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…

FANS from all over the country will flock to Somerset’s highly acclaimed Oak Tree Arena for the next Super 7even event next month.

Once again the Rebels have been handed the honour of staging the Premier League Pairs – and it’s the night before the FIM British Grand Prix in Cardiff.

Fans can take in the prestigious event at the superbly appointed Somerset track on Friday, June 26, before heading to the Millennium Stadium for the next day’s event.

British Speedway Chairman Pete Toogood said: “Somerset is a track I know well from my time with the club and the progress made there has been remarkable.

“Their meeting live on Sky Sports was a superb advert for the sport and for the venue in particular and I’m sure there will be supporters who saw that meeting who will want to go along and visit the track.

“The timing is excellent. It’s a great way to start the Grand Prix weekend and I’m sure there will be a big crowd there. I would advise fans to get there early, however, because this event has built quite a reputation and is always well attended.”

SUPER 7EVEN SERIES 2009
BRITISH UNDER 21 FINAL: Lakeside – LEWIS BRIDGER.
BRITISH FINAL: Poole, Wednesday May 20.
PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS: Somerset, Friday June 26.
PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Workington, Saturday July 25.
ELITE LEAGUE PAIRS: Eastbourne, Saturday August 8.
PREMIER LEAGUE RIDERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield, Sunday September 27.
ELITE LEAGUE RIDERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: Coventry, Friday October 2

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST

BELLE VUE newcomer Morten Risager has set his sights on a long-term future at Kirkmanshulme Lane after a spectacular 18-point haul on his home debut.

Risager said: "The move was all my decision and I wasn't forced to sign a deal like I have been in the past. I like to stick to a club and not move around a lot because you can build up a relationship.

"I have always liked Belle Vue. It is the most famous club in the world and I know the managers are trying to build on a young team, and I want to be part of its future."

COVENTRY collected away points from narrow defeats at Ipswich and Lakeside over the last week and are now looking at their options to bolster an injury-hit squad.

Co-boss Peter Oakes said: "We started the season very well with a full team, and I'm sure that if we can get the full team back we'll finish off very well too, but we just don't know how long it will be. Broken legs don't heal overnight.

"We have new averages now so we have to look at them this week and see what we can do in terms of bringing someone in, although it's not always as easy as that."

EASTBOURNE will check on the fitness of skipper Davey Watt before he returns to their line-up - after he was forced to pull out during the home defeat by Wolverhampton.

Promoter Bob Dugard said: "You cannot have a No.1 who is unfit. We were apprehensive when Davey said he was fit but we thought we had to go with it.

"You don’t want to stop your rider earning money but, on the other hand, the end result was a disaster for us. We would have gone joint top of the league if we had won, although we might get our own back when we go to Wolverhampton with a full-strength team."

IPSWICH picked up two points from a 48-42 win over Coventry - but manager Pete Simmons believed that one more was dropped by the Witches' failure to extend that margin.

Simmons said: "Once again I find myself saying we should have had more, it's beginning to sound like a broken record and it's getting very frustrating. The day this team all perform to their capabilities at the same meeting we will be a match for anyone.

"At this stage a win is a win but we must start picking up the extra points on offer to stay in touch with the top six."

LAKESIDE boss Jon Cook had to accept two points rather than three after Adam Shields suffered late mechanical gremlins in Monday's win over Coventry.

Cook said: "It was crucially important to win the meeting and I wasn't devastated about losing the extra point after we took it ourselves at Coventry.

"We saw some excellent racing but our reserves had a night to forget, and hopefully they'll be able to put it right for our meeting on Friday against Swindon."

PETERBOROUGH promoter Mick Bratley has praised reserves Kenneth Hansen and Claus Vissing, who have produced a string of high scores during the Panthers' climb up the Elite League table.

Bratley said: "I think I have run out of superlatives when talking about Kenneth. He has greatly exceeded our expectations and has become an excellent team player, with a good work ethic.

"Claus is beginning to show what we knew he could do, and I am sure he would be further advanced if it were not be for the collarbone injury he sustained against Lakeside. Both guys listen intently to advice given to them and act accordingly, it's really quite refreshing."

POOLE appear to have won the race to sign Danish ace Hans Andersen - who could now be on his way back to Wimborne Road in an attempt to help the Pirates recover from a disastrous start to the season.

