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VOLUME 73 NUMBER 20 8 COPPERGATE MEWS, BRIGHTON ROAD, SURBITON, SURREY, KT6 5NE EDITORIAL Telephone: (020) 8335 1113 E-mail: star@pinegen.co.uk Editor: Andrew Skeels Assistant editor: Tony McDonald News and feature writers: Paul Burbidge, Peter Oakes and Phil Lanning Art editor: Mick Smith Production editor: Mark Frankham Front cover design: Jeff Davies CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions manager: Dave Fairbrother Telephone: (020) 8335 1113 (9 am-2.30 pm) E-mail: subs@pinegen.co.uk Or visit www.speedwaystar.net and click on the subscriptions link. SUBSCRIPTION RATES UK (52 issues): ......................................£128 UK (26 issues): ........................................£65 UK (13 issues): ........................................£33 EUROPE (52 issues): ............................£144 EUROPE (26 issues): ..............................£74 USA (52 issues):....................................£164 USA (26 issues):......................................£84 REST OF WORLD (52 issues) ................£174 REST OF WORLD (26 issues): ..................£89 DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS www.exacteditions.com/speedwaystar ADVERTISING Advertising manager: Mick Hooker Office: 01279 771125 Mobile: 07957 814639 E-mail: coveadv@gmail.com ACCOUNTS Accounts manager: Marina Abbott Telephone: (020) 8335 1104 E-mail: accounts@pinegen.co.uk Speedway Star is published by the proprietors Pinegen Limited. Printed by: Warners Midlands PLC Printers Distributed by: Seymour Distribution Ltd., 86 Newman Street, London, W1P 3LD. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper © copyright 2024 Pinegen Limited NEWSDESK TAI DEFIANT PHIL LANNING on why Woffinden hasn’t written off courageous Cardiff comeback... TAI Woffinden has not ruled out a sensational return to racing in the British Grand Prix – just six weeks after breaking his elbow in four places. Britain’s greatest-ever rider was flung alarmingly over his handlebars at high speed in the recent Gorzow GP. He was instantly knocked out cold and landed heavily on his left arm in the sickening incident. Three-time World Champion Woffy, 33, underwent an operation in Poland last Sunday to screw and plate his elbow. The national captain has been cruelly ruled out of Great Britain’s Speedway of Nations title bid at the National Speedway Stadium on Saturday. But despite suffering excruciating pain and concussion, the Scunthorpeborn star remains defiant and is tentatively planning an incredible return for the Principality Stadium GP on August 17. He said: “I remember everything leading up to my face hitting the floor. “I can remember clipping the airbag, then being in hospital. “The first X-ray that I saw just looked like a fracture of the elbow. But it was actually smashed into four big pieces. “So to get it all knitted back together and be strong to stay in position, it wasn’t just a simple open the skin up and wire it back together. That would have been more ideal. “Instead, it needed lots of plates and screws to get it all back in place. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take, it was quite a complex operation. I’ll obviously be back as fast as I can. No sooner and no later, when it’s ready, it’s ready. “I will take it day-by-day and week-by-week. From where I’m at now, it’s definitely not going to be less than four weeks. In four weeks’ time we’ll see where we are at. “Cardiff is on my mind, of course. I have made bold moves before. “It’s not even about the British GP. It’s whether I come back for Sheffield on the Thursday before the GP. I don’t know, I genuinely can’t give anyone a date.” Woffinden admits that his catalogue of injuries since 2013 has been alarming. He broke his collarbone en route to his first world title that year and has since been injured every season dating back to 2019. He added: “I have broken my back; tore a ligament in my foot; fractured my foot; broke my tibia and femur; smashed my shoulder ligaments and broken my hand. “I have calculated that since 2019, I’ve actually missed a full year of racing because of injuries. That’s part of what we do, it comes with the territory of racing a motorbike as fast as you can. “Sometimes you do go home in an ambulance but that’s what we do, right? “I do question the amount of injuries. I think I may have to go to church before I come back. But it’s all character-building.” Woffinden also faces another dilemma with his Grand Prix status in jeopardy. He will almost certainly need a wild card pick for 2025 after a hugely disappointing campaign thus far has left him