THE Workington Comets management have announced the second name on their team sheet for 2019 is up and coming local star Kyle Bickley.
Having made his Championship debut with the Comets last season, at the age of just 16, he not only gained vital experience at this level of racing but ended the season with three winners’ medals as a result of the Comets treble success.
Kyle, who is currently adding to the experience he gained with his local side by spending a month racing in Australia, will again come into the side on a 2.00 average to occupy one of the reserve berths for the new campaign.
Comets owner Laura Morgan is extremely happy to have Kyle back at Derwent Park and she believes that the benefit of all he has learnt during 2018 will stand him in good stead moving forward to the next stage of his career, as she explained:
“Last season was a season of learning for Kyle, where he was able to be alongside his more experienced team-mates on some tracks he hadn’t raced on and he was able to gain so much insight into how they went about their business.
“We told him at the start of the year that there would be absolutely no pressure put on him and there wasn’t.
“Naturally Kyle took time to adjust as it is a very big step up from the National League to the Championship, especially last year where a shortage of top end riders saw many sides go for a more solid approach, as indeed we did. As a consequence the reserves were of a very high quality, probably higher than they have ever been.
“But, it is very much to Kyle’s credit that he stuck at the task and didn’t let his head drop and, having been given lots of encouragement by his team-mates, he visibly improved week on week in the last third of the season, which was fantastic to see. By the end of the season he was giving us a glimpse of what was to come, including beating former Comet and one time track record holder Richard Lawson around Derwent Park, which really got the crowd going!
“In 2019 Kyle will again be allowed to develop at his own pace and will again receive plenty of help and encouragement from his more experienced team-mates; and crucially once again he will have no pressure on him whatsoever.
“I firmly believe that we will see Kyle really kick on in 2019 and that excites me as it is clear that he has a lot of talent and he will have learned lots from his first season with us, probably more than he realises. All of which makes us delighted to have him back with the Comets once again.”
Kyle (2.00) joins Mason Campton (6.32) in the Comets line-up, which leaves 29.68 points available for the remaining five riders in order to comply with the 38-point limit that applies to 2019 team-building.
