British Speedway Weekly Bulletin

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SPEEDWAY GB Events co-ordinator David Hoggart has revealed plans for the next two major meetings on the Super7even calendar.The Premier League Pairs takes place at Somerset in its now-traditional pre-British Grand Prix slot on Friday June 24, and a big crowd is again expected at the Oak Tree Arena with Sheffield the defending champions.Hoggart has confirmed the first race for the event will get underway at 7.30pm sharp with organisers mindful that many supporters will wish to make their way to Cardiff later that evening ahead of the GP.Hoggart said: “This year we will commence the presentation at 7.15pm so that the first race can start at 7.30pm and then we can get everyone safely off to Cardiff at a reasonable time.  “The Oak Tree Arena is a fabulous venue with good food and cider by cask; it’s always a great meeting and well worth going out of your way to be there on a summer’s evening.”  Meanwhile, the Premier League Fours has a new venue this season, and will also have new winners as 2010 champions Birmingham have now moved up to the Elite League.The event will take place at British Speedway’s newest venue, Beaumont Park, Leicester, where the Lions have raced in front of bumper attendances throughout their comeback season after nearly 30-years away from the sport.Hoggart confirmed the meeting on Sunday August 7 will get underway at 5pm, and praised the input of the local council for their involvement in bringing a major event to the city.He said: “Leicester City Council are delighted that we are taking a national event there and have provided significant backing and resource to facilitate our visit.  “The meeting will be in association with ‘One Leicester’, the strategic plan to regenerate communities and the city over a 25-year period with investment in children, people, skills and enterprise amongst the objectives. Their enthusiasm is commendable and I am looking forward to our event in their community.”As usual the Super7even events series will conclude with the ever-popular individual riders’ championships for both Elite and Premier Leagues.The PLRC once again takes place at Sheffield in late-September and will have a new winner this year after Kenni Larsen moved into the Elite League over the winter, whilst the ELRC has a mid-October date at Swindon where Wolverhampton’s Freddie Lindgren will be defending his title.SUPER7EVEN SERIES SPEEDWAY GB EVENTSBRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: TAI WOFFINDENELITE LEAGUE PAIRS: POOLEBRITISH FINAL: SCOTT NICHOLLSPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, June 24PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Leicester, August 7 PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, September 25 ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Swindon, October 15

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BELLE VUE boss Jim Lynch believes there is more to come from Swedish reserve Ricky Kling – if he can start meetings in a positive fashion.Lynch said: “Ricky is improving although he needs to get Heat 2 right.“He seems to need a bit of time to get into a meeting, but he is a rider who will give you the right response when you tell him you really need a big performance from him in a certain race.”BIRMINGHAM promoter Graham Drury praised everyone associated with the club’s local derby against Coventry last Thursday – which drew the biggest crowd to Perry Barr since the Brummies’ re-opening night in March 2007.Drury said: “Everything went like clockwork. We had a big crowd and the staff were brilliant, nothing went wrong.“And on top of that we won the meeting which was superb for Birmingham Speedway. We are delighted to be in the Elite League and I think the sport is thriving in this country at the moment.”COVENTRY co-boss Alun Rossiter believes Bees skipper Edward Kennett is on the verge of a major breakthrough in the sport.Rossiter said: “Edward was fantastic for us at Birmingham on Thursday. I know a lot of the talk has been about Emil (Sayfutdinov) but that was also a great performance from Edward, and I was also pleased to see his scores for GB in a couple of tough meetings.“He is now in a great position to push on in the sport, and having spoken at length with him I know he’s determined to do it.”EASTBOURNE came from eight points down to snatch a  46-44 home win over King’s Lynn – preventing the Stars from notching their second victory of the season at Arlington.Manager Trevor Geer said: “I thought we were going to get slaughtered, the way we started the meeting. Our riders did not look up for it at all. But we had a good team talk at the interval and it seemed to do a bit of good. They were up for it after that.“It completely fired the riders up. Lukas Dryml was incredible tonight. If he had not had the fall in Heat 14 he would have been out in Heat 15.”KING’S LYNN boss Rob Lyon says the Stars are displaying signs of the team spirit the club enjoyed in their previous years as a successful Premier League outfit.Lyon said: “The Premier League is a very different culture because in the Elite the boys come together once every week or ten days, then they fly off to other parts of Europe and race against each other, so it’s very hard to generate and maintain any momentum.“However, you can now physically see in our camp that when things aren’t quite happening for us, or there are problems in terms of mechanical issues, everyone is working together and the will to want to do it is really coming together nicely – and if we can keep that up, we will have every chance of making the play-offs.”LAKESIDE have added Kevin Doolan to their squad as a doubling-up rider, with Kyle Legault currently on the sidelines with a hand injury and having now been replaced in the Newport team.Hammers boss Jon Cook said: “We have called in ‘Kev’ as we have a number of clashes with Robbo's (Stuart Robson) Premier League commitments up and coming and we need Kyle fit and in the Premier League. “However, I would stress that Kyle was brought into the team in the winter as he is a rider we think has a big future at the Club and we have no intention of changing that view. We are keeping faith with the rest of the team for the Cup and it’s in their hands."PETERBOROUGH will hand a home debut to doubling-up rider Richard Lawson in Monday’s home clash with Birmingham, with regular choice Dakota North still ruled out with finger and thumb injuries.Panthers boss Trevor Swales said: “Richard is very much a rider in form in the Premier League and we have no hesitation in giving him an outing in the Elite League.“He is going through a good spell of form, he is averaging more than seven points and has been in the main body of the team up there (Workington) all season. He is used to riding on a big track, and hopefully he can do well at the Showground.”POOLE boss Neil Middleditch is confident there will be no rustiness from his side when they return to Elite League action this week after a recent break in fixtures – with their clash against Wolves on Wednesday being their milestone 2,000th official league match.Middleditch said: “It’s not a problem because most of our boys ride in Sweden and Poland, with Jason Doyle, Christian Hefenbrock and Kyle Newman also riding in the Premier League.“Although the season’s been bitty, it’s just the way it is. It’s not a big deal. Everyone is riding in between the Poole matches.”SWINDON manager Ronnie Russell says Scott Nicholls’ victory in the British Final at Wolverhampton will give the Robins a major boost.Russell said: “He’s quite elated about the whole thing. I said to him beforehand that Swindon, me and him desperately needed this title and he certainly showed some grit.“Quite a few of the Swindon public have come out tonight and they have gone home happy.”WOLVERHAMPTON boss Peter Adams believes the Monmore men are capable of a big push in the second half of the season to put themselves firmly into play-off contention.Adams said: “We will sit down before the Peterborough meeting and talk about what we need to be between now and the end of the league campaign to get into the play-offs.“I would say 46-points will be enough to get into the top four and we are still capable of doing that.”

