BIG EVENT LATEST…

BRITISH Champion Tai Woffinden will launch the defence of his title in the second semi-final at King’s Lynn on Wednesday May 20.Woffinden, who has taken the national crown in each of the last two years, will make his first competitive on-track appearance in the UK this season at the Adrian Flux Arena, chasing one of the seven automatic places in the Final.Meanwhile, fellow Grand Prix star Chris Harris – who finished second in the opening event of the season in Warsaw recently – will be at Sheffield for the first semi-final on Thursday May 7.Harris is a three-time British Champion and the Coventry captain will be looking to regain the title for the first time since 2010.Woffinden and Harris both have some way to go to match the achievements of Scott Nicholls, who has an astonishing seven British titles to his name, and the Belle Vue skipper will also be in the line-up at King’s Lynn, along with British Under-21 Champion Kyle Howarth.Home representation at Sheffield comes from long-serving Tigers star Andre Compton, Ashley Birks and recent signing Jason Garrity – whilst King’s Lynn supporters will be able to cheer on current team members Robert Lambert and Lewis Kerr.The top seven riders from each semi-final qualify for the Final at Wolverhampton on Monday June 15, and two Wild Card places will also be allocated to complete the line-up.Sheffield co-promoter Damien Bates said: “As a club we are always very honoured to host major events and this is no different.“Naturally we are all saddened to see Simon Stead's hopes of British title glory hit by injury, but in our semi-final we have our own Andre Compton, who has made a fine comeback to the sport, Ashley Birks and new signing Jason Garrity.“And we're looking forward to welcoming Chris Harris. We don't see him at Owlerton too often and it's nice for a Grand Prix rider to appear on this stage.“I wasn't surprised to see him do so well in the opening GP in Warsaw, in fact I reckon he could have won that meeting had it continued!“It should be a great night and the competition for the top seven will be intense.”

SHEFFIELD (Thursday May 7): 1 Richie Worrall (Somerset), 2 Edward Kennett (Lakeside/Rye House), 3 David Howe (Scunthorpe), 4 Ashley Morris (King’s Lynn/Plymouth), 5 Ashley Birks (Lakeside/Sheffield), 6 Lewis Blackbird (Wolverhampton/Peterborough), 7 Richard Lawson (Lakeside/Glasgow), 8 Ritchie Hawkins (Ipswich), 9 Adam Ellis (Lakeside/Birmingham), 10 Chris Harris (Coventry), 11 Paul Starke (Poole/Somerset), 12 Andre Compton (Sheffield), 13 Stuart Robson (Coventry/Redcar), 14 Jason Garrity (Coventry/Sheffield), 15 Ben Barker (Berwick), 16 Josh Auty (Leicester/Scunthorpe). Reserves: Josh Bates (Wolverhampton/Sheffield), Oliver Greenwood (Peterborough).

