BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 30

Date: Friday July 30, 2021

(SPEEDWAY 1)

IPSWICH edged out King’s Lynn 46-44 in a dramatic derby which was not decided until the last lap of Heat 15.
Stars duo Richard Lawson and Erik Riss gated in Heat 15 and looked set to snatch another turnaround away win, having been six points down at the halfway stage.
But Craig Cook muscled his way past Riss, and then heading into the last lap Danny King came through for a match-winning 3-3 with Riss falling going into turn one.
Cook again starred against his former club, dropping that one point in Heat 15 to finish on 14, whist King scored 13+1 and reserve Paul Starke contributed a vital 11+1. Lawson scored 10+1 for the Stars who took a league point.
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “We scraped through, got another win and kept our hopes of the play-offs alive.
“It’s tough, we had ten heat winners and then other weeks we have not been having heat winners and we have had seconds and thirds. It would be nice to put it all together on the same night.
“Paul had another great meeting at reserve, and he is riding really well. Having him in top form at reserve is really helping us. Danny and Cookie were superb tonight and it was a brilliant performance from them.”
Stars co-promoter Dale Allitt said: “The boys gave it everything, Alex (Brady) worked superbly with them and it was a good speedway meeting.
“Ultimately we were disappointed to miss out but we have a consolation point on the board and we now look forward to taking on Sheffield on Monday.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

BELLE Vue notched another home win in the NDL by defeating Leicester 47-42 with the Lion Cubs doing enough for a league point.
Jack Smith again impressed as guest No.1 for the Colts with 13 points whilst youngster Sam McGurk marked his return from injury with an 11-point score at reserve.
McGurk combined with Paul Bowen for a 5-1 in Heat 14 to clinch the match, but Lion Cubs No.1 Dan Thompson (14) beat Smith in Heat 15 with Joe Lawlor third to give the visitors some reward.
Said McGurk: “We really needed this result, and it has really boosted morale amongst the boys. We knew Leicester were a strong side, but we were stronger on the night.
“We knew they would put us to the test and they didn’t make it easy for us, they were very quick and we had to make sure to keep last places to a minimum.
“All the lads played their part and every point we scored was crucial, and we knew we needed all three league points if we want to have a shot at the trophy this year.
Cubs boss Dave Howard said: “With having more away meetings to come than home, if we can pick up points at each one then it gives us a chance, so I’m really pleased to get a point here.
“We really fought at the end when we went seven down to get that point, and it was a great effort from the team.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

EDINBURGH boss Alex Harkess is looking for a double-figure advantage from the first leg of their KO Cup tie against Birmingham tonight (Friday).
Harkess is pleased to welcome back former Monarchs star Erik Riss who forms part of the Brummies’ spearhead – but hopes his own heat-leaders get the job done.
The visitors operate rider-replacement for Valentin Grobauer who has a Polish League commitment.
Harkess said: “It’s up to us to try to build a lead. I always work to the same principle; 10 or 12 is the in between stage, anything above 12 favours us, below 10 goes against you.
“That’s proven a wasted statement in the Edinburgh performances this year as we’ve been better away, but it’s still how I think of it!
“It’s nice to welcome Erik back, as I’ve always felt Erik is really one of us, and it will be nice to seeing him back. But I hope he doesn’t score too many points. If we are at full strength and ride to our best, I think we will take a good lead to Birmingham.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

GLASGOW boss Cami Brown says the club are determined to challenge on all fronts this season – as they head into KO Cup action against Berwick tonight (Friday).
Brown has booked former Tigers rider Ben Barker to guest for the injured Ulrich Ostergaard in both legs of the tie with the Bandits, and he is targeting a good lead at Ashfield.
Said Brown: “We’re potentially going to need guests for Ulrich for the next few weeks and Ben might be considered for those, so it’ll be beneficial for Ben and Glasgow for him to have a big night on both Friday and Saturday.
“It’s going to be a difficult challenge. We’ve under-achieved in cup competitions in the last couple of years and that has annoyed me so we want to go as far as we can.
“We won’t be downing tools – we’re going to give this weekend 100% concentration to try to get through the tie.
“It’s a big weekend for us because we want to bounce back. We’ve also been poor at Berwick the last few years, so we want to put on a performance.”
 
(FIXTURES)

SATURDAY JULY 31:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Eastbourne v Plymouth 7.30, Leicester v Birmingham 7pm

CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 1:

CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Berwick 4pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Armadale 3pm