Fan favourite and Workington Comets star Kenneth Hansen is gunning for the number one spot as his side aim to kick-start their season tomorrow night.

The Dane is currently more than a point behind captain Ricky Wells, the current No.1 based on averages, but Hansen is confident he can reel them in as the meetings pile up over the coming weeks.

He said: “The top three averages in the team are very close but hopefully I’m going to come out on top of that.

“It’s been stop and start this season so much and then the rain comes and now we’re five weeks without a meeting.

“I’m racing abroad so it doesn’t affect me as much as the other boys but we’ve been unfortunate to be hit by a lot of rain-offs as well.

“It’s cost me a lot of money this season with all the travelling around when I’m not able to ride.

“It kind of feels like you’ve got to start the season again because you get fitter and get a good set-up, start learning how to ride with your team partner then suddenly you’re waiting five weeks to ride again.

“But you’re not as race rusty now as you would be after a whole winter.

“It does make you hungrier when you’ve had so much time off the bike.

“I just want to ride my bike.”

Comets welcome Rye House tomorrow with the intention of getting their campaign back on track after weeks of rained-off meetings and Hansen is confident they can make a winning return to the shale.

“They’ve got a few good riders – Edward Kennett will definitely be good and Stuart Robson can be – but as a team we should be giving them a beating,” he said.

“We want to go out and show that we can beat teams and Rye House should be the first.”

Hansen, who was due to race in Hagfors, Sweden, last night, became a father last week and the birth of his son, Anakin, has been a welcome distraction from the frustrations of speedway.

“He’s definitely keeping both of us on our toes in a good way,” he said. “It’s such a life-affirming thing to happen so I’m very happy right now.”