Holder Maintains a Top Eight Place

GP Delayed

Pirates Clash In Their Opening Rides

Important reminder to all patrons

Chris and Bjarne in Pairs Bid

Wolves Bite Back

Poole Castle Cover Pirates pushed their closest rivals, Wolverhampton, all the way in this top of the table clash before going down by 10 points. The loss, whilst reducing the points difference between the top two sides to 17 will have no bearing on the final placings with the Pirates guaranteed top spot.

Wednesday Night Challenge Cancelled

Poole boss Matt Ford has regrettably announced the enforced postponement of Wednesday night's planned challenge match between Poole and Australia. Outling the circumstances Ford said "I feel absolutely gutted that we find ourselves in the position that we do having committed a lot of time and expense in preparing for Wednesday night, but due to today's (Sunday) postponement of the Polish Extraleague play-off between Torun and Wroclaw and re-scheduled for Wednesday we have no option open to us other than to abandon our plans. Three of the Pirates - Darcy, Chris and Leon - are involved in that fixture and Torun have spoken to me about the difficulties they face in getting this play-off completed.
They (Torun) are most apologetic for the position they have placed us in and likewise we feel the same towards our supporters who were looking forward to the action here at Poole. I don't think that ever before in my term as a Promoter have I had to abandon plans for a meeting at such a late and advanced stage. It is even more disappointing for us because we were bringing a new meeting sponsor on board for Wednesday and I would publicly like to thank GD9 for their planned involvement and offer them my sincerest apologies for this enforced cancellation".
A dejected Ford added "What I am able to tell our supporters is that Torun have offered to come to us to launch our 2011 season in a challenge match which will undoubtedly be an interesting fixture and a chance for many of our fans to see a top Polish league club live."
Ford's only hope of getting a fixture on for Wednesday is if an agreement can be reached with one or other of the Bournemouth Buccaneer's opponents - King's Lynn or Rye House - after the postponement of the planned double header earlier today. "We will know more about whether that is at all feasible on Monday" said Ford, "but it is something of a long shot. All I can do is urge our fans to stay in touch with the website and local media over the next 24 hours or so".
22-August-2010

Less Pressure for Pirates

Following Wolverhampton's dropped points on Friday night when they were beaten at Lakeside, the Poole Castle Cover Pirates will now make the trip to the Black Country on Monday night in the knowledge that they are assured top spot finish in the Sky Sports Elite league ahead of the title-determining play-offs.
However, with both sides strongly fancied to be finalists in those play-offs the Pirates will be keen to give the 2009 champions a run for their money when they meet in league combat at Monmore Green, in front of the Sky TV cameras.
The Pirates who have had a volley of injury concerns since the two sides met last Wednesday look to have Chris Holder and Davey Watt fit enough to ride. Holder sustained a heat 13 wrist injury that forced him to miss Somerset's 10th Anniversary Meeting on Friday, a meeting won by Poole's Darcy Ward but also had Jason Doyle crash heavily in his second ride. Doyle remains a doubtful starter for the Wolves fixture and around the time Doyle was receiving attention at Somerset, Poole skipper Dave Watt was adding to the Pirates injury concerns with a hand injury sustained whilst fulfilling a guest booking for Coventry.
Watt was forced to withdraw after two winning rides with the Bees but made a successful return on Sunday in Poland with an 11 point tally which included two victories over Adam Skornicki who will be back for the Wolves on Monday too.
Poole club owner Matt Ford will be happy to see his side put on a good show at Monmore and more importantly come through without any further injury woes "The first phase of success has been done now having secured the points to assure we finish in top spot and therefore have the choice of semi-final opposition in the play-offs so Monday is purely about pride and keeping race sharp. We know how specialised the Wolves track is so perhaps its an ideal opportunity to learn a few things. We were only a point shy of picking up a league point there first time around and I think that both Darcy and Leon are riding better now and they didn't have the best of returns that night so we needn't write our chances off as some people are advocating".
Wolves have been boosted by the news that Nicolai Klindt, who came off worse in that heat 13 incident at Wimborne Road on Wednesday will be back for them and with Adam Skornicki also returning after surgery on a much troubling knee injury.
Teams from
Wolverhampton: F.Lindgren, T.Proctor, A.Skornicki, T.Woffinden, N.Klindt, M.Wethers, L.Lindgren
Poole: C.Holder, D.Ward, B.Pedersen, A.Mroczka, D.Watt, L,Madsen, J.Doyle/G.Havelock

Buccaneers Double Header POSTPONED

Bournemouth Buccaneers' planned double header meeting for today (Sunday August 23rd) , featuring King's Lynn followed by Rye House has been postponed due to the weather.
Initial plans are for the meetings to be restaged on Sunday September 26th, again as a double header meeting.

Leon Loses Out

Poole Castle Cover Pirate Leon Madsen saw his dream of becoming a 2011 Grand Prix rider shattered in Vojens on Saturday night.
The Poole reserve mustered 5 points by winning his penultimate ride and finishing second in his fifth after starting with three last places, as he sought a top 3 finish
Poole asset Magnus Zetterstrom who sealed his involvment in this year's championship by winning this stage last year narrowly lost out despite scoring 11 points. That tally was equalled by Freddie Lindgren and Janusz Kolodziezj, the three needing a run-off to determine who had the sole right to claim the third and final qualifying spot. It was Lindgren, a Poole opponent on Monday night, who took that honour and joins Poole asset Antonio Lindback and 19 year old Russian Artem Laguta as the 2011 GP contestants.
Lindback and Laguta both finished with 12 points, the Russian winning the race-off to finish off a sensational evening for himself.

