BRITISH SPEEDWAY AUGUST 4, 2023
(SPEEDWAY 1)
IPSWICH ON WINNING RUN!
IPSWICH kept up their bid to gatecrash the Sports Insure Premiership play-offs with a second away win in four days as they triumphed 50-40 at local rivals King’s Lynn.
Emil Sayfutdinov scored an 11+1 paid maximum for the Witches and Jason Doyle (13) dropped his only points in Heat 15 when the match was already won.
The result moves the Witches level on points with fourth placed Sheffield, with the Tigers’ trip to Leicester falling victim to the weather. However, the Owlerton side have five matches in hand.
King’s Lynn skipper Nicolai Klindt top-scored with 12+1 and Artem Laguta added 10+1, but two mechanical breakdowns for guest Benjamin Basso proved costly.
Witches manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “Another victory and another good performance, I felt we were solid throughout the meeting.
“Jason and Emil were superb and everyone else was picking up points. We kicked on nicely and pulled away a bit at the end which was nice.
“We are doing everything we can do at the moment; we have got maximum points from our last three meetings, and we are going to have to go into next week looking for another five points and that is all we can do.”
Stars boss David Hoggart said: “The disappointing bit was in the middle with Benjamin Basso breaking a couple of chains, and when do you ever see that happen? That obviously took it away from us.
“When we’re up against a team like Ipswich who have got two World class riders in their side, I’m really keen that we try and stay with it, and not let them get their noses in front.
“The minute they smell success, they’re gone, so with the way our teams are built I need four riders over-performing every meeting to be in with a chance of a win.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
EDINBURGH take on defending Cab Direct Championship holders Poole tonight (Friday) at the start of a crucial period for the Armadale club.
The Monarchs also have a home clash with Oxford to come as well as visits to Poole and Redcar in the near future.
Max Clegg makes his seasonal debut for the home side having replaced the injured Lasse Fredriksen, whilst rider replacement is in operation for Paco Castagna.
Edinburgh boss Alex Harkess said: “Poole are coming with a reputation, and people will look at it and say they are probably favourites. But if our three heat leaders perform how they did last week, for me it will be very, very close. And if we can get our reserves scoring then I’m hopeful. If the track was similar to last Friday, I’d be very happy.
“I never look at us being underdogs at home, never ever. If we do what we are supposed to do we will be OK.”
Pirates boss Gary Havelock said: “This lot are a great bunch to manage, it’s quite easy really, they know what the expectations are in riding for Poole and they want to be winners all the time.
“Obviously that is not always possible as we saw at Glasgow but they will be going out there at Edinburgh on Friday and Berwick on Saturday with victory on their minds.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
SCUNTHORPE look to maintain their play-off push when they host Berwick at the Eddie Wright Raceway tonight (Friday).
The Bandits bring a four-point advantage for the aggregate point and also include two new signings with Hans Andersen and Steve Boxall replacing injured duo Thomas Jorgensen and Jacob Hook.
The Scorpions will operate rider replacement for Michael Palm Toft as they seek a victory which could take them up to second place in the Cab Direct Championship.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “I’m expecting another stiff test for the boys. I said it was going to be tough last Friday against Birmingham and I was proved right, and I think Bewick will also present a challenge.
“Having said that, if we ride to our capabilities, I fully believe we can take all three points on offer. It would be our fourth aggregate point collected out of four. I said all along how important taking those would be.
“Our target of reaching the play-offs is going well, but every team in this league is competitive and we can’t afford to rest on our laurels.”
(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY AUGUST 4:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Poole 7.30, Redcar (39) v Glasgow (51) OFF, Scunthorpe (43) v Berwick (47) 7.30
SATURDAY AUGUST 5:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick (36) v Poole (54) 7pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Leicester (53) v Workington (37) 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 6:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Workington 12pm, Mildenhall v Leicester 4pm
NO PRESSURE ON ZMARZLIK AFTER LATVIAN GP WIN