WELCOME to the latest edition of the weekly BSPA bulletins keeping you in touch with news, views and fixtures from the tracks up and down the country.
BIG EVENT LATEST…
JASON Crump faces a race against time to be ft for the Elite League Riders' Championship at King's Lynn on August 30.
The reigning world champion has admitted his hopes of retaining the title are all but over and early this week he was due for surgery on his broken Kneecap.
And he admits the next round of the Grand Prix series in Sweden on August 11 may be too soon for his track return.
Crump raced through the pain barrier in the Czech Republic Grand Prix and now admits he won't return until he's fully fit.
He said: "I wanted to try and prove to myself that my World Championship dream was not over for 2007, but right now I guess it is.
"I am suffering big-time with the knee, and the operation on Monday cannot come quick enough just now.
"It is the one time in my speedway career that perhaps I have put myself before my club, and I want to apologise right now to all Poole fans.
"I am determined to come back and help the Pirates in their final push to the championship - and let me say if I do not feel ready for Malilla, which was my goal before tonight, then I will not rush back to do it.
"(Promoter) Matt Ford has told me he wants a fit Jason back and I owe it to Poole to do just that."
Crump is one part of a star-studded line-up which will include current runaway world championship leader Nicki Pedersen and his nearest rival Leigh Adams. Hans Andersen, representing Peterborough, will also be there alongside Coventry's Scott Nicholls, Wolverhampton's Peter Karlsson and exciting Belle Vue star Antonio Lindback.
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST…
ARENA ESSEX-LAKESIDE expect to be without Swedish star Andreas Jonsson for around a month due to the broken shoulder he sustained in a high-speed crash during the Czech Grand Prix.
Hammers boss Jon Cook said: "There is no hiding the fact that this is a huge blow to our League season in August, but AJ should be fit and well in time for the KO Cup and Craven Shield competitions, both of which we have aspirations to win, unlike the League this year.
"We will not panic into making further changes and carry on with our long term development of our other two new additions to the side as we intend to reap those benefits in years to come."
BELLE VUE manager Eric Boocock felt the debut of Billy Forsberg was the one bright spot from another disappointing night for the Aces, who were beaten by 14 points at home to a weakened Arena Essex-Lakeside team.
Forsberg scored three points but was on the pace and also felt more comfortable when borrowing a bike from team-mate Joe Screen.
Boocock said: "I was very pleased with Billy's performance, which promises much for the future. There wasn't much else for us to cheer about apart from Joe's efforts."
COVENTRY overcame injury to Olly Allen and illness for captain Scott Nicholls and Rory Schlein to pull off a vital home win over play-off rivals Poole on Monday.
Co-boss Peter Oakes said: "Under the circumstances I think it's probably our best home performance for a long, long time. The riders all put their bodies on the line in a big way, and all came up with points when needed.
"I didn't really want to use Scott in the last heat because you only had to look at his face to know that he was under pressure physically, but they all pulled it out and produced points when needed."
EASTBOURNE reserve Cameron Woodward is itching to get back into regular racing after a season punctuated by injuries and postponed meetings.
The Australian youngster, who scored a crucial paid 11 in the Eagles' dramatic win over Ipswich, said: "It's tough when you cannot double up and are stuck just doing Elite League meetings when there are nowhere near enough to make a living.
"It's not just about money. We are still learning and we should be riding every chance we get. The Elite League is good, but there are so many gaps."
IPSWICH boss John Louis was left to rue Eastbourne's dramatic comeback at Arlington on Saturday as the Witches let slip a 12-point lead with four heats to go.
Louis said: "It's a shame, the boys rode well and I can't believe that we have lost. The meeting turned when Jesper B Jensen fell in heat 13.
"There were a few occasions when we just needed to get that extra point to make things certain and we didn't get it. It was one that got away from us that should never have got away from us."
PETERBOROUGH manager Trevor Swales believes his riders are coming into form at just the right time - with the August averages showing increases for five of the seven Panthers.
Swales said: "It's worked out very well so far, and because we have had few changes to the team positions it's meant that the rider pairings have become confident in riding together, and that's now starting to shine through in our results.
"With Danny King in his best form of the season so far, it's very encouraging for the team that he remains at No.6, which means he can be used up to seven times during a match if needed."
POOLE legend Craig Boyce celebrates his 40th birthday this week - and the Pirates' all-time leading points-scorer will be given a special welcome at the club's home meeting on Wednesday.
Boyce said: "I have put the time in year after year but I have never thought about being the top points scorer for Poole. It is just something that has happened.
