BIG EVENT LATEST…THE qualifying riders for the Premier League Riders’ Championship at Sheffield on Sunday September 22 have been confirmed.The Owlerton event, which gets underway at 5pm (gates open 3.15pm), is always one of the most popular and best-attended meetings on the domestic calendar, and will feature a title defence from Edinburgh’s Craig Cook.Each of the 13 Premier League clubs will be represented by their top available rider based on current declarations, with Ben Barker (Ipswich) and Simon Stead (Sheffield) ruled out by injury.The remaining three places go to the next three highest-averaged riders in the Premier League, subject to a maximum of two representatives per club. This means supporters of Somerset, Workington and Edinburgh will each have two riders to cheer.Sheffield co-promoter David Hoggart said: “It’s a very impressive field, and with the Sheffield No.1 currently out injured it looks to be a wide-open event with no serious home track advantage.“We’ve recently seen riders such as Craig Cook, Richie Worrall and Jason Doyle excelling in both leagues, and they will be joint-favourites for the title but there are several others who could spring a surprise.”Admission prices for the showpiece event are unchanged from last year – adults £20, concessions £15, children (12-16) £5 and under-12s free – and any remaining re-admission tickets from the 2012 rained-off event will be honoured.Sheffield’s famous carvery restaurant will also be open and supporters are strongly advised to book their tables in advance by contacting the club on 0114 285 3142.PLRC QUALIFERS: Sebastian Alden (Berwick), Craig Cook (Edinburgh), Dakota North (Glasgow), Morten Risager (Ipswich), Magnus Karlsson (Leicester), Richie Worrall (Newcastle), Mikkel Bech (Plymouth), Micky Dyer (Redcar), Olly Allen (Rye House), Josh Auty (Scunthorpe), Ricky Wells (Sheffield), Jason Doyle (Somerset), Richard Lawson (Workington), Nick Morris (Somerset), Rene Bach (Workington), Theo Pijper (Edinburgh).
RYE House will stage the National League Riders’ Championship at Hoddesdon on September 21 – with a strong list of qualifying riders confirmed.The meeting often proves to be one of the most entertaining of the season, and went down to a run-off last year with Ashley Birks taking the title ahead of Jason Garrity after the two riders had tied on 14-points.This year’s list of qualifying riders includes four contenders who have an average of over ten points per meeting based on September figures.Top man going into the event is Buxton’s Charles Wright who has reeled off a string of maximums for the Hitmen this season, and his 10.74 average has helped him receive a Premier League team place with Somerset.Dudley duo Paul Starke and Lewis Blackbird have also impressed at both NL and PL level this season, and the Heathens have a third representative at Rye House in Ashley Morris who himself averages over nine.Meanwhile 15-year-old Robert Lambert has shot up from his 3.00 assessed figure to a 10.27 mark making him one of the stand-out performers at this level.Isle of Wight star Adam Ellis has enjoyed a terrific first full campaign whilst Kent’s Steve Boxall has significant Hoddesdon track knowledge and has made a strong return to the sport this season – and team-mate Ben Morley is currently receiving regular PL bookings for Rye House.The likes of Lewis Kerr (King’s Lynn) and Joe Jacobs (Coventry) are also expected to be in the frame, again with plenty of PL experience behind them and with good form at present. The NLRC has again attracted the support of the nearby Paradise Wildlife Park, who will be the main meeting sponsor.Rye House promoter Len Silver said: “The continued support of Park director, Pete Sampson, himself an ex-rider well known at Rye House, is very much appreciated by everyone involved here.“It will be an opportunity to remind visiting fans that the Speedway Museum is a big attraction at Paradise Wildlife Park which is situated at Cheshunt only about five miles from Rye House. “Exhibits are continuously being updated and there is even a section devoted to Cycle Speedway.”The NLRC will complete a big weekend for the sport’s rising stars, as several of the line-up are also involved in the British Under-19 Championship at Coventry on Friday September 20, with Mildenhall’s Stefan Nielsen defending his title.
NLRC – QUALIFYING RIDERS (Rye House, Sept 21): Charles Wright, Liam Carr (Buxton); Joe Jacobs, Robert Branford (Coventry); Paul Starke, Lewis Blackbird, Ashley Morris (Dudley); Steve Boxall, Ben Morley (Kent); Tom Perry, Adam Ellis (Isle of Wight); Robert Lambert, Lewis Kerr (King’s Lynn); Stefan Nielsen, Jon Armstrong (Mildenhall); Steve Worrall (Stoke). Reserves: Jack Kingston, Shane Hazelden.
