BRITISH Youth bosses are expecting a terrific contest in the World Under-21 Team Cup semi-final at Lakeside on Sunday – where Team GB face Australia, the Czech Republic and Denmark.Co-boss Phil Morris said: “We would like to thank the Lakeside management for agreeing to stage this meeting at very short notice.“We’re sure it will be a very tough meeting as only the winners are guaranteed a place in the Final. Eventually joining them, along with the hosts at Gniezno Poland on September 1, will be the winners of Monday’s other semi-final in Abensberg, Germany. The one remaining place is then given to the highest scoring second-placed team, so every point is going to be vital today.“It would be a fantastic achievement for this British team to qualify because for four out of the five riders this will be their last season of representing their country at Under-21 level - only Kyle Howarth has more years to come. It would be great for them to sign-off with a good result and a place in a World Final.”GB TEAM: Richie Worrall, Joe Haines, Kyle Howarth, Steve Worrall, Kyle Newman.
*GREAT Britain will have at least three representatives in this season’s World Under-21 semi-finals.Richie Worrall, Tom Perry and Kyle Newman are all just one meeting away from the seven-round Final series having negotiated the first qualifying rounds, and Richie’s brother Steve will be a reserve.The semi-finals take place in Terenzano and Chervonograd on Saturday June 2, and included in the schedule for the Final is a British-staged round at Coventry on Friday August 17 as well as two rounds at the end of the season in Argentina.Newman had made it through from Neustadt Donau last month, whilst Worrall came close to outright victory in the Blijham qualifier only to fall in a run-off with Przemyslaw Pawlicki. Perry, meanwhile, snatched the final qualifying place by scoring in every ride.GB Youth co-boss Phil Morris, who made the trip to Holland, said: “Tom had some bike problems but still managed to tie on seven points with Alex Davis for the last qualifying spot. “But the star of the show was Richie, who had a run-off for first place and only a dubious refereeing decision kept him off top spot. “He was fantastic and is Great Britain’s first rider in a while at Under-21 level that can mix it with Poland’s best like he did with the Pawlicki brothers. I don't expect people to get carried away, but he's on the road to big things in speedway.” Meanwhile, Morris’s colleague Neil Vatcher accompanied Steve Worrall and Stefan Nielsen to Gorican and said both riders will benefit from a learning experience that could yet see Worrall continue in the competition.Vatcher said: “Steve just missed out on qualifying by one point, and he now travels to the semi-final as one of the reserves. On a very fast track, Steve scored in every race but just lacked speed.“Stefan is just 17 but he got second place in his first race and was well on the pace and not scared to mix it.“He didn’t score after that but he crashed three times when in scoring positions. It was great experience for him, though, and his time will come.”
*BERWICK have confirmed details for an after-meeting party at the Grand Prix qualifier on June 16, with a Ceilidh evening featuring Paul Capaldi and his accordion.All funds generated will be poured into the club’s Fence Fund and there will also be conventional music along with the ceilidh band.Club director John Anderson said: “We thought it would be a nice touch, with so many folk coming from all over to this meeting, if we put on something with a local flavour.“Tickets will only be £6 and we have booked out the entire pub – bar and function suite – for this affair. No ticket, no admission!”
