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WOLVERHAMPTON have moved for British Under-21 Champion Kyle Howarth as part of an all-new reserve combination for 2016.Howarth will be joined at Monmore Green by Max Clegg, who has experience of the circuit from his time with Cradley in the National League.Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten said: “We strongly feel that these are two very exciting signings for Wolverhampton and we really think they’ll do a great job for the club.“Kyle was part of this year’s Great Britain squad at the Speedway World Cup and he will have learnt a lot from that experience.“Max rode for Leicester in the Elite League in 2014 and we were very encouraged by some of his guest appearances for us last season.
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COVENTRY have confirmed the signing of Josh Bates - who will team up at reserve next season with James Sarjeant for the Brandon outfit.Sarjeant will be going into his third year as a top-flight reserve with the Bees, whilst former British Under-21 Champion Bates joins after spending the 2015 campaign with Wolverhampton.Coventry promoter Mick Horton said: “We had protection on Sarj and we always wanted to bring him back, and we look forward to him continuing his progress of recent years.“For our other reserve Josh was very much on our hit-list so we’re delighted to secure him. I’ve always been a fan of Josh, he’s a young kid with great backing and he can ride well at Brandon as he’s shown on several occasions. He’s one of the up-and-coming youngsters in the sport.”
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SWINDON will welcome Charles Wright back to the club in 2016 after a successful first season at reserve for the Robins.Wright’s reserve colleague is set to be announced at a later date pending confirmation of rider availability.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “Charles is a rider with a lot of potential and someone who has undoubted ability on a speedway bike.“He came on really nicely in 2015 and we’re confident he can build on what was a pretty successful season for the lad. He’s got a great attitude, he gets on well with everybody and we’ll be charting his progress throughout the season.”
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LEICESTER have named Josh Auty and Paul Starke as their reserves for the 2016 Elite League season.Auty returns from this year after an injury-hit campaign which saw him limited to six appearances, whilst Starke joins the Lions having been part of Poole’s title-winning team.Co-promoter David Darcy said: “My priority was to secure Josh Auty first of all and I was pleased that when it came to making my second choice Paul Starke was available. “With Josh and Paul that gives us a solid foundation at reserve to build upon now. The news was well received by David Hemsley and that gives him and Norrie Allan a great start to securing the riders to complete the main body of the team.”
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PETERBOROUGH have made Michael Palm Toft the first member of their 2016 team - but they are demanding more from the Dane.Palm Toft impressed for the Panthers after being snapped up on the eve of last season as a replacement for the injured Adam Roynon, and the club believe there is further scope for improvement on his 5.96 average.Promoter Ged Rathbone said: “Michael was the obvious man to make our first signing for 2016 and he jumped at the chance to return. We didn't even have to talk about money because he was so keen to be a Panthers rider again and we're delighted to have him on board.“He regularly thrilled the supporters at the East of England Showground with some brilliant rides from the back, but he is well aware of the need to improve his starting. It might not be quite so exciting for the fans, but we need him to be making good starts and making his own life easier as a result.”
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BIRMINGHAM have confirmed co-promoter Graham Drury has signed a two-year extension to his contract with the National League champions.Drury’s wife Denise will also remain at Perry Barr as Administrations Manager after the club made a successful return to the sport this year.Drury said: “We, along with so many other people, have put so much work into getting this club back up and running and the way things went both on and off track this season was nothing short of remarkable.“We’ve got a working relationship with club owner Tony Mole which goes back two decades now and it won’t be long until it’s ten years since Birmingham Speedway made its initial comeback to the sport.“Ourselves and Tony had a meeting last week and we simply had to be back. We had a really encouraging chat and I am full of enthusiasm about the sport again – the future of Birmingham Speedway really does look exciting!”
