BIRMINGHAM are to host the British Under-19 Final at Perry Barr on Wednesday September 14.Brummies promoter Graham Drury concluded talks with GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher following the recent Under-21 event at Sheffield and is delighted to be bringing the meeting to the Midlands venue.Vatcher said: “I’m sure Graham could see the talent on show at Sheffield that evening and was keen on bringing a British Final to what is another great stadium.“There is sure to be a good percentage of riders on September 14 who not only will be representing the Brummies, but will be hoping to win a British Championship themselves. “As well as Birmingham having at least three riders in the line up, in the shape of Zach Wajtknecht, Jack Parkinson-Blackburn and Jack Smith, there is sure to be plenty of local interest with representatives from both Cradley and Coventry as well with the likes of Max Clegg, Ben Basford, Callum Walker and Jamie Halder sure to have plenty of support on the terraces. “Others who will marking this date in their diary will be former Cradley riders who had Perry Barr as their home track in 2015, Ellis Perks and Nathan Greaves, along with British Under-21 Finalist James Shanes, Connor Mountain and Josh Bailey. “With so much positivity surrounding the British Youth scene this year, this is another date to look forward to.“The Young Lions would like thank Birmingham promoters Graham Drury and Tony Mole for agreeing to host the event and the BSPA for their continued support.*LINE-UPS will be named shortly for the British Semi-Finals as the race to succeed Tai Woffinden as national Champion hots up.Woffinden has taken the crown in the last three seasons but will not be defending the title at Belle Vue on June 13.Premier League venues Scunthorpe and Glasgow will be hosting the semi-finals, with the first taking place at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday May 13, before the action switches to Ashfield on Sunday May 15.Meanwhile British trio Robert Lambert, Craig Cook and Jason Garrity will be in action at King’s Lynn on Saturday May 7 as they look to make progress in the World Championship qualifiers.Fellow domestic league regulars Freddie Lindgren, Sam Masters, Matej Kus, Ricky Wells, Hans Andersen, Bradley Wilson-Dean, Brady Kurtz and Joonas Kylmakorpi are also included in the line-up along with ex-Lynn rider Kenneth Bjerre.
BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAJOR EVENTS 2016BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: JOSH BATESBRITISH FINAL: Belle Vue, June 13PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, July 8PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS WEEKEND: Peterborough, July 23/24PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, September 11ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Coventry, Date TBC
NATIONAL LEAGUE MAJOR EVENTS 2016NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS: Coventry, August 14NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS: King’s Lynn, August 27NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester, September 17
BRITISH SPEEDWAY FIM EVENTS 2016:WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER: King’s Lynn, May 7WORLD UNDER-21 QUALIFIER: Belle Vue, May 21WORLD UNDER-21 FINAL Round 1: King’s Lynn, June 18
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE saw their 100 per cent start to the season ended with defeat at Swindon last Thursday, with the Aces unable to contend with the home side’s flying start.Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “Unfortunately our resurgence came a little bit too late. Swindon got off to a great start on the night and rode with the determined attitude of a team looking to bounce back from their misfortunes.“Ahead of the meeting we were confident we could win and the feeling in the pits was a positive one but in the end we got beaten by a team who were really pumped up and dialled in early on.”COVENTRY pulled off a remarkable comeback to defeat reigning champions Poole 47-46 despite having been 12-point down after four races at Brandon.Boss Gary Havelock said: “I’m really proud of the boys, and it’s probably my best win since I’ve been team manager. We’ve had other wins, away wins, but to do what we’ve done tonight to a team like Poole was sensational.“I thought the whole team were fantastic at various stages, and the rides of James (Sarjeant) in Heat 12 and Josh (Bates) in Heat 14 were just phenomenal.”KING’S LYNN boss Rob Lyon heaped praise on teenage talent Robert Lambert, who helped salvage a draw for the Stars at Leicester with a stunning move in Heat 15.Lyon said: “It was absolutely great to snatch a point like that, and what a ride it was from Robert Lambert in Heat 15. (Niels) Iversen led from the front, but the ground he made up to snatch second place was remarkable and it was a good result for us. “We deserved something out of it, there was some fantastic racing and both teams deserve plenty of credit.”LAKESIDE promoter Jon Cook is convinced his side can keep their focus throughout the coming weeks as they revert to fortnightly racing.Cook said: “We need to make sure we don't lose the momentum over the first GP break of the year and come back strong for our clash with Belle Vue.“Moving into fortnightly speedway with the start of the GP and the full foreign league season getting underway is always a time when teams can lose focus but I'm convinced that won't be the case with Kelvin Tatum on the team now.”LEICESTER have put their home match against Poole back by 48 hours to Monday May 9 due to a clash with football on May 7.Promoter David Hemsley explained: “The change in kick-off time of Leicester City’s final home match of the season against Everton has resulted in a shortage of our staff. Many of our qualified stewards, track officials and Health and Safety Officer are Foxes fans and they will be at the football match.