(SPEEDWAY 1)
POOLE kept up their strong start to the season with a 57-33 win over Lakeside in the Elite League at Wimborne Road.The Hammers remained in touch for much of the meeting, being eight points down after Heat 10, but a string of Pirates maximum advantages saw them stretch clear.Krzysztof Buczkowski led the way for the home side with 13+1, and Brady Kurtz added 10+1, whilst Andreas Jonsson scored ten for the visitors.Poole skipper Davey Watt – who scored just two – said: “You don't beat a quality side, like Lakeside sure are, without being a good side yourself and thankfully for me the lads are proving that they are that, even though I am not. “I've got a lot going on in my head right now and I can't get to terms with the track which doesn't help, but the boys are doing us proud. I just need to work my way through this and start contributing.”Hammers coach Kelvin Tatum said: “For ten heats we were right in the meeting and we were fighting really hard, and I’ve got to say that again we showed terrific resilience.“It was just the three 5-1s in quick succession which put paid to it, and Poole really flexed their muscles towards the end of the meeting. “Not many teams are going to get anything from Poole if they ride like that, but I have to say I didn’t quite think the scoreline did us justice in the end.”Meanwhile Birmingham ran up a 22-point advantage over Rye House in the first leg of their National League KO Cup tie.The Brummies won 56-34 at Perry Barr with Danyon Hume top-scoring on 11 points. Zach Wajtknecht missed out on a paid maximum when he fell in Heat 15, whilst Raiders skipper Luke Priest won three races on his way to 12 points.Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “"I set the lads a 20-point lead target, they achieved that by two extra so I'm more than happy once again.“22-points is a lot for any team to catch up with so it does take a lot of pressure off the second leg. But we won't be too complacent; we will go to Rye House at the end of the month, ride sensibly and do what we can to make sure we get safely through to the next round.”Rye House manager Peter Schroeck said: “We found it quite tough, to be honest. It was wet at first (after a heavy downpour ahead of start time), but the track held up pretty well and was grippy towards the end. “The boys got caught out on a few occasions by not moving out into the dirt, whereas their boys, who ride it every week, know their way around it. But Luke did really well. He was leading from the front, and his form so far is the best and most consistent that I’ve seen from him for a while.”(SPEEDWAY 2)
AUSSIE ace Josh Grajczonek has backed Swindon to reach the Elite League play-offs ahead of their clash with Wolverhampton at the Abbey on Thursday.The Robins will search for their second successive home win after racing to a crushing 55-35 win over Coventry last week, with Wolves also on a high after their own win against the Bees at Brandon last Friday.Grajczonek said: “I think as a team we are just desperate to show people what we can do this year. We’ve got a few guys like Sedgy (Justin Sedgmen) and Rohan (Tungate) who’ve been knocking on the door for a couple of years now, and I think it’s their time to do well.” “A lot of teams are looking strong so it’s going to be tough in that race for the play-offs, but I’m confident we can get there.”Wolves skipper Freddie Lindgren said: “We’ve struggled at Swindon in the past, but we are going there feeling good after that win in our first meeting. “We know it’s going to be a really tough match, it’s a track where we haven’t always done particularly well, but I think the team we have this year can do well.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
SHEFFIELD joint team manager Marc Bates expects Scunthorpe to provide a good test for his side in the League Cup at Owlerton on Thursday.The Tigers are currently unbeaten from their two meetings in the competition so far and are keen to extend that run against the Scorpions, who were beaten heavily at Peterborough last Friday.That match also saw the Lincolnshire side lose Zdenek Holub after a crash, and he misses out on Thursday due to a shoulder injury.Bates said: “We had some real bad luck last week at home to Peterborough so we want to bounce back on Thursday and get another win.“I know we won at Scunthorpe the other week but that doesn’t mean anything coming into this one. Scunthorpe always seem to up their game when they come to Sheffield and I’m sure it’s going to be a good test for the boys.”Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “The good news with Zdenek is that we don't think anything is broken. But he took a battering and the movement in his shoulder is still restricted at the moment, and he's ruled out of both of this week's fixtures. The only option we have is to use rider-replacement for him.“We'll go to Sheffield with an open mind. There's no doubt that the Tigers have a strong side this season, but we know Josh (Auty) and Ryan (Douglas) can fly around the place, while Nicolai (Klindt) rode for them last year.”Meanwhile Redcar and Workington kick off the Northern section of the League Cup as the sides meet at the Media Prime Arena.The Bears suffered two heavy defeats on the road last week, leading to boss Jitendra Duffill to call for an improvement in their gating, and they go into the meeting without Jonas B Andersen due to concussion.The Comets will have late winter signing Rasmus Jensen making his debut, but rider-replacement will be in operation for the injured Rasmus Jensen.Duffill said: “Workington will be another tough fixture and we know that a lot of improvement is required if we want to win our first League Cup fixture. If we are to beat Workington we need everybody to contribute and improve upon recent performances. “Our gating in particular has been poor so far and we will struggle to win meetings whilst giving the opposition a head start. Having said that, everybody is fully committed and we are all working hard to improve.”Workington boss Tony Jackson said: “Mason had hoped he might be fit to ride this evening but he has confirmed that he is not quite ready for a track return. It’s obviously the sensible thing to do as there is a long season ahead and there is simply no point in risking being out of action for even longer by coming back too soon.“But, on the other hand, it will be great to have Rasmus with us and starting his season with the Comets, which hopefully is a successful one for him and for us.”And the waiting is over for fans of the Isle of Wight, as the club return to action at the Smallbrook Stadium after two years out of the sport.The Vince Mapley Memorial meeting features the regular Warriors riders as well as British Under-21 semi-final winner James Shanes, Buxton No.1 Oliver Greenwood, and James Purchase and Chris Widman of Cradley and Stoke respectively.
