BRITISH SPEEDWAY ROUND-UP #8
HERE’S our latest news and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.
PIC OF THE WEEK…
BELLE VUE moved to the top of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership table with a hard-fought 48-42 win against King’s Lynn on Monday night at the National Speedway Stadium. The Aces secured match and aggregate points against the Stars with Ben Cook continuing his strong form with 12+1.
Photo credit: IAN CHARLES
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP…
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
KING’S Lynn surprised many with their performance at Belle Vue on Monday with MICHAEL PALM TOFT again showing his liking for the National Speedway Stadium. The Dane made a mockery of his 4.79 average with an 11+1 score including race wins over Aces big guns Brady Kurtz and Dan Bewley.
ACES ON COURSE
BELLE Vue’s German star Norick Blodorn says he’s happy with the club’s progress so far in 2024, with the Aces going top of the table thanks to a win over King’s Lynn on Monday.
Blodorn said: “I didn’t actually know that a win would take us above Ipswich and it’s great to be in this position at this point in the season, but there’s still a long way to go yet.
“There’s a lot of work for us to do and a lot more points for us to earn before this year’s play offs, but right now we’re taking things one day at a time and just enjoying ourselves.”
STARS TAKE THE POSITIVES
KING’S Lynn manager Rob Lyon admitted his side had performed with plenty of credit at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday, going down to a narrow six-point defeat against Belle Vue.
Lyon said: “They all had spells where they rode really well, a little bit inconsistent at times but the gates were the reason for that.
“We got six from Tobi’s (Tobiasz Musielak) rides and you’d expect him to score more than six around here. We were just that little bit short all the way through but overall it was a good performance.”
STEAD – IT WILL COME
SHEFFIELD manager Simon Stead insists last week’s home defeat to rivals Ipswich was merely a blip, and says the Tigers’ Premiership rivals haven’t seen the best of his side just yet.
Stead said: “Yes, it was disappointing to lose at home the other night and yes, we haven’t really all got going on the same night yet.
“But the lads know what we expect from them, they know we believe in their ability as a group otherwise we wouldn’t have assembled the team that we have done.”
SCOTT THE IDEAL STAND-IN
IPSWICH manager Ritchie Hawkins says the hugely experienced Scott Nicholls has been the perfect choice of guest at home to cover for the injury to skipper Danny King.
Hawkins said: “We are fortunate that we are able to call on him, he is the only rider with more experience of Foxhall than Danny left racing!
“So far, we have covered Danny very well, it is not a long-term solution but having the option of Scott is making life a lot easier and Dougy (Ryan Douglas) has done very well too.
“At the moment we are covering the skipper well and we need to carry that on over the next maybe three meetings.”
LIONS SEEK HOME COMFORT
LEICESTER manager Stewart Dickson has stressed the importance of next Monday’s home clash with Oxford, especially as the Lions have already suffered two home defeats so far this season.
Dickson said: “Regardless of whoever it is, whether it’s Oxford, King’s Lynn, Birmingham, any of the teams around us, the bottom line is we can’t be losing at home.
“If we ride to our capabilities and do what we know we can do, then we should have enough about us on Monday to get the win.”
NEWS IN BRIEF
OXFORD will look to turn the tables on Belle Vue this Thursday when the sides meet at Cowley, ten days after the Aces recorded a 51-39 win in the reverse fixture… BIRMINGHAM return home for the first time in a month when they host Ipswich on Bank Holiday Monday, with recent signing Justin Sedgmen making his top-flight debut for the club after two previous spells in Brummies colours at Championship level.
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP…
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Scunthorpe’s CONNOR MOUNTAIN enjoyed a superb weekend, scoring 11+2 for the Scorpions in their Cab Direct KO Cup turnaround over Berwick where he was involved in three 5-1s with team-mate Kyle Howarth. Mountain then guested at No.1 for Plymouth at Berwick 24 hours later and top-scored for the Gladiators with 13+1.