KING’S LYNN (Wednesday May 20): 1 Robert Lambert (King’s Lynn/Peterborough), 2 James Wright (Unattached), 3 Adam Roynon (Unattached), 4 Craig Cook (Belle Vue/Edinburgh), 5 Stefan Nielsen (Belle Vue/Ipswich), 6 Steve Boxall (Rye House), 7 Steve Worrall (Belle Vue/Newcastle) 8 Danny King (Coventry/Ipswich), 9 Tai Woffinden (Unattached), 10 Kyle Howarth (Swindon/Workington), 11 Carl Wilkinson (Scunthorpe), 12 Kyle Newman (Poole/Plymouth), 13 Lewis Kerr (King’s Lynn/Newcastle), 14 Scott Nicholls (Belle Vue), 15 Leigh Lanham (Somerset), 16 Charles Wright (Swindon/Somerset). Reserves: Lewis Rose (Swindon/Newcastle), Simon Lambert (Leicester/Peterborough). 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 took great encouragement from his side’s performance in dismantling King’s Lynn 52-38 at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday.Lemon said: “To be honest, after last week’s disappointment everyone was fired up to prove that result was just a fluke and they each showed their true colours in force through a solid team performance.“A rider scorned by a home loss can be a dangerous man and after going to Coventry and picking up a point we’re really starting to build up confidence in the camp.”COVENTRY boss Gary Havelock took the positives from an away point at Wolverhampton, who became the first team to secure a home win over the Bees in the Elite League this season.Havelock said: “We weren’t really at it from the start tonight, nobody in particular, but you can pick several incidents and accidents that went on and we might have got more from it. We’ve lost our first away match but we’ve still got a point, and that keeps us well at the top of the league with two tough away matches this week, so we’ll regroup from that.“There were just a few incidents that didn’t go our way, and I found the disqualification of Jason (Garrity) beyond belief because I didn’t see it as any different to the other races which had been stopped when all four riders had been put back in. I think everywhere we’ve been we haven’t had one thing go for us - but I guess that’s speedway!”KING’S LYNN remain without a point on their travels after a 38-52 defeat at Belle Vue in Monday’s televised fixture.The Stars have also missed out at Lakeside and Swindon so far this season and their next opportunity to correct that record on the road comes at Leicester on Bank Holiday Monday.LAKESIDE are building up to an important Bank Holiday period after a tough run including a home defeat to Wolverhampton last week.The Hammers now face matches against Coventry and Poole, and co-promoter Jon Cook told lakesidehammers.co: “We didn’t see the home defeat against Wolves coming on Friday and it serves as a real wake up call. Meetings are passing by and we aren’t getting the points on the board needed to challenge for the top four.“Injuries haven’t helped but I can’t offer them as excuses - when the team we have on track gets into a lead, they then let it slip. We’re looking for a big reaction this week.”LEICESTER boss Norrie Allan praised the Lions’ team spirit in bouncing back from early setbacks to defeat Lakeside 51-42 at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium.Allan said: “It says much about the team that everyone pulled together to keep the momentum going particularly as we lost points at vital times when Jason Doyle twice pulled up with machine problems. It was a successful return for Mikkel Michelsen and there were match winning rides by Josh Auty and Simon Lambert. “Bjarne Pedersen grew with every ride and Szymon Wozniak delivered a mature performance which earned him selection for Heat 15. It was the first match that we have been without Grzegorz Walasek since he injured his hand but Nick Morris was an able deputy with a solid paid nine.”POOLE boss Neil Middleditch says there will be no panic at Wimborne Road after the Pirates were defeated by Coventry in their last home outing.Middleditch told Speedway Star: “I’m not worried about it. They came down here last year and turned us over by a point and we went on and won the league. At the end of the day it’s all about getting to the play-offs.“We had three matches and scored maximum points. It’s a blip but it’s not ‘run for the lifeboats’ just yet.”SWINDON have been boosted by the news that both Peter Kildemand and Troy Batchelor will be fit to race for the Robins this week.Boss Alun Rossiter said: “Both riders came through Polish meetings on Sunday and when I checked with them this morning they said they are ready to race for us on Thursday."It's a timely boost for us. We put in a fantastic effort against King's Lynn on Thursday last week with thanks to all the guys who have helped us out, and we want to keep it going with another three points on Thursday against Wolverhampton.”WOLVERHAMPTON No.1 Freddie Lindgren stormed to a 15-point maximum in Monday’s local derby win over Coventry and is delighted with the team’s performances so far this season.Lindgren said: “It was much needed against a strong Coventry side, and we managed to beat them and get the three points which was great.“We knew beforehand Coventry were going to be a really tough nut to crack because they’ve been so dominant this year. It was brilliant that we were able to come away with the win, and it’s a great feeling because we had to work really hard for it.”