"But I'm sure I will look back on it in 20 years time and I think that is pretty good. It will be something special to tell the grandchildren."
READING promoter Malcolm Holloway is appealing for the club's supporters to turn out in force on Wednesday when his team faces a tough battle against Coventry.
Holloway said: "I do feel that our supporters have a vital role to play by getting behind the lads and spurring them on.
"Due to the fixture backlog we have a lot of meetings to fit in, and as we haven't had a home meeting since July 13 we are urging everyone to show their support for the team."
SWINDON have swiftly re-arranged last week's postponed home match with Belle Vue for this Thursday as the Aces replace Eastbourne as the Robins' opponents at Blunsdon.
Promoter Alun Rossiter said: "I would like to thank everyone who has helped to get things re-arranged so quickly, especially Chris Morton at Belle Vue.
"With all the fixtures we have to cram in, I'm very grateful that everybody has been so understanding of the situation.''
WOLVERHAMPTON skipper Peter Karlsson insists his side are still on course for the play-offs after Monday’s 59-31 demolition of Reading.
He said: “I thought there was some great racing for the fans to enjoy and although Reading were weak, we could only beat the opposition in front of us.
“We were gutted about last week when we lost two meetings and we’re all still fired-up to reach the play-offs.”
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST…
BERWICK spokesman Dennis McCleary praised the co-operation of the Isle of Wight in completing Saturday's match at Shielfield Park in far from ideal conditions - the Islanders coming away with a narrow win.
McCleary said: "The weather didn't help matters at all, but we as a club have to thank the entire Isle of Wight contingent with their positive outlook to get the match completed as well as our own racers too. Had one or two little things gone our way, a draw or even a win could have been on but that's how speedway goes at times."
BIRMINGHAM boss Graham Drury has urged fans to look at the bigger picture after seeing his side slump to defeat at the hands of King’s Lynn in the Premier Trophy Final first leg.
He said: “At the start of the season I wanted a good cup run and a top half league finish. We’re on course for that and I’m sure our fans would have settled for it at the start of the season.”
EDINBURGH promoter John Campbell says he is not planning any further changes to the Monarchs team in the wake of a 68-22 hammering at Rye House.
Campbell said: "I have no regrets about bringing in Laukkanen and Stancl. It simply wasn't our night and wasn't our track. The Rye House boys know exactly how to set their bikes up in order to hit the first corner in front. They are so good - it's all over after that."
GORDON Pairman is back on board at Glasgow as a co-promoter - and the Tigers marked his return with a successful weekend as they won at Stoke and defeated the Isle of Wight at home.
Pairman said: "We have to keep looking to move the club in an upwards direction, and continue to fight it out at the top end of the table. I have been helping behind the scenes recently but it is now good to be able to be doing things from an up-front perspective."
THE ISLE OF WIGHT are looking to boost their play-off chances when they host two matches in three days at the Smallbrook Stadium this week.
Islanders took an away win from Berwick in their Northern tour over the weekend, but their defeat at Glasgow saw top man Chris Holder suffer a heavy crash, with the club hoping he will be declared fit to resume racing for matches against Newcastle and Birmingham.
KING'S LYNN reserve Benji Compton has an early opportunity to race against the club who recently dispensed with his services, as Berwick visit the Norfolk Arena on Wednesday.
Compton said: "I was shocked to be sacked because I wasn't doing too bad a job for them, they did actually ask me back when they realised they couldn't find anyone better but I said no on principle and thankfully found an even better opportunity at King's Lynn."
MILDENHALL boss Laurence Rogers has confirmed that new signings Mark Baseby and Nicki Glanz will continue to race in the Conference League whilst sharing a reserve berth at West Row.
Rogers said: "We'll be able to give both of them the Premier League experience they need. We've already seen the development of Mark in just a few meetings, and there's no reason why Nicki shouldn't make the same kind of progress."
NEWCASTLE will give an opportunity to Simon Lambert at reserve for their away matches this week with Adam McKinna still ruled out injured.
Team boss George English said: "Simon is not attached to any Premier League club, so we are able to take advantage of that situation and run the rule over him. It will be interesting to see how he goes."
NEWPORT promoter Tim Stone is looking forward to some all-Polish battles on Sunday with Berwick supplying the Wasps' opposition in the Premier League.
Stone said: "I'm sure Michal Rajkowski will be having a chat with his fellow Poles before the meeting, but it will all be very serious when they get out on the track. It has all the makings of being a good match."
REDCAR have re-signed Jack Hargreaves for a second spell with the club to ease their problems at reserve.
