BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2025/03

Feature photo by: PHIL McGLYNN…LEICESTER edged out defending ROWE Motor Oil Premiership champions Belle Vue 46-44 in a dramatic finale on Thursday at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park.
The Aces hit back from a ten-point deficit in mid-meeting with back-to-back 5-1s to force a last heat decider where they were two points adrift.

Dan Bewley and skipper Brady Kurtz made the start and looked set to clinch a match-winning maximum – but Lions captain Max Fricke surged under Kurtz on the third bend, forcing his rival wide which enabled Luke Becker to also make it through for a match-winning 3-3.

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

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP LATEST

HAWKINS: FEET ON THE GROUND
IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins insists he isn’t getting carried away by his side’s perfect start to the new season, with a 100 per cent record home and away in both league and KO Cup so far.
Hawkins said: “Expectations on us are very high which is testament to how well the boys have started the season.
“We need to enjoy it; every season has ups and downs and at the moment we are on the up and are looking good. There will be times when it gets tough and our last two away meetings have shown that.
“We have to keep realistic and keep supporting the boys through everything. It is a long season, and it is a hard game, and nothing is won at this time of the year. We need to remember that and keep our feet on the ground.”

SWEET 16 FOR LIDSEY
BELLE Vue star Jaimon Lidsey enjoyed one of his best-ever nights for the club with 16 points in the home win over Oxford as the Aces prevailed 53-37 despite losing Dan Bewley after just one ride.
Lidsey said: “It’s been a while since I’ve been in the front so often. I’m feeling very good out front. Everything seems to be working well. So far so good.
“You have to have the head focused and look forward. I think I made the right changes during the winter. But you can always be better.
“It was a good win tonight but hard to lose Dan. But we’ve got a strong team and we managed to cover for him. Hopefully he’s fit and well and ready for next Monday.”

SPIRES SEEK TO TURN CORNER
OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck is hoping for an upturn in form and fortune after a tough week on the road saw the Spires lacking in race wins from their trips to Ipswich and then Belle Vue on Monday.
Schroeck said: “This place is never easy to come as it is, and we’re very unfortunate to be having these sort of away matches straight away.
“But all I can do is pick ourselves up again and go again next week and see what happens. It’s a difficult road with the Spires at the moment but hopefully we can turn it around.”

STARS WIN AT A COST
KING’S Lynn got off the mark in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership with a narrow 46-44 win over Leicester – but the result was marred by a wrist injury for Ben Cook after a crash in Heat 10.
Manager Rob Lyon said: “That’s tempered it unfortunately, but we’ve got two points on the board which is good, and the rest of the boys put a decent shift in for him.
“We need to fathom all the issues again because ironically we lost more points than we probably lost in the first meeting, but we still managed to get the win on this occasion.
“As our team is built so solid we’re going to get inconsistencies, but we’re a little bit too inconsistent at times and we need to try and iron those out.”

TWO OUT OF TWO FOR TIGERS
SHEFFIELD’S 57-33 home win over King’s Lynn was a second emphatic home success for the Tigers in 2025, headlined by a 15-point maximum from flying skipper Josh Pickering.
He said: “We were torn between the gates to be honest, we didn’t really know what to do. We were going to defer to Heat 15, but why change a winning formula when it worked last week?
“We all hit the ground running, which is what we have to do, and to pull an early lead on King’s Lynn, that was very important. I’m very proud of the boys.”

LIONS: ONE WIN, ONE LOSS
LEICESTER were involved in two successive last heat deciders in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership, defeating Belle Vue 46-44 at home before going down by the same scoreline at King’s Lynn.
Skipper Max Fricke was heavily involved in both races with his overtake of Brady Kurtz proving crucial to the win over the Aces as it also allowed team-mate Luke Becker through for the 3-3 the Lions needed.
Fricke said: “It’s always tough when you’ve got a last heat decider, and to start behind I thought I’d got my work cut out, but we were able to pull it off in the end and Luke was able to get through.
“When it’s a pair riding in front it’s always difficult to make a pass, but I was able to make a bit of speed and get down the inside, and just make enough room for Luke as well.”

BIRMINGHAM’s Michael Jepsen Jensen took the positives from his second home meeting for the club when he won his final two rides, with the new-look line-up still trying to get to grips with the Perry Barr circuit.
He said: “I’ve been a little bit off with the set-ups and I have been listening to the boys with what they have been doing when they have been working – but I am completely different.

