WEEKEND PREVIEW: East Park host BYJL and the Elite League is back

The all action Cycle Speedway Elite League is back in business again this weekend (although not as shown on the BC Elite League page, for all the correct fixtures, check out the BC Events page). The weekend’s first action sees the British Youth and Junior League move to the Midlands and East Park, in the penultimate round of the popular junior series.

British Youth and Junior League – Round 3, East Park

Cycle Speedway’s youngest racers (and it’s future, let’s not forget), travel to one of the UK’s most open and fastest tracks, East Park. Astley and Tyldesley’s John White and Leicester’s Ronnie Wassell go head to head in the U8s category, whereas new Under 10 Boys British champion, Nathan Goulden of Poole will need to put a good performance together to have any hope of catching Kesgrave’s Oliver Wright in the under 10s. In the under 12s, Lewis Brinkoff of Kesgrave can make it 7 out of 7 if he wins and maintain his 100% record.

Wednesfield’s Haydn Rowley is another looking to continue his 6 round winning streak, his fierce rivalry with Ipswich’s Pierce Bacon continues in the under 14s. New Under 16 British Champion, Brandon Whetton, will be hoping to get back to winning ways, after making a surprising appearance in the B-final last time out. He will be hard to beat on his home track. We will have a clear leader in the Girls competition, as new under 16 British Girls Champion, Kesgrave’s Lily Gedge and GB international Lauren Hookway of Exeter, continue their battle for supremacy. The girls are currently level on points going into round 7. Good luck to all riders this weekend.

Elite League – Round 7

We’re approaching the business end of the Elite League season now, with the final four matches coming in quick succession. We start our round up over in the South East, as Ipswich take on Poole in Suffolk.

Ipswich v Poole
This should be a good match up and a more evenly contested meeting than April at Harbourside. Poole have gone from strength to strength and now have an impressive arsenal of riders at their disposal, especially with Arek Szymański’s increased set of appearances. Waiting for them in Suffolk will be British Finalists Josh Brooke and Lewis Roberts, the latter who pulled an incredible 4-1 off the start on fast-gating Paul Heard in heat one at Bury on Monday. Ipswich’s strength is their team spirit and they will battle hard against their south coast rivals. It’s a close one to call and a match that could go either way. A home win will see Ipswich cement their second place in the table, where as an away win will see Poole edging closer towards the Eagles in the battle for the top 3.

Sheffield v Newport
Newport’s only Elite League victory came against a weakened Sheffield side in South Wales back in April. The Stars still have Radek Handke out through injury and Pawel Idziorek is in Poland. Both riders missed the last clash at the Olympic Village. Sheffield have gelled as a team since then and have been a formidable force in the league as the season has progressed, minus a slow start at Horspath in round 6. If Newport can bring their full strength side, they could match their hosts at the Graves. However, they will be made to work for every point by a confident Sheffield team. Only Horspath have come away from the Graves with points, winning a last heat decider at the start of the year.

Wednesfield v Horspath
Finally the series leaders, Horspath, travel to Ashmore Park to take on the Wednesfield Aces. The West Midlanders will be delighted to welcome back Paul Heard, after he was sidelined for much of the Elite League campaign with a broken hand. The loss of Heard did not help their cause as they lost away from home at Sheffield and Poole, grinding their title challenge to a halt. Horspath would need to implode to lose the title at this stage, they’ve been dominant throughout the campaign, taking six wins out of six. Another win this weekend would edge them within inches of the chequered flag. The match itself should be a cracker for the neutral, if you’re thinking of catching some Cycle Speedway action this weekend, Ashmore Park is the place to be on Sunday.

Regional

Also at Wednesfield on Sunday is a division 3 match between Wednesfield and Leicester. Sheffield are also programmed to have division 2 and 3 matches versus Glasgow at 12:30pm at the Graves.

The South East GP round 6 also returns this Sunday at Spixworth, along with the Northern 4s and Northern GP round 5, that takes place at Heckmondwike.

Wherever you are, enjoy the weekend’s racing!