(SPEEDWAY 1 – THURSDAY REVIEW)

SWINDON moved back into the Elite League play-off places with a 52-41 home win over leaders King’s Lynn – for a sixth successive victory at the Abbey Stadium.Early-season signing Dakota North won four of his five rides on his way to a 12-point score and skipper Troy Batchelor was also paid for 12 as the Robins dominated the heat wins. Kenneth Bjerre top-scored for the Stars on 13+1, including winning a tactical ride in a Heat 10 8-1 which briefly brought the visitors back into the meeting.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “It was an excellent performance against a tough side, and three points is exactly what we needed. I’m very happy to take maximum points from King’s Lynn.“Dakota has been very good for the last three or four weeks now. He’s really enjoying himself, he’d always made the point that he wanted to ride here and he’s finally got here!”In the Premier League, Ipswich’s fine run of form continued with a 60-36 win over Workington at Foxhall.The Witches are unbeaten since late June and third in the table, four points behind leaders Somerset, although they have ridden more matches than their rivals.Cameron Heeps led the way for the home side with 12+2, with Rohan Tungate again in double figures on 11+3, whilst Josh Grajczonek was the only Workington rider to reach double figures with 11 including a winning tactical ride.Ipswich boss Brian Messenger said: “They all did so well again tonight and are just keeping everything going in the right direction. I think as long as we can win our remaining home fixtures we should be okay for a play-off position.”Sheffield came from behind to edge out Redcar 40-38 in a meeting curtailed two races early due to guest reserve Liam Carr’s heavy crash in Heat 14.Carr suffered a suspected broken femur in the accident which took the match beyond curfew time, whilst fellow reserve Taylor Poole picked up 14 points for the Tigers. Mark Lemon led the way for the Bears on nine.Sheffield boss Joe Screen said: “It's been a nightmare for us with injuries recently, and we had another patched up side tonight. It was another tough meeting but everyone worked really hard to put in a good performance.“It's a shame the meeting ended as it did as it was set up for a really tight finish, but we send our best wishes to Liam Carr.”(SPEEDWAY 2 – FRIDAY PREVIEW)

KING’S Lynn will be seeking to bounce back from recent defeats when they host Eastbourne in the Elite League at the Norfolk Arena on Friday.The Stars still lead the table, but their advantage has been reduced to three points by Poole with both sides having seven matches remaining prior to the play-offs.Nicklas Porsing is still on the sidelines for the hosts, who bring in Michael Palm Toft to guest, with the Eagles now outside the top four but having matches in hand on the teams above them.Third-placed Lakeside travel to Coventry, who are sixth and still have twelve matches to complete before the cut-off.The sides meet twice in 24 hours as the return at Purfleet is on Saturday, and the Hammers bring in Danny King and Dakota North to guest for Mikkel Bech and Davey Watt. Coventry are without Michael Jepsen Jensen due to a Danish fixture.Bees boss Gary Havelock said: “It’s going to be very tough with no facility for Michael, and our big riders are going to have to come to the fore.“But we still did okay in the last two meetings when he didn’t score that many points, so if we show the same sort of passion and commitment that the boys have been showing, I’m sure we can get home.”A busy night in the Premier League sees ten of the thirteen clubs in action, including all of the current top four.Leaders Somerset race their second home match in the space of three days, as they take on third-placed Ipswich at the Oaktree Arena.Rebels boss Garry May said: “At this stage of the season, getting the maximum league points on offer each match has to be the main objective as we continue our push for a top two finish in the league table ahead of the cut-off date for the play-offs.”Edinburgh are three points behind Somerset with three matches in hand as they prepare to host fourth-placed Berwick at Armadale.Monarchs reserve Aaron Fox is aiming to ride if he gets the all-clear from the doctor after his crash in the reverse fixture last week, whilst the Bandits include Claus Vissing and Matej Kus who both missed their recent KO Cup defeat at the same venue.Plymouth take on Peterborough at the St Boniface Arena with the home side at full strength and looking to continue an impressive recent home run and move into the top ten in the table.The Panthers bring in Steve Boxall, who guested to good effect in their League Cup win at the same venue earlier in the season, with Richard Hall and Lasse Bjerre unavailable.Panthers boss Carl Johnson said: “We are going to Plymouth with a point to prove after Tuesday. A home loss certainly wasn’t what we wanted and we need to make up for that with a good result on the road.“We are a confident team and the mood in the camp is great. It will take more than one loss to dampen our spirits and we’re not going to dwell on what happened against Ipswich. Instead we intend to make up for it tonight and in the many meetings ahead.”Redcar and Sheffield meet for the second time in 24 hours with the Bears seeking revenge for their narrow 38-40 defeat at Owlerton on Thursday.The Tigers continue to have injury concerns and have booked Chris Mills to guest for Andre Compton. Stuart Robson, meanwhile, guests for unavailable Bears No.1 Richard Lawson.Redcar boss Jitendra Duffill said: “Richard has missed a lot more fixtures than I would have liked this year, but that is neither Richard's or Redcar Speedway's fault as he was signed by his Elite League club after Richard signed for us, giving Lakeside priority over his services.“His replacement, Stuart Robson is sure to give 100 per cent as he always does and I'm thankful to him for stepping in. It will need a good, all round performance from all seven Bears to win this meeting.”Manager Joe Screen said: “It's going to be tough again up at Redcar with more guests, but hopefully we can put in another good performance and get some points.“We'll be doing what we can to try and get something, then once we've got through this week we'll hopefully start getting back to full strength.”Meanwhile Workington host Glasgow at Derwent Park, with Joe Jacobs making his home debut for the Comets, whilst the Tigers team includes two former Workington men in Rusty Harrison and Tero Aarnio.

