BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 14, 2022

(SPEEDWAY 1)

UNDER 21 DRAW DECIDED

THE draw has been confirmed for the British Under-19 Final at Redcar on July 21.

A new champion will be crowned at the Ecco Arena with Drew Kemp, who completed a hat-trick of titles in 2019-21, now ineligible to compete.
GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “It is unfortunate that we have had to make three changes, but the riders who have come in are all exciting talents and every single one of the field has the chance to be a big star in the future.

“I know the racing is going to be amazing with 16 riders with such young and enthusiastic talent, as well as being on one of the best race-tracks in the country.

“This meeting for me is one of the best meetings in the British Speedway calendar as none of this age group wants to give an inch, and I would strongly recommend anyone that can venture to Redcar next Thursday to get along and support the stars of the future.”

DRAW: 1 Harry McGurk, 2 Sam Hagon, 3 Max James, 4 Archie Freeman, 5 Vinnie Foord, 6 Joe Thompson, 7 Elliot Kelly, 8 Jody Scott, 9 Ace Pijper, 10 Max Perry, 11 Sam McGurk, 12 Jake Mulford, 13 Leon Flint, 14 Gregor Millar, 15 Nathan Ablitt, 16 Freddy Hodder. Reserves: Luke Harrison, Jack Shimelt.

(SPEEDWAY 2)

JORDAN Palin has confirmed he will miss the rest of the 2022 season after his recent crash in practice at Belle Vue.

The Scunthorpe and Peterborough youngster was concussed in the incident which saw him suffer a bleed on the brain, and the latest medical information states it would be at least 60 days before he can ride again.

Palin said: “I have therefore taken one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make and announce that I am withdrawing from all racing for the remainder of the 2022 season.

“The most difficult thing to understand with this type of injury is I can’t physically see it, unlike a broken arm or leg where it’s constantly in view, the bleed on my brain is not.

“The fog is definitely starting to lift to the point that the information from the consultants has become very real. The expected recovery time before I can be signed off as fit to begin physical exercise dramatically impacts the time scale to be fit to race.

“Given the realistic time scale, I have to look at the impact on the clubs I am lucky enough to represent. Covering my absence with guests or rider replacement is only practical very short term. I know that holding open my team place and covering is not practical or in the best interests of the clubs.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

POOLE got the better of Glasgow with a 51-39 win at Wimborne Road to keep alive their hopes of a top-two Championship finish.

The Pirates conceded a 5-1 in Heat 1 but put in a strong performance thereafter to leave the Tigers scoreless from the meeting.
Richard Lawson top-scored against his former club with 13+1 from five rides and skipper Danny King added 10. Craig Cook picked up 9+3 from six for the Tigers.

Glasgow boss Cami Brown said: “It is disappointing we couldn’t come away with a point after the good start we had with the 5-1.
“Ben Basso couldn’t get the bike working at all on his former track and had a poor night. We can’t afford for two or three riders to have an off-night against a team as strong as Poole.

“However, I don’t think we’d be as poor in the play-offs. Poole drew at our place but they haven’t been to our track for a while and we’ve had recent experience on theirs, and I’m confident we could give them a better match over two legs next time.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

BERWICK climbed off the bottom of the Championship with an impressive 50-40 win at Oxford.

The Bandits needed to win to realistically keep their slim play-off hopes alive, and dominated at Cowley as they raced into a 14-point lead at the halfway stage.

Chris Harris and recent recruit Jonas Knudsen led the way with 13+1 hauls for the visitors, but they did lose Jye Etheridge with a hand injury in a Heat 10 fall.

The Cheetahs only managed three race wins, with Aaron Summers (12) and Scott Nicholls (10) reaching double figures.
Berwick boss Gary Flint said: “I’m super proud of the boys. I feel that a performance like this has been coming for a long while but it’s still good to get the points on the board.

“It was a complete team performance with everyone digging deep and contributing vital points.”
Cheetahs co-boss Peter Schroeck said: “We can have no complaints. We were beaten by the better team on the night – it’s as simple as that.

“It took us a long time to get into the meeting. We fought our way back into the match, and reduced the gap to six points, and I started to think we had a bit of a chance. But then the meeting turned on its head again and Berwick pulled back away again.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

BIRMINGHAM stormed to their biggest win of the season as they got their Championship Jubilee League campaign up and running with a convincing 52-38 victory over Plymouth.

