BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2023 / 15

Feature photo by: Paul Rose…BELLE VUE were victorious in Thursday’s Premiership Pairs at Leicester as Dan Bewley and Brady Kurtz dominated the closing stages of the meeting. The Aces finished one point behind surprise leaders Peterborough in the qualifying races, but defeated the Panthers in the Grand Final to clinch their first Pairs title since 2006.

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

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP NEWSROUND…

ACES ON A ROLL
BELLE Vue skipper Brady Kurtz says the buoyant Aces can complete a Sports Insure Premiership double over Wolverhampton.
The reigning champions slammed the Wolves 57-33 in Manchester, and head to next Monday’s return at Monmore with a healthy lead at the top of the table.

Kurtz said: “Wolves have always been a bit of a bogey team for us, so to win so emphatically was very impressive from all the boys and we’ve put ourselves in a great position for next week.
“We definitely have what it takes to win at Monmore Green and that’s what we want to do, but we have to also take the opportunity we’ve created to secure the aggregate point.”

WITCH SWITCH
EMIL Sayfutdinov will take over as Ipswich No.1 this week having overhauled Jason Doyle at the top of the averages.
It means the Witches will track a revised riding order for a crucial clash with Wolverhampton, with Keynan Rew back in the top five and Danyon Hume reverting to reserve.

Manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “Things will look a bit different without Doyley at No.1 with the change in the averages. Emil’s average has gone slightly above Doyley’s and there is a new look to us with a bit of a shake-up.
“Hopefully that will help us and whichever way round Doyley and Emil are they are obviously a very strong pairing, so in that sense it doesn’t make a massive difference.”

PICKO – CORRECT CALL

SHEFFIELD star Josh Pickering backed the decision to abandon the Tigers’ home clash with Peterborough after ten races.
Riders from both teams expressed concerns over conditions following two heavy showers, and a halt was called with the home side 37-23 up and the result standing.

Pickering said: “Of course we understand the disappointment and frustration from the fans; we too would’ve liked to go all the way through to Heat 15 if we could.
“But meetings like that happen every now and again and while it was a shame for everyone involved, we couldn’t go through to the end and with rider safety in mind it was the right call for sure.”

KLINDT STARS FOR STARS
NICOLAI Klindt scored all 22 of King’s Lynn’s points in the Premiership Pairs last Thursday with a sensational display of four wins and two second places.
The Dane was the only rider to defeat Peterborough’s flying Richie Worrall in the regular schedule, but his team-mate Thomas Jorgensen failed to score.

Klindt said: “I was fortunate enough to make good starts and I was comfortable in front.
“It was really tough, but Leicester produced a very nice race track and it was good, close, fair racing – but hard!”

FOND FAREWELL FOR ULRICH
ULRICH Ostergaard has thanked all involved in a successful Farewell Meeting at Peterborough on Sunday.
The long-serving Dane brought down the curtain on a 20-year British career which saw him win two top-flight titles with the Panthers. Ostergaard said: “It was a great day and it was lovely to spend so much time with my family and friends. It was a very emotional day for me and Annie as we said our goodbyes.

“I would like to thank the riders, the fans, the sponsors and those of you who won the auction bids, and the team that helped me put this day together; Fran, Sarah, Katy and Carl, Neil, Kev and Sarah & Steve!
“I would like to send my thanks to Peterborough Speedway and the staff who worked so hard all day and thank my family for their support over the last 20 years.”

LIONS BACK TO BUSINESS
LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson is pleased to return to the play-off chase this week as his in-form side face Peterborough on Thursday.
The Lions staged the Premiership Pairs last week but finished fourth on their own circuit as Belle Vue took the honours.
Dickson said: “I felt it wasn’t a bad event but personally I prefer the bread and butter of league matches, and now we can get back to concentrating on our focus of staying in the top four.

“It just didn’t happen for Sedgy (Justin Sedgmen) for one reason or another, and that can happen in this sport. I would rather for it to happen in a Pairs meeting than in a league match, and I expect him to be back on form on Thursday.”

WOLVES TAKE GUEST OPTION
WOLVERHAMPTON will bring in Scott Nicholls for a guest appearance on his old home track of Ipswich this Thursday.
Nicholls will stand in for the injured Luke Becker at Foxhall after Wolves elected to go with the rider replacement facility for their defeat at Belle Vue on Monday.

