BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2024/26

Feature photo by: IAN CHARLES…BELLE Vue will take a healthy lead into Thursday’s ROWE Motor Oil Premiership decider after beating Leicester 54-36 in Monday’s Grand Final 1st leg at the National Speedway Stadium.
Dan Bewley was the Aces hero on the night with a 15-point maximum, and was well-supported by Brady Kurtz with 10+2 and Jaimon Lidsey 10+1. Ryan Douglas was top man for the Lions with 7+1.

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

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Belle Vue captain BRADY KURTZ played a true skipper’s role in a tense play-off semi-final at Sheffield with a crucial ten-point score from four rides which included a brave win over opposite number Jack Holder in Heat 13 to set things up for the Aces to progress. Kurtz then scored 10+2 in the first leg of the Grand Final as Dan Bewley carded a 15-point maximum.

ADVANTAGE ACES
BELLE Vue are 37 race points away from a second top-flight league title in three years after taking a grip of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final against Leicester on Monday.
Dan Bewley and Brady Kurtz swept to 5-1s in Heats 13 and 15 to extend the Aces’ advantage after an epic week of racing had seen them overcome defending champions Sheffield in a close semi-final just four nights earlier.

Bewley said: “It was a good night for me but more importantly a good night for the boys, but the job’s not finished yet. We go again in a couple of days at Leicester and that’s a big one.
“Brady and myself had a plan ahead of Heat 15. We knew what lines we wanted and we made it work. We take 18 points into the next leg. Hopefully it’s enough but we’ll see what we can do.”

WORK TO DO FOR LIONS
LEICESTER will face an 18-point deficit on Thursday when they face Belle Vue in the second leg of the Grand Final – but home results against the Aces this year give them some encouragement.
The Lions had a tough night at the National Speedway Stadium as they went down 54-36, but they have recorded 53-37 and 55-35 home wins over the Manchester side in 2024.

Manager Stewart Dickson said: “It’s been a difficult night for us but we’re not throwing the towel in, I can assure you. We’ll give it a go on Thursday and we’ll see what happens.
“We need to come out all guns blazing there, and after six or seven races we’ll know if we’re in with a chance.”

TIGERS’ REIGN IS OVER
SHEFFIELD became the latest club to find defending the top-flight league title to be a step too far as they lost out to Belle Vue in a hotly contested play-off semi-final.
In the past 35 years only Poole (2003-04 and 2013-15) have managed to complete successive league victories at this level, and Tigers boss Simon Stead says they must quickly turn their attentions to next year.

He said: “We came up just short in the end, it just didn’t quite fully click in these semi-finals for whatever reason.
“Ultimately, ourselves and Belle Vue have raced over the course of 30 heats for a place in the Grand Final and they have come out on top so well done to them. It’s difficult to take but we have to accept that, regroup and go again in ’25.”

SPIRES WILL BE BACK
OXFORD Spires will return to the Premiership next season as the Cowley club continue to operate at all three levels of the sport, with the Cheetahs and Chargers back at Championship and NDL levels respectively.
Promoter Jamie Courtney said: “I feel that it has been well received with the public embracing the opportunity to see some of the best riders in the world in the Premiership.
“There was enough positive response in 2024 to make it worth trying again in 2025.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
BIRMINGHAM are set to round off their 2024 season with the Alan Grahame Memorial four team tournament at Perry Barr next Monday (September 30).

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Edinburgh No.1 JOSH PICKERING scored a 15-point maximum at Scunthorpe on Friday to end his stint at Championship level on a high, although his spectacular display which featured several blasts from the back wasn’t enough to take the Monarchs into the BSN Series Final.

CHEETAHS ARE CONFIDENT
OXFORD captain Scott Nicholls says their league win at Poole earlier in the summer should provide a confidence boost as the sides meet in the Cab Direct Championship Grand Final this week.
Nicholls said: “It also makes a big difference that we’ve already been down to Poole this season and come back with a very positive result.
“It means whatever result we pick up at Oxford in the first leg, we can head to Poole with confidence.”

PIRATES TURN TO GUESTS
POOLE promoter Dan Ford has confidence in the club’s two guest choices for the Cab Direct Championship Grand Final as captain Ben Cook misses the clashes with Oxford.
Danny King will step in for the first leg at Cowley on Wednesday, with Chris Harris taking over in Friday’s second leg at Wimborne Road.

