BRITISH SPEEDWAY APRIL 1, 2025

(SPEEDWAY 1)

BEWLEY STARS IN BELLE VUE VICTORY

DAN Bewley snatched a dramatic 46-44 win for champions Belle Vue at King’s Lynn in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership opener which went right down to the wire.
Bewley came out on top in an epic Heat 15 scrap with Chris Harris, defeating the Stars rider on the line by 0.02s, whilst Aces skipper Brady Kurtz took the vital third place ahead of Nicolai Klindt.

It was a big confidence boost for the Aces after their disastrous KO Cup defeat at Ipswich last week, whilst the Stars were left to rue an astonishing run of mechanical issues, as three times in the first six races they saw riders break down on 5-1 positions.
Free-scoring Harris led the way for the home side with 14+3 from seven rides and Klindt scored 10, whilst Kurtz (13) was unbeaten until the final race and Bewley picked up 10.

Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “I had a tough decision for heat 15. Jaimon Lidsey was riding quite well and had popped out the start a couple of times to pick up two nice wins.
“But Dan had speed all night but just couldn’t capitalise on it. I thought it was a gamble off gate four. That wasn’t working great. We just knew Dan had speed. Dan is world class for a reason.

“We saved the best for last. I do feel a little bit for King’s Lynn. They had three bike stoppages and a few crashes.
“That didn’t help their scoreline. You take what you can sometimes and you ride your luck.”
Stars manager Rob Lyon said: “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that sort thing before really, it was just unbelievable.
“I said to Mark, ‘have you put a curse on us in some way?’ because it felt like that, but it was incredible, especially being on 5-1s and to have them turned into 3-3s was so frustrating, and obviously it was the difference between us winning and losing the meeting.

“But that’s speedway I guess. We deserved to win it hands down but we didn’t, and that’s the bottom line.
“What we have proved tonight is that we’re more than capable of competing with those type of teams, with that set-up of big hitters, so whilst we’re disappointed we move on to the next one.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

KING’S Lynn and Ipswich have confirmed dates for their local derby Premiership KO Cup semi-final.
The tie will get underway at the Adrian Flux Arena on Monday June 2, with the Witches then hosting the return on Thursday June 5.
The aggregate winners will face either Leicester or holders Sheffield in the Final.

(SPEEDWAY 3)

BIRMINGHAM opened their National Development Trophy campaign with a 51-38 win over Leicester Fox Cubs in an eventful clash at Perry Barr.
Max James (10+2) and Tom Spencer (9) led the scorechart for a solid Bulls side with reserve Eli Meadows impressing on 8+2.
Sonny Springer made a strong start to the season for the Fox Cubs with 11+1 and Will Cairns picked up 9+1 for the visitors.

Leicester co-manager Jen Crossland said: “Of course we’d have liked to have got off to a winning start but Birmingham have built a strong side and they’ve got a lot of riders who’ve done a fair few laps at Perry Barr over the years.
“Whilst we hope we can do well in this competition, it’s all about the development and progression of our riders and some of the younger lads will have learnt a lot from that one.“There were some positives that the team can take from that one though, especially Sonny with his three wins and Stene (Pijper) who finished on a high.”

(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY APRIL 3:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Oxford v Ipswich 7.30, Sheffield v Birmingham 7.30

FRIDAY APRIL 4:
SCOTTISH CUP 1st leg: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30

SATURDAY APRIL 5:
CHAMPIONSHIP BIG WEEKEND
CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS: Workington 3pm

SUNDAY APRIL 6:
CHAMPIONSHIP BIG WEEKEND
CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Scunthorpe 3pm