BIG EVENT LATEST…
THE draw has been made for the Premier League Pairs at Somerset on Friday July 11.The event is firmly established as the forerunner to the British Grand Prix at Cardiff the following evening, with another bumper crowd expected at the Oaktree Arena for one of the most popular meetings of the season.Ten of the thirteen Premier League clubs will be represented, with the host club being the defending champions. The Rebels were took the title last year with their pairing of Jason Doyle and Josh Grajczonek, but will have a new line-up in 2014.The full rider line-up will be declared later this month with clubs selecting from their top three riders at the time of the cut-off.GROUP A: Workington, Peterborough, Redcar, Ipswich, Newcastle.GROUP B: Edinburgh, Somerset, Plymouth, Berwick, Sheffield.
*TAI Woffinden retained the British title in a dramatic and incident-packed Final at Wolverhampton on Monday.Woffinden came out on top in the deciding race which had to be run no fewer than four times after first-bend incidents involving Craig Cook and Ben Barker.Cook eventually finished second, confirming the Wild Card position for the British Grand Prix at Cardiff next month in the process, with Barker on the rostrum for the second time in his career in third place.Former champion Chris Harris missed out in the Final having come through the semi with Woffinden, in a race with also provided talking points as seven-times winner Scott Nicholls was disqualified after clashing with Harris, who then had to re-pass an inspired Jason Garrity in the re-run.Woffinden said: “I rose to the occasion like I have done in the past and I'm just pumped to have won it again. It wasn't always easy but I was just delighted it all came good in the end, and I can take this forward and really push on for the rest of the season.“It's one of the things that was on my checklist for this year, to try and win the British Final again, so to get the job done is an awesome feeling.”
*STOKE were victorious in the National League Pairs at Mildenhall as Ben Wilson and Jon Armstrong edged out the home duo by a single point in the Final.The Potters qualified with a maximum 21 points in their group but the Fen Tigers took the advantage with a 6-3 from Joe Jacobs and Dan Halsey when the pairs met in the Final.However, Stoke regained the lead with a 7-2 over eventual third-place finishers Kent in Heat 5, and Mildenhall were limited to a 6-3 over Buxton in the last race.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “I was so proud of those lads. We endured the agony of Heat 3, our only glitch, and then the final ecstasy after the last race of the day - but what a great meeting. “Jon’s remarkable back straight overtake in the Group stage between the Buxton pair must go down as the pass of the season. Ben was also outstanding, dominating most of his starts and so assured in his racing.”Mildenhall chairman Kevin Jolly said: “I’m desperately disappointed for our lads who gave their all, but it wasn’t to be, and we have to accept second place for a second year running. “Congratulations though to the Stoke pairing who just about deserved the victory I feel, they were strong all afternoon, gated well and showed the art of team riding which was to be expected with Jon in the team.”
*BERWICK co-owner John Anderson praised all involved in the hasty re-staging of the recent World Championship qualifier at Shielfield Park.Linus Sundstrom defeated Jason Doyle in a run-off to win on the night with the meeting having been put back by 48 hours due to heavy rain on the initial date.Anderson said: “After the devastation of Saturday’s postponement, it went better than any of us had dared hope. The crowd was excellent for a Monday night in Berwick and I’d be more than happy with that level of support for our regular Saturdays, and on that note I have to thank all the supporters from all over who came out and helped make it an excellent night.“The riders deserve praise for putting on the most excellent of shows with them all digging in deep and producing some amazing moves that really thrilled the crowd. Thanks too to our track staff and presentation team who put together a slick and tidy show worthy of a GP itself.”SPEEDWAYGB EVENTS SERIES 2014:ELITE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Re-staging TBCBRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: JOSH BATESBRITISH FINAL: TAI WOFFINDENPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, July 11PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Peterborough, August 3PREMIER RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, September 21NATIONAL LEAGUE MAJOR EVENTS:NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: STOKENATIONAL 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: LINUS SUNDSTROM
