BRITISH SPEEDWAY SOLOS JULY 21

Date: Wednesday July 21, 2021

(SPEEDWAY 1)

KENT promoter Len Silver has become the second inductee into British Speedway’s Hall of Fame.
Silver, 89, won the 1962 Provincial League Riders’ Championship in 1962, but after his racing career was cut short by injury he turned to promoting two years later.
Since then, he has promoted at an extensive list of tracks including Rayleigh, Crewe, Sunderland and Rye House, and also had a stint as GB/England team manager in the 1970s.
Silver joined forces with Roger Cearns to bring professional sport back to Kent, with the Central Park stadium opening to speedway in 2013 and the club advancing to the Championship this year.
He was presented with the honour by current Kings skipper Scott Nicholls prior to Tuesday’s home match against Eastbourne – with his team going on to win on the night.
Silver said: “When I was presented with a Speedway Hall of Fame memorabilia before the meeting against Eastbourne started, I just knew that Lady Luck was shining on me.
“It isn’t a common award and I am gobsmacked that I was chosen to be in the Hall of Fame, and I am humbled by the honour.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

GLASGOW are back on top of the Championship after surviving a scare to win 46-44 at Plymouth on Tuesday.
The home side lost No.1 Jason Crump in a first-race fall when he tangled with Craig Cook, but they still took the Tigers all the way to a last-heat decider.
And they even held a potentially draw-saving position in that last race before Cook overhauled Zane Keleher for second place.
That was Cook’s only defeat on the night as he finished on 14 points, whilst Bjarne Pedersen piled up a magnificent 19 for the Gladiators.
Glasgow boss Cami Brown said: “It was a titanic battle. I know they lost Crump but they used Pedersen – a former Grand Prix rider – seven times.
“Craig was absolutely magnificent and Broc Nicol was also very good. Connor Bailey also had an excellent meeting at reserve, and he did what he had to do.
“I’m pleased to get the three points, it puts us back top. We have to get as many points as we can to get into the play-offs. We’re nowhere near it yet but it’s a small step in the right direction.”
Crump said: “I’m feeling a bit tender but not as bad as when I first had the injury, so hopefully it’s not too bad.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

EASTBOURNE are safely through in the KO Cup despite a 40-49 defeat at Kent on Tuesday.
The Eagles’ 26-point advantage from the first leg proved more than enough to defend, but the result on the night came as a big boost for the Kings after a tough recent run.
All seven home riders scored at least paid-six, with veteran Paul Hurry claiming his first win of the season in Heat 14. Guest Kyle Howarth scored 11+2 with reserve Dan Gilkes impressing on 11+1 and skipper Scott Nicholls adding 10+1.
Richard Lawson (11+1) was unbeaten from four rides for the Eagles, with Edward Kennett winning his last two races to end on 9+1.
Gilkes said: “We really gelled well as a unit tonight.  Yes, we’d have preferred if we could have got through on aggregate, but our minimum objective was to win tonight and we’ve done that, and now we need to build on what is a great all-round team effort.”
Eastbourne boss Trevor Geer said: “We are through to the next round and that’s the main thing. The boys all put in a good show.
“Kyle Newman aggravated his shoulder when he fell so I withdrew him from his last one when we had it in the bag.
“It was good to see Edward Kennett back on form tonight. He looked really good. He seemed to get his confidence back and was attacking it.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

BIRMINGHAM have been boosted by the return of pay on the gate admission for tonight’s (Wednesday) KO Cup tie with Redcar.
The Brummies have been restricted to online sales only so far this season which has had a major effect on attendances.
Co-owner Peter Mason said: “This news has come a massive boost to us and we now need to see the supporters turning out in force.
“The weather forecast remains solid and we are in for a great night of racing on Wednesday.
“It will also be good to see some younger fans now the school holidays are here and I hope families come along for a great night out.”
German duo Erik Riss and Valentin Grobauer both return from injury for the hosts, whilst the Bears – who take a two-point lead into the second leg – bring in Drew Kemp and Dan Thompson to guest for injured reserves Anders Rowe and Jordan Jenkins.
Redcar star Michael Palm Toft said: “We should be really confident going to Birmingham as we were beating them before the meeting got abandoned last time. “It will be key that we all score points and get out of the gate well as the starts are crucial at Birmingham.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

POOLE take an eight-point lead into the second leg of their KO Cup tie with Plymouth at Wimborne Road tonight (Wednesday).
It’s the first of ten meetings in 21 days for the home side and the first meeting at the stadium since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
The Pirates are still unable to track new signing Ondrej Smetana, and with a short-term facility now expired they bring in Kyle Bickley who meets the criteria with an average 25% below Smetana’s assessed figure.
The meeting features the return of Pirates legend Bjarne Pedersen on the Gladiators’ side, although Jason Crump is ruled out after his crash on Tuesday.
Poole star Stefan Nielsen said: “It has been quite a slow start with a couple of weeks off in between some meetings which isn’t ideal of course, especially after a whole season lay-off for most of us.
“But I feel well-prepared for the up-and-coming busy weeks ahead, so hopefully I can translate that preparation into some good scores for Poole.
“I just want to see the place packed again and be able to her the full noise of the Poole Pirates fans. That would be awesome.”

(FIXTURES)

WEDNESDAY JULY 21:
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP 2nd leg: Birmingham v Redcar 7.30, Poole v Plymouth 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 22:
PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30, Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 23:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Redcar v Newcastle 7.30

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Eastbourne 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 24:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Eastbourne v Scunthorpe 7.30, Leicester v Poole 7pm

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Berwick v Mildenhall 7pm