BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 4, 2023

(SPEEDWAY 1)
ACES RUN RAMPANT
BELLE VUE’s lead at the top of the Sports Insure Premiership is up to nine points after an emphatic 57-33 win over Wolverhampton at the National Speedway Stadium.
The Aces raced clear in the second half of the meeting, limiting the second-placed team to just three race wins in a dominant performance.

Skipper Brady Kurtz (13+1) and Dan Bewley (11+1) led the way, whilst Jack Smith stepped in as a guest in the Rising Star berth with Jake Mulford injured and was involved in a big 5-1 in Heat 8 with Norick Blodorn.
Wolves skipper Sam Masters won two races and finished on ten points, but the Midlands side suffered their heaviest defeat of the season.

Kurtz said: “Track conditions maybe caught us out a bit early on but I think we got dialled in as usual and got another great result so things have been going good for us.
“It’s a shame about Jake because he was really starting to show some good progress which was great to see, but Jack did a great job for us and stepped up when we needed him to.

“Wolves have always been a bit of a bogey team for us so to win so emphatically was very impressive from all the boys and we’ve put ourselves in a great position for next week.”
Wolves boss Peter Adams said: “Not enough heat winners and too many passengers, it was as simple as that here. Take nothing away from Belle Vue though, they were very good and they look set fair for the play-offs.

“There were three 5-1s in four heats in the middle part of the match and that has happened to us so many times over the recent years.
“But they were just in irresistible form and you’ve just got to say that we were beaten by the much better team on the day.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

SHEFFIELD were comfortable 37-23 winners over Peterborough in a Sports Insure Premiership match which was curtailed after ten races.
The Owlerton circuit was hit by a couple of heavy showers resulting in race times dropping by around seconds, and a halt was called after Heat 10.

Jack Holder scored a nine-point maximum for the hosts, with Josh Pickering adding 7+1. Richie Worrall top-scored for the Panthers with six.
Pickering said: “It wasn’t nice; we like to come to work and leave in one piece.
“At the end of the day, we are professional sportsmen and we can ride anything – however, we can’t race it when you’ve got four guys going into the one spot of the track where we would all like to be.

“Visibility comes at a cost and we’d also got the sun coming into turn three which was also a bit of an issue and would be on any day – but when the track is that wet and icy it can be quite dangerous.”
Panthers boss Rob Lyon said: “I said to my guys that your safety is my concern and I need a collective view on what your thoughts are moving forward.

“There was a majority vote that they felt it was unsafe to continue and I think the Sheffield boys felt it was a similar situation.
“The referee made a call based on that information; the track was rideable but not raceable and it was a shame. It’s hard on the fans, I get that, it was a difficult call but I think it was the right decision.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

BELLE Vue hosted the official launch of the 2023 FIM Women’s Speedway Academy on Monday.

The event, which made its debut at German venue Diedenbergen last year, comes to the UK on August 4-5 as part of a big weekend in Manchester.

The National Speedway Stadium will also play host to the FIM Flat Track World Championship on August 5. Present at the WSA launch were Great Britain’s top female rider Katie Gordon, her German counterpart Celina Liebmann who races in the Polish Under-24 Esktraliga and has experience in SGP2 as a Wild Card last year, and FIM Enduro World Champion Jane Daniels, who will also be taking part in the Academy.

Tuition at the WSA Academy is led by three-time speedway World Champion Jason Crump and FIM Race Director Phil Morris, who were both present in Manchester alongside Aces CEO Mark Lemon.
Morris said: “Obviously diversifying the sport and getting more women involved is a big thing both from the FIM side and from British Speedway.

