BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2023 / 28

Feature photo by: Charlotte Flanigan…SHEFFIELD swept into their second successive Sports Insure Premiership Grand Final with a comprehensive aggregate victory over Wolverhampton. The Tigers will face Ipswich in this week’s two-legged title shootout.

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

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP NEWSROUND…

DOYLE PRAISES FOXHALL ATMOSPHERE
IPSWICH star Jason Doyle says his team-mates and management have been unified throughout a dramatic season as they look to secure the Premiership title.
The Witches enjoyed a dramatic upturn in form in the closing weeks of the regular campaign and then put defending champions Belle Vue out of the play-offs in the semi-finals.
Doyle said: “You have to put that down to team manager Ritchie Hawkins and Chris Louis. They stuck by us all season, even when there was a dip in the rollercoaster shall we say. There’s a great team spirit at Ipswich. We work as a team.

“Ipswich have been a club I have always wanted to ride for, but I didn’t know when I would get the chance.
“It all fell into my hands when Swindon left the league and I moved to Ipswich. Since then, I’ve absolutely loved it. To get two years in a row and some silverware. And now the chance to win the big one, that’s always been the goal.”

STEAD: WE CAN STILL DO IT
SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead has praised the way their guests have integrated with the rest of the side as they prepare for the Grand Final against Ipswich.
The Tigers have lost Tai Woffinden, Tobiasz Musielak and Claus Vissing to injury, but still overcame Wolverhampton by 28 points in the play-off semi-finals.

Stead said: “We’ve been working hard, we’ve had to patch things up and make the most of a difficult position.
“The lads who we’ve brought in have done a fantastic job, they’ve really bought into the club and they’ve given their all.
“The supporters have been right behind us and it’s nice that we could pay that support back with another Final – that’s two in two years, but now we just want to go one better.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… The league title will be decided this week as Ipswich host Sheffield on Tuesday in the first leg of the Grand Final, with the return at Owlerton on Thursday. The Witches are chasing a Premiership and KO Cup double with the Tigers looking to turn the tables on their opponents after going down to defeat in the Cup Final.

ELSEWHERE: Peterborough say an emotional Farewell to the Showground, their home for over 50 years, on Saturday evening. The Panthers will stage a full 16-rider Individual, featuring 20 heats and a Grand Final, with several of their current and former riders in the line-up.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSROUND…

PIRATES STANDING BY
POOLE promoter Dan Ford expects a classic Final as his side chases a hat-trick of Championship titles, as they await news of their opponents.
The Pirates have confirmed the second leg of the title decider against Glasgow or Oxford will take place at Wimborne Road on Wednesday October 11.
Ford said: “We’ve had a great battle with Oxford throughout the season to top the league table, and of course there’s been a real rivalry built up between ourselves and Glasgow over the last couple of seasons.
“So whoever it is, I think it promises to be a terrific Final. We are determined to retain the title and we’re really looking forward to it.”

TIGERS SET THINGS UP
GLASGOW boss Cami Brown praised his side for their 51-39 win at Redcar last Wednesday which leaves them one big match away from another appearance in the Grand Final.
Brown said: “We made a very slow start but the boys produced a really gutsy performance to come back. It’s a massive win.
“It sets up a huge meeting with Oxford next Tuesday at Ashfield. We need to win by 11 points at least to reach the Grand Final against Poole.
“That’s going to be so tough, we know that. But tonight we’ve given ourselves a chance for a third Grand Final in four seasons.”

CHEETAHS WILL BE READY
OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck says a place in the Grand Final would be another big step in the success story of the Cheetahs’ return to the sport.
Schroeck said: “Through the year we’ve always maintained that we’re in it to win it and that mentality is spread across the team which is great to see.
“We often reference the regeneration story associated with Oxford Speedway and the success of the club off-track. But now we’re solely focused on the efforts and outcomes on it and a place in the Grand Final would be a fantastic reward for everyone connected to the rebirth of this great club.”

EMOTIONAL PICKERING BOWS OUT
EDINBURGH skipper Josh Pickering has confirmed he is leaving the club at the end of the season, having been with the Monarchs since 2017.
Pickering said: “This club means everything to me, they gave me my opportunity to come here. It upsets me to say this but I do want to continue to try and progress as a rider and I’m going to have to drop this league next year.
“I really do appreciate everyone that’s stuck by me for the last seven years. John, Alex, Mike, Ronnie, every person that’s involved in this club, it’s the best club in the world, I’m not embarrassed to be in tears because it is how I feel.”

BEARS OUT OF LUCK
REDCAR’S play-off campaign was summed up by the events of Heat 3 in last Wednesday’s group fixture against Glasgow – when they had raced into a 10-2 lead in the early stages.
Guest Justin Sedgmen crashed out after tangling with team-mate Connor Bailey and the Tigers went on to record a 51-39 win.
Boss Gavin Parr said: “I think it summed up how unlucky we’ve been in the play-offs. Firstly, we lost Charles (Wright), we then had to go to Oxford with only three of our own riders and then against Glasgow we lost Sedge and Connor in the same race as Connor’s bike was bent after coming together with Justin.”

