BIG EVENT LATESTLEICESTER boss Glyn Taylor says his side are determined to go one step better than in the last two seasons when they compete in the Premier League Fours at Peterborough.Taylor has already named his four-man line-up for the major event at the Showground on July 14, with the Lions having finished as runners-up at the same venue last year, and on home territory in 2011.Leicester will be represented by skipper Kauko Nieminen, Lasse Bjerrea Peterborough assetKevin Doolan and Magnus Karlsson, with Alex Edberg named as reserve. The Swede was also reserve last year for eventual meeting winners Berwick.Taylor said: When you have four riders of heat-leader quality in every race it is impossible to forecast the result, because after all there are no team partners to help one another. No-one wants to let the side down so the pressure to perform is enormous. It is a great day out for fans and we have been so close to winning a major trophy which would mean so much to the club and our loyal fans if we can go one better this year.Leicester have been drawn in Group B alongside Edinburgh, Somerset and Newcastle. The Monarchs failed to qualify for the event last year but will be optimistic of their chances as they are expected to include Premier League Riders Champion Craig Cook and ex-Peterborough man Claus Vissing.Somerset and Newcastle both missed out in the semi-finals in 2012, the Rebels agonisingly on count-back against Leicester, whilst the Diamonds will be boosted this season by having in-form Richie Worrall back in the frame, after he missed last years event due to a broken leg.Defending champions Berwick feature in Group A, although it will be a different-looking Bandits quartet with only Frenchman David Bellego remaining in their squad. Major signing Edward Kennett, however, is available for the club who enjoyed a weekend double in the Premier League with wins over Plymouth and Glasgow.Also in the group are Ipswich, Workington and Sheffield with the Witches making a return to the event after missing out last year and including new Foxhall track record holder Ben Barker, who has been piling up points in both Premier and Elite Leagues of late.The Comets, who finished third last year, will be led by former Peterborough man Richard Lawson with Panthers asset Rene Bach also a heat-leader for the Derwent Park club, whilst the Tigers spearhead includes Simon Stead, who started his domestic career at Peterborough in 1997.The meeting gets underway at 2.30pm, and admission prices are as follows: Adults 20, Concessions 15, Youth (12-16) 5, Children (Under-12) Free. Advance tickets are available from www.peterboroughpanthers.co .
SPEEDWAYGB EVENTS SERIES 2013BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: ROBERT BRANFORDBRITISH FINAL: TAI WOFFINDENPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: SOMERSETPREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Peterborough, July 14PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, Sept 22ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Swindon, Oct 12NATIONAL LEAGUE MAJOR EVENTS:NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: Mildenhall, June 30NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Stoke, August 18NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, Sept 21BRITISH SPEEDWAY FIM EVENT DATES:WORLD UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP Round 3: Berwick, August 10GRAND PRIX CHALLENGE: Poole, August 24
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST
BELLE VUE boss Jason Attwood was far from impressed with his sides display in their 50-40 home defeat against Poole on Monday.Attwood said: We've had a bad night and unfortunately on the roller-coaster that is Belle Vue Speedway this season, this is a down night.At the end of the day, it just wasn't a good enough team performance; we didn't perform at reserve and we didn't perform in the main body of the team!BIRMINGHAM owner Alan Phillips is hoping a positive night against Poole last Wednesday can be replicated both in terms of results for his title-challenging team, and also in attendance levels at Perry Barr.Phillips told the Birmingham Mail: I want to see the team continuing to score well and I want to see the fans turning out in big numbers like they did last week against Poole.We need to keep the feel-good factor going around the place and I want to thank everyone who offered us their support after a difficult few days last week.COVENTRY skipper Scott Nicholls was pleased to take three points form a win over depleted Swindon at Brandon last Friday, making it five home victories in succession for the Bees.Nicholls said: Swindon certainly werent as strong as they would have been if theyd had a full squad, which is a shame, but tonight it was vital that we got maximum points and a win is a win.Their guests gave it 100 per cent because for them its another pay-day, and the more points they could get the better for them. But if we can get the consistency in the track and the boys are performing well, theres no reason why we cant push to get through to the play-offs.EASTBOURNE manager Trevor Geer remains concerned by some performances of Eagles riders after failing to add to their league total last week.The Eagles lost their unbeaten home record with a 35-55 thumping at home to Poole, and were then beaten by 17-points at Wolverhampton on Monday.Geer told The Argus: There was a better fighting spirit but we were disappointed with a couple of riders not performing who should be.KINGS LYNN boss Rob Lyon was encouraged by the performance of stand-in skipper Simon Stead, who returned from injury in the Stars recent home victory over Wolverhampton.Lyon told lovespeedway24.co.uk: Hes an integral part of our side and it showed with his performance against Wolves. It showed what weve been missing. It was consistent, he had one bad ride and the rest were perfect, and hes a good guy to have in the team.He enjoys himself here and I think that shows in the way he rides. Richie (Worrall) stole the show with his 18-point maximum but Steadys performance was very encouraging.LAKESIDE co-promoter Jon Cook praised the Hammers track staff for getting the Hammers