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LATEST NEWS
WASPS AIM FOR HAT TRICK OF VICTORIES
By Newport Speedway ~ Wednesday 28th July 2010
The Kings Lynn Stars are the visitors to Queensway Meadows this Sunday afternoon to race the Newport Wasps in a Premier League speedway fixture with tapes up from 2.30pm. They will be without their number one rider Kevin Doolan who is out with a broken wrist and they will be conscious that the Wasps crushed last Sunday's opponents Scunthorpe by 61 points to 29.
Not that there is any complacency in the Newport camp as Kings Lynn have riders of the calibre of British Under-21 Champion Joe Haines and long-serving Czech Republic international Tomas Topinka in their ranks. They will also be allowed a guest for Doolan.
However the Wasps could be said to be on a roll after victories over Stoke and Scunthorpe in the past fortnight and there was cause for celebration last Sunday as to how solid the scoring was throughout the team and how well the less experienced riders such as Robin Aspegren, Alex Davies and Todd Kurtz performed.
Commented Newport's all-time top scorer Craig Watson: 'The two young reserves did really well last week and Robin is a fine prospect and has undoubtedly strengthened the side. This comes at a good time for the Wasps as many of the teams in the bottom half of the table are beginning to win at home so if we want to break clear of the bunch we must continue our own winning momentum against Kings Lynn on Sunday.'
NEWPORT 'DARLOWS' WASPS:
1. Leigh Lanham (C), 2. Craig Watson, 3. Kim Nilsson, 4. Kyle Legault, 5. Robin Aspegren, 6. Alex Davies, 7. Todd Kurtz
KINGS LYNN STARS:
1. Guest rider - to be confirmed, 2. Kozza Smith, 3. Tomas Topinka (C), 4. Chris Mills, 5. Joe Haines, 6. Darren Mallett, 7. Casper Wortman
After this first fixture in August the Wasps will face the Somerset Rebels on Sunday August 8th but then have two Friday fixtures with the Rye House Rockets the visitors on August 13th at 7pm and the Glasgow Tigers on August 20th also at 7pm. It is then back to Sunday for the Wasps on the 29th when the Sheffield Tigers are the opponents. All of these are Premier League fixtures. Sunday matches are at the normal time of 2.30pm
In addition to a Hornets duo defending their title in the National League Pairs on Saturday August 7th( 2.30pm start) the full Hornets team will face the Weymouth Wildcats in a National League fixture on Sunday August 15th and they are home again on the following Sunday August 22nd when the Isle of Wight Islanders will be at Queensway Meadows in a National Trophy fixture. Bank Holiday Monday the 30th has also been reserved for a Hornets fixture but the opposition is yet to be confirmed.
WASPS CONTINUE QUEST FOR POINTS
By Newport Speedway ~ Wednesday 21st July 2010
With a home victory over Stoke last Sunday the Newport Wasps continue their quest to break out of the cluster of teams in the basement of the division when they face the Scunthorpe Scorpions in Premier League action at Queensway Meadows on Sunday afternoon with tapes up at 2.30pm.
The Wasps will be boosted by the availability of Robin Aspegren who made an impressive debut for the team at the beginning of July. He replaces Anders Mellgren who was injured again racing in his native Sweden and compatriot Aspegren goes straight into the number five spot in the riding order which gives him among the toughest heats in the race formula.
Commented team manager Kevin Brown: 'Robin may be a newcomer to British Speedway but he scored heat wins away as well as at home in his first weekend over here and showed what a prospect he is. I have every confidence that he will cope with the demands of being where he has placed in the riding order. The Newport fans were on their feet when he came around for his laps of honour and no doubt he will have a great reception from them when he is introduced on parade on Sunday.'
This move also allows Brown to reshuffle his pack so Leigh Lanham and Craig Watson are re-united in a strong opening partnership with Kim Nilsson also likely to pick up plenty of points at number three.
Although the Wasps won at Scunthorpe in early June the Scorpions are still formidable opponents. Their top two Magnus Karlsson and David Howe were team-mates at Elite League Wolverhampton and bring that experience and confidence into their Premier League duties with the Scorpions with Howe having an outstanding record in major individual events at the Newport track. They are supported by ex-Wasp Carl Wilkinson who has been on top form in recent weeks while the Lincolnshire club fieds two lively young Brits at reserve in Jerran Hart and Steve Worrall. Hart is a recent British Under-18 Champion while Worrall's elevation into Premier League racing has been sensational. The 18-year-old former moto-cross rider only saw speedway on Sky TV last summer and decided to have a go at it. He has some spin's on Scunthorpe's mini-track then started attended practice sessions on the senior track in the winter. He rode successfully in an amateur series at the Scunthorpe circuit in the New Year and was then given a team spot with the Scunthorpe Saints National League team. With only two matches under his belt he finished second in a qualifying round of the British Under-21 Championship at Mildenhall Speedway. His subsquent scores for the Saints meant that the Lincolnshire management decided to give him some additional chances in the Premier League team and his clashes with the Wasps' teenage reserves Alex Davies and Todd Kurtz should be a test of how far he has come in a short time and how far he has yet to go.
NEWPORT 'DARLOWS' WASPS
1. Leigh Lanham (C), 2. Craig Watson, 3. Kim Nilsson, 4. Kyle Legault, 5. Robin Aspegren, 6. Alex Davies, 7. Todd Kurtz
SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS
1. Magnus Karlsson (C), 2. Viktor Bergstrom, 3. Tero Aarnio, 4. Carl Wilkinson, 5. David Howe, 6. Jerran Hart, 7. Steve Worrall
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