(SPEEDWAY 1)

SWINDON co-promoter Alun Rossiter is predicting an open contest in Saturday’s Elite League Riders’ Championship at the Abbey Stadium (6pm).The Robins are represented by three riders – Hans Andersen, Troy Batchelor and Peter Kildemand – but Rossiter believes they will face plenty of competition as the league’s top guns do battle.Rossiter said: “I think there’s probably four or five riders who stand out initially. Hans has got to have a good chance on his home track, and we know how good Darcy Ward is. “Then you’ve got people like Freddie (Lindgren) and also Niels-Kristian Iversen has had a great season, but the thing about this meeting is there are plenty of other boys who ride Swindon well who could easily get into the semi-final, and from there anything can happen.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

SOMERSET have qualified for the Premier League Grand Final thanks to a 47-43 win at Redcar on Thursday.The Rebels, who needed to avoid a heavy defeat in their final group fixture, will now face Edinburgh over two legs for the silverware, and captain Jason Doyle again led the way on Teesside with 14 points from five rides.Somerset boss Garry May said: “I said beforehand that we were heading to Redcar with the intention of winning the meeting and that’s exactly what we did. Again, this was another great all-round team performance and we were fully deserving of our win.“Now we have the Final against Edinburgh to look forward to, and having lost in last year’s Final to Scunthorpe by a single race-point, we are determined to go one better this time around. Edinburgh will be tough opponents, and if our previous matches against each other are anything to go by, then the fans of both teams are in for a real treat.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

GREAT Britain’s World Speedway Champion Tai Woffinden is on the road to recovery… after having his collarbone re-broken!Scunthorpe-born Woffinden went under the knife at the Derby Nuffield Hospital on Wednesday to repair the damage he had done in two horror crashes on the Grand Prix circuit.And he’s revealed: “I’m starting my winter training programme in the next three weeks. I’m in a lot of pain right now because they re-broke the collarbone and put a new plate in it. At least I know it’s now in place and in six weeks from now I will go back there and have the metal taken out.“I’d like to thank the staff at Derby Nuffield for their help and assistance with the surgery.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

COVENTRY stage their major Individual meeting on Friday – seven months later than initially scheduled!The Brandonapolis was initially planned to open the season at the Midlands venue but was postponed due to the weather, and over half of the original line-up are back for the re-staging including home men Scott Nicholls, Grzegorz Zengota and Aaron Summers.Bees promoter Mick Horton said: “It promises to be a great night. We have a good line-up of riders who were all keen to do the meeting, and many of them were due to be here back in March.“I’m expecting some fierce racing and I’m also looking forward to seeing some of the newer faces – it should be interesting to see how they get on.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

IPSWICH star Morten Risager gave Witches supporters a home winner of the 16-Lap Classic at Foxhall.Risager took victory in speedway’s marathon race after early leader Nico Covatti had hit bike trouble, with the Dane passing Kevin Doolan on the penultimate lap.Risager said: “I am so pleased to finish my season on a high after the way everything went wrong for the team in the play-offs and League Cup Final. I didn't want it just for myself, I also wanted it for our loyal fans here at Ipswich. “I knew that I had to win the Final and that one of the first-row riders had to come second, but on the last two laps I could barely feel my hands and I wasn't sure if I could hold on to the end - but I did and it feels great!”

(FIXTURES)

FRIDAY OCTOBER 18:BRANDONAPOLIS: Coventry 7.30

SATURDAY OCTOBER 19:ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Swindon 6pm

SUNDAY OCTOBER 20:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Kent 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F REPLAY 2nd leg: Mildenhall v Isle of Wight 3.30EAST MIDLANDS BOWL 1st leg: Leicester Select v Coventry Select 6pm

TUESDAY OCTOBER 22:BANKS’S OLYMPIQUE: Wolverhampton 7.30