BIG EVENT LATESTSCUNTHORPE will make their return to the Premier League Fours at Peterborough later this month.The Scorpions had made the cut for initial qualification for the Showground event on July 14, but due to injury problems their place was taken by local rivals Sheffield who were next in line. However, the Tigers were hit by the badly broken leg suffered by No.1 Simon Stead last week, and with recent signing Adam Roynon ineligible they withdrew from the event following BSPA approval.Meanwhile, David Howe and Thomas Jorgensen have since returned to action for Scunthorpe and the line-up has therefore reverted to include the Scorpions, with Redcar on stand-by in case of any other clubs striking problems.Scunthorpe are to take Sheffields place in Group A, which will see them go up against holders Berwick, Ipswich and Workington.Group B comprises Somerset, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Leicester, with the Lions having finished as runners-up in the last two years. The top two teams from each group contest the 12-heat Final.The meeting gets underway at 2.30pm and advance tickets are available from Peterborough Speedway at www.peterboroughpanthers.co .Admission prices for the 28-race event are 20 for adults, 15 concessions, 5 for children aged 12-16 and free for under-12s. *DUDLEY are celebrating victory in the National League Pairs after their duo of Ashley Morris and Lewis Blackbird finished two points ahead of hosts Mildenhall in the Final at West Row.It was Blackbirds second successive win in the competition as he was one-half of the Fen Tigers victorious duo last season before his winter move to the Midlands club.Dan Halsey and Josh Bates were the home pairing to be edged out, whilst Kent were third through Steve Boxall and Ben Morley.Dudley boss Will Pottinger said: We had problems early on with Lewis retirement and Ash breaking the tapes, but Ashs ride off 15 metres really set us going. The key as always in these events is to have no last places and we avoided that. This is the second trophy of the season for us and Im pleased we have won the Pairs as this is a trophy Dudley had not previously won.Meanwile Mildenhall promoter Michael Lee was pleased with the efforts of his pair and also with the event as whole with a big crowd in attendance at West Row for a meeting staged in hot sunshine.Lee said: Dudley looked the favourites on paper, and proved it on the track so congratulations to them on their victory. I felt it was a tremendous meeting, very entertaining and full of exciting racing. Dan just keeps getting better and better, the Captaincy seems to have lifted him to a higher level of performance. Josh too did himself and the team proud, he was unfortunate to blow his first engine, and his second one just wasnt firing as well.
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: DUDLEYNATIONAL 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 said a shock defeat for No.1 rider Matej Zagar when he was taking a tactical ride sealed the Aces fate at Poole as they suffered back-to-back losses against the Pirates.Attwood told the Manchester Evening News: Crucially the nail in the coffin came in Heat 11 when Matej was on a tactical ride and the Pirates got a 5-1.But I think we got one race advantage all night, and you are not going to win speedway meetings with that. We are low on confidence, but it only takes one race win to change that.BIRMINGHAM boss Phil Morris says Jason Doyles move to No.1 in the clubs averages and his call-up for the Australian World Cup team is a just reward for his efforts this season.Morris told the Birmingham Mail: Obviously it's massive to him. To make the Australian team ahead of some top riders is a real achievement. I'm sure he's delighted with the news, and it's good for the club to see him involved as well.I've been really happy with Doyley since he's come in - everything about him has been great. He moves to No.1 for us now as well with the new averages, so it's been quite a weekend for him.COVENTRY promoter Mick Horton believes the Bees clash with Poole on Friday on their return to action after a two-week break is their biggest match of the season so far.Horton said: This is going to be a big, big meeting. They dont come much bigger than Coventry versus Poole. You can talk about local derbies and we have our rivalries with Wolverhampton and Birmingham, but Poole has a real history.Its one meeting that every Coventry fan looks forward to, and to be fair Im sure the Poole fans do as well, so were expecting a big crowd especially as the weather is looking good.EASTBOURNE boss Trevor Geer says the recently-signed Kim Nilsson may not be the only fresh face at Arlington this summer.Geer said: We are still looking at what we can do in terms of a signing. We certainly havent ruled out making another change, not at all.Im pleased with Kim. The annoying thing is he could have had more points. (At Wolverhampton) his bike packed up on the line which was no fault of his own, and last Friday at Eastbourne his seat broke at the start of a race.KINGS LYNN boss Rob Lyon admits he is gutted to see stand-in skipper Simon Stead on the sidelines with a badly broken leg suffered in a practice crash.Lyon told lovespeedway24.co.uk: Its desperately disappointing. It was a fairly simple crash it seems, but hes suffered a horrendous injury. Its terrible.Were all thinking of him and I know hell be gutted. Hes just had no luck this year. Contrary to some peoples thoughts, Simons not an erratic rider who suffers with lots of crashes. Hes a safe old boy, hes been around a long time and he knows what its all about.LAKESIDE