BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2025/05

Feature photo by: TAZ McDOUGALL… BERWICK raced to a last heat 5-1 to just get the better of Edinburgh 47-43 in a tight BSN Series battle on Saturday night at Shielfield Park.
The last race heroics saw the hosts’ bank their first points in the competition.

HERE’S the latest news and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.

MAJOR EVENT LATEST

THE line-up for the Attis Insurance Sports Division British Final will be known after Thursday’s semi-final at Leicester.
Six qualifying places are available to join the nine seeded riders and one wild card, Robert Lambert, in the title showdown in Manchester on Monday May 12.

Lambert will be seeking to end the recent domination of home favourite Dan Bewley, who has won the last three British Finals, whilst previous champions Chris Harris, Danny King, Charles Wright and Adam Ellis are all in the Final – with Craig Cook looking to go through from the semi.

BRITISH FINAL SEEDED RIDERS: Dan Bewley, Tom Brennan, Charles Wright, Danny King, Chris Harris, Steve Worrall, Adam Ellis, Anders Rowe. Kyle Howarth. Wild Card: Robert Lambert.

BRITISH SEMI-FINAL QUALIFYING RIDERS (Not in draw order): Lewis Kerr, Craig Cook, Connor Mountain, Dan Thompson, Drew Kemp, Jordan Jenkins, Leon Flint, Jason Edwards, Ben Barker, Simon Lambert, Joe Thompson, Alfie Bowtell, Dan Gilkes, Ashton Boughen, Nathan Ablitt, Danyon Hume.

BRITISH FINAL TICKETS: www.bellevue-speedway.com/events

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP LATEST

WITCHES IN DREAMLAND
IPSWICH’S 100 per cent start to the season continued with a big 60-30 home win over Birmingham with points flowing throughout the Witches’ side.
Manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “We have everybody contributing and scoring, that’s dreamland for us! No one has had any massive issues as well.

“Birmingham tonight had a lot of illness in their side and obviously missing Matej [Zagar] which weakened them, but we can only beat what’s in front of us.
“We’re delighted with how the season has gone so far and we’ll look ahead now to a big meeting on Bank Holiday Monday here against King’s Lynn.”

STARS HAVE THE BELIEF
KING’S Lynn star Richard Lawson praised the togetherness of the team after they struck top form with a 59-31 win over Oxford at the Adrian Flux Arena.
Lawson said: “We never stopped believing in ourselves, especially at home, and I think the track was a little gripper than normal which suited us.
“Once you make a good start and start winning races, the confidence flows. I expected Oxford to kick on mid-part, that’s what happened in the previous meeting, but we kept our end up and it feels good.”

LIONS ACHIEVE DESIRED RESULT
LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson made no secret of his desire for an away win at Birmingham on Monday – and was pleased to see his side deliver the goods with a 50-40 result.
Dickson said: “I did say beforehand without being disrespectful other clubs will target coming to Perry Barr to try and win, and I know the dogfight that we’re in for what we’re trying to achieve this season before it gets to the serious stuff.
“We just need to keep doing what we’re doing – we’re doing well at the moment, and points throughout the team is the pleasing thing.”

SPIRES ARE SOUL SEARCHING
OXFORD manager Peter Schroeck made his feelings abundantly clear after a 28-point reverse at King’s Lynn on Monday meaning the Spires have been beaten in all six of their Premiership matches this season.
Schroeck said: “I don’t like using the word often, but tonight I have to, because I was very disappointed. It was a tough one to take.
“Some serious soul-searching over the Spires is going to have to happen. We need to have a chat to see where we’re going with this team.”

BRUMMIES’ START GIVEAWAY
BIRMINGHAM boss Chris Adams rued a disastrous start to their home clash with Leicester which saw his side go 10-2 down in the opening two races, resulting in another loss at Perry Barr.
Adams said: “It was an awful start in those first two heats. We sort of managed to claw it back a little bit in the middle, but we just tailed off towards the end.
“But no excuses, Leicester are a really good team and they’re a very tough team to beat here, particularly with the riders they’ve got.”

