Monday briefing

Saturday, 7pm: Jewson Bandits, powered by Keenwood Karpets v Workington Comets Buy tickets

Sunday, 3pm Workington Comets v Jewson Bandits, powered by Keenwood Karpets

Opponents Workington Comets arrive desperate for points to prevent their hopes of reaching the Cab Direct Championship play-offs slipping through their fingers.

Defeat at Redcar on Friday night saw them leap-frogged by the Bears who also picked up the aggregate point despite losing Saturday’s return at the GT Tyres Arena.

After the Bandits’ derbies the Comets round off their campaign with a home clash against Plymouth while the Bears also entertain the Gladiators before travelling to Glasgow.

The Tigers themselves are in contention for the final play-off spot and have matches in hand, although a far from easy run-in with home and away fixtures against Edinburgh and Oxford, a trip to Plymouth and the home clash with Redcar.

As a result the Comets cannot really afford anything less than five points from the clashes with the Bandits who are determined to end a disappointing season in style.

Craig Cook missed last weekend’s meetings as his wife was in labour while Claus Vissing was also absent for personal reasons and teenage sensation Tate Zischke’s stunning debut season ended when he crashed on his Premiership debut for Belle Vue.

Workington moved last week to bolster the bottom end of their team as German World Woman’s Champion Celina Liebmann was replaced by Paul Starke, released by Glasgow last month.

The former Bandit made his debut on Saturday, his 7+2 instrumental in the Comets’ 47-43 victory along with a 13-point haul for flying Finn Antti Vuolas.

Berwick of course won both meetings in the season-opening Border Trophy but much has changed for the sides since then.

Injured Bandits Bastian Borke and Rory Schlein are planning to be at Shielfield Park to support their team-mates who are finishing the season strongly, largely on the backs of superb form from Drew Kemp and Danyon Hume.

Both sides are expected to name their guests later today.

◊ As we catch our breath following the tumultuous Super Heat victory against Oxford it is fair to say that those inside the stadium on Saturday were enthralled by speedway’s equivalent of the sudden death penalty shootout.

Even those who may have been sceptical about the concept were won over by the four-lap scrap between Drew, Lewi Kerr and Scott Nicholls with Sam Masters out front trying to engineer an opening for his team-mate.

It may have been the Bandits’ first taste of Super Heat but Oxford, and in particular Scott Nicholls, are old hands.

The Cheetahs have now been involved in three Super Heats  in 2024, winning 7-2 at home to Poole in June before, the following night, losing 5-4 at Redcar in controversial circumstances, Nicholls excluded by referee Gary Allen for moving at the start having been warned earlier in the meeting.

Masters and Nicholls rode in all three but Oxford’s Premiership team, the Spires, have also raced a Super Heat this year, against Ipswich at Cowley in July. The Witches won that won 7-2 with Emil Sayfutdinov and Scott Nicholls, guesting for the injured Jason Doyle, taking the flag.

But the Super Heat does throw up an interesting anomaly.

Without it Saturday night would have seen three points awarded – one each to Berwick and Oxford for the draw and another to the Cheetahs for the aggregate victory.

With the Super Heat it became a four-pointer – both sides getting one for the draw, Berwick a second for the Super Heat win and Oxford still taking home the aggregate bonus point.

A spate of Super Heats could potentially spawn a raft of extra points in a season with the consequent effect on placings, play-off qualification and the like.

Definitely a high risk strategy to engineer draws to create extra points. But someone, somewhere is probably trying to find a way to make it happen!

◊ Amid the euphoria of the super decider, one performance perhaps flew under the radar. Guest Lasse Fredriksen produced a very solid paid eight return, his best haul at Shielfield Park, despite suffering the tapes exclusion which sparked some debate between team managers Stewart Dickson and Peter Shroeck and referee Michael Wear. And of course his heat eight 5-1 with Danyon proved pivotal, levelling the scores up on the night.

◊ More on the Super Heat. The Shielfield hospitality box was just about getting its breath back after the showdown when it erupted again. Because the winner of the latest Berwick Speedway 5-1 Draw was none other than hospitality host Sandra Beveridge, who along with Gillian Easton makes the night run smoothly for those in the box.

She became the 60^th winner of the £500 prize since Bandits’ co-owner Jamie Courtney launched the fundraiser in 2019. So far £55,000 has been raised for the Stadium, Track and Rent Support (S.T.A.R.S) project with a similar amount paid out in monthly prizes.

As always the draw was organised on behalf of the club by the Berwick Bandits Supporters Club who continue to promote the draw and recruit new members. The draws will continue over the winter months and anyone wanting numbers in the next draw can email normski180@sky.com or text 07519856702.

◊ Confirmation that the season will end with the latest instalment in the long-running Stars of Tomorrow meetings.

First run in 1970, the Starza has been a springboard for some of Britain’s top talent over the years – Robert Lambert, Dan Bewley among those appearing in recent stagings.

This year it will be run as part of the National League Riders’ Development Series, launched to give third tier riders extra competitive track time.

With our training academy at Duns and regular post meeting opportunities and two years of running the Bullets in the league we are proud that we are helping to encourage the stars of the future both domestically and beyond.

Each of the six National Development League sides will nominate two riders for the event with the Berwick promotion adding four “wildcards” to the field.

Riders will be confirmed over the coming weeks but season passes will not be valid but admission will be along the lines of the Bullets’ pricing.

◊ A reminder that tickets are on sale for the Cab Direct Championship Pairs at Oxford on 17 August, the eve of the British Grand Prix in Cardiff.

In-form Drew and Lewi – a winner with Redcar two years’ ago and runner-up in Oxford colours last season – fly the Jewson Bandits’ colours and look a good outside bet to do well at Cowley. Buy Pairs tickets