Promoter Chris Van Straaten said: "Jack will be fit to take his place on August 4. He will come into the side as a replacement for Jamie Courtney who has turned into the invisible man. Despite repeated efforts by myself and Brian Havelock, we have had no contact from him."
RYE HOUSE skipper Chris Neath said the Rockets had surpassed their expectations in their demolition of Edinburgh, when they ran up a 68-point score.
Neath said: "In fairness, we looked at the Edinburgh team beforehand, and we were confident that we would win, but we were expecting maybe 55 points. That would have been a good night's work. To get what we did was unreal."
SHEFFIELD owner Neil Machin admits his team need to string a good run of results together if they’re to reach the play-offs.
He said: “Our away form has been poor and we’ve had a lot of home meetings cancelled. We need to go on a good run to start catching up with those above us.”
SOMERSET co-promoter Mike Golding has given the club – and the Premier League – the thumbs up half-way through his first season in charge.
He said: “The Premier League gives a much greater variety of fixtures and it has been nice to work with some of the younger riders.”
STOKE promoter Dave Tattum intends to make further enquiries in the wake of an incident-filled home defeat by Glasgow.
Tattum said: "There are lots of issues I want clarifying, but I daren't say anything yet in print. Suffice to say at this point, the decisions to exclude Claus Vissing in Heat and Jamie Smith in Heat 8 were hotly disputed by the riders."
WORKINGTON are hoping to have one, possibly two, of their injured riders back for Saturday’s home clash with the Isle of Wight.
Mattia Carpanese (shoulder), Craig Branney (neck and back) and Charles Wright (whiplash) all missed last weekend’s win over Redcar.
Team manager Tony Jackson said: “I expect Charles to return and there’s a chance Craig might make it as well.”
FIXTURE PICTURE
TUESDAY JULY 31: PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Newcastle 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Belle Vue 7.30, Reading v Coventry 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Newcastle 7.45, King's Lynn v Berwick 7.30 CONFERENCE TROPHY: Stoke v Buxton 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 2: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Belle Vue 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Birmingham 7.30, Sheffield v Stoke 7.45 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Cleveland v Scunthorpe 7.30
FRIDAY AUGUST 3: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Arena Essex-Lakeside v Reading 8pm, Coventry v Wolverhampton 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Mildenhall 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Boston v Stoke 7.30, Oxford v Rye House 7.30, Plymouth v Buxton 7.30 SCOTTISH OPEN: Edinburgh 7.30 CHALLENGE: Weymouth v Newport Mavericks Select 7.15
SATURDAY AUGUST 4: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Wolverhampton 7.30, Ipswich v Peterborough 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Redcar 7pm, Rye House v Newport 7pm, Stoke v Sheffield 7.30, Workington v Isle of Wight 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 5: PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Redcar 4pm, Mildenhall v Birmingham 4.30, Newcastle v Edinburgh 6.30, Newport v Berwick 4pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton v Weymouth 3pm, Rye House v Plymouth 2pm, Sittingbourne v Oxford 12pm, Scunthorpe v Boston 3pm
MONDAY AUGUST 6: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Coventry 7.30, Reading v Ipswich 7.30, Swindon v Peterborough 7.30, Wolverhampton v Poole 7.30
TUESDAY AUGUST 7: PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Rye House 7.30
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 8: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Birmingham v Redcar 7.45, King's Lynn v Edinburgh 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Stoke v Boston 7.30
THURSDAY AUGUST 9: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30, Peterborough v Arena Essex-Lakeside 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Mildenhall 7.30, Sheffield v Edinburgh 7.45 SMALLBROOK SPECTACULAR: Isle of Wight 7.30
FRIDAY AUGUST 10: PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Newcastle 7.30, Somerset v Newport 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Weymouth v Sittingbourne 7.15 CHALLENGE: Arena Essex-Lakeside v Rye House 8pm
SATURDAY AUGUST 11: PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Birmingham 7pm, Stoke v Edinburgh 7.30, Workington v Somerset 7pm PREMIER LEAGUE KOC: Rye House v Isle of Wight 7pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Cleveland v Buxton 6pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 12: PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Stoke 4pm, Mildenhall v Isle of Wight 4.30, Newcastle v Birmingham 6.30, Newport v Rye House 4pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton v Boston 3pm, Oxford v Sittingbourne 7.30 Scunthorpe v Rye House 3pm
MONDAY AUGUST 13: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Reading 8pm, Eastbourne v Swindon 7.30, Peterborough v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30
TUESDAY AUGUST 14: PREMIER LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Workington 7.30