“So maybe I just need to listen a bit more to myself, and then if I make the mistakes then I go from there rather than making the mistakes because I’m listening too much.
“The second meeting (at Leicester) was not too bad and that’s what we want to build from. We are a brand new team, all seven riders are fresh for Birmingham, so we need to get into it.”

THE WEEK AHEAD…
IPSWICH put their 100 per cent record on the line when they visit Leicester on Thursday in a repeat of last season’s play-off semi-final… meanwhile, it’s a busy Bank Holiday Monday for four ROWE Motor Oil Premiership clubs who all race twice in one day… Belle Vue and Birmingham meet in Manchester at midday before heading down the M6 to meet at Perry Barr in the evening… And it’s a 1pm start for Oxford at home to Leicester with the sides resuming in the East Midlands at 7.30pm.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP INS AND OUTS 2025

(Starting averages shown. Ins and Outs refer to each club’s final team declaration of 2024.)

BERWICK: Peter Kildemand 8.50, Craig Cook 8.42, Drew Kemp 6.46, Danyon Hume 4.87, Bastian Borke 4.84, Sam Hagon 4.73, Dayle Wood 2.00.

IN: Cook (from Workington), Hagon (from Poole), Kildemand, Wood.

OUT: Lewis Kerr (to Poole), Jye Etheridge (to Workington), Freddy Hodder (to Glasgow), Rory Schlein.

EDINBURGH: Justin Sedgmen 7.92, Paco Castagna 7.11, Kye Thomson 6.53, Oskar Polis 6.00, Jonatan Grahn 5.00, Victor Palovaara 5.00, Max James 2.00.

IN: Palovaara, Grahn, Polis.

OUT: Lasse Fredriksen (to Plymouth), Josh Pickering, Connor Coles.

GLASGOW: Chris Harris 9.07, Dan Thompson 7.36, Kyle Howarth 7.27, Leon Flint 6.68, Ashton Boughen 5.03, Freddy Hodder 2.00, Max Perry 2.00

IN: Thompson (from Plymouth), Howarth (from Scunthorpe), Boughen (from Oxford), Hodder (from Berwick), Perry.

OUT: Anders Rowe (to Poole), James Pearson, Matic Ivacic, Jack Smith, Jason Garrad.

OXFORD: Sam Masters 9.15, Cameron Heeps 6.37, Jordan Jenkins 6.21, Dan Gilkes 5.08, Jonas Knudsen 4.97, Mitch McDiarmid 4.00, Luke Killeen 3.85.

IN: Gilkes (from Redcar), Knudsen, McDiarmid.

OUT: Ashton Boughen (to Glasgow), Scott Nicholls, Adam Roynon. PLYMOUTH: Nicolai Klindt, Ben Barker, Joe Thompson, Alfie Bowtell, Mitchell Cluff, Lasse Fredriksen, Ben Trigger.

IN: Frediksen (from Edinburgh), Trigger (from Redcar), Klindt, Cluff.

OUT: Dan Thompson (to Glasgow), Jacob Hook (to Workington), Nico Covatti, Patrick Baek.
*NB – Awaiting official team declaration/approval.

POOLE: Richard Lawson 9.17, Lewis Kerr 7.76, Zach Cook 6.23, Anders Rowe 6.11, Tobias Thomsen 4.41, Paul Starke 3.36, Matt Marson 2.00.

IN: Kerr (from Berwick), Rowe (from Glasgow), Starke (from Workington), Marson*.

OUT: Sam Hagon (to Berwick), Vinnie Foord (to Workington), Tom Brennan, Ben Cook.
*Club intend to track William Cairns as a replacement for Marson when Cairns turns 16 on June 29.

REDCAR: Charles Wright 8.37, Erik Riss 8.33, Danny King 7.88, Jason Edwards 6.18, Jake Mulford 4.27, Ace Pijper 2.93, Tom Spencer 2.00.

IN: Riss, Pijper, Spencer.

OUT: Dan Gilkes (to Oxford), Ben Trigger (to Plymouth), Connor Bailey. SCUNTHORPE: Steve Worrall 7.93, Jake Allen 7.33, Simon Lambert 5.83, Connor Mountain 5.65, Luke Harrison 4.32, Zaine Kennedy 4.27, Declan Kennedy 4.00.

IN: Worrall (returns from illness @ Glasgow), Z.Kennedy, D.Kennedy.

