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.
ELITE LEAGUE LATEST
ARENA ESSEX-LAKESIDE boss Jon Cook is hoping that the club can persuade German Grand Prix winner Andreas Jonsson to line up for the Hammers again next season.
Coventry asset Jonsson has been in blistering form in the closing weeks of the 2007 campaign.
Cook said: "We will be talking to Coventry and to AJ in the winter, and we have some thoughts on the matter. We wouldn't have brought him over for only a couple of months this season if there was absolutely no chance of him coming back next season."
BELLE VUE skipper Joe Screen is keen to continue his long association with the club into the 2008 season.
Screen said: "I know that at my age I haven't got too many years to go as a speedway rider, but I am very clear in my mind that I want to continue my racing at Elite League level, and I want to do it at Belle Vue.
"Obviously this hasn't been a good season for us, but I feel we have a management here who can take the club forward and I would like to be a part of it."
COVENTRY will face Swindon in both the Knockout Cup and Craven Shield Finals having beaten the Robins to win the League championship earlier in the month - but co-boss Peter Oakes is not writing Poole out of the three-team Shield event either.
Oakes said: "It's fairly clear that ourselves and Swindon have been the best two teams in the League this season and you only have to look at the table after 36 matches to see that.
"But the Craven Shield will be an interesting Final and you certainly can't rule Poole out of that. I think with the six-man teams it could be very well-matched."
EASTBOURNE manager Trevor Geer says the club are set to sign a more youthful team for next season after seeing plenty of promising signs from their less experienced riders - including mid-season loan signing Morten Risager.
Geer said: "From when Morten got here he has gone out and geed the other lads up. He gets involved, and he is always thinking about what the team is doing.
"I would love to see him stay, and of course we want Davey Watt back, but at the moment we are open-minded for next year. What we do know is we want to keep it as a young team."
IPSWICH skipper Chris Louis won the club's traditional end-of-season 16-lap Classic for a record-breaking sixth time - and then confirmed he wants to extend his run of success next year!
Louis said: "The harder laps seem to get a little earlier in the race each passing year for me, but it was a good meeting and I am delighted to win it again. I shall be back next year to try and win again."
PETERBOROUGH owner Colin Horton has quashed speculation that the Panthers could be considering a move into the Premier League next season.
Horton said: "We are staying in the Elite League and, what's more, I can assure fans I will still be here next year. Nobody has directly held talks with me about buying the club and it's not for sale.
"In fact, I will spend even more time in Peterborough next year to promote the sport because I have taken on more staff in my other businesses."
POOLE hope to unveil a new signing for 2008 ahead of their home leg of the Craven Shield Final on Wednesday.
Promoter Matt Ford said: "We want to parade our first signing for 2008 at the Stadium on Wednesday. But we won't be doing it unless the i's and t's are dotted and crossed.
"We see no reason why this can't be sorted before tomorrow night. It's a big night for the team on track and a declaration of intent by the management off it with regards to next season."
READING will showcase several talented young riders at their season-ending Denny Pyeatt Memorial Trophy meeting at Smallmead next Monday.
Included in the line-up is German teenager Frank Facher, who recently finished fifth in his national championship.
Racers promoter Malcolm Holloway said: "Frank is another rider I am looking at with the future of the club in mind, and the meeting will give us an ideal opportunity to see him in action. I'm pleased with the way the field is shaping up for the event."
SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter believes the Robins can still clinch silverware this season having booked places in the Finals of both the Knockout Cup and Craven Shield.
Rossiter said: "We want to win something this season and, despite what some might say, the likes of the Craven Shield and Knockout Cup are big prizes to win.
"It's been a good season, despite what happened in the (Elite League) Grand Final against Coventry. We know we let the supporters down badly that night and we want to put that right for them and Leigh Adams."
WOLVERHAMPTON star Fredrik Lindgren won the club's prestigious Banks's Olympique handicap event - and confirmed that he would favour a return to Monmore Green next season.
