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MILDENHALL head to Stoke on Sunday as defending National League Fours champions and chairman Kevin Jolly is looking for the Fen Tigers to hold on to their title.The West Row club will be represented in the showpiece event by Daniel Halsey, Jon Armstrong, Josh Bates and Nathan Stoneman with Jolly keen to see a reaction to their heavy defeat at the Isle of Wight on Tuesday.He said: We know we are in a tough group but we have to be prepared to beat everyone if we want to retain this trophy. I know the lads are very capable and we need to get them fired up to work as a unit on Sunday. They need to treat this as two meetings, get through our group, then re-group and prepare for what faces us in the final. It is a long way to go for just two rides and we will be reminding them of that before the meeting starts. We know we will have good travelling support from our excellent fans and hopefully we can give them plenty to cheer.(SPEEDWAY 2)
EDINBURGH went top of the Premier League with a win at Sheffield on Thursday but lost reserve Mitchell Davey with a broken leg in a frightening Heat 2 accident.Monarchs skipper Derek Sneddon racked up 16+1 from a seven-ride schedule, whilst Craig Cook dropped his only point in Heat 1 on his way to 14 in the Armadale clubs 50-40 win.Sheffield boss David Hoggart said: We didnt ride particularly poorly, but they were just sharper and they rode very well. They were fiercely competitive and wanted it, they came to do a job on us and they did.It was a horrible looking crash and Mitchell was in a fair bit of pain, and everyone at Sheffield Speedway wishes him a full and speedy recovery.
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LEICESTER gave their Premier League play-off hopes a major boost with a vital 47-37 win at Redcar to give themselves hope of catching the Bears in the top six.The meeting was abandoned with one race to go due to rain, but the Lions lead was already enough for them to take all four league points, and they are now three behind Redcar with two matches in hand.Leicester co-promoter Alan Jones said: After losing at home to Rye House last Sunday we had been written off, but this result brings us right back into contention and you can never say its over whilst there are still match points to race for. It was a magnificent performance against one of the best teams in the Premier League, and it was completed in style. We went to Redcar knowing that nothing less than a big performance would be good enough as our season would effectively end there and then if we could not come away with a win. Four of our riders scored ten points apiece, and that is some going away from home - and young (guest) Ryan Douglas rode like a Lion.
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IPSWICH collected their fifth successive Premier League win by overcoming top-six rivals Workington 53-37 at Foxhall.Ben Barker (13+1) top-scored for the Witches with Rohan Tungate (11) also double-figures, but Cameron Heeps was withdrawn with a wrist injury after two completed rides.Ipswich boss Pete Simmons said: Another good result, but we still need to maintain our momentum, and the injury to Cameron is a concern ahead of Saturday's meeting at Rye House especially when he has been riding so well. However, I'm confident the rest of the boys will be able to cover for him if required.
(SPEEDWAY 5)GLASGOW bosses insist there are still positives to take from a troubled campaign, in which the Tigers have not collected a Premier League point since mid-May.The new Ashfield promotion know they face a re-building job for 2014 with Joe Screen and James Grieves both retiring at the end of the season with Screen set to make one final appearance in Great Britain colours in Saturdays Test Match against Australia at Workington.Co-director Derek Smith said: It's nice that some people are appreciative of the entertainment value. At the end of the day, take away the results, speedway is meant to be a form of entertainment, and that was the very thing we wanted to change around the track.It's not all doom and gloom. We like to think there have been some successes on track and some riders have shown some promise and maybe should be considered for a return next season. But with Joe and James retiring, thats the biggest boots we've got to fill, and it has to be riders who are tried and trusted and can hit the ground running experienced British Premier League riders.(SPEEDWAY 6)
WORKINGTON are gearing up for their biggest meeting of the season as they host the Fourth Test between GB and Australia at Derwent Parkand say they will give it every chance of going ahead.Comets co-promoter Tony Jackson said: We have been looking forward to this meeting all season, and with two terrific line-ups of Derwent Park track specialists including three of our current side and two former Comets it has all the ingredients of being a great meeting.Obviously, like everyone else, we are very aware of the weather forecast but hopefully less rain will fall than has been predicted and it is forecast to be dry later in the day so it is a case of fingers crossed that it works out. We will obviously be monitoring the weather by the hour and we will give the meeting every possible chance to go ahead as a lot of work has gone into this from all sides, but if it becomes impossible to go ahead we will give everyone as much notice as we can.
