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BIG EVENTS AHEAD... TEAM Great Britain face Denmark in a World Cup warm-up Test Match at Wolverhampton''s Monmore Green stadium next Monday, July 19 (7.30pm). Neil Middleditch''s men will be looking for victory to gain a psychological edge over the Danes with the showpiece International event being staged at Eastbourne and Poole in early August. Three Grand Prix stars have been named in the Team GB side, with captain Scott Nicholls leading a team which also includes Mark Loram, Lee Richardson, man-of-the-moment David Norris, Stuart Robson and home stars David Howe and Chris Neath. Jacob Olsen''s Danish team has strength in depth with GP riders Nicki Pedersen, Hans Andersen, Bjarne Pedersen and Jesper B Jensen joined by Kenneth Bjerre, Niels-Kristian Iversen and Charlie Gjedde. KING''S LYNN''S Norfolk Arena will host one of the biggest events in the British calendar later this month with the Championship Chase featuring an all-star line-up. The top two riders from all 15 clubs are joined by two wildcards - Lynn track specialists Andrew Moore and Adam Allott - with a big cash prize on the table for the winner on Wednesday July 28. It promises to be an exciting night of racing as the riders fight to stay in the competition in every race. The first round of the competition will be over eight races with only the first three in every race progressing to round two. That means 24 riders remain when only the first two in each race progress, narrowing the field down to 12 for round three. The first and second from this stage go through to the semi-finals with a do-or-die final to decide the winner. British Speedway management committee member Neil Machin said: ''It''s a fantastic line-up for a meeting which will provide plenty of entertainment. There is something hanging on every race and I''m looking forward to it.'' LINE-UP (Not in riding order): Adam Pietraszko and Claus Kristensen (Berwick), Frede Schott and Rory Schlein (Edinburgh), Mark Lemon and Seemond Stephens (Exeter), Shane Parker and George Stancl (Glasgow), Magnus Karlsson and Ross Brady (Hull), Craig Boyce and Jason Bunyan (Isle of Wight), Tomas Topinka and Tom P Madsen (King''s Lynn), Jason Lyons and Lubos Tomicek (Newcastle), Craig Watson and Pavel Ondrasik (Newport), Matej Zagar and Danny Bird (Reading), Brent Werner and Chris Neath (Rye House), Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth (Sheffield), Glenn Cunningham and John Jorgensen (Somerset), Paul Pickering and Jan Staechmann (Stoke), Carl Stonehewer and Simon Stead (Workington), Andrew Moore (Wildcard, Sheffield) and Adam Allott (Wildcard, King''s Lynn). ELITE LEAGUE LATEST... ARENA-ESSEX have confirmed the date for Leigh Lanham''s Testimonial meeting, which will take place at Purfleet on Friday September 10. Meanwhile the Hammers are hoping that Kelvin Tatum can make his comeback from his recent hip injury to give them a full team line-up once again. BELLE VUE''S Joe Screen savoured his first British Championship win since 1996 when he triumphed in a bizarre Final at Oxford on Friday. Screen was the outsider going into the last race but both Scott Nicholls and Mark Loram had mechanical failures and David Norris fell whilst chasing Screen leaving the Aces man as the only finisher. Screen said: ''I looked behind me at one stage and thought the race had been stopped, I could hardly believe it. It was an amazing final and I''m very lucky.'' COVENTRY promoter Colin Pratt hit back at criticism of the Coventry track last week as the Bees recorded a big win over Peterborough. Pratt said: ''Heavy rain made the track grippy and it was up to riders to adapt to it. Some did and some didn''t, and that has been the history of speedway.'' EASTBOURNE boss Jon Cook feels that Jonas Kylmakorpi tried to come back from his collarbone injury too soon, with the Eagles now set to sign Roman Povazhny as a short-term replacement. Cook said: ''Jonas will not be allowed back in the team until he proves his fitness. We''re disappointed that he chose to ride in Sweden ahead of doctor''s advice. ''He''s basically taken a four week injury and turned it into an eight week one, and it''s a problem we can only solve by bringing someone in for the short term.'' IPSWICH boss Mike Smillie still feels his team are good enough to reach the play-offs despite an inconsistent run of for recently. Smillie said: ''Generally many riders do go through a slump midway through the season as tiredness kicks in from travelling and I think we are suffering a bit from that with Hans Andersen and Jesper B Jensen. ''But at the end of the day we have three GP riders in our side and they should be good for 28-29 points each meeting for us.'' OXFORD boss Nigel Wagstaff hopes that the Silver Machine have got over their recent dip in form and can still make the play-offs. Wagstaff said: ''We can still reach the play-offs, the win at home to Eastbourne was a welcome boost for us as it ended our losing run. Hopefully we''ll have Jonas Davidsson back and we can put in some good performances.'' PETERBOROUGH boss Trevor Swales had no complaints after the Panthers slipped to their second consecutive home defeat when they were beaten by Poole on Monday. Swales said: ''Fair play to Poole, they rode really well. It was always going to be a very hard meeting for as and we really missed Lukas Dryml.'' POOLE manager Neil Middleditch praised the team work of Ryan Sullivan who played an important role in the Pirates'' triumph at the Australian''s former club Peterborough. Middleditch said: ''We have had a few iffy meetings lately and I said to the boys that this was one we needed to win to get back on track. ''Ryan has been