HERE'S the latest news and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.

PIC OF THE WEEK...

SCUNTHORPE comfortably beat Plymouth 62-28 at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday, with Kyle Howarth scoring a 15-point maximum as the Scorpions remain in second spot in the Cab Direct Championship standings.
Photo credit: IAN RISPIN

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Leicester’s American ace LUKE BECKER enjoyed an excellent week with a score of 11+1 at Sheffield on Thursday, combining with Max Fricke for a 5-1 in Heat 15 to take the meeting to a Super Heat, and he then reeled off four straight wins prior to Heat 15 at King’s Lynn on Monday as the Lions secured a big away win.

LIONS SOAR AT LYNN
LEICESTER raced into the play-off places with a big 52-38 win at King’s Lynn on Monday, backing up the points they had gained at Sheffield five nights earlier when they took the Tigers to a Super Heat.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “I always felt Max Fricke would be pivotal, which proved to be the case, and we even had the luxury of sitting him out of Heat 15.
“We also had really good travelling support tonight, which we really thank for them for, and we can feel something hopefully building with this team.
“But as always with me, it’s feet on the ground and back to work, and we prepare for the next meeting because there is still work to do.”

ACES ARE RIDING HIGH
BELLE Vue star Jaimon Lidsey believes the nature of recent performances are putting the Aces in good shape to challenge for the title, with maximum points banked against Birmingham.
Lidsey said: “It was a tough away leg but we were able to hold on for the win, but we knew we needed something much bigger from our home performance to secure the three points.
“After the rain and in the second half of the meeting, Birmingham did find something that was working for them but I think we had some of the strongest heats in the second half of the night.
“We’ve got some big meetings coming up as we look to consolidate our place in the top four but we’ve got the team capable of doing it and I feel we can continue to put pressure on the leaders.”

STARS SUFFER SETBACK
KING’S Lynn boss Rob Lyon admits the Stars now have a mountain to climb if they are to somehow challenge for a top four finish this season.
The Norfolk outfit were beaten at Ipswich last Thursday but then suffered a damaging home defeat to Leicester on Monday.
Lyon said: “It was very strange tonight, whatever the boys tried it just wasn’t working and Leicester were the better team.
“It certainly hasn’t helped our play-off chances. I haven’t sat down and worked out the mathematics of it, but it hasn’t helped.”

TOP TWO SET TO CLASH
IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins expects the upcoming clashes with Sheffield to have a big say in the league leadership ahead of the play-offs, with the sides set to meet in South Yorkshire this Thursday.
Hawkins said: “It is a top of the table clash and I think realistically it is going to be one of these two teams that finish top at the end of the regular season before the play-offs.
“These two fixtures could have a big bearing on which way that goes. After the first set of fixtures, we are on top and we have got to try and keep on that in this second round of fixtures against Sheffield.”

TIGERS SCRAPE HOME
SHEFFIELD star Chris Holder was relieved to play his part in a winning Super Heat for the Tigers alongside brother Jack, as the defending champions saw off a strong Leicester challenge on Thursday – but he now wants to get the job done sooner!
He said: “Hopefully next week we can put a few points on the board earlier on and give us a bit of a buffer because that was real tight.
“Luckily we had the gate choice (in the Super Heat) which was pretty important and we got the job done.”

BRUMMIES MISS OUT
BIRMINGHAM suffered double defeat on the road in their trips to Oxford and Belle Vue in the last week – with the trip to Cowley ending in high drama as Tom Brennan was disqualified from a last-heat decider after a clash with Erik Riss.
Boss Sam Ermolenko said: “Because BSN were there, I was able to see the referee’s call on Heat 15 - and I disagree with him. Riss was trying to hold onto his position and put his leg out. I know racing and what I saw was totally different to the referee’s decision.
“I was really pleased with the desire from the boys once again though; we’re showing that with a full 1-7 we’ve got a fighting spirit.”

RISS DEFENDS DECISION
OXFORD star Erik Riss insisted he had been brought down in the vital Heat 15 at Cowley last week, which preceded a brilliant 5-1 from the German and Maciej Janowski to snatch victory over Birmingham.
Riss said: “In Heat 15, there were a few people from the Birmingham side in the pits saying I went down without a touch, but I certainly felt something and the replay showed that there was contact. I wouldn’t have fallen without it.
“I’m very pleased with my own performance. The last three meetings I’ve gone really well around Oxford. I’m putting in strong performances at home, which is important.”

