BRITISH SPEEDWAY SEPTEMBER 30
Date: Thursday September 30, 2021
(SPEEDWAY 1)
BRITISH Under-19 Champion Drew Kemp has received a call-up to the third and final round of the FIM World Under-21 Final at Pardubice on Friday.
Kemp was on the reserve list for the series and gets his chance in the Czech Republic due to injury withdrawals in the main line-up.
GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “Once again this shows the dedication of our young British riders.
“Drew and his family were only notified about his inclusion on Wednesday afternoon for an event that takes place in the Czech Republic on Friday, but without a second thought he wanted to take this opportunity of competing against the best riders in the World on the biggest stage of a World Junior Final.”
Kemp will return in time for the second leg of Edinburgh’s Championship play-off quarter-final at Redcar on Sunday.
(SPEEDWAY 2)
POOLE are through to the Championship KO Cup Final after a strong finish to beat Leicester 55-35 at Wimborne Road.
The Pirates trailed by eight points going into the second leg and the aggregate scores were all level with four races remaining.
But guest reserve Zach Cook played a vital role with a tie-levelling 5-1 alongside Danny King in Heat 11, and in the next race he gained another paid win with Steve Worrall after the Lions’ Ryan Douglas had fallen.
Steve Worrall scored a 15-point maximum for the Pirates as they won by 12 points on aggregate, with Leicester skipper Kyle Howarth scoring 12+1.
Worrall pinpointed a superb ride by Benjamin Basso to pass Howarth and Zaine Kennedy in Heat 8 as a major turning point in the tie.
He said: “That was a key moment. It brought inspiration and fire into the team, and we were able to kick on from there and in the end we did it comfortably.
“But it was tense in the pits at times, and we all had to dig in to get us over the line, but this is a team sport and that is what it is all about.
Howarth said: “It’s disappointing to go out of the Cup but we gave it a good go. It looked like we could take it to the last race, but they were strong towards the end.
“Now we have to focus on Scunthorpe over two legs in the play-offs. We could yet potentially have six meetings to race this season and we want those extra meetings, but we want success for Leicester.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
EDINBURGH set up a KO Cup semi-final clash with rivals Glasgow after a comfortable aggregate victory over Birmingham in the last-eight stage.
The Monarchs travelled to Perry Barr with an 18-point lead and proceeded to win 50-40 on the night with Josh Pickering scoring a brilliant 15-point maximum, whilst Sam Masters collected the full 12 from four rides.
Chris Harris (9+2) and reserve Jack Thomas (8+3) were best for the Brummies, who now await news over whether new ownership can be secured to enable them to race on into 2022.
Edinburgh manager John Campbell said: “It was a great performance – even if we didn’t gate first, we rode harder into the first corner and that was where it was won.
“Having two riders score maximums makes it so much easier and they were superb.
“I felt the track was 100 times better than when we were down in the league two weeks ago, and that made it better for us and worse for them.”
Birmingham boss Laurence Rogers said: “It was a disappointing night for us, but congratulations to Edinburgh, they were hotter than us from the gate.
“We really missed Paco (Castagna), his character in the pits is also worth points, and I felt sorry for Dillon (Ruml) who got some hard rides but no points.
“Overall, I want to say our seven riders have been brilliant. They’ve been a joy to work with and team manage, and I’d like to thank them for their efforts.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
REDCAR have been hit by the news that Michael Palm Toft will miss Redcar’s play-off trip to Edinburgh on Friday.
The Dane crashed at Wolverhampton on Monday and suffered broken fingers, which will be allowed to heal without surgery.
Bears boss Jade Mudgway said: “Losing Tofty is a big blow ahead of the play-off quarter-finals, especially as he rode really well around Armadale in our first meeting of the season, but I still believe we are strong enough to come out on top over the two legs.
“With Tofty sitting fourth in the averages since the addition of Lewi (Kerr) to the team, we have no option but to run with rider replacement.
“As the new averages come into play on Friday this now means Jake Allen, James Sarjeant and our reserves can take Michael’s rides.”
FRIDAY OCTOBER 1:
CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF Q/F 1st leg: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30, Scunthorpe v Leicester 7.30
SATURDAY OCTOBER 2:
CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF Q/F 2nd leg: Leicester v Scunthorpe 7pm
SUNDAY OCTOBER 3:
CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF Q/F 2nd leg: Redcar v Edinburgh 6.30
McFADDEN IS WA SPRINTCAR CHAMPION – AGAIN!