“Had the kick-off not been moved from the original time of 3pm the problem would not exist for me, but as it stands we cannot open the stadium with inadequate staffing in all our key areas. Poole have confirmed acceptance of the date change and I would like to record my thanks to Matt Ford for his understanding and agreement in the matter.”POOLE have parted company with skipper Davey Watt and replaced him with former club captain Bjarne Pedersen, who last rode for the Pirates in 2010.Promoter Matt Ford said: “This was a tough call to make as I really wanted to give Davey as much support as possible as I know he has a few issues outside of racing. But we are in a results-driven business and it just has not been happening for Dave.“Bjarne was kicking his heels wanting to ride in Britain again and, hard as it is to drop Davey, the switch just needed to be made.”SWINDON’S riders heeded the call of boss Alun Rossiter to make a fast start to the meeting as they took an impressive home victory over previously unbeaten Belle Vue.Rossiter said: “It was the right response from the team. We had a few words before the meeting, nothing serious, but it seemed to work well.“Getting a 5-1 in the first race put us on the front foot, and we knew they would come back at us but the boys dug in deep and it was a great performance.”WOLVERHAMPTON face the ultimate test of their early season confidence on one of the biggest nights of the Monmore season next Monday with title favourites Poole in town.Wolves star Sam Masters said: “We've got a team full of fighters, the atmosphere is awesome and I feel at home with this club already. “Freddie (Lindgren) and Joonas (Kylmakorpi) have been amazing and so helpful with advice early on and that's what being a team is all about. We already get on great as a group and I don't think I've ever raced with a bunch of guys who get on so well.”
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK earned a hard fought 45-45 draw at home to Glasgow despite being without No.1 Thomas Jorgensen and reserve Matt Wethers.The Bandits selected Stuart Robson and Simon Nielsen as guests respectively with the duo scoring 20-points for the side!Club Co-owner John Anderson said: “We could not have picked any better guests as they both worked hard to put in some great rides and score a point-saving tally!“Above all else it was a great speedway match and the way it built was brilliant for the supporters with it’s dramatic last heat decider!” EDINBURGH racer Max Clegg has vowed to turn his away form around and help the Monarchs get back to winning ways on the road.The Scottish outfit suffered a heavy 57-36 defeat at Workington on Saturday where 19-year-old Clegg failed to score.He said: “Everybody has been so good to me at Armadale and the best way I can repay everyone is to score points.“That hasn’t been easy for me but I’m working at it all the time and hope that everything will be good shortly.”GLASGOW star Ben Barker has warned their Premier League rivals that there’s plenty more to come from the Tigers.The Brit helped the Ashfield outfit to a 51-39 win over Redcar in their Premier League opener at the weekend and has big expectations for his new club in 2016.“I’ve never won the league so this year’s the one,” said Barker.“When we do click, the poor team that has us is going to get a fair walloping.“That’s what it’s all about – getting Richie Worrall back and giving someone a proper tanking!”IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins says his side can take positives from their League Cup programme to help them in their first Premier League fixture of the season.The Witches host Somerset at Foxhall on Thursday and Hawkins is targeting a winning start.Said Hawkins: “The boys have improved throughout that competition – it’s been a good settling in period.“They (Somerset) had a real good win at Peterborough but it will be a totally different story coming to our place this week!”NEWCASTLE manager George English says his team are one to watch out for following their 56-37 victory over Workington in the League Cup on Sunday.The Diamonds are strongly fancied by many to have a successful campaign after putting together a highly competitive line-up for 2016.Said English: “I feel we sent out a message to the league; we know we are good on paper but now we are showing it on track.“We had a job to do and we did it in style! We were faultless and I think the scoreline in the end could have slightly flattered Workington.”PETERBOROUGH temporary boss Dale Allitt has urged the club’s supporters to stick with the team after a second straight home defeat.The Panthers were looking to build on two impressive away wins at Rye House and Redcar, but slipped to a 53-37 loss to Somerset.Said Allitt: “We’re all very disappointed and hurting a lot. The really annoying thing is that we went to Rye House and Redcar, bossed the meetings and picked up fantastic results.“There have been dark days in the past but we want them (the supporters) to stick with us as we will get it right.”PLYMOUTH boss Lee Trigger says his side’s encouraging performance at Scunthorpe will help them when they launch their home Premier League campaign against Sheffield on Friday.The Devils narrowly missed out on a consolation point at Scunthorpe after going down 50-43 on Sunday.Said Trigger: “If we had scored just one more point we would have come away with something!