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IPSWICH No.1 Ben Barker says the Foxhall club stand a good chance of marking their return to the Premier League Fours with victory at Peterborough on Sunday.The Witches won the event in 2011 but missed out on qualification last year, and are now hopeful that Rohan Tungate will be fit to take part despite his heavy crash at Poole on Wednesday.Barker said: Ive done really well in this meeting in the past. Id love to do the same again this year with Ipswich and hopefully go that step further by ending up with the trophy. Its a meeting I really look forward to so Ill just give it my all and see if we can have a good one. I think weve got a good chance as long as everyone clicks. Weve got four really good riders who can beat anyone on their day, so I dont see why we cant be challenging for the title.(SPEEDWAY 2)
SWINDON extended the best away record in the Elite League with their sixth win on the road this season thanks to a comeback triumph at Lakeside.The Robins made it three wins out of three this week by taking the honours 47-43 at Purfleet despite having been six points down with five heats to go, with youngster Nick Morris (10+1) playing a starring role.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: I'm really proud of the boys after that win. People were talking of a crisis in the camp after we lost at Birmingham, but nine points in a week is a brilliant return. The boys were all fantastic tonight and it was a superb performance.Lakeside co-promoter Jon Cook said: We offer no excuses having been beaten by the better team on the night. We will take the week off to see what we can do to reach that standard on-track.
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COVENTRY made it seven home Elite League wins in succession with a 51-39 success over Belle Vue at Brandon.The Bees, who trailed 3-9 after two races, secured maximum points from the meeting with a last-heat 5-1 from Grzegorz Zengota and Scott Nicholls over visiting No.1 Matej Zagar, who had earlier clocked the fastest time of the season at the venue.Nicholls said: It was a great comeback, obviously it was the worst start we could possibly have had but we showed a lot of determination and there was real competitiveness within the team to pull it back.Meanwhile Peterborough reserve Patrick Hougaard scored a stunning 14-points in the Panthers 54-39 win over Kings Lynn, as recent team changes for the Panthers paid dividends.Hougaard said: I made some brilliant starts and I passed a few guys as well, I thought that I'd done enough in the last race but Niels (Iversen) was just a bit quicker than me. It was a good night though, definitely, and I'm really happy.(SPEEDWAY 4)
SCUNTHORPE have announced the signing of former Elite League rider Nicolai Klindt as they look to stage a run towards the Premier League play-offs.Klindt, who recently left Peterborough, joins the Scorpions in place of Michael Palm Toft who made his final appearance in Fridays remarkable 47-46 win over Rye House which saw the home side come back from ten points down with four heats to go, as Josh Auty snatched the verdict in Heat 15 on the line from Tyson Nelson.Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: Nicolai came onto my radar last week. We looked at the figures, the figures fitted and it was a no-brainer to sign him, because we did need to strengthen our team if we were going to get into the play-offs.We do owe Michael a debt of gratitude for his performances at the back end of last yearhe did so much to help us win the Premier League championship.(SPEEDWAY 5)
EDINBURGH and Ipswich both moved to within three points of Premier League leaders Workington by taking maximum points from victories in Friday nights action.The Monarchs have three matches in hand on the Comets after a comprehensive 62-30 win over Glasgow, with Jozsef Tabaka scoring a full 15-point maximum.Edinburgh boss Alex Harkess said: It was the hottest night of our season, and I was sweating at the end, but not because I had to work hard. The team did all the work and were never in trouble.Meanwhile Ipswich grabbed a 44-34 away win at Plymouth to take four league points from a meeting which was abandoned two heats before the conclusion due to the curfew.Manager Pete Simmons said: It was a great result for us, the whole team chipped in with important points throughout the meeting. Special mention goes out to skipper Leigh Lanham who has been struggling lately but the hard work he has put in behind the scenes is certainly starting to pay dividends.
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LEICESTER reserve Alex Edberg faces a period on the sidelines after suffering injuries in a crash in Sweden on Thursday.Edberg sustained a broken hand, two broken fingers and a broken collarbone after coming to grief with his Griparna team-mate Robin Tornqvist. Former Lion Simon Nielsen has been booked to replace him in the Lions home clash with Newcastle on Saturday.Co-promoter Alan Jones said: It is a real blow to lose Alex for what may be several weeks as he was scoring so well and had bolstered the lower end of the team.
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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
