BRITISH SPEEDWAY ROUND-UP #28

HERE’S the latest news and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.

PIC OF THE WEEK…

IPSWICH seized the initiative in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final with a 47-43 win at Leicester to put themselves in the driving seat at the halfway stage.
The Witches built up an 8-point lead going into the final race of the night, but a dramatic Heat 15 saw the previously unbeaten Emil Sayfutdinov disqualified for bringing down home man Ryan Douglas.
In the re-run Douglas combined with Max Fricke for a 5-1 over Jason Doyle and so the Witches will take a four-point lead into Thursday’s decider at Foxhall Stadium.
Photo credit: TAYLOR LANNING

UNDER-19 TITLE TO BE WON
WORKINGTON stage the 2025 British Under-19 Final at the GT Tyres Arena this Saturday (October 11, 1pm) with Ace Pijper defending the title.
Pijper has been drawn at No.3 and the opening race of the meeting will see him clash with Luke Harrison, who was runner-up last year.
The line-up includes several riders with significant Championship experience, as well as 15-year-olds Cooper Rushen, Ryan Ingram and Charlie Southwick.
GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “This is an extremely strong Final and in each heat there will be some great clashes, none more so than Heat 1!
“Thereafter each and every heat will be tense, and it would be really hard to pick out any favourites.
“Both Luke Harrison and Jody Scott have had some Premiership experience for King’s Lynn this season, Vinnie Foord represents his home club, and Ace Pijper is a former Workington rider.
“A lot has been spoken about Will Cairns and Cooper Rushen, and whether this Final will come too early for them or not only time will tell!”
Sam McGurk has withdrawn from the meeting so Harry Fletcher moves up into the main line-up with Harrison Rogers coming in as reserve.
DRAW: 1 Luke Harrison, 2 Ryan Ingram, 3 Ace Pijper, 4 Jamie Etherington, 5 Will Cairns, 6 Ben Trigger, 7 Harry Fletcher, 8 Freddy Hodder, 9 Max Perry, 10 Jody Scott, 11 Cooper Rushen, 12 Stene Pijper, 13 Vinnie Foord, 14 Charlie Southwick, 15 Jordy Loftus, 16 Ashton Vale. Reserves: 17 Lee Harrison, 18 Harrison Rogers.

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP LATEST

WITCHES NEED SAME AGAIN
IPSWICH manager Ritchie Hawkins has spelt out to his team the need for a repeat performance on Thursday after a 47-43 win in the first leg of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final at Leicester.
The Witches are favourites to take the league title as they head back to Foxhall, but Hawkins is urging no let-up against a Lions side who have performed well in Suffolk in the past.
He said: “This team are a very good and they are determined to win this title and that outweighs everything. We don’t drop our heads, like we didn’t last season.
“They certainly ploughed through, and everyone did brilliantly but they will need to do the same on Thursday.
“That is what we have just spoken about, and I told them we need to have that level of concentration, commitment and focus on Thursday if we want to get the job done.”

LIONS LOOK TO FIGHT BACK
LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson says his side need to raise themselves for one last effort as they now need to win at Ipswich on Thursday to have a chance of winning the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
The Lions’ hopes of establishing a first leg lead were dashed on Monday with Ipswich taking a 47-43 win at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park.
Dickson said: “We need to go there and almost do the impossible, but can we do it? Of course we can.
“We’ve won there before, and Sheffield won there by four points – but it’s going to be a big task, and if I was in their position I’d be a lot happier than the position we’re in at the moment. But we will give it a go.”

THE WEEK AHEAD…
IPSWICH take a four-point lead into the second and deciding leg of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final as they host Leicester on Thursday in the last top-flight fixture of the season.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP LATEST

PIRATES KICK ON
POOLE’S hopes of a Double Treble are still very much alive as a semi-final win over Redcar last weekend took the defending league champions into yet another Championship Grand Final.
The Pirates were only six points ahead from the first leg at Wimborne Road but they recorded another 48-42 win at the ECCO Arena to set up a title showdown with Glasgow.
Co-boss Gary Havelock said: “It was a thoroughly professional performance by the lads. We came here and the plan was that we didn’t have a six-point lead, it was the first leg and we were going to try and win the match.
“We put a lot of importance into starting well, and obviously getting the 5-1 in Heat 2 took the pressure off. To be honest I wasn’t under any pressure or stress all night, and that’s testament to how well the lads rode.”

