British Speedway Weekly Bulletin

BIG EVENT LATEST

HOME star Tai Woffinden is desperate to break the recent Scott Nicholls/Chris Harris stranglehold on the British Final when the showpiece event takes place at Wolverhampton on July 30.Current holder Nicholls is a six-time Champion whilst Harris has won the national title on three occasions, and Joe Screens victory in 2004 was the last time either failed to be on top of the podium.But Woffinden came agonisingly close last season, scoring a 15-point maximum in the qualifiers before losing out in a bruising Final, and he says the prospect of a British Grand Prix Wild Card to the highest finisher apart from GP regular Harris is an added incentive.Woffinden said: I didnt have the best of luck last season but its a different ball game now. Ill be going for it.Its going to be a very tough meeting but I am really looking forward to it. It is at my home track but there are some good riders there, and it is certainly not going to be an easy one.It means everything to get that Wild Card to Cardiff, it is a massive meeting and I am just desperate to get there.Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten is delighted with the line-up for the event, which will see several rapidly rising stars go up against the established top men.Van Straaten said: Whilst it was regrettable that the British Semi-Finals were yet another victim of the British summer, on a positive note we have ended up with the top 16 British riders on current results without any argument.While the old school of Chris Harris and Scott Nicholls will fight to keep what has become a stranglehold on the British Championship title, how refreshing it is to witness the progress of the likes of Craig Cook, Josh Auty and Adam Roynon, who will have scant regard for reputation.The British Final has been the stage for full-blooded dramatic action over the years as riders strive for the prestigious title of Champion of Great Britain.BRITISH FINAL LINE-UP: Robert Mear, Edward Kennett, Adam Roynon, Richard Lawson, Tai Woffinden, Stuart Robson, Danny King, Scott Nicholls, Ben Barker, Simon Stead, Craig Cook, Lewis Bridger, Josh Auty, Ricky Ashworth, Olly Allen, Chris Harris.*MILDENHALL delighted their home supporters with victory in the National League Pairs courtesy of Lewis Blackbird and Cameron Heeps.The Fen Tigers duo finished three points clear of Buxtons Robert Branford and Charles Wright in the Final, with Dudley third and Scunthorpe fourth.Blackbird said: This is a brilliant day for everybody at Mildenhall. I didn't sleep at all last night as I was thinking about how tough a lot of the other riders would be to beat, even around our own circuit. But Cam and I worked really hard to make it happen and concentrated on making sure we picked up points from the minor places in the later part of the meeting. When I took over as skipper I promised the fans we would win them some trophies and now we've started to deliver exactly that.

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: MILDENHALLNATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Stoke, Sunday August 26NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, Saturday September 29