NEW DYNAMIC FOR TIGERS

SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead feels the club have taken a sensible solution to the major problem of replacing long-term injury victim Tai Woffinden, with Justin Sedgmen and Lewis Kerr coming into the side and the unlucky Danyon Hume losing his place.
Stead said: “Our initial thought process was to try and find someone to directly replace Tai – but the 28 day period we were given meant time wasn’t on our side.

“Don’t get me wrong, we explored every realistic possible avenue on that front, but particularly at this stage of the season, there was just nobody suitable available to come and just slot straight in.
“So we’ve had to change the dynamics of our line-up but I think we’ve found a sensible solution and formed a new look to our team that still leaves us in a really strong position to challenge again this year.”

THE WEEK AHEAD…
BANK Holiday Monday is a big one in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership with ‘War of the Roses’ rivals Belle Vue and Sheffield meeting twice – firstly in Manchester at midday with the Owlerton return at 6.30pm… There’s also a May Day double between Oxford and Birmingham at 1pm and 7.30pm with both sides looking for their first points of the season… Fierce East Anglian rivals Ipswich and King’s Lynn clash at Foxhall with start-time 2.15pm.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP LATEST

TIGERS STUN MONARCHS IN BSN SERIES
GLASGOW boss Cami Brown was on cloud nine after seeing his Tigers snatch a dramatic win at Edinburgh courtesy of a last heat 5-1 from Kyle Howarth and maximum man Dan Thompson.
Brown said: “Dan has been sensational so far since signing for us. To come here and get a maximum is outstanding.
“Kyle was also consistent all night and showed his class in the last heat when it came to the crunch.
“I’m so happy for our army of fans on the third bend. They love winning at Armadale more than anywhere.

BEARS GETTING THE BALANCE
REDCAR boss Gavin Parr is pleased with how his side are shaping up, having shown their potential power with a big home win over Scunthorpe last week.
Parr said: “Everyone knows our team this term is built with three top class riders at the head but we also know that Jake (Mulford) and Jason (Edwards) are the right lads to back them up.
“Our reserves are going to have to learn quickly on the job this season, but we have confidence in them and look forward to their progress throughout the season.”

RIGHT MOVE FOR ROWE
POOLE star Anders Rowe says he’s delighted to have made the move to rejoin for his second spell with the club in 2025, as his strong start continued with a 13-point haul at Plymouth on Saturday.
Rowe said: “I am glad I made the move back to Poole. It was the right decision at the right time and I’m enjoying it.
“I was a bit annoyed with myself on Wednesday at Poole. Even though I only dropped two points I felt I was a bit slow and so today we were trying a new engine and it worked pretty well.”

ALLEN TARGETS AWAY UPTURN
SCUNTHORPE star Jake Allen top-scored in last Friday’s defeat at Redcar in BSN series, collecting 11 of the Scorpions’ 32 points on a tough night on Teesside.
Allen said: “Our home form has carried us for a number of years, and we do know we need to get better away from home. But it’s only early and most of our boys are only riding for Scunthorpe and that does make a difference.
“It might take us a couple more meetings for us to get into the swing of things. We win as a team and lose as a team. We’ve got a good team spirit and we’ll continue to help each other out.”

MONARCHS’ DOUBLE FRUSTRATION
EDINBURGH suffered a weekend of so near, yet so far, as they missed out in last heat deciders both at home to Glasgow on Friday and then at Berwick, also in the BSN Series, 24 hours later.
Manager Alex Harkess, reacting at Shielfield Park, said: “If it wasn’t for the fact that Justin Sedgmen was struggling badly with his injury on what is a demanding track, I’m sure we would have won this match. I felt we did extremely well in the circumstances.”

SMITH SWITCH FOR BANDITS
BERWICK have handed Jack Smith a 28-day deal to prove his worth with the Bandits as a replacement for Bastian Borke, who has found the going tough after coming back into the team after injury.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “Anyone who watched our first two meetings knows that despite his efforts Bastian is nowhere near fully fit, and it’s in his interests as much as ours to take a step back and concentrate on rehabilitation and further recovery.
“Jack was available and keen to come. He will hit the ground running and maybe have a point to prove to some clubs. We’re happy for him to do that in Berwick colours.”

