LINUS SEES FUTURE WITH US

POOLE Speedway boss Matt Ford has confirmed talks with Swedish star Linus Sundstrom are at an "advanced stage". 

Ford is keen to make the 27-year-old Avesta-born racer his sixth signing for the club's 70th anniversary season, but rules outlined by the Polish Automobile and Motorcycle Association (PZM) dictate that riders in the Polish Ekstraliga can only race in a maximum of three European leagues.

Sundstrom currently has two contracts in his homeland and one in Poland, but Ford is hopeful the Swede will take a place in his 2018 septet. 

Ford said: "Linus is very good friends with our former world champion Tony Rickardsson and he believes, as I do, Poole is the best place for Linus to really push on to the top of the sport in 2018. 
"He's a very exciting rider and one I have the utmost respect for. He will complement the riders already signed up for this year perfectly, so I hope we will be able to secure his signature in the not-too-distant future." 

Should he sign for the Volvo Cars Poole Pirates, Sundstrom would use up 7.22 of Ford's team-building points limit and that would open make James Shanes an ideal fit to join Kacper Woryna, Mateusz Szczepaniak, Chris Holder, Josh Grajczonek and Brady Kurtz in the 2018 line-up.