Artur Misses Bees Match

Poole Castle Cover Pirates have been forced into using the rider replacment facility for their inspirational Polish rider Artur Mroczka when they host the visit of Coventry Bees on Wednesday night (June 30th). The Pole has been advised by his doctors to sit out his Swedish and England matches this week as he is still struggling with the ankle injury he aggravated when he crashed in the Polish Grand Prix "The hospital has told me to rest up the ankle more as it is not healing correctly" Mroczka told the club.
The 20 year old who has put more than 3 points on his assessed starting average first damaged the ankle when he crashed at Wimborne Road on June 9th and it was the same ankle that took the brunt of the damage when crashed in his only outing of the Polish Grand Prix, when deputising for Poole team-mate Chris Holder who had been ruled out with an arm injury.
Coventry were held to a dramatic draw at home on Monday against Swindon and they currently languish some 26 points behind table-topping Poole. But they have won twice on the road this season, beating Swindon by 6 and Ipswich by 2.
Their Wimborne Road visit will see the return of Krzysztof Kasprazak and Edward Kennett, both former Poole riders, along with British Champion Chris Harris, who always rides the Poole track well, Ben Barker, Lewis Bridger, Josh Auty and Przemyslaw Pawlicki.
Meeting starts at 7.30pm, Gates Open at 6,15pm. Member of the Armed Forces are entitled to a FREE family ticket of 2 Adults and 2 Children for the meeting as the Poole club celebrate the Armed Forces Day.
Teams: Poole (from): Chris Holder, Bjarne Pedersen, Dave Watt,R/R for Artur Mroczka, Darcy Ward, Leon Madsen, Jaon Doyle
Coventry (from): Krzysztof Kasprzak, Chris Harris,Edward Kennett, Ben Barker, Lewis Bridger, Przemyslaw Pawlicki, Josh Auty

Pirates Looking to Show the Forces

Poole Castle Cover Pirates will be hoping to show members of the Armed Force just what a powerful unit they are, as they resume Elite league battle on Wednesday night against a very strong looking Coventry side. The April trouncing of the Bees, when the Pirates ran out 63-29 winners, will count for nothing following a string of changes to the Bees outfit since that meeting.
The Midlanders have brought in Poole favourite Krzystof Kasprzak to head their side and the popular Pole has vast experience of the Wimborne Road circuit. Along with British Champion Chris Harris and another former Poole rider Edward Kennett the Bees can expect some big returns from their top three. Throw in the supporting role of Ben Barker and Lewis Bridger then the two sides on show on Wednesday are expected to be evenly matched.
Poole's number one Chris Holder appears to have come through his racing return since damaging his arm in the last round of the Grand Prix. After a trial out at Somerset on Friday Holder declared himself fit enough to ride for his Polish club Torun on Sunday and scored 6 points in their 8 point win over Czestochowa and that has heartened club owner Matt Ford "We all know that Chris is a great rider and the fact that he is back scoring points so quickly is great news for us. When you have a winning formula like we have this season you never want to interrupt it. Whilst it is important to have a fully fit side it is also good news that we can continue with the same lads that have done so well for us. Wednesday night looks an absolute mouth-watering meeting and it couldn't have come at a better time in the calendar really as we will be celebrating Armed Forces Day. Hopefully we will have a lot of service personnel taking the advantage of our free admission for service personnel and their families, which is for two Adults and two children who will witness an epic battle against Coventry.The Armed Forces provide a valuable and very brave service for the country, this is our chance to thank them and hopefully the riders here tonight will demonstrate how brave they are in turn. It would be great to see the stadium packed out for this meeting and a great atmosphere to go with what promises to be a great meeting."
Legendary speedway rider Barry Briggs will also be an attraction on Wednesday night as he stops off at Wimborne Road on his special bike ride from John O Groats to Cardiff (for the British Grand Prix on July 10th). The 75 year old Kiwi is raising funds for riders who, due to racing accidents, have found themselves confined to wheelchairs for the rest of their lives.
Teams: Poole (from): Chris Holder, Bjarne Pedersen, Dave Watt, Artur Mroczka, Darcy Ward, Leon Madsen, Jaon Doyle
Coventry (from): Krzysztof Kasprzak, Chris Harris,Edward Kennett, Ben Barker, Lewis Bridger, Przemyslaw Pawlicki, Josh Auty
After Wednesday nights meeting the Poole Castle Cover Pirates will be riding on new Green Sheet Averages. The figures effective from July 1st are:
Chris Holder 8.74, Dave Watt 8.34, Bjarne Pedersen 7.95, Artur Mroczka 7.01, Leon Madsen 6.56, Darcy Ward 6.35, Jason Doyle 5.78 (Gary Havelock 3.72) - combined 1 to 7 total of 50.73

Darcy Clings on in Title Defence but Agony For Artur

Defending world U21 champion Darcy Ward scraped through the qualifiers in Landshut, Germany to confirm his place in the three-round Final of this year's title chase and is hoping it will be a case of deja-vu. "I struggled through the rounds last year but just kept doing enough to finish somewhere in the placings that counted each round. It is going that way again this year, I just did it tonight and now I am in those finals. Lets see what happens from there. I must admit though if I am going to be in with a shout of the title again I am going to have to learn how to ride slick tracks and I need to learn that pretty fast.
Ward scored 9 points in his semi-final at Landshut which included two third places to finish with. The first of those were against his Poole team-mate Artur Mroczka who found himself in the desperate need for points in the latter stages despite starting with an emphatic opening heat win over the impressive Martin Vaculik. But a third place behind the two Germans, Frank Facher and Kevin Wolbert in heat 6 and then another single point score as Maciej Janowski became the only rider to take points off meeting winner Daniel Anderson meant that Mroczka and Ward were both bordering on the safety line.
With Mroczka's win in heat 14 it seemed he the most likely of the two Pirates to definitely make the cut but it all ended in tears for the Pole as he suddenly lost position in the latter stages of heat 18 and drifted into last place. That left him on just 8 points, Ward's point in heat 20 taking him on to 9 and the 7th qualifying place.
Mroczka will have to wait and see now as to whether he curries favour with the FIM and receives the nomination for the token permanent wild card for the 3 -round final.
Result from Landshut
D.Anderson 3,3,2,3,3=14
M.Vaculik 2,2,3,3,2=12
M.Janowski 3,1,3,1,3=11+3
F.Facher 1,3,3,2,2=11+2
K.Wolbert 3,2,3,2,0=10
R.Bach 2,3,1,2,2=10
D.Ward 2,3,2,1,1=9
--------------------------
A.Mroczka 3,1,1,3,0=8
A.Rosen 1,1,2,1,3=8
V.Giruckis 2,0,1,3,1=7
J.Haines 1,2,0,0,3=6
A.Kudryashov 0,R,2,2,1=5
E.Pudel 1,2,0,0,0=3
S.Kielbasa 0,1,1,1,0=3
K.Tcukanov R,0,0,0,2=2
S.Pyszny 0,0,0,0,1=1

Fixture News

There have been several changes to up and coming Poole fixtures which have now finally been agreed by all parties concerned.
The following fixtures now apply

Holder Targets Comeback

Chris Holder is targetting a track return for this weekend in Poland if his arm continues to improve at the same rate as it has been doing all week.
Holder thought he had broken his arm when he crashed during the Polish GP at his home track of Torun last weekend and said "I broke out in a cold sweat when I picked myself up from the track as I felt certain I had broken it but I have had further checks and I must say it is sweet now with the diagnosis being a bit of muscle damage. I am now hoping to have a skid this weekend in Poland - there was no chance of me contemplating that last weekend and even now it is touch and go for this weekend but it is feeling stronger every day so a few more days and it could be strong enough. I have had physio session today and feeling better for it."
Holder is hoping to be fit enough to take his place in the Castle Cover Pirates next meeting which is on Wednesday 30th June against Coventry Bees. The Pirates have confirmed a fixture addition, in that they will now visit Eastbourne on THURSDAY JULY 15th for the rescheduling of their A fixture which was washed out on June 10th.

GP Tickets Now Available

Poole fans who have ordered their tickets for the British Grand Prix on July 10th can now collect them from the Poole trackshop from this evening (when the Bournemouth Buccaneers host the visit of high-flying Buxton Hitmen).
Final payment will be required by those that have settled only the deposit and the club does have availability of the £60 tickets for anyone who has yet to place their order.
The British GP will have a Poole feel about on its 10th anniversary as Paul Aplin once again assumes his duties as Clerk of the Course, Rob Wadham will debut as start marshall and Poole's track doctor Dr Laura Tompsett has also been confirmed as a member of the medical team that will be on duty at the Millenium Stadium, where present day Pirate Chris Holder and club assets Magnus Zetterstrom and Jason Crump will be performing.

