Top two set for cup clash

The National Development League’s top two teams are both at full strength as the Grant Henderson Berwick Bullets and Leicester Lion Cubs go head to head with a Knockout Cup Final place at stake.

The semi-final at Shielfield on Saturday, tapes-up 7pm, and in the east Midlands the following day, 4pm, will decide who faces Mildenhall Fen Tigers in the final.

Leicester are the cup holders having beaten Belle Vue 88-74 the last time the competition was held in 2019. In the Colts side which won the second leg but lost on aggregate were Leon Flint, Kyle Bickley, Ben Rathbone and Danny Phillips along with Jordan Palin and Connor Bailey while Ellis Perks and Danyon Hume joined Thompson twins Joe and Dan in the Cubs’ side which also won the league play-offs that year.

When the sides met in the league last month it was the Bullets who came out as 48-41 victors, skipper Bickley dropping just one point in a solid Berwick performance.

Since then he has led the Bullets to victory over Mildenhall at Shielfield and only their second defeat of the season at Belle Vue last Friday.

In contrast the Cubs beat injury-hit Plymouth 57-32 at home and then produced a stunning 50-39 win at Mildenhall last Sunday, 15-year-old Max Perry returning to the side after being sidelined by a broken collarbone when the teams previously met.

He takes over from Kai Ward in the Leicester line-up and renews his rivalry with Bullets’ Ace Pijper, the pair and Plymouth’s Ben Trigger staging a season-long battle for the British Youth 500cc title last season, the Devonian eventually triumphing.

Skipper Joe Thompson led the way with 14 points while team-mate Tom Spencer continues to be the league’s Mr Consistency. In seven outings for the Cubs this season Derby-born Spencer has a lowest score of five and high of seven – including 6+1 at Shielfield – to average a straight six.

“First and foremost the task on Saturday is to make sure that we win the first leg,” Bullets’ coach Kevin Little said. “Only once that is mathematically achieved would we start to worry about how big a lead we could take to Beaumont Park.

“Last year the sides drew 45-all at Leicester with five riders on both sides who will be in action this weekend. I’m expecting it to be a tight tie and to be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if it went right down to the closing races on Sunday before it was decided.

“That means that every point, whether a heat win or a third place, could be vital – and that’s the attitude that has made the Bullets so successful in their short history.”

Little is as aware as anyone of Berwick’s previous cup pedigree as he was a member of the 1995 side which lifted the British Conference League Knockout Cup.

That final, against Stoke, was the last meeting held at Berrington Lough before Berwick speedway returned to its spiritual home in Tweedmouth in 1996 after a gap of 16 years.

During the club’s absence it recorded its two KO Cup triumphs, on neutral shale at Newcastle in 1980 and while based at its purpose-built stadium near Ancroft nine years later. In the interim there have been Fours titles and individual honours but cup success has been elusive.

“I have no intention of tempting fate, not least because getting past Leicester in the semi will be tough enough. Let alone home and away against Mildenhall,” Little laughed.

“What I will say is that in the Bullets we have a group of big characters all motivated by progressing in the sport and getting the job done on the track. All the elements are there for a cracking weekend of racing.”

Admission to Shielfield Park on Saturday is £10 across the board with accompanied children admitted free if their tickets are booked online at berwickspeedway.com/tickets

Following the cup match a new-look Berwick Academy side will face Teesside Tigers in the Northern Junior League. With Ace Pijper now concentrating on the NDL, Berwick have signed Cumbrian Callum Foy and former Newcastle Sapphire Owen Booth as their 500cc riders.

Caydin Martin continues his development by switching to 250cc racing, leaving a gap in the 125cc races alongside Stene Pijper which, on Saturday, is filled by nine-year-old Armadale Angel Liam Morris. For the Tigers, a second team entered by the Redcar promotion this season, Edward Davison and Laylan Richardson race 500cc with Dan McTeer and Logan Ferry aboard the smaller machines.

Bullets: Kyle Bickley, Mason Watson, Ace Pijper, Greg Blair, Luke Crang, Kieran Douglas, Ben Rathbone

Cubs: Dan Thompson, Mickie Simpson, Connor Coles, Tom Spencer, Joe Thompson, Vinnie Foord, Max Perry