BRITISH SPEEDWAY ROUND-UP #14

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

PIC OF THE WEEK…

OXFORD ended the week two points clear at the top of the Cab Direct Championship following a 57-33 win over Workington at Cowley. The Cheetahs racked up their biggest score of 2024 so far as they dominated proceedings despite a brilliant showing from Comets No.1 Craig Cook. The visitors’ captain scored 15 from six rides – winning five races – with
Cameron Heeps top-scoring for the hosts with 11+2.
Photo credit: STEVE EDMUNDS

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
It’s always good to see a Rising Star in double figures, and ANDERS ROWE put in a superb performance at Sheffield last Thursday scoring 11+1 for King’s Lynn, including a win over Tai Woffinden, which helped keep the Stars in the Cup semi-final until the closing stages of the second leg.

KEY WIN FOR SPIRES
OXFORD pulled clear in fourth place in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership with victory over Sheffield in a meeting which went down to a last-heat decider – where Rohan Tungate and Chris Harris got the result the Spires needed.
Tungate said: “It was tight again and it’s not something we want to be doing every week, but we got the job done and got the win.
“It was important to win today, because we’re back here against Ipswich on Thursday. That’s another tough meeting, but we’ve ridden here already this week and that should work in our favour. It’s good for the riders to have two home meetings in one week.”

TIGERS BOSS IS POSITIVE
SHEFFIELD manager Simon Stead praised the co-operation between his club and Oxford ahead of Monday’s televised clash at Cowley.
The Tigers suffered a huge blow before the meeting with their top two of Tai Woffinden and Jack Holder both being injured in the Grand Prix of Poland at Gorzow, but they still played a full part in a meeting which went right down to the wire.
Stead said: “I thought it was a great advert for speedway and it was everything they would’ve wanted in front of the TV cameras.
“A last heat decider, the scoreline kept things interesting throughout and on top of that I thought we saw some really good racing.
“As a club we’d like to thank Oxford for their co-operation in allowing us to change our riding order on the morning of the meeting; credit to them for being so accommodating and it’s something I’d like to see more of at this level.”

MUSIELAK QUITS STARS
KING’S Lynn have confirmed captain Tobias Musielak will not return following the completion of his 28-day SCB suspension.
The club said: “Tobiasz was quite clear that his ankle ligament damage was serious and will require surgery in the winter.
“He feels that he can manage riding one meeting per week in Poland, where tracks are not as tight or technical, while having physiotherapy to alleviate problems in the meantime.
“For the club, it is a hard pill to swallow, losing our No 1 on the back of losing Vadim Tarasenko earlier in the season and now Nicolai Klindt to a season-ending injury. However, we have to accept Tobiasz’s decision and look to the future.”

WITCHES’ HEAD SCRATCHER
IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins admits his side simply have to find the answers to their frequent problems at the National Speedway Stadium, after a 58-26 defeat in Manchester on Monday.
Hawkins said: “The boys certainly didn’t throw the towel in, and we fought very hard and got in good positions, but we have said it before and it was the case again today, we were not quick enough.
“There is a lot of head scratching going on as to why, and if we end up coming here for the play-offs it is something that we certainly need to massively improve.”

ACES’ VICTORY AT A COST
BELLE Vue’s impressive home win over league leaders Ipswich was marred by the Heat 14 crash which saw new signing Tate Zischke taken to hospital.
Jaimon Lidsey scored a 12-point maximum and skipper Brady Kurtz returned with a double-figure score, but he admitted Zischke’s accident had taken the shine off the evening.
Kurtz said: “It was a super good performance from the whole team tonight and this is just what we needed to get going, it’s just a massive shame it ended how it did.
“I think we suspected that Ipswich would struggle, especially being without Jason Doyle, but I think even we were surprised just how many points we put on them so early on.”

