Bank Holiday Monday Double Header preview
BEST VALUE SPEEDWAY MEETING OF THE YEAR
SCUNTHORPE’s Eddie Wright Raceway in Normanby Road presents perhaps the best value speedway meeting in the UK this season on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon (3pm), with 38 heats on offer for just £17 for adults.
Here is what is on offer:
• 15 heats of hotly-contested local derby action, as the FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, entertain the Sheffield Tigers in Premier League action on the best racetrack in the country.
• 16 hotshots of the future from 10 different tracks going head-to-head in the 23-heat Midland Development League Riders’ Championship.
• The chance to see new signing Leigh Lanham’s debut for the Scunthorpe Scorpions.
• The debut of Robin Aspegren for Sheffield, plus the return of Tigers’ legend Andre Compton in a Sheffield racejacket.
• Free admission to all accompanied children under the age of 16.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey says: “It promises to be an absolute belting afternoon of Bank Holiday speedway.
“Our record against the Sheffield Tigers this season is not impressive: it reads three meetings and three defeats. We had the Indian sign over the Tigers between 2012 & 2014, but so far this season, the boot has been on the other foot.
“We expect quite a few Tigers’ fans to make the short journey up the M18 and, of course, they’d love to see another win for their team over the Scorpions, but I think maybe we can upset their applecart.
“Both teams have a slightly different look about them after signings on both sides to cover for injuries, and I think it’s going to be an extremely close and hard-fought meeting.
“Sheffield have a trump card at reserve in Josh Bates, but we have two trump cards at reserve in Alex Davies and Nike Lunna. I honestly think we can steal the win on Monday, but it’s going to be close and we’re going to need our fans to really get behind skipper Theo Pijper and the boys.
“There’s not just local pride on the line. We’d dearly love the three Premier League points for a victory in our quest to avoid finishing bottom of the league. It is extremely close between Berwick, Redcar and ourselves.”
New signing Leigh Lanham adds stability and experience to the Scunthorpe line-up, and he previously scored 11+2 for Somerset at the Eddie Wright Raceway in May.
Meanwhile, youngsters Zdenek Holub and Andreas Lyager both make their second-ever appearances at the track for the Scorpions – both impressed on their respective debuts with scores of 8+2 and 6.
The signing of Lanham has gone down well with his new team-mates. Carl Wilkinson tweeted on Thursday morning: “That’s a nice little surprise to wake up to. Welcome aboard fella, Mr. Lightning starts!”
Meanwhile, the second meeting on Bank Holiday Monday, the Midland Development League Riders’ Championship (MDLRC), which is sponsored by City Gearboxes, is also bound to attract plenty of attention.
It features the 16 best riders from the MDL, which has been held across 10 tracks in the second halves of meetings.
Monday’s heat-format is the same as the one currently used for Speedway Grand Prix series, with 20 heats followed by two semi-finals and a final.
Godfrey adds: “The Midland Development League is a hotbed of talent and many of these riders will go on to become stars of the sport in the future.
“It’s going to be intriguing to watch the top 16 riders from the league go against each other in an individual meeting and see who comes out on top.
“Scunthorpe will be represented by Jamie Halder and Sam Darroch, but many of the names will be familiar to those who come along to our regular Amateur meetings at the Eddie Wright Raceway.
“We’re proud, as a club, to be on the forefront of the development of British Youth and to be able to stage the MDLRC at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Monday.”
Admission prices for Bank Holiday Monday:
Adult: £17.00
Student/OAP: £15.00
Child (16 – 17): £5.00
Child (0 – 15) Free (accompanied by paying adult)
Family Ticket £39 (2 adults, 2 Children 16-17)
Match Programme: £1.00
Expected teams for Bank Holiday Monday:
FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance: 1. Zdenek Holub, 2. Theo Pijper, 3. Andreas Lyager, 4. Carl Wilkinson, 5. Leigh Lanham, 6. Alex Davies, 7. Nike Lunna.
Sheffield Tigers: 1. Jason Garrity, 2. Robin Aspegren, 3. David Bellego, 4. Nicolai Klindt, 5. Andre Compton, 6. Paco Castagna, 7. Josh Bates.
Line-up for City Gearboxes Midland Development League Riders’ Championship: 1. Lee Geary (Long Eaton), 2. Lee Springthorpe (Long Eaton), 3. Layne Cupitt (King’s Lynn), 4. Callum Walker (Coventry), 5. David Holt (Belle Vue), 6. Mitchell Beckett (Coventry), 7. Sam Darroch (Scunthorpe), 8. Connor Fletcher (Stoke), 9. Rob Watts (Milton Keynes), 10. Ben Basford (Peterborough), 11. Adam Portwood (King’s Lynn), 12. Alex Wilson (Peterborough), 13. Jamie Halder (Scunthorpe), 14. Jack Parkinson-Blackburn (Buxton), 15. Andy Mellish (Belle Vue), 16. Adam Sheppard (Wolverhampton). Reserves: 17. David Morgan (Buxton), 18. Sam Wright (Wolverhampton).
