BRITISH SPEEDWAY APRIL 20, 2023

(SPEEDWAY 1)
 
TWO OUT OF TWO

SCUNTHORPE made it two wins from two in the BSN Series with an impressive 49-41 victory at Birmingham.
The Scorpions provided nine heat winners at Perry Barr but also suffered just five last places, with all of their regular riders scoring at least five points.

Ryan Douglas (12) and Michael Palm Toft (11) were both in double figures whilst Nick Morris (12+1) and Paco Castagna (10) led the way for the Brummies.
Scorpions boss Dave Peet said: “It was a solid team performance all the way down – everyone did their job from the heat leaders to the reserves. When the team scores like that from top to bottom, we will win.
“The track was nice and smooth, although there was a big advantage in being off two and four, because gate three was pretty awful. 

“We’re now in control in our BSN group and we know what we need to do to win the group. Our next objective is to complete the double over Birmingham by beating them at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday.”
Brummies promoter Nigel Tolley said: “Of course we didn’t want to lose but it’s important to remember that this is our first meeting.

“If last Wednesday had have gone ahead, we’d have had a Challenge and some competitive laps as a team under our belts and we’d have come into this one a lot stronger.
“That wasn’t the case unfortunately, and some of our riders are still a little bit rusty which is totally understandable at this stage.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

POOLE swept into the BSN Series semi-finals with a 59-30 win over Plymouth courtesy of a whirlwind start at Wimborne Road.
The Pirates scored maximum points in each of the first six races to hold an incredible 30-5 lead at that stage, and they had still dropped just one point after eight heats before the Gladiators at least prevented further serious damage.
There were five race wins for the visitors in the second half of the meeting which stopped any of the Pirates from going through the card, although Richard Lawson scored 14 and was only beaten by Richie Worrall in Heat 15, who picked up eight overall.

Poole boss Neil Middleditch said: “I was really surprised to be honest because Plymouth, with Kyle (Howarth), Richie, Starkie (Paul Starke) and Ben (Barker) they are all good riders, but we really hit the ground running and they just had no answers to us. “But again, a great solid team performance from all the boys tonight.
“From one to seven everybody played their part and with this result a lot of clubs will look at this and realise they can’t take us too lightly, because we are a very good side from one to seven and that is the key.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

OXFORD secured a convincing 55-35 win over a Swindon Select side in a Challenge match raced in front of a bumper Cowley crowd.
The Cheetahs completed a good week with Scott Nicholls (11+1) scoring a four-ride paid maximum, and with Lewis Kerr (12) and Sam Masters (10+1) also in double figures as the home side had the better of things despite a strong Robins top-order being present.

Jason Doyle notched 10 for the visitors and Chris Harris added 8+2 on a night which also underlined the need for speedway to return to the Wiltshire club.
Kerr said: “It was a great team effort tonight, especially since Swindon had a strong team out.
“I had a good night. I ran a last place in Heat 13, but I made up for it by winning Heat 15 and ended my night with a win so I’m happy. “There’s a really good atmosphere amongst the team. We’re all having a laugh and working together to get the most out of the team. We’re all enjoying ourselves and it’s going to be a good year.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

PREMIERSHIP leaders Sheffield head to Ipswich tonight (Thursday) as they look to extend their 100 per cent start to the season.
The Tigers have already beaten Belle Vue at home and away in the league, whilst the Witches slipped up against the Aces at Foxhall last week but responded with a KO Cup win at Leicester.
Ipswich again operate rider replacement for Erik Riss who is not yet fit to return following a viral infection, whilst in-form Scott Nicholls comes in for the visitors as a guest for the injured Tobiasz Musielak.

Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “It is certainly going to be another tough night for us at Foxhall and we will certainly need to perform better than we did last week.
“The morale is straight back up after our performance at Leicester and we have stepped it up a gear now.
“We need to make sure we are at that level again on Thursday if we want to win the meeting.”

Tigers co-promoter Damien Bates said: “Myself and Steady (Simon Stead) looked at our options, there were a few names we could look at but no matter where or who he rides for, Scott always seems to deliver.
“So it was a bit of a no-brainer to get him to help us out in this one, especially at a track he loves and often goes so well on.
“Ipswich lost to Belle Vue at home last week and I’d think that was probably a bit of a shock to them, I don’t think a lot of people saw that result coming. Leicester ran them close there as well the week before, so I do think Ipswich are beatable.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

LEICESTER face another tough test of their Premiership credentials as in-form champions Belle Vue visit the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park tonight (Thursday).
The Lions won their league opener against Peterborough but then lost out in the KO Cup to Ipswich, whilst the Aces go into the meeting fresh from two impressive away wins in the last week.

The home side name a full-strength side but the visitors are without skipper Brady Kurtz due to a Polish fixture clash, with his place taken by former Leicester rider Ryan Douglas as a guest.

Leicester boss Stewart Dickson said: “We go into the meeting looking for a reaction to losing at home on Monday, and we need a response in the same way that Belle Vue have had themselves lately.

“I do feel that we have seven riders who can win our home matches, which is what I said from the start of the season we need to concentrate on, and this is a chance to put things right.
“Collectively we all need to up our game ready for this one, we know we’ve got the riders here to do it, and so it’s up to us to perform and come out with all guns blazing.”

Aces manager Mark Lemon said: “Leicester is new territory for a few of our boys, but with the work carried out there over the winter I feel it has made things more of a level playing field.
“With Max Fricke, our former Belle Vue Ace and GP star, leading them they will be formidable; all their wins and losses so far have been achieved by just a small margin. 
“We found some excellent form at Ipswich and Peterborough and we need to keep up this momentum, but we know we can expect a challenge from Leicester, no doubt about it.”
 
(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY APRIL 20:
PREMIERSHIP R1: Ipswich v Sheffield 7.30, Leicester v Belle Vue 7.30

FRIDAY APRIL 21:
BSN SERIES: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Scunthorpe (49) v Birmingham (41) 7.30

SATURDAY APRIL 22:
BSN SERIES: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm