Leicester face one of their hardest away fixtures of the season with the visit to Poole tomorrow.
The Pirates have won each of the last three Elite League Championship titles and nine days ago they drew at Beaumont Park after trailing the Lions by 12 points.
The fixture heralds a quick return for Davey Watt to the club where he has been a central figure in the Dorset club’s title winning sides. Watt, who was handed the captain’s armband at the start of the season, lost his place in Poole’s team during April and was snapped up by Leicester to replace Sebastian Ulamek who sustained a hand injury whilst riding in Poland.
Whilst the Paul Chapman and Sons Lions are unchanged from the team that lost to Wolverhampton on Monday the Pirates welcome back Kyle Newman from illness but they are without Bjarne Pedersen who is riding for his Danish club. The Pirates management have opted to cover for Pedersen’s absence by sharing out his rides among his teammates.
“Not only do we have Davey Watt’s experience of the Poole track to call upon but also Paul Starke who rode for the Pirates last season. If we can tap into their knowledge beforehand as to the best lines to take then perhaps we can mount a strong challenge” said the Lions Team Manager, Norrie Allan.
The club were boosted by the news at the weekend that both Josh Auty and Paul Starke had qualified for the British Final to be staged in Manchester next month. Auty finished runner up at Scunthorpe and Starke just missed out on a rostrum place after tying for third place in Glasgow.
“It is the first time that we have had two Leicester riders qualify for a British Final. Both Josh and Paul have been in outstanding form for us this season and it is just reward for them” added Allan.
Teams
Poole: 1. Hans Andersen, 2. Rider Replacement for Bjarne Pedersen, 3. Kyle Newman, 4. Chris Holder, 5. Krzysztof Buczkowski, 6.Brady Kurtz and 7. Adam Ellis
Leicester: 1. Patrick Hougaard, 2. Josh Auty, 3. Aaron Summers, 4. Szymon Wozniak, 5. Davey Watt, 6. Nicolai Klindt and 7. Paul Starke