boss Neil Vatcher admits the performance of Tyson Nelson in his recent guest appearance against Wolverhampton has him in the clubs thoughts for the future.Vatcher told Speedway Star: Tyson is a rider that weve previously spoken about using. I like his whole-hearted attitude and his keenness. The opportunity came for us to use him and I knew hed give us 100 per cent, and he grabbed the chance.He made a very favourable impression and contributed significantly to our win. If we get the chance to use him again then Ill be happy to do so.PETERBOROUGH have suffered a second injury setback to one of their top riders with Kenni Larsen (broken arm) joining Linus Sundstrom (broken scaphoid) on the sidelines.Panthers co-promoter Trevor Swales said: Its a blow to lose Kenni as he had been riding so well for us both home and away.Coping with one missing rider is bad enough but with two out we are going to have to look at bringing someone in. Were going to be very busy over the next few days or so looking for someone suitable to cover these injuries.POOLE promoter Matt Ford admits a back-to-fitness Darcy Ward is likely to feature in a revised Pirates team for the next phase of their play-off chase.Ford said: I think everyone wants to see Darcy back in Poole colours. A fully fit racing Darcy Ward is a sight to behold and theres no doubt we have missed his track exploits, and so I would be foolish not to try and include him in the team.I need to make team changes in the course of the next few days and already I can confirm that Micky Dyer will replace Dawid Stachyra, but I will continue to look long and hard at the other options open to us.SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter insists skipper Hans Andersen will be welcomed back into the Robins team despite his ban of two home matches after missing the trip to Kings Lynn last week.Rossiter said: Hans and me had a long chat last week and we got through various issues, there is no problem between Hans and Swindon Speedway. Were looking forward to welcoming him back into the team.I think we proved at Kings Lynn just what kind of team we are and we have what it takes to beat anyone away from home. Kings Lynn is a tough place to go.WOLVERHAMPTON have been boosted by the news that the arm injury suffered by skipper Freddie Lindgren in the Danish Grand Prix last weekend is not as bad as first feared.Lindgren said: I've had some good news after my crash as the CT scan showed nothing was broken.I've got a huge and nasty wound which they have now stitched together. I just need to rest for the couple of days and go to hospital again to make it doesn't get infected. We don't know yet how long it will take to completely heal, but probably not longer than a couple of weeks.
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST
BERWICK were left without Swedish rider Robin Aspegren at short notice for their trip to Plymouth last Friday where they were beaten 50-40.Bandits boss Ian Rae said: We had to use rider replacement for Robin, which was unexpected, as he'd booked in at the airport in Sweden three hours before his flying time and was ready to fly when he fell violently ill and was told not to fly - not that he would have wanted to anyway, as when we spoke to him 20 minutes before his flight was due to take off he sounded seriously ill and in no way fit to fly let alone race, so hopefully he'll be back in action for out next meeting.EDINBURGH boss Alex Harkess was relieved to take maximum points from the Monarchs clash with Leciester, admitting the 15-point margin did not tell the full story of the meeting.Harkess told The Scotsman: We struggled, and we struggled for long periods. And to win by the margin we did, I simply did not see that coming. We were helped by (Kevin) Doolans engine failure in Heat 14, but we were going to get a 3-3 anyway which was enough for us to win the meeting. But I cant deny we struggled.GLASGOW star Henning Bager admitted the correct decision had been taken to abandon the Tigers home clash with Ipswich after four races due to rain.Bager said: You want it to be on and you want to get the meeting done but it just kept drizzling and drizzling and it wasnt going to dry up. You can cruise around four laps easily but as soon as the tapes are up everybody wants to win, and that is when people start doing silly things.IPSWICH boss Pete Simmons hailed the Witches best result of the season with a 47-43 triumph at Workington on Saturday to end the Comets 100 per cent home record.Simmons said: If that doesnt make the rest of the Premier League sit up and take notice I dont know what will. We have showed what we can do, home and away, these last few meetings.LEICESTER co-promoter Alan Jones said the Lions had put in a creditable display at Edinburgh last Friday, missing out on a point after conceding 5-1s in each of the last three races to go down 52-37.Jones said: It was a far better performance than when we were last there in April for the cup fixture and particularly pleasing to see Robert Branford score so well in what was his best display since joining the club in April.NEWCASTLE boss George English was pleased to see new signing Chris Schramm make a solid home debut in the Diamonds comfortable 60-30 home win over Rye House.English said: It was good to watch Chris steadily get to grips with his new home and he finished his account with a good paid win in Heat 11 behind Richie (Worrall) over good quality opposition, which indicates he has what it takes to score well in our reserve berth.PLYMOUTH are seeking revenge over Rye House when they host the Rockets at the St Boniface Arena in the