(SPEEDWAY 1)
LEICESTER have signed former Peterborough man Henning Bager after Richard Sweetman elected to take a break from the sport.Bager will take over as the Lions’ No.1 and will make his debut in the home clash with Edinburgh on Saturday.Promoter David Hemsley said: “After the meeting at Sheffield on Thursday Richard informed me that he wanted to take a break from racing for a while.“I had to act quickly to find a replacement and when I heard that Henning was thinking about returning to race in this country I was immediately interested. Throughout his career he has been a consistent scorer wherever he has ridden, and I feel that his presence will potentially improve the team.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
IPSWICH are set to return to a full seven-man line-up this week having signed Mathieu Tresarrieu as a replacement for long-term injury victim Chris Schramm.Tresarrieu, who had a spell with Leicester earlier in the season, will be joined by Morten Risager and Lasse Bjerre who will both return from recent injury absences in Friday’s Cup replay at Scunthorpe.Witches co-promoter Chris Louis said: “I am very pleased to have Mat on board and I believe that he will bring something to the team that is missing on our travels, especially at the big tracks.“With his Long Track experience and the experience gained riding for Peterborough last season in the Elite League we are looking to him to help turn round our disappointing away form.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
JAMES Brundle picked up two race wins on his Rye House debut as the Rockets defeated Berwick 54-39 in their Premier League clash at Hoddeson.Home boss John Sampford was happy with his team’s display, headed up by a 14-point score from captain Chris Neath and paid-12 at reserve from Luke Bowen.Sampford said: “It was a hard fought victory in more ways than one, what with the weather. We just had too much overall for the Bandits.“James was very nervous before the start, having not ridden in either Premier or Elite League for two and a half seasons, but after his first race he settled down and had a couple of really good wins. Luke was also very much a trump card down at reserve.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
STOKE took control of their National League KO Cup semi-final against Dudley with an impressive 62-32 win in the first leg at Loomer Road.Simon Lambert, Tim Webster and ex-Heathen James Sarjeant were all in double-figures for the Potters – but manager Malcolm Vasey is taking nothing for granted ahead of Tuesday’s second leg.Vasey said: “We are at the halfway stage and despite being thirty points to the good Dudley are a very good team and we will not be taking them lightly in the second leg.“As far as I’m concerned we have one finger in the final, not even a hand, as I’m sure the Heathens will be smarting after this defeat. We rode superbly this afternoon and all of the team deserve credit.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
MILDENHALL reserves Joe Jacobs and debutant Cameron Heeps proved to be the key men in the Fen Tigers’ 47-43 National League win over Buxton.Jacobs and Heeps took extra rides after skipper Jack Hargreaves suffered bruised ribs in a Heat 1 crash, scoring 24 (paid 28) between them against a Hitmen side for whom Robert Branford scored a 15-point maximum.Mildenhall boss Robert Henry said: “Credit to Buxton, they adapted better to the track early on, and losing Jack after his first ride made it more difficult for us. But we gave the boys a kick up the backside during the interval and it did the trick. Cameron, Joe and Danny (Halsey) did a great job."Hopefully we have now learnt we are not invincible and we must never be complacent, which maybe we were guilty of being at times today. In the end though, a win is a win and although it would have been nice to claim all three points, two is better than none."
(FIXTURES)
MONDAY JUNE 27:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v King’s Lynn 7.30, Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30SPRING TROPHY: Glasgow v Edinburgh 7.30
TUESDAY JUNE 28:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v King’s Lynn 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Dudley v Stoke 7.30
WEDNESDAY JUNE 29:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Belle Vue 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Dudley 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 30:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Berwick 7.30, Sheffield v Workington 7.45
FRIDAY JULY 1:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v King’s Lynn 8pm, Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Newcastle 7.30, Somerset v Plymouth 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP REPLAY 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v Ipswich 7.30
