BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2023/16

Feature photo: POOLE “thrashed” Glasgow in the first leg of the BSN Final on Wednesday night at Wimborne Road and now take a 62-28 lead into the decider at Ashfield later this month. The Tigers were unable to contend with a sensational show of strength from the Pirates, who recorded all but three of the race wins and did not suffer a single last place.
Photo by: ANTHONY BURCHELL

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

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP NEWSROUND…

WOLVES EDGE OUT ACES
WOLVES boss Peter Adams is satisfied with his side’s results against Sports Insure Premiership leaders Belle Vue this season.
The Monmore side suffered a heavy defeat in Manchester last week but bounced back to win the return 47-43, coming from six points down in a meeting full of incidents.
Adams said: “Meetings with Belle Vue always seem to hold plenty of drama and we had our fair share again in this one.
“We’ve got the better of them so far this season; we’ve knocked them out of the cup, we’ve beaten them twice, drawn once so it’s a lot more than what they’ve taken against us.”

POINT GAINED FOR LEADERS
BELLE Vue collected the aggregate point from their trip to Wolverhampton – and but for some late misfortune, it could have been more.
No.1 Dan Bewley didn’t ride after a heavy crash with Zach Cook in Heat 11, and both Charles Wright and Jaimon Lidsey suffered mechanical trouble in the closing stages.
Skipper Brady Kurtz said: “Wolves is always a tough place to go no matter what and to be honest, we can be satisfied that we were at least successful in defending the aggregate bonus.
“But it just came down to some really bad luck in the latter stages that we couldn’t finish the job. There were a lot of positives to take from tonight.”

STEAD PROUD OF TIGERS
SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead said his team had pulled together to gain a big result against Ipswich on Monday.
The Tigers lost Lewis Kerr to a collarbone injury in a Heat 1 crash but still defeated the Witches 51-39 and then secured the aggregate point in a Super Heat.

Stead said: “Losing Lewi wasn’t ideal; juggling races and trying to maximise what we’d got from each and every heat. It was difficult but credit to the lads, they pulled together and they knew what they needed to do.
“They raced hard every heat, it wasn’t always from the starts, there was some great racing out there and they were flying.”

WITCHES COUNT THE COST
IPSWICH lost match and aggregate points at Sheffield on Monday and now face a major battle to break back into the top four.
Emil Sayfutdinov racked up 16+1 and then won the Super Heat for the extra point, but team-mate Jason Doyle was kept at the back by Jack Holder and Tobiasz Musielak.

Boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “It was clear Erik (Riss) really struggled tonight and that is as disappointing for him as it is for everyone. Doyley had a rare off night but the margins between the top boys around here are very minimal, and he wasn’t far off, but he wasn’t quite his sublime self that he has been pretty much week in week out for the last 18 months.
“Emil was superb again as he was last time he was here, and he has been like that pretty much everywhere we have been. He was brilliant and a joy to watch around there.”

LIONS ROAR ON
LEICESTER thrashed Peterborough 57-33 to make it six wins in succession with the Premiership newcomers looking very well placed for play-off qualification.
Max Fricke scored his second successive 15-point maximum at home to keep up a strong run of form ahead of next week’s clashes with King’s Lynn.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “We’re winning meetings and we’re back into second place tonight – it’s another two points, and it’s a big lead to take when we go back to Peterborough for the all-important aggregate point.
“We’re starting to build them up now, and that will tell in the league table. They’re almost un-noticed but they’re going to make a big difference.”

NO JOY FOR PANTHERS
PETERBOROUGH again suffered for a lack of heat winners in their defeat at Leicester last Thursday.
Niels-Kristian Iversen took the flag twice for the Panthers and Benjamin Basso came from the back twice, but the all-round strength of the Lions was too much.
Boss Rob Lyon said: “It’s the same old, same old – three heat winners, we know the score and we know the team is not consistently good enough.
“I’m sure the boys are putting the effort in, I can’t question that, but the bottom line is that it’s just not good enough.”

STARS STILL WORKING
NEW King’s Lynn boss David Hoggart says the club are still working to secure an upturn in fortunes after a testing run.
The Stars suffered a heavy home defeat to bogey team Sheffield last Thursday, and then received permission to call off Monday’s clash with Peterborough to resolve issues arising from recent promotional changes.

Hoggart said: “It would be fair to say that we’ve talked about who we could potentially bring into the side – obviously we’ve got Michael (Palm Toft) injured at the moment and it would help with consistency if we could bring someone in, so if his season is done, we need to know.
“We’re conscious of the frustrations – it’s new to me, but I’m still frustrated!”