Ford said: “Danny King, a former Pirates captain, knows this club and what it means to compete in the big moments having led us to our two previous league titles at this level.
“Chris is one of the most exciting riders in British Speedway and an absolute legend around Wimborne Road. He’s known and loved for producing fireworks, especially in high-pressure meetings like this and we know that the fans are in for a treat.”

SCORPIONS TARGET BSN CONSOLATION
SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey hopes the BSN Series Final enables his side to win a trophy for a second successive season – with a tough challenge against holders Poole to come, starting at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Sunday.
Godfrey said: “After we were eliminated at the semi-final stage in the league and the Cab Direct Knockout Cup, it’s good for the Ellie Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions to qualify for the Final of the BSN Series.

“We’d love to finish the season with another trophy in the cabinet, after we won the Cup last season. It would be a fitting reward for our efforts throughout the season. I feel we’ve been a bit unlucky elsewhere, but we’ve got a chance to finish the season on a high for the second successive year.”

STATEMENT RESULT FOR PICKERING
EDINBURGH No.1 Josh Pickering was delighted to sign off with a maximum at Scunthorpe, but the Monarchs’ campaign is at an end after they lost out on aggregate in their BSN Series semi-final.
Pickering said: “For me, my goal was to go out making a statement.
“Everyone knows I am dropping this league and for a reason, to focus and progress even more, so to end on a full 15 and go out on a good note, I can’t be unhappy personally.”

COMETS’ STRONG FOUNDATIONS
WORKINGTON promoter Andrew Bain says the hard work of last winter to bring new riders into the Cab Direct Championship paid dividends as the Comets returned to senior racing.
Bain said: “It’s safe to say we have found some gems with Tate [Zischke] and Antti [Vuolas] who have quickly found their feet in British Speedway over this season with the Comets, subsequently seeing them both being snapped up by Belle Vue in the Premiership by the end of the season.
“Looking back I think we can be proud of these two lads, they are both assets of the club and are a great foundation to build on going forward.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
REDCAR wrap up their 2024 season when they stage the Teesside Silver Helmet at the ECCO Arena this Friday (September 27).

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Middlesbrough’s BEN TRIGGER celebrated a 15-point maximum in the Tigers’ final match of the season at home to Edinburgh on Saturday, although a puncture for team-mate Danny Phillips in Heat 15 meant it was a narrow defeat for the Redcar-based side.
 
ACADEMY EFFORT REWARDED
EDINBURGH boss Scott Wilson was delighted with his team’s strong finish to the season with two wins in the space of 24 hours – as they defeated champions Leicester at home one day after achieving success on the road with victory at Middlesbrough.
Wilson said: “I think this is the result we’ve deserved all season. We got one or two breaks during the meeting, but I do feel that we deserved to win.
“We looked to have it all sewn up in Heat 15 and then things got a bit more dramatic with a coming together and an exclusion for Dayle. Fortunately we got over the line in the re-run.”

LION CUBS EDGED OUT
LEICESTER were denied a perfect WSRA NDL season when they lost 47-42 at Edinburgh on Saturday.
The Lion Cubs had reeled off nine wins out of nine in 2024 as they secured the league title, but they just missed out on completing a 100 per cent record.

Manager Dave Howard said: “We were on for a couple of 5-1s and had some falls, and really that’s what caused the small defeat. But nine wins out of ten is still a fantastic season, and it was great to win the league again.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
THE final fixture of the WSRA NDL season takes place at Belle Vue next Monday (September 30) where the Colts host Sheffield… A win for the home side by a six-point margin will see them take the runners-up position currently occupied by Oxford Chargers.

FIXTURE PICTURE…
 
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Oxford v Poole 7.30

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Leicester (36) v Belle Vue (54) 7.30

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Poole v Oxford 7.30
TEESSIDE SILVER HELMET: Redcar 7.30

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 29:
BSN SERIES FINAL 1st leg: Scunthorpe v Poole 5.30

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 30:
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue (50) v Sheffield (39) 7.30
ALAN GRAHAME MEMORIAL 4TT: Birmingham 7.30

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2:
BSN SERIES FINAL 2nd leg: Poole v Scunthorpe 7.30