BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2015/06BIG EVENT LATEST…

KYLE Howarth was crowned British Under-21 Champion for the first time with a brilliant victory in the Final at Coventry.The Workington asset, who doubles-up in the Elite League with Swindon, had led the deciding race in the first staging before Ashley Morris came to grief on the second bend.In the re-run Howarth initially looked to have been squeezed out before producing a stunning burst to take him past both Robert Lambert and Stefan Nielsen.Lambert, who had scored a 15-point maximum in the qualifiers including a classy overtake of Howarth in Heat 5, finished second at the age of just 17, whilst Nielsen was third.Morris was classified fourth whilst a consistent display from James Shanes saw the Kent rider placed fifth ahead of Max Clegg, who crashed out in the semi-final.Howarth said: “I was a bit gutted when I saw the red lights come on in the Final because you know what usually happens in re-runs after you've been leading the original race but I can't complain - I'm really pumped.“I rode here last year so I know the place well and used my knowledge to help me get the deal done.“I'm still a bit shocked if I'm being honest, but I'm just going to enjoy the moment and take all of my confidence from this into the rest of the season.”Howarth, Nielsen, Morris and Josh Bates have been selected to represent Great Britain in the World Under-21 Championship, with the semi-finals taking place at the end of the month, whilst Adam Ellis will compete in the European Under-21 semi-finals.GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “It would be fair to say with the improvement of so many of the young British riders over the last 12 months, we could have filled double the number of places that we have been allocated, so of course there will be some disappointment amongst the riders not selected.“However, these selections do not rule out any riders for places for the Under-21 Team semi-final that is taking place in Germany in August, as now everyone has a clean slate and it’s up to each and every rider to try and impress between now and August to secure a place in the GB team.“Unfortunately Robert Lambert is ineligible to represent GB in the FIM World Rounds due to not being a Licence holder of the ACU, but we are looking forward to including Robert in the Team semi-final in August at a track that he is familiar with at Gustrow in Germany.”Meanwhile, the winner of this year’s 500cc British Youth Championship will be handed a Wild Card entry for the British Under-19 Final, which is to take place at Berwick on Saturday September 12.

BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAJOR EVENTS 2015:ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: JASON DOYLEBRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: KYLE HOWARTHBRITISH FINAL: Wolverhampton, Monday June 15PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, Friday July 3PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Peterborough, Sunday August 2PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, Sunday September 6

BRITISH SEMI-FINALS: Sheffield, Thursday May 7; King’s Lynn, Wednesday May 20

NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Coventry, Sunday June 14NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: King’s Lynn, Saturday September 5NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, Saturday September 26