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

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST

BELLE VUE boss Jim Lynch accepted his side had suffered a tough night in being beaten 40-52 by Poole in their first home fixture for over a month. The Aces went into the meeting without Charlie Gjedde, who has returned to Denmark for the birth of his second child, and Artur Mroczka due to injury.Lynch said: It was a very frustrating night when not much worked out for us. But Craig Cook was a bright spot with another fine display.BIRMINGHAM co-boss Phil Morris is confident in the ability of former British Champion Joe Screen to do a job for the Brummies as he joins the squad as doubling-up partner with Josh Auty.Morris said: I know Joe had a spell with the club last season but didnt do too many meetings and I think were all aware Josh is the man in the box seat when it comes to the doubling-up, but it would be nice if Joe scored big and gave us something to think about!Hes been a top rider during his career and even now he is scoring well for Glasgow and enjoying his speedway as much as ever. Im very confident he can do a good job for us against his former club Belle Vue on Thursday, hes up for the challenge and Im sure he can score well.COVENTRY boss Blayne Scroggins is hoping the Bees impressive comeback at Wolverhampton on Monday to secure their first Elite League away win of the season will act as a springboard for the rest of the year.Scroggins said: The boys dug in and did what they were asked, and Im proud of them. Were delighted to win here, and maybe that will turn the corner for all of them.They all chipped in, I suppose it was always in the back of my mind that something might go wrong and although it wasnt quite all four points its still a really good result.EASTBOURNE switch to Friday night racing this week with the visit of Kings Lynn, and the Eagles have extended the scope of their Kids A Quid promotion to include all under-16s with a voucher from the Argus newspaper.Co-promoter Mike Bellerby said: With the school holidays just getting under way, we think fans will appreciate an extension of this reduced admission price.We will get the racing under way at 7.45pm which should give fans the opportunity to get home to see the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, if they wish to do so. The television sets in the stadium bars will show the ceremony for those who wish to enjoy a post-match drink and still see the events unfold at the Olympic stadium.KINGS LYNN boss Rob Lyon had no complaints after seeing his side held 45-45 by Swindon at the Norfolk Arena on Mondayexactly the same result as when the teams had met at Blunsdon four days earlier.Lyon said: Maybe a draw was a fair result. I thought we might nick it, but we didnt have enough in the tank to kill it off.We lost some points early onsome silly points reallybut thats the way it goes. We still got a point out of it, so its not the end of the world.LAKESIDE co-promoter Jon Cook praised the efforts of doubling-up rider Justin Sedgmen for his performance in the 55-37 win over Wolverhampton, which included a race win over GP star Freddie Lindgren.Cook said: Full credit to the team for a great effort and to the track staff in providing a great circuit on another difficult weather day. PK (Peter Karlsson) was awesome and on any other day would have taken all the plaudits, although he shared them on Friday evening with young Justin Sedgmen, whose heat 11 victory over the Wolves Swedish Grand Prix superstar Freddie Lindgren, who was on a double point Tactical Ride, will live long in the memory of all those present.PETERBOROUGH co-boss Jan Staechmann was delighted with the team performance against Eastbourne as the Panthers racked up their biggest win of the season, with a 58-36 result against a side currently in the top four.Staechmann said: Its vital we beat the teams above us in the table if we are to challenge for a place in the top four ourselves and there were countless positives to take out of our performance.It was great to see Linus (Sundstrom) get his first full maximum and Kenneth (Bjerre), Krzysztof (Buczkowski) and Norbert (Kosciuch) were also terrific. We really showed what we can do our own track when we are song.POOLE stand-in boss Garry May said the league leaders had made the best of tough conditions as they picked up a 52-40 win at Belle Vue to extend their lead at the top of the table.May said: After it had been re-graded, the referee said we had to get on with it and there were no complaints. They were here to do a job and they went out and did it. They got all four points to keep us at the top of the league.We kept getting exclusions and re-runs but we came out on top so that was good. It was a brilliant win and everyone put in the effort.SWINDON are offering fans reduced admission for the second time this season as they bid to catch up on fixtureswith a voucher to be enclosed with programmes on August 6 to entitle fans to a discount on August 9.Co-promoter Gary Patchett said: 'The appalling weather has decimated the fixture list and through no fault of our own we find ourselves having to run twice during the week in question - firstly against Poole in the televised fixture on Monday and again when we entertain Birmingham the following Thursday.Whilst we have no home fixture the previous week we acknowledge that asking our supporters to dip into their pockets twice in four days is a lot to ask. We trust that this promotion, coupled with the second half meeting against the Hornets will be well received by our supporters.WOLVERHAMPTON skipper Freddie Lindgren says the Monmore side will still be working to finish the season as strongly as possible, having dropped to a home defeat against Coventry on Monday.Lindgren said: It has been a tough year. We have had a lot of injuries and we just havent really fulfilled our potential. We are just going to try and regroup and climb as high up the table as we can.My performance was pretty good. I dropped a couple of points in the middle of the meeting but I ended up with two good wins over Nicholls and Harris, but obviously when you lose it is never good enough.

