BIG EVENT LATEST…
PETERBOROUGH star Ulrich Ostergaard stormed to a stunning victory in front of a bumper crowd in the Premier League Riders' Championship at Sheffield.The experienced Dane put in a fine performance to advance straight to the final with 12 points following a trio of race wins - and he duly delivered a tremendous first bend from the inside gate to hit the front from which point he never looked back.It was a magnificent showing from the 34-year-old as he climbed to the top step of the rostrum after a third place finish last year - and the Panthers man was over the moon after his memorable Owlerton triumph.Ostergaard said: “I really enjoyed it out there today. I haven't had the best couple of meetings lately, so it was great to get back to winning ways.“Sheffield is one of my favourite tracks and I felt good all night. It was awesome to go out there and win it in front of all the Peterborough fans who made the trip to support me and also for my mechanics and sponsors as well.“I actually would have taken gate two in the final if Cookie (Craig Cook) hadn't have chosen it before me, but I went for gate one and I knew I had to make a good start.“Lucky I made a really good gate, got out into the dirt and just never looked back. I put in some good laps and kept full gas until the end.”Workington ace Ricky Wells eventually claimed second place after holding off former champion Cook (Edinburgh) in a fierce tussle behind Ostergaard, whilst Josh Grajczonek (Somerset) narrowly missed out on a rostrum spot.*KENT are celebrating victory in the National League Pairs with Ben Morley and Danny Ayres securing major silverware for the Central Park club.The Kings duo out-scored Cradley’s Max Clegg and Ellis Perks in the Final at King’s Lynn, with Rye House defeating the home club for third.Morley said: “I couldn't ride with a better person, we spoke before every race. We were here to do one thing and we did it.”*TALKS are ongoing to confirm a date and venue for the Premier League Fours Final.The re-staging is expected to be on a Saturday night under lights with Newcastle, Somerset, Ipswich and Edinburgh set to do battle over 16 races for the prestigious title.The original staging of the meeting at Peterborough was abandoned following serious injuries suffered by Lewis Kerr, who is thankfully now recovering at home. 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: ULRICH OSTERGAARD
NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: BIRMINGHAMNATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: KENTNATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Rye House, Saturday September 26
BRITISH UNDER-19 FINAL: Berwick, Saturday September 12
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE are heading into the Elite League play-offs for the first time since 2005 after securing a top four spot with a resounding 57-36 win at Wolverhampton on Monday.Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “We knew how much was riding on this match but we had to remain focused on the job at hand. To be honest though, we've been in such good form away from home I'm not surprised by the result.”To have two riders get maximums on your watch, in your final away fixture of the season, and to clinch such an emphatic result under that kind of pressure is a tremendous effort.“This last victory has paved the way towards more testing times for us in the near future but what can I say? We're ready for anything the league throws at us now! Play offs, here we come!”COVENTRY skipper Chris Harris says the Bees are ready to face any opposition given to them as they prepare for the play-offs starting next week.Harris said: “I don’t mind who we race against. We’re not fussed - it doesn’t really matter, we can beat anyone.“We just need to get everyone firing and we’ll be okay. Obviously it’s a big loss to not have Joonas (Kylmakorpi) but hopefully we can cover for that.”KING’S LYNN boss Rob Lyon has called on his side to end the season with a win when they face Swindon at the Adrian Flux Arena on Wednesday - with the Stars now out of the play-off picture.Lyon said: “Last week was disappointing for the whole club, but we need to move on from that and end our league fixtures with a win on Wednesday.“We need to approach the meeting with Swindon as we would any other meeting, to go out there and win. The supporters deserve that and that is what I will be telling our riders.”LAKESIDE complete their season with a re-arranged trip to Coventry on Wednesday.The Hammers require at least a point from the match at Brandon to avoid the Elite League wooden spoon, with rivals Leicester having won at Wolverhampton on Monday to move out of the basement position.LEICESTER finished a tough season on a high with away wins at King’s Lynn and Wolverhampton - the latter result seeing the Lions move off the bottom of the Elite League table.Lions boss Norrie Allan said: “After losing at home to Poole on Thursday it made our task doubly difficult to finish the season above bottom place in the league, but whilst there were points on the table to be raced for we maintained a belief that we could do it. “It may be only a small success in the whole scheme of things, but when you have endured a season like we have had with injuries and resignations then it is satisfying to finish on a positive note by escaping the basement position.”POOLE promoter Matt Ford has praised his side’s effort in their wins over King’s Lynn and at Leicester last week which secured top spot in the Elite League table going into the play-offs.Ford said: “It has been no easy time for any of us here at the club but their performance last week against King's Lynn was phenomenal. They approached the meeting very professionally despite having such heavy hearts and delivered a performance which I know Darcy (Ward) would have been immensely proud of. “Whilst to be honest speedway is very much secondary in our hearts and minds there is a large part of us that really want to do our best for Darcy now.”SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter was highly encouraged by the Robins’ display at bogey track Poole as they secured a 45-45 draw with their play-off rivals on Monday.Rossiter said: “"It's a great result for us because it ends a long run of bad results for Swindon here at Poole."W had a job to do and we are looking forward to the play-offs. Nick Morris looked much better and that was good to see, Darcy's (Ward) his best mate, and if we have to come back here in the play-offs we know what we can do."WOLVERHAMPTON skipper Peter Karlsson admitted all at Monmore were bitterly disappointed to end the Elite League season with a double home defeat to Belle Vue and then Leicester.Karlsson said: “We wanted to win both of these meetings to finish on a high, but again we just weren't good enough and I guess that sums the season up."It wasn't a good night for us and it meant we lost a place in the table as well which is really disappointing. It's been a bad season for us all-around, but we've just got to start looking ahead to next season now I guess.”
