BRITISH SPEEDWAY APRIL 11, 2026
(SPEEDWAY 1)
THOMPSON GIVES MONARCHS A DRAWN RESULT
FORMER Glasgow star Dan Thompson salvaged a draw for his new side Edinburgh as a dramatic Scottish derby ended 45-45 at Armadale on Friday.
The visitors had been eight points down with just four races remaining but they hit back to force a last-heat decider, and then held a match-winning 5-1 position through Kyle Howarth and Chris Harris.
However, Thompson made an audacious last-bend move to slice between the Tigers riders, passing Harris and finishing close to Howarth as they reached the line.
It meant the BSN Series points were shared with Thompson (11) and Justin Sedgmen (10) heading the scoring for the Monarchs, whilst Harris (13+1) and Howarth (13) led the way for Glasgow.
Thompson said: “I made a few starts early on, but not really in that last one. I span away from gate one, and when I saw Kyle come round the outside I knew it was going to be hard.
“I kept my head down for four laps and on that last turn I went in really slow so I could make a nice turn. I came off the kerb and nearly got Kyle as well.
“It was only our first meeting here and I know I can do a lot better than that.”
Glasgow boss Cami Brown said: “It’s never easy coming to Armadale and even harder for the first meeting of the season. But I’m absolutely delighted to get the draw.
“It looked like it was going to be a win, but Chris was pipped on the last corner by Dan. But it’s job done to get the point, that could be crucial.
“To be honest I was delighted with the battling qualities of the side. I feel Edinburgh are a very good side this year, especially at Armadale. They will be tough to beat.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
REDCAR were taken to a last-heat decider by Workington before pulling off a 48-42 win in the BSN Series at the Ecco Arena.
The Comets proved very competitive opponents in their first meeting of the season and the margin between the sides rarely went above four points.
Craig Cook won four of his first five rides, including a tactical substitute in Heat 14, to set up a decider with the visitors requiring a 5-1 to snatch a draw.
But Nicolai Klint raced to his third win of the night, taking the flag ahead of Jonas Jeppesen with Jake Allen passing Cook for third place.
Klindt, with 12 points, led the scoring for a solid Redcar side, whilst Cook scored 14 from six rides for the Comets and Jeppesen notched 12 from five. Reserve Vinnie Foord walked away from a heavy crash in Heat 12 when the Comets had looked set to level the scores.
(SPEEDWAY 3)
SCUNTHORPE gave their season a welcome boost with a 50-40 win over Poole in the MAXiCab KO Cup – although it was the Pirates who comfortably progressed on aggregate.
The Scorpions were in need of a positive result after two heavy defeats on the road, and despite trailing by four points on the night after Heat 10, they finished strongly with two 5-1s and three 4-2s.
The stand-out moment for the hosts was a superb Heat 12 win from 16-year-old Ryan Ingram, who led home Lewis Kerr for his first victory at senior level.
Josh Pickering top-scored with 12 points and Michael Palm Toft returned to form with 11+1, whilst Zach Cook led the way for the Pirates with 10+1 and Kerr picked up 9+1.
Ingram said: “It was a really good night for myself and the team. I was building in speed every race and it’s nice to get my first win. I can’t thank everyone enough for their continued support.”
Kerr said: “Personally, a decent night for me. I really enjoyed my win against Picko in Heat 10, but it was a bit disappointing we couldn’t see the result out in our favour in the end.
“I felt the track was very challenging tonight, but in the end we got the job done, and now it’s onwards and upwards to Oxford in the next round.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
PLYMOUTH host Oxford at the Coliseum tonight (Saturday) in the BSN Series with both teams looking to open their account in the southern section.
The Gladiators lost out to Poole home and away over Easter, whilst the Cheetahs are yet to race due to their Cowley clash with Plymouth being postponed last Wednesday.
The home side are without long-term injury victim Tobias Thomsen, whilst the visitors name a full-strength line-up.
Oxford boss Peter Schroeck said: “As I’ve said before, when you look across the various groups in the BSN Series, it doesn’t come any more competitive than the southern section, which features ourselves along with Poole and Plymouth.
“Plymouth have put together a very competitive side this season – but we’ve pulled off some decent results at the Coliseum in the past.”
PLYMOUTH: Danny King, Joe Thompson, TBC, Ben Barker, Scott Nicholls, Daniel Klima, Tom Spencer.
OXFORD: Sam Masters, Luke Killeen, Anders Rowe, Mitch McDiarmid, Erik Riss, Darryl Ritchings, Dayle Wood.
(SPEEDWAY 5)
GREAT Britain’s Ice racer Paul Cooper finished third in the Roelof Thijs Bokaal staged at Ice Rink Thialf, Heerenveen, Netherlands.
Cooper, who spent the majority of his speedway career with Sheffield, produced the best performance by a British rider in this competition in nearly 40 years.
In the old GP-style knockout format, Cooper won his first two rides, but fell in his third. He then managed two second places to qualify for the semi-finals.
In his semi, he passed former Ice Speedway Gladiators star Jimmy Hornell (Sweden) on lap two and held on to finish second by a spike’s width to reach the Final.
The Final had to be re-run when Finn Arttu Lehtinen fell, and in the re-run Cooper stalled on the start line, but he was still placed third overall.
The meeting was won by defending champion, Sebastian Reitsma of the Netherlands, who won by default when Sweden’s Melwin Björklin fell.
Cooper will line up as reserve in Final 3 of the Ice Speedway Gladiators on Saturday night.
1st Sebastian Reitsma (Netherlands), 2nd Melwin Björklin (Sweden) 3rd Paul Cooper (Great Britain).
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY APRIL 11:
BSN SERIES: Plymouth v Oxford 7pm
SUNDAY APRIL 12:
CHALLENGE 1st leg: Leicester v Buxton 3pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Glasgow 1pm
MONDAY APRIL 13:
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP (SOUTH): King’s Lynn (40) v Ipswich (50) 7.30
