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GREAT Britain boss Alun Rossiter says a partisan crowd with a weekend staging can help his side make progress in the World Cup later this month.Rossiter is delighted that the first round of the competition takes place at King’s Lynn’s Norfolk Arena on Saturday July 26 – a change from previous Monday events.The national side take on Australia, America and Italy with only the winners going straight to the World Cup Final.He said: “The meeting taking place on a Saturday is a massive bonus for the Great Britain boys, and whoever made that decision is a genius in my eyes! “More people will come with it not being a weeknight, I think it will be a sell-out and it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere for our team to race in, with all of those people cheering them on.“It will be a tough meeting, but with the British following behind us I think it can really raise the boys to take it up another level. “I want speedway fans all over the country to be right behind the team, and be positive. I’ll be doing my bit with the riders, and it’s down to the fans to come and support us.“I’ve gone with the squad which I genuinely believe is right, I know there are calls for some others whose time will definitely come in the future, and there’s only so many riders you can pick. “Hopefully there will be plenty more of the British lads about on the night to soak up the atmosphere and find out what it’s all about.”GB SQUAD: Tai Woffinden (Wolverhampton), Chris Harris (Coventry), Danny King (Birmingham/Newcastle), Craig Cook (Belle Vue/Edinburgh), Simon Stead (Leicester/Sheffield), Richie Worrall (Belle Vue/Ipswich), Richard Lawson (Lakeside/Redcar), Ben Barker (Birmingham/Plymouth), Lewis Bridger (Lakeside), Lewis Kerr (King’s Lynn/Newcastle).

*BRITISH Youth co-boss Neil Vatcher has delivered another positive report on the latest round of the national championship for the country’s developing talent.A total of 35 riders completed in round three of the series at Northside last month in blisteringly hot conditions, and there were first wins in their respective classes for Luke Ruddick (500cc), Jack Parkinson-Blackburn (250cc) and Kean Dicken (150cc), whilst Kyle Bickley was again successful in the 125cc class.Luke Harris holds an eight-point lead over Reece Downes at the halfway stage of the 500cc competition, whilst Lewis Whitmore is 13 ahead of Luke Woodhull at 250cc level.Vatcher said: “The most pleasing factor from the Young Lions Management point of view is the improvement that we can see so from so many of the riders in a short space of time, from the first round in March until now.“All four finals were worth the admission money alone, none more so than the 125cc final where Kyle Bickley was the clear leader, but the remaining three Sam Stead, Joe Thompson and his twin Dan Thompson were never a few inches apart during the whole four laps.”The series continues at Eastbourne on Sunday July 27 (3.30pm).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 bounced back to form after a disappointing night at Leicester to defeat Poole 54-38 and maintain their unbeaten home record.Skipper Scott Nicholls said: “I think after our last home match we were definitely expecting a much stiffer Poole side tonight, especially with Darcy Ward back at No.1, but we put in a brilliant all-round team performance and everybody did their bit from top to bottom.“It was a bit frustrating for me on a personal level, but ultimately we all stepped up and showed our class and to have a big win like that, and take all three points, was a brilliant result for the team.”BIRMINGHAM supporters have set up a fighting fund to try and keep the club going.Brummies fans have already raised well over £5,000, with that money designed to help a new promotion should a takeover be successful.More details and regular updates on the fighting fund can be found on www.brummiespeedway.net or by following @savethebrummies on twitter.COVENTRY gave their play-off hopes a major boost with a dramatic 46-44 win at local rivals Wolverhampton – with reserve Jason Garrity playing a starring role as he piled up 17 points from six rides.Bees skipper Chris Harris said: “Jason was on fire, and that shows just how good he is around here. He was our match-winner with 17 out of 18, and we were giving him stick for dropping that point!“It was always going to be a tough meeting but we know what we’re capable of, and it was important after Wednesday’s hammering at King’s Lynn and then the rain-off on Friday. We needed to come here and perform, and we did.”EASTBOURNE put the uncertainty of the club’s future – with new promoters required for 2015 – behind them with a 49-40 win over league leaders King’s Lynn at Arlington to maintain their top four place.Manager Trevor Geer said: “It was a fantastic result and performance. Our riders must not let concerns about what happens next year affect how they perform on track for the rest of 2014.“Next year is out of their control. Their job is to score points and win matches this season for the Eagles.”KING’S LYNN will bid to return to winning ways when Lakeside visit the Norfolk Arena on Thursday – with the league leaders having suffered defeats at both Swindon and Eastbourne in the last week.Manager Rob Lyon said: “We are looking to get back on track ourselves after two defeats on the road and another three league points is our target.”LAKESIDE got the better of both Wolverhampton and the forecast rain as all 15 heats were completed at Purfleet on Friday with the Hammers running out 57-35 winners.Co-promoter Jon Cook said: “With the help of the referee, we managed to beat the weather and still put on the professional show which we strive for every week. Our riders rightly deserve praise for the thrilling action they are providing, but our other team off-track often don’t get the praise they deserve.Crowd figures at The Raceway throughout the Football World Cup have been astonishingly good, above our expectation and comfortably into four figures and that is entirely due to the efforts of all in providing a show to be proud of.”LEICESTER ran up their biggest score of the season with a 56-36 home victory over Belle Vue with their new-look side turning in a strong all-round display.Manager Norrie Allan said: “It was the first time that we have fired as a team this season. Everyone played their part which made my job so much easier and each rider in the main body of the team was at some stage involved in a one of our four maximums during the meeting. “The arrival of Josh Bates has made such a difference to our bottom end and I feel sure that Max Clegg would have scored more points had it not been for that early exclusion for a tapes offence. We weathered back-to-back tactical rides which could have changed the course of the final result and the way we rode gives me more optimism that we can look forward to a better second half to the season.”POOLE have made a change at reserve with locally-based Brendan Johnson coming in to take the place of Ben Hopwood.Johnson said: “I'd like to thank Matt (Ford) for giving me the chance and I'm determined to make the most of it. I'm under no illusions, it is going to be tough, very tough, but I'm going to give it my absolute best shot. “If I can go out there and score three points a meeting I'll consider it a job done, but also the opportunity to work with the likes of Darcy (Ward), Magic (Janowski), Shamek (Pawlicki) and Middlo (Neil Middleditch) is such an awesome prospect in itself.”SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter hailed his side’s comeback from four points down with five races to go to defeat leaders King’s Lynn at Blunsdon and take maximum points from the meeting.Rossiter said: “We spoke before the meeting about how we keep collapsing, but this time we started off slowly and then went the opposite way!“I’m really happy, that was a great comeback and the team-riding of Troy Batchelor was outstanding. When he’s like that, he’s a joy to watch.”WOLVERHAMPTON skipper Tai Woffinden admitted Monday’s narrow home defeat at the hands of local rivals Coventry was a blow to their play-off hopes.Woffinden said: “It was a tough meeting and we did everything we could, but at the end of the day we got beaten by a better team.“As much as I hate to say it Coventry were just better than us on the night. It's a disappointing result for us but we've just got to try and put it behind us and move onto the next one.”

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…

BERWICK returned to form at home after their defeat to Peterborough by defeating Plymouth 52-41 to return to the top six in the table.Manager John Anderson said: “The boys knuckled down and got behind the cause completely. After last week's total disaster we went into this match knowing we should never be as awful as we were seven days ago and I think tonight proved we're back to our best and after success once again.”EDINBURGH edged a derby thriller at rivals Glasgow 47-43 thanks to a late pass by Craig Cook on Rusty Harrison in Heat 15 – to extend their unbeaten run this season to 23 matches.Monarchs boss Alex Harkess said: “We certainly didn’t get everything our own way today, but we dug deep to win and that’s what good teams do.”GLASGOW came painfully close to snatching a draw from all-conquering Edinburgh at Ashfield on Sunday – but top-scorer Rusty Harrison came to grief in the last race after a fierce battle with Craig Cook.Harrison said: “We knew Cookie was going to be there or thereabouts and I could hear him buzzing around. He got under me and then I managed to get back round, but it just caught me out, that last corner - I think I hit the bump wrong and had too much speed going in. I did well in the rest of the races but just blew it when it counted.”IPSWICH boss Brian Messenger says there is still time for the Witches to achieve their targets for the season.Messenger said: “I certainly thought we would be challenging to win the league and while we have put some very good results together, we have also had some really poor ones too. I have not got a magic wand, but individually, the riders are all capable of maximum scores, they have got to start doing it at the same time. We can still secure a top-six position and Coventry and Poole have proved in the past that you don’t have to finish top to win the play-offs.”NEWCASTLE ran up another 60-plus points total in seeing off injury-hit Plymouth at Brough Park on Sunday, with Ludvig Lindgren scoring another home maximum.Manager George English said: “Despite the injuries we would still have taken this match well - as it was, their problems didn't assist their cause and we with the wounded all the best for a swift recovery. Three league points it was though, and we'll gladly take them and continue our recovery and climb up the League again.”PETERBOROUGH chief Mick Horton has appealed to the local public to turn out in force for home meetings as the Panthers chase the play-offs.Horton said: “We are giving our supporters regular racing and the standard of the action seen this season has been fantastic. There is no such thing as a dull race, let alone a dull meeting, at the Showground which proves week in, week out why it is the best race-track in the country.“But we really need the people of Peterborough to turn out in force every week. The crowds have not been as good as I anticipated and we have to address that.”PLYMOUTH hope to have Adam Roynon back from injury this week at Ipswich – although they have to monitor the fitness of Ben Barker, Rasmus Jensen and Kyle Newman after a series of incidents at Newcastle on Thursday.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “Adam is putting himself in the frame for Thursday’s match at Ipswich. He had a run-out at King’s Lynn after their meeting on Friday evening and was due to have another spin at Wolverhampton following Tuesday’s National League match between Cradley and our Devon Demons side.”REDCAR boss Jitendra Duffill is expecting improved results following the addition of experienced Australian Mark Lemon to the Bears team.Dufill said: “Mark certainly gives us a stronger look. I'm sure he will be looking to make an immediate impression and will be hoping to recapture some of the form that not so long ago made him one of the league’s top riders. Having Jan Graversen at reserve again gives me more options during the meeting as I can give him additional rides if needed.”RYE HOUSE boss John Sampford described a 34-56 home defeat at the hands of Workington as a “horror story.”Sampford said: “We were always going to be on a hiding to nothing with Mathieu Tresarrieu missing and no guest facility available, but our mechanical problems really didn’t help. I’m not going to say that we would have got a result without those problems, but they turned a very difficult match into the horror story it became.”SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey says there is no need to dwell on the Scorpions’ recent heavy defeat at Newcastle as the race for play-off places intensifies.Godfrey said: “Our big defeat at Newcastle was a one-off; it was one of those nights for us. We won’t be dwelling on it. Apart from Edinburgh, nearly every team has suffered a heavy defeat at one point or another this season. For example, Somerset went to Ipswich and got hammered there.”SHEFFIELD skipper Simon Stead says there is still plenty for the Tigers to