BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 26, 2022
(SPEEDWAY 1)
WOLVERHAMPTON TURNS BACK KING’S LYNN CHALLENGE
WOLVERHAMPTON held off a strong King’s Lynn challenge to come through with a 49-41 victory at Monmore Green.
It was a significant result in the play-off race as Wolves are now 12 points clear of the Stars, who do have two matches in hand but left frustrated that they had not secured at least one league point.
A 5-1 from Wolves duo Drew Kemp and Ryan Douglas in Heat 14 suddenly extended the lead to eight points on the night, confirming match victory, before Sam Masters won the final race.
Said Masters: “It was important that we did that. Not only us getting the win, but them leaving with nothing is pretty big when you look at the table now.
“We always knew it was going to be tough without Nick (Morris – illness) but we worked hard as a team and I’m proud of the boys tonight.”
Masters (13+1) and Luke Becker led the way for the hosts, whilst guest Kyle Howarth impressed for the Stars on his old home track with 9+2.
Stars boss Alex Brady said: “At Heat 10 when we went for the final track grade we felt we were in a position to go and win it, so to come away without a single point is a bitter pill to swallow.
“Wolverhampton are masters of this circuit, but I feel that we didn’t perhaps learn as quickly as we should have done from a few of those rides.
“We were overshooting bend two too often and allowing their riders to come up the inside of us, which is disappointing because we spoke about the importance of that.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
BELLE Vue demolished Peterborough 63-27 to move back to within two points of Premiership leaders Ipswich.
The Aces started the meeting with three 5-1s and a 4-2, and ended it with four successive maximums to top the 60-point mark once again.
Tom Brennan (13+1), Max Fricke (11+1), Matej Zagar (10+4) and Charles Wright (10+1) were all in double figures for the rampant hosts, whilst Chris Harris reached 10+1 for the depleted Panthers.
Fricke said: “It’s great to see all the boys in such good form at the moment, and especially rewarding to see the likes of Tom and Norick (Blodorn) really stepping things up.
“Results like this are rare enough and don’t come around very often so we will make the most of this while we can because, come the play-offs, things will only get tougher.
“It is a shame for Peterborough, we know how it feels to struggle without riders but at the same time we have to captalise on their misfortune to pursue the result we wanted.”
Panthers boss Rob Lyon said: “It’s frustrating because we don’t have a full side, we haven’t had a full side for quite a while now, and we’re battling to try and get more points on the board with a full team, let alone half a team.
“The boys put the effort in, you can’t fault them for that, but it was a bit one-sided and Belle Vue are pretty dialled-in here now. It was a difficult night.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
OXFORD co-boss Peter Schroeck says the Cheetahs head to Plymouth tonight (Tuesday) targeting a victory in the Championship Jubilee League.
The Cowley side were edged out at Birmingham last week but can bring themselves back into contention with points at the Coliseum, where both sides are forced into changes.
Jack Thomas misses out for the Cheetahs due to swelling on his wrist, whilst Nathan Stoneman replaces Dillon Ruml who is on SON duty this week.
Schroeck said: “We ended last week with mixed emotions. The home win was fantastic, and the boys performed admirably on the road.
“But we knew a win (at Birmingham) was within our grasp and we just couldn’t get over the line. The Jubilee League is a ruthless format – one slip-up could seriously cost you when it comes to deciding the finalists.
“We’ve licked our wounds a bit from that result and moved on with a fresh mindset for this week’s double header against Plymouth. Plymouth have really held their own this season and the club’s home record speaks for itself.
“It’s a tight and technical track which can get some getting used to. But we saw at the weekend with the Chargers how riding with the correct mindset can help the team.”
The home side bring in Adam Roynon and James Wright to guest for Michael Palm Toft and Hans Andersen, with rider replacement in operation for Edward Kennett. Connor Coles is in at reserve for Harry McGurk who has joined the Gladiators’ mounting injury list.
(FIXTURES)
TUESDAY JULY 26:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Plymouth v Oxford 7pm
WEDNESDAY JULY 27:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Poole 7.30, Oxford v Plymouth 7.30
FRIDAY JULY 29:
CHAMPIONSHIP JUBILEE LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Poole v Birmingham 7.30, Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30
McFADDEN IS WA SPRINTCAR CHAMPION – AGAIN!