BRITISH SPEEDWAY SOLOS JUNE 16

Date: Wednesday June 16, 2021

(SPEEDWAY 1)

KENT secured their first win at Championship level as they came back to defeat Plymouth 49-41 at Central Park.
The Kings trailed by six points after Heat 9 but hit back with three 5-1s in the closing stages to secure the points.
Guest Steve Worrall racked up 14+2 from six rides with skipper Scott Nicholls on 11+2, a total matched by Ben Morley with a vital contribution at reserve.
Danny King, standing in for Jason Crump, top-scored for the Gladiators with 12 points and also lowered the track record by 0.3s when he won Heat 1.
 
(SPEEDWAY 2)

WOLVERHAMPTON have postponed their home meeting with King’s Lynn next Monday following the four-week delay to lifting restrictions.
Club owner Chris Van Straaten has made the move to preserve the short and long-term future of the club after heavy losses sustained in the opening two home meetings with severely restricted crowd numbers – and he says recent communication from Wolverhampton City Council is ‘encouraging.’
He said: “It’s not about me asking to open up the stadium to full capacity, I fully respect the fact that we have to work with restricted numbers.
“I just want a few more people to get somewhere near the figure where we can sustain our position and move forward through the season.
“I’ve managed to source some great pictures from last week against Sheffield where there is no doubt you can accommodate more people.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

NEWCASTLE have made a change at reserve with Jack Parkinson-Blackburn joining the Diamonds in place of Joe Alcock.
Parkinson-Blackburn, 20, has made his speedway comeback this season after time out due to injury and now gets his chance in the Championship, whilst Alcock is set to continue with the club at National Development League level.
Manager Nigel Hincliffe said: “Jack bounced back well twice including from his bad road traffic accident in 2018, but the lad is now superbly fit and has a fine fitness regime, he looks after himself well and is ready for the step up with the Diamonds.
“He has recently bought two Premiership-ready machines which are top-notch, so he’s mounted on the best too and including Jack as our No.7 will really give the side the lower-end power that the Diamonds really need.
“You could see Joe’s confidence sapping away with every race, and that’s no good for the rider, who will struggle to escape that downward spiral. So it will be much better for Joe, and the Diamonds, to let him have a full year at NDL level.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

POOLE have made further changes to their fixture list but intend to race at home to Kent as scheduled on June 30.
The Pirates are one of several clubs to be working under severe restrictions, and have switched their South coast derby with Eastbourne from early July into September, enabling them to reduce the number of home meetings which take place under crowd restraints.
Co-promoter Matt Ford said: “The effect of the social distancing measures with restricted numbers allowed in to watch at Wimborne Road for our meeting against Berwick, made it abundantly clear that our business would not be able to sustain such a level of losses on a weekly basis.
“We will proceed with the fixture against Kent, which will be our next home meeting and will be subject to limited numbers, whilst the meeting planned for July 14 (against Glasgow) remains in the schedule at present, pending the Government’s next review which, if the data allows, could permit us to have a greater number of fans in.
“Whilst this stop-start approach is not ideal I am sure that our supporters will recognise that we are operating under exceptional circumstances, and it is in the financial interests of the club to take these mitigating steps.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

LEICESTER host Mildenhall in National Development League action tonight (Wednesday) at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena.
The Lion Cubs were held to a draw by Berwick in their last fixture, whilst the Fen Tigers are racing as a team for the first time this season.
Leicester boss Dave Howard said: “Already you can see with the people we’ve brought in that there is a future for them, and they’ll keep progressing.
“All of the riders, and us as a team, want to win – but we’re also looking at the underlying intentions as well going forward. Our next meeting is against Mildenhall and we’ll certainly be there going for a win in that one!”
Fen Tigers manager Malcolm Vasey said: “I think we have all been waiting for this moment when we return to competitive racing for many months now, and this should be an excellent meeting to start our season
“We have full respect for a Leicester team full of exciting young talent, but what I have seen from our lads to date give me every confidence that we are up to the task.”
 
(FIXTURES)

WEDNESDAY JUNE 16:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Leicester v Mildenhall 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 17:
BRITISH UNDER-21 SEMI-FINAL: Redcar 7.30
PREMIERSHIP: King’s Lynn v Sheffield 7.30

SATURDAY JUNE 19:
GRAND PRIX QUALIFIER: Glasgow 7pm
CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester v Redcar 7pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Armadale v Belle Vue 2.30, Berwick v Newcastle 7pm, Eastbourne v Kent 7.30

SUNDAY JUNE 20:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Newcastle v Leicester 4pm, Scunthorpe v Glasgow 3pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Eastbourne 3pm, Newcastle v Leicester (follows Champ fixture)
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1: Scunthorpe (125cc/150cc) (follows Champ fixture)