BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 22, 2022

(SPEEDWAY 1)

FLINT IS BRITISH UNDER 21 CHAMPION

LEON Flint was crowned British Under-19 Champion with a faultless 15-point maximum at Redcar.

The Berwick and Wolverhampton youngster was one of two unbeaten riders going into the final round of races and defeated Belle Vue Colts racer Jake Mulford in the crucial Heat 19.

Mulford finished an impressive second whilst there was high drama over the final podium place with Harry McGurk, Sam Hagon and Nathan Ablitt all finishing on 11 points.

McGurk appeared an unlikely starter for the run-off after clashing with Ablitt on the last lap of Heat 17 and suffering an ankle injury – but he not only took his place, but won the race from the back with Ablitt eventually falling on the third lap.

Flint said: “I showed my class tonight. It wasn’t easy by any means though; Jake was on a max as well so it was a last heat decider.
“I won’t lie, I was a bit nervous going into it, there was a lot of pressure on us, mainly putting it onto myself just believing that I should win it.
“But I’m happy to come away with the result and hopefully now some big steps forward.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

IPSWICH extended their lead at the top of the Premiership to five points with a comfortable 54-36 win over Sheffield at Foxhall.
Jason Doyle roared to a 15-point maximum for the Witches and Erik Riss racked up 12+1 at reserve as the home side produced a powerful second-half display, having been just two points ahead after eight races.

Adam Ellis scored 12 for the Tigers, who were left to rue a mechanical failure for Jack Holder when leading Heat 11, which moved the Ipswich advantage into double figures.

Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “I am delighted, I thought we were very good tonight as a whole team. I was really pleased with everyone.
“I felt we started the meeting well and I felt we were in control even though the score was close.

Then we stepped it up another gear in the last six heats and I am delighted with the result against a very strong team.
“It’s brilliant, what a position we are in at the moment, and it is a great position to be in.”

Tigers boss Simon Stead said: “Obviously we’re disappointed, particularly after being so close early on. In the end I think it was a combination of running out of steam trying to cover for Tobi (Musielak) with R/R as well as a bit of misfortune also.

“Jack (Holder) was winning Heat 11 until he suffered an engine failure – we were on a 3-3 at the time and the gap would’ve been at eight with four to go.
“Instead, it gifted them a 5-1, they went 12 up and that was a key moment I think. In my opinion, the result flatters Ipswich and doesn’t reflect the meeting itself.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

EDINBURGH kick off their Championship Jubilee League programme against Berwick at Armadale tonight (Friday).

Newly crowned British Under-19 Champion Leon Flint will make his first appearance for the Bandits since winning the title at Redcar on Thursday, with both sides scheduled to be at full strength.

Monarchs boss Alex Harkess said: “We will always try to win any competition we enter. “Our Friday visitors Berwick have had a mixed time recently but they were very impressive winning at Oxford, with their new rider Jonas Knudsen at reserve.

“I saw their match last week at home – I think Knudsen is good, but he was obviously carrying an injury last Saturday. There were a few battered bikes as well.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 4)

SCUNTHORPE race their first Championship Jubilee League fixture at home to Leicester tonight (Friday).
The Lions are looking to bounce back from defeat at Redcar in their opener last Friday, and have Dan Thompson returning from concussion.

The Scorpions give a home debut to Adam Roynon, whilst Kasper Andersen guests for the injured Jordan Palin and rider replacement is in operation for Jake Allen.

Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “With only four meetings in our group, it’s important that we start with a home victory over Leicester.
“It’s another competition that we can win and we’ll approach it with a positive attitude.

“If Adam can get four points a match, that’s going to make a massive difference between us just winning races and actually getting heat advantages.”

Leicester boss Stewart Dickson said: “We do need to get something from this meeting, otherwise we could find ourselves struggling to get through this section.

“We all want to get to the Final, and looking at the teams for Friday I do feel we should have a chance. We can certainly get something there, which would give us a really good opportunity to qualify.”

(FIXTURES)

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