PIRATES chief Matt Ford has not ruled out a dramatic bid to buy Weymouth.

Ford has revealed he is not one of three parties Phil Bartlett claims are interested in buying the ailing National League outfit.

But the Wimborne Road supremo has not discounted making a later bid for Pirates’ Dorset neighbours.

Wildcats chairman Bartlett has put the club up for sale and told our sister paper the Dorset Echo: “A deal is getting closer.

“There are three parties very interested in taking it forward.

“All three know what they are doing and are based within 30 to 40 miles of Weymouth.”

Ford, who looks almost certain to pull the plug on his own third-tier team, Bournemouth, at the end of this term, appears to be an ideal candidate to run Wildcats alongside his Elite League Poole promotion.

He said: “We are aware of the interested parties and would always be there to help anyone who takes Weymouth on.

“We can only wait and see what happens about their future at the next British Speedway Promoters’ Association annual meeting.

“I can definitely say it would be a crying shame for the sport to lose Weymouth.”

Ford added: “We’d never rule ourselves, or one or two of the other parties, out of the equation.

“It’s not easy running a speedway club. It can be a severe drain on the finances and takes a lot of time and commitment.

“You can be the best businessman in the world and still not be able to run a speedway club.

“Firstly, you must have an immense knowledge of speedway itself and how it runs to promote a club effectively and efficiently.

“It’s been shown with Buccaneers in the past two years that you can be in a speedway town and still find it very hard to make ends meet.”

Ford, aware Weymouth is also used as a training track, continued: “ There’s a chance we’ll be doing something ourselves in terms of training at Poole.

“While it’s unlikely we’ll run Buccaneers next year, we won’t be withdrawing completely from developing young British talent.

“It might not be in the National League. It might be on a training basis.”

On a wider issue, Ford added: “I believe there will be one or two moves in the National League to make it a solely British-born or British passport holder league.

“I think it’s not in the people’s interest it’s open to Commonwealth riders and believe there will be changes at the AGM.

“Many people in British speedway are questioning the inclusion of Commonwealth riders.”