(SPEEDWAY 1)
SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter admitted his side still have room for improvement after being restricted to a 49-46 home win over Kings Lynn.Rossiters side led by 14-points after ten races but the Stars hit back strongly to claim a league point in the closing stages of the meeting.Rossiter said: We were disappointing tonight. A few mechanical gremlins haunted us and at fourteen-points up it should have been over and done with.We had a bit of bad luck in the wrong places, but well move on and hopefully we can improve next week against Belle Vue.(SPEEDWAY 2)
LAKESIDE are set to be boosted by the return of influential skipper Davey Watt for their next Elite League fixture away at Coventry on Monday.Watt has been out of action for a month since breaking his scaphoid in a heavy crash during Heat 15 of the Hammers home match against Swindon.The Australian is preparing for a weekend in Poland with practice on Saturday and a competitive meeting on Sunday prior to his comeback for his British club.
(SPEEDWAY 3)
SHEFFIELD co-boss David Hoggart reflected on an off-night for his side as Redcar collected maximum points from Thursdays Premier League clash at Owlerton.Simon Stead scored a 15-point maximum for the Tigers but lacked support from his team-mates as the Bears swept to a 53-39 win with Micky Dyer (16+1) continuing his rich vein of form at reserve.Hoggart said: Redcar were very strong at reserve with Micky Dyer, who is performing better than a heat-leader at the moment. We knew we wouldnt be able to stand up to him.When one of the top five has an off-night, as Facu (Albin) did, and when youre already missing a heat-leader, its always going to be tough. It was an off-night, we know that, but now weve got to bounce back at their place and see what we can do.
(SPEEDWAY 4)
LEWIS Blackbird has left Leicester and switched to Premier League rivals Scunthorpe as a replacement for Josh Bates.Blackbird quit the East Midlands club following their signing of British Under-21 Champion Robert Branford, who initially came in on a shared basis but will now occupy a reserve position full-time with Blackbird to make his Scorpions debut at Edinburgh on Friday.Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: Signing Lewis brings to the table a guy who can win races at Scunthorpe and if he can win races at Scunthorpe, then hopefully that will transpose into winning races away because confidence breeds confidence.Josh has done a fantastic job while he's been with us and if the rest of the team had performed as we'd hoped, we would not be contemplating making changes.
(SPEEDWAY 5)
BERWICK skipper Ricky Ashworth is facing a scan in order to determine his likely time out of action following severe concussion.Ashworth has been sidelined since the second of two high-speed crashes at Glasgow and then Edinburgh, and will definitely miss the Bandits Bank Holiday weekend fixtures against Workington.Bandits boss Ian Rae said: Ricky is seeing a private specialist this morning (Friday) and will undergo an intensive MRI scan, after which his position may become a little clearer.Meanwhile the club will call on our good friend Nick Morris, the Australian youngster who raced for us a good few times in 2012, as a guest replacement at Shielfield Park this Saturday, and again over in Cumbria at Workington on Monday night.
(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY MAY 3:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30, Redcar v Sheffield 7.30, Somerset v Leicester 7.30CHALLENGE: Kings Lynn v USA Dream Team 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 4:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Workington 7pmHANDICAP INDIVIDUAL: Rye House 7pmCHALLENGE: Stoke v Isle of Wight 7pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1: Leicester 5.30
SUNDAY MAY 5:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Newcastle 3pmCHALLENGE: Buxton v USA Dream Team 3pm
MONDAY MAY 6:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Lakeside 7.30, Wolverhampton v Kings Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Leicester 2.30, Newcastle v Glasgow 6.30, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 3pm, Workington v Berwick 7pmCHALLENGE: Kent v American Internationals 3pm, Scunthorpe Saints Select v Sheffield Prowlers Select (follows PL fixture)
TUESDAY MAY 7:NATIONAL TROPHY: Isle of Wight v Buxton 7pm
