ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL Scunthorpe Scorpions have made a change to their line-up starting from Saturday at Berwick, bringing in Dan Gilkes to replace Simon Lambert.

Gilkes, who has been out with a long-term knee injury, was not put back into the Poole Pirates 1-7 after his return from injury and was quickly snapped up by the club.

Promoter Rob Godfrey says how difficult a decision it was: “Replacing Simon was always going to be a tough call for myself. Simon has become like family to us and the club, but we felt that we needed to inject something into the team. I watched Dan on his comeback at Leicester, and whilst he didn’t score a great deal, he made some really good starts and led three races. Speaking to David (Howe), we both thought that he looked like a rider who has just not raced enough for a while but given a few more rides will give us some firepower at reserve.”

Team manager David Howe backs the bosses’ choice: “Making team changes is never easy. To be honest, it’s the first time as a manager I’ve been involved in one, but the fans have been saying we need to make changes and that the club is too loyal, so we’ve made one as we are trying not to let the season slip away. I’m hoping that Dan can get up to speed quickly and become the rider that tore our team apart at the end of 2024 at Oxford.”

The club would like to thank Simon Lambert for all he has done and achieved at the club. He was pivotal in the KO Cup victory at Poole in 2023 and has been a stalwart of the team for many years. We wish him the best for the future and hope that he can regain his best form.

Welcome to the club Dan!

Photo Credits: Steve Hone, Charlotte Flannigan & Dan Gilkes Racing

Report by: Rob Peasley