British Speedway Weekly Bulletin

BIG EVENT LATEST…

THE list of competing riders for the Perryman’s British Under-19 Championship at Berwick on Saturday September 12 has been named.GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher has confirmed selection has been based on the top 15 available riders based on 2015 averages, along with a place being reserved for the 2015 British Youth Champion as a Wild Card.Vatcher said: “As there are no semi-finals for this event, this seems to be the fairest way. The Final certainly does have a feel-good factor about it, with it being wide open and almost any of the 16 riders would fancy their chances of getting on the rostrum.“I am delighted with this exciting line-up, as all 15 riders have achieved a National League average whereas in previous years this competition has been made up of a number of three-point riders.“Berwick will be a great venue for this event, as the big wide open spaces of Shielfield Park will without doubt produce some fantastic racing amongst these Young Lions.“This event is certainly one to put on the calendar, not only for Berwick supporters but any supporters from the North of England and Scotland, as many of these Young Lions will be making their first visit to Tweedmouth - and it’s a great opportunity for British Speedway supporters to see many of these future stars for the very first time.“I can remember my first British Under-19 Final at Scunthorpe about five years ago, and the quality of the racing literally took my breath away, as all 16 riders give it 100 per cent - so this is a meeting not to be missed.”BRITISH UNDER-19 CHAMPIONSHIP - QUALIFYING RIDERS: Josh Bailey (King’s Lynn Young Stars), Josh Bates (Wolverhampton/Sheffield), Alfie Bowtell (Rye House Raiders), Liam Carr (Berwick/Buxton), Max Clegg (Edinburgh/Cradley), Nathan Greaves - if fit (Cradley), Danyon Hume (Rye House Raiders), Ryan Kinsley (King’s Lyn Young Stars), Connor Mountain (Mildenhall), Michael Neale (Cradley), Ellis Perks (Cradley), Danny Phillips (Stoke), Luke Ruddick (Mildenhall), Zach Wajtknecht (Birmingham), Alex Wilson (Birmingham), Winner of 2015 British Youth Championship.The Young Lions Management would like to thank Perryman’s Buses and the Speedway Riders Association for sponsoring the event, Berwick Speedway for agreeing to host it and the BSPA for their continued support for British Youth Speedway.  Meanwhile the countdown is on to the Premier League Riders’ Championship at Sheffield on Sunday September 6.Each club is represented by their top rider with Glasgow, Somerset and Edinburgh both having two riders in the field - and the Monarchs duo, Craig Cook and Sam Masters, are both former winners of the event.Scunthorpe’s Ryan Douglas was named in the official draw but subsequently suffered injury in the Scorpions’ Premier League trip to Sheffield, and he is expected to be replaced by one of his team-mates.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).*FURTHER news on the Premier League Fours, which was abandoned recently following the serious accident involving Newcastle and King’s Lynn’s Lewis Kerr, will follow in due course.BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAJOR EVENTS 2015:ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: JASON DOYLEBRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: KYLE HOWARTHBRITISH FINAL: TAI WOFFINDENPREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: IPSWICHPREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Abandoned - Further news to followPREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, Sunday September 6

NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: BIRMINGHAMNATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: King’s Lynn, Saturday September 5NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, Saturday September 26