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE boss Jason Attwood admits the Aces’ disappointing away form in 2014 is a major obstacle to their hopes of breaking into the Elite League’s play-off battle.Attwood said: “At the minute, for one reason or another we just cannot seem to click at the same time, but the lads have shown me on more than one occasion exactly what they are capable of, and it's so frustrating that we can’t seem to reproduce our home form on the road.“It’s getting everybody down, nobody more so than me. But we’ve got to man up and have a good look at ourselves because the fans are not going to go up and down the country watching their famous Belle Vue Aces get turned over every single week. It’s completely unacceptable.”BIRMINGHAM boss Jack Lee feels the only way is up after a 50-40 home win over Belle Vue finally took the Brummies off the bottom of the table.Lee said: “It was a really big three points for us to move us off the bottom of the table, and to beat a strong Belle Vue side by ten points was a brilliant result. It was a great team effort with some impressive performances all around, so it was a really positive night for us.“It's a shame we have a bit of a break until our next meeting now, but we are beginning to build up some confidence so hopefully we can start climbing the league table.” COVENTRY manager Gary Havelock was satisfied with a 52-40 home win over Belle Vue which, unusually for Brandon encounters this season, did not go down to a Heat 15 decider for league points.Havelock said: “That was probably the least stressful home meeting I’ve had this season. The 5-1 in Heat 1 set things up well, we had a little wobble in the middle but we came strong again at the end and when you look through the card it was a really solid all-round team performance.“Hans (Andersen) would have picked himself for Heat 15 having only dropped one point but he said he’d sit it out as we’d already won the meeting to give someone else a chance, and you can see straight away that Michael (Jepsen Jensen) can ride a bike – hopefully he’s going to be a really valuable asset for us.EASTBOURNE boss Trevor Geer believes the next month of fixtures will be crucial for his side, with important matches to come both at home and away.Geer said: “Facing King’s Lynn and Poole within five days of each other will be a huge test for us. It is virtually nailed on that King’s Lynn will be in the play offs and we all know Poole are always there or thereabouts when it comes to championships.“Our lads will need to be at their best but bit by bit this season we have been getting better and gelling as a team. We are in the right frame of mind for the challenges ahead.”KING’S LYNN are waiting for further news on Fast Track reserve Lewis Kerr following his crash at Newcastle last Sunday.Kerr suffered a shoulder injury and has been ruled out of the Stars’ home clash with Belle Vue on Wednesday.Manager Rob Lyon said: “At this stage we do not know how long Lewis will be out for but he is due to visit hospital on Tuesday with a view to having a possible operation to speed up his recovery.”LAKESIDE have brought in British No.3 Ben Barker to guest for in-form Lewis Bridger in Friday’s home clash with King’s Lynn, as Bridger is involved in the World Championship qualifiers.Hammers promoter Jon Cook said: “With Lewis providing a great deal of excitement here on track with his take-no-prisoners style, I thought we’d book a guest in the same vein so track specialist Ben Barker will be here.“When it comes to big ones, there is no bigger than a visit from the all-conquering King’s Lynn, and that’s what awaits us. We have unfinished business with the Hammers smarting from their TV defeat.”LEICESTER have completed deals to bring in Krzysztof Buczkowski and Nicolai Klindt in order to return to a full seven-man team, with Patrick Hougaard sitting out British racing – whilst Lasse Bjerre also makes way.Lions boss Norrie Allan said: “Krzysztof has proved himself over here before and he was one of the success stories at Peterborough last season and comes into the side on a 7.33 match average which places him second in the team to Jason Doyle.“I think Nicolai was unlucky to be discarded by Swindon where he was averaging close to six points a meeting but he has really hit a rich seam of scoring for Scunthorpe. He is much better than his current average and at 3.83 it has enabled us to fit in Krzysztof.”POOLE are looking to add to their league points total for the first time since May 22 when they entertain Leicester this week – after recent rain-offs and setbacks at Wimborne Road.Promoter Matt Ford said: “We haven't had things our own way around Wimborne Road this season with back to back defeats against Coventry and King's Lynn and we need to try and reverse that. “The league table is a bit false at present due to the variance in number of matches ridden but since we last rode we have dropped to 6th place in the table. We need to push on from here and get into those play-offs, so a win on Wednesday is a must.”SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter admitted his devastation after seeing his side throw away a big lead to go down to their third home defeat of the campaign at the hands of Wolverhampton.Rossiter said: “I don't know what happened at all, it was just a complete and utter collapse. We started well and looked to be in a good position, then that 8-1 gave them a big boost but we should have easily had enough in the engine room to still come away with the win.“I'm shell shocked myself and I really don't know what went so drastically wrong for us.”WOLVERHAMPTON gave their play-off hopes a massive boost with a dramatic 47-46 win at Swindon – recovering from a 14-point deficit after Heat 9 for their second victory on the road this season.Manager Peter Adams said: “It was a very good performance, and to come back from 14 points down was fantastic.“It was disappointing to be that far behind in the first place, but the boys dug deep and got what they deserved in the end. That 8-1 (in Heat 10) turned the momentum in our favour really, and from then on the boys were brilliant.”
