HERE'S our latest soundbytes and fixtures from around the tracks up and down the country.
THE BITE-SIZED BULLETIN
PIC OF THE WEEK...
Craig Cook teaming up here with his Glasgow team-mate on his way to registering a 15-point full-house in Saturday's 56-34 Championship Shield victory against Berwick. Picture: IAN ADAM
PREMIERSHIP SOUNDBYTES"¦
BELLE VUE "I feel really good. Obviously we'll have to see how it goes in the coming weeks but right now I feel good, I feel strong and I'm excited to get back on the bike after a long time off." Aces star Dan Bewley gives a positive fitness update after winning three races on his first home appearance since his 2018 season ended with serious injuries in a crash at Workington. NEXT HOME: Wolverhampton (PSC), Mon Apr 22 (12pm) NEXT AWAY: Ipswich, Thur Apr 18 (7.30)
KING'S LYNN "Well, that went pretty well! I'm really pleased about that, but it's not about me, it's about the team and this is a great result for us. Hopefully we can kick on from here and get some more good results." Stars favourite Thomas Jorgensen recovered from an inconsistent start to the season to slam in maximum points in the PSC victory over rivals Ipswich on Monday. NEXT HOME: Swindon (PSC), Mon Apr 29 (7.30) NEXT AWAY: Peterborough, Mon Apr 22 (6.30)
IPSWICH "I was massively happy with the reserves. I took a trip to Scunthorpe on Sunday to help Cam and watch Jake. They have both started their seasons very well. We know Cam well and know what he can do but Jake is impressing me every time I see him." Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins says the form of Cameron Heeps and Jake Allen at reserve gives him plenty of encouragement for the future. NEXT HOME: Belle Vue, Thur Apr 18 (7.30) NEXT AWAY: Swindon (PSC), Mon Apr 22 (7.30)
PETERBOROUGH "It was good to have Hans (Andersen) back to form and he looked comfortable on the bike as well, which is a good thing for us, but everybody looked racy and it just shows what the boys can do. Poole are a tough team. They're the reigning champions and have built a solid side again, they mean business "“ but thankfully we picked up the three points." Panthers boss Carl Johnson saw his side make a winning start to their Premiership campaign with a hard-fought home win over Poole on Monday. NEXT HOME: King's Lynn, Mon Apr 22 (6.30) NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue, Mon Apr 29 (7.30)
POOLE "We knew it would be a battle up at Peterborough and so it proved. But actually what pleased me most is the way we dug in when perhaps lesser teams would have been pressured into going well behind early on." Pirates co-promoter Danny Ford pronounced himself as satisfied with the league opener at the East of England Arena, where the reigning champions collected a point from a narrow defeat. NEXT HOME: Swindon (PSC), Fri Apr 19 (11.30) NEXT AWAY: Swindon (PSC), Thur Apr 18 (7.30)
SWINDON "Dawid was making some good starts and whilst he has been practicing on some smaller tracks, it's not quite the same as actually racing. But he didn't disgrace himself and it gives me a lot of hope that there's a lot more to come from him." Robins boss Alun Rossiter says there was more to the zero-points return from returning Pole Dawid Lampart than met the eye, as his side still gained a useful league point from their opener. NEXT HOME: Poole (PSC), Thur Apr 18 (7.30) NEXT AWAY: Poole (PSC), Fri Apr 19 (11.30)
WOLVERHAMPTON "This is an entertainment game as well and first and foremost everyone who was here tonight was treated to a thoroughly entertaining fixture. Of course the win is important for us though and we're pleased with the final result." Wolves boss Peter Adams looked at the big picture following a narrow win over Swindon on Monday "“ with three points secured from a 46-44 victory. NEXT HOME: Belle Vue (PSC), Mon Apr 22 (8pm) NEXT AWAY: Belle Vue (PSC), Mon Apr 22 (12pm)
CHAMPIONSHIP SOUNDBYTES"¦
BERWICK "We're not a bad side are we? In this group we've really got the other teams in our group sitting up and taking notice as we're now on 10 points from four matches and a home and away with Edinburgh left, so we're here to make a statement of intent from the off." Bandits boss Gary Flint hails his side's positive start to the season as they set the pace in the Border group of the Championship Shield. NEXT HOME: British U21 Final, Sat Apr 27 (7pm) NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh (CS), Fri May 3 (7.30)
