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DEFENDING Champion Tai Woffinden sailed into the British Final with a 15-point maximum in the second semi-final at Rye House.Woffinden reeled off five straight wins at Hoddesdon to head the qualifiers, and he was joined in the top three on the night by home man Steve Boxall and Lewis Blackbird, with Lewis Bridger and Richard Lawson also going through after all four riders finished on eleven points.The final two automatic qualifiers were Richie Worrall and Jason Garrity, whilst Stefan Nielsen defeated Leigh Lanham in a run-off for eighth place with Wild Card spots for the Final to be named.Woffinden said: “I am really pleased with the way things went and to win races again. It’s always good to come back here to Rye House – it’s one of my favourite tracks – and I really appreciate the warm reception I always get. I’m really looking forward to the Final and the chance to defend my title.”Boxall said: “I am absolutely delighted with the way it went. This is my first British Championship, so to get through to the Final is a just a dream come true. I had a good first race, and it just all went from there as I felt so sharp out of the gate.“It’s the best I’ve ridden since my big crash at Peterborough (on the opening night of March 18th), and I really felt good again on the bike. Things are on the up again.”Blackbird said: “This is the best thing I’ve done in my career so far. It was a good line-up and I never expected to get through. I’m over the moon to reach the Final.“I had a good year riding at Monmore. I like the track and managed to put in a few big scores while I was riding for Dudley. Hopefully I can go back and do well in the Final.”BRITISH FINAL – QUALIFIED RIDERS: (From Sheffield) Danny King, Craig Cook, Ben Barker, Scott Nicholls, Simon Stead, Adam Roynon, Chris Harris ; (From Rye House) Tai Woffinden, Steve Boxall, Lewis Blackbird, Lewis Bridger, Richard Lawson, Richie Worrall, Jason Garrity. Two Wild Cards to be named.
*LAKESIDE and Ipswich youngster Adam Ellis just missed out on a place in the World Under-21 Final after competing in the recent qualifier in Germany.18-year-old Ellis, who recently took the runners-up spot in the British Under-21 Final, finished eighth in the Straslund meeting on eight points, including a race win in his final outing.GB Youth co-boss Neil Vatcher said: “It was a very creditable performance from Adam in a very tough semi-final. He was left to rue one last place, as he only missed out on qualification by two points.”British hopes now rest with Josh Bates and Stefan Nielsen, who compete in their qualifier at Leicester on Saturday May 10.LINE-UP: Stefan Nielsen (GB), Roman Cejka (Cze), Adrian Cyfer (Pol), Nike Luna (Fin), Adrian Gala (Pol), Mikkel Bech (Den), Victor Palovaara (Swe), Gino Manzares (USA), Dimitri Berge (Fra), Lasse Bjerre (Den), Max Fricke (Aus), Eduard Krcmar (Cze), Jacob Thorssell (Swe), Sean Mason (NZ), Josh Bates (GB), Jiri Nieminen (Fin). Reserves: Tom Perry (GB), Ashley Morris (GB).
