BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 22, 2025
(SPEEDWAY 1)
LIONS HEADING TOWARD PLAY-OFFS
LEICESTER took another step towards the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-offs with a 48-42 win over Sheffield in Monday’s televised clash.
The meeting went ahead despite a huge thunderstorm over Beaumont Park in late afternoon, and after additional work on the start-line the two teams served up a competitive spectacle.
Lions skipper Max Fricke overcame a strong challenge from Jack Holder to combine with Sam Masters for a crucial 5-1 in Heat 13, and former Tigers captain Kyle Howarth secured the victory against his former club by heading Josh Pickering in the next race.
Fricke kept up his sensational run of form with 16+1 from six rides and Masters collected 13+1, whilst Holder (10+1) and Pickering (10) led the way for the visitors.
Leicester manager Stewart Dickson said: “You do get those conditions with natural watering, but if anyone had seen the track at 4.30pm they wouldn’t have believed how it turned out.
“I’m glad we got the meeting on, you’re always glad when you win! The track rode very well, and we’ll live and learn by what happened at the starts, but the rest of the track was really good.
“We got the win by six points and considering that several riders weren’t on top of their game it’s a good result, and we also have to admit that Sheffield were a lot better than they were on their last two visits.”
Tigers boss Simon Stead said: “It was a much stronger team performance than we’d shown on our last couple of visits.
“When you look down the scorechart you can see that throughout, and that’s why we reached 40+ points this time around.
“Of course we didn’t get a win, but it’s certainly another step in the right direction.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
OXFORD Spires kept up their remarkable run of results against Birmingham this season with a 47-43 win at Perry Barr on Monday.
All four of the Spires’ victories in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership in 2025 have come against the Brummies, and their latest success was a big boost towards avoiding the wooden spoon.
Skipper Maciej Janowski secured the win by winning Heat 15 ahead of Tobiasz Musielak and Keynan Rew, with the Oxford No.1 dropping just one point during the meeting to finish on 14 points.
Rohan Tungate added 8+2 in a solid team performance which also featured two wins for Jason Edwards, who was guesting against his former club. Musielak top-scored for the Brummies with 11+2.
Spires manager Peter Schroeck said: “We do enjoy coming here. The track was brilliant tonight for us, and the boys all knew what it was all about, but it was a really good battle.
“Birmingham kept coming back and kept it close, so it was another good speedway meeting and we’re really pleased overall.
“We all love Maciej when he’s like this. When everything is going right he’s still one of the best in the world. Our aim is to have a good run to the end of the season and keep our fans happy.”
Birmingham boss Chris Adams said: “I really thought we were finally going to get one over on them, but they’ve become a bit of a bogey team.
“I think their reserves were a lot stronger, they had ten race winners and we only had five, so there are lots of little things which contributed through the night.
“We kept it close, it was an exciting meeting for the fans but unfortunately, it just didn’t go our way in the end.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
POOLE promoter Danny Ford has issued a chilling warning to the rest of the Cab Direct Championship – the league leaders can still get better!
Pirates are in contention to defend all three items of major team silverware that they won in 2024, and their victory at Scunthorpe last Friday took them nine points clear at the top of the table.
Ford said: “It is the consistency that we are looking for. We have been showing signs in every meeting so far, but we have yet to all click together.
“When that comes then our opponents will have to be something very special to live with us.
“We are in the middle of a good schedule of fixtures right now, and that provides us the opportunity to find some momentum.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck says former skipper Scott Nicholls will receive a warm welcome back at Cowley on Wednesday when he appears in the colours of his new club Plymouth.
Schroeck has confirmed Cheetahs were not willing to rip up their play-off chasing side where multiple changes would have been required to accommodate Nicholls, who has been out with a serious shoulder injury since last October.
But he did slot in for the Gladiators as part of a double switch after the injury to Daniel Klima, and he combined with Nicolai Klindt for three 5-1s on his Cab Direct Championship comeback at Edinburgh last Friday.
Schroeck said: “We looked whether we could have fitted Scott back into the Cheetahs’ side, but it would have meant taking at least three riders out of the team to accommodate him.
“There’s going to be a lot of focus on his return to the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium on Wednesday, and it’s also bound to create a lot of media interest. That’s only right for a rider of his calibre – as a record-breaking seven-time British Champion and former Grand Prix star.
“Heat 1 on Wednesday will see Scott go head-to-head with Sam Masters, and that will excite a lot of people. Scott deserves a packed-out crowd to see him back at Cowley.”
(FIXTURES)
WEDNESDAY JULY 23:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Plymouth 7.30, Poole (39) v Workington (51) 7.30
THURSDAY JULY 24:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (49) v Birmingham (41) 7.30
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Sheffield (34) v Leicester (56) 7.30
FRIDAY JULY 25:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow v Berwick 7.30, Redcar (39) v Poole (51) 7.30, Scunthorpe v Edinburgh 7pm
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Steelers v Edinburgh (follows Champ fixture)
