DARKIN, Sergey
DATE OF BIRTH: 18 June 1973, Fergana, Uzbekistan.
BRITISH CAREER: (2001) Eastbourne; (2004) Coventry; (2005) Arena-Essex; (2007) Poole; (2011) Leicester, Swindon.
MAJOR HONOURS: Russian Champion: 2000, 2002.
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 7.85 (PL), 3.92 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Leicester confirmed the signing of the Russian racer on 15 September 2010 in readiness for their re-opening at Beaumont Park in 2011; the rider initially joining on loan from his parent club, Eastbourne.

However, being keen to enhance his asset base, Lions’ promoter David Hemsley confirmed in January that the paperwork for the full transfer of Darkin from Eastbourne to Leicester was in the process of being completed. Like Poole’s Renat Gafurov, both he and the Lions’ other Russian recruit, Ilya Bondarenko, had to take an English test before being issued with work visas.

His acquisition came after Darkin had become a firm favourite with the Lions’ supporters, having ridden in their three challenge fixtures in the build-up to the sport’s return to the city. Indeed, his determined efforts and a 12-point tally had helped the side secure a hard-earned 45-45 draw at Sheffield on 15 October 2009, much to the delight of a large contingent of travelling Leicester supporters.

No stranger to fans in the UK, Darkin had spells with Eastbourne, Coventry, Lakeside and Poole at various times since the turn of the Millennium. The multi-capped international has a broad experience and is a respected competitor world-wide; in particular in Poland, where he has ridden for a number of clubs since first appearing for Ostrów in 1996.

In 2005, the crowd-pleasing rider overcame serious head injuries, which were the result of a dreadful pile-up in the European Club Team Champions Cup at Togliatti in his home country on 18 September.

His injuries were described as life-threatening and he also sustained six broken ribs, a punctured lung and internal bleeding after being involved in a heat two smash with Eduard Shaikhullin, Grzegorz Dzik and Andrey Karpov while representing the home side. He spent more than a week on a life-support machine, but bravely got back on a bike eight months later.

The former double Russian Champion began the season in fine form for Leicester but, due to engine problems, his scores dipped to such a level that he failed to gain a point from three rides in a league fixture at Glasgow on 3 July and was withdrawn from his final heat. Four days later, the Lions announced that he was to be axed from the team and replaced by Kauko Nieminen.

On 31 July, Swindon swooped for the Russian World Cup star to fill one of their reserve slots. Darkin, then aged 38, impressed for his country in Event 2 of the Speedway World Cup on 11 July, when they qualified for the race-off alongside Great Britain at King’s Lynn. The former Coventry man took the place of ‘doubling-up’ duo Chris Schramm and Josh Grajczonek, who were both on the injured list.

However, Darkin’s stint with the Wiltshire side was to last just eight meetings, from which he gleaned 23 points and an average of 3.63. He was replaced for the team’s final two league matches of a disappointing campaign by Danish starlet Mikkel B. Jensen.

FIM Speedway World Cup Record:
SWC tournaments: 6
Events: 8 – 4th on Russia’s list; 35th on SWC all-time list
Points: 51 – 4th on Russia’s list; 44th on SWC all-time list
Finals: 0
Gold medals: 0

DAVEY, Mitchell (Mitch) James Ryan
DATE OF BIRTH: 22 March 1990, Ayr, Queensland, Australia.
BRITISH CAREER: (2008-10) Glasgow; (2011) Berwick.
RIDER LINKS: Son of Gary Davey (born: 1965, Queensland, Australia).
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 3.00 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Davey’s father, Gary, never appeared in the UK, but was a North Queensland solo rider in the 1980s and 1990s. During this time, he skippered the Townsville team in matches against England, USA and Russia.

Son Mitchell linked with Glasgow for his initial season of British racing in 2008 and, after some promising performances, was retained by the Tigers in 2009, when he was the only member of the side who stayed ever-present throughout forty official matches to average 4.49.

He remained with Glasgow for a third term in 2010, but sustained a broken collarbone when the Tigers entertained Newport in a league fixture on 16 May. The injury occurred in heat two, when the Aussie landed heavily on his shoulder. The following week, he was replaced in the line-up by the returning Anders Andersen.

Having recuperated, Davey was recalled to the Scottish side’s line-up at the end of July, when he took the place of Jamie Courtney. However, Davey’s confidence hit an all-time low as he struggled for points and this led to him being replaced in the Tigers team by Jake Anderson at the tail-end of August. In total, he had made fifteen seasonal appearances for the Ashfield-based side, from which he accrued only 36 points and a 2.69 average.

There were no takers for his services at the start of the 2011 campaign, but Davey put himself firmly in the shop window when finishing as runner-up to Richie Worrall in the Stars of Tomorrow meeting at Redcar on 5 May. And, on 1 June, Berwick announced that they had signed the Aussie as a replacement for Tamas Sike, who had struggled for points.

DAVIES, Alex
DATE OF BIRTH: 17 September 1992, Northampton, Northamptonshire
BRITISH CAREER: (2010) Newport; (2011) Peterborough, Newport, Somerset.
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 4.24 (PL).
RIDER LINKS: Son of Stephen Davies (born: 31 January 1965, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia). Grandson of Keith Davies.
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 4.24 (PL), 3.00 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Davies’ father, Stephen, joined King’s Lynn in 1986 and enjoyed five seasons with the club, making in excess of 200 official appearances. Alex came along in 1992 – a year that saw his dad skipper Peterborough to the Grand Slam – and returned to Australia with his parents when aged just a couple of months. He subsequently began riding bikes as a member of the Hunter Motorcycle Club when aged 11 and then moved on to the long-track scene, before starting speedway at 13.

