BRITISH SPEEDWAY ROLL OF HONOUR 2014
ELITE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: PooleELITE LEAGUE RUNNERS-UP: CoventryELITE SHIELD: PooleELITE LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Troy Batchelor (Swindon)PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: TBCPREMIER LEAGUE RUNNERS-UP: TBCPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: EdinburghLEAGUE CUP: EdinburghPREMIER SHIELD: SomersetPREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Simon Stead (Sheffield)PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: SomersetPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: EdinburghNATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: TBCNATIONAL LEAGUE RUNNERS-UP: TBCNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: TBCNATIONAL TROPHY: MildenhallNATIONAL SHIELD: CradleyNATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Dan Halsey (Mildenhall)NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: TBC – Coventry, Sunday October 26 (2.30pm)NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: StokeMIDLAND DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Milton KeynesNORTHERN JUNIOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: CastlefordNORTHERN JUNIOR LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPION: Ryan MacDonald (Berwick)WORLD CHAMPION: Greg Hancock (USA)BRITISH CHAMPION: Tai Woffinden (Wolverhampton)BRITISH UNDER-21 CHAMPION: Josh Bates (Leicester/Sheffield/Mildenhall)BRITISH UNDER-19 CHAMPION: Oliver Greenwood (Rye House/Coventry Storm)BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPION: (500cc) Luke Harris; (250cc) Lewis Whitmore; (150cc) Tom Brennan; (125cc) Kyle BickleyBRITISH GRAND PRIX: Greg Hancock (USA)ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE are revving up for a new chapter in their history with site setup work now taking place at the site of the National Speedway Stadium, with the project set for completion in spring 2016.Aces CEO David Gordon said: “After years of hard work and patience, we are absolutely delighted to see the builders moving equipment onto the site.“Because of the scale of the development the overall setup will take approximately 4-6 weeks. But that’s something all large projects have to adhere to, and this has been factored into the overall timescale of the build.”COVENTRY manager Gary Havelock accepted the damage had been done in the first leg of the Elite League Grand Final as the Bees had to settle for the runners-up position at Poole on Monday.Havelock said: “It’s very disappointing, we still had hope coming down here but in hindsight we probably lost it in the first leg at home. “We needed to have a lead to come down here with really, and we didn’t manage to do that. But I can’t knock any of my boys, they’ve been fantastic this season and it’s been a pleasure working with each and every one of them.”LEICESTER promoter David Hemsley has stressed his commitment to building a strong team for the Lions’ second season as an Elite League club in 2015, and held talks with a mystery rider during the recent Grand Prix at Torun.Hemsley said: “We acknowledge that we can only go so far with team building plans because until the points limit has been decided at next month’s Annual General Meeting we are unsure of what numbers we have to play with in terms of riders’ averages. “What is for certain is that we are committed to building a team that has the potential to play a part in the chase for honours next season.”POOLE finished second in the inaugural World Speedway League event in Poland on Saturday and then capped off a memorable end to the season by retaining the Elite League title against Coventry on Monday – their third such crown in four years.Promoter Matt Ford said: “I am so proud of these guys. It’s been a really tough year but the lads have done what has become expected of them when they pull on a Poole race jacket. “They have ridden their hearts out and to win back-to-back titles again is a great feeling. I was beginning to think we were jinxed in even number years having missed out in 2012 and 2010 but the lads did an professional job and I can't praise them highly enough. Adding this league title to the world speedway league runners-up has made the last few days something of a dream.”SWINDON will complete their 2014 season with the Bob Kilby Memorial at Blunsdon on Thursday.The event will be run on the old-style 13-heat formula with an individual second half, and former Robins Mads Korneliussen and Charlie Gjedde are included along with American showman Shawn McConnell and GB star Chris Harris.WOLVERHAMPTON’S Swedish youngster Jacob Thorssell received double recognition for a fine season with the Rider of the Year and Sam Ermolenko Team Man of the Year awards at the club’s end of season awards night.Thorssell said: “It's just great to win two awards. It's been an unbelievable season for me and I'm really happy to win two trophies.“Even though it's been a really difficult year for the team I've enjoyed being a part of the club again. I've had a good year personally and to win these awards is a great moment for me.”PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
