SPEEDWAY WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP
05 July 2006 - British Speedway Promoters Association

ELITE LEAGUE LATEST...

ARENA-ESSEX''S chief sponsor Stuart Douglas insists he will continue to lend his backing to the Hammers despite the club''s current struggles.

Douglas said: ''An extraordinary sequence is mishaps hit us just as we were getting into our stride, but we can look forward to July with a little more optimism.

''There is still a huge potential to be unearthed at Arena, and I would like to be part of it. I''m confident the worst is over and I''m also looking forward to ''07.''

BELLE VUE boss Ian Thomas is backing Danish star Kenneth Bjerre to regain top form after serious injury last year - and believes his move to No.4 this month will help him to do so.

Thomas said: ''Bjerre''s average has dropped but he is not far away from getting his form right again on a regular basis.

''The move into the middle order of the team will be good form him as well, and it''s my gut feeling that this is our best line-up on the new avergaes.''

COVENTRY star Rory Schlein rose to the occasion by beating Aussie counterpart Leigh Adams in a vital last-heat decider against Swindon at Brandon.

Schlein said: ''I knew I wanted gate 4 for Heat 15, but when I heard Leigh was on gate 3 it made it twice as hard - but it worked out well because they were more worried about me than Scott Nicholls, and Scott nipped up the inside.

''We didn''t exactly plan it but we knew we needed a 3-3 and I had the confidence to get over the top of the Swindon riders.''

EASTBOURNE promoter Jon Cook knew that the hard work had been done in the first leg as the Eagles knocked Wolverhampton out of the Cup by a 27-point aggregate margin.
Cook said: ''It was a great all-round team peformance and I thought there may have been a couple of more points there for us in the way things shaped up.

''In terms of Eastbourne v Wolves meetings it was an unbelievable result to win by 17 points at home, and it is wonderful to look forward to a Cup semi-final in September.''
IPSWICH team manager Mike Smillie says that skipper Chris Louis could well be the Witches'' key man as the Suffolk club bid for a place in the play-offs.

Smillie said: ''Chris is firing on all cylinders now and he will have a big part to play in the second half of the season.

''He has now got his machinery right. When he was not gaining the scores we know he is capable of earlier in the year he was tinkering with his equipment.''

OXFORD promoter Aaron Lanney says he is still determined to make a success out of his time in charge at Cowley despite a trying first season in charge.

He said: ''I''m no quitter and I have absolutely no regrets about taking over the club. It''s been an amazing challenge - and still is - and I remain determined to make it work here.

''It''s a great club and the loyal supporters are wonderful, they have been behind me all the way. I just wish there were a few more of them!''

PETERBOROUGH boss Trevor Swales felt the Panthers had laid their Arena-Essex bogey to rest with their fifth away win of the season on Monday.

Swales said: ''I was delighted to get the win because we went to Arena in the Cup earlier in the season and had an absolute disaster, so we didn''t want that to happen again.
''We''re probably fortunate that Arena are suffering so badly with injuries and I do sympathise with Ronnie (Russell) because he really has been ravaged by them and we''ve had that problem before ourselves.''

POOLE manager Neil Middleditch knows that the Pirates are going to find it even harder to cover for the absence of Krzysztof Kasprzak who is still out with a broken collarbone.
Middleditch said: ''Krzysztof''s broken collarbone is taking much longer to heal than first thought.

''And we are further handicapped because Bjarne Pedersen will no longer be able to take one of the rider replacement rides to cover for Kasprzak''s absence. This is due to the new Green Sheet averages that came into force at the beginning of the month.''
READING boss Jim Lynch says all the ingredients are in place for the Bulldogs'' Cup clash with Poole to be a classic.

Lynch said: ''I would really like to do well in the KO Cup. It''s a great competition - it''s the speedway equivalent of the football FA Cup.

''We know what Poole can do on our track, so we will have to be on top of our game to get through this tie, but I''m confident that we can do it.''

SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter was relieved to see the Robins end their losing sequence with a hard-fought home win over Eastbourne.

Rossiter said: ''We still struggled a little and showed that our confidence is low but hopefully this win will have lifted the team.

''It was a relief to finally get a win even though it was not the best of performances from certain quarters, but I will settle for the points and we must keen on plodding away.''
WOLVERHAMPTON promoter Chris Van Straaten said his team had been unable to overcome several injury niggles as they went out of the Cup to Eastbourne.
Van Straaten commented: ''We had walking wounded in the second leg in particular, and I think it showed. You have to be right to beat Eastbourne, they are always a threat on this track and we weren''t good enough.

''We seem to have a habit of collapsing in this Cup competition, it was last year against Ipswich that we were a total disaster, so I don''t know what happens but it seems we''re not at our best in the Cup.''

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST...

TODD Wiltshire became the latest addition to the roll of honour at Berwick''s prestigious Bordernapolis event with a faultless performance at Shielfield Park last weekend.

The Bandits return to team action at Redcar on Thursday hoping that their injury problems can ease leading to an upturn in fortunes.

EDINBURGH boss John Campbell says the Monarchs must concentrate on reaching the Premier League play-offs after going out of the Knockout Cup at Newport.
Campbell said: ''We should have done better but we simply cannot ride the Newport track, we don''t have the riders to get round the place. But I believe we will finish in the top eight as we are a very good team at home.''

GLASGOW promoter Alan Dick says that the Tigers'' Knockout Cup semi-final against King''s Lynn later in the season will be a tie to savour.

Dick said: ''I think we''ll be in for two great matches. Most people will have King''s Lynn as favourites and rightly so, but our boys fancy their chances as we only lost by a point down there last season.''

THE Isle of Wight suffered a catalogue of injury and mechanical problems during a disastrous Northern tour that included heavy defeats at Sheffield and Workington.
Team manager Dave Croucher said: ''Conditions at Workington were were certainly tricky and we just didn''t get to grips with them. When Jason Doyle was ruled out through injury, the end of the match couldn''t come quick enough.''

KING''S LYNN promoter Jonathan Chapman is pleased with the line-up that the club have put together at short notice for Wednesday''s International Young Guns event.
Chapman said: ''''This meeting looks to be a real cracker. Our fans will love seeing Mark Jones in competitive action for the first time, especially up against such tough opposition.''

MILDENHALL promoter Mick Horton admits he is concerned about the club''s future at West Row due to problems with track preparation.

Horton said: ''The track at the moment is diabolical, it was the worst I have ever seen a track on Sunday and I was ashamed and embarrassed to be promoter with that surface.''

NEWCASTLE''S Manuel Hauzinger is heading to Vienna to see if his regular doctor can speed up his recovery from a knee injury that forced him out of last Thursday''s match at Redcar after just half a lap.

Hauzinger said: ''I want to apologise to the fans for having to drop out. I thought I could take all four rides but I felt my right knee pop at the first bend and there was no way I could continue.''

NEWPORT promoter Tim Stone wants to keep things as close as possible at Sheffield on Thursday in the first leg of the vital Knockout Cup quarter-final.

Stone said: ''We''ve got nothing to lose against Sheffield. We know we''re the underdogs, but if we can keep it as close as possible, who knows?''

REDCAR boss Brian Havelock was delighted to see his team notch their first-ever away point in the Premier League with a 45-45 draw at Mildenhall.

Havelock said: ''I''m over the moon. The temparature was 28 degrees and it was a dustbowl, but we coped well and to get a draw away when your star rider has an off-day was a great achievement.''

RYE HOUSE promoter Len Silver took on 1980 World Champion Michael Lee during a special handicap match race in last weekend''s Vic Harding Memorial Trophy at Hoddesdon.

