BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2023/10

Feature photo by: Colin Poole

Redcar bounced back from their BSN Series semi-final disappointment with a 53-37 home win over Glasgow to take control of their KO Cup quarter-final. The Bears will defend their 16-point lead at Ashfield on Tuesday evening.

HERE’S our latest news and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP NEWSROUND…

ARTEM ON HS WAY
KING’S Lynn will hand a debut to 2021 World Champion Artem Laguta in their home clash with Sheffield on Thursday.
Laguta has joined the Stars along with Kye Thomson, with the former having his first taste of British Speedway, as the Norfolk club look to get back into play-off contention.

Boss Alex Brady said: “Artem texted me on the Sunday evening after the Warsaw GP, I negotiated with him and his manager Rafal (Lewicki), and we managed to strike a deal when I flew out to watch the Grudziadz v Wroclaw meeting the week after.

“I’d been to see Rafal and his workshop in the morning, and we actually struck the deal after the meeting in the back of Artem’s van!
“They’ve been a pleasure to deal with, they’ve done things the right way and now I can’t wait for Thursday to see Artem racing at King’s Lynn.”

BIG PROGRESS FOR ACES
Belle Vue No.1 Dan Bewley felt the club could be satisfied with their efforts on Bank Holiday Monday, even though they were outscored overall by Wolverhampton.

Bewley and Brady Kurtz won a dramatic Super Heat in Manchester at lunchtime after a 45-45 draw, before the Aces went down 44-46 in another close contest in the West Midlands.
Said Bewley: “We gave ourselves a great shot of the win and the aggregate point but hats off to Sam [Masters]. He knows the Monmore track better than most and it just wasn’t to be for us that time.

“But I think the way we performed reflected the level of progress we’ve made since we last went to Wolves. The difference is chalk and cheese and I think we can be proud of ourselves today.”

WOLVES HAPPY WITH FOUR
WOLVERHAMPTON boss Peter Adams was satisfied with four points out of five from a spectacular Bank Holiday double clash with rivals Belle Vue.
The Monmore men had to be content with one point in Manchester after missing out in a Super Heat, but banked all three in the evening as Sam Masters anchored them to a 46-44 win.

Adams said: “Sam produced two captain’s rides in Heats 13 and 15 to get us over the line.
“It was a shame with the accident in Heat 14 because I rather thought we could wrap the meeting up in that race and losing Dougy (Ryan Douglas) in the way that we did was particularly damaging.
“But Sam saved the day, we took four points and we’re very near the top of the league now.”

LIONS BOSS PRAISES FANS
LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson sent his thanks to the travelling support after the Lions secured their first away win since returning to the Sports Insure Premiership.
Max Fricke’s spectacular ride in Heat 15 secured a 47-43 win for the visitors, who lost Dan Thompson with concussion midway through the meeting.

Dickson said: “It was a good, hard-fought victory, and it was very pleasing to do it in front of a massive travelling support, which we all really appreciate.
“Max really showed his class in Heat 15 to get us the win, but it was a really good all-round team effort.
“I’ve said before that the way our team is built, we need all seven to ride consistently, and we were delighted with the result.”

PANTHERS MISS OUT
A FREAK injury for Benjamin Basso, who was hit on the hand by flying shale, was one of the big causes of Monday’s home defeat to Leicester, according to Peterborough boss Rob Lyon.
The Panthers remain bottom of the Sports Insure Premiership after the loss, which was their third of the season at the East of England Arena.

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.”

REW MISSING FOR WITCHES
IPSWICH will operate rider replacement to cover for Keynan Rew when they host Wolverhampton on Thursday.
The Australian youngster has a clashing fixture in Poland but boss Ritchie Hawkins is optimistic that his side can still get the job done.

He said: “There have been some great meetings at Ipswich already this season and some cracking racing and I think there will be another one this week.
“I certainly feel we are good enough to overcome missing Keynan with the riders we have to choose from for R/R, I think we should cover him well. It is another meeting with R/R, and it seems to be with us a lot this season.”

TIGERS HIT 60
SHEFFIELD stormed back from a seven-week break in home fixtures with a 60-30 thumping of King’s Lynn at Owlerton.
But boss Simon Stead had sympathy for Frenchman David Bellego, who has been struggling in recent away matches and was ruled out in a Heat 6 crash.

Stead said: “It was unfortunate for David who showed some real promise in his first two rides but when you look down the scorechart, all of our lads had a really good night.
“I don’t think King’s Lynn did anything wrong in particular, I just think we were very good. It was a dominant home display and everything I could’ve asked for.”

