BIG EVENT LATEST…
FORMER British Champion Chris Harris led the qualifiers for this year’s Final from the first semi at Sheffield – and is now targeting national title No.4.Harris scored 14 points at Owlerton to edge out Ben Barker and home star Andre Compton in the rostrum finishers on the night.And now the Coventry skipper insists he’s looking to regain the top prize at Wolverhampton on June 15 for the first time since 2010, ahead of recent winners Tai Woffinden and Scott Nicholls, who begin their campaign in the second semi-final at King’s Lynn on May 20.Harris said: “We came here to do what we wanted to do, and obviously that was to qualify.“The Final is the one I want to win, it’s a bonus to win this one but now we start from scratch again and the main goal is to win at Wolverhampton.“Winning the British Final means an awful lot to me. It’s hurt me for the last few years not to win it, and not being on the podium last year really hurt.“Podiums are nice, but it’s the win that I want. We’re working hard and hopefully when we’re at Wolverhampton we can get that gold back again.“It’s going to be tough, it always is around there, but I’m feeling good and the bikes are working really well. The mechanics are working well together, there are no issues, so I’m happy with the set-up I’ve got.”Sheffield favourite Compton, meanwhile, admitted a relaxed approach had paid dividends as he continued his excellent form with third place on home territory to book a first British Final appearance in over a decade.He said: “I’m pleased with that result. I didn’t go into the meeting expecting too much, I was relaxed heading into it and that seemed to pay off.“I had a couple of good wins, some second places and I’m happy to come away having finished on the rostrum on the night.“I’m pleased to be into the Final, and I’ll just look to approach that with the same attitude and see where I end up on the night.”Edward Kennett, Lewis Blackbird, Josh Auty and Richard Lawson also secured places in the Final with top-seven finishes, with seven more qualifiers to be determined at King’s Lynn and two Wild Card entries to complete the field.
KING’S LYNN (Wednesday May 20): 1 Robert Lambert (King’s Lynn/Peterborough), 2 James Wright (Unattached), 3 Adam Roynon (Redcar), 4 Craig Cook (Belle Vue/Edinburgh), 5 Stefan Nielsen (Belle Vue/Ipswich), 6 Steve Boxall (Lakeside/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-FINAL: 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 was a relieved man after seeing his side secure a dramatic last-heat 5-1 to defeat Swindon 46-44 at Kirkmanshulme Lane.Lemon said: “Honestly when the tapes went up, when it looked like a 3-3, we thought it was over but that's the excitement of speedway through and through. It's not over until the chequered flag drops.“It truly was a team effort and I’ve no hesitation in saying we won collectively as a group, and it’s crucial that we continue to perform in such a manner as that going forward.”COVENTRY picked up a fifth away win from seven outings on the road this season with a 48-42 victory at Leicester on Saturday, to maintain their position at the top of the table.Manager Gary Havelock said: “Once we were in front, I always felt we could control the meeting as long as we kept the last places off the card. Four points would have been nice, but three will do me. We’re on a roll, and when we all fire it doesn’t matter where we are – I feel we can win meetings.“Chris Harris seems to be getting a lot of bonus points lately, and he’s probably the best team-rider in our team. He always looks for his team-mate on the first bend and tries to get them through, and he’s a fantastic skipper.”KING’S LYNN boss Rob Lyon hopes a recent away win at Leicester will be the start of a consistent run for his side with a busy month ahead.The Stars were 50-34 winners at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium for their first victory on the road this season, and currently boast a 100 per cent home record.Lyon said: “The whole team chipped in with some good solid points against Leicester, let’s hope that is the start of a consistent run of form as we continue our busy month of racing.”LAKESIDE will be holding a fans’ forum at the Orsett Hall Hotel on Friday May 22 starting at 8pm, with entry free to all.The forum will review the Hammers’ season to date and provide a chance for supporters to ask promoter Jon Cook any questions regarding the club.LEICESTER are seeking a replacement for Bjarne Pedersen after the experienced Dane quit the club on the eve of their home clash with Coventry on Saturday.Promoter David Hemsley said: “It is such a shame that things did not work out for Bjarne and we respect that this must have been a very difficult decision for him to make. We are really sorry that it has come to this, for him, Leicester Speedway and fans who have not seen what a superb rider he is on his day. “Unfortunately the short notice placed us in a predicament so close to the match against Coventry and it has been a headache trying to find someone who will step in at the last minute so the best course of action was to operate rider replacement for Bjarne.”POOLE star Chris Holder heaped praise on track curator Gerald Richter after the Pirates’ win over Wolverhampton on Wednesday.The