PIRATES favourite Nicolai Klindt has completed a move to Ipswich Witches for the 2020 SGB Premiership season.

Klindt spent three years with Poole before departing following the club's drop down into the Championship.

But the Dane has now found a new home to compete in the top flight again next year, joining the side who knocked Poole out of this year's play-offs.

Speaking to the Witches website, Klindt said: “I had a fair bit of interest from most clubs in the league due to having a good season with Poole and suddenly becoming available. 

“It boils down to a number of things. I have never really liked the track, but I always seem to do well there, so that was one of the things.

“Another thing is that it is pretty close to airports. This year I was travelling to Heathrow, Stansted or Luton almost every week after Poole meetings, whereas Stansted is only an hour away from Ipswich, so that was a big plus.

“Also, on the whole I always have an eye on other clubs and how they do things and Ipswich impressed me over the last year whilst they were in the league I was riding in. 

"I am pretty sure that choosing Ipswich will be the right thing to further my career.”

The 30-year-old added: "I believe I am good enough to be a number one. Myself, Brady Kurtz, Jack Holder and Josh Grajczonek were all very close in the averages last season and there were a couple of times where I should have been number one, but the averages changed a day late or a day too soon and it never happened, and I stayed at number three."

Klindt, who won the Premiership title with Poole, has his eyes on more glory with Ipswich.

Asked what the key to success in the league is, he said: “Two things, one of them is strength in depth, which is one of the reasons Ipswich did so well last year and also team spirit. 

"Poole’s team spirit is second to none, I really enjoyed it there. That is one thing I have got to get used to at Ipswich because I am new and have never rode for the club before.

“I know the riders there which is a bonus and from what I gather from the outside and from speaking to both Chris (Louis) and Ritchie (Hawkins) is that there is a really good team spirit. That is a very important factor when going to a new team because you don’t want to go to a team where it is dull and people don’t speak."

He added: "Everyone is going on about Sheffield being favourites (for the title), but I have said this to a few people, if you look at the Poole team I was in this year and compare it to the Sheffield team for next year, any day of the week the Poole team would beat them.

"My goal with Ipswich is to qualify for the play-offs but I feel we have a team capable of winning the league if everyone is firing on all cylinders.

"Personally, if I start at number one, my goal is to stay there. If I don’t start at number one, then my main goal is to go to number one. That was a goal last year that I did not achieve, so that is top of the list for England."