BRITISH UNDER-19 CHAMPIONSHIP (Coventry, Sept 20): Josh Bates (Mildenhall), Liam Carr (Buxton), Max Clegg (Dudley), Connor Coles (Kent), Adam Ellis (Ipswich/Isle of Wight), Brandon Freemantle (Isle of Wight), Nathan Greaves (Dudley), Oliver Greenwood (Coventry), Kyle Howarth (Swindon/Workington), Ben Morley (Kent), Ashley Morris (Workington/Dudley), Stefan Nielsen (Mildenhall), Darryl Ritchings (Isle of Wight), James Shanes (Coventry), Daniel Spiller (Unattached), Nathan Stoneman (Mildenhall). Reserves: Adam Kirby (Kent), Jack Kingston (Kent).
SPEEDWAYGB EVENTS SERIES 2013BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: ROBERT BRANFORDBRITISH FINAL: TAI WOFFINDENPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: SOMERSETPREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: EDINBURGHPREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, Sept 22ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Swindon, Oct 12NATIONAL LEAGUE MAJOR EVENTS:NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: DUDLEYNATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: DUDLEYNATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, Sept 21BRITISH SPEEDWAY FIM EVENT DATES:WORLD UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2: PIOTR PAWLICKIGRAND PRIX CHALLENGE: NIELS-KRISTIAN IVERSEN
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE captain Craig Cook raced to his first Elite League paid maximum at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday, but couldn’t prevent his side from slipping to a home defeat against Wolverhampton.Cook said: “I'm obviously disappointed, things just didn't seem to go our way at all. We were struggling a bit right from the start for some reason, and we just couldn't find the set-up at all.“A lot of it was down to the gates and the guys from Wolverhampton were just so much better than us out of the gates. But all the lads were giving it 100 per cent and really riding their hearts out so I can't knock their effort.”BIRMINGHAM manager Phil Morris pronounced himself satisfied with a point gained from a narrow defeat at Eastbourne on Saturday despite the league leaders being forced into several changes.Morris said: “We’re more than happy with that, it’s been a tough week for us losing Ben (Barker) and having Martin (Smolinski) and Josh (Auty) missing so to have a team that are unfamiliar with each other and to pull that off was brilliant.“Our play-off spot is in the bag now so we just need to keep the results coming and build as much momentum as possible for when we take on the league’s best in later September.”COVENTRY will track Linus Sundstrom in their team for their final Elite League fixture of the campaign against King’s Lynn on Friday after parting company with No.1 rider Krzysztof Kasprzak.Bees co-promoter Neil Watson said: “We realise it’s not ideal to make a change with only one official meeting remaining - circumstances have prevented us from moving sooner, but we still felt it was important to act when we could.“It is a shame that things have not really worked out for KK this season. Despite all the criticism there have been some top performances from him on occasions, but not as consistently as either he or we would have liked, and obviously our recent results have highlighted areas of major concern in the team.”EASTBOURNE secured five points from a possible six in a busy night of racing at Arlington with wins over Birmingham and Peterborough in a double-header.Eagles boss Trevor Geer said: “Two excellent meetings, two good meetings for us, great competition and we can consider it to be a job well done. I was really glad that we were able to win the first one after Birmingham gave us something of a fright and the second, well, we just seemed to run away with it.“They all rode their hearts out but I would make mention of Mikkel (Michelsen) who feared he might have broken his wrist after that nasty smash in Heat 1 of the Peterborough meeting. The paramedics checked him over and he could move everything so despite it hurting like hell he said let’s give it a go.”KING’S LYNN boss Rob Lyon was left fuming after the controversial disqualification of Rory Schlein in the Stars’ 48-42 home win over Lakeside which left them having to settle for two league points rather than three.Lyon said: “You don’t mind if it is a 50/50, it can go either way. He made two bad decisions tonight; the first was when Kevin Doolan came down on his own in Heat 9 and he (referee) gave him the benefit of the doubt, the second was in Heat 15 when a guy has clearly gone past his opponent and doesn't move off his line, yet he is excluded.“It was a bad way to end the meeting, we hope Peter (Karlsson) makes a full recovery and he is ok, it’s the main concern to be honest.”LAKESIDE have made their final team change of the season with Tyson Nelson belatedly joining the Hammers in place of Kevin Doolan after a previous attempt to include him was scuppered by injury.Co-promoter Jon Cook told the club’s website: “We left it late as Tyson wasn’t available for our last home meeting and we wanted to give Kev first stab at his former home track. Tyson is both one for the future and a rider who can contribute now to our efforts and we welcome him to the Hammers.“Having ended up with four of our six riders in the medical room on Wednesday evening up at King’s Lynn no one should be in any doubt that the team is giving it their all to extend our season.”PETERBOROUGH co-boss Trevor Swales admits his side face a nervous wait before returning to action next week, with their play-off hopes depending on Lakeside not securing a positive result at King’s Lynn.Swales said: “We desperately wanted to pick up at least a point at Eastbourne to put the pressure on Lakeside and Poole.