British Speedway Weekly Bulletin

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BRITISH Speedway major events co-ordinator David Hoggart has paid tribute to all involved in a highly successful staging of the Premier League Fours at Peterborough.Berwick were the surprise but deserving winners of the event, edging out Leicester in a tense struggle in the Final, and there was some high-quality racing at the Showground with track staff working wonders after heavy rain in the preceding days.Hoggart said: The quality of racing and the atmosphere here today are testimony to the hard work so many people have put in. I cannot praise the Peterborough promotion enough - they are ahead of their time with the finest of detail taken care of. I'm delighted for Berwick, they are very worthy winners and the effort and energy put in by the other seven clubs made for a fantastic day out, which is what the Fours is all about.The Bandits last won the Fours in 2002, and their victorious quartetSebastian Alden, Ricky Ashworth, Lee Complin and David Bellego, joined by reserve Alex Edbergwere understandably elated with their days work.Ashworth said: Peterborough is the home of meetings like this, and the race-track was a joy to race on. I think this is where the Fours should be forever!Weve come here today off the back of a bad result, and I think thats what me and Josh (Auty) did when we won the Pairs (with Sheffield). The pressure was off us, nobody was really expecting us to do anything, so to go and win the group and then lead pretty much from the start of the Final was fantastic.The Berwick fans havent had much to shout about this year but they show such commitment following us around and its great that we can do this for them. We needed a lift in the camp, and I think this has done it.*GREAT Britains World Cup representatives will be in direct competition with each other when the British Final is staged at Wolverhampton on July 30.Defending Champion and six-time winner Scott Nicholls, treble winner Chris Harris, home hero Tai Woffinden and in-form Danny King will all have their eyes on the title at Monmore Green.Nicholls won the meeting last year in a dramatic, twice re-run Final after he, Harris, Woffinden and Edward Kennett all came to grief in the first staging.The top sixteen British riders are set to take part in the meeting after the unfortunate postponement of both qualifying semi-finals. The draw for the event is expected to be ratified shortly.

SPEEDWAYGB EVENTS SERIES:BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: JOE HAINESPREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: BERWICKBRITISH 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 PAIRS: Mildenhall, Sunday July 22NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Stoke, Sunday August 26NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, Saturday September 15

BRITISH SPEEDWAY FIM EVENT DATES:WORLD UNDER-21 TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL: AUSTRALIAGRAND PRIX QUALIFIER: CHRIS HARRISWORLD UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP Round 3: Coventry, August 17

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BELLE VUE chief David Gordon says there will be no giving in from the Aces, despite a hugely problematic season so far due to injuries and the weather.Gordon said: The new signings have added something to the team that we needed desperately. Theyve added life to it, and you can detect a different attitude.But thats not the end of it. We are still on the lookout to strengthen the team, and were talking to people. Weve still got plenty of matches ahead of us this season and its not our nature to give in.BIRMINGHAM co-promoter Graham Drury is expecting one of the matches of the season when the Brummies resume their play-off push against league leaders Poole on Thursday.Drury said: Poole are big business for anyone and when they turn up with a top three of Chris Holder, Darcy Ward and KK (Krzysztof Kasprzak) we know weve got a big job on our hands.Its vital for us that we make a good start to the meeting and we need the backing of our supporters too.COVENTRY star Scott Nicholls says the Bees have the personnel to break their current run of four straight defeatswith club bosses now having moved to add Mathias Thornblom and Josef Franc to the squad.Nicholls said: I dont know why were not winningwe should be. Weve got a team capable of winning anywhere, and I understand the supporters frustration.Theres nobody more frustrated than us riders, and we just have to go out and do our absolute best on-track to turn things around.EASTBOURNE boss Trevor Geer says the Eagles need to take points from some vital upcoming away matches if they are to secure a play-off place for the second season in succession.Geer said: Picking up points away from home is going to be a key factor in our push for the play offs. We have won two matches away in succession and we will go to Norfolk (Kings Lynn) with high hopes of keeping the run going.Earlier in the season we lost heavily at the Norfolk Arena in the A fixture but our chances went within the first few seconds of the match starting. Our No 1 Joonas Kylmakorpi crashed on the first bend of heat one and that was a blow from which we could never recover.KINGS LYNN boss Rob Lyon says there are several critical fixtures coming up for the Stars, as they face clashes with all of their direct rivals for a play-off place.Lyon said: I feel if we win all of our home meetings and can avoid dropping more than two or three points, I think well probably need somewhere in the region of three or four points away to reach the top four.But we do have quite a few six-pointers coming up. I feel the teams were battling for a play-off place are Eastbourne, Peterborough and Birmingham, and weve got to race them all home and away.LAKESIDE manager Neil Vatcher says there was a team meeting following the Hammers final fixture before the World Cup break, as they look to regain momentum in the next phase of Elite League matches.Vatcher said: Our season started well enough, but now other clubs are right on our tails at the moment and there is no room for us to relax.In reality, we are looking to pick up points at every meeting we ride in. We had a good chat to the team after the meeting at Swindon and they are fully aware of the situation.PETERBOROUGH star Olly Allen believes the Panthers are very much within range of the play-off battle with a busy schedule ahead over the coming weeksstarting with two home matches in five days.Allen said: Were nine points off the top four at the moment, but that is not as big a deficit as it sounds. There are four points available for a big away win these days and three for a good home win, so any team that hits a bit of form can close that sort of gap pretty quickly.Weve got a good opportunity to do just that. All the riders and management believe we are contenders for the play-offs.POOLE star Krzysztof Kasprzak has targeted major silverware for the Pirates as he prepares to make his return to his first British club, having been recruited to replace Adrian Miedzinski.Kasprzak said: I had no hesitation in saying 'yes' to Matt (Ford) when he contacted me but the timing of his call was not good. However, we managed to sort some things out and I am really looking forward to riding once again for Poole. I enjoy riding for Poole and want to come back and help them win another league and cup double.SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter feels strong performances in the next fortnight could see the Robins make virtually certain of a place in the play-offs.Rossiter said: Were up there, and a couple of wins could really cement our place in the play-offswe want to be there, and we want to go for top spot, and were capable of winning these matches, as weve shown so far.Weve got two big away matches coming up in the next few days as well, and really everything now is going to be vital.WOLVERHAMPTON have announced free admission for all children aged 11 and under during the school summer holidays, with a busy fixture list scheduled for Monmore Green in the coming weeks.Promoter Chris Van Straaten said: The weather experts are telling us there will be a break in the dreadful weather we have all experienced and we should be in for a good dry spell."So with the school holidays now upon us we believe this is a great opportunity to encourage youngsters to come along and enjoy a great night out.