EDINBURGH added the Premier League Knockout Cup to the League Cup with victory over Ipswich last week, leaving the PL title itself to contest this weekend.The Monarchs won at Foxhall and completed the KO Cup success at Armadale, with boss Alex Harkess saying: “It was a good meeting and I enjoyed it – eventually!”GLASGOW boss Stewart Dickson is calling on his riders to attack the track as they bid to end the season with a flourish in Sunday’s double-header against Workington and Berwick.Dickson said: “I know Newcastle's Danny King smashed the track record to bits last time and as he left the stadium, he came over to me and a couple of track staff, and said to us, 'That track was perfect.’ It's nice to hear that, but I'd prefer to hear that from my own riders."IPSWICH bring down the curtain on their 2014 with the traditional 16-Lap Classic at Foxhall on Thursday – with the final race being a gruelling test of man and machine.Co-promoter Chris Louis said: “I know from my own experiences that I faced the 16 lap final with dread and excitement in equal measure, a real mental and physical battle that can really only be attacked with one tactic. Qualify well, race from the back grid and attack from the off!“Speedway is raced over four laps and that’s how you get conditioned, it’s really quite amazing how tough it becomes when you change that and each rider taking part on Thursday will be feeling the effects after just 6 – 8 laps, it becomes a mental battle and mind over matter from that point on!”SOMERSET defend the Premier League title when they face Edinburgh home and away this weekend in a repeat of the 2013 Final.Promoter Debbie Hancock said: “This is what we have been battling for all season. Having won the title last year, we are determined to make a successful defence of our crown, but by the same token Edinburgh will be looking to avenge last year’s Final defeat.“Our two matches against Edinburgh already this year have shown that there is little to choose between the two sides on aggregate and there is no reason to believe that the Final will be any different.”WORKINGTON bring the curtain down on their 2014 campaign this weekend with the re-staging of their outstanding home play-off group fixture on Saturday against their oldest rivals Berwick, which will also double as the second leg of their Border Trophy clash, followed by a visit to Glasgow on Sunday for their final Premier League fixture.Comets team manager Tony Jackson said: “Following our home victory over Edinburgh last Saturday we are looking to finish the season strongly with two good performances this weekend. With our number one Josh Grajczonek still sidelined with his collarbone injury we are grateful that former Comet Ulrich Ostergaard has once again agreed to step in as a guest this weekend.“Naturally we will be looking to bring down the curtain at Derwent Park with a win over the Bandits; and to win by more than seven points to claim the Border Trophy would be a nice way to finish what has, at times, been a frustrating season in terms of injuries and postponements. Then, at Glasgow on Sunday, we will be aiming to finish our away fixtures with a victory, and so get a few more points on the board in the final league table once again agreed to step in as a guest this weekend.”FIXTURE PICTURE…
TUESDAY OCTOBER 21:NATIONAL LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Cradley v Coventry 7.30
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 22:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 1st leg: King’s Lynn v Cradley 7.30
THURSDAY OCTOBER 23:BOB KILBY MEMORIAL, Swindon 7.3016-LAP CLASSIC: Ipswich 7.30
FRIDAY OCTOBER 24:PREMIER LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30
SATURDAY OCTOBER 25:PREMIER LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Somerset 7pmPREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFFS: Workington v Berwick 7pnNATIONAL LEAGUE: Devon v Buxton 7.15
SUNDAY OCTOBER 26:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Workington 1pmLEAGUE CUP: Glasgow v Berwick (follows previous fixture)NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Coventry 2.30
TUESDAY OCTOBER 28:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 2nd leg: Cradley v King’s Lynn 7.30
FRIDAY OCTOBER 31:NATIONAL LEAGUE: Devon v Coventry 7.15
