BRITISH SPEEDWAY JUNE 21, 2024

(SPEEDWAY 1)

WITCHES RACK UP THE POINTS

IPSWICH ran up the biggest score in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership so far this season with a 60-30 demolition of Leicester at Foxhall.
The Witches maintained their advantage at the top of the table as they rapidly recovered from conceding a 5-1 in Heat 1 to dominate proceedings thereafter.

All members of the home side scored at least paid-eight with Emil Sayfutdinov (11+2) and guest Scott Nicholls (11) leading the way – but for the Lions, Richard Lawson (13) scored nearly half of their total on his own, and Craig Cook crashed out in Heat 6, being withdrawn with neck pains.
Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “Another great night, our biggest victory of the year against a very tough Leicester side. We dealt with them superbly, every rider contributed again, every rider is improving, race wins everywhere and a lot of 5-1s!

“The track was heavy early on, a lot of dirt and we certainly dealt with it better. That was where the big difference was I think, but if Leicester click as a side they’re going to be a super strong threat against anyone.
“It’s great to get early points on the board against them but I think they’re only going to improve during the year.”
Lions manager Stewart Dickson said: “I never expected this Leicester team to be only scoring 30 points at any track, regardless of who the opposition are.

“We’ve been to Ipswich before and given them a closer match, as have other teams, and there were a couple of really disappointing performances. 
“We can’t accept that performance, and I must apologise to the Leicester fans who made the trip to support us. We all need to help each other, myself and the riders, and we need to show a reaction.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

SHEFFIELD pulled clear in second place in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership with a 54-36 win over rivals Belle Vue at Owlerton.
The Tigers swept the Aces aside in the early stages and were ten points to the good before Dan Bewley took to the track, as the British Champion provided the bulk of the resistance for the visitors.
Holder brothers Chris (13) and Jack (11) led the Sheffield scoring whilst Bewley racked up 16 from six rides as the Aces suffered their heaviest defeat of the season.

Sheffield manager Simon Stead said: “I thought it was a really good, solid, all-round team performance and I couldn’t have asked for much more from the lads.
“It was one of those performances that goes to show what we’re truly about and capable of when all departments of the team are firing.
“We were getting points from everywhere; from the heat-leaders, from the middle order, from the reserves and that was really pleasing to see because we’ve had a few gaps here and there so far this season.”

Bewley said: “I honestly don’t know what happened. The boys really like Sheffield, it’s an awesome track to ride but we just didn’t seem to get going at all and it just wasn’t our night.
“In the past, we’ve been able to carry each other, but it’s one meeting. It’s not ideal because we want to win them all, so we are disappointed with the result.
“I had a pretty decent night but at the same time I’ve had poor nights here as well, and our away form is something we absolutely need to work on in the second half of the year.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

OXFORD Cheetahs have moved to sign Adam Roynon as a 28-day injury replacement for the sidelined Henry Atkins.
Roynon will make his debut for the Cowley club in their trip to Redcar, one of his former clubs, on Friday with Atkins still ruled out after surgery on his broken finger.

Cheetahs manager Peter Schroeck said: “Adam fits the bill and we know he can come in and do the job for Cheetahs.
“It’s been hard getting hold of suitable guests for Henry, while our thanks go to Jacob Hook who did a great job in the several meetings he came in for us. 
“With Henry still due to be out for a while, we had to make a move to make sure we maintain our push for the play-offs in the Cab Direct Championship and that is to bring in Adam for an initial spell of 28 days.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

EDINBURGH host second-placed Scunthorpe at Armadale tonight (Friday) at the start of an important weekend of racing in the Cab Direct Championship.
The Monarchs edged out Oxford in their last home meeting and are still seeking to climb the table, whilst the Scorpions could go back to the top if they avoid defeat.
Max James returns from injury at reserve for the hosts, whilst the Scorpions are without reserve Luke Harrison due to European U19 duty for Great Britain.

NDL rider Mickie Simpson comes in to guest, with rider replacement in operation for the injured Michael Palm Toft.
Monarchs boss Alex Harkess said: “It’s a match that could well be tight. Scunthorpe are doing well although I think they are a very strong home team and don’t do quite as well away from home.
“It’s a match we have to win and I sincerely hope we do win. We expect to be at full strength, so it will be nice to have Max back hopefully scoring a few points.”

Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We used to have a pretty poor record at Edinburgh, but we won there twice last season.
“A lot of our lads go well around the tight confines of Armadale and we will approach the meeting with a positive attitude, although of course we’d prefer to have a full team.
“Edinburgh may be bottom of the table at the moment, but they’ve already beaten Oxford in the Cab Direct Championship and they seem to be finding some form. We’d like a good result to start off our weekend on the right note.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

REDCAR look to gain ground in the race for the Cab Direct Championship top four when they take on Oxford at the ECCO Arena tonight (Friday).
The Bears are playing catch-up after a slow start to the season and have been in good form of late, but they have little margin for error if they are to mount a serious play-off challenge.

Meanwhile the Cheetahs are third in the table and they travel to Teesside with a 17-point advantage for the aggregate point.
Adam Roynon makes his debut for the visitors having signed to replace the injured Henry Atkins, whilst Jody Scott steps in for Ashton Boughen who is away with Great Britain in European U19 action.

Bears star Danny King said: “We definitely have something building. Yes, we did have a bad start to the season but if we can pick up some points on the road and win the rest of our home meetings then we will be there or thereabouts.
“Everyone rides the ECCO Arena well so every meeting seems to be difficult for us! Oxford are a solid outfit but I believe we have the team to get the job done.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

GLASGOW and Berwick are set to meet twice in the space of 24 hours this weekend, starting at Ashfield tonight (Friday).
The Tigers are defending Cab Direct Championship holders but are yet to hit top form in 2024, albeit they have only raced three league matches so far.

Meanwhile the Bandits are fifth in the table but have to compensate for two home defeats if they are to make the top four, and they are without three of their regular septet.
Injured duo Rory Schlein and Bastian Borke are replaced by Erik Riss and Sam Hagon, whilst Jason Garrad guests for Freddy Hodder who is on European U19 duty with Great Britain.

Bandits boss Stewart Dickson said: “Our first goal is to keep things close with one eye on the aggregate point.
“Glasgow ran us close at Shielfield earlier in the season despite only having six riders while we did reasonably well at Ashfield despite missing a track specialist in Lewis Kerr.
“We let Scunthorpe beat us at home, a meeting we should never have lost, so we have to get the season back on track. There are still 20 points available to us this season. We have to start picking them up.”

(FIXTURES)

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