(SPEEDWAY 1)
AUSTRALIA defeated Great Britain 46-44 in a dramatic Third Test at Sheffield to keep alive their hopes of winning the series.Mark Lemons side now trail 2-1 overall after snatching victory in a last-heat decider at Owlerton, with Cameron Woodward winning the race and Kozza Smith snatching the crucial third place from Ricky Ashworth.Sheffield co-promoter David Hoggart said: It really was an excellent meeting, the quality of racing was outstanding and both teams put in maximum effort. The teams were presented well, there was a good crowd, the atmosphere was fantastic - it was a marvellous night of action. We worked hard to resurrect this Test series and so far the meetings have showed that to be totally justified. It was a great night.
(SPEEDWAY 2)
EASTBOURNE have swooped to sign top Danish youngster Mikkel Michelsen.The 18-year-old, who is involved in this years World Under-21 Final series, replaces Denis Gizatullin for the Eagles and will make his debut against Birmingham on Monday.Eastbourne boss Trevor Geer said: We and virtually every other club have been chasing his signature but he would not commit until he had finished his examinations.It has been a long search to find a new rider but Mikkel has been at or near the top of our list from the outset. He is a dynamic and exciting rider and our No.1 Bjarne Pedersen said it was fantastic news that he is coming to Eastbourne.
(SPEEDWAY 3)
SWINDON have gone top of the Elite League after a comprehensive 60-33 home win over Belle Vue.Stand-in Robins skipper Troy Batchelor scored a paid maximum from four rides whilst in-form youngster Nick Morris collected 13+1 which included another appearance in Heat 15.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: It was an absolutely outstanding performance, and everybody did a great job. Troy put in a real captains performance - once again he raised the bar when he was made captain, and he is really maturing at the moment. I have nothing but praise for Troy right now.Obviously I'm really pleased for young Nick as well. He had another great night, and he has been riding really well the last couple of weeks.
(SPEEDWAY 4)
IPSWICH are through to the League Cup Final thanks to a 57-37 win over Edinburgh at Foxhall.The Witches set up a clash with Newcastle after overturning their six-point first leg deficit against the Monarchs, with Rohan Tungate scoring a 15-point maximum.Edinburgh were hampered by the disqualification from the meeting of No.1 Craig Cook for violent behaviour following an incident at the end of Heat 1.
(SPEEDWAY 5)
RICHIE Worralls Heat 15 win secured an away draw for Newcastle in their North-East derby at Redcar.A series of incidents early in the meeting resulted in an unusual final scoreline of 43-43 with Ludvig Lindgren (14) joining Worrall (12+1) at the top of the Diamonds scorers, whilst reserve Carl Wilkinson racked up 16+1 for the Bears.Newcastle boss George English said: After our dodgy start with tape touching and tape offences we really didn't give ourselves a fair crack of the whip, but Ludvig and Richie hauled us back to a good place and at the end of the night a draw was a far better result than it looked like we'd get initially.If we'd been fair to ourselves from the off then a decent win could have been ours, too. But two league points are better than none.
(SPEEDWAY 6)
RYE House have their sights firmly fixed on a 49-point total from their home clash with Redcar on Saturday as they look to book a place in the Knockout Cup Final.The Bears took a six-point lead from the first leg of the semi-final earlier in the month, but the Rockets could have Jason Garrity back from a broken leg for the return fixture.Rye House boss John Sampford said: It really is wide open, and anything is possible on the night. The Bears are as good on our track as we are on theirs. Their League position shows how well they are going at the moment, but we are now also starting to show our own potential.Yes, we achieved a very good result in the first leg on Teesside, but weve got no God-given right to be in the Final. Weve got to go out and earn it. 49 is the magic number.(SPEEDWAY 7)
WORKINGTON boss Tony Jackson says the Comets win at Plymouth last weekend will count for nothing when the Devils travel to Derwent Park for Saturdays return fixture.Jackson is keen that the Premier League leaders do not under-estimate their opponents, who have picked up some good results this season when at or near full-strength.Jackson said: At Plymouth they had three riders missing and had to call on the services of guests while on Saturday only Ty Proctor is missing and, strange as it may seem, they actually have riders that will probably go as well, if not better, around the wide open spaces of Derwent Park than they do around the tight confines of their home St. Boniface Arena circuit. With that in mind we have to be at our best right from the start.The young Dane Mikkel Bech is a special talent and I am sure he will prove very spectacular around our circuit on what will be his first visit here. From what I saw last weekend, he has fast equipment and we will have to be on top of our game to beat him so I envisage some enthralling battles in prospect for the fans to enjoy.
(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY JULY 26:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Birmingham 7.30, Lakeside v Kings Lynn 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Somerset v Scunthorpe 7.30
SATURDAY JULY 27:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Leicester v Sheffield 7.30, Workington v Plymouth 7pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Rye House v Redcar 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Mildenhall 7pm
SUNDAY JULY 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Plymouth 3pm, Newcastle v Edinburgh 6.30BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 4: Scunthorpe 3pm
MONDAY JULY 29:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Eastbourne v Birmingham 7.30, Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Buxton 6.30
TUESDAY JULY 30:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Kent 7.30BEST PAIRS: Isle of Wight 7pm
