(SPEEDWAY 1 - WEDNESDAY REVIEW)
POOLE recorded their biggest win in over five years by running up a 64-29 scoreline against Leicester at Wimborne Road.There were unbeaten performances from Chris Holder, with a 15-point maximum, and reserve Kyle Newman with four paid wins as the Pirates moved to within two points of Elite League leaders Coventry, who have a match in hand.The Lions were restricted to one race winner, skipper Jason Doyle who scored 12+1, and Holder admitted the display was a welcome one after an off-night at Belle Vue earlier this week.Holder said: “I really needed to do something after Monday. That was a shocker for me. It wasn't a good day for me to be racing on Monday but hopefully I can put all that behind me now.”The battle for top four places continues with Belle Vue moving back ahead of Swindon with a 54-39 win over Wolverhampton at Kirkmanshulme Lane.Craig Cook raced to a 14-point haul for the Aces, who have ridden three more matches than the Robins but still have a home match in hand, with the two sides separated by only one point - and now very much within range of third-placed King’s Lynn. Skipper Peter Karlsson piled up 15 for Wolverhampton.Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “In the last week we have shown the kind of class and quality we are capable of producing as a unit and tonight we reaffirmed that belief in ourselves that a top four finish is not beyond us.“This is the perfect time in the season for the team to be performing in the manner in which they are, and we don't seem to have any significant weak links which is extremely encouraging.”Karlsson said: “Of course we are disappointed we didn’t get anything, but we didn’t do too badly considering our away form recently.“We’ve had some heavy defeats, but we pushed all the way until the end in tricky conditions and were in the mix for a point.”There was drama in the City Gearboxes National League as leaders Birmingham were beaten 46-44 in their ‘home’ clash with Perry Barr co-tenants Cradley.Adam Ellis completed a 15-point maximum for the Brummies in Heat 15 but Tom Perry was kept at the back by Ellis Perks and Max Clegg after his side had threatened to snatch victory with a late comeback.The result cuts the Brummies’ lead at the top to 15 points, and the Heathens have three matches in hand with Eastbourne also still in with a chance of the title.Cradley boss Will Pottinger said: “It was a great team effort from everybody with every rider’s contribution proving vital."There's no better way to wrap up the points than in a last heat decider and you could see how much it meant to everyone. It's the perfect confidence booster to beat our local rivals at the start of what is going to be a very busy few weeks from the team."Birmingham manager Graham Drury said: “We were found wanting in the lower end and our tail end was very long once again. But you have to say well done to Cradley because you could see they were up for it and they edged what was another great advert for the National League.“Naturally we're disappointed to just miss out, but we're still in a strong position and all I can say now is, 'watch out Buxton!'”
(SPEEDWAY 2 - THURSDAY PREVIEW)
GLASGOW can take over at the top of the Premier League on Thursday evening if they gain at least a point from their away trip to Redcar.The meeting sees recent Bears signing Dimitri Berge come up against the club he left earlier in the summer, with Kevin Doolan and Robert Branford coming in as guests, whilst the Tigers have named Steve Worrall and Richard Hall as guests for Nick Morris and Victor Palovaara.Redcar boss Jitendra Duffill said: “Although Dimitri did not perform well at Edinburgh on Saturday I believe he is a very good signing and I am confident he will thrive around our circuit, which should suit his style of riding well. “Our form at home the last few weeks has been excellent and nobody is expecting an easy ride here anymore. We need every point we can get so we are determined to send the visitors back to Scotland empty handed.”Glasgow skipper Aaron Summers said: “I'm looking forward to Redcar. My season has gone a lot better this year than it did last year, so it should be good to go back there. I should have a new engine for it.“It's a shame we won't have Kauko (Nieminen) in the team but we will go out there regardless because we need the away win to put the points on the board.”Fifth-placed Sheffield host Sheffield host bottom side Scunthorpe in a local derby clash at Owlerton.Nicolai Klindt makes his home debut for the Tigers against his former club, whilst Brady Kurtz guests for injured No.1 Simon Stead, and the Scorpions have a newcomer in their ranks as Zdenek Holub makes his debut with Tero Aarnio guesting for Ben Wilson at reserve.Klindt said: “I’ve ridden pretty well around Owlerton in the past, it suits my style of racing and it’s really good fun to ride.“Hopefully I can get to grips with it as my new home track pretty quickly, I’ve got my old engine from Scunthorpe back which usually works well around the big tracks so that should give me plenty of speed, and I’m looking forward to my first meeting there on Thursday.”Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “It was far from easy to find a replacement for the rest of the season for Josh (Auty), but I think we've landed on our feet with Zdenek.“King's Lynn promoter Buster Chapman can't speak highly enough of him, and I think he's going to be a terrific signing.”Meanwhile there is a key meeting at Foxhall as Ipswich host Workington with the pressure on for a top six finish.The Witches hold that position despite three home defeats and two draws, but are only five points clear of Plymouth, who have two matches in hand, and eight ahead of the Comets who have four matches in hand - but are yet to pick up a point away from Derwent Park.Former Witches rider Richie Worrall makes a guest appearance in place of the suspended Rohan Tungate, whilst rider-replacement covers Nico Covatti who picked up a hand injury in the Premier League Fours. Ben Morley replaces the injured Matt Williamson for the Comets.Workington boss 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. “We got off to a perfect start with a good home win over Sheffield last Saturday but we need to keep that momentum going if we are to make the play-offs. Obviously our visit to Ipswich this Thursday is a tough fixture as they are currently sitting in that last play-off place.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
SWINDON have snapped up Robert Branford as a short-term replacement for injury victim Lewis Rose.With a crucial spell of fixtures approaching, the Robins have moved to fill the void left by the absence of Rose at reserve after impressive recent guest appearances from Branford.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “I’ve known Robert well for a while, he’s good friends with Nick (Morris), and I like his attitude a lot.“I looked at him at the start of the year before the draft, and he certainly endeared himself to everyone with that Heat 12 win against Lakeside last week when there was a lot of pressure on him. He has a lot of potential, so hopefully he can come in and do a good job for us and continue to improve with the more rides he gets.”(FIXTURES)
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