THE WEEK AHEAD… LEADERS Belle Vue head into a double clash with Ipswich this week, with the Aces travelling to Foxhall on Thursday and hosting the Witches in a televised encounter on Monday… also on Thursday, bottom club Peterborough host Sheffield with an aggregate point also up for grabs… Monday’s action also features Leicester taking on King’s Lynn with the Stars due back in action for the first time since their mini-break… meanwhile Wolverhampton host Peterborough in a re-arranged clash at Beaumont Park.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSROUND…

PIRATES HALFWAY THERE
POOLE have one hand on the BSN Series trophy after a huge 62-28 win over Glasgow in last week’s first leg of the Final at Wimborne Road.
Pirates star Steve Worrall said: “Personally, I am really happy with my own performance and from a team’s point of view, well I honestly did not expect the final scoreline to be what it was!
“It has given us a big advantage now to take to their place and that is somewhere we have all rode well in the past and we know what we’ve got to do now. Obviously winning the trophy is the main thing, so no heroes, keep it close and we should come out on top.”

MASTERS – WINNING IS FUN!
OXFORD No.1 Sam Masters scored a paid maximum in last week’s hard-fought win over Berwick, including a terrific Heat 13 in which he and Scott Nicholls got the better of Rory Schlein for a 5-1.
Masters said: “Scotty threw Schleiny a few dummies on the outside, and it gave me a gap and I moved through at the same time that Scott made his move on the outside. Those are sort of races we love and are good fun and that’s why we do it.
“Every meeting for Oxford is enjoyable. Pete (team manager Peter Schroeck) is good with us all and the group chats are always a good laugh.”

HIGHS AND LOWS
GLASGOW boss Cami Brown was relieved to put a home win on the board against Redcar on Friday – 48 hours after suffering a damaging 62-28 defeat at Poole in the first leg of the BSN Series Final.
No.1 Chris Harris scored a maximum for the Tigers as they dug deep to get the better of a Bears side who had won at Ashfield earlier in the season in the KO Cup.
Brown said: “We’ve now won five on the bounce in the league and we needed that result big time.
“The racing was so good again and we’ve thankfully put a smile back on the faces of the fans.”

BANDITS IMPRESS AT OXFORD
BERWICK boss Scott Courtney stressed his side had ridden far better than a 53-37 defeat at Oxford suggested, as they were only four points adrift with three races remaining.
Courtney said: “If you weren’t here the scoreline will have been pretty much as a lot of people predicted before tapes-up, but it doesn’t reflect the quality of racing and the amount of effort put in, often for little or no return.
“Now we must regroup for another tough challenge at Poole on Wednesday night before we welcome Plymouth to Shielfield in what is becoming more and more a key fixture.”

BRUMMIES ARE STRENGTHENED
BIRMINGHAM manager Stewart Dickson believes the signing of Paul Starke and the return from injury of Stefan Nielsen puts the Brummies in their strongest configuration of the season – especially with Alfie Bowtell now at reserve.
Dickson said: “We all know that speedway meetings are never won on paper, but this 1-7 just seems to have a much more solid look about them and it’s now up to them to go out and do the business on track.
“For me though, the fact these moves enable Alfie Bowtell to move down to reserve is a massive bonus in my opinion.”

SCORPIONS UP TO THIRD
SCUNTHORPE saw off Edinburgh at the Eddie Wright Raceway last Friday to keep themselves firmly in the Cab Direct Championship play-off picture.
The Scorpions are up to third in the table, and maximum man Ryan Douglas said: “After last week [when Oxford won in a Super Heat], we needed to bounce back, and I’m happy that we got the win.
“I’m pleased to get the maximum. I’ve had a couple of meetings here recently where I’ve dropped a point in just one ride, so it’s nice to go through a complete meeting without dropping one.”

BLOW FOR BEARS
REDCAR boss Gavin Parr has bemoaned the injury setback suffered by Jake Mulford, who broke his ankle in France earlier this month.
Parr said: “It’s a huge loss for us, Jake has been riding so well for us recently, scoring 6/7 points a match and with him being on a 3.14 average it’s the biggest loss I think we could have suffered apart from losing our number 1.”

MONARCHS LOSE OUT EARLY
EDINBURGH were left to rue a slow start at Scunthorpe on Friday where they went 16-points down after seven races, before fighting back to outscore the home team over the second half of the meeting.
Boss John Campbell said: “It’s always a challenge for us at Scunthorpe as it is such a specialist track with so many racing lines. The Scorpions got off to a strong start while we were working out the set up and the lines.

“Lasse (Fredriksen) put in an impressive performance and fully merited his Heat 15 appearance. Scunthorpe have been doing exceptionally well this season on their own track, but we will take the positives from tonight as we move onto Oxford on Wednesday.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… GLASGOW are unbeaten in the league as they head into this week’s Southern tour to Plymouth and Birmingham… The Gladiators then head north with vital trips to Edinburgh and Berwick on Saturday… leaders Oxford go for a ninth league win when they host Edinburgh on Wednesday… Poole look to keep up the chase on the same night when they take on Berwick… Scunthorpe and Redcar contest their KO Cup semi-final with the first leg at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday and the return at the ECCO Arena 24 hours later.

