2021 Fixture List Revealed

British Speedway Promoters Ltd have revealed the 2021 SGB Championship fixtures and the Pirates find themselves beginning their new era of league racing with a head to head away confrontation with defending champions Leicester.

With the twelve-strong league producing eleven home league matches and at least one knockout cup tie, the Pirates are hopeful of extending their meetings through progression in the cup and reaching the play-offs. 

Poole promoter Dan Ford, who has been running the day to day operation throughout the Covid-19 enforced closure admitted, "I am really excited about the advent of the season. Like everyone else I have missed the excitement of live speedway but now, at long last we can see the 2021 season on the horizon, and I genuinely believe we have an exciting and competitive team to take us into the SGB Championship." 

"The roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccines is helping to bring a feel good factor back to the nation and of course we have to await the Government's roadmap for the lifting of the restrictions, but all things being equal we can look forward to having the sport back in earnest this year and what a great way for us to begin our league campaign with that trip to the defending title holders."

The fixtures have provided the Pirates with a northern tour in August with visits to Edinburgh, Berwick and Newcastle on successive nights between Friday the 6th and Sunday the 9th, whilst the club will be making a first time ever visit to Central Park Stadium, the home of Kent, on June 29th, just 24 hours before the 'Kings' make a debut visit to Wimborne Road.

In the knockout cup the Pirates have been given a first round tie against fellow newcomers Plymouth with Ford revealing that in a break from tradition cup opponents were not determined by ballot but clubs would face their local rivals in the early stages to reduce travel. 

He stated, "Plymouth's elevation back to the Championship, replacing Somerset, was too good an opportunity for us to turn down and we will be heading to the St.Boniface Arena on Tuesday May 25th with the return leg scheduled the following night at Wimborne Road" 

The last time the Pirates raced in the second tier of British Speedway they were cup winners, in their double winning season of 1990 and this year they join the cup glory trail against their westerly neighbours who have made two marquis signings in former Pirates Jason Crump and Bjarne Pedersen to signal their return to tier two racing for the first time since 2016.

Ford enthused, "I think our cup clash with Plymouth will be something special as it will be the battle of the newcomers and the chance to see both the three times world champion Jason and Poole legend Bjarne ride again is quite unreal."

"As far as the fixtures are concerned, we have decided to take a cautious approach and will not start our official home league fixtures until June, just in case there are any issues with the easing of restrictions, but that is not say that, besides the cup match, we won't have some early challenge matches in May, should the sport be given the green light . We do however have a handful of away fixtures in the month, including our opener at Leicester on the 8th May, so an early opportunity for our rising star Danyon Hume to settle in to the side on familiar territory, having been a highly successful Leicester Cub previously.