BRITISH SPEEDWAY JULY 24, 2026
(SPEEDWAY 1)
LIONS ACE THE ACES
LEICESTER came back from 12 points down to edge out leaders Belle Vue 46-44 in a thriller at the Hydrsocand Arena.
The ROWE Motor Oil Premiership’s top two fought right down to the wire with home No.1 Ryan Douglas splitting Brady Kurtz and Norick Blodorn in Heat 15 to seal victory for his side.
Douglas had earlier overtaken Kurtz on the run to the line in an epic Heat 13 as the Lions clawed themselves level having been adrift 9-21 after five races.
Kurtz (13+1) and Blodorn (13+2) combined for three 5-1s for the Aces, but Jason Doyle was withdrawn after a fall in Heat 6 which saw him aggravate rib injuries.
Douglas finished last in Heat 1 but then scored 14 from five rides to anchor the Leicester win.
Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition, and for the first five races we never had an answer, which is unusual for me to say as a team manager.
“I’m sure Belle Vue will be gutted that they never won, I would be, but for Leicester we were only getting two league points tonight and 46 was the perfect score.
“There was some really good racing again, and obviously the highlights show will be Dougy in Heat 13 passing someone of the stature of Brady, and that really built up Heat 14 for us.”
Aces manager Mark Lemon said: “The Premiership is a tough league, and as much as we wanted to win and we certainly tried, it’s not always going to be the case.
“Fair play to Leicester, they came back strong, and obviously we did miss Jason who took another blow to the ribs which left him feeling violently ill in the pits from the pain, which wasn’t nice and we wish him a speedy recovery.
“The rest of the guys stepped up, and Norick was very impressive. He got the rider of the night from BSN which was well deserved, Brady was class again, and the boys chipped away.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
SHEFFIELD came up with a solid team display as they beat champions Ipswich 51-39 at Owlerton on Thursday.
With no joy in securing guest cover at No.1 for injured star Jack Holder, each of his six Tigers team-mates contributed at least one paid victory each as they ended their run of three fixtures without a win.
Josh Pickering (12+1), Chris Holder (12) and Leon Flint (10+3) all ended the meeting in double figures, with Pickering continuing despite requiring treatment after a heavy tangle with Danny King in Heat 11 after the red lights had come on.
Richard Lawson top scored for the Witches with 10, and former Sheffield man Tobiasz Musielak collected 9+3 from six rides.
Tigers manager Simon Stead said: “I’m relieved to get a win on the board to be honest with you.
“We’ve been in a bit of a sticky patch since losing Jack (Holder) at No.1 so I felt like it’s been a long time coming to get another win.
“So I’m pleased we’ve got this one over the line because Ipswich are a strong opposition – we saw that when they put in a good performance at their place against us last week.
“But this was a gutsy performance from the lads and the commitment from them all really shone.”
Witches boss Paul Hurry said: “To be fair, it was a good effort from the boys. The score probably doesn’t reflect what happened on the night.
“At any point there, we could have brought it back. There were a couple of races where it just went against us. They all dug deep and gave it a good shot. Sheffield are really good around their place.
“Sometimes when you have R/R for your No.1 rider, everyone else in the team can take a ride, and Sheffield probably capitalised on that. Even with Jack in the team, he would have probably got double figures, so it would have been just as tough. Everyone tried and we all got there in the end – maybe just a little bit too late.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
SCUNTHORPE have the opportunity to move back to top spot in the Cab Direct Championship – when they face Redcar at the Eddie Wright Raceway tonight (Friday).
The Scorpions dropped a home point to Poole last week but they are still handily placed for the play-offs, and they will go back above Glasgow if they avoid defeat to the Bears.
There are three points available with Scunthorpe having won the reverse fixture 48-42, and Connor Mountain returns to a full strength home side.
The Bears are sixth in the table and urgently need more away wins to have a chance of breaking into the top four, and they travel with former Scorpions Jake Allen and Simon Lambert in their side.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “As far as we are concerned, 46 points is the target, we don’t need any more than that because 46 will guarantee a win and the aggregate point, but it will obviously be a lot less stressful if we can manage a few more than 46 and avoid the need for a last-heat decider!
