Speedway: Raun to stop off

May 10 2007 By The Journal

Newcastle's Jonas Raun is stopping off for expert advice on the way to his first trip to Britain's fastest track, Sheffield, in the Premier League tonight (7.45pm).

The Warburtons Diamonds traditionally struggle at the Owlerton Stadium, but the teenager's mechanic Richard Juul has fixed up for them to visit former Sheffield skipper Sean Wilson's workshop in Wakefield this afternoon.

It was Wilson who tuned the GM engine last month that helped Raun (pictured below) to double figure scores in four of Newcastle's last five meetings.

Juul's had his own fair share of heavy defeats riding at Owlerton, not just for Newcastle, but still admitted: "Even if I didn't get big scores there, I always enjoyed the challenge and it's no good turning up with an attitude that you've lost before you've even started. Sean's really pleased with Jonas's progress so we'll set off early and call in to see him."

Juul is in for a busy spell looking after Raun, especially next week's sequence of four meetings in five days that involves racing at three different tracks for the Diamonds with a Danish championship qualifier in the middle.

Meanwhile, after two successive Thursday's borrowing Birmingham's Jason Lyons, Redcar turn to another Australian - the Isle of Wight's Chris Holder - as their guest for injured skipper Gary Havelock in this evening's Premier League match at home to Newport (7.30pm).

The Wasps produced a shock away win at South Tees last summer and the Bears need to watch out this time for newcomer Michal Rajkowski, who has been Newport's regular top scorer since dropping to reserve after a poor start to the season.