Elite League
Swindon Speedway: Robins reshuffle for Thursday.
By Admin
Jul 8, 2008, 19:05

After a break from action Swindon return to the Abbey Stadium on Thursday 10th July when they entertain Belle Vue in an Elite league B encounter. 

The meeting against the Aces commences a flurry of activity for Swindon who then travel to Coventry’s Brandon raceway for an Elite league A clash on Friday night.

New averages see James Wright moving back into the main body of the Swindon side whilst Swedish youngster Seb Alden fills the number seven spot.

Robins’ boss Alun Rossiter has re-jigged the Swindon line up with Travis
McGowan moving to five, James Wright to four as Troy Batchelor’s rider
replacement facility shuffles to position two.

Belle Vue are hopeful Joe Screen will recover from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of the Aces’ slender victory over Coventry on Monday night. Elsewhere, Lukasz Jankowski is sideline by a broken collar bone and the Manchester side are expected to operate the rider replacement facility to cover his absence. 

Recently recruited Danish youngster Patrick Hougaard fills the number seven berth whilst Nick Simmons slots in at six.  Jason Crump and Charlie Gjedde provide the Belle Vue firepower with both riders having superb individual records at Blunsdon.

Swindon boss Rossiter is excited by the contest: ‘The duels between Leigh Adams and Jason Crump at Blunsdon are always fantastic. We have to be careful not to be caught off guard going into this meeting and must concentrate from the outset. Belle Vue have a team of riders
who go very well at Swindon so I’m expecting a close meeting. The idea behind altering the team line up is to try and get our rider replacement outings out of the way as soon as possible. Hopefully this will prove beneficial’

The Elite league meeting will be followed by an academy match as Swindon’s development side, the Sprockets, entertain Somerset.  The Kevin Pitt’s managed Swindon side is expected to track Charlie Saunders, Richard Andrews and the Sedgmen brothers.

Thursday’s encounter against Belle Vue will see Swindon Speedway celebrate achievements of the inaugural graduates to emerge from a revolutionary new motorsport course - staged for the first time in the Swindon area.

The Fun ‘E’ Farm at Blunsdon has played host to the NCFE (Northern Council for Further Education) Level I  Scrutineering Certificate. The ten-week course has provided students with an appreciation of the safety awareness and procedural measures necessary to organise two and four-wheeled motorsports events.

Part of the syllabus included a hands on experience at Swindon Speedway where students gained a behind the scenes insight to intricacies of a 500cc single cylinder speedway machine.  This presented an opportunity for the students to get their hands dirty examining a speedway bike and identify key areas of machine preparation.

The link with the Swindon Robins was important in gaining recognition for the qualification and provides a future opportunity for the graduates to practise their skills in a professional sporting environment. Robins’ number eight Cory Gathercole hosted a machinery seminar for the students who then had the chance to ask the Australian questions.

The successful participants will be presented with their certificates at the Abbey Stadium on Thursday, July 10 during the Sky Sports Elite League meeting between Swindon Robins and Belle Vue Aces at around 8..45 pm.