jointbottom of the overall SGP series standings with 23 points from the first six rounds. But he won’t be drawn on his future at this stage. He started well in Gorzow before the shocking crash while racing against Kai Huckenbeck. He added: “It is what it is and sort of sums up my season in the Grand Prix series. “It was a good opening in the GP. It’s hard to say it was only one race. I definitely had pace. “I’m not looking for anything to do with next year. I’ll focus on this year first. “There’s no outside input that is going to change anything for me to decide when I come back.” Olly backs trio GREAT BRITAIN co-manager Olly Allen insists he has faith in his squad to regain the Speedway of Nations title despite losing Tai Woffinden. By sheer irony, the same three riders that won gold in Manchester in 2021, Robert Lambert, Dan Bewley and Tom Brennan, will represent GB again on Saturday night. The national side have delivered an incredible recent record of three finals in five years of the SoN. Allen admits it’s a massive setback to lose Woffinden yet again at the most crucial moment. He said: “Now we arrive at Belle Vue with the same three riders who won in 2021 and on the same track. I know that means nothing this week, it’s a clean slate again. “It’s obviously a huge shame to lose Tai. But Tom’s form in the British Final there was really good and he’s got a lot of experience at Belle Vue. “I’m gutted to lose Tai but the goal doesn’t change. It’s going to be tough again, as always, but I’m confident in our team. 2 speedway star July 13, 2024
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Edwin Overland LONG-TIME King’s Lynn and Peterborough announcer Edwin Overland died on Sunday, aged 81, after a lengthy illness. Edwin, who also commentated on football for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, first took over the announcer’s role at Saddlebow Road in 1980 and Peterborough two years later. His last night in the box was at Panthers’ Farewell to the Showground on October 7 last year. There will be a full tribute to Edwin in our issue of July 27. “I’m proud of the job that everyone has done over the past few years. For us, it’s come down to the last race in the last three championships. “We won at Belle Vue, we were in the final in Vojens and then we lost out in the final heat in Wroclaw last year in the World Cup. “It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. But in 10 years’ time when we look back, we’ll look at it as a very successful era for Great Britain. “But I have to admit that it was heartbreak in Vojens and even more so in Wroclaw. To see Robert overtaken like that in the final race was like hell.” Allen insists that there is a massive hunger in the GB set-up from the riders and backroom team to keep up an excellent run and make it to three successive finals. He added: “The gold in Manchester in 2021 was the biggest moment of my career, without a doubt. “Winning anything as a sportsman or woman, you are always searching for that high again. It’s a drug that you need and you want. “Everything we do between now and Saturday is about optimising the performance for the boys and ensuring that they have all their tools to deliver their best. “It’s nice to get the track time. But if I were to say to the boys, ‘you have the chance to ride in a semi-final’, they would say ‘no’. “I think we’d all just rather go straight to the final – your week is a bit more planned out. “It was very tight coming through the semi-final in Vojens two years ago. I remember thinking this is going to go to the wire and it did. I could do with less nights like that in my life!” Tickets for the Speedway of Nations, starting from £20, are still available. For details, go to: www.bellevuespeedway.com. SoN preview – pages 7 to 9. SPEED Q&A with Olly Allen – page 13. Castagna hits back EDINBURGH captain Paco Castagna says he has lost “respect” after criticism from ex-skipper Derek Sneddon. The Italian star hit out at online attacks thrown at the team after three defeats in a week, leaving them bottom of the Cab Direct Championship and with their play-off hopes in tatters. Castagna and his team-mates took stick from some Edinburgh followers after losses at Plymouth, Poole and at home to Redcar last Friday. But he was particularly annoyed at comments by Sneddon, who was part of the 2008 and 2014 title-winning sides at Armadale. Sneddon said: “Losing is not an option – 2014 team will tell you that. Laughing at some of the comments this year’s team is close.” Hugely popular Castagna hit back: “Any comparison is wrong, as eras and years are different. Teams, tracks, riders and championships