Promoter Matt Ford said: "We have been interested in bringing Hans back for a while, but a fortnight ago it looked as though his parent club Peterborough were going to use him - but their upturn in form has made that nigh-on impossible.

"They have given us and other teams permission to talk to Hans, and we have reached agreement for him to ride for us. However at this stage we cannot 'jump the gun' too quickly as we will require acceptance of any re-declared 1-7."

SWINDON manager Alun Rossiter has hinted that members of his team are under pressure after their failure to take any points from a second successive away meeting at Wolverhampton on Monday.

Rossiter said: "We had an honest and blunt discussion afterwards about what is going on and I just said to them that the management are getting restless.

“We cannot accept scores of three or four from our middle order and if it goes on there may have to be changes."

WOLVERHAMPTON boss Peter Adams believes the early interval at Arlington was key to his side ending Eastbourne's unbeaten home record with a dramatic comeback win.

Adams said: "I believe the timing of the interval was of paramount importance to us. If they had taken it like we do in home meetings at Heat 11 then we would have been out of the meeting, but they took it earlier and I was able to get the lads focussed again.

"They clicked into gear and did themselves proud, it was an amazing turnaround and naturally we were all delighted with the outcome."

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST

BERWICK will offer returning supporters a free programme when they re-stage their Premier Trophy fixture against Sheffield after it was abandoned just one heat short of a result.

Promoter John Anderson said: "To just fail to get the minimum 12 races finished was a major disappointment but when you deal with injured riders their welfare has to be paramount and the paramedics have to complete their duties correctly for the sake of the fallen rider."

BIRMINGHAM have had to abandon plans to sign Darren Mallett after previously reaching agreement with the rider. James Cockle steps in along with fellow new signing Manuel Hauzinger.

Brummies promoter Graham Drury said: "Everything was agreed and put in place for Darren to ride for us, but just 20 minutes later I received an e-mail from King's Lynn Speedway saying he wouldn't be able to ride for us because of his work."

EDINBURGH star Andrew Tully was happy with his paid-12 contribution which helped the Monarchs to a dramatic away win over local rivals Glasgow.

Tully said: "I was quite happy because my scores away from home have been lower than what I would have liked so far this season. My away average is five, which is poor. But this was a good result for the whole team and it's always good to beat Glasgow on their own track."

GLASGOW are suffering from a shortage of available riders with Peter Juul (shoulder) joining a lengthy injury list which also includes Ross Brady and Anders Andersen.

Co-promoter Stewart Dickson said: "I really don't want to have to use rider replacement to cover for Ross for such a long period, but it may come down to that. We will continue to monitor all options."

KING'S Lynn have returned to a full-strength line-up with Kozza Smith now back from injury and new signing Linus Eklof making a sensational debut at Somerset - which leaves boss Rob Lyon optimistic for this week's Cup clash with Berwick.

He said: "It does excite me to see Linus and Kozza in the team, both have so much potential and I hope the buzz of the team will transfer from the pits out to the fans - we want to win this cup really bad!"

NEWCASTLE promoter Darryl Illingworth was delighted with the response to the Diamonds' 80th Anniversary meeting, which was won by Coventry star Rory Schlein.

Illingworth said: "It was great to see the Elite League lads giving it their all for the substantial prizes that were on offer. I have had supporters already asking us to bring some of the same riders back next season and we will certainly be looking to do so."

NEWPORT co-promoter Nick Mallett was impressed with his side's performance at Stoke on Saturday and feels it will give the Wasps confidence for their Premier League campaign.

Mallett said: "We knew we could win this meeting and still not go through to the semis, so it was really a meeting just to try and get some confidence. Our top two of Mark Lemon and Jordan Frampton did brilliant jobs for us."

REDCAR reserve Benji Compton says a change of engines has been one of the major reasons for his recent upturn in form.

Compton said: "I borrowed one of Ben Wilson’s engines at Sheffield and that was the turning point because I knew it wasn’t me. So I begged Sean Wilson to take me back, and he’s done me an engine which absolutely flies."

RYE House star Robert Mear is looking ahead to the World Under-21 semi-finals after taking victory in Sunday's qualifying round on his home circuit.