Briggo To Ride In

BARRY BRIGGS MBE, 4 times World Speedway Champion, now 75 years old, will be riding into Poole Speedway on Wednesday 30 June as part of his marathon motorcycle ride throughout the UK as he aims to raise £120,000 for crippled colleagues.
“Briggo”, as he is known to fans all over the world, is currently on a riding tour to raise the money for twelve former riders who are now in wheelchairs as a direct result of injuries sustained on the track. Stopping off at Wimborne Road is just one small part of his effort which also benefits Sport Relief.
The ride which began in John O’Groats, Scotland, is taking him to almost every Speedway Stadium in the UK as well as trips to Denmark and Poland to catch up with the Speedway World Championship Grand Prix series and take his appeal to the European stage before finishing at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff for the British round next month.
Barry is only too aware of the plight of those who suffer such disabilities, as his own son, Tony, broke his neck at a young age whilst racing speedway. It was an agonizing time for the family as they witnessed his paralysis, first hand, for several months.
“Fortunately, Tony recovered”, says Briggs “but these twelve boys are not nearly so lucky”.
“People easily forget about them, but I know from experience, that every day, they suffer humiliation and hardship in their private world that nobody sees”.
“What we are trying to do is make a real difference to their lives and no matter how hard it gets, constantly on the bike over the next month or so, it is that knowledge that will keep me going, so I’m sure I will get through it okay”.
One of the beneficiaries will be popular Pole Krzysztof Cegielski who made such an impact on Poole fans before being paralysed in a tragic track crash in Poland in 2003 and has been wheelchair-bound since.
When Briggo rides into Poole Stadium for Wednesday’s encounter starting at 7.30pm he is guaranteed a rapturous welcome from the fans and he hopes that it will be matched by their generosity. “We just need people to reach into their hearts and reach into their pockets”, he concluded.
You can find out more from his website “www.briggo.net“ where there are facilities and information on how to donate.

Mroczka Vows to Battle On

GP reserve Artur Mroczka aggravated the ankle injury he sustained at Poole on June 9th when he crashed out in his only outing in Torun on Saturday night (June 19th). Mroczka was replacing Poole team-mate Chris Holder in heat 20 when he hit a rutand smashed into the side of Magnus Zetterstrom, bringing Freddie Lindgren down today.
Whilst initially it seemed that the effect of Zetterstrom's bike hitting the middle of Mroczka's back was the biggest concern the young Pole was complaining more of having pain in the ankle again. But Mroczka, known familiarly at Poole as "King Artur" has vowed to ride through the pain barrier and doesn't believe that it is bad enough for him to be sidelined and is planning to line up for GTZ Grudziaz this afternoon in their match at Start Gniezno

Holder (H)armed in Torun

Chris Holder sustained an arm injury in the fifth round of the SGP series in Torun tonight (Saturday June 19th). Poole's number one was featuring in heat 14, having scored 6 points from his first three rides, and looking a good bet for making the semi-finals when his bike flexed and threw him to ground. As he slid across the path of Greg Hancock, Holder's left arm appeared to hit Hancock's foot-peg and he instantly clasped the arm, fearing the worst news possible.
The accident forced Holder to miss his final ride and he was replaced by team-mate Artur Mroczka. Ironically, "King Artur" lost control in almost the identical place to Holder and in falling he wiped out Magnus Zetterstrom with "Zorro"'s bike coming crashing down on Mroczka's back, with chasing Freddie Lindgren unable to avoid the carnage of men and machinery.
Holder's pit crew put out a bulletin that despite the initial fears, the arm wasn't broken but he now faces a battle to be fit for Poole's next meeting, which is at home to Coventry on Wednesday June 30th, when the Poole club will celebrate Armed Forces Day with free admission (2 Adults & 2 Children) for all serving Armed Forces personnel on production of the relevant identification papers.
The Polish GP was eventually won in perfect seven ride style by the unbeaten legendary Tomasz Gollob who moved into pole position as the series heads for Cardiff on July 10th
Torun result
T.Gollob 15+3+6=24 (3,3,3,3,3,3,3); R.Holta 12+3+4=19 (3,3,2,3,1,3,2); J.Hampel 11+2+2=15 (3,3,1,3,1,2,1)' J.Crump 13+2+0=15 (3,2,3,2,3,2,0); H.Andersen 8+1=9 (1,2,2,1,2,1); N.Pedersen 7+1=8 (Fx,1,2,2,2,1); T.Woffinden 7+0=7 (2,0,0,3,2,0); A.Miedzinski 6+0=6 (2,1,0,0,3,0); M.Zetterstrom 6 (1,0,3,1,1); C.Holder 6 (1,2,3,Fx,N); G.Hancock 6 (2,1,2,1,0); F.Lindgren 6 (1,2,1,0,2); P.Protasiewicz 5 (0,0,0,2,3); C.Harris 5 (2,1,0,1,1) K.Bjerre 4 (0,3,1,0,0); A.Jonsson 3 (0,0,1,2,0).
Championship standings:
1.T.Gollob (78); 2. J.Hampel (75); 3. K.Bjerre (59); 4. J.Crump (58); 5. R.Holta (48); 6. A.Jonsson (46); 7. H.Andersen (46); 8. N.Pedersen (44)
9. C.Holder (41); 10. M.Zetterstrom (37); 11. C.Harris (36); 12. G.Hancock (34); 13. F.Lindgren (33); 14. E.Sajfutdinov (27); 15. T.Woffinden (22); 16. P.Protasiewicz (5)

