SPEEDWAY WEEKLY ROUND-UP
12 July 2005 - British Speedway Promoters Association

ARENA-ESSEX star Leigh Lanham led a much-improved Hammers display to beat Swindon after two heavy home defeats had riled boss Ronnie Russell.

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST.

Arena are still without reserve Josh Larsen, who cannot have an operation on his collarbone until some broken ribs have healed. RISING star James Wright got his first taste of Elite League speedway when he was called up to the Belle Vue team for the Aces'' demolition of Ipswich on Monday. Manager Ian Thomas said: ''First I lost Rusty Harrison, who had a prior commitment with Edinburgh at Newcastle. Then I called in Krister Marsh only for him to pull out with a shoulder injury. ''That meant Wright was the next in line but it seemed on Saturday that he wouldn''t be fit. But then he had further treatment and said he''d be okay.'' COVENTRY youngster Morten Risager says that the Bees should fear no-one on their home circuit after an eighth straight Brandon win against Swindon on Monday. Risager said: ''I thought we could have won by more, but they took advantage of the tactical rides twice which made it closer ''I feel I''m starting to get back to my old self after my injury, and things are looking good for us at the moment.'' EASTBOURNE star Dean Barker was back in form over the weekend with nine points in the Championship of Great Britain followed by two race wins in the Eagles'' home win over Peterborough. The Sussex side have been boosted by the news that skipper David Norris will have a practice on Friday with a view to returning the following night against Oxford. Barker said: ''I changed a bit of stuff on the engine, but I would like to be a bit more consistent out of the starts. We just need Dave back and we will be sorted.'' IPSWICH promoter John Louis was unable to offer any explanation for the Witches'' massive 64-29 defeat at Belle Vue on Monday night. Louis said: ''I must be honest, I just don''t know what to say. I would not accuse the boys of a lack of effort but Belle Vue were just to strong and were so fired up. ''It is not often I have come away from a meeting thinking the bonus point is not in our grasp, but quite honestly I can''t see any way we are going to pull this back.'' OXFORD chief Nigel Wagstaff insists he will focus on developing his own youngsters rather than dipping into the transfer market for high profile superstars. Wagstaff is keen to enhance riders like Niels Kristian Iversen, Renat Gafurov and Lubos Tomicek. He said: ''The development of the club is vital and I cannot see us getting involved in a
bidding war for riders like Matej Zagar.''
PETERBOROUGH star Ales Dryml missed the Panthers'' narrow defeat at Eastbourne after suffering bruising in a spectacular fall at the Czech Grand Prix. Dryml said: ''I hit something and was heading straight for the fence, but felt as though I had corrected myself - but then I clipped the fence and went down quite badly. ''I was annoyed to have crashed because that was my best race of the night. I went to hospital and they tell me I just have a lot of severe bruising.'' POOLE star Krzysztof Kasprzak was denied a maximum in the Pirates'' win over Wolverhampton by an engine failure in his last race. Kasprzak said: ''I had won four races on my new engine, which had cost me £2,500, then it packed up and we don''t know why. ''It was a great shame because I was going for a maximum and we were also trying to stretch our lead before we go to Wolves in the return.'' SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter is awaiting news on Robins skipper Leigh Adams, who suffered concussion in a second-ride crash at Coventry on Monday. Rossiter said: ''He hit his head and couldn''t remember what had happened, so we weren''t going to mess about with that. ''To only lose by six points was not a bad result for us in the end, but I was really pulling my hair out tonight!'' WOLVERHAMPTON bosses Chris Van Straaten and Peter Adams will make a decision on who to leave out of their team by Thursday. David Howe made his track return with five-points in the Championship of Great Britain Final at Oxford - six weeks after suffering a broken ankle. Adam Skornicki, signed as Howe''s temporary replacement, has been impressive. Van Straaten said: ''I''ll be talking to Peter and the riders before announcing any decision.''

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST.

