(SPEEDWAY 1 – SUNDAY REVIEW)
LEAGUE Cup holders Newcastle opened their defence of the silverware with an emphatic 60-29 home win over Redcar.Lewis Kerr completed a four-ride paid maximum for the Diamonds, with Ludvig Lindgren top-scoring on 12, although boss George English gave credit to both sides as the meeting went ahead after adverse weather during the week.English said: “The first congratulations have to go to our track staff who worked miracles right through Sunday to get that match up and running after some appalling conditions through the week.“But also congratulations to our riders who raced brilliantly to a big win over our local rivals, who also deserve congratulations for getting on with the job and helping us get the meeting on and raced in good time once we got all the delays out of the way. I’d also like to thank the fans for their extreme patience on a difficult night.”Elsewhere in the group, Simon Stead led Sheffield to an away win at Scunthorpe as the Tigers launched their new era on a high.Stead scored 14 points for the Owlerton club, under new management this season, in their 48-42 League Cup success with his side recovering from an early six-point deficit to take the points.Sheffield boss Joe Screen said: “The lads were magnificent and all the team spirit built up over the last few weeks really paid off. It’s a great start – and the best bit is I don’t have any dirty bikes to wash in the morning now I’m on this side of the fence!”Scunthorpe manager Dave Peet added: “Obviously we’re disappointed to lose, but we can take some positives from the meeting. Ashley (Birks) rode like he’d never been away – he showed no ill effects from the injuries he sustained at the end of last season.”Craig Cook scored his second successive 15-point maximum as Edinburgh secured a 47-43 win at Glasgow to wrap up a 99-81 aggregate success in the Air Fence Challenge.Manager Alex Harkess said: “We did our job very well, and several of our riders were going very well. It’s hard to see who in our league will beat Craig Cook, and the bonus was probably Stevie Worrall with his 11 points, in spite of having a fair bit of trouble with his bikes.”Scunthorpe have a number of injury concerns following their 21-62 home defeat to Kent in the National League, with three riders crashing out of the meeting.Reece Downes suffered a broken wrist in a Heat 2 crash which also left the Kings’ Brandon Freemantle with hip injuries, whilst Arron Mogridge sustained hand injuries in an aborted attempt to run Heat 15 and Tyler Govier struggled with existing shoulder and wrist problems.Stags boss Richard Hollingsworth said: “I’m gutted for the riders who got hurt. But aside from that I saw plenty of good signs from the riders. I thought they were better at the end of the meeting than the start of the meeting, and that’s all I ask for.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 – MONDAY PREVIEW)
SHEFFIELD stage the re-arranged Air Fence Fund Bonanza on Monday with the club on a high after their League Cup win at Scunthorpe.The meeting features all of the regular Tigers plus all-time great Sam Ermolenko, making a comeback at the age of 53, whilst ex-Sheffield man Richard Hall replaces the unavailable Rory Schlein.Manager Joe Screen said: “This is going to be an enjoyable night of racing with no pressure on the lads. Hopefully tonight they can go out there and enjoy their racing and we want to see a good crowd.“It will be good to see Sam in action, he's a legend - but I only retired last year so it's too soon for me to consider a comeback!”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
EASTBOURNE star Mikkel Michelsen has hailed the team spirit in the Eagles’ camp after scoring a paid maximum on Saturday.Michelsen and captain Cameron Woodward were both unbeaten in the 62-30 Elite League win over Birmingham, and the Dane believes it could be a sign of things to come.Michelsen said: “That was perfect. I did not think I would end up doing a maximum in the first meeting.“We had a chat before the meeting and we wanted to be happy all the time. We talked a lot throughout the meeting. The team spirit is very good here – we have a strong side and we have a team that can win the league this year.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
SOMERSET boss Garry May says the Rebels’ thumping weekend win at Plymouth was a statement of intent for the coming campaign.May’s side romped to a 57-36 win at the St Boniface Arena in the Air Fence Challenge, and he believes the reigning Premier League Champions have more to come!May said: “We were determined to get the season off to a flying start, and they certainly did that.“Nick (Morris) took to the No.1 race-jacket like a duck to water, and when you consider Charles Wright had a night he’d rather forget with two chains going on him when in good points scoring positions, it could have been an even more emphatic victory.”
(FIXTURES)
MONDAY MARCH 31:AIR FENCE FUND BONANZA: Sheffield 7.45TUESDAY APRIL 1:LEAGUE CUP: Peterborough v Somerset 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TROPHY 1st leg: Cradley v Coventry 7.30
WEDNESDAY APRIL 2:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Lakeside 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: King’s Lynn v Scunthorpe 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 3:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Coventry 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Ipswich v Somerset 7.30, Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30, Sheffield v Newcastle 7.45
FRIDAY APRIL 4:ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Leicester 8pmLEAGUE CUP: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Plymouth v Rye House 7.15PREMIER SHIELD 1st leg: Somerset v Newcastle 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Scunthorpe 7.30
