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SPEEDWAY WEEKLY ROUND-UP AND FIXTURES
20 June 2006 - British Speedway Promoters Association
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST... ARENA-ESSEX continue to suffer from an horrendous injury list with Mariusz Puszakowski joining the casualties after breaking his leg at Poole on Monday.
Puszakowski crashed in Heat 4 of the Hammers'' 66-24 defeat against the in-form Pirates and becomes the fourth Arena rider to currently be out of action.
The Pole joins Joonas Kylmakopri (collarbone), Henning Bager (shoulder) and Paul Hurry (ribs) as the Hammers face home and away clashes with Ipswich this week.
BELLE VUE youngster James Wright took the biggest scalp of his career so far when he overtook former World Champion Nicki Pedersen at the end of Heat 9 during the Aces'' win over Eastbourne.
Wright said: ''It''s always great to beat a Grand Prix rider. I was very surprised when he slowed down, maybe he thought he had the race won.''
''But I just kept going for four laps and managed to nick it on the line.''
COVENTRY star Rory Schlein hopes the Bees do not lose their recent momentum during a week in which they have no Elite League fixtures.
Schlein said: ''We''re getting on a bit of a roll now and starting to get that vibe of last year back, so the lads are all having a good time at the moment.
''The week''s break could hurt us, but some of the lads have commitments in Poland and Sweden and the rest of us will probably do some motocrossing to keep us fit, and it''s also a good time to look over the bikes and do some maintenance.''
EASTBOURNE star Adam Shields recorded a maximum against Arena-Essex just a week after making his Elite League comeback but admitted that his injured leg was still sore.
Shields said: ''It was fine when I was riding but for some strange reason I am sorer than I was three weeks ago.
''On the track I''m not giving it a thought, but walking in the pits I''m actually finding it difficult to get a comfortable position to stand in.''
IPSWICH skipper and rider/manager Chris Louis has explained the club''s decision to release Jan Jaros and sign German youngster Tobias Kroner in his place.
Louis said: ''Tobias is an up and coming young rider who we have been tracking for a while and we are confident that he will be able to do a good job for us.
''Jan has not regained the form he had following his Good Friday injury, and we felt in order to continue our play off push that a change at this time should be made - but he never let himself or the Witches down.''
OXFORD promoter Aaron Lanney believes the signing of Czech star Ales Dryml in place of Freddie Eriksson will give the Cheetahs a much more potent top-end spearhead.
Lanney said: ''The loan signing of Ales was too good an opportunity to miss, he will certainly bolster our side and will help ease some of the pressure off of our No.1 Todd Wiltshire.
''Freddie is an Oxford asset and I have assured him that he''s very much in my thinking in terms of the future, but he needs a bit of a break to sort out his machinery.''
PETERBOROUGH will use rider-replacement for broken shoulder victim Jesper B Jensen in the immediate future with team manager Trevor Swales feeling that the Dane is virtually irreplaceable.
Swales said: ''We understand that Jesper has had screws put into his shoulder, and whilst we don''t know exactly how long he''ll be out for it doeslook like it will be a long job.
''We would be very limited with a choice of replacements as our team total is so high that we can only replace him on a one-for-one basis, so we will continue using rider replacement for the time being.''
POOLE star Antonio Lindback was delighted to break the Wimborne Road track record as the Pirates put together a run of strong home performances.
Lindback said: ''I have always wanted to have a track record, especially on a British track, but I didn''t think I would take it here because it was a really fast time by Ryan Sullivan.
''But I made a good gate and I was just going for it. I was pulling all the way, but I didn''t know I was going that fast. It''s special to hold the Poole track record because I''ve never had one before.''
READING boss Jim Lynch praised the contribution of back-from-injury Charlie Gjedde, who scored 13 points in the Bulldogs'' comfortable local derby win over Swindon.
Gjedde ran a last in his first race but then reeled off four straight wins before losing out to Leigh Adams in Heat 15.
