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THE draw has been made for the Premier League Riders’ Championship at Sheffield on Sunday September 6.The top rider from each of the thirteen PL clubs, subject to fitness, is included along with the next three qualifying riders, for the Owlerton showpiece.DRAW: 1 Robert Lambert (Peterborough), 2 Richard Lawson (Glasgow), 3 Nick Morris (Glasgow), 4 Danny King (Ipswich), 5 Steve Worrall (Newcastle), 6 Craig Cook (Edinburgh), 7 Ricky Wells (Workington), 8 Sam Masters (Edinburgh), 9 Matej Kus (Redcar), 10 Thomas Jorgensen (Berwick), 11 Brady Kurtz (Somerset), 12 Jason Garrity (Sheffield), 13 Josh Grajczonek (Somerset), 14 Ryan Douglas (Scunthorpe), 15 Kyle Newman (Plymouth), 16 Edward Kennett (Rye House).*ADAM Ellis and Josh Bates have been selected to join the Great Britain team for next month’s World Under-21 Team Cup semi-final in Germany.GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher had already named captain Kyle Howarth and Robert Lambert for the August 22 event at Gustrow, with Ellis and Bates also receiving the nod from the initial eight-man squad.Vatcher said: “It was a fair comment to say that each of the eight riders deserved their place in the team. It has been one of the hardest decisions for me to make, which two riders would join Kyle and Robert.“After much deliberating, I have looked at various positives and negatives, and have eventually come to the conclusion of selecting Adam and Josh.“I have been to Under-21 qualifiers with both riders this season, and both teenagers rode above their years. Adam was a fraction away from winning the European Under-21 Semi Final in France, and Josh rode at a track that is completely out of his comfort zone in Slovakia, and was competing against the very best Juniors including Bartosz Zmarzlik, and was on the pace with the best of them.“It is particularly harsh on both Stefan Nielsen and Ashley Morris, because this season is their last chance at this level, as both riders will be over 21 next year.“All four riders who missed out have taken it well and wished the team good luck, and I have said to both Stefan and Ashley that if any misfortune was to happen to any of the selected four, they should be ready to step in at short notice.“It would have been really nice to have taken both Max Clegg and Zach Wajknecht with us, as the experience would have done them the world of good, but with only four places available unfortunately we don't have that luxury of taking riders just for the experience. Both Max’s and Zach’s time will come, of that I have no doubt. “So the GB Team is now complete, and we go to Germany on August 22 full of optimism of qualifying for our first Final since 2010.”The Young Lions Management would like to thank the following for their support and backing of the British team: Wessex Marine of Poole, ATPI Travel Management of Manchester, Motive Car Accessories, Ecco Finishing, Media Prima, BSPA and the SCB.Meanwhile a new date has been agreed for the Rye House round of the British Youth Championship after last weekend’s planned staging was postponed.The Hoddesdon venue will now host the sixth and deciding round of the series with 500cc and 250cc titles at stake on Sunday September 20, with the next events to come at Northside (August 30) and Redcar (September 5).Further news on the Premier League Fours, which was abandoned last Sunday following the serious accident involving Newcastle and King’s Lynn’s Lewis Kerr, will follow in due course.
