BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY ROUND-UP
27 July 2004 - British Speedway Promoters Association

ARENA-ESSEX remain in play-off contention despite being hampered by several riders carrying injuries, with Josh Larsen ruled out until the middle of August.

It has been confirmed that Larsen broke seven bones in his foot in his crash at Coventry, and every member of the Hammers team with the exception of Greg Walasek has picked up a knock in the last month. BELLE VUE promoter John Perrin hopes that Jan Jaros can make a positive impact for the Aces after the Czech rider was recommended to the club by former rider Sam Tesar. Jaros is set to make his debut at Coventry on Thursday and Perrin said: ''Sam speaks very highly of Jan and believes he could do a job for us.'' COVENTRY joint-boss Peter Oakes has hinted that the arrival of Russian Sergey Darkin may not be the only change made to the Coventry team before the end of the season. Oakes said: ''We could see at least one other new face arrive. He''s an exciting young rider who got back in touch last week to express his interest in coming to Coventry. ''Colin Pratt and I are hoping we will be able to fit him in for at least a handful of meetings before the end of the year, which gives us a chance to assess if he has what it takes to make it.'' EASTBOURNE boss Jon Cook felt that World Champion Nicki Pedersen had been involved in the race of the season against Jason Crump at Arlington on Saturday. Cook said: ''I have never seen anything like Nicki Pedersen''s performance in Heat 13. That has to be the most determined race I have ever seen at Eastbourne. ''I have seen some fantastic races in my time and I may have seen better races involving all four riders but for one-on-one racing I cannot remember anything like that.'' IPSWICH star Chris Louis recorded his highest score since making his comeback this season when he was paid for 19 points in the Witches'' 5-point defeat at Wolverhampton. Included in Louis'' haul was a tactical ride victory which saw him fight his way through from the back for six points, and the former British Champion won three other races. OXFORD skipper Greg Hancock believes the club can look forward to a bright future - thanks to their exciting crop of youngsters. He said: ''Riders like Niels Kristian Iversen and Jonas Davidsson are going to be class riders for years to come. Our promoter, Nigel Wagstaff, has struck gold with them. PETERBOROUGH and Great Britain ace Lee Richardson made a successful return to the Elite League on Monday night after his groin injury. Richardson said: ''The injury is now coping a lot better, I had a cortisone injection last Thursday in Coventry and I saw a soft tissue specalist who gave me a scan and injected me. ''I think we''ve turned the corner at home and we''ve got to keep winning here for the rest of the season. If we can get some results on the road as well that would be fantastic.'' POOLE star Bjarne Pedersen scored a best-ever Elite League total of 14 against Peterborough - but was frustrated not to score a maximum. Pedersen said: ''I made my only bad start of the night in Heat 13 and after the race I was cursing a bit as I knew I had missed the chance of a maximum. ''I got very close to the maximum and felt very fast out there and I could pass people from behind.'' SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter can barely believe the run of postponements his club have suffered this season as a thunderstorm put paid to last week''s home match against Peterborough. Rossiter said: ''We now have the unenviable record of having had seven postponements here this season, while a further two meetings were abandoned on top. ''Fair play to the Peterborough lads; like us, they were willing to give it a go, but the weather just never gave any of us a chance.'' WOLVERHAMPTON promoter Chris Van Straaten has confirmed that he has made Ronnie Correy available for loan to other clubs. He said: ''Once it becamse obvious that his grading made it impossible to fit him into our plans we agreed to make him available.''

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST...

ADRIAN Rymel clocked up a total of eight race wins during Berwick''s double-header on Saturday night, helping the Bandits to a narrow Premier League success over Reading although they were subsequently knocked out of the Cup by Hull. EDINBURGH star Rory Schlein says there is room for improvement in his form despite his last-ditch qualification for the World Under-21 Final. Schlein said: ''I have been unhappy over the last three or four weeks with my form. I have not been consistent enough and I am getting angry about it.'' EXETER stand-in manager Tony Lethbridge feels a full-strength Falcons team can lift the Premier Trophy after next week''s two-legged Final against Reading. With Mark Lemon returning to the team, the Devon outfit eliminated Sheffield from the Knockout Cup with a resounding 62-29 win on Monday night. ERIC Carrillo scored a career-best 14 paid 15 for Glasgow against Reading at the weekend, although it was not enough for the Tigers to take the aggregate bonus point. The Scottish club are awaiting a specialist''s report on recent signing Lee Dicken''s knee ligament injury. HULL skipper Paul Thorp says that team spirit is playing a vital part in the Vikings'' outstanding run of success so far this season. Thorp said: ''The atmosphere among all seven riders is the best it''s ever been. No one''s talking about what''s going to happen and about winning races, everyone''s just going out and doing it.'' THE Isle of Wight have rapidly moved off the bottom of the Premier League with two wins in their last three matches, including an away success at Newcastle. Further good news for the Islanders is that French star Sebastian Tresarrieu is now making a good recovery from a broken wrist and was almost in a position to return last weekend. KING''S LYNN promoter Keith Chapman is looking forward to his team testing themselves against the top teams - and feels their impressive home form will stand them in good stead. Chapman said: ''The crowd has crept up and the atmosphere is good. I want to see whathappens when the big guns like Hull arrive. We''re so confident at home and I hope it will rub off away one day.'' NEWCASTLE are again considering their options for team changes after going down to their third Premier League home defeat of the season against the Isle of Wight. Manager George English said: ''I can only tell the fans that we as a promotion are still from happy or satisfied and are actively looking to make further changes to the team as soon as possible.'' NEWPORT skipper Craig Watson feels the Wasps should see the full benefit of new signing Kristian Lund in 2005. Watson said: ''I think we are looking at him for next year so this year is a chance for him to settle into the team and his surroundings, and hopefully he will be up for it next season.'' READING squeezed through their Premier League clash against Newport with a win despite being without Danny Bird, Phil Morris and Chris Schramm, who all picked up injuries in Sunday''s narrow defeat at Glasgow. RYE HOUSE reserve Steve Boxall found the going hard in the semi final of the World Under-21 Championship, managing just two points from his five rides, but in his first season in the competition his progression to the semi final itself was a big success. Now the 16-year-old will return to the Rockets line up against the Isle of Wight in a tough Knockout Cup second leg on Saturday as Rye House try to claw back a 23-point deficit. SHEFFIELD have booked Owlerton specialist Simon Stead as a guest replacement for injured skipper Sean Wilson in their Premier League clash with Reading on Thursday. Promoter Neil Machin said: ''After going out of the Knockout Cup on Monday we really need to hit back with a good performance.'' SOMERSET star John Jorgensen hit out at Aussie Craig Watson after the pair clashed in the Rebels'' win over Sheffield. He said: ''Craig was very hard on me in one race. I''ve been riding for many years and never done anything like that to a rider, but I guess that''s speedway.'' STOKE reserve Rob Grant has tried to make use of the experience in the Potters team to improve his form. Grant said: ''I asked Alan Mogridge to try my bike to see if he could find anything wrong with it. It seems to be all right but I feel I am letting the team down a bit.'' WORKINGTON boss Ian Thomas believes the month of August will be make-or-break for his club''s Premier League title chances. He said: ''We have five away meetings and we need to pick up points from them, that''s how important it is.''

FIXTURE PICTURE...

TUESDAY JULY 27:

PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Stoke 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 28:

SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Coventry 7.30, Arena Essex v Swindon 7.45

PREMIER CHASE: King''s Lynn 7.30

CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Stoke v Buxton 7.30

CONFERENCE TROPHY: Wimbledon v King''s Lynn 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 29:

SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Belle Vue 7.45, Ipswich v Wolverhampton 7.30, Swindon v Peterborough 7.30

PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Reading 7.45

FRIDAY JULY 30:

SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Oxford v Peterborough 7.30

PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Exeter 7.30

SCOTTISH OPEN: Edinburgh 7.30

CONFERENCE TROPHY: Weymouth v Coventry 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 31:

PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Stoke v Somerset 7.30, Workington v Newcastle 7pm, Hull v King''s Lynn 7.30

PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Rye House v Isle of Wight 7pm

SCOTTISH JUNIOR CUP: Armadale v Ashfield 2pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 1:

PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Hull 6pm, Newcastle v Berwick 5.30, Newport v Isle of Wight 4pm

PREMIER TROPHY FINAL: Reading v Exeter 6.30

CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Carmarthen v Swindon 3.15, Mildenhall v Armadale 4pm, Buxton v Stoke 3pm

MONDAY AUGUST 2:

WORLD CUP EVENT ONE: Sweden v Great Britain v Poland v Hungary (at
Eastbourne) 7.15

PREMIER TROPHY FINAL: Exeter v Reading 7.30

CONFERENCE TROPHY: Coventry v Buxton 7.45, Sheffield v Mildenhall 7.45

TUESDAY AUGUST 3:

WORLD CUP EVENT TWO: Australia v Denmark v Czech Republic v Italy (at
Eastbourne) 7.15

PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Edinburgh 7.30

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 4:

SKYBET ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Peterborough 7pm

PREMIER LEAGUE: Hull v Rye House 7.30, King''s Lynn v Edinburgh 7.30

CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Wimbledon v Boston 7.30, Stoke v Weymouth 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 5:

WORLD CUP RACE-OFF (at Poole) 7.15

PREMIER LEAGUE: Sheffield v Stoke 7.45

CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Swindon v Boston 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 6:

PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Reading 7pm, Edinburgh v Somerset 7.30

CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Oxford v Armadale 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 7:

WORLD CUP FINAL (at Poole) 7.15

PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Somerset 7pm, Workington v Edinburgh 7pm, Stoke v Sheffield 7.30

CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Rye House v Mildenhall 7pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 8:

PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Rye House 5.30, Sheffield v Hull 6pm, Glasgow v Somerset 6pm, Newport v Reading 2.30

CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton v Swindon 3pm, Carmarthen v Armadale 3.15

CONFERENCE LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Mildenhall v King''s Lynn 4pm

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