STARKE HAPPY TO BE BACK

Eight years after last being a regular member of the Poole Pirates, 34 year old Paul Starke is relishing the prospect of being back to help the Dorset side defend the treble.

He claims, "It's so good to come back, my memories of 2015 and 2017 here at Poole made it easier for me to say yes to this season when the call came . You know, I have always been fond of racing here and we've had a lot of success in the past, over the years. So it was a no brainer for me and I just can't wait to get going."

In the intervening years since he last rode as a fully fledged Pirate, Starke who made some key guest appearances for Poole last season, has journeyed across clubs in the Championship with Glasgow, Kent, Oxford, Birmingham, Plymouth and Workington all featuring on his CV, but he admits that it was only last year that he really got his mojo back for the sport. "It was good at Workington last year, I started to enjoy my racing again but there is no better place for me than to come here and do what I want to do. Hopefully you'll see the results of this, I know I can get back to my best and also help to keep the silverware coming here. I think the team we have got is fantastic and if we can all put in the performances we need then there is absolutely no reason why we can't do it."

Starke will mark his return as a Pirate on Wednesday April 16th, when the Pirates travel to Oxford , where he had a brief six match spell in 2022, just less than forty-eight hours before the Pirates get their home meeting underway from 6pm on Good Friday.

Picture: Tony Hartmann