BRITISH UNDER-19 FINAL: Berwick, Saturday September 12

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…

BELLE VUE overcame the loss of No.1 Matej Zagar in a third-ride crash to defeat Swindon 48-42 in a crunch clash of two play-off hopefuls at Kirkmanshulme Lane.Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “It was a tense affair, a very tense affair but then it was always going to be that way with Swindon because they're on such a roll, and with the way they rode they deserve that point.“It's a tense environment to be in, and the nerves and anxiety can get to everyone. I'm no different and neither are the riders but it's how you deal with these situations that counts. I think we dealt with it the best though and while we had a few difficulties along the way the boys really dug deep and rode to the best of their abilities, and that result could well prove crucial to us.”COVENTRY boss Gary Havelock was frustrated to see his side remain inactive last week as matches at Swindon and at home to Leicester fell victim to the weather.Havelock said: “The two rain-offs last week were massively frustrating, and having dropped below Poole in the league it would have been nice to get the chance to claim that top spot back.“But one thing you can’t do anything about is the weather - people talk about track covers and so on, but I think even with track covers last Thursday and Friday would have been no-goers. The forecast at Swindon was atrocious so I wasn’t surprised that was called off, and then on Friday it rained all day almost everywhere.”KING’S LYNN gave their play-off hopes a massive boost with a key 46-44 away win at Leicester on Saturday.Following a home win over the Lions 48 hours earlier, the results moved the Stars back into third place in the Elite League table having briefly slipped out of the top four due to results elsewhere.LAKESIDE will welcome Kim Nilsson back from a spell on the sidelines when they host Poole on Friday in the Hammers’ final home Elite League match of the season.Nilsson has been on the sidelines for a month and a half due to an arm injury.Club chief Jon Cook said: “Kim's absence has been hard felt and with a win over Poole pretty much guaranteeing us avoiding the Wooden Spoon his return is aptly timed as we aim to bow out in style on Friday night.”LEICESTER suffered a narrow home defeat to King’s Lynn on Saturday, going down 44-46 at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium in a last-heat decider.The Lions did, however, gain some consolation of a match point from their trip to Wolverhampton on Monday when Jason Doyle and Piotr Swiderski combined for a last-heat 5-1 to reduce the gap on the night to six.POOLE promoter Matt Ford insists there is still more to come from his side despite a string of impressive results at Wimborne Road in recent weeks.Ford said: “I don't feel we have been consistently firing as a unit, some might consider that a bit rash considering our recent home results, but despite those big scores we've recorded of late we haven't seen a full one-to-seven on-song performance.“The battle for the play-offs is extremely tense and it is going to go down to the teams that show the stronger resolve. In our current Pirates I feel that we have a set of riders who are all more than capable of dealing with the pressures that the business end of the season brings and I can only call on all of them to prove me right.”SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter was satisfied with a point from a dramatic encounter at Belle Vue on Monday - but far from happy with the circumstances of the meeting.Rossiter said: “I’m pleased we managed to come away with a point, it was a good effort from the boys in a tough meeting and it could prove vital for us come the end of the season. “I have to say the referee lost it towards the end though. We are supposed to be involved in a professional sport, but it was just absolutely shambolic tonight.”WOLVERHAMPTON moved further clear of bottom club Leicester with a 49-43 win over the Lions in Monday’s Midlands derby at Monmore Green - and skipper Peter Karlsson is now targeting a repeat in this weekend’s return fixture.Karlsson said: “We're delighted to pick up another win and it's an important one too because it opens up a gap between us and Leicester at the foot of the table and we desperately don't want to finish bottom.“It's nice to see some smiles back around the pits tonight and hopefully it will give us a bit of confidence back to go to Leicester on Saturday and push them close."

