ZANE KEEN TO HEAR THE WIMBORNE ROAD ROAR

As speedway enthusiasts prepare for the visit of the Berwick Bandits, Queenslander Keleher admitted "I am really looking forward to finally racing in front of our home crowd. It has been a long wait but I am sure it will all be worth it when we cross the line for a 5-1 in heat one!"

The 28 year old former motocrosser has finished second in heat one in the two meetings he has ridden for the Pirates so far. At Eastbourne he partnered Rory Schlein to a 5-1 and was Poole's only scorer in the incident-packed heat one at Glasgow last Friday, when the Pirates lost the services of Schlein to a thigh injury.

Fitness doubts still hang over Schlein, who is in his swansong season in Britain and the Poole management have guest star and former Pirate Hans Andersen on standby for the number one jacket on Wednesday, otherwise the Pirates remain unchanged from their opening two meetings.

Keleher is not feeling any pressure riding from the number two berth, one that many riders would prefer to avoid. "It holds no fears for me", he claimed, adding "I think Matt (Ford) knows me well and put me at number two for a reason. Of course it is tough to go out with the two number ones without having a real feel for the track but I am really enjoying the challenge, and like I said, it would be great to open with a 5-1, just to set the meeting up."

With Poole looking for their first win of the season, Keleher claims "myself and Ben (Cook) are new to British speedway but what the team has is potential. Some people might not have pencilled us in for the play-offs but as we saw at Glasgow Ben rode well and that's what you can expect once we get comfortable with the new tracks here."

With crowd restrictions and Covid-19 compliant regulations in force the meeting is set to be a sell-out, but the club will be live-streaming the event and passes for the coverage can be purchased at a cost of £9.95 from poole-speedway.com/pirates-tv

Fans attending the meeting will be expected to comply with the extra controls in place, which includes remaining in their viewing position during the meeting. Promoter Dan Ford is looking for full compliance "We have had to put in these extra measures and whilst they are quite onerous on all of us it is important that everyone obeys the rules. Hopefully they won't be in place for too many meetings. It is a shame that our capacity is restricted as I know that most fans have really missed the speedway, but for those unable to attend, I would encourage them to book their live-stream pass and enjoy the racing with us."

Berwick who ride at Plymouth on Tuesday night, arrive operating the rider replacement for Argentinian Coty Garcia who has been unable to travel to the UK and has missed the Bandits opening five meetings. Former Poole rider Nicolai Busk Jakobsen has moved into the number one position under the June averages, with skipper Aaron Summers dropping to second heat leader. Jye Etheridge, Danny Gappmaier, Kyle Bickley and rising star Leon Flint complete the Bandits sextet with Garcia's rides able to be covered by Gappmaier, Bickley and Flint.

Teams
Poole - Rory Schlein (if fit) or Hans Andersen; Zane Keleher, Steve Worrall, Stefan Nielsen, Danny King (capt), Ben Cook, Danyon Hume - Team manager: Neil Middleditch
Berwick - Nicolai Busk Jakobsen, Rider replacement for Coty Garcia, Jye Etheridge, Danny Gappmaier, Aaron Summers (capt), Kyle Bickley, Leon Flint - Team manager: Gary Flint.