Premier League on Friday.Devils co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: We owe them one because they beat us down here in the League Cup at the start of the season but we have strengthened our side since then. We will be looking to cement our recent progress with the next three meetings all being at home.REDCAR boss Jitendra Duffill is aware of the threat a rapidly-improving Ipswich team will pose at the South Tees Motorsports Park on Thursday, with the Witches having won at Workington last week.Duffill said: They are packed with really capable riders so we are guaranteed another exciting match at the Motorpark. We all know about the spectacular Ben Barker and containing him is a must but the heats involving Adam Ellis and our strong reserves Carl Wilkinson and Max Dilger will be fascinating as it will show the speedway world just how well the young Brit is progressing.RYE HOUSE boss John Sampford admitted his side did not have the firepower to cope with Newcastle as the Rockets went down to a 60-30 defeat at Brough Park on Sunday.Sampford said: We are obviously disappointed with the final margin of the defeat, but it was not really unexpected. The Diamonds are a real powerhouse sideapart from a puncture, engine failure and fall, their top five was only beaten twice, which says a lotand Im sure we wont be the only team to suffer a defeat like this at Brough Park.SCUNTHORPE star Ashley Birks has taken over as club skipper with team-mate David Howe electing to concentrate on his own form and fitness.Birks said: The team has bonded. Its similar to last year, in that the average age of the team is young, and were all so disappointed when we dont do well, so we push on hard because we want to win. Were working together and I think this could be the start of a really good second half of the season for us.SHEFFIELD newcomer Adam Roynon has expressed sympathy for club captain Simon Stead who is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a badly broken leg.Roynon said: I know better than most how hard it is to get a big injury when youre going well, its the most frustrating thing in the world. I was looking forward to riding with Steady but itll have to wait I guess, the main thing is that Simon gets himself back fit.SOMERSET boss Garry May is hoping for a trouble-free night in Fridays re-arranged KO Cup tie with Workington after a succession of incidents and accidents last weekend.May said: In the matches against Newcastle on Friday and then again at Rye House on Saturday, when we were left with just four riders for virtually the whole match, the boys attitude and team spirit was just phenomenal in not wanting these setbacks to get the better of them. Although we may only have six points to make up on Workington, they are a strong side and we would have needed to be on top form with seven fit riders to book our place in those semi-finals, but these injuries have made our task all the harder.WORKINGTON became the last club to surrender their 100 per cent home record in the Premier League last weekend when the current league leaders were beaten at home by an in-form Ipswich side - who made amends for their KO Cup defeat at the hands of the Comets back in April.Workington team manager and co-promoter Tony Jackson said: It was a very disappointing night for us, especially coming just 48 hours after our superb away win at Redcar that put us top of the league table. However, at home on Saturday night we were consistently out-gated by the Witches and, although we led early on, we just could not hold on at the end and our unbeaten home record was gone. But that is the way the Premier League is this year, with everyone taking points off everyone else; it is such a competitive league.We now have to move on from that result and we will be looking to bounce back with our fixtures at Somerset on Friday and then at Derwent Park on Saturday, when Leicester are sure to provide us with another stiff test as they have former Comets Kauko Nieminen and Kevin Doolan in their side.
FIXTURE PICTURE
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: Plymouth v Rye House 7.15, Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Somerset v Workington 7.30LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Edinburgh v Ipswich 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 LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Isle of Wight v Kent 7.30LES POTTINGER MEMORIAL: Dudley v Wolverhampton 7.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 10:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Lakeside 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30
THURSDAY JULY 11:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Redcar v Rye House 7.30TOP GUN INDIVIDUAL: Sheffield 7.45JOHN BERRY MEMORIAL: Ipswich 7.30
FRIDAY JULY 12:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Belle Vue 7.30, Lakeside v Swindon 8pm, Peterborough v Kings Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Plymouth v Ipswich 7.15, Scunthorpe v Rye House 7.30
SATURDAY JULY 13:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Redcar 7pm, Leicester v Newcastle 7.30, Rye House v Edinburgh 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Buxton 7pm
SUNDAY JULY 14:PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Peterborough 2.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Kings Lynn 3pm, Mildenhall v Kent 4.30BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 4: Eastbourne 3.30
MONDAY JULY 15:WORLD CUP EVENT 2: Kings Lynn 7.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Kent v Stoke 6.30
TUESDAY JULY 16:FAST GOLDEN HAMMER: Dudley 7.30
