KING’S Lynn have moved four points clear at the top of the Elite League table with a 47-43 home win over third-placed Poole.The Stars led for the majority of the meeting, but the Pirates remained in contention for a league point and did secure one with a last-heat 5-1 from ex-Stars riders Darcy Ward and Maciej Janowski.The Pole was the top-scorer for the visitors with 11+2, with Ward also on 11, whilst fast-track reserve Lewis Kerr kept up his fine run of form for the home side with 12.The meeting had been delayed to enable Stars promoter Buster Chapman to carry out remedial work on the circuit after heavy pre-meeting rain.Chapman said: “Brilliant night, firstly to get the meeting on. The track was perfect before we had that late downpour, but we started again and as it turned out the track was really good. I can't fault the riders, they got on with it and raced to another victory which keeps our unbeaten run going.”Meanwhile Ipswich have moved to the top of the Premier League after taking all four points from a 50-40 win at Redcar.The result completed a home and away double for the Witches over the Bears, with Rohan Tungate top-scoring on 11+1 and each other member of their team making a contribution.The home side scored a 4-2 in Heat 1 but the visitors took control with nine points from the next two races to seize the advantage – and although the Bears got back to within two points with two heats to go, the Witches rounded things off with two 5-1s.
(SPEEDWAY 2 – FRIDAY PREVIEW)
COVENTRY and Eastbourne are level on 18 points ahead of their Elite League clash at Brandon on Friday.A home win will take the Bees into the top four but the Eagles are determined to improve their away record, with another trip to the Midlands to face Wolverhampton on their agenda for Monday.The Bees, who won at Poole on Wednesday, bring in Aaron Summers to guest for Kyle Howarth whilst the Eagles welcome back Danish youngster Mikkel Michelsen and have Rory Schlein in for the injured Joonas Kylmakorpi.Coventry promoter Mick Horton said: “If we can get maximum points from the weekend, we will be right in the mix, and that’s our aim. Wednesday’s result at Poole was a huge bonus for us, we were over the moon with that, and we’re on a high as a team.“But we’ve got to finish the job off from this run of matches and that means getting a couple of wins on Friday and Monday, and then we can re-group and see where we are.” A busy weekend of Premier League gets underway on Friday with two of the current top three teams in action.Edinburgh can take over at the top from Ipswich if they can extend their incredible winning run to 13 matches as they face Newcastle at Armadale.Meanwhile third-placed Scunthorpe travel to Plymouth, with a win on the board from their last away outing in the league when they were successful at Sheffield last week.The Devils call up Tim Webster to replace broken collarbone victim Roland Benko, and are aware that a very similar Scorpions team won at the St Boniface Arena last August.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “We can take some encouragement from the fact that we lost by only nine points in our match at Scunthorpe at the end of April. But we will have to be on our guard because they have a strong looking team with riders who are capable of doing well at the St Boniface Arena.”The teams in fifth and sixth places in the early table clash twice over the weekend, with Workington switching to Friday night for their home clash with Berwick, whilst the return takes place at Shielfield Park on Saturday. Both teams have won both of their Premier League fixtures so far this season.Comets boss Tony Jackson said: “Our matches with Berwick are always keenly contested affairs and I am sure that these two fixtures will be no different.“After a two-week break in home meetings the riders are keen to get back into action on their own track in front of their own supporters, and then I am sure that there will be plenty of supporters that make the journey over to Berwick on Saturday to support the team, which they really do appreciate.”Somerset are just outside the top six after racing three league matches, but they go into their home clash with Sheffield with confidence high having topped the 60-point mark in each of their last four outings at the Oaktree Arena.Rebels boss Garry May said: “The boys have really been on fire in the past four home matches, with some of those matches being against some well fancied opposition. “On paper Sheffield have a team that could really push us, and with Ty (Proctor) now in their side I am sure that he will be coming to the Oaktree Arena wanting to prove a point, but I think our greater all-round strength should see us through to what we hope will be another maximum three league points.”Sheffield skipper Simon Stead said: “This is the toughest of tests, especially as we haven't done a lot of racing as a team of late. Hopefully we can all do our job and give a solid team performance.”
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BIRMINGHAM have pulled off the shock signing of Polish sensation Bartosz Zmarzlik.Zmarzlik, 19, has agreed a short-term deal to replace the injured Adam Skornicki who has returned to Poland for a second opinion on his hip damage, and the newcomer will make his debut against Belle Vue at Perry Barr on Wednesday.Promoter Alan Phillips said: “He's not a big name but he's a young, hungry, exceptionally talented rider and he was always my number one choice.“I've been after him for a few weeks now and I'm just delighted we've managed to finalise the deal. Hopefully we can see him get to grips with the Elite League fairly quickly and he can make a positive impact for us.”
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FRIDAY MAY 23:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Newcastle 7.30, Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.15, Somerset v Sheffield 7.30, Workington v Berwick 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 24:ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Swindon 7.30, Lakeside v Poole 8pm, Leicester v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Workington 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Scunthorpe 7pm
SUNDAY MAY 25:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Edinburgh 3pm, Newcastle v Ipswich 6.30, Rye House v Plymouth 2pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Buxton 3.30
MONDAY MAY 26:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Birmingham 7.30, Leicester v Poole 3pm, Swindon v Belle Vue 7.30, Wolverhampton v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v Peterborough 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Coventry (follows PL KOC fixture)CHALLENGE: Kent v Wimbledon 3pm
TUESDAY MAY 27:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Glasgow 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Kent 7.30