Pirates Injury Scares on Night

On a night of anxiety and concerns for the Poole Castle Cover Pirates they learnt of the news that they are assured top spot in the Sky Sports Elite League ahead of the title-deciding play-offs, after Wolverhampton lost at Lakeside.
But, with the Pirates due to ride at Wolverhampton on Monday night there are fitness concerns over Chris Holder, skipper Dave Watt and reserve Jason Doyle.
Holder was forced to withdraw from Somerset's 10th Anniversay meeting, still feeling the effects of a wrist injury sustained in Wednesday night's heat 13 crash which involved Freddie Lindgren and Nicolai Klindt. Holder was in a lot of pain after the meeting and has been advised to rest the wrist as much as possible,
Poole had two representatives in the Somerset meeting and mixed fortunes were shared. Jason Doyle took a very heavy fall whilst chasing the lead in his second ride and was forced to withdraw from the meeting feeling the effects of concussion and advised by the medical team to visit hospital for a full check-over.
But his team-mate Darcy Ward gave the Pirates something to celebrate with an awesome performance at the Oak Tree Arena, twice setting the fastest time of the season around the raceable circuit. Ward was unbeaten in the heats but had to give second best to Sam Masters, another exciting young Australian in the semi-final. With both qualifying for the final alongside the vastly experienced duo of Shane Parker and Jason Lyons it was Ward who shone in the final to claim victory.
Elsewhere, Dave Watt was deputising for Coventry's Chris Harris and was involved in a heat four three rider crash. Although able to win the re-run and claim victory in his second ride Watt was withdraWn under medical grounds.
Poole's Matt Ford said "It has been a frustrating night with the telephone ringing and seemingly bad news after bad news.I was pleased that Chris took the right advice and withdrew because he was in a lot of pain. We will have to wait and see the full medical condition of both Davey and Jason but its not the news we wanted especially now we are in the business stage of the season. These injuries just go to emphasise the point I have been saying all year, its not about the 32 league matches its all about the play-offs"

Pirates Leave it Late under Wolves Pressure

Poole Castle Cover Pirates began slowly but finished strongly in their penultimate home league fixtture, eventually running out 53-39 winners over second placed Wolverhampton
Whilst that 14 point win looks convincing enough the Wolves fought hard in this hugely exciting well attended Sky Sports Elite league match. Before the off team manager Neil Middleditch was billing the meeting as a possible dress rehearsal for the title-deciding play-offs and if that proves to be the case then the destiny of the league title will go to the wire if this meeting is anything to go by.
The Pirates were given stark warnings early on as Wolverhampton began the better side and through Freddie Lindgren and Nicolai Klindt they always looked threatening.Although Poole quickly recovered from an opening 4-2 reverse to move into a four point lead of their own after three heats, the visitors were equally as responsive in levelling the scores after four heats. The defending league champions banging in a 5-1 at the expense of Dave Watt and a harshly disqualified Jason Doyle.
Skipper Watt though made changes to his set-up and was inspirational in the Pirates' recovery. He dropped just one more point over the course of his next four rides, that coming in heat 15 by which time the league points were already safely in the locker. "That is the second time in two weeks we have allowed the opposition to get near to 40 points so perhaps we need to up our game a bit between now and the end of the season" quiiped the skipper, voted Rider of the Night.
With little to chose between the two sides the Pirates will reflect on their all-important heat 10 maximum return over masterminded by the fast-away Darcy Ward and the determination of Chris Holder to pass and hold off Tai Woffinden. Ironically that was the Pirates third maximum heat score of the night, all three coming at the expense of Woffinden. But it gave the Pirates an 8 point cushion that Watt successfully defended by lowering Lindgren's colours for the first time and whilst Leon Madsen came close to passing Ty Proctor his failure to do so played into Poole's hands as it delayed the tactical use which the unbeaten Nicolai Klindt would surely have taken had he had the opportunity.
It may have been a fruitless chance though as Pedersen and Doyle combined for a 5-1 of their own, Doyle finding some unbelievable drive to power by Klindt with consumate ease. That did signify the use of the double points option in heat 13 with Lindgren nominated. But entering the first turn squeezed out, Lindgren lost control, brought down Holder and Klindt too, as Watt escaped the debris of bikes and riders as he was out in front. Thankfully all three riders were able to walk back to the pits but Klindt was struggling and was forced to withdraw from the re-run. That re-start again saw elbows locking together, but Holder pulled clear to join Watt, yet again clear of any danger, for a match winning 5-1.
With faint hopes of trying to arrest the Pirates claim to top spot the Wolves attempted to pull some big points out in heat 14, using Woffinden on double points and whilst the GB international was able to get the better of Mroczka eventually he had no answer to the impressive Leon Madsen as Poole guaranteed themselves the full quota of league points.
Scorers: Poole 53 - D.Watt 12 (1,3,3,3,2); B.Pedersen 9+1 (3,1',2,3,0); C.Holder 8+2 (2,2,2',2'); L.,Madsen 8+1 (3,2',0,3); A.Mroczka 6+2 ( 2',2,1',1); D.Ward 6+1 (R,1',2,3); J.Doyle 4+2 (1,FD,1',2' )
Wolverhampton 39 - F.Lindgren 12, N.Klindt 10, T.Woffinden 8, T.Proctor 5+1, L.Lindgren 4+1, M.Wethers 0

Championship Rehearsal?

