BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 30, 2024
(SPEEDWAY 1)
ACES’ NARROW WIN OVER BRUMMIES
BELLE Vue held on for their second away win of the season to boost their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-off push as they triumphed 46-44 at Birmingham.
The Aces raced into an eight-point lead at Perry Barr after just two races and held a 38-28 advantage with four heats remaining, before the Brummies fought back.
The home side reduced the deficit to four points heading into the last race, but Aces skipper Brady Kurtz crucially split Fredrik Lindgren and Tom Brennan to get the visitors over the line.
Kurtz was outstanding with 15+1 from six rides despite two heavy crashes in the initial stagings of Heat 1, whilst Norick Blodorn (9) won three races. Lindgren and Brennan both scored 10+1 for the Brummies.
Said Kurtz: “We definitely needed a win at Birmingham. It’s a tough place to come but we did have some expectations of ourselves to win but it was no easy feat.
“They have a pretty god team and they are strong at home, and we did miss Dan [Bewley] especially in the big races but it’s credit to the team that we pulled off the win.
“Everybody chipped in and gave a great performance so hopefully we can push on from here. We’ve got some big meetings coming up and we need to get dialled in for the play-offs.”
Brummies manager Sam Ermolenko said: “The Belle Vue riders were quicker out of the starts early on and they attacked the track.
“The track was wet, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the same for both teams.
“It took our riders a couple of track grades to start figuring it out and it’s just that consistency we need that they’ve been asking for for a while now.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
KING’S Lynn put in an impressive home performance to defeat defending ROWE Motor Oil Premiership champions Sheffield 51-39 at the Adrian Flux Arena.
The Tigers were unbeaten in their previous six league visits to Norfolk since rejoining the top-flight, but they never recovered from going ten points down inside the first five races.
Guest Richard Lawson led the way for the Stars with 12 points with Jan Kvech on 11+1 and skipper Niels-Kristian Iversen added 9+3. Chris Holder scored an impressive 13+1 for the Tigers.
Lynn boss Rob Lyon said: “It was nice to get a win tonight. We were able to get some good boys in, and both did a really good job for us.
“It shows that when we’ve got a full team, or nearly a full team, we’re a match for anyone around here, and that’s the frustrating part.
“They rode well as a team and we didn’t have any major weak links, we were solid all the way through. It’s a great result, and we push on to the next one.”
Sheffield manager Simon Stead said: “We were simply beaten by the better team, no excuses.
“With the exception of Chris, who was excellent, and to a lesser extent Dougy (Ryan Douglas), we struggled to find our stride.
“We have to accept that we weren’t good enough and that performance collectively was way below what we expect at Sheffield.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
WORKINGTON have announced the signing of Paul Starke in time for this weekend’s Cab Direct Championship clashes with Redcar.
The experienced Starke is set to come in at reserve for the Comets, who are looking to hold on to their place in the play-offs, with Celina Liebmann released from the side.
Promoter Andrew Bain said: “Bringing Paul in will definitely add an element of stability to our team which we haven’t had so far. He is an experienced campaigner with a wealth of knowledge of British tracks.
“He was released from Glasgow earlier in the season, but he was riding in a tough position in their middle order, whereas as for us he will be at reserve which we think is a massive coup where he will potentially be one of the strongest reserves in the league.
“Recent results haven’t been up to standard, and we have listened to the voices of our fans and know that a change was needed, and it needed to be done before the deadline.”
(FIXTURES)
WEDNESDAY JULY 31:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Poole (46) v Glasgow (44) 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 1:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (49) v King’s Lynn (41) 7.30, Oxford (37) v Birmingham (23) 7.30, Sheffield (37) v Leicester (53) 7.30
FRIDAY AUGUST 2:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Edinburgh 7.30, Redcar v Workington 7.30, Scunthorpe v Plymouth 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue (40) v Oxford (49) 7.30
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Belle Vue (prior to NDL fixture) (500cc/125cc support)
McFADDEN IS WA SPRINTCAR CHAMPION – AGAIN!