BRITISH SPEEDWAY AUGUST 14

Date: Saturday August 14, 2021        (Image from the Danny King Collection)

(SPEEDWAY 1) 

IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins has high hopes that the club’s two former champions can challenge for top honours in Monday’s British Final at Belle Vue.
Witches skipper Danny King (2016) and ex-Aces rider Craig Cook (2017) both won their titles at the National Speedway Stadium, and Hawkins wants them to provide the club with a boost after a tough run of Premiership results.

Youngster Anders Rowe is a third Ipswich rider in the line-up, and the only debutant in this year’s field.
Hawkins said: “We have got two of the favourites in Danny and Cookie, and they will go into the meeting looking to add another British title to their record which would be great to see.
“Danny has hit his best form of the season and is going really well at the moment, so he will go into it full of confidence and I know he will be fully focused on getting a second British title.
“Cookie hasn’t been at his best in his last couple of meetings for us, but on his day if he gets it right and puts things together, he is very hard to beat.
“We have also got Anders in the meeting, his first British Final and all credit to him for qualifying. It is much deserved after the way he started the season and how he has stepped up to the top league.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

EDINBURGH avoided a major upset by overcoming Plymouth 47-42 at Armadale despite trailing for much of the meeting.
The Gladiators led all the way from Heat 1 but then lost Bjarne Pedersen after a crash with Richie Worrall in Heat 13.
The hosts took finally took the lead in Heat 14 and wrapped things up with a 5-1 from Sam Masters and Josh Pickering in the final race.
Pickering top-scored with 12+1 whilst Masters added 10+1 and Kye Thomson scored 0, whilst guest reserve Leon Flint starred for the Gladiators with 13+1.
Edinburgh boss Alex Harkess said: “Plymouth made a tremendous match of it. Some of our team were below par, we had some bad luck as well and I hope the riders involved in the Heat 13 crash will be OK.
“I felt the referee got the decision to exclude Richie Worrall wrong, but I would not criticise him too much as it was a very tough call.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 3)

SCUNTHORPE are up to third place in the Championship after a thrilling 46-44 win over Redcar at the Eddie Wright Raceway.
The Bears clawed back from an eight-point deficit after Heat 6 and trailed by just two points with three heats remaining.
The hosts moved four-up and led 44-40 going into the last race, where the unbeaten Adam Ellis was beaten by Redcar star Michael Palm Toft, but Ellis held off former Scorpions Jake Allen for the vital second place.

(SPEEDWAY 4)

LEICESTER host Eastbourne at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena tonight (Saturday) with the two teams either side of the play-off zone.
The Lions are in sixth place with a six-point advantage over the Eagles, who have three matches in hand – so their clash in the East Midlands could prove highly significant.
Leicester boss Stewart Dickson said: “Our aim is obviously to be higher than sixth place, and we’ve seen a couple of results this week which kind of went in our favour even though it was only a point for ourselves at Birmingham.
“I’ve said previously that by the end of the month we’ll know what short of shape we will be in, and so far we haven’t quite clicked as we should have done.
“Glasgow made a great start to the season, Poole did it in the month of July, and I want Leicester to do it in September and October!
“But we’ve got to make sure we’re there first, and Eastbourne are a capable team who we have to watch out for, so this is an important meeting for us.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 5)

BERWICK will welcome Jye Etheridge back from injury in tonight’s (Saturday) Championship clash with Plymouth.
The Australian’s return means the Bandits are at full-strength with Rising Star Leon Flint racing in the main body of the side as Kasper Andersen continues at reserve.
The Gladiators bring in Danyon Hume to guest for Alfie Bowtell who has been granted paternity leave, and they are waiting on the fitness of Bjarne Pedersen after his crash at Edinburgh on Friday.

(SPEEDWAY 6)

EDINBURGH host all three classes of the British Youth Championship today (Saturday, 2.30pm) as the series returns after a six-week break.
Ben Trigger (500cc) and Luke Harrison (250cc) are leading their respective classes after both have won the previous three rounds.
In the 125cc class, Edinburgh-based Stene Pijper leads after winning Round 1 at Scunthorpe back in June.
Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “We were delighted to have been able to have a round at Edinburgh in 2020 but although we all thoroughly enjoyed it and it was a great event, due to the pandemic there were no supporters allowed last season.
“So hopefully with a good turnout on Saturday afternoon this year’s event will be even more enjoyable, in front of not just fans of Edinburgh but speedway fans from across Scotland.”
A busy weekend continues for the 125cc youngsters as they also race at Redcar on Sunday afternoon after the Bears’ Championship clash with Plymouth.
The Young Lions would like to thank the promotions of both Edinburgh and Redcar for their continued support of British Youth Speedway.

(FIXTURES)

SUNDAY AUGUST 15:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Glasgow 6.30, Redcar v Plymouth 2pm

BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar (125cc/150cc) (follows Champ fixture)

MONDAY AUGUST 16:

BRITISH FINAL: Belle Vue 7.30

TUESDAY AUGUST 17:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Kent v Berwick 6.30, Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7pm