Scunthorpe Scorpions vs Workington Comets preview
SCUNTHORPE club asset Ashley Birks will guest for the FluidAir Power Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, when they entertain the Workington Comets in Premier League action at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday evening (7.30pm).
The Scorpions have been badly hit by injury this season.
David Howe is out indefinitely, after aggravating an old shoulder injury in an off-track accident, while it will be a few more weeks before Josh Auty is ready to return from a broken hand.
Last Friday, both Ryan Douglas and Alex Davies (pictured) crashed out of the latter stages of Scunthorpe’s 53-37 Knockout Cup victory over the Newcastle Diamonds.
Unfortunately, Douglas seems set to be ruled out for 4 to 6 weeks, after suffering a small fracture to one of his vertebrae.
However, Davies will ride through the pain barrier on Friday with a badly lacerated thumb.
With ‘Honourary Scorpion’ Ben Barker (the regular guest for Josh Auty) in action for Berwick at Plymouth on Friday, the Scorpions have turned to an old friend in Ashley Birks, to guest in place of Douglas, while rider replacement will operate for Auty.
Birks rode for the Scunthorpe Saints in the National League in 2010 and 2011, and then was promoted to the Premier League Scunthorpe Scorpions between 2012 and 2014, and was captain for much of that period. He is riding for his hometown club Sheffield this season, where some of his main sponsors are based.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey says: “I know that Ash (Birks) is a rider who will always give his all when he rides for Scunthorpe.
“He is still very much a friend of this club. Last week, for the Newcastle home match, he came along to help out Ben Wilson.
“But Ash also ended up providing invaluable assistance to Nike Lunna. He looked at Nike’s clutches and, by the end of the meeting, Nike was getting out of the start much better than before.
“We looked at the various options for Friday, and decided it was best to use the guest for Ryan in this case.”
The Scorpions have yet to win a league match in 2015. Their two victories have both been over Newcastle, in the League Cup and Knockout Cup (both by 53-37).
“We’ll give it our best shot on Friday”, says Godfrey. “That’s what we did last week and we ended up with a valuable lead over the Diamonds in the cup.
“Workington have got some riders who can ride our place well, but I think we can beat them. Last week, it was our strength at reserve which went a long way to our success and that could well be the case again.
“This season certainly hasn’t gone to plan so far. But what the fans will see every week at the Eddie Wright Raceway is a Scorpions’ side giving it their all, plus some fabulous racing.”
There are 24 heats of action in total on Friday, with a nine-race second half comprising of a six-heat Midland Development League match between Scunthorpe and King’s Lynn and three 125/150cc Youth races.
Admission prices for Friday:
Adult: £15.00
Student/OAP: £13.00
Child (10 – 17): £5.00
Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult)
Family Ticket £35 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-17)
Match Programme: £1.00
Expected teams for Friday:
FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance: 1. Rider replacement for Josh Auty, 2. Theo Pijper, 3. Ashley Birks (guest for Ryan Douglas), 4. Carl Wilkinson, 5. Alex Davies, 6. Ben Wilson, 7. Nike Lunna.
Workington Comets: 1. Kenneth Hansen, 2. Ricky Wells, 3. Rene Bach, 4. Matthew Wethers, 5. Kyle Howarth, 6. Nicki Barrett, 7. Nathan Greaves.
Midland Development League teams:
Scunthorpe Stags: 1. Tom Bacon, 2. Sam Darroch, 3. Paul Bowen, 4. Luke Whitehead.
King’s Lynn Lightning: 1. Adam Portwood, 2. George Hunter, 3. Sean Phillips, 4. Kyle Roberts.
Workington Comets at EWR
Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Best Performance
Rene Bach PL 5 21 29 6 5.52 6.67 7 + 3 from 4 rides (2012)
Nicki Barrett PL 2 7 3 0 1.71 1.71 2 from 4 rides (2014)
Nathan Greaves PL 1 4 2 2 2.00 4.00 2 + 2 from 4 rides (2014)
Kenneth Hansen DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR
Kyle Howarth PL 6 32 31 2 3.88 4.13 7 from 4 rides (2013)
Ricky Wells PL 12 56 80 11 5.71 6.50 9 + 2 from 5 rides (2014)
Matthew Wethers PL 9 36 37 4 4.11 4.56 7 + 1 from 4 rides (2008)
Other Notes
Rene Bach
Member of Denmark’s World Under-21 Team Cup Winning Team in 2011.
2010 Danish Under-21 Champion.
Member of Newcastle’s Premier Trophy, KO Cup and Play-Off Winning Teams in 2010.
Member of Workington’s 2012 Premier League Pairs Winning Duo.
Nicki Barrett
2004 FIM Youth 80cc Champion.
Made his Premier League debut for Berwick during the 2012 season.
Nathan Greaves
Twice British Youth 250cc Champion (2011 and 2012).
Twice British Youth 500cc Champion (2012 and 2013).
Member of Dudley’s National League Championship, KO Cup and National Shield Winning Teams in 2013.
Member of Cradley’s National League Championship, KO Cup and Four-Team Championship Winning Teams in 2014.
Kenneth Hansen
2003 FIM Youth 80cc Gold Trophy Winner.
Made his Premier League debut for Workington during the 2007 season.
Kyle Howarth
2015 British Under-21 Champion.
Rode for the Scunthorpe Saints in 2009 National League.
Member of Poole’s Elite League KO Cup Winning Team in 2012.
Named as a ‘doubling-up’ rider with Swindon for the 2015 Elite League Season.
Ricky Wells
Twice USA Under-16 Champion (2004 and 2005).
Twice USA Under-21 Champion (2007 and 2008).
2009 AMA American Champion.
Member of Wolverhampton’s Elite Shield Winning Team in 2011.
Has represented the USA in World Cup meetings.
Matthew Wethers
Member of Edinburgh’s Premier League Championship Winning Teams in 2003, 2008 and 2010.
Member of Edinburgh’s Premier League Play-Off Winning Teams in 2008 and 2009.
Member of Edinburgh’s Premier Trophy Winning Team in 2008.
Workington Comets’ Results at EWR
09 May 2008 PL L Scunthorpe 47 Workington 43
03 October 2008 YS L Scunthorpe 51 Workington 39
03 July 2009 PL L Scunthorpe 51 Workington 39
20 June 2010 PL L Scunthorpe 56 Workington 36
22 October 2010 YS S/F L Scunthorpe 47 Workington 43
15 April 2011 PL W Scunthorpe 44 Workington 46
18 May 2012 KOC W Scunthorpe 44 Workington 46
03 August 2012 PL L Scunthorpe 49 Workington 40
07 October 2012 PLPO SF L Scunthorpe 62 Workington 28
30 April 2013 PL D Scunthorpe 45 Workington 45
31 August 2014 PL L Scunthorpe 53 Workington 37
