BOWES RULED OUT FOR REMAINDER OF 2026 SEASON

Poole Pirates can confirm that Australian rider Fraser Bowes will miss the remainder of the 2026 season after medical investigations revealed a bulging disc in his back.

Bowes has been struggling with the injury since his crash at Wimborne Road on 20th May. Despite making several attempts to return to racing, the Australian continued to experience significant pain and felt something was not right.

Following an MRI scan, specialists have now confirmed the extent of the injury, with Bowes facing an estimated recovery period of between three and six months.

Bowes said:

"Unfortunately, the injury was initially missed at the hospital. Last week I had an MRI, and today I received the results. The scan has confirmed a central disc protrusion, with an estimated recovery time of 3–6 months.

"After speaking with my medical team, I’ve made the difficult decision to end my season and focus on getting this properly repaired so I also don’t have any long term issues. There are options that would allow me to keep riding with injections, but that would only mask the pain and risk making the injury worse in the long term. As difficult as it is to accept, this is the right decision for both myself and the team.

"It’s a hard pill to swallow because I felt like I was starting to turn a corner during that match with Oxford, but sometimes your health has to come first. I’ll now put all my focus into my rehabilitation and do everything I can to come back ready for next year.

"A huge thank you to Poole (Matt, Danny, Middlo) for giving me every opportunity to get fit and comeback."

Poole promoter Dan Ford said:

"We're all absolutely devastated for Fraser. Nobody has seen the amount of effort he has been putting in behind the scenes to get himself back on a bike, but he has continually been hampered by pain and setbacks and now we know why.

"I really feel for him because things haven't gone his way this season. First he suffered the workshop injury which delayed the start of his year, and then the crash at Poole happened in what was his very first meeting back. Since then he's been doing everything possible to get himself fit, but the injury simply hasn't healed as we had hoped.

"Fraser has also had a frustrating time in Poland which has severely limited his opportunities for bike time away from Pirates fixtures, so it has been a difficult year all round for him.

"Everyone at Poole wishes Fraser the very best with his recovery and we hope to see him back in British Speedway next season."

The Pirates will now begin the process of identifying a replacement for the Australian ahead of a busy second half of the campaign.

Ford added:

"As things stand, we don't have anyone lined up. Fortunately we have a few weeks until our next fixture which gives us a little bit of breathing space, but once we return to action it becomes a very busy period for us.

"We'll be working hard behind the scenes to identify the right replacement. We don't want to rush into anything, but equally we know we need to strengthen the team if we're to achieve what we want to this season. Hopefully we'll have some news for supporters in the coming weeks."

The Pirates' next visit is on Wednesday 15th July when they host Scunthorpe and that is followed by back-to-back away meetings at Scunthorpe on the Friday (17th) and Workington on the Saturday (18th).