He went on to represent Australia in the FIM Gold Trophy (open to riders under 16 years-of-age) on two separate occasions, in Poland and Denmark. And, in 2008, he appeared in a second-half event at King’s Lynn’s Norfolk Arena. In December 2009, the Stars’ management revealed that they had signed Davies on a full contract in readiness for the 2010 campaign. And, in February, it was revealed that he would also represent the Young Stars at National League level.

However, on 22 February, King’s Lynn released the news that the Aussie had been refused a British Passport and would therefore be unable to join the club after all. The British Home Office turned down the application on the basis that although he was born in the UK to a mother with British ancestry, the rider himself didn’t have any direct ancestry.

Also, although his mother had previously resided in the UK for four years, they had never classed her as having partiality. That wasn’t to be the end of Davies’ ambitions, though, as in March Newport stepped in to sign him after Grant Tregoning had encountered visa problems. This meant the speedster had to apply for a work permit to ride in the UK and instead of having an assessed average of 3.00, it was set at the 5-point mark.

He went on to make thirty-three official appearances for the Wasps, scoring 159 points for a real-time average of 5.30. His best showing at home was against Berwick in the Young Shield on 8 October, when he totalled 8+4 points from five rides. Meanwhile, away from home, Davies’ high spot occurred on 16 May, when he scored 9+2 points from six starts in a league match at Glasgow.

On 5 December, following such an impressive first term, Newport confirmed that the Aussie would again represent them in 2011. He was also subsequently named in a ‘doubling-up’ capacity by one of his father’s former clubs, Peterborough, alongside Dakota North.

Regrettably, Davies sustained a fracture to his vertebrae whilst taking a reserve ride in heat nineteen of Mark Loram’s Farewell meeting at Poole on 30 March. That meant a spell on the sidelines and the Wasps’ management initially signed the British Under-21 Champion, Joe Haines, on a short-term contract as his replacement, before Anders Mellgren returned to the club. He was also replaced in the Peterborough squad by Richard Lawson, having not turned a wheel in anger for the club.

There was great news on 26 April, though, when the Aussie received medical clearance to resume racing for Newport and subsequently slotted back into the side in place of Mellgren. And, in May, he was drafted back into the Peterborough squad in the No. 8 slot.

However, after a series of poor results for the Welsh club in their opening league fixtures, a number of team changes culminated in Davies losing his team spot to the recalled Mark Jones on 16 May. He wasn’t without a PL berth for long, though, as on 21 May a team re-declaration at Somerset saw him link with the Rebels as a replacement for Kyle Hughes.

DAVIDSSON, Jan Jonas Daniel
DATE OF BIRTH: 7 August 1984, Motala, Sweden.
BRITISH CAREER: (2003) Reading; (2004) Oxford; (2005) Swindon; (2006) Poole; (2007) Reading; (2008-11) Lakeside.
MAJOR HONOURS: Finnish Under-21 Champion: 2002; Swedish Under-21 Champion: 2005.
CLUB HONOUR: Knock-Out Cup winner: 2009 [Lakeside].
RIDER LINKS: Son of Jan Davidsson (born: 18 October 1956, Motala, Sweden). Brother of Daniel Davidsson (born: 17 March 1983, Mariestad, Sweden).
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 6.51 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The younger of the racing brothers has always ridden as Jonas Davidsson. He and his sibling are the sons of former Eastbourne teamster Jan, who represented the Eagles back in 1980. Jonas gained much experience of motorcycles at an early age, having first ridden an 80cc machine in his hometown, when aged just 13.

He took his British bow in the Premier League with Reading in 2003 and ended the campaign on-song to average 6.19, having registered 221 points from thirty-seven official appearances in the Racers’ distinctive colours.

In 2004, he stepped up to the Elite League by transferring to Oxford and this was clearly a brave move by one so young. He learnt much from his debut year in the top-flight, too, netting 142 points from thirty-four fixtures for a promising 5.29 average.

Swindon was his next port of call, the Swede having requested a transfer from the Cheetahs’ lair himself. Regrettably – despite some eye-catching performances – a lack of consistency saw his average drop backwards with the Wiltshire outfit and he was to spend the following term at Poole where, by and large, he regained the touch he had demonstrated with Oxford.  

Davidsson looked to be lost to the British racing scene in 2007 until he linked with Reading in mid-May amidst a number of problems at the Berkshire club. Despite that and a change of promotion the following month, he knuckled down to achieve a healthy 5.70 average, having totalled 164 points from twenty-seven meetings.

With Reading dropping down to the Premier League for 2008, he linked with Lakeside in a move that was to be the making of the rider and, having impressed in the first part of the campaign, the talented Swede featured in a mid-term full transfer to the Hammers from Swindon.

Although the Swedish international suffered a serious injury whilst appearing in his homeland towards the latter part of the campaign, he determinedly returned to the saddle for the Play-Off final against Poole, which the Hammers ultimately lost on aggregate. Lakeside again made the Play-Offs in 2009 and – although they dipped out at the semi-final stage – they had the consolation of subsequently winning the Knock-Out Cup, beating Coventry in the final.

Having raised his real-time average all the way up to 8.72 courtesy of 366 points from thirty-nine matches, there was never any doubt that the gifted Davidsson would again line-up for the Hammers in 2010; his third term in the club’s colours eventually being confirmed in January.

After a relatively slow start to his campaign, the Swede had begun to click into gear when, on 24 June, he was hit by a stray machine whilst racing in Poland and taken immediately to hospital with head and facial injuries.

The upshot was a broken cheekbone and the popular Lakeside rider required a short spell of recuperation on the sidelines. Worse was to come in the Elite League Pairs Championship at Ipswich on 4 September, when he season came to an abrupt and painful.

In heat seventeen of the prestigious Super7even event, he sustained a broken thumb after somehow appearing to jump off his machine at the conclusion of the race and then being inadvertently run into by Swindon’s Mads Korneliussen, who did everything to lay his machine down and avoid the stricken rider.

The Hammers’ management applied to the BSPA for an emergency 28-day injury change to their declared 1-7 in the hope of replacing the Swede, but this was vetoed and instead they had to operate the rider replacement facility in his absence. The final statistics for the season gave Davidsson a significantly reduced average of 6.87, the rider having registered 203 points from twenty-nine appearances for the Arena-Essex based outfit.

On 17 December, Lakeside confirmed that the rider had been in talks with the club over the previous couple of months and it had been agreed mutually that he would miss most of the British season in order to concentrate on racing in both Swedish leagues and in Poland.

Davidsson had been a shadow of his previous self during 2010; that came after a slow start to the year was followed by a succession of injuries. But he remained in the club’s long-term plans and had made himself available for cameo appearances should his services be needed at any part of the 2011 campaign.

Indeed, on 28 March, Lakeside revealed that their asset was on stand-by to provide cover for Piotr Świderski should the Pole’s start permission problems continue. As touched upon, Davidsson had elected to sit out British racing in 2011, but with the Swedish season not commencing until late April he would be available for the Hammers’ opening fixtures if the ongoing row over Polish riders and the new silencers wasn’t resolved in time.

Lakeside boss Jon Cook explained that the rider’s heart was still very much with the club and that he was happy to come over and help out if needed. Two days later, the Hammers confirmed that Davidsson would return to the side in his trusted No. 4 position in the line-up for a tough clash with track experts, the Wolverhampton Wolves at the Arena-Essex Raceway on 1 April.

The Swede replaced Świderski in the Hammers’ line-up after the club decided that they could wait no longer for a firm decision from the PZM [Polski Związek Motorowy] on lifting a ban on the rider, and several of his fellow countrymen, from racing abroad amid rumours that a meeting was likely to remove the measure.

Despite having to ride a bike that he had never seen before and an engine that – due to a mid-week mix-up with his own – was Lakeside’s track spare, Davidsson contributed 6+3 points from four rides in his comeback match for the Hammers against Wolverhampton.

His performance on the night included shepherding home team-mate Kyle Legault for a 3-3 to seal victory on the night in heat fourteen. However, Świderski finally received clearance to ride in the UK on 7 April, bringing the Swede’s stint in the side to a swift end.

On 20August, Lakeside announced that they had recalled the Swedish star for the closing weeks of the season in a bid to avert an injury crisis. It was initially stated that Davidsson wouldn’t be available for the Hammers’ final regular Elite League fixture against Birmingham on 26 August, although he was expected to line-up along with another new signing in the club’s Knock-Out Cup matches and in the Play-Offs if they finished in the top four.

However, three days later, Lakeside were able to welcome back their Swedish ace earlier than expected after the fans’ favourite confirmed his wish to return to the side with immediate effect. He replaced long-term injury victim Adam Shields in their line-up.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix Record:
Grand Prix ridden: 4 – 76th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix points: 16 – 77th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix races: 13 – 82nd on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix race wins: 2 – 75th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix wins: 0 – n/a      
Grand Prix finals: 0 – n/a

FIM Speedway World Cup Record:
SWC tournaments: 5
Events: 14 – 4th on Sweden’s list; 18th on SWC all-time list
Points: 122 – 7th on Sweden’s list; 22nd on SWC all-time list
Finals: 4
Gold medals: 0

DICKEN, Lee Charles
DATE OF BIRTH: 25 August 1978, Hull, East Yorkshire.
BRITISH CAREER: (1994) Buxton; (1995) Hull, Stoke, Peterborough; (1996) Hull, Owlerton, Sheffield; (1997-98) Hull; (1999) Hull, Exeter; (2000) Hull; (2001) Hull, Arena-Essex; (2002) Newport, Wolverhampton; (2003) Hull, Newcastle; (2004) Newcastle, Newcastle II, Glasgow; (2005) Hull, Sittingbourne, Newport, Newport II; (2006-08) Glasgow; (2009) Newport II, Glasgow; (2010) Glasgow; (2011) Edinburgh.
CLUB HONOUR: League Championship winner: 2002 [Wolverhampton].
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 3.81 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The much-travelled Dicken – whose father was a former promoter at Hull in the early days of the Vikings’ tenure at Craven Park – lost his place in Newport’s National League line-up towards the end of May 2009, when he was replaced after a poor run of form by Ryan Sedgmen. However, Glasgow quickly agreed terms with the Yorkshireman for him to return to Ashfield as a replacement for Lee Smart.

Undaunted by the near 600-mile round trip from his Hull base for home meetings, he had proved extremely popular with the Tigers’ supporters after two previous spells with the club. And, he went on to post a real-time average of a shade under 5 points per match, having totalled 134 points from twenty-four official matches. Having concluded the campaign on a high with several double-figure returns, the management announced that he had been retained for the 2010 campaign just before Christmas.

Having felt ill during the Tigers’ league match at Stoke on 19 June, Dicken was advised by the medical staff at Glasgow – during the return fixture the following day – that he might have something that required attention at hospital.

He took heed of the advice and a bone infection was discovered, which meant there was something in his bloodstream that caused pain and irritation. He was subsequently forced to have an operation to remove a foreign body from his leg and was able to quickly return to action.

The Glasgow skipper avoided a broken collarbone, but nevertheless sustained muscle damage during the Tigers’ Premier Trophy clash with fierce Scottish rivals Edinburgh at Ashfield Stadium on 25 July. This occurred in heat eight of the encounter when Dicken and Monarchs’ Kalle Katajisto were both brought down after Tobias Busch had shed a chain.

Despite doubts over his fitness, he rode on in the Tigers’ subsequent meetings, but aggravated a hip injury when he fell in heat ten of a home league fixture versus Workington on 8 August.

He returned to the track on 22 August and subsequently appeared in home and away matches against Newcastle seven and eight days later, respectively. However, he clearly wasn’t fit and took a break from the team, before answering an SOS to again resume racing in a home clash with fierce rivals Edinburgh on 5 September.