are different. “Also defended your name when they told me I’m the best captain that Edinburgh has had in the last 40 years, without knowing you as a person, rider or captain when you were racing. Just out of stories people told me. “But as a captain I’m defending my team, win or lose. So please, if you want to be part of the supporters (supporters!!!) of our team, we can welcome with open arms. “If not, comments like these are the things that make me lose respect instantly. We might be s*** but we’re fighting our a***s off to make Edinburgh win. I’m pretty sure you were trying to do the same back in the day.” Report: PHIL LANNING n FUNERAL details have been confirmed for grasstrack racer Thomas Newton. Newton, 24, from Bodmin in Cornwall, was racing as passenger to Robbie Simmons when he was killed in a crash during the South-Eastern Centre Championships at Frittenden’s Dig Dog Lane circuit on June 30. Newton’s family requested privacy and anonymity at the time but his brother Dillon posted on the Grasstrack Banter forum on Monday: “As many of you are aware, on June 30, we lost our Thomas in a racing incident. On behalf of the entire Newton/ Tyrrell family, I just want to thank the grasstrack community on the privacy and discretion they have given us in this awful time.” A celebration of Thomas’ life will be held at the Trelawny Chapel, Penmount Crematorium, Truro on Thursday, July 18 at 4 pm. Donations can be made online to the ACU Benevolent Fund or at the service c/o T.C. Rogers & Son, Funeral Directors, School Hill, Padstow, PL28 8DT. Telephone: (01841) 532463. WHAT’S ON FIXTURES: JULY 11-25 FRIDAY, JULY 12 Belle Vue: FIM Speedway of Nations 2 7.00 pm Edinburgh v Middlesbrough (National Development League) 7.30 pm SATURDAY, JULY 13 Belle Vue: FIM Speedway of Nations Final 7.00 pm Middlesbrough v Edinburgh (National Development League) 3.00 pm SUNDAY, JULY 14 Workington: Ben Fund Bonanza 3.00 pm Oxford v Scunthorpe/Sheffield (National Development League) 3.00 pm MONDAY, JULY 15 Ipswich v Belle Vue (Premiership) 7.30 pm King’s Lynn v Leicester (Premiership) 7.30 pm Birmingham: British Youth Championships (250cc & 500cc) 7.30 pm WEDNESDAY, JULY 17 Poole v Plymouth (Championship) 7.30 pm THURSDAY, JULY 18 Leicester v Ipswich (Premiership) 7.30 pm Oxford v Belle Vue (Premiership) 7.30 pm Sheffield v King’s Lynn (Premiership) 7.30 pm Isle of Wight v Kent (NORA League Cup) 7.00 pm FRIDAY, JULY 19 Edinburgh v Workington (Championship) 7.30 pm Glasgow v Scunthorpe (Championship) 7.30 pm Redcar v Poole (Championship) 7.30 pm SATURDAY, JULY 20 Plymouth v Oxford (Championship) 7.00 pm SUNDAY, JULY 21 Kent v Isle of Wight (NORA League Cup) 2.00 pm MONDAY, JULY 22 Belle Vue v Oxford (Premiership) 7.30 pm Birmingham v Sheffield (Premiership) 7.30 pm WEDNESDAY, JULY 24 Oxford v Berwick (Championship) 7.30 pm Poole v Scunthorpe (Knockout Cup) 7.30 pm THURSDAY, JULY 25 King’s Lynn v Ipswich (Premiership) 7.30 pm Leicester v Belle Vue (Premiership) 7.30 pm Sheffield v Oxford (Premiership) 7.30 pm Isle of Wight: GT140 Island Masters 7.00 pm TV TIMES A TV TIMES Compiled BY PHIL LANNING NOTHER huge week of speedway on your TV screens. However, it appears to be disappointing news that Eurosport are NOT showing the Speedway of Nations finals. Both meetings will be solely on discovery+. Go to www.discoveryplus.com/gb for further details on how to watch (it is a £6.99 subscription). Just a day after the SoN is the very worthy Ben Fund Bonanza at Workington, covered by BSN. On Monday, racing does return to Eurosport for the vital ROWE Motor Oil Premiership action between league leaders Ipswich and in-form Belle Vue. Then all eyes switch back to BSN for Edinburgh v Workington. It’s a crucial match for Comets, bidding to stay in the hunt for Cab Direct Championship play-off places, and a fascinating return to Armadale for their No. 1 Craig Cook. LIVE SPEEDWAY THIS WEEK EUROSPORT MONDAY, JULY 15: Ipswich v Belle Vue, ROWE Motor Oil Premiership, 7.30 pm. DISCOVERY+ FRIDAY, JULY 12: FIM Speedway of Nations 2 Final, 6.45 pm. SATURDAY, JULY 13: FIM Speedway of Nations Final, 6.30 pm. BRITISH SPEEDWAY NETWORK (watch.britishspeedway.co.uk) SUNDAY, JULY 14: Ben Fund Bonanza, Workington, 2.30 pm. CLUB STREAMINGS BERWICK: tv.berwickspeedway.com BIRMINGHAM: https://www.brummies.tv EDINBURGH: www.edinburghmonarchs.co.uk/live-stream LEICESTER: www.leicesterspeedway.com/ Home/LionsTV OXFORD: https://livestream.oxfordspeedway.club PLYMOUTH: plymouth-speedway.com/live-streaming POOLE: livestream.poole-speedway.com REDCAR: www.redcar-speedway.com SCUNTHORPE: tv.scunthorpe-speedway.com June 8, 2024 speedway star 3

