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SHEFFIELD and Rye House will host the British Semi-Finals later this month.Owlerton will the venue for the first semi-final on Thursday April 24, whilst the action will switch to Hoddesdon on Wednesday April 30 as competitors chase places in the Final at Wolverhampton on Monday June 16.New Sheffield co-promoter Damien Bates said: “When the news came through that we had been awarded this event we were all extremely pleased. Owlerton Stadium is a stunning venue for speedway, it’s one of the reasons the new consortium were so keen to take the club over.“We have already invested heavily in the new air fence which looks superb and we have also done a lot of improvement work on the track, including taking delivery of plenty of new shale to give the riders every opportunity to race.“We already knew we had the Premier League Riders' Championship lined up for September, but this is a bonus for us and as a club we are very honoured.”Rye House promoter Len Silver has explained why the club have moved away from their regular Saturday race-night for their semi-final.He said: “The event will be in addition to the weekend meetings either side of the Championship round. The date was chosen because it gave the largest possible range of rider availability, with only four Elite clubs in action that night. “With almost all the world class British riders available for selection, and with no riders seeded directly to the Wolverhampton Final, there is no doubt that we shall have a terrific field to thrill us on that Wednesday. I am sure that Rockets and many other fans will fill our stadium to see the action.“With six of this year’s Rockets team being British, there should be plenty for Rye House fans to cheer about as well.”BERWICK have stepped in to stage a World Championship qualifying round at Shielfield Park on Saturday June 7.Chris Harris and Craig Cook have been nominated as the Great Britain representatives, with Richard Lawson as reserve, for the event which is part of the series to determine riders for the 2015 Grand Prix.Co-owner John Anderson said: “Having been honoured to have a GP Challenge event here in 2012, and one of the World U-21 Finals last season, we honestly weren’t too disappointed not to be included in the 2014 international calendar.“However, the authorities have apparently been having organisational problems with the GP qualifier to be staged in Austria, at St Johann on June 7 and Britain has been asked to step in and take over the organisation and staging of this meeting.“I am honoured, and so pleased that the FIM and BSPA have announced the event will come to Shielfield Park, maintaining the original date of Saturday June 7.”Elsewhere in the World Championship qualifiers, GB boss Alun Rossiter has confirmed that Danny King will travel to Ljubljana (Slovenia), also on June 7, whilst Richie Worrall will compete at German venue Abensberg on June 9.
SPEEDWAYGB EVENTS SERIES 2014:ELITE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Re-staging TBCBRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: Cradley, April 15BRITISH FINAL: Wolverhampton, June 16PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, July 11PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Peterborough, August 3PREMIER RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, September 21NATIONAL LEAGUE MAJOR EVENTS:NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: Mildenhall, June 15NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Coventry, August 10NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, September 28BRITISH SPEEDWAY FIM EVENT DATES:WORLD UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP Semi-Final: Leicester, May 10GRAND PRIX QUALIFIER: Berwick, June 7
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BELLE VUE boss Jason Attwood was delighted with a solid performance from his team to see off his old club Leicester 56-35 at Kirkmanshulme Lane.Attwood said: “It was important, especially after the last two away meetings, for us to come away with all 3 points tonight. It was our first home match and I think there was a feeling that Leicester might catch us on the hop as a result, which was probably a bit of my concern as well.“But we managed to put that to bed quickly and it was nice for us to be leading from the word go. I’ve always said confidence is a massive thing in speedway; confidence is winning and winning is confidence, and all the lads rode well tonight and did themselves and the fans proud.”BIRMINGHAM promoter Alan Phillips admits he shares fans’ concerns after a disastrous 21-69 defeat at Lakeside last Friday.Phillips said: “Anyone who knows me is only too aware I will always defend my riders – but that scoreline crossed the line and we have to take responsibility as a team.“This week there will be a lot of soul searching before we face King’s Lynn and we will do everything within our power to get to the bottom of the problem and why we aren’t doing it.”COVENTRY manager Gary Havelock says the mood remains upbeat in the Bees camp after they narrowly missed out on an Elite League point with a battling display at Poole.Havelock said: “I’m disappointed because I do think we deserved a point, but I’m certainly not gutted – I’m actually really pleased with how we’re going and the way the boys have gelled early on.“Everybody was fighting for every point, and we ran the favourites for the league in the bookies eyes very close on their own track, and that was without our top two being in top form.”EASTBOURNE boss Trevor Geer admitted his choice of riders for Heat 15 in the Eagles’ win over Belle Vue had been a tough one – with Joonas Kylmakorpi and Cameron Woodward coming up with the goods to secure victory.Geer said: “It started off perfect. Then they started making some gates, we couldn’t get by and with a tactical they have come back and passed us. It didn’t look too good from there.