LATEST British Speedway news from around the tracks up and down the country...

PREVIEW: EDINBURGH v GLASGOW (SCOTTISH CUP)
EDINBURGH’S new-look team get their first competitive track action tonight (Friday) as the Scottish Cup returns with the Monarchs facing Glasgow.

The home side have three incoming riders for 2025 with Victor Palovaara back in British speedway and with the potential to be a powerful reserve; whilst Jonatan Grahn and Oskar Polis are both making their UK debuts this season.

Their local rivals are also much changed for the new campaign with Kyle Howarth, Dan Thompson, Ashton Boughen, Freddy Hodder and Max Perry all making their first appearances for the Tigers at Armadale.

Monarchs boss Alex Harkess said: “There’s a buzz about the team this year I have to say, and also about the two new guys.

“We have a solid side, we know what our riders can do, we just need them to do it consistently. We are not underestimating the task on Friday, but it is up to us.”


COUNTDOWN TO THE BIG WEEKEND
SCUNTHORPE promoter and BSPL chairman Rob Godfrey says everything is set up for a spectacular Championship Big Weekend.

The campaign kicks off with a bang with two major events, starting with the Pairs at Workington on Saturday and followed up by the League Riders’ Championship at Scunthorpe on Sunday.

And with the sunny spring weather being forecasted to continue throughout the weekend, and strong line-ups in place for both meetings, two memorable contests are expected with Godfrey addressing the decision to pull the events forward from their more tradition staging dates.

He said: “It’s been a fantastic week leading up to it and the weekend looks fantastic for Workington and Scunthorpe, so I think the gods are smiling on us this weekend for a change!

“I know the riders and the fans will be raring to go, and hopefully we’ll give them two fantastic events to start the season with, that’s the plan.

“I’ve been banging the drum that to get the best possible fields in all these events, we need to do it at the beginning of the season, a bit like the Peter Craven (at Belle Vue) at a different level.

“Championship-wise, to make sure that everyone’s available we need to do it at the beginning. Last year we fell short because (the CLRC at) Redcar was to run at the beginning, but then it was put back and it was a bit of a disappointment.

“I said let’s chuck everything into it and let’s go for it this year, so we formulated a plan, Workington put their hands up and we felt that was a great track to have the Pairs at, and I said I would run the CLRC, and here we are.”


TIGERS WIN IT FOR TAI
SHEFFIELD dedicated their emphatic 61-29 ROWE Motor Oil Premiership victory over Birmingham to team-mate Tai Woffinden who remains in hospital.

The Tigers operated as a six-man until following Woffinden’s crash in Poland last weekend and dominated proceedings at Owlerton to record their joint highest victory ever in the Premiership.

Inspirational skipper Josh Pickering (16+1) and No.1 Jack Holder (14) dropped just a single point apiece whilst Anders Rowe (11+4) bagged a brilliant paid maximum on his Sheffield debut.

The visitors picked up only three race wins after being out-gated for most of the contest, with their top scorer being Matej Zagar on seven.

Pickering said: “It was an awesome team performance. Our backs were against the wall and it goes to show a great team can get going when the times are tough.

“I’m so proud of all of the boys here tonight – obviously we’ve got something sat at the back of our minds and we’re going to continue to have that for a number of weeks.

“I didn’t want to talk about it leading up to the meeting, but things hit close to home when it’s one of your best mates.”

Brummies manager Chris Adams said: “It’s one of those tracks where if you haven’t got the set-up right and you don’t hit form from the word go, you can soon be trailing by quite some distance.

“Unfortunately, that was the case for us and we only started to get going a little bit once it was way too late.

“We were all very disappointed with how it all went, but there’s no point thinking about it too much now – we have to learn and show we’re better than that next time we go back to Sheffield.”


WITCHES WIN AFTER BRUISING BATTLE
IPSWICH maintained their winning start to 2025 with a 48-42 success at Oxford – despite a stunning show from Spires racer Erik Riss.

The German, who previously rode for the Witches, racked up an incredible 20-point score in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership encounter, dropping his only point in Heat 1 to Jason Doyle.

The heroics from Riss enabled the home side to close the gap to two points with three races remaining, but Doyle – who scored a paid maximum from four rides – combined with Emil Sayfutdinov for a 5-1 in Heat 13 to give the Witches breathing space.

Doyle (11+1) and flying reserve Dan Thompson (10) both walked away from a heavy crash in Heat 11 which saw the Spires’ Luke Killeen disqualified, and Sayfutdinov also came to grief in Heat 15 without injury.

Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “A really hard-fought, tough meeting, it was a slog on the track for the boys individually dealing with track conditions. It was a slog for us on the score front, but we kept working hard and got through it in the end and managed to take two points.

“We have got the result, and it shows what a solid side we are, we had very few last places again. There were a lot of crashes, and I am delighted that everyone has walked away from them. There were a few bent bikes and a few issues but overall, it is a very positive start.

“Lasty, it was nice to see Erik, who was with us for a couple of seasons, riding as good as we know he can. It was a great performance from him for Oxford.”

Riss said: “I had a good feeling about today. Last week wasn’t so good for me, but I learned some things that I had to do. I also had some issues with my clutch, so I spent the weekend practicing and trying out different things.

“It all paid off, because tonight my starts were good and the bike set-up was just right.

“Our performance tonight was okay because Ipswich are a strong team. But we know we are capable of more as a team. Once we all get going, we can beat anyone around here – and that includes Ipswich.”