BRITISH SPEEDWAY JUNE 16, 2023

(SPEEDWAY 1)

STARS’ DRAMATIC WIN

KING’S Lynn gained some respite after a tough week with a dramatic Super Heat win over Wolverhampton at the Adrian Flux Arena.
The sides drew 45-45 after 15 races with Artem Laguta and Nicolai Klindt levelling matters with a 4-2 in the last heat to take the Sports Insure Premiership encounter into a decider.

And the Stars’ top two on the night did the job again in the Super Heat with Laguta winning the race and Klindt supplying the vital third place.
Klindt (15+1) kept up his strong form of this week whilst Laguta (12) was unbeaten after a last place in Heat 1 – but Michael Palm Toft was withdrawn with an ankle injury after a crash.

Sam Masters picked up 13+1 for Wolves, who were without the injured Rory Schlein, and reserve Zach Cook notched 10+3.
Klindt said: “We built on the momentum from Monday tonight. Again, we had a good team talk before the meeting, everyone was fired up and even though we ran a couple of lasts, we were still fighting.
“We didn’t give up, we were determined and that’s a massive difference. The past is what it is, and we can only focus on the present to make the future better.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 2)

MAX Fricke scored a 15-point maximum against his old club as Leicester defeated Sports Insure Premiership leaders Belle Vue 52-38 to keep up their good run.

Fricke broke the track record at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park in Heat 1 and wrapped up his full house with a stunning Heat 15 ride to pass both Brady Kurtz and Dan Bewley.
In-form Lions second-string Justin Sedgmen added a paid maximum with 9+3 from four rides, combining with Fricke for 5-1s in all three of their races together, whilst Bewley top-scored for the Aces with 12 from six rides.

Leicester boss Stewart Dickson said: “All the credit goes to the riders. 52-38 never flattered us, and to beat a team of Belle Vue’s calibre by 14 points is very, very pleasing.
“And I still think there’s more to come from this team. Jake (Allen) had a difficult night with engines and I think Drew (Kemp) will settle in once he gets more meetings and we’ll have a really good reserve pairing.

“Justin has gone about his business on a 4.44 average, and that’s looking very good business for us, and as for Max I don’t know if you’ll ever see a better Heat 15 than that anywhere in Britain. It was a fantastic performance from him all night.”

Aces reserve Norick Blodorn (5) said: “It was much more of a challenge for us this time around because, as the weeks have gone on, Leicester have really got dialled into their track.

“At the beginning of the season it was pretty new to everyone, after all the changes they made in winter, but they’ve adapted and were super quick on the night and we struggled to match that.
“We’ve been in some very good form recently and tonight was maybe a bit of a reality check to bring us back down to earth. It just proves we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

SHEFFIELD secured match and aggregate points at home to Ipswich – despite a brilliant paid maximum from Witches star Emil Sayfudtinov.
The Tigers won the Sports Insure Premiership match 51-39 with a strong all-round showing to overturn a four-point defeat at Foxhall in April, and also gain revenge for a 12-point loss in Suffolk earlier in the week.

Skipper Kyle Howarth racked up 10+4 at reserve with Tobiasz Musielak scoring 9+1, whilst the Witches’ scorechart was totally dominated by Sayfutdinov (14+1) and Jason Doyle (13+1).

Howarth said: “We bounced back from a poor performance on Monday with a solid performance here. That was massive. Every point is valuable and we got them all tonight.
“Ipswich have got a good team and when you’ve got Emil and Jason Doyle in town you know you’re in for a tough night. 

“It was another solid performance at home though, we’ve got a solid home record and we want to keep that going.”
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “I felt in the first half of the meeting we were right in it, and we could kick on and give ourselves a good chance by the end of the meeting, but we didn’t, and we went the other way.
“It is easy to see from the score-chart where we were lacking, we didn’t have any back-up for our top two.

“I think we will be stronger in the second half of the season, but that needs to start now. The improvement needs to start from here on in and we have got a big second half of the season to reach the play-offs.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

REDCAR aim to become the first side to defeat Poole in the Cab Direct Championship this year when the sides meet at the ECCO Arena tonight (Friday).