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Edwin Overland

LONG-TIME King’s Lynn and Peterborough announcer Edwin Overland died on Sunday, aged 81, after a lengthy illness.

Edwin, who also commentated on football for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, first took over the announcer’s role at Saddlebow Road in 1980 and Peterborough two years later. His last night in the box was at Panthers’ Farewell to the Showground on October 7 last year.

There will be a full tribute to Edwin in our issue of July 27.

“I’m proud of the job that everyone has done over the past few years. For us, it’s come down to the last race in the last three championships.

“We won at Belle Vue, we were in the final in Vojens and then we lost out in the final heat in Wroclaw last year in the World Cup.

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. But in 10 years’ time when we look back, we’ll look at it as a very successful era for Great Britain.

“But I have to admit that it was heartbreak in Vojens and even more so in Wroclaw. To see Robert overtaken like that in the final race was like hell.”

Allen insists that there is a massive hunger in the GB set-up from the riders and backroom team to keep up an excellent run and make it to three successive finals.

He added: “The gold in Manchester in 2021 was the biggest moment of my career, without a doubt.

“Winning anything as a sportsman or woman, you are always searching for that high again. It’s a drug that you need and you want.

“Everything we do between now and Saturday is about optimising the performance for the boys and ensuring that they have all their tools to deliver their best.

“It’s nice to get the track time. But if I were to say to the boys, ‘you have the chance to ride in a semi-final’, they would say ‘no’.

“I think we’d all just rather go straight to the final – your week is a bit more planned out.

“It was very tight coming through the semi-final in Vojens two years ago. I remember thinking this is going to go to the wire and it did. I could do with less nights like that in my life!”

Tickets for the Speedway of Nations, starting from £20, are still available. For details, go to: www.bellevuespeedway.com. SoN preview – pages 7 to 9. SPEED Q&A with Olly Allen – page 13.

Castagna hits back

EDINBURGH captain Paco Castagna says he has lost “respect” after criticism from ex-skipper Derek Sneddon.

The Italian star hit out at online attacks thrown at the team after three defeats in a week, leaving them bottom of the Cab Direct Championship and with their play-off hopes in tatters.

Castagna and his team-mates took stick from some Edinburgh followers after losses at Plymouth, Poole and at home to Redcar last Friday.

But he was particularly annoyed at comments by Sneddon, who was part of the 2008 and 2014 title-winning sides at Armadale.

Sneddon said: “Losing is not an option – 2014 team will tell you that. Laughing at some of the comments this year’s team is close.”

Hugely popular Castagna hit back: “Any comparison is wrong, as eras and years are different. Teams, tracks, riders and championships are different.

“Also defended your name when they told me I’m the best captain that Edinburgh has had in the last 40 years, without knowing you as a person, rider or captain when you were racing. Just out of stories people told me.

“But as a captain I’m defending my team, win or lose. So please, if you want to be part of the supporters (supporters!!!) of our team, we can welcome with open arms.

“If not, comments like these are the things that make me lose respect instantly. We might be s*** but we’re fighting our a***s off to make Edinburgh win. I’m pretty sure you were trying to do the same back in the day.”

Report: PHIL LANNING

n FUNERAL details have been confirmed for grasstrack racer Thomas Newton.

Newton, 24, from Bodmin in Cornwall, was racing as passenger to Robbie Simmons when he was killed in a crash during the South-Eastern Centre Championships at Frittenden’s Dig Dog Lane circuit on June 30.

Newton’s family requested privacy and anonymity at the time but his brother Dillon posted on the Grasstrack Banter forum on Monday: “As many of you are aware, on June 30, we lost our Thomas in a racing incident. On behalf of the entire Newton/ Tyrrell family, I just want to thank the grasstrack community on the privacy and discretion they have given us in this awful time.”

