Speedway By John Walsh

Last updated 09:15, Saturday, 17 May 2008

DANIEL Nermark will be back in Workington Comets colours tonight for the Premier League clash against Scunthorpe Scorpions.

The number one scored a 15-point maximum on Thursday night in the Swedish League to prove his fitness.

Nermark, who missed last week’s match at Scunthorpe – and the home match 24 hours later with Reading – has been nursing a sore wrist after his fall at Rye House on Bank Holiday Monday. But he courted controversy over the week-end when he flew out to ride in Poland after missing the two Workington matches.

Scunthorpe will be fitting-in the Comets as the middle leg of a hectic week-end of speedway.

The Scorpions, in their first season of Premier League speedway, hosted Newcastle last night; visit Derwent Park tonight and finish-off at Glasgow on Sunday.

Co-promoter Rob Godfrey sees the Workington match as the toughest of the three, even though his side beat the Comets 47-43 last Friday at Normanby Road.

“Workington will certainly be a tricky match for us and we’ve got no Richard Hall because he is away competing in a World Longtrack meeting in France.

“When Richard sorted out his long-track dates we didn’t have a fixture but then we agreed to help Workington out because they should have had Newport on Saturday.

“The Comets will be looking to make amends for their narrow defeat at our place so we are expecting a hot reception.

“Richard will be back for Glasgow on Sunday and I quite fancy our chances of getting a good result up there,” said Godfrey.

It’s the first time new boys Scunthorpe will have ridden at Derwent Park although most of the riders have been before.

Andrew Moore guested successfully for the Comets during his Sheffield days; Carl Wilkinson put in some big-scoring efforts in his time with Newport while Magnus Karlsson has plenty of Elite League experience and is the younger brother of leading riders Michael and Peter Karlsson who have all represented Sweden in the World Cup.

To them you can add Joel Parsons, standing in for Hall, who was involved in some controversial track incidents last season at Derwent Park.

Benji Compton and South African Byron Bekker haven’t set the world alight before at Derwent Park in limited appearances while Viktor Bergstrom, is in his first season of British speedway but has plenty of Swedish League experience behind him.

Comets team manager Ian Thomas said: “They seem a well-balanced side who seem quite capable of doing reasonably well in their first season. They haven’t a rider in the top 25 of the averages but have a solid team look to them rather than appearing to be a team who rely on one star.”

Karlsson currently leads the way on 7.56 from Moore 7.54 and the absent Hall 7.29.

By comparison Workington’s top three are Daniel Nermark (joint second in the League averages on 10.58), Kauko Nieminen (14th on 9.14) and Carl Stonehewer (7.82).

Tonight’s teams – WORKINGTON: 1, Daniel Nermark; 2, rider replacement for Barry Burchatt; 3, Kauko Nieminen; 4, Charles Wright; 5, Carl Stonehewer; 6, Joe Haines; 7, John Branney.

SCUNTHORPE: 1, Andrew Moore; 2, Carl Wilkinson; 3, Magnus Karlsson; 4, Benji Compton; 5, Joel Parsons (guest); 6, Viktor Bergstrom; 7, Byron Bekker.