BRITISH SPEEDWAY AUGUST 11, 2022

(SPEEDWAY 1)

NICHOLLS CHASING COMEBACK SUCCESS STORY
OXFORD skipper Scott Nicholls hopes to mark the club’s comeback season with silverware in the Championship League Pairs at Cowley on Friday.

The Cheetahs have missed out on the league play-offs in their return to the sport but have played host to big crowds throughout the campaign.
Nicholls teams up with Aaron Summers in the showpiece event which sees all ten Championship clubs competing in the traditional pre-British Grand Prix meeting.

Said Nicholls: “With the Pairs points format it’s not all about winning races, it’s about working as a team getting those seconds and thirds.
“Heat 13 against Poole last week is a good example where Stevie Worrall popped out the start in front but Troy (Batchelor) and I did enough to keep (Richard) Lawson at the back, so if that was on Friday then we’d get a heat advantage.

“I am looking forward to the big emphasis being about riding as a pair, and it should be a good night.”
Tickets for the meeting are available from https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets and supporters are reminded that they must be purchased in advance, as there is a limit on capacity for the event.

(SPEEDWAY 2)

PREMIERSHIP leaders Ipswich host King’s Lynn in a local derby clash at Foxhall tonight (Thursday).
The Witches are looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat at Belle Vue on Monday, with recent signings Rohan Tungate and Aaron Summers making their first home appearances.

And Stars boss Alex Brady knows his side, who have made their own changes of late, urgently need major points on the road.
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “Monday was a bad night, but we go into Thursday having been flying at home.

“It is a big meeting as always against King’s Lynn being a derby. We have been in good form at home and need to carry that on.
“We have got a couple of new additions to the team since our last home meeting. It shouldn’t take Rohan long to settle in and I’m sure we will all help Aaron to make sure he is on the pace as soon as possible.”

Brady said: “We need to win on Thursday, it’s as simple as that. We’ve been saying it all season long, we need the season to get going, and for whatever reason it’s been stuttering.

“The green shoots are there for us, Nicolai (Klindt) was excellent on Monday and it’s just all the more frustrating that we’ve had to struggle for six weeks without either him or Niels (Iversen).
“Thursday night is crucial, we need all seven firing, and we just need to win as many as we possibly can between now and the end of the year and hope for the best.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 3)

REDCAR have moved to sign Kyle Newman as they look to secure their place in the Championship play-offs.
Newman, who spent the first half of the season with Oxford, comes in for Kyle Bickley who joined the Bears just over a month ago.

Co-promoter Jamie Swales said: “Kyle (Bickley) has shown flashes of his true potential in his short time with the club, but with points to spare on the overall team average we must take every advantage we can in our push for the play-offs.
“We wish Kyle well for the rest of the season. In Kyle Newman though, we are bringing in a proven performer at this level who I believe will help us win matches.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 4)

BIRMINGHAM rounded off their Championship campaign with a 48-42 win over Berwick at Perry Barr.
The Brummies raced into a 14-point lead in the first half of the meeting before the Bandits fought back to claim a league point with a 5-1 in the last race from Chris Harris and Leon Flint.

Guests Paul Starke (11+2) and Kye Thomson (10+1) and stand-in skipper Justin Sedgmen (10) were in double figures for the home side, whilst Harris piled up 16+1 for the visitors and Flint added 10.

Birmingham boss Laurence Rogers said: “We wanted to finish off with a win and end the league fixtures on a high and we did that, once again with a makeshift team.
“I think the final score flattered Berwick and obviously without Bomber, and Leon coming good in the last two races, they wouldn’t have got anywhere near us.

“We were sitting comfortably enough though going into the second half of the meeting and fair play to Berwick, they didn’t give up and kept plugging away – but we never felt under any real pressure from them thanks to the tremendous start the boys made.”

Bandits manager Gary Flint said: “It really was our season in a nutshell, making too slow a start and giving ourselves too much to do.
“Jye (Etheridge) eventually got going and we knew it was a tough ask for the two reserves – but they did keep battling. Leon ended strongly while Bomber was just superb once again.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

POOLE’S three heat-leaders all scored maximums in an empathic 62-28 win over Plymouth in the Championship Jubilee League.

Danny King (12), Richard Lawson (11+1) and Steve Worrall (11+1) were all unbeaten from four rides, with boss Neil Middleditch calling up Drew Kemp (10+2) and Ben Cook for Heat 15.

It was the Pirates’ biggest score since exactly six years to the day when they defeated King’s Lynn 65-25 back in 2016.
The injury-hit Gladiators weren’t able to provide a race winner, with guest Lewis Kerr top-scoring with 8+1.

Worrall said: “I was pleased with how everything went tonight, and it was nice to be able to sit back and watch that last one.
“Drew went out there and did the business in Heat 15, and I felt like he has improved so much.

“He is a key part of the team, and we need that Drew going into the play-offs. We have a very important meeting next week against Redcar and we need to take this form through into that one.”

(SPEEDWAY 6)

OXFORD defeated Belle Vue 48-41 in a dramatic finish between two play-off rivals at Cowley.
The meeting went to a last-heat decider where a Colts 5-1 would have seen them snatch victory – but in fact guest Adam Roynon suffered mechanical trouble at the start, with Jordan Jenkins and Henry Atkins scoring a 5-1 for the Chargers over Jack Smith leaving the visitors point-less overall.

Atkins top-scored for the hosts with 15+1 and Jenkins scored 12+2, whilst Roynon (14) and Smith (11+1) led the way for the Colts, who remain in a tight battle for play-off places.
Said Atkins said: “It was getting a bit close in the middle of the meeting, so we had a chat, because we knew we needed a few more points. But we got the victory and three big points and now we sit in a solid third position in the league.

“Before some of my races, both Jason (Crump) and Peter (Schroeck) said: ‘We need you to do well here’, so I knew I had to make a decent gate and post a 5-1 with Jordan.
“We did that a few times; on a couple of times we didn’t, so we made sure we did it in the final race to get the win, which is the main thing.”
Colts co-boss Graham Goodwin said: “We’re just gutted for the boys. The way they rode tonight, they absolutely deserved a point, but we had our fair share of bad luck.

“With Jake [Mulford] being excluded in Heat 13 after his silencer came loose and Adam suffering engine failure in Heat 15, a few things went against us.
“As unfortunate as this result is, we are still on track for the play-offs. We’ve got a handful of meetings left to accumulate points and I’m sure the lads are as determined as we are to do so.”
 
(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY AUGUST 11:
PREMIERSHIP: Ipswich v King’s Lynn 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 12:
CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE PAIRS: Oxford 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 13:
BRITISH GRAND PRIX: Cardiff 5pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 14:
SGP2: Cardiff 1pm