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE kept up an impressive run of home results by defeating Poole 53-39 at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday - maintaining a strong play-off challenge at the start of a vital month.Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “To be a top quality team we need to be beating top quality teams quite comfortably at home, and tonight against Poole the boys read the script well and took control of the meeting emphatically.“It’s hard to pick out any one single star performer tonight. Scott (Nicholls) delivered a true captain’s performance, Matej (Zagar) scored a paid maximum, Stefan (Nielsen) is improving every week… The list goes on.”COVENTRY boss Gary Havelock praised the attitude of his team in turning around a six-point mid-meeting deficit at home to King’s Lynn and coming away with a 48-42 win.Havelock said: “Some people were panicking a little bit but I wasn’t too worried. We’ve proved on several occasions that we’re a team who won’t fold under pressure, and we proved it again tonight.“Jason Garrity was sensational again for us, he blew the engine on his first bike after about his fourth ride and had to jump on his spare bike, and he just epitomises the spirit in the camp and the never-say-die attitude.”KING’S LYNN narrowly missed out on taking a point from a 41-49 defeat at Wolverhampton on Monday - but all of their thoughts remain with the injured Lewis Kerr.The Stars had gained a point at Coventry 72 hours earlier when they lost by just six on the night, but Kerr’s crash in the Premier League Fours on Sunday has prompted an outpouring of emotion throughout the sport.LAKESIDE finally collected their first away win of the season with a 51-39 victory at Leicester on Saturday.The Hammers has four guests on duty at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium due to injury and unavailability and Max Fricke - in for the injured Mikkel Bech - top-scored for the visitors as they gained four league points.LEICESTER’S hopes of avoiding the Elite League’s wooden spoon position were hit by a 39-51 defeat to Lakeside, bringing to an end an impressive run of home results.The Lions currently have both reserves Josh Auty and Simon Lambert on the sidelines, with top-five rider Sam Masters also missing due to injury for the visit of the Hammers.POOLE promoter Matt Ford admits he is concerned by the Pirates’ results against Belle Vue this season - after a 39-53 defeat in Manchester on Monday dented their hopes of finishing top of the table.Ford said: “Should Belle Vue get themselves back into the play-off zone then they will certainly fancy meeting us, judging by our performances agains them this season. They held us to a draw back in April on our patch and have now twice been seen to be the better side in Manchester. “We haven't really been consistently good enough on the smaller tracks and that is a worry for me. I was hoping that we would come away with something from this visit but our performance wasn't up to it, quite frankly.”SWINDON continued their play-off charge with a 50-43 win at Lakeside last Friday - recovering from an early 12-point deficit - to make it eleven league points gained from a productive week.Manager Alun Rossiter said: “We’ve got to keep our run at home going and there’s plenty of opportunities to pick up some more vital points on the road.“We’ve got a bit of a break now before a hectic but important few weeks start for us. It’s in our own hands as we race against all of the teams around us, but I won’t allow anyone, including myself, to get too carried away. I’m really happy with how things have gone overall this week and I couldn’t be more pleased with the team right now.”WOLVERHAMPTON returned to winning ways with a 49-41 success over King’s Lynn at Monmore Green - and boss Peter Adams was pleased to see a convincing display from Freddie Lindgren with 14 points on his return to the No.1 berth.Adams said: “It was a typical Wolves performance I thought, with Freddie leading from the front and solid performances in all other departments.“I felt we made hard work of it at times, but we are obviously just glad to come away with the victory.”
