(SPEEDWAY 1)

SHEFFIELD host the Premier League Riders’ Championship at Owlerton on Sunday (5pm).The event is one of the most popular of the season with all 13 PL clubs represented - and Edinburgh duo Craig Cook and Sam Masters are both former winners.British Speedway chairman Alex Harkess said: “The PLRC is always successful commercially at Sheffield and my thanks go to the Tigers management and track staff for all their hard work and endeavour in hosting such an occasion.“Crowds have been up in both the PL Pairs and PL Fours on the corresponding stagings last season which shows how popular the meetings are with supporters. I’m confident today will be no different.”

PLRC - IMPORTANT INFO:Extra parking is available close to Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough ground as it was for Ricky Ashworth’s meeting.Face painting is available for the children.There will be a collection for the Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund.Sheffield are also holding a prize draw on Sunday in aid of stricken Aussie star Darcy Ward with £300 as first prize. All money raised will go towards Ward’s care.Admission is £20 adults, £15 concessions, £5 juniors with Under 11s free. A souvenir programme will be available for £4.

PLRC LINE-UP:1 Ulrich Ostergaard (Peterborough), 2 Richard Lawson (Glasgow), 3 Nick Morris (Glasgow), 4 Rohan Tungate (Ipswich), 5 Steve Worrall (Newcastle), 6 Craig Cook (Edinburgh), 7 Ricky Wells (Workington), 8 Sam Masters (Edinburgh), 9 Jonas B Andersen (Redcar), 10 Thomas Jorgensen (Berwick), 11 Brady Kurtz (Somerset), 12 Jason Garrity (Sheffield), 13 Josh Grajczonek (Somerset), 14 Alex Davies (Scunthorpe), 15 Kyle Newman (Plymouth), 16 Edward Kennett (Rye House).

(SPEEDWAY 2)

GREAT Britain’s Chris Harris has secured his place in the 2016 Grand Prix series.The Coventry captain finished third in Saturday’s GP Challenge at Rybnik, taking one of the three qualifying positions available alongside Polish youngsters Bartosz Zmarzlik and Piotr Pawlicki.Harris produced a crucial move to overhaul Przemyslaw Pawlicki in the closing stages of his final race, and that ensured he finished above his rival.He said: “That’s probably one of the best last bends I’ve had in my career, bar Cardiff 2007.“I knew I had good speed towards the end of the night. We changed a lot on the bike. The GTR engine is working well. We’re getting good speed from it. To win by half a bike was enough!”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

KENT duo Ben Morley and Danny Ayres were victorious in Saturday’s National League Pairs at King’s Lynn.The Kings took the top prize after overcoming Cradley in the Final, with Max Clegg winning the race but Ellis Perks falling, meaning a decisive 5-4 race advantage to the Central Park club.Clegg said: “All meeting we were going well and we put in a good performance, but it just wasn't meant to be."We did a great job to make it all the way to the Final, me and Ellis both rode well and I think we can be proud of making it as far as we did.”Rye House took third place, with host club King’s Lynn in fourth, and Young Stars boss Dale Allitt was delighted with the club’s staging of the event.Allitt said: “As a meeting I think it was enjoyable and one that offers action in every heat. Some of the racing tonight was fantastic and provided real entertainment. This level of the National League is good and we have some quality riders in the ten teams.“We scored well in the heats and perhaps should have got third place, but Rye House made the gates in the race-off. It goes to show that development of our own riders is crucial, both Tom (Stokes) and Josh (Bailey) are products of King's Lynn and as a club we have helped them to this point. Both will push on and get even better for us. They are the future of the club.”(SPEEDWAY 4 - SATURDAY REVIEW)

SOMERSET secured second position in the Premier League table and a place in the play-off semi-finals with an emphatic 53-39 away win at Peterborough.The Rebels picked up all four points from the meeting whilst their main rivals for second, Glasgow, were limited to just one from a narrow 46-47 defeat at Workington.Charles Wright (12+1), Paul Starke (11+3) and Brady Kurtz (10+1) were all in double figures for Somerset at the Showground, whilst recent signings Ben Barker (11+1) and Anders Thomsen (9) led the way for a disappointed home side.Rebels boss Garry May said: “When we did the track walk before the match I told the boys that nothing less than four match points would do for us, and they certainly did that in style!“A few weeks ago many people thought that second place in the league looked as if it might have been beyond us, but I had faith in these boys and they have shown over the past couple of weeks great determination and fight to recover from a couple of setbacks to secure that all-important second place slot ahead of the play-offs.”Peterborough manager Carl Johnson said: “The performance we produced was simply not good enough. I apologise on behalf of the management and riders to all our supporters and we will do everything we can to put it right.“Fair play to Somerset, who are always superb at the Showground, and who really wanted the four league points, but we have to look at ourselves. To have only two heat advantages on our home track is unacceptable and we have been beaten here too many times this year.”Workington’s win over Glasgow came in a thrilling encounter at Derwent Park, with the Comets maintaining their unbeaten home record despite being without the injured Rusty Harrison and Matthew Wethers while Kenneth Hansen was still troubled by back problems following his crash in Denmark on Wednesday.Comets boss Tony Jackson said: “That was another terrific performance against a very good Glasgow team. The Heat 15 efforts of Ricky Wells and Kenneth Hansen saw us snatch the win, having fallen behind after taking an early lead. “Everyone made a vital contribution towards the team-total and we must also thank former Comet Ashley Morris, who stood in at the last minute to replace the injured Matthew Wethers, which made all the difference.”Meanwhile Berwick completed their home campaign with a rampant display against a weakened Rye House team with a 64-29 victory at Shielfield Park.Kevin Doolan piled up 15 points six rides with reserve Richard Hall racing to 12+5, with Edward Kennett’s 15-point score for the Rockets being more than half of their total.Berwick boss John Anderson said: “If only we could have turned out this sort of result week in week out and avoided the injuries then our season could have had a totally different look to it.“But let’s look at the positives – what a way to end our team season with a total dismantling of the Rye House Rockets, and despite the big score, the racing was hot and heavy and very entertaining.”