SPEEDWAYGB EVENTS SERIES:BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: JOE HAINESPREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Peterborough, Sunday July 15BRITISH FINAL: Wolverhampton, Monday July 30PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, Friday August 24PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, Sunday September 23ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Swindon, Saturday October 20
NATIONAL LEAGUE MAJOR EVENT DATES:NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Stoke, Sunday June 10NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: Mildenhall, Sunday July 22NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, Saturday September 15
BRITISH SPEEDWAY FIM EVENT DATES:WORLD UNDER-21 TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL: Lakeside, May 27GRAND PRIX QUALIFIER: Berwick, June 16WORLD UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP Round 3: Coventry, August 17
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BELLE VUE skipper Rory Schlein is targeting a return to action in early June having broken a bone in his left foot – and Aces boss Jim Lynch wants him to make the most of his enforced rest.Lynch said: “Rory agreed that he hasn’t been at his best, and we both feel that he needs this time out to help him get back in the groove.“We desperately need to have him leading the side from the front to help us get over our disappointing start to the season.”BIRMINGHAM boss Phil Morris couldn’t hide his frustration as the Brummies let a winning position slip away by conceding 5-1s in the last three races of their match at Peterborough on Monday.Morris said: “We’re very despondent, we can’t believe the last three races. They had a reserve in two of the last three and we managed to let it slip.“The boys gave it their all but from a management point of view I can’t be happy. We had a chance tonight with Olly (Allen) dropping out in his first race, and it was as good a time as any to come here but we fell a bit short. We should have got something here, there are no ifs or buts, and I’m frustrated that we got nothing out of it.”COVENTRY co-promoter Colin Pratt said reserve Jason Bunyan had made a key contribution to the Bees’ hard-fought 48-42 win over Peterborough which was achieved without the injured Kenni Larsen.Pratt said: “Jason hadn’t ridden so far this season because Adam Roynon has been doing well, but for him to come in and do that was fantastic, and it was good to see what he and Leigh (Lanham) picked up between them.““There was one race where Jason rode round Michal Jepsen Jensen and Linus Sundstrom which is probably their strongest pairing, and that was a great ride.”EASTBOURNE boss Trevor Geer is delighted to see the club’s perseverance with Finnish youngster Timo Lahti pay off, with the rider having contributed big scores in Eagles wins over Swindon and then away at Belle Vue on Monday.Geer said: “I couldn’t be more proud of every one of the lads and as for Timo and yet another match winning performance, well I think we truly have a star in the making.“For a time it appeared that the Aces might hold all the cards and having gone 10-points up, there was a possibly that they might have run away with things. But the lads got their heads down, got stuck in and thanks to that stunning run of 5-1s in the closing stages, that is what saw us through.”KING’S LYNN manager Rob Lyon says the Stars face an important period as they look to catch up on home fixtures, having not raced at the Norfolk Arena since April 6.Lyon said: “It’s not far short of two months since we last rode at home with all the rain-offs, and hopefully we can now get properly up and running with our revised team.“The boys need home meetings, and luckily we do have some more coming up which will certainly help us. June looks particularly busy with plenty of meetings home and away, as long as the weather holds, so we need to kick on and make sure we maximise all of the points available to us, certainly at home.”LAKESIDE’S doubling-up reserve Richie Worrall continues to impress at all levels of the sport – and has also booked a place in the World Under-21 semi-finals after finishing as runner-up in last weekend’s qualifier in Holland.Worrall said: “I knew that I really need good machinery to do myself justice in the Elite League, and I did spend a lot of money on the bikes before the start of the season, but I think that’s another aspect of me doing so well.“I put a lot of money into my equipment but all these meetings that I’m doing are helping me to recoup some of the outlay. I have progressed rapidly but I think spending the winter in Australia helped me so much.”PETERBOROUGH co-boss Jan Staechmann heaped praise on reserve Richard Lawson who shared in two dramatic late 5-1s to assist the Panthers to complete a turnaround win over Birmingham at the Showground.Staechmann said: “Richard was fantastic, to get anyone to do four on the bounce is a big ask, but he realised something was wrong and swapped bikes, and he contributed two 5-1s which we wouldn’t have dreamed of. “It was damage limitation then, so for him to pop out like he did and for us to get all the points is fantastic. He very much deserved the man of the the match award.”POOLE promoter Matt Ford says the role of doubling-up Swede Ludvig Lindgren should not be under-estimated in the Pirates’ flying start to the season.Ford said: “Ludvig is showing a determination and maturity in his riding. He seems to be riding better for Newcastle as well, and hopefully this is the start of an upward spiral for him.“I think he has got ample time – he is still only 21. Whether he will make the top grade in speedway remains to be seen, but he has the right attributes.”SWINDON plan to pay their own tribute to former Robins star Lee Richardson when they face Peterborough at Blunsdon on Thursday.Co-promoter Gary Patchett said: “There will be an opportunity for supporters to donate to the Lee Richardson Fund which has been established to support Lee’s young family in years to come.“It’s going to be an emotional night in many ways and we have dedicated the front cover of the match programme to Lee’s memory. We also have a centregreen banner with the #RICO hash tag which has been trending on twitter since his passing.”WOLVERHAMPTON star Tai Woffinden is to visit a sports injury specialist to assess his likely time out due to a broken scaphoid.Woffinden said: “I’ve been speaking to loads of people about it but I guess it all boils down to how bad the break is.“I’m going to see a specialist now the swelling has gone down and see what the best course of action will be. I just want to get back riding my bike, but I also know if it’s bad news I’m going to miss some massive meetings.”
