FORMER Pirate Jason Doyle revealed how stepping out of the shadows of Poole’s Turbo Twins had accelerated his ascent to Grand Prix stardom.

The Leicester number one spent three full seasons at Wimborne Road with Chris Holder and the latter two alongside Darcy Ward before heading for pastures new.

Doyle grabbed his place on speedway’s ultimate stage by finishing in the top three of the GP Challenge in Lonigo last September and finds himself seventh ahead of tonight’s next round in Horsens, Denmark (6pm, BST).

He is sandwiched by Australian compatriot Holder and Poole skipper Maciej Janowski in the standings but reckons all three can claim top-eight finishes this year and earn automatic qualification for the 2016 series.

Doyle told the Daily Echo: “When I rode for Poole, I was in the shadows of Darcy and Chris for a few years but since I have moved away, I’ve found a happier medium for my racing and things have turned round.

“Now I get to compete against Chris at the top level and turn him over sometimes. Other times, like Wednesday at Poole, he gets to turn me over but that’s racing and hopefully I can bounce back in Denmark.”

Asked whether all three men could secure their GP future, Doyle added: “Definitely. It has been a goal of mine for a long time to reach this level and now I am here, I need to score some good points.

“For people like me and Chris, staying in the Grand Prix over the next few years takes on extra importance now that Melbourne is on the calendar.

“Maciej is just behind me and doing a very good job. He is one of the top riders in Poland now and for both of us in our first year, it has been a big learning curve.

“But we are both doing quite well and I think we can both hit the second half of the season with a lot of confidence.”