Peterborough Panthers have the honour of opening a new speedway pairs competition

Peterborough Panthers have the honour of launching a new competition when they host the opening round of the Premiership Pairs on Monday.
Michael Palm Toft (red helmet) and Chris Harris (blue) will represent Panthers in the new Premiership Pairs competition.Michael Palm Toft (red helmet) and Chris Harris (blue) will represent Panthers in the new Premiership Pairs competition.
Michael Palm Toft (red helmet) and Chris Harris (blue) will represent Panthers in the new Premiership Pairs competition.

Michael Palm Toft and Chris Harris have been selected as Panthers’ representatives for a meeting which brings together the vast majority of the league’s top riders.

All six clubs will be competing with a round on each circuit, with the finale set for Belle Vue in mid-September.

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And club operations manager Dale Allitt says it provides a welcome bonus to the Premiership fixture list.

Allitt said: “We had a lot of talks over the winter, and it was quite obvious, because we only have six teams in the league at the moment, fixtures can become very repetitive.

“You race home and away twice, but that’s only ten home fixtures for each track, so the League Cup returned, and for the Pairs we felt it could be something really different.

“It’s two of the top four riders from each team, so team managers do potentially have a choice of horses for courses, but it’s more meetings and hopefully the public will get behind it.

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“The line-up for the first meeting at Peterborough is all the top guysso it should be an absolutely cracking night, and hopefully it brings a bit more spice to the season for all the fans, as it’s pretty much one meeting a month as we go forwards.”

Points are scored during the meeting on a 4-3-2-0 basis, with the top-scoring pair going straight to the final, whilst second and third race off for the other place in the decider.

Clubs are then allocated points according to their finishing position, which carry forward throughout the six rounds.

Allitt adde: “I think it will be exciting right to the end, and each round offers something different. It’s a good competition, all the riders are signed up for it, and it’s good news for British Speedway.“What stands out about this competition is that it’s not diluted in any way, shape or form, because one of the criticisms over the past few years has been that we don’t often get to see the top guys.

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“There’s champions galore in there whether it’s GPs, national championships, and they’re real racers as well, so I think it will be a fantastic product for the whole season and a really good night of racing on Monday.”