(SPEEDWAY 1)
JOSH Bates was crowned British Under-19 Champion after a faultless display at Berwick on Saturday.The Sheffield and Wolverhampton rider scored a 15-point maximum in the qualifying races before taking victory in the Final ahead of Max Clegg and Danny Phillips, with Ellis Perks classified fourth having come to grief in the first attempt to run the race.Local favourite Liam Carr saw his challenge for a Final spot ended when he fell in the race-off, whilst 15-year-old Jack Parkinson-Blackburn was also eliminated at that stage after an impressive display.Berwick co-promoter John Anderson said: “All the lads rode so professionally tonight and despite the early dampness, once the track dried we got some good racing. “Also the staff and referee made sure we got all 22 races done and dusted well within the curfew restriction meaning it was a great success all round, and we’d like to send out our congratulations to the British U19 Champion Josh Bates – a worthy champ if ever there was one.”(SPEEDWAY 2 - SATURDAY REVIEW)
PLYMOUTH are in the Premier League play-offs for the first time after winning 53-38 at Rye House on Saturday.The 15-point away win was sufficient to earn the Devils the four match points they needed to overhaul Ipswich and finish in the top six.Morten Risager led the way for Plymouth with three wins in his 13-point return and there were also double figure scores from reserve Linus Eklof on 12 (paid 14) and Jack Holder with ten (paid 13).Skipper Kyle Newman had to withdraw from the meeting, suffering from dizziness after a crash with Nikolaj B Jakobsen in his third ride, with the Rye House man suffering shoulder injuries which kept him out of the second half of their double header.Edward Kennett scored a 15-point maximum in the Rockets’ defeat, and they then lost out 43-47 to Somerset in the second leg of their Travel Plus Tours KO Cup semi-final, meaning a 34-point aggregate win for the Rebels.Josh Grajczonek headed up a solid Somerset display with 11 points whilst the home side were further hampered by the loss of Robert Lambert after three rides with a wrist injury.Kennett said: “It was a very tough match, and it was made even harder by the loss of Nikolaj, and then Robert as well. We all fought hard and did our best under the circumstances.”Somerset boss Garry May said: “Although we had that 30 point lead from the first leg, we wanted to kill off early any hopes Rye House might have had of getting themselves back into this tie, and those two 5-1’s in the opening two races certainly did the trick.“We knew then that the tie was virtually over as a contest and confirmed our place in the Final with over half of the second leg match to spare. Once again this was a tremendous all-round team performance, not just tonight but over the two legs as a whole with everyone playing their part.”Meanwhile Workington brought down the curtain on their season with a 49-41 victory over reigning champions and table-topping Edinburgh at Derwent Park - and in doing so became the only club in the Premier League to have won all of their home league fixtures.Comets team manager and co-promoter Tony Jackson said: “Having had our hopes of a fourth consecutive play-off place quashed a couple of weeks ago we became even more determined to maintain our unbeaten home record, and with visits from Glasgow and Edinburgh to come in our last two home fixtures we knew it would be tough. “But the boys all dug deep and once we had defeated Glasgow last weekend we were even more determined to beat Edinburgh last night. I would also like to thank our guest Hynek Stichauer, who put in a terrific performance as a replacement for our injured in-form reserve Matty Wethers, and it was his efforts that ensured we got over the line.“I told them all at the end that we were very proud of their achievement in having an unbeaten home record, especially in light of the strength of the Premier League this year and the amount of away wins there have been, with some unexpected results and away victories being thrown up on a regular basis. “But once again, it illustrates the difference between our home and away form this year, as our away performances have been very wide of the mark on most occasions and that is what cost us a play-off place.”Meanwhile Eastbourne demolished Mildenhall in both matches of their double-header at Arlington, defeating the Fen Tigers 66-24 in the City Gearboxes National League and then 66-26 in the National Trophy.Eagles boss Glenn Martin said: “They were two brilliant victories but I do not want the boys to become complacent. We must keep our feet on the ground as we come to the part of the season where we can win trophies.“They are a sensible crew and I am sure they will keep their feet on the ground and concentrate on the task of winning silverware over the next month or so.”
