Newly appointed Team Manager Glyn Taylor is facing three meetings in as many days this weekend when the Elliott sponsored Lions first of all head north on Friday to face the Edinburgh Monarchs in a Premier League fixture.
Leicester will be without their third heat leader Lasse Bjerre, who is attending a practice session on the eve of the World Under-21 Individual Championship event at the Randers track in Denmark. As the meeting is an FIM event the Lions are allowed a facility and they will be operating the rider replacement rule from the number two position with Simon Lambert taking over the number three spot.
Edinburgh may also be missing one of their own riders as Derek Sneddon is still recovering from a broken collar-bone. If Sneddon is not fit in time to take his place against Leicester on Friday his heats will be covered by his teammates.
Teams:
Leicester: 1. Magnus Karlsson, 2. Rider Replacement, 3. Simon Lambert, 4. Jari Mäkinen, 5. Kauko Nieminen, 6, Jan Graversen and 7. Simon Nielsen
Edinburgh: 1. Craig Cook, 2. Derek Sneddon, 3. Theo Pijper, 4. Matthew Wethers, 5. Andrew Tully, 6. Micky Dyer and 7. Charles Wright
The following evening Leicester complete their away fixtures in the League Cup with a visit to Hertfordshire to ride against the Rye House Rockets and are again without Bjerre who is competing in the World Under-21 event itself. The new monthly match averages come into effect for this meeting which sees Jari Mäkinen move from the main body of the side and into a role of reserve and swopping places with Jan Graversen who moves up the order.
“It is a blow to be without Lasse particularly at Edinburgh which, of the three fixtures, is the most important to us as it is a Premier League match and that is where our main focus is. The rider replacement facility can work for you but it needs careful thought as to who you nominate in which heat to increase your chances of success. Apart from Magnus Karlsson, any one of the other team members can take an extra ride so whilst you can pre-plan who goes out in a particular race that can all change on the night if someone is struggling for points and there is a better option” added Co-promoter Alan Jones.
Teams:
Leicester: 1. Magnus Karlsson, 2. Rider Replacement, 3. Simon Lambert, 4. Jan Graversen 5. Kauko Nieminen, 6, Jari Mäkinen and 7. Simon Nielsen
Rye House: 1. Charlie Gjedde, 2. Jason Bunyan, 3. Anders Mellgren, 4. Ritchie Hawkins, 5. Jordan Frampton, 6. Jason Garrity and 7. Luke Bowen
Twenty-four hours later the Lions are at home to the Plymouth Devils in the re-staging of the League Cup fixture that was postponed due to a waterlogged track in April and they welcome back Bjerre to the side. The Lions were narrowly beaten in the corresponding fixture in Devon last month and with a strong top three of Ben Barker, the Coventry rider Ryan Fisher and Cory Gathercole, the visitors have three riders capable of challenging Leicester’s heat leaders.
The meeting starts at 6.00pm and there will be a one minute silence in remembrance of Lee Richardson who lost in life in a racing accident in Poland on Sunday and a collection will be made for his dependants.
Teams:
Leicester: 1. Magnus Karlsson, 2. Simon Lambert, 3. Kauko Nieminen, 4. Jan Graversen 5. Lasse Bjerre, 6, Jari Mäkinen and 7. Simon Nielsen
Plymouth: 1. Ben Barker, 2. Todd Kurtz, 3. Ryan Fisher, 4. James Holder, 5. Cory Gathercole, 6. Nicki Glanz and 7. Gino Franchetti