Lynch said: ''It was a great team performance against a very good Swindon team. All the lads played their part once again, but special praise must go to Charlie, who bounced back from last week''s injury in style.''
SWINDON promoter Alun Rossiter admits he is baffled by the current dip in form of several of his riders as the Robins'' away woes continued with a 22-point defeat at Reading.
Rossiter said: ''I just can''t put my finger on it. I don''t know why they are not performing - I can''t do any more, once they go out of the games they are on their own.
''There''s no magic formula, but we need to start finding some form. The fans deserve more and it''s time for the riders to stand up and be counted. These guys are world class and I know they can do it.''
WOLVERHAMPTON star Billy Hamill is confident that he can bounce back quickly from a below-par night against Peterborough in a meeting which saw Wolves surrender their unbeaten home record.
Hamill said: ''I wasn''t at the races, I admit that, but it''s the first real bad night I''ve had at Wolverhampton this season and I''m pretty sure I can put my finger on the reasons why.
''I''m hopeful that I can learn from it and eradicate the problems I had, and move on from that performance along with the rest of the guys.''
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST..
BERWICK promoter Peter Waite says that new signing James Birkinshaw has integrated well with the Bandits in his first appearances for the club.
Waite said: ''James has got that battling spirit we need, and there has been a real difference in the pits this week. I hope we have now turned the corner away from poor defeats and into good wins.''
EDINBURGH promoter John Campbell had no complaints about the attitude of his riders in an 18-point defeat at Workington, where the Monarchs were not helped by engine trouble.
Campbell said: ''The scoreline didn''t reflect the effort all the boys put in. Some of our riders had mechanical problems but overall I was pleased by our performance.''
GLASGOW co-promoter Stewart Dickson has been delighted with the improvement shown by Australian youngster Robert Ksiezak, who the Tigers signed from fierce rivals Edinburgh.
Dickson said: ''He''s settled in really well and is now beginning to put in some excellent performances, far better than we dared have hoped, and riding alongside Shane Parker has been a big benfit to him.''
THE Isle of Wight''s rising Aussie star Chris Holder broke the track record at the Smallbrook Stadium in the Islander''s win over Stoke last week.
Holder took a tenth of a second off the existing record to reduce it to 67.6 on the longest circuit in the country - 385 metres.
KING''S LYNN team manager Rob Lyon says the Stars will be going all-out to build up a good first-leg lead in their Knockout Cup quarter-final clash with Rye House this week.
Lyon said: ''We need a big lead because they usually perform extremely well at home. I would say a 20-point lead is the minimum we should be looking for.''
MILDENHALL are embracing the football World Cup in a full day of entertainment and on-track action at West Row on Sunday.
The club will be offering big-screen coverage of the afternoon''s football, which could involve England, in between a Conference League match against Scunthorpe and a Premier League Knockout Cup clash with Somerset.
NEWCASTLE boss George English was relieved that James Grieves picked himself up from a first-ride fall to anchor the Diamonds to victory over Rye House.
English said: ''When we needed a valiant performance to pull the win out of the bag, James did a captain''s performance. Overall it was another good Newcastle showing.''
NEWPORT chief Tim Stone says that veteran Neil Collins is not far off a return to action after being out since early May with a badly broken collarbone.
Stone said: ''Neil is due to see his doctor this weekend and we''ll then have a better indication on whether he can return, but if everything goes according to plan it won''t be long at all. ''
REDCAR feel that the aggregate bonus point against reigning Champions Rye House is not out of reach as they go into Thursday''s meeting at the South Tees Motorsport Park.
Co-promoter Gareth Rogers said: ''This will be another tough match against a set of young riders on their way up, but we will set our own team of rising stars the task of not only overcoming the champions but also winning by more than 14 points.''
RYE HOUSE star Steve Boxall says he is enjoying the responsibility of regularly taking extra rides for the Rockets, despite the strain it puts on his machinery.
Boxall said: ''When you are in a rush so much you are trying to get your clutch cool and it''s wearing the engines out. But if you are scoring the points, it makes up for it.''