VITAL SOUTHERN DERBY
POOLE promoter Dan Ford says he relishes the local rivalry which exists between the Pirates and Plymouth, as the sides prepare for their BSN Series group-deciding fixtures this week.
Ford said: “I have said on previous occasions, this is very much a local derby fixture and that always brings an extra dimension to any meeting.
“We have two local guys in Middlo (Neil Middleditch) and Garry May as respective team managers who both know the importance of lifting their riders and hopefully with a good turn out on Wednesday our fans can also provide even more encouragement and I guess that we could well have a good following down at the Coliseum on Saturday night.”
STUNNING SCUNTHORPE SHOWING
KYLE Howarth admitted Scunthorpe’s brilliant display to eliminate Berwick from the Cab Direct KO Cup was both a team and personal triumph after a tough run of form.
Howarth said: “I needed that. I’ve not had a lot of luck recently – I’ve not even been able to buy any luck. It was quite a performance from the team, while personally it was so important and has done my confidence the world of good.
“Speedway can be a funny old game at times, but tonight we showed what we can do when all perform across the whole team. We can be very dangerous and it was a great night for us.
“I feel I found something tonight, and that’s good to have around my own track. It was good to finish by passing Rory Schlein in the final race. That’s the old school Kyle Howarth and I hope he’s back.”
MONARCHS COUNT THE COST
EDINBURGH manager Alex Harkess admitted the home defeat against Plymouth last Friday came as a bitter blow, with No.1 Josh Pickering crashing out on a night when the Monarchs were already without Lasse Fredriksen and reserve Max James.
Harkess said: “I thought we could still fight our way back into it but their reserves were just picking up too many points, which prevented us from getting any momentum going. It was bitterly disappointing, our reserves were outscored I think 15- 3.
“Some of their riders rode very well round our place but we should have been capable of dealing with them. Ben Barker was able to win his first three races which he has not managed for a while, that was disappointing.”
NO SLEEP FOR PARR
REDCAR boss Gavin Parr says he’s burning the midnight – and early hours – oil in a bid to find the solution to getting the Bears back on the winning track.
Parr said: “I’m living off two or three hours’ sleep a night at the moment, we are all so desperate to turn things around.
“At the moment, this is a 24-hour job as we know the fans aren’t happy with our performances and we aren’t happy either! At the moment, I think we are half a rider short.”
STRONG START FOR CHEETAHS
OXFORD got their Cab Direct Championship campaign off to a great start with a 53-36 win over Redcar, with all of the Cheetahs riders scoring well.
Reserve Luke Killeen notched 10 and said: “I’m definitely happy with how it went today. It’s the first time I’ve scored double figures at this level without the help of the bonus points, while it was also the first time I’ve won more than one race on the same night and the first time I’ve won a race outside of the reserves race in Heat 2. It’s all moving in the right direction.
“It was a really good team performance from all of us and it was nice to start our league fixtures with a performance like that.”
DICKSON – IT’S AN OPEN CONTEST
BERWICK boss Stewart Dickson believes results so far in the Cab Direct Championship, and associated competitions, prove the race for the top four this year will be one of the closest-fought yet.
Dickson said: “I cannot remember a time when the teams were better matched and making the top four will be a really tough task.
“Perhaps the riders are getting bored with the message, but hopefully it is getting through – consistency is the key. Riders need to be scoring every meeting rather than big scores one week and scoring a blank the next.
“For all our success so far in 2024 it would be fair to say that we have yet to all fire together.”
COMETS DEMOLISH MONARCHS
WORKINGTON hit back from a 61-29 defeat at Poole by recording an identical scoreline in their own favour at home to a depleted Edinburgh side, with young Aussie Tate Zischke scoring a 15-point maximum.
Manager James Denham told workingtoncomets.com: “Fantastic result against Edinburgh today, Tate with his first full 15-point maximum in British Speedway is amazing but also right down to reserve with Sam (McGurk) and Celina (Liebmann) who outscored the opposition reserves.
