PIRATES promoter Matt Ford expects an intriguing night of racing after Wimborne Road was named to stage the British under-21 final.

The cream of young racers will lock horns on Wednesday, April 26 with former Poole ace Adam Ellis and reigning champion Josh Bates among those seeded.

Pirates' new recruit James Shanes will hope to book his place in the showpiece event with a strong performance in the semi at Peterborough on Tuesday, April 11.

Ford told the Daily Echo: "It will be a decent field and riders like Adam Ellis, Josh Bates and Robert Lambert should make it an interesting evening.

"Hopefully, James Shanes can get a little bit of track time and secure his place.

"It is exciting times for Poole. To me, it's a useful date in the calendar and gives the public something slightly different to seeing the Pirates on the track.

"We want to try to make sure the prices are affordable so they will certainly be slightly lower than our usual admission.

"We are aiming to entice as many people along as possible to see the the next crop of Brits."

KEY DATES

Friday, March 31: SGB Premiership Pairs (Somerset).

Tuesday, April 11: British under-21 semi-final (Peterborough).

Wednesday, April 26: British under-21 final (Poole).

Thursday, May 4: British semi-final (Sheffield).

Monday, June 19: British final (Belle Vue).

Saturday, September 16: SGB Premiership Riders' Championship (Belle Vue).

Date for British semi-final at Newcastle to be confirmed.