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK rounded off their Premier League home campaign with their biggest win of the season - 64-29 against Rye House.Bandits team manager 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 lets look at the positives – what a way to end our team season with a total dismembering of the Rye House Rockets, and despite the big score, the racing was hot and heavy and very entertaining!”EDINBURGH stamped their authority on their Knockout Cup Semi-Final tie with Newcastle with a 56-34 first leg victory.The Monarchs now have a healthy lead to defend at Newcastle in the return leg this Sunday.Monarchs rider Rob Branford told the Edinburgh Evening News: "It was a big win for us and a big lead to take to Newcastle, who were very unlucky to lose Matty Wethers early on.“Conditions were a bit tricky when it rained for a short time, but a great result for the whole team.”GLASGOW will have to settle for a play-off Quarter-Final after slipping to a last-heat defeat at Workington on Saturday.The Tigers conceded a 4-2 in the final race to suffer a narrow 47-46 defeat.Co-promoter Colin Hamilton said: "We were very disappointed but it was good to see the team showing a bit of fight."IPSWICH picked up an impressive 52-38 League Cup home win over Edinburgh - but it wasn't enough to see them through to the Semi-Finals of the competition.The Witches went down 94-86 on aggregate but put in a good showing in the second leg at Foxhall.Ipswich now wait anxiously on Plymouth's results to see if they will have notched enough league points to reach the end-of-season play-offs.NEWCASTLE have a mountain to climb in this Sunday's second leg against Edinburgh if they are to progress in the Knockout Cup.The Diamonds went down 56-34 at the Monarchs last week on a brave fight from an injury-hit side.PETERBOROUGH ended their run of three successive defeats with a 52-41 away win at Rye House on Monday.The Panthers already have an end-of-season play-off place secured but boss Carl Johnson described the win as "huge."He said: "It was a fine team effort up there with our best performances of the season – and it certainly ranks as one of the most important results as well."We need to build on this result by making sure we end the regular season with another win at our place on Sunday to go into the play-offs full of confidence.”PLYMOUTH race three meetings in three days in a vital spell for the side and their play-off hopes.The Devils currently sit six-points outside of the play-off positions.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: "This is going to be a big week with three important meetings on the bounce; we have got to reel in seven points from those three meetings. "We really need to make sure of three points from Thursday’s home meeting, then whatever happens in the return at Scunthorpe, we will still have four points available at Rye House on Saturday.”REDCAR will finish bottom of the 2015 Premier League after a 51-39 away defeat at Scunthorpe on Friday.The Bears were condemned to the Wooden Spoon for the second time in six years after an injury affected season for the Teessiders.Redcar stage the oldest and longest running individual meeting this Thursday as the Teesside Silver Helmet takes place at the Media Prima Arena.RYE HOUSE slipped to their third defeat on the trot as they went down 52-41 to Peterborough at home on Monday.Rockets team manager John Sampford said: "We knew it was going to be very tough beforehand against a strong, top six side. "We weren't helped by losing Luke (Bowen) and Danny (Maassen) to injury, and rider replacement at the bottom end of the team contributed only one point whereas Emil Grondal virtually won them the match on his own with 15-points."SCUNTHORPE picked up an important 51-39 victory over Redcar last Friday meaning they will avoid bottom place of the 2015 Premier League table.The Scorpions will be looking to round of their season at the Eddie Wright Raceway with another home win against Plymouth this Friday.Promoter Rob Godfrey said: "Avoiding the wooden spoon is nothing to shout about, I guess, but it still feels like an achievement to where we found ourselves four or five weeks ago."Whatever we've had thrown at us this season, we've kept on fighting, and that will again apply to the visit of Plymouth."SHEFFIELD favourite Andre Compton has described the club's qualification for the play-offs as "an amazing achievement."Compton told The Star: “It’s been a difficult season for Sheffield because of the amount of injuries we’ve had, and I think it’s a testament to everyone’s hard work that we’ve been able to do so well."It’s been a mountain to climb all season, but even when we’ve had injuries the lads have kept their heads up, continued to fight and obviously managed to keep on winning which is great."SOMERSET's attentions turn