CUP DEFENCE BEGINS THIS WEEK

The 2022 Poole Pirates unite for the first time competitively this season on Tuesday when they begin the defence of the Knockout Cup title they won in 2021.

Their opening leg takes them to the Plymouth Coliseum, ironically, one of the sides they eliminated on the cup trail last term,  and the trip to Devon (7pm) is one that will provide a good test of the Pirates potential. The return leg takes place at Poole stadium the next day (Wednesday 6th 7:30pm)

It provides an early return for Zach Cook who spent the 2021 campaign as a Gladiator and Poole promoter Dan Ford is looking forward to the contest.

"Last season we beat them at their place in the cup and it would be great for us to repeat that this time around. Stevie (Worrall) goes well there and when we beat them in the cup that was riding against Richard Lawson who hit double figures for them, so if he can do something similar now he is in our colours then we can certainly give them a run for their money and put ourselves in a good position to finish the job on Wednesday when we bring them back to Wimborne Road."

The Gladiators have now finally confirmed their starting one to seven with former Pirate Edward Kennett having re-visited his initial decision to quit racing because of his work commitments. That left the Devon side seeking a trusted number one to go alongside another Danish riders Hans Andersen and Michael Palm-Toft, but with Kennett announcing that he has come to an arrangement with his employers and thus able to resume the role, it gives them a solid top three, complemented by the Coliseum specialist Ben Barker. Alfie Bowtell, Dan Gilkes and Henry Atkins fill the lower order roles, all three of whom are competent riders especially around the tricky 207 metre circuit.

Advanced tickets are available on-line for both legs of this cup tie, with Tuesday's tickets available via  https://plymouth-speedway.com/online-ticket-store/ whilst tickets for  Wednesday's home leg can be purchased at https://poole-speedway.seatlab.com/events/06-04-2022-19-30-2022-ko-cup-poole-pirates-v-plymouth-gladiators

Wednesday's meeting will be live-streamed, so those fans who are unable to attend can still enjoy the action for a price of £11.99 and passes can be purchased at https://livestream.poole-speedway.com/

Line-ups:-
Plymouth: Edward Kennett, Ben Barker, Alfie Bowtell, Michael Palm-Toft, Hans Andersen (Capt), Dan Gilkes, Henry Atkins - Team manager: Garry May
Poole:- Steve Worrall, Zach Cook, Richard Lawson, Ben Cook, Danny King (Capt), Drew Kemp, Nathan Ablitt - Team manager: Neil Middleditch