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK return to home action in the Premier League this Saturday when Redcar provide the opposition at Shielfield Park.The Bandits have been without a home league fixture for over a month due to a combination of poor weather and their staging of the Grand Prix qualifier earlier in June.EDINBURGH’S Max Fricke scored a 15-point maximum as the Monarchs topped the 60-point mark with a 61-31 victory over Plymouth at Armadale, with several other riders also coming close to full houses.Co-promoter John Campbell said: “The way we’re going it’s hard to see who is going to beat us.”GLASGOW No.1 Kevin Wolbert gave his best display of the season as the Tigers overcame Rye House on aggregate to book a KO Cup quarter-final clash with Newcastle.Wolbert said: “The team is getting better and better now. Of course we can win the cup. If you start off that bad, something good must be coming on the end. I scored some good points - over ten - and we tried hard. The boys have made a good job of the track the last two meetings, and that is what we need, a grippy track."IPSWICH are through to the KO Cup semi-finals after limiting Somerset to just an eight-point win in last Friday’s second leg at the Oaktree Arena – with the Witches having run up a 40-point advantage at Foxhall.Manager Chris Louis said: “It all went much as I had planned it. We hit them hard early on to ensure we had the win secured as quickly as possible and after that the lads were able to 'relax' and enjoy their racing. They all did their bit and rode well as a team again despite missing Richie (Worrall) and Adam (Ellis).”NEWCASTLE emerged from a tough encounter with Somerset at Brough Park with all three points from a 54-38 win, but also with Lewis Kerr added to their injury list.Manager George English said: “Newcastle are back to battle hard now – full of confidence and eager for success. It’s just a shame that Lewis Kerr was eventually diagnosed with a broken collar bone which is a blow to us, but another challenge we will overcome and keep this good run running on.”PETERBOROUGH are hopeful new signing Nicki Barrett will boost their reserve strength after bringing in the Dane to replace broken collarbone victim Oliver Greenwood.Panthers boss Trevor Swales said: “Nicki jumped at the chance to join Peterborough. He has given up some full-time work back in Denmark in order to return to British speedway and we’re very happy to have him on board It has become clear that we cannot continue to cover the absence of Ollie with guests. Hopefully the arrival of Nicki will give us a little bit more firepower down at reserve.”PLYMOUTH will have Kalle Katajisto and Roland Benko back from injury for their West Country derby with Somerset at the St Boniface Arena on Saturday, although Adam Roynon remains on the sidelines.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “It will be good to start getting our full squad back together. But we will have to be on top of our game against Somerset. They have been returning some high scores recently, so it is going to be a big meeting for us in front of our home fans. We have got to get back to the winning groove mentality.”REDCAR promoter Brian Havelock has elected not to stage a home meeting this week, having postponed the scheduled Premier League encounter with Rye House due to a clash with England’s football World Cup game against Uruguay.Havelock told Speedway Star: “We were happy to run against Rye House on Wednesday but that messes their ‘tour’ up as they are due at Edinburgh on Friday and there were questions over rider availability.”RYE HOUSE found the absence of Mathieu Tresarrieu took much to overcome in their KO Cup clash with Glasgow as the Rockets were eliminated from the competition despite taking a ten-point first leg lead to Scotland.Manager John Sampford said: “The main positive we can take away is that all the regular Rockets were scoring points. Steve Boxall is now back to where he was before, and Edward (Kennett), Jason (Garrity), Luke (Bowen) and Jason (Bunyan) all tigered away for their returns. But we really missed that extra man.”SCUNTHORPE reserve Thomas Jorgensen returned to form with a paid-18 haul as the Scorpions continued their remarkable run of success at local rivals Sheffield – with their fifth successive Owlerton victory.Jorgensen said: “I really wanted a 21-point paid maximum but it just didn’t go my way in Heat 15 but it has been an awesome night; that is for sure. I’ve been lacking confidence all season and I’ve maybe had just two or three good meetings and the rest