(SPEEDWAY 1)
EASTBOURNE gave their play-off hopes a major boost with a 54-38 win over top-four rivals Birmingham at Arlington.Reserve Timo Lahti again starred for the Eagles with paid-14 in a strong all-round display, whilst the Brummies were very reliant on the scoring of Danny King and Ben Barker.Eagles boss Trevor Geer said: To be honest I expected a slightly tougher test against the Brummies, theyre a good and solid-looking side and all of their riders are capable of scoring points around Arlington. The fact that this was our first meeting for three weeks since the win at Coventry, I thought might work against us but all the lads knuckled down and did the job that we asked. I cant remember seeing quite so many 5-1s in the second half of a meeting.(SPEEDWAY 2)
RYE House reserve Jason Garrity bounced back from reports of a possible season-ending thumb injury to score his first-ever Premier League maximum.Garrity, who still requires further treatment on the problem, scored the full 15 from five rides in the Rockets 58-33 win over Glasgow at Hoddesdon.He said: I just rode through the pain. There was nothing else I could do; it was either go home or ride the pain.I am seeing the doctor again on Monday to see if I will need an operation. Hopefully I will be back racing again soon.(SPEEDWAY 3)
BERWICK newcomer Robin Aspegren made a successful home debut as the Bandits collected a hard-fought 46-43 home win over Workington.Aspegren recovered from an engine failure to be unbeaten in his last two rides, skipper Lee Complin top-scoring with 11+1 although they have a concern over Ricky Ashworth who is suffering from a virus.Berwick boss Ian Rae said: The Fours Championship win seems to have rekindled the fire in our lads bellies as they got to grips with one of the toughest teams in the league at the moment and showed them who was boss.But it was most pleasing to see out new Swede get over an engine blow-up to bounce back on his second bike to race hard and take an excellent victory, proving he has exactly what it takes to become a very successful Bandit. (SPEEDWAY 4)
LEICESTER returned to second place in the Premier League table, although they had to be content with two points from a 47-43 win over Ipswich.Kauko Nieminen won a last-heat decider for the Lions to make sure of victory, with co-promoter Alan Jones praising two of the teams lower-order riders who compensated for problems elsewhere.Jones said: It was anticipated that Ipswich would prove difficult opponents as they have an almost perfect record at Beaumont Park in team fixtures, plus they won the Premier League Fours here last year. That said, we showed massive character to withstand the pressure. With Lasse Bjerre retiring from two races with machine problems, Jari Makinen and Jan Graversen stepped up to fill the breach. Both pulled out the stops at key moments in the meeting.(SPEEDWAY 5)
THE National Leagues top two sides both won on Saturday with Dudley staying top of the table thanks to a 47-43 victory at Stoke.The Heathens coped with the absence of Adam Roynon and Ashley Morris due to Premier League commitments, whilst the Potters lost Ashley Birks after just one ride due to food poisoning.Dudley boss Will Pottinger said: Im delighted with the win. Nobody expected that here with us being without Adam and Ash, but every one of the riders did a superb job.Meanwhile Mildenhall overcame Buxton 53-40 at West Row with Stefan Nielsen bouncing back from an horrific crash in his first ride to top-score with 16-points.(FIXTURES)
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
