BRITISH SPEEDWAY AUGUST 15 2025

(SPEEDWAY 1)

WITCHES INCREASE PREMIERSHIP LEAD

IPSWICH extended their lead at the top of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership to five points with a 52-38 win over Belle Vue.
The Witches secured match and aggregate points against the Aces, with a mid-meeting burst of scoring taking them clear.
They raced to 5-1s in Heats 9 and 10 to go 12 points up before a Belle Vue fightback halved the gap, only for the home side to take maximum points in both Heats 13 and 15.

Emil Sayfutdinov delighted the home crowd by making his way past both Brady Kurtz and Dan Bewley on the opening lap of Heat 13 to team up with Jason Doyle, whilst Adam Ellis came from the back against Bewley in Heat 15 for another 5-1 advantage.
Doyle (12+2), Ellis (11+2) and Sayfutdinov (10+1) all scored strongly for the hosts, whilst Kurtz won three races for the Aces as he scored ten.
Witches manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “I’m delighted to get another win and three points, and at the moment that cements our place at the top, but we have got to race our other rivals yet in Sheffield and Leicester.
“We have got difficult meetings coming up, but we were really pleased to get the result. On the whole, the team showed the attitude and fight needed to get the job done.
“It was really solid from the top five and Adam’s last two meetings have shown how good he is at Foxhall which we know, so it is great to see that from him and he was backed up brilliantly by the others.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

SHEFFIELD confirmed their place in the top-flight play-offs for a fifth straight year with a 46-43 win in an eventful clash at Oxford.
Just as they did back in May, the Tigers fought back from a ten-point deficit at Cowley to claim the points as they mathematically secured their top four finish in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
They were 35-25 down after Heat 10 but a big turning point came in the next race when flying Spires reserve Peter Kildemand fell on the third bend with his team-mate Maciej Janowski having already retired, meaning the Tigers took a 5-0.

Skipper Josh Pickering and Leon Flint then cut the gap to one point with a 5-1 in Heat 12, and the Tigers moved one point ahead as they went into the decider where Pickering produced a great ride to pass Rohan Tungate.
Jack Holder led a solid-scoring Sheffield effort with 10+1 whilst Kildemand (14) and Tungate (11) top scored for the Spires, who saw Rising Star reserve Luke Killeen crash out in Heat 2 (wrist injury).

Tigers boss Simon Stead said: “I can’t remember a meeting where two gates have been so dominant like one and three were in this one and when you look through each of the heat results, you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.
“But that made Picko’s ride in Heat 15 even more special, and it was a great way to wrap things up.
“We didn’t have things all our own way tonight, but it was great to see everyone pulling in the same direction.”

Kildemand said: “When I saw we had a full team and there wasn’t rider replacement, I thought that it was going to be an easier night and that I was unlikely to take seven rides.
“But then Luke crashed out – I hope he’s going to be okay – and that meant a busy night for me.
“When I crashed and Maciej’s bike packed up, the 5-0 changed the momentum of the meeting. But that’s sport for you – sometimes you’re lucky and sometimes you’re unlucky.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

KING’S Lynn completed a quickfire double over bottom club Birmingham with a comfortable 53-37 win in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership at the Adrian Flux Arena.
The PSH Environmental Stars had been taken to a last-heat decider at Perry Barr 72 hours earlier, but back on home shale they had the points in the bag long before that stage.

The Brummies kept things close after seven races when they were just two points down, aided by mechanical failures for home duo Ben Cook and Chris Harris, but a run of Stars advantages followed as they stretched clear.
Richard Lawson (12) was only denied a maximum by a breakdown at the start of Heat 15, whilst Jan Kvech scored 11 from four rides. Keynan Rew (11) and Matej Zagar (10+1) reached double figures for the Brummies, but their only support came from a strong show from Rising Star Sam Hagon with 8+1.