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BERWICK’S David Bellego says a recent mechanical change is the main reason for his recent improvement in form.Bellego said: “It’s all down to my change of clutch. Against Edinburgh I was struggling out of the starts and then Lee (Complin) persuaded me to change my clutch plates, and I went out and won Heat 14. It seems to have made a big difference, and there is no doubt the changes have given my confidence a big boost and now I can’t wait to show everyone what I can really do.”EDINBURGH star Derek Sneddon has been boosted by a successful practice at Newcastle and will return from injury for the Monarchs against Rye House on Friday.Sneddon said: “I had three rides. I went out with Lemo (Mark Lemon) and Robbo (Stuart Robson) and I was climbing all over their back wheels. No problems with the collar bone so we’re all good for Friday.”GLASGOW have plenty of incentive to pull back a 14-point first leg deficit in their Knockout Cup clash with Plymouth this Sunday.Co-promoter Stewart Dickson said: “We know that the reward of winning this tie is a potential meeting with Edinburgh, and that is something we have to aim for.”IPSWICH boss Pete Simmons said his side were fully deserving of a useful Premier League point at Newcastle from a 48-42 defeat.Simmons said: “There aren’t many teams going to come here and get a point. We needed to get something out of the final race and Mat (Tresarrieu) rode a sensible race, keeping Stuart Robson at the back for a lap. That allowed Leigh (Lanham) to get away.”LEICESTER collected their first win under new manager Glyn Taylor with a 47-46 League Cup victory over Plymouth, despite a full maximum from the Devils’ Ryan Fisher.Lions co-promoter Alan Jones said: “After the upheaval during the week leading up to the meeting when the focus was more about off-track matters we were all pleased for Glyn and the riders who responded in a positive way to get off to a winning start. It was an all-round team performance that won the day.”NEWCASTLE manager George English highlighted “errors and misjudgements” in the Diamonds’ display on Sunday – but was still relieved to take two match points from a win over Ipswich.English said: “We could easily have lost this match as there were simply too many errors and misjudgements, but somehow we pulled through although did lose one league point to the Witches who can never be underestimated. Thankfully we got the win, which is better than nothing.”PLYMOUTH promoter Mike Bowden has hinted a lower-order change could be made by the Devils in time for the home clash with Scunthorpe on Friday.Bowden said: “I am looking to improve the lower end of the team. We have two of the best riders in the Premier League in Ben Barker and Ryan Fisher but they need the necessary back-up.”REDCAR boss Jitendra Duffill has praised the current form being shown by the Bears’ Aussie youngster Justin Sedgmen, a high-scorer in recent matches.Duffill said: “Justin had a real setback in the 2011 season when Newport released him before the end of their campaign. However, he had a very encouraging set of performances in the National and Under-21 Championships Down Under and has come back stronger this year. Justin has been our top scorer in recent fixtures and his form comes at just the right time as we have to race without Ulrich (Ostergaard) in our ranks.”RYE HOUSE manager John Sampford is predicting a close contest when the Rockets face Edinburgh in the Knockout Cup this weekend.Sampford said: “The form book really goes out the window on this one. It’s simply down to these thirty races. We can ride their place really well, and they can ride ours just as effectively. It’s so open, it’s untrue.”SCUNTHORPE boss Richard Hollingsworth says back-from-injury Tom Armstrong deserves his chance back with the Scorpions after crashing out on his debut back in March.Hollingsworth said: “He has come halfway around the world and invested a large sum in his equipment. A lovely family have taken him into their home and he has been in and around the team all season. He fits in very well with them and deserves his chance, that is for sure.”SHEFFIELD will hand Chris Schramm his Tigers debut on Thursday in their Owlerton clash with Rye House, the 28-year-old having signed to replace the injured Klaus Jakobsen.Club owner Neil Machin said: “I am absolutely delighted that we have managed to get Chris and it will be great to have a full team again. I got in contact with Chris and he was so enthusiastic about riding for Sheffield, it was refreshing.”SOMERSET will have four riders contesting the World Under-21 semi-finals after weekend success for Tom Perry and Alex Davies to join Kyle Newman and Sam Masters in making it through the first qualifiers.Promoter Debbie Hancock said: “To have four riders from the same team to qualify for the semi-finals must be quite a unique achievement. Both Alex and Tom dug deep to make sure of their qualification, I don’t think they wanted to be ‘out-done’ by Sam and Kyle as far as making it through to the semi-finals are concerned.”WORKINGTON overcame Scunthorpe to book a KO Cup quarter-final tie with Leicester – although the Comets saw Kenny Ingalls withdrawn from the first leg with a left shoulder injury, and he then missed the return fixture.Manager Tony Jackson said: “We were not at our best and we certainly missed Kenny’s presence. Thankfully we were able to get the points we needed to go through with Adam Roynon proving to be our match-winner at reserve. Hopefully Kenny will be fit to take his place this weekend when we host Newcastle in our final League Cup group fixture.”FIXTURE PICTURE…TUESDAY MAY 22:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Ipswich 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v King’s Lynn 7.30, Isle of Wight v Stoke 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 23:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Peterborough 7.30, King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 24:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Poole 7.30, Swindon v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Rye House 7.45PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Ipswich v Somerset 7.30, Redcar v Newcastle 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 25:PREMIER LEAGUE: Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Edinburgh v Rye House 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 26:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Leicester v Somerset 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Rye House v Edinburgh 7pmLEAGUE CUP: Workington v Newcastle 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Buxton 7.30
SUNDAY MAY 27:WORLD UNDER-21 TEAM CUP SEMI-FINAL: Lakeside 4pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Glasgow v Plymouth 4pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Stoke 3pm, Mildenhall v Rye House 4.30, Scunthorpe v King’s Lynn 3pm, Scunthorpe v Dudley (follows previous fixture).
MONDAY MAY 28:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30, Coventry v Birmingham 7.30, Wolverhampton v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Newcastle v Redcar 7.30
TUESDAY MAY 29:NATIONAL SHIELD 2nd leg: Dudley v Mildenhall 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 30:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Lakeside 7.30ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 31:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Belle Vue 7.30, Peterborough v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Rye House 7.30, Redcar v Edinburgh 7.30, Sheffield v Somerset 7.45
FRIDAY JUNE 1:ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Coventry v Lakeside 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30, Plymouth v Redcar 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Somerset v Ipswich 7.30
SATURDAY JUNE 2:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Poole 7.30ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Lakeside v Coventry 7.45PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v King’s Lynn 7pm
SUNDAY JUNE 3:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Newcastle 4pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Scunthorpe 3pm, Mildenhall v Stoke 4.30
MONDAY JUNE 4:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Lakeside 7.30, Wolverhampton v Swindon 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Glasgow 6.30, Workington v Berwick 7pmLEAGUE CUP: Rye House v Ipswich 2pm, Scunthorpe v Sheffield 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Mildenhall (follows LC fixture), Scunthorpe v Buxton (follows PL fixture)
TUESDAY JUNE 5:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v King’s Lynn 7.30
WEDNESDAY JUNE 6:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30, Poole v Swindon 7.30