BERWICK boss Peter Waite hailed his table-topping team after a spectacular 14-point win at Exeter took the Bandits three points clear in the Premier League. Waite said: ''This is one of Berwick Speedway''s finest moments, up there with the best of them over the last 38 years. To go away from Exeter with a 14-point win is mind-blowing, and the lads are buzzing!'' EDNIBURGH promoter John Campbell says the Monarchs will bounce back from a heavy home defeat at the hands of in-form Rye House. Campbell said: ''Had we had Ross Brady riding we might have been able to cope with them. Without him it was just impossible.'' EXETER manager Graeme Gordon paid tribute to opponents Workington as the Comets moved through to the Final of the Premier Trophy. Gordon said: ''It was always going to be hard after a poor performance at Workington and you can''t take it away from them, they rode slightly better than us over the two legs.'' GLASGOW co-promoter Alan Dick is pleased with the attitude of Trent Leverington, who has been re-called to the Tigers line-up following the Leon Madsen saga. Dick said: ''Trent was unlucky to make way because he was not doing much wrong. He can be assured he will be in the team for the rest of the season now.'' HULL are hoping that Garry Stead will be able to return to action in the near future having been sidelined with a back problem for the last couple of weeks. Vikings owner Paul Hodder said: ''I''ve been speaking to Garry on a daily basis and we''re certainly keeping our fingers crossed.'' ISLE OF WIGHT team manager David Croucher insists that the Islanders'' position at the bottom of the Premier League table is currenly a false one. Croucher said: ''We''ve only had three home league matches so far, so watch us shoot up the table in the coming weeks.'' KINGS LYNN manager Rob Lyon has bemoaned the Stars'' continuing bad luck with injuries with recent signing Matthew Wethers now out of action. Lyon said: ''The team was looking good for this month with Matthew moving to reserve and looking like being a real trump card for us, but we are now faced with having to use a guest while he is out.'' NEWCASTLE boss George English praised guest Trevor Harding after a comfortable win over Newport kept the Diamonds in the Premier League''s top six. English said: ''Franc, Grieves and Harding stood out above the rest, it was a brilliant night and I know the fans were thrilled by our guest tonight.'' NEWPORT promoter Tim Stone has issued a rallying call to his riders as they look to pull back an 18-point Knockout Cup deficit against Reading. Stone said: ''It''s a call to arms for the whole team because we need everyone to be on form on Sunday. Every rider needs to be at their best and work for their team-mates.'' READING found the continued absence of Danny Bird too big a handicap as they went down to a one-point home defeat by Edinburgh. Bird has been on the verge of a comeback for a number of weeks but has still to make his return from a broken leg sustained at the beginning of the season. RYE HOUSE manager John Sampford says the Rockets face a tough test in the Knockout Cup quarter-final - whichever team they face. Sampford said: ''Hull only lost by six points here in May, while Glasgow have the Premier Pairs Champions to lead them. We will need to be at our best to make it into the semi-finals.'' SEAN Wilson is ready to hand Sheffield a massive boost by declaring himself ready to return to action. Wilson, the inspirational Tigers skipper, is almost certain to make his return from a two-month absence through a shoulder injury when Tigers face Exeter at Owlerton on Thursday. He said: ''Having that crash was the last thing I needed and I just want to get out and race again.'' SOMERSET boss Mick Bell praised his riders after seeing them beat Edinburgh at home - but then saw them slip up away from home. He said: ''We couldn''t believe how easily we beat them, we have become unstoppable. I just wish we could get an away win, that would be nice.'' STOKE promoter Dave Tattum is calling on his riders to bounce back from the setback of a home defeat against Glasgow when they face Exeter this weekend. Tattum said: ''It''s a real chance to claim a bonus point and we will be expecting much better from the team.'' WORKINGTON are hoping for good news on skipper Carl Stonehewer. The former Grand Prix star has a broken cocyx - but the club are still hoping he will ride against Berwick this weekend. Boss Graham Drury said: ''He''s been told he will be out for about four weeks, but clearly he''s not happy with that and the same applies with me, so he is taking further medical advice.''

FIXTURE PICTURE.

WEDNESDAY JULY 13:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Arena Essex v Belle Vue 7.45, Poole v Swindon 7.30, Peterborough v Ipswich 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: King''s Lynn v Rye House 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Hull v Glasgow 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Wimbledon v Armadale 7.30 CONFERENCE TROPHY: Stoke v Scunthorpe 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 14:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Oxford v Ipswich 7.30, Swindon v Arena Essex 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Exeter 7.45

FRIDAY JULY 15:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Belle Vue 8pm
PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Somerset v King''s Lynn 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Weymouth v Newport 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 16:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Oxford 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Stoke v Exeter 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Berwick v Workington 7pm, Rye House v Hull or Glasgow 7pm CONFERENCE TROPHY: Armadale v Scunthorpe 2pm

SUNDAY JULY 17:
SHANE PARKER TESTIMONIAL: Glasgow 2pm
PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Workington v Berwick 7pm, Newport v Reading 2.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE PAIRS CHAMPIONSHIP: Wimbledon 4.30

MONDAY JULY 18:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Oxford 7.45, Ipswich v Swindon 7.30, Wolverhampton v Eastbourne 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Exeter v King''s Lynn 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Reading v Somerset 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 19:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Sheffield 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 20:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Arena Essex 7.30, Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.45 PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: King''s Lynn v Exeter 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Stoke v Wimbledon 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 21:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Oxford v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Eastbourne 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Hull 7.45

FRIDAY JULY 22:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Arena Essex v Poole 8pm, Coventry v Wolverhampton 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Somerset v Stoke 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Boston v Mildenhall 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Weymouth v Buxton 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 23:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Arena Essex 7.30, Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm, Workington v Isle of Wight 7pm VIC HARDING MEMORIAL TROPHY: Rye House 7pm ALAN MOGRIDGE TESTIMONIAL: Stoke 7.30

SUNDAY JULY 24:
PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Glasgow v Rye House 6pm
PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Isle of Wight 5.30, Newport v Reading 2.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton Wimbledon 3pm, Newport v Sittingbourne (follows PL meeting), Scunthorpe v Boston 3pm

MONDAY JULY 25:
SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Coventry 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Exeter v Glasgow 7.30, Reading v Rye House 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Oxford v Armadale 7.15 followed by Oxford v Newport

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