BRITISH SPEEDWAY MAY 17, 2025
(SPEEDWAY 1)
TIGERS CLAW THEIR WAY TO VICTORY
GLASGOW fought back from six points down to pull off a dramatic Super Heat victory in a Cab Direct Championship thriller at Scunthorpe on Friday.
The Tigers trailed 36-30 with four races remaining but Dan Thompson and Kyle Howarth were their heroes in the closing stages.
The duo combined for a 5-1 in Heat 12 with Howarth taking a tactical substitute ride, and Thompson then overtook both Steve Worrall and Connor Mountain in Heat 15 with Howarth passing Worrall for a 4-2 to make it 45-45.
The Scorpions again had a winning position in the Super Heat but with Howarth in front Thompson made it past Mountain and Declan Kennedy to secure the victory.
Howarth scored 14+1 from six rides with Thompson collecting a superb 14 from five, whilst Mountain top-scored for the home side on 11+1.
Glasgow boss Cami Brown said: “That was a sensational performance from Kyle and Dan.
“Dan showed a lot of aggression in his riding which I’ve not really seen from him up to this point. He didn’t know when he was beaten, he was tenacious and just superb.
“Kyle has just come back from injury and he’s been really poorly recently as well. I thought he was immense tonight.
“Make no mistake, this is a really tough place to come. We had some boys off colour but still managed to get the result.”
*GLASGOW have been drawn to face Redcar in the semi-finals of the BSN Series.
(SPEEDWAY 2)
POOLE picked up a 48-42 win at Edinburgh at the start of their mini-Northern tour in the Cab Direct Championship – despite another stunning show from home reserve Victor Palovaara.
Richard Lawson and Anders Rowe were the Pirates’ heroes with a 5-1 in Heat 15 as the Pirates edged a close contest which had the Monarchs cursing their misfortune.
The home side saw Kye Thomson suffer mechanical trouble when on a 5-1 in Heat 1, and Oskar Polis pulled out of Heat 7 when set for a maximum with Palovaara, the Pole subsequently being withdrawn with a wrist injury.
Palovaara kept the Monarchs in contention with a brilliant 19 from seven rides, but he had completed his outings before Lawson (13) and Rowe (11+1) clinched the visitors’ victory in Heat 15.
Pirates manager Gary Havelock said: “I’m over the moon. It was a fabulous performance especially when they have a free-flowing reserve like they have. It’s always difficult when you have a strong reserve.
“Don’t get me wrong, I think we got at least three or four slices of luck tonight which you don’t normally get all in one meeting, but I will take that every day of the week, and I know that we will have equal measures of bad luck to cancel that out over the season.”
Monarchs boss Alex Harkess said: “The way things have gone tonight sums up our season really. I think we threw away at least eight points. I think there were four races in which we were on a 5-1 and blew it ourselves.
“We gated better than we have, we fought hard, but either through some bad luck or mistakes we could not finish the job. Ultimately it was disappointing.”
*BSN Series holders Poole will again face Oxford in the semi-finals, after both teams made it through the Southern group.
(SPEEDWAY 3)
BERWICK have switched riding order for a vital home clash with champions Poole in the Cab Direct Championship tonight (Saturday).
An early-season loss to the Pirates in 2024 derailed the Bandits campaign and they are keen to avoid a repeat this time around.
Sam Hagon and Danyon Hume, who are both former Poole riders, swap places in the line-up, whilst the Pirates include Lewis Kerr who was Berwick No.1 last season.
Bandits boss Stewart Dickson said: “We just haven’t all clicked on the same night yet and switching the riding order is an attempt to just find the right pairings.
“Obviously, we only have the league to fight for now and it is important that we don’t drop points at home if we are to reach the play-offs.
“Poole are a tough team to open again, they swept the board with trophies last season, but on our day we are capable of beating anyone.
“They have good riders but if we all do our job that will be enough to get the points on the board.”
BERWICK: Craig Cook, Sam Hagon, Drew Kemp, Danyon Hume, Peter Kildemand, Dayle Wood, Jack Smith.
POOLE: Richard Lawson, Tobias Thomsen, Anders Rowe, Zach Cook, Lewis Kerr, Paul Starke, Darryl Ritchings.
(SPEEDWAY 4)
PLYMOUTH and Edinburgh look to get off the mark in the Cab Direct Championship when they clash at the Coliseum tonight (Saturday).
The Gladiators lost their opener at home to Glasgow last week whilst the Monarchs make the long trip south having been beaten by Poole at Armadale.
Plymouth are set to return to full strength with Lasse Fredriksen back at reserve, whilst Edinburgh hand a second-tier debut to 16-year-old Sonny Springer as a replacement for Max James. The Monarchs also had Oskar Polis withdrawn from their home match on Friday.
PLYMOUTH: Nicolai Klindt, Alfie Bowtell, Mitchell Cluff, Joe Thompson, Ben Barker, Lasse Fredriksen, Ben Trigger.
EDINBURGH: Justin Sedgmen, Kye Thomson, Jonatan Grahn, Paco Castagna, Oskar Polis, Victor Palovaara, Sonny Springer.
(SPEEDWAY 5)
LEICESTER have moved to sign Joe Thompson to take their Rising Star berth on an initial 28-day deal.
Thompson, who guested for the Lions in their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership win over King’s Lynn on Thursday, is back for a second spell in the position and he comes in for Dan Gilkes who is sidelined with a knee injury.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “We don’t know exactly how long Dan is going to be out for but he sent me the details from his scan and we then saw him at the track on Thursday, and it’s obviously going to be a while.
“Joe had a good night against King’s Lynn with three paid five and he was also winning a race when it was stopped, so I was pleased with what he did there.
“He’s now got an opportunity back in the Premiership and back at a club he knows well, and we are pleased to welcome him into the team.”
(SPEEDWAY 6)
OXFORD Cheetahs have signed Latvian youngster Francis Gusts as cover for the injured Dan Gilkes.
Gusts started the season in the Cowley club’s top-flight team before losing his place earlier this month – but he now comes into their Cab Direct Championship line-up as a 28-day replacement for knee injury victim Dan Gilkes.
Cheetahs manager Peter Schroeck said: “We are gutted for Dan and our fans who took him to their hearts with his 100 per cent commitment on track, and we wish him a speedy recovery.
“It is an ideal opportunity for us to welcome back Francis to the club, although this time he will be representing the Cheetahs.
“This will give him a further opportunity to establish himself in British Speedway.”
(SPEEDWAY 7)
MIDDLESBROUGH race their first home match in the WSRA NDL this afternoon (Saturday) as they host the Steelers at the ECCO Arena.
The Tigers have completed three away wins so far, losing all by narrow margins, whilst the Steelers have two home wins to their name.
Cooper Rushen once again comes in for the injured Jamie Halder for the hosts, with Stene Pijper back from injury, whilst Ryan Ingram and Ashton Vale stand in for absent duo Mickie Simpson and Vinnie Foord for the visitors.
Tigers star Ace Pijper said: “We need to get on the board this season and score some decent points. We want to make everyone scared to come and face us at the ECCO Arena.
“We have ridden well without the rewards of winning so far this season so we can go out there with nothing to lose and hopefully have a good meeting and come out with a win.”
MIDDLESBROUGH: Tom Spencer, Cooper Rushen, Danny Phillips, Stene Pijper, Ace Pijper, Ben Rathbone, Kai Ward.
STEELERS: Nathan Ablitt, Ryan Ingram, Luke Harris, Ashton Vale, Luke Harrison, Jamie Etherington, Harrison Rogers.
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY MAY 17:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Poole 7pm, Plymouth v Edinburgh 7pm
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Middlesbrough (44) v Steelers (46) 3pm
SUNDAY MAY 18:
BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: Glasgow 2pm
MONDAY MAY 19:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Birmingham v Ipswich 7.30
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Belle Vue (44) v Leicester (46) 7.30, King’s Lynn (33) v Sheffield (57) 7.30
