LEICESTER will welcome back British Under-21 Champion Sam Hagon as their Rising Star for the 2025 season.
Hagon made his debut for the Watling JCB Lions in May for his first full-time experience of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership, and he was part of the team which went all the way to the Grand Final.
And whilst the Lions lost out to Belle Vue in that title decider, Hagon collected six points in the first leg in Manchester which was his highest score for the club.
All teams must track a young British rider from the Rising Star list in their line-up and the selection process enables them to ‘protect’ and retain their existing Rising Star, as long as the rider still meets the criteria to be part of the scheme.
Clubs requiring a new Rising Star then pick from the available riders in reverse order from the previous season’s league standings.
The selections were made earlier this week and Leicester were one of three clubs, along with champions Belle Vue and also Oxford, who elected to keep the same rider in the Rising Star position.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “We want to give Sam the opportunity to prove himself in this league.
“I believe he’s going to Australia once again this winter which gave him a real boost last year, and hopefully that can have the same effect this time and he can really kick on next season.
“We knew our position on the Rising Star list which was going to give us second to last pick, and that’s the penalty of success in the Premiership.
“Knowing who the first couple of clubs were likely to pick, we’d already taken the decision that we wanted to retain Sam, and I’m happy to have him on board again.”
Work is also well underway on putting together the main body of the Watling JCB Lions’ line-up for 2025, and further details are expected after the AGM of British Speedway Promoters’ Ltd next month, where key regulations such as the points limit will be ratified.
