BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 18

                                                                      PIC OF THE WEEK:     

It was an emotional night at Newcastle’s final home meeting of 2021 on Sunday with large groups of Diamonds supporters walking the Brough Park track for possibly the last time. Current owner Rob Grant is quitting at the end of the season with no buyer for the club in place as yet.                                            Picture: STEVE BROCK

Date: Tuesday September 21, 2021

BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2021/18

HERE’S our latest soundbytes and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.

PREMIERSHIP SOUNDBYTES…

BELLE VUE
The Aces are still awaiting news of their play-off semi-final opponents, with a busy end of the season guaranteed at the National Speedway Stadium as they also host the prestigious Peter Craven Memorial individual event on October 23 and the Speedway of Nations Final the previous weekend.
NEXT HOME: TBC, Play-Off Semi-Final
NEXT AWAY: TBC, Play-Off Semi-Final

KING’S LYNN
“We’re already talking to other riders and we need to use these next meetings to give it everything and head into the winter in a good frame of mind after a difficult season. We give it our all.”
Stars co-promoter Dale Allitt says there will be a positive mindset amongst his riders for their closing matches of the season, with one eye already on 2022 following the signings of Richard Lawson and Thomas Jorgensen.
NEXT AWAY: Peterborough, Thur Sept 23

PETERBOROUGH
“I guess it’s probably a bit of a shock that we got turned over the way we did, and now the boys are looking to re-group for Thursday. If you’re going to have a shock let’s have it now, let’s get it out of the way, and re-focus on what we need to do, not just on Thursday but beyond that obviously.”
Panthers boss Rob Lyon saw his side’s brilliant run de-railed by Sheffield on Monday, and they now have one further opportunity to secure top sot when they host King’s Lynn on Thursday.
NEXT HOME: King’s Lynn, Thur Sept 23
NEXT AWAY: TBC, Play-Off Semi-Final

SHEFFIELD
“It’s been so frustrating because I’ve felt like we’ve had the right people in, but we’ve just not all fired at the same time, and tonight has just proved what a force we can be when everything goes right. We’ve ridden well, there’s talk that maybe we caught Peterborough on an off-night, but we’ve ridden well and the atmosphere in the team is really good.”

Tigers manager Simon Stead saw his side blast right back into title contention with their hugely impressive win at Peterborough on Monday to re-ignite hopes that the Owlerton side can challenge in the play-offs.
NEXT HOME: King’s Lynn, Sun Sept 26
NEXT AWAY: TBC, Play-Off Semi-Final

WOLVERHAMPTON
“I’m stoked with the names I’ve been able to get so far. I promised everyone it would be a top-quality line-up and it’s certainly turning out that way.”
Wolves skipper Rory Schlein has added the names of Dan Bewley, Adam Ellis and Scott Nicholls to the line-up for his Farewell meeting on October 18 – with Jason Crump, Jason Doyle, Chris Harris, Sam Masters and Danny King also confirmed for a high-quality field.
NEXT HOME: TBC, Play-Off Semi-Final
NEXT AWAY: TBC, Play-Off Semi-Final

CHAMPIONSHIP SOUNDBYTES…

BIRMINGHAM
“We have to be realistic and admit it’s a tall order for us to make the play-offs from here, but our win at Newcastle on Sunday has just kept us in the hunt. Going to Glasgow needing at least a draw won’t be ideal but I’ll worry about that after the Newcastle meeting.”
It’s a case of one thing at a time for Brummies boss Laurence Rogers, with his side still having a chance of sneaking into top six but needing two big results this week to achieve it.
NEXT HOME: Newcastle, Wed Sept 22
NEXT AWAY: Glasgow, Fri Sept 24

EDINBURGH
“I hope this meeting will help me find consistent good form. To be honest I’ve been more consistent with Edinburgh than I was with Eastbourne. Coming into Edinburgh’s team at the end of the year was like hitting the reset button almost, I’ve enjoyed it again and I always find I ride better when I’m enjoying my speedway.”
British Under-19 Champion Drew Kemp is targeting a strong end to the season with the Monarchs after retaining his title at Scunthorpe last Friday.
NEXT HOME: TBC
NEXT AWAY: Birmingham (KOC), Wed Sept 29

GLASGOW
“Some riders from both teams, together with the referee, voiced concerns about the conditions during the track walk, and the decision was made to blade the track to try and get it rideable. All the track staff, together with management and volunteers, tried their best to get it on and get it to a point the riders could safely ride on it.

