BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2024/12

Feature photo by: CHARLOTTE FLANIGAN…

KYLE Howarth admits he was overwhelmed by the support he received for his Testimonial at Owlerton on Wednesday. An entertaining contest went down to a last heat decider as a Sheffield Tigers side beat a Rest of the World Select 48-42. The top four points scorers from the programmed rides were then involved in a ‘Dash for Cash’ heat, which was won by Chris Harris who opted to split the prize with the other competitors.

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

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP NEWSROUND…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Twelve years on from racing for King’s Lynn, MACIEJ JANOWSKI showed he still knows the fastest way around the Adrian Flux Arena with a terrific 16-point haul for Oxford on Monday. However, the efforts of the former World No.3 were not enough to inspire an away win as a solid Lynn team effort saw them take the match 50-40.

DREAM START FOR KVECH
KING’S Lynn boss Rob Lyon praised new signing Jan Kvech after his impressive debut in Monday’s 50-40 win over Oxford.
Kvech scored nine points as part of an excellent all-round Stars display which saw each of their seven riders win at least one race.

Lyon said: “I wouldn’t want to pick anyone out in particular because it was a full team performance from one to seven, but it was good to see Jan have a good debut, and also for Anders to get back to some early-season form around here.
“I’m pleased for all of the boys, proud of them, so we move on to the next one and see where we go from there.”

JANOWSKI BRINGS THE MAGIC
MACIEJ Janowski racked up 16 points for Oxford at King’s Lynn on Monday, but mechanical issues for his team-mates meant the Spires went down to a 50-40 defeat.
Janowski said: “Everything was working for me from the beginning of the meeting. I found the set-up and that allowed me to relax on the bike and concentrate on my racing.
“After my first two rides, I started to attack the track more and I enjoyed today and had good fun. But it was a hard night for the team, with problems with the bikes in the pits.”

WITCHES CALL ON SCOTT
IPSWICH will again track Scott Nicholls – who first rode for the club in 1995 – as a guest in Thursday’s clash with Leicester, with the former British Champion taking the No.1 position in place of the injured Jason Doyle.
Witches manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “It’s great to have Scott with us again, it doesn’t feel like having a guest in the team. He’s a club legend and a British Speedway legend and he fits into the team brilliantly.
“I don’t think there’s anyone you can look at in the league that’s going to be better round Foxhall than Scott on a consistent basis.
“It’s certainly made our recent struggles with absences a lot easier having Scott there and available to bring in and I’m sure it will do for the next couple of weeks as well.”

KYLE’S TESTIMONIAL SUCCESS
SHEFFIELD skipper Kyle Howarth enjoyed an excellent night’s racing for his Testimonial at Owlerton last Wednesday, where a Tigers side defeated a Rest of the World Select 48-42.
Howarth said: “We had 19 races in total and we were done in a couple of hours so I was well happy with that.
“It was a good close meeting that went down to the last heat, we saw some good racing and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves so I can’t ask for much more than that.
“There’s a lot of people to thank; I want to start by thanking the supporters. It was a great turnout, it wouldn’t have been the same without them, so a big thank you to everyone who came and supported me.”

BIG WEEK FOR LIONS
LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson is calling for his team to click as an all-round unit in tough away trips to Ipswich and Belle Vue as they look to chase down a play-off place.
Dickson said: “I make no secret of the fact that I do think we’ve strengthened up, but we need to do it when it counts on the track, and these are two big meetings coming up for us.
“We don’t have a divine right to be further up, but every time I write our team out to send to an opposition manager, I look at it and think we should be doing better.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
BELLE VUE captain Brady Kurtz was back in business in Poland at the weekend after injury, scoring a 12-point maximum for Rybnik in their 52-38 win over Poznan… Kurtz is set to lead the Aces in their War of the Roses trip to Sheffield on Thursday… BIRMINGHAM will give a home debut to Swedish superstar Fredrik Lindgren when they host King’s Lynn in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership next Monday (June 24).

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Redcar No.1 CHARLES WRIGHT secured big wins in Heats 13 and 15 as the Bears completed a vital home victory over Edinburgh at the ECCO Arena. Wright teamed up with the returning Danny King for a 4-2 and a 5-1 in those races and totalled 12+1 from five rides in a 49-41 win for the hosts.

CHEETAHS RELISH PIRATES RIVALRY
OXFORD host Poole this week in a clash of two sides firmly in play-off contention in the Cab Direct Championship – and boss Peter Schroeck says the southern rivalry is good for the sport.
He said: “I know much the Oxford fans love to get one over the Pirates and a bit of inter-club rivalry is good for speedway.
“But we don’t want to give the Pirates too much respect – I feel some teams have beaten themselves even before they’ve turned a wheel against them.
“That’s not to say we don’t respect Poole, of course we do, but not any more than any other side.”

CLOSE BUT NOT ENOUGH
EDINBURGH skipper Paco Castagna starred with 11 points in the Monarchs’ defeat at Redcar on Friday, a meeting where all-round strength proved key for the Bears.
Castagna said: “I was disappointed in the end because I felt we could have won. We just had a couple of last places too many. Both Kye (Thomson) and I had been suffering from flu and Kye was lacking energy.
“I think we are good enough at home to take the aggregate point when Redcar come to us. When we all click, we will be very dangerous.”

PIRATES RESPECT RIVALS
POOLE promoter Dan Ford has confirmed the Pirates will be without Tobias Thomsen due to injury for their visit to Oxford on this week – a fixture he says is as tough as they come in the Championship.
Ford said: “I do feel that at present Oxford is the hardest place to go to in the Championship, especially as they have now found some real form in the last month or so and have dished out a few hammerings so we face a real tough task, made that much harder with the loss of Toby who, himself,  was coming into some decent form.
“Hopefully though, Joe Thompson, who we know well from last season, will be able to step in and do a good job as our guest on Wednesday.”