His season came to an end a week later, though, when he took another hefty knock in a home encounter with King’s Lynn. This happened in heat four when Stars’ reserve Cal McDade fell exiting the fourth bend of lap two.

In a painful-looking accident, the closely following Dicken struck both the stricken rider and his mount, before coming to rest on the track. He had represented the Scottish club in twenty-nine official matches, which had yielded 107 points and a 4.42 average.

The rider found himself on the speedway shelf as the tapes rose on the 2011 season but, on 26 April, Edinburgh revealed that they had drafted him into their line-up as a replacement for Jay Herne. This came as part of a double move by the Monarchs, who had not been getting the points they required from the reserve berths, with Ashley Morris also losing his team spot to Kyle Howarth.

However, Dicken was also to struggle for form, emphasised by an average of below 3 points per match. As such, the Scottish side announced on 29 June that they were replacing him with Tim Webster.

DOBRUCKI, Rafał
DATE OF BIRTH: 27 December 1976, Leszno, Poland.
BRITISH CAREER: (2004) Oxford; (2011) Poole.
MAJOR HONOUR: Polish Under-21 Champion: 1995.
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 5.46 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Dobrucki has a wealth of experience, particularly in his Polish homeland. He represented Piła from 1995-2002, before riding for Leszno from 2003-06; although he missed the 2005 campaign through injury. He was then identified with Rzeszów in 2007 and has ridden for Zielona Góra ever since (2008-10).

On the individual front, his highlight was winning the Polish Under-21 Championship in 1995. In fact, that proved a fantastic year for the Leszno-born rider, since he won the Polish Bronze Helmet for under-19 year olds and also scooped the Polish Silver Helmet for under-21 year olds. On top of that, he finished a creditable third in that season’s Polish Championship. And he again took victory in the Polish Silver Helmet in 1997.

On the world stage, he was a full-time Grand Prix rider in 2000, when he totalled 16 points to finish in twenty-first place overall. He only managed to contest five of the six rounds in the series, though, as injury prevented his appearance at the British GP, where he was replaced by John Jørgensen.

He got a taste of the British domestic scene in 2004, when representing Oxford and proved himself to be a forceful opponent as he linked in well with a Silver Machine outfit that included the likes of Greg Hancock, Travis McGowan, Ryan Fisher, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Jonas Davidsson and compatriot Sebastian UÅ‚amek. Indeed, he scored a total of 214 points from thirty-two official meetings for a real-time average of 5.96.

He appeared on Poole’s radar in the close season and, on 22 February, the South Coast club was happy to confirm that had joined them ahead of the Elite League campaign. It was also announced that former Bournemouth rider Danny Warwick had agreed to step in as the Pole’s mechanic.

Dobrucki wasn’t available for the Pirates’ opening challenge match at Eastbourne on 20 March and club boss Matt Ford subsequently admitted that the position of his Polish rider was a concern as he had been caught up in a row over new silencers in his home country.

Along with former Poole ace Krzystof Cegielski, the Pirates’ recruit was one of the riders’ spokesmen in Poland and, due to a dispute over the silencers, found himself in a difficult situation. He wanted to ride for the Wimborne Road outfit but, with the PZM [Polski Związek Motorowy] threatening bans, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, as the Pirates’ promoter concisely put it.

On 26 March, Poole announced that they had re-declared their starting line-up as a result of
on-going uncertainties with the situation regarding the availability of Dobrucki. Following an FIM directive, the BSPA had implemented the ruling that all Elite League and Premier League matches would have compulsory use of the silencers that complied strictly with the January 2010 homologation.

However, it was these very silencers that had courted controversy amongst a number of riders and leading Polish figures had vetoed their use on the grounds of considered risks to rider safety. The Polish authority, PZM, had announced that the ‘old’ silencers would be used in any meetings that fell under their jurisdiction.

They had further stated that they wouldn’t sanction start permissions for any of their riders – other than the four riders who had their permissions granted by 17 March – to appear outside of Poland. Dobrucki was one of those four, along with Tomasz Piszcz [Belle Vue], Dawid Lampart [Eastbourne] and Krzystof Kasprzak [Birmingham].

But, as touched upon, the rider himself had been one of the leading figures in persuading the PZM to back the riders’ position, which had subsequently left him facing the dilemma of riding for the Pirates, thereby contradicting his belief that the silencers were unsafe, or by remaining firm to the cause.

Matt Ford explained that the situation with Dobrucki had effectively become ‘untenable’ and, whilst the rider didn’t want to let the Pirates down, he did have his views on the use of the silencers, which conflicted with those of the BSPA.

As a result, the Pirates’ promoter felt unable to let the matter drift on any further and made the decision to move ahead without him. The club restructured the side in such a way that Jason Doyle was effectively the Pole’s replacement, with Darcy Ward re-declared in the 1-7.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix Record:
Grand Prix ridden: 8 – 63rd on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix points: 30 – 66th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix races: 32 – 64th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix race wins: 7 – 55th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix wins: 0 – n/a      
Grand Prix finals: 0 – n/a

DOOLAN, Kevin
DATE OF BIRTH: 30 November 1980, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia.
BRITISH CAREER: (1999-2000) Belle Vue; (2002) Berwick; (2003) Glasgow; (2004) King’s Lynn; (2005) King’s Lynn, Ipswich; (2006) King’s Lynn, Eastbourne; (2007) Belle Vue; (2008) King’s Lynn; (2009) Workington, Belle Vue; (2010) King’s Lynn; (2011) Ipswich, Lakeside.
CLUB HONOURS: Knock-Out Cup winner: 2005, 2006 [both King’s Lynn]; Young Shield winner: 2005 [King’s Lynn]; Premier Trophy winner: 2006 [King’s Lynn]; League Championship winner: 2006 [King’s Lynn]; Four-Team Championship winner: 2009 [Workington], 2011 [Ipswich].
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 8.98 (PL), 5.07 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Doolan – one of the cheeriest guys in speedway – has ridden for a number of clubs, starting in 1999 with Belle Vue, when he possessed a striking green-coloured bike, then on to Berwick, Glasgow and King’s Lynn.

