BRITISH SPEEDWAY ROUND-UP #5
HERE’S our latest news and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.
PIC OF THE WEEK…
Scunthorpe completed the double over Birmingham on Friday to take another step towards the BSN Series semi-finals. The Scorpions were 55-35 winners at the Eddie Wright Raceway as they also collected the aggregate point to move up to a maximum seven points out of seven in the Northern group so far.
Photo credit: IAN RISPIN
PREMIERSHIP NEWSROUND…
ACES FIND THEIR FORM
BELLE Vue boss Mark Lemon says his side’s recent surge in form shows just how fickle the sport can be.
The defending champions endured a torrid start to the season but have since moved to the top of the Premiership with four wins on the bounce, including three on the road.
Lemon said: “The line was drawn under the Wolverhampton match and the resolve of the boys since then has been outstanding, and we only have to look at our results since then as testament to that.
“We are the best example of how quickly fortunes can change. We struggled big-time in our opening meetings against Sheffield and Wolves and now look at us, top of the table, for now.”
HAWKINS PRAISE FOR HUME
IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins pinpointed the importance of reserve Danyon Hume following last Thursday’s narrow home win over Sheffield.
The Witches were taken to a last-heat decider where Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov struck a match-winning 5-1 – but two earlier race wins from Hume, including in Heat 14, were crucial.
Hawkins said: “He’s gone up a level these last two meetings this week. That’s probably him having more time on the bike, as he’s coming back from injury from last season.
“His determination is so good. He doesn’t care who he’s racing against, beating Max Fricke and Dan Bewley the last two meetings before tonight. It’s such a massive bonus having him at reserve because he can beat anyone, as he’s proving.”
TIGERS INTO LAST FOUR
SHEFFIELD qualified for the KO Cup semi-finals thanks to a massive 48-point aggregate win over King’s Lynn – the team they also beat in last year’s equivalent League Cup Final.
And boss Simon Stead praised the Tigers’ attitude as they still went all-out for the win in Norfolk despite their comfortable position following the first leg.
Stead said: “I thought we were brilliant. The lads applied themselves very, very well; going into an away leg with such a big lead, you can often be complacent.
“But there was none of that from the boys and they did exactly what I asked of them before the fixture.”
STARS FUME AFTER CUP LOSS
KING’S Lynn boss Alex Brady was angry with his team following their heavy home defeat to Sheffield which confirmed their exit from the KO Cup.
The Stars were without skipper Josh Pickering and went down 34-56 against a Tigers side who love racing at the Norfolk venue.
Brady said: “I apologise to everyone who came and to summarise the one word I’d use is gutless. There were a couple of decent performances but beyond that it was pathetic.
“You can’t ride the way we rode tonight and expect to win, it’s that simple, and some people need a wake-up call very quickly.”
TOUGH TIMES FOR PANTHERS
PETERBOROUGH boss Rob Lyon felt Monday’s 22-point defeat at Belle Vue was a reflection of their season so far.
The Panthers are yet to get off the mark in the Premiership and the loss of No.1 Nicki Pedersen after less than half a lap of racing still casts a shadow over their campaign.
Lyon said: “It was pretty much a similar story to what it has been for most of the season so far really, but fair play to Belle Vue, they were the better team on the night.
“We held them in the early part of the meeting and squared the heats off, but mid-meeting they pulled away and that was the difference. I don’t think there are too many positives, and one race winner tells its own story really.”
LIONS NEED TO LEARN
LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson says his side are paying a heavy price for mistakes in the early stages of their Premiership campaign.
The Lions do have three league points on the board but are out of the KO Cup and suffered a Super Heat defeat to Belle Vue at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park last week.
Dickson said: “We’ve had a tough old start, we do have three points but I’m very mindful that things can set in when you’re not winning. You can get into a habit of both winning and losing.
“We’re contributing a bit to our own downfall at the moment, but we can’t be feeling sorry for ourselves about that.”