Wednesday night (7.30pm) brings together two sides that could be contesting the crucial end of season play off final to determine the 2010 Sky Sports Elite League Champions. Featuring the 2008 champions, Poole against the 2009 champions, Wolverhampton , the action is sure to be intense as the two side meet both focussed on the task of claiming top spot so that they can have choice of opponents in the semi-final play-offs.
It is a match that has team manager Neil Middleditch enthusing about as he recognises that the contest will be as tough as it gets "Wolves will be looking to try and gain psychological advantage and upset our 100% unbeaten record but the passion of the Pirates is such that it won't take much to motivate our lads. They were disappointed that they only managed one league point on Monday at Belle Vue and they are also upset that their performance at Wolverhampton earlier in the year did not show them at their best. Our next two matches are against the Wolves - we visit their place on Monday night - and there is a strong possibility that these two meetings could be a dress rehearsal for the play-offs. I am really looking forward to it and I hope that the public can come along and really get behind our boys, for that little extra lift that a partisan crowd always gives a home side."
The visiting Wolves will make the trip without the services of Adam Skornicki, such a big hit with Poole fans when part of the 2008 championship winning side. "Sqora" as he is known as suffered a knee injury when performing one of his signatory 'donut' celebrations and as he recently undergone an exploratory operation to assess the extent of the damage. Whilst rider replacement will operate at Wimborne Road to cover, Skornicki is targetting a return to the Wolves side in time for Poole's Monday night visit to Monmore.
Team News (from)
POOLE - C.Holder, D.Watt, B.Pedersen, A.Mroczka, D.Ward, L.Madsen, J.Doyle
WOLVERHAMPTON - F.Lindgren, T.Woffinden, N.Klindt, R/R for A.Skornicki, T.Proctor, L.Lindgren, M.Wethers

Victory Falls Away from Pirates

Poole Castle Cover Pirates came tantalisingly close to claiming victory at Kirkmanshulme Lane for the second time this season, going down eventually by a 4 point margin that earns them 1 league point as they stretch their lead at the top of the Sky Sports Elite league table to 17.
The 48-44 scoreline could well have been in the Pirates favour had it not been for two pieces of over-trying by young Australians Chris Holder and Darcy Ward.
Ward spun out in heat 5 when looking set to partner Holder home for a maximum 5-1, the Aces escaping with a shared heat and then in heat 11 as the race was building to an intense climax - Ward leading and Holder battling with the experienced campaigner Peter Karlsson for second place - Holder fell in virtually the same spot.
The British GP champion had worked impressively, on an otherwise disappointing night for him by his high standards, to muster into second but Karlsson cunningly hit back. Rather than settle for the 4-2 Holder went for the sweep but paid the price of a fall and Poole had to settle for another 3-3.
Although big hitters Holder and Davey Watt both struggled in this meeting the Pirates were well served by Bjarne Pedersen, Jason Doyle, Ward and after a none-too productive start, man of the match Leon Madsen. Despite never leading the Pirates regained their composure after an indifferent opening and two mid-meeting heat advantages, one through a tactical ride second place from Pedersen followed up by a Ward/Doyle 5-1 in heat 8 the visitors had the Aces well within their sights and will be slightly disappointed that they didn't quite finish the job.

Belle Vue 48 - P.Karlsson 14, R.Schlein 8+3, P.Hougaard 8+1, J.Wright 7, U.Ostergaard 6+2, L.Lanham 4, F.Sitera 1
Poole 44 - B.Pedersen 12+1 (3,4^,3,1,1'), D.Ward 10 (2,F,3,3,2), L.Madsen 8 (0,0,2,3,3), J.Doyle 6+1 (2,1,2',1), C.Holder 4 (0,3,F,1); A.Mroczka 2+1 (1,1',0), D.Watt 2+1 (0,1,1,R)