Fixture News

Poole Speedway would like to inform their supporters that the date for the Castle Cover Pirates visit to Peterborough has been reverted to the original staging date of Thursday July 8th. The Pirates had been invited to bring the date forward to Monday June 28th for a televised fixture and the club were willing to do these and immediately made flight arrangements to ensure they had a full side available. Subsequently though, without speaking to the Poole club the fixture for the 28th was further changed with the Panthers advertising that Lakeside would be the opponents.
Poole hav received several enquiries from supporters and club owner Matt Ford has offered an apology to all Poole fans for the confusion. "I was asked to bring the date forward to accommodate other people's requirements and was willing to assist, to the extent that we made a number of flight and travel arrangements. Having agreed to the switch I then heard nothing further other than requests to try and clarify the situation as some supporters had seen and read contradictions to our statement issued on June 11th. I have subsequently seen an email from the BSPA advising that Lakeside will now be at the Showground on the date we had been asked to move to and our visit has been re-instated. I am presently out of the country but when I return on Monday I will be asking questions as to why we were not informed earlier that we were no longer required on June 28th. I can only apologise to any Poole fans who have been inconvenienced through trying to get time off work to go the meeting and switch their arrangements."

Leon Gets the Italian Job

Leon Madsen has been drawn in the Lonigo round of the 2010 FIM Speedway World Championship Grand Prix Qualify Meetings, which are being staged on Saturday July 3rd. Three separate venues stage meetings on that date - Togliatti, Russia and Ostrow, Poland hosting the other two.
Madsen will be up against British Champion Chris Harris in that meeting together with former Pirates Lukas Dryml and David Ruud.
Darcy Ward, who missed out on qualifying will be the first reserve in Ostrow, a round that features Krzysztof Kasprzak, Magnus Zetterstrom, Lee Richardson, Rory Schlein, Matej Zagar, Troy Batchelor, Tai Woffinden and the in-form Grzegorz Walasek.
This weekend, Chris Holder continues his quest for a top 8 Grand Prix finishing position. Holder opted to forego the qualifiers and therefore will need to finish in the top 8 to assure himself of a place in next year's series. Holder has been drawn at number 11 in Torun, Poland which means he will twice start from gate 4. He opens with a heat against Chris Harris, stand-inPiotr Protasiewicz (for the still injured Russian Emil Sajfutdinov) and series leader Jaroslaw Hampel.
Magnus Zetterstrom is drawn at 14 whilst Artur Mrocka will be the first reserve.
Full Torun Draw
1. A.Miedzinski, 2. R.Holta, 3. K.Bjerre, 4. F.Lindgren, 5. T.Gollob, 6. H.Andersen, 7. N.Pedersen, 8.G.Hancock, 9. P.Protasiewicz, 10. C.Harris, 11. C.Holder, 12. J.Hampel, 13. J.Crump, 14. M.Zetterstrom, 15. T.Woffinden, 16. A.Jonsson, R1 A.Mroczka, R2 M.Janowski

WIN A YAMAHA and Support Briggo Sport Relief

Barry Briggs is giving fans a chance to ride away on his Yamaha WR250R machine and make it their own
The machine is being placed into an unique draw limited to a maximum of just 200 'shareholders'each of whom will receive a special souvenir picture certificate hand signed by Briggo. One lucky share owner will scoop the first prize of the bike itself - a prize valued at over £7,000!!
For further details visit www.briggo.net and help support the Briggo Sport Relief Ride