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…

FORMER Berwick rider Liam Carr got back on a bike for the first time in eight months over the weekend. Carr was expected to miss the majority of the current 2015 season but after a successful rehabilitation period, he’s now on the look out for a team place in the Premier or National Lagues.“Everyone had predicted it would be 12 months before I could think about racing again but to finally get the all clear to start racing again was a massive boost,” said Carr.“I haven’t been put off at all and I feel that I am more than ready for the Premier League now than I was last season.EDINBURGH have been rocked by the news that Erik Riss is set for a spell on the sidelines after breaking his collarbone.The incident happened during a post-heat celebration that went wrong against Glasgow on Friday and the German rider was instantly in some discomfort.Track medics passed him fit to continue, but after a trip to his local hospital on Monday, x-rays confirmed the break. Whilst he has been advised to take a month out of racing, Riss says he is desperate to ride in Friday’s meeting against Scunthorpe.GLASGOW favourite Dimitri Berge narrowly missed out on victory at the inaugural Peugeot Open on Sunday.The Frenchman top scored from the qualifying heats with 11 points from four rides but Workington’s Nicki Barrett pulled off an impressive move in the final to win the meeting.Tigers co-promoter Colin Hamilton was pleased with how the meeting went. He said: “Dimitri did well – he won three of his four races to qualify put just got pipped in the final but it was a good standard of final.“James Sarjeant crashed and went for a check-up; that was a bit of a downside but it was a decent meeting that showed different riders to what some of the fans would normally see.IPSWICH closed the gap to just two points at the top of the Southern Group in the League Cup after a 55-38 victory against current leaders Rye House on Thursday.The Witches have a meeting in hand and a win would see them qualify for the semi-finals of the competition. But team manager Phil Hilton was pleased with his side’s performance against the Rockets; particularly in the latter stages. “A meeting of two halves really with us unable to shake them off in the first half but making it look a lot easier in the second half,” he said. “Our reserves were key again with paid 21 points between them and Stefan Nielsen has improved so much this year already.”NEWCASTLE boss George English was more than happy with his side’s 48-41 home victory over Redcar on Sunday, but admits he was left “baffled” by some “strange” refereeing decisions.The win kept hopes of a League Cup semi-final spot alive for the Diamonds in what was a solid team performance.But English has questioned one of the new regulations that was introduced for the 2015 season. “I think that the no leaving the track rule has to be looked at because it can’t work,” he said. “We are not at Grand Prix level where each rider has a team of mechanics to bring the bike out for him.“We sometimes struggle to get seven mechanics for a whole meeting so I think the rule needs to be looked at.“Whatever all of the implications of the things are I am in no doubt that we should have won the meeting by a bigger margin than we did.”PETERBOROUGH moved to the top of the Premier League after a comprehensive 55-37 home victory against Rye House on Sunday.The win was the perfect way to back up the four league points they picked up away at Redcar on Thursday and club captain Ulrich Ostergaard was delighted with his team’s performance.He said: “It was nice to see everyone in the points and it feels good to be a captain of a team capable of winning meetings by big scorelines.“The atmosphere inside the club is really good; everyone is happy, getting on great and helping each other out.”PLYMOUTH co-promoter Ashley Taylor believes the Devils could benefit from Ryan Fisher dropping down the club’s averages when they kick in on Friday.The new figures mean that Kyle Newman will replace the American as the clubs’ No.1 and Taylor is hoping it will be a positive for his side.