New Peterborough Panthers rider has the genes and pedigree to succeed in the Premiership

​But little is known about Tarasenko so Holeshot Media have been finding out a lot more about the 29-year-old newcomer.

ONE thing is certain: Vadim Tarasenko has the genes and the pedigree to make a big splash in the Premiership.

His mother is the elder sister of speedway brothers Artem and Grigori Laguta, and it was the world-class racing relatives who first persuaded him to be a speedway rider.

Talking about his career, Tarasenko said: “It all started with my uncles, Artem and Grigori.

“When I was little, I always went to speedway matches in Vladivostock. Both Artem (who is 32) and Grigori, who is nearly 10 years older than me, are very fond of moto cross and I also love it.

“I raced competitively before I decided to choose speedway and I even managed to get onto the podium a few times.

“That’s when the then coach of Vostok Vladivostok noticed me and Artem said I should do speedway so I started training.”

Tarasenko was only 13 and his first three practice sessions were on training bikes, but he got more up-to-date machinery and after half a dozen or so practices he was able to do a full lap on the track flat out.

At 15, he won a bronze medal in the Russian Under 19 Championship and signed a four-year contract to join the Latvian club Daugavpils who raced in the Polish League.

He was still too young to race competitively in Poland, but on May 15, 2010 (three days after his 16th birthday) he made a stunning debut in a qualifying round of the World Under 21 Championship at Gdansk, Poland, claiming third place and standing on the rostrum alongside his uncle Artem who was runner-up!

In the semi-final at Krsko, Slovenia, he was again third and both he and Artem qualified for the three-round Final series.

Even though he was the youngest rider, he went on to finish 11th overall in a series won by Darcy Ward and in a field that also included his uncle (who was tenth) and current Grand Prix regulars Maciej Janowski, Martin Vaculik and Patryk Dudek.

Tarsenko combined racing with studying technology for three years at Vladivostock State University of Economics and Service before leaving Russia to live in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where he met his wife-to-be, Sonia En. They married in January 2019 and have a two-year-old daughter.

Vadim helped Russia win the bronze medal at the 2017 Speedway World Cup, but fell out with the Russian authorities and had his international licence suspended for his outspoken anti-war statements after his country’s invasion of Ukraine.

He was also banned from racing internationally by the FIM as they banned all Russians from competition.

Tarasenko, who has scored 39 points in six matches this season, is third in the averages at Polish top-flight Grudziadz, currently bottom of the table, behind top-scorer Nicki Pedersen and Leicester’s Max Fricke.