With no home meeting on Saturday as Leicester are racing away at Eastbourne, this weekend sees the Lion Cubs back in action against the Stoke Potters in a National Trophy fixture at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium on Sunday.
The competition involves four clubs; Leicester, Stoke, Mildenhall and Kent who will ride against each other home and away with the top two teams progressing through to a Grand Final to determine the winners. The Lion Cubs began with a convincing home win against Kent by 57 points to 38 in April and on Sunday they meet Stoke one of the surprise teams of the National League so far this season. The Potters lead the National Trophy table with seven points from three matches after completing the double over the Kent Kings whilst Leicester are currently in second place with two matches in hand over the visitors.
“Stoke have really jelled as a team this season and if we can replicate the same spirit and desire as we did during the match against Kent we will be competitive. The Potters are a strong side with a lot of experience at the top end. Ben Wilson has ridden extensively in the Premier League and Jon Armstrong is a consistent performer at this level. Their third heat leader is Ben Hopwood and he has recently gained a place in the Elite League with Poole” outlined the Lion Cubs Team Manager, David Howard.
The visitor’s run of good results can be pinpointed to the form of Chris Widman who was snapped up by Stoke after Isle of Wight, the club he rode for in 2013, folded during the winter. Widman, who lives in Leicestershire, has been a match winner for the Staffordshire club and will pose a threat to Leicester.
The Lion Cubs make three changes to the team that beat Kent in April with the Greenwood’s Oliver and Dan together with James Shanes unavailable for Sunday’s fixture as Howard explains: “Since our last match Dan Greenwood has secured a team place at Newcastle and as they are also riding on Sunday that ruled him out of my plans. I have known for some time that Oliver would not be able to race for us against Stoke so I have opted to utilise rider replacement to cover for his absence and have Marc Owen who rides for King’s Lynn replacing Dan. At reserve James Shanes has a prior Grass-track commitment so Michael Neale gets his chance to shine at National League level.”
Tom Perry, who broke his collar-bone last month, is close to returning and will have a practice on Saturday and if he comes through the fitness test then he will race against Stoke on Sunday before returning to the Lions senior team for their Elite League fixture at Wolverhampton on Monday.
Teams
Leicester Lion Cubs: 1. Rider Replacement (for Oliver Greenwood), 2. Marc Owen, 3. Tom Perry, 4. Max Clegg, 5. James Sarjeant, 6. Tom Woolley and 7. Michael Neale
Stoke Potters: 1. Ben Wilson, 2. Chris Widman, 3. Ben Hopwood, 4. Lee Payne, 5. Jon Armstrong, 6. Rob Shuttleworth and 7. James McBain
