WELCOME to the latest edition of the weekly BSPA bulletins keeping you in touch with news, views and fixtures from the tracks up and down the country.
BIG EVENT LATEST…
TEENAGE ace Adam Roynon has revealed how he's counting the days to his British Final debut.
Roynon, 19, is one of three riders to automatically book their place in the showpiece event at Swindon on May 29 through his display in the British Under-21 Final last month.
And the Cumbrian kid, currently riding for Premier League Birmingham, admits he'll be a bag of nerves in the hours leading up to the event.
He said: "I never get nervous before a meeting but just the thought of the British Final sets my heart pounding. All I want to do is prove to the speedway world that I am making progress in my efforts to get up there with the top guys.
"I know there's a long way to go in my career but you have to be ambitious and I know a lot of people were surprised I didn't join Coventry in the winter. I just felt the time was right for me to stay in the Premier League and continue my development.
"I'm not making any predictions, but I will go there with a positive attitude and just do my best, as I'm sure everyone will."
Once again the highest placed rider outside of GP regulars Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris will go to Cardiff as wildcard for the British Grand Prix - and that will give riders like Lee Richardson, Simon Stead and David Howe hope of making it to the Welsh capital next month.
Great Britain boss Jim Lynch said: "It promises to be a terrific meeting, I'm very much looking forward to it and I still have an open mind on the squad for the World Cup as well.
"I feel sure we are in for a heck of a meeting and there is a lot to ride for. Chris and Scott have a lot on their plate if they are to win the national title, there's a lot of lads after it!"
SUPER 7EVEN DATES AND VENUES: BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: Arena-Essex, Friday April 25 - TAI WOFFINDEN BRITISH FINAL: Swindon, Thursday May 29 - 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, Friday June 27 - 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Workington, Saturday July 26 - 7pm ELITE LEAGUE BEST PAIRS: Swindon, Sunday August 17 – 6pm ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham, Wednesday August 20 - 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, Sunday September 21 - 3.30 www.super7even.com or www.speedwaygb.com
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE celebrated the news that Jason Crump is set to become a full-time asset of the club once again with their first win in three home outings against Swindon.
Manager Chris Morton said: "I am extremely proud of the way the lads dealt with a very tough match against the league leaders.
"They showed a lot of guts and team spirit and worked for each other in a fixture that was always going to be tough for a team hit by injuries so badly."
COVENTRY manager Peter Oakes felt his side were caught out by track conditions as they went down to a second home defeat of the season against Lakeside.
Oakes said: "We had a lot of grip on the track for our last home meeting, and you only had to see the lack of actual passing tonight to know that there wasn't enough grip to encourage passing.
"We're convinced that the changes in track conditions are reflected in the inconsistent performances we're seeing, as we've ranged from displays reminiscent of last year's grand slam to those from back in 2004 when we were bottom of the table."
EASTBOURNE are awaiting news on captain Lee Richardson, who sustained a suspected fracture to the already cracked bone in his wrist as the Eagles were beaten at home by South coast rivals Poole.
Eagles boss Trevor Geer said: "You can't cater for an injury like that to Lee. Maybe if we had a strong reserve we could have coped but Simon Gustafsson was struggling and I feel for Brent Werner. He is out of his depth a bit here.
"It was always going to be tough as soon as we lost Lee. He has been struggling with his wrist and he thought he could ride heavily strapped up. The track was very heavy and Lee did not have the strength in his wrist to hang on."
IPSWICH skipper Steve Johnston feels he is now up to speed after a slow start to the season - and he proved it with a paid-eleven score to help the Witches to a comfortable home win over his former club Wolverhampton.
Johnston said: "After fifteen seasons of riding continuously in England, Europe and Australia I decided to take the Australian summer off. It therefore took me a little while to get dialled in this season, but I seem to be getting there now.
"The boys have done well. I have been captain of most of the clubs I have ridden for, and I very much enjoy it."
LAKESIDE may well hold a psychological edge over Coventry when the sides meet in the Craven Shield Final later this season - because the Hammers took their first win at Brandon in nearly four years on Monday.
Former Bees riders did plenty of damage to their former club with Andreas Jonsson dropping just one point in six rides, and a re-vitalised Joonas Kylmakorpi scoring paid 16 at reserve.
Co-promoter Jon Cook said: "I think the team is gelling well, and the things we have done as a business through the winter have paid off. A fortnight's break after the Eastbourne meeting on Friday is a good opportunity to take stock."
PETERBOROUGH boss Trevor Swales has hinted that changes could be imminent at the Showground as the Panthers look to climb up from the foot of the Elite League table.
Swales said: "The management have been working tirelessly behind the scenes and we are very close to being able to start the process of righting the things that are wrong.
"It is vital we make the correct changes rather than doing it for the sake of it - and that's something we feel we are doing."
POOLE manager Neil Middleditch heaped praise on stand-in captain Adam Skornicki who scored a remarkable 18 (paid 19) in the Pirates victory at Eastbourne - their second away win in five days.
