SPEEDWAY News & Fixtures 30.06.15‏

(SPEEDWAY 1)

SOMERSET boss Garry May is determined to return the Premier League Pairs trophy to the Oaktree Arena on Friday.The Rebels host one of the most popular events of the season with ten pairings taking part on the night before the British Grand Prix - and May hopes the Rebels, who will be represented by Brady Kurtz and Josh Grajczonek, can take the silverware after missing out to Edinburgh in a controversial Final last year.May said: “I know that it is said every year about the Pairs, but this year looks to be another very open meeting and I am sure that each of the other nine teams taking part all fancy their chances of being crowned Champions. Although I have heard that some people have commented that Somerset are clear favourites, I certainly don’t see it that way.“Yes, Brady and Josh have been in excellent form around the Oaktree Arena so far this year, but that counts for nothing come Friday, everyone starts out on a level playing field, and it is going to be tough for any pairing to progress out of their respective group, let alone go on and win the title.”

(SPEEDWAY 2 - MONDAY REVIEW)

COVENTRY strengthened their position at the top of the Elite League with a 50-40 win at Wolverhampton - coming back from six points adrift with five heats to go.The Bees struck four 5-1s over the closing races with skipper Chris Harris scoring a paid maximum (12+3) and Hans Andersen was unbeaten after a Heat 1 breakdown in their sixth away success of the season.Ricky Wells top-scored for Wolves with nine points but they lacked race winners and boss Peter Adams admitted he was hugely disappointed.He said: “The team showed a lot of fight, particularly in the first two thirds of the meeting, but Coventry are terrific team and it just wasn’t quite enough in the end. “It’s not any consolation, but they’ve been winning everywhere else this season as well so it’s hardly surprising.  We are thinking about what we need to be doing from here, so we’ll dust ourselves down from this and see where we go in the next week.”Bees boss Gary Havelock said: “As I’ve said in the past, it’s times like this when you come to a specialist track and you’re eight points down, that team spirit really comes into play. To come back from that and hit them the way we did to win by ten was nothing short of sensational.“I know what winning here means for the fans, and it means just as much to me - and to be fair to the Wolves riders and promotion they’ve all come over and said ‘good meeting.”The Bees are now eight points clear at the top of the table after Poole, who do have four matches in hand, were restricted to one point after a similarly dramatic meeting at Belle Vue.The Pirates opened up an early ten point lead but a successful tactical ride from Matej Zagar was backed up by Scott Nicholls for an 8-1 as the Aces turned the match round to win 49-44 with Zagar scoring 16 and Josh Grajczonek adding a vital 10+1.Maciej Janowski ensured a point for the visitors by winning a re-run of Heat 15 after Chris Holder had fallen, and the Pole topped the Pirates’ scorechart on 10+1.Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon said: “Poole came here fancying their chances and they gave us plenty to think about early doors but as the gates came to us, the boys settled in and rattled off some pretty awesome results.“There's a lot of resilience in this team and despite a couple of the guys having an off night we chipped away and worked really hard behind the scenes, and in the end got a result we deserved.”Meanwhile Adrian Miedzinski is on the verge of leaving Swindon after their 38-52 defeat at Leicester.And boss Alun Rossiter admits he faces some tough decisions following a heavy defeat in front of the Sky cameras, which started with mechanical trouble for both Troy Batchelor and Kyle Howarth.Miedzinski failed to score on his return to the Robins’ team, and the visitors had no answer to home skipper Jason Doyle who collected a maximum.Rossiter said: “Adrian came to me after the meeting and said he has a problem riding in England. He cannot handle it at this stage after his bad injury early in the season, so it looks like we're without him."Now it's time for big decisions. Bold decisions. We have to do something to keep our season alive, so we will see what happens.”In the National League KO Cup, Eastbourne established a strong position with a 42-28 win at Kent in a meeting cut short by three races after a delay when the Eagles’ David Mason crashed. Mason suffered a suspected broken leg/ankle but his team-mates still had control of the meeting as they built up a healthy advantage to take into the second leg at Arlington.

(SPEEDWAY 3 - TUESDAY PREVIEW)

GLASGOW star James Sarjeant makes his return to Glasgow on Tuesday against hometown club Sheffield in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.Sarjeant has spent nearly a fortnight on the sidelines due to injury but made his comeback in the Elite League for Coventry on Monday.He said: “I live in Sheffield and you always like getting one over your hometown team.“I get along with a lot of them at Sheffield so it would be nice to win - but I just want to win every match at Glasgow. There are no friends on track really, but we’ll ride hard but fair.”Sheffield co-promoter Damien Bates said: “This is a big meeting for us and we were severely weakened when we lost Ty Proctor for the league meeting in May.“We’re confident with the good form we’ve been showing we can go there on Tuesday and give a good account of ourselves. We’ll be aiming to keep it closer and give us a chance of going through on aggregate when they come back to Sheffield.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

PETERBOROUGH are thrilled to have completed the capture of Swedish star Jacob Thorssell to boost their Premier League title bid.Club bosses agreed terms with the 21 year-old talent yesterday and he slots into the main body of the Panthers’ line-up on a 7.42 average as a replacement for the injured Olly Allen, whilst remaining in the Elite League with Wolverhampton.Promoter Ged Rathbone said: “We have made it clear all along that we would make the right signing at the right time . . . and we feel we have done that.“Jacob is a very highly-rated rider with plenty of top-level experience both in this country and in his homeland. He is a proven performer who expects to do very well in the Premier League – and that is exactly what we expect of him.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

CRADLEY Speedway bosses are to formally ask to be included in any proposed development of land close to Junction 3 of the M5 in Halesowen.Director Nigel Pearson has held further talks with Dudley MBC leader Pete Lowe along with other officers at the Council House where the matter was raised.Pearson said: “Whilst the M5 Junction 3 project will inevitably meet objections because of the green belt issue, if the project gets the go ahead we want to be a part of it. The suggestion was met in a positive manner.“We would look to be a part of a multi-sport facility at the venue with easy access to the motorway network. I will now write formally to the Council asking for their consideration.”

(FIXTURES)

TUESDAY JUNE 30:LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Glasgow v Sheffield 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 1: ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Poole 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Mildenhall 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 2:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Plymouth 7.30, Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 3:PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset 7pm


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