BRITISH SPEEDWAY JUNE 19, 2023

(SPEEDWAY 1)

BATCHELOR FOR BIRMINGHAM

BIRMINGHAM have moved to bring former Grand Prix rider Troy Batchelor back into British racing.
Batchelor, who rode for Oxford last season in the Cab Direct Championship but was without a place this year, joins the Brummies along with teenager Sam Hagon who steps up for the first time.

The Perry Barr side have made their changes to replace long-term injury victim James Wright, with Aussie youngster James Pearson also missing out.
Team boss Stewart Dickson said: “Troy is a former Elite League Riders’ Champion, he’s won the top league on more than one occasion, he’s ridden in World Cups and GPs, and to be able to bring someone like him into your team in the second tier is quite remarkable really.

“In his last two meetings at Perry Barr he’s scored 28 points so it’s quite clear it’s a track he enjoys racing on.
“Sam has been impressing in a few meetings of a similar level to the Championship so far this year and he’s been riding very, very well in the National Development League for Belle Vue.

“James Wright has spent most of the year on the sidelines so far and it doesn’t look as if he’s going to be back anytime soon, so it made sense to get someone in for him. As for James Pearson, I understand he’s quite a popular character with the Birmingham supporters but I’ve been brought in with the responsibility of making this team stronger and that means I’ve had to juggle a few things around.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

KING’S Lynn host in-form Leicester in tonight’s (Monday) televised Sports Insure Premiership clash at the Adrian Flux Arena.
The Stars got the better of Wolverhampton last Thursday in a dramatic Super Heat after a 45-45 draw, with both Nicolai Klindt and Artem Laguta in top form.

But they will be without Michael Palm Toft, who was injured in that meeting, and the Stars operate rider replacement at No.2 with former Lynn rider Erik Riss guesting for Frederik Jakobsen who has quit British racing.
The Lions are at full strength having secured impressive home wins over Ipswich and leaders Belle Vue in the past fortnight, and they are now chasing a second win on the road.

Stars reserve Kye Thomson, who grabbed a key Heat 14 win last time out, said: “The track was awesome on Thursday and it was great to finish with that race, and for it to carry us on to the win where the boys finished it off.
“It’s given me big confidence and it makes me feel like I belong here, because there’s no mugs amongst these riders.
“I feel good about it, I want to keep progressing and hopefully we can keep this streak going!”

Leicester boss Stewart Dickson said: “We’re certainly going to King’s Lynn to see if we can get something there, and then we also go to Sheffield on Thursday with a 16-point lead so we should be looking to come back with something there too.

“The extra points here and there, you often don’t really see them getting added to the league table but they’re all really important and we have opportunities in these away matches.
“We’re coming together, and we’re now looking a tough team to beat over two meetings, and it’s going to come down to that if we can get ourselves into the play-offs.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 3)

BELLE Vue have another opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the Sports Insure Premiership table when they host Peterborough tonight (Monday).
The Aces are five points clear at the summit despite their defeat at Leicester last week, and closest challengers Wolverhampton are on KO Cup duty this evening.

The meeting also marks the first in British racing for new Panthers signing Vadim Tarasenko, who makes his debut at the National Speedway Stadium and comes in at No.5 for the visitors.
Belle Vue CEO Mark Lemon expects Tarasenko to make an impression for the league’s bottom side, but is confident of extending his own team’s winning run at home.

Lemon said: “Tarasenko is highly rated by his peers and fast. I’m sure he’ll be at home at the National Speedway Stadium as his uncle Artem Laguta was last week.
“On paper, Peterborough are looking much more solid than they did the last time we met in Manchester and the competition between the clubs is, subconsciously, getting fiercer.
“But I don’t have to tell the boys how to do their job. We know what’s at stake as we move into the second half of our season and I’m confident we can get the job done, as we have before.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

SHEFFIELD defend an 18-point first leg lead at Wolverhampton tonight (Monday) with a place in the Premiership KO Cup Final at stake.
The Tigers won 54-36 when the sides met in South Yorkshire with the Monmore club now looking to hit back on home territory.

The Sports Insure Premiership clash between the sides in the West Midlands this season resulted in a Wolves win by ten points.
The home side hope to have Rory Schlein returning after missing fixtures last week due to back spasms, whilst the visitors hope Lewis Kerr will be fit after he suffered a knee injury at Berwick on Saturday.

Wolves star Steve Worrall said: “It is going to be tough. It is quite a big lead that they’ve got on us and it’s a shame we let it slip in those last few heats at their place.

“It’s not impossible though; on our night we can beat anybody by that scoreline that we need in this one.
“We need everyone to keep doing what they have been doing and perhaps a little bit more. We’re going to need to be at our best and if we are then who knows, it might even come down to a big Heat 15.”

Tigers boss Simon Stead said: “Wolverhampton is a really tough place to go to. They’ve got some great riders and they ride their place very, very well.
“18 points is a nice lead to take into an away leg, but the job isn’t done yet, we’ve still got work to do.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

KENT reeled off four 5-1s in the last four races to secure a 54-36 win over Belle Vue in the NDL on Sunday.

There were just two points between the sides after Heat 11 but the Royals then stretched clear with their top two of Ben Morley and Nathan Abllitt both scoring 13+1, whilst Rhys Naylor (9+3) played a key role at reserve.

James Pearson scored 12 for the Colts and Matt Marson added 10, but the visitors were hampered by the loss of Luke Muff with concussion to add to the non-availability of Freddy Hodder and Paul Bowen for the meeting.

Kent manager Jamie Willis said: “What a final four heats – we really turned the screw when it mattered. All the boys contributed to an excellent result and I’m really proud of all of them.

“As a team we’ve spoken about minimizing our mistakes and capitalizing on the opposition’s, something which we did to near perfection today.”
Colts co-boss Graham Goodwin said: “This was a very challenging afternoon for us. The odds were already somewhat against us with being two of our regular riders down. Then, things continued to conspire against us with the loss of Luke Muff.

“Unfortunately, things just completely unravelled for us in those last four races and we’re very disappointed about that. We know we can and should have done better than we did.”
 
(FIXTURES)

MONDAY JUNE 19:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn v Leicester 7.30
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v Peterborough 7.30
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Wolverhampton (36) v Sheffield (54) 7.30

TUESDAY JUNE 20:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Oxford 7pm

WEDNESDAY JUNE 21:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham v Berwick 7.30, Oxford v Poole 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 22:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Ipswich (48) v Peterborough (42), Sheffield (37) v Leicester (53) 7.30