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BERWICK skipper Lee Complin was proud of his team-mates as the Bandits took the Premier League Fours title at Peterboroughdespite Complin himself suffering a heavy crash in the Final.Complin said: With me having that bad crash I thought that was it for us. But the lads absolutely pulled together and thats what its about. Its not an individual event, its a team event, and if it wasnt for those lads who battled on and got us the points when Id done that, we wouldnt be here now.EDINBURGH reserve Micky Dyer could be ruled out of this weekends matches after breaking two bones in his foot in a Heat 14 collision with Berwicks David Bellego last Friday.Dyer, who scored an impressive 12-points on the night, said: Once the adrenaline wore off, my foot became very sore on Saturday and wasnt getting better so I visited the hospital at night and was told I had broken two bones. The hospital told me I cannot race for a fortnight, but if my foot can get into my riding boot I will attempt to give it a go.GLASGOW boss Alan Dick believes Tigers reserve Mason Campton, who scored 17 at Leicester last weekend, will go on to make significant progress in the sport.Dick said: We have had our eye on him for a long time and it was great when he came over last year and did a few meetings, and more importantly seemed to take to Ashfield, and that was a crucial matter. He is a very clever rider who takes his speedway very seriously, and I think he will progress at a very quick rate over the next two or three years.IPSWICH youngster Rohan Tungate has been promoted to the No.5 positionhaving started the season at reserveas the Witches seek to improve a disappointing home record.Tungate said: I didnt come to Ipswich to be a reserve all season. Im enjoying Ipswich (but) we need to sort ourselves out a bit. We need to get on a roll at home and win some meetings. The riders arent happy at losing at home, and we know the fans arent either.LEICESTER boss Glyn Taylor offered congratulations to Berwick after seeing his side miss out on the Premier League Fours title by three points in Sundays showpiece event at Peterborough.Taylor said: I thought all of our guys did a superb job, but we just werent quite good enough on the day. We were beaten by the better side and Berwick are to be congratulated. Their riders put on a great performance.NEWCASTLE skipper Mark Lemon has been told he faces a month out after scans revealed a torn posterior cruciate knee ligament, rather than tissue damage as was the initial hope.Diamonds boss George English said: This is shocking news for us, especially as we are top of the Premier League and in the semi-finals of both the KO Cup and the League Cup. Mark has also been taken aback and is determined to try and prove the doctors wrong by returning to lead the side well before another four weeks have gone by.PLYMOUTH promoter Mike Bowden is wary of the threat of Rye House as the Devils go for a third straight home win in this Fridays Premier League match at St Boniface Arena.Bowden said: They look sound from number one, where they have Danish star Charlie Gjedde, right through to number seven, where Ritchie Hawkins is a useful reserve who knows his way around our track.REDCAR promoter Brian Havelock says his side must improve on their disappointing PL Fours performance when high-flying Somerset are the visitors on Thursday.Havelock said: After our quick exit from the Fours on Sunday I would like to apologise to our loyal travelling fans for the pathetic performance of several of our riders on the day. We need an instant improvement when we take on such a good side as Somerset on Thursday.RYE HOUSE youngster Jason Garrity has been told he is set to face between three and six weeks on the sidelines due to a broken thumb and index finger.Garrity suffered the injury in a workshop accident and the Rockets are initially set to plug the gap with Raiders team-mate Ben Morley, who has previous Premier League experience.SCUNTHORPE shot into Premier League title contention with three wins in three matches last weekand manager Richard Hollingsworth wants to keep things going, although they continue to be without injured skipper David Howe.Hollingsworth said: We will be looking to keep up the momentum. Last week was an amazing week for us, and weve now got into the habit of winning meetings. We will monitor the best facility (for Howe) on a meeting-by-meeting basis. We wont always go for rider replacement, because the extra rides can place a strain on the riders if we use it too often.SHEFFIELD boss David Hoggart said Hugh Skidmores paid-15 haul in the Tigers dramatic win at Berwick on Saturday vindicated the clubs faith in the young Australian.Hoggart said: Hugh was so determined to put in a big score because he knows hes had a couple of below-par meetings, but any speedway rider has those. There isnt a speedway rider in the world who hasnt had some tough times but we know Hughs qualities and he showed just how good he is on Saturday.SOMERSET will commence a kids-free policy this Friday, with all accompanied under-16s (max two per adult) admitted to the Oak Tree Arena for no charge during home matches over the summer holidays.Promoter Debbie Hancock said: Parents are always looking for something to do in order to occupy their children without having to necessarily splash out a fortune to do so, and so we have introduced this Schools Out Special for the duration of the summer holiday period. Fridays meeting (against Newcastle) has all the makings of a classic encounter.WORKINGTON are preparing to go into a busy weekend of league and cup action with three matches in three days, including a visit to Edinburgh - the last team to beat the Comets back on April 20, which will be exactly three months ago.Manager Tony Jackson said: This will be a tough weekend for us starting with a trip up to Armadale on Friday, where we have lost once already this season, followed by a visit to Berwick on Saturday, where the Bandits will no doubt be full of confidence following their PL Fours victory at Peterborough on Sunday. We generally have a large number of Comets fans that make the trip for those two matches and the team really appreciates their support, so hopefully we can give them something to shout about. Then on Sunday at Derwent Park we have a visit from Leicester in the Knockout Cup quarterfinal, so this promises to be an important weekend for us in two major competitions.

