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WORLD Champion Tai Woffinden will make a rare appearance on a Premier League track when he competes in the British Semi-Final at Rye House on Wednesday April 30.Woffinden, who rode for the Rockets before stepping up to the Elite League with Wolverhampton, is one of several top-flight regulars included in the Hoddesdon event as riders chase progression to the British Final at Monmore Green on June 16.Seven-times national champion Scott Nicholls is also included whilst the home contingent features Steve Boxall, Jason Garrity and Luke Bowen.Rockets promoter Len Silver said: “I am absolutely over the moon to know that Tai will be coming home to one of his original stamping grounds, and I know that Rye House supporters will turn up in big numbers to cheer him on, together with Steve, Jason and Luke.“I am delighted with the field, and there will be no change to our standard Premier League level pricing for admission.“There will, however, be an extra-large combined programme covering both this event and the preceding Saturday’s (April 26) match between the Rockets and Scunthorpe. This will be on sale on the Saturday for £3, and be priced at just £1 on the Wednesday for those unable to come to the Scunthorpe match.”BRITISH SEMI-FINAL – Rye House: 1. Tai Woffinden, 2. Adam Ellis, 3. Lewis Bridger, 4. Richie Worrall, 5. Steve Boxall, 6. Oliver Allen, 7. Josh Auty, 8. Lewis Blackbird, 9. Richard Lawson, 10. Ritchie Hawkins, 11. Carl Wilkinson, 12. Jason Garrity, 13. Luke Bowen, 14. Ashley Birks, 15. Scott Nicholls, 16. Stefan Nielsen.The Hoddesdon event follows on from the Sheffield semi-final on Thursday April 24, where the declared line-up was:BRITISH SEMI-FINAL – Sheffield: 1. Danny King, 2. Edward Kennett, 3. Ashley Morris, 4. Craig Cook, 5. Derek Sneddon, 6. Simon Stead, 7. Leigh Lanham, 8. Lewis Kerr, 9. Kyle Newman, 10. Charles Wright, 11. Chris Harris, 12. Stuart Robson, 13. Kyle Howarth, 14. Adam Roynon, 15. Ben Barker, 16. Andre Compton.*BRITISH Under-21 Champion Josh Bates is determined to maintain his focus after his stunning success at Monmore Green earlier this month.Bates, of Sheffield and Mildenhall, emerged on top after an incident-filled meeting, defeating Adam Ellis in what became a two-man Final following disqualifications for Jason Garrity and Stefan Nielsen, who also progress to the World Under-21 qualifiers.Bates said: “I can’t usually gate to save my life, so to manage to produce three really good starts in the biggest race of my career was really pleasing.“I went there with the aim of scoring a few points and enjoying the occasion, but it was when I reached the final that I started to tell myself that I could win it.“It was my night, but it doesn’t mean other things will be on a plate for me. Nothing gets given to you in this sport and the only way to gain success is by putting in the hard work on and off the track.“Some riders make big statements about what they think they can do, but I’m not going to do that. I have my targets though. I aim to score double-figures wherever I go in the National League and I just want to take it race-by-race in the Premier League.”
SPEEDWAYGB EVENTS SERIES 2014:ELITE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Re-staging TBCBRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: JOSH BATESBRITISH 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
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE boss Jason Attwood says there is plenty more to come from his side after a 50-39 Good Friday win over Wolverhampton in front of a bumper crowd at Kirkmanshulme Lane.Attwood said: “It feels great for us to beat a good Wolves side, not only because they won twice here last year but it's their first defeat this season and it was dealt at the hands of Belle Vue.“It got a bit scary towards the end when they scored two 5-1s on the trot because we thought we were watching a win slip away before our eyes, so we've still got a lot that can be improved on.”BIRMINGHAM star Ben Barker admits the club’s riders are under pressure after a poor start to the season culminating in a 30-60 home humiliation at the hands of King’s Lynn on Good Friday.Barker said: “If things don't improve then changes might have to be made which is a shame because we've got a good bunch of lads here, but we can't carry on losing like we are.“I'm not even sure my job is safe the way I'm riding at the moment, so I need to buck my ideas up and get back to my normal self.”COVENTRY boss Gary Havelock reflected on a positive Easter campaign which saw the Bees take six points from local rivals Leicester to gain ground on the Elite League pace-setters – including a 50-40 win in the away fixture against the Lions.Havelock said: “We raced King’s Lynn on the Friday and Poole away on the Monday and they are the two teams who everybody is tipping for the title. We gave them both a real run for their money and under different circumstances we would have picked up some points there.