Pirates followed that result with three more points from an away win at Lakeside to move into second position in the Elite League table.Holder said: “He (Gerald) did wonders with the track and gave the lads a stage to perform on. I would like to thank him for doing that, it's good to work together at these things. For me, I was making some good starts and I was happy with that.”SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter was left frustrated as a potential away win at Belle Vue on Monday was lost on the very last bend as Matej Zagar got past Peter Kildemand and Troy Batchelor.Rossiter said: “I’m happy with a point, but to be honest it’s a bit of a bittersweet pill to take after being so close to getting the win. We had Heat 15 under control until PK lost his steel shoe going into turn four, and it’s really frustrating to miss out like that.“But there are lots of positives to take from it after another good performance, and that could be an important point for us at the end of the season.”WOLVERHAMPTON’S Polish star Tobiasz Musielak has suffered a broken collarbone in a crash in his home country.Promoter Chris Van Straaten said: “We have been told it’s a clean break with no displacement which is encouraging. Tobiasz and his team are investigating treatment which will give him the best possible chance of a swift track return – he is back at hospital on Wednesday.“It’s such a shame he will miss King’s Lynn as I feel it’s the perfect track for him – he had his best meeting for us at Poole last Wednesday, too.”
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…BERWICK will try and defend a four point lead in the Knockout Cup 2nd Leg at Ipswich after picking up a 47-43 home win on Saturday.Team manager John Anderson said: “The win on the night was the big issue for us as we needed to get back to solid winning ways; whilst we know four points may not get us through to the quarter finals, we will give Ipswich the fight of their lived when we go there on the 21st (May).“Ben Barker really hit the form we knew he was capable of with a good 16 points and he was well backed up by our choice of guest Richie Worrall who was excellent value for his 13 points.”EDINBURGH continued their unbeaten start to the 2015 Premier League campaign with a 52-40 home victory against Newcastle on Friday.Drizzle throughout the meeting made it tough for both teams, but the Monarchs fought their way to a 12 point win.Club Director Alex Harkess said: “The conditions made it a hard night for the riders but I always felt we had things under control.”GLASGOW face a busy spell with three meetings in six days, starting with a televised home clash against Sheffield tonight.Tigers boss Stewart Dickson said: “All of a sudden, it looks like Sky have picked the best match because they (Sheffield) are sitting near the top of the league and deservedly so – it’s going to be interesting!“At the moment, we’re at the bottom of the table because we’ve not raced matches, but come Sunday, we should be sitting with two home wins and the worst I’m looking for is a point at Ipswich. That’s the target; it’s a big week.”IPSWICH will be looking to build on their away league consolation point at Newcastle from Sunday when they host Glasgow at Foxhall this Thursday.The Witches battled hard to pick up their first league point of the season in a 48-43 defeat away at Newcastle and Club Director Chris Louis is expecting another tough test against Glasgow.He said: “They have strength from top to bottom including riders such as Nick Morris, Richard Lawson and Aaron Summers – if the lads thought last Monday was tough then think again, this one could be even worse!”NEWCASTLE picked up their first Premier League points of the season with a 48-43 home win over Ipswich on Sunday.Diamonds’ Team Manager George English had mixed emotions after the meeting.He said: “I’m delighted to pick up three league points but also frustrated to give them a consolation point at the end.”PETERBOROUGH reclaimed their place at the top of the Premier League with a comprehensive 56-36 home win against Workington on Sunday. The Panthers will be looking to take confidence from their perfect start to the league campaign when they travel to second placed Sheffield on Thursday.Team manager Carl Johnson said: “We beat a very strong team in very convincing fashion and we are all delighted to keep the good start going.” PLYMOUTH are looking to make it two Premier League home wins out of two when they host Sheffield on Friday.The Devils got back to winning ways at the St Boniface Arena last week with a 52-41 win against Redcar.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor: "We should not be having problems at home, so it is good that we are starting to show a bit of form because we have some strong opposition coming up in the next couple of meetings.”REDCAR will be looking to return to winning ways when they entertain Workington in the Premier League this Thursday.The Bears suffered back-to-back defeats in the space of four days last week, losing heavily at home to in-from Sheffield before suffering a 52-41 defeat away at Plymouth.RYE HOUSE were held to a 45-45 home draw against Scunthorpe on Saturday.Rockets’ Captain Edward Kennett raced to a faultless 18 point maximum, but was disappointed his side didn’t pick up the three league points available.Said Kennett: “I felt really confident and I was making consistent starts.