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…
HOME skipper Andre Compton is facing a race to be fit for the Premier League Riders' Championship at Sheffield on September 21.
Compton was involved in a horrifying high-speed crash during the Tigers' recent home defeat by Birmingham and was battered and bruised.
Should he make it for the showpiece Super 7even event he will start as one of the favourites and is a former winner of the prestigious title.
Sheffield chief Neil Machin said: "We'll have to play it by ear with Andre but from a club point of view we would love to see him representing us."
* A NEW date will be found for the Elite League Riders' Championship after the postponement of the original staging at Birmingham.
Fans with readmission tickets can use them to attend the Premier League Riders’ Championship at Sheffield on September 21 with a refund for the difference – or the restaging of the Elite League event.
In the event of supporters being unable to attend either of these meetings, a full refund can be applied for after the events from the BSPA. The address is: BSPA, ACU House, Wood Street, Rugby, Warks CV21 2YX.
SUPER 7EVEN DATES AND VENUES: BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: Arena-Essex, Friday April 25 - TAI WOFFINDEN BRITISH FINAL: Swindon, Thursday May 29 - SCOTT NICHOLLS PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, Friday June 27 - WORKINGTON PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Workington, Saturday July 26 - WORKINGTON ELITE LEAGUE BEST PAIRS: Swindon, Sunday August 17 - COVENTRY PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, Sunday September 21 - 3.30 ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham - New date to be arranged. www.super7even.com or www.speedwaygb.com
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
BELLE VUE could be without recent signing Stan Burza for the remainder of the season due to a back injury.
Burza made his debut for the Aces at Poole last Monday but suffered a recurrence of the problem which ended his spell at Coventry when he was racing in his home country.
Belle Vue were beaten narrowly at Wolverhampton and face an important return fixture on Wednesday, and owner David Gordon said: "We want to make the Wolverhampton match another big night as they always bring a good number of supporters with them."
COVENTRY manager Peter Oakes felt a draw against Ipswich was a fair result after a dramatic day which included the Bees' promoter Allen Trump ferrying No.8 Ben Barker to the stadium from an earlier meeting - just in time for his first ride.
Oakes said: "There's some disappointment that we dropped a point, but it was probably a point gained given our problems team-wise. We certainly missed (injured) Simon Stead, and all credit to Ben to finish one meeting at 3.15pm and start another one 96 miles away so soon after!
"I was also pleased for Filip Sitera, because a few people might have wondered what we'd done when he came over. But it takes time for a new rider, he's only 20 and he showed why we've signed him."
EASTBOURNE manager Trevor Geer said a home defeat against Poole didn't come as a complete surprise given the Eagles' recent dip in form.
Geer said: "We were beaten by an awesome team. Chris Holder is something else. He is a future world champion.
"I thought before the meeting we would be lucky to get 40 points although at one point it looked like we would push them closer than that."
IPSWICH manager Pete Simmons believes a push for a top two finish is still not beyond his team, who took another away point with a draw at Coventry on Monday.
Simmons said: "It is looking increasingly like Poole and Lakeside will take the top two places, but if we hit the right buttons we still have enough time to catch at least one of them.
"It has been a while bringing in a replacement for the injured Chris Louis, but we have now brought in the right calibre of rider (Rory Schlein) to replace him."
LAKESIDE manager Jon Cook heaped praise on his injury-hit team for still managing to overcome Wolverhampton on Friday and keep the club very much on course for a top-two finish.
Cook said: "After the week we've had, this feels like winning the League, and I can't praise the lads out there highly enough.
"With our No.8 Kauko Nieminen riding way beyond any expectations, and with guest Lewis Bridger defying his critics and putting in an exciting and mature performance, the team effort tonight was fantastic. We will have to go some to top this feeling right now."
PETERBOROUGH manager Trevor Swales gave his backing to skipper Ryan Sullivan who was below-par at Poole on Monday, with the Panthers having several important home meetings to come.
Swales said: "Ryan struggled to find a good set-up all night while Lukas (Dryml) was riding in a fair bit of pain after coming off abroad over the weekend.
"Despite riding there a couple of times, Poole is not one of Ryan's favourite tracks and the same applies to Lukas. We brought those two riders in to and win us meetings at home and we mustn't forget we were away to a top side."
POOLE manager Neil Middleditch says the Pirates still have plenty of work to do if they are to live up to their tag of Elite League title favourites - having now broken a club record with twelve straight league wins.