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
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BELLE VUE have confirmed the signing of Steve Worrall as a full asset of the club, whilst Lee Payne has joined the Aces’ 2014 line-up at reserve as a replacement for Ben Reade.Aces co-promoter George Carswell said: “Stevie is a good young rider, and a northern lad with bags of potential who is doing very well in all three leagues this year. He was already on my radar last season pretty much as soon as we signed his brother Richie, so when the opportunity to sign him came along we immediately went into negotiations with Scunthorpe.“He's really justified what a great prospect he is by not only scoring well for all of his teams, but he's also doing quite a few guest bookings as well so he's obviously caught the attention of other promotions beside ourselves.”BIRMINGHAM have re-called Nico Covatti as a replacement for Edward Kennett, with the Italian Grand Prix Wild card set to make his seasonal debut this week after being part of the Brummies’ table-topping team last year.Promoter Alan Phillips said: “I’d like to thank Ed, there are no hard feelings, it’s just one of those moves which haven’t worked out for whatever reason. He’s actually a nice lad and we had a chat a couple of weeks ago knowing this could happen.“It’s a delight to welcome back Nico, we all know how popular he is with the supporters and I’m sure he will get a great welcome on Wednesday against Wolverhampton.”COVENTRY boss Gary Havelock was delighted with a hard-working display by his team to defeat table-topping Lakeside 49-41 at Brandon on Monday – to make it three points to both sides from their Bank Holiday fixtures.Havelock said: “It was a real team effort, the meeting really ebbed and flowed, but when you look through our team it was solid all the way through. Some guys had some bad rides but they got their heads down and the vital thing at the end was that when the chips were down, Hans (Andersen) and Chris (Harris) produced the goods.“I’m really pleased with the team. We’ve shown this season at places like Poole and Lakeside that there’s plenty of fight there, and we showed it again here when it really mattered.”EASTBOURNE boss Trevor Geer says the Eagles’ 59-31 win over Wolverhampton at Arlington, a result achieved without Danish star Mikkel Michelsen, was a true indicator of his side’s potential this season.Geer said: “We just proved how strong we are. We have been waiting for this all year.“This is what we should be doing away from home as well. We have quite a few meetings coming up away from home and they are all tracks which we should be scoring at. If we are going to do well this year we have got to get some points out of these meetings.”KING’S LYNN are set to be without Danish star Kenneth Bjerre for their upcoming schedule after he suffered a broken collarbone in the final race of the Stars’ victory over Leicester.Promoter Keith Chapman said: “The racing was really quick and riders were giving it their all, as you could see from the final heat where Kenneth came in a bit deep and got caught out.“The crash looked a really bad one - hopefully he will make a quick recovery, he is a tough little rider. We will know more in the coming days and once we know how bad it is we can assess the situation going forward. We all wish him well.”LAKESIDE shared the points with Coventry over the Bank Holiday weekend, defeating the Bees 51-44 at Purfleet before going down 41-49 at Brandon.Hammers promoter Jon Cook was pleased to fend off a Coventry fightback in the home meeting to maintain their impressive form at the Arena-Essex Raceway.Cook said: “It got a bit squeaky at the end for the third league point thanks to Coventry’s use of the Tactical rule, but credit to our boys for sitting on the shared heats in the final three races needed and well done to Ben (Morley) for coming into Heat 14 and taking the important scalp of the impressive Jason Garrity.”LEICESTER boss Norrie Allan reserved special praise for youngster Max Clegg following the Lions’ 50-43 win over Belle Vue at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium.Allan said: “For once this season we held the upper hand throughout, which was a refreshing change instead of chasing the game. “I was particularly pleased with the contributions of our two reserves Tom Perry and Max Clegg, who outscored their opposite numbers which made such a difference to the overall result - and in particular Max, who had his best meeting for us by far and he showed real zest and determination.”POOLE reserve Kyle Newman admits he made his comeback from injury too quickly, having suffered a further fall in the Pirates’ hard-fought home win over Birmingham last Wednesday.Newman said: “I think I am paying the price for returning too soon. Unfortunately that fall in Heat 2 against Birmingham certainly didn't help. “I am going to have to take more notice of my head and not my heart and make sure I am fully ready before trying to ride again. I'm gutted to not be racing. That is what I do but I now know I need to be 100 per cent fit before doing so.”SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter said the correct decision had been made to abandon the Robins’ home clash with Birmingham on Monday, with his team having been seven points ahead at the time.Rossiter said: “It was the right decision to abandon the meeting but I'm gutted about it."We can only do our best, I'd like to thank the fans for coming along tonight but the rain had the last word. That's the way it goes sometimes."WOLVERHAMPTON skipper Tai Woffinden admits his side need to regain their dominance at home after Poole became the latest side to take points from Monmore Green in a dramatic 45-45 draw on Monday.Woffinden said: “We are definitely disappointed - a draw against Poole isn't a disastrous result but we need to be winning our home meetings. We've dropped quite a few points at home already this season now which is frustrating and we know we need to correct that.