Bewerbungen » them spring a surprise or two and maybe

With the new season just a day away, Sky Sports Speedway expert Nigel Pearson analyses the winter business in the Elite League and looks at what the season has in store for all eight clubs. Belle Vue Aces are a very solid looking side and they are in my top four straight away, they are play-off material no doubt about that. They will take a few weeks to settle in, there will be no home track advantage in the short term with the new stadium, which is a huge bonus for British speedway for a famous club like Belle Vue to finally have a new stadium after all of these years talking about it, its a fantastic achievement. On the track I like the look of their team. Theyve got a good spearhead in Matej Zagar who is naturally a world class rider. He was one of the last riders to be announced so I had my worries that Zagar wouldnt be back at Belle Vue, only as he was one of the last to be announced and Im delighted he is back. Scotty (Nicholls) is a very solid reliable scorer, he will get you points wherever you go. Theres the Worrall boys (Steve and Richie), Ive worked with Steve myself, hes a class act. For me, Max Fricke is one of the most young talented riders in the Elite League and if he keeps his nose clean and steers clear of injury I see no reason why he cant become a Grand Prix rider in the future. I like the look of the side, top four material and possibly grand final material. Belle Vues new home: The National Speedway Stadium Coventry Bees have got what it takes to be pushing for a play-off spot. I admire Jason Garrity for going up a level into the main body of the team. His time has come and hes a fantastic rider to watch. If you know he is coming to your local track, youre thinking yeah Ill pay money to watch that, hes terrific to watch. Chris Harris is a solid campaigner and Ive got huge respect that he keeps proving the critics wrong by qualifying for the Grand Prix year after year and hes a huge favourite at Coventry and will score plenty of points. Theres a big uncertainty over the new Polish rider Kacper Woryna but they have the potential to challenge for a play-off place and they need (Krzysztof) Kasprzak to fire. He is a great enigma of the sport, if he does not fire they wont win the league title, if he does they might have a shout. Jason Garrity makes the step up from reserve For the Kings Lynn Stars, I think Robert Lambert will make the step up again, hes a naturally talented speedway rider and Im delighted to see him riding in the Elite League and also for Great Britain in the World Cup. Hes a great talent and we should celebrate that talent as a nation without putting too much pressure on him, hes a key member of the team. (Troy) Batchelor on his day is a class rider. On the Grand Prix stage those days did not happen often enough but I saw him in Copenhagen in the last Parken Grand Prix and he went through the card, winning six races and just missing out in the final, thats what he is capable of doing. Hes going back to his roots in many ways by going back to Kings Lynn; he knows the track, the club and the people there. (Niels-Kristian) Iversen you know what you are going to get from him in the first six weeks of the season.If Batchelor is 100% fit when he comes back and ready to go I expect him to slot in and maybe where youll get a ten point score from Iversen, Batchelor on his day is capable of an eight or a nine. I know Keith Chapman has had concerns about his team building but hes done a pretty good job and Kings Lynn will be tough to beat around the Adrian Flux Arena and I like the balance of the side. It was a surprise when they went for the German rider (Kai) Huckenbeck, because I thought when Bjarne Pedersen left Lakeside in controversial circumstances that perhaps Kings Lynn would make a move for him but obviously theyd gone so far down the line with Huckenbeck and have signed him. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to British speedway.They will be tough to beat around their own track, a lot will depend on how (Rory) Schlein comes back from his serious back injury, a very brave move to come back into the sport and a lot will depend on how Batchelor comes back from his injury and how the German slots in, so theres a few unknowns where they are concerned. Robert Lambert produced one of the rides of 2015 for Kings Lynn Lakeside Hammers could have their End of Season awards night in April last year because their season was over, so a much better start is needed this season. Obviously I have spoken to Kelvin (Tatum) a lot about Lakeside and I know he is looking forward to working in the background with riders and the Hagon Shocks Academy, working with the youngsters.Robert Mear returns to the sport and Ive seen him claim some major scalps around Lakeside and he has still taken occasional laps on a bike even though he has sat out the sport. I know Martin Hagon has supplied him with machines to make his comeback, so I see no reason why he cant do well around Purfleet. Lewis Bridger also returns to the sport and I dont know how that one will work out. Hes a naturally talented rider and hes good to watch especially around a track like Lakeside. Jon Cook has followed him since he started at Weymouth and Eastbourne and has been there working with him and if anyone can make Bridger tick it will be Jon Cook and Kelvin Tatum.Kelvin insisted on meeting Bridger and virtually giving him a job interview before recruiting him into the side as they wanted to be absolutely certain and he came through with flying colours. If Bridger gets it right and Mear comes back well you know AJ (Andreas Jonsson) will score you points at the top end and riders like Edward Kennett will breeze around Lakeside. If they can go through the card at home and have 14 unbeaten home meetings, theyll be in the play-offs, their away form is their Achilles heel. Lewis Bridger returns to speedway for the Hammers Leicester Lions losing Jason Doyle for 2016 was a blow and its a major concern at Leicester that riders do not last a season, Mikkel Michelsen and Bjarne Pedersen to name but two and the Saturday race night has not helped them. I know for a fact that Krzysztof Kasprzak could have ended up with Leicester if they were not a Saturday night track, there are riders that will not go there as it is a Saturday evening , thats their decision and it is their business. Theyve built a side to try and win home meetings, that is clear, and they will hope to get a surprise or two on the road.Theyve made alterations to the track, its disappointing they didnt get the shape of the track right from a blank piece of paper. How they did not get that right from the start, goodness only knows and they are altering it already within a few years of opening. Hopefully it will have the desired effect and we will see some good speedway and the fans will back their team in big numbers but I dont expect them to be challenging for the play-offs, but it would be nice to see them spring a surprise or two and maybe be the spoilers of the Elite League. Patrick Hougaard returns to Leicester Lions Poole Pirates have been very clever in the way they have built their team. Krzyzstof Buczkowski was a signing that caused a lot of controversy and came under the microscope from a lot of other jealous clubs who did not like it and challenged it. Matt Ford did his homework and Neil Middleditch did his homework. He has come into their team and was available to every other club but Poole spotted that he was not included on the heat leader list, which was an oversight from other clubs, as he should have been but wasnt. Poole signed him knowing they could sign (Chris) Holder, (Davey) Watt and (Hans) Andersen as heat leaders as Buczkowski was left off the list. Im a bit