Sheffield Tigers at EWR
Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Best Performance
Robin Aspegren PL 6 23 34 6 5.91 6.96 11 + 1 from 6 rides (2012)
Josh Bates PL 9 46 32 3 2.78 3.04 11 + 1 from 5 rides (2015)
David Bellego PL 9 38 48 7 5.05 5.79 9 from 4 rides (2013)
Michele Paco Castagna DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR
Andre Compton PL 14 60 101 11 6.73 7.47 13 from 5 rides (2005)
Jason Garrity PL 2 9 12 0 5.33 5.33 9 from 5 rides (inc 4 pts T/R (2014))
Nicolai Klindt PL 16 68 127 12 7.47 8.18 15 + 1 from 6 rides (2013)
Other Notes
Robin Aspegren
Member of Newport’s Premier League KO Cup Winning Team in 2011.
Josh Bates
Former Scunthorpe Scorpion.
2014 British Under-21 Champion.
Member of Mildenhall’s National League Championship, KO Cup and Trophy Winning Teams in 2012.
Member of Mildenhall’s National League Trophy Winning Team in 2014.
Recently represented Great Britain in the Under-21 World Team Cup.
Named as a Fast-Track Reserve with Wolverhampton for the 2015 Elite League season.
David Bellego
2010 French Championship Winner.
Member of Glasgow’s Premier League Championship Winning Team in 2011.
Member of Berwick’s Premier League Fours Winning Team in 2012.
Michele Paco Castagna
Three times Italian Under-21 Champion (2011, 2012 and 2014)
Represented Italy in 4 Speedway World Cup Events.
Andre Compton
2004 Premier League Riders’ Champion.
Member of Sheffield’s Premier League Championship, Young Shield and Fours Winning Teams in 1999.
Member of Newcastle’s 2001 Premier League Championship Winning Team.
Member of Poole’s Craven Shield Winning Team in 2002.
Member of Workington’s Young Shield and Premier League Fours Winning Teams in 2009.
Member of Workington’s Young Shield Winning Team in 2010.
Jason Garrity
2008 British Under-15 Champion.
2011 British Under-19 and National League Riders’ Champion.
Member of Buxton’s National League Championship, Trophy and KO Cup Winning Teams in 2010.
Premier Challenge Trophy Winner with Rye House in 2012.
Named as a Fast-Track Reserve with Coventry for the 2015 Elite League season.
Rode as a track reserve in this year’s British Grand Prix at Cardiff.
Nicolai Klindt
Former Scunthorpe Scorpion who has scored over 300 points for the club.
Has ridden in 2 Speedway Grand Prix and 5 Speedway World Cup Events.
Danish Under-19 Champion (2006)
Twice Danish Under-21 Champion (2006/2008)
European Under-19 Champion (2007)
Elite League Championship Winner with Wolverhampton in 2009.
Sheffield Tigers’ Results at EWR
23 October 2005 CH L Scunthorpe 47 Sheffield 43
30 October 2007 CH W Scunthorpe 44 Sheffield 45
21 March 2008 PT W Scunthorpe 41 Sheffield 48
11 April 2008 KOC W Scunthorpe 44 Sheffield 48
15 August 2008 PL W Scunthorpe 43 Sheffield 47
20 March 2009 CH L Scunthorpe 60 Sheffield 32
05 May 2009 PL L Scunthorpe 57 Sheffield 38
19 March 2010 PT L Scunthorpe 43 Sheffield 33
30 August 2010 PL W Scunthorpe 41 Sheffield 51
18 March 2011 CH W Scunthorpe 43 Sheffield 47
10 June 2011 PL L Scunthorpe 46 Sheffield 43
04 June 2012 LC W Scunthorpe 40 Sheffield 50
17 August 2012 PL L Scunthorpe 51 Sheffield 42
05 April 2013 LC L Scunthorpe 50 Sheffield 38
21 June 2013 PL L Scunthorpe 63 Sheffield 31
29 September 2013 RC L Scunthorpe 54 Sheffield 24
30 March 2014 LC W Scunthorpe 42 Sheffield 48
09 July 2014 PL L Scunthorpe 54 Sheffield 39
12 October 2014 PL L Scunthorpe 55 Sheffield 39
06 April 2015 PL W Scunthorpe 40 Sheffield 53