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BERWICK injury victim Claus Vissing could return to action later this month.The 29-year-old Danish rider has missed the last two months with knee ligament damage but is hopeful of getting back on a bike over the next few weeks.Meanwhile the Bandits have confirmed that reserve Richard Hall has been riding with three broken ribs which he sustained in a longtrack meeting in France recently.EDINBURGH are through to the Semi-Finals of the Premier League Knockout Cup after a comfortable 61-29 second leg victory over Redcar.Monarchs reserve Rob Branford told the Edinburgh Evening News: “Although they beat us 37-35 at their place, we were pretty confident about pulling those two points back.“Redcar did the best they could under difficult circumstances but it’s great to make the semis.“It means more meetings for the team and for me and the more matches I do before I head back home in October, the better.”GLASGOW moved joint top of the Premier League with a 52-41 home victory against Plymouth on Monday.Tigers co-promoter Colin Hamilton described it as good, all-round team showing but highlighted the performance of debutant Kauko Nieminen. Said Hamilton: “Kauko had a fantastic pass that had the crowd on their feet and there were some really good positives.“He looks as if he’s going to be value for money and I think he’ll become a favourite with the fans again like he was last time in 2006.“It’s given the team a boost as well – hopefully as the play-offs approach, everybody will be able to focus and become really strong at the right time with Kauko in the team.”IPSWICH face two big meetings in two days against the teams chasing them for the final end of season play-off spot.The Witches (6th) host Workington (8th) on Thursday before travelling to Plymouth (7th) on Friday.The Foxhall outfit are searching for guest replacements as they will be without the suspended Rohan Tungate as well as Nico Covatti who faces around three weeks on the sidelines after suffering three breaks to his index finger over the weekend.NEWCASTLE boss George English has praised Peterborough’s medical team for their work on Diamonds rider Lewis Kerr who was involved in an horrific, high-speed crash at the Premier League Fours on Sunday. Speaking on Monday night, English said: “The paramedic and his team were superb and gave Lewis the very best of attention on the track but also realised that it was important to get him to hospital as soon as possible and with the greatest comfort available so the Air Ambulance was immediately scrambled and arrived on the centre green with impressive haste.“Lewis remains in an induced coma – his family are coping well, under the circumstances and the medical team seem to be relatively pleased with the progress, although this is still very early days and there is a long way to go.“Lewis is being monitored 24/7 by hospital staff and we as a club of course continue to offer every means of support possible both to Lewis and to his family at this very difficult time.”PETERBOROUGH have suffered yet another injury setback with the news that club captain Ulrich Ostergaard suffered broken bones in his left hand during Sunday’s Premier League Fours.Panthers promoter Ged Rathbone said: “The x-rays confirmed a number of breaks 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.“It is the latest in a long line of injuries which have hit us hard this season, but we have battled on and are still in a good league position.”PLYMOUTH’s four match unbeaten run came to an end as they went down 52-41 at Glasgow on Monday.Impressive home and away wins against high-flying Somerset have boosted the Devils’ hopes of an end of season play-off place. They host Ipswich on Friday – the team directly above the Devils in the Premier League table.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “It will be important that we get back to winning ways against Ipswich and make sure that they do not go away with any points.“We need to keep on course in our bid to reach the play-offs and get as high up the league table as possible.”REDCAR have signed French rider Dimitri Berge for the remainder of the season.Berge, who recently left Glasgow, endured a tough debut for the Bears, scoring just one-point in their heavy 61-29 Knockout Cup defeat at Edinburgh.Redcar chief Brian Havelock said: “I was over the moon when the news came through about Berge but our efforts have all fallen on stony ground as the idea was to push Roynon and Graversen down to reserve which would have given us much needed strength there… but now both of them are injured!”RYE HOUSE got back to winning ways with a 55-38 victory over Newcastle on Saturday.The stand-out rider was Rockets guest Robert Lambert who not only raced to a 15-point maximum, but also broke the track record twice in the same meeting.Co-promoter Len Silver said: “Track record or not, I have never seen anyone ride with and control that much speed around this circuit; especially out in the dirt by the fence throughout heat 15.”SCUNTHORPE have signed Czech Republic sensation Zdenek Holub for the rest of the 2015 season.Subject to BSPA approval, the 19-year-old will make his debut on Thursday at Sheffield before facing Newcastle at home the following evening.Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “He comes very highly recommended and you only have to look at a few of his result on the continent to realise he’s a very talented, young rider.“It’s always exciting for the fans to see a new face and I’m sure Zdenek will prove an instant hit with Scorpions’ supporters.”SHEFFIELD have snapped up Danish rider Nicolai Klindt to replace the injured Andre Compton.Klindt told the Sheffield Star: “I’ve been talking to Sheffield on and off for a while, but it came as a surprise to me when they called me out of the blue.“I’m really excited about joining Sheffield; they are a very professionally run club and despite all their injury problems, they’ve had a really good season.”Klindt will make his home debut against Scunthorpe in the Premier League this Thursday.SOMERSET will be looking to get back to winning ways when they face Redcar this Friday.The Rebels suffered back-to-back home and away defeats at the hands of Plymouth last week and team manager Garry May is looking for a response from his side.Said May: “One bad weekend doesn’t mean that is the end of our play-off or league Championship ambitions, what we have to do is to put this behind us, take forward any learnings and re-group.”WORKINGTON continue their push for a play-off place with three meetings in four days.The Comets face trips to Ipswich and Newcastle either side of their home meeting against Somerset on Saturday at the start of a busy month for the club.Team manager Tony Jackson said: “Without doubt, how we perform throughout August will make or break our season owing to the number of fixtures we have to race this month.“All in all it’s a tough weekend but the team are fired up for the meetings and hopefully we can pick up some crucial points from these fixtures.
CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…
BIRMINGHAM boss Graham Drury was pleased to see his side stretch their lead at the top of the National League table with a 51-39 win over King’s Lynn last week.But he has called on the Brummies to step it up a gear ahead of their crunch clash with co-tenants Cradley at Perry Barr on Wednesday (7.30).“First and foremost we got the win and that was the most important thing tonight,” said Drury after defeating the Young Stars. “Zach (Wajtknecht) and Tom Perry were class acts yet again tonight and were both remarkable.“There were a few who weren't firing on all cylinders tonight but we'll make sure they're all fired up and ready for the big one next Wednesday against Cradley.”BUXTON boss Jason Pipe is desperate to see his side earn a top four finish to qualify for the Gold Cup ahead of two important away fixtures.Pipe was delighted to see the Hitmen edge a 49-43 win over Kent at the Hi-Edge Raceway on Sunday – and having jumped up to seventh in the table he is now targeting four points from their clashes with Eastbourne on Kent on August 9 and August 10 respectively.He commented: “It could have been so much better against Kent given we were 13 points up with five heats to go, but they won the final five races 20-13 which was quite frustrating. “However, I’ve been very impressed with the team as a whole and the match-winning performances of our two new riders who seem to have taken to Hi-Edge very well. “I’m setting the boys a target of four points from those two meetings at Eastbourne and Kent now, and ultimately we still feel we can qualify for the Gold Cup by grabbing fourth place in the League”COVENTRY manager Laurence Rogers believes new signing Mark Baseby can play a major part for the Storm ahead of a busy period.Following the capture of the 27 year old to replace injury victim Luke Crang, Rogers said: “We had to get back to having a seven-man team as using rider replacement was going to put a lot of strain on riders and their machinery especially in double-headers.“I know Mark from the past and I feel I’ve always got the best out of him, and that’s one of the things he said when he had options to go elsewhere because there were other clubs after him.“Mark is coming in on a 5.67 average, but in my opinion he’s easily a seven-and-a-half to eight point rider in this league.“He just needs some laps to get himself settled in, and he’ll certainly get that with three matches in two days this week!”CRADLEY skipper Max Clegg insists his side are capable of gaining revenge on Birmingham ahead of their top of the table showdown at Perry Barr this Wednesday.Clegg said: “It's going to be tough for us, Birmingham have been going well, but we know we can beat them.“They are quite a long way ahead of us in the league so if we are going to win the title we know we need to get a good result. We just need everyone to focus and be on top of their game. “We had a tough spell but we've had two really good wins against Stoke and Buxton which has given us confidence, so we just need to do the same and I think we can come out on top.” EASTBOURNE No.8 Niall Strudwick admits he has been frustrated by the lack of opportunities that have come his way this season.He told the Speedway Star: “On the whole it has been a frustrating season in many respects. I think I’ve made steps forward. To be recognised as part of the team was fantastic.“I knew Georgie (Wood) and Kelsey (Dugard) were at reserve, but I thought I would get a chance. “I feel my career has stalled a bit. I did four seasons as No.8 at Mildenhall and now another at Eastbourne. My aim for the rest of the season is just to get as many meetings as possible.”KENT ended a hectic few days with a hard-fought 52-41 win over Mildenhall on Monday night. The Kings suffered narrow defeats at Eastbourne and Buxton on Saturday and Sunday respectively despite encouraging performances – but they wrapped up their busy weekend in perfect fashion with a Ben Morley maximum leading them to victory.They will now look to climb up the National League table with back to back home meetings – starting as they host Buxton next Monday. KING’S LYNN manager Dale Allitt declared himself proud of the effort shown by his side despite their 51-39 defeat against National League leaders Birmingham at Perry Barr last week.Allitt said: “I am proud of the team, especially as our guys hadn’t been to Perry Barr before. The track was tricky, but I think they all performed well and we can be pleased with their performance.