“If it had gone wrong I knew it would have been on my shoulders. Joonas wanted to be in Heat 15. The other riders weren’t going too well and Mikkel Michelsen was the only other challenger to go with Cam.”KING’S LYNN boss Rob Lyon says the Stars’ away win at Coventry last week was a statement of intent for his side this season – and he feels there is more to come.Lyon said: “Friday was the perfect tonic. I feel the team is a slow burner and we can get better. “If we stay clear of any major problems we will get better and better as the season goes on, I think you saw with Kenneth (Bjerre) having a bad one by his own high standards, we have still come away with a six point win.”LAKESIDE promoter Jon Cook is eagerly awaiting the Hammers’ Good Friday double against Eastbourne which kicks off at Purfleet at 1pm.Cook’s team include impressive Danish youngster Mikkel Bech for the first fixture although he misses the evening return at Arlington due to a Danish qualifier the following day.Cook said: “We are already looking forward to Good Friday. It’s a real highlight of the season and with a great forecast it’s going to be a meeting to savour.”LEICESTER gained their first win of the Elite League season with a 48-41 success over Lakeside at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium – and Lions boss Norrie Allan was delighted with the solid team display.He said: “It was an all-round display that won the day. Just three points separated the highest scorer in the side to the lowest and with the reserves chipping in the team performed exactly as it was set up to do with every rider in the 1 to 5 winning at least one race apiece.”POOLE star Chris Holder had high praise for reserve Kyle Newman, who made a crucial scoring contribution of 12 (paid 13) in the Pirates’ 49-41 win over Coventry on Monday.Holder said: “Kyle put in a great shift tonight. I haven't seen him ride that well before - he looked at ease on the bike and it was a terrific performance, and with Magic (Maciej Janowski) going through the card it showed the character there is in this Poole side.”SWINDON manager Alun Rossiter was pleased for his side to get their first win of the season on the board against Belle Vue with winter signing showing encouraging form.Rossiter said: “It was good to get a comfortable win with all three points and put the first night of the season here behind us. I said all along I wouldn’t read too much into the Coventry match with all that was going on, the rain and so on, and last week was much more like what I expect from the team. “It was a good response, which was what we wanted, and there were several encouraging displays. Nicolai Klindt had a much better one, which I was very much looking for, and I was also really pleased for Nick (Morris) and Simon (Gustafsson) that I was able to put them out in Heat 15.”WOLVERHAMPTON boss Peter Adams says two points for his team was a fair outcome from a hard-fought home win over King’s Lynn on Monday – maintaining their unbeaten start to the season.Adams said: “Everybody will talk about the disappointing finish to the meeting, but I'd have taken a one point victory before we kicked-off against that King's Lynn side.“All in all given the problems we had in one or two positions I thought it was a terrific victory whatever the margin, and we're just pleased to keep our winning run going.”
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK boss Ian Rae says confidence has been restored by a 55-37 home win over Glasgow in the League Cup, a meeting which saw both Claus Vissing and David Bellego score maximums.Rae said: “The confidence boost is probably the most important thing to come out from a fine win even more than how much we won by. It was especially good to see Steen Jensen score good points and it sets us up nicely for the rest of the season.”EDINBURGH enjoyed a perfect weekend with home and away wins over Workington to take control of their League Cup group – although skipper Derek Sneddon missed the away meeting after a crash at Armadale on Friday.Sneddon said: “I'm gutted I couldn't make it to Workington but the guys did well and I'm buzzing for them.”GLASGOW co-promoter Colin Hamilton admits another rain-off for the Tigers, this time at home to Berwick on Sunday, came as a big blow.He said: “We’re very disappointed – two rain-offs in a row is not great for any speedway club – and we just have to regroup and get back on track next week. It doesn’t give the guys the track time that theu need to bed in and dial in. But they’re eager to go, and hopefully the weather will be kinder to us next Sunday.”IPSWICH are planning plenty of Easter entertainment for their Good Friday afternoon home clash with local rivals Peterborough – the first of two League Cup matches on the day between the clubs.The Witches have booked Workington’s Rene Bach to stand in for the unavailable Richie Worrall in the home meeting, with former Witch Chris Mills standing in for Adam Ellis.NEWCASTLE showed the response demanded by manager George English to previous defeats when getting the better of Sheffield 63-27 at Brough Park – with three Diamonds riders scoring maximums.English said: “That was more like the side we know we have assembled in 2014 and it was unfortunate for Sheffield that it was them who felt the force of our frustrations as we really hit them hard from start to finish. But this is the direction we need to keep this season going in now and that means hard work, which we know the lads will put in to keep the momentum going.”PETERBOROUGH secured a dramatic draw at Somerset last Friday with a last-heat 5-1 from Ales Dryml and Ulrich Ostergaard – with Alun Rossiter, as stand-in boss, left to explain his unique motivation tactics!Rossiter said: “I wound Ales up a treat by calling him an old man. When he came back into the pits after Heat 15 he said he won the race because of that!“It was a fair result at the end of a cracking race and a cracking meeting. The lads all dug deep and kept themselves in contention throughout. I enjoyed working with the riders and hopefully they enjoyed working with me.”PLYMOUTH are seeking revenge for an early-season defeat against Somerset when they take on the Rebels once again over Easter weekend.