Middleditch said: "A lot of people are making us favourites to lift the league championship right now, but we can’t afford to drop our guard for one moment.
"We still have a job to do and there is still time for someone to come along and spoil the party, We won’t be getting complacent, that’s for sure."
SWINDON star Troy Batchelor has already indicated his desire to stay with the Blunsdon club next year after enjoying his best season in the sport.
Batchelor said: "I’m happy here. Rosco’s a good manager – he gets us all going and I’m having a lot of fun.
“I’d like to come back. It’s a good club, financially stable, there’s a good crowd and good track."
WOLVERHAMPTON boss Peter Adams has described his team’s last gasp home win over Belle Vue as ‘sensational’.
Freddie Lindgren and Niels Kristian Iversen teamed up in Heat 15 to get the better of Aces duo Charlie Gjedde and Jason Crump.
Said Adams: “That was a heck of a meeting. It was spectacular speedway and naturally we were delighted to get the win, we needed it, it was sensational.”
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK still have a chance of making the top-four play-offs after completing a sensational double over Workington by winning at Derwent Park on Monday.
Promoter Peter Waite said: "This was an awesome performance of almost biblical proportions. They all made sure they could cover Scott's (Smith) injury and made a determined effort to make all the travelling fans very proud indeed. It was a great feeling to become the first team to win at Workington in the League this season."
BIRMINGHAM’S astonishing injury jinx has struck again with Kyle Legault out for the rest of the season.
Legault is suffering from a broken jaw sustained in a horrifying crash at former club Sheffield.
Boss Graham Drury said: “It’s a big shame about Kyle, you have to feel sorry for the lad after he defied the doctors and came back from a broken femur. We now have to try and replace him if at all possible.”
EDINBURGH star William Lawson is hoping to return from a lengthy broken collarbone absence on September 5 when the Monarchs host local rivals Glasgow.
Lawson said: "I've already started a training regime to build my fitness levels up and I hope to have a try out in the second half at Armadale next Friday. The more exercise I can do in the gym the stronger I'll be when I get back on my bike again."
GLASGOW skipper Shane Parker is very much back in business after a 12-point maximum in his first home match back from injury and illness was followed by a five-ride full house at Scunthorpe on Monday.
The Tigers have also been boosted by the return of talented youngster Josh Grajczonek which finally enables them to track a full seven-man team for the remainder of the season.
ISLE OF WIGHT captain Jason Bunyan described himself as "totally overwhelmed" by turnout for his Testimonial meeting and the help he received in staging the event.
Bunyan said: "I'm indebted to everyone who helped me, and what a great night it turned out to be. It was one I'll always treasure."
KING'S LYNN co-promoter Jonathan Chapman accepts that a place in the top-four play-offs is probably the best the Stars can achieve this season.
Chapman said: "It's not physically impossible for us to win the league, but we're relying on everyone else to mess up. We've drawn away four times, and one point in each of those meetings would have been us eight points better off, and we would have been rolling."
MILDENHALL manager Laurence Rogers is still juggling with riders as he attempts to avoid the Fen Tigers going through the season without a Premier League point.
Rogers said: "We are awaiting clearance for a possible new signing who I have been chasing to come in for the injured Marek Mroz, but we are not sure if it will materialise in time for this week’s meetings away at Birmingham and at home to Reading. We are also tracking two other riders we would like to bring in whilst monitoring the fitness of Mark Baseby."
NEWCASTLE are set to complete the signing of Jason King on a full transfer from Mildenhall - the young British rider having been the main bright spot of the season for the Diamonds.
Co-promoter George English said: "Talks with Mildenhall have reached a stage where we should be able to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on transfer forms this week to make Jason a full Newcastle asset. I would imagine Jason is top of every Newcastle supporter’s wish-list for 2009."
READING manager Tim Sugar was satisfied enough with a draw at home to King's Lynn despite being two points up with two heats to go.
Sugar said: "A draw was a fair result and considering we were missing both reserves then we should be probably be happy with it. However, I feel we got ourselves into a good position and could have won it at the end. The crowd turned out in large numbers and I would think they went home happy as they saw some great racing.”
REDCAR manager Brian Havelock is enjoying the Bears' current supremacy over local rivals Newcastle, as his team recorded an away win in the first leg of the Tyne/Tees Trophy.
Havelock said: "In the past era of speedway in the North-east, the Diamonds were the dominant team when it came to results in all competitions. Since the Bears came back to the South Tees Motorsport Park in 2006 the reverse has been true and we are loving it."
