ARTEM SIGNS WITH THE STARS

(SPEEDWAY 1)

KING’S Lynn have announced the sensational signing of 2021 World Champion Artem Laguta.
The Stars are set to track Laguta in time for Thursday’s Sports Insure Premiership clash with Sheffield at the Adrian Flux Arena, subject to written international clearance, as he races in the UK league for the first time.
Krzysztof Kasprzak has been released by the Norfolk club with Kye Thomson also added to the Stars’ ranks in place of Josh Pickering, who has had injury problems – although the club insist he remains in their plans for this year.

Manager Alex Brady said: “Artem is the biggest signing in our modern history, and I’m delighted to be able to bring him over.
“He’s a rider I’ve tracked for a long time, and I think every promoter and manager in the country would say they’d love to have him in their team.

“To bring him to King’s Lynn is massive, and I have to give a big thank you to Nigel Leahy for helping with the visa, Tai Woffinden for making the introduction, and the backing of the rest of the promotion to help make it happen, as well as Plymouth promoter Mark Phillips.

“Kye is actually somebody who we nearly made a move for last season, but he didn’t have the correct visa at the time, so this has been almost a year in the making.
“We did look at various options from abroad but we felt with Kye being based in the UK and having all his equipment here, this was the right move and we’re looking forward to welcoming him into the team.

“It’s not a case of closing the door on Josh – he’s our captain for a reason, he’s a massive leader in the pits, and once he’s ready to go and back in form, he’ll be back in our team.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 2)

WOLVERHAMPTON took four Sports Insure Premiership points to Belle Vue’s two after an epic day of racing between the top two in the league table.

The sides fought out a dramatic 45-45 draw in Manchester with the Aces winning a Super Heat, before Wolves edged the evening contest 46-44 at Monmore Green to take the aggregate point.
Belle Vue fought back from eight points down at home with Dan Bewley dominating the closing stages of the meeting – but he and Brady Kurtz were split by Ryan Douglas in Heat 15 to leave the scores level.

Douglas then won the Super Heat after another battle with Bewley but the crucial factor was third place, and Kurtz steamed around Luke Becker on the final bend to win it for the Aces.
The evening fixture in the Black Country saw Wolves race into a ten-point lead before once again being reeled in by their opponents.

Three advantages out of four for the Aces between Heats 11 and 14 took it down to a last-heat decider – and that’s where home skipper Sam Masters stepped up to the plate to keep Kurtz and Bewley at bay to seal victory on the night as well as the aggregate point.
Wolves boss Peter Adams said: “It was tremendous entertainment. They were two really good top-flight matches.
“It was a good day all-round and we are really pleased. Sam Masters produced two captain’s rides in Heats 13 and 15 to get us over the line.

“We took four points and we’re very near the top of the league now.”
Bewley said: “Things were pretty tight for a while, especially in the morning fixture but we found a few things towards the end and we got a fantastic win.

“Similar kind of story for the team in the evening meeting. We didn’t maybe start out the best but as the night went on we got to grips with conditions and pulled things back.
“We gave ourselves a great shot of the win and the aggregate point but hats off to Sam. He knows the Monmore track better than most and it just wasn’t to be for us that time.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

MAX Fricke pulled off a vintage Heat 15 ride to see Leicester to a 47-43 win at Peterborough on Bank Holiday Monday – their first victory on the road since re-joining the Sports Insure Premiership.
The Panthers needed two 5-1s in the last two races to set up a Super Heat and they were halfway to doing so with maximum points from Richie Worrall and Hans Andersen in Heat 14.

And they briefly held the position they needed in Heat 15 before Fricke managed to pass both Michael Palm Toft and Niels-Kristian Iversen to secure the result for his side, who go third in the league table.
Fricke won four races to finish on 13 points whilst Richard Lawson returned from injury with 9+1 and Justin Sedgmen was involved in two 5-1s, scoring 7+2. Reserve Dan Thompson was withdrawn following a crash after the end of Heat 8.

