BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAY 2, 2023

(SPEEDWAY 1)

ACES AT THE TOP

BELLE Vue are six points clear at the top of the Premiership after a 52-38 win over Leicester at the National Speedway Stadium.
Aces skipper Brady Kurtz raced to 14 points from five rides, being defeated only by former home star Max Fricke in Heat 11 before turning the tables in Heats 13 and 15.

Tom Brennan added 9+1 for the defending champions whilst Fricke top-scored for the Lions with 11 and Chris Harris supplied the ride of the day with a spectacular effort to get the better of Dan Bewley and Norick Blodorn.
Kurtz said: “It was another great win for us today. All the boys have been gelling well recently and the results have certainly been showing that, so long may it continue.

“We knew Leicester weren’t going to make things easy for us. They came here with a sense of confidence that they could keep things close, and we had to work hard, no doubt.
“We all know how good Max is around here. Me and him go way back, we’ve raced a lot of laps together and we had a really good battle in Heat 15, and it was just nice for us to get another win.”

Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “It’s a disappointment because although obviously we were expecting a tough one, I think we should have been capable of scoring more than 38 points.
“We got off to a bad start in Heat 1 and never really managed to recover from it, and although we did get some race wins, we didn’t manage the advantages to go with them.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 2)

EMIL Sayfutdinov raced to a 15-point maximum as Ipswich took the local derby honours with a 52-38 win over King’s Lynn.
Sayfutdinov won all five of his rides and No.1 Jason Doyle was also unbeaten from four outings for the Witches, who stormed into a 12-point lead after the first four races in front of a big Bank Holiday crowd at Foxhall.

Nicolai Klindt top-scored for the Stars, who paid the price for a sluggish start to the meeting and are seeking a turnaround when the sides meet again in Norfolk on Thursday.
Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “The track was tricky again today, but we started really well, and I was really pleased with us.

“We looked the determined team, and that is what I want to see. I am very happy with the win but for me it is not even quite half the job done as we need to win on Thursday.
 “The top end were terrific again. Doyley went down hard in heat one and hurt his shoulder a little bit, but we know what we get with him, he got straight back on it, it doesn’t faze him. Emil’s first maximum was brilliant, it was a great performance from him.”

King’s Lynn manager Alex Brady said: “I’m bitterly disappointed with the scoreline. In a local derby, the fans want to see a win first and foremost, but the bare minimum is passion and desire, and I felt that the majority showed that from Heat 5 onwards.
“We were twelve down after four races, so Heats 5-15 was just a two-point difference, which included some ‘interesting’ refereeing decisions, so we battled and competed hard – but we cannot afford to give teams a head start as we have done so often this season.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

WOLVERHAMPTON were 50-40 winners over Peterborough in the first meeting at Monmore Green since the news of their stadium issues for next year.
The home side raced into a 24-12 lead after six heats before being pegged by the Panthers, who again struggled at No.1 as guest Chris Harris suffered machine damage in a Heat 1 crash.

Wolves No.1 Sam Masters walked away from that incident, as did team-mate Ryan Douglas in a spectacular Heat 14 accident, and Masters top-scored with 11+1 whilst Rory Schlein added 10+1.
Guest Nick Morris (13) and skipper Hans Andersen (10+2) were in double figures for the Panthers, who still await their first Premiership points of the season.

Schlein said: “There was a lot of hard racing going on. A few of the boys are a little bit battered and it was an expensive night for some of the lads kit-wise.
“In hindsight, it could’ve been a little bit more but we’ve come out of it a little bit lucky actually as well because some of the accidents were pretty nasty.

“It’s great to get the win and a ten-point lead ahead of the return leg – we do ride their place quite well, so we’ve given ourselves a real chance when we go there too.”
Panthers boss Rob Lyon said: “The boys battled hard, you can’t fault them for effort, and we were hanging on to Wolves’ coat tails throughout the meeting.
“We knew we weren’t going to win it, but these days it’s all about trying to keep it as close as possible for the aggregate point at the other end, which is what we did, and to lose by ten was a credible result really in the circumstances.”

 
(SPEEDWAY 4)

PLYMOUTH and Scunthorpe get the Cab Direct Championship league campaign underway with tonight’s (Tuesday) clash at the Coliseum.
The Scorpions make the long trip in optimistic mood after a successful BSN Series group section saw them progress to the semi-finals.

The Gladiators are at full strength whilst Lee Complin, who had a spell with Plymouth last season, guests for the visitors in place of the injured Zaine Kennedy.
Scunthorpe boss Rob Godfrey said: “It was fantastic to have a winning start to the season in the BSN Series, with victory in our opening three meetings, while arguably it was the fourth meeting that was even more impressive – a battling performance at Redcar to take the aggregate bonus point to win the group and progress in the competition.

“We take that momentum into a busy week this week, and that week starts with us launching our Cab Direct Championship campaign at Plymouth.
“The Gladiators are not to be under-estimated, especially around their own specialist circuit, but I feel we every chance to return from the long journey down there with a win.”

(FIXTURES)

TUESDAY MAY 2:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7pm

WEDNESDAY MAY 3:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Redcar 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Poole v Plymouth 7.30, 1st leg: Birmingham v Scunthorpe 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 4:
PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn (38) v Ipswich (52) 7.30, Leicester v Wolverhampton 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 5:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Oxford 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v Birmingham 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Kent 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1 (500cc/250cc): Scunthorpe (follows KOC fixture)