Ward Misses Out by a Point

Darcy Ward came within a point of making progress on the SGP World Championship road in Miskolc, Hungary on Saturday afternoon. Two second places and three thirds left Ward on a 7 point total and he beat Hungarian Josef Tabaka in a run-off for the reserve spot. Nine riders from the round in qualifed, Matej Ferjan claiming the 9th spot with 8 points after winning heat 20. In that same final heat Poole asset Magnus Zetterstrom, who had already claimed three wins and had been disqualified from his other for bringing Tabaka down in heat 9, finished third. Ales Dryml won the round after a run-off against Janus Kolodziej, with Lukas Dryml third.
The Miskolc meeting was one of five qualifying rounds being staged on the same day, all of them surrounded in pre-meeting controversy with riders being invited by Krzysztof Cegielski, in his capacity as chairman of the Polish Speedway Riders Assocation, to sign a petition agains the use of the new silencers.
Ward's Poole team-mate Leon Madsen featured in the Fjelsted round, where pre-meeting reports indicated that there were irregularities with Madsen's new King silencer. However, the Dane was still eligible to ride in the meeting, scoring 11 points, including a race win over previously unbeaten Nicolai Klindt third time out. The two Danes finished on level points with Madsen then winning the run-off for 2nd place. Current GP rider Freddie Lindgren had to endure a run-off for the 9th qualifying spot, beating Ryan Fisher and Edward Kennet with former Pirate Kyle Legault disqualified for falling.
The next stage of the championship will be held on 3rd July with rounds in Ostrow, Togliatti and Longio
Results
Balakovo (Russia)
1st G.Laguta (Russia) 15; 2nd A.Laguta (Russia) 13; 3rd D.Gizatullin (Russia) 12; 4th T.Jedrzejak (Poland)12; 5th G.Walasek (Poland) 12; 6th A.Karpov (Ukraine) 10; 7th R.Povazhny (Russia) 8; 8th A.Kudriaszow (Russia) 7; 9th E.Karawackij (Latvia) 6; 10th J.Jaros (Czech Republic) 6+2; 11th V.Gieruckij (Latvia) 5; 12th D.Nosow (Russia) 4; 13th K.Cukanow (Ukraine) 3; 14th F.Sitera (Czech Republic) 3; 15th V.Dubinin (Ukraine) 2; 16th T.Busch (Germany) 1; 17th V.Borodulin (Russia) 1
Miskolc (Hungary)
1st A.Dryml (Czech Republic) 12+3 ; 2nd J.Kolodziej (Poland) 12+2; 3rd L.Dryml (Czech Republic) 11; 4th M.Zetterstrom (Sweden) 10; 5th M.Korneliussen (Denmark) 9; 6th T.Batchelor (Australia) 9; 7th A.Miedzinski (Poland) 9; 8th D.Nermark (Sweden) 9; 9th M.Ferjan (Hungary) 8; 10th D.Ward (Australia) 7; 11th J.Tabaka (Hungary) 7; 12th M.Risager (Denmark) 6; 13th A.Conda (Slovenia) 6; 14th T.Suchanek (Czech Republic) 3; 15th S.Kukova (Slovenia) 1; 16th M.Voldrih (Slovenia) 0.
Fjelsted (Denmark)
1st K.Kasprzak (Poland) 13; 2nd L.Madsen (Denmark) 11+3; 3rd N.Klindt (Denmark) 11+2; 4th T.Jonasson (Sweden) 10; 5th N.Iversen (Denmark) 10; 6th J.Davidsson (Sweden) 9; 7th T.Woffinden (United Kingdom) 9; 8th K.Nieminen (Finland) 8; 9th F.Lindgren (Sweden) 7+3; 10th R.Fisher (USA) 7+2; 11th E.Kennett (Great Britain) 7+1; 12th K.Legault (Canada) 7+0; 13th R.Gafurov (Russia) 5; 14th C.Vissing (Denmark) 4; 15th T.Kroner (Germany) 2; 16th R.Sola (Norway) 0
Gorican (Croatia)
1st C.Harris (United Kingdom) 14+3; 2nd M.Zagar (Slovenia) 14+2; 3rd J.Pavlic (Croatia) 13; 4th R.Dobrucki (Poland) 11; 5th D.Ruud (Sweden) 10; 6th T.Gapinski (Poland) 10; 7th P.Hougaard (Denmark) 8; 8th K.Woelbert (Germany) 8; 9th A.Lindback (Sweden) 8; 10th M.Kus (Czech Republic) 6; 11th K.Larsen (Denmark) 12th J.Franc (Czech Republic) 4; 13th A.Kraljic (Slovenia) 4; 14th M.Malek (Czech Republic) 3; 15th M.Duh (Slovenia) 2; 16th R.Cvetko (Croatia) 0
Terenzano (Italy)
Terenzano (Italy)
1st S.Stead (United Kingdom) 12; 2nd M.Smolinski (Germany) 11+3; 3rd R.Schlein (Australia) 11+2; 4th C.Gathercole (Australia) 11+1; 5th C.Hefenbrock (Germany) 11+0; 6th L.Richardson (Great Britain) 10; 7th G.Zengota (Poland) 10; 8th G.Franchetti (Italy) 9; 9th M.Vaculik (Slovakia) 8; 10th E.Sanchez (Argentina) 8; 11th M.Gregnanin (Italy) 6; 12th N.Covatti (Argentina) 5; 13th T.di Palma (France) 3; 14th M.Cavicchioli (Italy) 3; 15th L.Allende (Argentina) 1; 16th J.Seren (Italy) 1; 17th A.Baroni (Italy) - 0 (0.0); 18th M.Hauzinger (Austria) 0.