SHEFFIELD promoter Neil Machin says that this week''s fixtures against Berwick and Edinburgh offer the Tigers a good chance of climbing back up the Premier League table.
Machin said: ''Our position in the league has slipped because we haven''t had any matches, but this is time to put it right. We will be looking to put plenty of points on the board.''
SOMERSET star Paul Fry insists that he wants to return to action this season despite undergoing surgery on a broken leg earlier this month.
Fry said: ''Once I''ve been back to the hospital in a couple of week''s time, I''ll have a clearer idea of how long I will be out for, but it''s my intention to be back before the end of the season.''
STOKE manager Nigel Crabtree was relieved to see the Potters live up to their potential as they defeated title hopefuls King''s Lynn at Loomer Road.
Crabtree said: ''It was superb entertainment and a just reward for sticking to our task. It was really good to see Alan Mogridge back to riding how he can and Trent Leverington also had a fine meeting. But everyone chipped in.''
WORKINGTON owner Tony Mole addressed the Comets fans prior to last weekend''s win over Edinburgh in a bid to improve the racenight atmosphere at Derwent Park.
Mole said: ''I''m told I hit the right note because there was a difference and the supporters certainly responded. I feel we have a good team and a chance of doing something this season, and I want the supporters to get behind us.'' FIXTURE PICTURE... WEDNESDAY JUNE 21:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Arena-Essex v Ipswich 7.45, Oxford v Reading 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: King''s Lynn v Rye House 7.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Stoke v Buxton 7.30 THURSDAY JUNE 22:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Arena-Essex 7.30, Peterborough v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Reading 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Rye House 7.30, Sheffield v Berwick 7.45
PREMIER TROPHY: Isle of Wight v Newport 7.30 FRIDAY JUNE 23:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Peterborough 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Sheffield 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Somerset v Mildenhall 7.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Workington v Redcar 7.45
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Boston v Buxton 7.30, Plymouth v Stoke 7.30 SATURDAY JUNE 24:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Sheffield 7pm
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Rye House v King''s Lynn 7pm
CONFERENCE LEAGUE FOURS: Stoke 6.30 SUNDAY JUNE 25:
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Glasgow v Newcastle 4pm, Mildenhall v Somerset 6pm
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton v Rye House 3pm, Mildenhall v Scunthorpe 12pm MONDAY JUNE 26:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Swindon 7.45, Reading v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Coventry 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Newcastle v Glasgow 7.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Mildenhall 7.30 TUESDAY JUNE 27:
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Newport v Edinburgh 7pm WEDNESDAY JUNE 28:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Arena-Essex v Eastbourne 7.45, Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.45, Oxford v Peterborough 7.30, Poole v Coventry 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Sheffield 7.30, King''s Lynn v Somerset 7.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Stoke v Newport 7.30 THURSDAY JUNE 29:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Peterborough v Ipswich 7.30, Swindon v Eastbourne 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Newport 7.15, Redcar v Newcastle 7.30, Sheffield v Isle of Wight 7.45 FRIDAY JUNE 30:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 8pm
PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Newport 7.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Boston v Scunthorpe 7.30, Plymouth v Rye House 7.30 SATURDAY JULY 1:
ELITE LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Eastbourne v Wolverhampton 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Stoke v Somerset 7.30, Workington v Isle of Wight 7pm
BORDERNAPOLIS: Berwick 7pm
VIC HARDING MEMORIAL: Rye House 7pm SUNDAY JULY 2:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Isle of Wight 4pm, Mildenhall v Redcar 3.30, Newport v Workington 2.30
PREMIER TROPHY: Newcastle v Stoke 6.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton v Plymouth 3pm
CONFERENCE LEAGUE KO CUP: Mildenhall v Rye House (follows PL fixture), Newport v Scunthorpe (follows PL fixture) MONDAY JULY 3:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Arena-Essex v Peterborough 7.30, Belle Vue v Poole 7.30
ELITE LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Wolverhampton v Eastbourne 7.30
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