The Stars displayed considerable foresight when they signed the then Berwick asset, as most teams would rather not fork out and instead prefer to take riders on loan, but the go-ahead Norfolk outfit reckoned he would be worth buying outright. They were proved right and a rider who once suffered from unreliable machinery emerged to become one of the most professionally equipped speedsters around. His pits set-up was immaculate and, on the track, he didn’t do much wrong either.

Doolan moved back into the Elite League with Belle Vue in 2007 and did well, but then surprisingly returned to Saddlebow Road the following year, when the only downside to a terrific campaign was an early-season setback when he sustained a trapped nerve in his back, together with swelling and bruising to his hips when he crashed in heat fifteen of King’s Lynn’s league match at Sheffield on 17 April.

Going into 2009, it was quite surprising when he moved to Workington from the Stars, for whom he had formed a devastating spearhead with Czech ace Tomáš Topinka. Also, having originally started his UK career with Belle Vue, Doolan once more returned to the Manchester outfit in the No. 8 capacity for a short stint in mid-June 2009, when he replaced compatriot Josh Grajczonek. Upon the conclusion of his permitted period with the Aces, Grajczonek resumed in the role.

Regrettably, Doolan’s season came to an abrupt halt on 12 September, when he sustained three broken ribs, a shoulder blade injury and a bruised lung. This occurred in an aborted heat fifteen of the Comets’ home league match versus Redcar, when the Australian’s bike had lifted as he exited the fourth turn, before crashing down heavily and sending the rider tumbling into the safety fence.

Unfortunately, for Doolan – who had assumed the role of club skipper with Workington – he was ruled out of action for the remainder of the season in early October, having previously hoped that he might have been able to return before the curtain fell on the campaign. He posted a real-time average of over 9 points per match for the Cumbrian outfit and, naturally, was wanted again in 2010; however, in November, it was revealed that he had opted to return to King’s Lynn.

He jumped back into the saddle to participate in the Christmas Cracker event at Scunthorpe on 27 December, when he showed no ill-effects from the injuries to top-score with 14 points, prior to winning the final ahead of Jerran Hart, Luke Bowen and Ben Barker. And, he followed that up with a second-place finish, behind Steve Boxall, in the New Year Classic at Newport on 3 January.

The free-scoring Aussie – whose average in excess of 9.5 points per match comfortably kept him inside the Premier League’s top 10 riders – was involved in a first heat crash with home rider Ricky Ashworth when King’s Lynn visited Sheffield for a league encounter on 22 July. He was taken to the Northern General Hospital for X-rays and a check up. The upshot was unfortunately a broken wrist, which subsequently required plating.

With him likely to be out of action for the remainder of the season, the Stars’ management executed an astonishing raft of changes in August. The first move had seen Adam Roynon replace Joe Haines and this was immediately followed by another four amendments to their team declaration, as Casper Wortmann and Chris Mills were released, whilst the injured Doolan and the unwell Darren Mallett also had their names removed from the 1-7. Olly Allen effectively replaced the Victorian, with the other incoming riders being Lasse Bjerre, Jamie Courtney and Cal McDade.

With his season over early, the Aussie had scored 249 points from twenty-two matches for an average of 9.76, figures that gave him fourth spot overall in the final overall statistics for the Premier League. His top performance at home came when he racked-up a stunning paid maximum tally of 17+1 points in the Knock-Out Cup against Glasgow on 5 May. And he seemed to relish racing against the Tigers, as his best away showing was a 15-point full-house in the return leg of the cup tie at Ashfield on 23 May.  

On 5 November, King’s Lynn revealed that they had reluctantly parted ways with the popular speedster. The Stars had been keen to retain his services for the 2011 season, but the two parties were unable to come to a financial deal. The club stated that – due to his increasing costs – Doolan had insisted on ‘a pay rise, which equated to around a 30 per cent increase over the whole season’. But they were unable to meet that request, especially in such an unsteady economy and had therefore made him available for a full transfer.

On 8 December, it was announced that Doolan was the headline signing for Ipswich ahead of the 2011 season, following the Witches’ decision to drop down to the Premier League at the BSPA AGM in Bournemouth the previous month. And, five days later, the Suffolk outfit revealed that they would be purchasing the rider on a full transfer and that he had been instated as their team captain, having previously filled the role at Workington in 2009.

Following his injuries, the Aussie did a lot of moto-cross in the winter to get fully fit before finally making his return to speedway in the New Year Classic at Newport on 2 January. Doolan reached the final of the event at Queensway Meadows and although he struggled with the track in that race, before hitting a rut and falling on the third lap, he said it was good to get back on a bike and declared his return a success.

The Ipswich No. 1 maintained a 9-point average, as he helped the resurgent Witches to the higher echelons of the Premier League standings. And, on 6 June, top-flight Lakeside revealed that they had drafted the Victorian into their squad in a ‘doubling-up’ capacity alongside Stuart Robson, whilst Kyle Legault – who had previously filled the position – recovered from an injury to a finger.

The Hammers revealed a slight amendment to their ‘doubling-up’ resources in July, with Doolan moving to share a berth with Kauko Nieminen, whilst Robson reverted to a role alongside Chris Neath. However, later that same month, Lakeside opted to make another change and paired Robson with Kauko Nieminen in a single shared berth, thus allowing them to dispense with Doolan and Neath by drafting in Kim Nilsson.