Mear said: "This is the biggest moment of my career so far. It’s the first thing I’ve won, and it feels great. I’m really looking forward to the next round. I’ve not raced abroad before, but hopefully it will go well and I can score some points over there."

SCUNTHORPE skipper Magnus Karlsson believes the Scorpions can target points from their forthcoming trip to Berwick on Saturday.

Karlsson said: "We certainly should go to Berwick with the ambition to win, I think we'll get a result at Berwick and then we need to win at home on Monday."

SHEFFIELD'S Ritchie Hawkins faces up to two months out of action after suffering a badly dislocated and broken wrist at Berwick on Saturday.

Hawkins said: "I am absolutely gutted about this. The pain of the injury is nothing compared to the agony of missing meetings for Sheffield."

SOMERSET proved that lightning can strike twice as for the second time this season Steve Johnston and Cory Gathercole combined for a last-heat 5-1 to secure a 46-44 win over King's Lynn at the Oak Tree Arena.

Manager Ronnie Russell said: "I felt that by putting Johno and Cory out, it gave us a psychological advantage as they had provided us with that final heat 5-1 in our Premier League match a couple of weeks ago, and had done the same again in Heat 13 of Friday’s match to bring us back in contention."

STOKE reserve Jesper Kristiansen is to put his Potters commitments first after riding through the pain barrier to score seven points in the weekend win over Newport.

Kristiansen said: "I now have a week to rest my knee to be ready for our league match against Newcastle next Saturday. I have to get my knee right, so I won't be racing in Denmark on Wednesday."

WORKINGTON boss Ian Thomas is planning a change of riding order despite a 50-40 Premier League win over Scunthorpe last weekend.

Thomas said: "I will be putting Charles Wright in at No.2 It makes sense to do this especially for the away matches as Richard Lawson has not ridden on many of the tracks. It gives him the opportunity to be able to watch a couple of the races and see what the track is like before racing on it."

NATIONAL LEAGUE action is now well underway and all the latest club press releases are now available at the news section on our website www.speedwaygb.com

FIXTURE PICTURE...

TUESDAY MAY 19:
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: Isle of Wight v Plymouth 7.30

WEDNESDAY MAY 20:
BRITISH FINAL: Poole 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Redcar 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: King's Lynn v Berwick 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 21:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Eastbourne 7.30, Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Redcar v Newcastle 7.30, Sheffield v Berwick 7.45 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Bournemouth v King's Lynn 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 22:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Eastbourne 8pm, Lakeside v Swindon 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Somerset v Newport 7.30
NATIONAL LEAGUE: King's Lynn v Rye House 7.30, Weymouth v Scunthorpe 7.15
SPRING CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL: Plymouth 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 23:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Peterborough 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Scunthorpe 7pm, Stoke v Newcastle 7.30, Workington v Rye House 7pm
NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Bournemouth 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 24:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Sheffield 6pm, Glasgow v King's Lynn 4pm, Newport v Workington 2.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Newcastle v Redcar 7pm
NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Scunthorpe 3pm

MONDAY MAY 25:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Ipswich 7.30, Peterborough v Swindon 6.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Workington 2pm, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 3pm
NATIONAL LEAGUE: Newport v Isle of Wight 2.30, Scunthorpe v Plymouth (follows PL fixture)
NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: Rye House v Buxton (follows PL fixture)

TUESDAY MAY 26:
NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Mildenhall 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 28:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Eastbourne 7.30, Swindon v Lakeside 7.30
ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v King's Lynn 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.45
NATIONAL LEAGUE: Bournemouth v Weymouth 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 29:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Stoke 7.30, King's Lynn v Redcar 7.30, Somerset v Berwick 7.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Scunthorpe v Newport 7.30
NATIONAL LEAGUE: Plymouth v Newport 7.30, Weymouth v Buxton 7.15

SATURDAY MAY 30:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Sheffield 7pm, Stoke v Somerset 7.30, Workington v Birmingham 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 31:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Workington 4pm, Newcastle v Birmingham 6.30, Newport v Berwick 2.30
NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v King's Lynn 6pm

MONDAY JUNE 1:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Eastbourne 7.30, Ipswich v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Lakeside 7.30

WEDNESDAY JUNE 3:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Eastbourne 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Scunthorpe 7.30, King's Lynn v Sheffield 7.30, Somerset v Edinburgh 7.30