[T]his Saturday evening at Derwent Park sees the Comets return to SGB Championship action when they take on their oldest rivals, the Berwick Bandits, and adding a bit more spice to proceedings is the fact that both clubs will have riders making their debuts for them after a week of team changes.
The Comets welcome 23 year-old Sheffield-born James Sarjeant to the side having released Adam Roynon earlier in the week in what was a rare team change from a club that is renowned for being loyal to its riders.
Club owner Laura Morgan said: “We welcome James to the Comets and hope that he can score us the 5 or 6 points a meeting we need from that position. We have started the season okay but following the draw against Redcar, and the fact we should be scoring more points consistently across the team, was something that we had to sort.
“James missed out on a team place at the start of the season before rejoining his 2016 side Ipswich as short-term cover for the injured Kyle Newman. But, with Newman having regained his fitness, James was again without a club; so we are delighted to bring him to Workington in a move that works very well for both parties.
”We are sorry to have to let Adam go because he is a very likeable lad but we have to move on and, as I keep saying, speedway is a results driven business both for club and rider; and we have made a business decision, as you fast learn that you cannot win the league on sentiment alone.
“The Comets management would like put on record their thanks to Adam for his dedication to the Comets, and we look forward to welcoming him back later in the year for his testimonial meeting, which we will fully support.”
Meanwhile the Bandits, having made three team changes just a few weeks ago, have made another change this week by letting go the clearly struggling local rider Liam Carr; and replacing him with David Howe, the 35 year-old Leicester-born rider with three Grand Prix appearances to his name, who retired mid-way through 2015 but has now rediscovered his appetite for the sport.
Berwick co-promoter Scott Courtney said: “On one hand we are super-excited to hand David Howe this opportunity but the other side of the coin has been a tough one. Liam Carr is a Bandit through and through, and in many ways we feel like we’re pulling a boxer out of the ring to not sustain any further damage. Liam’s confidence has been battered and it’s tough to see.”
Away from the two debut-makers both sides are at full strength with the Bandits side including the in-form Aussie Nick Morris at number one as well as the exciting British rider Lewis Bridger and the popular 2009 Comets captain and number one, Kevin Doolan, who is celebrating his Testimonial season this year and will be staging his Testimonial Meeting at Berwick on Saturday 17th June.
Leading the Comets charge, fresh from his success in Italy last weekend, where a stunning performance saw him top the score-chart in the Lonigo Grand Prix quarter-final, is Cumbria’s own Craig Cook; who is now potentially just two meetings, or ten races, away from becoming a full-time Grand Prix rider.
With the new speedway season now well underway there are sponsorship packages for all budgets available on request from Dan on 01900 813999 or via email [email protected]
COMETS UPCOMING FIXTURES:
- Saturday 13th May at 7:00pm: Workington v Berwick (SGB Championship)
- Thursday 18th May at 7:30pm: Redcar v Workington (SGB Championship)
- Sunday 21st May at 7:30pm: Workington v Edinburgh (SGB Championship)
- Saturday 27th May at 7:00pm: Workington v Ipswich (SGB Championship)
- Bank Holiday Monday 29th May at 5:00pm: Peterborough v Workington (SGB Championship)
