SPEEDWAY WEEKLY ROUND UP AND FIXTURES
25 April 2006 - British Speedway Promoters Association

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST...

ARENA-ESSEX boss Ronnie Russell said that his team''s performance at Belle Vue, where they lost by just two points despite being without the injured Andreas Jonsson, underlines the spirit in the club this season.

Russell said: ''We had a chat before the start and we all felt we could give a good account of ourselves. We were so near to causing an upset and we showed what we are about.

''We are a determined side and above all we have a superb team spirit. It was a first class performance and I am proud of my team.''

BELLE VUE skipper Jason Crump says that the Aces are now facing the acid test as they enter a busy spell of away matches having mainly raced at home so far this season.

Crump said: ''This is a difficult spell for us. Nothing is easy in the Elite League and while we have an unbeaten home record, Poole and Swindon are not easy places to go to.
''Our confidence is good but, even so, any points we get from those two matches are going to be a bonus.''

COVENTRY star Rory Schlein wants to improve his gating as he bids to up his scoring further following a solid return from serious injury last season.

Schlein said: ''I know my gating is poor at present and I''m working on it. I''ve identified a couple of problems in that area, so hopefully before too much longer an improvement can be seen.

''My start to the season has been steady rather than returning to the winning formula where I left off last year. It would be nice to find that shortly as I settle back into some constant racing.''

EASTBOURNE skipper Dean Barker says that the Eagles need to hold things together until they are over the worst of their injury problems.

Barker said: ''It''s a big blow to lose Adam Shields and with Nicki Pedersen being out this week and next, we have to try and pull ourselves together.

''I am pleased with what Lewis Bridger is doing, and I''m pleased David Norris has got himself back together. We are a good little unit.''

IPSWICH doubling-up reserve Carl Wilkinson scored paid nine for the Witches in their win against Poole and said the Elite League experience could only be of benefit to him.
Wilkinson said: ''I have told John Louis that any time he wants me in the Witches side and I am available I will be there.

''I want to reach the top in the sport and riding regularly in the Elite League will help me achieve this aim.''

OXFORD promoter Aaron Lanney has urged Cheetahs fans to give former World No.3 Todd Wiltshire time to re-adjust to the demands of the Elite League.

Lanney said: ''Todd will need time because he''s not been on a bike for so long. He was so shattered at Eastbourne, he pulled up in his last ride because he was so physically exhausted and I can fully understand that.

''But he''s a terrific rider and a great guy and we have great faith in him scoring some good points for the team once he is physically fitter and more used to the equipment.''
PETERBOROUGH manager Trevor Swales revealed that the Panthers'' sensational
away win at Reading had not come as a complete surprise to him.

Swales said: ''I don''t make public predictions for obvious reasons, but I had a sneaky suspicion we could get the win.

''And the boys made it happen by riding absolutely superbly. The Danish boys were tremendous and the team spirit was phenomenal. You''d have thought we''d won the World Cup judging by the way they were celebrating.''

POOLE boss Neil Middleditch regarded the Pirates'' defeat at below-strength Ipswich on Monday as a missed opportunity for his team.

Middleditch said: ''Before the meeting I felt we had a great chance because Protasiewicz was out and they couldn''t lose Mark Loram as a rider replacement.

''But I felt we just never had the firepower throughout the whole team and we missed a chance to get an away win.''

READING manager Jim Lynch was relieved to come away from a fiercely-contested local derby against Swindon with a narrow two-point win.

Lynch said: ''It was a tough one as Swindon pushed us all the way, but when you have Matej (Zagar) and captain marvel (Greg Hancock) in the last race, it always gives you a chance.

''Having said that I was really pleased with all the boys, and they all contributed to a hard-earned victory.''

SWINDON promoter Alun Rossiter says there should be no knee-jerk reaction to
a disappointing run of five straight defeats for the Robins.

Rossiter said: ''Until the last few matches everything was going well and then we have some bad results and all the criticism starts.

''It is frustrating listening to it and reading all the e-mails that have been coming in, but I have quickly learnt not to over-react. Now is the time to put the record straight - all the stuff has to stop.''

SKIPPER Peter Karlsson described Wolverhampton''s comeback against Eastbourne as ''amazing'' although he accepted that the home side had made hard work of their win.
Karlsson said: ''I admit it looked all over for us with four races to go but Pete Adams put me in for the tac-sub ride and it paid off and put us back in it.

''It just shows, you can never tell when a speedway meeting is over. It was really hard work, Eastbourne made us sweat and we should have had the match won before we did.''

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST...

BERWICK promoter Peter Waite is expecting big things from new signing Stanislaw Burza, who has been recruited in place of long-serving Adrian Rymel.

Waite said: ''He has a magnificent pedigree and was part of the Tarnow team that won the Polish Extraleague in 2003. I expect some spectacular speedway coming our way from him very soon indeed.''

EDINBURGH were left experiencing the highs and lows of the sport in the space of 24 hours as they won at Stoke on Saturday and then conceded 62 points at Newport on Sunday.

Promoter John Campbell said: ''After some good results for us, it was a complete disaster and it''s fair to say that the aggregate bonus point may prove a problem when Newport come to Armadale later in the year.''

GLASGOW know that their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals of the Premier Trophy could depend on their crucial local derby clash with Edinburgh this weekend.
Tigers manager Stewart Dickson said: ''This is a meeting that can''t come quickly enough as we have found some good form over the last couple of weeks. I would imagine that the atmosphere will be electric.''

ISLE OF WIGHT co-promoter Dave Pavitt has praised the form of Australian youngster Chris Holder, whose performances have been the bright spot in a difficult season so far for the Islanders.

