BIG EVENT LATEST…

CHRIS Harris and Craig Cook launch their World Championship qualifying programme at Berwick on Saturday June 7.Current Grand Prix rider Harris is looking to retain his place in the series for 2014 whilst Cook, who has made great strides in recent years, wants to establish himself on the international stage.Should the duo qualify from the Shielfield Park event, they will be just one meeting away from the Grand Prix Challenge which this year takes place at Italian venue Lonigo.Berwick will also welcome Poole’s Polish duo Przemyslaw Pawlicki and Maciej Janowski , and the line-up also includes top Danes Hans Andersen and Kenneth Bjerre, whilst Czech Republic rider Matej Kus will compete on his home circuit.Josh Grajczonek makes it three Pirates riders in the field and former Rye House and Peterborough star Linus Sundstrom is also included along with Leicester No.1 Jason Doyle.Berwick have confirmed special arrangements have been put in place for the event, with turnstiles open from 5pm ahead of the start of the meeting at 7pm. There will be additional catering and sales-points installed around the stadium.It has also been confirmed that the public will be permitted access to official practice earlier in the day. Doors will be open from 11.45am until 2pm, with the riders on-track for one hour from 12.30.Berwick bosses are delighted to have stepped in to stage the event after problems with the previous venue in Austria, and they expect it to provide a major boost to the local area too.Director George Hepburn said: “Last season when we staged the World U-21 Final there were visitors here from Latvia, the Czech Republic, Denmark and, notably, Poland.“Local businesses, hotels and the like reported a really impressive boom in business over that weekend, and with eleven nations to be represented here on June 7, an even greater influx of visitors has to be expected this time around.”LINE-UP: 1. Chris Harris (GB), 2. Jason Doyle (Australia), 3. Mathieu Tressarrieu (France), 4. Roland Benko (Hungary), 5. Tobias Kroner (Germany), 6. Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark), 7. Josh Grajczonek (Australia), 8. Maciej Janowski (Poland), 9. Linus Sundstrom (Sweden), 10. Tomas Suchanek (Czech Republic), 11. Matej Kus (Czech Republic), 12. Hans Andersen (Denmark), 13. Daniel Garrmaier (Austria), 14. Przemyslaw Pawlicki (Poland), 15. Theo Pijper (France), 16. Craig Cook (GB). Reserves: 17. Richard Lawson (GB) 18. Lewis Bridger (GB).

*THE draw has been made for the British Final at Wolverhampton on Monday June 16.World Champion Tai Woffinden defends his national title in the showpiece meeting whilst multiple winners Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris, with ten victories between them, will both be looking to regain superiority.Competitors have an extra incentive as the highest-placed finisher with the exception of Grand Prix regulars Woffinden and Harris will receive the Wild Card place for the British GP at the Millennium Stadium on July 12.BRITISH FINAL DRAW: 1. Stefan Nielsen, 2. Jason Garrity, 3. Ben Barker, 4. Richie Worrall, 5. Adam Roynon, 6. Danny King, 7. Simon Stead, 8. Tai Woffinden, 9. Lewis Bridger, 10. Lewis Blackbird, 11. Richard Lawson, 12. Chris Harris, 13. Edward Kennett, 14. Scott Nicholls, 15. Craig Cook, 16. Steve Boxall.

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: MIKKEL BECHGRAND PRIX QUALIFIER: Berwick, June 7

