BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAY 2, 2024

(SPEEDWAY 1)

CHEETAHS TOPPLE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

OXFORD produced a classic comeback in the Cab Direct KO Cup to overturn a 12-point deficit and put Glasgow out of the competition.
The Cheetahs trailed after Friday’s first leg and made little progress in the first half of the return at Cowley before two 5-1s involving Henry Atkins suddenly levelled the tie with five races remaining.

Some classic racing ensured with veterans Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris fighting out a terrific Heat 11 battle, before the home side edged in front overall in the next race – and Nicholls and Sam Masters won it with a 5-1 over Harris and Steve Worrall in the crucial Heat 15.

It gave Oxford a 54-36 win on the night and a six-point aggregate success with Nicholls and Masters both scoring 12+1 for the hosts whilst Harris picked up 11 for the Tigers.
Cheetahs manager Peter Schroeck said: “Despite the 12-point-deficit from the first leg, I always felt we could do it. I retained faith in the boys and that paid off.

“It felt good. Glasgow are big hitters. They are the current league champions and they know how to win silverware. We put in a team performance and within that, several individuals stood up and showed what they’re all about.
“I couldn’t any prouder and I was chuffed for the lads. Jordan (Jenkins) told me he would fix his problems and he did and he rode very well. Cam (Heeps) and Henry also chipped in, and Luke (Killeen) was very impressive from reserve.”

Glasgow boss Cami Brown said: “I wasn’t happy with what we threw away. I had words with some of the riders, some daft riding and some mistakes which shouldn’t happen.
“We were on a 5-1 and ended up a 4-2 against us, and then a comfortable 4-2 that became a 3-3. It’s silly mistakes and we have to eradicate them.
“I’m hugely disappointed about that and I’ve let them know about it. It’s basic mistakes. It’s difficult because they are a good team around their home track.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 2)

LEICESTER and Ipswich meet in a top-of-the-table clash in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership at the East Midlands venue tonight (Thursday).
The Lions went top with their win over Birmingham last week and retained it when Belle Vue lost at Birmingham on Monday – but the second-placed Witches have a strong record at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park.

The home side revert to their regular riding order with Richard Lawson back at No.2, whilst the visitors operate rider replacement for the injured Danny King, Jason Doyle moves to No.3 and Dan Thompson is up in the main body of the team.
Leicester manager Stewart Dickson said: “It’s a big night for us. It’s been clear since we moved up to the Premiership that, unfortunately, Ipswich like our track, and they really seem to enjoy racing on it.

“There have been some nice comments from them about it, which is always good to hear, but ultimately we want to win, and we want to be beating them!
“From a team perspective we need a seven-rider effort. I know they’ve only got six riders but we need a seven-rider effort for what we’re planning to get. I don’t think having five riders scoring points will be enough for us.”

Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “Our recent history at Leicester is really good and it is a place we have enjoyed going to over the last few years. All the boys go there with confidence knowing they can have good meetings around there.
“Danny normally goes well at Leicester, and we are missing him, but R/R shouldn’t be a disaster looking at the capabilities of the riders that can take those rides.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 3)

SHEFFIELD return to Owlerton tonight (Thursday) to face Oxford as they look to move back into the top four of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
The Tigers have only raced once at home so far, which was a big win over King’s Lynn, and the meeting will be Jack Holder’s first in the UK since his superb victory in last weekend’s Croatian Grand Prix.

Meanwhile the Spires hand a debut to new signing Craig Cook, who has joined as a 28-day injury replacement for Lewis Kerr.
Sheffield co-promoter Damien Bates said: “Oxford have built a solid, solid team to move into the Premiership with. They’ve already made a couple of team changes and they still look just as strong.
“But we’re obviously getting going ourselves now and we want to continue our own good run.
“So I think it should be a great speedway meeting and we’ll definitely be pushed harder than we were against King’s Lynn.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

NICOLAI Klindt returns to King’s Lynn colours as the Stars host Birmingham in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership tonight (Thursday).

Klindt slots in at No.5 and Benjmain Basso returns from injury for the Stars who are seeking their first win of the season, with the clash at the Adrian Flux Arena being just their second home match so far
The Brummies were boosted by their win over Belle Vue on Monday and a new average for Czech racer Vaclav Milik means he drops to reserve for the meeting against the club with whom he spent his last UK season, back in 2015.

King’s Lynn manager Rob Lyon said: “It’s on our home track and obviously it’s a meeting we would like to win and need to win, to get our season off the mark with some points on the board.
“It will be good to have Nicolai joining us for the first time this year. Obviously Oxford had their reasons as to why they’ve let him go, but we snapped him up when he became available given what had happened with Vadim Tarasenko.

“Nicolai fits for us, he’s happy to come back and hopefully it will be a successful return for him.”
Birmingham boss Sam Ermolenko said: “I’ve said a couple of times since we left Leicester last week that I saw something there, I saw some hope.
“We go to King’s Lynn with a different line-up but Piotr (Pawlicki) has already shown me that he can be a good No.1.
“Everyone is still trying a few different things to try and make sure we don’t slip up.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

REDCAR manager Gavin Parr is hopeful of a return to action for Danny King by early next month.
Parr has been busy booking guests for the Bears’ heat-leader, who is out with a hand injury, with former favourite Erik Riss set to step in for both of their upcoming matches this weekend.
Said Parr: “Danny went to speak to the hand specialist on Tuesday and he will be having surgery either later this week or early next week.

“He is going to have a plate put in which will hopefully ‘fix’ the issue. We are hoping Danny will be back at the start of June so he will hopefully only miss a month of action.
“We have been in long discussions with Erik to try and bring him in on a 28-day injury replacement, but he unfortunately has too many other commitments that will clash, so I am planning as far ahead as possible with guests for the next few weeks.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

GREAT Britain star Tom Brennan came agonisingly close to a place in the Speedway Euro Championship Challenge after missing out in a run-off on Wednesday.
The Birmingham and Poole racer scored an impressive 11 points in his SEC qualifier at Mureck in Austria with the meeting won by former Pirates and Eastbourne star Timo Lahti.

Brennan finished level on points with Bartlomiej Kowalski in fourth place, meaning a run-off was required for the final qualifying position, where he was edged out by the Polish youngster who finished third in the SGP2 series last year.
Meanwhile Adam Ellis also missed out in his qualifier at Hungarian venue Debrecen, as he finished in eighth place on eight points.
 
(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY MAY 2:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30, Leicester v Ipswich 7.30, Sheffield (43) v Oxford (47) 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 3:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Workington 7.30, Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30
CAB DIRECT KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Edinburgh (40) v Poole (49) 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 4:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Poole 7pm
CAB DIRECT KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Workington (38) v Redcar (51) 3pm
BSN SERIES: Plymouth (44) v Oxford (46) 7pm