Pavitt said: ''We are thrilled with the way Chris has quickly adapted to the rigours of the Premier League. Without doubt he is hugely talented and we all believe he has the ability to make it to the very top.''

KING''S LYNN co-promoter Jonathan Chapman has emphasised the significance of
this week''s Premier Trophy clashes with in-form Mildenhall.

Chapman said: ''We know that Mildenhall will be almost desperate to win but we are determined to stand our ground and we''ll be ready for anything that Mick Horton has planned.''

MILDENHALL skipper Shaun Tacey is relishing his visit to former club King''s Lynn this week, and hopes he can kick-start his season with a strong performance.

Tacey said: ''Local derbies are always are tense affairs, but we all know how much this means to not only me and James Brundle who both have ridden for Lynn in the past, but also to the rest of the team, management and Mildenhall fans.''

NEWCASTLE manager George English was delighted with the entertainment served up in the Diamonds'' local derby win over rivals Redcar.

English said: ''James Grieves'' races with Gary Havelock were superb speedway, and we feel it''s time to build on this. It sets us up well for a good one at Edinburgh on Friday.''
NEWPORT promoter Tim Stone says that now his team have proved their potential with a resounding win over Edinburgh, they need to perform to that level on a regular basis.
Stone said: ''As focused and determined as we were on Sunday, we will need to be exactly the same against Newcastle this week. The guys know they have to do it week-in, week-out and they now know that they can do it.''

REDCAR boss Brian Havelock says that the Bears'' results will improve as they gain more experience on their home circuit at the South Tees Motorsports Park.

Havelock said: ''We''ve kept it close enough to have a good crack at the bonus point when Newcastle visit us on Thursday week as we''re getting more and more used to our home track.''

RYE HOUSE manager John Sampford believes the race for top two places in the Southern section of the Premier Trophy could go right down to the wire.
Sampford said: ''The table is so close, and it looks like it will go down to bonus points and quite possibly race points.''

SHEFFIELD co-promoter Neil Machin has praised the achievement of Ricky Ashworth, who will make his debut in the Championship of Great Britain Final in June.

Machin said: ''We are delighted for Ricky. The lad is very determined and very committed to his racing, and it''s great to see him through to a major final for the first time in his career.''

SOMERSET boss Mick Bell is expecting a nerve-wracking match against Workington when the Rebels open their Premier League campaign this week.

Bell said: ''It will be a cracking meeting between two very evenly matched teams around our place. I think they will be challenging for major honours, and it could go down to a last heat decider.''

STOKE manager John Adams accepts that his team are not quite firing on all cylinders after weekend defeats at home to Edinburgh and away at Glasgow.

Adams said: ''Mark Lemon''s fall at Glasgow knocked the stuffing out of us a bit. To be fair it was our first away meeting of the season, though some of the lads are struggling.''
WORKINGTON boss Graham Drury has been pleased to see improvement in several areas of his team this season as the Comets look good for a place in the Premier Trophy semi-finals.

Drury said: ''When you put a team together at the start of the season you always try and have riders who can improve their starting average, most people within speedway know that''s the key to success.''

FIXTURE PICTURE...

TUESDAY APRIL 25:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Oxford 8pm
PREMIER TROPHY: Isle of Wight v Rye House 7.30

WEDNESDAY APRIL 26:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Oxford v Coventry 7.30, Poole v Belle Vue 7.30
PREMIER TROPHY: King''s Lynn v Mildenhall 7.30, Redcar v Berwick 7.30

THURSDAY APRIL 27:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Eastbourne 7.30, Swindon v Belle Vue 7.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Sheffield v Glasgow 7.45

FRIDAY APRIL 28:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Arena-Essex v Reading 8pm, Coventry v Oxford 8pm
PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Workington 7.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Edinburgh v Newcastle 7.30
CHALLENGE: Boston v Spalding 7.30
INDIVIDUAL: Plymouth 7.30

SATURDAY APRIL 29:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Swindon 7.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm, Stoke v Workington 7.30
CHALLENGE: Rye House v Somerset 7pm

SUNDAY APRIL 30:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Newport v Newcastle 2.30pm
PREMIER TROPHY: Glasgow v Edinburgh 4pm, Mildenhall v King''s Lynn 3.30pm
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton v Boston 3pm, Mildenhall v Stoke (follows PT fixture)

MONDAY MAY 1:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Belle Vue 2.30, Poole v Coventry 7.30, Wolverhampton v Reading 7.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Rye House v Newport 2pm, Newcastle v Sheffield 6.30pm, Workington v Stoke 7pm
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Rye House v Newport (follows PT fixture), Scunthorpe v Plymouth 3pm

TUESDAY MAY 2:
PREMIER TROPHY: Isle of Wight v Mildenhall 7.30

WEDNESDAY MAY 3:
ELITE SHIELD: Belle Vue v Coventry 7.45
BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: King''s Lynn 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 4:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Ipswich 7.30, Swindon v Oxford 7.45
PREMIER TROPHY: Redcar v Newcastle 7.30, Sheffield v Workington 7.45

FRIDAY MAY 5:
PREMIER TROPHY: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Sheffield 7.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Boston v Newport 7.30, Plymouth v Buxton 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 6:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Glasgow 7pm, Stoke v Newport 7.30, Workington v Rye House 7pm
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Rye House v Scunthorpe 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 7:
PREMIER TROPHY: Glasgow v Redcar 4pm, Newcastle v Berwick 6.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Workington 3.30, Newport v Stoke 2.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Newport v Stoke (Follows PL match), Scunthorpe v Buxton 3pm

MONDAY MAY 8:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Oxford 7.45, Eastbourne v Coventry 7.30, Reading v Arena-Essex 7.30, Wolverhampton v Ipswich 7.30

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