“They (the Rye House guest replacements) did their bit, but it’s never the same in terms of team atmosphere.“We just have to do the best we can; but we’ll take the draw.”SCUNTHORPE will be without reserve Nike Lunna when they take on Rye House at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday.Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “Nike is one of the reserves for the Finnish Grand prix on Saturday; it will be an absolutely fantastic experience for the lad, rubbing shoulders with the best riders in the world and I’m chuffed for him.“However, it does present us with a challenge in that Nike is now on a 3.00 average and therefore it’s difficult to replace him.”SHEFFIELD are targeting a minimum of a consolation league point when they travel to Glasgow tonight which would see them return to the top of the Premier League table.Team Manager Jack Lee said: “It’s a proud night for Sheffield Speedway to feature on live TV and we are honoured to be on Sky Sports.“I’m sure we will go up there and give a good account of ourselves.”SOMERSET will be looking to continue their unbeaten home run in 2015 when they host Berwick on Friday.Team Manager Garry May said: “Berwick may not have had the best of starts to the season, but they certainly have the riders who could test us problems on Friday night.“In saying that, we showed in our lasting outing here when we saw off a very strong looking Sheffield side that we have the riders to see off these sorts of challenges; I expect us to have too much strength throughout for Berwick to be able to handle.”WORKINGTON take on Rye House twice this weekend with the home and away leg of their Premier League Knockout Cup clash.Team Manager Tony Jackson said: “It certainly promises to be an intriguing contest - the Rockets have had some good results so far this year and we know it will be a tough thirty heats.“The aim is to try and get as many points on the board in the home leg as we possibly can; but I wouldn’t be surprised if the outcome of this tie went right down to the latter stages of the second leg.”
CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…
BIRMINGHAM chief Tony Mole has been delighted with the response National League racing has received in the city.The Brummies have enjoyed a hugely successful start to life in the National League following their resurrection over the winter.“We’ve been more than impressed with the attendance figures so far in 2015,” said Mole. “We’ve had a fair few number of people who have come to a speedway meeting for the first time this year and that’s always great to see and we need more people like that coming through the turnstiles for the first time and returning week after week here at Birmingham speedway.“The value for money in this league is excellent and I hope to see plenty of fans on the terraces over the rest of the season.”BUXTON boss Jason Pipe was full of praise for his side as they edged a narrow 45-44 win at Stoke on Sunday.Pipe was pleased to see his side take full advantage of the Potters’ loss of both reserves in heat two to ensure they claimed a memorable away victory.He said: “‘Every point mattered today and I’m very proud of all the Buxton riders. Let’s not take anything away from my team today, they rode sensibly and dealt with the conditions well.“We benefitted from Stoke’s misfortune in heat two, but during the season these things have a habit of evening themselves out.”COVENTRY Storm boss Laurence Rogers admitted he was disappointed to see his side slip to a 52-38 defeat at Kent on Monday.Rogers said: “We’re disappointed, we were looking for better than that and now the boys need to get their gating boots on for Friday because it’s still possible for us.“We were unlucky when Darryl (Ritchings) was second, chasing hard and turned it round, so we lost points there and it was a very slick track so there wasn’t a lot of passing.“Crangy (Luke Crang) was full of ‘flu so that didn’t help him and he wasn’t really his usual self, and although we did start to pull back into it we faltered near the end again.”CRADLEY are set to make an exciting rider announcement prior to their mouth-watering clash with Mildenhall at Perry Barr on Wednesday night. Heathens promoter Gary Patchett said: “As a management team we remain as ambitious and enthusiastic as ever about this great club and on Wednesday night there will be an announcement on parade regarding a rider.“On behalf of Nigel Pearson, Chris Van Straaten, Will Pottinger and myself I'd like to thank everyone who has supported us in our meetings at Birmingham so far. I'm sure Mildenhall will be a good test.”EASTBOURNE boss Connor Dugard says he has been delighted with the Eagles’ start to life in the National League.Said Dugard: “To say we are happy is an understatement! To be honest I didn't think it would start this well. Obviously we wanted to win from thestart but to win by the margins we are is showing people that we do mean business.“We are having fun at the same time which is a great as well, and you just have to look at the whole atmosphere around the place.