BRITISH SPEEDWAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2026
(SPEEDWAY 1)
WITCHES HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
IPSWICH took a big step towards confirming ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-off qualification with a 48-42 win over Sheffield – with the aggregate point also useful for the visitors.
That point leaves the Tigers six ahead of fifth-placed King’s Lynn with two matches remaining, but with a vastly superior race points advantage over the Stars.
The Witches, meanwhile, are five points clear of their local rivals which means they could require one more victory to make sure of progression.
It was a close contest at Foxhall with the scores level after Heat 13 before the Witches took a 4-2 in Heat 14, followed by a 5-1 in the decider from skipper Danny King and Tobiasz Musielak.
King scored 13 from five rides with Musielak carding 12+2, whilst Leon Flint (11) and Josh Pickering (10+1) were top scorers for the Tigers.
Said King: “It’s so stressful when it’s that tight, and especially when we know we need the points.
“Obviously the plan was to try and get the bonus, but they were just too strong. Every time we won a race and rode well, they tucked in and got the 3-3.
“It went down to the wire. That was a big race in Heat 14 to get the heat advantage and take a little bit of pressure off, but we still needed to go and finish the job in Heat 15.”
Sheffield manager Simon Stead said: “Approaching the meeting, having not being able to successfully get a guest in (for Jack Holder), I’ll be honest, I was looking at making sure that we took the aggregate point home as being the most important thing.
“But full credit to the lads, even more so after a little bit of a slowish start, they went out there and really attacked the meeting.
“We really got into a flow, and yes we may have just come up short in the end on the night, but we did more than enough to win the aggregate point and for me, there were plenty of positives we can take away once again.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
LEICESTER edged out ROWE Motor Oil Premiership leaders Belle Vue 49-41 – with the Aces now all-but confirmed as league leaders ahead of the play-offs.
The Lions are favourites to finish second after winning a last heat decider at the Hydroscand Arena with Ryan Douglas and Nick Morris racing to a 5-1 over Brady Kurtz and Jason Doyle.
But the Aces easily did enough for the aggregate point in the East Midlands, and they are six points clear at the top with two matches remaining, as well as having an almost insurmountable points difference advantage.
Douglas kept up his sensational run of form with 14 points for a solid Lions side who only actually proved five of the 15 race wins, whilst Kurtz and Doyle both scored 11 for the Aces.
Leicester manager Stewart Dickson said: “We knew it was going to be a tough one but we got off to a decent start, not quite as good as last week, but it was still good and that’s important at this level of speedway.
“From a Leicester point of view I look at the scorechart and I see there’s points throughout the team. We’re still searching for that consistency for all seven riders to have a good night on any one night, but I think all Premiership managers would tell you the same.
“We knew they would come back at us and they had a slight incident on the second bend of Heat 15, but all in all I’m pleased and I don’t feel a score of 49 points flattered us.”
Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “Heat 15 could have gone a little bit different in our favour but that’s the way it goes, and Dougy (Ryan Douglas) is on top form at the moment.
“There are still a lot of positives to take from tonight. We got the aggregate point which was the plan, and now it really looks like we’re going to finish top which is great.
“It’s a real achievement for the boys, and now we turn our attentions to one home and one away match remaining before the play-offs.”
(FIXTURES)
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 10:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (28) v Belle Vue (62) 7.30, King’s Lynn (38) v Leicester (52) 7.30, Sheffield (45) v Northampton (45) 7.30
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL 1st leg: Scunthorpe v Glasgow 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Leicester 7pm, Edinburgh (57) v Buxton (33) (follows previous fixture)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12:
CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield 7pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh 1.30