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…

BELLE VUE boss Mark Lemon is refusing to press the panic button after seeing his side overturned by Coventry at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday.Lemon said: “Obviously losing Simon (Stead) was a huge blow for the club. Everyone was devastated when the news came thought but sadly these things happen from time to time in speedway.“Honestly I don’t really have too many answers about what happened tonight, other than we were given a serious lesson on how to ride our home track by the Coventry boys!”COVENTRY enjoyed the perfect week of away results with a 50-41 win at Poole followed by a 51-39 victory at Belle Vue on Monday to send them to the top of the Elite League table.Boss Gary Havelock said: “It was another thoroughly professional job from the boys, and everyone is buzzing. The team spirit is better than ever.“Rider for rider, across the seven, we were the better team, and I felt that we could have ridden 100 heats and we would still have beaten them. That’s no disrespect to Belle Vue whatsoever, it’s just the mark of where I feel we are as a team at the moment. We’re making quite a habit of these away wins, and long may it continue as far as I’m concerned!”KING’S LYNN boss Rob Lyon is keen that his side pick up some early momentum with several matches coming up in the near future.Lyon, who returns to manage the team this week after his holiday, said: “We start a busy spell starting with home and away clashes against Swindon and then we are against Belle Vue and Coventry.“Over that period we have a total of 14 league points up for grabs and we will be targeting the lion’s share of those points available to keep us at the top end of the table.”LAKESIDE’S move to bring in Steve Boxall at reserve has been frustrated by injury after a crash at Rye House last weekend.The Hammers had made the change due to fixture clashes involving Ashley Birks, but have since reverted to their original declaration.Co-promoter Jon Cook had explained: “It’s a rock and a hard place time for Neil Vatcher and myself. We're really enjoying working with Ash who has really fitted in well with the Club but we simply don't have acceptable standard riders around to replace him within the next 28 days.”LEICESTER star Grzegorz Walasek has undergone surgery on the hand injury he suffered at Belle Vue last Monday.Walasek has had two rods inserted into his thumb as well as treatment to his little finger, and has now returned to Poland to recuperate with promoter David Hemsley reporting him to be in positive spirits and looking forward to returning to the Lions as soon as he is able.POOLE suffered their first home defeat for nearly eleven months when they lost out to Coventry at Wimborne Road on Wednesday.The reigning champions had won at Brandon the previous week but the Bees took revenge in Dorset as the home side, without the injured Maciej Janowski, were unable to fully recover from a slow start which saw them go ten points down after six races.SWINDON’S move for fans’ favourite Peter Kildemand to replace injury victim Adrian Miedzinski has been delayed as the Dane himself has picked up a knee problem.Robins boss Alun Rossiter said: “Peter has knee ligament damage, and he’s going to need an operation at the end of the season.“Hopefully it’s only going to mean a week out for him and therefore we’ll be looking to the home match against Wolverhampton on April 30 for him to return for us.”WOLVERHAMPTON are unbeaten from two home matches after pulling clear in the second half of their meeting against Lakeside on Monday to gain a 52-38 victory.Boss Peter Adams said: “It was almost a re-run of the Belle Vue meeting where we got off to a fairly slow start but fought back mid-meeting and went on to get a fully deserved win.“It was another good performance from all of the team and in all honesty Josh Bates probably shouldn't have raced because he has been really ill. We take the positives out of tonight which will take us into two searching examinations against Lakeside away and Coventry back here next Monday.”