Middleditch said: "It was a real captain's performance. The boys are just in awe of him at the moment because he is riding so well.
"But we've said it all along. We have gone with strength in depth this year, and even with all the injuries we have had, we are still there or thereabouts in the league."
SWINDON manager Alun Rossiter defended young Australian Troy Batchelor after his rider was fined by referee Graham Flint for an outburst during the Robins' narrow defeat at Belle Vue.
Rossiter said: "Troy is adamant that Charlie (Gjedde) took him down - then the referee has fined him for gesturing which really is over the top.
"From my point of view, it was tight going in, but I can only go on what my rider says and Troy is positive he was touched. A few things didn't go for us, but we'll keep our heads up."
WOLVERHAMPTON star David Howe believes the team need a morale boosting win when they face Ipswich at Monmore Green on Monday.
"A good win on Monday would lift us all and hopefully every member of the team can score some points," said Howe.
"That has to be our aim although Ipswich have riders who can do well at our track so we'll need to work hard for sure."
Howe scored 11-points in Monday’s World Championship qualifier in Germany to go through to the semi-finals.
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK promoter Peter Waite said the whole club were shocked by the events of Saturday's meeting against the Isle of Wight, which was abandoned after a crash between Scott Smith and Paul Fry resulted in injuries to supporters.
Waite said: "Nothing like that has happened here in 40 years although there are crashes all the time. Obviously we abandoned the meeting out of respect to the supporters and everybody involved. The riders were traumatised as well.
"We'll assess what’s happened and have a look at what we can do. I can never imagine that happening again – how can you stop that?"
BIRMINGHAM are hoping to have Phil Morris back in their side for their home clash with King’s Lynn on Sunday, May 25.
Morris has been suffering from broken ribs and a punctured lung and the Brummies have been weakened by his absence.
Manager Graham Drury said: “We’re hoping to see him back for that meeting and it would be the first time in a long time that we have seven riders out there on track.”
EDINBURGH showed their strength with a spectacular 60-30 win at Mildenhall on Sunday - and co-promoter John Campbell feels the signs are there for success at Armadale this season, which was not predicted by the pundits.
Campbell said: "I think the people concerned didn't look carefully enough at our team. From our point of view we realised the potential our squad had. The experts didn't consider, for instance, that William Lawson, having ridden in the Elite League in 2007, would come back a better and more determined rider in the Premier League."
GLASGOW expect to welcome Mitchell Davey back into their team this week, although fellow Australians Shane Parker and Josh Grajczonek are both still on the sidelines.
Tigers co-promoter Stewart Dickson said: "It's a huge blow to lose Shane, and it looks as though it could be a considerable period of time, perhaps up to two months. With all the injuries we have, we will now take a look at all our options and see what we can do."
ISLE OF WIGHT star Paul Fry missed the Islanders' trip to Glasgow on Sunday after being involved in the horror crash which resulted in the abandonment of the previous night's match at Berwick.
Fry returned to the West Country to make a hospital visit after the event, having sustained two broken toes and ligament damage to his right knee in the accident.
KING'S LYNN will welcome Kevin Doolan back to their team this week - and despite being out of both cup competitions, promoter Buster Chapman says there is still plenty to go for this season.
He said: "We are in a great position, currently sitting on six league points with only one home match completed. A win on Wednesday night will move us up to second place, and for me it's all about keeping yourself within view of the top of the table. I believe we have what it takes to keep ourselves there for the rest of the season."
MILDENHALL manager Laurence Rogers said the Fen Tigers had simply been beaten by the better side as they crashed to a 30-point home defeat at the hands of in-form Edinburgh.
Rogers said: "It was one of those days. We were on the receiving end of a powerhouse performance from the Monarchs who were in fine form. When we gated we scored, but we simply didn't do that often enough."
NEWCASTLE have received a setback with George Stancl failing a fitness test after breaking his collarbone and dislocated a shoulder, having attempted to practice after their junior meeting on Sunday.
Co-promoter Darryl Illingworth said: "It's plain to see George is not ready to return yet, though we would love to have him fully fit in the team, especially with league leaders Somerset as our visitors next Sunday."
NEWPORT manager Neil Street is hoping for progress on the Wasps' future this week as the legal process gets into gear following the death of promoter Tim Stone.
Street said: "Hopefully something will get sorted out - we had a talk immediately after the news about Tim, and then another meeting after that the following week, and we were hoping to get something going within about three weeks. We couldn't see anything happening quicker than that. Hopefully something will be on the way but there are no promises, it depends on what the legal arrangements are."
READING star Tom P Madsen said the Racers were pleased to get back to their home circuit against Sheffield after a difficult run of away fixtures.
Madsen said: "It was good team performance tonight and we really needed to get back to winning ways. A big win like this is just what we needed. It's been a hard couple of weeks with all the meetings we’ve had and also the injuries to Jamie Smith and Danny Warwick."