The Brummies were tracking three guests but delivered a strong all-round display to avenge their defeat at the Coliseum 24 hours earlier.

Justin Sedgmen (13+1) dropped just one point when he was overtaken by Ben Barker in a terrific Heat 13, whilst guest Josh Pickering collected 12+1. Erik Riss scored 14 as he stood in for the Gladiators, with Barker on 10+1.
Birmingham boss Laurence Rogers said: “What a great performance that was, I’m very happy.

“There was a great spirit tonight, some great riding and it was one heck of a great win too.
“Once we’d got the win, it was important we stopped Plymouth from getting anything and we did just that.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

IPSWICH host Belle Vue in a top-of-the-table Premiership clash at Foxhall tonight (Thursday – UK time).
The Aces took over at the summit with their big home win over King’s Lynn on Monday but the Witches would overhaul them once again with victory on their own track.

Ipswich are still without Paul Starke and operate the rider replacement facility, whilst Belle Vue have called up Danish youngster Jonas Knudsen for a top-flight debut after Jye Etheridge was injured at Oxford on Wednesday.

Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “It was a great week on the road last week, so it will be nice to get back home in front of our own fans and it is another top-of-the table-clash.

“We go into it with confidence after last week but fully aware that we have been sneaking meetings at home.

“Belle Vue are also in very good form, we are probably the two most in-form teams at the moment so we will need to up our game to get another win.”
Aces youngster Norick Blodorn said: “As a team, we didn’t do too badly the last time we went to Ipswich.

“But we all knew improvements could be made and I think the form we’re hitting at the moment is the form we really need to be carrying into this meeting.”

(SPEEDWAY 7)

WOLVERHAMPTON skipper Sam Masters has been ruled out of tonight’s (Thursday – UK time) away trip to King’s Lynn.

Wolves are going for two East Anglian wins in a week after being successful at Peterborough on Monday, but they will be without Masters who is still in discomfort with a foot injury and has been referred to a specialist fracture clinic.

It means both sides will operate rider replacement at No.1 as the Stars remain a six-man team in the absence of Niels-Kristian Iversen.
King’s Lynn boss Alex Brady said: “Wolves are packed full of experience and riders who have shown a liking for our track in the past.

“We know we’ll need all six of our riders on their A game to stand any chance of getting the three points we so desperately need to break free of this rut we are in.”

Wolves star Ryan Douglas said: “Of course being without Sam is a blow, but there’s no reason why we can’t get something from the meeting if we all carry on where we left off on Monday.

“King’s Lynn can be a tough place to go as an away rider but we can use the win over Peterborough as motivation and look to carry that on.”

(SPEEDWAY 8)

SHEFFIELD reach the halfway stage of their Premiership campaign as they host reigning champions Peterborough at Owlerton tonight (Thursday-UK time).

And promoter Damien Bates knows another win for his side would leave them in a comfortable position heading towards the business end of the season.

Bates said: “While there is still a long way to go, a home win over Peterborough really would leave us and the rest of the top four well placed in the league.

“Peterborough might not have hit the heights that they managed last season, but they’ve got a group of riders who you can never rule out. 
“When you’ve got riders like Chris Harris and Benjamin Basso riding how they are, you can never rest on your laurels.”

Tigers are at full strength with Justin Sedgmen making his official home debut after recently re-joining the club, whilst the Panthers again operate rider replacement for the injured Michael Palm Toft.

Manager Rob Lyon said: “Sheffield away is another tough one, but we said to the guys after Monday night that we’ve got to win all our remaining home matches and also pull in some points with some away wins.
“It’s not inconceivable that we can do that although I do accept that as it stands at the moment it does look unlikely, being realistic about it.”

(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY JULY 14:
PREMIERSHIP: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30, King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton 7.30, Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 15:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Glasgow v Berwick 7.30, Redcar v Leicester 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Armadale v Kent 7.30, Belle Vue v Mildenhall 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 16:
CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester v Edinburgh 6.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Berwick v Redcar 7pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Leicester v Armadale (follows Champ fixture)

SUNDAY JULY 17:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Armadale 3pm