LIONS BOSS WANTS MORE
LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson is calling on his team to find the consistency of firing as an all-seven unit.
The Lions’ match at King’s Lynn on Monday was rained off and they now face an important home clash with Sheffield on Thursday.
Dickson said: “I would say we had a more encouraging performance at Belle Vue last Monday, but there are still a couple of riders who can add more to what they scored last week. We need all seven to come to the party.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
BIRMINGHAM will welcome No.1 Fredrik Lindgren back to the UK this week as the winner of the Grand Prix of Poland in Gorzow… The Swedish star lines up for the Brummies at King’s Lynn on Thursday, before a crucial home clash with Oxford on Monday.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Edinburgh’s JOSH PICKERING played a big part in rescuing an aggregate point for his team with a 15+1 haul in the Monarchs’ 50-39 defeat at Scunthorpe. Pickering was on the receiving end of a 5-1 in Heat 1 but was then unbeaten for the remainder of the meeting.

SCORPIONS SKIPPER SETS TARGET
SCUNTHORPE captain Simon Lambert wants to see his side transfer their strong home form to their racing on the road.
Scorpions defeated Edinburgh 50-39 at the Eddie Wright Raceway to keep pace at the top of the table, although a heavier defeat at Armadale proved costly for the aggregate point.
Lambert said: “We took a good victory, the only shame was that we didn’t take the aggregate point, but the main thing is to win on the night and we achieved that.
“We are dominant at home, but we know we need to pick our feet up a bit in our away performances. We are a solid team and we need to make sure it works away. The spirit is the camp remains high and we know what we need to do.”

TIGERS – MORE TO COME
GLASGOW boss Cami Brown says last week’s big win over Plymouth was an indication of the potential the reigning champions still possess.
Brown said: “After the two wins over Berwick last weekend I told the boys I still wanted more from them.
“But I’m confident this side has got the ability to push on now like I asked.
“Some of the lads are getting more belief and they showed that against a very dangerous Plymouth side.”

FOORD BLOW FOR PIRATES
POOLE will be without recent signing Vinnie Foord for the coming weeks after he suffered a fractured wrist in a crash at Wimborne Road last week.
Promoter Dan Ford said: “To lose Vinnie is a huge disappointment. I think, even in the short time that he has been with us, he has demonstrated his battling attitude and he settled in real quick.
“But we are talking speedway here and injuries are an occupational hazard and so we will just have to get on and play the cards that have been dealt.
“We are calling on Max Perry (against Edinburgh) and I am sure that he will be relishing the opportunity to show us more of the stuff that we saw last Wednesday.”

BANDITS BADLY HIT
BERWICK boss Stewart Dickson accepts injuries have had a huge bearing on the club’s recent results, with home defeats hampering their play-off hopes.
Dickson said: “When we were building the team during the winter we brought in Bastian (Borke) because he had a four-point average and we believed, rightly, he was capable of moving that to six.
“Rory (Schlein) has added half a point on the rolling averages and was riding much better than that before his injury.
“The only way to challenge for the top four is to build a side with two riders improving their averages. We were doing that, but speedway is a cruel sport.”

MONARCHS MAKE THEIR POINT
EDINBURGH No.1 Josh Pickering was pleased to come away from Scunthorpe last Friday with some reward, with the Monarchs doing enough to take the aggregate point despite a slow start to the meeting.
Pickering said: “We did not start well and you were getting covered in shale if you didn’t make the gate, but the result was there in the end I guess when it comes to the aggregate point and that was the main thing.
“We have all jumped in and done our part, it is a collective 1-7 and we have all chipped away and everyone contributed so it is credit to the boys that we all stuck in and as I said in regards the aggregate point we got the job done.”

BEARS ON THE WRIGHT TRACK
REDCAR skipper Charles Wright says the Bears are a united team as they look to continue their climb back up the Championship table.
Wright said: “We’ve been putting in some solid performances of late and the second we get dialled in properly at home we’ll be no mean feat to beat.
“Every single one of the lads are pulling in the points and as always, Gav (Parr) and Jamie (Swales) putting in the work off track to keep us all fired up and raring to go.”

