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…

Poole got the better of Glasgow with a 51-39 win last week at Wimborne Road to keep alive their hopes of a top-two Championship finish.
The top-two teams go direct to the play-off semi-finals with teams placed 3rd-6th making up the quarter-finals.
Leicester lead the table with 43 points from 17 meetings and Glasgow (34 from 15) still hold a one-point advantage over Poole and also have a match in-hand.
Photo credit: ANTHONY BURCHELL

PREMIERSHIP SOUNDBYTES…

BELLE VUE
“We felt good going into tonight and we all knew what we were capable of but unfortunately, we just came up short against the better team who, on the night, was Ipswich. On the whole everyone dug deep and did the best we could, and I don’t think the score reflects that; Ipswich had to work hard for their points.”
Aces’ Rising Star Tom Brennan felt they hadn’t received just reward for their efforts in last Thursday’s defeat at Ipswich where Charles Wright and Jye Etheridge were both missing due to injury.
NEXT HOME: Peterborough, Mon July 25
NEXT AWAY: King’s Lynn, Mon Aug 22

IPSWICH
“Doyley was superb as he has been every meeting and Batch carried on his great form from Thursday and stepped it up with a superb start in the Final. As a pairing they have two wins from two in the Pairs which shows they love racing together. Danyon has been a credit to the side as it is a hard job only getting one race a meeting and he was ready to go again for the semi which is a credit to him, and he is an important part of the team.”
Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins paid tribute to his trio of Jason Doyle, Troy Batchelor and Rising Star Danyon Hume as they came away with another victory in the fourth round of the Premiership Pairs at Wolverhampton on Monday.
NEXT HOME: Sheffield, Thur July 21
NEXT AWAY: King’s Lynn, Thur Aug 4

KING’S LYNN
“We know Josh (Pickering) is nigh-on impossible to stop around here at times so going with him alongside Richie (Worrall) in Heat 1 paid dividends. They complement each other’s style well. The reserves went well in Heat 2 and from there we never looked back.”
Stars boss Alex Brady enjoyed a night where things all came together as they ended their losing sequence with an impressive home victory over Wolverhampton.
NEXT HOME: Ipswich, Thur Aug 4
NEXT AWAY: Wolverhampton, Mon July 25

PETERBOROUGH
“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. If you’d have said to me before the start of the meeting that we’re going to have no tapes, we’re going to have problems with the green light, and then I lose a rider and am down to five, I probably wouldn’t have even turned up tonight.”
Panthers boss Rob Lyon admitted last Thursday’s trip to Sheffield had been a serious morale-tester, although his depleted side did perform with credit under the circumstance before going down by 12 points.
NEXT HOME: Sheffield, Mon Aug 15
NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, Mon July 25

SHEFFIELD
“I’m looking at every heat and for some reason I’m thinking we look a little more solid than we perhaps did before. All-in-all it was a good win over Peterborough though, job done, three points on the board and we’re looking forward to the next one.”
Tigers boss Simon Stead felt his revised riding order had been a success in Thursday’s win over Peterborough, as he looks to fine-tune the formation ahead of the crucial time of the season.
NEXT HOME: Wolverhampton, Thur Aug 4
NEXT AWAY: Ipswich, Thur July 21

WOLVERHAMPTON
“We’re making a habit of not starting these away matches the way that we need to, so we’ll obviously have to address that, and we will. I’m not concerned about the play-offs at all, I’m sure we’ll be in the top four at the end of the day, and obviously it’s then that you’ve got to be at your best.”
Wolves boss Peter Adams says there’s plenty of time to address any current issues after seeing a slow start again prove costly in last Thursday’s defeat at King’s Lynn.
NEXT HOME: King’s Lynn, Mon July 25
NEXT AWAY: Sheffield, Thur Aug 4

CHAMPIONSHIP SOUNDBYTES…

BERWICK
“Despite this setback there is still plenty left in our season. It was a tough night, indeed a tough couple of nights. How we bounce back from the setbacks will decide how our season ends.”
Bandits boss Gary Flint is urging his side to put a troubled weekend behind them, with a spate of crashes at Glasgow and then a heavy KO Cup exit at the hands of Redcar following 24 hours later.
NEXT HOME: Edinburgh (CJL), Sat July 23
NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh (CJL), Fri July 22

