Bees hit by defeat and Rory injury; SPEEDWAY.

Byline: David Rowe 

Peterborough................ 54 Bees .............................. 37 COVENTRY'S Midland League campaign ended with a fourth defeat out of four at Peterborough last night - and another injury concern.

Rory Schlein was hit by a piece of track material in Heat 9 which left him in extreme discomfort with his knee.

Schlein required lengthy treatment in the pits and was withdrawn from his last ride, all of which will be a major concern with the Buildbase Bees' crucial Cup semi-final at Belle Vue just three days away.

Bees made a positive start, with Olly Allen winning his first two rides and Chris Harris also looking rapid as they trailed by just four points after Heat 7. But back-to-back 5-1s put the Panthers in control, Bees weakened at reserve by Ricky Wells' late call to Croatia for tomorrow's World Under-21 Final.

Their tactical ride in Heat 10 hardly went to plan, with previously unbeaten Allen limited to a doubledup third place as partner Edward Kennett took the flag, recovering well from a Heat 7 fall to defeat Niels-Kristian Iversen.

4-2 advantages to the Panthers in Heats 12 and 13 secured their win, the latter being a fine race with Iversen and Harris passing and re-passing over the first two laps before the Dane pulled clear.

Kennett's subsequent tactical ride was eclipsed by Kenneth Bjerre and a most impressive Claus Vissing in Heat 14, before Harris saved the best for last with a vintage move to go between Kenneth Bjerre and Iversen in the finale.

PETERBOROUGH 54: Kenneth Bjerre 13, Claus Vissing 12+1, Niels-Kristian Iversen 11+1,Mads Korneliussen 6+2, Henning Bager 5+2, Ales Dryml 5+1, Kenneth Hansen 2+1. BUILDBASE BEES 37: Chris Harris 13, Olly Allen 10, Edward Kennett 5, Rory Schlein 4+1, Jordan Frampton 4, Ben Barker 1+1, Klaus Jakobsen 0. n CHRIS Harris and Edward Kennett represent the Buildbase Bees in the Elite League Riders' Championship at Brandon tonight (8pm).

Although World Championship leader Jason Crump has withdrawn due to a serious arm burn, the line-up is still strong.

Former Coventry rider Lee Richardson is the only previous winner in the field, but also included are ex-Bees Scott Nicholls and Hans Andersen.

Gates open at 6.30pm, the parade is 7.45pm and the first of the 22 heats at 8pm.