BIRMINGHAM "You never know where a couple of big wins at home could take us, it is never over until the fat lady sings. Whatever happens, it gives our boys more track time and helps them to get back into scoring mode." Brummies boss Laurence Rogers isn't giving up on the Championship Shield after seeing his side suffer identical 38-52 defeats in their away matches at Eastbourne and Somerset. NEXT HOME: Somerset (CS), Wed Apr 17 (7.30) NEXT AWAY: Eastbourne (KOC), Fri Apr 19 (3pm)
EASTBOURNE "Other Championship team riders have not been here for a long time, or not at all, and we play off that and make the most of it to get good home track advantage." Eagles co-boss Will Pottinger says his side can make the most of their track knowledge, after seeing his side run up a 63-point total against Somerset last weekend. NEXT HOME: Birmingham (KOC), Fri Apr 19 (3pm) NEXT AWAY: Somerset (CS), Wed Apr 24 (7.30)
EDINBURGH "I had a bit of a fear after Friday that we might get beat by 20 today and at times tonight it looked like that might be the case but we battled hard and I think we have a good chance in the second leg." Monarchs co-promoter John Campbell was relieved to emerge from the first leg of their KO Cup tie at Scunthorpe with just an eight-point deficit, after a stuttering start to the Armadale season against Premiership Wolverhampton. NEXT HOME: Newcastle (CS), Fri Apr 19 (7.30) NEXT AWAY: Newcastle (CS), Sun Apr 21 (6.30)
GLASGOW The Tigers take a break from Championship Shield action this weekend when No.1 Craig Cook celebrates his Testimonial Meeting at Ashfield on Saturday evening. NEXT HOME: Craig Cook Testimonial, Sat Apr 20 (7pm) NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh (CS), Fri Apr 26 (7.30)
LEICESTER "With all due respect, this club hasn't had successful teams in recent seasons but I believe we are strong and powerful this time and for once the people of Leicester and surrounding areas have a team to be proud of. We need their support on Saturday night, we want to see the place packed because we know Sheffield will be bringing a few with them and we want to send them home empty handed." Co-promoter Stewart Dickson leads the call to arms ahead of a big Easter weekend for his side with three vital Championship Shield fixtures. NEXT HOME: Sheffield (CS), Sat Apr 20 (7.30) NEXT AWAY: Redcar (CS), Fri Apr 19 (7.30)
NEWCASTLE "Great win as we hauled back the win over the latter heats of the meeting to pull out a far better win than most people would have dared to believe possible." The Diamonds are off the mark in 2019, to the relief of boss George English, after an impressive display to see off Sheffield in the closing stages at Brough Park. NEXT HOME: Edinburgh (CS), Sun Apr 21 (6.30) NEXT AWAY: Edinburgh (CS), Fri Apr 19 (7.30)
REDCAR The Bears have a big Good Friday to look forward to with a home Championship Shield clash with group leaders Leicester. NEXT HOME: Leicester (CS), Fri Apr 19 (7.30) NEXT AWAY: Scunthorpe (CS), Fri Apr 26 (7.30)
SCUNTHORPE "I am pretty pleased with my consistency so far this season: my scores for Scunthorpe have been 7, 8+1, 7+2 and now 9+1. I also want to go to the away tracks and play my part and I've been doing that, so that's a huge positive." Former British Under-19 Champion Stefan Nielsen is pleased with his start to the season for the Scorpions with a run of consistent scoring so far. NEXT HOME: Sheffield (CS), Fri Apr 19 (7.30) NEXT AWAY: Redcar (CS), Fri May 3 (7.30)
SOMERSET "I am not going to get too hung up on our defeat there. Disappointed as I was, I don't think we will be the only side to go there this season and get a hiding. They are a very strong home outfit and it will be interesting to see how they fare at other tracks." Rebels boss Garry May isn't getting down on his side's future prospects following a 63-27 hammering at Eastbourne last weekend. NEXT HOME: Eastbourne (CS), Wed Apr 24 (7.30) NEXT AWAY: Birmingham (CS), Wed Apr 17 (7.30)
SHEFFIELD "I don't want anybody to get too disheartened by this result; it's only the first league fixture of the year and there's a long old season ahead of us. I'm not making excuses either but we had three guys who had never seen the Newcastle track before today and it is a notoriously tough place to go." Tigers boss Simon Stead insists there should be no pressing of panic buttons after his side went down to a 14-point defeat at Brough Park last Sunday. NEXT HOME: Leicester (CS), Sun Apr 21 (4pm) NEXT AWAY: Scunthorpe (CS), Fri Apr 19 (7.30)
NATIONAL LEAGUE LINE-UPS will be confirmed upon publication of official team declarations.