to the Knockout Cup when they take on Rye House in the Semi-Finals over consecutive days on Friday and Saturday.Rebels team manager Garry May: "I’ve always taken the attitude that I’ll take whatever lead we get in any first leg as I have the faith in the team to be able to defend that lead, and that’ll be the way we’ll be going into Friday’s first leg against Rye House."Of course we’ll be looking to build up as big a lead as possible with which to take with us into the second leg but I never set targets in situations such as this as I think you can be focussing too much on that rather than what is actually happening throughout the match.”WORKINGTON round off their 2015 campaign with a home meeting against league leaders Edinburgh on Saturday.The Comets will be without Matt Wethers for the encounter after breaking his shoulder blade last weekend.Team manager Tony Jackson said: "This will be another strong test of our home record coming hot on the heels of last Saturday’s terrific encounter with Glasgow, which had absolutely everything you could want in a speedway meeting."We were disappointed to have lost the services of the in-form Matthew Wethers last weekend when riding as a guest for Newcastle, but that’s speedway unfortunately."
CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…
BIRMINGHAM wrapped up the National League title with a 47-42 win over Mildenhall on an unforgettable afternoon on Sunday.The Brummies completed a remarkable turnaround having been saved from extinction over the winter - and an elated team boss Graham Drury hailed their achievement.Drury said: "That win means everything to everyone connected to Birmingham Speedway and I can't tell you how happy I am."We got off to a slow start and it's ironic that we did what we've done for most of the season - turned things around mid-meeting and staged a late comeback."Birmingham Speedway never do anything the easy way and we've certainly left our supporters sweating again this year."We hit a bit of a sticky patch, but we've performed when it's mattered most and I'm absolutely delighted for everyone at this fantastic club to say the words: 'Birmingham Speedway are League Champions!"BUXTON manager Jason Pipe was in jubilant mood after seeing his side battle to a tremendous 51-39 victory over Cradley on Sunday.Pipe commented: "That was the best performance this year from my team and how I wish the season was just beginning!"I told the boys we could do it today and they dug deep and rode with their heads. Packing the minor places in the later races paid dividends. "We started well which is something I’ve been banging on about for months. It all came together today and we are going to Coventry this Friday full of confidence and we know what we have to do."COVENTRY will hand their captaincy to Martin Knuckey for their three matches in under 48 hours this weekend, starting with a double header against Buxton and Rye House on Friday, with regular skipper Dan Greenwood unavailable.Manager Laurence Rogers said: “I had a look at who I wanted to step into the job, and we have some other members of the team who need to be fully concentrating on their own racing at the moment.“Marty has been with us the longest and I think he’ll do a good job. He’s really got his act together and he’s firing on all cylinders.”CRADLEY boss Will Pottinger was frustrated to see his side slip to their third defeat in four meetings as they went down 51-39 at Buxton on Sunday.Pottinger said: "We wanted to get at least a point, and we were aiming for a win really to try and make sure we end the season well."Buxton were the better team unfortunately. It was a disappointing performance and it was just one of those days where everything went wrong for us." EASTBOURNE star Bradley Wilson-Dean has revealed how he turned down an offer of a trial in Poland in order to concentrate on his Eagles commitments.The Kiwi racer told the Speedway Star: "Maybe in 2017 I'll look to Poland and other countries. I've ridden over there a couple of times in the past. One club have looked at me this year and I got asked to go and ride in front of them."It's a non-starter for now anyway because Eastbourne ride on Sunday's and so do Poland. They wanted me to go there for the week and ride in front of them to show them what I can do."It's a second tier club but you've still got GP riders at that level. I'm not going to do that this year. Maybe next year or the year after that." KENT boss Chris Hunt admits he has been left frustrated by their lack of lower order strength after a home defeat against Rye House on Sunday left them in danger of finishing bottom of the National League table. Hunt said: "It’s clear we are now perilously close, we accept, to the possibility of finishing bottom of the table – and with one of the best top fours in any side as our performances in the National