BRITISH SPEEDWAY ROUND-UP #10
HERE’S our latest news and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.
PIC OF THE WEEK…
POOLE booked their place in the BSN Series semi-finals with a 47-43 win at Plymouth on Saturday to join Workington, Scunthorpe and Edinburgh in the last four. The holders only needed to score 33 points at the Coliseum for the aggregate point they required to top the Southern group, but they raced to victory on the night with Richard Lawson top-scoring on 14 points.
Photo credit: DAN WESTLAKE
SAM’S THE MAN!
POOLE promoter Dan Ford has sent his congratulations to Pirates reserve Sam Hagon who was crowned British Under-21 Champion at Glasgow on Sunday.
Hagon continued the form which has seen him take a major step up in 2024, as he defeated Leon Flint, Ashton Boughen and Joe Thompson in the Final at Ashfield.
Ford said: “Winning the U21 title is a great reward for all the hard effort Sam has put into his racing.
“Always willing to go out there and learn and with great equipment behind him, we believed in him being a winner and he proved that on Sunday.”
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP…
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
A contender for the best guest performance of the season has to be SCOTT NICHOLLS for Ipswich at home to Leicester in the KO Cup as the former British Champion once again showed his class at the age of 46 with a 17-point haul from six rides to help the injury-hit Witches into the semi-finals.
FREDDIE READY FOR BRUMMIES
WORLD No.2 Fredrik Lindgren will make his debut for Birmingham in their KO Cup semi-final second leg at Ipswich on Thursday.
The Swede comes into the team for his first stint in British racing since 2017, with Zach Cook the unlikely rider making way for the Brummies.
CEO Nigel Tolley said: “Whilst it’s a little later than we had first intended, we are thrilled that Freddie has now had the green light to finally race in Brummies colours.
“It’s just the boost we needed going into Thursday’s second leg and I’m sure Freddie will come straight in and help inspire his team-mates further.
“After many lengthy discussions as a management team, Zach is the rider we have decided to let go and I have no doubts that he will be snapped up quickly elsewhere in the Premiership as he hasn’t done much wrong at all.”
WITCHES – NO PANIC
IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins says the club will take their time to consider all options with Jason Doyle now ruled out for the remainder of the season, although skipper Danny King is hopefully closing in on a return.
Hawkins said: “We are still looking at options for Doyley, we are in a great position at the moment and if we can do anything we want to make sure it is the right move, but I’m sure as everyone can appreciate it is a difficult task and not one to be rushed.
“We will look at options and see what we can do, and we will do what is best for Ipswich Speedway and do our very best to make us the strongest team out on track.
“Danny is still undergoing intense physio and the recovery is taking a little longer than we had hoped, but he is still trying his very best to be back for the British Final on Saturday.”
TIGERS ON THE RIGHT PATH
SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead felt the comfortable win over Birmingham last Thursday was another positive step for the Tigers in their Premiership title defence.
Stead said: “We didn’t want to underestimate the opposition. We knew they were, perhaps, understrength with having to run R/R at No.1 and bringing in a guest at reserve but it’s easy to take your finger off the pulse and we didn’t want to do that.
“I felt running R/R was the right thing to do for us to give a couple of our other riders an opportunity to get some more laps here and to try and improve.
“It was a good result, we got the points that we needed to which is the main thing and I felt it was another step in the right direction for us.”
MAGIC INSPIRED FOR SPIRES
MACIEJ Janowski came up trumps for Oxford in their hard-fought 46-44 win over Leicester on Monday which moves them back above the Lions in the league table.
And the Polish star reckons he’s now getting to grips with life back in the UK having been absent from racing in this country for a decade before joining the Spires.
Janowski said: “I’m happy to score more points for the team and I have trained hard. I’m still looking to score more points, but I helped the team today and that’s good.
“I want to be more sure about what I’m doing. The starts over here are very different than in Poland, and it’s getting used to those again and making sure I have bikes that work for me over here. It’s also about changing my technique to get off the starts.”
