Former Workington Comets favourite James Wright has been handed a new team place following the collapse of Newcastle Diamonds.
Scunthorpe have moved to sign 36-year-old Wright to avert an injury crisis with two of their riders ruled out.
Wright, who became available following the closure of Newcastle, joins the Scorpions as a replacement for Tero Aarnio, another ex-Comet, whose latest diagnosis now includes a broken vertebrae – whilst Jake Allen is also out with a fractured scaphoid.
Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “It was gutting when we lost Tero and Jake in quick succession to injury, and we wish them a speedy recovery.
“It was a no-brainer to sign James Wright, because it’s far better to have your own riders rather than to struggle finding guests. James will make his debut for Scorpions at Edinburgh on Friday.
“He’s impressed me this season. Obviously, the situation at Newcastle was very sad, and he was almost holding their team together. He puts in 100 per cent effort and he will do a good job for Scorpions.”
Wright – known as the Whippet during his five seasons at Derwent Park – is a former Premier League Riders champions (2007) and was a member of the Comets quartet that won the Premier League Fours title in 2006.
He last rode for Workington in 2011 and then rode for Birmingham, Somerset, Glasgow and Plymouth before taking a five-year break from the sport in 2015.
