ORGANISERS of the Welsh Open speedway sidecar championship at the Hayley Stadium on Sunday will stage a round of next summer's Great Britain Championship - if this weekend's event proves a hit.

It is being run as a double header by Newport promoter Tim Stone who stages a Conference League fixture between GMB Mavericks and Swindon Sprockets with the start time to be confirmed.

Sidecar organiser - and competitor - Martin Newnham said: "If this is successful we will be returning with 20 crews next season for one of the eight rounds in the British Championships."

Newnham, who is co-promoter with Dave Pavitt at the Isle of Wight, will be riding at Newport with passenger Keiron Arnell. They were third in the British championship and finished in a similar position at the Frank Smart testimonial meeting.

The 12 outfits in competition will include British champion Ivor Matthews and passenger Mick Stace from Coventry and the Kiwi pairing of Richard Moore and Rob Winspear who ride as Team Skeleton.

Craig Cheatham, from Kidderminster, and his Welsh passenger Kevin Williams are also on show. They won the World Super Cup crown in 2001 and also triumphed at the Frank Smart meeting.

Another Welsh passenger, David Williams, forms a partnership with Southampton-based Rob King.

Pavel Ondrasik missed Newport Wasps last two meetings of the season - at Stoke on Friday night and Rye House the following evening - competing in the European club championship final in Ljubljana on Sunday afternoon.

But it turned out to be a nightmare meeting for the Wasp riding for Prague (who finished in fourth place on 42 points) as Ondrasik failed to get a point in three rides.

The event was won by Polish outfit Czestochowa who piled up 73 points with Togliatti of Russia in second place on 63. Neils-Kristian Iversen, former Newport rider, scored 10 points from five rides for Ljubljana. The meeting was different from most with five riders in a heat, scoring four points for a win.

Cwmbran's Tom Brown registered his best score of the season, a paid 16, for Coventry in their Conference Trophy meeting at Mildenhall on Sunday, the event won 54-41 by the home team.

The 20-year-old Brown yesterday received a call for inclusion in the Great Britain team to meet Australia in an Under-21 international at Newport on October 17.