Stars boss Rob Lyon said: “We were a little tentative in a few heats and we also had a bit of bad luck with Bomber’s (Harris) engine going, Richard on the line in Heat 15 and also Ben in Heat 2.
“That bad luck kept Birmingham in the match a little bit, but I always felt comfortable enough to win the meeting and it was a reasonably solid performance.
“We did what we needed to do, and it was good for the confidence. It was good for Ben to get some track time, and for Richard that’s just the way it goes – Heat 15 was a shame because he was spot-on tonight, but you can’t do anything about it unfortunately.”

Birmingham manager Chris Adams said: “We tried our best with a patched-up team, and it’s just a shame because we’ve been turning up to all these meetings and we’ve never had seven riders all firing on the same day.
“It’s always two or three here and two or three there, and you’re always going to find it hard when they’re not all firing.
“Sam really seems to like these bigger tracks. He thoroughly deserved Heat 15, he did his best in that and got the result with us getting a heat advantage.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

EDINBURGH head into their weekend double with Workington knowing they can cement their place in the Cab Direct Championship play-offs with two wins.
The sides meet at Armadale tonight (Friday) and then in Cumbria tomorrow, with the Monarchs currently third in the table and six points clear of their nearest challengers outside the top four.
The Comets are bottom but with matches in hand, so that position could change with strong results this weekend as they race three times in three days as they look to keep their hopes alive.

Both sides are at full strength with Victor Palovaara back from illness for the hosts, and Jonatan Grahn also returns after missing the MAXiCab KO Cup defeat at Glasgow, whilst reserve Vinnie Foord returns to the Comets line-up.
Monarchs star Justin Sedgmen said: “We can’t and won’t be taking anything for granted. Any team in this league is capable so you need to be at your best every time – previous results mean nothing.”

Comets boss James Denham said: “The lads showed real grit to get the win over Oxford last week, and we’ll need that same determination for this weekend’s triple-header.
“Every point is vital at this stage of the season, and we know we’ve got meetings in hand to make up ground — so the focus is on making them count.
“We’ve got riders in good form, we’re at full strength for the home and away clashes with Edinburgh, and there’s a real belief in the team we can.”

EDINBURGH: Victor Palovaara, Paco Castagna, Justin Sedgmen, Michael Palm Toft, Kye Thomson, Jonatan Grahn, Jordy Loftus.

WORKINGTON: Troy Batchelor, Fraser Bowes, Antti Vuolas, Jye Etheridge, Tate Zischke, Jacob Hook, Vinnie Foord.

(SPEEDWAY 5)

REDCAR skipper Charles Wright is urging his team to keep winning at home ahead of tonight’s (Friday) ECCO Arena clash with Plymouth.
A run of wins on their own track should see the fourth-placed Bears into the Cab Direct Championship play-offs, and this weekend’s schedule also sees a trip to the Coliseum for the reverse fixture tomorrow, with the Gladiators looking for maximum points to keep their outside hopes alive.

After a successful guest appearance at Oxford, Redcar again bring in Leon Flint to stand in for long-term illness victim Erik Riss, whilst the visitors track Tobias Thomsen as a guest for the injured Lasse Fredriksen
Wright said: “We just need to keep winning at home, that’s the most important thing. We could have got some more aggregate points with a full side, but we just need to get into the play-offs and anything can happen from there
“Plymouth are a solid side throughout, they beat Poole last Saturday so we will have to be on our A game to get the win.”

REDCAR: Charles Wright, Jody Scott, Jason Edwards, Leon Flint, Danny King, Jake Mulford, Ace Pijper.

PLYMOUTH: Nicolai Klindt, Tobias Thomsen, Ben Barker, Joe Thompson, Scott Nicholls, Alfie Bowtell, Tom Spencer.
 (FIXTURES)
 
FRIDAY AUGUST 15:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Workington 7.30, Redcar v Plymouth 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 16:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow (46) v Oxford (44) 7pm, Plymouth v Redcar 7pm, Workington v Edinburgh 6pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 17:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford (41) v Workington (49) 6pm