Speedway: Kasprzak's return to Poole is back on (From Bournemouth Echo)

Speedway: Kasprzak's return to Poole is back on

7:00am Wednesday 20th June 2012 in Sport By Ian Wadley

PIRATES chief Matt Ford last night revealed he had agreed terms on a deal to bring Polish race ace Krzysztof Kasprzak back to Wimborne Road.

Ford confirmed that Poole were now hoping to complete the paperwork in time to announce the signing at tonight’s home clash with Birmingham.

Kasprzak is set to put the finishing touches to a contract to become Adrian Miedzinski’s replacement – just days after it looked as if the 27-year-old had turned down the chance to join the defending Elite League champions.

After Miedzinski quit to focus on his riding in Poland, Ford said he had reached an agreement with Kasprzak before claiming that the Poole asset had made a U-turn to concentrate on qualifying for the Grand Prix.

But Ford, who failed with bids for the likes of Magnus Zetterstrom, Leon Madsen and Antonio Lindback, is confident he has now landed his number one target.

He told the Daily Echo: “Krzysztof was the very first rider that I spoke to about joining us because I wanted him to fill that position because he is a very good rider and has always shown an awful lot of determination to come back to Poole.

“Timing in speedway can be so paramount and when I spoke to him less than two weeks ago, his mind was pretty set on achieving his goals of getting into the Grand Prix and staking his claim for a place in the Polish World Cup team.

“However, he scored five points in Poland and six in Sweden from five rides last week, so I phoned Krzysztof and said ‘I don’t believe you will achieve either goal unless you start to ride more’.

“Krzysztof took my comments as they were meant. They were not meant to be a criticism but constructive and he asked me for 24 hours to consider. Unfortunately, I was away and Krzysztof was unobtainable and then had a Grand Prix qualifier.

“It has all been a little bit delayed but we can confirm that while the contract is as yet unsigned, we are very hopeful that Krzysztof will take his place in the Poole line-up at the beginning of July. His first meeting should be at home against Eastbourne on July 4.”

Kasprzak, who rode for Birmingham last year, will come in on a 7.97 average after Miedzinski’s superb form saw him raise his figure from 5.57 to 8.47.

Pirates are planning to re-declare their team at the start of next month with Kasprzak in the one-to-seven, which means rookie Todd Kurtz is set to ride in Miedzinski’s place against Birmingham this evening and at Wolverhampton on Monday.

Kasprzak has a proven track record of success with Pirates, having featured in the club’s league-winning teams in 2003 and 2004.

Ford added: “We are very happy that he has agreed to come back.

“He has got a good rapport here with the fans and I believe it will be a very popular signing by the club.”