BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 21, 2022

(SPEEDWAY 1)

REDCAR stage the British Under-19 Final at the Ecco Arena tonight (Thursday – UK time) with ticket prices reduced to just £10 for this national championship.

A new champion will be crowned as Drew Kemp, who claimed a hat-trick in 2019-21, is now ineligible, and Leon Flint starts as favourite with both Dan Thompson and Jordan Palin out due to injury.

Flint’s strongest challengers are expected to come from a group of Championship/NDL regulars including Harry McGurk, Joe Thompson, Nathan Ablitt and Jake Mulford, whilst a total of seven riders make their debuts in this event.

The meeting runs to a traditional 20-heat format with no Final, so any error could be costly.
Redcar co-promoter Jamie Swales said: “No matter the standard of the riders on show, our track always produces excellent racing and Thursday night will be no different!

“Leon is the favourite for the meeting, but he does have a back problem at the moment. Leon at 50 per cent is still probably the favourite.
“There is a good opportunity for some riders to take a place on the podium like Nathan Ablitt who rides for Poole, Archie Freeman who is one to keep an eye on.”
The Young Lions would like to thank the Redcar promotion for their continued support of British Youth Speedway.

(SPEEDWAY 2)

POOLE moved back into second place in the Championship with a 55-35 win over Scunthorpe at Wimborne Road.
Danny King continued a successful week with 14 points from five rides and Steve Worrall added 12+1.

Ryan Douglas dominated the Scorpions’ scoring with 15 from seven rides, recovering from a disqualification in Heat 1 to post four race wins.
Poole boss Neil Middleditch said: “We came into this must-win meeting on the back of a good win at Plymouth last night, but I emphasised on the track walk, as I always do, that we can never under-estimate anybody.

“We knew Dougie was likely to be a thorn in our side and it proved to be, but we got it over the rest of them. 
“We approached the meeting well, the lads knew what was expected of them and they were all pretty happy with the track. It did dry up very quickly which made it just one real racing line and it got harder towards the end.
“But we are all pretty happy and delighted to be back to winning ways once again.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

BIRMINGHAM fought back from eight points down to edge out Oxford 46-44 in the Championship Jubilee League.

The Brummies now lead the Southern section, albeit with four matches already completed, after working their way back into the meeting from 11-19 behind after five races.

They took the lead for the first time with a 5-1 from guest Alfie Bowtell and Ashley Morris in Heat 14 – and then their other two stand-ins, Josh Pickering (14+1) and Tom Brenan (11+1) secured a 3-3 behind Troy Batchelor (12) but ahead of Scott Nicholls in the decider.

Birmingham boss Laurence Rogers said: “We needed that result. We were disappointed with the way things went at Oxford, we asked these lads for a response and they gave it us.

“I was super-proud of the way the riders turned the meeting around and all three of our guests were absolutely superb tonight.
“It’s a shame we let Oxford leave with a point, even if they did probably deserve it, but even so it was another good win for the Brummies.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 4)

NATIONAL Development League leaders Leicester strengthened their position with a 45-45 draw in a thriller at Cowley on Wednesday.

Ben Morley, standing in for the injured Dan Thompson, scored a 15-point maximum for the Lion Cubs, with skipper Joe Thompson adding third places in Heats 13 and 15 to complete the visitors’ comeback from six points down with five races remaining.

Reserve Max Perry contributed an important 10 points for the Cubs, with Jordan Jenkins leading the way for the Chargers on 10 after mechanical trouble in his first ride.

Leicester boss Dave Howard said: “Whenever we go to away matches we’re looking to pick up even one point, but to get a draw also takes two points away from Oxford as the home team, so it gives us a double boost for the play-offs.

“Ben was a superb guest with five rides and five wins, and for Max to get ten points from six rides was fantastic.
“But we’ve still got some work to do to secure our place in the play-offs, because there are six strong teams in this league.”

Oxford home debutant Henry Atkins (8+1) said: “Leicester are a strong team, which is why they are top of the league table. We did drop a few points during the night and that cost us the win.
“Of course, we’d have liked to have won, but at least we got the draw – we’ve got to take that result and move forward from here.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

IPSWICH bid to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership when they host third-placed Sheffield at Foxhall tonight (Thursday – UK time).

The Witches are currently two points clear, but the Tigers could also end the night at the summit – if they can repeat the result they enjoyed at the Suffolk venue in May when they won 47-43.

Both sides are forced into changes with Ipswich bringing in Tom Brennan to guest for Ben Barker, who aggravated a shoulder injury on Tuesday, whilst rider replacement is in operation for Paul Starke.

Sheffield also operate rider replacement as Tobiasz Musielak is ruled out following a heavy crash in Poland last weekend.
Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “Sheffield bring a very strong side, but we have got a strong side as well.

Yes, they are a very good team, but I don’t think there is anyone in the league that we can’t compete with and beat. I fully believe if we perform how we are capable of then we can win.

“We were hoping that Starkey would be back, and it would have delighted us all if we could have fielded a full team, but we certainly don’t want to rush him back especially when we have got a break after Thursday as a team.”

Tigers manager Simon Stead said: “Ipswich certainly seem to be riding their place better than the last time we were there in May so we know it won’t be easy, even more so without Tobi.
“It’s going to need our other six Sheffield riders to all step up and chip in – and as always we’ll go there and give it our best shot.”
 
(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY JULY 21:
BRITISH UNDER-19 FINAL: Redcar 7.30
PREMIERSHIP: Ipswich v Sheffield 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 22:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Scunthorpe v Leicester 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 23:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Berwick v Edinburgh 6.30
NDL KO CUP SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Berwick v Leicester (follows CJL fixture)

SUNDAY JULY 24:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester v Berwick 6pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Oxford 12pm, Mildenhall v Belle Vue 3pm