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…

BERWICK suffered back-to-back defeats at the weekend to see any faint hopes of a play-off place disappear.The Bandits went down by one-point at home to Sheffield and despite losing 53-37 away at Newcastle, team manager John Anderson was still “pleased” with his side.Said Anderson: “Early on we showed some good bite, especially Thomas (Jorgensen) who certainly showed why he’s won the number one jacket. Coty found himself on a massive learning curve on a track like that but I’m sure the experience has done him good.”EDINBURGH are looking to pull further clear at the top of the Premier League with two meetings in two days against potential play-off rivals.The Monarchs travel to Sheffield on Thursday before hosting Somerset on Friday – a meeting that club director Brian Gray is urging the Edinburgh fans to turn out in big numbers.Said Gray: “The Rebels will be eager to get revenge for that match (last year’s Grand Final) and our spectacular win down there the other week. “There’s no way this is going to be a stroll in the park for us and the boys need your support.“If ever there was a fixture to bring someone along with you then this is it!”GLASGOW favourite Richard Lawson missed out on a prize of £10,000 on the final bend of the Peugeot International Speedway Championship on Sunday.The Tigers No.5 led the grand final for three-and-three-quarter laps until Edinburgh’s Craig Cook blasted around the outside to snatch victory on the run to the line.Said Lawson: “I probably rode a bit too defensively; he had come under me on the lap before so I went there - he sold me the dummy and got round me.“It was either go really, really wide and leave myself vulnerable or go tight and leave myself open to letting him round.“It was a catch 22 but it is what it is and it was still a good meeting.”IPSWICH travel to Somerset tonight in a big meeting concerning the Premier League play-offs.The Witches currently occupy sixth place, just two-points in front of Plymouth, but an away win this evening could see them move to within two-points of tonight’s opponents.Ipswich will be looking for a much more positive result after a heavy  56-34 League Cup Semi-Final defeat against Edinburgh last Friday.NEWCASTLE made it three home wins on the spin with a 53-37 victory over Berwick on Sunday.Just four-points separated the two sides with eight heats gone, but a dominant second half from the Diamonds saw them race to another comfortable looking victory at Brough Park.Team manager George English said: “I am delighted with our all-round performance; Berwick put in a good effort and were helped by the strong performance of their guests but in the end it was a good win with some entertaining racing.”PETERBOROUGH are sweating on the fitness of stand-in captain Lewis Blackbird after crashing while on Elite League duty with Wolverhampton.The Panthers have had an injury plagued campaign throughout and with teenage sensation Robert Lambert currently out of action, promoter Ged Rathbone says they need to closely monitor Blackbird’s situation.“Hopefully it’s nothing too serious – we certainly can’t afford to be hit with any more injuries as we prepare for the most important spell of our season.”PLYMOUTH will be looking to continue their recent good form and break into the Premier League play-off places when they face Redcar this Thursday.The Devils picked up a 54-38 win over Rye House last week despite being without Ryan Fisher and team manager Lee Trigger is targeting another win with his side back at full strength.Said Trigger: “It was good to get a convincing win against the Rockets and score 50-plus points again.“Although we were operating rider replacement for Ryan Fisher, we still had six riders capable of winning races and that should give us confidence to take away to Redcar; we are working as a team and the results are showing.”REDCAR’s struggles continued as a depleted side suffered a devastating 61-29 away defeat at Workington.The Bears were forced to use three guests as well as rider replacement while Matej Kus rode through illness.Bears chief Brian Havelock told the Gazette: “We were up against it from the start; there really weren’t many high spots.“Robbo (Stuart Robson) has told me he wants to be back for Thursday’s home match against Plymouth and we haven’t ruled Adam Roynon out yet.”RYE HOUSE returned to winning ways with a 51-42 home victory against Workington on Sunday.The Rockets were inspired by yet another paid maximum from captain Edward Kennett who was delighted with how the afternoon went. Said Kennett: “It was hard work at Plymouth on Friday, but I’m glad we got thing back on track as a team and got the result.“I felt I had plenty of speed all day and that makes it so much easier to come from the back.“All my equipment this year has been fantastic and I felt really confident and comfortable on the bike.”SCUNTHORPE are targeting a home win against Berwick this Friday as they look to move off the foot of the Premier League table.It’s been a torrid season for the Scorpions but they are looking to finish their season on a high to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon.Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We’ve been saying for a few weeks that we want to avoid finishing bottom because no-one wants to finish in that position.“If we can take three points for the win on Friday and send Berwick home without a single point, it could go a long way to making sure we get off the bottom before the end of the season.” SHEFFIELD picked up a stunning 42-41 away win at Berwick on Saturday to bolster their play-off hopes – but the victory came at a cost yet again.Reserve Arthur Sissis picked up a collarbone injury as he became the latest addition to an ever-growing injury list for the Tigers.Co-promoter Damien Bates said: “It’s shocking news for Arthur who was brilliant at Berwick.“I can’t quite believe what’s happening this season – if we didn’t have bad luck we wouldn’t have any!“Once again we are going to have to make changes to keep our play-off push going.”SOMERSET are looking to return to form at the start of a busy spell as they aim to secure an end of season play-off spot.The Rebels have four meetings in six days in what could be a defining week for the Oaktree Arena outfit.Somerset have won just one of their last five meetings, but team boss Garry May hopes to get back on the winning trail when they host Ipswich tonight.Said May: “Ipswich are going to provide tough opposition and they will be looking to pick up points in order to keep themselves in the hunt for a play-off place.“We will be looking to bounce back in the best possible way with not only a win but to do so with a good all-round team performance.”WORKINGTON kept their play-off bid alive with a comprehensive 61-29 win against Redcar on Saturday.The Comets remain the only club in Britain’s second tier unbeaten at home in 2015 and their biggest victory of the season thrilled team manager Tony Jackson.Said Jackson: “Saturday’s solid home victory over Redcar saw everyone paid for double-figures and we picked up no last places on the night which was quite an achievement.“With just two away fixtures remaining and the current top two still to visit Derwent Park, we are very well aware that if we are to make the play-offs for a fourth successive season then we will have to do it the hard way!”

CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…

BIRMINGHAM boss Graham Drury was left with mixed emotions after his side went down 47-43 at Buxton on Sunday.The Brummies suffered their second successive defeat on a tough afternoon at the Hi-Edge Arena but emerged with a potentially crucial consolation point.Drury said: “I'm hugely relieved that we managed to get something out of the meeting in the end but overall I'm disappointed with today's performance.“Adam (Ellis) was in a class of his own once again, Tom (Perry) gave it everything as always and Zach (Wajtknecht) rode well on his first visit to Buxton.“But our tail end were really poor again; we threw away some stupid points when in scoring positions and that ultimately cost us the win.“Who knows how crucial that league point could be, but there were unacceptable areas for us today and I need to strongly look at the options available to me for our final three meetings of the season.”COVENTRY boss Laurence Rogers is keen to maintain the push for a Gold Cup place when the Storm, who are currently fourth in the table, host local rivals Cradley on Sunday.Rogers said: “We want to build on the wins over King’s Lynn and Stoke and keep up our challenge for a place in the Gold Cup. It should be a good battle on Sunday with Cradley playing catch-up on Birmingham.“Marty (Martin Knuckey) has hit a rich vein of form home and away so he’s moving to No.5, and hopefully switching Darryl (Ritchings) to No.4 will help his confidence and see him racking up the points againBUXTON manager Jason Pipe revealed his pride after seeing his side edge a spectacular 47-43 win over table-topping Birmingham on Sunday at the Hi-Edge Arena.“I’m proud of everyone in the team,” Pipe said. “The boys were well up for ir and to beat the league leaders was a massive win for us. “Tony Atkin was back to his best again today after having his engine looked at, he put in a great team captain’s performance both on and off the track, which is why all the lads wanted to give him the bumps after his match winning heat 14. “It just goes to show you what can happen when you have every single rider scoring points. Our lowest individual points score was four, which just shows the solid scoring throughout. They all worked as a team and I'm very proud of every one of them.”CRADLEY skipper Max Clegg was pleased with a strong showing in the club’s showpiece F.A.S.T Golden Hammer last week.Clegg raced to second place behind the unstoppable Adam Ellis at Perry Barr- and despite missing out on the top prize, he was happy with an excellent performance.“It would have been great to win, but I’m still happy with how I rode,” said Clegg.“Adam was just the better rider on the night, he deserved to win but I was really pleased to get on the rostrum.“It was a good line-up with some hard riders to beat, but I made some good gates and rode well so it was a good night for me.” EASTBOURNE overcame a last-minute obstacle following their signing of teenage sensation Daniel Spiller to allow him to make his Eagles debut at Rye House on Saturday.Chairman Martin Dugard said: “We were totally convinced we had done nothing wrong. There is nothing in the rule book to prevent us signing Daniel.“It was only after another club protested that the management committee said we could not use him.“I pointed the management committee to the rule book and we agreed with them for Daniel to obtain an English licence, which he and his family were happy for him to do.”KENT youngster James Shanes has revealed how much he has enjoyed his debut season at Central Park and praised the team spirit within the Kings’ camp. The fans’ favourite told the Speedway Star: “I was a bit worried coming to Kent to be honest as I hadn’t changed teams much, but it’s such a good atmosphere, it’s been brilliant.“That rocky patch we had really helped us gel, we’ve all worked really hard together, we are a good team unit now.” KING’S LYNN boss Dale Allitt has praised Tom Stokes following his recent run of excellent form.Stokes struck a four-ride maximum as the Young Stars stormed to a convincing win over Eastbourne in their last home outing – and Allitt told the Speedway Star: “A special mention to Tom because he has had a hard time lately, on and off the track which hasn’t really been publicised, and we don’t want to go into any details.“It’s been really difficult injury-wise for him and off the track, but he was superb against Eastbourne. He got a full maximum and just showed what it’s about. He’s a really aggressive rider and he attacked everything.” MILDENHALL promoter Kevin Jolly was in philosophical mood despite seeing the Fen Tigers slip to a 46-44 defeat on home soil against Stoke on Sunday.Jolly commented: “The lads did all we could have asked of them today and we took a number of positives from the performance. Danny Halsey was back to his brilliant best and his rides in heats 13 and 15 were worth the admission on their own. “There were two decisions today that in most people’s opinion were clearly first bend bunching and a straight forward all four back, the incidents involving Danny (Halsey) and Shaun Tedham. Whether these decisions affected the result we cannot of course say but they did put a dampener on what was otherwise an entertaining meeting between two well-balanced teams on a good racing track.“Although defeated we will go into next Sundays meeting with plenty of confidence and will be looking to beat the Kent Kings for a second time this season at West Row.”RYE HOUSE man Kyle Hughes has spoken of his delight regarding his superb run of form in recent weeks.Hughes told the Speedway Star: “It’s been going really well, I’ve been beating some good riders. At the beginning of the season people thought it was going to be a weaker league, but there are guys out there no one had heard of and they’re flying.“I can’t do any more than I’m doing now, it’s all about confidence, if you think you can beat anyone, you can do it.“Like everyone, I want to move forward and I’m doing my bit now and trying to earn my place back in the higher leagues, but we’ll just have to wait and see.” STOKE boss Malcolm Vasey was in jubilant mood after the Potters edged a dramatic 46-44 win over Mildenhall at West Row on Sunday.Vasey said: “I’m delighted with what was an excellent win for us. Everyone in the team contributed points towards our victory and that is something I’d called for prior to the meeting.“Everyone rode their hearts out and I couldn’t really ask anything more from the team as Mildenhall are very good around their home track and don’t get beaten easily around there.”FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY AUGUST 18:PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Ipswich 7.30