Boss Peter Adams said: “Belle Vue is a very difficult track to pick a guest for because you can either go very well or have a poor performance. Tracks like Ipswich, we’re more comfortable on perhaps and they are a bit easier to predict.
“So Scott Nicholls has agreed to guest for us on Thursday and he did sterling work for us earlier on in the season so we’re hoping he can keep that up at a track he traditionally goes well at.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… A BUSY week of Round 2 fixtures starts with Ipswich looking to make ground on the top four at home to Wolverhampton on Thursday… meanwhile King’s Lynn look to end their Sheffield jinx at the Adrian Flux Arena, and bottom club Peterborough make the short trip to Leicester… leaders Belle Vue visit Wolverhampton on Monday… Sheffield host Ipswich in a vital televised clash at Owlerton… King’s Lynn are at home again in a local derby clash with Peterborough.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSROUND…

BSN SERIES FINAL RESET
THE BSN Series Final will now get underway with the first leg at Poole on Wednesday.
Rain forced the postponement of the scheduled opener at Glasgow last week, and the Final will now be raced to a finish at Ashfield on July 21.

Poole promoter Dan Ford said: “Wednesday night probably has a slight extra edge to it now as we only have one option and that is to post as big a score as possible to put us in a strong position to lift the trophy when we eventually go to their place on the 21st. But nothing changes in so far as our approach.
“This is a Cup Final and those two words just up the ante that extra bit, and I am sure those that turn out at the stadium on Wednesday night will be in for a thrilling meeting.”

CHEETAHS IN SEVENTH HEAVEN
OXFORD still have a 100 per cent record in the Cab Direct Championship after a Super Heat win at Scunthorpe last Friday.
The teams drew 45-45 at the Eddie Wright Raceway before skipper Scott Nicholls and Lewis Kerr crucially finished ahead of the Scorpions’ Jake Allen in the decider.

Nicholls said: “Lewi had a tough gig off gate 3. I saw Ryan (Douglas) was gone, so then I was looking over my shoulder. I took a roll of the dice, slowed Jake Allen down on the third bend and Lewi came around and we had the second and third place we needed to win the race.
“I love riding as part of a team, and it gives me a buzz when I can help out my team-mate in a race – there was also a couple of races with Cam (Heeps) earlier on.”

BANDITS TARGET MINI-LEAGUE
BERWICK boss Scott Courtney feels all nine clubs in the Cab Direct Championship could reach the play-offs.
Courtney says a top six finish is still attainable for his side, but has pinpointed direct rivals who they need major points against.
He said: “It is no secret that in all likelihood the sixth play-off position will go to whoever among us, Plymouth, Birmingham and Edinburgh takes the most points from our ‘mini-league’.

“Losing at Birmingham was disappointing but at least we gave ourselves a good opportunity to collect the aggregate point.”

IT NEVER RAINS, BUT…
EDINBURGH promoter John Campbell says the 2023 season has presented a challenging set of circumstances so far.
The Monarchs have been without their top two spearhead of Josh Pickering and Craig Cook for a significant chunk of the campaign, and now have Paco Castagna on the sidelines.

Campbell said: “We’ve gone through a very rocky spell recently with most things not going in our favour. Any team that loses their top two riders for a considerable period of time will face very challenging times.
“We’ve managed to send out our full team on just three occasions this season and we are now more than half way through the calendar. But rest assured that we continue to work to overcome our problems in every second of the day.”

SCORPIONS – STILL A POINT GAINED
SCUNTHORPE lost a Super Heat at home to Oxford on Friday but still took a league point from the 45-45 ‘draw.’
And that could still prove to be a useful result for the Scorpions especially as they were without the injured Michael Palm Toft, with Drew Kemp crashing out during the meeting.

Manager Dave Peet said: “We gave it a good shot with five riders against Oxford, who are unbeaten in the league and top of the table. We still battled back and collected a point from the meeting, and it could be a very important point come the end of the season. “Some of the lads were struggling for speed tonight while I can’t remember Sam Masters having such a good meeting around here for a long time. We gave our best, came up a little short, but we still took a league point.”

DAN JOINS GLADIATORS
PLYMOUTH have announced the signing of Dan Thompson following the completion of his short-term deal with Birmingham.
Thompson replaces Ben Morley, who himself joined the Gladiators recently with promoter Mark Phillips electing to shuffle his pack once again.
Phillips said: “He (Morley) has not hit the ground running. I know it is awkward with him having a late start to the season, but he hasn’t shown his home form like he did last year and as we are still pushing to make the play-offs, so we can actually find some silverware, we have got to take every opportunity that we can.”

RAIN WINS U19 FINAL
BIRMINGHAM CEO Nigel Tolley praised the attitude of the sport’s youngsters following last Wednesday’s British U19 Final abandonment at Perry Barr.
The meeting was called off after four races as heavy rain moved in, and it will now take place later in the season at the same venue.

