The Elliott sponsored Leicester Lions welcome back their Danish reserve rider Simon Nielsen to the team for their final home fixture in the League Cup competition on Sunday against the Plymouth Devils.
Nielsen has been out of action since he was injured in Leicester’s pre-season challenge match at Scunthorpe last month. The twenty-one year old had earlier gained a second and third place in his heats before breaking his scaphoid after a fall on the second bend in his final race.
Kyle Hughes who covered during Nielsen’s absence made five appearances for Leicester with his best performance at Plymouth last week where he scored paid five points against his former team.
With Somerset and Ipswich within reach of securing a semi-final place, a win on Sunday against Plymouth in the return fixture at Beaumont Park is important for Leicester if they are to finish in third place in the Southern section of the League Cup table.
Plymouth are also planning to make one change to the team that came back from the brink to snatch a win against the Lions when they met in Devon last week. James Cockle makes way for their new signing Todd Kurtz who rode for Newport last season but the Australian has been without a Premier League team place since the Welsh club folded on the eve of the season. Kurtz last rode at Leicester five weeks ago as a guest for Scunthorpe, scoring seven points.
Both clubs are awaiting confirmation from the British Speedway Promoters’ Association for approval to include Nielsen and Kurtz in their team line-ups for Sunday’s meeting.
Teams
Leicester: 1. Lasse Bjerre, 2. Simon Lambert, 3. Kauko Nieminen, 4. Jari Mäkinen, 5. Magnus Karlsson, 6. Jan Graversen, 7. Simon Nielsen
Plymouth: 1. Ben Barker, 2. Todd Kurtz, 3. Ryan Fisher, 4. James Holder, 5. Cory Gathercole, 6. Gino Franchetti, 7. Nicki Glanz