SCOTT HOT FOR CHEETAHS
OXFORD youngster Jody Scott stepped up from Chargers to Cheetahs and collected 6+2 at senior level to help his side to a big home win over Workington.
Scott said: “Pete (Schroeck) gave me the opportunity and I’m buzzed that I’ve responded to that by scoring good points.
“Getting out of the start is key for me to be able to do well at this level, and that’s why I’ve been practicing my starts because it does make a big difference and it’s paying off.
“I just want to keep on progressing. I’ve been working as hard this year as I ever have been, because it’s what I want to do with my career. Hopefully the opportunities for Cheetahs will continue to come and I can continue to score points.”

TRACK KNOWLEDGE VITAL
WORKINGTON boss James Denham admitted Oxford’s greater experience had played a part in a 57-33 defeat for the Comets at Cowley, where Craig Cook dominated the visitors’ scoring with 15 points from six rides.
Denham said: “It was disappointing for sure, we were clearly beaten by the better side on the night – so congratulations to Oxford. We have three inexperienced riders on these sorts of tracks, and it was always going to be tough on a tricky track.
“Cookie was superb all night, it was almost as if vintage Craig was starting to show – as without his score and leadership it could’ve been a lot worse.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
PLYMOUTH are set to race as a full one-to-seven this week with Nico Covatti due back from an injury and suspension absence… The Gladiators host Edinburgh on Tuesday and then make the trip to Workington on Saturday.

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
LUKE HARRISON raced to a 15-point maximum to help Scunthorpe to an impressive 57-33 win over Edinburgh at the Eddie Wright Raceway. Team-mate Nathan Ablitt was also unbeaten with 11+1 from five rides.

LAMBERT A HAPPY MANAGER
SIMON Lambert swapped kevlars for a pen and programme as he managed Scunthorpe to their victory over Edinburgh on Friday in the second half of a double header – after scoring 14 points for the senior Scorpions team!
Lambert said: “The Stags were fantastic and it was a pleasure to manage them. Luke (Harrison) and Nathan (Ablitt) were so classy, and both didn’t want Heat 15, because they’d already had another meeting beforehand, and I respect that, because it meant some of the other lads could take another outing.
“I’m proud of them all. All I want is for them to get out there and mix it and race. Some of the Edinburgh riders have experience of the league above, but that’s good, because you have to race those lads to improve.”

ACADEMY’S HOME HOPES
EDINBURGH racer Max Perry hopes forthcoming home matches allow the Monarchs Academy to get their season going, following a fourth defeat at Scunthorpe last Friday.
Perry said: “It has been a bit of a struggle for us to be fair especially for the boys not getting rides in other leagues and it has not been the season we wanted so far.
“We need to win the next home match, then hopefully we can finish the season strong from there.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
MIDDLESBROUGH’S home match against Scunthorpe/Sheffield on Saturday will now have a 1pm start with the club bringing it forward by two hours due to England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final later in the day… SAM HAGON was the winner of the first meeting in the new National League Riders Development series, as he took the honours in Poole’s Individual event last Wednesday with a run-off victory over Jake Mulford.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY JULY 2:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth (48) v Edinburgh (42) 7pm

WEDNESDAY JULY 3:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Poole v Edinburgh 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 4:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30, Leicester v Sheffield 7.30, Oxford (37) v Ipswich (53) 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 5:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh (41) v Redcar (49) 7.30, Scunthorpe v Glasgow 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 6:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington (47) v Plymouth (43) 3pm
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Middlesbrough (42) v Scunthorpe/Sheffield (48) 1pm

MONDAY JULY 8:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Birmingham v Oxford 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 9:
FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS SEMI-FINAL 1: Belle Vue 7pm

WEDNESDAY JULY 10:
FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS SEMI-FINAL 2: Belle Vue 7pm

FRIDAY JULY 12:
FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS 2: Belle Vue 7pm
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Middlesbrough 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 13:
FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS FINAL: Belle Vue 7pm
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Middlesbrough v Edinburgh 3pm

SUNDAY JULY 14:
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Oxford v Scunthorpe/Sheffield 3pm
BEN FUND BONANZA: Workington 3pm

MONDAY JULY 15:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (26) v Belle Vue (58) 7.30,
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn (42) v Leicester (47) 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham 7.30 (500cc/250cc)