Poole View The Vue

Poole Castle Cover Pirates are in action tonight (Monday) when they take on Belle Vue Aces in Manchester, an Elite league fixture that could all but end the Aces play-off aspirations if Poole were to upset them for the second time this season.
The Pirates, who are already guaranteed a play-off spot can look down on a 16 point cushion as the scurry for play-off positions unfolds. The Aces however sit just outside the top 4, trailing Lakeside by 4 points and three points for them is a must so they will be extra fired up to gain something over the side that put them out of the KO Cup this year.
Poole lost their away leg in that competition by 10 points which arguably is a better portrayal of their chances despite having won by 19 points at Kirkmanshulme Lane in a league encounter earlier in the year. "The Aces were very depleted when we went there in the league" said Matt Ford "and the cup visit is a better gauge. We had to pull back from a disastrous start that night and then let things slip again in the latter stages. If we can avoid that happening tonight then we could be in with a solid chance of returning with some reward. But any side that has Hans Andersen and Peter Karlsson riding in it is going to be a tough proposition."
Concerns surround the fitness of Hans Andersen who damaged his hand during Saturday night's Grand Prix in Mallila, Sweden and if he is forced to miss the meeting the Aces would be eligible to use a guest rider up to an average of 8.97
Leon Madsen will be back to resume his reserve duties after being forced to miss out on last Thursday night's away win at Swindon, as the Pirates return to a full strength side
Teams from -
Belle Vue - Guest for H.Andersen; P.Karlsson; P.Hougaard ; J.Wright; U.Ostergaard; F.Sitera ;L.Lanham
Poole - C.Holder; D.Watt; B.Pedersen; A.Mroczka; D.Ward; L.Madsen; J.Doyle

Latest Update - Andersen will miss the meeting and Rory Schlein will take his place as a guest rider

Ward Wins In Latvia

Darcy Ward won the second of the three-round World U21 championship following a run-off win over last time winner Maxim Bogdanov.
Both riders had scored 12 points from their 5 programmed rides, Wards total made up of four straight victories and a last place in his heat 17 appearance, whilst Bogdanov had three wins, a second (beaten by Ward in a re-started heat 7) and a third.
The meeting was held amidst very high temperatures and extremely dry conditions, in stark contrast to the rain affected Gdansk round.
Despite defending champion Ward's win he still trails Bogdanov in the series by 4 points with the final round in Pardubice to come at the beginning of October
Scores - D.Ward 12+3; M.Bogdanov 12+3; A.Laguta 11+3; P.Hougaard 11+2; M.Janowski 10; R.Bach 10; D.Andersson 9; M.Vaculik 9; J.Pavlic 8; M.Kus 6; K.Wolbert 5; V.Tarasienko 5; P.Dudek 3; P.Pawlicki 3; V.Gieruckis 3; F.Facher 1; E.Karawwackis 1
Standings - M.Bogdanov (21); P.Hougaard (19); D.Ward, A.Laguta (17); M.Janowski (16); M.Vaculik, R.Bach J.Pavlic (14); W.Tarasienko, D.Andersson (11); M.Kus (9); K.Wolbert (8); P.Dudek (7);F.Facher (3) - wild cards:- W.Gieruckis, P.Pawlicki (3); A.Mroczka (2); D.Sperz (1)

Holder Misses Semi Cut

After his momentous achievement in Cardiff in July, Chris Holder's first GP meeting since that victory saw him miss out on the cut for the semi-finals in Mallila, Sweden.
Competing in the Scandinavian Grand Prix, the 7th round of an 11 round series, Holder began with two last places including a titanic battle with defending world champion Jason Crump. Holder though, operating without his 'manager' Darcy Ward who was winning the second round of the U21 series in Daugvapils, scored in each of his remaining heats, a second third time out preceeding a heat 13 victory. But in his final ride he was beaten by wild card Tomas H Jonasson and the eventual meeting winner Rune Holta for a 6 point tally which leaves him with 66 series points ranking him 6th in the standings with four rounds remaining.
The meeting saw Tomasz Gollob regain the series lead, stealing a march on his Polish rival Jaroslaw Hampel, despite sustaining a leg and hand injury when he impetuously tried to drill by Emil Sajfutdinov in heat 20.
The crash saw the young Russian, fresh back from a broken arm that had forced him to miss the previous 3 rounds, sustain a suspected broken wrist, whilst Gollob went on to win his semi-final and then finish third in the final, behind runner-up Crump and winner Holta who becomes the 6th different winner of a GP round this season.
Standings: T.Gollob (107); J.Hampel (102); J.Crump (90); R.Holta (76); K.Bjerre (75); C.Holder (66); H.Andersen (61); A.Jonsson (55); F.Lindgren (54); G.Hancock (53); C.Harris (51); N.Pedersen (51); M.Zetterstrom (46); E.Sajfutdinov (33); T.Woffinden (31)

No Wasting for Middlo and Watt

Poole Castle Cover Pirates' team manager Neil Middleditch and club captain Davey Watt were on duty in the kitchen prior to their 'normal' job at the speedway venue on Thursday.
Taking part in the Poole Borough Council initiative called "Love Food - Hate Waste" in Poole High Street, and in front of an enthusiastic crowd, they put their culinary skills to the test. Helping them along with suggestions about how to conserve our valuable food resources was celebrity chef, Richard Fox who gave them and the audience some great tips
Afterwards members of the public were invited to sample their creations, but insisted that the pair don't give up their 'day' jobs.
Later in the day the pair both played their part in Poole's convincing Elite League victory at Swindon which saw the Pirates extend their lead at the top of the Sky Sports Elite league table.

