PREVIEW: South East and East in the driving seat
The South East and East region will hope to make it three wins out of three in their first Supertrax Battle of Britain home fixture of the series against North and Scotland on Sunday.
The Eastern side turned out two impressive performances in the opening two rounds. Firstly holding off a strong Midlands fight back in Leicester and then overcoming the South West and Wales challenge in Oxford.
They will go into the match as favourites after the North and Scotland were rocked by the retirement of Polish ace Damian Zareba. The ex-european champion sat out of round two against the Midlands with a back injury sustained in round one against South West and Wales. Sadly for the 34 year old, doctors orders has brought an impressive cycle speedway career to an end, whilst he was still capable of being the best.
The North will lick their wounds and still have top team riders to call upon, they will need to work hard together to overcome the impressive depth of the South East and East in Ipswich.
South West & Wales v South East and East. Photo by Peter Payne.
The Midlands welcome South West and Wales to East Park, needing a win to keep the pressure on the league leaders. On the other hand the South West and Wales need a positive display to kickstart their campaign.
Fancied by many as favourites for the title at the start of the series, the South West and Wales have struggled with rider availability and injuries. On paper, they have a team that are capable of beating any in the world, the question is, can team boss Nicky Evans can galvanise those riders for a difficult trip to the Midlands?
The Midlands will be buoyed by a strong performance against the North and Scotland last time out. A win is essential if they are going to mount a serious challenge against the South East and East.
In the elite junior class, the South East will be determined to secure their first win of the season against the North and Scotland. They let slip a significant lead against the Midlands in round one and were beaten by South West and Wales juniors in round two.
The North and Scotland lost out in a close match against the Midlands in round 2, an away win will keep them in contention for the title.
Action from the elite junior class by Andy Whitehouse.
The Midlands are the only team with a 100% record, they will go in as favourites against the South West and Wales, but their young team are not to be under estimated. The South West and Wales riders are all towards the younger end of the junior age group but have been performing above the expectations of their age under the guidance of manager Zac Payne.
Both matches begin at 1pm and take place at Whitton Sports Centre, Ipswich and East Park, Wolverhampton.