“Josh (Bailey) rode really well as did Jake (Knight), who did well to win heat 13. Birmingham are a good side and we knew it would be tough, really tough to go their place and win but we gave it a good shot and pushed them hard again.”MILDENHALL promoter Kevin Jolly is desperate to see his side bounce back from two consecutive defeats and show what they are made of.The Fen Tigers suffered a humiliating 56-33 home defeat at the hands of Rye House last weekend before going down 52-41 at Kent on Monday – and Jolly insists his side are capable of much more.He commented in the Speedway Star: “We are a lot better than that performance against Rye House. Everybody knows that, especially the riders who not so long ago hit back from five points down after the first race to beat Cradley.“They are capable of that kind of performance. Apart from that win over Cradley we have to remember there was another battling display at Birmingham which showed what we can do when we all get stuck in and pull together.” RYE HOUSE boss Andrew Silver has heaped praise on the resurgent Kyle Hughes following his excellent run of form.Silver said in the Speedway Star: “Kyle (Hughes) is just red hot at the moment, his effort and commitment is tremendous, he just needs a few things to go in his favour and he’ll continue to grow.“I hope I’m able to give him every help I can, it’s nice to see someone flourish who you believe deserves a better go at things. He’s been a key influence to the season this season.” STOKE team manager Malcolm Vasey believes his side can climb up the National League table over the remainder of the season. The Potters will host Coventry on Saturday before travelling to Brandon 24 hours later – and ahead of two important meetings, Vasey says his side have what it takes to launch a late season charge for a top four place.He told the Speedway Star: “I really see no reason why we can’t climb up the table. We looked really good last Saturday beating Kent, and if the team performs as it can collectively, I genuinely feel that we can go unbeaten for the rest of the season at Loomer Road.“We still have to go to Coventry, MIldenhall and Rye House and with a lot of unpredictable results in the league already this season we have to continue to believe and work hard to get things right.”FIXTURE PICTURE…
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
SATURDAY AUGUST 8:PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Edinburgh 7pm, Workington v Somerset 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Coventry 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 9:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Redcar 3pm, Newcastle v Workington 6.30, Peterborough v Edinburgh 5pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v King’s Lynn 2pm, Coventry v Stoke (follows previous fixture), Eastbourne v Buxton 3.30, Rye House v Mildenhall 3pm
MONDAY AUGUST 10:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Lakeside 7.30, Wolverhampton v Swindon 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Buxton 6.30
TUESDAY AUGUST 11:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Belle Vue 7.30FAST GOLDEN HAMMER: Cradley 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 13:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Leicester 7.30, Swindon v Coventry 7.30
FRIDAY AUGUST 14:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Leicester 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Plymouth v Rye House 7.15, Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30
SATURDAY AUGUST 15:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Sheffield 7pm, Workington v Redcar 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Cradley 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 16:PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Workington 3pm, Newcastle v Berwick 6.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Birmingham 3pm, Mildenhall v Stoke 3.30PEUGEOT INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow 3pm
MONDAY AUGUST 17:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Leicester 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Eastbourne 6.30
TUESDAY AUGUST 18:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Ipswich 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Coventry 7.30, Poole v Swindon 7.30