FIXTURES at NL tracks this week"¦
ISLE OF WIGHT: British Under-21 semi-final, Tues Apr 16 BELLE VUE v Stoke (NL), Fri Apr 19 (1pm) PLYMOUTH v Kent (NT), Fri Apr 19 (7.15) MILDENHALL: Poultec Challenge, Sun Apr 21 (3pm) KENT v Belle Vue (Ch), Mon Apr 22 (4pm)
FIXTURE PICTURE"¦
TUESDAY APRIL 16: BRITISH UNDER-21 SEMI-FINAL: Isle of Wight 7pm
WEDNESDAY APRIL 17: CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Birmingham v Somerset 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 18: PREMIERSHIP: Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30 PREMIERSHIP SUPPORTERS' CUP: Swindon v Poole 7.30
FRIDAY APRIL 19: BRITISH UNDER-21 SEMI-FINAL: Somerset 7.30 PREMIERSHIP SUPPORTERS' CUP: Poole v Swindon 11.30 CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Edinburgh v Newcastle 7.30, Scunthorpe v Sheffield 5.30, Redcar v Leicester 7.30 CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Eastbourne v Birmingham 3pm NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Stoke 1pm NATIONAL TROPHY: Plymouth v Kent 7.15
SATURDAY APRIL 20: CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Leicester v Sheffield 7.30 CRAIG COOK TESTIMONIAL: Glasgow 7pm
SUNDAY APRIL 21: CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Newcastle v Edinburgh 6.30, Sheffield v Leicester 4pm POULTEC CHALLENGE: Mildenhall 3pm
MONDAY APRIL 22: PREMIERSHIP: Peterborough v King's Lynn 6.30 PREMIERSHIP SUPPORTERS' CUP: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 12pm, Swindon v Ipswich 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 8pm CHALLENGE: Kent v Belle Vue 4pm
WEDNESDAY APRIL 24: CHAMPIONSHIP: Birmingham v Leicester 7.30 CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Somerset v Eastbourne 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 25: PREMIERSHIP SUPPORTERS' CUP: Ipswich v Swindon 7.30 NATIONAL TROPHY: Isle of Wight v Mildenhall 7pm
FRIDAY APRIL 26: CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30 NATIONAL TROPHY: Plymouth v Mildenhall 7.15
SATURDAY APRIL 27: BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL: Berwick 7pm CHAMPIONSHIP: Leicester v Newcastle 7.30
SUNDAY APRIL 28: CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Glasgow v Edinburgh 3pm NATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Isle of Wight 3pm
MONDAY APRIL 29: PREMIERSHIP: Belle Vue v Peterborough 7.30, Wolverhampton v Ipswich 7.30 PREMIERSHIP SUPPORTERS' CUP: King's Lynn v Swindon 7.30
WEDNESDAY MAY 1: CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30 20TH ANIVERSARY MEETING: Somerset v Poole 7.30