GREAT Britain Speedway Team have confirmed the six men who will take on Australia in an international test match in Glasgow this Saturday.
The team will be captained by World Championship leader Tai Woffinden and he’ll be joined by fellow Grand Prix star Craig Cook, three-time British champion Chris Harris, fit-again Steve Worrall, exciting youngster Dan Bewley and Adam Ellis, who is having his best-ever season in the sport.
British Champion Robert Lambert was selected in the initial team, however Great Britain bosses say he asked for special dispensation to miss the fixture owing to a long-standing commitment and citing fatigue.
Team manager Alun Rossiter said: “Firstly, obviously we wanted to include Robert in the team and he was selected, but he told me that he had a short holiday booked on that date and that he felt he really needed the break.
“He is one of the busiest riders in world speedway and his schedule is crazy, so while we are disappointed he won’t be riding we felt that, in this instance only, it’s better for him to recharge his batteries and take a bit of a break. Going forward we fully expect all of our riders to race for Great Britain when selected, and they all know that.
“The team we’ve got looks really strong and has a nice blend of youth and experience. Obviously we’ve got Tai at number one and he’s the best rider in the world at the moment, but he’s got some great back up in the five guys with him.
“Cookie seems to have found his form again and was brilliant in Cardiff, Chris Harris has been racing really well for both Poole and Glasgow and everybody knows how excited we are about young Dan Bewley. He is getting better and better and it’ll be great to see him make his debut for us.
“Stevie Worrall had a tough time with his injury but he’s coming back and starting to get back up to speed, he had a brilliant season last year and hopefully he can get back to full fitness and start producing what we know he’s capable of.
“Lastly we’ve got Adam Ellis who is somebody I know well from Swindon and he’s having a great year, he’s really come on and he fully deserves his call-up.”
The full Australia team is set to be announced in the coming hours – however they will be led by current world champion Jason Doyle, providing he passes a fitness test this week, and 2012 World Champion Chris Holder, who is set to race on British soil for only the second time all year.