Meeting Off

Poole's scheduled trip to Eastbourne this evening has been postponed due to the weather. No re-staging date has yet been agreed between the two clubs. Further information will follow

Mroczka Misses Arlington trip

Polish hit Artur Mroczka has been ruled out of the Poole Castle Cover Pirates' trip to Eastbourne tonight after sustaining a badly sprained ankle during Poole's tough encounter against Ipswich on Wednesday.
Mroczka hit the the third bend air fence with force and became trapped. He was ruled out of the meeting, which the Pirates went on to win by 52-40 to record their 800th ever home league victory. Mroczka went to Poole hospital for examination where he was detained for three hours, but did receive the confirmation that he has not broken anything. Medical advise has told him to stop riding for 7 days.
His absence will mean the Castle Cover Pirates will operate rider replacement for the popular Pole who has elevated himself to fourth in the Pirates' averages. His programmed rides will therefore be covered by Bjarne Pedersen, Darcy Ward, Jason Doyle and Leon Madsen.
Poole boss Matt Ford said "Obviously this is a bit of a blow to the side and Artur's injury took the gloss off of last night's good performance. We were being held by an Ipswich side that was riding far above their bottom of the table position but then the team seemed to dial in as a unit and in the end we claimed their milestone victory. I am hoping though that they will avoid another milestone event tonight though as a defeat at Eastbourne would be the club's 700th away league defeat. It would be a touch of irony if that came so close to our 800th home league win".
Teams (from)
Eastbourne - M.Zagar (9.15), S.Gustafsson (6.18), J.Kylmakorpi (6.02), L.Dryml (5.70), C.Woodward (5.36), R.Kling (4.31), D.Lampart (4.00)
Poole - C.Holder (8.91), D.Watt (8.30), B.Pedersen (8.12), D.Ward (6.37), L.Madsen (6.22), J.Doyle (5.51) plus rider replacement for A.Mroczka (7.23)

Bjarne Gives GP the Elbow

Bjarne Pedersen has made the tough decision not to continue on the Grand Prix (SGP) comeback trail for the 2011 series. Pedersen who had gained the right to compete in the qualifiers has weighed up the pros and cons of seeking a place back in the competition in which he was regular between 2003 and 2008.
Speaking of the decision Pedersen said "It was great racing in the series until I stopped in 2008 but I have however decided that if I am to be part of it again I would want to be a serious competitor and that takes a lot of resources. That would mean that I might have to leave one or two of my league clubs and right now my priorities rest with the clubs not the SGP."
It is believed that the decision was made slightly easier to make too given the issues surrounding the new FIM approved silencers, introduction of which has been shelved domestically until the start of 2011. The new silencers are still mandatory in the SGP qualiications despite riders' concerns over their proven safety. "I am not too amused with the FIM decision to insist that the new silencers must be used in the qualifying rounds, and I find it hard to believe that the authorities cannot recognise the problem. Their insistence to use them has made it easier for me though to come to the conclusion not to carry on fighting for a SGP place as I have no desire to race with the new silencers until they are proven safe."