FIXTURE PICTURE

WEDNESDAY JULY 18:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Kings Lynn v Eastbourne 7.30, Poole v Belle Vue 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 19:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Poole 7.30, Peterborough v Wolverhampton 7.30, Swindon v Kings Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Somerset 7.30, Sheffield v Ipswich 7.45

FRIDAY JULY 20:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 8pm, Lakeside v Wolverhampton 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Workington 7.30, Plymouth v Rye House 7.30, Scunthorpe v Glasgow 7.30, Somerset v Newcastle 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 21:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Workington 7pm, Leicester v Ipswich 7.30, Rye House v Glasgow 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Buxton 7pm, Stoke v Dudley 7.30

SUNDAY JULY 22:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Edinburgh 4pm, Newcastle v Berwick 6.30,PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Workington v Leicester 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: Mildenhall 4.30

MONDAY JULY 23:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Kings Lynn v Swindon 7.30, Peterborough v Eastbourne 7.30, Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 24:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Dudley 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 25:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 26:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Berwick 7.30, Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30, Sheffield v Leicester 7.45

FRIDAY JULY 27:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Kings Lynn  7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Plymouth 7.30, Scunthorpe v Berwick 7.30, Somerset v Leicester 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kings Lynn v Scunthorpe 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Leicester v Berwick 7.30, Plymouth v Edinburgh 7.30, Workington v Rye House 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 29:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Rye House 4pm, Newcastle v Workington 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Mildenhall 3pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe 3pm

MONDAY JULY 30:BRITISH FINAL: Wolverhampton 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 31:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Buxton 7.30FAST GOLDEN HAMMER: Dudley 7.30

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Kings Lynn v Peterborough 7.30TEST MATCH: Team GB v Australia, Poole 7.30


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