BRITISH SPEEDWAY ROUND-UP

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

THE BITE-SIZED BULLETIN

PIC OF THE WEEK…

Table-toppers Belle Vue gained some revenge for last season’s Premiership Grand Final defeat against Peterborough when beating the Panthers 54-36 at the East of England Arena on Monday night.
Photo credit: IAN CHARLES

PREMIERSHIP SOUNDBYTES…

BELLE VUE
“I think it is most obvious with Tom [Brennan] and Norick [Blödorn]. They were the biggest difference for us on the night and it’s great to see Norick banging in some big points. Hopefully this has given him a big confidence boost. We know he can do this each week, as we know we all can. It is a long season ahead, but things are most definitely looking up.”
Aces skipper Brady Kurtz was impressed with the club’s two reserves, who both scored well in Monday’s big away win at Peterborough which has raised expectations for the Manchester side this season.
NEXT HOME: King’s Lynn, Mon May 16
NEXT AWAY: King’s Lynn, Thur May 19

IPSWICH
“We had two of the four League Cup matches with half a team and now we have started the Premiership season brilliantly with two wins. When you look at the team it is a very strong team on paper, it is just about getting everyone firing together with half of the team coming off of a bad season last year. We are improving but it is early doors, and we are not getting carried away.”
Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins is keeping his feet on the ground after Monday’s impressive victory at Wolverhampton, with a big test at home to Sheffield coming next week.
NEXT HOME: Sheffield, Mon May 16
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, Mon June 6

KING’S LYNN
“The work has been taking place at the stadium and it has hit several snags along the way which has put things behind schedule. The volume of equipment inside the Arena also has an impact on my ability to prepare the track for the meeting.”
Promoter Keith Chapman took an early decision to postpone last Thursday’s home clash with Wolverhampton due to over-running electrical work at the Adrian Flux Arena.
NEXT HOME: Belle Vue, Thur May 19
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, Mon May 16

PETERBOROUGH
“It’s pretty obvious that starts were an issue, but if you look at the first eight races we lost by 16 points, and the last seven we lost by two. I don’t think the track had anything to do with it. Maybe it caught us out a bit early on, but it’s the same for both teams, Belle Vue attacked it and were sharper from the tapes, and that was the difference.”
Not the best of starts to their title defence for the Panthers, with Rob Lyon’s side defeated in their opening three matches, including at home to an impressive Belle Vue outfit on Monday.
NEXT HOME: Premiership Pairs, Mon May 23
NEXT AWAY: King’s Lynn, Mon May 30

SHEFFIELD
“We continued where we left off really from our early League Cup results and I think that was a really, really solid display from us against good opposition, considering we’ve not been here for a considerable amount of time. I think we were a little bit rusty, but ultimately we’ve got the job done.”
Simon Stead’s Tigers kicked off their league campaign with victory over Peterborough in a meeting highlighted by a 15-point maximum from Polish star Tobiasz Musielak.
NEXT HOME: Wolverhampton (LC), Thur May 19
NEXT AWAY: Ipswich, Mon May 16

WOLVERHAMPTON
“Obviously we were weakened with Dougy (Ryan Douglas) being absent because he’s been in fantastic form. So we had that to contend with, Sam (Masters) has got a dose of the flu or something so that restricted him a bit so it was a tough night.”
A shock home defeat for Wolves against Ipswich on Monday, with boss Peter Adams left to reflect on members of his side being either absent or not quite at their usual level of performance.
NEXT HOME: Sheffield, Mon May 30
NEXT AWAY: Sheffield (LC), Thur May 19

CHAMPIONSHIP SOUNDBYTES…

BERWICK
“Realistically Leon could be out for up to a month, with Ty it is a case of playing it by ear. He was complaining of numbness and a lack of sensation in one of his arms and discomfort around metalwork which he had inserted after breaking his neck in 2013. It was still bothering him midweek and Ty was due to visit the Sheffield-based specialist who performed the original operation.”
Club co-owner Jamie Courtney provides an update on the injuries to Leon Flint and Ty Proctor arising from the recent home and away matches with Newcastle.
NEXT HOME: Redcar, Sat May 14
NEXT AWAY: Plymouth, Tue May 17

BIRMINGHAM
“That was just what we wanted and just what we needed. That win is such a big boost for the lads. It was a good, all-round team performance and our season has well and truly started here.”
Relief for the Brummies and boss Laurence Rogers following their 49-41 win over Scunthorpe last Wednesday in their first fully completed home fixture of the campaign.
NEXT HOME: Oxford, Wed May 18
NEXT AWAY: Oxford, Tue May 17