RYE HOUSE went out of the Knockout Cup in the last heat of their semi-final tie against Somerset on Bank Holiday Monday.
The absence of Tai Woffinden, injured at Stoke on Saturday, was a blow to the Rockets who conceded a 5-1 in the last race to lose out to the Rebels by an eight-point aggregate margin.
SCUNTHORPE skipper Richard Hall took half a second off his own track record as the Scorpions got back to winning ways with a 54-39 success against Glasgow.
Hall was beaten by the Tigers' paid maximum man Shane Parker in Heat 10 but still headed up an impressive solid performance by the home side as they recovered from their recent home defeat by Sheffield.
SHEFFIELD co-promoter David Hoggart has admitted the absence of Ricky Ashworth is proving costly.
The Owlerton side lost home and away meetings to Birmingham – and the cover for Ashworth (rider replacement) was inadequate.
Said Hoggart: “It’s costing us dear. We’re not replacing Ricky with anything like the scores he was achieving and we need to look closely at it.”
SOMERSET skipper Simon Walker may well require an operation to rectify the back injury he sustained at Reading at the end of June.
Walker said: "I have a problem with a muscle in the lower back, so I now have to go for an MRI scan to see whether or not I need an operation. I am hoping that a course of intensive work with my physio might ease things enough for me to be able to get back racing."
STOKE reserve Klaus Jakobsen underlined his improvement with a full 15-point maximum in the Potters' comfortable home win over Rye House.
Jakobsen said: "I'm really delighted with the way I'm riding and the support I'm getting from the rest of the team."
WORKINGTON No.1 Daniel Nermark is hoping to make his comeback from injury this weekend wearing special knee braces - with the Comets looking to recover from Monday's shock home defeat by Berwick.
Manager Ian Thomas said: "We'll be monitoring his practice sessions and he will be in touch on Thursday when he's had his first competitive match for a month. He's decided to race in the Swedish First Division rather than the top flight."
FIXTURE PICTURE
TUESDAY AUGUST 26: BRITISH SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP: Isle of Wight 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.30, Poole v Swindon 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Mildenhall 7.45, King's Lynn v Stoke 7.30, Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 28: PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Rye House 7.45 TYNE/TEES TROPHY: Redcar v Newcastle 7.30 BRITISH SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP: Swindon 7.30
FRIDAY AUGUST 29: PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Somerset 7.30, Scunthorpe v Stoke 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Plymouth v Buxton 7.30
SATURDAY AUGUST 30: ELITE LEAGUE KOC: Eastbourne v Lakeside 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Somerset 7pm, Rye House v Birmingham 7pm, Stoke v Edinburgh 7.30, Workington v Glasgow 7pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Redcar v Sittingbourne 3pm, Weymouth v Buxton 7.15
SUNDAY AUGUST 31: PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Berwick 4pm, Mildenhall v Reading 4.30, Newcastle v Rye House 6.30 CONFERENCE TROPHY FINAL: Boston v Plymouth 7pm
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Coventry 7.30, Peterborough v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Ipswich 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Reading v Scunthorpe 7.30
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 2: PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Stoke 7.30
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 3: PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Somerset 7.45, King's Lynn v Isle of Wight 7.30
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 4: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Coventry 7.30, Peterborough v Eastbourne 7.30, Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Scunthorpe 7.45 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Redcar v Rye House 6.30, Redcar v Boston (follows previous fixture)
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 5: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 8pm, Lakeside v Wolverhampton 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Scunthorpe v Reading 7.30, Somerset v Mildenhall 7.30, Workington v Stoke 7.30
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 6: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Wolverhampton 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Redcar 7pm, Rye House v Newcastle 6pm, Rye House v Somerset (follows previous fixture), Stoke v Reading 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Redcar v Weymouth 3pm SIDECARS: Weymouth 7.15
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7: PREMIER LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Stoke 4.30, Newcastle v Scunthorpe 5.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton v Weymouth 3pm, Sittingbourne v Rye House 12pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE KO CUP: Boston v Scunthorpe 7pm DAVID McALLAN BENEFIT: Glasgow 4pm
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 8: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.30, Peterborough v Poole 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Reading v Somerset 7.30 UNDER-23 TEST: England v Australia, Wolverhampton, 7.30
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 9: PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Somerset 7.30
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 10: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Lakeside v Belle Vue 7.45, Poole v Ipswich 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Rye House 7.45, King's Lynn v Reading 7.30