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST

BERWICK reserve Jason King suffered a broken arm in a crash with Steve Worrall at Newcastle on Sundayand boss Ian Rae admits the injury could hardly have come at a worse time.Rae said: As to how we cover Jays rides now at the moment it a massive headache for us and with three away matches coming up at the end of the week we dont have a lot of time to make the necessary arrangements.EDINBURGH have concerns over both Theo Pijper (wrist) and Micky Dyer (foot) ahead of this weekends clashes with Plymouth after both sustained injuries against Glasgow last Sunday.Co-promoter John Campbell said: The paramedic told me Theo had definitely broken his wrist, but Theo had a plate in that wrist to start with and it might have moved. I have asked (Micky) to consider carefully what he is doing, its not just about this week or next week.GLASGOW co-promoter Stewart Dickson believes the Tigers team as a whole will benefit from the arrival of Henning Bager on a 5.76 average.Dickson said: When Henning became available we decided that he could do the job we require, which is mainly to score to his average home and away. If he can do that then I think we will be a better side for it. In signing him on a 5.76 average it still gives us a little leeway for other areas of the side if we need it.IPSWICH Director of Speedway Chris Louis admits the club faced a difficult choice before electing to replace skipper Kevin Doolan with back-from-injury Taylor Poole.Louis said: It was such a tough decision to make, releasing your captain and a rider of such likeable character as Kevin is never an easy thing to do but Taylor is fit and very keen to get his season going. He has followed us around the country taking practice sessions at every opportunity and I know he is determined to make up the lost time.LEICESTER boss Glyn Taylor says his side face two vital away fixtures this week and is looking for points at both Sheffield and Somerset to maintain their position amongst the pace-setters.Taylor said: Im fairly confident we can go to Sheffield and do very well, and if we do well there it should give us some motivation to go to Somerset and come away hopefully with a point. Both tracks are brilliant race-tracks.NEWCASTLE still lead the Premier League after a win over Berwick on Sunday, but both Worrall brothers are now on the injury list with broken legs after Steve crashed with Jason King.Manager George English said: It was an all-action match, no doubt there, and were delighted to have taken a good win over our local rivals, but its a big problem now as we have to find a replacement for Steve Worrall who has, like his brother, broken a fibula and will have to sit out a good deal of time on the sidelines.PLYMOUTH will retain the side which defeated Rye House when they face Edinburgh on Friday, with Ben Reade continuing to deputise for Nicki Glanz who suffered an injury to his ribs at Redcar a month ago.Promoter Mike Bowden said: We are looking forward to meeting up with Edinburgh, who were league champions a couple of seasons ago. We have matches in hand to make up on most of the other teams and the aim will be to keep on winning at home and trying as hard as possible to get something from our away fixtures.REDCAR know a win against Scunthorpe on Thursday is vital if they are to maintain their hopes of a top-six finish.Bears promoter Brian Havelock said: Recent results at home have been disappointing but there is still plenty to play for starting this Thursday. Scunthorpe are lively opposition especially with ex-Bear Josh Auty on good form but, their number one David Howe is still not fit and so we must seek an advantage.RYE HOUSE reserve Jason Garritys first-ever Premier League maximum against Glasgow last weekend was notable not only for his rapid recovery from injury, but also because of a significant change in machinery.Garrity said: It was my first time on a GM. All my improvement until now has been achieved on Jawas, but I blew an engine yesterday and put a GM in. I was a bit iffy about it beforehand, but the tapes went up and I was gone!SCUNTHORPE were left frustrated by more rain at their home meeting with Glasgow, which had to be abandoned after just four races.Manager Richard Hollingsworth said: The annoying thing is the rain that arrived tonight wasnt forecast. Its a big disappointment for everyone. We realise the fans share our frustration on nights like this, and thats why weve decided to give a little bit back, by allowing kids into either one of the next three Scorpions meetings or the re-staging for free, on production of a readmission ticket.SHEFFIELD owner Neil Machin is hoping an improved weather forecast for August will help his club and the sport in general, with a Kids for a Quid policy now in operation for under-16s during the school holidays at Owlerton.Machin said: We have one of the most exciting sides in the league and weve had some classic meetings at Owlerton this year. We want as many people there to see it as possible. It has a genuine effect on the team when we have a good atmosphere in the stands, and that is what we try to achieve every week.SOMERSET have completed the signing of former Grand Prix rider Jesper B Monberg as an injury replacement for broken collarbone victim Claus Vissing.Promoter Debbie Hancock said: Having done the necessary number crunching we realised that Jesper would fit into the line-up as direct cover for Claus, who we think will be the longer term injury between of him and Sam (Masters), and he will make his Somerset debut in Fridays home match against Leicester. I am sure the fans will turn out in force to give him a terrific reception.WORKINGTON are looking to maintain their Premier League play-off push with two important fixtures this weekend - despite mixed fortunes on the road last weekend.Comets team manager Tony Jackson said: We were disappointed with how things went last weekend and while we suffered a second defeat of the year at Edinburgh we still thought we could have secured a point but it wasnt to be. Similarly at Berwick we felt that we could have snatched a win there but had to settle for a point in a match that saw chances for both sides to win it. Now we must maintain our focus as Rye House come to Workington on Saturday night for what has the makings of another hard-fought fixture before our trip to league leaders Newcastle on Sunday for what is always a terrific clash.

FIXTURE PICTURE

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

THURSDAY AUGUST 2:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Swindon 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Leicester 7.30, Redcar v Workington 7.30, Sheffield v Glasgow 7.45

FRIDAY AUGUST 3:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 8pm, Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Rye House 7.30, Plymouth v Ipswich 7.30, Scunthorpe v Workington 7.30, Somerset v Redcar 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 4:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Rye House 7pm, Workington v Sheffield 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Rye House 7.30

SUNDAY AUGUST 5:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Berwick 4pm, Leicester v Edinburgh 6pm, Newcastle v Rye House 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Stoke 4.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Buxton v Isle of Wight 3pm

MONDAY AUGUST 6:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Birmingham 7.30, Peterborough v Lakeside 7.30, Swindon v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Eastbourne 7.30

TUESDAY AUGUST 7:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Stoke 7.30, Isle of Wight v Scunthorpe 7.30

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 8:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Lakeside 7.30, Coventry v Swindon 7.30, Poole v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kings Lynn v Buxton 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 9:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Poole 7.30, Swindon v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Plymouth 7.30, Redcar v Glasgow 7.30, Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.45NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Isle of Wight v Dudley 7.30


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