The Harry Jordan Lions travel to Somerset tomorrow to face the Rebels in what is their first away Premier League fixture of the season.
The meeting will mark the debut of their new signing Robert Branford who won the British Under-21 Championship last week. The nineteen year old takes the place of Lewis Blackbird who has decided to leave the club.
“After careful thought Lewis has asked to be allowed to move to another club where he will be guaranteed regular rides. He was due to share the role with new signing Robert Branford and now the British Under-21 Champion will occupy one of the reserve positions in the team on a full-time basis” commented co-promoter Alan Jones.
Blackbird made twenty-five appearances for Leicester with his best meeting coming in the opening fixture this season at Scunthorpe where he shared top spot on the score-board with Kauko Nieminen. “During the winter we set out on a policy of creating opportunities for young British riders to step up from the National League and into the next tier of racing at Leicester. Our initial entry before the start of the season did not get off the ground because Lewis Kerr, who was earmarked for a similar role, received an offer to go full-time at Newcastle and it has confirmed so far that our assessment of Kerr is proving spot on as Lewis is delivering good results for the Diamonds. We were undeterred and never lost sight of repeating the initiative resulting in an agreement with Robert Branford. Unfortunately we are back to square one again but we will park the idea for now and take stock of the situation at a later date” added Jones.
The Lions will be looking to improve upon previous visits to the Oak Tree Arena which has never been a good hunting ground. Somerset came within a whisker of being crowned Premier League Champions in 2012, only to lose the title in the very last race to Scunthorpe. The Rebels have started the season in winning form and are currently top of the Southern Section of the League Cup table, a competition they won last year.
The Lions are on the road again on Bank Holiday Monday where they are due at Ipswich in a Premier League fixture. The Witches started the season in good form and are poised to leapfrog defending Champions the Somerset Rebels in the Southern Section of the League Cup if they beat Plymouth later this month and have begun their Premier League campaign with a hard fought draw at Scunthorpe.
“Last season we collected a consolation bonus point in the corresponding fixture and with Lasse Bjerre and Kevin Doolan, two former Ipswich riders in the side, we are looking to get something out of this meeting. Ipswich have won all of their home meetings so far but by only a two point margin against Rye House and Plymouth so there is quiet optimism that we can be as equally effective on Monday” commented the Lions co-promoter, Alan Jones.
