(SPEEDWAY 1)
WOLVERHAMPTON’S Jacob Thorssell suffered a suspected broken arm as the title-chasing Monmore side slipped to a shock home defeat against Belle Vue.Thossell was involved in a heavy Heat 4 crash which also saw the Aces’ Magnus Zetterstrom ruled out for the night after the re-run, and the visitors took a 48-42 victory to add to their success at Swindon last week.Wolves star Freddie Lindgren said: “It's definitely not a good result for us, but losing Jacob early on was a massive blow for us.“It was a bad night at the office really, but we have to make sure we put that behind us as soon as possible.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
POOLE reserve Josh Grajczonek played a vital role as the Pirates banked a crucial maximum-points win over Swindon at Wimborne Road to keep their play-off hopes alive.The Pirates took a 49-41 victory for all three Elite League points as captain Darcy Ward won the last heat, Grajczonek having salvaged a vital third place on the line in Heat 14 to add to two earlier race wins.Poole boss Neil Middleditch said: “Josh typified the victory. He rode really well throughout and more than deserved the rider of the meeting award. “The fact he never gave up in Heat 14 was an example for any young rider in speedway. He snatched a third place on the line and as a result of that the club banked all three league points.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
PETERBOROUGH continue to gain ground on the Elite League play-off places, with the Panthers taking all four points available from a 50-40 win at Coventry.The Panthers had five riders in strong scoring form at Brandon, led by reserve Patrick Hougaard on 13, and the result moves them to within four points of the top four, and still with two home matches to come.Co-boss Ryan Sullivan said: “A couple of guys had trouble and Dak (North) had a nasty crash in his first ride, but there were some outstanding performances in the rest of the team. They were making great starts, great first bends, riding very hard and riding as a team.“Getting all four points was the crucial thing, and with Dak and Norbi (Kosciuch) struggling I was worried about Heat 12, but Patrick came in and did a great race there.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
SCUNTHORPE dealt Leicester’s Premier League play-off ambitions a blow with a 51-38 win over the Lions at the Eddie Wright Raceway.In-form reserve Ryan Douglas scored a remarkable paid-16 for the Scorpions, who will just miss out on the top six themselves after a strong run towards the end of the season.Scunthorpe boss Dave Peet said: “We know we can’t quite make the play-offs, but we still want to go out there and win. We’re on a roll and we just want to keep that going. We want to win at Rye House on Saturday.”Meanwhile Rye House defeated Berwick 56-36 at Hoddesdon but have an injury doubt over skipper Jason Bunyan ahead of their KO Cup semi-final against Redcar on Saturday, as he suffered a possible broken thumb in a Heat 9 crash.
(SPEEDWAY 5)
FORMER British Champion and Grand Prix rider Joe Screen has announced his retirement from the sport after a crash at Redcar last Thursday.Screen, who also won the World Under-21 Championship in a 24-year career, was set to call time on racing at the end of the season but has suffered a broken finger and damage to his hand, hence bringing his decision forward.He said: “That crash was pretty scary. I was lucky to walk away with just injuring my hand.“What happened last week, it was quite a shock. I’ve not dropped like that for a while which brought it home a little bit. I’m just going to get my hand right and take it from there.”
(SPEEDWAY 6)
KENT boss John Sampford hailed a big win for his rapidly improving team as the Kings got the better of National League leaders Dudley at Central Park.Sampford’s side won 49-41 with David Mason scoring a four-ride paid maximum, Ben Morley adding 12 points and reserve Jack Kingston coming up with a fine ride in Heat 12 to join Mason for a 5-1 over the Heathens’ Paul Starke.Sampford said: “It was without question one of the races of the season here – massive credit to Jack for showing just what can be done and excitement like that will keep our crowds coming back for more.“Sometimes one can run out of superlatives to describe a performance, to take on and beat the League leaders and in truth, actually make it look a relatively straightforward job just shows how as a team we’ve grown in the second half of this National League campaign.”
(SPEEDWAY 7)
PRE-MEETING favourite Kyle Bickley won the British 125cc Championship after a fierce battle in Monday’s Final at Rye House.Bickley has dominated the support events to the British Youth Championship this season and duly went through the card unbeaten at Hoddesdon.But he was forced to come from the back on several occasions, and the Final itself provided a spectacular race before Bickley got the better of 2012 winner Tom Brennan ahead of Leon Flint and Sam Stead.(FIXTURES)
TUESDAY AUGUST 27:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Isle of Wight 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 28:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Coventry 7.30, King’s Lynn v Lakeside 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 29:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Ipswich 7.45TEESSIDE SILVER HELMET: Redcar 7.30
FRIDAY AUGUST 30:PREMIER LEAGUE: Plymouth v Sheffield 7.15PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Somerset 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Dudley 7.30