ALSO… GLASGOW have the best of British youngsters on show at Ashfield on Sunday when they stage the British Under-21 Final.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE NEWSROUND…

BOXALL BACK FOR BULLETS
BERWICK have moved to hand former NDL Riders’ Champion Steve Boxall a return to the sport – and he will make his comeback at home to Belle Vue on Saturday.
Team boss Kevin Little said: “He has a proven track record at this level and is obviously keen to put himself in the shop window for next season and beyond.
“His signing should ease the pressure on Connor Coles and Danny Phillips at the top end of the team and give us the opportunity to turn tight defeats so far this season into points on the board over the remaining four NDL meetings.”

HUGE WIN FOR COLTS
BELLE Vue racked up a massive 67-23 win over Kent at the National Speedway Stadium – and now need to back up that form on the road if they are to challenge for a top two finish.
Colts star Matt Marson said: “I think with them missing Nathan Ablitt really hurt them, he rode for Belle Vue last year but even so I think we were expecting a bit more of a challenge than we got.
“We were cautiously optimistic about our chances of getting the bonus so to go from 18 points down on aggregate to winning by 26 is a job well done.”

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
MILDENHALL reserve William Richardson enjoyed his best performance yet of his debut season in the NDL when the Fen Tigers defeated Edinburgh last Sunday.
Richardson said: “I really reaped the benefits of the practice session on the track yesterday and, though frustrating to miss out so narrowly in Heat 2, am pleased with how things went today. 

“I know I’ve had a slow start of the season but it’s a learning curve and I really feel now that I’m moving forward and am comfortable with how things are going.
“The spirit here among the team is fantastic and I can’t thank all of my team-mates enough for all the help, encouragement & support they give me.”

CUP DEFENCE OFF TO A FLYER
LEICESTER won 53-37 at Workington on Saturday to put one foot in the NDL KO Cup Final, a competition they won last season.
Cubs boss Dave Howard said: “We’ve still got to finish the job, but obviously to have a 16-point lead is fantastic, and it puts us in a great position to get to the Cup Final and defend our trophy.
“Everybody put in some really good performances, the whole team rode well and there was some great racing and overtaking moves as well.”

GRIM UP NORTH FOR ROYALS
KENT boss Jamie Willis stressed the effort was there, if not the results, in a 67-23 hammering at Belle Vue on Friday.
Willis said: “Belle Vue were far superior on home shale, and credit where it is due. Although we are obviously disappointed, the lads gave it their best, they really did.
“A massive thank you to those trackside and at home supporting us. The positive words from those in attendance showed that the boys did give it their best.”

POINTS DROPPED FOR ACADEMY
EDINBURGH boss Scott Wilson felt his side could have come away with far more than a 48-41 defeat at Mildenhall on Sunday.
Wilson said: “This was one we let slip, there’s no question about it. Some mistakes and the track catching us out in a couple of instances have cost us a win.
“However we have pushed a good side all the way and put ourselves in contention to collect the aggregate point at home later in the season.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… THERE are two important meetings on Saturday with Belle Vue travelling to bottom club Berwick in need of an away win to challenge for a top two finish… meanwhile Workington bid to bounce back from recent home disappointments when they head to Edinburgh.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY JULY 11:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Glasgow OFF

WEDNESDAY JULY 12:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham (26) v Glasgow (64) 7.30, Oxford v Edinburgh 7.30, Poole v Berwick 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 13:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Peterborough (23) v Sheffield (37) 7.30
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 14:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Plymouth 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 15:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Plymouth 7pm
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Berwick (29) v Belle Vue (61) (follows previous fixture), Edinburgh (37) v Workington (53) 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 16:
BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: Glasgow 2pm

MONDAY JULY 17:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v Ipswich 7.30, Wolverhampton v Peterborough 7.30
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Leicester (47) v King’s Lynn (43) 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 19:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham v Poole 7.30, Oxford v Glasgow 7.30    

THURSDAY JULY 20:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich v Peterborough 7.30, King’s Lynn v Leicester 7.30, Sheffield v Belle Vue 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 21:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar (35) v Scunthorpe (55) 7.30
BSN SERIES FINAL 2nd leg: Glasgow v Poole 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue (40) v Edinburgh (50) 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP (500cc/250cc): Belle Vue 6pm

SATURDAY JULY 22:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 23:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent (34) v Leicester (56) 12pm

MONDAY JULY 24:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Leicester v Sheffield 7.30, Peterborough v King’s Lynn 7.30