NeilWatson

COVENTRY Speedway are delighted to confirm a deal has been agreed to make promising youngster Oliver Greenwood an asset of the club. Greenwood, 18, rode for Coventry Storm in their debut National League campaign this year, and delivered a string of solid performances despite missing the opening three months due to a badly broken wrist. Now promoter Mick Horton has concluded negotiations with his Scunthorpe counterpart Rob Godfrey to enable a full transfer to take place, and Greenwood is expected to again line up for the Storm next season and also hopefully gain further Premier League experience after several guest bookings late-on in 2013. Horton said: “We’re really pleased to complete this deal, and once again it’s another promising young rider for the future that we’ve added to the club’s asset base. “I would like to thank Rob Godfrey at Scunthorpe for his co-operation in our talks, and the deal was finalised on Wednesday evening. “We look forward to having Oliver back with the Storm in 2014 and it’s more positive news to have him on board with the club.”

Robert Lambert DID NOT appear in the draft list - http://www.speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.23327

We were well aware of Chris' status as first reserve when he was signed. We have raced with GP riders in the team before with a Friday race-night........

Kyle is a confirmed signing, as announced on Sunday http://www.coventrybees.co/news.php?extend.2528

You have a very vivid imagination........

@TMW - Clubs who have already selected their own asset at this stage will not make a selection, and there is no requirement to select a rider from the top ten. Not sure what is misleading about that. If, say, Kings Lynn opt to use Lewis Kerr, they will not take any further part in the first selection and will then have last pick in the second round.

Selections from the list of remaining available riders will then commence in reverse order from the Elite League’s 2013 finishing positions, including the play-offs. Coventry will therefore receive the first pick, followed by Belle Vue, Eastbourne, Leicester (who are deemed to have taken the place of Peterborough), Lakeside, King’s Lynn, Wolverhampton, Swindon, Birmingham and Poole. Clubs who have already selected their own asset at this stage will not make a selection, and there is no requirement to select a rider from the top ten. There will be thirteen riders remaining for the second round of selections, and first pick at this stage will be given to the club which selected the lowest-ranked rider in the first round. As an example, should the first round of selections result in the top ten riders in the list being allocated, the club picking the tenth-placed rider, Tom Perry, would then receive first pick in the second round. Selections continue in reverse order based on the rankings from the first round.

TWO members of Coventry’s 2013 squad and a club asset are among the latest riders to be confirmed for the Christmas Cracker at Brandon on Sunday December 29. And supporters attending the festive event – which gets underway at midday – will also be able to enjoy a full support programme taking the afternoon schedule up to a 21-race programme. The Christmas Cracker will be contested over a 15-heat format, culminating in the Final which will be the last race of the day. The 12 riders each have four qualifying races with the top eight proceeding to the semi-finals, where points continue to accumulate. The top four after the semi-finals reach the Final, where progressive points will also determine the finishing order. Interspersed with the main event will be the six-heat 2013 Midland Development League Knockout Cup Final between the Coventry-Mercia Vikings and Stoke, which will now be run over one leg at this special meeting after it was unable to be staged during the regular season due to poor weather. Latest names for the Cracker include Coventry asset Josh Auty, who is set to return to Scunthorpe in the Premier League next season with his top-flight future undecided at this stage. From the Buildbase Bees’ 2013 squad, Aaron Summers has accepted his invitation and will be back with Redcar next year, although like Auty he is unsure of where he will be racing at the higher level, whilst Stuart Robson is set to make a welcome return from the broken leg which curtailed his campaign back in August, having already signed on with Newcastle for 2014. Also included is experienced Australian racer Kevin Doolan, who recently completed a highly consistent season with near-neighbours Leicester, and who also made several top-flight appearances for Lakeside. They join Ryan Fisher, Richard Lawson and David Howe in the line-up with five names to be confirmed to complete the senior field. Event co-ordinator Laurence Rogers said: “We’re happy with the way the meeting is coming together, we want racers who will give it 110 per cent and lots of riders are keen to do it. “Several have ridden in these events before when I organised the New Year Classic at Newport and the idea is to make it an entertaining day for everyone. “I know there is a lot of interest from around the country with people wanting to come along, and it’s a day we’re all looking forward to.” *RACE Sponsorship is available for the senior heats in the Christmas Cracker. Please contact laurencerogers@blueyonder.co.uk for full details. CHRISTMAS CRACKER – SUNDAY DECEMBER 29 at MIDDAY Riders announced so far: Josh Auty, Kevin Doolan, Ryan Fisher, David Howe, Richard Lawson, Stuart Robson, Aaron Summers. Admission: All adults £15, all under-16s FREE

