lucifer sam

Er, World No 3, three-time World Cup champion with Australia, 1999 Inter-Contintental Champion, twice eighth in the GP series (second at Cardiff in 2002), and top-flight league championships with Reading and Oxford. Without injuries, Todd would have won even more, but he still did rather well. All the best Rob

LEAGUE LEADERS VISIT EDDIE WRIGHT RACEWAY THE EDDIE WRIGHT RACEWAY will host a 30-heat extravaganza of speedway on Bank Holiday Monday (3.00pm), with both the Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions and Jotun Paints Scunthorpe Saints involved in a double feast of action. Premier League leaders Somerset Rebels will provide a stiff test for the Scorpions, while the Saints take on the Isle Of Wight Islanders in a National League encounter. It is the first in a run of three successive double-headers at the Eddie Wright Raceway, the others taking place on Sunday, September 2nd and Friday, September 7th. The Scorpions have six regular Premier League fixtures remaining – five at home (Somerset, Plymouth, Rye House, Redcar and Glasgow) plus a long trip north to Edinburgh on Friday, August 31st. The Scorpions currently sit in a healthy fifth place in the league table, but with largely home meetings left, they have a great chance to push higher in the table before the commencement of the play-offs. The top six teams go into the championship play-offs, with the teams being divided into two sub-groups of three teams, with the winner of each mini-league contesting the Grand Final in October. Scorpions’ team manager Richard Hollingsworth said: “Somerset may not have the best of records at the Eddie Wright Raceway, but they are currently top of the Premier League table, so we are expecting a tough meeting. “Thomas Jørgensen is set to return to our line-up, having missed last Friday’s victory over Sheffield. Thomas tested out his shoulder in Denmark on Wednesday, and has reported it is stronger than last time he returned to action. “Thomas’s return to action will actually occur on Friday night, when he partners Josh Auty at Somerset in the Premier League Pairs. “Gary Irving has also been in the wars. He took a heavy fall while guesting for Dudley in a National League match at Mildenhall on Sunday. Gary is battered and bruised all over, but we fully expect him to line up for the Scorpions next Monday. “I was certainly delighted by the performance of Gary, alongside Ashley Birks and Michael Palm Toft at home to Sheffield. When the riders placed fifth, sixth and seventh in our averages score 30 paid 34 between them, it makes us very, very hard to beat at home. It’s the second strings and reserves who often can determine whether a team is successful or not.” King’s Lynn’s German star Kevin Wolbert is due to guest for the Scorpions in place of David Howe for the second successive meeting at the Eddie Wright Raceway. Hollingsworth explained: “Kevin didn’t have the best of meetings for us against Sheffield, but he is very keen to have another go. He felt his points tally against Sheffield was largely down to not getting the set-up right for the track. With one recent meeting at the EWR behind him, he feels he can do much better second time around. “It only takes a glance at Kevin’s performances for King’s Lynn in the Elite League to realise that he is a quality performer.” A full preview of the following Saints v Isle Of Wight National League match will appear tomorrow. Monday’s adult admission price for the double-header is £16. It’s just £2 more than a single Premier League meeting at the Eddie Wright Raceway, for 15 extra heats of action. With the Eddie Wright Raceway rightly acknowledged as one of the best racetracks in the country, it is a fixture for the speedway connoisseur and fans have been known to travel large distances to the Eddie Wright Raceway for bank holiday action. Premier/National League Double Header Admission Prices: Adult: £16.00 Student/OAP: £14.00 Child (10 - 16): £5.00 Child (0 - 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £37 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-16) Match Programme: £1.00 Teams for Bank Holiday Monday (English unless stated): Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Kevin Wolbert (Germany) (guest), 2. Thomas Jørgensen (Denmark), 3. Nick Morris (Australia), 4. Ashley Birks, 5. Josh Auty, 6. Michael Palm Toft (Denmark), 7. Gary Irving. Somerset Rebels: 1. Jason Doyle (Australia), 2. Alex Davies (Australia), 3. Jesper B Monberg (Denmark), 4. James Wright, 5. Sam Masters (Australia), 6. Kyle Newman, 7. Tom Perry. Jotun Paints Scunthorpe Saints: 1. Tom Perry (guest), 2. Tommy Fenwick (Scotland), 3. Tom Young (Wales), 4. Max Clegg, 5. Gary Irving. 