(SPEEDWAY 1 – TUESDAY REVIEW)
BELLE Vue snatched a dramatic 45-45 Elite League draw at Wolverhampton thanks to a last-heat 5-1 from Matej Zagar and Scott Nicholls.The Aces duo got the better of World Champion Tai Woffinden and Piotr Pawlicki at the end of an eventful Monmore Green contest which saw the visitors claw back from eight points down with six races remaining.Michael Palm Toft picked up two crucial race wins for Belle Vue whilst Wolves were left to rue a series of points dropped due to crashes.Aces boss Jason Attwood said: “Monmore Green is a difficult place to visit and I'm delighted with the result. If you'd asked me at the beginning of the evening, taking at least a point was probably the minimum we were looking for.“I had a chat with the boys on the track walk and we knew we needed to be picking up points from our away meetings as we've been doing at home, and we've done exactly that."Wolves manager Peter Adams added: “It's the second home meeting in a row we've lost out on a point in the final race, so we are obviously disappointed.“We wanted to hit them hard early on to get some sort of a lead and we did that, but it was never quite enough and when some of their riders settled down and found the right setups it got a lot more difficult for us.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 – WEDNESDAY PREVIEW)
BIRMINGHAM promoter Alan Phillips has confirmed he is looking at options to make changes at Perry Barr.Phillips is calling on his side to prove they are better than recent results when reigning Elite League champions Poole visit the Second City on Wednesday in a repeat of last season’s Grand Final.Phillips said: “All the riders are up for the challenge, and what a challenge it is. They know results haven’t been good enough of late and we have to put it right.“I’ve spent all the Easter weekend trying to give us options to bolster the team, but it’s not something that can happen overnight. For now I would like to see our team pull off a win against Poole and show to me just how desperate they are to make things right for Birmingham.”Poole will make a late decision on the fitness of Kyle Newman after his crash at Peterborough last week, with Adam Ellis on stand-by to guest – and boss Neil Middleditch will urge his side to treat the Brummies with respect.Middleditch said: “If there is one thing I have learnt from all my years in speedway is that the hardest club to ride against is one that has been struggling. “While the results have gone against Birmingham this season we will be facing 15 heats of speedway on Wednesday and anything can happen over those 60 laps. Without a doubt they have riders more than capable of picking up points and if they all click together then anything can happen.”Meanwhile King’s Lynn can take over at the top of the table if they take maximum points against Wolverhampton at the Norfolk Arena.The Stars name a full-strength, unchanged side, whilst Wolves call upon Steve Worrall at reserve to guest for the injured Joe Jacobs.
(SPEEDWAY 3)
IN- FORM Scott Nicholls has joined the line-up for Thursday’s British semi-final at Sheffield.The seven-times champion has switched from next week’s Rye House event, with the top seven riders in the meeting guaranteed a place in the Final at Wolverhampton in June. Leigh Lanham makes the reverse move and will now race at Hoddesdon on April 30.Nicholls said: “I’m desperate to win another British title, but I have to do a job at Sheffield first. I’m looking forward to the meeting, it’s a fast track and hopefully my current form can continue.”(SPEEDWAY 4)
OVER 30 future speedway hopefuls attended a successful British Youth Training day at Leicester on Tuesday.The enthusiastic youngsters were able to complete more than six hours of practice in front of GB Youth bosses Phil Morris and Neil Vatcher, with Leicester and Sheffield star Simon Stead on hand to offer assistance.Vatcher said: “We have been saying for a number of years now that there is talent coming through the system, but we all have to be patient as it will not happen overnight.“The proof of the talent was shown only last week at the British Under-21 Final where the top two, Josh Bates and Adam Ellis, who are both only 18 were riding in the British Youth Championship only two years ago - and both are now on the verge of competing at World Junior Level when they compete in the World Under-21 Semi Finals next month at Leicester and Straslund Germany respectively.”
(FIXTURES)
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)
