Reading's penultimate home league match of the final Smallmead campaign sees them entertain Scunthorpe on Monday 1 September, in what will actually be the Scorpions’ first and, unfortunately, last visit to what has been the Racers’ home over the past 33 years.
The meeting is jointly sponsored by Field Seymour Parkes Solicitors and Business Moves Group.
New averages come into effect for the match-up, in descending order, as follows: Ulrich Ostergaard 10.11, Mark Lemon 7.61, Tom P. Madsen 6.42, Chris Mills 5.39, Tomas Suchanek 4.81 and Danny Warwick 4.46.
Meanwhile, with both Jamie Smith and Nicki Glanz still sidelined, Jamie Courtney has again answered the call to plug the No. 6 berth in the side.
Since their return to British Speedway in 2005, Scunthorpe have been a real success story and made fabulous progress both on and off the race track.
After spending three successive seasons in the Conference League, the Scorpions made the bold decision to enter the Premier League in 2008 and have generally performed very well.
A relatively solid home record at their Eddie Wright Raceway, along with a couple of away victories mean the North Lincolnshire outfit are hovering around the mid-part of British speedway’s second tier.
The club certainly dominated at Conference level over the previous couple of years, their wonderful trophy haul reading as follows: League Champions (2006 and 2007), Knock-Out Cup winners (2006 and 2007), Conference Trophy winners (2006 and 2007) and Conference Shield winners (2006). Not only that, but Scunthorpe also won the CL Four-Team Championship in 2007!
Commented Malcolm Holloway: “I was pleased to hear that a good crowd had turned out for last Monday’s home meeting against King’s Lynn and, by all accounts, it was a cracking encounter.
“With both of our regular reserves out of action, a 45-45 draw against top three opposition must be classed as a very good result.
“The Scorpions have some good riders in their ranks, not least Magnus Karlsson who was a sensational guest for Glasgow at Smallmead a few weeks ago.
“Indeed, Scunthorpe are not to be underestimated; we will require the same level of commitment as shown against King’s Lynn in order to come out on top.”
As a club, Reading Speedway has been keen to get the children more involved this season. As a result, the pits will be open on Monday from 6.00 p.m. until 6.30 p.m., so that the youngsters can get autographs and have their photographs taken with the riders.
The Racers’ management have also run a slick show this year, so the parade will be taking place at 7.10 p.m. and, unless under extreme circumstances, the first race will start bang on 7.30 p.m.
