(SPEEDWAY 1)
THE draw has been made for the British Under-21 Final to be held at Cradley on Tuesday April 15.In addition to the prestigious national title, there are also five places up for grabs for the World Under-21 qualifying rounds next month.Great Britain have been allocated two places for the round in Germany and one in Italy for meetings being held on Saturday May 3, and two more for Leicester on Saturday May 10.Ten of the 16 finalists are riding at the top level of British Speedway in 2014, eight of which have been selected from the Fast Track List, whilst both Kyle Howarth (Coventry) and Robert Lambert (Kings Lynn) are competing in the top five for their respective clubs.Six of the finalists are also making their British Under-21 Final debuts, two of whom will be amongst the favourites to become Champion in the shape of Lambert and Lakeside’s Adam Ellis.Host club Cradley have two home riders competing, Tom Perry and Nathan Greaves, and the Heathens’ adopted home of Wolverhampton also have two riders in the Final, Ashley Morris and Joe Jacobs.GB Youth co-boss Phil Morris said: “We feel that this year’s British Under-21 Final is really open, and it would be very hard to predict a winner.“Traditionally this is one of the most entertaining meetings of the season as all 16 boys really give it their all.”DRAW: 1. Nathan Greaves (Cradley), 2. Adam Ellis (Lakeside/Ipswich), 3. Joe Jacobs (Wolverhampton/Peterborough/Mildenhall), 4. James Sarjeant (Coventry/Coventry Storm), 5. Tom Perry (Leicester/Cradley), 6. Kyle Howarth (Coventry/Workington), 7. Ashley Morris (Wolverhampton/Workington), 8. Robert Lambert (King’s Lynn), 9. Josh Bates (Sheffield/Mildenhall), 10. Stefan Nielsen (Belle Vue/Coventry Storm), 11. James Shanes (Devon), 12. Darryl Ritchings (Swindon/King’s Lynn Young Stars) (subject to injury), 13. Dan Greenwood (Coventry Storm), 14. Connor Coles (Midlenhall), 15. Jason Garrity (Coventry/Rye House), 16. Jack Kingston (Mildenhall). Reserves: Marc Owen (unattached), Ryan Terry-Daley (Coventry Storm).(SPEEDWAY 2 – THURSDAY REVIEW)
COVENTRY collected all four points from their first Elite League match of the season courtesy of a 36-26 away win at Swindon.The Bees were ten points up on the night when a halt was called at Blunsdon after ten heats due to poor visibility, with reserves Jason Garrity (8) and James Sarjeant (5+3) both impressing along with guest Cameron Woodward (8).The meeting had been heavily delayed by a serious Heat 2 accident involving Robins youngster Darryl Ritchings (see separate item).Coventry boss Gary Havelock said: “We got stuck in right from the start, in tricky conditions when it started raining, and we managed to keep ahead.“The lads to a man were absolutely awesome. It was tough out there, but when you get conditions like that it usually affects the home team more than the away team, and it was nice to see all of our boys amongst the points.”In the League Cup, Sheffield maintained their impressive start to the season with a 48-41 win over Newcastle, taking maximum points thanks to a last-heat 4-2 from Simon Stead and Taylor Poole.Stead dropped just one point from five rides whilst Poole formed a strong combination with fellow new signing Leigh Lanham. Stuart Robson was top-scorer for the Diamonds on 11.Sheffield boss Joe Screen said: “It was hard work with the wet weather we had not really helping us in terms of our home track advantage. We knew from the start it was going to be difficult because Newcastle have got some good riders in their side, but the lads managed to pull it off in the end and it was a great result.”Newcastle manager George English added: “For us at Owlerton this was a good performance, and it was just frustrating we fell flat in the middle of the match as we certainly had the measure of the Tigers at other times.”Scunthorpe No.1 Anders Mellgren suffered back-related injuries in a first-race crash at Redcar, starting off a disastrous night for the Scorpions who lost 27-63.Richard Lawson scored a 15-point maximum for the home side and captain Aaron Summers added 11+3 as the Bears took their first win of the season.Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “It was just one of those nights for us. I think we possibly have used up all our bad luck for the entire season in one night.“What could go wrong went wrong, from having our No 1 crash out of the meeting in the opening race, to a number of engine problems, while every decision seemed to go against us as well.”Ipswich overcame the absence of Rohan Tungate to notch a 53-41 win over Somerset with Morten Risager (14), Richie Worrall (12) and Gino Manzares (10) all in double-figures, whilst Pontus Aspgren (14+1) was top-scorer for the Rebels.
