BRITISH SPEEDWAY: HOLDER GOLD IN CROATIA

(SPEEDWAY 1)

JACK HOLDER: “THAT’S A MASSIVE MONKEY OFF MY BACK”

SHEFFIELD No.1 Jack Holder roared to his first-ever Grand Prix victory as he took the win in Saturday’s season opener in Croatia.

Holder, who had been cruelly denied in a re-started Final at Warsaw last year, led the scorechart after the qualifiers and then rode perfect races in both the semi-final and Final at the Donji Kraljevec venue.
Ipswich star and fellow Australian Jason Doyle recovered from a crash early in the meeting to take second place ahead of Fredrik Lindgren, with defending World Champion Bartosz Zmarzlik fourth.

Holder said: “That’s a massive monkey off my back. I’ve been wanting this one for so long, but it definitely wasn’t easy.
“It was a pretty technical track out there, there were a few big, big holes but I was just trapping for fun and got to that chequered flag first.”

The result also makes the Holder brothers Jack and Chris the first sibling duo in Grand Prix history to both top the podium.
And the new World Championship leader is sure to receive a massive welcome back at Owlerton when Sheffield host Oxford in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership this Thursday (May 2).
Robert Lambert was the highest placed Great Britain rider as he won three of his first four races – but he missed out in the first semi-final, with Dan Bewley and Tai Woffinden failing to make the top eight.

(SPEEDWAY 2)

IPSWICH and Redcar have suffered a blow with Danny King confirming he suffered a fractured hand in a crash on Friday.
King came to grief in Heat 1 at the ECCO Arena on Friday and a visit to hospital confirmed the fracture in two places.
Posting to Instagram, King said: “I’m waiting on confirmation of next steps as we are not sure whether an operation may be necessary, but will update you all once I have seen the specialist, hopefully early this week.
“To say I am gutted is an understatement, but I will come back fighting and hope to be back on a bike as soon as I can.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

BERWICK have put Scunthorpe’s Cab Direct KO Cup defence under threat after a 54-36 first leg win at Shielfield Park.
The Bandits overcame the absence of Jye Etheridge to rack up a decent lead to take into next month’s return fixture, with Richard Lawson proving the perfect guest for the injured Lewis Kerr with a 15-point maximum.

Skipper Rory Schlein weighed in with 13+1 whilst Drew Kemp showed no ill effects from the crash with Etheridge at Edinburgh on Friday as he returned with a 12-point total against his former club.
Simon Lambert led the way for the Scorpions with 9+1 and they will look to turn the tables in the second leg on May 17.

Berwick boss Stewart Dickson said: “All credit to the riders, an 18-point lead exceeded all my expectations, but Scunthorpe are a tough proposition on their home track.

“It was a good performance, but the job is only halfway through. If the shoe was on the other foot I would be using the defeat as motivation and I’m sure that David Howe will be doing the same before the second leg.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

WORKINGTON host Scunthorpe today (Sunday, 3.30pm) in the first part of a BSN Series group decider between the two clubs.
Both the Comets and the Scorpions have secured home and away wins over Redcar meaning the aggregate point will be crucial across their upcoming meetings.
Workington have declared a full-strength side whilst Scunthorpe again track Jack Smith as a guest at reserve in place of the injured Nathan Ablitt.

(FIXTURES)

SUNDAY APRIL 28:
BSN SERIES: Workington v Scunthorpe 3.30

MONDAY APRIL 29:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Birmingham v Belle Vue 7.30

TUESDAY APRIL 30:
BRITISH UNDER-21 QUALIFIER: Plymouth 7pm