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Berwick racer DREW KEMP racked up his best score at Cab Direct Championship level with a 15-point haul in the Bandits’ thrilling draw against Oxford last Saturday – and he then combined with Lewis Kerr to squeeze out Cheetahs captain Scott Nicholls to give the home side the victory in a dramatic Super Heat.

FORD PRAISES MENTALITY
POOLE promoter Dan Ford says the Pirates are in a strong place as they go into this week’s matches against second-placed Scunthorpe – and he’s been impressed with how his side can raise their game when needed.
Ford said: “What has pleased me is the manner in which we seem to change gear mid-meeting. That is vital as it fires all our boys up and at the same time tends to sap all the confidence out of our opponents.
“All we need to do now is keep that form going as we head into the latter stages of this campaign.”

KEMP KEY FOR BANDITS
LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson has praised the attitude of Drew Kemp, who has been scoring big for the Bandits in recent weeks – including on Saturday against Oxford – despite experiencing frustrations at the higher level this season.
Dickson said: “I don’t think it’s a secret that Drew was one of the riders I wanted for the Bandits in 2024 having worked with him in the latter part of last season at Leicester.
“Obviously, it hasn’t been plain sailing for him at either Leicester or Oxford in the Premiership this year but as he said himself in a number of interviews, the only place to prove people wrong is out on the track, and at the moment that is solely in a Berwick Bandits race-suit.”

VUOLAS THE VICTOR
WORKINGTON star Antti Vuolas was the last-heat hero for the Comets in a narrow home win over Redcar on Saturday which keeps alive their hopes of a top-four finish.
Vuolas said: “The plan was to get one of us in lead in Heat 15, which will give us three points and the win.
“I thought that gate one was probably the best but I wanted to give it to Chris (Harris) and he did a good job keeping the inside line on the first corner so I could get around him. It was a really nice track and everything was working.”

SCHROECK THANKS ATKINS
OXFORD manager Peter Schroeck has paid tribute to the efforts of Henry Atkins after the rider confirmed he is retiring from the sport having missed much of the season due to injury.
Schroeck said: “Henry has been a huge part of the club since our rebirth in 2022 and he will be missed by everyone, I wish him the very best in whatever the future brings.
“I have asked him not to be a stranger, Henry will always have a warm welcome here at Sandy Lane.”

SCORPIONS TOP 60
SCUNTHORPE boss David Howe was delighted with another strong home performance which saw the Scorpions rack up 62 points against Plymouth, enabling them to collect the aggregate point in Devon 24 hours later.
Howe said: “It was a strong performance across our side and the sort of performance that breeds confidence.
“Kyle (Howarth) deserved his full maximum, while it was very pleasing that Connor (Mountain) scored a paid maximum.
“Connor’s had some tough meetings in recent weeks, but he really bounced back tonight. He didn’t do it all from the gate either and had to come from behind in Heat 14.”

BEARS TO KEEP FIGHTING
REDCAR star Danny King is looking for wins in their final fixtures to set a target for others as the Bears look to complete an unlikely turnaround to snatch a play-off place.
King said: “I’m happy with how things are going at the moment, I’m hoping to keep the good run of form going as we try to make that late play-off push.
“We will try to not put too much pressure on ourselves but we are aware of what is required between now and the end of the season.”

TOUGH FOR TIGERS
GLASGOW went down to a 55-35 defeat at Poole as another meeting went by with the defending champions still looking to try to break back into the top four.
Manager Cami Brown said: “We said before the start that we need a good start and we got that. But we lost our way in the middle part. When our tactical substitute ride didn’t pay off, it was a long way back.
“Poole are a very good team again this season. Things haven’t gone our way, we just haven’t had the luck, which is what we perhaps had last year.
“We are still in with a chance of getting in the play-offs. If we can make that then anything can happen.”