Lindgren said: "Wolverhampton is a good club with good people in charge and I'm very happy here. I admit the track still isn't one of my favourites but it's been good to race here every week, it's improved me as a rider and helped take my career forward. "Of course I want to be a Grand Prix rider next season, I am as ambitious as anyone else. I would still like to race here in England and would welcome the opportunity to ride for Wolverhampton again."
PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST
BIRMINGHAM boss Graham Drury says he will go into the Young Shield Final with confidence - whether the Brummies end up facing either Workington or Redcar.
Drury said: "Workington would throw up plenty of interest because of the fact that I used to be in charge up there and Ulrich Ostergaard now riders for them. But we have a good record against them this season and we also have a good record against Redcar, so we don't fear either team."
GLASGOW'S David McAllan underwent an operation on his back on Monday morning due to some floating bone pressing on a nerve.
McAllan was involved in a crash at Ashfield on Sunday which resulted in a crack to his L1 vertebrae, although he has full movement in all of his limbs, and a slight numbness in one foot has disappeared.
ISLE OF WIGHT youngster Chris Johnson faces a long road to recovery after sustaining multiple injuries in an horrific crash at King's Lynn on Friday.
Johnson, who is officially described as 'stable' has a badly broken thigh as well as a broken kneecap and pelvis - although after extensive surgery, doctors are confident that he will make a full recovery.
KING'S LYNN boss Rob Lyon believes the home riders face a tough evening when the club stages their annual Pride of the East individual event this Wednesday.
Lyon said: "If I was a bookie I would not know who to make the favourite. One of the dark horses has to be Josef Franc, last time he was at King's Lynn he beat both Tomas (Topinka) and Daniel (Nermark) by quite a distance."
MILDENHALL wrap up their 2007 campaign with The Big Bang 2 at West Row on Sunday featuring teams from the Fen Tigers, Peterborough, Boston and an East Anglian Select.
Co-promoter Simon Barton said: "This meeting will feature top quality racing from both the Elite and the Premier league and will finish with a bang, literally, with the firework fiesta.”
NEWCASTLE promoter Darryl Illingworth says that Sean Stoddart's performance against Redcar last weekend was a clear indication of his future potential.
Illingworth said: "Sean really rode his socks off with two memorable wins, one over former World Champion Gary Havelock no less to cap a superb season for the youngster. He's a top rider and I'm sure he will have a massive future in speedway."
NEWPORT promoter Tim Stone accepted that his team had not done enough in their home leg of the Knockout Cup semi-final against Somerset - as their season ended in defeat at the Oak Tree Arena.
Stone said: "I couldn't help but reflect again on the first leg, because we should have scored 58 in that match, and that would have made it a totally different story at their place."
REDCAR skipper Gary Havelock will warn his side against complacency when they race the second leg of their Tyne/Tees Trophy clash with Newcastle - having secured a draw from the away leg.
Havelock said: "In theory we’ve got one hand on the trophy now. But I’ve been in speedway long enough to know that you should never be complacent. If we go into the second leg thinking we’ve won it already, it could come back and bite us."
RYE HOUSE skipper Chris Neath is hoping that the Rockets can make use of their strong home form when they take on Sheffield in the Premier League Grand Final this week.
Neath said: "We are really looking forward to the Final. We want to make amends for losing out in the other competitions this year. It's going to be difficult for us, but likewise for them because they've got to come to Hoddesdon."
SHEFFIELD have booked Somerset's Jordan Frampton as a guest for both legs of this week's Grand Final against Rye House - as a reward for his performances as the Tigers overcame King's Lynn in the semi-finals.
Co-promoter David Hoggart said: "We have faith in Jordan and he has very much played a key role in our success in getting this far in the competition. Whatever happens from here on, we should feel very proud of our efforts."
