PROMOTER Danny Ford insisted he was “excited” to work with British prospect Nathan Ablitt at Pirates and added: “We see this as a long-term project.”

Teenager Ablitt, who gained SGB Championship experience with Eastbourne last season, arrives at Poole following the signings of experienced duo Steve Worrall and Danny King.

Born in East Sussex, his major honours include being a British 150cc champion in 2016 and 250cc Champion in 2018.

And Ford is looking forward to seeing the talented youngster in action.

He told the Daily Echo: “We are very excited by bringing in Nathan. He is a young, British lad, which is always a winner.

“He is seen by a lot of people in the know as one of the next in the crop of up-and-comers and probably one of the best of that group.

“He is a British youth champion already and very highly regarded by his former promoters at Eastbourne, as well as a lot involved in the British youth setup.

“I am delighted to welcome him to Poole and can’t wait to see him at Wimborne Road.

“We see this as a long-term project to work with Nathan. It’s his first full year in the Championship.

“We have gone quite strong with our top six, so it will be a learning season for him, absorbing as much as he can – there will be some new tracks for him as well because he didn’t get to ride them all last year.

“As long as we see that continual growth and improvement over the season, I look forward to working with him for many seasons to come.”

Ablitt comes into a Poole side who sealed a league and cup double last season - and are looking to go one better this time around by also winning the newly-formed Summer Series.

Quizzed on how their latest recruit would deal with the pressure of riding for trophy-hunting Poole, Ford said: “He’s got a smart, wise head on his shoulders. He has been involved in speedway behind the scenes for a while.

“He knows how things run and he is not new to the sport.

“We have to manage expectations with him. There is going to be a certain pressure that comes with riding for the Pirates – but equally we know he is coming in on a two-point average.

“It’s a year of growth for him. After he has done a certain number of meetings he will become a Poole asset – he never officially became an Eastbourne asset because he never did enough meetings.

“It’s one for us to grow for the future and hopefully he becomes a bigger part of the club.”