DOYLE, Jason Kevin
DATE OF BIRTH: 6 October 1985, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
BRITISH CAREER: (2005) Isle of Wight; (2006) Isle of Wight, Poole; (2007) Poole; (2008) Somerset; (2010) Poole; (2011) Poole, Rye House, Newport.
CLUB HONOURS: Knock-Out Cup winner: 2008 [Somerset], 2010 [Poole], 2011 [Newport]; League Championship winner: 2011 [Poole].
RIDER LINKS: Son of Kevin Doyle (born: 15 November 1952, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia).
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 5.24 (EL), 8.73 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Doyle was fined £300 and excluded from the rest of the meeting after throwing a punch at Reading’s Tom P. Madsen, following a back straight crash during heat six of a Premier Trophy match at Somerset on 11 April 2008.

Having agreed to rejoin Poole in 2009, Doyle was injured before turning a wheel for the Pirates, when he suffered a torn rotator cuff during round two of the Australian Championship at the Olympic Park, Mildura, on 7 January.

Having recuperated, he journeyed to the UK as scheduled only to aggravate the torn tendons at the top of his left arm in a heat fourteen crash during Newport’s re-opening meeting for the Prince of Wales Trophy on 15 March. He subsequently returned Down Under to recover fully and was replaced in the Poole side by Łukasz Jankowski.

The Aussie hoped to resume racing with Poole in 2010 but – having felt badly about letting the club down the previous year – expressed doubts over whether he would actually take his place in the Pirates’ line-up, although team boss Neil Middleditch was quick to assure the rider that there was a space open for him. And, in January, the Poole management confirmed that the Australian had, in fact, agreed a deal before the Christmas holidays to be the final piece in their team jigsaw for the new campaign.

Doyle sustained concussion after a crash during Poole’s home league encounter versus Wolverhampton on 18 August. He subsequently rode in Somerset’s 10-Year Anniversary meeting two days later, but had to withdraw from the event after taking a nasty-looking crash on the final turn of the opening lap in heat six. However, he was deemed fit to take his place in the Pirates’ next meeting at Wolverhampton on 23 August.

Worse was to come at the sharp end of the season, though; having ridden for Poole in the first leg of the Play-Off semi-final at Wolverhampton on 13 September, there was concern that the Aussie might miss the remainder of the season after dislocating a shoulder in a moto-cross accident. However, he recovered sufficiently to represent the Pirates’ in the first leg of the final at Coventry on 27 September, although he took another knock to the injury when he fell in the penultimate heat.

Poole eventually missed out on the League Championship after losing to the Bees on aggregate, but Doyle went on to secure his first maximum at Elite League level with an unbeaten display – 9+3 points from four starts – in the Pirates’ Knock-Out Cup semi-final win over Peterborough at Wimborne Road on 13 October.

They did at least gain some consolation for their high stakes loss in the league title decider when, on 27 October, they clinched an aggregate victory over Eastbourne to lift the Knock-Out Cup at their home raceway; it being Doyle’s first piece of silverware at top-flight level, having previously won the Premier League KOC with Somerset in 2008.

The Aussie’s end-of-term statistics made impressive reading since, from forty official meetings, he had notched 222 points for a real-time average of 6.25. But, on 4 December, he was made available for loan as he didn’t fit into Poole’s team plans for 2011.

However, following injuries to Darcy Ward on the eve of the campaign, ‘Doyley’ – having bought his own air ticket back to the UK in the hope of finding a berth – was recalled by the Pirates, with club boss Matt Ford believing he could punch well above his weight.

Then, on 19 March, he was sensationally unveiled by Rye House promoter Len Silver as a temporary replacement for the injured Steve Boxall during the pre-meeting parade for the Rockets’ home meeting against Ipswich in the Anglia Cup. Although he rode in that particular match as a guest for the absent Chris Neath – top-scoring with 13+1 points – Doyle subsequently covered for Boxall once the league campaign got underway.

Following that, on 21 March, Poole confirmed that the Aussie would share a ‘doubling-up’ position alongside Gary Havelock with them – the 1992 World Champion being on standby in the event that Doyle had any fixture clashes due to his commitments with Rye House.

On 26 March, Poole announced that they had re-declared their starting line-up as a result of on-going uncertainties with the situation regarding the availability of Polish recruit Rafał Dobrucki, who had become embroiled in a row over the new silencers.

The silencers had courted controversy amongst a number of riders and leading Polish figures had vetoed their use on the grounds of considered risks to rider safety. The Polish authority, PZM, had announced that the ‘old’ silencers would be used in any meetings that fell under their jurisdiction.

They had further stated that they wouldn’t sanction start permissions for any of their riders – other than the four riders who had their permissions granted by 17 March – to appear outside of Poland. Dobrucki was one of those four, along with Tomasz Piszcz [Belle Vue], Dawid Lampart [Eastbourne] and Krzystof Kasprzak [Birmingham].

But the rider himself had been one of the leading figures in persuading the PZM to back the riders’ position, which had subsequently left him facing the dilemma of riding for the Pirates, thereby contradicting his belief that the silencers were unsafe, or by remaining firm to the cause.

Matt Ford explained that the situation with Dobrucki had effectively become ‘untenable’ and, whilst the rider didn’t want to let the Pirates down, he did have his views on the use of the silencers, which conflicted with those of the BSPA.

As a result, the Pirates’ promoter felt unable to let the matter drift on any further and made the decision to move ahead without him. The club restructured the side in such a way that Jason Doyle was effectively the Pole’s replacement, with Darcy Ward re-declared in the 1-7.

The Aussie roared to a career-best top-flight performance, as he helped Poole to an away win at newcomers Birmingham in their first Elite League match of the season on 28 March. In front of the Sky Sports cameras, Doyle netted 12+1 points from five rides in the Pirates’ 48-42 win and also shared in the match-clinching 5-1 with star reserve Dennis Andersson in the penultimate heat.

