(SPEEDWAY 1 – SATURDAY REVIEW)
JAMES Sarjeant scored a 15-point maximum at Plymouth to head the list of qualifiers for the British Under-21 Final.Sarjeant raced to five straight wins, finishing four points clear of his nearest challengers, being joined on the semi-final rostrum by Jack Kingston and home rider James Shanes. Completing the top six, and also making it to Cradley on April 15, were Darryl Ritchings, Dan Greenwood and Connor Coles, whilst Nathan Greaves and Marc Owen will be reserves.Devon team manager Gary Spiller praised the efforts of Shanes, saying: “He showed character and composure to achieve his podium finish and we wish him every success in the Final. Overall, the meeting was what the Devon Demons are all about in the National League, giving young riders the opportunity to develop and flourish.”Workington established a six-point lead from the first leg of the Ian Thomas Shield, Josh Grajczonek going unbeaten from three rides against Newcastle before the match was abandoned after ten heats due to rain.An encouraged Diamonds boss George English said: “It’s a shame we couldn’t take this match to its full conclusion as it would have made interesting reading to see how well we could have ultimately done, but we’re only six behind and our home leg to go – so we’re still gunning for our first trophy of the season.”There was a surprise result in the inter-league challenge at Leicester as Premier League side Peterborough secured a 48-42 away win against the top-flight newcomers, who had elected to use rider-replacement for absent No.1 Jason Doyle.Leicester promoter David Hemsley said: “Whilst the result was a disappointment, the purpose of the fixture was to give our riders track time in a competitive meeting. We deliberately resisted the temptation to fill Jason’s position with a guest rider as that would have defeated the object of the exercise and so we went with the rider replacement facility to give additional rides to four of the team. “We are a new team with no home track advantage at the moment so our riders were as much the away team as Peterborough but that will come quickly and we can take some positives from the meeting, in particular the form of Patrick Hougaard who would have added to his thirteen points had he not fallen in the last race of the night.”Danish star Hans Andersen took victory in Joonas Kylmakorpi’s Testimonial meeting at Eastbourne, winning a re-started Final after Lewis Bridger had been disqualified. Kylmakorpi himself was the Eagles’ top man on nine points.Eastbourne boss Trevor Geer said: “It was a good night for Joonas and an opportunity for our lads to get in some valuable competitive racing. I’m sure it will be a different story next week when Birmingham come visiting.”Meanwhile Morten Risager’s Testimonial at Ipswich was won by Rory Schlein, with Risager himself on the rostrum in second place ahead of Scott Nicholls and Rohan Tungate, who had scored a 15-point maximum in the qualifying races.
(SPEEDWAY 2 – SUNDAY PREVIEW)
BRITISH Speedway’s 2014 Major Events series gets underway at Coventry on Sunday with the Elite Riders’ Championship (6pm).World Champion Tai Woffinden faces an early-season test against several of his Grand Prix rivals, including fellow rostrum finisher Niels-Kristian Iversen.Defending ERC Champion Rory Schlein – victorious twice in the last three stagings at Swindon – is one of several riders in the field to have already won an individual event in the UK this season.Schlein triumphed in Morten Risager’s Testimonial at Ipswich on Saturday, whilst at the same time Hans Andersen won at Eastbourne in the benefit meeting for Joonas Kylmakorpi; and Peter Karlsson and Freddie Lindgren were successful in events last week at Wolverhampton and Birmingham respectively.Chris Harris joins Andersen as a home representative with the line-up also including Darcy Ward and in-form Peter Kildemand.ERC – 6pm start: Danny King (Birmingham), Peter Karlsson (Lakeside), Craig Cook (Belle Vue), Niels-Kristian Iversen (King’s Lynn), Hans Andersen (Coventry), Tai Woffinden (Wolverhampton), Rory Schlein (King’s Lynn), Troy Batchelor (Swindon), Matej Zagar (Belle Vue), Freddie Lindgren (wild card), Peter Kildemand (Swindon), Darcy Ward (Poole), Bjarne Pedersen (Eastbourne), Chris Harris (Coventry), Kenneth Bjerre (King’s Lynn), Mads Korneliussen (Leicester).Sunday’s action also includes the second leg of the Ian Thomas Shield at Newcastle (6.30pm), with the home side facing a 27-33 deficit from Saturday’s first leg at Workington which was brought to a halt five races before the end due to rain.And no fewer than 42 young riders will be in action at Scunthorpe (3pm) in the first round of the British Youth Championship, with four different categories of competition across a 46-race programme.Home interest is provided by Reece Downes and Liam Sanderson, who will be racing at reserve for the Stags in the National League this season.Scunthorpe chairman Richard Hollingsworth said: “Many of the riders will be familiar to those who attend our amateur meetings, which take place monthly during both the summer and winter months. It was great when Reece won the round here last season, and he will be amongst the contenders on Sunday.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
BIRMINGHAM will be the busiest club in the opening week of Elite League action – with the Perry Barr club scheduled to complete four meetings.The Brummies race the first match of the EL season at Wolverhampton on Monday before hosting Belle Vue on Wednesday and then travelling to Coventry (Friday) and Eastbourne (Saturday).Co-promoter Graham Drury said: “We are hoping to get some points on the board there to try and build some momentum early on. What I would say about this team is I think the way it’s built it should progress and improve as the season goes on.“As we found out to our expense last year, it’s no good being the best team at the start or middle of the season if you run out of team towards the end, and hopefully this time around we can peak at the right time and reap the benefits of that.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
SPEEDWAY legend Sam Ermolenko is confident he can hold his own in Sheffield's Air Fence Fund Bonanza this Thursday.The Californian superstar, now 53, has been back on a bike in recent weeks and the new Sheffield management were quick to invite him to their big opening night – eight years after he quit competitive racing.Ermolenko said: “I think I might possibly surprise a few people. In speedway, he who hesitates gets in trouble and I understand that. I'll go out there focusing on the fact I'm next to three other guys with the goal of getting to that first corner first. “If I can get ahead then I'm sure I'll be able to hold my own, and I'm looking forward to getting back racing again even if it's just a one-off.”
(FIXTURES)
SUNDAY MARCH 23:ELITE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Coventry 6pmIAN THOMAS SHIELD 2nd leg: Newcastle v Workington 6.30BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1: Scunthorpe 3pm
MONDAY MARCH 24:ELITE LEAGUE: Wolverhampton v Birmingham 7.30
TUESDAY MARCH 25:LEAGUE CUP: Peterborough v Plymouth 7.30