EDINBURGH
“It’s early and it’s a long season, anything can happen. We’ve still got to keep concentrating on all the other ones. Everyone is starting to find their feet. We’ve got a good bunch of guys too.”
Monarchs skipper Sam Masters expects his side to gain momentum as the season continues, having won just one of their opening four matches but having picked up an encouraging point at Glasgow recently.
NEXT HOME: Leicester, Fri May 13
NEXT AWAY: Redcar, Sun May 22

GLASGOW
“The boys all gave it 100 per cent in very difficult conditions. Ulrich Ostergaard and Ben Basso were really good with a couple of 5-1s. Broc Nicol was good as well and may be coming into some form. He says he is taking little steps.”
Cami Brown’s side emerged from Newcastle with three league points on Sunday, where track conditions were a big talking point with the meeting curtailed after ten completed races.
NEXT HOME: Poole, Fri May 20
NEXT AWAY: Berwick, Sat May 28

LEICESTER
“Our heat-leaders were once again on fire today, with the rest of the team chipping in with valuable points as well. Oxford were down to six riders straight after the second race, which can stretch both men and machinery, but I think we should maybe look at the home team and say we deserve a bit of credit rather than saying they were below expectations. All in all, it’s three points and another good night for us.”
Lions boss Stewart Dickson stressed the focus should be on another impressive home performance from his side as they defeated Oxford 55-35 at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena on Saturday.
NEXT HOME: Scunthorpe (KOC), Sat May 28
NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh, Fri May 13

NEWCASTLE
“I can only apologise to all the supporters who were with us tonight for firstly not being able to continue this excellent match, and specifically to our home fans for not being able to see if we could have taken that win by the end of Heat 15 and what could have been an amazing climax to an amazing meeting.”
Track work is to take place at Brough Park after Sunday’s clash with Glasgow was abandoned after ten completed races, so Rob Grant’s side will now have a break from home matches.
NEXT HOME: Redcar, Sun May 29
NEXT AWAY: Poole, Wed May 11

OXFORD
“This is an important week for us with three matches in just four days. Saturday (against Leicester) wasn’t a good night for us and we’ve quickly put that result to bed. The positives we can take from that meeting is that everyone got stuck in with Troy (Batchelor), Kyle (Newman), Dillon (Ruml) and myself picking up heat wins.”
Cheetahs skipper Scott Nicholls says there’s no time to feel sorry for themselves as they head into a busy period which could have a major impact on their Championship prospects.
NEXT HOME: Redcar, Wed May 11
NEXT AWAY: Plymouth, Tues May 10

PLYMOUTH
“I didn’t want Henry to leave, but I am the manager and I have to make changes within the team on race day to make sure that we win. Henry didn’t like it and we talked about it afterwards and Henry said he wanted to go. I told him I didn’t want him to go, but he’s riding for the Centurions after two years out and he can’t come back and after five or six meetings expect to score big points, he has to build himself back up again.”
Gladiators boss Garry May explains the situation with Henry Atkins to plymouthherald.co.uk, with the rider having been absent from recent matches.
NEXT HOME: Oxford, Tues May 10
NEXT AWAY: Leicester, Sat June 11

POOLE
“It is these sort of meetings where you can’t afford to allow points to slip. We are on a good run of home form, and we intend to keep that going for as long as we possibly can. We will be expecting our boys to ride their hearts out.”
Pirates promoter Danny Ford says there will be no letting up when they face Newcastle in their latest Championship encounter this week, as they bid to bounce back from defeat at Plymouth.
NEXT HOME: Newcastle, Wed May 11
NEXT AWAY: Redcar, Fri May 13

REDCAR
“Jordan (Jenkins) and Jason (Edwards) have done well so far this season, but they have a lot to learn and I know they can score more points for us. If the side can fire together all at once, we will be tough to beat.”
Bears star Erik Riss tells redcar-speedway.com there’s still plenty of potential for improvement throughout the side as a busy period of the season approaches.
NEXT HOME: Poole, Fri May 13
NEXT AWAY: Oxford, Wed May 11

SCUNTHORPE
“Heat 14 was probably the race where a point slipped away from us, because I was expecting for us to maybe take a 4-2 from that, but instead Birmingham ended up getting a 4-2 from it. It’s a disappointing result, and our next meeting, at home to Oxford, is an important one, because we need to change our fortunes around.”
Scorpions boss Dave Peet was left with a feeling of what might have been as his side were beaten 49-41 at Birmingham last Wednesday.
NEXT HOME: Oxford, Fri May 13
NEXT AWAY: Leicester (KOC), Sat May 28

