Briefing: Leaders visit, wall of death and rollers

Saturday 20 June, 7pm: R.E.D Bandits, powered by STS v Scunthorpe Scorpions. Cab Direct Championship Buy tickets

For a team regularly ripped apart on social media, often by those claiming to be their own supporters, the Scorpions have answered their critics on the track in 2026.

They currently share top spot with Poole and with the Pirates not racing this week could even head of the pack by the time they arrive at Shielfield … if they win at Glasgow on Friday night.

Fanciful? Perhaps, but the side managed by former Bandit David Howe has already won at Redcar and – courtesy of an outrageous exclusion for Dan Thompson – drawn at Edinburgh in addition to beating the Bandits and Glasgow at the Eddie Wright Raceway. Their other outings were a two-point defeat at Workington and an eight-point loss at Plymouth.

They are red-hot favourites to collect the aggregate point this weekend having hammered us 59-31 back in May and that point alone would push them past the Pirates.

Losses home and away to Workington and at Redcar saw Scunny tumble out of the BSN Series and become the first club to make a change to their starting seven, Simon Lambert getting the hook with Dan Gilkes replacing him and making his debut when we visited Lincolnshire, scoring eight points.

But the 24-year-old Midlander’s career has been blighted by injury and after just three points-filled appearances he is sidelined again after an innocuous looking, but hugely painful, spill at Redcar.

Scunthorpe will also be without former Bandits’ Academy rider Luke Harrison who, along with William Cairns, is riding in the European under-19 qualifier in Debrecen. With two other meetings taking place on Saturday Edinburgh and Redcar riders are the only available Championship replacements but one obvious option, Jody Scott, is also racing in the qualifiers, alongside Cooper Rushen in Plzen.

But Ryan Ingram – the 16-year-old whose impressive debut Championship season has been rather overshadowed by the higher profile Poole duo Cairns and Cooper Rushen – will be making his Shielfield Park debut.

Connor Mountain has finally dialled in to our circuit in recent seasons after struggling early in his career but it has been the opposite for Michael Palm Toft who scored big in 2017 but has seen diminishing returns in the intervening years while Nathan Ablitt twice turned down the chance to join us last season, opting instead for a season of amateur racing.

But really mention Scunthorpe 2026 and you’re talking about Josh Pickering, the all-action former Monarch who was recruited on what looked a ridiculous 11.64 average but has more or less maintained that with 143 points from ten meetings at an average of 10.79.

The 29-year-old, who is also skippering Sheffield in the Premiership, has a “low” score of 12 at Workington. Five of his last seven appearances at Shielfield have also been double figure returns, the two blips a first heat fall which ruled him out of the 2023 BSN Series encounter and a spectacular back straight crash involving team-mate Paco Castagna in 2022.

Confirmed teams to follow.

Ω As debuts go there have been few better, especially from the reserve berth, but it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. After all Jordan Jenkins has plenty of Shielfield “previous.”

His first appearance here was 10+2 from reserve, in Redcar’s 2021 win. When we needed a guest to replace Jonas Knudsen against Plymouth in 2022 we called the boy from Norwich and he responded with 14+3 from seven rides after reserve partner Nathan Stoneman’s spectacular, and as it turned out career ending, crash in heat two.

There’s been plenty more since then but now we can celebrate Jordan’s points because he is one of us.

Ω No offence to JJ – and if he can have a similar impact on a season that last year’s signing with the same initials we’ll all be delighted – but his outstanding performance had strong competition for the most talked-about moment of enthralling sporting theatre than Saturday nights were just made for.

Few have hit the third bend safety bags at the velocity of Peter Kildemand and not left the scene in an ambulance.

But the league’s classiest stylist is not a double GP winner for nothing. No question you need to pull out all the stops when Chris Harris and Kyle Howarth are on your tail and the solid blow with which he hit the Polyfoam launched the main Dane a couple of bike lengths ahead of his pursuers and on the way to victory four on his comeback night.

“I hooked up and suddenly the fence was coming up pretty quickly. I thought I’d better ride it out. Worked out pretty good,” he said after.

Ω When things are so tight it can often be the small, brave decisions that make the difference.

And so it was for Jack Smith, struggling for speed and replaced in one of his rides as he prepared for heat 14. In the end instead of sticking he chose to twist, jumping on his second machine. Smudger roared from the gate, tucked in behind Jordan Jenkins, fought off the threat of Kevin Juhl Pedersen and Mario Hausl and secured the 5-1 which put Berwick ahead for the first time on the night and setting up the electric heat 15.

Good choice.

Ω If, like me, you’re a bit of a mechanical muppet you might not even know that a speedway bike throttle includes a cable roller. But that is what fell off Nick Morris’ machine in heat 15 meaning that even with the twist fully on there was only about half revs available, allowing Chris Harris past.

Ω With the naked eye it was obvious that at the very least Harris made a huge roller in heat five. If referee Seth Perkin felt Bomber had handicapped himself he was proved wrong as the Tigers’ skipper passed first Lasse Fredriksen and then Victor Palovaara to join Sam Hagon for a 5-1 which for a long time looked like being the deciding factor in the meeting.

An official warning after the chequered flag confirmed that the official saw the forward momentum but what he didn’t spot was that Harris’ front wheel actually touched the tape. BanditsTV had the evidence. It wasn’t requested.

Ω An opportunity to update the stats – they’ll be changing thick and fast over the coming month.

                                  Home                                         Away

Ω It may have been at slightly slower speed but Mark Parker all-but outdid Peter Kildemand’s polyfoam bag-of-death performance in a hugely entertaining Northern Junior League match.

The Cumbrian had already produced one of the races of the night as he missed the gate spectacularly in heat one but picked off first Jack Shimelt and then Liam Greens to take the flag.

Second time out Mark gated and was leading comfortably only to pick up dramatically on lap two putting all his moto-x experience to good use as he rode the barrier only to slide off gracefully on the next lap.

There was also plenty of action in the 125s with Fraser Buckle, Oscar Berwick and the Marshalls – Ella and Douglas – trading places on a regular basis. Ashfield eventually won the battle of the unbeaten teams 19-16.

Ω A reminder to check in with the Berwick Speedway Facebook and Instagram accounts for a chance to win one of Greg Blair’s coveted Golden Tickets. Not only does it earn free entrance for you and a pal but you get the chance to watch a race from the centre green in the company of our newly suited and booted meeting presenter.

Ω Best wishes from all at the Berwick Speedway to the spectator whose night ended in an ambulance on his way to Cramlington with a serious hip injury after falling on the back straight. That was the cause of the delay on Saturday as our medical team attended to him and waited for the county ambulance to transport him on.

Ω And if you can’t wait for your next fix of speedway action then tune into BSN tonight when Peter Kildemand’s Belle Vue Aces take on Nick Morris’s Leicester Lions with Stewart Dickson at the helm and providing mic-drop interviews.

Jye’s Sheffield Tigers travel to league new boys Northampton on Thursday with the Foxes providing a streaming service.