(SPEEDWAY 1)
SOMERSET maintained their early momentum in the Premier League with a resounding 61-31 win over Ipswich at the Oaktree Arena.The Rebels had four riders in double figures with Josh Grajczonek leading the way on 12+2 as they ran up five 5-1s in the last six races, whilst young reserve Zach Wajtknecht took the scalp of Witches star Nico Covatti on his way to a first paid-win for the club.The Witches, meanwhile, were hit by the withdrawal of skipper Danny King with a shoulder injury after a heavy crash in Heat 5. Morten Risager led their scorechart with eight points.Somerset boss Garry May said: “Every one of the boys rode well, and even if Danny King hadn’t been forced to withdraw from the meeting, and we wish him well, then I still think we would have had far too much in the locker for Ipswich to contend with.“I think we have shocked a few people with our performances over the course of this week, but I knew that this team had it in them to do well, and although it is still very early days as far as the league is concerned, they fully deserve to be currently sat at the top of the league table.”Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “I'm massively disappointed. We started well tonight but what happened to Danny knocked the whole stuffing out the team really. Nobody is living up to expectations, certainly not consistently; they are all showing at different stages they can do it. “I think Danny will be alright, we will see how he is over the weekend and if he rides on Monday for Coventry but for us we've got a break now and I'm sure he will be fine by our next fixture against Rye House.”Plymouth opened their home Premier League fixtures with a 52-41 victory over Sheffield that was more comfortable than suggested by the final scoreline.Despite operating rider replacement for injured skipper Kyle Newman, Devils took an eight-point lead in the first two heats and extended that to 19 points by heat nine before Sheffield scored three 5-1s in the last four races.Acting skipper Todd Kurtz scored 14 (paid 15) from six rides for the Devils, whilst Kyle Howarth piled up 15+2 for the visitors.Plymouth boss Lee Trigger said: “I was very pleased with the efforts of the whole team. It was a good result to get a winning start to our home fixtures in the Premier League and three points on the board.“Todd led by example. He was buzzing in the pits and also did the work out on the track.”Sheffield co-promoter Peter Mole said: “We were out-gated and out-ridden in the first half of the meeting and the late rally couldn't save us.“It was disappointing, but now we have to move on and go to the next meeting.”Meanwhile Buxton shocked Coventry with a 45-44 win at Brandon in the Travel Plus National League in a meeting which ended in controversial fashion.The Storm had fought back from an eight-point deficit after captain Martin Knuckey had been withdrawn with a recurrence of a hand injury, and led by one point going into the last race.But Liam Carr was penalised 15 metres for a reported chain-guard infringement, and Buxton No.1 Oliver Greenwood held home guest Danny Ayres at bay ahead of Hitmen captain Ryan Blacklock for a decisive 4-2.Buxton boss Jason Pipe said: “There are times when being a team manager can be a thankless task but tonight I can honestly say I love my job. “A tremendous performance from everyone out there, but particularly from the reserve berths which is where I have often said matches are won and lost. Ryan (Burton) was excellent this evening and Lee’s (Geary) three points were crucial in the end.”Coventry manager Laurence Rogers said: “I felt the shenanigans before Heat 15 were a disgrace, and I’d love to know what the rigmarole was going on on the phone to the referee to get Liam disqualified.“That’s why I took (machine examiner) Jim McMillan out with me to say there was nothing wrong with Liam’s chain-guard, but seemingly then he was disqualified on two-minutes, so I’m dumbfounded.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
BERWICK open their Premier League campaign with a home clash against Scunthorpe at Shielfield Park on Saturday.The Bandits have moved to book Peterborough star Ulrich Ostergaard as their guest replacement for Thomas Jorgensen, who is on the sidelines with a broken hand, but reserve Matthew Wethers expects to return.Scunthorpe, meanwhile, are set to welcome back Zdenek Holub who has been missing with a shoulder injury since crashing at Peterborough on April 1.Berwick boss Scott Courtney said: “This is the big one, the Premier League. Starting as we mean to go on, the clock is set back to zero, and the slate is clean.“When we realised Thomas wasn't going to be 100 per cent ready, we had a look for the best-available replacement. Getting the PLRC champion into black-and-gold is a real feather in our cap, and I'm confident he'll do the business for us against the Scorpions.”Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “It was a relief to register our first home victory of the season over Plymouth last Sunday, and we need to push on from there.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
NEWCASTLE have moved to sign 22-year-old Swedish rider Viktor Palovaara as a replacement for the injured Tero Aarnio.Palovaara will make his Diamonds debut in Monday’s Premier League Knockout Cup tie at Scunthorpe, and is expected to be present at the home meeting with Redcar on Sunday.He joins the club on loan from Glasgow, for whom he rode in the last two seasons, with Aarino requiring a knee operation.Newcastle co-promoter Alan Hedley said: “We are obviously upset that we have to change our team so soon into the season and we wish Tero well with his operation. but we are delighted to welcome Viktor on board and are sure that he can play a significant role in the remainder of our season.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
WORK has commenced on the building of a new junior training track at Rye House Stadium.The 105m circuit is on the centre-green of the existing Hoddesdon track and is intended as a multi-purpose facility with youth speedway an important component.Rye House co-promoter Steve Jenson said: “Supporters should be able to clearly recognise the shape of the track when they are here on Bank Holiday Monday. We are anticipating that it will be fully re-laid within the next couple of weeks, and we’ll go from there in terms of planning training programmes.“From a purely speedway perspective, it’s really exciting for Team BMR to be able to help provide a platform for youngsters to test out the sport for the very first time, without any pressure, and which could then lead on into the British Youth programme, our full-scale Training Schools - and potentially to a place in the BMR Raiders and beyond.”(FIXTURES)
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