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30, King’s Lynn v Coventry 7.30, Poole v Swindon 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 20:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Berwick 7.30, Redcar v Plymouth 7.30, Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 21:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 7.30, Lakeside v Poole 8pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Somerset 7.30, Peterborough v Newcastle 7.30, Scunthorpe v Berwick 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Cradley 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: King’s Lynn v Buxton (follows previous fixture)

SATURDAY AUGUST 22:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Wolverhampton 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Somerset 7pm, Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.15, Rye House v Ipswich 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Rye House 7pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 23:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Somerset 3pm, Newcastle v Redcar 6.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Rye House 3pm, Coventry v Cradley 4pm, Eastbourne v Birmingham 3.30, Mildenhall v Kent 3.30

MONDAY AUGUST 24:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.30, King’s Lynn v Leicester 7.30CHALLENGE: Kent v Arena-Essex 6.30

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 26:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Swindon 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v King’s Lynn 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 27:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Leicester 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Peterborough 7.30, Sheffield v Redcar 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Plymouth v Newcastle 7.15, Redcar v Sheffield 7.30, Somerset v Peterborough 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Kent 7pm, Coventry v Mildenhall (follows previous fixture), King’s Lynn v Rye House (TBC) 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 29:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Workington 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Mildenhall 7.30, Rye House v Cradley 7pm, Stoke v King’s Lynn 7pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 30:PREMIER LEAGUE: Workington v Berwick 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP: Glasgow v Newcastle 1.30, Newcastle v Glasgow 8pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Buxton 3.30BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 4: Northside

MONDAY AUGUST 31:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Lakeside 7.30, Leicester v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Somerset 3pm, Rye House v Plymouth 2pm, Scunthorpe v Sheffield 3pmKENT COUNTY FOUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Kent 3pmMIDLAND DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE RIDERS’ FINAL: Scunthorpe (follows PL fixture)

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v King’s Lynn 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30


Related Motorsport Articles

85,999 articles