Ford Happy for Doyle

Poole chief Matt Ford who unexpectedly had to miss the trip to Swindon on Thursday admitted that he was "pleased with the win and delighted for Jason Doyle in particular"
Ford added "Events conspired against me on Thursday and in the end I was unable to get along to the meeting and it seems by all accounts that I missed a good Poole performance. I was receiving text feeds throughout the night and there was plenty of praise being dished out for Jason, in fact at one point I thought he might have been sending them himself! But, in all seriousness I was really pleased that the feedback was so positive about Jason as he is a rider that I personally rate quite highly. I have said before that Jason was our missing link last season. We never managed to compensate for the loss of his services and he has come back strong this year. I was sure he would but I know that there were others who thought that I was taking a big gamble, but I have a lot of faith in Jason and he is repaying that. He deserves the headlines and many of his performances would have been more highly regarded perhaps if he was riding for any other club, but we have a team of stars this year and so at times individual riders performances do sometimes get overlooked."
Doyle scored paid 14 as the Pirates picked up their 6th away win of the season - and second at Blunsdon, only being outscored by the solid performance of Bjarne Pedersen who is rapidly heading towards Pete Smith's 3427.5 points career total.

Poole Trusting Ty

Leon Madsen has been ruled out of the Poole Castle Cover Pirates trip to Swindon tonight. Madsen was involved in a heat 11 crash in the Pirates home clash with the Robins and has informed the club that "I am in big pain and don't feel well at all". The table-topping Pirates have moved quickly to secure the services of Ty Proctor as a replacement for the Dane. The Pirates, who clinched a guaranteed place in the Elite League play-offs through the 10 point victory over the Robins will also be without the services of Artur Mroczka, who was Poole's second highest scorer on Wednesday as he is engaged in the Silver Helmet Final, a prestigious meeting for Polish youngsters, in Bydgoszcz.

Book Prize Winner

CONGRATULATIONS to Mr Brian Appleyard who was the lucky winner of our Leigh Adams competition.
Brian wins a copy of Leigh Adams The Book, a biography of the retiring Australian who could be competing at Wimborne Road for the final time in his illustrious career that has spanned 22 seasons.
Brian Appleyard, along with many other of the entries correctly answered that Leigh won 8 Grand Prix rounds in his career.
For the record those victories came in Gothenburg (2002), Krsko (2003), Stockholm (2004), Eskilstuna, Mallila and Daugvapils (2007), Leszno and Mallila (2008)

Pirates Face the Robins

Wimborne Road hosts an extravaganza of speedway action on Wednesday night with two meetings lined up. The evening will get underway with league leaders Poole Castle Cover Pirates meeting Swindon, the club that occupied top spot prior to the play-offs last season, in a Sky Sports Elite league fixture. After those 15 heats of fast and furious racing the new-look Bournemouth Castle Cover Wessex Marine Buccaneers take the stage for a vital National Development league where they will be hoping to consolidate their present 4th place in the third tier of British racing, against a Dudley outfit who missed the chance to go top Tuesday when their fixture at the Isle of Wight was postponed.
Club owner Matt Ford is relishing the prospect of seeing two tough matches for his charges "Both our sides will be put to a stern test on Wednesday and whilst the formbook probably favours the Pirates to run out winners in their match I do think that the Buccaneers' 100% home league record could be under threat. Garry May and Neil Vatcher have been working extremely hard trying to strengthen the Bournemouth team as they look to make a final push towards making their play-offs but Dudley appear a very strong outfit themselves. I will be a very relieved man if we leave the stadium on Wednesday night with two home wins for the club"
Ford's Elite side - Poole - would mathematically confirm themselves as a play-off outfit it they pick up their 14th home league win of the season and the drive is very much about the Pirates holding their top spot in the league table so that they can have choice of opponents for the play-off semifinals. One of those previous 13 home victories came at the expense of the Swindon Robins, a 58-35 win almost four months ago. Scoring almost 50% of the visitors points on that occassion was their number one Leigh Adams for whom Wednesday could be something of an emotional evening. Adams, who began his British racing career with the Pirates a staggering 22 years ago, retires from the sport at the end of the season so this could potentially be his final competitive appearance at the venue where it all began.
The Buccaneers welcome back 2009 star Jerran Hart to provide a strong spearhead with James Brundle in a major re-shuffle which also sees James Sarjeant and Danny Stoneman join the club at the expense of Karl Mason, Daniel Halsey and John Resch. The effect of those changes means that reserve Aaron Baseby moves into the top 5 joing brother Mark and Kyle Howarth as Sarjeant and Stoneman, both 3-point average riders fill the lower berths. Sarjeant will be facing the club with whom he began the season with, having lost his place to his Australian import Michael Dyer.
Their opponents have also made changes, snapping up Barrie Evans from Mildenhall and have the impressive Tom Perry, fourth in the U18 championship this season after being joint top scorer in the heats, together with the vastly experienced Lee Smart heading their side. The match will also see an interesting battle between Kyle Howarth and Jake Anderson, the Buccaneer having recently replaced the Australian in Somerset's Premier league side.
It will be the first time a Dudley side has ever visited Wimborne Road, the club only having been formed at the start of the season. In their debut campaign they have already won three times on the road and beat Bournemouth by 10 points when the two sides met back in May.
Admission prices for Wednesday night have been set at Adults £18.50, Seniors £15, Children (5-15) £5 Under 5's FREE
Team News
Poole - C.Holder (8.63), D.Watt (8.18), B.Pedersen (8.04), A.Mroczka (6.81), D.Ward (6.70), L.Madsen (6.10), J.Doyle (5.36)
Swindon - L.Adams (9.78), S.Stead (7.91), M.Korneliussen (6.60), G.Zengota (5.53), T.Johansson (5.25), C.Gathercole (3.85), M.Risager (3.74)
Bournemouth - J.Hart (9.50), J.Brundle (8.98), K.Howarth (6.94), M.Baseby (6.93), A.Baseby (4.00), J.Sarjeant (3.00), D.Stoneman (3.00)
Dudley - L.Smart (9.00), B.Evans (8.15), T.Perry (6.43), J.Anderson (6.13), M.Dyer (6.00), R.Franklin (5.05), A.Morris (4.43)

