BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2024/17

Feature photo: LEICESTER boosted their play-off chances with a 53-37 win over ROWE Motor Oil Premiership leaders Ipswich on Thursday. Captain Max Fricke led the way with 15+1 from six rides, and he was backed up by Luke Becker with 12+1 and Richard Lawson with 10+1.
Photo credit: STEVE DIXON

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

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Sheffield reserve JASON EDWARDS raced to his best score of the season in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership with a vital 7+2 in the Tigers’ win at Birmingham on Monday. Edwards was involved in a 5-1 in Heat 12 with Chris Holder, passing Wiktor Lampart off the last bend, to give the visitors an eight-point lead heading into the closing stages.

KURTZ – WE MADE UP FOR DEFEAT
BELLE Vue captain Brady Kurtz said a 54-36 win over Oxford was the result the Aces needed after slipping up at Cowley last week.
Kurtz and Dan Bewley raced to a 5-1 in an epic Heat15 against Maciej Janowski and Rohan Tungate to ensure the Manchester side still took the aggregate point despite losing by 16 in the reverse fixture.
He said: “That was cool, it was a mega race, there were people going everywhere and it’s nice to pull off a big win at home.
“We screwed up at Oxford, there’s no getting around that, but we definitely made up for it tonight. We knew we had to, we needed to, and a big performance from everyone. The two guests we had in did great and it was a full team job.”

TIGERS BOSS PRAISES RESERVES
SHEFFIELD manager Simon Stead pinpointed the contribution of reserves Jason Edwards and Dan Gilkes in their narrow win at Birmingham on Monday.
Edwards and Gilkes scored 12 (paid 14) between them which was pivotal to the overall outcome as the Tigers gained a welcome victory on the road.

Stead said: “Everyone played their part in the final result and whilst I don’t necessarily like singling anybody out, I was really, really pleased for the two reserves.
“When you look down the two scorecharts, that’s the area that stands out the most, so a big well done to both Jason and Dan and let’s hope that gives them some extra confidence and belief going into the next one.”

SPIRES SEEKING MORE
OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck says his revised line-up needs to improve on Monday’s defeat at Belle Vue if they are to hold on to a top four place.
Spires lost 54-36 in Manchester, also being edged out for the aggregate point, in their first meeting since their latest team change.

Schroeck said: “There we positives tonight. Luke Killeen got stuck in on his debut for Spires and battled hard to a point and was close to scoring more. It’s not going to be long until he’s scoring more points at this level.
“I was happy with the performance of both reserves. But our team is built on a strong top five and one or two of the other boys need to step it up if Spires are to reach the play-offs.”

BRUMMIES FALL JUST SHORT
BIRMINGHAM manager Sam Ermolenko took some encouragement from an improved team performance against Sheffield on Monday – and was pleased to see them working together.
Ermolenko said: “I’m impressed with them, they all had the spirit tonight. They have to believe in themselves, that’s a big part of it, and they want to win.
“Freddie (Lindgren) had the choice of taking gate two or four in Heat 15, he let Zach (Cook) have two which was the better gate and he did great. Freddie battled hard but just couldn’t get over.”

WITCHES’ DERBY BID
IPSWICH manager Ritchie Hawkins says this Thursday’s trip to King’s Lynn is an ideal opportunity for the league leaders to recover from defeat at Leicester last week.
Hawkins said: “We travel to King’s Lynn looking to bounce back from last week. It’s a place we go to full of confidence and we always go there looking to win.
“They have got their injury troubles as we have, but we certainly go there focused on getting the win and keeping ourselves in a strong position at the top of the table.”

LIONS ON THE CHARGE
LEICESTER manager Stewart Dickson feels a 53-37 win over Ipswich was proof positive that his team are on the right track as they look to hunt down a play-off place.
Dickson said: “That was a stiff test for us, and we were concerned because of previous results against Ipswich, so to be honest I never saw us winning by 16 points.

“There was a good energy in the pits tonight, which is always the case when you’re winning, but I felt something in the early heats, there was a determination.
“It was drummed into them on the track walk that we’ve not beaten this team, and we needed to beat them.”

BASSO HURT IN STARS DEFEAT
KING’S Lynn captain Niels-Kristian Iversen admitted his side were up against it when Benjamin Basso crashed out of Thursday’s defeat at Sheffield, with the Stars already operating rider replacement for Nicolai Klindt.
Iversen said: “If you’re down to five riders, you need everyone to score pretty well to be able to do anything but we had our struggles today. “A few boys were lacking a little bit but everybody tried their best, they did what they could and this is a difficult place to visit.”

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Poole captain BEN COOK has often shown a liking for Redcar in the past and he was at it again on Friday with a score of 15+2 in the Pirates’ dramatic comeback victory. Cook dropped a point to Danny King in his first ride and was then unbeaten for the remainder of the Cab Direct Championship meeting.

CAPTAIN COOK LEADS THE WAY
POOLE captain Ben Cook hailed his combination with Richard Lawson in the closing stages of the Pirates’ win at Redcar last Friday, when they came back from six points down to clinch the result.
Cook said: “Me and Rich had a couple of good races tonight and that is what it is all about.
“You’ve got to be able to do some good team riding like that and that is what wins meetings, and it is all nice when it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t, but tonight was our night.”

CHEETAHS BACK TO FACE BANDITS
OXFORD manager Peter Schroeck expects his side to hit the ground running despite a four-week break from Cab Direct Championship action.
The Cheetahs were in excellent form at Cowley earlier in the summer and they resume against Berwick on Wednesday.
Schroeck said: “I’m not too concerned about the recent lack of meetings for Cheetahs.
“All the boys have still been in action, except Cam (Heeps), and I don’t have any worries about Cam, because he is highly focused this season.”

