British Speedway weekly news round-up.

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

Sky Sports Elite League:

Belle Vue Aces:

Belle Vue have reduced admission prices for Wednesday's home meeting with Peterborough as a thank you to their fans.

The meeting will be their third at home in the space of four days as the Aces look to catch up with their fixture backlog.

Promoter John Perrin said: "It's not easy on the fans' pockets with so many home meetings so we've tried to do something."

Meanwhile Aces star Sam Ermolenko continues to rest the injury in his hand with a view to returning by the end of the month.

Coventry Bees:

Coventry stars Billy Hamill, Billy Janniro and Ryan Fisher are back in the States this week for the revamped American National Championship.

For the first time this year, the AMA Championship is being run over three legs rather than just one, and the first two rounds are at Arrowhead in San Bernadino on Wednesday (August 14) and Auburn on Friday (August 16). The third and final leg is at Auburn on Friday September 20.

Former Bees skipper Greg Hancock, who missed last year's American final due to flight problems from Sweden, also returns to take his place in the field.

Hamill is the holder of the title but he knows he faces a tough task to retain it. "It looks a very strong line up," said the Bees captain, "and I think it is fantastic they have extended the championship to a three-race series."

Eastbourne Eagles:

Jon Cook was delighted with the response of the fans as Eastbourne hosted one of the Speedway World Cup meetings.

He said: "Considering we had no direct Eastbourne interest in the meeting the response was superb.

"The fans enjoyed themselves and the racing really got interesting, particularly towards the end.

"It was a very proud moment for Eastbourne Speedway to stage such a prestigious event and it represented another significant milestone in the history of the club."

Ipswich Witches:

Jarek Hampel has handed Ipswich a boost by agreeing to stay with the club for the rest of the season.

The popular Pole was initially signed as a short-term replacement for the injured Chris Louis, but Louis has now decided to sit out the rest of the season.

Hampel told the Ipswich Evening Star: "Scoring well in the World Cup last week has given me a lift. It has given me extra confidence. I now know that I can compete with the best in the world.

"I came to Ipswich to cover for Chris until he was fit. I am more than happy to stay until October."

King's Lynn Knights:

Lynn supremo Nigel Wagstaff has defended his decision to bring in topless model Kelly Bell to generate more publicity for the club.

He said: "I couldn't possibly have foreseen the level of debate that would be generated by Kelly coming on board at the club, nor the amount of both national and local publicity it would gain.

"I think the latter has fully justified us using her talents to help us and would remind everyone that it was her decision to offer her services, freely, to promote our club within her own environment.

"I have to say that since Kelly joined forces with us we have become the most talked about club in speedway!"

Oxford Cheetahs:

Leigh Adams has admitted the loss of Brian Andersen has been a big blow for Oxford.

He said: "It's been really tough for Oxford this year. I think it's always hard when you win a league to come back the next year and do it again, particularly in speedway.

"We looked at the team at the start of the season and we thought we were strong enough, we had a similar team to that which won the league last season and everyone was getting on great.

"We still have a good team spirit but once we lost Brian we were always going to find it tough."

Peterborough Panthers:

Panthers co-promoter Ian Jarvis has given last week's Speedway World Cup a massive thumbs-up.

The East of England Showground hosted both the race-off and the final with some superb action for the fans.

Jarvis said: "I thought the whole tournament was a fantastic advert for British Speedway, nobody has any idea about the amount of work which went into it apart from those directly involved.

"And I don't just mean here at Peterborough - the staff at Sheffield, Poole and Eastbourne also did a wonderful job because all around the country throughout the week there was the threat of rain.

"It was such a shame about the weather, but there is nothing we can do about that. I would like to congratulate all the staff at Peterborough, too many to mention, for all the superb work put in to get the event on."

Poole Pirates:

Pirates co-promoter Matt Ford is relishing the prospect of hosting the showpiece Elite League Riders' Championship next week.

Wimborne Road is expected to be packed and fans are reminded that the meeting is not on TV.

Ford said: "This is the first time that we have been able to welcome representatives from every Elite League club to one meeting here at Poole and it's a very special evening for us.

"We want it to be a massive success because we would like to stage the event for many years to come."

Wolverhampton Wolves:

Jesper B Jensen has admitted he thought about quitting the sport during his lowest point of the season.

He said: "I must admit I thought about going home to Denmark and not coming back to England, things had got that bad.

"But those people around me were still behind me and that meant a lot. I was trying so hard to get things right and I had people encouraging me.

"I was aware of the criticism I was getting from various people and when I went back to Denmark for a short break it made me realise that I had to come back and have a real go for it."

Premier League round-up:

Arena Essex Hammers:

Andy Galvin is hoping to return to the Arena Essex side by the weekend.

He will miss the mid-week trips to Hull and Sheffield. Galvin said: "I'll be having more treatment on the knee whilst the rest of the lads are up north and I'm confident that I'll be fit to return to the side for Saturday's home match against Edinburgh."