race for this season with a busy run of Premier League fixtures to come.Stead said: “There’s no reason why we can’t knuckle down for the rest of the season and make sure we finish strongly. We aren’t where we want to be at the moment, but fingers crossed everything can start to fall into place now and we can push ourselves up the table over the second half of the season.”SOMERSET stage the Premier League Pairs for the eighth successive season at the Oaktree Arena on Friday – with Nick Morris and Olly Allen looking to retain the silverware for the Rebels.Manager Garry May said: “I know that it is said every year, but this year’s Championship is wide open, with no real clear-cut favourites amongst the 10 teams, so it should make for a most exciting meeting, not only for the thousands who normally attend the event each year, but for the countless numbers watching in via Sky Sports.“All we need now is for the weather to be kinder to us than it has been on the past two Fridays and I am sure we’ll be in for a cracking meeting, one certainly not to be missed.”WORKINGTON are hoping to carry the confidence they gained from last weekend’s big away success at Rye House into this weekend, where they are looking to claim a record-breaking seventh PL Pairs title and book a place in the League Cup final against Edinburgh.Manager Tony Jackson said: “Last Saturday’s win at Rye House re-ignited the spark after we had been hit by a succession of injuries and rain-offs, and it showed what we can do when we hit some form. We still have a lot of league fixtures to catch up on but this weekend we can put those to one side a little and concentrate on other competitions.“The Premier League Pairs have seen both Josh Grajczonek (with Jason Doyle in 2013) and Rene Bach (with Adam Roynon in 2012) as part of a winning pair in the past two years and our good recent record in the competition is something that we are hoping to continue this year at the Oaktree Arena. Then, the night after Cardiff, we take on Peterborough at Derwent Park in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final, where we are looking to overturn our six-point deficit from the first leg.”

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY JULY 8:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Rye House 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Devon 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 9:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Eastbourne OFF, Poole v Belle Vue 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Sheffield 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 10:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Poole 7.30, King’s Lynn v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Plymouth 7.30, Redcar v Berwick 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 11:PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Devon v Kent 7.15

SATURDAY JULY 12:BRITISH GRAND PRIX: Cardiff 5pm

SUNDAY JULY 13:LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Workington v Peterborough 7.30LUKE BOWEN TESTIMONIAL: Rye House 2pm

MONDAY JULY 14:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Eastbourne 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Scunthorpe 7.15NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Cradley 6.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 16:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 8pm, Birmingham v Lakeside (TBC) 7.30, King’s Lynn v Leicester 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 17:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Leicester 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Glasgow 7.30, Redcar v Workington 7.30, Sheffield v Newcastle 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 18:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Belle Vue 7.30, Lakeside v Eastbourne 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Workington 7.30, Plymouth v Glasgow 7.15, Scunthorpe v Rye House 7.30, Somerset v Newcastle 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 19:ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Poole 7.30, Leicester v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Peterborough 7pm, Workington v Somerset 7pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v King’s Lynn 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 20:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Sheffield 3pm, Newcastle v Berwick 6.30, Peterborough v Edinburgh 5pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Mildenhall 3pm

MONDAY JULY 21:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30, Birmingham v Poole (TBC) 7.30, Wolverhampton v Lakeside 7.30THE LAURELS: Kent 6.30

TUESDAY JULY 22:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Plymouth 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Coventry 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 23:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v King’s Lynn 7.30