BRITISH SPEEDWAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

(SPEEDWAY 1)

FOCUS CHANGE FOR BRITISH U21 CHAMP

NEWLY crowned British Under-21 Champion Leon Flint changes his focus to European Under-19 Competition on Saturday afternoon.

Flint, along with Wednesday’s runner-up Dan Thompson and British Under-19 runner-up Jake Mulford compete in the FIME Under 19 Qualifier at Plzen in the Czech Republic.

Flint, Thompson and Mulford have a tough day ahead as in an extremely tough line-up only a top-five finish will secure their place in the European Under-19 Final which takes place in Hungary on September 17.

With the previous qualifier taking place on the same weekend as the Speedway of Nations, the top Under-19 riders who were involved in the SON are also taking part in this qualifier.

Flint was one of those riders, whilst Polish representatives include Wiktor Przyjemski and Oskar Paluch, and the other contenders include Latvia’s Francis Gusts and Germany’s Norick Blodorn of Belle Vue, as well as four riders representing the host nation Czech Republic.

The Young Lions would like to thank the British Youth sponsors for their help and support to Leon, Jake, and Dan for this event.

(SPEEDWAY 2)

SHEFFIELD took a giant step towards Premiership play-off qualification with a 51-39 home win over Wolverhampton.

It means the Tigers now need just two points from their final five regular fixtures to cement their place in the top four, whilst Wolves remain one point short of confirming their own spot.

Jack Holder led the way at Owlerton with 14 points with new No.1 Tobiasz Musielak adding 13+2 and Lewis Kerr scored nine on his home debut. Sam Masters scored 12 and Luke Becker added 10 for the visitors.

Sheffield co-promoter Damien Bates said: “That was a really good win against a strong Wolverhampton team.
“Yes, Wolves have got a few riders who aren’t 100 per cent at the minute but the way we rode I think we’d have beaten them anyway.

“This is a really big month for us now and to start it off with a performance and a win like that is just what we needed.”
Wolves boss Peter Adams said: “I think there are a few factors we’ve got to take into account here.

“Ryan Douglas is obviously feeling his way back after his lay-off, but I do think he got better as the night went on. Sam’s still in a lot of difficulty, he was sore after Heat 1, but he battled on as he has done all through this period.

“And of course the rider replacement position for Stevie Worrall affected us a lot I think. All-in-all I think the boys battled well and it’s quite a respectable score given all of the circumstances.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

KING’S Lynn retained their outside chances of a play-off place after a narrow 46-44 win over depleted Peterborough at the Adrian Flux Arena.

The Panthers were without three of their regular top five, but veterans Chris Harris (15+2) and Scott Nicholls (15+1 at reserve) rolled back the years to bring the visitors back into contention.]

A 12-point Lynn lead was gradually whittled back before Harris combined with Benjamin Basso (11+2) for a 5-1 in Heat 15 as the Panthers took a league point.

Recent signings Frederik Jakobsen (10+1) and Nicolai Klindt (9+2) led the way for the Stars, who could still make the top four with maximum points from their final four matches.

King’s Lynn manager Alex Brady said: “They have riders who go well here but to be honest, it did end up closer than I expected. There were one or two calls that we did not agree with but credit to the boys, they got it over the line. 

“It was not the winning margin that we wanted but we will take the three points. It was one of those where they put a bit of gloss on the scoreline with a couple of 5-1s in the back third of the meeting, but a win is a win.”
Panthers boss Rob Lyon said: “It was a terrific result for us, a moral victory in lots of ways.

“With all due respect to the team we had to put out due to injuries, it was up there with the best results I have had – we had three of our own riders and I was so proud of the team.

“In some ways I was not worried about getting the draw or the win, I was just pleased with the boys because that was the best we have ridden as a team for as long as I can remember.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

REDCAR boss Jade Mudgway is calling for a fast start from his side in their KO Cup semi-final second leg clash with Edinburgh tonight (Friday).
The Monarchs hold a narrow four-point lead going into the meeting but will be encouraged by the Bears’ recent stumbles at home.

Richard Lawson guests for the injured Erik Riss for the hosts, who are hopeful of having Charles Wright and Jordan Jenkins back after recent knocks. The visitors are at full strength.

Mudgway said: “We have to start faster at home, we all know that, but if we can bring the energy that we had at Plymouth then that will help.
“We need to get out of the gate in Heat 1, start fast and carry it throughout the match.
“I think we’ve got to treat it as a single match, we will take it race by race, but we will obviously be trying to score as many points as we can.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

SCUNTHORPE face a 26-point first leg deficit when they face Leicester in the second leg of their KO Cup quarter-final at the Eddie Wright Raceway tonight (Friday).

The Lions won 58-32 when the sides met three months ago, with the Scorpions’ home leg having previously been abandoned. A semi-final with Poole awaits the aggregate winners.

Scunthorpe operate rider replacement for the injured Tero Aarnio, whilst Dan Thompson is missing for Leicester as he is on European U19 duty, with r/r also in operation.

Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “Leicester may be favourites to go through to the semi-finals given that they have a big lead from the first leg. But the boys will be giving it everything to try and keep our season alive.

“Not too many people will fancy our chances, I suspect, but we’ll give it a good go and see where it takes us. We have already scored 55 points against Leicester at the Eddie Wright Raceway this season, and we just need a few more points than that.”

Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “It will be good to get the team together again after so long without a meeting, and we’ll be focused on getting the job done.
“We’re fully aware Scunthorpe had a big win in their last home match, so we need to be professional about it, and we should have enough in the team to get through.
“I’ve kept the same riding order as in our last meeting as I felt that worked well, and the riders know there are extra rides available too.”

(FIXTURES)

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 2:
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Redcar v Edinburgh 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v Leicester 7.30

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Leicester v Kent 7pm

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 4:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Armadale 12pm, Mildenhall v Berwick 2pm, Mildenhall v Plymouth (follows previous fixture)