BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2023 / 14

Feature photo by: Steve Dixon…

LEICESTER smashed Sheffield’s long unbeaten home record with a dramatic 46-44 win at Owlerton last Thursday, whilst extending their winning run in the Sports Insure Premiership to five matches in what is their debut season back in the top flight.

HERE’S our latest news and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP NEWSROUND…

ACES STRETCH THEIR ADVANTAGE
BELLE Vue have a seven-point lead at the top of the Sports Insure Premiership as they close in on the play-offs once again.
The defending champions won 49-41 at Peterborough on Monday and No.1 Dan Bewley says the team are fully focused on securing back-to-back league titles.

Bewley said: “Peterborough is very similar to Belle Vue in its size but the material is very different, but it just feels like every time we come here we’re very comfortable with how it rides.
“This is another big result for us. Meetings will soon start to run out in the race for the play-offs and we need to give ourselves the best chance possible of defending our title.”

HOT SEAT HOGGY
KING’S Lynn have appointed David Hoggart as their new manager following the recent departure of Alex Brady.
Hoggart, who previously held management and promotion role as at Sheffield, is also a former centre green presenter at the Adrian Flux Arena.
Owner Keith Chapman said: “I’ve known David for many years, he has a good reputation in the sport and lots of knowledge to bring to the table.
“I did enjoy last Monday, but it’s definitely best for the riders that they have some form of continuity of team manager after everything that’s happened in the last few weeks.”

WOLVES ARE COOKING
ZACH Cook raced to his first full maximum in Wolverhampton’s 65-25 demolition of King’s Lynn, and was one of three unbeaten riders for the rampant home side.
Cook said: “It’s a pretty nice feeling. I’ve been finding my feet pretty good but I was making some good starts, getting out front early and making life easy.
“I’d like to do that a bit more often now.
“Everyone was on form. It was a shame to lose (Luke) Becker (injury) again but it was mega from the rest of the boys.”

VAD STARS FOR PANTHERS
PETERBOROUGH’S recent recruit Vadim Tarasenko made a terrific home debut in a losing cause on Monday.
Tarasenko racked up 14 points for the Panthers in his first Showground appearance, although it wasn’t enough to prevent a 41-49 defeat to bogey side Belle Vue.
Team boss Rob Lyon said: “Five race wins tells its own story, but there were positives and obviously Tarasenko has adapted well on his first time round here.
“We just need more race winners, and once we get that maybe we’ll be in the game.”

LIONS ON A HIGH
LEICESTER made it a hat-trick of away wins with last Thursday’s 46-44 triumph at Sheffield, with the Lions standing firm to resist a late Tigers onslaught. The result moved the East Midlands side to second place in the league table at the time, and boss Stewart Dickson was delighted to see a plan come together.

He said: “The plan for Heat 15 was that Richard Lawson had been doing well off gate three, for him to take care of Tobi on the opening two bends to give Max (Fricke) the chance to get away.
“We almost let Jack Holder get a free run to the first bend, he was the maximum man and the best rider on show, but Leicester are a seven-man team, and we proved that again tonight.”

STEAD – WE MUST IMPROVE
SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead says his team must take additional motivation from their shock home defeat against Leicester.
It was the first time the Tigers had been beaten on their own circuit in over a year, and it came despite Jack Holder scoring a brilliant 18-point maximum.

Stead said: “I hope that we can use this to project ourselves onto bigger and better things, because that was not good enough.
“We need to push forward now and try and cement ourselves in those play-off places and work our way up the table. We have to recover from this, acknowledge that we were beaten by the better team on the night and that we have to improve and be better.”

HAWKINS – IT’S CATCH-UP TIME
IPSWICH have completed the first half of their Sports Insure Premiership schedule outside the play-off places – and boss Ritchie Hawkins knows they need to step up.

The Witches did defeat Peterborough 52-38 at Foxhall last week but they are paying the price for earlier home defeats at the hands of Belle Vue and Wolverhampton, which threatens their qualification for the semi-finals.
Hawkins said: “When we come back, we will be starting the second half of the season and we are behind the game at the moment.“We are going to need a big push now and to click into gear and build some momentum to get ourselves in the play-offs.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… THERE are two fixtures next Monday (July 3) which both affect the play-off picture as league leaders Belle Vue host Wolverhampton, just over a month after a thrilling encounter in their last meeting at the NSS… Meanwhile Sheffield look to consolidate their place in the top four and bounce back from their recent home defeat to Leicester, when they host Peterborough at Owlerton.