“It was a great way to bounce back after our midweek disappointment at Poole, but the guys stayed resilient and knew what they needed to do. This result now gives us a huge advantage for claiming the aggregate point over the Monarchs when we face them at Armadale in July.”
NEWS IN BRIEF
GLASGOW have until the end of May to bring in a new signing to replace Lee Complin, who has received a 20-month suspension from the SCB for a breach of anti-doping regulations. The Tigers’ facility for Complin expires on May 30… PLYMOUTH are still in contention to reach the BSN Series semi-finals with the aggregate point when they host Poole at the Coliseum on Saturday set to be crucial to determining the Southern group winners.
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE…
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
OXFORD captain LUKE KILLEEN grabbed his first maximum in British Speedway with a 12-point full house in the Chargers’ home win over Middlesbrough. It’s also congratulations to Leicester’s Vinnie Foord who collected a first paid maximum at reserve as the league leaders defeated Sheffield.
KILLEEN – LET’S KEEP IT GOING
OXFORD’S Luke Killeen celebrated scoring a 12-point maximum as the Chargers overcame Middlesbrough 55-34, and is pleased with the all-round progression of the Cowley club’s NDL side.
Killeen said: “Everyone got to the grips with the track today and we were scoring right down to our two reserves – I was stoked for them that they both had a good meeting.
“We’ve won three out of three and we can’t do any more than keeping our winning run going. We just want to keep progressing as a team and there’s no reason why we can’t keep this going for the rest of the season.”
FOORD ON A ROLL
LEICESTER reserve Vinnie Foord went through the card with 9+3 from four rides in the Lion Cub’s big home win over Sheffield.
Foord said: “The engine is working well, I can’t complain and I didn’t change anything on the bike all day, I stuck with the same thing and the track was absolutely amazing, it’s the best it’s been all season with a lovely bit of dirt on it which was pulling me around nicely.
“I’m loving it here and I can’t thank the fans enough for coming here and supporting us every week.”
TIGER CUBS – NO COMPLAINTS
SHEFFIELD assistant boss Paul Tatam admitted it had been a tough day at the office as the Tiger Cubs were beaten 63-27 at Leicester.
Tatam said: “We were beaten by the better team.
“Our boys tried their hardest but not many teams will win against Leicester. We just move onto the next one.”
TRIGGER – LET’S STEP IT UP
MIDDLESBROUGH heat leader Ben Trigger admits it’s been a tough start to the season for both the Tigers and fellow ECCO Arena side Redcar.
Trigger said: “There is always pressure in speedway and there is more pressure on us at the moment as the sides aren’t performing as they should be.
“However, at this point in my career, it is still a learning curve for me so the more I can learn and pick up, the more I can add to my game.”
FIXTURE PICTURE…
WEDNESDAY MAY 22:
BSN SERIES: Poole v Plymouth 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 23:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn (23) v Ipswich (37) 7.30, Sheffield (46) v Leicester (44) 7.30, Oxford (39) v Belle Vue (51) 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 24:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30, Glasgow v Redcar 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 25:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington v Oxford 3pm
BSN SERIES: Plymouth v Poole 7pm
MONDAY MAY 27:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Belle Vue v Sheffield 12pm, Birmingham (41) v Ipswich (49) 7.30, Leicester v Oxford 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 29:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Edinburgh 7.30, Poole (46) v Berwick (44) 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 30:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Sheffield (45) v Birmingham (45) 7.30
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Ipswich (48) v Leicester (42) 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 31:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe (46) v Redcar (44) 7.30
BSN SERIES: Edinburgh (45) v Glasgow (45) 7.30
SATURDAY JUNE 1:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm, Redcar v Glasgow 5pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth 7pm (250cc/125A)
SUNDAY JUNE 2:
BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: Glasgow 2pm
MONDAY JUNE 3:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Oxford v Leicester 7.30
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Sheffield v King’s Lynn 7.30, Birmingham v Ipswich (or Prem R2) 7.30
TUESDAY JUNE 4:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Redcar 7pm