“Our fate is now out of our hands for the next week and we have to hope there is still a play-off place at stake by the time we return to the track.”POOLE star Greg Hancock secured his first maximum since returning to British racing with an unbeaten show in the Pirates’ big win over Lakeside, which sets up a potentially crucial visit to Belle Vue next Monday.Hancock, whose maximum was his first in the UK since May 2007, said: “It's been getting better each time here for me and tonight I nailed it. “But this was a good performance all round and we now just have to find something similar next week at Belle Vue.”SWINDON manager Alun Rossiter was pleased with both the team performance and the attendance as the Robins got the better of Poole 50-43 at the Abbey Stadium last Thursday.Rossiter said: “It was a really good win in front of what was easily our best crowd of the season and probably our best attendance for a few years.“All the boys chipped in and it was a good all-around performance which was exactly what we needed after a couple of defeats.”WOLVERHAMPTON boss Peter Adams admitted his side’s win at Belle Vue on Monday was an important confidence-booster with the Elite League play-offs starting later this month.Adams said: “We had a chat with the boys before the start and told them how important it was to get back to winning ways and build up some momentum with the play-offs just around the corner.“We were desperate to rectify our defeat against Belle Vue last Monday and prove it was a bit of a one off, so all the boys were all really up for it and we put in a good performance.”PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK boss Ian Rae admitted the loss of captain Kozza Smith with a wrist injury left the Bandits with a huge uphill battle in their heavy defeat at Newcastle on Sunday.Rae said: “We were hit very hard by the Diamonds in the first few heats of this match and it started to drag a few heads downwards, but the hammer-blow for us was losing Kozza in the first running of Heat 4. He always gets the lads going and races with more determination than any rider I know and to lose that sort of inspiration so soon was something we struggled to cope with.”EDINBURGH No.1 Craig Cook achieved the notable feat of breaking the Leicester track record on three separate occasions – including in Heat 15 – in the Monarchs’ 40-50 defeat in the East Midlands.Next fixture for the title-chasing Armadale side is a home clash with fellow high-flyers Ipswich on Friday.GLASGOW’S returning manager Stewart Dickson admitted his first major decision had to be to revamp the Tigers’ riding order, which he felt was not getting the best out of the team members.Dickson said: “I was there for the match against Somerset and watched the meeting. Dakota North and Joe Screen raced against each other when they were riding; Henning Bager is the only other Danish rider in the team with Anders Thomsen and to have them paired together means that Bager can't talk to him in Danish in between races to tell him what he thinks is right or what he's doing wrong.”IPSWICH stormed to the top of the Premier League table with a 62-31 win over Plymouth, overcoming the absence of No.1 Ben Barker who will miss the rest of the season due to injury.Witches boss Pete Simmons said: “Top of the league has to feel good. They all dug deep again and Josh (Grajczonek) proved to be a good choice of guest to cover for Ben. We can't relax just yet though, as we want to maintain that top position until the end!”LEICESTER have an advantage of eight race points over Redcar in the race for the Premier League play-offs following their impressive 50-40 home win over Edinburgh on Saturday – and both the Lions and the Bears have one tough away match remaining.Leicester co-promoter Alan Jones said: “It was a make-or-break meeting where nothing less than three match points would be good enough. That was a tall order against the Monarchs who have picked up at least one match point in every away Premier League fixture so far this season. It was a real team effort that won the day and for once we were not outsmarted at reserve which has been our Achilles heel since we lost Alex Edberg to injury at the beginning of July.”NEWCASTLE kept their play-off push very much on-track with a comprehensive 62-31 home win over Berwick, highlighted by a maximum from No.1 Richie Worrall.Diamonds boss George English said: “We certainly demoralised the Bandits early on with four straight maximum 5-1s off the belt and it took a good few heats before the visitors finally found some footing on which to score some good points. We go what we wanted – three league points – and a good points difference to add into the equation which, for now at least, places us fourth in the table.”PLYMOUTH have booked former favourite Ricky Wells to make a guest appearance in their home clash with Newcastle on Friday with Mikkel Bech unavailable.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “We will be looking to round off our home league fixtures with another victory following the success against Sheffield last week. But Newcastle are currently fourth in the table and they can never be under-estimated, especially as they are battling for every point to make sure of their place in the play-offs.”REDCAR boss Jitendra Duffill admits he is hoping for a favour from rivals Newcastle, who face Leicester on Sunday, as a big Diamonds win would significantly help the Bears’ play-off chances.Duffill told Gazette Live: “It’s not often we want our greatest rivals to do well but we need Newcastle to do what they do to most teams at home and that’s destroy Leicester. But it won’t be any easier for us at Rye House - it could all come down to race points difference, but I hope it doesn’t.”RYE HOUSE are celebrating qualification for the Knockout Cup Final after overcoming Redcar despite racing the second leg without Pontus Aspgren, who picked up an injury in the first half of their double-header at Hoddesdon.Manager John Sampford said: “Losing Pontus earlier on in the night did not bode well, but the rest of the boys really rallied round and got stuck in. It certainly helped that we made such a strong start because that kept the momentum and advantage in our favour, even though it took until Heat 14 to clinch the tie. The boys are absolutely ecstatic to be in the Cup Final.”SCUNTHORPE have announced plans for a Retro Cup tie with Sheffield on September 15, to be run with a 13-heat format and a rider-of-the-night second half.Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “It’ll be a great afternoon for some of our longer-term fans, who pine for the days of 13 heats, tactical subs and second halves. For those who buy the magazine ‘Backtrack’ and love to wallow in a bit of nostalgia, this should be the perfect meeting for them. For newer supporters, it’s a chance to see how we used to do things.”SHEFFIELD boss David Hoggart admitted it was a straightforward decision to bring Simon Lambert back for a second spell with the club after his recent release from Somerset.Hoggart said: “When we heard Simon was available again we got straight on the phone, it was a no-brainer really. He was brilliant for us in his first spell and became a real weapon for us at Owlerton, he’s not had the easiest of seasons but we think it’s going to be a good move for both of us.”SOMERSET promoter Debbie Hancock says a top two Premier League finish remains a priority as the Rebels look to enter the play-offs in top form.She said: “While we have assured ourselves of a place in the play-offs there will be no let-up by the team as we want one of those top two league places come the cut-off date so that we can determine our opposition in the play-offs, and so we will be gunning for maximum points from our remaining three league matches, starting with Berwick on Friday night.”WORKINGTON go into this weekend hoping to secure a top six finish in the Premier League table and secure a vital play-off place as Leicester and Redcar appear set to battle it out with the Comets for the final two available places, and one unlucky side is going to miss out.Comets manager Tony Jackson said: “The battle for the remaining play-off places is set to go right to the wire and they could even be decided on race points. From our point of view we will simply concentrate on our two remaining fixtures; away at Rye House on Saturday and then an important match at home against Edinburgh on Monday evening. At this time of year every match can be viewed as a tough fixture, but all clubs will be thinking the same as they strive to get the points they need. “However, there is no point worrying how other teams fare as we can’t do anything about them. If results elsewhere go our way then great, but we will just focus on the job in hand and do our best, which will hopefully see us gain enough points to secure one of those all important play-off positions.”
FIXTURE PICTURE…
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Lakeside 7.30
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 5:PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Sheffield 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Stoke 7.30
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30, Plymouth v Newcastle 7.15, Somerset v Berwick 7.30
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7:PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Workington 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Kent 7pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8:PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Leicester 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Isle of Wight 3pm, Mildenhall v Dudley 4.30SCOTTISH CUP 1st leg: Glasgow v Edinburgh 3pm
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 9:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Peterborough v Wolverhampton 7.30, Swindon v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Workington v Edinburgh 7pmJOHN CEARNS CUP: Kent v Wimbledon 6.30
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 10:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Dudley v King’s Lynn 7.30
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 11:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v King’s Lynn 7.30KRZYSZTOF KASPRZAK TESTIMONIAL: Poole 7.30
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 12:PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Edinburgh 7.30, Sheffield v Somerset 7.45
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Belle Vue 7.45, King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Ipswich 7.30DEREK SNEDDON TESTIMONIAL: Edinburgh 7.30TONY SANDFORD MEMORIAL TROPHY: Plymouth 7.15
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14:PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Redcar 7pmTEST MATCH: Great Britain v Australia, Workington 7pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Plymouth 3pm, Newcastle v Edinburgh 6.30RETRO CUP: Scunthorpe v Sheffield 3pm
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 16:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Belle Vue 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Plymouth 7.30JOE HUGHES INVITATIONAL: Wolverhampton 7.30SILVER SKI HOLIDAYS CHAMPIONSHIP: Kent 6.30
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 17:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Isle of Wight v Mildenhall 7pm
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 18:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP S/F REPLAY 1st leg: Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: King’s Lynn v Dudley 7.30