(SPEEDWAY 5 - SUNDAY PREVIEW)

BIRMINGHAM will clinch the City Gearboxes National League title if they avoid defeat in their final fixture of the regular campaign at Mildenhall.Should the Brummies miss out at West Row then the door could still be open for Eastbourne and, mathematically, Cradley to pip them to the crown.Birmingham boss Graham Drury says there’s no greater incentive for his side to become champions just over a year after the club’s previous promotion closed down in mid-season.Drury said: “Our riders know they just need to give it their all and they know they could become a part of Birmingham Speedway history for being the side who won the club's first league Championship in 40 years.“Mildenhall can be a tough side to beat on their own track and it is a tricky old place to go to.“I'd love us to win it ourselves and not rely on the outcome of other team's results. We're still bubbling from the win over Eastbourne on Wednesday and I'm hoping that momentum we're carrying will benefit us.”The other title challengers are also in action with Eastbourne facing Kent at Arlington - with the Eagles insisting they will fight all the way and take any opportunity presented.Boss Glenn Martin said: “We have had the upper hand against Kent this season and we just want to emphasise the point on Sunday that we are the top team in south east.“Ben Morley is one of the league’s top riders and James Shanes is highly entertaining. Those two, with Danny Ayres, will make it exciting and if any of our boys are off form, they could cause an upset. We must not allow that to happen. We will chase Birmingham to the end and, if we cannot do that, we will want to secure second place in the table.”Meanwhile Cradley race at Buxton, who had a first competitive appearance to 15-year-old Jack Parkinson-Blackburn who is the official Hitmen No.8.Buxton boss Jason Pipe insists his side can still make the top four, saying: “We still have a good chance of qualifying for the Gold Cup, but lose on Sunday and then it's all over. “I've looked at what other clubs have left to race before the cut off on September 13 and I believe if we are to qualify, we must win on Sunday and the following Sunday and then win by at least seven points at Coventry next Friday, or maybe even just a win could do it.“I'm certain (Jack) will come in and get points for us and I believe that he has a very bright future ahead of him in the sport. Our fans that have yet to see Jack ride are in for a treat!”Cradley captain Max Clegg said: “It's been a tough year for us, we were always aiming to win the league but it doesn't look like we'll do that which is disappointing."We've still got plenty still to play for though, and we are desperate to try and make sure we get some silverware by the end of the season - we've won lots of trophies the last two years and I don't want this season to be any different.”Meanwhile another key fixture in the battle for fourth place comes at Hoddesdon where Rye House face Stoke.Potters boss Malcolm Vasey said: “We’re going there looking to get a win and push us up the league table as we still aim to push ourselves into the top four of the league. “Rye House have a good home record and also have the chance of making the top four so we are expecting an extremely tight meeting, but I believe we have a team that is capable of getting a win on Sunday as we step up our challenge for a top four finish and a Gold Cup place.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

BELLE Vue No.1 Matej Zagar has been ruled out of the Aces’ vital Elite League trip to Wolverhampton on Monday.The Aces can clinch a place in the play-offs with a positive result at Monmore but Zagar misses out as a result of his crash in last weekend’s Grand Prix at Gorzow.Having received daily treatment in Poland since the incident, he returned to Slovenia mid-week for ongoing rehabilitation in the hopes of rejoining the team - but it was later discovered that Zagar had suffered internal bleeding around the hip and groin.He has been s strictly advised by doctors to immediately withdraw from all racing and rest for the next few days, and Zagar now faces a fight for fitness with his home GP in Krško looming at the weekend.”

(FIXTURES)

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6:PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield 5pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Cradley 3pm, Eastbourne v Kent 7.30, Mildenhall v Birmingham 3.30, Rye House v Stoke 3pm

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30, Wolverhampton v Leicester (follows previous fixture) PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Peterborough 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Rye House 6.30

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 9:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Lakeside 7.30, King’s Lynn v Swindon 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Rye House 7.30