SPEEDWAY 1)
WOLVERHAMPTON all-but cemented their place in the SGB Premiership play-offs with a double win at beleaguered King’s Lynn on Wednesday.
The Monmore men collected all eight available points from emphatic 58-34 and 41-21 victories on a night when the Stars found themselves in a decimated state.
The visitors opened the meeting using rider-replacement for Michael Palm Toft, but Nicklas Porsing was concussed in a Heat 4 crash, and neither Robert Lambert nor Tomas H Jonasson were able to take their places in the second match.
Not surprisingly the visitors ran riot with Jacob Thorssell piling up 16+1 in the first meeting and Rory Schlein 12+2 and 10+2 respectively, with the second match curtailed after ten races.
Lambert scored 11+1 in the opener whilst reserve Josh Auty battled to scores of 9+1 and 13 for the hosts.
King’s Lynn promoter Keith Chapman said: “We live to tell another story and let’s hope it never happens again. It was a shame the way it went. When you lose two riders like that and you’re already operating rider replacement, you’ve had it.
“I felt so positive about the night after Somerset and Leicester. We had put on a really good show at Swindon as well so I was really optimistic.
“Bad things happen and they all seemed to on the same night, even down to the pit gate going wrong and then my tractor blew up. That summed it all up for me.”
Wolves reserve Nathan Greaves said: “We came here to take advantage of any weaknesses King’s Lynn had and did that. It was not a normal night and could not have been good for the fans.
“It is not something that happens every day, though, and hopefully everyone understands that. All we could do was get on with our jobs.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
RYE House sent out a statement of play-off intent with a 60-30 demolition of Somerset at Hoddesdon on Wednesday.
The victory moves the Rockets to within five points of fourth-placed Poole in the SGB Premiership – with the sides due to meet in a crunch televised encounter on Bank Holiday Monday.
Recent signing Krzysztof Kasprzak surged to a 12-point maximum on his elevation to the main body of the home side, with four other rides being paid for double figures including Ricky Wells (10+3) and Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris, who both scored 10+1.
Richard Lawson collected 12+1 from six rides on a tough night for the Rebels, who are eight points off the play-offs with five matches remaining.
Wells said: “It was a great result for the boys. We didn’t take Somerset for granted and knew that it was going to be a tough meeting, but all of our guys were on fire tonight. It’s a great start to our busy run of fixtures.
“I had a really bad couple of months, but I found an engine that was going really well for me at the start of the season and it’s back to the way it was now.
“(Engine tuner) Peter Johns has been doing it all for me; I picked it up this morning and it made it all easier tonight. So, yes, I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the engine, but I still have to put in the hard work!”
Somerset boss Garry May said: “From being in it after the opening six heats, Rye House just stepped things up a gear to which we had no real answer.
“To be honest, there is little else I can say, the score-chart speaks for itself - credit to Rye House though, they did what they needed to do in order to keep their play-off hopes alive.
“But we will be looking to turn the tables on them when they visit our place for the return fixture on Friday night.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
BELLE Vue are eleven points clear at the top of the National League after a thrilling 47-43 at Birmingham on Wednesday.
The Colts inflicted the Brummies’ first home league defeat in over two years in a meeting where there were never more than four points between the sides.
The visitors never trailed but were pegged back by a stunning effort by Jack Parkinson-Blackburn to pass Jack Smith and Rob Shuttleworth in Heat 10.
However, the Colts went back ahead and led by two points going into Heat 15, where guest Matt Williamson fended off Parkinson-Blackburn with Smith holding Liam Carr at bay for third.
Williamson scored 14+1 from six rides with Shuttleworth adding 12, whilst Parkinson-Blackburn’s (14) only dropped point came in that last race, with Tom Bacon on 12.
Colts co-boss Steve Williams said: “We always knew it would be a tough ask to come to Birmingham and take any kind of convincing result. They’re the reigning champions for a very good reason.
“But we couldn’t be more delighted with the performance of the guys tonight. Their second win in as many days and against a team like the Brummies it’s an extra special achievement.
“I think it’s fair to say our spot in the play offs is cemented and while our league campaign is starting to wind down now, we’ll be maintaining a key interest in our potential title contenders.”
Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “Of course we're disappointed to taste defeat at home for the first time in the league this season, but we played our part in one hell of a tense speedway meeting which went right down to the wire.
“A few of our lads had some problems with their machinery tonight and it's been a recurring issue over the last few meetings so they need to make sure they get those sorted before our next fixture.
“But they shouldn't let their heads drop too much; they've pushed a very strong Belle Vue side all the way and thanks to our run of nine league points from the last seven days, we're still well in with a shout of making those play-offs.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter is urging his side not to let up as they look to secure top spot in the SGB Premiership ahead of the play-offs.
The Robins lead the pack after 13 successive victories and host a much-changed Somerset side at the Abbey tonight (Thursday).
With reserve duo Bradley Wilson-Dean and Zach Wajtknecht ruled out, Matt Williamson and Richard Hall come in to guest – whilst the Rebels have recruited Aaron Summers, Edward Kennett, Ashley Morris and Kevin Doolan as various fixture clashes rule riders out of this re-arranged fixture.
