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WORLD Champion Chris Holder faces a lengthy period on the sidelines after suffering a broken hip, shoulder and heel in an horrific crash at Coventry on Friday.The Poole captain came to grief in Heat 15 of what had been a classic Elite League contest as he tried to join Darcy Ward up-front for a 5-1 to turn the match in his teams favour. With medical staff required to attend to Holder before he was taken to hospital, the meeting was abandoned as a 43-41 win to Coventry.Pirates boss Neil Middleditch said: The operation on the heel will take place in the morning (Saturday). Im not sure what they are going to do with the hip yet, and the shoulder injury is the same sort of problem as Darcy had.This is a massive blow for Chris. Its a great shame after a tremendous meeting. For it to end on such a sour note is heartbreaking. It was just an unfortunate speedway incident.
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LAKESIDE promoter Jon Cook hailed last-heat heroes Piotr Swiderski and Lewis Bridger after they sealed all three points for the Hammers in their home clash with Belle Vue.Swiderski (13+1) and Bridger (11+1) scored well throughout and combined for a Heat 15 5-1 to confirm a 52-38 win at Purfleet, despite the home side losing Peter Karlsson after a heavy Heat 10 crash from which he was able to walk away.Cook said: Piotr has been absolutely top-drawer the last few weeks and LBR was magnificent and but for a fall in Heat 6 would have been unbeaten. Heat 15 was a fantastic climax to the night and Lewis' re-pass of (Matej) Zagar followed by Piotr to gain all three League points was up there as the race of the season in front of yet another big crowd. The season is really alive now and we can't wait for the visit of Swindon in six days (Friday July 12) and the timely return of Richard Lawson, who we really missed yesterday.
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SWINDON have signed British youngster Kyle Howarth who joins the reigning Elite League Champions as a replacement for Polish rider Kacper Gomolski.Howarth, who started the season in Pooles team, will make his Robins debut at Belle Vue on Monday having taken a doubling-up position alongside his Premier League commitments for Workington.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: Kacper has done okay but I thought he might have adapted a little bit more in fairness. He has had some good meetings, but there have also been meetings when we were really expecting more.I thought Kyle had done really well at Poole and I was a bit surprised he didnt go back there. Ive seen him have double-figure scores in the Elite League so we know what he can do.
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CRAIG Cook broke the Edinburgh track record as the Monarchs established a six-point advantage over Ipswich in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final at Armadale.Cook took two-tenths of a second off Rory Schleins old mark in Heat 10 of a 48-42 home win, before the Witches lost No.1 Ben Barker with a leg injury after a Heat 13 spill.Edinburgh boss Alex Harkess said: Ipswich were really good and I was a bit disappointed with how we went, but its still wide open which team will make the final.Meanwhile Somerset staged a remarkable recovery to reach the semi-finals of the Knockout Cup, getting past Workington by a single point on aggregate thanks to a 5-0 and a 5-1 in the last two races.
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JOSH Auty was the last-heat hero for Scunthorpe as the home side edged out Newcastle 46-44 in a see-saw Premier League clash at the Eddie Wright Raceway.The scores were all-square going into the deciding race, which took four attempts to run with the Diamonds Ludvig Lindgren crashing out, before Auty overhauled Richie Worrall at the end of the first lap to secure a 4-2.Scunthorpe boss Dave Peet said: When we went into Heat 15 level, I thought the last thing we need is another draw. But Josh came from behind in super style and we grabbed the win.Every single point we scored counted. We knew it was going to be more difficult than the last two weeks; Newcastle are a good, strong team. We knew this meeting was the yardstick by which we measure the rest of the season.
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PLYMOUTH captain Cory Gathercole suffered a dislocated shoulder in the final race of the Devils 48-45 home win over Rye House in the Premier League.The hosts took the win despite missing Mikkel Bech after a crash in Denmark on Wednesday, but a late comeback from the Rockets, which included an 8-1 in Heat 10, saw them do enough to take a league point with Anders Mellgren impressive in scoring 16+1.Plymouth co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: That was where the tactical ride goes against you. Cory gave us a lift with two storming rides and Mark Lemon was solid throughout.It all added up to another excellent meeting with both sides showing great character and commitment.
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GLASGOW co-promoter Colin Hamilton says his side will be fired-up for revenge over local rivals Edinburgh when the sides meet at Ashfield on Sunday.The Monarchs previous visit in the League Cup ended in a thumping 61-32 victory, and the Tigers are keen to ensure there is no such repeat this time around.Hamilton said: Edinburgh are quite strong but we want to do our very best to get some revenge for the previous home defeat.Team manager Sean Courtney will get the team really wound up to try and perform, and produce a positive result for the fans.
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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