Iversen racked up 14 from six rides for the Panthers but they were hampered by the withdrawal of Benjamin Basso who suffered a hand injury in his first outing.
Leicester manager Stewart Dickson said: “Max will get the plaudits for winning Heat 15, and we knew gate three wasn’t great and Peterborough would go for two and four.

“The plan was to put our strongest rider off the inside gate and get the win, but for the first lap or so it looked rather interesting!
“But we got there in the end, and Richard scored well and got us paid 10 despite not being fully fit. All round it was a really good performance and a deserved win.”
Panthers boss Rob Lyon said: “The boys fought hard, and losing Ben Basso cost us. He’s a main player for us, we missed him, and that was the difference in my opinion and it was why we didn’t win the meeting.

“It appears that it was flying shale that took out his knuckle, it’s a strange one really but it’s one of those things, and it was a blow so early on to lose him.
“Apart from that, the boys battled hard – we were inconsistent at times but we’ve been like that all year, and fair play to Leicester, they’re a strong outfit with a proper No.1 and it showed tonight.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck believes tonight’s (Tuesday) Championship KO Cup clash with Poole is the biggest meeting since the re-launch of the club.

The sides meet in the first leg of the semi-final at Cowley with the Cheetahs, who have been in good form of late, looking to turn the tables following their BSN Series group defeats against the Pirates.

But the Dorset side have not lost a KO Cup tie since 2018, and have collected the silverware at Championship level in both of the last two seasons.

Ryan Kinsley continues at reserve for the Cheetahs as he stands in for the injured Luke Killeen, whilst the visitors are set to be at full strength for the first of two clashes in 24 hours.

Schroeck said: “This is a huge fixture for us. We’ve not been this close to reaching a major Final since reopening our doors just over a year ago, so we’re looking to thrive under the pressure.

“Poole are such a strong team at this level and their quality cannot be questioned. We’ve got to ensure we win the arm-wrestle and pick up those crucial second and third places during times in both legs when the going could get tough.

“As I’ve mentioned previously, I believe we are a far stronger team physically and mentally since we last raced Poole. But this is where the talking ends and we prove our quality on track following an encouraging month of performances.”

Poole promoter Dan Ford said: “We are under no illusions, this is going to be tough. I know that we beat Oxford in the BSN group both home and away but that in itself is bound to have them wanting to avenge those results.

“But I have a lot of faith in our lads, they have repeatedly shown this season that they can grind important results out when the pressure is on.

“We haven’t seen the very best of the Pirates yet this season, there is more in the tank and we will be looking to try and maintain our proud Cup record. I think we are in for two very exciting meetings this week.”

(SPEEDWAY 5)

REDCAR defend a 16-point lead at Glasgow tonight (Tuesday) as the sides battle for a place in the last four of the Championship KO Cup.

The Bears impressed in their home leg last Friday and are now looking to complete the job, with Richie Worrall booked to guest at No.1 for the still-absent Erik Riss.

Connor Bailey and Danyon Hume, who were both members of last year’s Glasgow team, make their first returns to Ashfield since switching to the Teesside outfit over the winter.

Redcar’s Jason Edwards said: “Everyone is going really well at the moment. Charles (Wright) and Danny (King) are obviously steering us from the front, and it was nice to see Danyon and Connor score some good points against Glasgow.

“Both of the boys won’t want to be getting beaten by their old club! Connor must be really chuffed with his last meeting for Redcar as he beat Chris Harris, and Danyon will be looking forward to going back.”

(FIXTURES)

TUESDAY MAY 30:

CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Oxford v Poole 7.30

CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Glasgow (37) v Redcar (53) 7.30

WEDNESDAY MAY 31:

CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Poole v Oxford 7.30

BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 1:

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Ipswich (41) v Wolverhampton (49) 7.30, King’s Lynn (30) v Sheffield (60) 7.30