BRITISH SPEEDWAY AUGUST 18, 2022

(SPEEDWAY 1)

EDINBURGH CLINCHES PLAY-OFF SPOT

EDINBURGH secured their place in the Championship play-offs with a dramatic 46-44 comeback victory at Oxford.
The Monarchs faced an early ten-point deficit and still trailed by eight with four races remaining, but finished the meeting with a 5-1 and three 4-2s, inspired by Josh Pickering with a 17-point total.

Troy Batchelor scored 13 and Aaron Summers 10 for the Cheetahs as they signed off their senior league campaign with a narrow defeat.
Monarchs boss John Campbell said: “At the beginning I thought, ‘We’ve got no chance here, this is awful.’

“But as the track settled down a bit it became very obvious that Josh Pickering was becoming very dominant, and the other riders were all capable of chipping in. I thought then that it was very likely that we could win. 

“The whole team deserve great credit, and we had Sam Masters there as well telling them all what they should be doing!”
Oxford co-boss Peter Schroeck said: “It was our last league meeting and we wanted to do well for the club. The boys were gutted that we were caught at the end.

“After the meeting, they went on the centre green to say their goodbyes to the fans, and they wanted to do that after a victory, not after a defeat.
“It sums up the Cheetahs’ season in terms of results – there’s been no lack of effort, but we got pipped at the post.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

POOLE moved back to second place in the Championship with a 55-34 win over Redcar in their final league match of the regular campaign.

The Pirates finish on 39 points, two ahead of Glasgow who have away matches remaining at Redcar and Plymouth in the battle for the other automatic play-off semi-final place along with leaders Leicester.

The meeting went ahead after extensive work by track staff following a 6pm downpour, and Poole suffered the loss of No.1 Steve Worrall who aggravated a shoulder injury in a second-ride fall.

But Richard Lawson, Danny King and Ben Cook all racked up scores of 12+2 to see the Pirates to a comfortable win, whilst Lewis Kerr top-scored for the Bears with 12.

Lawson said: “The starts were important tonight, so fortunately we were on top of that and the track rode very well. Obviously they did a lot of work on it considering how much rain came down.  

“We were unlucky to lose Stevie, but with the extra ride I was able to use his tyre and if you can get a fresh edge halfway through the meeting then it gives you a little bit of an advantage.

“I would just like to say fair play to Steve’s mechanic for mucking in and helping the rest of us out once Steve had to sit most of the meeting out. We will now have to wait and see if we have done enough.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 3)

BIRMINGHAM defeated a Coventry Select 48-42 in a successful West Midlands Challenge event at Perry Barr.

The Bees were backed by a strong contingent of travelling support nearly six years after their stadium was closed by property developers Brandon Estates.
James Wright impressed in a guest appearance for the Brummies with 12 points whilst Lee Complin again rode strongly at reserve with 9+3. Skipper Justin Sedgmen was withdrawn with abdominal discomfort after an early crash.

Coventry legend Chris Harris rolled back the years with 14 from five rides whilst Connor Mountain provided fine support with 12+1.
Brummies boss Laurence Rogers said: “I thought that was a really terrific night of speedway all round.

“There was hardly anything between the two sides all meeting, we saw some cracking racing and it was a really enjoyable meeting to be a part of.
“I thought the effort and commitment of the guests to say it was only a Challenge fixture with nothing riding on it was superb, and a big thank you to them all.”
 
(FIXTURES)

FRIDAY AUGUST 19:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe v Berwick 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 20:
FIM GRAND PRIX CHALLENGE: Glasgow 7pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE PAIRS: Leicester 7pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 21:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar v Glasgow 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Mildenhall 12pm