The Pirates have a 100 per cent league record so far and also boast an excellent recent record on Teesside, including an emphatic BSN Series semi-final win earlier this season.

Bears star Erik Riss has made a successful return to the team after long-term illness, and he believes it’s a good time to face the defending champions.
Riss said: “We had a really good meeting against Berwick which has given us all a big confidence boost, so this is the best time for us to face Poole as we are in a good place after last week’s match.

“I think Poole will be our toughest match to win at home this season as they have five former Bears riders and they also have the Cook brothers who ride our track really well.
“We respect Poole as they are a good side, and we have to be on it from the start to get the right result!”

Pirates promoter Dan Ford said: “Confidence is such a big thing in speedway and I don’t feel that any of our guys are lacking in it at the moment, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to remain focused. 

“They (Redcar) have bounced back very strongly after suffering two defeats to us in the BSN competition, managing home and away successes over Glasgow in the Cup before posting their biggest league score for something like six years.

“They have also welcomed back Erik into their side and so are unquestionably a very tough side and they will be determined to prove that. But somehow that could bring out the best in us and I think that augurs well for a great meeting.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 5)

GLASGOW go for a double over local rivals Edinburgh after their away win last week when the sides meet at Ashfield tonight (Friday).
The Tigers took an impressive 12-point victory at Armadale so the aggregate point will also be secured in the Cab Direct Championship with a victory on their own circuit tonight.

But skipper Tom Brennan says the home side must keep their focus and beware of a Monarchs backlash.
He said: “Edinburgh are a great club who are used to winning trophies. It will have really hurt them to lose at home to us.

“There is absolutely no doubt they will arrive at Ashfield desperate for revenge.
“Some of their guys ride Ashfield better than their own track at times. They knocked us out of the KO Cup a year ago so they are capable of delivering big performances.

“It was a good win at Armadale for us but we are not getting carried away. You have to treat every meeting as a fresh start, you can’t take anything for granted.”
Edinburgh have Justin Sedgmen guesting for captain Josh Pickering who remains on the sidelines with injury.

(SPEEDWAY 6)

IN-FORM Scunthorpe have a 50-point target as they host Plymouth in the Cab Direct Championship tonight (Friday).
The Scorpions have scored at least 54 in their last three meetings and a repeat showing at the Eddie Wright Raceway would also secure the aggregate point after a 41-49 defeat at the Coliseum earlier in the season.

But promoter Rob Godfrey will remind his side of a damaging home defeat against the Gladiators in the equivalent fixture last season.
Godfrey said: “We’re looking forward to carrying on our recent form into the meeting against Plymouth. We want to continue our strong start to the league season and keep up with the front-runners. 

“But we won’t get over-confident. We all remember last season’s home defeat by Plymouth which was a massive setback at the time.
“We will respect the Gladiators, but at the same time, given our current form around the Eddie Wright Raceway, I believe we can take all three points on offer.”

(SPEEDWAY 7)

GARY Flint has stepped down as Berwick team manager for personal reasons after seven years in the job.
The club have confirmed Kevin Little will step up to manage the Bandits in home matches – along with his NDL commitments with the Bullets – with co-owner Scott Courtney taking charge on the road.

Flint said: “It’s been an incredibly hard decision to make but ultimately, due to personal circumstances, I feel it’s best for all concerned for me to take a step back from speedway.

“I informed the promotion last week of my decision and wanted to make the riders of both teams aware in person. The club, riders and close friends have been incredibly supportive of my decision and understand that for everyone to get the best version of me I must take time away.

“Being team manager can be mentally draining as it’s not just a case of filling in a programme on race nights. I know that when I am ready that the there will always be a place for me at the club, but for now I am looking forward to watching the boys progress from afar.”
 
(FIXTURES)

FRIDAY JUNE 16:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow (51) v Edinburgh (39) 7.30, Redcar v Poole 7.30, Scunthorpe (41) v Plymouth (49) 7.30

SATURDAY JUNE 17:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Oxford 7pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Leicester 7pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar 12pm

SUNDAY JUNE 18:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Belle Vue 12pm, Mildenhall (49) v Workington (41) 4pm