Bullets’ talisman Greg Blair (pictured with Ace Pijper by Taz McDougall) is urging the Borders’ public to get behind Berwick’s bid to reach its first speedway play-off final, writes George Dodds.
The Jedburgh-born entertainer was tempted out of a decade-long retirement last year when the Shielfield Park promotion entered a team in British speedway’s third tier.
The Bullets were pipped to the National Development League title by Mildenhall in their debut season and it is the Fen Tigers who stand in their way again this season.
The 2021 title was decided by a league competition but this year the top four form a pair of knockout semi-finals. In the other tie, which will be settled on Saturday night, Oxford take a two-point lead to Leicester.
But locally all eyes will be on Shielfield Park and the first-leg of the tie against the highly-rated Suffolk outfit.
The Bullets, sponsored by Grant Henderson Tankers, won the league match between the sides by six points back in June, Blair scoring 10+2 that night to support the 14-point haul of number one Kyle Bickley.
At the very least they will looking for a repeat performance to put them in a strong position going into the second leg a week on Sunday.
Mildenhall’s number one Jason Edwards – track reserve for the British leg of the GP2 series at Cardiff in August – is already a three-time winner at Shielfield this season for Redcar, twice, and as a guest for Leicester, while Jack Kingston and Alex Spooner have all scored well there in the past and 15-year-old Ashton Boughon scored seven points on his professional debut, as a guest for Oxford on Wednesday.
It will be the first speedway meeting at Berwick since Scunthorpe visited on August 27 and the Bullets first at home since the hammering of Plymouth a week earlier.
Blair, the great-grandson of Berwick speedway founders Danny and Liz Taylor, is looking forward to the night and hopes that the Bullets will be roared on by a passionate crowd.
“We need as many people there as possible,” he said. “If you’ve thought about coming down to the speedway but put it off then this is the one to be at.
“Mildenhall are a really good side and we’ll need to be on form to secure the sort of lead we need for the second leg.
“Ever since the Bullets first took to the track we have had great backing and now is the time to cheer even louder with a play-off final at stake.”
Berwick-born Mason Watson and Melrose’s Kieran Douglas complete the Borders-based triumvirate around which Berwick have built their team with Cumbrian Bickley, Cleveland duo Luke Crang and Ben Rathbone and Scots/Dutch teenager Ace Pijper, son of veteran Bandit and ex-Edinburgh Monarch Theo, completing a free-scoring septet.
More young talent will be on show after the semi-final as Berwick’s Academy squad complete their Northern Junior League campaign with a double header against Edinburgh’s two junior teams, the Armadale Angels and West Lothian Wildcats.
Luke Harrison, who first rode for the Academy as a nine-year-old 125cc competitor, appears on a 500cc for the first time having turned 15 in a year which also saw him compete in the GP3 series for 250cc at Wroclaw.
The action starts at 7pm with adult admission £10. Tickets are available via the club website berwickspeedway.com/tickets
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