CHEETAHS SHOW GOOD SPIRIT
OXFORD manager Peter Schroeck is pleased with the spirit in the Cheetahs’ camp, which was on show in the recent turnaround away victory at Plymouth.
Schroeck said: “That was a night when the luck seemed to be going against us in the early stages. But the lads didn’t let their heads go down, continued working at it and turned it around.
“Plymouth is not an easy track to ride and I was very impressed at how both Jonas (Knudsen) and Mitch (McDiarmid) adjusted to it on their first visit down there. It was a team effort, led by a captain’s performance from Sam (Masters).”

THE WEEK AHEAD…
IT’S a vital week of action ahead in the BSN Series with key matches in the Northern section as Redcar host Workington on Friday before the Comets open their home campaign against Scunthorpe on Saturday… Meanwhile in the Southern group Oxford host Plymouth on Wednesday, whilst the Northern group sees Edinburgh face Berwick on Friday before the Bandits move on to leaders Glasgow on Sunday… There’s also MAXiCab KO Cup action in Saturday with Berwick hosting Redcar.

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE/NATIONAL TROPHY LATEST

WINNING START FOR CHARGERS
OXFORD got off to a good start in the WSRA NDL with a 48-42 home win over Middlesbrough, with speedway returnee Darryl Ritchings hitting double figures.
Ritchings said: “I’m pretty delighted to score 10+2. It could have been even better, but it’s a learning curve.
“I enjoyed Heat 13, when I went around the outside of both of their riders to join Jody (Scott) for a 5-1. That one was rolling back the years.”

LINE-UP CONFIRMATION: PLYMOUTH CENTURIONS (NDT)

PLYMOUTH: Joe Thompson 10.29, Ben Trigger 8.71, Matt Marson 6.20, Kai Ward 3.58, Morgan Williams 3.00, Charlie Southwick 3.00, Ryan Ingram 3.00.

THE WEEK AHEAD
BIRMINGHAM have two away matches in the NDT this week as they look to avenge a home defeat to King’s Lynn when they visit the Adrian Flux Arena on Wednesday… The Bulls then travel to Leicester on Sunday to meet the Fox Cubs, seeking a double over the East Midlands side… The Steelers team race at Sheffield for the first time on Bank Holiday Monday, taking on Belle Vue following the senior clash between the Tigers and the Aces.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

TUESDAY APRIL 29:
BRITISH UNDER-21 QUALIFIER: Plymouth 7pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 30:
BSN SERIES: Oxford (48) v Plymouth (41) 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY: King’s Lynn (48) v Birmingham (41) 7.30

THURSDAY MAY 1:
BRITISH SEMI-FINAL: Leicester 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 2:
BSN SERIES: Edinburgh (43) v Berwick (47) 7.30, Redcar v Workington 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 3:
MAXICAB KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Berwick v Redcar 7pm
BSN SERIES: Workington v Scunthorpe 3pm

SUNDAY MAY 4:
BSN SERIES: Glasgow v Berwick 6pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY: Leicester (38) v Birmingham (51) 3pm

MONDAY MAY 5:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Belle Vue v Sheffield 12pm, Oxford v Birmingham 1pm, Ipswich v King’s Lynn 2.15, Birmingham v Oxford 7.30, Sheffield v Belle Vue 6.30

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Steelers v Belle Vue (at Sheffield) (follows Prem fixture) 

WEDNESDAY MAY 7:
BSN SERIES: Poole (45) v Oxford (45) 7.30

FRIDAY MAY 9:
MAXICAB KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Redcar v Berwick 7.30
BSN SERIES: Glasgow (46) v Edinburgh (44) 7.30, Scunthorpe v Workington 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 10:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth v Glasgow 7pm
BSN SERIES: Workington v Redcar 3pm
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Belle Vue 7pm

SUNDAY MAY 11:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY: Leicester v King’s Lynn 3pm

MONDAY MAY 12:
BRITISH FINAL: Belle Vue 7.30

WEDNESDAY MAY 14:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Poole v Scunthorpe 7.30