LEICESTER will be without Josh Bates when they travel to Berwick on Saturday for the first part of a big Championship weekend double.
Bates tweaked his shoulder in a crash at Sheffield on Thursday and will not be fit to take his place at Shielfield Park.
The Watling JCB Lions plan to operate the rider-replacement facility as Bates is a second-string in their line-up.
It’s the start of a busy weekend with the away match taking place on Saturday evening (6.30pm) and the Lions then host the Bandits at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena on Sunday at 4pm.
Both meetings also feature the clubs’ respective National Development League sides, and tickets for Sunday afternoon remain on sale from http://www.leicesterspeedway.com/ticketoffice .
Boss Stewart Dickson said: “I always get a really good welcome from the guys up at Berwick having known them for years. There is healthy mutual respect, but make no mistake, we are looking for something there.
“We will be looking to get something from every track we go to. A point is the minimum requirement from everywhere we go, and maybe we will look for a bit more at some places.”
The Bandits have experienced mixed fortunes at the start of the season with a home defeat to Birmingham followed up by a convincing victory over Scunthorpe.
Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen – a track specialist at Leicester – takes over their No.1 position this weekend, whilst youngster Leon Flint has been racking up the points at reserve.
The Bandits operate rider-replacement for Coty Garcia, who is stranded in Argentina due to a national lockdown imposed during the Covid pandemic.
BERWICK: Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen, Coty Garcia R/R, Jye Etheridge, Dany Gappmaier, Aaron Summers, Kyle Bickley, Leon Flint.
LEICESTER: Nick Morris, Ty Proctor, Kyle Howarth, Josh Bates R/R, Ryan Douglas, Dan Thompson, Joe Thompson.