“There’s added spice with the return of two old Scorpions favourites in Simon Lambert and Jake Allen, who will be in the away side of the pits.
“Both of them have given great service to our club over many years and know their way around the EWR, but hopefully they will be on the losing side on Friday evening.”
SCUNTHORPE: Josh Pickering, Connor Mountain, Dan Gilkes, Michael Palm Toft, Luke Harrison, Ryan Ingram, Nathan Ablitt.
REDCAR: Charles Wright, Simon Lambert, Jake Mulford, Jason Edwards, Jake Allen, Ace Pijper, Jody Scott.
(SPEEDWAY 4)
EDINBURGH and Plymouth meet in a key clash of Cab Direct Championship play-off contenders at Armadale tonight (Friday).
The Monarchs hold fourth position in the table, two points ahead of the Gladiators who have raced two more matches and therefore need success from a busy northern tour which sees them undertake three fixtures in three nights.
The home side operate rider replacement for Paco Castagna who is racing in the GP Challenge this weekend, whilst the visitors have declared a full strength team including both Danny King and Ben Barker.
Edinburgh manager Alex Harkess said: “Plymouth arrive with three very good heat leaders who would expect to match anyone – if they are all fit. Whether they can match Edinburgh at Armadale – that is something again.
“We are already ahead for the aggregate point so all we have to do is win the match. I’d like to think we’ll do that, and do that well.
“The reserves will be important as always – Mitch (Cluff) now believes he has a bike that goes, and Jordy (Loftus) for sure believes he knows his way round Armadale now.”
EDINBURGH: Dan Thompson, Paco Castagna R/R, Justin Sedgmen, Jonatan Grahn, Kye Thomson, Mitchell Cluff, Jordy Loftus.
PLYMOUTH: Danny King, Joe Thompson, Daniel Klima, Ben Barker, Scott Nicholls, Anze Grmek, Ben Whalley.
(SPEEDWAY 5)
OXFORD start a run of four successive home meetings when they take on Berwick at Cowley tonight (Friday).
The Cheetahs’ recent form on their own track has been encouraging and they will look to the upcoming fixtures to climb the table.
The Bandits are currently seventh but no team has raced fewer fixtures, and they face two matches in two days as they also host Plymouth tomorrow.
Anders Rowe misses out for the home side as he races in the GP Challenge at Terenzano on Saturday, and they will operate rider replacement to cover.
Oxford manager Peter Schroeck said: “When we looked at it, we felt rider replacement would work better than a guest, especially with six out of nine clubs in action on Friday. Everyone can take a ride, including our skipper Sam Masters.
“We’re using R/R at No 5, because when I looked at it, it meant we didn’t have to spilt up our pairings, plus it gives us a bit of flexibility.
“We know we just need to keep winning. We have done that for our last couple of home meetings, and with our next four meetings all at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium we intend on keeping that run going, while providing plenty of entertainment to the public.”
Bandits boss Stewart Dickson said: “We still have meetings in hand over our play-off rivals, but it is time to start collecting aggregate points.
“We have yet to really fire away from Shielfield Park, due in part to injuries which have stopped us fielding our best seven.
“Now we are together on track it is time to start putting points on the board.”
OXFORD: Sam Masters, Luke Killeen, Edward Kennett, Mitch McDiarmid, Anders Rowe R/R, Dayle Wood, Darryl Ritchings.
BERWICK: Peter Kildemand, Jye Etheridge, Victor Palovaara, Jordan Jenkins R/R, Nick Morris, Jack Smith, Reid Battye.
(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY JULY 24:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh (47) v Plymouth (43) 7.30, Oxford (37) v Berwick (53) 7.30, Scunthorpe (48) v Redcar (42) 7.30
SATURDAY JULY 25:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick (35) v Plymouth (55) 7pm, Workington (41) v Edinburgh (49) 6pm
SUNDAY JULY 26:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Redcar (56) v Plymouth (34) 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Buxton v Leicester 3pm