SCORPIONS LEAD BY 18
SCUNTHORPE are closing in on a place in the KO Cup Final after a 54-36 win over Redcar as they finished the first leg with a flourish.
Skipper Simon Lambert said: “It was nip and tuck in the first half of the meeting, but we ran away with it in the second half.
“The track was good, the racing was good, it was good night for us and we’ve got a decent lead to take to Redcar. But it means nothing if we don’t finish the job at Redcar next Friday. It’s only half time – we know they’re going to want to come back at us and push us all the way.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… The Grand Final line-up will be decided on Tuesday – and if Glasgow qualify, it will be a quick turnaround for the Tigers to host Poole at Ashfield on Friday, whilst should Oxford make the cut they will meet the Pirates at Cowley on Sunday. Meanwhile, Scunthorpe defend an 18-point lead at Redcar on Friday in the second leg of their KO Cup semi-final.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE NEWSROUND…

CUBS WAIT ON DAN
LEICESTER are awaiting news on the fitness of No.1 Dan Thompson as they prepare for this weekend’s KO Cup Final first leg at Mildenhall.
Manager Dave Howard said: “Dan had a practice at Poole on Wednesday which went reasonably well but he’s still got to get some more physio to be able to race again, and to be able to cut back and so on, so we’ll have to see where he is over the next few days.
“I’ll be making some calls for potential guests for next week just in case the results go in a certain way in the Championship play-offs, but obviously if we can ride the same as we did tonight (Saturday) in the second leg of the Cup Final, that should put us in a really good position anyway.”

HOME WIN THE KEY
MILDENHALL boss Jason Gardner has stressed the importance of a home win in the first leg of the NDL KO Cup Final on Sunday – after going down to a heavy defeat at opponents Leicester in the league last week.
Gardner said: “It’s essential that we maximise home advantage in the first leg on Sunday and build a lead to defend going back to Leicester next time.
“As our skipper Lee Complin summed it up, it was a meeting to get things right for the Final and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”

CHARGERS CHARGED UP
OXFORD’S Henry Atkins stood in as skipper in last Wednesday’s 55-35 win over Edinburgh which sends the Chargers into the Grand Final against Leicester in good spirits.
Atkins said: “It was important for us to have a good performance today, to take some confidence into the Final. We all rode well today and we enjoyed it.
“We’re ready for the Final against Leicester. When we went there last weekend, we didn’t have much idea of what their track was going to be like and it was a tough night. But now we know what to expect and next time we go there we’ll hit them hard, because we want to win the Final.”

ACADEMY PLEASED WITH EFFORTS
EDINBURGH boss Scott Wilson said he could ask for no more after a patched-up side went down 55-35 at Oxford, with their in-form reserve Mickie Simpson ruled out after a Heat 2 crash.
Wilson said: “I’m very proud of the lads who represented us tonight. To be without Alex (Spooner) and Dayle (Wood), then lose Mickie after a promising first ride, and still score 35 points against a top side deserves credit.
“Mark (Parker) and Kai (Ward) took on extra rides to help the team and the top three all did their job with race wins and plenty of points.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… The regular NDL campaign concludes with the re-arranged Workington/Kent clash on Saturday… Mildenhall host Leicester at West Row on Sunday in the first leg of the KO Cup Final, which is a repeat of last season’s decider when the Lion Cubs clinched the first half of their Double.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY OCTOBER 3:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Ipswich v Sheffield 7.30
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF GROUP B: Glasgow (40) v Oxford (50) 7.30

THURSDAY OCTOBER 5:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Sheffield v Ipswich 7.30

FRIDAY OCTOBER 6:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Glasgow v Poole (prov) 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Redcar (36) v Scunthorpe (54) 7.30

SATURDAY OCTOBER 7:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Workington v Kent 3pm
FAREWELL TO THE SHOWGROUND: Peterborough 7pm

SUNDAY OCTOBER 8:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Oxford v Poole (prov) 6.15
NDL KO CUP FINAL 1st leg: Mildenhall v Leicester 4pm

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 11:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Poole v Glasgow/Oxford 7.30
ALAN GRAHAME MEMORIAL: Birmingham v Cradley Heathens Select 7.30

SATURDAY OCTOBER 14:
NDL KO CUP FINAL 2nd leg: Leicester v Mildenhall 7pm

MONDAY OCTOBER 16:
OLYMPIQUE INDIVIDUAL: Wolverhampton 7.30

FRIDAY OCTOBER 20:
TEESSIDE SILVER HELMET: Redcar 7.30

MONDAY OCTOBER 23:
FAREWELL TO MONMORE – WE’LL MEET AGAIN TROPHY: Wolverhampton 7.30