NEWS Wednesday 10th August 2022, 6:53pm
Edinburgh Monarchs
Many times in recent years Speedway fans heading for the annual British Grand Prix have first of all dropped in to see the Pairs, which for a long time were staged at Somerset.
This year, with the Oak Tree Arena a distant memory, the event is being staged at the re-born Oxford Stadium, with all of the Championship teams competing.
Some of the lineups don't contain their team's top two riders, largely due to injury, and in Edinburgh's case captain and top average man Sam Masters has decided to pass on this even though he had at one point targeted the Pairs for his return. The duo of Masters and Pickering would certainly have featured amongst the most fancied, but now it will be Kye Thomson who lines up alongside Josh.
Kye warms up tonight by guesting for Birmingham at home to Berwick in the Championship. Paco Castagna also rides in this meeting for the Brummies, who are doomed to the wooden spoon this season (but have already declared their intention to run next year).
As always there are two qualifying sections in the Pairs, with the top two in each group then contesting the semi-finals.
CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRS, Cowley Stadium, Oxford, Friday 12th August, 7:30pm
GROUP A:
LEICESTER: Nick Morris, Richie Worrall
EDINBURGH: Kye Thomson, Josh Pickering
GLASGOW: Danyon Hume, Benjamin Basso
SCUNTHORPE: Ryan Douglas, Simon Lambert
BIRMINGHAM: Justin Sedgmen, James Pearson
GROUP B:
POOLE: Steve Worrall, Danny King
PLYMOUTH: Ben Morley, Harry McGurk
BERWICK: Chris Harris, Jye Etheridge
OXFORD: Scott Nicholls, Aaron Summers
REDCAR: Charles Wright, Lewis Kerr