HANS JOINS ACES' OPENER

Hans Andersen has joined the star-studded cast for Belle Vue's 2016 Peter Craven Memorial Trophy, but Chris Holder has been forced to withdraw from the meeting due to mandatory commitments with his Polish club, Torun.

Andersen who rejoins the Pirates this season for a third spell after having first appeared for the Dorset side in 2001 and 2002, returning briefly in 2009, spent the 2010 campaign as a Belle Vue Ace, notching 300 points for the Aces that year.

Aces chief Chris Morton, who has been so instrumental in bringing the brand new stadium to fruition said: "We're delighted to see this event has attracted so many riders of GP calibre, and we're very pleased to bring Hans on board to complete our grand opening line-up.

"His international credentials are certainly on par with most, if not all, of these riders and he can be quite the dark horse for any team, and his connection with Belle Vue made him a natural choice."

Morton added, "It's unfortunate for us and for Chris that he's unable to join us in March but he has commitments in Poland which he needs to honour and we of course fully understand this."

Holder's replacement will be Lakeside's Andreas Jonsson.

The grand opening of the National Speedway Stadium on March 19th is expected to see Manchester attract it's biggest speedway crowds in recent memory.