brilliant in the pits helping the boys out with set-ups and gearings.'' SWINDON star Steve Johnston believes the Robins can win the end-of-season play-offs - if they can claim one of the all-important five qualifying slots. Johnston said: ''No-one wants to finish the season early. We want to get to the play-offs and if we can keep up our recent form, then I think we can really do something in them. ''It''s going to be tough, but it''s not out of the question that we could go on and win it, we just need to get there first.'' WOLVERHAMPTON youngster Chris Neath is looking forward to making his International debut next Monday when Team Great Britain face Denmark at Monmore Green. Neath said: ''I want to put on a good show because I need to impress Neil Middleditch. I can ride Wolverhampton as well as most people on my day so I need to make sure I have one of those days next Monday.'' PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST... BERWICK boss Peter Waite believes his team''s big win over Sheffield last weekend indicates that the Bandits are in for a strong second half to the season. Waite said: ''The team are finally riding exactly as the should and exactly as I knew they could and it means big wins will be more familiar both home and away over the coming months.'' EDINBURGH''S Dutch star Theo Pijper feels he has turned the corner mechanically after struggling for consistency this season. Pijper said: ''I have struggled, more at the beginning of the season, but I feel I''m getting better now. I''ve got some faster engines and my old engines were the major reason I didn''t get going as well as I should.'' EXETER''S Michael Coles is happy that the Falcons appear to have put their season back on track after overcoming most of their recent injury problems. Coles said: ''Things are going well at the moment, we aren''t in as good form as we were at the start of the season but we''re getting back there.'' GLASGOW''S Premier Trophy hopes were dashed by an aggregate defeat by Reading as the ten-point lead they secured from their home leg at Ashfield were cancelled out by a 57-36 defeat at Smallmead. HULL boss Eric Boocock is still urging caution despite the Vikings'' massive lead at the top of the Premier League table. Boocock said: ''We''re just over half way through the league, so why get excited? When it''s mathematically impossible for anyone to catch us, that''s when I might start jumping up and down and celebrating.'' ISLE OF WIGHT club chairman Martin Newnham felt his team had shown fresh determination when they ran up a large first leg lead against Rye House in the Knockout Cup. Newnham said: ''The lads were very much annoyed with themselves at losing their previous three matches, and poor old Rye House bore the brunt of those pent up feelings.'' KINGS LYNN''S Paul Lee will be out of action for a couple of weeks with a broken scaphoid, but team-mate Kevin Doolan escaped from a crash against Glasgow with bruising. Stars boss Keith Chapman said: ''Paul has seen me since he came out of hospital. He looked very despondent, but it could have been a lot worse.'' NEWCASTLE co-promoter Darryl Illingworth described the club''s 60-34 home defeat by Hull as ''a huge setback'' just as the Diamonds seemed to be heading in the right direction. Illingworth said: ''Never have I seen a Newcastle team, with the exception of Jason Lyons, ride so badly. I can only say sorry to our fans and hope we will start getting things right again soon.'' NEWPORT promoter Tim Stone insists there is no animosity between himself and Workington chief Ian Thomas after the two clubs clashed over the rider replacement regulations last weekend. Stone said: ''Ian was battling for his team and I was battling for mine, but we were still friends at the end of the day.'' READING will face Exeter over two legs in the Premier Trophy Final after overcoming Glasgow in the semi. Matej Zagar made a triumphant return to top form with a 15-point maximum and Danny Bird, Andrew Appleton and Phil Morris were all in double figures too. RYE HOUSE should have Davey Watt back in their line-up for their forthcoming fixtures after the Australian completed five rides in an Elite League meeting at Wolverhampton on Monday night. SHEFFIELD boss Neil Machin is expecting a couple of high-profile derby clashes with Hull this week as the Vikings storm clear in the Premier League table. Machin said: ''They are the team to beat and we are expecting bumper crowds to watch the matches, with media interest higher than ever.'' SOMERSET have been boosted by the news that injury-hit trio Glenn Cunningham, Jamie Smith and Matt Read should all be fit for a busy weekend schedule. Manager Mick Bell said: ''I''m assured that all three should be back with. To have a fully fit squad is a real bonus for us and we''re looking forward to getting back on track.'' STOKE second-string Paul Clews has seen his scoring hit in recent weeks by mechanical trouble, but feels he can regain top form soon. Clews said: ''I have been looking for the right combination from different equipment, but you have to match the top riders or you get left behind.'' WORKINGTON boss Ian Thomas paid tribute to his team after the Comets scored a club-record 68-25 Premier League win over Glasgow. Thomas said: ''We were unstoppable. They tried to hit back with some tactical rides but there was nothing they could do to stop us, we were on a mission.'' FIXTURE PICTURE TUESDAY JULY 13: WEDNESDAY JULY 14: THURSDAY JULY 15: FRIDAY JULY 16: SATURDAY JULY 17: SUNDAY JULY 18: MONDAY JULY 19: TUESDAY JULY 20: WEDNESDAY JULY 21: THURSDAY JULY 22: FRIDAY JULY 23: SATURDAY JULY 24: SUNDAY JULY 25:
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