ALSO: LEICESTER host the Premiership Pairs on Thursday at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park, with all seven clubs competing and Ipswich defending the title… Peterborough pay tribute to long serving Ulrich Ostergaard who stages his Farewell Meeting at the East of England Arena on Sunday.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSROUND…

CHEETAHS ON A CHARGE
OXFORD made it six successive wins in the Cab Direct Championship with back-to-back victories away at Plymouth and at home to great rivals Poole, who they impressively beat 52-38 at Cowley last Wednesday.

Cheetahs star Lewis Kerr said: “It was perfect tonight. I dropped just the one point, while it was a really good team effort against the strongest team in the league. We’re just all high in confidence and want to keep it going.
“The team is on a high at the moment. We had some bad luck in the meeting at Plymouth [on Tuesday] and things weren’t going our way. It’s never easy to go there, but we got the job done and took the victory and then carried it into tonight.”

RELIEF FOR BRUMMIES
BIRMINGHAM finally gained a home win at the sixth attempt with last Wednesday’s 48-42 victory over Berwick – and remarkably it took them into the Cab Direct Championship play-off places!
New boss Stewart Dickson said: “It was great to hear the noise from the terraces; these supporters have waited a long time to see a winning team at Birmingham.
“It’s only the start though, I’m not going to get carried away, but let’s enjoy the moment because it’s been a while for everyone here and we are no longer bottom of the league!”

TIGERS MUSCLE THROUGH
GLASGOW picked up a convincing home win over Scunthorpe in a rain-curtailed clash at Armadale – and boss Cami Brown wants more of the same over 15 heats going forward.

He said: “We’ve had a couple of below par home performances this season, but we are back to our best. We showed more muscle tonight.
“We’ve now got a massive week ahead with Poole at Ashfield next Friday in the BSN Final. The first trophy up for grabs in British Speedway and we want it. But it will be very tough.”

PEARSON JOINS GLADIATORS
JAMES Pearson made an encouraging debut for Plymouth at Redcar last Friday, scoring six points having come into the side for Jake Turner after recently losing his place with Birmingham.

Promoter Mark Phillips said: “Unfortunately, Jake’s inconsistencies have led us to make this change as we are still pushing for a top six position, and we certainly hope that this is a forward progression rather than a sideways or backwards move.
“The season this year is short, and we need to secure a better destiny.”

PIRATES NOT POSITIVE
POOLE promoter Dan Ford found himself in the rare position of speaking after a defeat last Wednesday – with the Pirates receiving a wake-up call as they lost 52-38 at in-form Oxford.

Ford said: “I guess that there aren’t too many positives to take from our performance this evening, but there are still plenty of points to ride for and the league can’t be won in June.
“We have still got the chance to outscore them in the league when they visit us in August and whilst we would have liked to have run them a bit closer, the aggregate point is not beyond us.”

BEARS PRAISE FOR JAKE
REDCAR promoter Jamie Swales says Bears reserve Jake Mulford’s performance in the recent dramatic encounter against Poole shows his talent is now beginning to shine through.

Swales said: “Jake is now showing he doesn’t fear reputations, he has found speed in the bike and he’s sharp from the gate.
“I’m sure his form will fluctuate over the season but he’s showing the promise we knew he had.”

NO GO PICKO
JOSH Pickering’s comeback for Edinburgh had to be halted after four races with the match against Birmingham abandoned due to bad weather, a decision the Australian was in agreement with.

Pickering said: “Conditions are just too difficult. The track was fine before the rain started but I’ve been out for eight weeks, and I don’t want to be out another eight weeks.
“I thank all the fans for coming out to watch but you want to see us race in better conditions.”

TEN OKAY FOR PEET
SCUNTHORPE boss Dave Peet was satisfied to emerge from an away match at Glasgow with a ten-point defeat – because it would likely have been heavier had the meeting run to its full 15 races.

Peet said: “To be honest, it (the rain) probably did us a favour. I’d already used up the tactical substitute and we were starting to run out of riders. Had the last four races been held, there’s every chance that Glasgow would have pulled further ahead.

“As it is, we’re left with a ten-point deficit in terms of the aggregate point, and I believe we can beat Glasgow by more than ten points when we meet them at the Eddie Wright Raceway in August.”

