Stone: Wasps are on the up

1:28pm Saturday 19th April 2008

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WASPS will have a new riding order for tomorrow's Premier League clash with Redcar at the Hayley Stadium, writes David Rowe.

They completed their first set of three home and three away matches in last weekend's Premier League fixture at Berwick, and that brings interim figures into play for team positioning.

The key change is the fact that Pole Marek Mroz drops down to reserve, where he will hopefully be able to properly find his feet in British speedway, whilst Nick Simmons' reward for another positive start to the season is a place in the top five.

Promoter Tim Stone said: "Our early figures make for interesting reading, and there are plenty of observations to take from them.

"But the position is much clearer if you take the month of April in isolation, and there's no doubt that things have been getting better during this month."

Stone added: "Obviously we need to keep things moving in the right direction, and it's important that we put Premier League points on the board against Redcar.

"They have an ex-World Champion in Gary Havelock, and due to the location of Redcar this is likely to be his one and only visit of the season.

"James Grieves also needs no introduction here and that gives them a powerful spearhead, but this is an important meeting for us as well."

Wasps continue to operate the rider replacement facility for captain Tony Atkin, who was probably one of the few people not too disappointed to see rain force the abandonment of last week's home match against Birmingham.

Paul Clews has taken over the captaincy in Atkin's absence, with Stone impressed by the way in which the Reading asset has settled into the team and offered guidance to the others.

Clews hit top form for the first time with a 16-point haul at Berwick, and it is abundantly clear from the Wasps' scorecharts that their results will be much healthier when Craig Watson's engine woes are behind him.

Stone said: "Paul has started to find his form, and he is proving to be an excellent team man for us."

Re-admission tickets from last week's abandoned fixture can be used at any remaining home fixture this season.