6. Danny Phillips, 7. Oliver Greenwood. Isle Of Wight Islanders: 1. Danny Warwick, 2. Ben Hopwood, 3. Mark Baseby, 4. Aaron Baseby, 5. Kyle Hughes or R/R, 6. Danny Stoneman, 7. Paul Starke. Somerset Rebels at EWR Ave Ave Best Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Performance Alex Davies PL 3 15 19 6 5.07 6.67 11 + 1 from 7 rides (2011) Jason Doyle PL 4 20 39 1 7.80 8.00 12 from 5 rides (inc 4 pts T/R (2011)) Sam Masters PL 4 19 22 3 4.63 5.26 12 from 6 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (2010)) Jesper B Monberg DEBUT @ EWR Kyle Newman PL 9 36 40 3 4.44 4.78 14 from 5 rides (2009) Tom Perry DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR James Wright PL 3 15 29 2 7.73 8.27 12 + 1 from 5 rides (2008) Other Notes Alex Davies Made his Premier League debut in 2010 with Newport. Jason Doyle Member of Somerset's Premier League KO Cup Winning Team in 2008. Member of Poole's Elite League KO Cup Winning Team in 2010. Member of Poole's Elite League Championship Winning Team in 2011. Member of Newport's Premier League KO Cup Winning Team in 2011. Named as a 'doubling-up' rider with Swindon for the 2012 Elite League Season. Sam Masters 2011 Premier League Riders' Champion. 2009 New South Wales Under-21 Champion. New South Wales Under-16 Champion for 4 consecutive years (2004 to 2007). Has qualified for this year's World Under-21 Individual Championship Final Series. Named as a 'doubling-up' rider with Poole for the 2012 Elite League Season. Jesper B Monberg 1997 World Under-21 Champion. Member of Denmark's World Team Cup Winning Team in 1997. 2005 European Champion. Has ridden in 20 Speedway Grand Prix Events. Member of Wolverhampton's Elite League Championship Winning Team in 2002. Member of Peterborough's Elite League Championship Winning Team in 2006. 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. Tom Perry Member of Dudley's National League Shield Winning Teams in 2011 and 2012. Made his National League debut for Dudley in 2010. James Wright 2004 CL Riders' Champion 2007 PL Riders' Champion Member of Buxton's Conference League KO Cup Winning Team in 2002. Member of Workington's Premier League Fours Winning Team in 2006. Member of Swindon's Elite League Shield Winning Team in 2008. Somerset Rebels' 2012 Results 22 March 2012 CH A L Somerset 41 Swindon 53 23 March 2012 CH H W Somerset 47 Swindon 43 29 March 2012 LC A L Somerset 42 Ipswich 54 30 March 2012 LC H W Somerset 48 Ipswich 42 06 April 2012 LC H W Somerset 57 Rye House 38 14 April 2012 LC A W Somerset 51 Plymouth 39 21 April 2012 LC A W Somerset 46 Leicester 44 04 May 2012 LC H W Somerset 58 Leicester 35 07 May 2012 LC A W Somerset 38 Rye House 34 11 May 2012 LC H W Somerset 52 Plymouth 44 12 May 2012 PL A W Somerset 47 Plymouth 43 22 May 2012 PL H W Somerset 50 Ipswich 40 24 May 2012 KOC A L Somerset 42 Ipswich 48 26 May 2012 PL A L Somerset 43 Leicester 50 31 May 2012 PL A L Somerset 45 Sheffield 48 01 June 2012 KOC H W Somerset 47 Ipswich 43 (On agg:- L 89 - 91) 15 June 2012 PL H W Somerset 58 Glasgow 34 16 June 2012 PL A L Somerset 42 Rye House 48 22 June 2012 PL H W Somerset 52 Rye House 43 29 June 2012 PL H W Somerset 48 Scunthorpe 42 07 July 2012 LC A L Somerset 44 Workington 45 08 July 2012 PL A L Somerset 42 Newcastle 51 17 July 2012 PL A L Somerset 39 Ipswich 51 19 July 2012 PL A W Somerset 47 Redcar 43 20 July 2012 PL H W Somerset 48 Newcastle 45 27 July 2012 PL H W Somerset 51 Leicester 39 03 August 2012 PL H W Somerset 57 Redcar 36 08 August 2012 PL H W Somerset 48 Edinburgh 42 10 August 2012 PL A L Somerset 37 Edinburgh 56 11 August 2012 PL A W Somerset 60 Berwick 35 12 August 2012 PL A D Somerset 45 Glasgow 45 17 August 2012 PL H W Somerset 53 Berwick 41 Somerset Rebels' Results at EWR 05 May 2008 PL L Scunthorpe 51 Somerset 39 13 April 2009 PT L Scunthorpe 53 Somerset 40 05 June 2009 PL L Scunthorpe 47 Somerset 43 03 May 2010 PL L Scunthorpe 56 Somerset 40 02 October 2010 YS L Scunthorpe 70 Somerset 20 25 April 2011 PL L Scunthorpe 49 Somerset 41 04 September 2011 PL Ph 2 L Scunthorpe 49 Somerset 41 (stats courtesy of John Eyre)