(SPEEDWAY 3 – FRIDAY PREVIEW)
LAKESIDE co-promoter Jon Cook is keen for the Hammers to keep their early-season run going when Leicester visit Purfleet on Friday.Cook’s side defeated Swindon in their opening Elite League match of the season and were then resounding winners at Birmingham on Wednesday. The clash with the Lions sees former Lakeside man Peter Ljung return to his old home track.Cook said: “Our season is truly up and running. It's a pleasure watching this team work together and the performances of all (at Birmingham) were super. Bring on Friday!”In the League Cup, Edinburgh and Berwick face back-to-back clashes on Friday and Saturday, starting at Armadale – and Monarchs skipper Derek Sneddon says he was impressed by the early signs shown by their opponents, who also have plenty of track knowledge ahead of the first fixture. Sneddon said: “I was looking at the updates from Berwick last weekend and they certainly scored well against Redcar. But I know a lot of the boys in our team have already spoken about enjoying Berwick so I think we can do well.”Plymouth are looking to get their season moving with a home clash against Rye House, having lost out heavily to Somerset in the Air Fence Challenge last week.The Devils expect to be at full strength after Kalle Katajisto was concussed against the Rebels and Roland Benko has had physiotherapy on his shoulder.The Premier Shield also takes place this weekend, with Somerset and Newcastle – two of the outstanding sides of 2013 – meeting at the Oak Tree Arena on Friday with the Tyneside return on Sunday.Rebels boss Garry May said: “In an ideal world we would have liked to have had at least one home match under our belts before meeting Newcastle, but that’s not to be. “But in truth I don’t see that as being a major disadvantage. After testing away League Cup matches at Peterborough and Ipswich, the guys will be anything but race-rusty by the time the tapes are ready to go up on Friday night.”There is National League action at Brandon on Friday with Coventry Storm hosting Scunthorpe in the first league match of the season for the home side.Storm co-boss Laurence Rogers said: “People will have looked at Tuesday’s result and seen how well we did at Cradley, so I very much hope the fans come along and get behind the boys.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
SWINDON have moved to sign Dan Greenwood as one of their fast-track reserves as Darryl Ritchings faces a lengthy period on the sidelines.Ritchings was involved in a horrifying Heat 2 crash during the Robins’ defeat to Coventry on Thursday and has been transferred to Oxford to assess the full extent of his injuries which include a broken ankle.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “Everybody knew it was a dreadful crash for Darryl, and all of us at Swindon Speedway send our very best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.“We’ve had to move quickly to plug the gap, and Dan Greenwood is one rider who we considered during the winter. He’s ever-so keen, and we’re pleased to welcome him to Swindon albeit under sad circumstances.”(SPEEDWAY 5)
BIRMINGHAM owner Alan Phillips is trying to stay positive after Wednesday night’s home defeat at the hands of Lakeside.The Brummies suffered a third successive reverse in what has been a tricky start to the season - and Phillips says his side need a couple of wins to get their campaign up and running.He said: “Things can change so quickly in speedway, and I'm sure after a couple of wins everyone will be flying high again.“Everyone needs to pick themselves up and we just need to try and make sure we do much better next week against Coventry to try and build some confidence. I’m reluctant to be too critical of the riders at this stage because it’s so early in the season.”
(FIXTURES)
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
SATURDAY APRIL 5:ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Leicester 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm, Rye House v Plymouth 7pmRUSTY HARRISON TESTIMONIAL: Workington 6.30
SUNDAY APRIL 6:LEAGUE CUP: Glasgow v Workington 3pm, Scunthorpe v Redcar 3pmPREMIER SHIELD 2nd leg: Newcastle v Somerset 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v King’s Lynn (follows LC fixture)NATIONAL TROPHY: Leicester v Kent 4pm, Mildenhall v Stoke 3.30
