BRITISH SPEEDWAY AUGUST 23, 2023

(SPEEDWAY 1)

WHEN OPPORTUNITY BECKONS FOR WORRALL

BRITISH Grand Prix Wild Card Steve Worrall believes the Cardiff track and the one-off opportunity can play in his favour when he races at the Principality Stadium next month.
The Wolverhampton and Poole star clinched his place at the sport’s big day on September 2 by finishing runner-up to Dan Bewley in the recent Sports Insure British Final at Belle Vue.

Worrall said: “My speedway career has been based around riding the small British tracks. One of my strong points is my gating and the way Cardiff is set up, it is a smallish track, and you need to make good starts.
“When I’m in front, I am just as fast as most people. You don’t really need the super-fast Polish engines that all the guys seem to have.
“There are things working in my favour. There are not really any expectations on me. It’s a one-off meeting.
“I will just go as far as I can. I don’t really want to put anything on it; I can’t come away disappointed either way.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

SHEFFIELD’S injury woes continue with the news that Rising Star Dan Gilkes is the latest rider facing a spell on the sidelines with a broken wrist.
The young Brit, who also rides for Plymouth, crashed out of Monday’s Sports Insure Premiership defeat at Peterborough and while there were some initial concerns with discomfort around his hip area, X-Rays have confirmed the wrist injury.

The Tigers were also missing No.1 Tobiasz Musielak at Alwalton whilst Jack Holder has recently been replaced by Tai Woffinden.
“I’m absolutely gutted,” Gilkes said.
“Watching it back, I’m pretty lucky to just come away with a broken wrist as I hit the fence hard.
“Thank you to all the paramedics at the track for their care and everyone for their messages.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 3)
 
GLASGOW closed in on the top of the Cab Direct Championship with a 48-42 win at injury-hit Plymouth on Tuesday.
The Tigers gradually extended their lead to 12 points after Heat 10 before the Gladiators finished the meeting strongly but had too much to do.
Benjamin Basso (12+1) and Claus Vissing (11+1) led the way for the visitors with Kyle Howarth notching 15 from seven rides for the hosts and Richie Worrall picked up 13 from six.

Glasgow boss Cami Brown said: “It was a really good win for the boys. They really dug in and we had a few top performances.
“It was a fine all-round team display but I must mention that Claus Vissing and Lee Complin were outstanding in the early stages which helped us take control of the meeting. Our middle Danish pairing were the real engine room of the performance.”
Brown also defended skipper Tom Brennan after an on-track incident with Gladiators guest Nathan Ablitt which resulted in angry scenes at the pits gate.

The Speedway Control Bureau are awaiting further information from the referee and footage before issuing further comment.
Brown said: “The incident with Tom was caused by Nathan. He went in really hard under Tom on the third bend and nearly caused a major crash with Lee as well. 
“Tom was obviously annoyed about that and he’s always going to be fired-up when the adrenaline is flowing. Tom apologised after the incident and these things happen.”
Plymouth manager Garry May said: “I thought the riders rode really well in the second half of the meeting, and we were coming back at them.
“Glasgow were a full side but I can only do what I can do, and that was the best team I could put out tonight.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

POOLE face Glasgow at Wimborne Road tonight (Wednesday) with both sides chasing top spot in the Cab Direct Championship.
The two sides are third and second respectively in the table on 26 points apiece, one adrift of Oxford who have no senior meeting tonight.
It’s also a repeat of the recent BSN Series Final where Poole took control with a dominant victory on home shale.
The Pirates are at full strength whilst the Tigers bring in Richie Worrall to guest for Benjamin Basso who has Danish League commitments, and they continue to operate rider replacement for Marcin Nowak.

Poole promoter Dan Ford said: “It goes without saying but I believe they will arrive here more determined than ever to put up a fight.
“That BSN meeting hurt them greatly and we know they are keen to make amends, but our boys are in good form and more than capable of achieving the goal of getting that top spot.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

BIRMINGHAM stage their penultimate home Cab Direct Championship fixture of the season when Scunthorpe visit Perry Barr tonight (Wednesday).
It will be the third time this season the two sides have done battle in the Second City with the Scorpions edging the previous contests in both the BSN Series and Knockout Cup.

The Brummies are still chasing the top six and can go into the play-off places with a positive result.
They once again bring in Josh Pickering to guest for the suspended Nick Morris, whilst the Scorpions are at full strength as they look to consolidate their own position.
Birmingham boss Stewart Dickson said: “These next two home meetings against Scunthorpe and Plymouth are going to be crucial to whether we make it into the top six or not – but first and foremost we have to focus on this Wednesday.
“No disrespect to Scunthorpe, because they have got some decent riders in their team and they have already been to Birmingham and won twice, but they’re the sort of team who we need to be looking at beating at home – if everybody rides how we know they can.

“The two match points are the main focus but if we could get off to a good strong start then that aggregate point could also become very useful in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We’ve beaten Birmingham five times this season. But Birmingham are a different team since we won twice at their place earlier in the year, and the scores start again at 0-0 and there’s a job to be done. 
“We’d like to put any place in the play-offs beyond any doubt, and we can do that by winning at Birmingham and then beating Glasgow at home on Friday.”
 (SPEEDWAY 6)

OXFORD look to make it eight matches unbeaten in the National Development League when they face Berwick at Cowley tonight (Wednesday).
Victory will also take the Chargers to the top of the NDL table ahead of their trip to rivals Leicester on Saturday.

The Bullets have injury issues to contend with, as they bring in Ben Trigger to guest for Greg Blair whilst rider replacement is in operation for Connor Coles. In addition, reserve Mason Watson is unwell with Sam Woolley coming in to guest.
Oxford boss Peter Schroeck said: “Berwick have had a difficult season, but I don’t believe their position in the table represents the team’s quality.

“They pushed us hard at Shielfield Park in June and we had to rely on a last-heat maximum to secure the points.
“Therefore, we can’t rest on our laurels and assume our form in recent weeks will cancel out any threat they pose. We’ve got to keep it professional, and we’ve got to ride to our full potential.
“Doing so should place us in a good position before visiting Leicester on Saturday which will be our biggest challenge of the season to date.”

(FIXTURES)

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 23:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham (39) v Scunthorpe (51) 7.30, Poole (44) v Glasgow (46) 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Oxford (46) v Berwick (44) 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 24:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (53) v Leicester (37) 7.30, King’s Lynn (27) v Belle Vue (57) 7.30, Sheffield v Wolverhampton 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 25:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh (31) v Poole (59) 7pm, Edinburgh (54) v Birmingham (36) (follows previous fixture), Oxford (47) v Plymouth (42) 7.30, Scunthorpe (28) v Glasgow (38) 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Workington 7.30