OUT: Kyle Howarth (to Glasgow), Michael Palm Toft, Nathan Ablitt. WORKINGTON: Troy Batchelor 8.46, Tate Zischke 6.96, Antti Vuolas 6.40, Fraser Bowes 5.00, Jye Etheridge 4.98, Jacob Hook 4.19, Vinnie Foord 3.90.

IN: Etheridge (from Berwick), Hook (from Plymouth), Foord (from Poole), Bowes.

OUT: Craig Cook (to Berwick), Paul Starke (to Poole), Claus Vissing, Sam McGurk.

THE WEEK AHEAD…
IT’S opening weekend in official competition for several clubs with the BSN Series getting underway in all three sections… Oxford are the busiest team as they host rivals Poole on Wednesday before a Good Friday trip to Wimborne Road in the return, and they then visit Plymouth on Saturday… In the Scottish section, Glasgow and Berwick meet home and away on Friday and Saturday, whilst the Northern group features a Good Friday afternoon clash between Scunthorpe and Redcar… There is also a first round MAXiCab KO Cup tie between Edinburgh and Workington, starting at Armadale on Friday with the return at the GT Tyres Arena on Saturday lunchtime.

MJJ: KEEP ON FIGHTING

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE/NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY LATEST…

WINNING START FOR ACADEMY
EDINBURGH manager Scott Wilson pronounced himself satisfied with his team’s efforts in overcoming Middlesbrough 48-42 in a hard-fought NDL opener at Armadale.
Wilson said: “It was a bit nip and tuck as I thought it would be. We made a good start and got in front, then Middlesbrough pulled it back and there was a run of 3-3s, but I always felt we’d be stronger towards the end.
“It’s the first meeting, you just want to get a win and we’ve given ourselves a wee lead to take down to Middlesbrough later in the season.”

EAGLES SOAR IN OPENER
KENT Eagles reserve Jamie Etherington made a superb debut with 12+2 in the 47-41 NDT win over Leicester Fox Cubs in the opening meeting at Iwade – including a vital Heat 14 success with Jacob Clouting to clinch the victory.
Etherington said: “We needed that to win I think, so I got out of the start and won it. We pulled off the win today, it was alright.”

PIPE’S DREAM START
KING’S Lynn boss Jason Pipe praised his Young Stars side after a comeback triumph at Birmingham on Monday when they were 48-41 winners in the NDT.
Pipe said: “The lads dug in and we knew it was a hard one to come to tonight, because Birmingham have put a good team together, but we ground it out.
“Hopefully this result will show the fans what a good team this is, and I really hope they’ll turn out and support us two weeks on Wednesday.
“These lads are already buzzing for that home match now. We’re leaving here tonight and they wish that home match was tomorrow.”

THE WEEK AHEAD
TWO matches in the WSRA NDL this week, both on Good Friday as Belle Vue Colts host champions Leicester Lion Cubs at midday, whilst the newly named Steelers (Scunthorpe/Sheffield) team are set take on Middlesbrough in the second half of a double header at the Eddie Wright Raceway.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY APRIL 16:
BSN SERIES: Oxford v Poole 7.30

THURSDAY APRIL 17:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Leicester v Ipswich 7.30

FRIDAY APRIL 18:
MAXICAB KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Edinburgh v Workington 7.30
BSN SERIES: Glasgow v Berwick 7.30, Poole v Oxford 6pm, Scunthorpe v Redcar 3pm
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Leicester 12pm, Steelers v Middlesbrough (at Scunthorpe) (follows BSN Series fixture)

SATURDAY APRIL 19:
MAXICAB KO CUP 1st round 2nd leg: Workington v Edinburgh 1pm
BSN SERIES: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Plymouth v Oxford 7pm

MONDAY APRIL 21:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Belle Vue v Birmingham 12pm, Oxford v Leicester 1pm, Birmingham v Belle Vue 7.30, Leicester v Oxford 7.30

WEDNESDAY APRIL 23:
BSN SERIES: Poole v Plymouth 7.30

THURSDAY APRIL 24:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Ipswich (47) v Birmingham (43) 7.30, Sheffield v Oxford 7.30

FRIDAY APRIL 25:
BSN SERIES: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30

SATURDAY APRIL 26:
BSN SERIES: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm, Plymouth v Poole 7pm

SUNDAY APRL 27:
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Oxford v Middlesbrough 3pm

MONDAY APRIL 28:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Birmingham v Leicester 7.30, King’s Lynn v Oxford 7.30

TUESDAY APRIL 29:

BRITISH UNDER-21 QUALIFIER: Plymouth 7pm