BIRMINGHAM
“Conditions were a bit of a leveller on two wet tracks when we both won at each other’s track earlier in the season. But with the team we’ve got, on paper I believe we are more than capable of doing the double.”
Brummies boss Laurence Rogers is optimistic of positive results when his side faces Oxford in the Championship Jubilee League this week, after an impressive home win over Plymouth last Wednesday.
NEXT HOME: Oxford (CJL), Wed July 20
NEXT AWAY: Oxford (CJL), Tues July 19

EDINBURGH
“I think Richard Lawson was a very adequate replacement for Sam! We definitely deserved our point, all of our riders did their bit.”
Monarchs boss John Campbell praised the efforts of guest rider Richard Lawson in Saturday’s 47-42 defeat at Leicester which saw his side pick up an important league point in their push for the play-offs.
NEXT HOME: Berwick (CJL), Fri July 22
NEXT AWAY: Berwick (CJL), Sat July 23

GLASGOW
“I don’t think we’d be as poor in the play-offs. Poole drew at our place but they haven’t been to our track for a while and we’ve had recent experience on theirs, and I’m confident we could give them a better match over two legs next time.”
Tigers boss Cami Brown isn’t reading too much into last week’s defeat at play-off rivals Poole, and believes it will be a different story if the sides meet again later in the season.
NEXT HOME: Edinburgh (CJL), Sun July 31
NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh (CJL), Fri July 29

LEICESTER
“It was an important win, and a really tough night. The boys from Edinburgh stuck it to us, and a few parts of the team are struggling so hopefully we can get those boys going. We needed to keep the home unbeaten streak going to make sure we can stay on top of the league, and it wasn’t easy, but we got it done.”
Lions No.1 Nick Morris racked up a 14-point haul as his side moved to within one win of confirming top spot in the Championship table with last Saturday’s hard-fought win over Edinburgh.
NEXT HOME: Berwick, Sun July 24
NEXT AWAY: Scunthorpe (CJL), Fri July 22

OXFORD
“I’m quietly positive we can have a good run in this competition. Arguably Plymouth slipped up a bit by not talking any points from Birmingham last week, and we’ve got to take advantage of little things like that, while maximising our own points.”
Cheetahs co-boss Peter Schroeck is turning the focus fully on the Championship Jubilee Shield as a further opportunity for silverware after missing out on the league play-offs.
NEXT HOME: Birmingham (CJL), Tues July 19
NEXT AWAY: Birmingham (CJL), Wed July 20

PLYMOUTH
“To replace the damaged vehicle(s) will cost thousands of pounds; and to completely make the Site secure with full CCTV coverage and improved fencing will cost tens of thousands of pounds. The mental and stress impact on all of those involved and many who work tirelessly as volunteers to help the sport progress at The Coliseum is incalculable and beyond any financial comparison.”
The Gladiators are counting the cost of a mindless vandalism attack at their stadium, and anyone with any information is asked to contact the authorities as soon as possible.
NEXT HOME: Poole (CJL), Tues July 19
NEXT AWAY: Oxford (CJL), Wed July 27

POOLE
“That result was good, for as you know they are one of the strongest teams in the league and based on our previous form you couldn’t quite say how that one would have panned out ahead of the meeting, and I am not sure anyone thought we would score 51 points against them – and that is fair enough as we have been struggling. I have thought, though, it has been coming for a while as we are all very good riders.”
Pirates star Steve Worrall was pleased to see the side back to displaying their true form in last week’s impressive home win over Glasgow.”
NEXT HOME: Scunthorpe, Wed July 20
NEXT AWAY: Plymouth (CJL), Tues July 19

REDCAR
“It was a fantastic performance from the whole team, all of the boys scored good points and we sealed the deal quite early on with three early heat advantages. I don’t really know why but things are really starting to work for us now. We are having a bit more fun as a team before the meetings, we are having a good laugh and getting along well.”
Bears star Erik Riss gave his reaction to redcar-speedway.com after a successful weekend saw the side made good progress in both the Jubilee League and KO Cup with wins over Leicester and at Berwick.
NEXT HOME: British U19 Final, Thur July 21
NEXT AWAY: Scunthorpe, Fri July 29

SCUNTHORPE
“This is a crucial stage of the season with the push for honours and titles, so by withdrawing my hope is that a permanent replacement can be secured till the end of the season allowing the best possible outcome. As a racer, I know that winning is why we do what we do. As a fan I know the best interests of the team has to come first.”
Scorpions youngster Jordan Palin hopes the club can find a replacement for him after taking the tough but necessary decision to end his racing for the season following his recent head injury whilst practicing at Belle Vue.
NEXT HOME: Leicester (CJL), Fri July 22
NEXT AWAY: Poole, Wed July 20

