BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2024/11

THREE IN A ROW FOR BEWLEY

Feature photo by:  IAN CHARLES…BELLE Vue favourite Dan Bewley became only the fifth rider in history to secure a hat-trick of national titles with his victory in the Attis Insurance Sports Division British Final.
Bewley followed in the footsteps of Barry Briggs (four wins 1964-1967), Ivan Mauger (1970-72), Andy Smith (1993-95) and Tai Woffinden (2013-15) in winning three on the trot when he triumphed at the National Speedway Stadium last Saturday.
He said: “Three in a row is just awesome, and it’s such a cool meeting to come to. It’s one of the biggest meetings of the year for us, so to get three in a row is still surreal.
“Tai has got three in a row so for me to match that is pretty cool. He was in front in the Final and I knew it was going to be difficult to make something happen.
“But I just thought if I could stay on his back wheel and hope a door opens, and a little one did and I got through.”

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

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

King’s Lynn captain NICOLAI KLINDT led the way superbly for the Stars with a 13-point haul in their 50-40 win over Sheffield, including a superb Heat 15 effort to get the better of Jack and Chris Holder and protect a ten-point lead in the first leg of their KO Cup semi-final.

WITCHES SOLVING PROBLEMS

IPSWICH remain on top of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership with their lead standing at four points following their win over Sheffield on Monday.

The Witches are also through to the KO Cup Final with manager Ritchie Hawkins relieved that a run of injuries has not derailed their bid for silverware.

Hawkins said: “With the results and performances and how everyone has done you wouldn’t know all the issues we have had with rider availability, and I am delighted with the boys.

“The atmosphere and team spirit are amazing and that is what is helping us get through what should be a really tough period.”

STEAD PRAISE FOR GILKES

SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead said there were still some encouraging factors from double defeat in East Anglia over the last week.

The Tigers lost 50-40 at both King’s Lynn in the KO Cup and then Ipswich in the league, although Rising Star Dan Gilkes picked up a very notable race win in the latter fixture.

Stead said: “There were some positives; I feel Jack (Holder) and Woffy’s (Tai Woffinden) form here in particular bears well for later in the season.

“And another thing I think is worth mentioning is that stunning ride from Dan Gilkes over Emil (Satfutdinov) in Heat 4 that was superb.”

STARS SHINE AGAINST TIGERS

KING’S Lynn manager Rob Lyon says confidence in his side will be far higher following their 50-40 KO Cup win over Sheffield – ending a long losing sequence in recent clashes with the Tigers.

Lyon said: “I appreciate that Sheffield have been a difficult team to beat these last few years but that will make massive difference psychologically moving forward.

“They had their full team out but the boys took it to them to give ourselves a great chance (of reaching the Final).

“We’ve got a few meetings before then though and hopefully we can go on a bit of a run now.”

LINDGREN IMPRESSES ON DEBUT

BIRMINGHAM CEO Nigel Tolley was happy with the opening performance of Swedish star Fredrik Lindgren, who collected three race wins on his way to 12 points at Ipswich last Thursday.

Tolley said: “Freddie was talking to the team and suggesting changes. He has great maturity, he thinks situations through and the rest of the team can learn from him.

“We didn’t quite get our act together in this one but if all seven riders hit form at the same time, we can go places.”

KERR NEEDS A GOOD BREAK

OXFORD promoter Jamie Courtney hopes Lewis Kerr can enjoy a much-needed injury free run having reclaimed his place in the Spires team with Craig Cook now moving to Leicester.

Courtney said: “No question Lewis is the unluckiest man in speedway at the moment. You might remember his initial injury came after a fairly innocuous spill riding for the Spires at a time when he was in superb form in both top leagues.

“Craig became a free agent at the end of the 28 days and he found a berth at Leicester, signing the day after he was part of our defeat in the East Midlands.

“British Speedway is a tight circle at the best of times and once teams start ringing the changes it cam become quite a merry-go-round.”

LIONS WANTING MORE

LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson insists his side have the ability to reach the play-off this season – but he is seeking more all-round consistency to do it.

Dickson said: “The problem has been we’ve had four or five riders scoring, or even five or six scoring, but I just cannot get all seven scoring.

“We are working towards it and we need to keep at it, but it just feels like the same old story at the moment. I can’t get all seven going at any one time.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

AFTER a hugely successful staging of the Attis Insurance Sports Division last weekend, Belle Vue are preparing for their return to ROWE Motor Oil Premiership action next Thursday (June 20) when they visit Sheffield.

 CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

Scunthorpe No.1 KYLE HOWARTH went through the card with a full 18-point maximum in the Scorpions’ big win over Berwick on Friday. Redcar’s Charles Wright was close to achieving the same feat as he racked up 17 at Plymouth, losing his maximum to Troy Batchelor in Heat 13.

MONARCHS WIN IN CLASSIC

EDINBURGH manager Alex Harkess admitted his relief after the Monarchs triumphed 46-44 over Oxford in an epic contest at Armadale, thanks to Josh Pickering’s Heat 15 win.

Harkess said: “A bit too tight for my liking, though it was always going to be tight. I was certainly happy with the determination the team showed, throughout the side from one to seven.

“Paco Castagna kept his excellent form going, Kye Thomson and Lasse Fredriksen won heats when it mattered, and Sedgy (Justin Sedgmen) certainly played a full part in that last race, an incredible ride by Josh.”

