BRITISH SPEEDWAY WEEKLY BULLETIN 2025/14
Feature photo by: CHARLOTTE FLANIGAN…LEICESTER ended Sheffield’s reign as Premiership KO Cup holders with a 46-44 win at Owlerton on Thursday to reach their first top-flight Cup Final since 1975.
The Lions took an 18-point lead to South Yorkshire for the second leg of their semi-final, and then stunned the Tigers by racing into a 21-9 advantage on the night to eliminate home hopes of a comeback.
The match itself went down to a last-heat decider with Lions skipper Max Fricke holding his nerve to defeat Jack and Chris Holder after a tight battle, and they went through by 20 points overall.
HERE’S the latest news and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP LATEST
KURTZ JOY AFTER EMIL BATTLE
BELLE Vue skipper Brady Kurtz admitted his wins over Ipswich No.1 Emil Sayfutdinov at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday saw him get the better of one of his idols!
The bang in-form Aussie raced to yet another home paid maximum including two terrific battles with the Witches star in the Aces’ 52-38 win.
Kurtz said: “I grew up watching Emil, he was and still is, one of my favourite riders. I can remember him giving it to me a few times around here!
“It’s definitely nice to pass him. You don’t often get to do that. I just enjoy racing here. It’s nice when the bikes are working well and I’ve got that speed to go where I want. A really good night all round.”
WITCHES’ ISSUES AT RESERVE
IPSWICH promoter Chris Louis reflected on a tough night for his lower order in the Witches’ defeat at Belle Vue on Monday.
Louis said: “Dan Thompson had clutch issues all night and when he sorted things out, his seat broke and came off in his last ride. He just had one of those nights.
“Jordan obviously struggled in his first ride, then made a few changes and looked a lot more competitive in his second one, but then crashed in his third one which made life difficult for us.
“Jordan was withdrawn with a knee ligament injury by the looks of things. Hopefully it’s not too bad, he was able to walk on it when he got up to get back. He said it was uncomfortable and painful but it’s too early to say what the damage is.”
BRUMMIES GET IT RIGHT!
BIRMINGHAM captain Tobiasz Musielak says the team had good focus as they picked up a third win of the season by defeating King’s Lynn on Monday.
It came after two poor results for the Brummies but Musielak and Keynan Rew both impressed with paid-14, and new signing Ben Barker made a positive impression at reserve.
Musielak said: “We needed this win and we did a good job in the last few races and it was a much-needed victory. It was so close for all the meeting but we started well, we finished well and job done.
“Oxford away was difficult, but this was a new day and we were keeping focussed.”
LYON PRAISE FOR LUKE
KING’S Lynn boss Rob Lyon noted the rapid improvement of Rising Star youngster Luke Harrison who picked up his first Premiership race win at Birmingham on Monday.
But the Stars became a five-man side after the withdrawals of Ben Cook and Jan Kvech, both of whom aggravated previous injuries.
Lyon said: “Ben just couldn’t hold on, the wrist wasn’t strong enough, and although both he and Jan with his shoulder felt this place would be okay to cope with the problems they have, it wasn’t to be.
“Luke was tremendous, and you can see the progress the boy is making meeting after meeting, he’s getting better and better. He rode really well, and ironically it was a good team performance but you just can’t carry two riders.”
MAGIC NIGHT FOR SPIRES
OXFORD skipper Maciej Janowski scored a paid maximum in a thumping 62-28 win over Birmingham – the largest victory since the formation of the Spires in 2024.
Janowski said: “The whole team clicked tonight. We are all very positive on the track walk before the meeting and we had a good night, and it was great to watch.
“Speedway is a difficult sport, but tonight we got together the spirit and we want to keep it going and fight for more.
“We want a positive second half of the season – the fans deserve it, and we also want to do it for everyone else involved with the club. We want to put on the best show – that’s what it’s all about.”
CUP JOY FOR LIONS
LEICESTER are into a top-fight KO Cup Final for the first time since way back in 1975 after their impressive semi-final triumph over Sheffield.
The Lions took an 18-point lead to Owlerton last Thursday but did not sit on that position and instead won 46-44 on the night to make it through to the decider at the end of July.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “We got a good start and we managed to hold on even though Sheffield came back at us, which was to be expected because they’re a very good team.
“Tonight is about us, we got to the Final, we got the job done and we never got put under the pressure that I was expecting.”
SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead admits a new month means time for a new start after their reign as KO Cup holders came to an end against Leicester.
Stead said: “It would’ve been nice to rescue it at the end and at least finish with a win because we all don’t like losing at home but I just feel like we’re battling against it at the moment.
“Look, no excuses though, over the course of the two legs we’ve got absolutely schooled so we need to go back to the drawing board and we need to find some improvement.
“We need to press the reset button, go back to basics and get back to being dominant here at Sheffield which we’ve been so good at doing.”
THE WEEK AHEAD…
LEICESTER host King’s Lynn on Thursday in a big clash of two teams either side of the play-off cut-off line… Meanwhile Sheffield will look to put their KO Cup disappointment behind them when they take on bottom club Birmingham… Monday’s action features the televised clash between Oxford and Ipswich with the Witches having won on their previous visit… King’s Lynn host Sheffield with just four points between the sides for the aggregate point… Belle Vue take on Birmingham in a rearranged Round 1 fixture.
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP LATEST
PIRATES ON COURSE
POOLE promoter Dan Ford feels his table-topping side are well placed to attack the second half of the season in the chase for further honours.
Ford said: “I feel that we are beginning to get into our stride with our recent league meetings and we are in a good place currently.
“Of course there is a considerable amount of interest in young Will (Cairns) joining us, but we must remember that, talented as he is, we will need him to settle into the new challenges and I believe here at Poole he will have the riders, and management behind him to help further his bright career.”
MPT PLEASED TO BE A MONARCH
RECENT Edinburgh recruit Michael Palm Toft says he’s delighted with the atmosphere he has walked into at Armadale as the Monarchs chase a play-off place.
Palm Toft said: “I am happy with how things are, I can’t speak highly and positively enough about how things are in the team.
“I have come in from the sidelines around three months into the season and the lads are a great bunch, everyone is really nice from all the mechanics and everyone.
“It is probably one of the best teams, spirit-wise, I have been in for a long time.”
TIGERS CHASING A REPEAT
GLASGOW manager Cami Brown says the team performance in their recent 53-37 win over Plymouth is the blueprint for what he expects on a regular basis.
Brown said: “I’m particularly delighted to see the young lads produce a meeting like that.
“It’s so good for us to deliver that sort of performance, we need to do that at Ashfield more often.”
GLADIATORS BRING IN KLIMA
PLYMOUTH promoter Mark Phillips says new signing Daniel Klima has a big opportunity to make a positive impression on the Gladiators’ season, having moved for the Czech racer in place of Ben Trigger.
Phillips said: “The option to bring in a very promising recruit with lots of European experience, a real desire to carve out a career in the UK and a fixture schedule that ideally suits joining us, it was an opportunity we couldn’t ignore.
“The fact he comes in as a four-point rider is a bonus and gives us possible scope to further tweak the 1-7 of the team should we feel the need.”
MASTERS HAPPY WITH MITCH
OXFORD skipper Sam Masters has praised the impact made by UK debutant Mitch McDiarmid who is already up into the main body of the Cheetahs’ team.
Masters said: “It’s awesome what Mitch has been doing in his first season in British Speedway. He’s been a major reason in us winning the meetings that we have and getting through in the BSN Series and (MAXiCab) Knockout Cup.
“We’ve still got a big year ahead of us and we’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”
SARAH TAKES TOON ROLE
BERWICK co-promoter Sarah Bulman is now combining her work at Shielfield Park with a position as Safeguarding and Wellbeing Manager for Clubs and Partnerships at Premier League giants Newcastle United FC.
She said: “Berwick Speedway is a crazy success story – a town of just over 13,000 able to hold its own again big city clubs and run continuously for approaching 70 years.
“In contrast Newcastle United and the Premiership in general is the highest financed football league in the world.
“Both clubs mean an awful lot to me and to be involved in the day to day running of them is just amazing.”
KING – NO BEARS CONCERNS
IN-FORM Redcar star Danny King says team-mate Erik Riss will quickly bounce back from a tough night in a recent Cab Direct Championship defeat at Berwick, where he lacked the speed to hold off the home riders.King said: “Erik is a world class rider, I am certainly not worried about him, the track was tricky and he had a tough night, it happens.
“I’m not concerned about Erik at any track, at all.”
SKIPPER PRAISE FOR MOUNTAIN
SCUNTHORPE captain Simon Lambert has praised the efforts of Connor Mountain who is putting together a consistent run in an up-and-down campaign for the Scorpions.
Mountain top-scored with 13+1 in a recent home defeat to Oxford which leaves the Scorpions looking to respond at Plymouth this Saturday.
Lambert said: “Except Luke Harrison, none of us are doubling up and the lack of meetings is hurting us. But we’re professionals and, at the end of the day, there’s no excuses.
“Fair play to Connor – he’s been very consistent and our knight in shining armour this season.”
THE WEEK AHEAD…
POOLE host Glasgow as the top two in the league table meet with the Pirates having won at Ashfield recently… the Tigers return home on Friday with a fixture against Oxford… Edinburgh and Berwick will clash twice in the space of 24 hours, starting at Armadale on Friday and then moving on to Shielfield Park the following evening… Plymouth hand a debut to new signing Daniel Klima when they face Scunthorpe on Saturday.
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE/NATIONAL TROPHY LATEST
CHARGERS ON TOP
OXFORD lead the WSRA National Development League table by four points after a perfect day against Leicester last Sunday where they collected a full haul.
Skipper Jody Scott was involved in a Super Heat triumph at the Hydrsocand Arena after a 44-44 draw, and he then scored a maximum in the return fixture.
Scott said: “It was a fantastic victory at Leicester in the afternoon, while it got really tight towards the end of the meeting.
“Darryl (Ritchings) and I needed the 5-1 from Heat 15. I saw Darryl go around Ben Morley and I knew I had to do the same. I stuck to the outside line and it was pulling me around and I managed to get into position with Darryl and we took the result we required.
“In the Super Heat, it got very tight between me and Cooper (Rushen). I was glad he was okay after his crash. I was holding my line in front of him when he came down. It was getting very dusty by that point. I couldn’t see very well and he would have been able to see even less behind me.”
CUBS BATTERED AND BRUISIED
LEICESTER were left to reflect on a disastrous Sunday as both Sonny Springer and Max Perry crashed out of their home draw with Oxford, with a patched-up side going down 55-35 in the return fixture.
Manager Jen Crossland said: “It was just good to see the riders walk away, although Max hurt his elbow and was battered and bruised, and Sonny had a nasty gash to his leg, and as we knew before the weekend sadly he’s now stepped down.
“I’d like to thank Ben Morley who came in at short notice, especially at Leicester he was superb, and also I feel really bad for Jamie Etherington because he twisted his knee at Oxford and he may have some ligament damage. His steel shoe came off and the bike just threw him off.”
YOUNG STARS ARE SHINING
KING’S Lynn are favourites to win the National Development Trophy as a comfortable win over Leicester Fox Cubs last week made it four out of four so far.
Manager Jason Pipe said: “It was another good win for us, the riders are all smiling and it puts us in a really good position in the Trophy.
“Jody (Scott) wanted Heat 15, he really wanted to get a full 15-point maximum for his first max at this level, and he went out and won it well.
“I was able to give Cooper a bit of a rest, he’s getting a lot of rides lately and he’s got several meetings coming up, and it wasn’t as though we needed to put him in – and he still got a full maximum!”
BULLS EDGED OUT
BIRMINGHAM boss Laurence Rogers felt his side would have taken maximum points against Plymouth in the NDT had they been at full strength.
The Bulls beat the Centurions by seven points at Perry Barr last Monday but they then lost by eight in the return, missing out on the aggregate point, with both Darryl Ritchings and Max James absent.
Rogers said: “At Plymouth we were without two heat leaders in skipper Darryl with concussion and Max as he was at his induction day for his apprenticeship at Toyota.
“Had we had our full side there is no doubt that we would have took full points from the two meetings and the aggregate, which in the end we missed out on by just one point, 89-88!”
THE WEEK AHEAD…
THERE is one fixture in the NDT next week with Birmingham Bulls hosting Kent Eagles at Perry Barr next Monday.
FIXTURE PICTURE…
WEDNESDAY JULY 2:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Poole (47) v Glasgow (43) 7.30
THURSDAY JULY 3:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Leicester v King’s Lynn 7.30, Sheffield v Birmingham 7.30
FRIDAY JULY 4:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Glasgow (46) v Oxford (44) 7.30
SATURDAY JULY 5:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Edinburgh 7.30, Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7pm
MONDAY JULY 7:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Belle Vue (43) v Birmingham (47) 7.30
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: King’s Lynn (43) v Sheffield (47) 7.30, Oxford v Ipswich 7.30
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY: Birmingham v Kent 7.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 9:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Berwick 7.30
THURSDAY JULY 10:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30, Leicester (49) v Oxford (41) 7.30
FRIDAY JULY 11:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh (40) v Redcar (50) 7.30, Scunthorpe v Plymouth 7.30
SATURDAY JULY 12:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington v Poole 3pm
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY: Plymouth v King’s Lynn 7pm
SUNDAY JULY 13:
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Leicester v Steelers 3pm
MONDAY JULY 14:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue (30) v Leicester (60) 7.30, King’s Lynn v Ipswich 7.30, Sheffield v Oxford 7.30
