British Speedway weekly news round-up.

British Speedway weekly news round-up courtesy of Nigel Pearson at the British Speedway Press office:

British Speedway Sky Sports Elite League latest:

Belle Vue Aces:

Aces star Jason Lyons reckons the Kirky Lane men can still enjoy a successful season - despite two defeats at the hands of Coventry.

He said: "We've had a few problems in the early stages of the season but I feel sure we can put them right and we'll still be a major threat in the Elite League."

Coventry Bees:

The Whale Toyota Bees, beaten 46-44 at Peterborough in a last-heat decider on Easter Monday morning, hit back with a 54-35 victory in wet conditions at Brandon in the Monday evening return.

Skipper Billy Hamill was top scorer with 14 but Lee Richardson continued his superb form with 13.

Bees face a tough test at Eastbourne this Saturday.

Eastbourne Eagles:

Boss Jon Cook admits he fears facing the man he helped discover this weekend...

American Ryan Fisher lines-up for his new club Coventry after impressing British track bosses at the Brighton indoor event last December.

Cook said: "We feel we helped put Ryan in the shop window by bringing him to our Brighton event and I'm sure he'll do well at Arlington."

Eagles go to Peterborough on Friday for another Sky Sports Elite League clash.

Ipswich Witches:

Carl Baldwin has been told to rest for a month after sustaining broken ribs and knee damage on Good Friday.

The Witches have booked Hull youngster Jamie Smith as a guest for their matches at Oxford on Friday and Belle Vue next Monday - two tough matches.

Boss Mike Smillie said: "It's a blow to us, even through Carl has been struggling for points he has been on the pace.

"Joonas Kylmakorpi is causing some concern, although he did much better in the home match against King's Lynn on Friday morning."

King's Lynn:

Nicki Pedersen is expected to return for King's Lynn in their big local derby clash with Peterborough at the Norfolk Arena on Saturday.

Knights boss Nigel Wagstaff said: "Nicki has had the results of his scan back very quickly and there is norhing broken in his neck.

"I think he was very scared of the fact that there could be something broken but, speaking to him now, he is very upbeat about returning to action which is great news for us."

Oxford Cheetahs:

Brian Andersen has been detained in hospital with a worrying infection in his arm.

Cheetahs co-promoter Vanessa Purchase said: "Brian is on the road to recovery but there were some worrying times.

"The cause continues to be investigated but there is no news as yet with the hospital saying only that they are awaiting test results."

Plans are already in place to replace Andersen with a guest rider in Friday's home meeting with Ipswich.

Peterborough:

Hans Clausen is set to miss the next month of Peterborough's season after suffering a back injury over Easter.

Panthers boss Jim Lynch said: "It looks as though he will be out for at least a month but my own feeling is that he will need a little longer than that.

"It's a terrible blow because he's just settling back in at the club and he was doing well for us but he's going to have to start all over again.

"I personally feel he'll be out for six weeks and that's a problem to us, it's difficult to judge how we can get by for so long without such a key rider."

Poole:

Tomasz Gollob is on his way to Poole - for one day only!

The Polish Grand Prix star, wh0 is currently out of British racing, will take his place in the Pirates' Golden Jubilee meeting on June 3.

Poole co-promoter Matt Ford said: "Gollob is coming with every intention of taking the ?7, 500 winners cheque.

"He's as keen as mustard to win the meeting and has already told me that he wants to snatch the winner's cheque away from current world champion Tony Rickardsson.

"Having said that Tony will never accept second best and has every intention of winning the meeting himself!

Wolverhampton:

Boss Peter Adams is predicting a close cup tie when Wolves face Poole in the preliminary round.

The sides meet in Dorset this Wednesday, April 3, with the return at Monmore next Monday.

Boss Peter Adams said: "Naturally we're keen to get through to the next round to meet reigning league champions Oxford, that's a great incentive for both Poole and us.

"It will be a close fought encounter, I have no doubt about that, at both venues."

Wolves have confirmed their televised meeting with Peterborough at Monmore on April 15 will start at 7.45pm.

British Speedway Premier League latest:

Arena Essex Hammers:

Speedway returned to Arena-Essex in spectacular style on Good Friday as another new era dawned at Purfleet on a sun-baked afternoon.

Arena managed to see off the challenge of local rivals Rye House 47-43. Sporting a new blue and red air fence and reshaped race circuit, the immediately noticeable changes made a big impression as the turnstiles opened an hour and a half before the big event.

And the bumper crowd, which flowed in steadily leading up to the 3pm start time, couldn't have failed to have been impressed by what greeted them.

Berwick Bandits:

Bandits aim to preserve their unbeaten home record when they face Glasgow in a Premier Trophy clash on Saturday.