Rossiter said: “Even though it's disappointing to be hosting a Somerset side without so many of their normal riders, they've picked their guests wisely and have certainly booked riders who are dangerous on their day around our race track.
“We had our fair share of mechanical problems and the odd mistake or two crept in on Monday, so hopefully the boys have had chance to go away, think about those things, work on them and can rectify them.
“We're in the driving seat with this run of home fixtures that we've now got and naturally top spot is where we'd love to finish to get choice of opponents in the semi-finals of the play-offs.”
Somerset boss Garry May said: “I certainly don’t want to go to Swindon, or into any match for that matter, with a team full of guests, but that is the stage we find ourselves in on Thursday.
“I apologise to those fans who will be at Blunsdon on Thursday night that they won’t be seeing a Somerset team in action, but there was nothing else I could do given the situation.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
REDCAR host Edinburgh tonight (Thursday) in a must-win clash for the home side as they look to keep pace with the SGB Championship play-off places.
The Bears’ strong away record is keeping their hopes alive despite four home defeats, and they go into the match five points behind the fourth-placed Monarchs, although the visitors do have a match in hand.
The hosts are back to full-strength with Charles Wright and Danny Ayres returning after missing last week’s win over Glasgow, whilst Ty Proctor guests for the injured Sam Masters for Edinburgh.
Bears boss Jitendra Duffill said: “This week’s fixture is another huge one for us and also for Edinburgh. There is still an outside chance that we can snatch that last play off spot and this is an opportunity for us to gain a little ground on the Monarchs.
“Having said that, it's also a great opportunity for our visitors to pull further away and defeat this week would surely end any hopes we have of catching them.
“This one has the potential to be a very exciting meeting and I want to see the same determination and aggression that our boys showed against Glasgow.”
Leaders Sheffield will be looking to extend their winning run to eleven matches when they host Scunthorpe at Owlerton.
The Tigers have won all 13 league matches at home and are at full strength for the visit of their close rivals, who continue to operate rider-replacement for the injured Jake Allen.
Sheffield captain Kyle Howarth said: “Even though we’re top of the league and winning meetings, we’ve still got to stay focused and make sure we’re still at our best.
“Every point is important if we want to finish top of the league, so we need to put in another good performance to get three more points on Thursday.
“We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing, keep learning when we make mistakes and hopefully keep on winning.”
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We’ve got nothing to lose tonight, because everyone is expecting Sheffield to win the meeting.
“The Tigers are having a fabulous season and are currently on a brilliant run of victories. But we’re not going along to Owlerton simply make-up the numbers.
“Ryan Douglas scored 13 points there last week while taking a guest booking, and it was Josh Auty’s home track for three years. We’ve got other riders who can score well around Sheffield as well. We’re chasing Newcastle and Workington in the league table and any points are welcome.”
There is also local derby action at Foxhall as second-placed Ipswich host Peterborough.
The hosts are without both Justin Sedgmen and Kyle Newman due to shoulder and leg injuries respectively, with Mason Campton booked to guest. The Panthers have former Witches rider James Sarjeant guesting for Simon Lambert, with Bradley Wilson-Dean also rued out.
Panthers boss Carl Johnson said: “Ipswich are a strong team in good form and boast a formidable home record.
“We're having a tough run of results on the road and very few people will give us a chance of getting anything tonight.
“But we go to Ipswich believing we can win the meeting and if even if we don't manage that, we want to make life as difficult for them as possible.”
(FIXTURES)
THURSDAY AUGUST 24:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Swindon v Somerset 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich v Peterborough 7.30, Redcar v Edinburgh 7.30, Sheffield v Scunthorpe 7.30
FRIDAY AUGUST 25:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30, Somerset v Rye House 7.30
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Lakeside v Mildenhall 8pm
CALEDONIAN RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh 7.30
SATURDAY AUGUST 26:
SGB PREMIERSHIP: Leicester v Somerset 7.30
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Workington 7pm, Glasgow v Newcastle 7pm
NATIONAL TROPHY: Eastbourne v Kent 7.30
SUNDAY AUGUST 27:
SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30, Workington v Berwick 7pm
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Stoke 3pm
Results Wednesday August 23, 2017
SGB PREMIERSHIP
King’s Lynn 34 (Robert Lambert 11+1)
Wolverhampton 58 (Jacob Thorssell 16+1)
SGB Premiership points: King’s Lynn 0 Wolverhampton 4
King’s Lynn 21 (Josh Auty 13)
Wolverhampton 41 (Rory Schlein 10+2)
Abandoned after heat 10 - RESULT WILL STAND
SGB Premiership points: King’s Lynn 0 Wolverhampton 4
Rye House 60 (Krzysztof Kasprzak 12)
Somerset 30 (Richard Lawson 12+1)
SGB Premiership points: Rye House 3 Somerset 0
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE
Birmingham 43 (Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 14)
Belle Vue 47 (Matt Williamson 14+1)
National League points: Birmingham 0 Belle Vue 3