WIN a copy of Leigh Adams The Book

Leigh Adams began his British career with Poole Speedway and next Wednesday he will be racing in what is likely to be his last league race at Wimborne Road when he visits with his Elite league club Swindon.
Leigh has chosen to retire from speedway at the end of the season and recently he launched his biography "Leigh Adams The Book" and will be holding a book signing session prior to the league action on Wednesday. Here at www.poolespeedway.net we are giving you the chance to win a copy by answering the simple question below:-
How. many Grand Prix rounds did Leigh win during his career?
To enter simply text your answer to 07837 123917 together with your name. Closing date for entries is 6pm Tuesday 10th August

Heartbreak for Leon as Bjerre is Best

Leon Madsen who went in to the Danish final as co-leader with Peterborough's Kenneth Bjerre saw his title hopes fade on a night of misfortune. Machine problems in Holsted left him conceding points to Bjerre and the diminutive GP rider had the comfort of claiming the title as early as the eighteenth heat.
Bjerre, Hans Andersen and Poole duo Bjarne Pedersen and Leon Madsen all qualified for the final and finished in that order

Will the Eagles Dare?

Having picked up three league points on Monday night the Poole Castle Cover Pirates are fast cementing their place in the end of season Championship play-offs and with home and away meetings against Eastbourne Eagles provides an opportunity for further points fodder for the Pirates with the Eagles yet to win on the road.
The Pirates will be hoping that Bjarne Pedersen doesn't suffer any ill effects from the leg injury he sustained duing the Lakeside victory, in which the Dane top-scored for the Pirates, as Wednesday night could well see the quiet, unassuming loyal servant move into third place in the all-times points scorers rankings for the Dorset club.
Pedersen presently trails Steve Schofield's 3349.5 points by just 6 - a tally well within his grasp on Wednesday night, something that hasn't escaped the mind of Poole club owner Matt Ford - "It would be a great acheivement if Bjarne can break into the club's all-time top three (Craig Boyce and Pete Smith the current top scorers) as he has been such a loyal servant to the club. and I believe that if he wasn't riding for Poole he probably wouldn't even be riding in England. He loves the club and he has served us well. I would love to seem him get that magical 7th points he needs to leapfrog over Scoie in his third ride on Wednesday. Heat 9 could be something really special"
The Eagles look set to make the trip west without their number one Matej Zagar who is suffering with a broken wrist but in his place will be Wimborne Road specialish Chris Harris. The British Champion never fails to impress at Poole and would appear to be a shrewd choice of guest by the Eagles management.
The evening also provides an opportunity for supporters to witness some of the 'stars of tomorrow' in a special 9-heat second half event, being organised by GB youth coach Neil Vatcher. Youngsters aged 8 to 15 racing in three different classes - 125cc, 250cc and 500cc - will be in combat with three races in each class. "I am fortunate enough to be involved with these lads, they are so keen and seeing their abilities is a real eye-opener, I hope many fans will stay on after the main event of Poole v Eastbourne and give the lads some encouragement" said Vatcher, who doubles up as assistant team manager for the Bournemouth Buccaneers.
Latest News Update - Lukas Dryml has been ruled out of tonight's meeting at Wimborne Road due to illness and his place will be taken by Cory Gathercole. Dryml will also miss the return fixture on Thursday with the Eagles calling in former Arlington rider Lewis Bridger to cover
Wednesday teams:
Poole: C.Holder, D.Watt. B.Pedersen, A.Mroczka, D.Ward, L,Madsen, J.Doyle
Eastbourne:C.Harris (guest) J.Kylmakorpi; T.Jedrzejak ; R.Kling; C.Woodward; C.Gathercole; S.Gustafsson
Second Half event : 500cc class Daniel L"Anson from Ringwood; Cameron Hoskins from Cannock; Brandon Freemantle from West Sussex; Tyler Govier from Exeter
250cc Jack Jones from Gloucester; Jorden Hazelden from Eastbourne; Nathan Stoneman from Tiverton; Lee Cutler from Wimborne
125cc Jack Collins from Yeovil; Anders Rowe from Weymouth; Kieran Vaughan from Gloucester; Kyle Bickley from Workington

