Friday May 9, 2014(SPEEDWAY 1)
NEWCASTLE have announced the major signing of Danny King – who will now compete in both Elite and Premier Leagues as he continues in the top-flight with Birmingham.The Great Britain international takes over as No.1 for the Diamonds, who have released Christian Henry and Anton Rosen as part of their re-shuffle, whilst youngster Nathan Greaves comes in at reserve for Sunday’s home clash with Peterborough with a move for Robert Lambert not permitted.King said: “I need more meetings so this is a marvellous opportunity for me and I am so excited about the challenge that the Premier League will throw up.“I have always got on well with everyone at Newcastle and I hope that along with the skipper, Stuart Robson, I can also bring on the talented youngsters in the team.”Newcastle boss George English added: “It’s always difficult when you are shuffling with averages to make changes and on this occasion it is Christian and Anton who we have had to dispense with. Both could count themselves unlucky to be left out.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 – THURSDAY REVIEW)
PLYMOUTH are through to the Premier League KO Cup quarter-finals after successfully defending their eight-point first leg lead at Redcar on Thursday.The Bears were limited to a 47-43 win on their home circuit, despite having reduced the aggregate deficit to just two points after Heat 8 – with a vital Heat 10 5-1 from visiting duo Rasmus Jensen and Kalle Katajisto restoring Plymouth’s control of the tie.Redcar required a 5-1 from the last race to level the aggregate scores but Ben Barker took victory for the Devils, and he and Jensen received strong support on the night from guest reserve Todd Kurtz (10+2).
(SPEEDWAY 3 – FRIDAY PREVIEW)
LAKESIDE can extend their lead at the top of the Elite League table to six points with a home win over Wolverhampton on Friday.The Hammers have dropped just one point from their six Purfleet fixtures so far, and bring in Scott Nicholls to guest for Mikkel Bech who is on World Under-21 duty this weekend.Promoter Jon Cook said: “It's always an honour to welcome a World Champion (Tai Woffinden) to the Raceway and even more so when he's British, but that said we hope many of our team beat him and we take the League points to keep our position at the top of the table.”Wolves star Ty Proctor said: “It’s always a tough place to go and score points but we’ve got to go there believing we can get something. The way things seem to be at the moment we just haven’t quite had everyone firing at the same time, but I’m sure things will come good soon and when they do I think we’ll be really strong.”Coventry are chasing a place in the top four as they host Swindon at Brandon in their second home meeting of the week, having overcome Lakeside on Bank Holiday Monday.The Bees call in their former rider Aaron Summers to guest for the unavailable Kyle Howarth, whilst the Robins are at full strength as they seek revenge over a home defeat in the reverse fixture last month.Coventry promoter Mick Horton said: “We have home matches in hand on several clubs and hopefully we’ll be able to use them to break into the top four. “I’d like to think it will be a good time to race against Swindon, but we do respect the riders in their team. We are aiming for another three points, and if we can get them then that should push us up even further and put us in a good position.”Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “Coventry is a track that most riders seem to like, so that should be a good one and I certainly think the boys will be fired up after the shenanigans that went on in the pits in the home meeting!”Somerset have booked Stuart Robson to guest for the unavailable Nick Morris in their Premier League KO Cup tie with Workington, which is well-poised with the Comets 14 points ahead as they travel to the Oaktree Arena.Rebels boss Garry 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 are without regular Wolverhampton pair Ricky Wells and Ashley Morris, with the Comets using rider-replacement for Wells whilst Lewis Rose guests for Morris, but captain Rene Bach returns after missing the first leg due to injury.Manager Tony Jackson said: “We realise that this will be a very difficult meeting and of course the Rebels know exactly what they need to do to overhaul us and will no doubt try to hit us hard from the start. “We will simply forget about the first leg and look at it as a match we want to win, which hopefully will keep our aggregate lead, or much of it, intact and get us over the finish line. There are no tactical rides in KO Cup matches, it is quite simply a race to be the first team to reach 91 points, and hopefully that team will be us.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)BRITISH Under-21 Champion Josh Bates is relishing the opportunity of facing some of the World’s top youngsters at Leicester on Saturday.Bates and Stefan Nielsen are Great Britain’s representatives in the World Under-21 qualifier, with Bates eager to build on his success in the national championship last month.He said: “It’s a massive line-up and I know how tough it will be, but we will just see what we can do and try and enjoy the night.“I’m riding with a bit of confidence at the moment and it would be nice to go to Leicester and come away with a good score.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
POOLE have signed Ben Hopwood to fill the vacancy in their No.7 berth. The 23-year-old Stoke regular rode as a guest for the Pirates in their 13-point win over his birth-city club Belle Vue on Wednesday evening, and was immediately added to the Pirates declared 1-7 replacing Lee Smart.Poole promoter Matt Ford confirmed: “Ben has agreed a month long contract with us, and if he holds his own then we will look to extend it. “Ben is aware that we are in a points-driven sport, and whilst we don't expect him to rack up match-winning scores the contributions from reserves are crucial to a team’s success. Provided he can perform well against his peers in fast track scheme then he will have done his job and we can't expect any more.”
(FIXTURES)
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