“It was a tough night but we just need to pick ourselves up and make sure we get something from Birmingham on Wednesday because we really need to.”PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK will take an 18-point lead to Sheffield in the second leg of their Knockout Cup tie later this week, with a late rally from the Tigers at Shielfield Park keeping them in contention.Bandits boss Ian Rae said: “Midway through it looked as though we would easily hit a good 60 points plus score, which would have made the trip to Sheffield on Thursday pretty comfortable, but they are an experienced side and it shone through in the latter half as they stemmed the tide and scored a few good wins of their own. 18 points is a good margin but it means we have a far harder match ahead than it might have been.”EDINBURGH’S sensational winning run at the start of the season now extends to ten matches after Craig Cook and Max Fricke secured a 48-43 victory at Scunthorpe on Bank Holiday Monday with a last heat 5-1.Cook said: “It was an awesome effort. I found I was getting nervous as the match went on, usually I start nervous then relax but it was the other way round.”GLASGOW reserve Anders Thomsen piled up a bumper 18-point haul at reserve to help his side overcome Redcar 51-39 at Ashfield on Sunday.Thomsen said: “It was brilliant. I've found a new engine tuner, so I've got the power now. I think we will win more meetings now and when Dimitri (Berge) comes back, we will have such a strong team.”IPSWICH boss Chris Louis felt his side’s 45-45 draw at home to Newcastle on Monday was a case of two points lost, especially given that the Diamonds had been depleted due to injuries.Louis said: “It’s two points lost as far as I’m concerned. Fair play to Newcastle, but they came here with a rider down and then lost a reserve before he’d completed a race. We should not have struggled against a side down by two men and should have taken the win!”NEWCASTLE manager George English was pleased to see his side take some reward from a tough weekend with a draw at Ipswich despite injuries to Anton Rosen, who missed the meeting, and Chris Schramm who was ruled out early on.English said: “I always believed we had a point or two in us for this match, and the lads pulled out the stops and proved they are not as bad as they have appeared to be of late and at last we have points on the board.“There are still issues and things that need to be ironed out but our next match is back at home on Sunday against Peterborough when we have no option – we have to bounce back and prove our worth to our fans who deserve far more than what they’ve been served up so far.”PETERBOROUGH made sure of group victory in the Southern section of the League Cup with a 47-42 win at Plymouth on Friday – and now the Panthers are targeting overall success in the competition.Co-boss Blayne Scroggins said: “Our aim was to top the group and we have achieved it. We had some big performances on a night when all six members of the team chipped in despite some tricky track conditions. “To win on the road without two key riders is no mean feat. The guys are over the moon to be through to the semi-finals and this is a competition we believe we can win.”PLYMOUTH co-promoter David Short took some positives from the Devils’ home defeat to Peterborough in the League Cup, and says a team change could be on the way.Short said: “The quality of the racing was very pleasing. Peterborough are a strong side and our team put up a good show to take them to the last heat decider. We are looking to make a change to the side, but will not be able to complete anything until after the Bank Holiday.”REDCAR experienced mixed fortunes in the last week with a 47-43 home win over Somerset seeing the Bears take two points from the meeting, but they were then beaten 39-51 at Glasgow on Sunday. In-form Richard Lawson was unbeaten from the No.1 position in both meetings. RYE HOUSE star Jason Garrity enjoyed an impressive 12+1 score in the Rockets’ win over Peterborough on Sunday – and says recent mechanical changes have put his season back on-track.Garrity said: “I’ve finally got my frames sorted out my last three or four meetings. I invested in new frames for the season, and it cost me a lot of money, but it really backfired on me. When the engine was getting hot, it would move and the bike was flexing when I was racing and losing me that vital second. But it’s sorted now and I’m ready to race again.”SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey believes the signing of Nicolai Klindt will help his side bounce back quickly from their Bank Holiday Monday home defeat against Edinburgh.Godfrey said: “I’m not fazed. I’m still positive that we have time to get it right this season. We did have to do something. Neither guests nor rider replacement were working to consistently replace Anders (Mellgren) and we have too many meetings