SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS have announced that captain and No 1 Josh Pickering will return for a second season with the club in 2027.  He joins fellow Australian Tate Zischke in the line-up for next season.               

Pickering became the first-ever Scunthorpe rider to win the Championship League Riders’ Championship – going through the card unbeaten at Sheffield – and he was the best rider in the division by some distance. He inspired the 2026 Ellie Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions to runners-up spot in the Cab Direct Championship.

Team manager David Howe said: “Josh became an instant fan favourite at the Eddie Wirght Raceway with his all-out racing style and his massive points-scoring ability. He’s very important to our club.

“To be honest, I felt all last season that we’d just borrowed Josh and should enjoy and appreciate him while we had him, because we knew we had other commitments elsewhere. When we first approached him about 2027, it was a pretty much a ‘no’, but over time that turned into a ‘maybe’, and that gave me hope. We did have another very good rider who would have come in at number one, but as soon as Josh stated he was more than just considering it, I threw everything behind that.

“Josh is like gold dust for the club on-and-off track. He gets huge points, wins important races, but is equally helpful in the pits, and because of him we have riders like Tate Zischke wanting to ride for the club.

“I genuinely think he enjoyed his time with us, and maybe we balanced out the pressure of Poland a little bit. He wants to win and so do I. We have spoken about building the team, and we both feel we have a group of riders who are capable of doing that.”

Josh Pickering said: “I’m excited to be a Scorpion again in 2027. I really enjoyed myself this year and had lots of fun. It was a great team to ride in, and Scunthorpe are a great club to ride for.

“In terms of continuing my progression as a rider and enjoying my racing, it was quite an easy decision to come back. I look forward to catching up with everyone again.”

The next signing for Scunthorpe will be revealed next Wednesday, while all team news remains subject to approval from British Speedway.

Photo Credits: Ian Rispin & Charlotte Flanigan

Report by: Rob Peasley