Scunthorpe Scorpions vs Plymouth Devils preview
SCORPIONS IN KEY CLASH
FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, entertain the Plymouth Devils, the team directly above them in the Premier League table at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday evening (7.30pm).
The Scorpions – blighted with injury throughout 2015 – are currently bottom of the Premier League, and need to make sure they win their next three home meetings against Plymouth (Friday), Newcastle (August 7) and Redcar (August 14), who are all teams also in the lower reaches of the league table.
Ex-Scorpion Thomas Jorgensen comes in for the injured No 1 Josh Auty. Auty is back on the sidelines in somewhat controversial circumstances, after Ipswich’s Rohan Tungate rode straight into him post-race following Heat 10 at Scunthorpe last week.
Auty had just returned from a nine-week break with a broken hand, and it won’t be clear until the swelling goes down, just how soon he will be able to return, if at all this season.
Nike Lunna is riding in the Finish Under-21 Championship, so he is replaced at No 7 by another former Scorpion, Benji Compton.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey says: “One look at the league table reveals why we really want to make sure that we win on Friday night. We need to catch up the teams above us, because we really don’t to finish bottom of the league.
“Ideally we want not only the win, but also to stop Plymouth taking any points at all on Friday evening.”
The last two meetings at the Eddie Wright Raceway have been full of brilliant racing and incident, with Peterborough beaten 47-43 at the last gasp, while last week’s encounter with Ipswich (which the Witches won eventually 47-43) almost defies description – containing everything including a punch-up and a sit-down protest.
Godfrey adds: “I’m sure it’s bound to be another cracking evening of action around the best speedway track in the country. As the last two weeks have shown, you never want to miss a meeting at Scunthorpe Speedway, because you never quite know what’s going to happen next!
“With everything that went on last Friday, what almost got pushed to the side, was how good the racing was. There was some absolutely great stuff.
“I’m delighted to have Thomas Jorgensen back as a guest, because he was just superb against Peterborough a fortnight ago, combining with two 5-1s with Ryan Douglas, to turn the match around in our favour, just when it looked we were about dead and buried.
“Thomas will always give his all when guesting for us, and our other guest, Benji Compton, is another who will never give anything less than 100%. We wish Nike good luck in his quest to win the Finnish Under-21 Championship.”
Friday sees the start of a special promotion, which will last to the end of the 2015 season, which sees all accompanied children under the age of 16 admitted for free to home Scorpions’ meetings.
“We’re always looking to attract more younger fans”, says Godfrey. “And this offer is part of that. It’s now the school holidays, and if you’re a parent, I can’t think of a better way than keeping your kids entertained on a Friday evening than bringing them along here!”
There are 24 heats of action in total on Friday, with a nine-race second half including a six-heat Midland Development League match between Scunthorpe & Milton Keynes.
Admission prices for Friday:
Adult: £15.00
Student/OAP: £13.00
Child (16 – 17): £5.00
Child (0 – 15) Free (accompanied by paying adult)
Family Ticket £35 (2 adults, 2 Children 16-17)
Match Programme: £1.00
Expected teams for Friday:
FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance: 1. Thomas Jorgensen (guest for Josh Auty), 2. Alex Davies, 3. Theo Pijper, 4. Carl Wilkinson, 5. Ryan Douglas, 6. Ben Wilson, 7. Benji Compton (guest for Nike Lunna).
Plymouth Devils: 1. Ryan Fisher, 2. Morten Risager, 3. Jack Holder, 4. Todd Kurtz, 5. Kyle Newman, 6. Sam Simota, 7. Rafal Konopka (guest for Roland Benko).
Midland Development League teams:
Scunthorpe Stags: 1. Chris Bambury, 2. Sam Chapman, 3. Luke Whitehead, 4. Kurtis Scarboro.
Milton Keynes Knights: 1. Tom Bacon, 2. Robert Watts, 3. TBA, 4. Robert Parker.
Plymouth Devils at EWR
Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Best Performance
Ryan Fisher PL 5 24 48 2 8.00 8.33 13 + 1 from 5 rides (2008)
Jack Holder DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR
Todd Kurtz PL 8 36 45 8 5.00 5.89 12 + 2 from 5 rides (2014)
Kyle Newman PL 4 17 14 3 3.29 4.00 7 + 1 from 4 rides (2013)
Morten Risager PL 6 23 22 2 3.83 4.17 7 + 1 from 4 rides (2014)
Zdenek Simota PL 1 4 3 1 3.00 4 3 + 1 from 4 rides (2014)
GUEST RIDER
Rafal Konopka PL 6 25 17 3 2.72 3.20 5 + 1 from 6 rides (2015)
Ryan Fisher
Has represented his Country in 13 World Cup meetings.
Member of Edinburgh’s Premier League Championship, Premier Trophy and Play-off Winning Teams in 2008.
Member of Edinburgh’s Premier League Play-offs Winning Team in 2009.
Member of Edinburgh’s Premier League Championship Winning Team in 2010.
Jack Holder
2011 Australian Under-16 350cc Champion.
2013 New South Wales Under-21 Champion.
Todd Kurtz
Member of Newport’s Premier League KO Cup Winning Team in 2011.
Member of Somerset’s Premier Shield and Four-Team Championship Winning Teams in 2014.
Kyle Newman
Winner of Queensland State Under-21 Championships in 2011.
Member of Weymouth’s Conference League Championship Winning Team in 2008.
Member of Bournemouth’s National League Championship and KO Cup Winning Teams in 2009.
Member of Newcastle’s Premier Shield Winning Team in 2011.
Member of Poole’s Elite League Championship Winning Team in 2011.
Member of Somerset’s League Cup Winning Team in 2012.
Member of Somerset’s Premier League Championship and KO Cup Winning Teams in 2013.
Member of Poole’s Elite League Championship Winning Team in 2014.
Member of Poole’s Elite Shield Winning Teams in 2014 and 2015.
Morten Risager
Has ridden in 1 Speedway Grand Prix meeting.
Member of Coventry’s Elite League Championship Winning Teams in 2005 and 2007.
Member of Coventry’s Elite Shield Winning Team in 2006.
Member of Ipswich’s Premier League Four-Team Championship Winning Team in 2011.
Zdenek Simota
Has ridden in 2 Grand Prix and 5 World Cup meetings.
Made his British League debut in the 2005 Premier League with Reading.
2004 Czech Republic Under-21 Champion.
Plymouth Devils’ PL Results at EWR
19 August 2011 PL L Scunthorpe 56 Plymouth 37
02 September 2012 PL L Scunthorpe 54 Plymouth 39
16 August 2013 PL L Scunthorpe 56 Plymouth 34
27 April 2014 PL L Scunthorpe 52 Plymouth 43
