BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 25, 2024

(SPEEDWAY 1)

CHEETAHS ON THE CHARGE

OXFORD kept on course for the Cab Direct Championship play-offs with a 53-37 win over Berwick to go back to second place in the table.

The Cheetahs’ opening combination of Sam Masters and Cameron Heeps were both unbeaten as they combined for 5-1s in each of their four outings together.
Masters raced to a 15-point maximum with Heeps adding 11+4 for a paid maximum, whilst Jordan Jenkins (11) dropped just one point from four rides and Scott Nicholls (9) was unbeaten but for losing a chain in Heat 13.
Lewis Kerr totalled 10 for the Bandits, recording their only two race wins, although they did prevent major damage by limiting last places.

Jenkins said: “It was a phenomenal performance by the team tonight. We’ve got a trump card in putting Cam at No.2, because he forms a really strong partnership with Sam at No.1.
“As a team we haven’t had it all our own way this season, but we’re a good team and we’ll carry on working hard.
“We will keep on pushing to reach the play-offs and then it starts all over again. We’ve got every chance this season.”
Berwick boss Stewart Dickson said: “We threw a couple of points away through riders not helping their team-mates on the first bend and not riding the best lines on the opening bends, even though we had talked about it before and again early in the meeting. “On a positive note, we made Oxford work hard for their points, but we lacked a bit of class at times.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

POOLE put one foot firmly into the Cab Direct KO Cup Final with a thumping 60-29 win over holders Scunthorpe in the first leg of their semi-final.
Tom Brennan raced to a 14+1 paid maximum for the Pirates whilst Richard Lawson added 13+1 and captain Ben Cook 10+1 in a dominant display which saw the Scorpions limited to three race wins.

The home side overcame the loss of Tobias Thomsen after a heavy crash in his second ride, and reserves Sam Hagon (7+2) and Vinnie Foord (6+1) both made significant contributions. Jake Allen top-scored for the visitors with 7.
Poole promoter Dan Ford said: “We were mindful of the forecast of rain so we hadn’t watered the track as much as we really would have liked to, and then the rain didn’t come too heavy and the track just dried out a little bit.
“Under the circumstances I felt the track rode quite well, certainly our boys found it. I can’t believe the size of lead that they have built up. “I feel Scunny are one of the best teams in the league and to be going there with a 31-point lead, whenever that may be, is a fantastic effort.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

ROWE Motor Oil Premiership leaders Ipswich head to King’s Lynn tonight (Thursday) for a local derby which has regularly gone in their favour in recent years.
The Witches are unbeaten in their last seven league visits to the Adrian Flux Arena and are looking to bounce back from a 16-point defeat at Leicester last week.
Meanwhile the Stars have won their last three home matches in all competitions, but Benjamin Basso has joined their injury list.

Lewis Kerr and Zach Cook step in as guests, with rider replacement also in operation, whilst the Witches use r/r for Jason Doyle and Dan Thompson returns from a shoulder injury.
King’s Lynn operations manager Dale Allitt said: “We all know the difficulties that exist with finding guests when there are six teams in action on the same night, and our situation is fairly extreme in that we have three spaces to fill.
“There are other injuries and riders unavailable elsewhere, so in the circumstances we’ve got the strongest line-up we can, and we’d like to thank Lewi and Zach for stepping in and we wish them well.

“Ipswich is always a tough meeting, we know what a good record they have around here, but we’ve dug deep at home before and we’ve been on a good run lately, so if we can score right down the team we can still pull off a result.”
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “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.
“I’ve mixed the riding order up a bit with using R/R for Jason, I feel it balances it out better to attack the King’s Lynn team.
“Danny (King) is very good at King’s Lynn and so is Adam (Ellis), so we have three strong heat leaders there. If the other boys can chip in with a few as well, then we are going to be very strong on the night.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

SHEFFIELD are looking to bolster their place in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-off positions when they host Oxford tonight (Thursday).
The Tigers currently sit five points behind leaders Ipswich with a meeting in hand, whilst they also have one on Belle Vue, who are currently level on points in the standings, and both of those teams are engaged in away fixtures.
Meanwhile the Spires travel with a six-point advantage for the aggregate point as they battle to remain in the top four – a position they will retain regardless of results tonight.

Sheffield operate rider replacement for Tai Woffinden, whilst Oxford are unchanged from their defeat at Belle Vue on Monday.
Tigers reserve Jason Edwards, who lines up alongside Rising Star Dan Gilkes, said: “We’ve both been struggling for points in this league so for us to both have a good night on Monday (at Birmingham) didn’t half make a difference.

“We know how important our points can be for the team and we’re all so glad how quickly the meetings are starting to come now. “We’ve all got something to build on these last couple of meetings and we just want to keep that going no matter who we’re up against.” Spires boss Peter Schroeck said: “The boys enjoy it up there normally and are due a decent meeting, but we will have to be at our best to make anything happen.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

LEICESTER bid to extend a strong home run when they take on Belle Vue in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership tonight (Thursday).

The Lions have reeled off a series of convincing wins on their own circuit, including against leaders Ipswich last week, and there are three league points available in the clash with the Aces, who won the reverse fixture 48-42 in Manchester.
The visitors start the meeting third in the table, level on points with Sheffield just above them, whilst the Lions are four points adrift of fourth-placed Oxford but with four matches in hand.

The hosts are unchanged whilst Belle Vue once again bring in Antti Vuolas and Jake Mulford to stand in at reserve.
Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “We’ve had scores of 54, 53 and 53 in our last three home matches, so we are now beginning to ride round here in the way that we should be.
“That puts in good stead for the aggregate points which will be up for grabs in the away legs, and of course we have the chance for one of them on Thursday.

“It’s too early to say we’re on a roll, we’re not getting carried away, but there is more confidence now and that’s something that plays such a big part in speedway.”
Aces star Ben Cook said: “It’s great to have Jake and Antti with us again for this one. They seem to have settled in well with the boys so hopefully we can now knuckle down and we can get on with our season.
“Leicester are a tough team at home but this time around we have much more experience as a unit, and we know more of what to expect from the track and how it rides.
“We’re confident that we can push on and take something from this match, at minimum a good enough score to secure the aggregate point but the win is top of the list.”

(FIXTURES)

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 (500cc) (follows NDL fixture) / (125cc support) 7pm

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)