BRITISH SPEEDWAY AUGUST 15, 2024

(SPEEDWAY 1)

THE TOP DUO 

SCOTT Nicholls believes he and team-mate Sam Masters can prove a winning combination for Oxford in Friday’s Championship Pairs.
The Cheetahs duo will be amongst the favourites for the showpiece event at Cowley, which is set to attract a big crowd the evening before the British Grand Prix at Cardiff.
And with a host of riders in the meeting who have ridden for Oxford at various levels in the past, or who are with the club currently, competition should be fierce.

Nicholls said: “Sam and I work very well together, and we have a good chemistry on the track.
“No doubt the Championship Pairs is tough – the best riders in the league will be at Oxford and every race is a Heat 13 or 15. But we know we’re capable of winning it.

“If we can win it would be great for Oxford Speedway. It’s a great stadium and a great racetrack, and to win it would be fabulous for the whole club – for the Oxford promotion, our fellow riders and, most importantly, the fans on the terraces.
“We’ll give it the best we can and hopefully come away with that victory.”
A change to the line-up has been confirmed for Workington with Antti Vuolas replacing Craig Cook.
Tickets are available with fans urged to purchase in advance from https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/ .

(SPEEDWAY 2)

OXFORD will stage the 2024 British Under-19 Final at Cowley on Sunday September 22 (3pm).
Current Belle Vue No.1 and Grand Prix racer Dan Bewley won a hat-trick of U19 titles between 2019-21, whilst the most recent winners Leon Flint and Dan Thompson are also regulars in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
Thompson triumphed at Birmingham last autumn, but a new winner will be crowned this year as he is now outside the age range to defend the title.

Riders for the event will be announced over the next week; however, Oxford are sure to be well represented with the likes of Luke Killeen, Ashton Boughen, Jody Scott, Ashton Vale and Senna Summers expected to be included in the line-up.
Promoter Jamie Courtney said: “Young British talent is vital for our sport, and I am delighted to host this event.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

OXFORD smashed Poole’s two year plus home winning run with a sensational 49-41 victory at Wimborne Road in the Cab Direct Championship.
It was the Pirates’ first defeat on their own track since June 2022 and it brought to an end a 42-match sequence of victories at the Dorset venue – and it was only the second time in history that the Cheetahs had won a league match there.
Reserve Luke Killeen was the hero for the visitors with a brilliant 11+3 haul from five rides, and he clinched the win by collecting a 5-1 with Jordan Jenkins in Heat 14.

Sam Masters added 10+1 for the visitors for whom all seven of their riders won at least one race, whilst Poole captain Ben Cook totalled 16+1 from six rides.
Killeen said: “I’m so happy with my performance tonight. I had a good set-up from the get-go and I just kept my cool. I’m stoked and over the moon – it couldn’t have gone any better.
“It’s great to be the first away team to win at Poole in over two years – that’s a nice feat to take away. There’s always a great team atmosphere on our side of the pits and we worked together to win the meeting.”

Pirates No.1 Richard Lawson said: “I didn’t see our unbeaten record going like that, no excuses – but I still think we should have won that meeting, but we let it slip.
“The fact is we weren’t really in control after the first few heats but again, no excuses. We got beat by the better team on the night, and maybe this is the wake-up call we need, as we are getting to the business end of the season and performances like that aren’t good enough.
“So I am going to give myself a kick up the backside and hope the others do the same.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

GLASGOW kept their Cab Direct Championship play-off hopes alive with a 50-40 win over Edinburgh – despite a stunning show from Monarchs No.1 Josh Pickering.
The Australian racked up an incredible 20 points from a possible 21, missing out on a full seven-ride maximum when he was beaten by home skipper Chris Harris in Heat 15.

But with Pickering scoring half of the visitors’ points on his own, the Tigers took the opportunity to move to within five points of fourth-placed Workington, and still with three matches in hand.
Reserve James Pearson enjoyed a great night with 12 points from five rides and skipper Chris Harris picked up 10+2.
Glasgow manager Cami Brown said: “We had to dig in at times to get that result. We knew Edinburgh would be tough.
“But in the end all the boys had their moments. We had a couple of fine displays from James Pearson and Leon Flint, plus a special mention for Tom Spencer.