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “We had a bad result against Somerset and this will give our riders a chance to redeem themselves. It is up to our boys to up their game against the Rebels this time around. If we get together and operate as a team we are capable of turning in a good result. If we ride solidly throughout the line-up we can be as good as any team in the Premier League.”REDCAR are looking to maintain a positive run of form when they face back-to-back clashes with Sheffield this week. The Bears switch to Friday for their home fixture and know they can maintain top position in the Northern League Cup group by extending their winning sequence, which currently stands at three matches.RYE HOUSE boss John Sampford is desperate for his team to bounce back from successive home defeats when Ipswich visit Hoddesdon on Easter Sunday.Sampford said: “They look an excellent side this year, and I anticipate another mega battle. From our side of the match, Jason Bunyan, Jason Garrity and Steve Boxall will all have had an extra week to recover from their current injuries, and Jason G is also due to take a new rolling chassis off Edward Kennett this week, which will help solve his current bike issues.”SCUNTHORPE have completed the signing of Josh Auty in a full transfer from Elite League club Coventry.Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “This has been on the agenda for some time - I’d been after buying Josh’s contract for a while, and I concluded business with Coventry last weekend. The last thing left was for Josh to sign, and that wasn’t a problem at all. It makes perfect sense, we want Josh to ride for us, and in return, Josh wants to ride here and be part of this club.”SHEFFIELD boss Joe Screen admitted his disappointment in the Tigers’ display at Newcastle on Sunday, where they went down to a 27-63 defeat – making this week’s matches against Redcar vital in the Northern League Cup group.Screen said: “Some of the riders had issues early on and heads went down which didn't help matters. In the end we were just well beaten, and we were all disappointed we weren't able to put up more of a fight."SOMERSET are set to welcome back Olly Allen for their weekend double against Plymouth as the Southern group of the League Cup competition reaches a crucial stage.Rebels boss Garry May said: “Unfortunately Nick Morris will be missing for Good Friday’s home match as he will be riding for Swindon, but we have secured the services of a rider who was very much a favourite with the fans at the Oaktree Arena in his year with us, that being Claus Vissing, and I am sure that Claus will prove to be a more than capable replacement for Nick.”WORKINGTON go into this weekend’s back to back League Cup fixtures with Berwick hoping to keep their hopes of qualification for the semi-finals alive following their double defeat at the hands of Edinburgh last weekend.Comets team manager Tony Jackson said: “Obviously the two defeats by Edinburgh were very disappointing and while we knew it would be tough up at Armadale, where our recent record is not good, we hoped for a much better performance at home but unfortunately things didn’t turn out that way.“A few mechanical problems along with a couple of lads having an off night by their standards dealt a major blow to our League Cup semi-final hopes. But, we all had a good chat about things afterwards and they are all desperate to show that they can bounce back from that with a much better showing this weekend against a solid-looking Berwick team.“There are still eleven more match points up for grabs and, while Edinburgh are certainly in the driving seat in our group, there is still the best-placed group runner-up spot available as a route into the semi-finals and we have to keep pushing for every point to try and secure that place.”
FIXTURE PICTURE…
WEDNESDAY APRIL 16:
ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 17:LEAGUE CUP: Sheffield v Redcar 7.45
FRIDAY APRIL 18:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 12pm, Birmingham v King’s Lynn 7.30, Coventry v Leicester 7.30, Eastbourne v Lakeside 7.45, Lakeside v Eastbourne 1pm, Poole v Swindon 11am, Swindon v Poole 8pmLEAGUE CUP: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Ipswich v Peterborough 2.15, Peterborough v Ipswich 7.30, Redcar v Sheffield 7.30, Scunthorpe v Newcastle 3pm, Somerset v Plymouth 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Mildenhall (follows LC fixture)
SATURDAY APRIL 19:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Coventry 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Berwick v Workington 7pm, Plymouth v Somerset 7.15SUNDAY APRIL 20:LEAGUE CUP: Glasgow v Edinburgh 3pm, Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30, Rye House v Ipswich 2pm, Workington v Berwick 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Coventry 3.30
MONDAY APRIL 21:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Cradley 7.30EASTER TROPHY: Kent v King’s Lynn 3pm
TUESDAY APRIL 22:ELITE LEAGUE: Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30
WEDNESDAY APRIL 23:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Poole 7.30, King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 24:BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: Sheffield 7.45ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Scunthorpe 7.30, Redcar v Glasgow 7.30
FRIDAY APRIL 25:ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Swindon 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Plymouth v Redcar 7.15LEAGUE CUP: Somerset v Rye House 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Devon 7.30
SATURDAY APRIL 26:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Newcastle 7pm, Rye House v Scunthorpe 7pm, Workington v Peterborough 7pm
SUNDAY APRIL 27:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Peterborough 3pm, Newcastle v Berwick 6.30, Scunthorpe v Plymouth 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v King’s Lynn (follows PL fixture)
MONDAY APRIL 28:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Lakeside 7.30
TUESDAY APRIL 29:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Newcastle 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Buxton 7.30
WEDNESDAY APRIL 30:BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: Rye House 7.30ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Leicester 7.30, Poole v Birmingham 7.30