“Our new reserve Stefan Nielsen won two races and it was another meeting under our belts.”REDCAR’s Premier League campaign got off to a disappointing start with back-to-back defeats.The Bears went down 53-40 at home to Peterborough before putting in a slightly more spirited display at Glasgow – but still suffered a twelve point 51-39 loss.Jitendra Duffill’s side face another challenging spell with three meetings in four days later this week.RYE HOUSE will be looking to return to winning ways when they host Workington next Monday.The Rockets suffered a 48-42 home defeat against Peterborough last time out but had won four out of their five meetings previous to that.SCUNTHORPE star Josh Auty wants to bring the glory days back to the Eddie Wright Raceway.It comes after the Scorpions got their Premier League campaign off to a winning start with a 50-43 victory over Plymouth on Sunday.Said Auty: “The league is the holy grail for us. We managed to win it in 2012 and we’re trying to replicate that this year.“It was vitally important that we started with a win and we achieved that.”SHEFFIELD ace Jason Garrity is targeting three Premier League points when they host his former club Rye House on Thursday.The 22-year-old rode for the Rockets between 2012 and 2014 and insists he is ready to enjoy a positive season with the Tigers.Garrity told the Sheffield Star: “Rye House are my former club so it will be good to ride against them; I’m looking forward to it!“I’m done with putting pressure on myself with targets, I just want to go out there and enjoy myself!” SOMERSET boss Garry May praised the character of his side as they pulled off an impressive 53-37 win at Peterborough on Sunday.May says it has given his side plenty of confidence as they prepare to face Ipswich both home and away later this week.“We didn’t have much going our way early on but we knew that if we kept our heads and remained focused then we could pick up the win,” May commented.“It set us up nicely for the two meetings against Ipswich and we are determined to build on the excellent start to our league programme.”WORKINGTON picked up a home win and suffered two defeats on the road over a busy three day spell last weekend.Team manager Tony Jackson said: “We gave a good account of ourselves at Armadale on Friday and perhaps were unlucky not to take something from the match against Edinburgh and were then disappointed with our result at Newcastle on Sunday.“But the team has a really good spirit and I could see how down they were; they’re really keen to bounce back when we visit Rye House next Monday.”NATIONAL LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE Colts have re-arranged their clash with Cradley for Saturday, May 7.The Heathens were originally due to visit the new National Speedway Stadium on March 28 before ongoing track problems caused the meeting to be postponed. BIRMINGHAM boss Graham Drury heaped praise on his talented young side after they maintained their perfect start to the campaign with away wins at Stoke and Rye House last weekend. Drury commented: “Even I have to admit, I knew this team were going to be something special, but not even I thought we’d get off to the start that we have done!“We haven’t got a single weak link in our line-up and the confidence and the atmosphere around the group right now is unbelievable.”BUXTON have moved to bring in Ben Hopwood on a temporary basis to cover for the unavailable Jade Mudgway.Team manager Jason Pipe said: “I'm very happy that we've been able to bring in Ben to cover for Jade until Jade's passport is in his hands. “Ben will fit well in to our team and knows most of them already and he also recently joined in with us in a pre-season team bonding event, when we went go karting and for a meal. Ben will race for Buxton at Coventry a week on Friday and also at home against Eastbourne a week on Sunday.”COVENTRY boss Laurence Rogers says his side desperately need to get back into racing action, with a home match against Buxton on Friday being their first for a month.Rogers said: “Staleness is the problem we’ve got to worry about, because Ryan (Terry-Daley) hasn’t been on a bike after his illness, although at least he’s back healthy again so he’s got to make up for lost time, and even Callum Walker’s grasstracks have been called off - so it’s going to be hard.“But it’s very much a match that we should look to be winning, and I certainly don’t want to let (Buxton boss) Jason Pipe get another one over on me!”CRADLEY manager Will Pottinger was delighted to see his side bounce back from their first defeat of the season to emerge with a convincing 45-27 win over King’s Lynn on Monday.After suffering a heavy loss at Birmingham last Wednesday, the Heathens put in a confident display in a meeting cut short due to rain.Pottinger said: “After the disappointing result at Birmingham last week it was important that we bounced back tonight and we did just that.“We managed to get our noses in front with a couple of heat advantages in the first few races and from there we just kicked on. We've kept our run at home going and we'll head to Coventry a week on Friday full of confidence.”EASTBOURNE chairman Martin Dugard was delighted to see the Eagles progress to the next round of the Knockout Cup after a tense tie with Mildenhall at the weekend.The Eagles fought to a 50-38 first leg win at Arlington on Saturday before surviving a scare to prevail on aggregate despite a 48-42 defeat at West Row the next day.“We had to battle extremely hard on Saturday night to build up a decent lead,” Dugard said. “On Sunday the boys again dug in to hold the line and defend the trophy we won last year. Over the closing heats we were the better team and deserved our success.” ISLE OF WIGHT suffered a 55-35 defeat against in-form Kent in their National Trophy home opener at Smallbrook last week.After a tough start to the season, the Warriors will be back in action as they take on Kent at Central Park in the Knockout Cup next Monday, May 2 before hosting Stoke in their first National League fixture on Thursday, May 5. KENT boss Chris Hunt was in jubilant mood after the Kings continued their stunning start to the season with a 55-35 away win at the Isle of Wight.