Monday June 19, 2023
STEWART Dickson has acted swiftly and made his first two team changes as Birmingham boss.

In come former Grand Prix racer Troy Batchelor and British teenage talent Sam Hagon with the injured James Wright and young Aussie James Pearson the riders making way.

The two will make their Curtis Sport Brummies' debut in Wednesday's (June 21, 7.30) key Cab Direct Championship home clash against Berwick.

Said Dickson: "James Wright has spent most of the year on the sidelines so far and it doesn't look as if he's going to be back anytime soon so it made sense to get someone in for him.

"As for James Pearson, I understand he's quite a popular character with the Birmingham supporters but I've been brought in with the responsibility of making this team stronger and that means I've had to juggle a few things around.

"Unfortunately for James Pearson, he's still on that assessed 4.00 average and therefore he's essentially a victim of the old Speedway numbers game which can very cruel to some riders unfortunately.

"I was very impressed by his attitude and eagerness at Oxford on Wednesday night but we needed that extra point or two to play with to bring in Troy and give us a lot more firepower at the top end of our team.

"Troy is a former Elite League Riders' Champion, he's won the top league on more than one occasion, he's ridden in World Cups and Grand Prixs and to be able to bring someone like him into your team in the second tier is quite remarkable really.

"In his last two meetings at Perry Barr he's scored 28 points so it's quite clear it's a track he enjoys racing on.

"Yes he hasn't been racing competitively up until now this year but he had a spin at the weekend and he's looking forward to getting back into it and showing everyone what they've been missing.

"As for Sam Hagon, he's been impressing in a few meetings of a similar level to the Championship so far this year and he's been riding very, very well in the National Development League for Belle Vue.

"He's certainly got the potential that's for sure, he's got a lot of good people around him and again he'll be looking to make the most of this first opportunity handed to him in the Championship.

"These are just the first two changes as I aim to make Birmingham more competitive, more entertaining to watch and move up that league table.

"I'll be looking at things closely again on Wednesday night; it's a very big meeting for us make no mistake about it and I'll continue to see what other options are around if I feel I need to make one or two more few tweaks to get the potential out of this team."