Soundbites: 24th July 2004

"I definitely think I can qualify for the final. I have been unhappy over the last three or four weeks with my form. I have not been consistent enough and I am getting angry about it. Consistency is the name of the game in this sport. If you are not consistent you are not scoring points."
Rory Schlein on his World Under 21 chances today at Wiener Neustadt

"This season has been far better than I ever dared imagine. To take the British title was beyond my wildest dreams and I'm sure it got my name around in speedway circles again and helped me return to the Premier League. But this weekend is the biggest of the lot. I'm proud just to be part of a meeting of this significance and hope I'll be able to do myself justice."
Ritchie Hawkins British Under 21 champ - also racing at Wiener Neustadt today

"If the two reserves had performed better we would have won the meeting. We have been carrying certain riders all season and this was another prime example of it. Our top four riders got 37 points between them which is a cracking tally at a place like Poole. With a bit of decent back-up from the rest we could have earned a very good result and the stark reality is our reserves haven't been good enough all season."
Peterborough boss Mick Horton - disappointed after a 53-40 defeat at Poole on Wednesday

"Hull Vikings have been something of a surprise package, leading the way in the opening months of the season, but I still think their wheels might come off. For a team who haven't got an obvious number one they have done remarkably well to open up such an advantage in the early stages. I just have a feeling that they won't stay the course."
Carl Stonehewer - the only person not tipping the Vikings?

"This was a match we should not have lost though, and we can't afford to drop any more points at home. If there's one rider in the entire league who you would pick to win a deciding race it's Jason Crump, but Eastbourne won the toss for gate positions in the last race and chose wisely with two and four."
John Perrin - The Aces lost 44-45 at home to Eastbourne on Wednesday

"Last week is history. The lads all know success is built on good team relations and in an attempt to gel the squad together we have moved Jamie Robertson up to number two to ride with Lubos Tomicek and in return have placed new boy David Meldrum down to number four to partner Richard Juul. The balance of the team will benefit."
Newcastle promoter George English

"Speedway has been a part of the Showground calendar for 35 years and we were anxious to find a way of helping the sport carry on in Peterborough."
East of England showground chief-exec Andrew Mercer on the rental deal that secures the future of Peterborough

"It is going well. I have had a couple of matches and have been right up there. It is my first big break in speedway and hopefully I can get noticed by other promoters and get a chance to ride for the Witches. John Louis spoke to me and said I look like Chris Louis. He is one of the best riders in the country, if not the world and it is good to have a comparison with him."
Rye House Raider Scott Campos

"I suppose you can say I'm not fit yet but I feel fine and there are still just over two weeks to go before it starts. All I need now is to get plenty of meetings under my belt."
Charlie Gjedde on his surprise exclusion from the Danish world cup squad

"We did ask the school time and time again to give Matt time off for his speedway, without a lot of success. The staff did allow him to take Fridays off to ride in the under-15s competition, but there were so many different speedway meetings he needed to attend. We have a van which we travel in everywhere with a desk in the back so he can still do his work when we're on the road."
Jill Bates - who has taken her 14 year old son Matthew out of school so he can progress his riding career

"I've been working on things all week and I'm hoping to get back to some better form right from the off on Saturday. Edinburgh track Frede Schott at number one and he takes some beating at any time."
Paul Pickering hopes he's over last week's machine problems for tonight's clash with Edinburgh

"I made my only bad start of the night in heat 13 and after the race I was cursing a bit as I knew I had missed the chance of a maximum. But I felt good throughout and got past Havvy which was great and important to split the two Peterborough riders. I got very close to the maximum and felt very fast out there and I could pass people from behind."
Poole's Bjarne Pedersen after scoring 14 on Wednesday night

"I'm afraid you can't beat the weather. The crowd were in and the riders were prepared to give it a go and race. But when that very heavy storm started it quickly settled the issue, the track was quickly flooded and the drains were not able to take the water away quick enough."
Swindon boss Alun Rossiter after yet another Blunsdon rain off

"No-one on the team needs to get motivated. Everyone knows what's got to be done every meeting. The atmosphere among all seven riders is the best it's ever been. No one's talking about what's going to happen and about winning races, everyone's just going out and doing it."
Paul Thorp on the Hull Vikings unstoppable march to the title

"I can appreciate it is costly for fans, but we've been forced into running the double meeting by various parties. We'll lose money anyway, but we have to try and cover the costs as best we can."
Berwick boss Peter Waite defends his decision to charge £18 admission for tonight's double header at Shielfield

"Despite the Grand Prix and World Cup call-ups, the under-21s is still very important to me. It's the biggest thing you can win for someone of my age. The GP and the World Cup are more learning experiences for me but all meetings are important, just in different ways. I always go out to do my best and just see how far I can go."
Antonio Lindback

"There is no way they have the worst team in the league and I expect them to move up the table in dramatic fashion. I only hope it starts to happen after tonight but it is a potential banana skin for us as most of their riders go well round Derwent Park."
Workington boss Ian Thomas on their home clash tonight with the Islanders

"We are looking for a good result. We won in May which was our first victory there for a long time."
Mildenhall boss Graham Drury on the visit to Buxton tomorrow

This article was first published on 24th July 2004

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