BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2024/20

Feature photo by: RICHARD BOETTCHER… consolidated their position in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-offs with two wins against Birmingham in the last four days. The Lions beat the Brummies 48-42 at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena last Thursday and then completed the double on Monday at Perry Barr winning 46-44 following a last heat decider. That made it seven matches unbeaten for the Lions and they are now six points ahead of fifth-placed Oxford with a match in hand on the Spires.

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

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Leicester star RYAN DOUGLAS produced the match-winning ride as the Lions kept their great run going at Birmingham. Douglas held off every effort of Brummies skipper Fredrik Lindgren to pass him in a last-heat decider, completing a 12-point haul which included four race wins.

LIONS ON A CHARGE
LEICESTER have now taken 17 points from their last seven ROWE Motor Oil Premiership fixtures, their latest success coming in a 46-44 win at Birmingham on Monday.
Ryan Douglas and Max Fricke secured the victory with a 4-2 in Heat 15 to give the Lions a healthy advantage over Oxford in the battle for play-off places.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “Max started slowly but he finished very strongly, and Ryan with four wins was really good for us. Freddie (Lindgren) was right on Dougy’s tail in Heat 15 for the last two laps, but Ryan held his nerve and got us over the line.
“Good teams find a way to win, and that’s not being blaze about it – we got there in the end, and I was very pleased for the big travelling support.”

STEAD – WIN WAS UNIMPORTANT
SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead says the crash suffered by Ipswich’s Emil Sayfudtinov was the only thing on his mind despite his side taking a narrow win over the Witches at Owlerton last Thursday.
Stead said: “It was a horrible way for the night to end and it’s been quite some time since I heard a crowd fall as silent as it did following that crash.

“At the time, the result was insignificant because the thoughts of every single person in the stadium were with Emil.
“Emil is a smashing guy as well as a phenomenal speedway rider and after taking the appropriate time he feels he needs to rest and recover, we look forward to welcoming him back to Owlerton in the near future.”

ACES KEEP UP THE PACE
BELLE Vue’s 53-37 win over King’s Lynn on Monday moved the Aces to within three points of league leaders Ipswich, with the top four now covered by just five.
Dan Bewley recovered from a last place in his first ride to go unbeaten for the rest of the meeting, and he was pleased with the overall performance.

He said: “My first ride was a bit of a non-event. I was trying to slot into second but got filled in and that was pretty much the end of that, but I managed to turn things around after that.
“We expected a tough night, especially when they’ve got riders like Chris Harris guesting at No.2 but I think we showed, again, our capabilities and it was good to get another win at home.”

WITCHES WILL FIGHT ON
IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins says the battle to finish top of the table will continue – despite the horrific crash suffered by Emil Sayfutdinov at Sheffield last week, with the Witches waiting for news of his likely time out.
Hawkins said: “Three meetings over the next week at home is a vital period for us as a club as we want to finish top of the league, but it is backs against the wall.
“I really hope everyone comes to support the boys because they have provided a lot of entertainment this year and a lot of highlights.
“The support has been amazing, it is tough for everybody at the moment, but we will get through it together. The support is needed now more than ever to keep the boys’ heads up and keep them fighting.”

STARS BRING BACK KERR
KING’S Lynn have brought Lewis Kerr back to the club for the final weeks of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership campaign, alleviating the need for them to book ‘no facility’ guests for the absent Tobiasz Musielak.
Manager Rob Lyon said: “We have to make a team change because trying to find the right quality of guests to fill that No.1 position has proved very difficult, and we’ve got to the stage where we need to re-declare to get ourselves a more settled team.

“When the likes of Nicolai (Klindt) have been out, although we’d much rather have him racing, we’ve at least been able to get guests up to an average, but with the No.1 thing it’s been a nightmare.
“Lewi knows the place well, he was keen to come, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to score some decent points for us.”

BRUMMIES ARE CLOSE, BUT…
BIRMINGHAM suffered the frustration of yet another last-heat decider defeat when they lost out to Midlands rivals Leicester at Perry Barr on Monday.
The Perry Barr side have improved in recent weeks but still cannot quite get over the line for a much-awaited victory.
Manager Sam Ermolenko said: “It was super heartbreaking. We are the club that brings great value against anyone of late and we’ll push right to the end.

“Any one of our race heats, you don’t know who is going to win, you don’t know who is going to lose so that right there is pretty exciting for me as a team manager!”

NEWS IN BRIEF
OXFORD Spires will face two of their former riders when they take on King’s Lynn in a must-win fixture on Thursday at Cowley… The Stars will track Lewis Kerr, released by the Spires earlier this summer, at reserve, whilst visiting captain Niels-Kristian Iversen spent a spell with Oxford in the old Elite League way back in 2003-05!

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Plymouth’s DAN THOMPSON has been one of the standout improvers of the Cab Direct Championship season and underlined it with a superb 15-point haul from six rides in the Gladiators’ defeat at Oxford last Wednesday, before contributing a vital 11+1 as the Devon side raced to a home win over Glasgow.

 PIRATES FACE FIERCE RIVALS
POOLE are building up to a massive home contest with Oxford this week as they look to close in on confirming top spot in the table ahead of the play-offs.
The Pirates saw their unbeaten run ended at Scunthorpe last Friday, but they still did enough to claim the aggregate point, and now they prepare for the Cheetahs.
Promoter Dan Ford said: “It’s one of the biggest fixtures of our season and with our unbeaten home record on the line, the atmosphere at Wimborne Road is going to be electric – especially with it being the summer holiday and kids under 11 going free!”