A celebration of Thomas’ life will be held at the Trelawny Chapel, Penmount Crematorium, Truro on Thursday, July 18 at 4 pm. Donations can be made online to the ACU Benevolent Fund or at the service c/o T.C. Rogers & Son, Funeral Directors, School Hill, Padstow, PL28 8DT. Telephone: (01841) 532463.

WHAT’S ON

FIXTURES: JULY 11-25

FRIDAY, JULY 12 Belle Vue: FIM Speedway of Nations 2 7.00 pm Edinburgh v Middlesbrough (National Development League) 7.30 pm SATURDAY, JULY 13 Belle Vue: FIM Speedway of Nations Final 7.00 pm Middlesbrough v Edinburgh (National Development League) 3.00 pm SUNDAY, JULY 14 Workington: Ben Fund Bonanza 3.00 pm Oxford v Scunthorpe/Sheffield (National Development League) 3.00 pm MONDAY, JULY 15 Ipswich v Belle Vue (Premiership) 7.30 pm King’s Lynn v Leicester (Premiership) 7.30 pm Birmingham: British Youth Championships (250cc & 500cc) 7.30 pm WEDNESDAY, JULY 17 Poole v Plymouth (Championship) 7.30 pm THURSDAY, JULY 18 Leicester v Ipswich (Premiership) 7.30 pm Oxford v Belle Vue (Premiership) 7.30 pm Sheffield v King’s Lynn (Premiership) 7.30 pm Isle of Wight v Kent (NORA League Cup) 7.00 pm FRIDAY, JULY 19 Edinburgh v Workington (Championship) 7.30 pm Glasgow v Scunthorpe (Championship) 7.30 pm Redcar v Poole (Championship) 7.30 pm SATURDAY, JULY 20 Plymouth v Oxford (Championship) 7.00 pm SUNDAY, JULY 21 Kent v Isle of Wight (NORA League Cup) 2.00 pm MONDAY, JULY 22 Belle Vue v Oxford (Premiership) 7.30 pm Birmingham v Sheffield (Premiership) 7.30 pm WEDNESDAY, JULY 24 Oxford v Berwick (Championship) 7.30 pm Poole v Scunthorpe (Knockout Cup) 7.30 pm THURSDAY, JULY 25 King’s Lynn v Ipswich (Premiership) 7.30 pm Leicester v Belle Vue (Premiership) 7.30 pm Sheffield v Oxford (Premiership) 7.30 pm Isle of Wight: GT140 Island Masters 7.00 pm

TV TIMES

A TV TIMES

Compiled BY PHIL LANNING

NOTHER huge week of speedway on your TV screens.

However, it appears to be disappointing news that Eurosport are NOT showing the Speedway of Nations finals. Both meetings will be solely on discovery+.

Go to www.discoveryplus.com/gb for further details on how to watch (it is a £6.99 subscription).

Just a day after the SoN is the very worthy Ben Fund Bonanza at Workington, covered by BSN.

On Monday, racing does return to Eurosport for the vital ROWE Motor Oil Premiership action between league leaders Ipswich and in-form Belle Vue.

Then all eyes switch back to BSN for Edinburgh v Workington. It’s a crucial match for Comets, bidding to stay in the hunt for Cab Direct Championship play-off places, and a fascinating return to Armadale for their No. 1 Craig Cook.

LIVE SPEEDWAY THIS WEEK EUROSPORT MONDAY, JULY 15: Ipswich v Belle Vue, ROWE Motor Oil Premiership, 7.30 pm. DISCOVERY+ FRIDAY, JULY 12: FIM Speedway of Nations 2 Final, 6.45 pm. SATURDAY, JULY 13: FIM Speedway of Nations Final, 6.30 pm. BRITISH SPEEDWAY NETWORK (watch.britishspeedway.co.uk) SUNDAY, JULY 14: Ben Fund Bonanza, Workington, 2.30 pm. CLUB STREAMINGS BERWICK: tv.berwickspeedway.com BIRMINGHAM: https://www.brummies.tv EDINBURGH: www.edinburghmonarchs.co.uk/live-stream LEICESTER: www.leicesterspeedway.com/ Home/LionsTV OXFORD: https://livestream.oxfordspeedway.club PLYMOUTH: plymouth-speedway.com/live-streaming POOLE: livestream.poole-speedway.com REDCAR: www.redcar-speedway.com SCUNTHORPE: tv.scunthorpe-speedway.com

June 8, 2024 speedway star 3

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