ELLIS Perks is the final name in the Leicester Speedway jigsaw for the 2019 Championship campaign.
The 21-year-old, who is the son of former SCB referee Robbie, has signed on for the Watling JCB Lions – and he will also spearhead the club’s National League line-up.
Perks has been a regular in the UK since 2015 when he made his full-time NL debut with Cradley, but he suffered a blow this year when after a positive campaign with Redcar and Rye House he was initially left without a team place.
He returned in June as injury cover for Peterborough and then saw out the season in the National League with Plymouth before ending on the sidelines with a broken fibula.
Perks is set to start the Championship season in a second-string berth with his 4.05 average discounted by 2.5% to 3.95 – and boss Stewart Dickson expects that figure to rise once again.
Dickson said: “Ellis had a 5.08 average with Redcar in 2017, which was his ‘jump year’ as I call it.
“He then went to Peterborough midway through last season, and obviously coming over halfway left him playing a bit of catch-up and he lost a point on that average.
“It’s never easy to come in from Australia in that way, and then riding in a difficult position, so I really feel he’s better value than that average.
“I felt that if he could do five-plus with someone else before, he can certainly do it with us, so that’s the thinking there. It wasn’t just a case of us picking out a number.
“Ellis is still relatively young and he’s very keen to progress in the sport, so I think he ticks the right boxes for us.
“He was desperate to come here, which is great to hear as well, and so I’m hopeful that we can get him back to the sort of form he had with Redcar.
“We have the balance to the team that we want, but of course that’s only on paper! The riders have got to do it when it matters, but overall we’re very happy.”
WATLING JCB LIONS 2019: Scott Nicholls, Richie Worrall, Josh Bates, Ryan Douglas, Ellis Perks, Connor Mountain, Jack Thomas.
