SOMERSET host the Championship Pairs at the Oaktree Arena tonight (7pm) in the traditional curtain-raiser to British Grand Prix weekend.
Ten of the eleven Championship clubs are involved with Sheffield defending the title they won in a re-staged event at Owlerton last season.
PRE-MEETING COMMENTS:
MICHAEL PALM TOFT (Peterborough): “I’ve done the Pairs before with Peterborough (in 2015) and we got quite far. But I had an engine blow-up and when I went out on my spare bike in the semi-final the clutch dipped in too hard and I lost out at the gate.
“Hopefully this year I won’t have an engine blow-up and then we can go that bit further!
“It would be nice to add the Pairs to the Fours, and I look at it as another meeting where hopefully we can do well.”
RICKY WELLS (Edinburgh): “It’s normally a pretty fun event I’ve been a part of it for a number of years now and for everyone going to Cardiff it’s a great way to kick-start the weekend.
“For me though it’s an event I’ve never had too much joy or luck in to be honest; either I haven’t done good and my partner has or I’ve done good and my partner hasn’t. But me and Erik (Riss) are racing good together this year so I think we have a good chance.
“I know there’s a bus coming down from Edinburgh, and I know it’s a long trip, but Edinburgh have got some of the greatest fans in the league and hopefully we can make the journey worth it for them.”
JAKE ALLEN (Scunthorpe): “I’ve watched the Pairs before because I’ve lived down that way, but this is my first-time riding in the meeting.
“I’m not sure if being a Somerset rider is going to be a massive advantage, because we haven’t had a whole load of home meetings this year – a lot of those are yet to come.
“Josh (Auty) and myself are both in good form, and we ride well together, so it’s all to play for on the night and we’ll see what happens.”
RITCHIE HAWKINS (Ipswich manager): “Nico (Covatti) and Rory (Schlein) are going to look at each other and know they have a good chance to win it, we have as good a chance as anyone and we go there focused on winning it.
“Being consistent is key really, in the shared events you need to be consistently picking up points and not running lasts.”
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UPCOMING FIXTURES...
22/08/18 1900 King's Lynn v Wolverhampton (Premiership)
22/08/18 2045 King's Lynn v Wolverhampton (Premiership)
22/08/18 1930 Poole v Swindon (Premiership)
22/08/18 1930 Somerset v Leicester (Premiership)
22/08/18 1930 Birmingham v Stoke (TPNL)
23/08/18 1930 Ipswich v Peterborough (Championship)
23/08/18 1930 Redcar v Workington (Championship)
23/08/18 1930 Sheffield v Edinburgh (Championship)
24/08/18 1930 Edinburgh v Glasgow (Championship)
24/08/18 2000 Lakeside v Newcastle (Championship)
24/08/18 1930 Scunthorpe v Ipswich (Championship)
24/08/18 1930 Belle Vue v Buxton (TPNL)
25/08/18 1900 Workington v Lakeside (Championship)
25/08/18 1930 Eastbourne v Coventry (TPNL)
26/08/18 1500 Glasgow v Edinburgh (Championship)
26/08/18 1930 Newcastle v Lakeside (Championship)
26/08/18 1930 Workington v Redcar (Championship)
26/08/18 1500 Buxton v Kent (TPNL)
26/08/18 1500 Mildenhall v Birmingham (TPNL) 27/08/18 1200 Belle Vue v Wolverhampton (Premiership) 27/08/18 1930 Leicester v King's Lynn (Premiership)
27/08/18 1230 Poole v Somerset (Premiership)
27/08/18 1930 Swindon v Poole (Premiership)
27/08/18 2000 Wolverhampton v Belle Vue (Premiership)
27/08/18 1830 Kent v Birmingham (TPNL)
29/08/18 1930 King's Lynn v Poole (Premiership)
29/08/18 1930 Somerset v Wolverhampton (Premiership)
29/08/18 1930 Birmingham v Coventry (TPNL)
30/08/18 1930 Ipswich v Scunthorpe (Championship) 30/08/18 1930 Redcar v Newcastle (Championship)
30/08/18 1915 Isle of Wight v Eastbourne (TPNL)
LATEST RESULTS...
TUESDAY AUGUST 21:
CHALLENGE
Isle of Wight 52 (Alfie Bowtell 14+1)
Young Lions Select 37 (Leon Flint 10)
MONDAY AUGUST 20:
PREMIERSHIP Belle Vue 57 (Dan Bewley 12+1) Leicester 33 (Hans Andersen 12) Premiership points: Belle Vue 3 Leicester 0
Somerset 51 (Jason Doyle 15) Poole 39 (Nicolai Klindt 11) Premiership points: Somerset 3 Poole 0
