Nicolai Klindt, a member of Workington’s treble winning team of 2018, comes back in for the Comets tomorrow night as a guest against Edinburgh Monarchs.
Regular number one Jonas Jeppesen is absent because of Polish league commitments.
Klindt has plenty of Championship laps under his belt in 2026. The 37-year-old Dane has done a sterling job at number one for the Redcar Bears, deputising in the absence of Charles Wright, who returned to action against the Comets last week and bagged 12+1 points.
The Comets are set to welcome back reserve Niklas Holm Jakobsen, who missed the meeting at Poole with an injury he sustained in heat one at the Bears’ ECCO Arena.
Recent Workington signing Drew Kemp, who will line up in the British Final next month, is showing signs of finding his feet in the number three berth, while number four Tate Zischke will seek to build on continued good form in Comets colours.
Kemp and Zischke were both in action for their respective Premiership clubs on Thursday night. Kemp scored seven points from reserve for Leicester Lions as they defeated visiting Belle Vue Aces 46-44.
Zischke was in action for the Aces but endured a tougher evening on which he scored two points and fell in his opening heat.
It’s been a tough few days for the Comets, losing narrowly at Redcar before being overwhelmed 112-68 on aggregate by champions Poole in home and away clashes.
They will certainly be out to right a few wrongs against the Monarchs and bidding to secure an aggregate bonus point after their 49-41 defeat at Armadale in May.
Edinburgh, currently lying fourth in the Championship standings, are continuing their push for the end-of-season play-offs
They will include a familiar face at Northside in the shape of reserve Mitch Cluff, who guested for the Comets in Jakobsen’s absence in both meetings against Poole.
Monarchs are without the experienced Paco Castagna, who is in action along with a number of big-hitters at the GP Challenge in Terenzano on Saturday. The Monarchs will operate rider replacement in Castagna’s absence.
Dan Thompson is at number one for the visitors, whose other heat leaders are skipper Justin Sedgmen and Kye Thomson. Jonatan Grahn is at number four with Jordy Loftus their other reserve, alongside Cluff.
Comets team boss James Denham said: “It’s been a hard week – we expect to be winning our home meetings in front of our own supporters, so Saturday’s result against Poole was hugely disappointing because they were the better team.
“The same can be said again after Wednesday’s meeting down there. We haven’t performed to the standards we set ourselves and we know we owe the fans a response.
“The only thing we can do now is dust ourselves down, learn from it and make sure we bounce back on Saturday. We want to restore a bit of pride in our performance and show the fighting spirit that this team is capable of producing.
“It’s great to have Niklas back. He passed a fitness test after sitting out the return meeting at Poole following his crash last week, and he’s ready to get back out there.
“We’re also delighted to have Nicolai Klindt back as a Comet for one night only. He’s always gone fantastically well around the GT Tyres Arena, he knows the place well.
“Edinburgh are another tough side and we know there’s no easy meetings in this league, but we’ve got to focus on ourselves. The bonus point is also within reach being eight points down so we are aiming for that.”
- WORKINGTON COMETS: 1. Nicolai Klindt (G) (8.93), 2. Vinnie Foord (3.40), 3. Drew Kemp (7.79), 4. Tate Zischke (6.00), 5. Troy Batchelor (C) (7.32), 6. Niklas Holm Jakobsen (3.00), 7. Max Perry (2.82). Team manager: James Denham.
- EDINBURGH MONARCHS: 1. Dan Thompson (8.87), 2. R/R for Paco Castagna (6.57), 3. Justin Sedgmen (C) (7.82), 4. Jonatan Grahn (6.02), 5. Kye Thomson (7.66), 6. Mitch Cluff (3.00), 7. Jordy Loftus (2.47). Team manager: John Campbell.
Workington Alwell Glass Meteors are also in action at the GT Tyres Arena on Saturday when they entertain West Lothian Wildcats. Lining up for the Meteors are Jack Shimelt, Laylen Richardson, Doug Marshall and Junior Travers.
After that fixture — and continuing the north v south theme — is a Blast from the Past challenge as England take on Scotland, giving fans a chance to take a trip back to the golden era of upright speedway.