Berwick Bandits:

World Cup stars Jason Crump and Lukas Dryml have agreed to take their place at Berwick's Autoglass Bordernapolis this weekend.

They are joined in an impressive line-up by King's Lynn's Jernej Kolenko, Sean Wilson of Sheffield and top Glasgow rider George Stancl.

Promoter Peter Waite said: "To have Jason Crump at Shielfield Park is a big honour for us and it should be a great night for everyone."

Edinburgh Monarchs:

Peter Carr will miss the next few weeks with a broken collarbone.

Carr crashed heavily with Newport's Frank Smart at Armadale last Friday and he could be out for a month at least.

That means Monarchs will be forced into naming guest replacements for their forthcoming action.

Exeter Falcons:

Falcons continued their impressive run of home form with a 60-30 win over Workington.

Roger Lobb, in his comeback season, was unbeaten by a Comets rider with 13+2 and he received solid support from Mark Simmonds with 12+1.

Exeter face Sheffield at the County Ground next Monday.

Glasgow Tigers:

Mick Powell is on his way back to boost Glasgow for their home meeting with Rye House this Sunday.

Powell has been missing for a fortnight through illness and there was speculation that he my be about to quit the sport.

But he will be back at Ashfield this Sunday when the Togers look to start their climb up the Premier League table.

Hull Vikings:

Garry Stead has issued a rally cry to his Hull colleagues. The Vikings face Arena Essex at Craven Park on Wednesday and Stead is urging his team-mates to show a big improvement.

He said: "As a team we have been awful of late and I include myself in that.

"We need a change of attitude from certain team members and I'm sure we can get back winning again."

Isle of Wight Islanders:

Ray Morton has made a successful return from injury for the Isle of Wight.

He scored 12+1 in the narrow defeat at Rye House over the weekend just three weeks after suffering a broken bone in his hand.

Islanders face Glasgow at Smallbrook next Tuesday.

Newcastle Diamonds:

Davey Watt was mounted on a new engine for Newcastle's home meeting with Swindon - and promptly raced to a full 15-point maximum.

Watrt has struggled to rediscover his form of last season since replacing Jesper Olsen at Brough Park, but he was unstoppable against the title chasing Robins as Newcastle secured a 55-35 win.

Newport Wasps:

Craig Watson has dropped a big hint that he would be happy to stay at Newport next season.

He said: "At the moment the way I'm feeling is that I would be quite happy to come back to Newport next seaosn but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

"The first thing to consider in the winter is the averages and whether I can be accomodated here or wherever, maybe I won't be in Tim Stone's plans, who knows?"

Reading Racers:

Phil Morris is hoping to be back in the saddle soon after escaping from a nasty crash at Newport relatively unhurt.

The Racers star has no broken bones but is battered and bruised and wants to return to the side for next Monday's home meeting with Glasgow.

Rye House Rockets:

Mark Courtney is unlikely to be available for Rye House's northern tour of Glasgow and Newcastle as he is still suffering from a crushed vertebrae in his back following his racing accident at Edinburgh.

Rockets Promoter Len Silver said: "Mark is having a scan this week which will tell us more about his injury and when he will be available to the team again."

Sheffield Tigers:

Tigers boss Reg Wilson is urging his side to keep their feet on the ground.

The Owlerton side are in a strong position to challenge for the Premier League title and they are also favourites to reach the Knockout Cup semi-finals.

But Wilson said: "There's still a lot of racing to be done over the next few weeks but we are looking good."

Somerset Rebels:

Rebels face two important home meetings within the space of three days this week.

They tackle Isle of Wight Islanders on Wednesday followed by the visit of Newcastle on Friday.

The club are offering free admission to childern under the age of 15 for both meetings.

Stoke Potters:

Potters star Alan Mogridge has sung the praises of the Loomer Road track.

He said: "It's well prepared and you can attack other riders on the inside and outside with confidence.

"Other teams come here and give it a go and we don't get much home advantage. But the way it's prepared suits all of us and the racing must be first rate to watch".

Swindon Robins:

Claus Kristensen makes another guest appearance for Swindon in their home meeting with Newcastle on Thursday.

The Berwick rider spent two successful seasons with Swindon and has agreed to deputise for the injured Paul Fry.

Trelawny Tigers:

Danish discovery Ulrich Ostergaard has joined Trelawny.

Also coming into the side is Jason Prynne, who has been signed on loan from Exeter.

Ostergaard takes over from Australian Tony Primmer, who has been released.

The 21-year-old Dane, joins Trelawny as a full signing with the management looking to next season.

Workington Comets:

Carl Stonehewer has been fined ?1000 after a bust-up with Reading's Anders Henriksson.

The Workington man has also been suspended for four official meetings with Workington but both penalties are suspended for 15-months.

Speedway Control Board official Graham Reeve said: "Carl has accepted full responsibility for his actions and has offered his apologies to everyone involved."