POOLE promoter Matt Ford hopes Swedish star Antonio Lindback re-considers his retirement decision after taking time out of the sport.

Lindback rode for Pirates from 2003 to 2006, winning two Elite League titles with the club, and also retuned for a brief stint in 2016 – but called time on his career last week.

He hit the headlines with a stunning seven-ride paid maximum aged just 18 on his Poole debut in a British League Cup fixture against Exeter.

Ford said: "I hope that this is more of an 'au revoir' than a final farewell from a truly talented rider.

“I feel that, yes, maybe now is the time for him to take a step back from speedway but I hope not for good.

“You can tell by his body language alone that, right now, he hasn't truly been enjoying his racing, unlike those years when we were blessed to have him as part of our setup.

“You only had to take a look at him to see how happy he was and that was reflected in his whole approach to racing. He is only 35 and I believe he still has some years left in him.

“I mean, Jason Crump has made a comeback and he is 45 whilst Greg (Hancock) has only just made his decision to retire at the age of 50. That's almost a speedway career between Antonio's age and Greg's so there is no reason why he should be finished.

“So I would offer, as an old friend, just one bit of advice to him and that is to take a year out of the pressure zone and just see what happens.

“He could easily be a number one in the UK, as he was in Sweden in last year. There is still a living to be made from the sport so just give yourself a break and see if you can get the love back for racing."