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE SOUNDBYTES…

ARMADALE
“I found it good, obviously the track was different to when I came with Newcastle and there was a bit more dirt on. I’m struggling with starts at the moment, and obviously just riding time, being out for ten years, come back and then another month off, I don’t need that right now!”
New Devils No.1 Lee Complin was happy enough with his home debut against Kent, although the team slipped to another defeat at the start of a run of three losses in three days.
NEXT HOME: Plymouth, Sat Aug 6
NEXT AWAY: Oxford, Wed Aug 3

BELLE VUE
“We’ve really got to focus on our away form now as the season gets to the play-offs. We’ve been to a few tricky tracks and we do need a little more consistency away. But if we can nail that down, in a two-leg situation, we know we’ve got what it takes to be successful in the play-offs.”
Colts star Nathan Ablitt knows a vital period lies ahead as they bid to back up their impressive home form with enough results in the road to secure a top four finish.
NEXT HOME: Kent, Fri Aug 5
NEXT AWAY: Mildenhall, Sun July 24

BERWICK
NEXT HOME: Leicester (KOC), Sat July 23
NEXT AWAY: Plymouth, Tues Aug 9

KENT
“This win for the Royals and the three league points lifts them into the play-off zone at fourth in the league, and whilst it’s still early days, with two matches in hand and only one loss from five matches, the Royals are buoyant going into their next match at home on July 24 against the Oxford Chargers.”
Promoter Si Kellow was delighted with last Friday’s victory at Armadale which puts the Royals firmly into the midst of the play-off battle.
NEXT HOME: Oxford, Sun July 24
NEXT AWAY: Mildenhall, Sun July 31

LEICESTER
“Obviously we were expected to win tonight, but it was a fantastic performance and it was great to see Vinnie (Foord), Max (Perry) and Mickie (Simpson) having some really good rides. That performance will increase their confidence for next week when we go to Oxford and to Berwick to hopefully secure our place in the Cup Final.”
Dave Howard’s Lion Cubs moved to the top of the table with their emphatic 65-25 win over Armadale last Saturday.
NEXT HOME: NDL Pairs, Sat Aug 20
NEXT AWAY: Oxford, Wed July 20

MILDENHALL
“It’s a real blow to lose James – he’s a terrific member of the team; always the first to say well done and to give helpful advice. We’ll really miss him as he looks now to be out for a long spell. It’s really sad too that Matt has suffered a dislocated shoulder in his first ride back here at West Row since returning from Australia – we wish him a speedy recovery.”
Fen Tigers captain Jason Edwards offered his best wishes to team members James Shanes and Matt Marson after both were sidelined by crashes over the weekend.
NEXT HOME: Belle Vue, Sun July 24
NEXT AWAY: Kent, Sun Aug 21

OXFORD
The club are advertising a special offer for two home meetings in two days this week, with the Chargers’ match against Leicester following on 24 hours after the Cheetahs face Birmingham. Pre-booked adult admission is available for £24 plus £1 booking fee.
NEXT HOME: Leicester, Wed July 20
NEXT AWAY: Kent, Sun July 24

PLYMOUTH
NEXT HOME: Berwick, Tues Aug 9
NEXT AWAY: Armadale, Sat Aug 6

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY JULY 19:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Oxford v Birmingham 7.30, Plymouth v Poole 7pm

WEDNESDAY JULY 20:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Poole v Scunthorpe 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Oxford 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Oxford v Leicester 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 21:
BRITISH UNDER-19 FINAL: Redcar 7.30
PREMIERSHIP: Ipswich v Sheffield 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 22:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Scunthorpe v Leicester 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 23:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Berwick v Edinburgh 6.30
NDL KO CUP SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Berwick v Leicester (follows CJL fixture)

SUNDAY JULY 24:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester v Berwick 6pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Oxford 12pm, Mildenhall v Belle Vue 3pm

MONDAY JULY 25:
PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Peterborough 7.30, Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 26:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Plymouth v Oxford 7pm

WEDNESDAY JULY 27:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Poole 7.30, Oxford v Plymouth 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 29:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Poole v Birmingham 7.30, Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 30:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Leicester v Redcar 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 31:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Glasgow v Edinburgh 3pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Kent 3pm

MONDAY AUGUST 1:
SPORTS INSURE BRITISH FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Belle Vue 7.30

TUESDAY AUGUST 2:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Birmingham 7pm
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Oxford v Poole 7.30