(SPEEDWAY 1)

IAN Thomas, one of Speedway's most charismatic promoters, has died after a battle with illness.Thomas, 69, left his role in charge of Workington at the end of last season and his last act was to help promote the hugely successful Telford indoor event last weekend alongside Graham Drury.The Yorkshireman launched the sport at Workington in 1970 and was a major player in reviving the Comets in 1999.He enjoyed a glittering career in charge of Hull, Belle Vue and England - and he also had a spell in charge of Newcastle.Colleague Drury, who also rode for Thomas at Hull, paid tribute to a true showman of the sport."Ian was a true promoter in every sense of the word," said Drury. "I had the pleasure to ride for him and to work alongside him and I am proud to have enjoyed his company as a colleague and a friend."He was very sharp, knew every trick in the book and was always good to listen to. He was also very successful throughout the majority of his career and employed some of the biggest names in the sport like Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger and Jason Crump."This is a very sad day and my thoughts are with Ian's wife, Dot, and son, Lyndon, who was with me at the weekend at Telford."

(SPEEDWAY 2)

BELLE Vue have unveiled the Colts team that will bring National League racing to Kirkmanshulme Lane next season.Jason Garrity of Droylsden and Kyle Howarth, from Ashton, give the team a local flavour while Byron Bekker comes in from South Africa.Two youngsters with family contacts with the Aces are Adam McKinna and Scott Richardson whose fathers, Kenny and Derek, are former riders whilst Karl Mason and Chris Widman also have a lot of knowledge of the tight track.Team manager Steve Williams said: "We have put together a solid team in which everyone should improve their averages."

(SPEEDWAY 3)

MILDENHALL have announced their first three signings for the coming season following their dramatic re-entry into the National League.The Fen Tigers will be led by James Brundle, and he will be joined by Ipswich youngsters Olly Rayson and Joe Jacobs.Co-boss Michael Lee said: "Negotiations were very short as James was so keen to get involved with us at Mildenhall and we all feel he has a much bigger role for the club than just scoring points for the team."Joe and Olly are both local lads with experience of the Mildenhall track and also Ipswich assets so it was an obvious move to ask them to join us and both jumped at the chance."