HEADLINE signing Martin Vaculik has revealed how close friend Simon Stead helped him secure his stunning move to Leicester.
Slovakian star Vaculik will race for the first time in the British League and is the first name on the Watling JCB Lions team sheet – with another shock signing in the pipeline.
And his connection with former Great Britain racer Stead, which started with them working together in the first half of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix campaign, was the deciding factor in pledging his immediate future to Beaumont Park.
In an interview with speedwaygp.com he said: “I still have a very good connection with Simon and he did some big work on this contract with Leicester.
“I will be continuing my relationship with Simon in the British league. He helps me a lot. He knows people from the Sheffield and Leicester promotions.
“I’m very thankful for his work for me. He’s a good friend of mine and everything will be good when I’m in Britain.
“Simon and my British mechanic will give me a lot of experience with the setup and my job will be just to come to the dressing room, put my race suit on, get on the track and score many points.”
Vaculik confirmed he had plenty of interest from British clubs before plumping for Leicester.
He said: “I had so many offers from Britain, but at the end of the day I chose the offer from Leicester because I think it’s exactly what I am looking for.
“When I spoke with the club about my future, we had very professional communication and also the track there isn’t the easiest in Britain. That’s why I also made this choice.
“That’s what I need. I need to start on a track like this every week. I think it will help me a lot with the stuff I need to make better.
“Britain gives you such a big experience with tracks, setup, the feeling of the bike and with the racing and contact on the small, technical tracks. It gives you extra sharpness.
“I think Britain gives you a better technique on the bike and when you look at all the world champions since I don’t know which year, everyone has raced in Britain. I think this experience is fantastic if you want to be a quality rider.
“That’s what I am looking for at Leicester and I also want to get some good results for them.”
And Vaculik insists he isn’t travelling to the UK purely to enhance his speedway education.
He said: “I think Leicester is a very good club for me and I also want to be a very good rider for them.
“I want to give my best in the UK. From one side, it’s an education for me. But from the other side, I have a career behind me and I can score many points. I want to score many points for Leicester.
“I really hope I can get good results with the Lions next year. I don’t want to say which position we’ll be in – play-offs or not. I just really hope that with my team, we can get good results. That’s very important for us.”