Doyle was ruled out of Poole’s Elite League encounter with Swindon at Wimborne Road on 20 April, having suffered an aggravation to his shoulder and failed a fitness test on the morning of the clash. This was because the rider had a weakness in the shoulder and it was prone to ‘pop out’ and cause him some discomfort. Former World Champion and Pirates’ fellow ‘doubling-up’ rider Gary Havelock replaced the Aussie in the side, but it was hoped that Doyle would be back for club’s Easter programme.

Doyle quickly returned to action, though, continuing his free-scoring exploits for both Rye House and Poole. That didn’t last long, though, as he was injured in the Rockets’ home league encounter versus Ipswich on 2 May. In heat thirteen of the match, the Aussie fell on the fourth bend when chasing Witches’ Chris Schramm for third place and suffered a badly dislocated shoulder.

With Doyle in extreme discomfort, the paramedic recommended immediate transport to hospital in the ambulance. Given that the time had passed 10.00 p.m. and there would be an indeterminate delay until a replacement vehicle would arrive, the referee had little alternative but to call a halt to the proceedings although the result did stand as a home win.

Remarkably, the Australian returned to action with Poole just three days later and, showing no ill effects, he raced to a tally of 9+1 points from four rides as the Pirates comfortably defeated Lakeside 58-36 in an Elite League fixture.

Doyle’s stint with Rye House came to an end in mid-May, when Steve Boxall was deemed fit to return to action. He had done a grand job for the Rockets, piling up well over 100 points to average around 8.5 points per match. He soon got fixed-up elsewhere, though, since Newport announced just a few short days later that they had him in place of Kim Nilsson.

DRYML, Aleš
DATE OF BIRTH: 19 October 1979, Pardubice, Czech Republic.
BRITISH CAREER: (2000-02) Oxford; (2003) Belle Vue, Poole; (2004-05) Peterborough; (2006) Oxford; (2008) Wolverhampton; (2009) Peterborough, Poole; (2010) Peterborough, Ipswich; (2011) Birmingham.
NOTE: Dryml also appeared for Oxford in 2007, but this is not credited in his career record because the club closed down prematurely, with all their matches expunged from the records.
MAJOR HONOURS: German Under-21 Champion: 1998; Czech Republic Champion: 2011.
CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 2001 [Oxford]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2003 [Poole].
RIDER LINKS: Son of Aleš Dryml [Senior] (born: 10 June 1953, Kolina, Czech Republic). Brother of Lukáš Dryml (born: 16 April 1981, Pardubice, Czech Republic).
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 4.99 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The elder of the Dryml brothers was seriously hurt in a track accident on 12 July 2006, during Oxford’s home league encounter versus Wolverhampton and was subsequently placed in an intensive care unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital. Amazingly, and against all the odds, the Czech recovered from his severe head injuries and was able to return to his homeland where he began his recuperation.

Bravely, the Czech ace returned to the British racing scene with Wolverhampton in 2008, when he was handed an amended green sheet average in order to assist his passage back into the sport. The, in 2009, Dryml re-joined one of his former clubs, Peterborough, but was released by the Panthers late in April to make way for Henning Bager.

He was immediately signed by Poole as a replacement for Łukasz Jankowski, but his stay with the Pirates didn’t last long either; he was released when the club signed Hans Andersen late in May. Remarkably, though, following Karol Ząbik’s decision to quit Peterborough for personal reasons, Dryml was recalled by the Panthers for his second spell of the campaign with the side. Dryml was to see the season out with the club, his two spells yielding 127 points and a real-time 5.66 average from twenty-three appearances.

He wasn’t retained for the start of the 2010 campaign but, in May, once again rejoined Peterborough as a direct replacement for Ulrich Østergaard. However, his latest return to the East of England Showground was to be very brief, indeed. Before the end of the same month – having made just three appearances for 11 points and a 3.67 average – he was replaced in the side by Polish newcomer Kamil Brzozowski.

This was part of a complicated series of deals that included the signing of Rory Schlein to bolster the side’s top-end and, under the rules, because of the Australian’s higher average he could only be accommodated by releasing Dryml and bringing in someone with a lower figure so that the new-look line-up fitted within the points limit. However, the Czech was signed a week later by Ipswich as a replacement for Claus Vissing, who had struggled for form in the first couple of months of the term.

The Czech was to go on and complete nineteen matches in the Witches’ colours, scoring 109 points for a 6.07 average. With the addition of his record at Peterborough, it gave Dryml a seasonal average of 5.77 courtesy of 120 points from twenty-two official fixtures.

On 15 February 2011, Birmingham announced that Dryml would follow in his father’s footsteps after joining the club ahead of the new era of Elite League racing at Perry Barr. He completed the Brummies’ line-up, which fell just below the 40-point average limit that governed team building. And the move revived memories of the early 1980s at the old Perry Barr, now the One Stop Shopping Centre, when Dryml’s father, Aleš senior, rode for the club.

The rider showed great form in the Speedway World Cup qualifier at Lonigo, Italy, on 17 April, when he recorded a faultless 15-point maximum. His efforts helped the Czech Republic to head the round on 49 points, ahead of Slovenia (44), Latvia (39) and the home nation (17).

When new rolling averages came into effect, they allowed Dryml to drop to a reserve berth and the Czech responded by producing his best display in Brummies’ colours with a haul of 15+3 points as Birmingham dug deep to secure a vital Elite League victory over King’s Lynn at Perry Barr on 5 May.

Indeed, Dryml took his full quota of seven rides as the home side came from 26-22 down to win 52-38, sharing in two of three successive 5-1s in heats nine, ten and eleven, and getting the better of Grand Prix star Kenneth Bjerre in the latter race.

Regrettably, the Czech ace was derailed on 26 May, when the Brummies visited Peterborough on league business. Dryml, who had put in a terrific performance at one of his old home tracks with 11+1 points, came off worst in a three-man pile-up in the penultimate heat involving team-mate Claus Vissing and Panthers’ Krzysztof Buczkowski.

