Scott Nicholls says teamwork can win the day for Cheetahs

MONARCH Oxford Cheetahs will be involved this week in their two biggest meetings since their return to speedway at the beginning of the 2022 season.

Cheetahs have reached the Grand Final of the Cab Direct Championship play-offs – where they will face old rivals Poole Pirates. The first leg will take place at Oxford Stadium on Wednesday (September 25) at 7.30pm, with the return leg at Poole’s Wimborne Road on Friday (September 27). The aggregate winners will be crowned league champions.

In the BSN Series at the start of the season, it was Pirates who held the advantage, winning in Dorset by 61-29 on Good Friday in Cheetahs’ opening match of the season, while Oxford stole the verdict at Cowley by 45-44.

The tide turned in the regular league matches in the Cab Direct Championship. Oxford No 1 Sam Masters and skipper Scott Nicholls won a Super Heat at Sandy Lane after the regulation 15 races ended in a 45-45 draw. Cheetahs then took a stunning 49-41 victory at Poole on August 14, with 19-year-old Luke Killeen top scoring with 11+3. It brought to an end an unbeaten run of 42 matches around Wimborne Road for Pirates.

Oxford skipper Scott Nicholls said: “The two legs of the play-off final are going to be very much a team effort. Riders do put themselves under pressure for meetings like this, but it’s how you respond to that. If a rider is going well and is on form, we’ve got to keep them in the right place. If they’re not having such a good night, we need to help them turn it around.

“Both myself as captain and Pete (Schroeck) as team manager will be looking to get the maximum out of the boys. But it extends beyond that. All the team will be mucking in and helping each other – it’s team spirit that can make such a difference on these occasions and we have a good team spirit.

“It also makes a big difference that we’ve already been down to Poole this season and come back with a very positive result. It means whatever result we pick up at Oxford in the first leg, we can head to Poole with confidence.”

Tickets on already sale for the first leg at Oxford Stadium on Wednesday at https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

Admission is available at the early bird price of £20 for all adults, which increases to £22 on Race Day. A reminder that Oxford Speedway is online ticket sales only – tickets remain on sale on the website until the start-time of the meeting.

Season Passes are NOT valid on Wednesday or for the remainder of the season. The passes did not include progression in any competition and all 28 meetings (12 Spires, 11 Cheetahs and 5 Chargers) covered by the Ultimate Pass have all taken place.

Further preview to follow on Tuesday – including team news.