(SPEEDWAY 1)
WORLD Champion Tai Woffinden praised his passionate supporters after a spectacular second place finish in the British Grand Prix in Cardiff.The Wolverhampton star was greeted by a wall of noise as he was introduced to the Millennium Stadium crowd and continued to receive huge support throughout in his home GP.With a big crowd roaring him on, Woffinden put in a stunning display to climb back to the top of the World Championship standings.Despite narrowly missing out on victory to veteran Greg Hancock in a tense Grand Final, the Scunthorpe-born racer still leapfrogged the American at the top of the standings.Although frustrated to miss out on the top prize, Woffinden was pleased to add 18 points to his tally in the showpiece event on the speedway calendar.And he believes the Grand Prix series is set up perfectly as they head into the World Cup break.Said Woffinden: “Being a British rider coming into a British Grand Prix I knew it was going to be hectic from the start.“The reception I got last year was huge when I was the underdog, so coming in as World Champion this time around the noise was just incredible.“What a great audience we had this year. It's an amazing venue and the fans really made the event special. It's just amazing to be a part of it.“For sure I knew there was more pressure on me coming into this meeting, but I was really pleased to deal with that and have a good meeting.“Greg just pipped me to the line in the final, but he's got a lot of experience so congratulations to him.“Still I can't really complain about second place - I scored a lot of points and had another good meeting, so although it would have been nice to get the win I'm happy overall.“The way the standings are I'm sure the second half of the season is going to be really interesting and produce some exciting racing, so I'm looking forward to it.”Poole’s Darcy Ward completed the rostrum finishers in Cardiff with Chris Harris scoring six points and Wild Card Craig Cook picking up two. Woffinden now has a three-point lead over Hancock in the overall standings.
(SPEEDWAY 2 – SUNDAY PREVIEW)WORKINGTON bid to pull back a six-point deficit when they host Peterborough in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final at Derwent Park (7.30pm).The Comets are without the injured Kyle Howarth and Ashley Morris and will operate rider replacement for the former, with Simon Nielsen – who rode for the club in 2011 – stepping in for Morris.And after an emphatic 56-34 away win at Rye House in their last outing, Comets owner Laura Morgan believes the tie is perfectly set up.She said: “That was an excellent team effort at Rye House and really showed what we are capable of, which was a timely confidence boost ahead of this weekend’s semi-final.”The Panthers have suffered a double injury blow ahead of the meeting, with Ryan Fisher (shoulder) and Ales Dryml (back problem) both on the sidelines.Manager Carl Johnson has recruited David Bellego to guest for Dryml, whilst rider-replacement will be in operation for Fisher.Johnson said: “We've brought in a very capable guest in David who has had good meetings at Workington in the past and is proven on big tracks.“Hopefully using R/R to cover for Ryan will not hurt us too much, but we know we face a very tough task.”Meanwhile Rye House stalwart Luke Bowen celebrates his ten years in Rockets colours with a Testimonial meeting at Hoddesdon (2pm).The Best Pairs event features Rye House riders past and present, along with Sam Masters – one half of Edinburgh’s Premier League Pairs winning line-up earlier in the weekend, and additional entertainment is provided by several former riders followed by an auction and live music.
(FIXTURES)
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