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BELLE Vue boss Jason Attwood has taken advice from skipper Craig Cook before finalising his guest bookings for the Aces clash with title-chasing Birmingham on Monday.The Kirkmanshulme Lane club are without injured reserves Ales Dryml and Kauko Nieminen, and after consultation with Cook, Attwood has booked Australian duo Micky Dyer and Max Fricke to stand in.Attwood said: Kyle Howarth was immediately out of the question as he had already made arrangements to guest for Birmingham in place of the injured Nicolas Covatti. That was agreed last weekend before our double injury blow, prior to Ale's nasty crash in Russia, when we thought we only had to accommodate one guest.I had a word with Cookie and basically ran a few ideas about potential guests past him because he seems to be the top dog in the Premier League at the moment, but it's also good to have a rider's opinion. I've always believed in working closely with my captain and making sure he's involved, especially with stuff like that, and it's working really well with Craig at the moment.
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EDINBURGH won their top-of-the-table battle with Somerset 49-41 and now head the Rebels by four points in the Premier League standings.Craig Cook top-scored for the Monarchs with 10+1 but a vital contribution came from guest reserve Josh Bates, who won two races in the closing stages including inflicting the first defeat of the meeting on Jason Doyle.The Rebels have the chance to respond when they continue their Northern tour at Berwick and Glasgow this weekend.Edinburgh boss Alex Harkess said: It was a great meeting between two very good sides and what a bonus it was for us to get two race wins from our young reserve.(SPEEDWAY 9)
SCUNTHORPE kept their slim Premier League play-off hopes alive with a 56-34 win over Plymouth at the Eddie Wright Raceway.Mid-season signing Nicolai Klindt starred for the Scorpions with 15+1 from six rides, whilst Devils newcomer Kalle Katajisto was ruled out after suffering a neck wound in his opening outing.Scunthorpe boss Dave Peet said: I said to the boys before the meeting if we can it all together at the same time, then we could give someone a good hiding. Theres still even more to come from us, but tonight was enjoyable.The season does seem to have slipped away, but its not really been anyones fault, its just not been our year. But well still go out into every meeting and try and win it, and if we did win every meeting, who knows what could happen.
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COVENTRY Storm co-boss Blayne Scroggins admits his side are now unlikely to reach the play-offs in their first National League season, following a home defeat to Kings Lynn.The Young Stars gave their own chances a massive boost with their 53-39 win whilst the home side, already without the injured Robert Branford, saw Luke Crang crash out too and he is unlikely to be fit for Sundays NL Fours at Stoke .Scroggins said: Its virtually over now, weve got to beat Dudley and hope for a miracle somewhere but I cant fault the effort tonight. The boys worked hard and they were busting a gut.Kings Lynn are a strong team, and performance-wise I thought we bounced back from the Kent defeat. But we lost Luke and that was just too much in the end.(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY AUGUST 17:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Somerset 7pm, Rye House v Ipswich 7pmTEST MATCH: GB v Australia, Workington 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 18:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Somerset 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Stoke 3.30TEST MATCH: GB v Australia, Newcastle 6.30
MONDAY AUGUST 19:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Birmingham 7.30, Eastbourne v Kings Lynn 7.30, Peterborough v Lakeside 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Stoke 6.30
TUESDAY AUGUST 20:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Buxton 7pm
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 21:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Peterborough 7.30, Kings Lynn v Coventry 7.30