KING CHARLES LEADS BEARS
REDCAR boss Gavin Parr has paid tribute to captain Charles Wright for his contribution both on and off track as the Bears recover from a shaky start to the season.
Parr said: “Charles is an out and out No.1 who gives 100 per cent in every race, he has dragged us out of holes many, many times over the years, sometimes all by himself.
“However, in the last couple of weeks others have come to the party including Jason (Edwards) which is great for me as a team manager!”

COMETS KEEP THEIR FOCUS
WORKINGTON manager James Denham says the Comets won’t get carried away by their impressive start to life in the Cab Direct Championship at Northside.
Denham said: “Like I’ve said before it’s fantastic we are doing so well this year in the league with some excellent results, but the ultimate aim is the play-offs.
“We’re taking nothing for granted and our riders are taking it on a meeting-by-meeting basis with aiming of getting a good result and league points.”

R/R WORKS FOR SCORPIONS
SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey says he’s fully comfortable with operating the rider replacement facility for the injured Michael Palm Toft in home matches – because the rest of his team are so good around their home circuit!
Godfrey said: “I think we do have a complete team that can ride Scunny well, which is very good news as it allows us to cover for Michael’s injury absence by using rider replacement.

“Talking of Michael, he was at the hospital where it was confirmed that his collarbone is broken in three places.
“I think he is planning to get it pinned and plated, which will cut the healing time quite significantly. After that, as soon as he can lift anything, he will be all right.”

TIGERS SEEK FASTER STARTS
GLASGOW boss Cami Brown says poor gating has been a big problem for his team this season – something he hopes they will sort this weekend against Berwick.
Brown said: “We’ve got to eliminate the silly falls and mistakes, we’ve got to cut them all out.
“We are not gating well enough as a team and that’s the biggest problem. We know what the problems are and the boys have to solve those issues immediately.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
BERWICK will have Jye Etheridge back in the side for this weekend’s back-to-back clashes with Glasgow… But Rory Schlein and Bastian Borke are on the long-term injury list for the Bandits, whilst reserve Freddy Hodder is on duty for Great Britain in the European Under-19 Pairs… PLYMOUTH gained a welcome home win over Berwick last Tuesday and are next in action on June 28 when they visit Glasgow.

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
British Under-21 Champion SAM HAGON marked his first home match for Belle Vue this season with a 15-point maximum in the Colts’ win over Middlesbrough on Monday. Hagon won all five of his rides as the Manchester side got off the mark in the WSRA NDL with all three points against the Tigers.

HAGON THE HERO
SAM Hagon admitted it was vital to get the job done for Belle Vue against Middlesbrough especially with the aggregate point being decided in the last race of the meeting.
Hagon said: “We knew, myself and Freddy (Hodder), going into Heat 15 that we had to stop them from getting a 5-1 and it was a bit close in the beginning, but we managed to clear off in the end.
“It’s great to get our first few league points in the bag. We’ve been so close recently to getting a win and this was a really important result for us.”

IMPROVEMENT THE KEY
MIDDLESBROUGH boss Stuart Swales says he is seeing good signs from his riders as they gain experience from visiting new venues in the NDL.
Swales said: “It’s not the be all and end all to win, obviously we want to win but it is also about learning these new tracks and developing as riders.
“What I have been really happy with is that by the end of every meeting we have had, each and every rider has developed, improved and learned something.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
OXFORD remain unbeaten in the WSRA NDL after a 49-40 win over Belle Vue at Cowley last Sunday… The defending champions have won four matches out of four so far this season, and their next meeting is against the other side with a 100 per cent record… Chargers visit LEICESTER on Sunday, with the Lion Cubs boasting a perfect record of five wins out of five in 2024.

BRITISH YOUTH UPDATE
The Young Lions would like to thank the Glasgow promotion for swiftly arranging a new date for their 2024 British Youth Championship round which was postponed on Sunday due to poor weather.
The new date will be Sunday September 15 with a 2pm start time which is the day after the scheduled round being held at Edinburgh.

A re-staging date has also been confirmed for the 250cc and 125cc sections – and possibly others – to race at Plymouth, which will take place on Tuesday August 13
The revised dates and venues are as follows –

Birmingham – Monday 15th July – 500cc and 250cc
Redcar – Friday 26th July – 500cc and 125cc Support
Workington – Saturday 27th July – 500cc and 125cc Support
Belle Vue – Friday 2nd August – 500cc and 125cc Support
Plymouth – Tuesday 13th August – 250cc and 125cc (other classes TBC)
Redcar – Friday 23rd August – 250cc and 125cc
Belle Vue – Friday 30th August – 250cc and 125cc
Leicester – Saturday 31st August – All classes inc Women’s British Open Championship
Edinburgh – Saturday 14th September – All classes
Glasgow – Sunday 15th September – All classes
Scunthorpe – TBC

FIXTURE PICTURE…

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

WEDNESDAY JUNE 26:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford (44) v Workington (46) 7.30
NATIONA LEAGUE RIDERS’ DEVELOPMENT SERIES: Poole 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 27:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich v Oxford 7.30
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Sheffield (40) v King’s Lynn (50) 7.30

FRIDAY JUNE 28:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Plymouth 7.30, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 7pm
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Edinburgh (follows previous fixture)

MONDAY JULY 1:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn (42) v Leicester (47) 7.30
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v Ipswich 7.30, Oxford v Sheffield 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 2:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth (48) v Edinburgh (42) 7pm