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ELLIS Perks has made the move to join National League returnees Isle of Wight for the 2016 season.18-year-old Perks, who spent his debut campaign with Cradley and also rode for Premier League club Scunthorpe early in the year, has become the sixth signing as the Warriors come back into the sport for the first time since 2013.Warriors co-boss Barry Bishop said: “I have spoken a lot with him over the last week or so, and we believe 2016 will be a big year for him, for he rounded off a great season this year by finishing on a 7.14 average and next year with Warriors we hope to see Ellis continue his improvement and take his career up a further gear. “We have worked with him to set personal and team targets and because he is young, exciting, determined and ready to make an impact in 2016, we are sure he will achieve them.”
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CRADLEY have announced the signing of Jack Kingston who joins the Heathens after two years with Mildenhall.Club bosses were only able to press ahead with the deal once they got confirmation of the starting average for James Purchase which will be 3.5 – and that created room for Lakeside asset Kingston within the 40-point limit.Cradley boss Will Pottinger said: “He's been around for a couple of years now and he's done pretty well. We've seen that if he stays on the bikes he's got an awful lot of speed and he can score plenty of points.“Obviously he's got to develop a bit more, but having seen him ride I'm sure he can score a lot of points and be an important member of the team next season.”
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STOKE have re-signed Ben Wilson as their No.1 after a successful previous spell with the club.Wilson last rode for the Potters in the National League in 2014, topping their averages and winning the NL Pairs with Jon Armstrong before completing the campaign with parent club Sheffield.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “I’m delighted to have Ben back at Stoke. He is a first-class rider who has an impeccable style and he gives 100 per cent every time he takes to the track.”
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MARK Baseby is to return to the Isle of Wight for the Warriors’ National League comeback next season.Baseby last rode for the Smallbrook club in 2012 and after time out of the sport he spent the second half of the 2015 campaign with Coventry.Commercial Director Barry Bishop said: “Martin (Widman) and I are delighted to see Mark back at Smallbrook. He, Brendan (Johnson) and James (Cockle) have a wealth of knowledge to help the team quickly get to grips at home and away and we look forward to watching our team gel together. “Everyone knows that Mark always provides great entertainment for fans and our big track suits his riding style. We cannot wait to watch him blasting around Smallbrook.”
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COVENTRY Storm have confirmed Callum Walker as one of their reserves for the new National League season.17-year-old Walker was named as the Storm’s No.8 in 2015 and made seven appearances as the Brandon club finished fourth in the final table.He said: “My ambitions for the next speedway season are really just to be consistent and to increase my average.“I also want to show the Coventry fans that I am a worthy Storm rider, and hopefully I’ll be able to turn a few heads in 2016!”
