(SPEEDWAY 1)
GREAT Britain’s Chris Harris is hoping for a safe passage through to the next round of the World Championship qualifiers when he competes at Berwick on Saturday.Harris and Craig Cook carry home hopes as top international action returns to Shielfield Park, and after an encouraging run of form in the Elite League of late Harris is optimistic of progress.He said: “I’ve been through the qualifiers before and know how tough it is, but I feel like on my day I’m more than capable of making it through, so fingers crossed things go well.“It all starts at Berwick and I’ll be looking to get off to a good start to get to the next round. It’s definitely going to be a tough meeting but I’m confident in my abilities.”Turnstiles open at 5pm on Saturday ahead of the 7pm start, and the public will also be permitted access to practice from 11.45am, with on-track action taking place for an hour from 12.30.(SPEEDWAY 2 – FRIDAY REVIEW)
COVENTRY and Wolverhampton are now level on points in the Elite League after the Bees won Friday’s local derby at Brandon 48-42.The two sides are both just outside the play-off places with Wolves gaining a point from the meeting when Jacob Thorssell split Chris Harris and Kenneth Hansen in the final race after Piotr Pawlicki had been disqualified for bringing down Harris.Harris (11+2) and Hansen (11+1) top-scored for the Bees with Thorssell picking up 11+1 for the visitors, who had recovered an eight-point deficit to 30-30 mid-meeting before Heat 13 went in the home side’s favour.Coventry boss Gary Havelock said: “If you’d offered me two points before the meeting I would have taken them. I was a little worried about this one, especially without Jason (Garrity).“We had a chance for all three points, but on the flip side before the tapes went up in Heat 15 we could have ended up with one, so we’ll take the two and move on.”Wolves manager Peter Adams said: “We came here looking for a point and that’s what we got, so we have to be happy with that.“Pawlicki had a lot of bike troubles and Tai (Woffinden) has a problem with his hip which meant he couldn’t ride in Heat 15, which I would have preferred him to, but having said that I thought Jacob had a great night and did himself proud.”Lakeside moved five points clear of third-placed Eastbourne with a 58-32 home win over Belle Vue after blowing the Aces away in the first half of the meeting.The Hammers raced into an astonishing 39-9 lead after just eight races before the Aces saved some face in the closing stages with 5-1s from Matej Zagar and Scott Nicholls in Heats 13 and 15.In-form Lewis Bridger scored 11+1 for Lakeside, dropping his only points in the last race, Mikkel Bech added a paid maximum from four rides and Davey Watt won his first three outings.Edinburgh have one foot firmly in the League Cup Final after a thumping 63-28 semi-final first leg win over Sheffield at Armadale.Steve Worrall, Justin Sedgmen and Craig Cook were all unbeaten for the Monarchs, with Simon Stead making it into double-figures for a disappointing Tigers side.Edinburgh boss Alex Harkess said: “We really were outstanding and I’m very happy with the lead we got. In spite of the score there was some entertainment and as always the team worked really well together.”Sheffield manager Joe Screen said: “We were really disappointed, because that was a bit of an embarrassing result in the end. A lot of the lads struggled and had bad meetings, and overall it was just a really poor performance.”Plymouth are through to the Knockout Cup semi-finals after edging out Peterborough in a tie which was only resolved in the penultimate race.The Panthers had a two-point lead from the first leg and the aggregate scores were level with three races to go courtesy of a key third place from youngster James Shanes in Heat 12.The Devils then scored 5-1s in Heats 13 and 14 to secure their overall triumph, with Ben Barker completing a 15-point maximum in the last race.Plymouth co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “We did the hard work in the first leg, but we rode well as a team to complete the job in front of our home supporters.“Although he only scored a couple of points, young James Shanes played his part when he picked up a vital third place from Dan Halsey in Heat 12. That lifted the team for the final three heats.”Panthers boss Neil Watson said: “The guys battled hard all night at a very tough place, but unfortunately we had no time to come back from Plymouth's two 5-1s in the closing stages. We had hoped to travel to Plymouth in possession of a bigger advantage on aggregate and we have to admit the tie was lost on Tuesday at the Showground.”Somerset hit back from their KO Cup defeat at Ipswich on Thursday by taking out their frustrations on Rye House in the Premier League with a 66-26 win at the Oaktree Arena.Captain Olly Allen led the way with his third successive home maximum as the Rebels went past the 60-point mark for the fifth time in their last six home matches.Manager Garry May said: “The boys were superb and deserve all the plaudits for a fantastic team performance. They really set about Rye House and were more than worthy of our 40-point winning margin. I was hard on the team after our defeat at Ipswich but the lads have responded in the best possible way.”Rye House promoter Len Silver said: “There are no excuses. We were simply beaten by a better team. We were out-gated and outgunned. We really did feel the backlash of their result at Ipswich the night before.”
(SPEEDWAY 3 - SATURDAY PREVIEW)
EASTBOURNE will welcome back club asset Simon Gustafsson as a guest when they host Belle Vue at Arlington on Saturday.Gustafsson stands in for Cameron Woodward who is competing at a Grand Prix qualifier so Bjarne Pedersen takes over as captain of the Eagles.The Aces include Davey Watt and Ben Barker as guests for Matej Zagar and Craig Cook as they look to improve upon their disappointing away record, and the meeting also includes a full second half of 125cc and 150cc races.Eastbourne boss Trevor Geer said: “They ran us really close last time with Scott Nicholls pulling off some marvellous moves.“I am reminding the team that this match will be much harder than recent ones. They all need to be on top of their game if we are to see off Belle Vue.”Leicester host leaders King’s Lynn at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium with Lions boss Norrie Allan believing his side can end the Stars’ remarkable winning streak.Kenneth Hansen is confirmed as a guest for the home side, whilst the visitors have brought in Sam Masters and will also operate rider-replacement for Kenneth Bjerre.Allan said: “Bjerre will be a loss to the team as he is second in their averages but they have enough cover throughout the side to step into his shoes. We have booked in Coventry’s Kenneth Hansen to replace Patrick Hougaard and I am in the process of engaging a guest rider for Jason Doyle. “I believe that rider for rider we are a match for them in the main body of the team and the key will be at reserve where they have two of the best pairings in the league on current form.”Stars boss Rob Lyon said: “Once we knew Kenneth would be missing for the meeting, we got on the phone to try to find a replacement. Due to the amount of league and international meetings on the same night, that task became a tough one and we were left with no option but to use rider replacement.“Every member of the team can take a ride and with the form they are showing, I am sure we can score well in Kenneth’s rides.”Meanwhile Rye House are seeking revenge over Somerset in the Premier League after a heavy defeat at the Oaktree Arena on Friday.Former Rockets Ritchie Hawkins and Ben Morley, along with Sam Simota, come in as guests for the home side, who are missing riders due to international call-ups and Elite League duty, whilst Stuart Robson continues to cover for Nick Morris for the Rebels.(FIXTURES)
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 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Glasgow v Berwick 7.15NATIONAL 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