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…

BELLE VUE went frustratingly close to an away point from their Bank Holiday fixture at Swindon which was abandoned after twelve races.Michael Palm Toft produced a stunning effort to win Heat 11 in a race also containing Nick Morris, Matej Zagar and Troy Batchelor, but the Aces were nine points adrift of the Robins when a halt was called due to visibility concerns.BIRMINGHAM promoter Alan Phillips is hopeful that the club’s shock signing of Polish youngster Bartosz Zmarzlik will be receive a positive response from supporters.Phillips said: “We cannot do any more than bring in one of the hottest properties in world speedway. We pulled this one out of the bag and the response has been brilliant.“He’s a great talent and we are proud and honoured to have him riding for us at Birmingham. If the crowd don’t come in for the debut of Bartosz then I will have to ask what more we can do.”COVENTRY extended their impressive away record with a dramatic comeback to win 48-47 at Poole last Wednesday – although their hopes of backing that up at Brandon were frustrated by two rain-offs over the Bank Holiday weekend.Promoter Mick Horton said: “The way we came back was amazing. Poole aren’t going to lose many around here, if any, but the tactical ride was the turning point. All of a sudden they were looking over their shoulders and we had the belief, and we had them rocking.“Any team that comes here and gets a point is over the moon, because Poole are a great side. But Hans Andersen’s second bend in Heat 15 was out of this world, and we got the win we thoroughly deserved.”EASTBOURNE manager Trevor Geer was able to reflect on a comfortable home win for a second successive Saturday as the Eagles overcame a depleted Swindon team 54-37.Geer said: “There were some good heats and Simon Gustafsson put up a good display for Swindon. We want tougher opposition really, we want 15 good races - not just the odd ones.“It looked like we were going to exceed the Coventry score from last Saturday (61-30) but Swindon came back towards the end and their 5-1 in the last heat summed it up really.”KING’S LYNN extended their advantage at the top of the Elite League table with a hard-fought 47-43 win over Poole, with the Pirates taking a point from a meeting which was delayed as promoter Keith Chapman completed successful track remedial work after heavy 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.”LAKESIDE were one of several clubs to suffer Bank Holiday frustration with their big Saturday night home clash with Poole postponed due to a waterlogged track.Co-promoter Jon Cook said: “I'd like to thank our track staff for their efforts, but the track was too wet to allow us to erect the safety fences etc after Saturday’s car practice and both Davey (Watt) and Maciej (Janowski) were of the view that the track was beyond recovery.”LEICESTER have booked Rory Schlein and James Sarjeant to stand in at Eastbourne on Saturday with Patrick Hougaard and Tom Perry continuing to be on the sidelines due to injury.Manager Norrie Allan said: ““It is not an ideal situation we are in and whilst our guests have not let us down it is difficult to generate team spirit when the side is forever changing from match to match. “Eastbourne never gives much away on their home track and therefore we need everyone to contribute points. We pushed them hard at their place in April and with Rory and James in the side I believe that it will be another close contest again.”POOLE manager Neil Middleditch admitted the postponement of Monday’s fixture at Leicester may have been to the Pirates’ benefit, as Polish star Maciej Janowski was struggling with illness.Middleditch said: “To some extent it was a blessing in disguise that the rain didn’t relent on Monday and the meeting at Leicester was postponed without a wheel being turned, as there was no way Magic would have been able to ride. “However, it’s a big blow that he will miss the clash on Wednesday night against his former club (King’s Lynn). We are still a bit sore after letting a 12-point lead slip last week at home against Coventry and losing our unbeaten home record.”SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter was relieved to see a home match at the Abbey Stadium finally reach an official conclusion after a series of rain-offs – although their 42-33 win over Belle Vue came in a meeting abandoned after Heat 12 due to rain.Rossiter said: “That was an important win for us and I was naturally delighted for Nathan (Greaves). He's got a fantastic attitude but I do feel there is something not quite right with his machinery. He was on Simon Gustafsson's spare bike when he won his race."It was important for us to get all three points, I think our league position is a bit false at the moment so hopefully we can climb the table."WOLVERHAMPTON manager Peter Adams was delighted with a powerful all-round display which saw his side demolish Eastbourne 61-32 at Monmore on Monday.Adams said: “We've been saying for a while that when this team clicks then someone is going to be in for a thumping, and that's exactly what happened tonight."Unusually there were no last places for Wolves riders in 15 heats which showed what an impressive performance it was. We are obviously delighted with the manner of the win and three more points, so it was a good night at the office all around really."

