[F]OLLOWING the disappointment of last Saturday’s rained off KO Cup clash with the Newcastle Diamonds the Comets will return to action at Derwent Park this SUNDAY evening when they entertain their fellow play-off rivals the Scunthorpe Scorpions in a Championship fixture at 7:30pm.
Despite recent injury scares the Comets are expected to be at full-strength for the clash with both Rene Bach and skipper Ty Proctor scheduled to ride following their crashes earlier this week.
Rene Bach crashed in Poland on Sunday suffering arm and wrist injuries whilst Ty Proctor was involved in a heavy crash with Chris Harris at Poole on Wednesday evening, which forced him out of the remainder of the meeting.
Meanwhile the Scorpions have showed that they are not to be under-estimated following a thumping 53-37 away victory last night at the home of last year’s league title winners Sheffield.
The Scorpions now have their number one and captain, the early-season broken leg victim Steve Worrall, back in their side following his injury whilst both Josh Auty and the spectacular Jason Garrity will provide plenty of opposition for the Comets to contend with; as will Australian Jake Allen, who top-scored at Sheffield last night.
Comets team manager Tony Jackson said: “Scunthorpe’s victory at Owlerton last night only emphasised the fact that they will provide a tough challenge for us on Sunday evening and we need to be firing on all cylinders to see off their challenge and maintain our own push for a play-off place.
“They have a solid side and, as they showed last night, they have riders capable of winning races throughout their side.
“We have a lot of home league fixtures to get through in the coming weeks and every one of them is crucial towards our play-off hopes. We have achieved some good results on the road so far this season but if we don’t pick up points at home those efforts will all have been wasted.
“The Championship is a very competitive league and serves up some great racing at Derwent Park, but the importance of the support of the fans to help our push for silverware this season cannot be under-estimated and we urge as many as possible to come along to create an atmosphere, which all the riders will thrive on.
“After a few difficult weeks fixture-wise we are set to have a home fixture every week from now right through to the end of the season, with some very important matches coming up; so it promises to be a great time to get right behind the club and see some exciting weekly speedway.”
COMETS supporters can make it a big weekend of speedway by also travelling up to Glasgow tomorrow for a rare Saturday afternoon fixture when Team GB take on Australia in a full blown Test Match at Ashfield, with all the action getting underway at 3:00pm.
The Great Britain side, led by double-world champion Tai Woffinden also includes Cumbrian-born Comet Dan Bewley as well as former Comet and fellow Cumbrian Craig Cook. Meanwhile, Comets skipper Ty Proctor has today been called into the Australia side to replace the now unavailable Rohan Tungate.
COMETS UPCOMING FIXTURES:
- Sunday 5th August at 7:30pm: Workington v Scunthorpe (SGB Championship)
- Saturday 11th August at 7:00pm: Workington v Sheffield (SGB Championship)
- Sunday 12th August at 6:30pm: Newcastle v Workington (SGB Championship)
- Saturday 18th August at 7:00pm: Workington v Ipswich (SGB Championship)