EUROPEAN PREVIEW

Image courtesy of Steve Hone Photography

Lambert’s top-of-the-table clash for Vastervik against Lejonen was postponed on Tuesday due to bad weather and was put back by 24 hours, with the two strongest sides in the league putting on a close contest.

But it was Vastervik who came through with a 48-42 victory thanks to a 5-1 from Lambert and Max Fricke in Heat 15 over Oliver Berntzon and Jarek Hampel.

Lambert scored 13+4 from six rides, dropping his only point to Berntzon in Heat 1 whilst Fricke – who had been overlooked for any rides for Australia in the SoN Final – collected a 17+1 paid maximum as their side took over top spot in the league standings.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, third placed Indianerna defeated Piraterna 51-39 with the visitors hampered by a fall for Piotr Pawlicki in his third ride meaning he did not race again after winning his opening two.

Smederna secured a big away win, 54-36 at Rospiggarna, with Vadim Tarasenko scoring 14 points from five rides, whilst the home side had little support for Artem Laguta who scored 15, except for reserve Wiktor Przyjemski with 10+2 from seven rides.

PGE Ekstraliga action returns this weekend after the SoN break, and it does so with one of the biggest meetings of the season at the bottom of the table.

Sunday evening features the clash between Leszno and Grudziadz, with Leszno currently three points adrift of their rivals with only four matches remaining.

That means both the win and the bonus point are of vital importance for the hosts, but they face a big challenge to overturn a 54-35 defeat from the reverse fixture.

With tough matches to come at home to Wroclaw and Gorzow – and a trip to leaders Lublin – it’s a match where Leszno dare not drop points, whilst even the bonus for Grudziadz would make them strong favourites to stay up.

If Leszno do win, there could be further pressure on the sides above them, with fourth to seventh in the table covered by just three points.

The first meeting of the weekend on Friday is a tough one for Czestochowa, currently in fifth place and having lost their last two matches, as they head to Lublin – who lead 51-39 from an away win when they previously met.

Then on Friday evening, GB’s SoN heroes go head-to-head with Dan Bewley in action for Wroclaw, taking on a Torun side featuring Lambert.

Wroclaw remain third in the table despite inconsistent away form, whilst Torun start the meeting four points clear of the bottom, and with a 52-38 advantage for the bonus point.

The final fixture of the weekend is the local derby clash between Gorzow and Zielona Gora on Sunday, with the sides currently second and fourth respectively, and Gorzow are 49-41 up after an away win in the reverse contest.

There are two matches in Round 12 of Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga this weekend, with outstanding Round 7 fixture between Rybnik and Gdansk, which was to take place on Friday, now switching to August 3.

Sunday’s action sees Bydgoszcz, who are second in the table, take on fifth placed Poznan with the chance to close the gap on leaders Ostrow to a single point, although in order to do that they will need to win by more than six points on the day.

Also on Sunday afternoon, the teams in third and fourth places meet with Krosno currently two points behind Rybnik. A home win and the bonus point would take them above their visitors, although Rybnik did win the reverse fixture 56-34.

There are two meetings in the National Speedway League on Sunday with Kyle Howarth once again lining up for leaders Gniezno against third placed Daugavpils, whilst the other fixture sees Landshut host Opole, with both sides level on six points.

The other major event of the weekend is the second round of the Speedway Euro Championship in Grudziadz on Saturday, with Andzejs Lebedevs holding a five-point lead in the series over Maciej Janowski after his opening round win in Debrecen last month.

Defending champion Mikkel Michelsen is joint fourth in the standings on 10 points, seven behind Lebedevs, with Patryk Dudek also on that total.

Intriguingly the Wild Card for the event is ‘home’ rider Fricke, who becomes the first non-European rider to take part in the competition.