Josh Pickering is on stand-by to guest at number pone tomorrow for Workington Comets in a must-win meeting with Plymouth Gladiators.
The Comets skipper Craig Cook dislocated his shoulder in a fall at Leicester last night and will face a fitness check ahead of the meeting.
Pickering is in blistering form in both the Championship and Premiership foe his two clubs, Sheffield and Edinburgh, and is probably the most exciting rider in both leagues at the moment.
Tomorrow’s meeting at Northside is the last Championship league fixture of the season after two unsuccessful attempts to run the fixture due to weather postponements.
There is one final play-off place up for grabs with the Glasgow Tigers hot on the GT Tyres Comets tail. This sets up what is going to be a nail-biting weekend of action.
A victory on Saturday would see the Comets secure two league points, plus the aggregate bonus point which would move them onto a total of 22 points.
Glasgow head to Edinburgh tonight needing a victory away from home, then a final home fixture on Sunday against the Oxford Cheetahs.
Both meetings are must-win for the Tigers and if they tonight they will need a 21-point difference home win on Sunday to secure their playoff position.
Against the Gladiators the Comets will again be using guest facilities for the injured Claus Vissing and Tate Zischke. Simon Lambert comes in for Vissing and Paco Castagna stands in for Zischke.
The Plymouth Gladiators will be using Rider Replacement for number one Nico Covatti who was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The Thompson Twins, Dan and Joe come into the meeting both full of confidence and experience of the GT Tyres Arena and will be backed up by Ben Barker, Alfie Bowtell and Jacob Hook.
In an attempt to rescue their season, the Plymouth promotion was presented with the opportunity of signing young Dane Patrick Baek – but since making his debut for the Gladiators he has found the going in British Speedway very tough, but he certainly could be one to watch on Saturday as he moves from number four to a reserve berth.
Team Manager James Denham is unavailable for this fixture, so the promotion has turned to Supporters Club Chairman and Workington Meteors manager James Wilson to step in and lead the team for Saturday’s match:
Wilson said: “Speaking to James last week-end, he suggested that I should step into his shoes for the meeting against Plymouth and I couldn’t be more excited.
“It’s a must-win fixture for us, but as we have done all season we will be approaching this meeting with the same attitude and team spirit we have seen all year.
“The lads know what they need to do, and we will certainly throw everything we have at it to pick up the vital three points.”