“But the four-point win at Leicester puts us level with the play-off spots and that’s what we’re aiming for. We’ve only had two home matches, but we’ve had two four-point away wins and that can dramatically shoot you up the table.” EASTBOURNE were left to rue dropped points on Good Friday as Lakeside took their upper hand in their Easter derby clashes.The Eagles lost 41-55 at Purfleet and although they responded with a 48-42 win at Arlington the result ended their 100 per cent home record as they were limited to two points from the meeting.KING’S LYNN maintained their impressive start to the season with a thumping 60-30 win at Birmingham on Good Friday – their second away win of 2014 so far.Kenneth Bjerre scored a paid maximum for the Stars with fast-track reserve Lewis Kerr adding an impressive 13+1 as the visitors dominated at Perry Barr to go second in the Elite League table.LAKESIDE promoter Jon Cook declared himself satisfied with the Hammers’ Good Friday efforts when they gained four points against rivals Eastbourne, including an away point from a narrow 42-48 defeat at Arlington.Cook said: “It was a very good day, all things considered. We had a great home win and a great crowd at The Raceway, and then achieved an extra point which was well deserved for our efforts on the night. “Roll on Friday when we return to The Raceway determined to avenge the point we dropped to Swindon last month.”LEICESTER boss Norrie Allan had no complaints over his side’s home defeat to Coventry on Easter Saturday as the Lions were unable to build on a point gained at Brandon the previous evening.Allan said: “We began well enough and I had every confidence in the team to compete on equal terms in the latter stages. But to their credit, Coventry stepped up to another level and fully deserved their win. “We have a week now to regroup and prepare ourselves for the visit of Eastbourne to our stadium on Saturday.”POOLE boss Neil Middleditch says his team exceeded expectations on Good Friday, with a 56-34 home win over Swindon followed up by a dramatic 47-45 success at Blunsdon to secure six points from the day.Middleditch told the Daily Echo: “I said to the boys before the meeting in Swindon that I’d be happy with a point and anything better than that would be a bonus, because I knew Swindon would be a tougher nut to crack at Blunsdon. “To actually win the meeting was more than we could have expected. To come from 10 down to win was some achievement and the boys went out there and did a fantastic job.”SWINDON have reacted to a double Good Friday defeat at the hands of Poole with the signing of Dakota North to replace Nicolai Klindt.Robins boss Alun Rossiter said: “I wanted to do something to show everyone, the team, our sponsors and our supporters, that we are not prepared to accept second best. It's harsh on Nicolai but we need something extra and naturally I wish him well and hope he gets fixed up elsewhere in the not too distant future.“Dakota is a rider I've been interested in before. I tried to sign him when I was at Coventry and again last season I was interested, I've been following his scores in Poland and I'm pleased to welcome him to Swindon.”WOLVERHAMPTON star Ty Proctor admits a heat-leader role under the new Elite League format is proving a challenge, especially with a lack of racing elsewhere.Proctor said: “I will be honest and say I am struggling with this heat leader role at the moment. Under the new format it is difficult and losing my Premier League place like I did I'm just not getting the track time I need to try and build some confidence.“It's just going to take some time but I'm still confident I can get the springboard I need to really get going and get to grips with this role.”PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK boss Ian Rae praised his side for their efforts in defeat at Workington, the Bandits chief believing the 38-51 was a harsh outcome for the Border club.Rae said: “We fought well here and really deserved to get something out of the match, but with engine failures and exclusions hitting us just when we didn't need them it made life tough and we sadly came away with nothing, which was not deserved for the efforts put in.”EDINBURGH manager Alex Harkess said the margin of victory at Glasgow, where the Monarchs won 58-35 even came as a surprise to him, as the Monarchs extended their unbeaten run at the start of the season to eight matches.Harkess said: “I didn’t really expect a score like that but we were brilliant. Every scored well and it’s good to see Aaron Fox amongst the points too.”GLASGOW skipper Theo Pijper admitted the struggles of himself and No.1 Kevin Wolbert were a major factor in the Tigers’ heavy home defeat to rivals Edinburgh on Sunday.Pijper said: “I don't know what happened. On Friday, me and Kevin were flying and suddenly - I don't know. I struggled in my first ride because I had the wrong sprocket on. I changed a little bit on the bike and I was getting going. But after that, it was already lost.”IPSWICH boss Chris Louis was left fuming by a home defeat against Peterborough in the Witches Good Friday afternoon fixture – at the start of a weekend which saw his side score no League Cup points from three matches.Louis said: “That was a very lacklustre and disappointing performance, and for this to happen in front of one of our biggest crowds of the season is inexcusable.”NEWCASTLE returned to winning ways with a 49-39 success over Scunthorpe in an eventful Brough Park encounter, skipper Stuart Robson leading the way with a 14-point haul from five rides.Diamonds boss George English said: “This again could have gone either way, but this time our lads started to dig deep just at the right time and with Anton (Rosen) and Ludvig (Lindgren) taking that vital Heat 13 maximum we certainly took a victory we should be proud to take. It got the crowd going too with plenty of incidents to discuss afterwards - all a good speedway match should have.”PETERBOROUGH promoter Trevor Swales believes the feel-good factor is back at the Showground this season as the Panthers close in on a place in the League Cup semi-finals.Swales said: “The situation in the group has changed very quickly and we are now in a great position. We enjoyed a terrific day on Good Friday with home and away wins over what