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BERWICK co-owner John Anderson was pleased with the displays of his recent signings in the weekend win over Sheffield.Anderson said: “Sebastian Alden was a Scandinavian who really knows how to try his best at all times and loves racing for Berwick. He has a big future with the Bandits I’m sure. Mitch Davey also put in some superb efforts for his four points and again I know we have so much more to come from him, whilst Alex Edberg has certainly learned how to race our track.”EDINBURGH collected a useful point from their trip to Rye House thanks to a Heat 15 5-1 from Craig Cook and Kalle Katajisto.Club director Mike Hunter said: “We kept plugging away quite well and I was quite happy with how we did, but I didn’t expect the 5-1 in the last race. We were much more like a seven-man team and we also got seven points from our two reserves.”GLASGOW boss Stewart Dickson’s thoughts are with popular young Australian Josh Grajczonek, who suffered a season-ending crash at Plymouth on Friday.Dickson said: “He was having the season of his life and to see him in the obvious pain he was is so cruel for the lad. We will also need to look for a replacement for the rest of the season, and with the likelihood of this being Josh's last year with us, it is such a pity if it is to end the way it has.”IPSWICH may be without Chris Schramm for the remainder of the season following his crash at Newport whilst guesting for Glasgow last Saturday.Schramm chipped a vertebra and is likely to require a long-term recovery, with the Witches also having Morten Risager on the sidelines at present – although Chris Mills should return against Edinburgh on Thursday.LEICESTER promoter David Hemsley has admitted his mind is turning towards potential changes after an unexpected home defeat against Plymouth on Saturday.Hemsley said: “Full credit to Plymouth who took their chances, but I was bitterly disappointed with my team. The good news is that Ilya Bondarenko is now ready to return to league action and I will be considering my options with regards to strengthening the team.”NEWCASTLE manager George English took the positives from a 48-45 win over Somerset in a controversial clash with saw the Diamonds suffer numerous setbacks.English said: “A narrow win, yes but it was at least a win despite some of the opposition’s somewhat dubious tactics, and it was good to see Mark (Lemon) back up to power even if he did blow a motor in Heat 13, which was the same remarkable fate as Kyle (Newman) in the very next heat.”NEWPORT promoter Steve Mallett had high praise for a spectacular debut by Danish star Charlie Gjedde, who raced to a 15-point maximum in the Wasps’ weekend home win over Glasgow.Mallett said: “Charlie’s debut is one of the best individual performances I have seen from a Wasps rider, and bearing in mind I used to travel the country with Craig Watson as his sponsor when he was in his prime, that comment does not come easily for me to say.”PLYMOUTH promoter Mike Bowden was delighted by the form shown by recent signing Kyle Hughes, who scored 11 points in the Devils’ weekend win at Leicester.Bowden said: “Kyle had been troubled by mechanical problems in his two home matches since joining us from Somerset. But he spent a lot of time working on his bike on Saturday, sorting out all the silly faults, and he showed us what he can do with his performance at Leicester.”REDCAR feel they will be able to amply cover for the absence of Matej Kus in their clash with Leicester on Thursday, as new averages mean all members of the side are eligible for a rider-replacement outing.Team boss Jitendra Duffill said: “'Matej has moved to second in the team averages so Jason Lyons is now included in the riders who can take one of his programmed races. We will miss seeing his daring bursts around the outside on Thursday but crucially we have the capacity to allow for a good points return in his temporary absence.”RYE HOUSE No.1 Jordan Frampton admitted the Rockets were somewhat frustrated to notch only a six-point winning margin against Edinburgh, limiting them to two league points rather than three – with his own winning run coming to an end in Heat 15.Frampton said: “As far as the team result goes, it was obviously pretty disappointing to drop a match point right at the end. I made a half decent start, but got run up and over the camber, which can happen when you’re off gate four here sometimes.”SCUNTHORPE are set for a Knockout Cup replay against Ipswich after defeating the Witches by 20-points in the second leg on a night of high drama at the Eddie Wright Raceway.Manager Richard Hollingsworth said: “I have to take my hat off to Tero (Aarnio) for volunteering to take gate two. He really has a really positive attitude and is great to work with. He is no mean speedway rider either and despite being headed by Kevin Doolan he managed to pass him and keep the Witches at bay. Of course David (Howe) had another great night; just getting beaten once, and he is the consummate professional.” SHEFFIELD skipper Ricky Ashworth says the loss of broken-ankle victim Josh Auty is a big setback for the Tigers, who have been enjoying a successful run of results of late.Ashworth said: “Obviously it’s a massive blow to lose Josh after his accident in the Under-21s last weekend, he’s been flying. He had just gone to the top of our averages too so he was really riding well. All the lads feel sorry for him.”SOMERSET take a break from team action on Friday to stage the Somerset Open featuring a full 16-man field, the first time the event has been staged since 2003 when David Ruud was the winner.Promoter Debbie Hancock said: “We are still awaiting a couple of Elite League riders to get back to us to confirm their participation, but I am hopeful that they will be available. With many clubs in both the Elite and Premier Leagues also riding on Friday night, it hasn’t been easy to put a field of 16 riders together, but despite that I think we have quite an exciting looking line-up for the fans to enjoy watching in action.”WORKINGTON overcame several injury setbacks to defeat Somerset 53-41 at Derwent Park on Saturday with Richard Lawson piling up an impressive 17-point total.Comets boss Tony Jackson said: “Richard was outstanding. That was his second best performance in a Comets race-jacket. Back in 2009 he scored 18 paid 19 at reserve, but this was obviously a great effort in the main body of the team. It was important for us to beat one of the teams pushing for the title with ourselves.”FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY JUNE 8:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Stoke 8pm

