BRITISH SPEEDWAY NOVEMBER 21, 2024

(SPEEDWAY 1)

SAM MASTERS READY TO AGAIN ROAR WITH THE LIONS

AUSTRALIAN star Sam Masters will be back for a second season with Leicester in 2025.
Masters joined the Lions last winter after an extensive spell with Wolverhampton prior to the forced closure of the Monmore club, and he helped his new side to the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final.

Manager Stewart Dickson said: “Sam is very consistent, and he wins big races.
“I think he had a slow start to the season, but he then picked up his form, and quite often he was asked to go with Max (Fricke) in Heat 15 up against some very good riders.

“He delivered more often than not and I’m sure the highlight of this season would have been the two Heat 15 5-1s in the play-off semi-final against Ipswich.
“I know people said he had a big home track advantage at Monmore Green and his average could only go one way, but he actually put his average up when he came to Leicester which shows he’s still very capable of doing a heat-leader job for us.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

STEVE Worrall and Zaine Kennedy will both return to Scunthorpe colours next season – with Kennedy’s brother Declan also coming into the team.
Worrall will go into his third stint with the club where he started his career, whilst Zaine Kennedy rode for the Scorpions in 2022, and Declan is a newcomer to British Speedway.

Four riders return from this year’s team which reached the Cab Direct Championship play-offs, with the already announced Luke Harrison joined by skipper Simon Lambert, Jake Allen and Connor Mountain.
Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “There are one or two riders who have left the league so Stevie moves up into the top positions where theoretically he could score points heavily at every track. It gives us a good platform to start with, which is what we had the year before last with Ryan Douglas.

“Zaine always wanted to come back to race for Scunthorpe. We saw what he was capable of last time around in 2022. He was all set to return in 2023, when he had an accident on his mountain bike.
“But we’ve kept in contact and then we got wind from Zaine that his brother Declan wanted to come over and ride for Scunthorpe as well.

“The riders we’ve retained have all been here for a few years, Jake and Simon especially, and it will be Connor Mountain’s third year with us, so we know what to expect from them and they were all keen to stay.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

POOLE favourite Tobias Thomsen has become the third member of this year’s treble-winning team to secure a return to Wimborne Road for 2025.
Thomsen was a high-scoring reserve as the Pirates swept to the Cab Direct Championship league, Cup and BSN Series titles, and he will start on a 4.41 average.

With Richard Lawson and Zach Cook also confirmed starters, the defending champions have just over 20 points remaining for four riders to complete their side.
Co-promoter Dan Ford said: “I think we all saw the true potential of Toby at the crucial stage of the season, and that makes his average something of a real steal as we look to build to the 40-point limit.
“Without a doubt he has become a fans’ favourite, chiefly for the effort he invests in his riding. His post-race celebrations are something the fans enjoy and we all hope to see plenty more of those in 2025.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

WORKINGTON will hand a UK debut to Australian newcomer Fraser Bowes next season.
23-year-old Bowes, who has been racing in Europe in recent years, is the son of former Glasgow, Reading and Coventry rider Shane and will enter the Cab Direct Championship on a 5.00 average with the Comets.

Promoter Andrew Bain said: “From what we have seen of Fraser so far, he could really be something special. He was really eager to join us this year after seeing and hearing about our track and what we have achieved.
“Also I think seeing the highly successful UK debuts of his fellow Australian Tate [Zischke], and Antti [Vuolas] last season, has really motivated him to join us and British Speedway for 2025.

“Both us and Fraser think Northside will be the best track for him to develop his career going forward, and from a club perspective it’s great to continue building on our asset base from last season.”