Fours and Pairs showed, the league position we find ourselves in is because our lower graded riders have not made the same improvement as some others in our rivals’ squads. "We’ve had to field effectively three 3-pointers all season with no respite; and yes; in their first season as NL riders for the likes of Jamie Couzins and Adam Sheppard it’s been difficult. Danno Verge had perhaps a misleading average after his time with Scunthorpe and Ben Basford is certainly one for the future. It’s not time for inquests yet and the story of Danny Ayres from rookie to a national champion is the real positive example for us all to ponder.”KING'S LYNN manager Dale Allitt declared himself proud of the efforts of Young Stars pairing Josh Bailey and Tom Stokes after they battled to fourth place in the National League Pairs on Saturday.Allitt stated: "Of course we wanted to make the final but Cradley and eventual winners Kent had strong pairings. The boys tried their hardest and I can’t fault that.“I’m pleased with the final result, 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 and Josh 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.”MILDENHALL raised £710 for the CLIC Sargent Cancer Charity during their home clash with Birmingham on Sunday.The Fen Tigers ran a second-half event for the ‘Shelly Smile Trophy’ which was won by Dan Halsey from Jack Kingston and Connor Mountain. The afternoon took Dan Turner up to nearly £3000.00 of the £4000.00 he is looking to raise ahead of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in February 2016.RYE HOUSE took a major step towards Gold Cup qualification with two convincing wins in the space of two days.The Raiders thrashed Stoke 57-33 at Hoddesdon on Sunday before earning an impressive 49-40 away victory at Kent 24 hours later.They have now moved up to fourth in the table, establishing a five-point lead ahead of fifth placed Coventry, and they will be back in action with two away meetings later this week as they travel to Cradley on Wednesday before taking on Storm at Brandon on Friday.STOKE boss Malcolm Vasey was disappointed to see his side slump to a resounding 57-33 defeat against Rye House at Hoddesdon on Sunday.Vasey said: "Things didn’t seem to be going badly after the first seven heats and we were very much in contention only being four points down, but we then suffered a total collapse, we seem to have some riders that don’t seem to be pulling their weight points wise. "On the bright side there were good performances from Chris Widman and Jon (Armstrong). Lee (Payne) fell in his first ride and hurt himself but battled on and got a win but it was a disappointing performance that may well have ended our hopes of making the Gold Cup."
FIXTURE PICTURE…
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
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 10:PREMIER LEAGUE: Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.15TEESSIDE SILVER HELMET: Redcar 7.30
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11:PREMIER LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Plymouth 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Somerset v Rye House 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Buxton 7pm, Coventry v Rye House (follows previous fixture), King’s Lynn v Kent 7.30
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12:BRITISH UNDER-19 FINAL: Berwick 7pmPREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Plymouth 6pm, Workington v Edinburgh 7pmTRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Rye House v Somerset (follows PL fixture)CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Mildenhall 6pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Eastbourne v Mildenhall (follows previous meeting)
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Rye House 3pm, Peterborough v Scunthorpe 3pmTRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Newcastle v Edinburgh 6.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Eastbourne 3pm, Coventry v Cradley 12pm, Mildenhall v Rye House 3.30, Stoke v Cradley 6pm
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 14:ELITE LEAGUE PLAY-OFFS S/F 1st leg: TBC v TBC 7.30, TBC v TBC 7.30SILVER SKI HOLIDAYS CHAMPIONSHIP: Kent 6.30
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16:GOLD CUP S/F 1st leg: Birmingham v Cradley 7.30
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19:NATIONAL TROPHY FINAL 1st leg: Rye House v Eastbourne 7pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20: NATIONAL TROPHY FINAL 2nd leg: Eastbourne v Rye House 2pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 5: Rye House 2pm
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21:ELITE LEAGUE PLAY-OFFS S/F 2nd leg: TBC v TBC 7.30, TBC v TBC 7.30
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 23:GOLD CUP S/F 2nd leg: Cradley v Birmingham 7.30