BEARS NEED TO BOUNCE BACK
REDCAR have no time to dwell on their Championship play-off exit to Poole as they face the Pirates home and away once again this week in the MAXiCab KO Cup Final.
But manager Gavin Parr admits the Bears’ opponents’ record around the ECCO Arena is a concern even if his side can keep it close in the first leg on Wednesday.
Parr said: “We haven’t got long to think about it, we’re back in on Wednesday, then we’re back home on Friday so we dust ourselves down and we start again and get the build-up correct.
“We do well at Poole normally, it’s just they come here and do better! Let’s give it another fight and let’s see what happens come next Friday.”

MONARCHS STAY POSITIVE
EDINBURGH boss Alex Harkess says the 2025 campaign can still go down as a positive, despite their agonising play-off exit to rivals Glasgow in a last-heat decider at Ashfield.
Harkess told the club website: “Our hope had been that we could get to the play-offs and hope that the team developed enough to challenge in the play-offs.
“Well, the team that finished top of the league managed to beat us by two points, so we weren’t that far away.
“If we had managed to overcome Glasgow I would have been going to the Final looking to win, make no mistake about it. I don’t really see any reason to be negative about the season.”

THE WEEK AHEAD…
POOLE and Redcar battle it out again this week with the MAXiCAB KO Cup at stake as the Final takes place with the first leg at Wimborne Road on Wednesday and the return fixture at the ECCO Arena on Friday… The Bears are also in BSN Series semi-final action on Sunday when they host Glasgow, trailing by just two points from the first leg… Workington host the British Under-19 Championship, followed by the latest round of the British Youth Championship, on Saturday.

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE/NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY LATEST

TRIGGER WINS PRIDE OF THE EAST
BEN Trigger edged out home favourite Cooper Rushen and Will Cairns to win King’s Lynn’s Young Stars Pride of the East at the Adrian Flux Arena last Thursday.
Team manager Jason Pipe said: “It was a great way to end the season. All the riders enjoyed themselves and we had a great crowd there to support them. I’m sure everyone will have gone home happy after witnessing that meeting.
“Huge congratulations to Ben claiming the title. I’m so pleased for him. He really deserved that win and it was something that he really needed to happen for him. He works so hard on his racing and that was one of rewards.”

MORLEY VICTORIOUS AT IWADE
BEN Morley gave the Kent crowd a home winner as he triumphed in the Iwade Championship individual event last Sunday, heading Vinnie Foord and Cooper Rushen in the Final.
The meeting brought down the curtain on a successful season at the Old Gun Site as official racing returned to the venue in 2025.
Manager David Graveling said: “What a way to end our home season with a win for the skipper, and what a Final it was.
“We thank all the riders who competed today and all the volunteers who helped on race day and we look forward to seeing you all at the End of season awards evening.”

THE WEEK AHEAD…
SHEFFIELD stage the WSRA NDL clash between the Steelers and Leicester on Wednesday… Belle Vue complete their home campaign with a double header on Sunday as they take on first the Steelers and then Edinburgh at the National Speedway Stadium.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 8:
MAXICAB CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP FINAL 1st leg: Poole v Redcar 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Steelers (43) v Leicester (47) (at Sheffield) 7.30

THURSDAY OCTOBER 9:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Ipswich (47) v Leicester (43) 7.30

FRIDAY OCTOBER 10:
MAXICAB CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP FINAL 2nd leg: Redcar v Poole 7.30

SATURDAY OCTOBER 11:
BRITISH UNDER-19 CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington 1pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington 3.15

SUNDAY OCTOBER 12:
BSN SERIES SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Redcar (44) v Glasgow (46) 6pm
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue (39) v Steelers (45) 12pm, Belle Vue (39) v Edinburgh (49) (follows previous fixture)

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 15:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Poole v Glasgow 7.30

THURSDAY OCTOBER 16:
TIGER’S ACADEMY OPEN: Ipswich 7.30

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Glasgow v Poole 7.30