TWO SIDELINED FOR STARS
KING’S Lynn will be without both Tobiasz Musielak and Michael Palm Toft when they go into KO Cup action against Sheffield on Thursday.
Musielak hasn’t appeared for the Stars since crashing out in early May and he is still struggling with ankle ligament damage, having recovered from a broken collarbone.
Palm Toft suffered collarbone and shoulder injuries of his own in a crash at Berwick last Saturday, with Richard Lawson and Simon Lambert set to step in against the Tigers this week.
LIONS SEEK COOK BOOST
LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson hopes the signing of Craig Cook for a second spell with the club will give the Lions the points boost they need at reserve.
Dickson said: “Craig has been in good form this season. He’s up to almost a nine-point average again in the Championship, and you don’t get that sort of average if you’re not racing well.
“I know speedway meetings aren’t won on paper, but being able to bring him in at reserve could be the catalyst for our season taking off.
“When I spoke to Craig, he was clear that he has unfinished business at Leicester. It never went according to plan for him last year, for reasons that are well documented including the crash at Edinburgh.”
NEWS IN BRIEF
BELLE VUE are currently in a break from ROWE Motor Oil Premiership action with their campaign due to resume at Sheffield on June 20. The Aces are monitoring the fitness of skipper Brady Kurtz who has missed their last two fixtures due to injury.
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP…
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Edinburgh skipper PACO CASTAGNA stepped up with a superb 14-point haul, bouncing back from a bad night at Oxford, as the Monarchs defeated fierce rivals Glasgow 50-39 at Ashfield to book their place in the BSN Series semi-finals.
SCORPIONS BUILDING MOMENTUM
SCUNTHORPE enjoyed a successful weekend of Cab Direct Championship action with a home win over Redcar followed up by a last-heat triumph at Berwick on Saturday.
Scorpions No.1 Kyle Howarth said: “We won because of a whole team performance tonight, and fair play to young Luke at reserve, because his points played a big part in our victory.
“We’ve had a run of three home meetings recently, and winning those well have allowed us to catch a bit of form. It’s always a big boost to go and win away, while the atmosphere around the team is really good.”
SWITCH FOR CHEETAHS
OXFORD are still without the injured Henry Atkins and must now book guests to cover his absence having previously utilised the rider replacement facility.
Manager Peter Schroeck said: “Henry is still at least a few weeks away from returning and this month, with him now at reserve, guests are the only option.
“We’ve booked Jacob Hook who I believe is a good replacement. We still have Ashton (Boughen) down at reserve and he’s on a bit of a high at the moment, he did superbly well to finish third in British Under-21 Final at Glasgow on Sunday, despite being one of the youngest riders in the line-up.”
DICKSON AND DREW – NO ISSUES!
BERWICK boss Stewart Dickson insists his decision to release Drew Kemp from his Premiership team Leicester will have no impact on any Bandits business.
Dickson said: “Separate clubs, separate leagues. Simple as that. When I spoke to him on Tuesday to let him know he was being replaced it was a conversation solely about Leicester Lions and Drew. Berwick was never mentioned in that conversation.
“The following day we met at Poole and the focus was solely on what I needed from him and what he wanted from me as far as doing well for Berwick was concerned.
“Speedway is a small circle and there are always opportunities and setbacks. I may need Drew to guest for me sometime in the future and one thing I have learned as I grow older is that you never say never to anything in this sport.”
FORD WELCOMES FOORD
POOLE owner Matt Ford is pleased to offer another British youngster a chance, with Vinnie Foord coming into the side having replaced Max Perry for the Pirates.
Ford said: “All I can ask of our supporters is that they embrace Vinnie in the manner which they showed with Max.
“He is another young rider, just nine months older than Max in fact, and he showed what he is capable of by finishing in sixth place in Sunday’s British U21 Final, having scored a very creditable 11 points and making the repechage.
“We hope that he is made welcome at Wimborne Road and given all the encouragement to find his feet.”
MONARCHS MAKE IT THROUGH
EDINBURGH are looking forward to the BSN Series semi-finals after their 50-39 win over Glasgow last Friday confirmed them as Scottish group winners.