After the first race it was obvious that riders would struggle to get round the track safely, and then the referee made the decision to call off the meeting.”
Tigers director Peter Facenna sets the record straight on glasgowtigers.co.uk following the abandonment of last Sunday’s big home clash with Leicester which is now set to take place this week.
NEXT HOME: Leicester, Wed Sept 22
NEXT AWAY: TBC, Play-Off Q/F or S/F

KENT
“I can’t complain about the result on the night, I was happy with the way I rode and me and my team definitely know the areas we need to improve on.”
Kings youngster Dan Gikes was generally satisfied with his display in last Friday’s British Under-19 Final with another double figure score, although he was unable to repeat his runners-up finish of 2020.
NEXT HOME: Leicester, Tues Sept 21
NEXT AWAY: Leicester, Sat Sept 25

LEICESTER
“We looked to at one stage, have started very well but to then lose a 5-1 in Heat 3 meant all of our hard work was undone. But the lads showed great character to respond as they did. Top teams are hard to beat and we really hurt Poole in those last three heats.”

Stewart Dickson’s side are still firmly in contention in the KO Cup after opening up an eight-point advantage over Poole in last Saturday’s first leg at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena.
NEXT HOME: Kent, Sat Sept 25
NEXT AWAY: Kent, Tues Sept 21

NEWCASTLE
“It was the occasion which won the night with a massive crowd and an atmosphere like we’ve never had for ages especially with the track walk which saw hundreds of folk tread the shale for one last time.”
An emotional night at Brough Park on Sunday as Rob Grant prepares to walk away from ownership of the Diamonds – who now face an uncertain future with time running out to put together a new promotion for next year.
NEXT AWAY: Birmingham, Wed Sept 22

POOLE
“We are very close to achieving our first goal and be confirmed as the top team from the regular league campaign. It would take a string of very surprising results for us not to do so, but we will be going into Wednesday’s meeting with the same approach that we have had all season, to win it, then all the ifs and buts can be put aside.”
Pirates promoter Danny Ford is hoping to be able to throw the calculators away after Wednesday’s home match with Redcar, where they hope to secure top spot in the league table ahead of the play-offs.
NEXT HOME: Redcar, Wed Sept 22
NEXT AWAY: TBC

REDCAR
“When we were 12 points down things were looking unlikely for us but we didn’t lose the meeting and that’s the main thing! It now looks like we will end up in the play-off quarter finals and it could end up being a positive for us as we will have more time on the bike which can only be a positive.”
Bears skipper Charles Wright praised the overall effort to fight back from 18-30 down to draw 45-45 with Leicester on Friday in another thrilling clash between Championship title contenders.
NEXT HOME: TBC
NEXT AWAY: Poole, Wed Sept 22

SCUNTHORPE
“I didn’t quite get on the rostrum, but that’s how the cookie crumbles. I’ve still got another couple of years to win this, so I’ll keep on attacking it and try to win it in both the next two seasons. It’s good that I’ve still got a few more meetings this year. In terms of Scunthorpe, it’s tight, but we’ve all worked hard for it, so if we get into the play-offs, we’ve deserved it.”
Scorpions youngster Jordan Palin made a successful return from injury in last week’s British Under-19 Final, scoring 11 points at the Eddie Wright Raceway to finish just outside the top three.
NEXT HOME: TBC
NEXT AWAY: TBC

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE UPCOMING FIXTURES…

ARMADALE
“It was a shame that the weather affected the track early on. I know George had bike problems, without that it could have been a bit easier! I had started well, then dropped a couple of points before I sorted myself out and made a bike change.”
Devils star Danny Phillips piled up 15 points in the 47-43 win over Kent last Friday, with the Scottish side now preparing to face Leicester this week.
NEXT HOME: Leicester, Fri Sept 24
NEXT AWAY: Kent, Tues Oct 12

BELLE VUE
NEXT AWAY: TBC

BERWICK
NEXT AWAY: Mildenhall, Sun Sept 26

KENT
NEXT HOME: Berwick, Tues Sept 28
NEXT AWAY: Leicester, Sat Sept 25

LEICESTER
NEXT HOME: Kent, Sat Sept 25
NEXT AWAY: Armadale, Fri Sept 24
 
MILDENHALL
NEXT HOME: Berwick, Sun Sept 26
NEXT AWAY: Armadale, Fri Oct 1

FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 22:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham v Newcastle 7.30, Glasgow v Leicester 7.30, Poole v Redcar 7.30

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23:
PREMIERSHIP: Peterborough v King’s Lynn 7.30

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Birmingham 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Armadale v Leicester 7.30
JULIE LEWIS MEMORIAL: Redcar 7.30

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 25:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester v Kent 6pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Leicester v Kent (follows previous fixture)

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 26:
PREMIERSHIP: Sheffield v King’s Lynn 5pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Berwick 3pm
 
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 27:
PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL: TBC v TBC 7.30

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 28:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Berwick 6.30

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 29:
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Birmingham v Edinburgh 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Poole v Leicester 7.30

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30:
PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL: TBC v TBC 7.30

FRIDAY OCTOBER 1:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Armadale v Mildenhall 7.30

MONDAY OCTOBER 4:
PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL: TBC v TBC 7.30

TUESDAY OCTOBER 5:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Leicester 6.30