Edinburgh Monarchs:

Monarchs' clear-out of rider registrations continued last week with the full transfer of David McAllan to Glasgow.

McAllan moved on loan to Glasgow at the start of the season following earlier loan spells with Workington in 2001 and with Stoke in 2000.

He joined Kevin Little and Ross Brady on their way from Armadale. They moved on full transfers at the start of the season to Newcastle and Hull respectively.

Exeter Falcons:

Falcons suffered a second successive home defeat on Bank Holiday Monday.

After enjoying a comfortable eight-point lead at one stage Swindon hit back to shock the County Ground side with a late rally to win the meeting 48-42.

Mark Simmonds was top scorer for the Falcons with 9+1.

Glasgow Tigers:

Skipper George Stancl is predicting a tough contest for the revamped Glasgow side when they face Workington at Ashfield on Sunday.

He said: "Workington have a lot of great riders in their team, including Grand Prix star Carl Stonehewer as well as former Glasgow riders Les Collins and Rusty Harrison.

"However we are very confident at the moment so we will see what happens."

Hull Vikings:

Boss Eric Boocock admits his side have a mountain to climb to claim the aggregate bonus point from bitter rivals Sheffield at Craven Park on Wednesday.

The sides meet in a Premier Trophy derby clash with Hull looking to gain revenge for a heavy 55-36 defeat at Owlerton last week.

"It's a tall order for us to get the bonus but it can be done, it has been done before!" said Boocock.

Isle of Wight Islanders:

Islanders went agonisingly close to an away win over Reading on Bank Holiday Monday.

They eventually went down 46-44 with Adam Shields top scoring on 15+1 from six rides.

Newcastle Diamonds:

Andre Compton made a spectacular return from a knee injury to score 12+1 in Newcastle's 55-35 win over Stoke on Monday.

Newport Wasps:

Wasps boss Tim Stone is predicting a tense contest this Sunday when local rivals Somerset visit the Hayley Stadium.

Stone said: "They'll want to do well here, they have performed well here at Conference League level and I'm sure it won't be any different now they're in the Premier League.

"They include a former Newport rider in Glenn Cunningham and I'm looking forward to seeing him back here, not a problem, it should be a really entertaining day again."

Reading Racers:

Jason Bunyan enjoyed his best meeting of the season to help Reading to a tense 46-44 win over the Isle of Wight on Monday.

Bunyan scored 8+1 - Phil Morris top scored with 11.

Rye House Rockets:

The biggest crowd in 30 years witnessed the return of professional speedway to Rye House Stadium as the Rockets fought out a thrilling 45-45 draw with local rivals Arena Essex on Saturday.

Promoter Len Silver said: "It was an incredible weekend and we were all delighted with the way things went."

Sheffield Tigers:

Tigers seem certain to be without teenage sensation Simon Stead for this week's crucial Premier Trophy meetings.

Stead has suffered a broken bone in his hand and is likely to miss the trip to Hull on Wednesday and the home match with Stoke the following night.

Somerset Rebels:

Rebels co-promoter Laurence Rogers believes the fans are in for a treat when Trelawny visit Highbridge on Friday.

He said: "The meeting will have to go a long way to equal the quality and entertainment that the record crowd witnessed last week against Swindon but the clash has the makings of being another real classic."

Stoke Potters:

Potters just got the edge on Newcastle in their opening home Premier Trophy clash at the weekend.

"It was closer than we wanted, but that was Newcastle's fifth meeting and our first team meeting and, without making any excuses, that was a telling factor as they looked quite sharp," said team manager Nigel Crabtree.

Swindon Robins:

Robins hit back fropm eight-points down to pull off a stunning 48-42 win at Exeter on Monday.

The win keeps their hopes of Premier Trophy progress alive and they face Exeter again at Blunsdon on Thursday.

Trelawny Tigers:

Mark Phillips believes reserve Richard Wolff could be a matchwinner for Trelawny.

Wolff has been in fine form in the early stages of the season.

Tigers boss Phillips said: "Richard has the ability to be a good rider. He came in cold last season, but I am sure he will repay us ten-fold this season."

Workington Comets:

Kauko Nieminen is out for the near future after sustaining a badly dislocated shoulder at Edinburgh. And the Comets acted swiftly to sign cover as they agreed a deal to take Les Collins on-loan from Glasgow over the weekend.

The Finn was taken to hospital where the shoulder was put back in when he was under anasthetic.

Comets boss Ian Thomas said: "He came out of hospital in the early hours of Saturday morning after they had put him to sleep to put the shoulder back in place."

Comets are at home to Edinburgh on Saturday.