SOMERSET promoter Mike Golding is urging Rebels fans to come along to the Oak Tree Arena on Friday to give the team as much support as possible in the first leg of the Knockout Cup Final against King's Lynn.
The fixture has been switched from a week on Friday at the request of King's Lynn, meaning that the Rebels will be looking to build up a lead ahead of what now becomes the second leg at the Norfolk Arena next Wednesday.
STOKE'S competitive season ended with a serious crash for Lee Complin at Glasgow - with the consequences thankfully limited to a broken metatarsal and bad bruising.
Potters boss John Adams said: "It was a bad crash, Lee cleared the safety fence and just missed hitting a wall."
WORKINGTON boss Tony Jackson hopes his side are not left to rue a disappointing end to the first leg of their Young Shield semi-final at Redcar last week.
Jackson said: "We have to make sure we beat the Bears by more than ten points at Derwent Park and I just hope we don’t regret how we finished the meeting at Redcar. We had done a lot of hard work to put ourselves in front but they scored three 5-1’s and a 4-2 over the last four heats to turn a four point deficit into a ten-point lead."
FIXTURE PICTURE
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17: CRAVEN SHIELD FINAL 1st leg: Poole v Swindon v Coventry 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Stoke v Rye House 7.30 PRIDE OF THE EAST: King's Lynn 7.30
THURSDAY OCTOBER 18: CRAVEN SHIELD FINAL 2nd leg: Swindon v Coventry v Poole 7.30 PREMIER LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Sheffield v Rye House 7.45 SOUTH TEES SILVER HELMET: Redcar 7.30
FRIDAY OCTOBER 19: CRAVEN SHIELD FINAL 3rd leg: Coventry v Poole v Swindon 8pm SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Arena Essex-Lakeside v Eastbourne 8pm PREMIER LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP FINAL 1st leg: Somerset v King's Lynn 7.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Oxford v Scunthorpe 7.30
SATURDAY OCTOBER 20: SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Reading 5.30 PREMIER LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Rye House v Sheffield 7pm YOUNG SHIELD SEMI FINAL 2nd leg: Workington v Redcar 7pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Stoke v Buxton 7.30
SUNDAY OCTOBER 21: ASHFIELD CLASSIC: Glasgow 4pm BIG BANG 2: Mildenhall v Boston v Peterborough v East Anglian Select 4.30 CONFERENCE LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v Oxford 3pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Buxton v Stoke 3pm SPRAYTEX FOURS: Sittingbourne 12pm
MONDAY OCTOBER 22: MIDLAND SHIELD: Wolverhampton v Birmingham 7.30 DENNY PYEATT MEMORIAL: Reading, 7.30
TUESDAY OCTOBER 23: ISLAND SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONSHIP: Isle of Wight 7.30
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24: MIDLAND SHIELD 2nd leg: Birmingham v Wolverhampton 7.45 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 2nd leg: King's Lynn v Somerset 7.30
THURSDAY OCTOBER 25: ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL: Swindon v Coventry 7.30 TYNE/TEES TROPHY: Redcar v Newcastle 7.30
FRIDAY OCTOBER 26:
ELITE LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL: Coventry v Swindon 8pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 1st leg: Plymouth v Scunthorpe 7.30 CHALLENGE: Somerset v Premier League Select 7.30
SATURDAY OCTOBER 27: ACE OF HERTS: Rye House 7pm GARRY STEAD BENEFIT: Stoke 7.30
SUNDAY OCTOBER 28: DIAMOND JUBILEE BRANDONAPOLIS: Coventry 1pm YOUNG SHIELD FINAL: Birmingham v Redcar/Workington 6pm CONFERENCE LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 2nd leg: Scunthorpe v Plymouth 3pm PREMIER LEAGUE CHALLENGE: Oxford 7.30 HEATHERSFIELD GOLDEN HELMET: Glasgow 3pm
TUESDAY OCTOBER 30: CHALLENGE: Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30