I'm outraged, because my ticket hasn't turned up yet. Ah, just remembered I'm going to buy it on the day. All the best Rob

What a pathetic comment, although I wouldn't expect anything else from a pathetic poster. I would imagine the rest of the Ipswich fans, being a highly reasonable bunch, are thoroughly ashamed of you. All the best Rob

As far as I can see, both teams are missing 3 out of 7 riders - Heeps, Blackbird and Stoneman for the Bog Moggies; Roynon, Morris and Perry for the Heathens. Both teams are missing two heat leaders plus one reserve (although I admit Perry is a rather exceptional reserve). So pretty evenly balanced. All the best Rob

Parsloes, what is the cut-off date for the NL play-offs this season? All the best Rob

I think no-one was expecting a classic, after all the rain. It was obvious from the amount of surface water that it really had bucketed down. Yesterday was more a test for the riders, to see how they could cope in wet, heavy conditions. MJJ was a class apart; I'm very, very impressed by this young man. I would definitely like to see him in the GP in 2013. Mikkel B wasn't far behind, even if he did fluff his final ride. On the other hand, a lot of Poles were showed up as not very skillful. They may have expensive machinery, but give them a difficult track to ride, and most of them didn't even know where to start. I did like Zmarzlik, though, he did come a cropper in one race which we would have won had he shown a little patience, but otherwise he did very well in really attacking the conditions. Fantastic to see Kyle Newman and Tom Perry getting stuck in, and both can be proud of their efforts. All the best Rob

How much longer do we have to suffer a GP in Terenzano? I'm surprised that BSI/IMG haven't cottoned on to what a bad advert that this GP is for the sport. It has to go. All the best Rob

Nice try Spinny, but it's the league meetings that really count. All the best Rob

Scorpions win 51-42. Scunthorpe were crusing at 40-20, but Tigers closed in, mostly because of an 8-1 in Heat 11. Nice to see Ashley Birks, Gary Irving and Michael Palm Toft shining for the Scorpions. All the best Rob

It doesn't work like that. Once a track closes, 99% of the fans are lost to the sport. Edinburgh will suffer if their nearest-and-dearest close down, not gain from it. All the best Rob

So what time does the meeting start? Seriously though, it still looks like a good meeting between two well-balanced teams. All the best Rob

Looking forward to this tonight... just hope the rain holds off All the best Rob

R/R for Thomas Jorgensen, who aggravated his shoulder in Denmark on Wednesday. Haven't heard anything definite regarding Joe Haines, so at the moment it looks like this: Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Kevin Wolbert (guest for David Howe), 2. R/R for Thomas Jørgensen, 3. Nick Morris, 4. Ashley Birks, 5. Josh Auty, 6. Michael Palm Toft, 7. Gary Irving. Sheffield Tigers: 1. R/R for Josef Franc, 2. Hugh Skidmore, 3. Jason Bunyan (guest for Emiliano Sanchez), 4. Richard Hall, 5. Ricky Wells, 6. Joe Haines, 7. Chris Schramm. All the best Rob Peasley

What a load of fuss about nothing. It's the third tier: there will be ocassions when teams have to put out weakened teams. End of story. Has anyone considered the following? The meeting starts at 3pm, but then there are delays. What happens? Would Blackbird, Morris and Roynon have to leave mid-meeting to get off to Leicester? It could open a whole can of worms. It's better just to stick to the usual 4.30pm start-time, with replacements for the missing riders. As far as I can see as a neutral, both teams are missing riders, so it evens itself up. Not an ideal situation, but this season, with the weather as it has been, it's necessary to crack on with the fixtures. All the best Rob