COMETS IN THE BOX SEAT
WORKINGTON defeated Berwick home and away last weekend to put five points in the board in the race for a top four finish in the Cab Direct Championship.
Comets achieved their results despite knocks for Antti Vuolas and Claus Vissing, and they are now the side the others are chasing over the closing weeks of the regular campaign.
Manager James Denham said: “That’s really boosted our play-off hopes but we now just need to focus on when we host the rearranged Plymouth meeting in a couple of weeks and get the win there as well, which again will really put us in good stead for reaching the all-important play-offs.”

LOSING NOTE FOR BANDITS
BERWICK wrapped up their Cab Direct Championship campaign with double defeat to Workington, leaving the Bandits in downbeat mood.
They suffered a host of tapes disqualifications and mechanical failures across the two meetings, and the wooden spoon may be heading for Shielfield Park depending on future results elsewhere.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “Workington seemed to want it more than us which was disappointing. Four race winners at home tells its own story.”

TIGERS GO FOR ROWE
GLASGOW have announced the signing of Anders Rowe on a 28-day deal to replace the unwell Steve Worrall.
Rowe comes in for the Tigers after three recent guest appearances, as Worrall is still struggling to shake off the effects of Labyrinthitis.
Manager Cami Brown told glasgowtigers.co.uk: “We have moved to sign Anders with Steve’s knowledge and blessing.
“Anders has been really impressive already for us. He was excellent in our home meeting with Poole and also at Edinburgh and Plymouth.
“We’ve obviously got some huge meetings coming up now if we are to reach the play-offs. It’s a big ask but we will give it everything as a team. “

MPT CHASING THE SOLUTION
SCUNTHORPE star Michael Palm Toft was relieved to return to high scoring form in the Scorpions’ win over league leaders Poole, with a 13-point haul at the Eddie Wright Raceway.
Palm Toft said: “I’ve been struggling with my bikes since Monday and not quite able to figure out why. I know there’s a problem, but it’s figuring out what that is. At Poole on Wednesday, nothing was working at all – I don’t pick up no points from a meeting unless something is wrong.
“I put in a different engine for my meeting at Leicester last night (Thursday) and I used it again tonight and its miles better. I’ve got to figure out the issue with the other two engines – one is really fast around Scunthorpe and the other I can usually take anyway.”

MAX ATTACK FROM SCOTT
OXFORD captain Scott Nicholls raced to a paid maximum in the Cheetahs’ home win over Plymouth which took them closer to securing a spot in the Cab Direct Championship play-offs.
Nicholls said: “I’m delighted to score a maximum, but more importantly it was a good win for the team.
“You’ve got to give credit to Plymouth, because they pushed us. On paper, they’re not the strongest team, but it just goes to show that you can’t take anything for granted and every team can perform.
“But we showed our strength and we took the win and the margin we managed to build up at the end may prove crucial when we go down to their place at the end of the month.”

RAIN WRECKS SCOTTISH DERBY
EDINBURGH led Glasgow by nine points at Armadale after seven races last Friday but heavy rain forced the abandonment of the meeting which will now have to be re-staged.
Monarchs star Paco Castagna said: “I can’t get my head around the Scottish weather. We unloaded the van in the sunshine, then there was rain, then sun then rain.
“It was a shame because we were in a good spot but conditions were getting a little bit too dangerous.”

NEWS IN BRIEF….
REDCAR have been inactive this week but results elsewhere have left them five points off the play-offs with just two matches remaining… It means wins for the Bears in their final matches at home to Plymouth and away at Glasgow are essential for them to have any mathematical chance… PLYMOUTH still have an outside chance of the top four themselves after their win over Glasgow last weekend… The Gladiators are seven points adrift of Workington, but they still have four matches remaining.

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Leicester youngster SONNY SPRINGER continues to score big points in his first season in the WSRA NDL, even having moved up into the main body of the team. The 15-year-old was unbeaten from his first four rides at Redcar last Friday, ending with a score of 12+2 as the Lion Cubs defeated Middlesbrough 54-36.
 
CUBS CLOSING IN
LEICESTER are one step closer to clinching the 2024 WSRA NDL title thanks to a 54-36 win at Middlesbrough, which was their seventh victory out of seven this season.
The Lion Cubs are now three points clear of Oxford at the top of the table, and they have a match in hand on the Chargers.
Manager Dave Howard said: “Everybody rode great tonight, and it was a very good away win for us, which puts us in a very good position in the league now.
“We’ve got three away matches to come, at Sheffield, Oxford and Edinburgh, and obviously we want to be in a position where we can complete the task and win the NDL.”

FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 14:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Edinburgh 7.30, Poole (45) v Oxford (45) 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 15:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (37) v Leicester (53) 7.30, Oxford v King’s Lynn 7.30, Sheffield (47) v Birmingham (43) 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 16:
CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS: Oxford 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 17:
FIM BRITISH GRAND PRIX: Cardiff 5pm

MONDAY AUGUST 19:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Birmingham (33) v King’s Lynn (57) 7.30, Ipswich (44) v Sheffield (46) 7.30, Leicester v Oxford 7.30

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 21:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Glasgow 7.30
BSN SERIES SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Poole v Workington 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 22:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (26) v Belle Vue (58) 7.30, King’s Lynn v Oxford 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Sheffield (27) v Leicester (63) 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 23:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Oxford 7.30, Redcar (47) v Plymouth (43) 7.30
BSN SERIES SEMI-FINAL1st leg: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar (follows Champ fixture) (250cc/125cc A)

SATURDAY AUGUST 24:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth (35) v Poole (55) 7pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 25:
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Oxford (41) v Leicester (47) 3pm

MONDAY AUGUST 26:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v Sheffield 12pm, Birmingham v Ipswich 7.30, Sheffield v Belle Vue 7.30