“What a great all round team performance!” Hunt remarked. “The passing was brilliant with everyone joining in. “I have to single out Jack Thomas for special praise though. He’d never even seen this track before and to go out and beat James Cockle who is nigh on unbeatable around the Island is an amazing achievement. “We’ve won five matches in a row now, four of them away from home, so I’m sure the rest of the League are now going to have to sit up and take notice”.KING’S LYNN ace Nathan Greaves insists they will bounce back from their 45-27 defeat at Cradley on Monday.Greaves said: “We're obviously disappointed with the end result but this was only our second meeting. It was a big learning curve for us all but we'll bounce back.“I was struggling for set-up tonight with the conditions being different to normal but there's nothing we can do about it now.“We're back at home against Mildenhall next week and we'll be looking for another win there to build on the Stoke result from a few weeks ago.”MILDENHALL promoter Kevin Jolly declared himself proud of the effort shown by his young side as they fell just short in their Knockout Cup tie with Eastbourne at the weekend.Said Jolly: “Although we fell just short at the end of the day, I have nothing but praise for our lads. They are really gelling as a team and work so hard for each other. “It is so refreshing to see and makes everything we go through each meeting worthwhile. There is a real buzz around the club again, long may it continue! I would like to offer my congratulations to Eastbourne and wish them well as they look to retain the Cup.”RYE HOUSE Raiders managed Peter Schroeck was once again encouraged by what he saw from his side despite a 52-37 home defeat against high-flying Birmingham on Sunday.Schroeck said: “Overall, it was not a bad night for us despite the result. We’ve got a good team spirit, especially with Rob (Branford) now back, and we’ve shown that we have a top three that can go anywhere and give anyone a real battle.“There were plenty of encouraging signs from our younger boys once again. Young Macauley (Leek) held his own, while Connor (Locke) had a better meeting even though he didn’t score.” STOKE skipper Tony Atkin was relieved to finally get their first home meeting under their belts despite being beaten 51-39 by Birmingham at Loomer Road on Saturday.Atkin said: “It was good to get a home meeting in as we are one of the last teams to do so and we all needed that. We were underdogs and came up against a really strong team, but we are not in speedway to lose meetings and at the end of it all we have to try and win. “I’m actually pleased with certain aspects of the team we know where the weak parts are and we just need a few meetings. “In the next few weeks we will have head six meetings five of which are away from home and we really do need to get some home meetings under our belts to get some confidence into the team.”
FIXTURE PICTURE…
WEDNESDAY APRIL 27:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Poole 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich v Somerset 7.30, Sheffield v Rye House 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Redcar v Newcastle 7.30
FRIDAY APRIL 29:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30, Plymouth v Sheffield 7.15, Somerset v Ipswich 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Buxton 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Belle Vue v Stoke 7.30
SATURDAY APRIL 30:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm
SUNDAY MAY 1:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Peterborough 3pmLEAGUE CUP: Newcastle v Redcar 6.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Eastbourne 3pm
MONDAY MAY 2:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 12pm, Coventry v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Poole 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Workington 2pmPREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Scunthorpe v Newcastle 3pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Stoke (follows PL fixture)NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Kent v Isle of Wight 3pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2 (500cc and 150cc): Scunthorpe 4.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 4:ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Belle Vue 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Kent 7.30, King’s Lynn v Mildenhall 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 5:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Lakeside 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Stoke 7pm
FRIDAY MAY 6:PREMIER LEAGUE: Plymouth v Peterborough 7.15PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Somerset v Workington 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Cradley 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 7:WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER: King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Newcastle 7pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Cradley 7.30, Eastbourne v Isle of Wight 7.30, Stoke v Coventry 7.30
SUNDAY MAY 8:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Scunthorpe 3pm, Newcastle v Berwick 6.30, Peterborough v Sheffield 5pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Belle Vue 6pm
MONDAY MAY 9:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 7.30, Leicester v Poole 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Isle of Wight 7.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Kent v Mildenhall 6.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 11:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30
