(SPEEDWAY 1)
PETERBOROUGH joint boss Dale Allitt has added an emotional message to the flood of well-wishes for injured star Lewis Kerr.The Newcastle and King's Lynn ace was airlifted to hospital following a horror crash in the Final of the Premier League Fours at the East of England Showground yesterday.Specialist medics were flown in to treat Kerr at the track before he was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge in an induced coma.Allitt said: “The thoughts and prayers of everyone connected to Peterborough Speedway – and I’m sure the sport as a whole – are with Lewis.“He is a great guy who I have known since he took his first steps in the sport with the Young Stars at King’s Lynn.“We can only hope for good news in the coming days. Lewis is a fighter and, if anyone can pull through adversity, it is him.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
PETERBOROUGH captain Ulrich Ostergaard has become the club’s latest injury casualty.The Panthers skipper suffered broken bones in his left hand when involved a crash during the abandoned Premier League Fours meeting at the East of England Showground yesterday having tangled with Ipswich’s Nico Covatti in Heat 6 of the semi-final.Promoter Ged Rathbone said: “The x-rays confirmed a number of breaks in Ulrich’s left hand and he will obviously be out for a while.“The doctors told him to expect the recovery to take up to six weeks, but Ulrich is determined to be back racing within a month.“We need to get through the two meetings against Edinburgh later this week as best we can and then take stock of the situation.”(SPEEDWAY 3)
BUXTON shot up to sixth place in the City Gearboxes National League table with a 49-43 win over Kent at the Hi-Edge Raceway.The home side had built up a 13-point lead after Heat 10 but saw that gap cut to just two before new signings Steve Jones and David Speight teamed up for a match-winning 5-1 in Heat 14.Hitmen manager Jason Pipe said: “It could have been so much better - we were 13 points up with five heats to go but Kent won the final five races 20–13 which is quite frustrating. “I’ve been very impressed with the team as a whole and the match-winning performance of our two new riders who seem to have taken to Hi-Edge well.”(SPEEDWAY 4)
BELLE Vue host Poole in the Elite League on Monday in a vital clash for both sides in the race for play-off places.The Aces now trail fourth-placed Swindon by five points after the Robins picked up three wins last week, whilst the Pirates are battling with Coventry for top place and are currently five points behind the Bees with one match in hand.When the sides last met at Kirkmanshulme Lane, the Pirates raced into an early lead before being reeled back in as the Aces pulled off a dramatic 49-44 win.Belle Vue chief Chris Morton said: “Poole certainly gave us a fright the last time they were here and that’s something we’ll be acutely aware of this time around. We simply can’t afford to get into that same kind of trouble.“It will be interesting to see what they bring to the table though I’m sure whatever form it takes it will make for a very tough match, but I think we’re more than capable of doing what needs to be done.”Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “We need all riders to be scoring as we can ill-afford to carry any passengers. I know that the tight circuits aren't necessarily Kacper's (Gomolski) favourite venues but he does need to be able to ride them and score at them. “That message goes to all the lads though. We allowed Belle Vue back last time and that hurt and I still feel the pain now. The best remedy for that pain would be for the team to return from Manchester with a win under their belts.”Meanwhile third-placed King’s Lynn visit Wolverhampton and have booked Rob Branford to guest for Lewis Kerr following Sunday’s accident at Peterborough.Wolves also make a change at reserve with Josh Bates ruled out through injury, and Max Clegg steps in to replace him.Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten said: “Our thoughts continue to be with Lewis Kerr after the awful crash at Peterborough yesterday.“But this is a big meeting for both teams and we need all the support from the Wolverhampton fans to get behind the boys. Branford is no stranger to this track so, along with local lad Ashley Morris, they have plenty of strength to challenge our reserves.”In the Premier League, Kauko Nieminen and Hynek Stichauer make their debuts for Glasgow in a home match against in-form Plymouth.Tigers star Richard Lawson said: “It's going to be good. Hopefully Nick Morris will be back soon, just in time for the play-offs. I think it puts us in with a really, really good chance.“I believe Kauko is going to have a practice on Monday so hopefully he gets dialled in pretty quickly. Hopefully he'll settle in and have a good meeting, and we'll come away with the win.”In the City Gearboxes National League, Kent take on Mildenhall at Central Park, having secured a dramatic 47-46 win the last time the two sides met at the venue in the National Trophy.(FIXTURES)
MONDAY AUGUST 3:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Plymouth 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Mildenhall 6.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 5:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 8pm, Poole v Leicester 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Cradley 7.30, King’s Lynn v Rye House 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 6:PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Workington 7.30, Redcar v Glasgow 7.30, Sheffield v Scunthorpe 7.30
FRIDAY AUGUST 7:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Peterborough 7.30, Plymouth v Ipswich 7.15, Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30, Somerset v Redcar 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Eastbourne 7.30
