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...
17/03/19 1400 Ben Fund Bonanza, Leicester
23/03/19 1930 Leicester v Ipswich (Ch)
23/03/19 1930 Ben Barker Testimonial, Redcar
24/03/19 1600 90th Anniversary Meeting, Sheffield
28/03/19 1930 Ipswich v Leicester (Ch)
29/03/19 1930 Redcar v Newcastle (TTT)
30/03/19 1930 Leicester v Redcar (CS)
30/03/19 1800 Peter Craven Memorial, Belle Vue
30/03/19 1900 Bordernapolis, Berwick
31/03/19 1800 Sheffield v Scunthorpe (CS)
31/03/19 1830 Newcastle v Redcar (TTT)
01/04/19 1930 Peterborough v Belle Vue (PSC)
03/04/19 1930 Birmingham v Wolverhampton (David Mason Farewell)
03/04/19 1930 20th Anniversary Meeting, Somerset
04/04/19 1930 Belle Vue v Peterborough (PSC) 04/04/19 1930 Ipswich v King's Lynn (PSC) 05/04/19 1930 Scunthorpe v Leicester (CS)
05/04/19 1930 Redcar v Sheffield (CS)
06/04/19 1900 Berwick v Newcastle (CS)
06/04/19 1930 Leicester v Scunthorpe (CS) 06/04/19 1930 Eastbourne v Birmingham (CS)
07/04/19 1830 Newcastle v Berwick (CS)
07/04/19 1600 Sheffield v Redcar (CS)
LATEST RESULTS...
The 2018 season is now over.
The new season begins in MARCH 2019.
MONDAY OCTOBER 29:
CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD FINAL, 2nd leg Workington 52 (Mason Campton 12+1) Lakeside 38 (Nick Morris 12+1) Workington won 98-82 on aggregate.
CHAMPIONSHIP Workington 18 (Rasmus Jensen 6) Lakeside 6 (Adam Ellis 2, Nick Morris 2) Abandoned after 4 heats - frozen track - result will not stand.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 28:
CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 2nd leg Workington 61 – Nicolai Klindt 15 Lakeside 29 – Adam Ellis 9 Workington win 95-73 on aggregate and are league champions
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE Buxton 38 – Tom Woolley 13 Eastbourne 52 – Georgie Wood 13+1 National League points: Buxton 0 Eastbourne 4
Stoke 41 – Max Clegg 18 Eastbourne 49 – Tom Brennan 11 National League points: Stoke 0 Eastbourne 4
SATURDAY OCTOBER 27:
CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 1st leg Lakeside 44 – Nick Morris 12 Workington 34 – Mason Campton 9 Abandoned after Heat 13 (rain/track conditions) – Result stands
FRIDAY OCTOBER 26:
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE Eastbourne v Mildenhall - OFF
THURSDAY OCTOBER 25:
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP FINAL, 2nd leg
Workington 62 (Rasmus Jensen 16+1)
Scunthorpe 28 (Jake Allen 10)
Workington win 98-82 on aggregate
NATIONAL LEAGUE GRAND FINAL, 2nd leg
Mildenhall 46 (Drew Kemp 13)
Eastbourne 44 (Georgie Wood 11+1)
Eastbourne win 98-81 on aggregate
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24:
CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF S/F, 2nd leg Lakeside 56 (Ben Morley 12+1) Peterborough 34 (Emil Grondal 8+1) Lakeside win 102-78 on aggregate.
