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| Thursday 8th May 2008 |
Rajkowski, signed from Premier League Newport during the winter, has accepted an offer from Mildenhall to drop down a division in a bid to regain his form and confidence. The One51 Aces management finally ran out of patience with him after he had scored just three points in Monday's home defeat by Eastbourne. Supremo David Gordon added: "We feel we gave Michal a fair chance but we've lost our early season impetus and this may not be the only change we will make. Other options are being considered. "Other Premier League tracks have shown an interest in Michal but he has decided to go to Mildenhall who signed Kaj Laukkanen from us when we released him last season. "We have tried to be patient and supportive with Michal and our fans have been as well. But we couldn't go on like this. "I am really unhappy that all our hard work during the winter isn't working out as we want. It is still early in the season and we must regroup and be positive. "It is so frustrating because we know we'd be well placed in the league with a full strength side." Injuries to Steve Boxall and Billy Forsberg are at the heart of Belle Vue's problems after a good start to the season and team boss Chris Morton was angry when Pole Lukasz Jankowski pulled out of Monday's meeting in his first race after insisting he had recovered from a shoulder injury. He said: "We could have brought in a guest but for Lukasz saying he was fit and we would probably have won the match." The outstanding Tai Woffinden, recently crowned the British Under-21 champion, has been booked to guest for Forsberg in next Monday's home match against Swindon while the Aces are looking at options to replace Rajkowski.
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| Tuesday 6th May 2008 |
The 21-year-old, from Victoria, has made a big impression at Premier League Redcar in his first full season in Britain. Team manager Chris Morton has named him at No 8 in a side missing Swede Billy Forsberg, who has a broken thumb, and Steve Boxall, who is facing a shoulder operation. Morton has searched far and wide to sign a temporary replacement but with Forsberg on a four-point average, and Boxall on 3.63, his options are extremely limited. The One51 Aces will continue to track Glasgow's Robert Ksiezak, their official No 8, in place of Boxall and use the rider replacement rule for Forsberg. This means Lukasz Jankowski, who has declared himself fit after suffering a shoulder injury, can take one of Forsberg's scheduled rides with the other three being shared by the reserves, Ksiezak and Michal Rajkowski, and Proctor. Morton said: "I felt we needed extra cover because we were using rider replacement and decided to bring in Proctor who is having an outstanding first season over here. "He started the season with an assessed Premier League average of five but that will go up to nine when his new average comes into force on Thursday. That figure is too high for us to be able to use him again so this will be a one-off situation. "I spent the weekend looking for riders and I've had my eye on Proctor. I don't know a lot about him personally but he has been scoring well and people have been saying a lot of good things about him. "We were fortunate to get him even for one meeting because he had been due to race for Redcar at King's Lynn on Wednesday until there was a fixture change. "I would like to thank Redcar promoter Glyn Taylor for his co-operation in arranging for Proctor to ride for us." However, the use of Proctor is only a temporary measure and Morton is busy working on his team for next Monday's tough home match against Elite League leaders, Swindon, (7-30pm). He added: "We have a busy schedule in May so it is a real problem being without Forsberg and Boxall, especially as both of them were doing well when they were injured. "I am still searching for a suitable signing and considering plans for the rest of the month. I have discussed possibilities with a number of riders but I cannot name any names yet. "Two riders have told me they could be available to ride for us in June but that is no good to us at the moment." Forsberg has been named as a reserve for the Swedish Grand Prix in Gothenburg on May 24, along with Swindon's Seb Alden. It means he has a tight schedule to be fit in time as he said he would be out for three weeks when he was injured last week. Aces team manager Chris Morton said: "It would be a valuable experience for Billy to go to this meeting if he is fit. "It is unlikely he would ride but there would be things he can learn from being there in the pits with all the Grand Prix stars. "There is never a good time to be injured but this couldn't have come at a worse time for us or Billy. "He had been due to ride a World Under-21 championship qualifying round at the weekend and, from our point of view, he had a good thing going in his partnership with Jason Crump at the top end of the team." The second half of the Eastbourne meeting will feature a special Academy League Challenge match between two teams of Belle Vue youngsters to mark the 40 th anniversary of the founding of the famous Colts team in 1968. The Speedway Control Bureau have given permission for Greggs North West Belle Vue teams to ride against each other in a six-heat match. Team managers Stephen Williams and Graham Goodwin will stand down from their duties for the night and will be replaced by former Colts Eric Broadbelt and Ken Eyre who went on to successful senior careers. Both are still regular visitors to meetings at Kirkmanshulme Lane. Broadbelt and Eyre were members of the 1968 Colts League winning team, Eyre riding in the first ever match. They hold the distinction of being the only riders to win five consecutive league winners medals as they landed Second Division titles in 1968 and 1969 with the Colts, and First Division championships in 1970, 1971 and 1972 with the Aces. Goodwin said: "We are grateful for the sponsorship of Greggs Northwest Ltd, who are backing us for the seventh successive year. We believe it is the longest running sponsorship of a non-league team." Fans are reminded the meeting starts at 8-00pm on Wednesday and reverts to the usual 7-30pm next Monday. BELLE VUE (v Eastbourne, Wednesday): J Crump, B Forsberg (rider replacement), C Gjedde, L Jankowski, J Screen, R Ksiezak, M Rajkowski, T Proctor.
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| Tuesday 6th May 2008 |
BILLY Forsberg has been named as a reserve for the Swedish Grand Prix in Gothenburg on May 24 along with Swindon's Seb Alden. It means he has a tight schedule to be fit in time after breaking a thumb in two places last week when he said he would be out for three weeks.
Aces team manager Chris Morton said: "It would be a valuable experience for Billy to go to this meeting if he is fit because there would be things he can learn from being there with all the Grand Prix stars." |
| Monday 5th May 2008 |
Morton isn't ruling out the arrival of a new face in time for Wednesday's home Elite League match against Eastbourne (8 0). But he insists he won't make a panic move as he faces spending most of a busy May schedule without Forsberg, who has broken a thumb in two places, and Boxall, who needs an operation on a shoulder tendon. Morton said: "I'm looking at options. There are one or two young riders who are going well in Europe but they are not available. "But I need to be careful because I could bring in an inexperienced rider who would have to learn how to handle the Belle Vue track. If I find a rider I was confident could do the job I would make the change." Lukasz Jankowski will ride on Wednesday after making a quicker than expected recovery from a shoulder injury. |
| Sunday 4th May 2008 |
He is planning to go to France for surgery as soon as possible and will need another three weeks off after that to recover. He went for another scan after failing to make the expected progress after returning for the British Under 21 final a week last Friday. Wednesday's home meeting with Eastbourne will start at 8.0 and not the usual 7.30. |
| Friday 2nd May 2008 |
Billy Forsberg, who was injured last night in Sweden, has broken his thumb in 2 places and suffered tendon damage. Billy crashed while riding for Vargana, x-rays on his hand this morning revealed that he has broken his left thumb in two places and also suffered some tendon damage. His hand has been put in a plaster cast and he will be out of action for a few weeks. |
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2008 SEASON TICKET PRICES |
BELLE Vue have axed Polish rider Michal Rajkowski and he may not be the only rider to pay for the club's recent slide in form. 
INJURY-HIT Belle Vue have drafted in rapidly rising Australian youngster Ty Proctor for their home Elite League match with Eastbourne tomorrow, Wednesday May 7, (8-00pm). 
STEVE Boxall needs an operation on his injured shoulder after a further scan discovered a tendon injury. 