in May to continue with facilities which weren’t doing the job for us. “Nicolai is a quality rider and he can help us turn things around. He’s a lightning starter and he was here last year, so he won’t need any time to get dialled into his home track this time around.”SHEFFIELD are set for a big Knockout Cup battle with Berwick at Owlerton having worked hard to cut the Bandits back to an 18-point margin from the away leg, with an outstanding display from Simon Stead keeping them in the hunt.Tigers management member Simon Parker said: “That rally in the last third of the meeting has kept us in the cup. I believe we can pull 18 points back if the boys have their gating gloves on. That rally was a great team effort."SOMERSET boss Garry May believes recent home form gives the Rebels a fighting chance of overcoming a 14-point deficit in the KO Cup when they host Workington on Friday.May said: “To make up 14 points certainly isn’t an impossible task. We showed just what we are capable of in last Friday’s home match when we beat a very much fancied Ipswich side by 40 points so, as the saying goes, it’s never over until that lady starts to sing - I just hope that she’s wearing a Somerset scarf on Friday night!”WORKINGTON overcame the absence of their skipper Rene Bach, following his hip injury in last Friday’s Danish Championship semi-final, to record a home win over Somerset in the Knockout Cup and a league victory at Newcastle last weekend.Comets manager Tony Jackson said: “Those two fixtures looked hard enough before news came through of Rene’s injury but the team, and the guests we used against Somerset, responded magnificently. We only had a four-point advantage over the Rebels with six heats remaining but the lads dug deep and added a further ten points to that in the closing stages. With fourteen points between the sides the tie is very finely balanced going into this Friday’s second leg at the Oak Tree Arena when hopefully Rene will be back with us.“At Newcastle we were so much sharper from the gate and a good team effort saw us provide an incredible twelve race winners, with Josh Grajczonek completing a great weekend with his second paid maximum in two days. But, we will need to show similar form when Sheffield come to Derwent Park this Sunday evening; especially with three former Comets in their line-up, including our former No.1 Simon Stead.”
FIXTURE PICTURE…
TUESDAY MAY 6:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Edinburgh OFF
WEDNESDAY MAY 7:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Wolverhampton 7.30, Poole v Belle Vue 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Buxton 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 8:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Redcar v Plymouth 7.30, Sheffield v Berwick 7.45
FRIDAY MAY 9:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 7.30, Lakeside v Wolverhampton 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Somerset v Workington 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 10:WORLD UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER: Leicester 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm, Plymouth v Edinburgh 7.15PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Rye House v Glasgow 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v King’s Lynn 7pm
SUNDAY MAY 11:PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Peterborough 6.30, Workington v Sheffield 7pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Glasgow v Rye House 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Buxton v Coventry 3pm
MONDAY MAY 12: ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 7.30, Wolverhampton v Swindon 7.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Kent v Stoke 6.30
TUESDAY MAY 13:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Peterborough v Scunthorpe 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Cradley v Mildenhall 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 14: ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Swindon 7.30, Poole v Lakeside 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 15:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Peterborough 7.30, Sheffield v Scunthorpe 7.45TWEED/TEES TROPHY 2nd leg: Redcar v Berwick 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 16:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30, Plymouth v Newcastle 7.15, Scunthorpe v Glasgow 7.30, Somerset v Redcar 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Mildenhall 7.30, King’s Lynn v Stoke 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 17:ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Coventry 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Ipswich 7pm, Rye House v Sheffield 7pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2: Leicester 6.30
SUNDAY MAY 18:PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Redcar 6.30LEAGUE CUP: Glasgow v Workington 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Mildenhall v Cradley 3.30
MONDAY MAY 19:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Birmingham 7.30, Lakeside v King’s Lynn 7.30, Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Kent v Devon 6.30
TUESDAY MAY 20:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Plymouth 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 21:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30, Poole v Coventry 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Redcar 7.30