hasn’t been good enough.”SHEFFIELD boss Joe Screen is calling on his side to quickly hit back from the disappointment of last week’s derby defeat at home to Scunthorpe.Screen said: “I’m pretty disheartened right now. You never want to lose at home in speedway – and certainly not three times in one season to your rivals. We have got a proper number one in ‘Steady’ (Simon Stead) but unfortunately we have too many other people struggling. We haven’t had the meetings that other teams have had and the riders are doing everything they can to get it right.”SOMERSET are waiting for further news on Olly Allen and Pontus Aspgren, who both crashed out at Newcastle last Sunday, before they finalise preparations for the visit of Glasgow on Friday.Manager Garry May said: “Glasgow may currently be in the lower reaches of the Premier League table, but they have riders who generally perform well at the Oaktree Arena, so we cannot take anything for granted and need to be on top form in order to take all three match points.At this stage of things it is too early to say whether Olly and Pontus will be fit enough to ride on Friday, we hope to have a clearer picture of how they are by the middle of the week.”WORKINGTON were forced to abandon their home clash with league leaders Edinburgh after nine races with Kyle Howarth requiring a hospital trip and no availability for replacement ambulance cover in the local area.Comets owner Laura Morgan said: “We were placed in a no-win situation when told that due to a lack of availability, a vehicle from the County Ambulance Service would take in excess of one hour to get to the track assuming it wasn’t diverted to an emergency in the meantime. That meant that the track ambulance had to take Kyle to hospital and that would take a similar amount of time to get back to the track.”
FIXTURE PICTURE…
TUESDAY JUNE 17:LEAGUE CUP S/F 1st leg: Peterborough v Workington 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Stoke 7.30WEDNESDAY JUNE 18:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30, Poole v Leicester 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 19:LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.45
FRIDAY JUNE 20:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Poole 7.30, Lakeside v King’s Lynn 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Rye House 7.30, Scunthorpe v Ipswich 7.30, Somerset v Glasgow 7.30
SATURDAY JUNE 21:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Swindon 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Redcar 7pm, Rye House v Glasgow 7pm, Plymouth v Somerset 7.15, Workington v Ipswich 7pm
SUNDAY JUNE 22:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Ipswich 3pm, Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Stoke v Leicester 3pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 3: Northside 1.30pm
MONDAY JUNE 23:ELITE LEAGUE: Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F: Kent v Stoke 6.30
TUESDAY JUNE 24:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Scunthorpe 7.15NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Cradley v Mildenhall (follows previous fixture)
WEDNESDAY JUNE 25:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Sheffield 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 26:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Eastbourne 7.30, Swindon v Coventry 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Rye House 7.30, Redcar v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Sheffield v Berwick 7.45
FRIDAY JUNE 27:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Peterborough 7.30, Plymouth v Redcar 7.15, Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30, Somerset v Berwick 7.30
SATURDAY JUNE 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Peterborough 7pm, Rye House v Redcar 7pm, Workington v Plymouth 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Scunthorpe 7pm
SUNDAY JUNE 29:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Plymouth 3pm, Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Cradley 3.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: Buxton v Coventry 3pm
MONDAY JUNE 30:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Birmingham 7.30, Eastbourne v Poole 7pm, Wolverhampton v Swindon 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v King’s Lynn 6.30
TUESDAY JULY 1:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Redcar 7.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 2:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Leicester 7.30, King’s Lynn v Coventry 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30
