(SPEEDWAY 1 – MONDAY REVIEW)
WOLVERHAMPTON opened the new Elite League season with an emphatic 58-35 win over local rivals Birmingham.World Champion Tai Woffinden scored a 15-point maximum and Polish debutant Piotr Pawlicki was also unbeaten as the home side dominated proceedings having raced into a 28-8 lead after just six heats.Wolves posted seven 5-1s in total, whilst for the Brummies Daniel Nermark collected two race wins and Ben Barker top-scored on eight thanks to a tactical ride success.Wolves boss Peter Adams said: “I expected it to be much closer, but we had far too much for them in the heat-leader and second string departments in the end. Everybody did more or less what we expected if not more, and it was a very encouraging performance.”Brummies manager Jack Lee said: “It's the first meeting of the season for all the boys and like everyone else I was expecting a better performance than we got. It's definitely not the start we were looking for but we've just got to put it behind us now and make sure we do a much better job against Belle Vue on Wednesday.”(SPEEDWAY 2 – TUESDAY PREVIEW)
PETERBOROUGH host Plymouth on Tuesday in their second League Cup fixture of the season at the Showground.The Panthers know they cannot afford to slip up having lost out to Rye House last week, whilst the Devils are racing for the first time this season.Former Peterborough rider Sam Simota is amongst the debutants for the Devils having signed as a short-term replacement for the unavailable Alex Davies.Panthers co-boss Trevor Swales said: “Our gating let us down last Tuesday but that was much-improved at Leicester. Losing the first home match was a big blow but we don’t intend to repeat it and we need to get a good home win on the board against Plymouth.”(FIXTURES)
TUESDAY MARCH 25:LEAGUE CUP: Peterborough v Plymouth 7.30
WEDNESDAY MARCH 26:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Belle Vue 7.30CHALLENGE 1st leg: Poole v Lakeside 7.30NATIONAL SHIELD 1st leg: King’s Lynn v Cradley 7.30
THURSDAY MARCH 27:ELITE SHIELD 1st leg: Swindon v Poole 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Ipswich v Rye House 7.30TWEED/TEES TROPHY 1st leg: Redcar v Berwick 7.30AIR FENCE FUND BONANZA: Sheffield 7.45
FRIDAY MARCH 28:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Birmingham 7.30, Lakeside v Swindon 8pmAIR FENCE CHALLENGE: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Somerset v Plymouth 7.30