WOLVES FIGHT CONTINUES
A PETITION set up following the shock news that Wolverhampton’s lease at Monmore Green will not be extended at the end of the season has now received nearly 17,000 signatures.
Speedway fans around the world have rallied in support of the famous club who now face an uncertain future, with huge local support already behind their campaign.
The petition can be signed at: https://t.co/3LMHdIoQ5c
THE WEEK AHEAD… KING’S Lynn and Peterborough both race two away matches this in the next week, with the Stars at Leicester on Thursday and the Panthers visiting Sheffield. The Bank Holiday Monday schedule features a midday start for Belle Vue at home to Leicester; Ipswich then host King’s Lynn at 2.30pm; and the Wolverhampton v Peterborough clash completes the day at 8pm.
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSROUND…
BANDITS TURN THINGS ROUND
BERWICK boss Gary Flint says a collective determination led to the weekend’s impressive results against Edinburgh, which kept the Bandits in contention in the BSN Series.
Flint said: “To be honest it wasn’t a case of reading them the riot act. The riders knew that they had not performed well (at Glasgow) and took it upon themselves to put things right.
“During the week on the group chat and then when they arrived at Armadale you could sense something special was on the cards, a togetherness and real teamwork.”
BRUMMIES GO LIVE
BIRMINGHAM have become the latest club to launch a live streaming service for selected home fixtures this season.
This Wednesday’s clash with Redcar at Perry Barr will be the first meeting to be covered by Brummies TV, with each stream costing £11.99 and featuring multi-camera production, live commentary, graphics and replays.
MONARCHS MISSING SKIPPER
EDINBURGH are set to book guests to cover the absence of skipper Josh Pickering, who crashed out at Berwick during a difficult weekend for the Monarchs.
Pickering is still awaiting a full diagnosis of his injury but will definitely be sidelined for this week’s KO Cup tie with Oxford.
Manager Alex Harkess said: “Our season hasn’t got off to the best of starts and we struggled last night at Berwick. Craig Cook has been ill all week – he started well but his energy ran out and he couldn’t hold onto the bike any longer.
“You can’t do a match without your No.1 and No.5 and there was no obvious winner among the rest.”
TIGERS CHASE SEMI SLOT
GLASGOW face a vital BSN Series group decider against Berwick on Friday – with boss Cami Brown hailing the spirt in the Tigers’ class of 2023.
Brown said: “I keep saying it but the spirit in this team is different class. They are all fighting for each other, motivating each other and it’s paying off big-time.
“It’s a long season ahead but if they can maintain this spirit, we will be a very good side.”
CHEETAHS OFF THE MARK
OXFORD showed their potential with a 48-42 win at Plymouth in the BSN Series last Tuesday.
The Cheetahs also performed well at home against a strong Swindon Select top-order, raising expectations ahead of their KO Cup and Cab Direct Championship campaigns.
Skipper Scott Nicholls said: “Plymouth can be a tough place to come to – it’s a small track and they have home track specialists within the Plymouth team and they’ve got a strong side in any case, so it’s a really good result for us to get a win here.
“It’s great to get our first win of the season under our belts. It’s great for the confidence of the boys and helps us gel further as a team.”
PIRATES’ PERFECT START
POOLE boss Neil Middleditch admitted he wondered whether a maximum score was on the cards when his side ran riot in the early stages against Plymouth.
The Pirates did not drop a point in the opening six races and were 39-8 up after Heat 8, before the Gladiators limited the damage in the latter stages as the BSN Series match ended 59-30.
Middleditch said: “We made it look easy tonight but we are going to have some tough matches to come, don’t worry about that. It is not going to be like this every week.
“I have to say though, watching that I was left wondering at one stage whether we could go through the card with 5-1s after that tremendous start, as it was beginning to look that way. I just can’t praise this team enough.”
MPT IS AT HOME
SCUNTHORPE star Michael Palm Toft says the Eddie Wright Raceway is the perfect home track.