Tolley said: “When that rain started, I wasn’t entirely sure that we’d even get started with how it was coming down. But fair play to the riders, with them all there and ready to go they were keen and eager to get out on track and crack on with the racing.
“There was no whinging, no reluctance or anything like that and it was actually quite refreshing. Their attitude was spot on and there was a good percentage of them who were actually disappointed when the decision had been made to call it off.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… CAB Direct Championship leaders Oxford go for an eighth straight win at home to Berwick on Wednesday… the meeting completes a mini Southern tour for the Bandits, who also visit Plymouth on Tuesday… in the chasing pack, there is a key clash between Glasgow and Redcar on Friday, whilst on the same evening Scunthorpe host Edinburgh… the opening leg of the BSN Series Final takes place between Poole and Glasgow on Wednesday, with the Ashfield return now set for July 21.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE NEWSROUND…

EVENTFUL ACADEMY WIN
EDINBURGH boss Scott Wilson was delighted with his side’s character in a 51-38 win at Berwick in a meeting which saw both teams suffer rider withdrawals.

Wilson said: “Tonight was a wild one, we had a bit of everything! Obviously I’m delighted with the result but what was most pleasing was the manner of it.
“We had our backs to the wall losing Mickie (Simpson) and Kyran (Lyden) early on, with Alex (Spooner) missing already, but the other five boys dug deep and got us over the line with a little to spare. I’m extremely proud of them for that.”

BULLETS MISS OUT
BERWICK’S propensity for throwing points away through non-finishes was again a key factor in their home defeat to Edinburgh.
And the most serious problem was the withdrawal of skipper Greg Blair after a crash in his second ride.
Manager Kevin Little said: “You couldn’t fault our battling qualities, but once again we saw points disappear through mechanical failures and falls when well placed.”

SCHROECK SYMPATHY
OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck admitted he had sympathy for opponents Kent after the abandonment of Sunday’s NDL meeting following a crash for Jack Kingston.
The Royals rider was taken to hospital having suffered rib, lung and vertebrae damage, with the ambulance unable to return in time for racing to resume.

Schroeck said: “It was very unfortunate what happened to Jack Kingston today, and first things first, we hope Jack isn’t too badly hurt and is okay.
“Kent had some problems in re-laying the track – it just hadn’t bound together and it was causing the riders some difficulties. They tried to do the right thing with the track during the week, but it proved to be the wrong thing. It was such a shame because it was a good crowd today and the weather was nice.”

FEN TIGERS IN THE FIGHT
MILDENHALL boss Jason Gardner hopes there is no rustiness from his side when they return to action at home to Edinburgh on Sunday.
Gardner said: “It’s been an enforced break since our last match – that terrific win at Berwick being a month almost to the day once we take on Edinburgh. That’s not ideal but at least we have Josh Warren back able to ride after he was in the wars in our last two matches. “We know that every point is vital as we look to secure the play-off position of finishing in the top two.”

THE WEEK AHEAD… MILDENHALL look to move to the top of the NDL table when they host Edinburgh on Sunday… meanwhile Belle Vue meet Kent on Friday as they look to keep in touch for a top two finish… there is KO Cup semi-final action at Northside on Saturday as Workington face Leicester in the first leg of their tie.

ALSO: Scunthorpe stage the 500cc section of their British Youth Championship round after their league clash with Edinburgh.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY JULY 4:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Berwick 7pm

WEDNESDAY JULY 5:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford (46) v Berwick (44) 7.30
BSN SERIES FINAL 1st leg: Poole v Glasgow 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 6:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich v Wolverhampton 7.30, King’s Lynn v Sheffield 7.30, Leicester v Peterborough 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 7:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Redcar 7.30, Scunthorpe (54) v Edinburgh (36) 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue (36) v Kent (54) 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP (500cc): Scunthorpe (follows Champ fixture)

SATURDAY JULY 8:
NDL KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Workington v Leicester 3pm

SUNDAY JULY 9:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Edinburgh 4pm

MONDAY JULY 10:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: King’s Lynn v Peterborough 7.30, Sheffield (39) v Ipswich (51) 7.30, Wolverhampton (33) v Belle Vue (57) 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 11:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Glasgow 7pm

WEDNESDAY JULY 12:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham (26) v Glasgow (64) 7.30, Oxford v Edinburgh 7.30, Poole v Berwick 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 13:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Peterborough (23) v Sheffield (37) 7.30
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30

FRIDAY JULY 14:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Plymouth 7.30
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 15:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Plymouth 7pm
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Berwick (29) v Belle Vue (61) (follows previous fixture), Edinburgh (37) v Workington (53) 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 16:
BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: Glasgow 2pm

MONDAY JULY 17:
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v Ipswich 7.30, Wolverhampton v Peterborough 7.30
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Leicester (47) v King’s Lynn (43) 7.30