WEEKEND PREVIEW: Must win weekend for Horspath
It’s Elite League action once again, as we still have three rounds to fit in before the World and British championships! On Saturday we have the first national round of the British Youth and Junior League from Poole, you can read the preview for that here.
Poole v Horspath
We start off our preview down in Dorset, where Horspath simply must win to stay in touch with leaders Wednesfield, three losses on the bounce would pretty much end their title hopes. Harbourside is not a place where teams take away points often, although the Hammers will be hopeful to copy Wednesfield’s successful jaunt down to the south coast in round 4. Poole lost out to Ipswich in the last round, where as Horspath pushed Wednesfield close with a weakened side. A decent strength Hammers side will be favourites to take the points come 3:30pm. However, Mark Boaler’s team will not take anything for granted after their close match in round one.
Sheffield v Ipswich
Sheffield battled their way to an opening round victory back in April and have remained consistent since. Ipswich have been disappointed to have no made more of an impression on the league thus far, they scored their first points two weeks ago in round 5. Cookson Park is a tough place to visit against a full strength Stars team, but it’s certainly a track that has given spectators some great racing on the fast, wide and banked circuit. Sheffield go in as favourites to do the double over their Suffolk opponents, as they look to capitalise on any slip ups from the league leaders. A strong start is key for the Eagles, as they can’t afford to give anything away early on.
Newport v Wednesfield
Newport welcome league leaders Wednesfield to the Olympic Sports village. So far unbeaten, the Aces have looked in control the entire season, but maybe showed signs of a few cracks when the Hammers went at them two weeks ago. What should have been a comfortable win for the Aces on paper, turned out much closer than expected, due to some individual errors by the West Midlanders. They will be odds on favourites to extend their unbeaten run against Newport, who lack nothing in spirit but perhaps rely too much on young and inexperienced riders at this level to go toe to toe against the likes of the Wednesfield. One thing you can count on though, is their ever improving team giving it a real go, with home grown talent Chris Davies and Adam Bennett especially looking on the pace against Sheffield in round 5.
Other meetings this weekend see the Ipswich Girls Go Ride on Saturday. Sunday brings another round of Northern GP action, coupled with the Under 19 and Division 2 individuals at Gin Pit. Finally, Hellingly are back in action with a trip to Exeter in the Rose Bowl challenge.
Enjoy your racing on what will hopefully be a beautiful weekend!