(SPEEDWAY 1)
SIMON Stead has secured the services of 2012 World Champion Chris Holder for his Farewell Meeting at Sheffield on March 25.
Holder will make a rare appearance at the Owlerton venue, with fellow Australian Sam Masters also confirmed after several battles with Stead down the years.
Stead said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have another World Champion in my meeting, and Chris has been true to his word with me.
“I asked him last year and he promised me then if his diary allowed he would race in my meeting. It’s wonderful news.
“I’ve had some battles with Sam, he’s a great rider and I’m equally delighted to welcome him to my meeting. When I asked him he messaged me back saying even though I made his life hard sometimes he would be happy to be a part of my day.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
BELLE Vue’s 90th Anniversary line-up is taking shape with Chris Harris, Dan Bewley and Matej Kus added to the field.
Harris rode for the Aces in 2011 whilst Bewley is again part of their SGB Premiership line-up this season and Kus returns to British Speedway with Redcar. All will compete at the National Speedway Stadium on March 24.
Harris said: “I feel I’m a much better rider at the times when I’m busiest and I think I’ve got that well covered this season. I need to be keeping myself as busy as possible throughout this year.
“The Peter Craven Memorial is a meeting I’ve won in the past, and I know how much it means to the fans and to the Craven family to honour the memory of one of the country’s best riders.
“Even though I only spent one season at Belle Vue, which wasn’t my best statistically, I enjoyed every minute of my time there. It’s a fantastic club with a history that deserves to be celebrated.”
BELLE Vue have added Danish superstar Niels-Kristian Iversen to their 90th Anniversary Celebration line-up.
Iversen, who returns to UK racing with King’s Lynn this season, joins World Champion Jason Doyle and Aces No.1 Craig Cook in the line-up for the Peter Craven Memorial on Saturday March 24.
He said: “It’s not been an easy few months with getting over injury but I’m well on the road to recovery and when I was asked to do the meeting at Belle Vue I was very, very keen.
“I haven’t really ridden the track since the 2016 Speedway World Cup so I’m looking forward to coming back for another go. It’s a really enjoyable circuit to ride and it creates great racing.
“I’m planning to do some solo practice but you can’t really measure your strength without pitting yourself against other riders, and I think the Belle Vue meeting will really test everyone involved.”
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PETERBOROUGH reserve Tom Bacon has hailed the arrival of Scott Nicholls as the club’s new No.1.
Bacon and Nicholls last month became the Panthers’ final two confirmed signings for the SGB Championship campaign, and Bacon feels the seven-times British Champion’s wealth of experience will help the side.
He said: “I was lucky to ride with people like Chris Harris and Kenneth Hansen last year, and they’ve got so much experience that you can feed off.
“And now you couldn’t want a better team-mate than Scott. I’m really excited to ride with him this year.
“I admired him when I was just a fan watching at Coventry, and now I admire him as a rider, so it will be a real pleasure to ride with him.
“I think when you’ve got Scott Nicholls leading the line, and riders with the experience of Ulrich (Ostergaard) and Michael (Palm Toft), there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be looking to win every meeting you go into.”