THURSDAY JUNE 9:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Coventry 7.30 ELITE LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP 1st leg: Birmingham v Lakeside 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Edinburgh 7.30, Redcar v Leicester 7.30, Sheffield v Plymouth 7.45

FRIDAY JUNE 10:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 8pm ELITE LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP 2nd leg: Lakeside v Birmingham 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Newport v Berwick 7.30, Plymouth v Rye House 7.30, Scunthorpe v Sheffield 7.30 SUPER CUP 1st leg: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30 SOMERSET OPEN: Somerset 7.30

SATURDAY JUNE 11:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Newport 7pm, Workington v Leicester 7pm NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Hackney v Mildenhall (at Rye House) 7pm

SUNDAY JUNE 12:PREMIER LEAGUE: Leicester v Workington 7pm, Newcastle v Newport 6.30 SUPER CUP 2nd leg: Glasgow v Edinburgh 4pm BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2: Buxton 3pm

MONDAY JUNE 13:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Peterborough v Birmingham 7.30

TUESDAY JUNE 14:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Hackney 7.30

WEDNESDAY JUNE 15:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Eastbourne 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Scunthorpe 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 16:ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Swindon v Poole 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Edinburgh 7.30, Sheffield v Newcastle 7.45 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP REPLAY 1st leg: Ipswich v Scunthorpe 7.30

FRIDAY JUNE 17:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v King’s Lynn 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30, Plymouth v Newcastle 7.30, Somerset v Workington 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP REPLAY 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v Ipswich 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Hackney v Isle of Wight (at Lakeside) 8pm

SATURDAY JUNE 18:ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Eastbourne v Wolverhampton 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Ipswich 7pm, Leicester v Glasgow 7.30, Rye House v Redcar 7pm, Workington v Plymouth 7pm NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: Newport 7pm

SUNDAY JUNE 19:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Ipswich 4pm, Newcastle v Plymouth 6.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Belle Vue 3pm

MONDAY JUNE 20:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Eastbourne 7.30, Wolverhampton v Peterborough 7.30TUESDAY JUNE 21:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Isle of Wight 7.30

WEDNESDAY JUNE 22:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton 7.30 ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Poole v Swindon 7.30


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