(SPEEDWAY 4)
EASTBOURNE captain Richard Andrews does face a period on the sidelines after a broken scaphoid was confirmed.Andrews crashed out at Kent on Good Friday and the news leaves the Eagles with a second problem as they are yet to sign a replacement at No.1 for Kyle Hughes, who broke his leg in only his second ride for the club.Eagles director Connor Dugard said: “Richie has had scans and they confirm he has broken his scaphoid. It's a bitter blow for both the rider and the club. “To lose Kyle and now to lose Richard, I'm pretty stuck. Every time I come close to completing the puzzle, another spanner gets thrown in the works.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
THE big weekend of British Youth Speedway is on the way – as the season gets underway for the country’s rising talent with two meetings in the space of two days.The first-ever British Youth Pairs takes place at Northside on Saturday afternoon, with the opening round of the Mitas British Youth Championship at Glasgow the following day.Youth chief Neil Vatcher said: “After the winter of preparation to set up the biggest season to date for the British Youth, it all starts this weekend, and I for one cannot wait.“This season we have more riders signed up than ever before, and more fantastic sponsors on board along with all our previous sponsors, and of course we have great support and backing from the BSPA.“Over the two days of this weekend we have planned a total of 76 races across the two days, with a total of 37 riders making their way North for the two events, which I believe is a tremendous turn-out.“One of the aims for all of these Young Brits is that they can achieve what many of the recent riders have done previously, and that is proven by 13 of the 16 competitors at next week’s British Under-21 Final having been involved in the British Youth Championship at some point earlier in their short careers.“Along with both clubs and promotions at Northside and Glasgow for hosting us this weekend, we would like to thank all our sponsors and the BSPA for their continued support.”Backing the British Youth in 2016: Mitas Tyres, Friends of Speedway, Wessex Marine, Meridian Lifts, Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club, Rentruck of Rochdale, Speedway Nut, PBHS Utilities of Barnsley, Duck Smart Cleaning Products, Trend Creative, Association of Referees and KanDysoft Solutions.
(FIXTURES)
THURSDAY APRIL 7:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Redcar v Workington 7.30, Sheffield v Scunthorpe 7.30VINCE MAPLEY MEMORIAL TROPHY: Isle of Wight 7pm
FRIDAY APRIL 8:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30, Lakeside v Poole 8pmLEAGUE CUP: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Peterborough v Sheffield 7.30CHALLENGE: Somerset v Isle of Wight 7.30
SATURDAY APRIL 9:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Belle Vue 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Ipswich 7pmLEAGUE CUP: Workington v Redcar 7pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Kent 7.30TYNE/TWEED TROPHY 1st leg: Berwick v Newcastle 7pmAIR FENCE CHALLENGE 1st leg: Stoke v Buxton 7pmBRITISH YOUTH PAIRS CHAMPIONSHIP: Northside 2pm
SUNDAY APRIL 10:LEAGUE CUP: Scunthorpe v Peterborough 6.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Kent 3.30TYNE/TWEED TROPHY 2nd leg: Newcastle v Berwick 6.30AIR FENCE CHALLENGE 2nd leg: Buxton v Stoke 3pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1: Glasgow 3pm
