RETURN OF RICHARD BOOSTS PIRATES

'Rocket Man' Richard Lawson will be back for a second season as a Pirate in 2023 the Poole management have confirmed.

The top scoring, ever-present 2022 Pirate made a huge impact in his debut Dorset season and promoter Dan Ford is banking on Lawson delivering another solid campaign and even improve on his 7.97 starting average, claiming:
"We are delighted to have Richard back as he was a major contributor to our success and hopefully he will continue to deliver those big scores for us in 2023. He has repeatedly expressed just how happy he is here at Poole and I am sure that his return will go down well with all our fans. It is not just his scoring prowess on the track that makes him an attraction, but his presence in the pits is immense. I will be honest and say that it surprised me a little bit, but he was always there ready and willing to add help to the other members of the team and showed great leadership. It is an important factor. Whilst it is the green sheet figures that count as far as team building is concerned, we all know that Richard is better than his sub-eight figure suggests. In fact, if all meetings were taken into account then I think you would find that his was one of the highest scorers, so we have a bargain and a true 'asset' "

Lawson won more than half of his rides for the Pirates in 2022 and only failed to score in thirteen of his 181 rides across all competitions. His maximum in the final meeting of the season, when Poole sealed the league title with victory over Leicester at King's Lynn was his eight maximum of the campaign.

The re-signing of Lawson now means the Pirates have confirmed five of their starters as he joins Steve Worrall, Ben Cook, Zack Cook and Jack Thomas, leaving just two more places to be confirmed.