(SPEEDWAY 1 – THURSDAY REVIEW)
BIRMINGHAM star Danny King led the qualifiers for the British Final with a 14-point total to win Thursday’s semi at Sheffield.King, who admits the victory was a confidence booster after a tough season so far at Perry Barr, was joined on the rostrum by Craig Cook and another Brummies rider, Ben Barker, to make up the top three.Home duo Simon Stead and Adam Roynon made it through along with seven-times champion Scott Nicholls, but there was a major scare for treble winner Chris Harris who suffered a mid-meeting crash and required a stunning ride to pass Cook on the last lap of Heat 20 and book his place at Wolverhampton.King said: “I came here to qualify, but to win the meeting is fantastic for me. I hope I can use this to sharpen up my form in the Elite League and help Birmingham get back to some respectable results.”In the Elite League, Swindon duo Peter Kildemand and Troy Batchelor performed last-heat heroics to secure a 46-44 win over Eastbourne in a topsy-turvy Blunsdon encounter.Kildemand completed a 15-point maximum and was joined by Batchelor for a Heat 15 5-1 – following on from a similar result two races earlier – to clinch victory against an Eagles side who took a league point aided by a stunning display from reserve Lewis Blackbird (11+3).Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “I was just happy to come away with the win in the end given the circumstances. Peter and Troy were absolutely outstanding and pulled it out of the bag when it mattered for us in Heat 15.”Eastbourne manager Trevor Geer said: “Obviously, we are pleased to get a league point away from home. I did think we were going to break our long run of away defeats but we came up short at the end which was disappointing. Lewis had a fantastic night and he is doing exactly what we thought he would do when we picked him to be in the team.”Ipswich made a winning start to their Premier League campaign with a 53-39 success over Scunthorpe at Foxhall, Rohan Tungate (12+1) and Morten Risager (11) heading a solid team effort, whilst Thomas Jorgensen piled up 13+1 for the visitors.Witches boss Chris Louis said: “That was a good result against a strong side. Scunthorpe will definitely pick up points on their travels this year with this line-up but we managed to stop them. I was pleased to see everyone in the team playing their part even if they didn't all score big points. We now need to build on this and make sure we keep the momentum going.”Elsewhere, Redcar took maximum points from a 51-42 win over Glasgow, even though just one point had separated the sides with three heats to go. Skipper Aaron Summers led the way for the Bears with 12, whilst promising Frenchman Dimitri Berge matched that for the Tigers, helped by a winning tactical ride in Heat 11.(SPEEDWAY 2 – FRIDAY PREVIEW)
LAKESIDE promoter Jon Cook says entertainment is high on the agenda at Purfleet this season as his team looks to regain top spot in the Elite League table.Swindon make their second visit of the campaign to the Arena-Essex Raceway on Friday, and Cook believes the excitement levels could match or exceed their run to the Grand Final in 2008.He said: “Like our fans I am very excited about seeing our young guns Mikkel Bech, Adam Ellis and Ben Morley as you never quite know what to expect, apart from plenty of action, and with the rest of the Hammers they represent the most entertaining team I think we have had since 2008. Let’s hope they can go as far, if not further, than that side.”Swindon are forced into changes at Purfleet with Bjarne Pedersen replacing GP rider Troy Batchelor, whilst Benji Compton steps in at reserve for Steve Worrall.Manager Alun Rossiter said: “Lakeside is always a tough place to go, and being without Troy isn't ideal as he usually goes well around there. It's going to be difficult but hopefully Bjarne can prove a good guest, and everyone can step up so that we can come away with at least a point.”Edinburgh have set their sights on breaking their all-time record of ten successive victories, set in 2003, as they look to extend their unbeaten start to the season which currently stands at a best-ever eight matches.The Monarchs host Sheffield at Armadale on Friday in their first Premier League fixture of the campaign, and should they be successful the tenth meeting in the sequence comes up at Ipswich next Thursday.In the Premier League Knockout Cup, Plymouth promoter David Short is warning his side not to under-estimate Redcar as the Devils look to build a handy lead as they stage their home leg first.Short said: “The Bears have had an indifferent start to their season, but so have many other teams. It most certainly does not mean we can take things easy against them because I expect Redcar to provide us with a tough challenge.”Somerset boss Garry May is calling for the right response from his riders when they take on Rye House in the League Cup, with dropped points against Plymouth last weekend leaving them outsiders to reach the semi-finals.The Rebels have booked former favourite Josh Grajczonek to stand in for No.1 Nick Morris, who is required by his Elite League club Swindon at Lakeside.May said: “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.”Rockets boss John Sampford said: “We’re under no illusions it will be a hard job to get the win, but if the riders all perform to their true potential, there is no reason we can’t take something away from the match.”In the National League, Coventry can extend their lead at the top of the table with a win over newcomers Devon at Brandon. The Storm have called up Jack Kingston to guest for Luke Crang and use rider-replacement for Dan Greenwood who are absent due to senior commitments.Coventry co-boss Blayne Scroggins said: “It was a brilliant Easter weekend and now we have to move on and make sure we keep our place at the top, starting against Devon on Friday.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
PETERBOROUGH No.1 Ryan Fisher will miss the club’s first two matches of their Premier League campaign after being ordered to take seven days’ rest.Fisher picked up a back problem in a crash at Leicester last weekend and aggravated it in Poland on Easter Monday, with the Panthers moving quickly to book in-form Richard Lawson to guest in their mini Northern tour this weekend to Workington and Glasgow.Panthers co-boss Blayne Scroggins said: “It is a big blow for any club to be without their No.1, but we could not have a better guest than Richard who is in red-hot form. “He is flying in the Elite League and the Premier League – and he is a former Workington rider which will come in really handy on Saturday.”(SPEEDWAY 4)
BUXTON have handed their final team place to 19-year-old National League newcomer Stefan Farnaby.The Berwick-based rider competed in the Northern Junior League last season, with Bandits manager Ian Rae contacting his Buxton counterparts regarding a possible team spot.Buxton chief Jayne Moss said: “We were considering our options with the last spot when Ian contacted us regarding Stefan. Everything was sorted very quickly and we look forward to meeting Stefan in person at our press and practice.“He is very keen to push on in the next stage of his career but we have to be aware that he hasn’t been riding long, although he has been getting good results in the NJL. There will be no pressure on him as he starts his regular National League career with ourselves but hopefully he will pick up some points along the way.”
(FIXTURES)
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 OFF
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)
