(SPEEDWAY 1)
OWLERTON legend Simon Stead will be back to lead Sheffield into the 2016 season.The popular 33-year-old was in dominant form for the Tigers in the opening weeks of last season before seeing his campaign cruelly cut short by a heat 15 horror crash at Rye House in April - but he has ended speculation regarding his future by putting pen to paper with his hometown club.Stead said: “The decision was always whether I was going to race rather than who I was going to race for. There was only one club for me, and when I knew I was going to be fit enough and strong enough to start next season it was an easy decision.“It’s been a long recovery and that’s still ongoing, but I definitely feel I’ll be ready for the start of next season and I’ll be in the same shape I was in heading into 2015. If I wasn’t confident in that I wouldn’t have come back.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
EMIL Grondal is being tipped to be a big Premier League hit after earning a Peterborough return for 2016.Panthers promoter Ged Rathbone has high hopes for the World Under 21 finalist as he enters his first full season of British racing after an impressive stint with the club in the second half of the 2015 campaign.Rathbone said: “It was very tough for Emil to come into a new country on an assessed average last summer, but he impressed me with his attitude and performances.“That initial experience will stand him in good stead for 2016 and, as with all of our signings so far, there is plenty of scope for him to improve his average.“Whether he starts the season at reserve or in the main body of the team will depend on the direction we go in with our final couple of signings, but either way I'm expecting big things from him.”(SPEEDWAY 3)
POPULAR Australian Ryan Douglas will return for his fourth successive season at Scunthorpe's Eddie Wright Raceway in 2016.The 22-year-old becomes the fourth name on the Scorpions' team sheet after an injury-hit 2015 campaign - and promoter Rob Godfrey has confirmed Douglas will be going into the second of a three-year visa arrangement.Godfrey said: “Next year will be Ryan's year, I think. He can't possibly have another season of injuries like the last one. Let's hope he's got all of his bad luck out of the way in one go.“He's on a good average (6.68), there's massive improvement in him, and I think he's only going one way now. He is a quality rider who is only going to improve.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
BIRMINGHAM’S National League-winning captain Tom Perry will be back with the club for their defence of the title in 2016.The 22-year-old quickly put pen to paper with the Brummies for a second successive season after being given permission by his parent club Cradley, and has been re-appointed as skipper.Promoter Graham Drury said: “I'm absolutely thrilled that we've got Tom back on board and I'm really looking forward to working with him again.“He was a pleasure to deal with last season and he was a huge part of the team both on and off track.“You know what you're going to get with Tom - a fully committed performance in each and every meeting and someone who is a reliable team member at the top end.”
(SPEEDWAY 5)
STOKE have commenced team-building with the signing of Danny Phillips for a second year at Loomer Road.The 19-year-old returns to the Potters on loan from parent club Peterborough, and boss Malcolm Vasey expects him to build on a strong finish to the last campaign.Vasey said: “This is an outstanding signing of an improving young rider for whom 2016 marks an absolutely paramount step in his career. “I fully expect Danny to burgeon into an out-and-out heat-leader for us, and if he can improve his starting technique I am certain this will happen. He is a an excellent young man with top-class equipment and great family back-up, and as a Peterborough asset we would like to thank Ged Rathbone in helping us to make this happen.”