Silver quipped: ''With all the injury problems we''ve been having this season, I was thinking of asking Michael to ride for us, but after beating him over two laps I''m thinking of putting myself in the team!''

SHEFFIELD star Ben Wilson is determined to put the heartbreak of crashing out of the World Under-21 Championship during practice for the semi-final behind him.
Wilson said: ''I have to be philosophical about it all and say that these things happen in speedway. I have to look at the Sheffield situation and hope we can win some silverware. I think we can, we''ve got loads to go for.''

SOMERSET boss Mick Bell believes that injured Rebels duo Jamie Smith and Paul Fry may well have to sit out the remainder of the season.

Bell said: ''It''s not what people want to hear, I know that, but at the same time I''m trying to be realistic and I just feel the injures the lads have suffered are too much.''
STOKE team manager John Adams took encouragement from a 13-point defeat at Newcastle in the Premier Trophy after a period of team inactivity.

Adams said: ''I thought we rode quite well considering most of the riders had not had a meeting in two weeks, and eight points from Paul Clews on his return from injury was a real bonus.''

WORKINGTON boss Graham Drury has received positive news on the fitness of his injured riders with Paul Thorp, Garry Stead and Ritchie Hawkins all expected to be in the team against Newcastle.

Drury said: ''It''s a real boost for us that all three can ride at the weekend, we seem to keep hitting injury problems time and time again, so let''s hope that''s the end of it.''

FIXTURE PICTURE...

WEDNESDAY JULY 5:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Oxford v Arena-Essex 7.30
ELITE LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Poole v Reading 7.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Stoke v Scunthorpe 7.30
INDIVIDUAL: International Young Guns, King''s Lynn 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 6:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30, Peterborough v Coventry 7.30, Swindon v Poole 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Mildenhall 7.30, Redcar v Berwick 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Sheffield v Newport 7.45

FRIDAY JULY 7:
ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP: Arena-Essex v Belle Vue 7.45pm, Coventry v Ipswich 8pm, Reading v Poole 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Rye House 7.30, Somerset v Mildenhall 7.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Plymouth v Mildenhall 7.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE KO CUP: Boston v Buxton 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 8:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Reading 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Rye House 7pm, Stoke v Redcar 7.30, Workington v Newcastle 7pm
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Rye House v Plymouth 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 9:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Rye House 4pm, Mildenhall v Isle of Wight 3.30
PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP: Newport v Sheffield 2.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE KO CUP: Buxton v Boston 3pm
BRITISH UNDER-15 CHAMPIONSHIP at Scunthorpe 3pm

MONDAY JULY 10:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Poole 8pm, Reading v Eastbourne 7.30, Wolverhampton v Swindon 7.30
ELITE LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP: Belle Vue v Arena-Essex 7.45
PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Edinburgh 7.30

TUESDAY JULY 11:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v King''s Lynn 7.30

WEDNESDAY JULY 12:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Arena-Essex v Swindon 7.45, Oxford v Wolverhampton 7.30, Poole v Belle Vue 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: King''s Lynn v Stoke 7.30

THURSDAY JULY 13:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Wolverhampton 7.30, Swindon v Peterborough 7.30
PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Newport 7.30, Sheffield v Newcastle 7.45

FRIDAY JULY 14:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Arena-Essex 8pm
PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30, Somerset v Rye House 7.30
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.30

SATURDAY JULY 15:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Stoke 7pm, Rye House v Edinburgh 7pm, Workington v Glasgow 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 16:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Edinburgh 3.30, Newport v King''s Lynn 2.30, Newcastle v Redcar 2pm
CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton v Stoke 3pm, Mildenhall v Plymouth (follows PL fixture), Newport v Boston (follows PL fixture), Scunthorpe v Rye House 3pm

MONDAY JULY 17:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Sheffield 7.30
INDIVIDUAL: Junior Challenge, Belle Vue 7.45

TUESDAY JULY 18:
PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Somerset 7.30

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