[T]HE Comets race two meetings in two days this weekend starting with the visit of Sheffield to Derwent Park at 7:00pm on Saturday evening followed by a journey to Newcastle on Sunday (6:30pm start), both of which are Championship fixtures.
However, on both occasions the Comets have been depleted by the demands of Polish speedway, which has prevented them from tracking a full team on both occasions.
The Comets must first entertain Sheffield at Derwent Park without the services of local hot prospect Dan Bewley, who has to ride in Poland for Rybnik at Lodz in a rare Saturday fixture, however the Comets are allowed a facility to cover Dan’s absence and will operate Rider Replacement, as Comets co-promoter and team manager Tony Jackson explained.
“It is unfortunate but there is nothing we can do about it, such are the rules of the ISLB (the International Speedway League Bureau).
“We challenged the fact that we were without Dan through the official channels but unfortunately it is a non-negotiable position and they have first call on his services in this instance.
“People have questioned us as to how it can be the case as Dan signed for us in the winter but only joined Rybnik mid-season and immediately they have first claim on him when there is such a clash; and although it may seem morally unjust that such a situation arises with a British rider already signed by a British club, those are the rules whether we like them or not!
“We could have had a guest for him but with his latest 6.44 average due to the rolling averages, part of which are still made up of last years’ averages, not reflecting his current form our choice of guest is limited; so we feel giving our own riders the opportunity to cover for him at home will be a better option, with everyone other than Nicolai Klindt eligible for one of his programmed rides. Consequently we have tweaked the riding order this weekend to put Dan at two and Rasmus Jensen at number three. The irony is that had we still been on our original Friday fixture there would not have been a clash but we are where we are.”
Meanwhile on Sunday at Newcastle Dan is back with the Comets although, on this occasion, they are without both Nicolai Klindt and Rene Bach (pictured above); yet again due to Poland.
Once again Tony Jackson explained the situation regarding the impact their absence will have on the Comets.
“Again, this is something we have been working on this week through the various channels to try and get the best outcome for the club and the supporters but it looks as if we will definitely have a problem.
“In situations such as this there are several factors influencing who has priority over their services and this has not been as clear cut as it is for Dan on Saturday. Even as late as Friday afternoon we were hopeful of getting a positive outcome, or at least a partially positive one.
“But, it now appears that we will have to replace them both with a National League rider at Brough Park unless there is a dramatic late twist in the situation, which is not ideal for anyone at all, whichever way you look at it.
“We pulled off a stunning victory there a month or so ago with a depleted team in our KO Cup clash, but this is a different proposition altogether. We will of course be aiming to win as we always do at every match but we are realistic enough to acknowledge this will be a very hard meeting for us.
“To date we have been quite successful in minimising the number of clashes which, when you consider the racing schedule across several countries for many of our riders, has been no easy task, but this Sunday’s situation is one where we don’t really have any further options left open to us.”
One positive piece of news this week is that Kyle Bickley has confirmed that he is fit to race this weekend after being ruled out of most of last Sunday’s home meeting with Scunthorpe following a crash in his opening ride when he hit the fallen Scunthorpe rider Gino Manzares and his machine sustaining a leg injury.
COMETS UPCOMING FIXTURES:
- 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)
- Thursday 23rd August at 7:30pm: Redcar v Workington (SGB Championship)