Having been taken to Peterborough City Hospital, the rider was later diagnosed with a broken rib and punctured lung. He also sustained a heavy blow to a shoulder and returned to the Czech Republic to have the damage assessed.

Due to the lung injury he was unable to fly for two weeks, so he got his mechanic to drive him to Prague in order to see his usual doctor and, shortly afterwards, the surgeons opened-up his shoulder to see what the damage was. Whilst he recuperated, on 6 June, the Brummies announced the signing of Ulrich Østergaard – initially on a 28-day contract – to plug the gap in the side.

On 19 July, Birmingham confirmed that Dryml was ready to return to the side and that Østergaard would also be retained for the remainder of the season, having made a positive impression with the club. To accommodate this, the Brummies elected to release their ‘doubling-up’ duo of James Wright and Kevin Wölbert.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix Record:
Grand Prix ridden: 12 – 53rd on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix points: 30 – 67th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix races: 35 – 61st on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix race wins: 3 – 69th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix wins: 0 – n/a      
Grand Prix finals: 0 – n/a

FIM Speedway World Cup Record:
SWC tournaments: 9
Events: 15 – 1st on Czech Republic’s list; 16th on SWC all-time list
Points: 109 – 1st on Czech Republic’s list; 24th on SWC all-time list
Finals: 1
Gold medals: 0

DRYML, Lukáš
DATE OF BIRTH: 16 April 1981, Pardubice, Czech Republic.
BRITISH CAREER: (2000-02) Oxford; (2003) Poole; (2004) Peterborough; (2005) Oxford, Peterborough; (2007-08) Peterborough; (2009-11) Eastbourne.
MAJOR HONOURS: European Under-19 Champion: 2000; World Under-21 Champion: 2002; Czech Republic Champion: 2005, 2008, 2009.
CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 2001 [Oxford], 2003 [Poole]; Elite Shield winner: 2007 [Peterborough], 2009 [Eastbourne].
RIDER LINKS: Son of Aleš Dryml [Senior] (born: 10 June 1953, Kolina, Czech Republic). Brother of Aleš Dryml (born: 19 October 1979, Pardubice, Czech Republic).
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 4.98 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The vastly experienced Czech international had been tipped for World Championship success only a few seasons previously and, whilst he never achieved the glory some predicted, he remains a hugely talented performer. In 2009, the younger of the Dryml brothers joined Eastbourne as a temporary replacement for Denis Gizatullin, whilst the Russian thrill-merchant’s visa application was ironed out.

When it became clear that Gizatullin wouldn’t be coming after all, the Eagles were happy to cement Dryml’s position in the side for the entire season. The Czech proved extremely popular with the Sussex outfit in scoring 195 points from thirty-one official appearances for a 6.09 average and, in mid-November, the club announced that he would be returning for a second successive term in 2010.  

However, Dryml was told that he was being released to make way for Lewis Bridger’s expected return to Arlington in early June, but the Czech was reprieved when the British rider decided he wished to remain with Coventry following his move from Peterborough to Brandon.

He later missed part of the season after being laid low by a viral infection and, on 1 September, temporarily lost the feeling in an arm after a track accident in his homeland whilst representing Pardubice in a meeting at Plzeň.

Having overcome that setback, the rider was to miss Eastbourne’s Knock-Out Cup semi-final success over Wolverhampton and their subsequent appearance in the final against Poole after sustaining a shoulder injury in his homeland in early October.

He totalled twenty-seven appearances and 148 points over the season to yield an average of 5.93. The highlight at home for the well-liked Czech occurred in a league fixture against his former club, Peterborough, on 5 July and saw him accumulate 12 points from five rides out of the No. 7 berth. On the Eagles’ travels, Dryml’s best performance was at Swindon three days later when, from the same position in the side, he totalled 8+3 points from six starts.

On 8 February 2011, Eastbourne confirmed that the popular Czech would be remaining on board for the season ahead. And with Pole Dawid Lampart also named to complete the starting line-up, it meant that there would be plenty of familiar faces in the Arlington pits as the club sought to build on the superb team spirit that propelled the Eagles to the Knock-Out Cup final the previous year.

The popular Czech maintained an average of over 7 points a match in the first half of the campaign, before hitting a rich vein of form that saw him notch 17+3 points from seven rides in a Knock-Out Cup tie versus Wolverhampton at Arlington Stadium on 18 June.

Two days later, he followed that up with a haul of 20+1 points, again from seven starts, in the Eagles’ 43-36 Elite League defeat at Coventry. Dryml’s tally included 6 points from a tactical ride in heat twelve, as he recorded a staggering 55.56 per cent of his team’s total on the night.

Eastbourne collected an away league success at Birmingham on 28 July, but the celebrations were muted with thoughts of one of the worst crashes witnessed at the Perry Barr venue; one that eventually saw Dryml ferried to hospital with leg and back injuries. Indeed, the Czech Republican was the innocent victim of a coming together between home rider Daniel Nermark and Eagles’ Bjarne Pedersen in race five.

It appeared that the Eastbourne No. 1 was left with little option but to bail off when squeezed out down the back straight of lap two, the collateral damage seeing Dryml – an impressive winner of heat one – hit the Dane’s machine, catapulting the rider some distance down the race track.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix Record:
Grand Prix ridden: 34 – 27th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix points: 222 – 29th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix races: 152 – 28th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix race wins: 22 – 34th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix wins: 0 – n/a      
Grand Prix finals: 4 – 25th on SGP all-time list

FIM Speedway World Cup Record:
SWC tournaments: 7
Events: 12 – 2nd on Czech Republic’s list; 25th on SWC all-time list
Points: 89 – 3rd on Czech Republic’s list; 30th on SWC all-time list
Finals: 1
Gold medals: 0