SCORPIONS OUT TO COMPLETE DERBY DOUBLE HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions are looking to complete their first-ever league double over fierce local rivals, the Sheffield Tigers, at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday (7.30pm), as they look to pick up another three points to consolidate their healthy position in the Premier League table. The Scorpions picked up a fine 47-43 win at Sheffield on July 12th, their first-ever win at Owlerton against the Tigers. Team manager Richard Hollingsworth said: “It was great to go to Sheffield and win last month, but on Friday we need to finish the job and beat them around the Eddie Wright Raceway. The Tigers are struggling a bit in the league at the moment, but they are always a handful around our place, so we won’t be taking everything for granted. “I feel we owe them one, after they did the double over us in the League Cup in June, when were on the verge of the semi-finals of that competition. It would be nice to repay the compliment and complete the double over the Tigers in the Premier League. “They caught us with our pants down when they visited us in the League Cup, at a time when we were in the middle of an injury crisis and a bad run of results. “Things have changed very much since then, with the addition of Nick Morris and Gary Irving to the side. Also, with the notable exception of David Howe, we now have a fit team. “The Tigers have an excellent record around the Eddie Wright Raceway which is rather too good for my liking, and we will be looking to start to readdress that balance on Friday evening.” David Howe, after a painful attempt at a comeback, announced he was sitting out the rest of the season at last Friday’s home meeting against Leicester, to allow his injured shoulder time to recover. “We’re all gutted that David is out for the rest of the season”, admitted Hollingsworth. “He was on fire at the start of this season. He put in an untouchable display at Newcastle in April which was about the most dominant performance I’d ever seen from a Scorpion away from home. Unfortunately, just after that, his injury problems began. “We have been coping without David these last few months, and picked up fine away wins at Ipswich and Sheffield in his absence. We have a young, talented side, and we see no reason why we can’t go on winning despite being without David. “It’s far from ideal to have our No 1 missing. But, at the same time, we do have two other riders, in Josh (Auty) and Nick (Morris), who would be the No 1 at many other Premier League tracks. Plus all the rest of the team are capable of going out and winning a race at any point. “Both guests and rider replacement have proven to be a bit of a lottery. We’ve had some great guests, and also at times we’ve had guests who have scored 1 or 2 points. Likewise, rider replacement has scored a paid maximum, but it’s also scored four. We are looking to bring in a suitable replacement for David for the rest of the season; this club still has serious ambitions not only of reaching the play-offs but also winning the Premier League this season”, Hollingsworth stressed. “In the meantime, Kevin Wolbert’s Elite League average means he is now eligible to guest for the Scorpions. Kevin is a proven performer around the Eddie Wright Raceway and we will be using him against the Tigers on Friday.” The action on Friday will be concluded by a Midland Development League match between the Scunthorpe Stags and Belle Vue Colts in the second half. Teams for Friday (English unless stated): Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Kevin Wolbert (Germany), 2. Thomas Jørgensen (Denmark), 3. Nick Morris (Australia), 4. Ashley Birks, 5. Josh Auty, 6. Michael Palm Toft (Denmark), 7. Gary Irving. Sheffield Tigers (probable): 1. Josef Franc or R/R (Czech Republic), 2. Hugh Skidmore (Australia), 3. Emiliano Sanchez or guest (Argentina), 4. Richard Hall, 5. Ricky Wells (United States), 6. Chris Schramm, 7. Joe Haines. Sheffield Tigers at EWR Ave Ave Best Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Performance Josef Franc PL 7 28 35 1 5.00 5.14 12 from 5 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (2009)) Joe Haines PL 12 51 74 6 5.80 6.27 16 from 6 rides (inc 4 pts T/R (2009)) Richard Hall PL 39 178 345 20 7.75 8.20 17 from 6 rides (2008) Emiliano Sanchez PL 19 82 132 21 6.44 7.46 15 from 5 rides (2012) Chris Schramm PL 9 36 40 3 4.44 4.78 14 from 5 rides (2009) Hugh Skidmore PL 10 46 71 3 6.17 6.43 11 from 6 rides (2011) Ricky Wells PL 5 22 33 5 6.00 6.91 8 + 3 from 5 rides (2012) Other Notes Josef Franc Ridden in 3 Grand Prix. Scored 9 points when qualifying for the Semi-Final stage in this year's Czech Republic Grand Prix. Three Times Czech Republic Under-21 Champion (1998/1999/2000). Recently named as a 'doubling-up' rider with Coventry for the 2012 Elite League season. Joe Haines Has ridden for the Scunthorpe Scorpions in both the Premier and Conference Leagues. Member of Scunthorpe's 2007 Conference League Championship, KO Cup and Conference Trophy Winning Teams. Member of Workington's Premier League Four-Team Championship and Young Shield Winning Teams in 2008. Member of Wolverhampton's Elite Shield Winning Teams in 2010 and 2011. Richard Hall Has had two spells riding for the Scunthorpe Scorpions at Premier League level. Member of Peterborough's Elite League Championship Winning Team in 2006. Member of Peterborough's Elite League Shield Winning Team in 2007. Emiliano Sanchez Has ridden for the Scunthorpe Scorpions at Premier League level. Member of Trelawny's Premier Trophy Winning Team in 2002. Member of Hull's Premier League Championship, KO Cup and Young Shield Winning Teams in 2004. Member of King's Lynn's Premier League Championship, KO Cup and Premier Trophy Winning Teams in 2009. Chris Schramm Member of Peterborough's Conference League Championship Winning Team in 2002. Member of King's Lynn's Premier League Championship, KO Cup and Premier Trophy Winning Teams in 2009. Member of Workington's Young Shield Winning Team in 2010. Hugh Skidmore 2009 New South Wales State Champion. Ricky Wells Twice USA Under-21 Champion (2007 and 2008). Member of Wolverhampton's Elite Shield Winning Team in 2011. Named as a 'doubling-up' rider with Wolverhampton for the 2012 Elite League season. Sheffield Tigers' 2012 Results 22 March 2012 CH H L Sheffield 37 Belle Vue 53 24 March 2012 PL A L Sheffield 40 Rye House 56 29 March 2012 LC H L Sheffield 44 Workington 49 05 April 2012 LC H W Sheffield 49 Redcar 40 06 April 2012 LC A D Sheffield 45 Redcar 45 22 April 2012 LC A L Sheffield 39 Glasgow 54 03 May 2012 LC H W Sheffield 58 Glasgow 34 05 May 2012 LC A W Sheffield 42 Workington 51 07 May 2012 PL A W Sheffield 40 Ipswich 54 13 May 2012 PL A L Sheffield 38 Newcastle 54 17 May 2012 PL H W Sheffield 47 Redcar 43 18 May 2012 PL A L Sheffield 42 Redcar 48 24 May 2012 PL H W Sheffield 51 Rye House 39 31 May 2012 PL H W Sheffield 48 Somerset 45 01 June 2012 PL A L Sheffield 37 Edinburgh 56 04 June 2012 LC A W Sheffield 50 Scunthorpe 40 14 June 2012 LC H W Sheffield 54 Berwick 42 22 June 2012 PL A L Sheffield 38 Plymouth 55 23 June 2012 LC A L Sheffield 39 Berwick 50 25 June 2012 LC H W Sheffield 54 Scunthorpe 39 28 June 2012 KOC H W Sheffield 58 Newcastle 32 30 June 2012 PL A L Sheffield 39 Leicester 51 01 July 2012 KOC A L Sheffield 28 Newcastle 62 (On agg:- L 86 - 94) 12 July 2012 PL H L Sheffield 43 Scunthorpe 47 14 July 2012 PL A W Sheffield 47 Berwick 46 19 July 2012 PL H W Sheffield 50 Ipswich 42 26 July 2012 PL H W Sheffield 58 Leicester 37 02 August 2012 PL H L Sheffield 47 Glasgow 48 04 August 2012 PL A L Sheffield 38 Workington 51 09 August 2012 PL H L Sheffield 43 Edinburgh 47 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 (stats courtesy of John Eyre)

Vaculik completely messed up the first corner. He was rightfully excluded from the re-run. So will we be going back to Terenzano in 2013? The track was appalling on Saturday evening. The worst GP round for a few years. The Grand Prix has been exciting and wide open this year, but Saturday's meeting was a big let down. Surely the track should be better than that? All the best Rob

Oliver Greenwood very impressive on his first ever appearance at Smallbrook. Mark Baseby was class for the Islanders - especially his third to first dash in Heat 15. All the best Rob

Jerran Hart and Steve Worrall are the top two averaged riders within the Scunny Saints declared line-up. All the best Rob Precisely. All well within the rules of the National League. All the best Rob

What a bunch of sour grapes - the Saints' line-up is completely within National League rules. Yesterday, the Saints travelled without their top two, had four first year league rookies, and still picked up an away win. All the best Rob

Brilliant comeback by the Saints in the final three races, taking three 5-1s to record a 46-43 victory. All the best Rob

That was a tremendous race. All the best Rob

Great - will leave in around half an hour All the best Rob

Any weather updates on this? All the best Rob

What a brilliant fightback by the Saints to take a point. All the best Rob