“When Celina was in Australia last year there was a training camp not specifically for girls or women, and I think five of the 20 riders were female, so to have 25 per cent in that was really good.
“This is something we’re trying to push the sport forward with, and we want to make it as easy and accessible as possible, and to give opportunities.
“We want to be as inclusive as anyone from top to bottom, where if you go to your local club they’ll be appreciative and try to get you involved.
“It’s good to see the top women in the world advocating this for the up-and-coming riders as well.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

PLYMOUTH have made a further change with Dan Thompson replacing Ben Morley in time for tonight’s (Tuesday) clash with Berwick.
Thompson’s 28-day spell with Cab Direct Championship rivals Birmingham has expired and he now joins the Gladiators who still believe a play-off push is possible.
Morley had only recently come into the Gladiators’ side when they elected to replace Paul Starke, and Thompson now joins his former Brummies team-mate James Pearson in making the switch to Devon.

Promoter Mark Phillips said: “He (Morley) has not hit the ground running. I know it is awkward with him having a late start to the season, but he hasn’t shown his home form like he did last year and as we are still pushing to make the play-offs, so we can actually find some silverware, we have got to take every opportunity that we can.
“With it being such a small league, there is no time to play catch up and we need wins.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

BERWICK boss Scott Courtney has shuffled his pack for the trip to direct rivals Plymouth in the Cab Direct Championship tonight (Tuesday).
Courtney switches Thomas Jorgensen to the No.5 position with Jye Etheridge going to No.2 as a two-day Southern tour begins, with the Bandits also visiting Oxford on Wednesday.

The Gladiators and the Bandits occupy the bottom two places in the league table with two points each, but that is still only two adrift of sixth-placed Birmingham.
Courtney said: “While I wouldn’t go as far as saying that this is a must-win match it is no secret that in all likelihood the sixth play-off position will go to whoever among us, Plymouth, Birmingham and Edinburgh takes the most points from our ‘mini-league’.

“Losing at Birmingham was disappointing but at least we gave ourselves a good opportunity to collect the aggregate point. At the very least we have to do that again on Tuesday.
“Once that meeting is done and dusted we can start thinking about the following night at Oxford.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

POOLE promoter Dan Ford says his side must deal with the big-night record of Glasgow No.1 Chris Harris when the sides meet in the first leg of the BSN Series Final on Wednesday.
Harris has been responsible for numerous thrilling efforts in crucial meetings both for and against the Pirates down the years, and the Tigers will look to his inspiration when they visit Dorset.

Fors is determined to see his side build up a lead to take to Ashfield, with the second leg now set for July 21.
He said: “We know how difficult it will be against the Tigers who, like ourselves, have once again put together a strong outfit. They are solid enough with the likes of (Benjamin) Basso, Tom Brennan and Claus Vissing but they also have that secret weapon of Bomber.

“Nobody can fail to recognise the pure class of that guy and especially when he is on stage here at Poole strutting his stuff. He has been responsible for breaking us before, and equally been a home hero.
“It doesn’t matter with Bomber, he only has one setting and that is an out-and-out racer who so regularly produces the goods which always makes him a pleasure to watch.”   

(SPEEDWAY 7)

ERIK Riss is hoping to fire Ipswich back into the Sports Insure Premiership play-off picture with his worrying illness now behind him.
Riss spent over two months on the sidelines having been diagnosed with intracranial hypertension, a build-up of pressure around the brain, after just a few weeks of the new season. He required three lumbar punctures and much medication to alleviate the problem.

The German now has a vital part to play as the Witches look to climb back into the top four, with a vital match to come at home to Wolverhampton on Thursday.
Riss said: “The worst thing as a speedway rider is having to watch others ride. When you have an injury like a break, like I did with my leg last season, there is no doubt you can’t ride.

“But when you had the condition I had, you sit at home thinking, maybe I could ride, maybe it would work. But every time I did a bit of exercise, I felt dizzy and knew it wasn’t right.
“I still feel I’m at the start of the season. Before I was out, I’d only done three meetings. I’m still catching up on engine set-ups. But, yes, the goal is the play-offs for me and the team. And we can do it.”

(FIXTURES)

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 1st 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)