(SPEEDWAY 1 – MONDAY REVIEW)
SWINDON and Lakeside both secured vital away wins on Monday as the race for Elite League play-off places intensifies.The Robins inflicted the first home defeat of the season upon Belle Vue with a 49-41 win at Kirkmanshulme Lane, to move to within two points of the top four.The home side could still have snatched a draw going into the last race, but Swindon duo Troy Batchelor and Peter Kildemand raced to a 5-1 over Aces pair Scott Nicholls and Matej Zagar to give the Robins all four points.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “It was a great win and a full team effort from the boys. Special praise goes to Peter, he's got up and got on a plane this morning from Russia and that's commitment.“In my mind I thought we would struggle tonight because Belle Vue are so good but we all chipped in and all the boys did a good job.”Nicholls said: “It was just one of those nights where we got beaten by a better team. We can't take anything away from Swindon because they rode fantastically well and we knew from the start they were going to be exceptionally tough to beat.“We believed we could win, and I still believe we could have done, and all the boys did the best they could but in the end we just didn't do enough, and honestly there's no major reason as to why.”Meanwhile Lakeside were 46-44 victors in another tight clash at Wolverhampton, with skipper Davey Watt splitting Piotr Pawlicki and Ricky Wells in the final race to ensure the Hammers remained ahead after Mikkel Bech had suffered engine failure on the start-line.Watt had earlier combined with Bech for a match-turning 5-1 in Heat 13 which put the visitors in front, and the result moves them clear of Poole in second place in the table.Hammers co-promoter Jon Cook said: “To take the lead after Heat 13 for the second time in a week speaks volumes for the team’s spirit. Credit goes to them all. “It was a great night and all the more special as the win came with Stuart Douglas with us in the pits enjoying a night with the boys before he heads to Los Angeles.”Wolves chief Chris Van Straaten said: “It just doesn't seem to be our year, and the luck just wasn't with us. On paper we should have beaten Lakeside, but there was a lot of misfortune down in the pits and every time we tried to get in front there seemed to be a mishap.“That's just the way it goes sometimes, and it just doesn't appear to be our year. It's such a fine line between success and failure, and tonight we just didn't seem to have Lady Luck on our side.”Kent skipper Simon Lambert retained the Laurels title at Central Park, getting the better of former Kings’ No.1 Steve Boxall in the Final. Jack Kingston finished third with Benji Compton completing the finalists in fourth.
(SPEEDWAY 2 – TUESDAY PREVIEW)
CRADLEY are facing their toughest home test of the season when Coventry visit Monmore on Tuesday – that’s according to skipper Paul Starke.The Heathens, who are eight points clear at the top of the National League table, insist the main business of the campaign starts now with a run of harder meetings.Starke said: “Our season starts now really - we've got some tough meetings coming up and we need to show what we are made of."The meeting against Coventry is probably the biggest meeting of the season so far for us, and we are desperate to perform well.”Coventry, with three away wins to their name so far, will operate the rider replacement facility as Luke Crang is out with a broken shoulder-blade.Boss Laurence Rogers said: “It’s not going to be easy, but all of the boys are up for it and we’re looking forward to it.“Stefan (Nielsen) rode there for Belle Vue last week and Ollie (Greenwood) had a spin there after the meeting too, so hopefully we can take it to the wire and get some points out of it.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
COVENTRY Storm have handed Luke Priest a return to the sport as they will be without Luke Crang for up to eight weeks due to injury.Priest captained Stoke last season but with no team place for 2014 he spent an extended spell in Australia, and is now set to line up at reserve for the Storm in their double-header against Buxton and King’s Lynn on Friday.He said: “I’ve been back in the country for just over a month, and this is a really good move for me. I’ve got to make the most of being at reserve, some people might see it as a backward step but it’s a good opportunity to score some big points for the club.“My equipment is top-notch and I feel good in myself, so although inevitably I’m not going to go out and win every race I’m confident and I like riding at Coventry. I understand the play-offs are a possibility, we’re still in the KO Cup, and it’s great to be part of a winning team!”(FIXTURES)
TUESDAY JULY 22:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Coventry 7.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 23:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Berwick v Edinburgh 7.30
THURSDAY JULY 24:PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Somerset 7.30, Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30, Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30
FRIDAY JULY 25:PREMIER LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30, Somerset v Plymouth 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Coventry v Buxton 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v King’s Lynn (follows NLKOC fixture)SELECT CHALLENGE: Arena-Essex v Kent (at Lakeside) 8pm