BAEK FOR THE FUTURE
PLYMOUTH promoter Mark Phillips says the club have brought in Danish racer Patrick Baek with an eye on 2025, as the 22-year-old made his debut last week having replaced Kyle Newman.
Phillips said: “He is very well prepared and has immaculate equipment like a lot of the Danish youngsters and comes highly recommended by some Danish sources that we trust very much.
“We would hope that by coming in now and acclimatising and learning about both the Coliseum and some of the away tracks we have still to visit, that he can hit the ground running in 2025 and become a significant asset for us.”

MONARCHS CHASE BSN PROGRESS
EDINBURGH have agreed dates with Scunthorpe for their BSN Series semi-final as the Monarchs bid to take silverware from the 2024 season.
They will host the Scorpions on August 23 at Armadale before visiting the Eddie Wright Raceway for the return a fortnight later on September 6. That means the home match against Poole in the Championship now switches to August 30.

WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE…

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
It’s a hat-trick for 15-year-old WILLIAM CAIRNS who marked his official debut for Belle Vue Colts, after two previous guest appearances elsewhere in the NDL, with another bumper score of 17+2 as the Manchester club edged out Oxford on Friday. Cairns and Sam Hagon clinched the win with a 5-1 in Heat 15.

JOE ON TOP AT LEICESTER
JOE Thompson became the second winner of an NL Riders Development Series individual event this season when he scored a 15-point maximum at Leicester on Sunday.
Thompson was joined on the rostrum by William Cairns and Vinnie Foord after an entertaining meeting at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park.
Said Thompson: “I’m enjoying my racing at the moment and I’ve got a great team around me in the pits, which makes life much easier for me.
“It’s great to get a 15-point maximum. There was a lot of good talent here today, but I kept it going throughout the meeting and I’m really pleased.”

COLTS CLAIM THE WIN
BELLE Vue No.1 Sam Hagon praised a hard-working display from the Colts to get the better of Oxford in a competitive NDL contest last Friday.
Hagon said: “It was a team effort from start to finish. It was good to see Harry (McGurk) finish with a win and, really, those points proved crucial in the last heat decider.
“Will (Cairns) was worked very hard but so was the entire team. We’re disappointed to have just missed out on the aggregate, but I think we can be proud of our performance to get the two points.”

CHARGERS MAKE THEIR POINT
OXFORD manager Peter Schroeck says his side could take plenty of credit for their efforts at Belle Vue where they came away with the aggregate point.
Schroeck said: “We know what a great talent William Cairns is. When you’ve got an opposing reserve scoring paid 19 against you and you’ve only lost by six points, you’ve done pretty well.
“I’m pleased Jody (Scott) and Ashton (Vale) have come back from injury and shown no ill effects. Overall, it was a positive night and the boys all chipped in and can be proud to have gone home with a well-deserved bonus point for their efforts.”

NEWS IN BRIEF
Due to rider unavailability the scheduled standalone British Youth Championship Round at Plymouth on August 13 has been postponed.
It will now just be the 250cc class who will compete in their Championship round as a second half event at Plymouth after their Cab Direct Championship fixture versus Glasgow on Saturday August 10.
The Young Lions would like to thank the Plymouth Promotion for their continued support of British Youth Speedway.

FIXTURE PICTURE…

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 7:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Oxford v Plymouth 7.30, Poole v Scunthorpe 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 8:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30, Leicester v Birmingham 7.30, Sheffield v Ipswich 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 9:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Scunthorpe v Poole 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Middlesbrough (35) v Leicester (55) 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 10:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Berwick v Workington 7pm, Plymouth (32) v Glasgow (58) 7pm
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: Plymouth (250cc) (follows Champ fixture)

SUNDAY AUGUST 11:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Workington v Berwick 3pm

MONDAY AUGUST 12:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 7.30, Birmingham v Leicester 7.30

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 14:
CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP: Poole (45) v Oxford (45) 7.30

THURSDAY AUGUST 15:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Ipswich (37) v Leicester (53) 7.30, Oxford v King’s Lynn 7.30, Sheffield (47) v Birmingham (43) 7.30

FRIDAY AUGUST 16:
CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS: Oxford 7.30

SATURDAY AUGUST 17:
FIM BRITISH GRAND PRIX: Cardiff 5pm

MONDAY AUGUST 19:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2: Birmingham (33) v King’s Lynn (57) 7.30, Ipswich v Sheffield 7.30, Leicester v Oxford 7.30