COVENTRY have swooped to sign fast-rising teenager Kyle Howarth to complete their top five for next season. The 19-year-old from Greater Manchester joins the Buildbase Bees after spells in the Elite League with Poole and Swindon in 2013. He became a Workington asset in a recent switch from Poole and will be racing for the Comets in the Premier League whilst doubling-up with the Bees in the top flight. Howarth is widely regarded as one of Great Britain’s best emerging talents, and it was a major surprise when he was released by the Pirates as part of their raft of mid-season changes last season. However, he continued to show rapid improvement during his time with Swindon, averaging 5.14 from his 13 matches in Robins colours – and, most strikingly, his away-match average was over six. He also made a highly impressive guest appearance for the Bees in their final Elite League fixture of 2013, scoring paid-11 against King’s Lynn. Promoter Mick Horton said: “There’s no doubt that Kyle is one of the most sought-after youngsters in the sport, and we’re delighted to have signed him. “Poole had originally announced he would be in their team but he hadn’t signed a contract with them, and it became very apparent when he spoke to me that he wanted to join Coventry. “We had no hesitation in making a move for him, we’re delighted to have him and I’m very pleased with our top five overall – it looks very strong.” Howarth joins Hans Andersen, Chris Harris, Ryan Fisher and Kenneth Hansen in the Coventry top five, with the reserves to come from the list of draft riders circulated last week. Each club will include two British youngsters in those positions, and selections will take place on Tuesday.

From www.scbgb.co.uk SCB Press Release 2014 Rider Clothing information2014 SCB REGULATIONS Riders and Manufacturers may be aware that the FIM have plans to introduce new Regulations regarding the standards of compliance for Riders Clothing. Whilst the SCB applaud the FIM in setting these new standards, for British domestic speedway in 2014 there will be no change to the current Regulations. As the 2014 Season progresses the SCB will monitor the situation concerning these new FIM Regulations and assess the possibility and practicality of implementation in 2015. We are making this early announcement so that Riders and Teams can place their orders with certainty. IMPORTANT NOTE Riders intending to compete in FIM Championship Meetings or indeed in other Countries should check the FIM Regulations (www.fim-live.com )and other Federations, eg SVEMO, DMU, DMSB, PZM etc.

These riders are: Lewis Kerr (King’s Lynn), Kyle Newman (Poole), Adam Ellis (Lakeside) and Ashley Morris (Wolverhampton). Should these riders not be selected by their parent clubs, they will return to the draft and be available to other clubs. Selections from the list of remaining available riders will then commence in reverse order from the Elite League’s 2013 finishing positions, including the play-offs. Coventry will therefore receive the first pick, followed by Belle Vue, Eastbourne, Leicester (who are deemed to have taken the place of Peterborough), Lakeside, King’s Lynn, Wolverhampton, Swindon, Birmingham and Poole. Clubs who have already selected their own asset at this stage will not make a selection, and there is no requirement to select a rider from the top ten.

James Sarjeant is a Bees asset

Each of the ten Elite League clubs will track two of the country’s best youngsters, who have progressed through the National League, at reserve in 2014.

1. “Should a rider be absent from a meeting, his team will be able to select any available lower-ranked rider as a guest.”

2014 COVENTRY signing Ryan Fisher is a confirmed starter for the Christmas Cracker at Brandon on Sunday December 29. The Cracker is the only conventional speedway event to take place in the UK during the winter months, and meetings of this kind have traditionally attracted big crowds. Fisher will be part of a much-changed Buildbase Bees team when the regular season gets back underway in March, having agreed to rejoin his parent club after loan spells with Plymouth and Peterborough. The spectacular American will be keen to impress on his home track, after just missing out on a semi-final place in the Brandonapolis last month. Also confirmed for the Christmas Cracker is Lakeside’s 2013 Rider of the Year Richard Lawson, who enjoyed a fine debut campaign at Purfleet and will return to the Hammers next season, although he is set to move from Workington at Premier League level. The meeting will also see a return to the sport for former British Under-21 Champion and World Longtrack star David Howe, who missed the last two months of the season but has a strong record in winter events, including being a double winner of the New Year Classic in its stagings at Newport. The Cracker, which gets underway at midday, promises to be a terrific family day out – especially as all under-16s will be admitted FREE. Admission for all adults has been set at £15, and Coventry supporters are reminded that 2014 Season Tickets will be valid for the Cracker if paid for in full before Christmas. Further details on the line-up, and the full format for the day, will follow regularly over the coming weeks.

The meeting will be a noon start on Sunday 29th December. Exact format to be confirmed but hoped to include both an individual event and a team meeting.

Yes it is. Once the fixture lists are available we may need to run a couple of meetings on alternate days, but any such changes will be communicated clearly nearer the time.

Early December is our target

Race night is Friday, 7.30pm

Nothing prospective about these four!

Coventry Bees 2014 -confirmed signings as at 22nd November 2013 Hans Andersen 8.34 Chris Harris 6.82 Kenneth Hansen 5.83 Ryan Fisher 5.71 TOTAL 26.70 LIMIT 32.00 BALANCE 5.30 Team Manager - Gary Havelock

The Leicester meetings on Good Friday will be Elite League

http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=46488

Chris was at the dinner!

Confirmed by me - is that OK? Bomber was at the dinner and announced as a 2014 signing, as was Kenneth Hansen.