THE WEEK AHEAD…  Artem Laguta makes his King’s Lynn debut when the Stars host Sheffield on Thursday… Wolverhampton have the chance to go top of the Sports Insure Premiership table with a positive result at Ipswich… Ipswich’s Emil Sayfutdinov makes his first appearance at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday as the Witches visit Belle Vue.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSROUND…

DREW ANSWERS SCORPIONS’ CALL
FORMER British Under-19 Champion Drew Kemp has joined Scunthorpe – and promoter Rob Godfrey is delighted to have got his man.

Kemp was a title winner with Poole last season but sat out the early weeks of the Cab Direct Championship campaign whilst racing in Poland.
Godfrey said: “We’ve signed Drew on an initial 28-day contract, but both parties want it to last longer than that.
“Drew loves racing around Scunthorpe – he won the British Under-19 title around here twice. But Drew isn’t a rider who is just good around Scunthorpe – he’s good around everywhere. We know we’ve signed a quality rider.
“I see him as the final piece in a championship-winning jigsaw. We’ve had a good side, but it wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders.”

CHEETAHS CONFIDENT IN KINSLEY
OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck has every faith in Ryan Kinsley to do the job at Championship level as he stands in for the injured Luke Killeen.
Schroeck said: “It’s a blow to lose Luke temporarily, but Ryan is a capable rider at this level and we’re pleased to welcome him into the squad as cover.
“The boys have really dialled into the track in the last month which gives me the confidence that we can go out and do a proper job.”

PIRATES TO IMPROVE?
POOLE promoter Dan Ford has a chilling message for the club’s league title rivals… there’s more to come from his side!
Ford said: “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 (against Oxford).”

TIGERS TO WAKE UP?
Glasgow boss Cami Brown regarded last Friday’s KO Cup defeat at Redcar as a wake-up call.
The Tigers have had a great start to the season but were caught cold at the ECCO Arena and face a 16-point KO Cup deficit as a result.

Brown told glasgowtigers.co.uk: “It is definitely a wake-up call. We had a chat after the meeting and now the boys know they have to dig deep to get through on Tuesday night. We want a massive reaction.
“This was our biggest test of the season to see how they reacted when the chips were down. Fair play to Redcar, they were flying. Now we’ve got to do the same to them on our home track.”

BRUMMIES BLOW
BIRMINGHAM have moved to sign Dan Thompson as a 28-day replacement for the injured Stefan Nielsen… but Thompson is now sidelined himself!
The 19-year-old crashed when racing for Leicester at Peterborough on Monday and is ruled out for 12 days with concussion.
It effectively puts the Brummies back to square one ahead of their trip to Glasgow on Friday, with Nielsen facing a month on the sidelines with a broken foot.

TOUGH TIMES FOR MONARCHS
EDINBURGH were without three of their regular septet at home to Scunthorpe last Friday – and suffered another home defeat as a result.
The Monarchs started well with a 5-1 but without injured top two Josh Pickering and Craig Cook, and missing Paco Castagna on international duty, they were beaten 54-35 by the Scorpions.

Boss Alex Harkess said: “Just as in our previous fixture we started with a 5-1 and I thought if we could keep that momentum going we might have a chance, even with our patched up lineup.
“But the score was reversed in the following race and we never got anything going after that.”

STRENGTH FOR BEARS
REDCAR youngster Jason Edwards sees plenty of progress in the Bears’ ranks with the lower order set for a re-shuffle in riding order.
Edwards said: “The good thing is with Redcar, when the averages change, we will always have a strong reserve to partner Jake (Mulford).
“With Connor (Bailey) going to reserve now, we have a very strong reserve, especially if he continues his good form and I don’t see it making us any weaker.”
 
THE WEEK AHEAD… Glasgow kick off their league campaign at home to Birmingham on Friday… The same evening sees Scunthorpe hand a debut to Drew Kemp as the Scorpions host Redcar… Poole and Oxford resolve their KO Cup semi-final on Wednesday… The Pirates then visit Plymouth in league action next Tuesday.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE NEWSROUND…

FEN TIGERS TARGET AGGREGATE POINT
MILDENHALL boss Jason Gardner says the aggregate point is still within his side’s grasp when they face Belle Vue at West Row on Sunday.
The Fen Tigers went down by 14 points in Manchester on Friday with Gardner pointing out one particular turning point in their first defeat of the season.