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…

BERWICK gave their early Premier League campaign a major boost with a shock win at Workington last Friday, taking all four points in the process.Manager Ian Rae said: “This was better than any of us could have dared hope for, with this win that will make all of the Premier League sit up and take note as Workington, along with several others, had thought they were untouchable especially at Derwent Park.“But we’ve done a magnificent job from one to seven and have taken a superbly deserved win.”EDINBURGH reserve Aaron Fox made a successful return from a leg injury in the Monarchs’ 57-38 win over Newcastle – a result which made it 13 wins on the trot for the rampant Monarchs.Fox said: “I didn’t try anything rash in my first couple of heats, and I even backed off a little in one of the first corners because I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks. But by the end of the night I was fine.”GLASGOW are facing a potential fixture backlog after their local derby clash with Edinburgh was postponed due to rain just over two hours before start-time.The Tigers visit Armadale in the reverse fixture on Friday before hosting Scunthorpe at Ashfield this Sunday.IPSWICH’S confidence is high after an impressive run of recent results which has seen the Witches gain eight points from their last three Premier League fixtures.The Foxhall club completed a home and away double over Redcar before narrowly losing out at Newcastle on Sunday, where they still gained a point, and now face unbeaten leaders Edinburgh at home on Thursday.NEWCASTLE pulled a dramatic 46-44 home win over Ipswich out of the bag despite trailing for much of the meeting, with Danny King and Lewis Kerr proving to be the Diamonds’ heroes with a Heat 15 5-1.Manager George English said: “This was a brilliantly raced match and it provided some superb racing with two teams desperate to get the points, and it resulted in top class entertainment. “Chris Mills at reserve rode a good seven rides for us and made a good impression, and had he not had as many bike problems his score could have been higher.”PETERBOROUGH battled through to the Knockout Cup quarter-finals with a one-point aggregate win over Scunthorpe, despite racing the second leg of the tie without injured No.1 Ryan Fisher.Panthers co-boss Blayne Scroggins said: “Not many people will have given us a chance of going through after arriving with such a narrow lead and without our number one, but the boys gave it everything to pick up a really satisfying result."Making progress in the cups is important to us and we're relishing the task of taking on Plymouth in the next round."PLYMOUTH co-promoter Ashley Taylor says his side have taken notice of Berwick’s impressive win at Workington last weekend as the Devils prepare to host the Bandits on Friday.Taylor said: “We need to continue what we did last week against Scunthorpe and avoid having too many last places. But we must be ready to treat Berwick with full respect because they showed their ability recently by winning away to the highly-rated Workington side.“You could not find two more totally different tracks than Plymouth and Berwick, but visiting teams have shown in the past that they are not fazed by riding at Plymouth. They come to our track and adapt very quickly.”REDCAR were unable to build on their local derby win at Newcastle as the Bears went down to back-to-back defeats at the hands of an in-form Ipswich outfit.The Bears were beaten 34-41 in a rain-abridged match at Foxhall before losing out 40-50 the home fixture the following evening.RYE HOUSE will be monitoring the fitness of Edward Kennett this week as the Rockets’ No.1 is suffering from a hand injury – with a big local derby against Ipswich to come on Saturday.Boss John Sampford said: “Mathieu (Tresarrieu) should be back from his illness for that one, but Edward is carrying a hand injury he picked up during the week. He’ll need to get it looked at in the next few days so we know where we stand with him.”SCUNTHORPE suffered the frustration of missing out on Knockout Cup progress by a single point as they were edged out by Peterborough on aggregate despite a 46-44 win over the Panthers on Monday.Manager Dave Peet said: “I think the luck evened itself out over the two legs. I don’t really look at, for example, Heat 14 being stopped today while we were on a 5-1. That was just one race, over the two legs it’s been 30 races. It couldn’t have been any closer.”SHEFFIELD are desperate to get back in action with the visit of a powerhouse Workington side at Owlerton this Thursday – having completed just one home team event in nearly six weeks, and as a result they have planned a midweek team practice.Co-promoter Damien Bates said: “We need the lads to be up to speed for Thursday because we know how tough Workington will be. It promises to be a great night of racing.”SOMERSET host Scunthorpe on Friday in a clash between the Premier League Champions of the last two seasons, with Rebels boss Garry May admitting his side need to be on their guard.May said: “Scunthorpe may have had an inconsistent start to the season, but the recent signing of (Nicolai) Klindt has seen an upturn in their fortunes.“But in saying that the boys are itching to get back out on track and make up for that last heat defeat we suffered at Scunthorpe back in April, so the fans can look forward to what I believe will be a cracking match.”WORKINGTON go into this weekend’s matches against Sheffield and Redcar hoping to get back on track after losing at home to Berwick last weekend.Comets manager Tony Jackson said: “Naturally losing at home to Berwick was very disappointing and a major setback to our ambitions; it was another occasion where our gating seemed to let us down. It has certainly been an inconsistent start to the season but we are working at putting that right as we know that we are a better team than our results have shown. We have yet to have a night where everybody is firing at the same time while unfortunately if a few riders have an off-night at the same time we have a situation like we had against Berwick.“We have made a change at reserve and have decided to release Chris Mills, who we thank greatly for his efforts and hopefully he will get fixed up elsewhere soon. Meanwhile we are aiming to bounce back this week with our trip to Sheffield on Thursday followed by the visit of Redcar to Derwent Park on Saturday, which sees the return of local rider and Comets number one from last year, Richard Lawson.”

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY MAY 27:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Glasgow 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Kent 7.30

WEDNESDAY MAY 28:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Belle Vue 7.30, Poole v King’s Lynn 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 29:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Coventry 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Edinburgh 7.30, Redcar v Berwick 7.30, Sheffield v Workington 7.45

FRIDAY MAY 30:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Plymouth v Berwick 7.15, Somerset v Scunthorpe 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 31:ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Leicester 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Ipswich 7pm, Workington v Redcar 7pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Stoke v Mildenhall 7pm

SUNDAY JUNE 1:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Scunthorpe 3pm, Newcastle v Edinburgh 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Kent 3.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Leicester v Stoke 4pm

MONDAY JUNE 2:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Eastbourne 7.30, Birmingham v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Leicester 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Coventry 6.30

TUESDAY JUNE 3:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Peterborough v Plymouth 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Cradley v Mildenhall 7.15NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Scunthorpe (follows KOC fixture)

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 5:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30, Swindon v Leicester 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Glasgow 7.45PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Ipswich v Somerset 7.30

FRIDAY JUNE 6:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 7.30, Lakeside v Belle Vue 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Rye House 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Plymouth v Peterborough 7.15

SATURDAY JUNE 7:WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING ROUND: Berwick 7pmELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Belle Vue 7.30, Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Somerset 7pm

SUNDAY JUNE 8:PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Berwick 6.30JAMES GRIEVES TRIBUTE: Glasgow 3pm

MONDAY JUNE 9:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Lakeside 7.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Kent v Leicester 6.30

TUESDAY JUNE 10:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Ipswich 7.30

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Belle Vue 7.30, King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton 7.30