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…

BERWICK got their 2015 Premier League campaign off to a winning start with a 46-44 last heat victory against Scunthorpe.Luck didn’t appear to be on the Bandits’ side with seven engine failures and an exclusion but a pass by top scorer Thomas Jorgensen against his former club in Heat 15 was enough to secure three league points for the hosts.Team Manager John Anderson said: “To pull off such a dramatic win in the last race was a magnificent achievement after all our engine problems and unexpected as I doubt many believed we could have managed that.“We got our first three league points of the year, and in a thrilling way too!”EDINBURGH suffered a mixed weekend in the League Cup with a home win and an away defeat.The Monarchs put in a classy display at Armadale on Friday to beat Berwick 58-32 but slipped to a 51-42 defeat on their trip to Glasgow which saw them surrender their place at the top of the Border Group.Following their loss at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, club promoter Alex Harkess told the Edinburgh Evening News: “Too many of our riders did not do as well as they should have and left themselves short – that summed it up really.“There were a few tape malfunctions and we just didn’t work the gates out and this made life very difficult for ourselves.”GLASGOW moved to the top of the Border Group in the League Cup with a big win over Scottish rivals Edinburgh.The Tigers put in a solid team display to race their way to a 51-42 victory.Top scorer Aaron Summers was delighted with his performance and heaped praise upon his teammates. He said: “All the boys chipped in and pushed hard. We dropped a few little points from mistakes but we had the win so it was good.“We’re a solid team right the way through – even the boys below us top two or three are digging deep which is great.IPSWICH need six points from their two League Cup matches this week to guarantee themselves a place in the semi-finals of the League Cup.The Witches need back-to-back victories at home to Rye House and away to Plymouth to book a place in the next round.The Foxhall outfit picked secured a draw at Somerset last Friday, and despite conceding a last heat 5-1 to deny them the away win, team manager Phil Hilton was still pleased to get a result under the circumstances. He said: “I can’t be too disappointed that we didn’t win as everybody rode their best, we were missing Gino (Manzares) and unfortunately the home team managed to rally round at the end to stop us taking the win.“Not many teams go away from there with anything so we have still done very well.”NEWCASTLE bounced back from two defeats with a 53-39 League Cup win against Scunthorpe on Sunday.After away losses on Thursday and Friday, the Diamonds got back to winning ways with a much improved team performance on the Fossway.Returning Newcastle rider Christian Henry said: “It’s only our second meeting at home so everyone has been trying different set-ups. “We have got a good side and when everyone is going well we will be pretty hard to beat.”PETERBOROUGH are on the look-out for a new team member once again after No.1 Olly Allen revealed his 2015 season was over.Allen suffered serious ankle damage in a crash at the end of March and the injuries sustained are worse than first expected.Club chief Ged Rathbone said: “Moving forward we now have to plan for the rest of the season and we have some big decisions to make.“We have been able to call on some very good guests since Olly was injured and we could consider continuing down that route. We have also searched high and low across Europe for a potential number one signing and have so far drawn a blank.”PLYMOUTH round off their 2015 League Cup fixtures with a home meeting against Ipswich this Friday.The Devils have had a tough start to their campaign and regardless of Friday’s result, will finish bottom of the Southern Group.But co-promoter Ashley Taylor wants to end the cup on a winning note and thinks the return of captain Kyle Newman gives them a good chance of doing just that.“We were without Kyle against Rye House and only had five points from the rider replacement rides which is less than we would have expected from Kyle if he had been riding,” he said. “With Kyle back in the side, I am confident that we are more than capable of beating Ipswich.REDCAR go into their opening Premier League fixture of the season against Peterborough on Thursday with some confidence behind them after picking up their first win of 2015 last week.The Bears raced to a 53-40 home victory against Scunthorpe and team manager Jitendra Duffill was thrilled with his side. “We all needed a bit of a boost and getting that win will certainly lift everybody’s spirits and it’s amazing what just one victory can do,” he told the Gazette.“I was really pleased with every single one of them and we certainly deserved our victory.”RYE HOUSE suffered a 50-37 home defeat in their Premier League opener against Sheffield on Saturday.It was a tough night for the Rockets in a meeting which was forced to be abandoned with just the final heat to be completed following a horrific crash involving Simon Stead – and by that stage Steve Boxall had already crashed out.Rockets boss John Sampford said: “Steve suffered muscle and tendon damage to his right shoulder and thigh in his crash on Saturday. The prognosis by his doctor is that Steve is probably facing an absence of around three weeks, although Steve himself will no doubt aim to bring that date forward.”SCUNTHORPE will be looking to get back to winning ways when they host Redcar in the League Cup on Friday.The Scorpions suffered away defeats at Berwick and Newcastle over the weekend but are hoping to make it two out of two at home and are looking to use the momentum from their 53-37 victory over the Diamonds last week.Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We rode extremely well last Friday – every single one of our riders did their job and we’re looking to maintain that momentum when Redcar visit.“It may be our last League Cup match but that doesn’t make any difference – we still want to win the meeting and win it in style.”SHEFFIELD suffered a major blow after losing both Simon Stead and David Bellego to injury during the side’s win at Rye House on Saturday.Stead suffered a broken arm and a broken femur whilst Bellego will be out for around six weeks with a hip injury and Jason Garrity has been named as his replacement.Co-promoter Damien Bates said: “Our thoughts are with Simon and David, it’s a massive blow to the team but more importantly we wish the lads well.”“When I called Jason it took two minutes to agree everything, he’s jumped at the chance to ride for us and I think he will be a real crowd pleaser.”SOMERSET wrap up their League Cup programme when they host Peterborough at the Oaktree Arena on Friday.The Rebels pulled off a last heat 5-1 to fight back for a draw against Ipswich last week but want to end their home cup campaign with three points.Team manager Garry May said: “Although our League Cup ambitions took a big dent with last week’s draw, at the time of speaking we still have an outside chance of finishing second place in our group with a home win on Friday. We will be looking to finish our group matches on a high with a home win.”WORKINGTON picked up their first League Cup points of the season at the third time of asking with an impressive 48-42 home win against Glasgow.The victory lifted the Comets off the foot of the Border Group and are now looking to build on that when they entertain Edinburgh this Saturday.Co-promoter Tony Jackson said: “We had a few mechanical issues to overcome last week but it was pleasing how everyone responded and there is definitely improvement to come from this side as the season progresses.“We were certainly able to take plenty of positives from last weekend’s meeting which we can build on ahead of our clash with the Monarchs.”

CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…

BIRMINGHAM middle order man Sam Chapman is hoping to ensure he returns from his badly broken hand early than expected.“They did some further scans and x-rays and they decided to give me a new splint which I have to keep on for around six weeks they reckon,” said Chapman.“I’ve spoken to my physio and I’m going to see him early next week with the idea of hoping to bring that time scale down!“I just want to get back on my bike and race again and I hope to make a comeback in under the two months that they’ve said it will roughly be.”BUXTON promoter Jayne Moss was disappointed to see their season-opener against Redcar Cubs falling foul of the weather.She told the Speedway Star: “It wasn’t a good start to the season for us. Although the rain was forecast, the day started off sunny and bright and we felt we had to take a chance on the weather forecast being wrong.“The week before was mainly sunny and dry and the track was in good condition, but unfortunately the rain hit at the wrong time and it showed no signs of letting up.” COVENTRY boss Laurence Rogers was delighted to see the Storm give their confidence a boost with a hard-fought 49-40 win over a Cradley/Birmingham Select side at Brandon on Sunday.Rogers said: “All in all we can take plenty of positives. We wanted to put together two evenly-matched teams, and the boys have taken advantage of the track-time ahead of our trip to Buxton next Sunday.“We did throw a few points away and Martin (Knuckey) was a bit frustrated, but I gave him Heat 15 and that did him the world of good, and it really showed what he could do. Dan (Greenwood) seems to have really got that ‘want’ in him this year. He wants to be No.1 and get himself up to a Premier League spot, and there’s a lot for him to go for. He’s flying!”CRADLEY ace Matt Williamson is backing the Heathens to dig deep and emerge from a tough test against Eastbourne at Perry Barr on Wednesday with three more National League points.He said: “We proved against Coventry we can pull together and win when we get off to a quite slow start, so we are hoping we can just keep improving and getting better as the season goes on.“It’s going to be another tough test for us next against Eastbourne who like quite strong, but we know we are capable of  beating anyone if we get everyone firing.“Hopefully we can have a good night, make some good starts and make sure we get the three points.” EASTBOURNE star Richard Andrews is delighted to be benefitting from his winter switch to Arlington.Andrews told the Speedway Star: “The travelling to practice was a big commitment but it’s well worth it. The Dugard family at Eastbourne are fantastic to me. They have helped me out a lot and the track is just how I imagined it – spot on.“It suits me because I’m used to riding Plymouth. Eastbourne’s a small, tight little track with dirt on the outside and slick on the inside. It’s just how you want a speedway track.” KENT boss Chris Hunt was encouraged by a battling display from the Kings despite them suffering a narrow 48-41 defeat at Mildenhall on Sunday.Said Hunt: “It was a good fighting performance from the lads. Without Danny (Ayres) it was always going to take an all-round team effort to take anything from the meeting and that’s what was delivered. “Ben (Morley) and James (Shanes) put in absolutely stand-out performances and Aaron (Baseby) rode very well. Two heat wins away from home is a good contribution from Aaron and add to that the seven heat wins Ben & James delivered, that’s nine heat wins out of 15 which would more often than not be enough to claim at least a bonus point.“Both Danno (Verge) and Jamie (Couzins) were at the races too I felt and but for a couple of tapes offences and that exclusion for Ben in his first ride we could’ve certainly got something from the match. If Danny had been fit and riding I’m certain we’d have won, so we have to be positive going forward from here.”KING’S LYNN skipper James Cockle is hoping to lead a young side to a successful season in 2015.He told the Speedway Star: “I think we’ve got a good young team. A couple of faces are back here again, which I think is still good to have in the team.“But I like the youngsters in the team, they can win us meetings this year and that’s what we hope will happen.” MILDENHALL promoter Kevin Jolly was thrilled to see the Fen Tigers finally get their season up and running with a 48-41 victory over Kent at West Row on Sunday.Jolly said: “Even when we were losing meetings I never for one moment doubted the ability of this side or felt the need to panic. With Jack (Kingston) looking smooth from the off the team had a real balance to it today. “Everyone contributed and Connor (Coles) looked much more on the pace, now he has an engine supplied by Chris Louis, Chris was there in the pits with him too which was a great help.“The crowd was down a bit, which was understandable, but hopefully this win will bring the crowds back, because I feel this is a side worth watching. “Our reserves are improving every time they race and this win will help everyone’s confidence. The track too is looking better each meeting so everything is very positive”RYE HOUSE supremo Andrew Silver heaped praise upon skipper Luke Chessell after he struck his first ever maximum to lead the Raiders to a 45-44 win over Stoke.Silver said: "Luke Chessell was on fire as he cranked up his first ever maximum. In the years I have been helping Luke he has been close to scoring a maximum a number of times, but has managed to buckle in the last moments. "But there was no chance to do that this time as he was focused on the job of nailing the 5-1 and trying to keep us in the cup.“Luke makes a huge commitment to the team as a whole, both on and off the track. The responsibility of captaincy has brought out a new side to him as I knew it would and it is fitting that he should be repaid with a maximum score.”STOKE man Shaun Tedham was relieved to see the Potters emerge with a narrow aggregate win over Stoke in their KO Cup first round despite a 45-44 second leg defeat against Rye House at Loomer Road.Tedham, who top scored with 11+1, said: “We are obviously disappointed for the supporters and ourselves that we lost the meeting, but the main thing is we have got the aggregate victory and are through to the next round. “I’m really pleased with my performance today scoring paid 12 and hopefully that will continue. There is a good team spirit in the team this season they are a group of lads that just want to help each other out and do well for the club and the supporters.”FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY APRIL 22:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Swindon 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Eastbourne 7.30