The Scorpions have made a tremendous start to the new season and Palm Toft scored a 12-point maximum in last Friday’s BSN Series win over Birmingham.
He said: “Tonight’s meeting proved the track suits our riders as it is prepared. It allows us to race if we miss the gate, but it wouldn’t be to the liking of a lot of away riders who might find it too slick.
“But the supporters get to see good racing, while it sets us up with a home track advantage. In my first two races where I didn’t gate, I soon got to the front.”
THE WEEK AHEAD… THERE are potential group deciding fixtures ahead in the BSN Series with Glasgow and Berwick meeting in a winner-takes-all clash at Ashfield on Friday, whilst in the Northern section Redcar need to win at Birmingham on Wednesday to take the battle back to Teesside on Friday, where Scunthorpe would then require the aggregate point to progress. Elsewhere Oxford and Edinburgh meet over two legs in the KO Cup on Wednesday and Friday, whilst the opening fixture in the Cab Direct Championship takes place at Plymouth next Tuesday (May 2) with the Gladiators hosting Scunthorpe.
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE NEWSROUND…
TWO BACK FOR BULLETS
BERWICK boss Gary Flint expects to see two of the Bullets’ injured trio back for the trip to Mildenhall this Sunday.
Flint said: “Mason Watson was in the pits on Saturday, recovered from his Belle Vue crash while Josh Embleton will also be back on track, but obviously Archie Freeman’s absence is going to be long term and we are looking at the best way of covering for his absence.
“Archie is back home in the North East after an operation to set his broken tibia and fibula but still feeling pretty second hand.”
KELSEY ANSWERS COMETS’ CALL
WORKINGTON have moved to bring in Kelsey Dugard as a temporary replacement for the injured Luke Harrison.
Dugard, who last appeared in the NDL for Newcastle prior to their withdrawal in 2021, has a 3.08 average which keeps the Comets within the 42-point limit.
Harrison is set to miss the first half of the season after a crash in an Amateur meeting at Scunthorpe earlier this month, although the 15-year-old’s injuries are thankfully not as serious as first feared.
THE WEEK AHEAD: MILDENHALL bid to continue their impressive start to the season when they race at home to Berwick on Sunday, in what will be the Bullets’ third away fixture prior to their first meeting at Shielfield Park the following weekend.
FIXTURE PICTURE…
TUESDAY APRIL 25:
BSN SERIES: Plymouth (30) v Poole (59) 7pm
WEDNESDAY APRIL 26:
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Oxford v Edinburgh 7.30
BSN SERIES: Birmingham v Redcar 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 27:
PREMIERSHIP R1: Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30, Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30
FRIDAY APRIL 28:
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Oxford 7.30
BSN SERIES: Glasgow (51) v Berwick (38) 7.30, Redcar (50) v Scunthorpe (40) 7.30
SATURDAY APRIL 29:
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Berwick (37) v Redcar (53) 7pm
SUNDAY APRIL 30:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Berwick 4pm
MONDAY MAY 1:
PREMIERSHIP R1: Belle Vue (45) v Leicester (45) 12pm, Ipswich v King’s Lynn 2.30, Wolverhampton v Peterborough 8pm
TUESDAY MAY 2:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7pm
WEDNESDAY MAY 3:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Redcar 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Poole v Plymouth 7.30, 1st leg: Birmingham v Scunthorpe 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 4:
PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn v Ipswich 7.30, Leicester v Wolverhampton 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 5:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Oxford 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v Birmingham 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Kent 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1 (500cc/250cc): Scunthorpe (follows KOC fixture)
SATURDAY MAY 6:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm
BSN SERIES: Redcar v Birmingham 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Berwick v Kent (follows previous fixture)
MONDAY MAY 8:
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Belle Vue (20) v Wolverhampton (46) 12pm
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Peterborough v Ipswich 7.30
TUESDAY MAY 9:
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Plymouth v Poole 7pm
