MATEJ ZAGER IS AN ACE RIDER!

BELLE Vue Speedway is delighted to announce following approval of his visa, Slovenian star Matej Žagar has confirmed his return to the National Speedway Stadium for the 2022 Premiership League.

The news comes following weeks of speculation and patience on the part of the club and the Croatian GP wild card will make his first appearance for the ATPI Belle Vue Aces on Monday, May 2.

He replaces Australian Jake Allen who was signed on a short-term contract earlier in the season while the final arrangements were put in place for the club’s final rider.

The 39-year-old Zagar previously appeared for the ATPI Aces from 2013-2016, during which time he was also a regular in the world championship series.

He made a brief appearance in Manchester for Belle Vue’s flagship event, the 2022 ATPI Peter Craven Memorial, on March 21 where he topped the qualifying scores and finished second overall.

Club CEO Mark Lemon is thrilled to welcome Žagar back into the team and is confident he has found the right man for the job after a long and arduous search.

He said: “First of all, we’d like to place on record our thanks to Jake Allen. It has been a tough few weeks for him but the club is very grateful of his willingness to step in on a temporary basis.

“Our thanks also to all the supporters for their patience while all of the final preparations necessary to sign our final rider were put into place.

“While it has been a frustrating start to our year, as I have previously commented, we wanted to make sure that we left no stone unturned to find the best rider possible to complete this team.

“A lot of work has gone in behind the scenes to get us to this point and we are delighted to have Matej back with Belle Vue for our 2022 Premiership league campaign.

“The welcome he received from the crowd at the Peter Craven meeting proves what a popular rider he still is in Manchester and that same night he showed the quality he’s capable of producing.

“His enthusiasm to return to Belle Vue is very evident and I’m sure supporters will be equally enthusiastic to welcome him back into the team come Monday afternoon.”

Belle Vue kick off their Premiership league title bid on bank holiday Monday, May 2 at the National Speedway Stadium against Peterborough, with tapes up at 12:00pm.