Busy Week For League Leaders

Poole Castle Cover Pirates,current leaders of the Sky Sports Elite League face a busy period of three engagements in the space of four days, commencing with a mouth-watering contest at Lakeside (Essex) on Monday night (7.30pm)
The Pirates fell to a 13 point defeat at the Thurrock circuit back in May and they will be looking for a closer encounter this time around, especially as the television cameras from Sky TV will be in-situ as this match is the featured meeting of the week.
Three of the Speedway World Cup finalists - Lee Richardson, Jonas Davidsson (for Lakeside) and Bjarne Pedersen (for the Pirates) will be involved in Monday's action with both sides expected to be at full strength.
The Lakeside meeting will be followed by back-to-back encounters with Eastbourne - at Wimborne Road on Wednesday and Arlington Thursday (both with a 7.30pm start) and this run of fixtures could provide the opportunity for the Castle Cover Pirates to build on ther 8 point league at the top of the table.
Looking at the week ahead club owner Matt Ford says "We would like to get a return of points from all three meetings this week. In our last visit to Lakeside we had skipper Davey Watt suffering a nightmare of a meeting with disqualifications and only scoring 3 points. He can do hugely better than that. Leon (Madsen) drops back to reserve with Darcy moving back into the team proper. We didn't have Darcy with us back in May and so maybe with a full complement of riders we could push the Hammers all the way. Against Eastbourne last time we were seriously hurt by the failure to get a point at the very very least and so on Thursday we will be keen to make amends this time around. There are 11 league points to for this week - if we could pick up 8 of them then it would be a job well done.
Monday teams (from)
Lakeside - L.Richardson (8.34), A.Shields (7.70),J. Davidsson (6.68), D.Davidsson (5.09), K.Nieminen (4.96), S.Robson (4.26), P.Hurry (4.05)
Poole - C.Holder (8.63), D.Watt (8.18), B.Pedersen (8.04), A.Mroczka (6.81), D.Ward (6.70), L.Madsen (6.10), J.Doyle (5.36)

Scandinavians Shine in Cloudy Vojens

Denmark and Sweden booked their places in Saturday night's SWC Final with home nation Denmark just clincing victory in the Race-off in what proved to be a last heat decider.
Despite Chris Holder producing a sensational piece of passing to deny Kenneth Bjerre a heat 25 victory, the dimunitive Dane's second place, ahead of Andreas Jonsson was enough to sneak the win on the night as Denmark finished on 47 points, one more than Sweden's 46, for whom Poole asset Magnus Zetterstrom top sored.
For the Poole-packed Australian side it was a night to forget as they dropped out of contention mid-meeting with little for them to cheer after Chris Holder's joker ride failed to reap the rewards that team manager Craig Boyce was looking for.
Bjarne Pedersen scored five second places (matching the consistency of team-mate Kenneth Bjerre) to help his side into the final where they will meet Poland, Team GB and Sweden
Scorers - Denmark 48 (H.Andersen 11, B.Pedersen 10, K.Bjerre 10, N.Iversen 9, N.Klindt 8); Sweden 47 (M.Zetterstrom 12, F.Lindgren 11, A.Lindback 9, A.Jonsson 8, J.Davidsson 7); Australia 36 (R.Schlein 11, C.Holder 8, D.Watt 7, D.Ward 6, T.Batchelor 4); Russia 19 (R.Gafurov 9, D.Gizatulin 4, G.Laguta 3, R.Povazhny 2, A.Laguta 1)

Ward Moves Up Again

Young Australian Darcy Ward is on his way back to to the main body of the Poole Castle Cover Pirates side for the month of August. Ward who spent July occupying one of the reserve berths has seen his average rise from 6.35 to an August figure of 6.70 which makes him the most improved Pirate during the month of July
The only other Poole rider to have seen an increase on his average during July is Bjarne Pedersen, increasing marginally from 7.95 for July to an August starting figure of 8.04.
That gives Poole a top trio that can all now boast a plus 8-point average, but the '50-plus Pirates' label can not be used for August as the team total comes in at a combined 49.82 from a July basis of 50.73
Artur Mroczka remains the most improved Pirate over the course of the season so far, his assessed average of 4 points having materialised into an actual 6.81 but significantly it is only Chris Holder who has witnessed a drop in his average, that, a marginal 0.13 on his start of season figure!
Poole August Green Sheet Averages (effective from 1st August) - C.Holder 8.63, D.Watt 8.18, B.Pedersen 8.04, A.Mroczka 6.81, D.Ward 6.70. L.Madsen 6.10, J.Doyle 5.36 - number 8 Gary Havelock remains at 3.72

Pirates Meet in SWC Race Off

With Rob Lyons' Team GB dramatically winning event two of the SWC and taking the direct route to the Final it means that there will be plenty of Poole Castle Cover Pirates' representation in the tough looking Race-Off on Thursday (29th July)
Team GB played out a tense finale to beat Australia by 3 points at King's Lynn on Monday night in Event Two, which means that Dave Watt, Darcy Ward and Chris Holder will now go up against Bjarne Pedersen's Denmark, Russian and Sweden. The Swedes include Poole assets Magnus Zetterstrom and Antonio Lindback to add to the "Pirate presence" in Vojens where two sides will have the right to join Poland and Team GB in Saturday's final.
Team GB's victory came in an incident-packed night at a packed Saddlebow Road, King's Lynn and saw the hosts overcome a strong opening by Australia.
Event Two Result - Team GB 51 (S.Nicholls 14, C.Harris 13, L.Richardson 10, S.Stead 7, T.Woffinden 7), Australia 48 (C.Holder 12, D.Watt 11, T.Batchelor 11, D.Ward 8, R.Schlein 6), Sweden 40 (F.Lindgren 14, J.Davidsson 14, A.Lindback 6, M.Zetterstrom 5, D.Nermark 1), Finland 14 (J.Kylmakorpi 9, J.Hautamaki 2,T.Aarnio 2, K.Nieminen 1, T.Lahti 0)

