BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAY 18, 2022

Date: Wednesday May 18, 2022

(SPEEDWAY 1)

PAIRS TEAMS ANNOUNCED

LINE-UPS have been declared for the first round of the new Premiership Pairs competition which launches at Peterborough next Monday (May 23).
All six top-flight clubs will be competing and the field includes Grand Prix stars Max Fricke, Jason Doyle and Jack Holder, as well as British Champion Adam Ellis.

The teams will also be represented by a Rising Star, who must take at least one ride during the meeting.
All six rounds will be live-streamed, and season passes can be purchased from the following link:
https://watch.britishspeedway.co.uk/orders/customer_info?o=75222

BELLE VUE: Max Fricke, Brady Kurtz; IPSWICH: Jason Doyle, Danny King; KING’S LYNN: Josh Pickering, Richard Lawson; PETERBOROUGH: Michael Palm Toft, Chris Harris; SHEFFIELD: Jack Holder, Adam Ellis; WOLVERHAMPTON: Sam Masters, Ryan Douglas.
 
(SPEEDWAY 2)

JUSTIN Sedgmen made a spectacular return to Birmingham colours with a 14-point haul in the Brummies’ 48-42 win at Oxford.
Sedgmen, who last rode for the club back in 2010, was making his first UK appearance of the season and dropped just one point from five rides at Cowley.

The visitors led by four points going into a last-heat decider, where Sedgmen rounded things off with his fourth win of the night, whilst reserve James Shanes had also played a key role with 8+1. Scott Nicholls scored 12+1 for the Cheetahs.

Birmingham boss Laurence Rogers said: “The boys battled hard all the way through and it’s great to win.
“Sedgy was unbelievable, he was fantastic and I’m sure he’d have taken that before his debut!

“We said on track walk that everyone needed to up it a little bit and I think they did just that – it was a really good team effort and we’re all delighted.”
Nicholls said: “The rain was a massive leveller. It made it very tricky to pass and I’m very confident we would’ve won under normal conditions. But it wasn’t, and we’re disappointed with the result.”

The teams meet again at Perry Barr tonight (Wednesday) with Kyle Howarth guesting for the injured Josh Auty for Birmingham, whilst Nick Morris again stands in for Troy Batchelor for the Cheetahs.

(SPEEDWAY 3)

PLYMOUTH moved up to third place in the Championship with a 49-41 win over Berwick at the Coliseum.
Ben Barker led the way for the Gladiators as he won his first four rides to finish with 12 points, whilst guest Erik Riss added 11+1 and skipper Hans Andersen notched 10.

Bandits captain Chris Harris scored 13, winning his final three outings, and Ricky Wells scored 10 as the injury-hit visitors just missed out on fighting back for a league point.

Berwick boss Gary Flint said: “Despite engine issues and Plymouth being hard battlers, the Bandits held their own pretty well tonight and put in a performance to be proud of, led brilliantly as ever by Bomber who was untouchable once he dialled fully into the place.

“We’ve some mechanical re-grouping to do before our match at Poole, but we fully intend on giving them a decent fight too.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

POOLE promoter Danny Ford admits the return of Chris Harris is always a highlight – even when appearing for the opposition.

Harris leads Berwick in tonight’s (Wednesday) fixture at Wimborne Road having played a huge part in title triumphs both for and against the Pirates earlier in his career.

The hosts defend a long unbeaten home record whilst the visitors continue to track Kye Thomson and Dan Thompson as guests with three of their regular septet ruled out.

Ford said: “Bomber is Bomber, and that means there can be no relaxing whatsoever for the Pirates, as even if you are in front of him he will never give in until he has crossed the line.

“We have seen Bomber inflict heartbreak on us in the past, but he has also been a 100 per cent performer when he has been a Pirate.
“I just know our loyal fans will give him a very warm welcome on Wednesday because our supporters appreciate riders that race like Bomber does.

“With the work we have been doing on the track recently, providing a race track that was universally applauded by the riders last week, then we are setting the stage for another highly entertaining evening.”
LIVE STREAMING: British Speedway Network – https://watch.britishspeedway.co.uk .

(SPEEDWAY 5)

JAMES Shanes is to make a return to National Development League racing as injury cover for Mildenhall.

Shanes, who rides for Birmingham in the Championship, has agreed a deal with the Fen Tigers as cover for Ryan Kinsley who is facing six weeks out with a shoulder injury, and will line up in the side at Leicester on Saturday.

The West Row outfit have also confirmed Jason Edwards will take over as captain in Kinsley’s absence.
Meanwhile, Leicester have also made an alteration due to injury, with Kai Ward returning in place of broken collarbone victim Max Perry.
Ward rode for the Lion Cubs last season and will make his first appearance of the season in their trip to Belle Vue on Friday.

(FIXTURES)

WEDNESDAY MAY 18:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham v Oxford 7.30, Poole v Berwick 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 19:
PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30
LEAGUE CUP: Sheffield v Wolverhampton 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 20:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30, Glasgow v Poole 7.30, Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30