REDCAR promoter Glyn Taylor had harsh words for his team after their winning run was ended in emphatic fashion by Somerset's 54-39 success on Teesside.
Taylor said: "In my team there were too many dummy spitters. They were coming in, kicking toolboxes, punching walls - not good enough. I'm very disappointed in the overall performance of the team. Our guys have been in the comfort zone and it's time to get out of it."
RYE HOUSE boss John Sampford was relieved to come through a tough test at home to Edinburgh, especially as it was only 24 hours after a thumping defeat at Somerset.
Sampford said: "It was always going to be a hard match against Edinburgh; the riding order changing round also added more pressure. Chris (Neath) and Stefan (Ekberg) had problems at Somerset but the pair of them battled back from adversity and were heroes again."
SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey believes the entertainment on offer at the Lincolnshire venue is unrivalled, with the Scorpions beating Workington by four points in a thriller last Friday.
Godfrey said: "The racing was brilliant again and the last race was absolutely fantastic. I think we probably have the best race track in the country and all the visiting fans that come seem to love it. Next weekend is a busy one again so hopefully we can bag another win or two."
SHEFFIELD skipper Andre Compton has turned down the chance to ride in the British Final later this month.
He said: "I actually signed a form at the start of the season saying I didn't want to be considered for the British Final, I want to focus totally on what we're trying to achieve here at Sheffield.”
SOMERSET sit on top of the Premier League table after another runaway home victory, the fired-up Rebels defeating reigning champions Rye House 66-27 at the Oak Tree Arena.
Each member of the home side was paid for double figures and only Tai Woffinden's 17-point haul for the Rockets prevented a total annihilation.
STOKE finally completed their Premier Trophy home clash with Newcastle after two postponements - and skipper Lee Complin said the win had been a worthwhile exercise even though the Potters could not qualify for the semi-finals.
He said: "It was a good opportunity for us to ride together and work on our pairings. The important thing is that the team rode well and we scored right down the line."
WORKINGTON youngster Barry Burchatt remains in a critical condition and is set for surgery on internal injuries after an horrific grasstrack crash at the weekend.
Comets owner Keith Denham said: "I think Barry's injury puts things into perspective. It's shocking, and even though he's just been with us for a fortnight he had settled in really well."
*DENHAM is calling for an apology from star rider Daniel Nermark, who completed meetings in Sweden on Thursday and Poland on Sunday but missed two Comets matches in the intervening period with a wrist injury.
He said: "I am assured he has done nothing like this before, and I'm so disappointed in him. He hasn't just let the management and his team down, he has let down the fans and I am going to insist he apologises publicly to the supporters before he rides again."
FIXTURE PICTURE…
TUESDAY MAY 13: PREMIER LEAGUE KOC: Isle of Wight v Sheffield 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 14: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Belle Vue 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Glasgow 7.45, King's Lynn v Rye House 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 15: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Eastbourne 7.30, Swindon v Lakeside 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Stoke 7.30, Sheffield v Glasgow 7.45
FRIDAY MAY 16: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Eastbourne 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30, Somerset v Berwick 7.30 DIAMOND JUBILEE MEETING: Edinburgh 7.30 BEST PAIRS: Plymouth 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 17: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Ipswich 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Somerset 7pm, Stoke v Mildenhall 7.30, Workington v Scunthorpe 7pm CHALLENGE: Weymouth v Wimbledon 7.15
SUNDAY MAY 18: PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Scunthorpe 4pm, Newcastle v Somerset 5.30, *Newport v Sheffield 3pm
MONDAY MAY 19: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Ipswich 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Reading v Redcar 7.30
TUESDAY MAY 20: PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Redcar 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 21: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Ipswich 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 22: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30, Peterborough v Wolverhampton 7.30, Swindon v Poole 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Workington 7.45 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30
FRIDAY MAY 23: PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30, Somerset v Stoke 7.30 CONFERENCE TROPHY: Plymouth v Weymouth 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 24: PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm, Stoke v Workington 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Rye House v Redcar 7pm CONFERENCE TROPHY: Weymouth v Plymouth 7.15
SUNDAY MAY 25: PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Redcar 4pm, Mildenhall v Reading 4.30 PREMIER TROPHY: Birmingham v King's Lynn 6pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Sittingbourne v Redcar 12pm CONFERENCE TROPY: Buxton v Boston 3pm
MONDAY MAY 26: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Peterborough 8pm, Peterborough v Coventry 1.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Berwick 2pm, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 3pm PREMIER LEAGUE KOC: Reading v Somerset 4pm, Workington v Stoke 7pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Rye House v Redcar (follows PL fixture) CONFERENCE LEAGUE KOC: Scunthorpe v Buxton (follows PL fixture)
TUESDAY MAY 27: PREMIER LEAGUE: Reading v Rye House 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 28: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.30, Poole v Eastbourne 7.30
THURSDAY MAY 29: BRITISH FINAL: Swindon 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Edinburgh 7.30
*NEWPORT fixtures provisional at time of media release.