Milestone Victory in Pirates Sights

Poole Castle Cover Pirates will have an added incentive to retain their impressive unbeaten home record on Wednesday night (June 9th) when the host the visit of Elite league struggles Ipswich as a victory will take them on to 800 home league wins in the club's history.
Poole boss Matt Ford said "It would be great to claim another milestone in what has been a dream year for us so far. We have already seen Bjarne Pedersen climb the club's point scoring rankings this year and could still go further. We have seen the team break the 50 point level as far as their averages are concerned and we also saw that massive 70 point achievement recently against Lakeside. Our 800th home league win from, what I understand, will be our 990th home league match, would be one to be proud off but that said, the message to the lads will be just to go out there and do what they have been doing all season - enjoy themselves and do their best."
Ford who took over the reigns in 1999 has presided over 154 home league wins so far, 19 of which have been against Ipswich opposition. The Witches who have suffered something of an indifferent start to the season have, since their last visit to Wimborne Road, changed their team structure, with former Pirate Ales Dryml joining them in place of Dane Claus Vissing who has dropped down to Premier league level. Their last visit to Poole saw them suffer a crushing 63-30 defeat . They will be headed by another ex-Poole rider, Scott Nicholls who ranks as one of the favourites to be crowned British Champion on June 14th. Should Nicholls claim his 6th British title then it will provide him with a ticket to the British Grand Prix at Cardiff on July 10th, as the nominated wild card entry.
That flagship meeting of the British calendar will also have a Poole influence as Paul Aplin will once again officiate as Clerk of the Course, for the 10th time whilst start marshal Rob Wadham will make his debut, whilst of course Chris Holder and Magnus Zetterstrom will be amongst the competitors.
Wednesday teams (from)
Poole – C.Holder (8.91); D.Watt - captain (8.30); B.Pedersen (8.12) ;A.Mroczka (7.23); D.Ward (6.37); L.Madsen (6.22); J.Doyle (5.51) – Team Manager – Neil Middleditch
Ipswich - S.Nicholls (8.89); R.Miskowiak 7.69; D.King - captain (7.57); O.Allen (4.87); A.Dryml (4.67); D.Stachyra (3.89); C.Wilkinson (3.29) - Team Manager - Peter Simmons

Chris Crashes out in Semis

Australian Chris Holder saw his first ever meeting at Parken, Copenhagen end with a fall as he tried to battle for a place in the final. Up against the three leading lights in this year's championship - Kenneth Bjerre,Jaroslaw Hampel and Tomasz Gollob, Holder found himself squeezed out as he went upsides of veteran Gollob with no track width left. Holder fell into the air fence and saw his disqualification light go on leaving him with just a 9 point tally for his evening's work.
Clearly incensed as he returned to the pits feeling that Gollob had caused him to fall, Holder could only watch the re-run to see the two Poles pour disappointment on the Danish supporters as they kept Bjerre at the back, eliminating the series leader from the final.
The enthusiastic Danish crowd pinned their hopes on success in the final on 2009 Pirate Hans Andersen but he was the rider to miss out on the rostrum as the two Poles repeated their semi-final positions in a very tight final. Coming between the Polish pair and Andersen was Britain's Chris Harris, in his first final since his 2007 Cardiff success.
Magnus Zetterstrom again confounded the pundits scoring 7 points but cruelly missing out on a semi-final place after he had led and held Andersen for three laps in his final ride. But behind them Tai Woffinden slid off and although he scrambled clear of the track referee Anthony Steele had already switched the stop lights on. Zetterstrom led again in the re-start but was then caught by Andersen and Holta, to leave him two points short of the cut.
Leon Madsen, as the meeting wild card was far from disgraced, scoring a creditable three points with third places in his first, second and fourth outings.
Copenhagen Scorers
J.Hampel 11+3+6=20 (3,2,3,3,0,3,3); T.Gollob 9+2+4=15 (3,1,0,2,3,2,2); C.Harris 9+2+2=13 (1,3,2,2,1,2,1); H.Andersen 10+3+0=13 (0,2,3,2,3,3,0); A.Jonsson 13+0=13 (3,3,2,3,2,0); K.Bjerre 12+1=13 (3,1,2,3,3,1); J.Crump 9+1=10 (1,0,2,3,3,1); C.Holder 9+0=9 (2,3,1,1,2,Fx); F.Lindgren 8 (2,Fx,3,2,1); M.Zetterstrom 7 (2,1,3,0,1); R.Holta 6 (Tx,2,1,1,2); T.Woffinden 5 (2,3,0,0,Fx); N.Pedersen 5 (0,2,1,0,2); G.Hancock 3 (0,0,1,1,1); L.Madsen 3 (1,1,0,1,0); P.Protasiewicz 0 (0,0,0,0,0);N.Klindt 1 (1)
Championship Standings
J.Hampel (60); K.Bjerre (55); T.Gollob (54); J.Crump (43); A.Jonsson (43); H.Andersen (37); N.Pedersen (36); C.Holder (35); M.Zetterstrom (31); C.Harris (31); R.Holta (29); G.Hancock (28); F.Lindgren (27); E.Sajfutdinov (27); T.Woffinden (15); P.Protasiewicz (0)

