BRITISH SPEEDWAY JANUARY 1, 2024

SPEEDWAY 1)

STARS FIND A GOOD BALANCE

KING’S Lynn owner Keith Chapman says he’s excited by the prospects for both his team and the sport as a whole in 2024.
The Stars have endured a run of torrid seasons since the pandemic but have regrouped for the new Sports Insure Premiership campaign with a host of changes.

They will now be led at No.1 by Polish ace Tobiasz Musielak with the other incoming riders including the likes of Vadim Tarasenko and Benjamin Basso.
Chapman said: “It’s looking like being a really good season of racing ahead, and there are some very good teams out there which should make it really entertaining. I’m excited by our team, and to be honest by a lot of the others too.

“I like the balance of our side, with a good No.1 in Tobiasz and I think probably the best Rising Star in Anders (Rowe), which should make us very strong at the bottom end given what we saw from Patryk (Wojdylo) last year in his short time with Peterborough.
“Team building is always a gamble and you never know what’s going to happen with injuries, but I’m really positive about what we’ve got, and I’m looking forward to it.”
 
(SPEEDWAY 2)

BIRMINGHAM CEO Nigel Tolley says the club are in no rush to complete their team plans.
The Brummies have two places to fill ahead of their return to the Sports Insure Premiership, and they are the only one of the league’s seven clubs to go into the New Year without declaring their full line-up.
Tolley said: “So far we have signed five of our seven riders which I must admit I am very pleased with.
“Now we just have to finalise our team by signing our No.1 and No.5.

“We’re in no rush to do this; Laurence (Rogers – Director of Speedway) and Chris (Adams – Assistant Team Manager), as well as myself, are extremely busy in the background to make sure we pick the best two from around half a dozen riders we have on offer.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

BERWICK have handed youngster Freddy Hodder his first team place in the Cab Direct Championship for the coming season.
17-year-old Hodder has impressed during his two years in the NDL with Belle Vue, and he has already shown a liking for Shielfield Park where he scored a career-high 15+1 for the Colts last autumn.

Manager Stewart Dickson said: “As auditions go, Freddy’s match-winning performance against the Bullets was pretty spectacular although to be fair he was already on the radar of the management here and we were keen to get his signature on a contract.

“Compared to many that he will be racing against in 2024, Freddy is relatively inexperienced on a speedway bike, but he is an excellent all-round motorcycle racer, and slots seamlessly into the Berwick side.
“He will be learning from some of the best in Rory Schlein and Lewi Kerr, while Drew Kemp and Danyon Hume have first-hand knowledge of what it takes to establish yourself as a young rider.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

BELLE Vue have announced the signings of Luke Muff and Jack Shimelt as their NDL team for 2024 nears completion.
Both riders were involved with the Colts last year although Muff endured an injury-hit campaign, whilst Shimelt was introduced into the side in the closing weeks of the season.

Club CEO Mark Lemon said: “We’re delighted to welcome back both Luke and Jack to the National Speedway Stadium as part of our Belle Vue Colts team.
“We only saw a snapshot of what Luke is capable of last year. His enthusiasm for this club is great to see and hopefully with the injuries now behind him he will really start to flourish.

“Likewise for Jack, it is a big year for him. It’s his time to step up and make the next move in his development, but we wouldn’t have handed him this chance if we didn’t believe he could do that.
“He has a brilliant attitude towards his racing and he fitted straight in with the team last season, and we’re very excited to see where 2024 will take him.”