I believe to be a very good Ipswich team. I sense there is a buzz about the place again that hasn’t been seen there for a number of years.”PLYMOUTH promoter Ashley Taylor is calling for a full 15-heat performance from his side as they go into Knockout Cup action against Redcar on Friday.Taylor said: “You always want to get as good a lead as possible from the home leg of a cup competition. But we need to hit the ground running this week and not find ourselves on the back foot as we did against Somerset last Saturday. We are shooting ourselves in the foot by allowing a visiting team to gain such a lead in the opening heats. That is when you should be making full use of home advantage.”REDCAR’S League Cup hopes suffered a major setback with double defeat at the hands of Sheffield over the Easter period.The Bears will attempt to bounce back when hosting Glasgow in the Premier League this week prior to a trip to Plymouth in the Knockout Cup.RYE HOUSE promoter Len Silver said a paid-eight score from Jason Bunyan was a major positive to come from the Rockets’ 51-39 League Cup win over Ipswich on Easter Sunday.Silver said: “What was particularly pleasing to me was to see Jason back amongst the points. He is still carrying his rib injury, but he was much more comfortable. We are still not firing on all cylinders yet, so we haven’t shown what we are fully capable of.”SCUNTHORPE’S run of three successive wins was ended with their ten-point defeat at Newcastle in the League Cup on Sunday, although boss Dave Peet was in no doubt as to where the match turned.He said: “We were doing well until the first 5-0 against us in Heat 10. It’s not hard to see it would have been very close without the two 5-0s. We matched the Diamonds in the other 13 races.”SHEFFIELD are celebrating qualification for the League Cup semi-finals after an Easter double over Redcar, taking an impressive 53-37 win in the away fixture on Good Friday after being taken to a last-heat decider at Owlerton.Tigers boss Joe Screen said: “It was a fantastic performance and I’m so proud of them. They were strong from 1-7 and the spirit is so good in the camp after this week that we’ll take anyone on.”SOMERSET boss Garry May is demanding a response from his side after a shock collapse at Plymouth in which the Rebels suffered a 52-41 defeat despite having held a ten point lead.May said: “We should never have let that sort of lead slip, and whilst I accept that Plymouth closed us right down with that 8-1 tactical race win in Heat 8, that should not have been the signal for what happened afterwards. “Our reserves rode above themselves and couldn't have done any more, but overall this was not a performance that I would expect, nor willing to accept, from a Somerset team, and although we now have only a slim chance of reaching the semi-finals, I expect the riders to go out and restore some pride when we face Rye House at the Oaktree Arena on Friday night.”WORKINGTON are looking to put an indifferent League Cup campaign behind them when they entertain new boys Peterborough at Derwent Park on Saturday in their opening Premier League fixture of the season.Comets team manager Tony Jackson said: “Unfortunately we had one of those nights at Berwick last weekend where things went against us and cost us vital points so it now seems likely that the chance to claim the best-placed runner-up position in the League Cup semi-finals has gone.“However, we must now turn our attention to the Premier League and we are under no illusions as to just how tough our opening fixture against Peterborough will be. The Panthers are strongly fancied by many pundits and they are another big track team, who include former Comet Ulrich Ostergaard in their ranks, so we will have to be firing on all cylinders for sure.“We are currently monitoring the situation with regard to the fitness of Mason Campton, who picked up a knee injury when brought down at Berwick last weekend. Although he rode through the pain barrier to score his first ever paid maximum for the Comets on Sunday he was in a lot of discomfort.”FIXTURE PICTURE…
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
THURSDAY MAY 1:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Edinburgh 7.30, Redcar v Somerset 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Sheffield v Berwick 7.45
FRIDAY MAY 2:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Plymouth v Peterborough 7.15, Somerset v Ipswich 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Kent 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 3:ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Wolverhampton 7.30, Lakeside v Coventry 8pm, Leicester v Belle Vue 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round: (2nd leg) Berwick v Sheffield 7pm, (1st leg) Workington v Somerset 7pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Stoke v Kent 7pm
SUNDAY MAY 4:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Redcar 3pm, Newcastle v Workington 6.30LEAGUE CUP: Rye House v Peterborough 2pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Stoke 3pm, Mildenhall v Devon 3.30
MONDAY MAY 5:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Lakeside 7.30, Wolverhampton v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Newcastle 2.30, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Mildenhall 3pm, Scunthorpe v Devon (follows PL fixture)
TUESDAY MAY 6:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Edinburgh 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 7:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Wolverhampton 7.30, Poole v Belle Vue 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Buxton 7.30