home match against Wolverhampton last week on despite heavy rain.Cooks side moved back into the play-off places with a 53-39 win over the league leaders ahead of some big matches against close rivals in the table next month.Cook told the Hammers website: On behalf of all at the club, Id like to say thanks to the track staff for their fantastic efforts. They dealt superbly with a sudden downpour at 6pm and worked tirelessly to deliver a raceable track only two hours later.PETERBOROUGH coach Ryan Sullivan says the Showground side are still working hard to turn around their season, despite their current position at the foot of the Elite League table.Sullivan told the Peterborough Telegraph: Its pretty obvious that something needs to change. Were not going to just sit back and accept being at the bottom of the table.Im looking at how riders are doing in all the leagues around Europe and speaking to contacts I have in different countries. Hopefully we can get something done.POOLE promoter Matt Ford has thanked the guest riders who have helped the club to big away wins at Eastbourne and Belle Vue after injuries to the likes of Przemyslaw Pawlicki, Tomas H Jonasson and Dawid Stachyra.Ford said: Its never easy for riders to just step in and do the job but we have been blessed that the guys we have brought in at Eastbourne and Belle Vue have shown an exemplary attitude and commitment to the club. I cannot thank them enough for that.Its been a profitable four days for us and with a maximum eight-point return it has certainly put us on the brink of a comeback.SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter admits he is concerned by the form of Polish reserve Kacper Gomolski, who scored just one point across two away matches last week.Rossiter told the Swindon Advertiser: I have been quite good and been patient with Kacper and not given him too much of a hard time, and Ive not been like they are in Poland and avoided putting too much pressure on him or anything like that.He is trying, and I dont think any of our riders arent trying, but because of everything that has gone on recently maybe my patience is running out a little bit.WOLVERHAMPTON star Adam Skornicki says the Monmore side have done well to maintain their advantage at the top of the Elite League table despite injuries to Tai Woffinden and Ty Proctor.Skornicki said: We are all on really good form - we are still top of the league and we want to try and stay there for the rest of the season.Obviously it is easier when we have both of those guys, so we are looking forward to having them back so we can start doing even better than we are now.
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST
BERWICKS season received a welcome boost with a double success over the weekend, as a home win over Plymouthdespite the mid-meeting loss of Kozza Smith and Nicki Barrettwas followed by a victory on the road at Glasgow.Bandits boss Ian Rae said: The lads carried the spirit of Saturday's win well and kept the pressure on Glasgow throughout to take the deserved win through dogged determination and a desire to win. If this spirit continues then I think we'll see the Bandits rise up the league quiet satisfactorily over the forthcoming weeks.EDINBURGH raced to their first home win in three weeks with an impressive 61-34 result over Workington, Craig Cook scoring a paid maximum against his former club.Cook told The Scotsman: This was a big result for us. We were under a bit of pressure to get things back on track at home, and we did it with quite a bit to spare at the end, which might have surprised some people.GLASGOW star James Grieves says brighter times should lie ahead for the Ashfield club following the signings of Andre Compton and Jonas Raun.Grieves said: Andres a real battler and hes good out of the start as well, so I think well do well with him in the team. We just need to get Jonas going, and Joey Ringwood.IPSWICH star Ben Barker says his sights are set on a further lowering of the Foxhall track record after taking three-tenths of a second off the mark in the first race of the Witches win over Rye House last week.Barker said: It was great to break the track record and get that elusive Heat 1 win at last. I am really enjoying riding for Ipswich, and who knows if the conditions are right I might have another go at that record next week!LEICESTER co-promoter Alan Jones focused on the overall entertainment on show despite the Lions disappointment of losing their long unbeaten home record in a thriller against Somerset on Saturday.Jones said: Records are there to be broken and it is naive to think that it would go on indefinitely. It was going to happen sometime but we have to question ourselves after being ahead by twelve points. You have to give credit to Somerset who kept nibbling away at our lead, and whilst we are disappointed to have lost in the manner we did the standard of racing was excellent and a great advert for the Premier League.NEWCASTLE manager George English reflected on another exciting last-heat away win, this time at Rye House, to further boost the Diamonds play-off challenge.English said: Our belief was this was always going to be a hard-fought matchwhich it was as it wasnt until the last couple of races where we nailed the three points. It could have swung either way, but were delighted to come away with more league points from our travels again, and thats pushed us back up into fourth place in the Premier League.PLYMOUTH have released Chris Schramm and plan to replace him with former Leicester reserve Simon Nielsen ahead of their home clash with Berwick on Friday.Devils co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: It is unfortunate for Chris. We were talking to him about his future after our away defeat at Leicester last month, but Ricky Kling went at that time and we decided to stay with Chris a bit longer.REDCAR face Workington in a big Premier League clash on Thursday with the two sides having traded second place in the table over recent weeks.Bears boss Jitendra Duffill said: We just hung on to beat them 45-44 in a League Cup fixture at the Motorpark on April 11th. I anticipate that it will be close again but