OXFORD Cheetahs have confirmed the three guest riders for each leg of the Championship Knockout Cup final.

Cheetahs are looking to bounce back from their two-legged defeat to Poole Pirates in the Championship grand final, when they face the same opponents this week.

Cheetahs saw their Championship hopes sunk in the second leg of the grand final at Wimborne Road, losing 56-34 on the night despite heading into the meeting with a 51-39 lead from the home leg.

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Three guest riders have been booked for each leg by Cheetahs for the Knockout Cup final, as both Luke Killeen and Jody Scott have been ruled out of action following incidents with Pirates reserve Vinnie Foord in the second leg of the Championship final last week.

Dan Gilkes will continue to cover for the injured Jordan Jenkins, having scored 8+1 and 6+1 over the two legs of the grand final. For Killeen, Jack Smith will deputise for both meetings.

Oxford Charger Scott was due to again replace the injured Adam Roynon, who was already a temporary replacement for Henry Atkins.

Ben Trigger will now guest for Roynon at Poole, while Connor Coles will cover the home leg.

Oxford Mail:

Oxford Speedway team manager Peter Schroeck said: “Of course, we were all very deflated after the meeting at Poole. But I feel it’s now time to draw a line under the events of Wednesday night and stay afresh in the final of the Cab Direct Knockout Cup.

“Due to his age, Luke Killeen is ruled out for concussion for 12 days after his two falls at Poole on Wednesday, while Jody Scott is also feeling the effects of his heavy crash down there.

“We’ve booked the very best guests available to us, while we’ve also booked riders who will give it 100 per cent for Cheetahs, as if they were riding for their own club.

“We want to finish on a high in the cup final because I very much believe the Cheetahs deserve to win some silverware this season.”

The first leg of the Knockout Cup final will take place at Wimborne Road on Wednesday evening, with the return leg at Sandy Lane a day later on Thursday evening at 7.30pm.

The home leg will be the 34th and final home meeting of the season at Oxford Stadium, the first track to hold 30 or more meetings in a single season since Belle Vue in 2017.

Oxford Speedway started the 2024 British Speedway season when Oxford Spires beat Birmingham Brummies 47-43 on March 14 and will conclude it when Cheetahs entertain Pirates on Thursday.