TIGERS PULL IT OUT OF THE BAG
GLASGOW manager Cami Brown says the spirit shone through as the Tigers rescued a home victory against Scunthorpe after trailing early on and seeing captain Chris Harris crash in the first race.
Brown said: “I can’t speak highly enough of Chris. To get up from that incident and lead the side in that way was quite incredible. He is a very special sportsman.

“Leon Flint was outstanding and is starting to look so impressive at Ashfield. James Pearson also delivered with aggressive wins. Jack Smith has been unwell all week and nearly didn’t ride, but he came good as well.
“I also have to give a special mention to Ben (Barker) who was absolutely sensational as a guest. I was pleased to see Matic (Ivacic) get his first win in such a crucial Heat 14.”

SCORPIONS OUT OF LUCK
SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey sympathised with his riders after a controversial defeat at Glasgow on Friday which featured a disqualification for Connor Mountain in the penultimate race.
Godfrey said: “Poor Connor got excluded from Heat 14, after Matic Ivacic turned left on him down the straight. After that one, as our captain, Simon (Lambert) went up to complain to the referee to vent our frustrations, and was promptly fined.
“Simon hasn’t been well for a number of weeks, and he could do without the drama. Meanwhile, it’s not just that we lost. Connor was excluded twice and it’s his livelihood – it’s hit him in the pocket. He’s down, and none of it was his own making.”

BANDITS TARGET STRONG FINISH
BERWICK boss Stewart Dickson has stressed there are still 15 points to race for this season with injury problems having severely dented their play-off hopes.
Dickson said: “It’s a big ask but at the very least we should be looking at a win and an aggregate point from three days which begin at Oxford and then moves on to Edinburgh home and away.
“If we can’t win at Oxford then we need to work for every point to give us an opportunity for the aggregate at Shielfield.”

MONARCHS WANTING MORE
EDINBURGH got back to winning ways with a 55-35 win over a depleted Workington team at Armadale, with the Monarchs also hampered by Justin Sedgmen’s injury in Heat 4.
And boss Alex Harkess wants to see more from his side as they prepare to face Berwick this weekend.
Harkess said: “The way things were, Comets only had two riders to give us any problem, was the way we were looking at it.
“I was disappointed for the second meeting running that we lost Heat 12, I thought we should have won that one. These guys have got to start stepping up against the lesser opposition in that race.”

COMETS – IT FELT LIKE A WIN
WORKINGTON boss James Denham was delighted to collect the aggregate point from Edinburgh on Friday – despite having two riders absent due to the global IT issues, in addition to the injured Tate Zischke.
Denham said: “We obviously knew that a win would be tough – or near impossible with the team we could put together. But our aim was that all-important 30 points on the night to secure the aggregate point out of the tie, which we did.
“That aggregate point could be key in the outcome of our play-off progression so to clinch it almost felt like a win with what we had on the night.”

BEARS BACKING FOR BAILEY
REDCAR boss Gavin Parr says he understands the decision of Connor Bailey to take time out for the remainder of the season.
The Bears will operate with guests or rider replacement for Bailey in their matches to come, as they are beyond the cut-off point for new signings.
Parr said: “I would love to see Connor back in the future. We are 100 per cent behind Connor and we wish him all the very best.
“We would love to see him back at Redcar spectating before the end of 2024.”

 NEWS IN BRIEF
PLYMOUTH suffered a 55-35 defeat at Poole last Wednesday with Nico Covatti and Kyle Newman both withdrawing from the meeting following crashes… The Gladiators’ home clash with Oxford on Saturday was postponed and they are next in action at Scunthorpe on August 2.
 
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE…

NEWS IN BRIEF
THERE is one meeting in the WSRA NDL this week as Middlesbrough host champions Oxford on Friday… the Chargers will be looking to bounce back from their home defeat to Scunthorpe last time out… the meeting also includes action from the British Youth Championship, featuring the 500cc and 125cc classes, who then also race at Workington on Saturday.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY JULY 24:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Berwick 7.30
CAB DIRECT KO CUP SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Poole v Scunthorpe 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 25:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: King’s Lynn v Ipswich 7.30, Leicester (42) v Belle Vue (48) 7.30, Sheffield (42) v Oxford (48) 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 26:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Glasgow v Poole 7.30, Scunthorpe (39) v Workington (51) 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Middlesbrough (34) v Oxford (55) 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar (follows NDL fixture) (500cc/125cc support)

SATURDAY JULY 27:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm, Workington (29) v Poole (61) 3pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington (follows Champ fixture) (500cc/125cc support)

MONDAY JULY 29:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Birmingham v Belle Vue 7.30, King’s Lynn (32) v Sheffield (58) 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 31:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Poole v Glasgow 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 1:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich v King’s Lynn 7.30, Oxford (37) v Birmingham (23) 7.30, Sheffield (37) v Leicester (53) 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 2:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Edinburgh 7.30, Redcar v Workington 7.30, Scunthorpe v Plymouth 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue (40) v Oxford (49) 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Belle Vue (prior to NDL fixture) (500cc/125cc support)

SATURDAY AUGUST 3:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Oxford 7pm, Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7pm, Workington v Redcar 3pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 4:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE INDIVIDUAL SERIES: Leicester 3pm

MONDAY AUGUST 5:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v Birmingham 7.30
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn (42) v Leicester (47) 7.30