we have been on good form in recent weeks. Richard Lawson will be one to contain in particular as he knows the track well from his early days here. He is their key man and I believe that the ever improving Micky Dyer will be ours. A match not to be missed.RYE HOUSE were beaten 46-44 at home by Newcastle in a last-heat decider at Hoddesdon, with promoter Len Silver lamenting the current injury absence of key duo Olly Allen and Jason Garrity.Silver said: Olly is likely to be out for another six or seven weeks, and Jason will not be back for at least a fortnight. By now his broken leg should have been virtually healed, but the x-ray pictures that I saw showed that it was only 50% knitted.SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey is hoping a big home win over Sheffield last week can re-ignite their season, which he believes could follow similar lines to 2012 after plans for a team change were put on the back-burner.Godfrey said: Another strange parallel with last season is that we lost eight meetings in a row and then beat Ipswich 61-31 around here. This season we lost five in a row and then beat Sheffield 63-31. And both meetings came at a time when we had to re-think our plans. It may only be the first small step, but hopefully it is a sign we have turned the corner and we can now kick on to reach the play-offs.SHEFFIELD skipper Simon Stead has given his approval to the Tigers signing of Adam Roynon, with a heavy defeat at Scunthorpe last week underlining the need for change for the Owlerton club.Stead said: I want to welcome Adam to the club, hes a great addition to the team and I feel his signing turns us into a team capable of challenging for silverware.SOMERSETS dramatic win at Leicester on Saturday came despite the loss of reserve Stefan Nielsen who suffered a broken collarbone in a spectacular Heat 2 accident.Rebels boss Garry May said: Unfortunately injuries are part and parcel of the sport, but Stefan's comes at a particularly unfortunate time as he was still one home match short of attaining a 'true' average as he would then have completed 4 home and 4 away league matches. That would have seen him on something like a 5 point figure and we could have booked guest riders to cover until Stefan returned to the side. As it is, however, by being one match short of getting his average, he will remain on his assessed 3-point mark meaning that we can only use National League riders in his place who are not already riding in the Premier LeagueWORKINGTON will be looking to this weeks matches away at Redcar and at home to Ipswich to bounce back from what proved to be a disappointing week for the Cumbrian outfit.Comets team manager and co-promoter Tony Jackson said: Speedway is certainly very much a sport of ups and downs. Our good run of results was followed by our cup-tie at Somerset, which was abandoned after just one race due to track conditions, and it was a long way to travel for that. Then, our heaviest defeat of the season so far, at what is fast becoming our bogey-track Edinburgh, was followed by our first home postponement of the season when Saturdays return with the Monarchs was rained-off. So, all in all, not the best of weeks for us.However, we are now looking at visiting Redcar with our full team of seven riders, which certainly feels like a rarity, now that Tero Aarnio has been declared fit to resume racing and then we entertain Ipswich at Derwent Park on Saturday evening. We are under no illusion that the visit from the Witches will be much tougher than our cup-tie back in April, and it promises to be another highly entertaining meeting.
FIXTURE PICTURE
TUESDAY JUNE 25:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Mildenhall 7.30, Isle of Wight v Stoke 7pm
WEDNESDAY JUNE 26:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Kings Lynn v Swindon 7.30, Poole v Belle Vue 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 27:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Kings Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Glasgow 7.30, Redcar v Workington 7.30OZCHEM TROPHY: Sheffield v Dudley 7.45
FRIDAY JUNE 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Leicester 7.30, Plymouth v Berwick 7.15, Scunthorpe v Glasgow 7.30, Somerset v Newcastle 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Mildenhall 7.30
SATURDAY JUNE 29:PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Somerset 7pm, Workington v Ipswich 7pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Stoke v Buxton 7pm
SUNDAY JUNE 30:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Ipswich 3pm, Newcastle v Rye House 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: Mildenhall 4.30
MONDAY JULY 1:GARY PETERSON MEMORIAL TROPHY: Wolverhampton v Dudley 7.30KENT LAURELS: Kent 6.30
TUESDAY JULY 2:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Coventry 7pm
WEDNESDAY JULY 3:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Swindon 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kings Lynn v Mildenhall 7.30
THURSDAY JULY 4:PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Ipswich 7.30LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Sheffield v Newcastle 7.45
FRIDAY JULY 5:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Poole 7.30, Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30, Plymouth v Rye House 7.15, Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30, Somerset v Workington 7.30
SATURDAY JULY 6:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm, Workington v Leicester 7pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Stoke v Kent 7pmTEST MATCH: GB v Australia, Rye House 7pm
SUNDAY JULY 7:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Edinburgh 3pmLEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Coventry 3pm
MONDAY JULY 8:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Poole 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Mildenhall 6.30
TUESDAY JULY 9:NATIONAL LEAGE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Isle of Wight v Kent 7.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 10:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Lakeside 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30
