(SPEEDWAY 1 – MONDAY REVIEW)
MONDAY’S Elite League action was decimated by the weather – with no results possible from any of the three scheduled meetings.Belle Vue’s home match against Eastbourne was postponed prior to start-time due to persistent heavy rain, whilst the two meetings in the West Midlands did start but neither reached a conclusion.Wolverhampton and Leicester were only able to complete one race at Monmore Green before an aborted attempt to run Heat 2 when Max Clegg fell, and heavy rain for 15 minutes put paid to any hopes of a resumption.Wolves skipper Tai Woffinden said: “The track staff would have needed about two hours to fix it. They would have had to scrape off the wet stuff and then relay the surface. The track was ruined by the rain and the only sensible thing was to call it off.”Birmingham and Swindon were closer to a result at Perry Barr, with the Brummies holding a 31-23 lead after nine races before a halt was called.There had been a hold-up for remedial track work after seven races after one downpour, but heavier rain set in during Heat 9 to leave the home side frustrated after controlling the meeting.Skipper Danny King won all three of his races, Daniel Nermark won two out of two and debutant Bartosz Zmarzlik was the winner of Heat 5.Birmingham promoter Alan Phillips said: “I really do believe we could have got 10 races in before it was abandoned and I'm obviously disappointed. The win would have been well deserved, we were the better side.”Swindon skipper Troy Batchelor said: “We are here and we want to race and put on a show for the fans. It's disappointing but the decision was correct.“I thought after the first delay we had every chance of getting through to Heat 15 because the rain stopped - but then it came back and there was no way we could continue.”Monday’s only completed meeting came in the National League where Kent defeated injury-hit Coventry 53-37 with David Mason and Ben Morley both scoring 13+1.The Storm were without four of their top five riders, with Dan Greenwood winning three races on his way to 12 points and guest Brendan Johnson adding 10.Coventry boss Laurence Rogers said: “It’s a shame because I think if we’d had just one of the top boys there we would have had enough to win it, and Sarj (James Sarjeant) actually came along to watch which was amazing for him to make an effort like that.”(SPEEDWAY 2 – TUESDAY PREVIEW)
PETERBOROUGH co-boss Blayne Scroggins has warned his riders there is no room for complacency as they attempt to reach a second semi-final.The Panthers take on Plymouth in the Knockout Cup at the Showground in the first leg of their last-eight tie, with the return in Devon on Friday.Scroggins said: “We have already beaten Plymouth a couple of times this season and they are not at full-strength, but we cannot take them for granted.“Any team that under-estimates their opposition will get punished and we do not want to find ourselves in that position. We need to put in a strong performance and build a commanding lead to take down to Plymouth for the second leg on Friday.”Cradley have 30 races planned in a busy double-header with the Heathens first taking on Mildenhall in the second leg of their National League Knockout Cup tie, followed by a league match against Scunthorpe.Tom Perry has declared himself fit to return from injury for the Heathens, whilst Stefan Nielsen and Simon Lambert step in for the Fen Tigers as Joe Jacobs is racing at Peterborough and Josh Bates is ruled out.Heathens boss Will Pottinger said: “The Mildenhall team looks interesting. We will need to concentrate and work hard to get the job done.”Mildenhall go into the tie ten points down from the first leg, but boss Robert Henry said: “We know we are really up against it but we will give it everything we have and in speedway you never know!”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
GLASGOW have swooped to sign former Tigers title-winner Christian Henry following his recent release by Premier League rivals Newcastle.Club bosses had promised changes following a 32-58 defeat at Edinburgh on Friday – a performance described in a statement as “totally unacceptable.” Henry replaces Mark Lemon for the Ashfield side and is set to make his return on Thursday when the Tigers visit Sheffield.Henry said: “I knew I was going to have a couple of options but I've been at Glasgow before and they're a good team to ride for. In the last few days, my phone went crazy, and I could have gone to a few different places. But Glasgow seemed like as good a choice as any and I'm looking forward to it.”
(FIXTURES)
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 7.15LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30
