THE Workington Comets management are very pleased to announce that their team building for the 2019 season is now complete; with former Comet Simon Lambert and new Aussie Josh MacDonald filling the final two places in the side.
For Lambert it is a return to the club he raced for back in 2014 when he added one and a half points to his starting average after joining from Rye House. Since then he has ridden for Peterborough over the past four seasons, helping them to top the table last season, which was a feat that he also managed with his Premiership side King’s Lynn last season. Simon joins the Comets on a 4.18 starting average.
Meanwhile, set to make his debut in British speedway in 2019 is 21 year-old Australian Josh MacDonald, who hails from Cessnock in New South Wales and he will come into the side on an assessed four-point average.
Having started racing dirt bikes at the age of just four Josh moved into speedway when he was 17 years of age and has continued to progress but he now needs regular racing to move up to the next step; so joining Workington should benefit both him and the Comets.
Club owner Laura Morgan is pleased to be welcome both Simon and Josh to the Comets, and is delighted that the team building is now complete, as she explained:
“It is always good to get the team building completed and I feel that we have a good blend of youth and experience going into 2019.
“Obviously we have made several changes compared to last season but with the points limit coming down to 38 points that was always inevitable, but the most important thing was to keep the balance of the side correct, which I believe we have managed to do.
“I am delighted to welcome Simon back to Derwent Park as he did a great job for us last time he was with us. In fact we wanted him back the following year but unfortunately commitments at his family business ultimately ruled that out, which was disappointing. But, things are different now and so we can hopefully carry on where we left off last time.
“Simon has bags of experience and, like all the other signings we have made, is a good team man and that is very important to us. He was involved in table topping sides in both the Championship and Premiership last season, which is obviously a good sign.
“Meanwhile Josh comes to us for the first time, although he is not unknown to us as he has stayed in West Cumbria before when visiting Mason and so he knows the track and how we do things here, which will help him feel at home a bit more easily.
“Him and Mason are very good mates and I would like to publicly thank Mason for his help with making this signing. By being with Mason he will obviously settle in much faster and will learn the ropes about British speedway through Mason, which will in turn not only help Josh but also help the Comets.
“Several clubs were interested in signing Josh so we are delighted that we were able to secure his signature and we look forward to seeing him progress with us.”
Simon Lambert (4.18) and Josh MacDonald (4.00) join the already announced Steve Worrall (7.97), Tero Aarnio (6.83), Mason Campton (6.32), Bradley Wilson-Dean (6.00) and Kyle Bickley (2.00) in the Comets line-up to complete the 2019 side within the new 38-point team-building limit.