Captain Paco Castagna top-scored with 14 points and said: “Tonight I’m really, really impressed by everyone, we’ve got to thank Cookie (Craig Cook) for his hard work, and everyone did a massive job.
“Even though Lasse (Fredriksen) was injured halfway through the meeting he kept going. We all did our job and got a win against Glasgow which is always satisfying.”
DISAPPOINTMENT FOR TIGERS
GLASGOW boss Cami Brown admitted he was hugely disappointed with a 50-40 defeat at Redcar, as the defending champions still look to find their best form.
Brown said: “It’s another hugely disappointing result. It was a case of too many last places.
“Like the previous night, there were only a couple of positives. Jack Smith rode well again while Leon Flint is almost getting there I think. He’s making little improvements.
“Chris Harris was back to his best and was actually frustrated to not score more. He was disappointed to drop points and I want the boys to be that way. But that’s about it, I’m afraid. The rest of the boys need to up their game.”
BEARS PLEASED WITH GILKES MOVE
REDCAR co-promoter Jade Mudgway is excited to be working with Dan Gilkes who has recently made his first appearances in Bears colours.
Mudgway said: “I’m really excited to see what Dan can do as a Bear. Having him riding for us in the Championship will boost both his season, as well as ours.
“He is a British prospect with a big future – the kind of rider that will thrive on our track, being a fast gater and knowing how to carry his speed around our flowing track.
“I wish Jonas (Knudsen) all the best in the future, but it was clear that we needed to make a change, and unfortunately it had to be Jonas who went.”
OFF-TRACK BLOW FOR COMETS
WORKINGTON were victims of a break-in at the GT Tyres Arena last week, with Cumbria Police investigating the incident. The Comets still intend to be on track at home to Plymouth on June 15.
The club said: “It seems the storage building housing the track equipment including strimmer’s, grass cutters, power tools and other equipment was targeted.
“We are currently estimating the loss to be substantial, with thousands of pounds of equipment stolen. A thorough police and forensics investigation is ongoing where we hope to get more answers going forward.”
NEWS IN BRIEF
PLYMOUTH are still unable to track a full one-to-seven with Nico Covatti now suspended for 28 days by the SCB after racing on the continent whilst not appearing for the Gladiators; whilst Dan Thompson is currently ruled out by illness.
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE…
NDL OPENER AT REDCAR
MIDDLESBROUGH and Belle Vue bid to get off the mark in the WSRA NDL when the sides meet at the ECCO Arena on Friday.
The NDL meeting starts at Redcar’s usual time of 7.30pm with all admission reduced to £10, season ticket holders and children free.
FIXTURE PICTURE…
TUESDAY JUNE 4:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Redcar 7pm
WEDNESDAY JUNE 5:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Scunthorpe 7.30, Poole v Redcar 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 6:
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Ipswich (46) v Birmingham (44) 7.30; 1st leg: King’s Lynn v Sheffield 7.30
FRIDAY JUNE 7:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh (36) v Oxford (54) 7.30, Scunthorpe (46) v Berwick (44) 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Middlesbrough v Belle Vue 7.30
SATURDAY JUNE 8:
ATTIS INSURANCE SPORTS DIVISION BRITISH FINAL: Belle Vue 7.30
MONDAY JUNE 10:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Ipswich (46) v Sheffield (44) 7.30
TUESDAY JUNE 11:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth (42) v Berwick (47) 7pm
WEDNESDAY JUNE 12:
KYLE HOWARTH TESTIMONIAL: Sheffield 7.30
THURSDAY JUNE 13:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30, Oxford v Ipswich 7.30
FRIDAY JUNE 14:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar v Edinburgh 7.30, Scunthorpe v Oxford 7.30
SATURDAY JUNE 15:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington (47) v Plymouth (43) 3pm
SUNDAY JUNE 16:
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Oxford v Belle Vue 3pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow 2pm
MONDAY JUNE 17:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn (43) v Oxford (47) 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Middlesbrough 7.30