CHEETAHS MAKE THEIR POINT

OXFORD came close to an away win at Edinburgh on Friday despite being without both regular reserves – and the aggregate point kept their Cab Direct Championship total ticking over.

Manager Peter Schroeck said: “When a team loses by such a small margin, you always reflect on the points that got away from you during the evening. But our riders gave their all and I couldn’t have asked for any more from them.

“It was so close all night and I never had the opportunity to put in a tactical substitute. The riders from both sides should take credit for being involved in what was a very good speedway meeting.”

BRENNAN PRAISES TEAM EFFORT

POOLE star Tom Brennan says the Pirates are functioning as a full team unit, as he and Richard Lawson combined for a 4-2 in Heat 15 to confirm a hard-earned home victory over Redcar.

Brennan said: “To be honest I was expecting to have to go off gate three in that last one, but then Richard had that breakdown in Heat 13 and so he gave the choice of gates to me.

“But every decision is like a team decision and I want to give a really big up for Rich, he was absolutely phenomenal and didn’t deserve to drop any points, but unfortunately that is how speedway goes and I am just happy for the team as we managed to get the job done.”

SCORPIONS ON TOP

SCUNTHORPE boss David Howe had praise for Kyle Howarth after his full house in the big win over Berwick last Friday which took the Scorpions to the top of the table.

Howe said: “Kyle was fantastic tonight. He took a bit of stick from a few of our fans earlier in the season, simply because he’s not Ryan Douglas, but no-one is.

“Kyle is Kyle, he’s a terrific rider and tonight he showed that he is the class act that we know he is, and he did everything we asked of him and more.”

PROBLEMS FOR BANDITS

BERWICK’S injury woes are piling up with Rory Schlein set to be out for the season after his crash at Scunthorpe on Friday.

The Bandits were already without Jye Etheridge and Bastian Borke, with the latter set to be an impossible rider to replace following his recent accident at Poole.

Manager Stewart Dickson said: “No-one is doing what Bastian was before his crash – scoring eights and tens on a four-point average, so there is not a like for like replacement.”

BEARS ON THE UP

REDCAR boss Gavin Parr says things are heading in the right direction after a tough start to the season.

The Bears picked up a useful away win at Plymouth last Tuesday and also went close at Poole 24 hours later, taking the Pirates to a last-heat decider.

Parr said: “W e kept saying that we didn’t feel we were too far away from becoming a good side and with Dan (Gilkes) coming into the 1-7 that has given us the lift we needed.

“However, we are not getting carried away but we are happy with our recent improvement.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

GLASGOW turn the spotlight on the future this Sunday when they stage the second round of the British Youth Championship at Ashfield with a 2pm start… PLYMOUTH have Ben Barker and Dan Thompson back in their side this week after recent injury and illness issues, but the Gladiators remain without No.1 Nico Covatti due to suspension… WORKINGTON have drawn holders Poole in the semi-finals of the BSN Series, with the other last-four tie to take place between Scunthorpe and Edinburgh.

 WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

BEN TRIGGER was the star rider for Middlesbrough in their 48-41 home win over Belle Vue, scoring 13+1 from his five outings. Trigger dropped his only point to the Colts Chad Wirtzfeld in Heat 11 of the clash at the ECCO Arena.

ABSENCES PROVE COSTLY

BELLE Vue co-boss Graham Goodwin admitted being without three riders for the NDL trip to Middlesbrough last Friday gave his side a difficult challenge.

Goodwin said: “The lads battled hard, but with three riders missing it was always going to be a tough ask though they still didn’t hesitate and got stuck in.

“Dayle Wood and Sam McGurk really put in a shift for us, but with only collecting 3+1 from Sam Hagon’s R/R rides it was less than ideal.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

MIDDLESROUGH heat leaders Ben Trigger (13+1) and Jake Mulford (12) were both in good form as the Tigers grabbed their first NDL win at home to Belle Vue last Friday… The return fixture takes place at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday June 17…. OXFORD return to NDL action on Sunday when they take on Belle Vue, with the Chargers unbeaten from their opening three matches.

 FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY JUNE 11:

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth (42) v Berwick (47) 7pm

WEDNESDAY JUNE 12:

KYLE HOWARTH TESTIMONIAL: Sheffield 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 13:

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30, Oxford v Ipswich 7.30

FRIDAY JUNE 14:

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar v Edinburgh 7.30, Scunthorpe (34) v Oxford (55) 7.30

SATURDAY JUNE 15:

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington (47) v Plymouth (43) 3pm

SUNDAY JUNE 16:

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Oxford v Belle Vue 3pm

BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow 2pm

MONDAY JUNE 17:

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn (43) v Oxford (47) 7.30

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue (41) v Middlesbrough (48) 7.30

WEDNESDAY JUNE 19:

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Poole 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 20:

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Ipswich (47) v Leicester (43) 7.30, Sheffield (35) v Belle Vue (25) 8pm

FRIDAY JUNE 21:

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30, Glasgow v Berwick 7.30, Redcar (36) v Oxford (53) 7.30

SATURDAY JUNE 22:

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Workington v Scunthorpe 3pm

SUNDAY JUNE 23:

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Leicester v Oxford 3pm

MONDAY JUNE 24:

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Birmingham (41) v King’s Lynn (49) 7.30

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30