He said: “The match really turned on the events of Heat 8 where we were on a 5-1 which would have brought us just two points behind; but with Josh (Warren) an unlucky faller, the re-run was a 4-2 to them and that turnaround of six points to put us eight behind was hugely significant. 
“But we really held our own from Heat 11 onwards and stuck out to keep the aggregate victory for the bonus point a very realistic target when we welcome the Colts to West Row on Sunday.”

BULLETS SKIPPER PRAISES FANS
BERWICK captain Greg Blair says the team are grateful for the backing they receive – as they prepare for a home clash with Oxford on Saturday.

Blair said: “We have a group of supporters who give us great backing even when, as against the Comets, not everything is going our way. They still appreciate any rider willing to battle and put the effort in.
“One of the best parts of speedway is meeting fans in the main stand afterwards. It’s even better when you’ve just come off a victory parade.”

CUBS WAIT ON FOORD
LEICESTER are awaiting news on the wrist injury suffered by Vinnie Foord in their home win over Kent on Saturday.
The Lion Cubs know that No.1 Dan Thompson will be ruled out of this Saturday’s clash with Belle Vue due to concussion after a crash at Peterborough on Monday.

Boss Dave Howard said: “Obviously we’re hoping for positive X-ray results from Vinnie, and we have to keep our fingers crossed for that – we’d very much like to have him in the team for our coming fixtures.”

HODDER TARGETS AWAY POINTS
BELLE Vue youngster Freddy Hodder hopes the Colts can carry their impressive home form into a busy weekend on the road.
They have a 100 per cent record so far this season in Manchester after three wins, and now plan for two meetings in less than 24 hours.

Hodder said: “We’ve got a big weekend with trips to both Leicester and Mildenhall so we’ve got our work cut out, but if we can keep doing what we’ve been doing we should have a good couple of meetings.”

ATKINS POSITIVE FOR CHARGERS
HENRY Atkins scored a paid maximum to back up the full maximum recorded by skipper Jordan Jenkins in Oxford’s 49-40 home win over Belle Vue.
Atkins said: “It was always going to be tough tonight, but we kept on plugging away, took charge through a couple of 5-1s and it all came good in the end.

“It was good to finish with a paid maximum. Jordan and I discussed the gate positions before Heat 15, and I said I’d prefer the inside. He still managed to make a great start from gate four and we took a good 5-1 to finish the night on a high.”

HARRISON BACK FOR COMETS
WORKINGTON are set to bring youngster Luke Harrison back into their side after his return to fitness, with his replacement Kelsey Dugard released.
Comets boss James Denham said: “Kelsey has been excellent for us. He is probably one of the best guys I’ve known for team spirit and the way he has bonded with the other lads has been brilliant, and despite his horrible crash last week, he stayed and was there to cheer on the boys for the win.”
“We all would like to pass on our best wishes to Kelsey for the future and we cannot thank him enough for what he has done for the team – on and off the bike.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… A busy weekend of NDL action begins with Oxford’s trip to Edinburgh on Friday… the Chargers then move on to Berwick on Saturday… also on Saturday, Workington face Mildenhall and defending champions Leicester host Belle Vue… the Colts then visit Mildenhall on Sunday, before hectic run for the Fen Tigers sees them travel to Oxford next Tuesday.
 
ALSO: There are rounds of the British Youth Championship at Birmingham on Wednesday, Edinburgh on Saturday and Workington on Sunday.
 
FIXTURE PICTURE…

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

FRIDAY JUNE 2:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Birmingham 7.30, Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Oxford 7.30

SATURDAY JUNE 3:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Berwick v Oxford 7pm, Leicester v Belle Vue 7pm, Workington v Mildenhall 3pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh 1.30

SUNDAY JUNE 4:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Mildenhall (38) v Belle Vue (52) 4pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington 12pm

MONDAY JUNE 5:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Belle Vue (49) v Ipswich (41) 7.30

TUESDAY JUNE 6:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Poole 7pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Oxford v Mildenhall 7.30

WEDNESDAY JUNE 7:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham v Oxford 7.30, Poole v Plymouth 7.30

THURSDAY JUNE 8:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30, Leicester (43) v Ipswich (47) 7.30,
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Sheffield v Wolverhampton 7.30

FRIDAY JUNE 9:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Redcar v Berwick 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Scunthorpe (46) v Birmingham (44) 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP (250cc/125cc): Scunthorpe (follows KOC fixture)

SATURDAY JUNE 10:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Berwick (41) v Mildenhall (49) 7pm, Workington v Leicester 3pm

MONDAY JUNE 12:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 7.30
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich v Sheffield 7.30, Wolverhampton v Peterborough 7.30