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE SOUNDBYTES…

ARMADALE
“At one point we were really close to winning it, then we lost another 5-1 and it was out of our grasp again. But some of us are starting to score points again, and getting our confidence back.”
Devils racer Lewis Millar says the results will come in time after they were on the wrong end of a home defeat to Oxford last Friday.
NEXT HOME: Mildenhall, Fri June 17
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, Fri May 27

BELLE VUE
“I think with a little more track knowledge things could’ve been closer but we can’t take away from the Bullets. They were strong at home and deserved winners. Overall, we are disappointed to have lost but there are lots of positives for us to take from this meeting. We have learned quite a bit so now we just need to regroup and we’ll be back stronger.”
Colts racer Nathan Ablitt top-scored at Berwick on Saturday but said the team had no complaints with a 55-35 defeat to the Bullets.
NEXT HOME: Armadale, Fri May 27
NEXT AWAY: Leicester, Sat May 14

BERWICK
“We did everything right tonight and got the just win we deserved, but also we go into these NDL matches wanting to progress from one to seven, and we did that comfortably, and we also go out to have some fun, and I don’t think any fans would disagree that that tonight was top-level fun!”
It’s all about the enjoyment for the Bullets, and that’s a policy which appears to be working with Gary Flint’s side notching another impressive win over Belle Vue at the weekend.
NEXT HOME: Kent, Sat May 21
NEXT AWAY: Leicester, Sun June 5

KENT
The Royals race their first home league fixture of their new era at Iwade as they face Leicester on Sunday – with a win already on the board from their success at Plymouth early in the season.
NEXT HOME: Leicester, Sun May 15
NEXT AWAY: Berwick, Sat May 21

LEICESTER
“We’re the last team to start, but it’s a really exciting year ahead, because there’s potential growth in basically everybody in the team.”
Lion Cubs boss Dave Howard is excited to get the 2022 season underway, with his side facing two matches in less than 24 hours this weekend after last Friday’s postponement at Belle Vue.
NEXT HOME: Belle Vue, Sat May 14
NEXT AWAY: Kent, Sun May 15

MILDENHALL
“Ritchie was in my corner in the pits with me at Iwade and as ever he was a huge help. It really feels that all the hard work spent at training days and the hours in the workshop, the long trips around the country getting in rides – it feels all worthwhile when one gets a performance like in that KOC semi-final.”
Fen Tigers newcomer Josh Warren hit double figures for the first time in the recent KO Cup aggregate win over Kent, and praised the influence of Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins on his performance.
NEXT HOME: Plymouth, Sun May 15
NEXT AWAY: Leicester, Sat May 21

OXFORD
“There was a downpour before the start, which made the track very difficult for National League racing. But our riders dealt with it well, just got stuck in all night, and it was fantastic result away from home. The morale in the team is high.”
Chargers co-boss Jason Crump praised the effort of the team to battle away for victory at Armadale on Friday, with Jordan Jenkins and Nathan Stoneman scoring maximums.
NEXT HOME: Plymouth, Wed June 1
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, Fri June 3

PLYMOUTH
NEXT HOME: Leicester, Tues May 24
NEXT AWAY: Mildenhall, Sun May 15

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY MAY 10:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Oxford 7pm

WEDNESDAY MAY 11:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Redcar 7.30, Poole v Newcastle 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 13:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Leicester 7.30, Redcar v Poole 7.30, Scunthorpe v Oxford 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 14:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Redcar 7pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Leicester v Belle Vue 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 15:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Leicester 12pm, Mildenhall v Plymouth 3pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2 (500cc): Kent (follows NDL fixture)

MONDAY MAY 16:
PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 7.30, Ipswich v Sheffield 7.30

TUESDAY MAY 17:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Birmingham 7.30, Plymouth v Berwick 7pm

WEDNESDAY MAY 18:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham v Oxford 7.30, Poole v Berwick 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 19:
PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30
LEAGUE CUP: Sheffield v Wolverhampton 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 20:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30, Glasgow v Poole 7.30, Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 21:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Berwick v Kent 7pm, Leicester v Mildenhall 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 22:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar v Edinburgh 5pm

MONDAY MAY 23:
PREMIERSHIP PAIRS Round 1: Peterborough 7.30

TUESDAY MAY 24:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Plymouth v Leicester 7pm