“It was just about getting the win tonight. At the end of the day, we’ll have to win at Armadale anyway if we are going to make the top four.”
Monarchs boss Alex Harkess said: “It was a shame really we couldn’t do more, the bottom line is we can’t carry rider replacement away from home.
“Unfortunately, in this particular case we had a rider booked who called off late and we paid the penalty for that, I believe with a reasonable guest the score would have been a lot closer.
“Josh was exceptional as he tends to be, he carried the team and full marks to him.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

INJURY-HIT leaders Ipswich take on in-form Leicester in a clash of two ROWE Motor Oil Premiership title hopefuls at Foxhall tonight (Thursday).
The Witches have confirmed their play-off place ahead of three home matches in eight days, but top spot is not secure especially with Emil Sayfutdinov ruled out at this stage in addition to long-term absentee Jason Doyle.

They bring in Scott Nicholls to guest for Sayfutdinov with rider replacement in operation for Doye as they face a Lions side who are unbeaten in seven matches and are closing in on securing a top four finish. Drew Kemp once again replaces Craig Cook at reserve for the visitors.
Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “It could not be a tougher ask being without the top two riders in the league. We bring in Scotty again and he has been tremendous around Foxhall this year and I am delighted we can call upon him.

“All of our remaining team members are in good form and are doing well at Foxhall, and we still should be a strong team at home. “We go into the meeting needing everyone to perform, but we have done that all season and we will do that on Thursday as we fight for another victory.”
Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “The riders are getting really involved now, which is what happens at this stage of the season.

“On Monday night I’d never seen as many people wanting to get hold of my programme and check the score, and that’s what you get when it comes to the business end.
“We’re all in it together and the momentum is with us, but we’re still going to have to graft for every single point that we can get. We’re not going to get everything our own way.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

SHEFFIELD have the opportunity to book their play-off place in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership when they host basement side Birmingham tonight (Thursday).
The Tigers need to avoid defeat after 15 races against the Brummies to make sure of a top four finish as they seek to defend the league title.

Simon Stead’s side operate rider replacement for the injured Tai Woffinden, who has confirmed he will remain sidelined until the beginning of September at the earliest.
The visitors also have rider replacement, in their case for Piotr Pawlicki who is out with illness after missing Monday’s narrow defeat to Leicester.

Sheffield reserve Jason Edwards said: “It feels like they’re always having last heat deciders, and we were in one ourselves with them not so long back.
“They’ve got a solid set of riders who know how to be good on British tracks.
“So we’re expecting another tough meeting, and we know we all need to chip in to get us another win.”
Brummies’ Rising Star Leon Flint said: “The pressure is on them to beat us. They’re up there in the league and we’re not.
“We’ve just been struggling to all score points on the same night, but we’re getting closer and we’re staying positive.
“All the boys do enjoy it there so we’ll go there with confidence and see what we can do.”

(SPEEDWAY 7)

OXFORD and King’s Lynn are both effectively jn last chance saloon for the play-offs as they meet at Cowley in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership tonight (Thursday).
The visitors have to win all seven of their remaining fixtures and take the aggregate points if they are to have any outside possibility of finishing in the top four.

The Spires have the greater chance, but still have no room for error in their remaining four matches, two of which are against the team above them, Leicester.
Oxford name a full-strength side whilst King’s Lynn are missing injured Danish duo Nicolai Klindt and Benjamin Basso, the latter of whom is suspended in any case, with Norick Blodorn coming in to guest along with rider replacement.
Recent Stars signing Lewis Kerr could be a key figure at reserve having been released by the Spires earlier in the season.
Oxford boss Peter Schroeck said: “We won’t give up our play-offs chance until it’s impossible to qualify.

“All we can do is concentrate on our own results. We know the situation and we just need to keep winning to keep ourselves in contention. In a way, it’s quite simple for the boys at the moment. They just need to get out there, enjoy themselves and win meetings.
“I have no doubt that Lewi will want to prove a point. But with a big performance from our top five, with Ashton (Boughen) and Luke (Killeen) chipping in from reserve, we can defeat the Stars.”
Lynn manager Rob Lyon said: “The boys are all fighting hard, which is the main thing. It was nice and refreshing to race with a full team of seven riders on Monday, I can’t remember the last time we had that, and it makes the job a little easier.
“But we knew Thursday was going to be difficult again with two other matches taking place, and our thanks to Norick for coming in for us.”

(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY AUGUST 15:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (37) v Leicester (53) 7.30, Oxford v King’s Lynn 7.30, Sheffield (47) v Birmingham (43) 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 16:
CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS: Oxford 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 17:
FIM BRITISH GRAND PRIX: Cardiff 5pm

MONDAY AUGUST 19:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Birmingham (33) v King’s Lynn (57) 7.30, Ipswich (44) v Sheffield (46) 7.30, Leicester v Oxford 7.30