BANDITS HEADING SOUTH
BERWICK have a week off prior to a big Southern tour to Plymouth and Oxford on July 4/5 – with points on the road now vital as they bid to remain in the play-off hunt.

Co-owner Scott Courtney said: “There’s no hiding from the fact that there is a four-way battle to grab the sixth play-off position and it is going to be decided by how we perform against the other teams in the same position.
“We have to look at taking the win and bonus point off Birmingham and the same against Plymouth. Realistically anything at Oxford would be a bonus the form they are showing at the moment but we won comfortably last year.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… GLASGOW and Poole kick off the BSN Series Final at Ashfield on Friday with the Tigers looking to secure a first-leg lead… Cab Direct Championship leaders Oxford put their 100 per cent record on the line when they visit Scunthorpe in a big top-four clash on Friday… Plymouth bid to move off the foot of the table when they host second-bottom Berwick on Tuesday.

ALSO: BIRMINGHAM host the British Under-19 Final at Perry Barr on Wednesday with 16 of the country’s top youngsters vying for a national title… Redcar host their popular annual Julie Lewis Memorial meeting on Friday.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE NEWSROUND…

CHARGERS CHARGE ON
OXFORD are top of the National Development League after winning 51-39 at Workington on Saturday – and Chargers star Jody Scott is looking to stay there!
Scott said: “It’s nice to be top of the table. It’s only the top two in the play-offs this season, and we want to be first or second in the table come the end of the season. We just want to keep winning and keep that top spot.
“A lot of the team has returned from last year. We’re all really good mates and we work well together, while Peter (Schroeck) is an awesome manager to work with.”

CUBS GAIN GROUND
LEICESTER completed the double over Edinburgh to add three points to their NDL total and move into third place.
Dan Thompson scored a paid maximum for the defending champions and Ashton Boughen continued his rapid progress with a 13+2 haul from six rides.

Team boss Dave Howard said: “We’re up to third place now and it’s important that we get some more away wins. It was a really good win last week at Edinburgh so that also gave us the aggregate point tonight, and those are going to be so important for us to challenge Mildenhall and Oxford at the top.”

ACADEMY BEATING THEMSELVES
EDINBURGH boss Scott Wilson says Saturday’s defeat at Leicester shows how his side are giving away too many points to their opponents.
As they prepare for a big double against Berwick this weekend, Wilson said: “We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We threw away points on at least four occasions which would have made the scoreline look much more favourable.
“We dust ourselves down and look ahead to two meetings with Berwick next weekend. We must get back to winning ways.”

CHANGE FOR BULLETS
BERWICK have redeclared their line-up to include the return of Kieran Douglas, who has signed as cover for long-term injury victim Archie Freeman.
Douglas rode for the Bullets in 2021-22 and comes in for Ben Rathbone, whose 28-day deal has expired after two appearances in June.

THE WEEK AHEAD… NDL leaders Oxford are in action at Kent on Sunday looking for a fourth away win of the season… Edinburgh and Berwick have the opportunity to make progress up the table as they meet twice over the weekend, starting at Armadale on Friday with the return at Shielfield Park on Saturday.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY JUNE 28:
BRITISH UNDER-19 FINAL: Birmingham 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 29:
PREMIERSHIP PAIRS: Leicester 7.30

FRIDAY JUNE 30:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe v Oxford 7.30
BSN SERIES FINAL 1st leg: Glasgow v Poole 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30
JULIE LEWIS MEMORIAL: Redcar 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 1:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 2:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Oxford 12pm
ULRICH OSTERGAARD FAREWELL: Peterborough 4pm

MONDAY JULY 3: 
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.30
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 4:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Berwick 7pm

WEDNESDAY JULY 5:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford (46) v Berwick (44) 7.30
BSN SERIES FINAL 2nd leg: Poole v Glasgow 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 6:

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich v Wolverhampton 7.30, King’s Lynn v Sheffield 7.30, Leicester v Peterborough 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 7:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Redcar 7.30, Scunthorpe (54) v Edinburgh (36) 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue (36) v Kent (54) 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP (500cc): Scunthorpe (follows Champ fixture)

SATURDAY JULY 8:
NDL KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Workington v Leicester 3pm

SUNDAY JULY 9:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Edinburgh 4pm

MONDAY JULY 10:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: King’s Lynn v Peterborough 7.30, Sheffield (39) v Ipswich (51) 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 11:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Glasgow 7pm