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ROBERT Branford was crowned British Under-21 Champion after a dramatic night of racing at Monmore Green.Branford, who has just returned to the National League with Coventry, came through the semi-final in the Dudley-staged event to get the better of automatic qualifiers Kyle Howarth and Jason Garrity in the Final, with home man Ashley Morris fourth.Branford said: Things are finally starting to look up for me, Ive been waiting a long time for it and tonight was awesome, I couldnt ask for any better.I did what I had to do, I gated well to get to the semis and then made another two good gates and didnt do anything silly, and it all paid off in the end.(SPEEDWAY 2)
RYE House promoter Len Silver has offered encouragement to Rockets star Jason Garrity after he narrowly missed out on the British Under-21 title.Garrity won all five of his qualifying races for a 15-point maximum, which also gave him first gate choice for the final, but he made a poor start and found himself battling for a rostrum placeeventually taking third place behind Robert Branford and Kyle Howarth.Silver said: It was a really tough race. Jason missed the gate so badly, and it was so tight between the riders that there were virtually no gaps to get through, although he finally managed to force his way through for third place. However, he should be very proud of his achievement and he still has another shot at the title next year.
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TAI Woffinden launches his British Championship campaign in Thursdays semi-final at Sheffieldand is determined to avoid any slip-ups on the way to booking a place in the Final.The Wolverhampton man has been in red-hot form this season as he seeks his elusive first national crown, and will face seven-times British Champion Scott Nicholls at Owlerton with seven qualifying spots available.Woffinden said: Obviously (promoter) Neil Machin was good mates with my Dad and he's someone I know really well so it's always good to ride at Sheffield. It's a big, fast track so it should be a good meeting.My form is pretty amazing at the moment so hopefully I can keep that going and make it through to the final safely. After coming so close the last couple of years I'm desperate to win the British Final this year, but first I need to make sure I do well on Thursday to make it through.LINE-UP: Chris Schramm (Plymouth), Scott Nicholls (Coventry), Jason Garrity (Rye House), Ben Barker (Birmingham/Ipswich), David Howe (Scunthorpe), Olly Allen (Rye House), Lee Smart (Stoke), Ashley Birks (Swindon/Scunthorpe), Lewis Bridger (Lakeside), Richard Hall (Sheffield), Joe Haines (Sheffield), Josh Auty (Birmingham/Scunthorpe), Tai Woffinden (Wolverhampton), Robert Mear (Lakeside), Simon Stead (Kings Lynn/Sheffield), Kyle Newman (Somerset).
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LAKESIDE gave their Elite League campaign a shot in the arm with victory over Kings Lynn in Tuesdays live Sky Sports fixture.The Hammers defeated the Stars 53-39 at Purfleet, fighting off a late comeback from the visitors which had brought them back into contention to salvage a point.Polish star Piotr Swiderski top-scored for the home side with 13+1 and Peter Karlsson won his first four rides, whilst Mads Korneliussen led the way for the Stars on 12.
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POOLE promoter Matt Ford admits his club are in somewhat unchartered territory as they look to gain ground on the Elite League pace-setters.The Pirates have been short on fixtures so far and lost their long unbeaten home record to Wolverhampton last weekand they now head for Kings Lynn on Wednesday with the Stars looking to respond after losing at Lakeside last night.Ford said: For the last couple of seasons we have been the pacesetters in the Elite League, so this is different territory for us. These are early days and I think it would be fair to say we haven't quite got into our stride.I have absolutely no doubt King's Lynn will be keen to make up for their crushing defeat at Lakeside and we are going to have to be prepared for that.
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COVENTRY have handed Tommy Fenwick a place at reserve in their National League line-up as part of an early-season double switch.Fenwick, who rode for Scunthorpe last year, joins the Storm in place of Trevor Heath with the change brought about by the signing of Robert Branford to replace the injured Oliver Greenwood.Coventry co-boss Blayne Scroggins said: Trevor is obviously disappointed, and had we not had the injury to Oliver Greenwood he would still be in the team. He had been struggling but he would have been given more time, but we really didnt have a choice as we couldnt go into the league matches using rider-replacement. We had to put the team first, it was a tough decision but we feel its the right one.(FIXTURES)
WEDNESDAY APRIL 24:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Lakeside 7.30, Kings Lynn v Poole 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 25:BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: Sheffield 7.45SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Ipswich v Workington 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Redcar v Newcastle 7.30
FRIDAY APRIL 26:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Belle Vue 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Plymouth v Newcastle 7.15LEAGUE CUP: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30
SATURDAY APRIL 27:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Sheffield 7pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Workington v Ipswich 7pmLEAGUE CUP: Rye House v Plymouth 7pmCHALLENGE: Stoke v Buxton 7pm
SUNDAY APRIL 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Redcar 3pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Newcastle v Plymouth 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Coventry 4.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Buxton v Isle of Wight 3pm