(SPEEDWAY 3)

LEICESTER have been rocked by an injury crisis on the eve of a busy Bank Holiday which will see them race three matches over the weekend.Mid-season signing Krzysztof Buczkowski suffered a broken shoulder-blade in a crash at Poole on Wednesday, and Nicolai Klindt injured his scaphoid whilst riding in Denmark – to add to other concerns.The Lions have home Elite League matches coming up against Poole on Saturday and Coventry on Monday, and they also travel to Brandon on Monday afternoon.Manager Norrie Allan said: “Our situation is serious, which leaves me with the task of finding suitable guests at this late stage for all three matches and I am waiting on updates from Mads Korneliussen and Josh Bates as to whether they have recovered from their injuries.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

MILDENHALL’S Jack Kingston is to take a short break from racing in order to recover from a number of heavy falls in the last week.Kingston was most recently in the wars at King’s Lynn on Wednesday and the Fen Tigers have called up Sam Woods to stand in for him against Stoke this Sunday.Chairman Kevin Jolly said: “Jack is taking a week out to have a rest and get himself fit. He has had some nasty spills just recently and is pretty battered at the moment. “He is still feeling the effects of his big crash earlier in the season at Kent and although we need him riding for us we need to also look at his well-being, and this week away will hopefully give him the recovery time he needs. All being well we will welcome him back at Stoke next Saturday evening.”

(FIXTURES)

FRIDAY AUGUST 22:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Lakeside 7.30, King’s Lynn v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Plymouth v Peterborough 7.15, Redcar v Sheffield 7.30, Somerset v Ipswich 7.30, Workington v Glasgow 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 23:ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Wolverhampton 7.30, Lakeside v Coventry 7.45, Leicester v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Rye House 6.30, Berwick v Newcastle (follows previous fixture)NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Kent 7pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 24:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Newcastle 3pm, Rye House v Berwick 6pm, Peterborough v Somerset 5pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Kent 3pm, Mildenhall v Stoke 3.30

MONDAY AUGUST 25:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Leicester 2pm, Leicester v Coventry 7.30, Swindon v Lakeside 7.30, Wolverhampton v Eastbourne 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Glasgow 6.30, Scunthorpe v Redcar 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Buxton (follows PL fixture)CHALLENGE: Kent v Arena-Essex 3pm