(SPEEDWAY 1)
JASON Garrity and Adam Roynon have been named as the two Wild Card riders for the British Final at Wolverhampton on June 15.Garrity, who finished fifth in the event last season, scored nine points in his semi-final at Sheffield earlier this month and missed out on an automatic qualifying place on countback to Richard Lawson.It was a similar story for Roynon at King’s Lynn on Wednesday, as he also scored nine with Carl Wilkinson taking the automatic place on countback.Garrity and Roynon join the seven qualifiers from each semi for the Monmore showpiece where Tai Woffinden will defend his title.(SPEEDWAY 2 - THURSDAY REVIEW)
SWINDON moved into the top four of the Elite League with a 50-40 win over Leicester at the Abbey Stadium on Thursday.Using rider-replacement for the injured Peter Kildemand, the Robins overcame a slightly shaky start and were in control of the meeting by the halfway stage thanks to three 5-1s in the space of four races.Polish ace Grzegorz Zengota top-scored for the home side with 12+2 whilst skipper Troy Batchelor scored 11+1 and Nick Morris 11. Jason Doyle collected 9+1 for the visitors.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “I did expect a bit of a slow start to be honest, because we were juggling rider-replacement around, and I do like to leave the stronger riders towards the end.“The boys all did their jobs, and I can’t really understand some of the negativity - a few people need to have more belief in the riders. “Peter was out, but that doesn’t mean it was the end of the world, and the rider-replacement worked for us. I thought Zengi was fantastic, and that’s why we brought him back to the club.”In the Travel Plus Tours KO Cup, Berwick stunned Ipswich by successfully defending their four-point advantage in the second-leg tie at Foxhall.The Witches were restricted to a 46-44 win on the night having been hampered by a string of falls and mechanical failures, with a breakdown for Rohan Tungate in Heat 15 proving particularly costly as he and Danny King appeared set for a 5-1 over Ben Barker and Kevin Doolan.The visitors had earlier lost Hynek Stichauer with a leg injury after a crash in Heat 8.Ipswich boss Phil Hilton said: “We had a very poor start and throughout the meeting there were too many falls and mistakes, which just gifted points to Berwick. “They had their own problems but generally attacked the track much better than us. This failure to adapt to our own track early on needs sorting out and maybe we need to look at team changes as well.”Berwick boss John Anderson said: “We were up against it all only being four points up and having no regular reserves with Richard Hall sick and Alex Edberg away on Swedish League duty, but we rode our luck well and took advantage where we needed to just seal our aggregate win in the last race. “It was a great performance and we put in some good laps to get what we deserved, but again we’re wishing an injured rider well and hope Hynek makes a rapid return to action.”Meanwhile Sheffield will take a slender two-point lead to Edinburgh on Friday after a 46-44 win in their first leg tie at Owlerton.The Tigers had built up a six-point advantage but conceded a costly 5-1 in Heat 15 after skipper Andre Compton came to grief.Compton and Ashley Birks both scored 12 for the home side whilst Craig Cook (14) and Kevin Wolbert (11+2) were in good form for the Monarchs.Sheffield boss Jack Lee said: “It was a shame that Heat 15 was the closest they got all night. Six points would have been handy to take up there, but it’s going to be tough.“We had to work really hard, and we are pleased we managed to win on the night because it took a big effort in the end.”
(SPEEDWAY 3 - FRIDAY PREVIEW)
SOMERSET boss Garry May says Scunthorpe should not be under-estimated ahead of Friday’s Premier League clash at the Oaktree Arena.The Scorpions have booked Ben Barker to guest for injured No.1 Josh Auty, and the two sides meet twice over the Bank Holiday weekend with the return in Lincolnshire on Monday.May said: “Scunthorpe might come to the Oaktree Arena languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League table, but as was the case with Berwick last week, they have riders in their ranks who have shown a liking for riding here at the Oaktree Arena.“Strangely enough Scunthorpe have fared better on their travels as far as their league matches have been concerned, but as the Somerset boys showed in last Friday’s match against Berwick, they are all riding well and I am confident that we will have too much in the locker for Scunthorpe to deal with.”In the Travel Plus Tours KO Cup, Sheffield take a narrow two-point lead to Edinburgh from Thursday’s first leg at Owlerton.Lasse Bjerre continues as a guest for the Tigers in place of long-term injury victim Simon Stead.Tigers boss Jack Lee said: “We’ve got to go up there believing we can make it through. It’s going to be hard with only a two point lead, we were looking for more like 12, but anything can happen on the night, so we’ll give it our best shot and try to make it through.”The Southern section of the League Cup concludes at Plymouth - with Ipswich requiring a draw or better to overhaul Rye House at the top of the group.Plymouth have Redcar’s Polish rider Rafal Konopka guesting for injured reserve Sam Chapman and are chasing revenge after being knocked out of the KO Cup semi-finals by the Witches last season.Devils co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “The fate of Ipswich and Rye House is in our hands. We remember last season’s KO Cup outcome and this gives a chance to redress the balance by returning the compliment.“This is the perfect opportunity for us to gain revenge by blocking Ipswich’s path to the last four of the League Cup.”(FIXTURES)
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 3pm4TT: Scunthorpe Stags v Halifax v Belle Vue Colts v Exeter (follows PL fixture)
