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RYE House have confirmed the date for their British Semi-Final is Wednesday April 30, with a 7.30pm start.Promoter Len Silver expects plenty of home interest in the meeting as riders seek qualification for the Final at Wolverhampton on June 16, and the midweek staging is designed to boost availability.Silver said: “We were awarded a Semi-Final a couple of years ago, only to lose out to the weather. We are absolutely delighted to be awarded another round this time around. “With a British World Champion, and a number of new Young Lions coming through the system, it is an even more exciting opportunity. With six of this year’s Rockets team being British, there should be plenty for Rye House fans to cheer about as well.”

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SWINDON have handed local youngster Darryl Ritchings the final place in their 2014 Elite League team.Ritchings, a Robins asset, comes in after Josh Bates – who the club had selected in the December draft for reserves – was released to join Premier League Sheffield.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “I know what this opportunity means because I remember how it felt when I first signed for Swindon, my home club.“He’s following in my footsteps and I hope Darryl can pick up a few points for us along the way. I will work with him and we will support him as a club.”(SPEEDWAY 3)

LEICESTER newcomer Peter Ljung is relishing his opportunity to return to the Elite League this season.The 31-year-old Swede has joined the Lions following spells earlier in his career with Swindon, Reading, Eastbourne and most recently Lakeside, for whom he last rode in 2011.Ljung said: “I have been thinking about returning for some time now and liked the thought of being at the beginning of what is an exciting adventure for Leicester. It is a fairly new track and a chance to have a proper home track for once which not everyone has been to yet. “Your home form is one of the most important things and to win your matches means that you keep up towards the top of the league table. Another benefit is that at Leicester the track is available for practice if we need to get things sorted with equipment.”

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PAUL Starke will lead Cradley into the defence of their National League title as captain.Starke, from Malvern, was a big hit in his first season with the club last year and he takes over from Ashley Morris, who is no longer available for National League racing.Starke said: “Last year we had an incredible year, so to try and emulate what we did is going to be a real challenge. But we look like we have a strong team, and we have a few riders who could make big strides in the sport at the moment.“Personally I’ll be looking to just help as much as I can as captain and try to score as many points as possible at No.1 to take some pressure off the lower order.”