 7.30, Lakeside v Wolverhampton 7.30

TUESDAY MAY 17:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: Dudley v Belle Vue 7.30

WEDNESDAY MAY 18:NATIONAL LEAGUE: King's Lynn v Newport 7.30