The Rapid Solicitors Leicester Lions will enter their first season in the Elite League with a new Team Manager at the helm.
Norrie Allan, who has been involved in speedway in various roles throughout his career, has been appointed to lead the Lions.
“Norrie has been working behind the scenes at the club for several weeks now and his knowledge and contacts within the sport have been invaluable to me during the team building process. I have purposely held back the announcement until the team was complete at Norrie’s request and now I am pleased to confirm his appointment” stated the Lions Promoter David Hemsley.
Allan, who will celebrate his sixtieth birthday in April, takes over from Glyn Taylor who has managed the side since May 2012 and took the team to the play-offs that season. “Glyn did a tremendous job as Team Manager but on race nights at Leicester he had a real challenge of looking after the team and at the same time overseeing track work. It was unfair to ask Glyn to continue in a dual role and now he is free to concentrate on creating the ideal track surface for the riders to perform to the best of their ability” added Hemsley.
During his career in the sport, Norrie has worked alongside some of the top speedway riders, namely the six-times World Champion Ivan Mauger; Mark Loram who was crowned 2000 Grand Prix Champion and one of Britain’s top riders, Chris Harris. Now Norrie brings his expertise and knowledge to the club which is on the threshold of a new beginning in the short history of the re-birth of the Lions with their elevation to the top tier of British Speedway.
“In my opinion we have put together a competitive team with a solid top five and if we can stay clear of injuries we will have a good season and hopefully reach the play-offs. I am looking forward to working with the riders and the management team at Leicester” explained Norrie Allan.
The club has also made a further appointment following their decision to accept an invite to enter a team in the third tier of British Speedway. David Howard, who is Leicester’s official Timekeeper and Incident Recorder on match days, will step up to the role of Junior Team Manager for the Lion Cubs.
“I am really pleased to have been given the opportunity by David to take on the role of Team Manager of the National League side. On a personal level I am excited about my new role at the club and at the same time I am looking forward to the team providing some great entertainment for the fans at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium on Sunday afternoons” commented David Howard.
Leicester will ride home and away against Stoke, Mildenhall and Kent in the National Trophy competition and the two teams that finish with the most match points will meet each other in a Grand Final to determine the winners.