Middlo prescribes Yoga for JD

Poole team manager Neil Middleditch was a proud man after seeing his Poole side maintain their impressive unbeaten home form this season with their win over Belle Vue Aces and was quick to praise the spirit of the whole side.
"I thought this was one of our best performances overall " said Middlo, "especially when you examine all the challenges that we had to overcome. Bjarne was really poorly and many other riders would probably have pulled out of the meeting but such is his commitment to the club that he was determined to see the night through especially so when Davey crashed out like he did. Despite feeling unwell Bjarne still went out there and rode his heart out. He was disappointed he let some points slip but it was a tremendous effort and that sort of commitment is rife within our team this year. Just take a look at them, we have Jason Doyle who must have a pulse of about 300 beats a minute as he is so pumped up and buzzes around the pits all the time. I think he could benefit from some yoga lessons to try and calm him down a bit but you can't fault his enthusiasm and determination. His performance last night was pivotal and arguably staked a claim for Rider of the Night, but equally I can't fault the decision to give it to Leon. He was a real trooper last night, he damaged his wrist when he fell but he didn't allow that to affect his performance. When I saw him clutching his wrist I thought to myself oh othis is it, he has the GP chance this weekend and then he goes and takes a knock, but thankfully he seems to have shaken the pain off and I wish him every bit of success in Copenhagen on Saturday."
Whilst the Poole reserves both shone like a beacon Middleditch also had words of praise for young Darcy Ward. "I think Darcy has settled in really well and the biggest compliment I can pay to him is that he is very close to matching the master of the inside line, Gary Havelock. The way Darcy manages to turn in tight and square off the corners is one of the hardest things to do in speedway. There are only a few riders that have can really do it effectively, Havvy is one of the leading components of the art but Darcy has learnt the technique really quickly. I think the work that was done to the track over the winter has helped with some of the lines this year and last night we had a bit more dirt on the track and the "Big Man upstairs" helped a bit too with the Tuesday rain that really gave the track a good natural dowsing, although I do think it caught us out a bit early on."
Middleditch also wanted to relay to the Poole fans the important part they played in the Pirates 9th home win. "The lads were all impressed with the huge turnout that we had at the stadium and the encouragement and cheering certainly gave them a massive lift. Belle Vue, who I must say pushed us hard in the early stages and proved to be a tough side to beat, had an extra man against them the way that the Poole supporters really got behind us. Long may that continue."

Pirates Presence at Cardiff

As Poole's Clerk of the Course Paul Aplin prepares for his 10th year in an official capacity at the British GP he has also confirmed that Poole's start marshall Rob Wadham has been appointed as the official start marshall for the July 10th big meeting at the Millenium. Rob was astounded about the nomination but admitted "It is a great honour. I have been going every year but this year will be extra special for me now that I am involved with it. I had no idea that I had been nominated. I am really looking forward to it though."

Artur Gets GP Experience

Poole's discovery Artur Mroczka has been nominated as one of the meeting reserves for the 5th Grand Prix round of the series when it is held in Torun on June 19th. Mroczka misses out on the wild-card to Adrian Miedzinski but the young Polish sensation is looking forward to being involved in the GP competition for the first time. "I am really pleased to have been given the opportunity to be part of the Grand Prix, it is where all riders want to be and to be part of it will be exciting" said Mroczka who has been in sizzling form this season.
On Wednesday night he will move out of the reserve berth as the Castle Cover Pirates ride off their new averages for the first time but the youngster is not too fazed about that prospect, knowing that he has already claimed many notable scalps this season as his first official average has moved up 3.23 points from his assessed 4 point figure.
Mroczka's GP involvement comes hot on the heels of the weekend announcement that his Poole team-mate Leon Madsen will be the wild card this weekend in Copenhagen

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