GLASGOW pair Ben Barker and Richie Worrall kicked their season off on Saturday when taking part in the Ben Fund Bonanza at King’s Lynn.
The meeting is the traditional curtain-raiser for the British season and raises money for the Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund.
In a competitive field, few riders dominated – and only one man, Belle Vue’s Craig Cook – went unbeaten. He was the eventual winner of the meeting.
The Tigers duo didn’t make a massive impact, although it was Worrall who fared better with two second places from his four programmed rides. That included beating Premier League Riders’ Champion Ulrich Ostergaard, as well as new King’s Lynn rider Kai Huckenbeck.
Barker also got a second place but didn’t score in his other three rides, beating Berwick’s Kevin Doolan and Emil Grondal of Peterborough in heat six.
The pair will make their Glasgow debut on Sunday March 27 at 3pm when the Tigers take on Elite League side Coventry Bees at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium.
The Ben Fund meeting may have implications for that match, however, as the Bees’ No 1 Krzysztof Kasprzak was withdrawn with a suspected broken collarbone – and it remains to be seen how fit he will be to make the journey north in two weeks’ time.
Best wishes also to go Sheffield Tigers’ top man Simon Stead, who was withdrawn with concussion following an early spill.