THURSDAY APRIL 23:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Peterborough 7.30, Sheffield v Somerset 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Ipswich v Rye House 7.30

FRIDAY APRIL 24:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Belle Vue 7.30, Lakeside v Wolverhampton 8pmLEAGUE CUP: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Plymouth v Ipswich 7.15, Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30, Somerset v Peterborough 7.30

SATURDAY APRIL 25:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Sheffield 7pmLEAGUE CUP: Workington v Edinburgh 7pm

SUNDAY APRIL 26:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Rye House 5pmLEAGUE CUP: Newcastle v Redcar 6.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Coventry 3pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Rye House 3.30PEUGEOT OPEN: Glasgow 3pm

MONDAY APRIL 27:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 7.30, Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Cradley 6.30

WEDNESDAY APRIL 29:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Coventry 7.30, Poole v Belle Vue 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Stoke 7.30

THURSDAY APRIL 30:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Rye House 7.30, Sheffield v Ipswich 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 1:ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Coventry 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30, Plymouth v Peterborough 7.15, Somerset v Sheffield 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Buxton 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 2:LEAGUE CUP: Berwick v Workington 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Kent 7pm, Stoke v Birmingham 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 3:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Rye House 3pmTRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30LEAGUE CUP: Workington v Berwick 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Cradley 3pm, Eastbourne v Stoke 3.30, Mildenhall v Coventry 3.30

MONDAY MAY 4:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Lakeside 7.30, Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30, Wolverhampton v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Sheffield 1.45, Rye House v Somerset 2pm, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 3pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Kent v Mildenhall 3pm, Rye House v Eastbourne (follows PL fixture)

TUESDAY MAY 5:LEAGUE CUP: Redcar v Sheffield 7.30

WEDNESDAY MAY 6:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Leicester 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v King’s Lynn 7.30