BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAY 14, 2026

(SPEEDWAY 1)

PIRATES MOVE CLOSER TO SEMI-FINALS

MAXiCAB Knockout Cup holders Poole took a big step towards the semi-finals with a 49-39 win in an incident-packed meeting at Oxford on Wednesday.
The Pirates’ 16-year-old reserves Will Cairns and Cooper Rushen both put in spectacular displays with Cairns scoring 14+1 from six rides despite suffering a wrist injury in a Heat 9 spill from which the home side’s Anders Rowe was disqualified.

Rushen scored 8+1 from five but was also involved in a multiple pile-up at the end of Heat 8 when leader Luke Killeen lifted off the final bend, the Oxford rider taking no further part in the meeting.

Cheetahs skipper Sam Masters scored 14 from five rides whilst Lewis Kerr also reached double figures for the Pirates with 10+1.

Poole boss Neil Middleditch said: “The track was changing with the weather conditions and we began well, but they came back at us equally as well, and the meeting could have gone either way at the mid-point.

“But we kept plugging away and there were some talking points for sure, but the referee quite sensibly and fairly took his time to review the footage each time before making his call, and you really can’t argue with that.

“We are not there yet but I am much happier stood here with a ten-point lead than a ten-point defeat. We will have to finish the job at Wimborne Road next Wednesday and take nothing for granted.”

Masters said: “We beat Poole well last time around here and Pirates were clearly better prepared this time.

“The weather made it very difficult to set up our bikes – the track was dry in my first ride in Heat 1 and then there was a hailstorm during my second ride in Heat 6!

“There was no lack of effort from the boys, but it simply wasn’t our night. We haven’t given up the tie yet, because there’s still 15 races to go at Poole next Wednesday.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

IPSWICH and Belle Vue clash at Foxhall tonight (Thursday) with the visitors defending a 100 per cent record in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership this season.
It’s also a repeat of last year’s play-off semi-final where the Witches raced to an emphatic aggregate victory courtesy of a big win at Foxhall, en route to taking the league title.

The aggregate point is at stake with the Aces holding a 12-point advantage after a 51-39 victory at the National Speedway Stadium last month.

Jordan Jenkins again replaces the suspended Philip Hellstrom-Bangs for the home side, whilst the visitors bring in Lewis Kerr to guest for the injured Peter Kildemand.

Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “It’s a new challenge and we’re heading to the home of the reigning champions, but we’ll head there with the same attitude and ambition that we did at King’s Lynn.

“You’ve got to have that mindset that you’re capable of winning. This team is capable of winning, so if we don’t then we kind of come away disappointed – but it’s also a two-legged aggregate, so the main thing is to get the aggregate point.
“We’re not going to win every aggregate point, we’re not going to win every meeting, but we’ll certainly be going there to give it our best.”

Meanwhile Ipswich’s Rising Star Jason Edwards says he wants to be part of a title-winning team from the off – having come in during mid-season for both Sheffield in 2023 and the Witches last year.
Edwards said: “It was brilliant to be part of winning the league and experience it – there are not many riders who can say they have.

“It’s a massive thing to have achieved, but it would be nice to do it from the start with Ipswich this year – that’s the plan.”

IPSWICH: Tom Brennan, Danny King, Richard Lawson, Scott Nicholls, Tobiasz Musielak, Jordan Jenkins, Jason Edwards.

BELLE VUE: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Lewis Kerr, Zach Cook, Dan Bewley, Tate Zischke, Will Cairns.

(FIXTURES)

THURSDAY MAY 14:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHP R1: Ipswich (39) v Belle Vue (51) 7.30, Leicester v King’s Lynn OFF, Sheffield v Northampton OFF

FRIDAY MAY 15:

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Oxford 7.30, Glasgow v Workington 7.30, Redcar (36) v Poole (54) 7.30, Scunthorpe v Berwick 7.30

SATURDAY MAY 16:

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Redcar 7pm, Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7pm, Workington v Oxford 6pm

MONDAY MAY 18:

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: King’s Lynn (40) v Ipswich (50) 7.30