GOLDEN GENERATION IN BRITAIN'S PREMIERSHIP

Rowe Motor Oil Premiership CEO Phil Morris hailed a “golden generation” of talent as the stars of Britain’s top flight assembled for its first-ever Media Day in Manchester on Wednesday.

Almost every rider from the seven Rowe Motor Oil Premiership clubs was in attendance at the National Speedway Stadium – including a host of stars who will represent their countries in the FIM Speedway of Nations in Manchester from July 9-13.

The Rowe Motor Oil Premiership features a number of Speedway GP stars, including triple world champion Tai Woffinden, British champion Dan Bewley, world No.4 Jack Holder and 2017 Speedway GP world champion Jason Doyle, with SGP series substitutes Max Fricke and Maciej Janowski, 2012 Speedway GP world champion Chris Holder and former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov also in action.

In all, the league features 14 riders with 39 FIM Speedway World Championship gold medals – ranging from Speedway GP and SGP2 individual titles to the sport’s world team championships, the FIM Speedway World Cup, FIM Speedway of Nations and the FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship, now known as SON2.

Morris said: “This will be the most exciting Rowe Motor Oil Premiership this century. It truly is the golden generation. There hasn’t been this amount of world-champion talent in our top league for a very long time. 

“We are delighted that the world’s top stars are returning in big numbers for British speedway.”

Woffinden and brothers Chris and Jack Holder will lead the charge for Rowe Motor Oil Premiership defending champions Sheffield. Meanwhile Ipswich track Doyle and Sayfutdinov, Bewley leads Belle Vue, Fricke lines up for Leicester, Janowski spearheads Oxford and King’s Lynn and Birmingham also boast powerful sides.  

The two-time British league winner Woffinden goes into 2024 with a very clear goal. Asked his targets for the year, he replied: “My targets? World champion, league champion with Sheffield. That’s always the bar. 

“The hunger is there. I like winning at everything. I’m not a nice person to be around when I’m losing. That shows I have so many emotions. If I get to a point in my career where I’m sitting there saying, ‘It is what it is’, I wouldn’t be riding.”

The Rowe Motor Oil Premiership is live on UK, Polish and Scandinavian Eurosport on Monday nights from April 29 and is also available to stream live via discovery+.