Tuesday, January 13, 2026
OXFORD SPEEDWAY
Oxford Speedway

PREVIEW: Spires welcome reigning champions to BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium in mouth-watering clash

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BETGOODWIN Oxford Spires face two of the best riders in the world, with the visit of reigning champions Belle Vue Aces in an exciting-looking ROWE Motor Oil Premiership clash at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium on Thursday evening (July 17) at 7.30pm.

Last week, Spires pushed title favourites Ipswich Witches all the way in a thrilling contest at Sandy Lane – with skipper Maciej Janowski defeating Emil Sayfutdinov and Jason Doyle twice in the closing stages – and another humdinger is on the cards.

Belle Vue’s captain is Brady Kurtz, who is currently second in the World Championship standings, having won the last two Grand Prix rounds. The meeting on Thursday is only the third time he has ever ridden at Cowley, giving home fans a rare chance to see the classy Australian in action around the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium.

Not only that, but Belle Vue also contain Dan Bewley in their ranks. The 26-year-old Englishman has won the British Grand Prix three times – including around his home track in Manchester this June – and he is also the current track record holder at Sandy Lane. He is currently fourth in the World Championship standings. Kurtz and Bewley are the two highest placed riders in the GP series currently riding in British Speedway.

Spires continue to be without the ill Erik Riss and Craig Cook. Victor Palovaara – so impressive for Edinburgh at Cowley – stands in for Riss, while Kyle Howarth will guest in place of Cook.

Peter Kildemand picked up an injury to his right knee during Monday’s defeat at Sheffield, and Mitch McDiarmid has been given the booking. 17-year-old Australian McDiarmid has been in great form for the SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs powered by County Plumbing Supplies, and there will be much interest to see how he fares at ROWE Motor Oil Premiership level. His fine performance in the opening round of the SGP2 (World Under-21 Championship) series, where he finished seventh, suggests he won’t be overawed.

Belle Vue’s Norick Blodorn may be called away to ride in Poland. If so, he will be covered by rider replacement or a guest.

Spires are out of contention for the play-off places, but determined to finish the season on a high, especially around their home circuit.

Spires’ manager Peter Schroeck says: “We want Spires to finish the season strongly, particularly at home.

“We are just concentrating on ourselves, and in particular on our home performances. Away from home can be tough at times, as demonstrated by the meetings at Leicester and Sheffield, but the bread-and-butter is to be competitive and to entertain around our home track. We want to send our fans home from the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium with a smile on their faces.

“Belle Vue have two world class riders in Dan Bewley and Brady Kurtz, but so did Ipswich last week and we pushed them all the way. Of course, we’d have loved to have the won the meeting by a couple of points rather than losing it by that margin.

“We want to win the meeting against Belle Vue, and give something back to the fans who have supported the Spires all season.”

Tickets are already on sale on the Oxford Speedway website at https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

Admission is available at the early bird price of £23 for all adults, which increases to £25 on Race Day. All under-16s go free. A reminder that Oxford Speedway is online ticket sales only – tickets remain on sale on the website until the start-time of the meeting. Spectators are also reminded that they will need to pay £2 if they are planning to park in the Unipart car park.

Teams:

BetGoodwin Oxford Spires: Maciej Janowski (C), Kyle Howarth (G), Charles Wright, Victor Palovaara (G), Rohan Tungate, Mitch McDiarmid (G), Luke Killeen (RS).

Belle Vue ATPI Aces: Brady Kurtz (C), Paco Castagna (G), Jaimon Lidsey, Zach Cook, Dan Bewley, Tate Zischke, Jake Mulford (RS).

PHOTO by Les Aubrey