BRITISH SPEEDWAY AUGUST 25, 2022

(SPEEDWAY 1)

MASTERS WINS CHAMPIONSHIP RIDERS TITLE 

EDINBURGH’S Sam Masters won the Championship League Riders’ Championship at Poole – eleven years after his last triumph in the event.
Masters emerged largely unscathed from a heavy pile-up in the first staging of the Final, which also involved Ryan Douglas of Scunthorpe who was able to walk away but could not take his place in the re-run.

Masters then got the better of Pirates star Danny King and Redcar’s Lewis Kerr to take the title.
He said: “It was adrenaline that got me through it all. I have to thank my boys back in the pits who did an awesome job of getting the bike together. It was a bit twisted and needed some work done to it.

“I hope that Dougie is going to be okay. We are team-mates at Wolverhampton and it was a pretty high-speed crash we had.
“I was riding through the pain-barrier all night and that is why I knew I needed to make the starts.

I just don’t have the strength to chase from the back and so was pleased to make the start in that Final.
“It’s nice to have won this for the second time, the last time I wasn’t fancied at all for it and now I have won one by being amongst the favourites.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

POOLE skipper Danny King was in philosophical mood after finishing runner-up in Wednesday’s Championship League Riders’ Championship.

King was also second the last time the event was staged in 2019, when Erik Riss took victory at Sheffield, and he admitted a mid-meeting last place had proved costly when it came to the later stages, dropping him down the order for gate picks.

King said: “I messed things up in my third ride. It was that gate one again, I don’t know what it is about that position but I haven’t been getting off it very well at all lately.
“But I plugged away and felt good out there as I had a lot of speed, but Sam was just too good in that Final and I couldn’t do anything about catching him.

“He did well to come back from the crash. I had a good view of it as I was preparing my cut-back and could see what was going to happen, thankfully I was able to get the bike down quickly enough.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

MILDENHALL gave their NDL play-off hopes a massive boost with a 51-39 win at Oxford on Wednesday.
The Fen Tigers are still outside the top four but have home matches in hand on all of their rivals, and have now closed in on the Chargers and Belle Vue ahead of Sunday’s return against the Cowley club.

Guest Max Clegg scored a perfect 15-point maximum as he stood in for James Shanes, and Jason Edwards was also unbeaten with 13+2 at No.1.
The home side were hit by the absence of skipper Jordan Jenkins who pulled out earlier in the day, and they provided just three heat winners. Henry Atkins top-scored with 12 points.

Oxford boss Peter Schroeck said: “Jordan suffered abdominal problems at Poole recently, for which he was signed out of that meeting. It was a racing injury. “It flared in the morning today and there was no way he was going to be fit to ride for us tonight.

“It was one of those nights when everything seemed to go wrong. Sam (Hagon) lost his cut-off and that lost us a point and Ben (Morley) was second when he fell off. But don’t get me wrong – Mildenhall were the better team and deserved to win.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 4)

PREMIERSHIP leaders Ipswich host Wolverhampton tonight (Thursday) in a match which has often provided a close contest in recent years.

The Witches have won at Monmore twice this season whilst the last time they met at Foxhall they snatched a win with a 5-1 in the last race from Jason Doyle and Troy Batchelor.

Doyle is fit to ride after suffering shoulder and rib injuries in the British Grand Prix, which had ruled him out of last week’s postponed Pairs event at Sheffield.

Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “We are very hopeful of tracking our full one to seven, and we need to do that as much as possible going into the play-offs. After our changes we want to get as many meetings as we can under our belt as a full septet.

We need to carry on that improvement we showed in the last five races against King’s Lynn, and start the way we finished.  
“We want to keep our position at the top of the table, but Wolverhampton are a team that go well at Ipswich, so we will need to be on top of our game.”

Wolves star Luke Becker said: “Hopefully we can get there and get the win this time. We fought real hard against Sheffield on Monday and that was a pretty big result for us
“We want to finish the season strongly and we know Ipswich won’t be easy but as always we’ll go there and give it our best shot.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

SHEFFIELD and Belle Vue meet in the latest Roses clash at Owlerton tonight (Thursday) with both sides closing in on the play-offs.
The Aces raced to a big win in their last league clash with the Tigers at the NSS, but were defeated 54-36 on their last visit to South Yorkshire.

Sheffield continue to operate rider replacement for the injured Adam Ellis, with Belle Vue declaring a full strength side.
Tigers boss Simon Stead said: “I think it’s a really difficult meeting having not been at Owlerton too much lately but at the same time it should be a good test for us.

“Belle Vue look as if they’re cementing their place towards the top of that league now and for me if we’re going to achieve what we want to achieve this year, then we’re going to have to beat them at some point soon.”

Aces star Charles Wright said: “Last time we were here, they beat us quite heavily but then in the return fixture we beat them quite heavily which was quite satisfying. 

“This time I predict things will be much closer. Norick [Blodorn] has gained a lot more experience since then and Tom [Brennan] is finding some good form right now.”
“I’ve no doubt Sheffield will put in a shift against us, but everyone is fired up so hopefully we can put some more points on the board.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

PETERBOROUGH host King’s Lynn tonight (Thursday) in an A47 derby which has already thrown up plenty of drama in previous meetings this season.

The Stars were victorious at the East of England Arena in the League Cup over Easter, but the Panthers edged out their rivals 46-44 in the league last month, which was their last victory.

Peterborough have had several injury concerns of late, but the visitors will track a full-strength side with Thomas Jorgensen declared fit after a crash in Denmark last week.

Panthers boss Rob Lyon said: “I think they took a big gamble on their signings to try and get into the play-offs.
“It was possibly worth a go to do that, but it was always going to be a tough call to get there, although it’s not mathematically impossible for them to do it now.

“But it’s a local derby and there’s always bragging rights to be had, so both teams will be wanting to get a moral victory out of it.”
Stars manager Alex Brady said: “Thomas fell in Denmark last week but went out in the re-run. He had three fractures to his thumb and one to his middle finger on his right hand – but he’s fit and ready to go!

“It’s been great to see so many supporters at our recent away trips to Sheffield and Ipswich, and hopefully plenty will make the trip on Thursday.
“I’m passionate about moving King’s Lynn forward and we want to finish this season on a positive note.”

(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY AUGUST 25:
PREMIERSHIP: Ipswich v Wolverhampton 7.30, Peterborough v King’s Lynn 7.30, Sheffield v Belle Vue 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 26:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Armadale v Belle Vue 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 27:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm