BRITISH SPEEDWAY AUGUST 19, 2025

(SPEEDWAY 1)

FRICKE THROTTLES LIONS INTO PLAY-OFFS

LEICESTER secured their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-off place with a 49-41 win over Ipswich in a thriller at the Hydroscand Arena.
Captain Max Fricke completed a 14+1 paid maximum in Heat 15 when he combined with Ryan Douglas for a 5-1 over Tom Brennan and Emil Sayfutdinov after the Witches had set up a last-heat decider.

Fricke had earlier produced a remarkable move to pass both Brennan and Dan Thompson on the line in Heat 6 with the Lions’ three heat-leaders accounting for 11 race wins.
The unbeaten show from Fricke was backed up by 14 points from Douglas and 10 from Sam Masters, whilst Thompson racked up 12+2 at reserve against his former club as he kept the visitors in contention.
Fricke said: “It was a difficult meeting. Ipswich are top of the league for a reason, and they pushed us all the way so it was a tough night, but it was great to get a win over them in the end.

“It was tricky for Luke (Becker) but credit to him because he’s doing an amazing job, and the hard work he’s done to get here is credit to him. For him to be back on track with us is awesome.
“I’m excited about what’s to come. It’s great to be racing a lot and we’re having a good time with this team of guys, and the support we’re getting is amazing.”

Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “It was a really close meeting throughout, we never quite got our noses in front, and they managed to keep in front all night.
“We managed to take it to a last-heat decider and took the aggregate point which was important for us if we are going to finish top.
“Overall, there were some positives and some good performances and a couple of riders who struggled more than they normally would here. We did what we needed to do without being spectacular.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 2)

BELLE Vue will contest the top-flight play-offs for the ninth time in the last ten seasons having sealed their spot with a comfortable 58-32 win over Birmingham.
Captain Brady Kurtz scored a 12-point maximum at the National Speedway Stadium as the Aces returned to winning ways in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership after a tough week on the road with defeats at Sheffield and Ipswich.

Meanwhile Dan Bewley and Jaimon Lidsey both scored 13+1 from five rides, dropping their only points to former Aces favourite Matej Zagar who supplied two of the three race wins for the visitors, whilst Keynan Rew scored 8+1.
Kurtz said: “I think it was important for all the boys to win some races and have a little bit of fun again.
“It’s been a bit of a sad time for us. There was a smile back on everyone’s faces again in the pits. It was definitely a better atmosphere.

“We’ve never been great away. But we always try and pull something out at the end. I still believe we’ve got the team to do that, no question about it.”
Birmingham boss Chris Adams said: “Obviously it’s always disappointing to lose wherever you go.
“But Belle Vue are very strong at home, and they proved again how tough they are to beat on home shale, especially when their top three are hitting the points.
“The score doesn’t reflect how we rode, and we deserved a few more points on the board to what we got.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 3)

KING’S Lynn recorded the second-biggest score in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership this season with a 63-27 thumping of Oxford at the Adrian Flux Arena.
Chris Harris raced to a 15-point maximum for the rampant Stars, with Richard Lawson (10+3) only denied a full house of his own when he dropped a point to Maciej Janowski in Heat 15.

All of the home side’s top six were paid for at least nine points in a thoroughly convincing display which saw them win all but one race and record six 5-1s and six 4-2s.
The Spires’ sole success came from Janowski in Heat 6, both he and Peter Kildemand scoring eight points on a night where No.1 Charles Wright was a late absentee and Rohan Tungate took only two rides due to mechanical issues.
King’s Lynn manager Rob Lyon said: “I think it was a combination of us being very good and they were battered, bruised and depleted.
“But I’ve been saying all along that we picked this team for a reason, and whilst I’m sure with all due respect we will come across some stiffer opposition in our remaining matches, I think we’ve proved that in the times when we have had a full team, we can do some damage.

“It’s a solid team, and that makes a massive difference. But you can’t legislate for injury, all teams suffer from it from time to time, that’s the way it goes.”
Spires boss Peter Schroeck said: “It’s not been our day. Neither Rohan or his mechanic could get his bikes working and it unsettled our whole side of the pits, especially since we were already using rider replacement for Charles. We lost the points from two of our big hitters and you can’t compensate for that.
“I didn’t expect to win here, but I did expect to score more points. But we weren’t in the best shape to take on a King’s Lynn side who are very strong around this track.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

POOLE will be without Danish racer Tobias Thomsen for their final regular Cab Direct Championship fixture at Oxford on Wednesday.
The defending champions are already safely in the play-offs and are attempting to fend off Glasgow for top spot ahead.
But they will race at Cowley without Thomsen, who suffered an ankle injury when guesting for Plymouth on Saturday – although the club hope to see him back for their MAXiCab KO Cup semi-final against Glasgow next week.

Promoter Dan Ford said: “Whilst I would never deny a rider taking a guest booking,  it is frustrating when one of your riders picks up an injury when helping out another team,  as is the case for Tobias. 
“The timing couldn’t really be any worse as he had just come into some good form and was riding above his green sheet average which makes finding a replacement so much harder.
“Hopefully though we will get through Wednesday and he will be back with us in time for next week’s match against Glasgow.”

(FIXTURES)

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 20:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford (42) v Poole (48) 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 21:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (44) v King’s Lynn (46) 7.30, Sheffield (42) v Leicester (48) 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 22:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Redcar v Scunthorpe 7.30