“Fans are saying there's a vibe around the place like no other and that is a reward in itself for me and my Dad. As people may have seen on my social media I've never enjoyed speedway as much as this year and I'm more than certain if we don't get any injuries we are going to be up there with the best of them this year.” KENT raced to an impressive 52-38 win over Coventry in the first leg of their Knockout Cup tie on Monday night.The Kings pulled off a hard-fought win with Ben Morley (13) and Danny Ayres (12+1) continuing their excellent form. They will be back in action next Monday as they host a Wimbledon select side in a challenge fixture. MILDENHALL promoter Kevin Jolly was hugely encouraged by the development shown by his young Fen Tigers’ side as they defeated King’s Lynn 51-40 at West Row on Sunday.And he is hoping to see them continue their promising run of form when they face a tough trip to Cradley on Wednesday night. Jolly said: “The lads are getting there, week on week we are seeing the improvement I had hoped for and today was another good victory. “We have a very difficult meeting at Perry Barr on Wednesday against Cradley, but go there in good shape and will give it our best shot.”KING’S LYNN suffered their second National League defeat of the season as they went down 51-40 against Mildenhall on Sunday.A 13 point haul from skipper James Cockle – backed up by a number of solid displays – could not prevent them from leaving West Row empty handed.The Young Stars will be back in action on Friday as they welcome Stoke to the Adrian Flux Arena looking to make it three home wins out of three in all competitions. RYE HOUSE suffered a heavy 56-36 defeat on a tough afternoon at Eastbourne on Sunday.Despite No.1 Robert Branford racing to a classy 17 point haul they could not prevent a comprehensive defeat against a powerhouse Eagles side.The Raiders will be back in action looking to get back to winning ways as they host King’s Lynn at Hoddesdon on Saturday. STOKE skipper Jon Armstrong was left lamenting the Potters’ misfortune as they slipped to a 45-44 defeat at home to Buxton on Sunday.However, the experienced Armstrong is keen to see them move on from what was a tough afternoon and focus on their trip to King’s Lynn on Friday. He said: “The boys are obviously disappointed but they are still very upbeat, losing Shaun (Tedham) and Ryan (MacDonald) as we did left us with one rider in six heats which was always going to make things difficult but we kept battling away. “All the lads put their heart and soul into the meeting this afternoon and we just didn’t get perhaps the rewards we deserved. We will now regroup for the meeting at King’s Lynn on Friday and see what we can do.”
FIXTURE PICTURE…
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
THURSDAY MAY 14:PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Glasgow 7.30, Redcar v Workington 7.30, Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 15:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30, Peterborough v Glasgow OFF, Plymouth v Sheffield 7.15, Scunthorpe v Rye House 7.30, Somerset v Berwick 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Stoke 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Coventry v Kent 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 16:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Newcastle 7pmTRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Workington v Rye House 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v King’s Lynn 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Stoke v Cradley 7pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2: Eastbourne 5.30
SUNDAY MAY 17:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Scunthorpe 3pm, Newcastle v Edinburgh 6.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Rye House v Workington 5pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Eastbourne 3.30
MONDAY MAY 18:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn 7.30CHALLENGE: Kent v Wimbledon 6.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 20:BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: King’s Lynn 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 21:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Leicester 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Ipswich v Berwick 7.30; 1st leg: Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 22:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Scunthorpe 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Plymouth v Ipswich 7.15
SATURDAY MAY 23:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Redcar 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Coventry 7pm
SUNDAY MAY 24:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Newcastle 3pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Mildenhall 3pm, Eastbourne v Cradley 3.30
MONDAY MAY 25:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v King’s Lynn 7.30, Leicester v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Glasgow 6.30, Rye House v Redcar 2pm, Scunthorpe v Somerset 3pmTRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Peterborough v Plymouth 2pmLEAGUE CUP: Workington v Berwick 3pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v King’s Lynn 3pm, Rye House v Buxton (follows PL fixture)
TUESDAY MAY 26:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Coventry 7.30
