Elite League
Belle Vue Speedway: Aces draft in Proctor.
By Admin
May 6, 2008, 14:09

Injury-hit Belle Vue have drafted in rapidly rising Australian youngster Ty Proctor for their home Elite League match with Eastbourne tomorrow, Wednesday May 7, (8 0).

The 21-year-old, from Victoria, has made a big impression at Premier League Redcar in his first full season in Britain.

Team manager Chris Morton has named him at No 8 in a side missing Swede Billy Forsberg, who has a broken thumb, and Steve Boxall, who is facing a shoulder operation. Morton has searched far and wide to sign a temporary replacement but with Forsberg on a four-point average, and Boxall on 3.63, his options are extremely limited.

The One51 Aces will continue to track Glasgow's Robert Ksiezak, their official No 8, in place of Boxall and use the rider replacement rule for Forsberg. This means Lukasz Jankowski, who has declared himself fit after suffering a shoulder injury, can take one of Forsberg's scheduled rides with the other three being shared by the reserves, Ksiezak and Michal Rajkowski, and Proctor.

Morton said: "I felt we needed extra cover because we were using rider replacement and decided to bring in Proctor who is having an outstanding first season over here.

"He started the season with an assessed Premier League average of five but that will go up to nine when his new average comes into force on Thursday. That figure is too high for us to be able to use him again so this will be a one-off situation.

"I spent the weekend looking for riders and I've had my eye on Proctor. I don't know a lot about him personally but he has been scoring well and people have been saying a lot of good things about him.

"We were fortunate to get him even for one meeting because he had been due to race for Redcar at King's Lynn on Wednesday until there was a fixture change. I would like to thank Redcar promoter Glyn Taylor for his co-operation in arranging for Proctor to ride for us."

However, the use of Proctor is only a temporary measure and Morton is busy working on his team for next Monday's tough home match against Elite League leaders, Swindon, (7 30).

He added: "We have a busy schedule in May so it is a real problem being without Forsberg and Boxall, especially as both of them were doing well when they were injured.

"I am still searching for a suitable signing and considering plans for the rest of the month. I have discussed possibilities with a number of riders but I cannot name any names yet. Two riders have told me they could be available to ride for us in June but that is no good to us at the moment."

Forsberg has been named as a reserve for the Swedish Grand Prix in Gothenburg on May 24, along with Swindon's Seb Alden. It means he has a tight schedule to be fit in time as he said he would be out for three weeks when he was injured last week.

Aces team manager Chris Morton said: "It would be a valuable experience for Billy to go to this meeting if he is fit. It is unlikely he would ride but there would be things he can learn from being there in the pits with all the Grand Prix stars.

"There is never a good time to be injured but this couldn't have come at a worse time for us or Billy. He had been due to ride a World Under-21 championship qualifying round at the weekend and, from our point of view, he had a good thing going in his partnership with Jason Crump at the top end of the team."

The second half of the Eastbourne meeting will feature a special Academy League Challenge match between two teams of Belle Vue youngsters to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the famous Colts team in 1968.

The Speedway Control Bureau have given permission for Greggs North West Belle Vue teams to ride against each other in a six-heat match.

Team managers Stephen Williams and Graham Goodwin will stand down from their duties for the night and will be replaced by former Colts Eric Broadbelt and Ken Eyre who went on to successful senior careers. Both are still regular visitors to meetings at Kirkmanshulme Lane.

Broadbelt and Eyre were members of the 1968 Colts League winning team, Eyre riding in the first ever match.

They hold the distinction of being the only riders to win five consecutive league winners medals as they landed Second Division titles in 1968 and 1969 with the Colts, and First Division championships in 1970, 1971 and 1972 with the Aces.

Goodwin said: "We are grateful for the sponsorship of Greggs Northwest Ltd, who are backing us for the seventh successive year. We believe it is the longest running sponsorship of a non-league team."

Fans are reminded the meeting starts at 8-0 on Wednesday and reverts to the usual 7 30 next Monday.