“It could be to our advantage to have to opportunity of fitting Ryan in any position between two and five, especially if he is back to his true form,” he said.“Ryan is confident he has found a solution to his problem and it will be a case of seeing what he can produce this week against his former club Peterborough.”REDCAR boss Jitendra Duffill has hinted team changes may have to be made if results don’t start improving.Whilst the Bears put in much more encouraging performances on their travels over the weekend, narrowly missing out on a League Cup point at Newcastle and winning at Scunthorpe, it was the heavy home defeat against Peterborough that left Duffill “seething.”He told the Gazette: “It was a poor performance that just highlighted the problems we have got and the cracks well and truly showed through.“We’ve spoken to the promotion and they have accepted that we are too weak and that we really want to get our season back on track.”RYE HOUSE have signed Dan Greenwood to replace Luke Bowen at reserve.The 21-year-old impressed club bosses and is expected to make his debut in Thursday’s Premier League trip to Redcar.Rockets Team Manager John Sampford said: “We liked the look of him when he guested for us recently at Somerset – he had a great attitude and really got stuck in.“He’s scoring really well in the National League and he certainly deserves his chance at this level.”SCUNTHORPE face a busy Bank Holiday weekend with three meetings in four days.The Scorpions travel to Newcastle and Edinburgh before hosting the Monarchs on Monday.Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “Our home meeting against Edinburgh is going to be a huge test. There have been some absolute belters between the two sides at the Eddie Wright Raceway over the years.“But with a vocal crowd behind the team, I’m sure we can pull it off. We do need the three league points from that meeting.”SHEFFIELD suffered their first defeat in 2015 at the hands of Somerset last Thursday.The Tigers were rocked by the news that Simon Stead would miss the remainder of the season after a horrific crash at Rye House the previous week and were also missing David Bellego.But the Owlerton outfit will be looking to get back on track and gain revenge when they travel to the Rebels on Friday but before that they host a strong-looking Ipswich side on Thursday.Team manager Jack Lee said: “It was a shame our winning run had to come to an end but we’ll bounce back and pick ourselves up in no time.“We’ll just have to lift our heads and try and make sure we are back to our best.”SOMERSET open their 2015 Premier League home campaign against Sheffield on Friday – and will be boosted by their away victory against the Tigers last week.The Rebels became the first team to defeat the Tigers in 2015 with a 47-43 win at Owlerton last Thursday.But team manager Garry May has warned his side they will need to be at their best and can’t afford to be complacent. He said: “The boys rode superbly well to get that win at Sheffield last week but as the saying goes, there is nothing more dangerous than a wounded tiger so we will have to be on top form if we are to build on that away win by doing the double over them.”WORKINGTON are targeting maximum League Cup points from home and away clashes against Berwick later this week.Two victories could potentially see the Comets progress to the semi-finals of the competition, but they will have to do so without two of their key riders.Team Manager Tony Jackson said: “If we can collect all seven points available from this weekend we would finish level on 13 points with both Edinburgh and Glasgow.“However, if we are to do it then we will have to do it the hard way as we are without Rusty Harrison following his big crash last weekend and Ricky Wells who will be competing in a Grand Prix qualifying round.”

CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…

BIRMINGHAM youngster Zach Wajtknecht is pleased with his early season progress in what is his debut National League campaign.The talented reserve said: “I’ve managed to get things dialled in now with my starting and I’m feeling great.“It’s been a case of trial and error as always in the first few meetings, but I’m confident that I’ve found something now that will work for me for the rest of the season if the track stays the same.“I’ve already worked out a few of the main racing lines but I just need to make sure I get out the gate in front to make life a lot easier.” BUXTON boss Jason Pipe was keen to take the positives and move on from a 51-39 home defeat against Coventry Storm in their season-opener on Sunday.Pipe said: “Coventry were into their second or third fixture and their overall fitness has showed. That plus 11 points from their reserves against our 3 were the key differences between the teams. “We missed Paul (Bowen) and Adam (Extance) may have broken a finger but there were top performances from Tony Atkin and Ryan Blacklock. We have to look forward now to Kings Lynn on Friday and the visit of the Cradley Heathens next weekend.” COVENTRY Storm manager Laurence Rogers was full of praise for his young side after they battled to a 51-39 victory over Buxton at the Hi-Edge Raceway on Sunday.Said Rogers: “That was a super effort from the team, especially after we lost Marty (Knuckey) to what could be a fractured knee-cap – we don’t know yet, but that would be horrible.“But they all battled well and scored points, and Dan (Greenwood) is just on it at the moment as we’ve said before. The progress he’s making is phenomenal, and long may it continue.“We threw some points away early on, but we knew what we had to come in Heats 13 and 15, there are some good options there!”CRADLEY boss Will Pottinger was over the moon to see his side emerge from a tightly-contested clash with Kent to maintain their perfect start to their National League title defence on Monday.Pottinger said: “It was another great win for the team and everyone chipped in with some important points.“You've got to give our riders a lot of credit, especially our reserves who stepped up to the task superbly after losing Luke Harris early on.“We'll take this confidence into Sunday's meeting at Buxton where we go in search of another win on the road.”EASTBOURNE reserve Georgie Wood admits he has been pleasantly surprised with his early season performances after making the switch to the shale sport from grasstrack.“I’ve probably surprised myself a bit with how the speedway has gone so far,” Wood told the Speedway Star.“But everything I do in the week in the workshop is to win, that’s my passion. I don’t feel let down when I lose because it’s a learning process. Last Sunday was only my fourth speedway meeting, so it’s all a learning curve for me.” KENT youngster Danno Verge believes his experience riding for Scunthorpe Stags in 2014 has prepared him perfectly for the 2015 campaign.Verge, enjoying his second full season in the National League, told the Speedway Star: “I learned a lot at Scunthorpe riding in the main body of the team. It was tough as I was up against heat leaders, but I think I did all right. “I scored a few points and had some good races with some good riders. It definitely brought me on better than if I had been at reserve.” KING’S LYNN boss Dale Allitt was pleased to see his side convincingly reach the next round of the Knockout Cup with a 106-73 aggregate win over Mildenhall.Allit told the Speedway Star: “To win by 14 away from home was good, so I was very pleased with that and we are happy to be into the next round.“I’m pleased with all the lads, it was solid scoring all the way through which was good to see. I’m very happy and we look forward to meeting Buxton in the next round.” MILDENHALL skipper Dan Halsey hopes their victory over Kent in their National League opener will kickstart their season following a slow start.Halsey said: “After the King’s Lynn matches we were all very nervous before the start, but it was a very good all-around team performance against a Kent side with a very strong top three.“This has given everyone a massive boost and we are looking forward to the rest of the season now.” RYE HOUSE boss Andrew Silver is pleased to have welcomed Brendan Johnson to the club on a temporary basis as a replacement for unfortunate injury victim Luke Priest.Silver said: “It’s extremely unfortunate for us to lose Luke because he’s been a solid performer for us in our first three matches.“We have informed Brendan that his position is temporary whilst Luke recovers, and it gives him a chance to keep racing whilst on the lookout for something more permanent.“Brendan has had a couple of outings this season and been riding well, so we hope he can do a good job for us.” STOKE skipper Jon Armstrong is relieved his side made it into the next round of the Knockout Cup despite a narrow home defeat in their home opener against Rye House.Armstrong said: “We made hard work of it in truth, but we go through and in many ways that’s all that matters right now.“It was disappointing to lose our home leg, but it’s our first home meeting of the season and some of the lads are still learning the track.”

FIXTURE PICTURE…

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 7.30CITY 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

THURSDAY MAY 7:BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: Sheffield 7.30ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Belle Vue 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 8:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 7.30, Lakeside v Poole 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Newcastle 7.30, Plymouth v Redcar 7.15

SATURDAY MAY 9: ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Coventry 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Scunthorpe 7pm, Workington v Plymouth 7pmTRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Berwick v Ipswich 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Buxton 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 10:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Plymouth 3pm, Newcastle v Ipswich 6.30, Peterborough v Workington 6.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Kent 3pm, Mildenhall v King’s Lynn 3.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Eastbourne v Rye House 3.30BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1: Scunthorpe 3pm

MONDAY MAY 11:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Kent v Coventry 6.30

TUESDAY MAY 12:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Sheffield 7.30

WEDNESDAY MAY 13:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Mildenhall 7.30