(SPEEDWAY 3 - SUNDAY PREVIEW)
GLASGOW skipper Aaron Summers says Glasgow are ready to re-launch their Premier League title bid on Sunday.The Tigers have qualified for the play-offs but are keen to regain top form when they host Rye House at Ashfield, where a win would secure third place in the table and a quarter-final clash with Plymouth.Summers said: “We're still there. We've slipped up a little but we'll fight on. You can't take any meeting lightly. This is a meeting for some of the boys to get their confidence back and do well.“They have a couple of good riders in their team which should keep it close. But it'll really set us up for the play-offs if we have a strong meeting on Sunday.”Meanwhile Peterborough have called up Rohan Tungate as a guest for their final meeting of the regular Premier League season - after he called club chiefs to ask for the opportunity.The Australian ace will fill the number one void left by a season-ending injury to skipper Ulrich Ostergaard as the Panthers entertain Scunthorpe at the East of England Showground.Peterborough co-promoter Ged Rathbone said: “It is great to take a call from a rider desperate to come and help us out. Rohan could not be any keener to take the guest booking and I know he is very keen to race against Scunthorpe again.“It will be great to have him in the team. He was been riding very well for Ipswich and he usually goes well around the Showground. We didn’t want to add to the risk of picking up any more injuries ahead of the play-offs by asking riders to take extra rides.”In the Travel Plus Tours KO Cup semi-final, Newcastle face a 22-point deficit going into their second leg tie against Edinburgh, with a place in the Final against Somerset awaiting the winners.Diamonds reserve Tero Aarnio returns from injury whilst Richie Worrall comes in as guest replacement for Lewis Kerr.In the City Gearboxes National League, the race for fourth place continues as Coventry host Cradley at Brandon - with the Storm two points behind Rye House after the abandoned clash between the clubs on Friday.Danny Ayres steps in for the injured Dan Greenwood for the home side whilst Cradley bring in Ben Morley to guest for Max Clegg, who is on Premier League duty, on a busy day for the Heathens as they also visit Stoke at 6pm.Coventry boss Laurence Rogers said: “After what happened on Friday we’ll be even more in the mood for this one.“The boys were on it superbly on Friday, they knew what we had to do, they all knuckled down, and they deserved six points - so now we have to beat Cradley and see what happens.”Cradley manager Will Pottinger said: “We've got two difficult meetings on Sunday, but hopefully we can perform well and end the league campaign as strongly as possible.“We want to finish as high up the table as we can, and we also want to try and make sure we enter the two meetings with Birmingham in the Gold Cup in the best form we can.”Stoke go into the Loomer Road match without unavailable skipper Jon Armstrong and will operate rider replacement, with boss Malcolm Vasey anticipating a tough clash.Vasey said: “It’s going to be an extremely difficult meeting and we will all need to be firing on all cylinders in order to get a win over the Heathens. “All of our riders can take a rider replacement ride so we will obviously have to see who is riding well on the day in order to maximise our use of r/r to cover for Jon, who is obviously a very big miss for us, but we will of course do our very best and hope that with the support from our supporters we can pull off a victory on the day.”Rye House currently hold fourth place as they head to Mildenhall, whilst Buxton take on Eastbourne at the Hi-Edge Raceway looking to add another major scalp to an impressive home record.Hitmen boss Jason Pipe said: “If we defeat Eastbourne we will have beaten the top three at home this season! Not bad for a team written off by the pundits pre-season. I can honestly say the team are all up for it and so looking forward to it.”Eastbourne boss Glenn Martin said: “We are targeting a win to keep the momentum going. Ben Hopwood used to ride there and Richie Andrews has done well at Buxton in the past.“I hope they can pass on their knowledge and experience to the boys who have never been to the track.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
WORKINGTON announced their first two signings for 2016 on Saturday when both Ricky Wells and Kenneth Hansen signed contracts to stay with the club in front of the grandstand at Derwent Park during the club’s final meeting of the season against Edinburgh.Comets owner Laura Morgan said: “Both Kenneth and Ricky have expressed a strong desire to stay with us for next season for some time, and we definitely wanted them to stay, so it was a pretty easy situation for both parties and we are delighted to have them signed up so early; and judging by the reaction, so are the supporters.“Ricky has had the best season of his career so far and he has got better and better as the season has progressed, increasing his average month by month; eventually taking the number one spot and qualifying for the PLRC, in which he finished runner-up last weekend. Now he has become number one he is determined to stay there and raise his average, which is a great attitude to have.“Meanwhile Kenneth, having taken time to settle, has become ‘Mr. Entertainment’ at Derwent Park and his overtaking moves around there really are something else. His away form will improve next season, and he is very determined about making that happen; but, having only ridden on two of the away tracks before this year he will know what to expect next season, and that will benefit both him and the club.”(FIXTURES)
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: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30, Coventry v Poole OFF (Now Fri Sept 18)SILVER SKI HOLIDAYS CHAMPIONSHIP: Kent 6.30
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16:GOLD CUP S/F 1st leg: Birmingham v Cradley 7.30
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18:ELITE LEAGUE PLAY-OFF S/F 1st leg: Coventry v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30