Bjarne Tops for Danes in SWC

Poole Castle Cover Pirate's loyal servant Bjarne Pedersen top-scored for Denmark in the delayed opening event of the 2010 SWC. With rain delaying the Gorzow, Poland meeting by 20 hours, the meeting eventually saw Poland cruise into the final of the competition with a highest recorded score in the four team event.The hosts scored 68 (from a 75 point maximum), a comprehensive 23 more than second-placed Denmark for whom Bjarne scored 11 through four second places and one race win.
Denmark staved off competition from Russia (31) but both nations will meet again in Thursday's race-off in Vojens. Event 2 of the competition takes place at King's Lynn on Monday night where Team GB will meet Sweden, Finland and an Australian side littered with Castle Cover Pirates - Chris Holder, Darcy Ward and skipper Davey Watt. The winners from that event will join Poland in Saturday's final with teams finishing second and third on Monday joining Denmark and Russia in the race off from where the top two will then proceed to the Final.
Event One result - Poland 68 (J.Hampel 14, R.Holta 14, T.Gollob 14, J.Kolodziej 14, A.Miedzinski 12), Denmark 45 (B.Pedersen 11, K.Bjerre 10, H.Andersen 10, N.Iversen , N.Klindt 7), Russia 31 (A.Laguta 8, R.Povazhny 8, R.Gafurov 7, G.Laguta 4, D.Gizatulin 4), Czech Republic 8 (M.Kus 4, A.Dryml 2, L.Dryml 2, M.Malek 0, Z.Simota 0)

Poole Speedway Joins Cookery Roadshow

For some innovative ideas of what to do with your leftover food why not visit the Love Food Hate Waste cookery road shows being held in Poole this summer, an event being endorsed by Poole Speedway
Whilst a total of six road shows will be held across the borough the Poole Castle Cover Pirates will be showing off their culinary skill on Thursday August 12th from 11am in the High Street, as they 'cook-off' against one another.
Celebrity chef Richard Fox will demonstrate how to transform leftover food which may have ended up in the bin, into appetising meals, about a third of the food we buy ends up in the bin and this waste can cause many environmental problems if it ends up in landfill.
Cllr Don Collier, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Borough of Poole said, "This is an excellent opportunity for people to see and take part in a really interesting, hands-on cookery demonstration. Reducing waste, and particularly food waste, is important to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill. So these cookery roadshows are great for people to learn how to make meals from leftovers and reduce the amount of waste put in their black bins."
Poole chief (who will turn chef) added his endorsement to the cookery shows saying "We are delighted to show our support for such a worthwhile campaign and we are looking to have some fun and team rivalry on August 12th and hopefully even learn a thing or two about what to do to avoid excessive food waste".
The full calendar of Cookery shows is -
Friday 30 July - Poole Park; Saturday 31 July - High Street; Thursday 12th August - High Street; Friday 13th August - Poole Park; Friday 3rd September & Saturday 4th September - The Continental Market, Poole Quay
The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Chris Bulteel will 'cook-off' against the Deputy Mayor, Cllr The Reverand Charles Meachin at the final event of the summer, Saturday 4th September

Rain Causes Havoc in U21 Final

Rain caused the first round of the world U21 final to suffer a delayed start, prompt an hour's delay after just 5 heats when lightening blitzed around the stadium with further downpours and then a total abandonment after all riders had completed 3 rides a-piece.
Defending champion Darcy Ward had two second places and a third, his final ride seeing him holding second place until a mistake allowed Patrick Dudek and Ward himself almost fall. His Pirate team-mater Artur Mroczka endured a miserable night on a track where he is usually simply awesome. Machine problems in his first ride saw him limp home for a point after Kevin Wolbert had packed up totally. The gremlins were still with him in his second outing where he found himself almost a full lap behind at one stage and he looked a poor shadow of his normal self in what was to prove to be the final race of the rain-soaked evening.
Latvian Maksim Bogdanov headed the scoreboard with an unbeaten 9 points with Belle Vue's Patrick Hougaard on 8 points, two clear of a quartet of riders on 6.
Scores:- M.Bogdanov (LV) 9 (3,3,3); P.Hougaard (DK) 8 (3,3,2) ; J.Pavlic (HR) 6 (3,3,0); A.Laguta (RU) 6 (2,3,1); W.Tarasenko (RU) 6 (3,2,1); M.Janowski (PL) 6 (1,2,3); D.Ward (AU) 5 (2,2,1); M.Vaculik (SI) 5 (1,2,2); R.Bach (DK) 4 (0,1,3); P.Dudek (PL) 4 (2,R,2); K.Wolbert (DE) 3 (R,0,3); M.Kus (CZ) 3 (0,1,2); D.Andersson (SE) 2 (2,0,0); A.Mroczka (PL) 2 (1,1,0); F.Facher (DE) 2 (1,1,0); D.Sperz (PL) 1 (F,F,1)

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